bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mental health care delivery in poor settings through trained female community health workers: A five-year intervention program in Somaliland
Authors: Abdi Yakoub Aden , Said Nasir Ibrahim , Abdi Hared Yusuf , Ayeh Ismail , Walhad Said Ahmed
Published: October 2021

Background: The situation of mental health globally is alarming particularly in developing countries. In Somaliland/Somalia, every third person may be suffering from some sort of mental illness according to the World Health Organization. Major barriers to improve mental health include stigma and lack of skilled human resources.
Objectives: The aim was to explore the feasibility of organizing integrated community-based mental, epilepsy and mother and child health services delivered by trained female community health workers (FCHWs) in three urban sites (Borama, Baki and Dila) in the Awdal Region, Somaliland.
Methods: After selection of the 3 project sites and recruitment and training of project staff, a baseline survey was carried out. First, the sites were properly mapped based on existing geographical administrative sectors and sub-sectors of the sites. Then a representative sample of 2,722 households was randomly selected from all the 3 sites. The female head of each of those households were then interviewed using a questionnaire containing 22 questions on the target groups. The questionnaire responses were coded, and data analysed using Statistical software program, SPSS. After the baseline survey, the FCHWs were deployed in the sites assigning a specified area to each female worker. The FCHWs worked 6 hours per day 6 days per week and were required to visit 6 families each day including follow-ups. Their activities included identification of patients with severe mental illness (SMI) or with epilepsy, counselling, distribution of medications, follow-up of patients already on medication, referral, stigma reduction and documentation of their daily activities in logbooks.
Results: The baseline study showed that 12% of the households were taking care of at least one person with SMI each, while 7% had one person with epilepsy each. Of the patients with SMI, 18% were on chains. During the project period (2015-2019), the number of people with SMI or with epilepsy who benefited from the project was 2.225 and 738 respectively and their families empowered through increased mental health awareness. Among the patients with SMI, 237 were on chains before intervention and 85% of them were successfully released from their shackles.
Conclusions: This project has shown that deployment of trained and supported FCHWs can be used to reduce the mental health care gap in Somaliland. It is suggested as a model project which could, hopefully, be replicated and tested in other similar settings.
Current guidelines for malaria treatment in Somalia: evidence-based recommendations
Authors: Warsame Marian , Abdulrahman Osman Ali , Hussein Hassan Abdikarim , Abdulle Abdi , Muse Abdikarim , Mohamed Hassan Abdilahi , Abdullahi Ali Mohamed , Essa Yusuf Fahmi , Hefzullah Amran Jamal
Published: October 2021

Case management – rapid diagnosis and prompt administration of artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) – is a fundamental pillar of recommended malaria interventions in Somalia. Unfortunately, the emergence and spread of drug resistant falciparum parasites continues to pose a considerable threat to effective case management.
With technical and financial support from WHO, the efficacy of recommended ACTs has been regularly monitored in sentinel sites since 2003. These studies provided evidence that supported the adoption of artesunate-sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine as first-line treatment in 2005 and artemether-lumefantrine as second-line treatment in 2011. Efficacy studies conducted between 2011 and 2015 showed high artesunate-sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine treatment failure rates of 12.3% - 22.2%, above the threshold (10%) for a change of treatment policy as recommended by WHO. This was also associated with high prevalence of quadruple and quintuple mutations in the dihydrofolate reductase (Pfdhfr) and dihydropteroate synthase (Pfdhps) genes, which are associated with sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine resistance.
Based on these findings, national malaria treatment guidelines were updated in 2016, with artesunate-sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine replaced by artemether-lumefantrine as first-line treatment and dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine recommended as second-line treatment. Subsequent efficacy studies in 2016 and 2017 confirmed that both the current first- and second-line treatments remain highly efficacious (cure rate above 97%).  Technical and financial support from WHO has been instrumental in generating evidence that informs malaria treatment policy and should therefore continue to ensure that effective treatments are available to malaria patients in the country.
Exploring Readiness of Teachers Toward Remote English Teaching Context
Authors: Karuniasih Ni Luh Ayu Gunawati
Published: October 2021

Remote English teaching becomes a trend during the pandemic of Covid-19 outbreak. Schools in Indonesia are forced to conduct teaching and learning activity remotely during Work from Home (WFH) regulation. However, not all teachers were ready to teach virtually. This study aimed at investigating the teachers’ and students’ readiness toward remote English teaching. The subject were the English teachers at SMAN 1 Kubutambahan. An explanatory sequential mixed-method design was implemented in this research. The data were collected through an online survey and followed up with an interview. The data were collected through an online survey and analysed using Ideal Mean score analysis. The survey used a questionnaire which contain four dimensions, namely technology, innovation, people, and self-development to investigate the teachers’ and students’ readiness level.  The research finding showed that English teachers were categorized in the ready category, which means they were ready in conducting remote English teaching. The result of this research can be used as an evaluation for the teacher in order to improve their readiness level in the future.
Evaluation of Negative Skin Friction on Bridge Abutment Piles
Authors: Drbe Osama
Published: October 2021

Piles are used to transfer loads of structures to deeper and stronger soil layers through skin friction and/or end bearing. Surcharge loads, site grading, or dewatering may induce downward movement of soil adjacent to piles installed in a compressible medium. This movement creates negative skin friction stresses acting downward at the pile-soil interface, which applies additional loads “drag forces” to the pile causing a maximum axial load in the pile shaft at the “neutral plane”. To evaluate the development of drag forces, a comprehensive field monitoring program was conducted over four years for three instrumented abutment H-piles as part of a three-span bridge project. The soil settlement and changes in pore water pressure in the soil adjacent to the piles due to the construction of an approach embankment were monitored using multiple-point extensometers and vibrating wire piezometers. The piles’ elastic settlement and strains were measured using single-point extensometers and vibrating wire strain gauges. The field measurements are presented and discussed in terms of responses time histories and load distribution along one pile shaft. In addition, the calculated forces from vibrating wire strain gauges are compared with the unified design method prediction considering the total stress method (α-method) for cohesive soils. The results show that the maximum drag force was developed after the complete dissipation of excess pore water pressure and that the location of neutral plane varied during the embankment construction stages. Employing the total stress method in the unified design method provided a reasonable prediction of the drag force and the neutral plane’s location.
Solvent-free synthesis of enantioenriched β-silyl nitroalkanes under organocatalytic conditions
Authors: Dubey Akhil K , Chowdhury Raghunath
Published: October 2021

An enantioselective 1,4-conjugate addition of nitromethane to β-silyl α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds catalyzed by bifunctional squaramide catalysts has been developed. This methodology offers both enantiomers of β-silyl nitroalkanes in good to excellent yields (up to 92%) and enantioselectivities (up to 97.5% ee) under solvent-free conditions at room temperature. Control experiments reveal that the presence of a β-silyl group in the enones is crucial for high reactivity under the optimized reaction conditions.
Sexual taboos and euphemisms in Igbo: An anthropolinguistic appraisal
Authors: Nwagbo Osita Gerald
Published: October 2021

Due to face-threatening effect of taboo words, euphemisms are used to replace them for the sake of politeness. Several studies have been carried out on sexual taboos across cultures, including Igbo, but most have centrally focused on euphemisms for sex organs, with inadequate attention paid to the sex act itself. As a result, this study examines euphemisms about sex or copulation in Igbo with a view to delineating the categories and strategies employed by Igbo to express them. Through Participant and Non-participant Observation, data (11 conversations) were collected, from 22 participants comprising 16 men and 6 women across 6 different settings in Lagos State, Nigeria. The result showed that participants used two major strategies (idiomatic expressions and symbols) and coinage to euphemise the act of sex. Two broad categories of sex found were explicit euphemisms representing the common type, and opaque euphemisms representing the uncommon type. However, both categories are existing words in the language that are imbued with new meanings to achieve the censoring objective. The alternative forms adequately serve the intended purpose because they mask and obscure the tabooed subject and hence save the face of interlocutors.
Generative imaging and image processing via generative encoder
Authors: Ong Yong Zheng , Yang Haizhao
Published: October 2021

This paper introduces a novel generative encoder (GE) framework for generative imaging and image processing tasks like image reconstruction, compression, denoising, inpainting, deblurring, and super-resolution. GE unifies the generative capacity of GANs and the stability of AEs in an optimization framework instead of stacking GANs and AEs into a single network or combining their loss functions as in existing literature. GE provides a novel approach to visualizing relationships between latent spaces and the data space. The GE framework is made up of a pre-training phase and a solving phase. In the former, a GAN with generator \begin{document}$ G $\end{document} capturing the data distribution of a given image set, and an AE network with encoder \begin{document}$ E $\end{document} that compresses images following the estimated distribution by \begin{document}$ G $\end{document} are trained separately, resulting in two latent representations of the data, denoted as the generative and encoding latent space respectively. In the solving phase, given noisy image \begin{document}$ x = \mathcal{P}(x^*) $\end{document}, where \begin{document}$ x^* $\end{document} is the target unknown image, \begin{document}$ \mathcal{P} $\end{document} is an operator adding an addictive, or multiplicative, or convolutional noise, or equivalently given such an image \begin{document}$ x $\end{document} in the compressed domain, i.e., given \begin{document}$ m = E(x) $\end{document}, the two latent spaces are unified via solving the optimization problem

   \begin{document}$ z^* = \underset{z}{\mathrm{argmin}} \|E(G(z))-m\|_2^2+\lambda\|z\|_2^2 $\end{document}

and the image \begin{document}$ x^* $\end{document} is recovered in a generative way via \begin{document}$ \hat{x}: = G(z^*)\approx x^* $\end{document}, where \begin{document}$ \lambda>0 $\end{document} is a hyperparameter. The unification of the two spaces allows improved performance against corresponding GAN and AE networks while visualizing interesting properties in each latent space.
Clones do YouTube: replataformização da irrealidade e infraestruturas de desinformação sobre a Covid-19
Authors: Dos Santos Marcelo Alves
Published: October 2021

Este artigo se dedica a analisar notícias falsas sobre Covid-19 a partir de uma abordagem sobre as infraestruturas da desinformação. Dessa forma, estudamos websites clones que copiam o YouTube para replataformizar o ambiente informacional e espalhar vídeos com títulos falsos e sensacionalistas, dificultando a aplicação de políticas de moderação de conteúdo. A pesquisa empírica trata de 16 websites de hospedagem de vídeos e 11.384 publicações de links em grupos e páginas do Facebook. Aplicamos procedimentos de métodos digitais e computacionais elaborados para analisar fake news de forma cenográfica e técnicas de identificação de coordenação de atividades inautênticas. Encontramos sites clones que manipulam vídeos da imprensa adicionando manchetes falsas. A operação articula o espalhamento de vídeos de modo organizado, instrumentalizando grupos de religião, entretenimento, políticas e notícias no Facebook. Ao final, debatemos as implicações para combater a desinformação com foco na interação entre plataformas.
 
Palavras-chave: comunicação, infraestruturas, desinformação, replataformização, moderação.
Caráter, virtude e situacionismo
Authors: Hobuss João
Published: October 2021

Este texto pretende apontar aspectos da agência moral aristotélica, que pressupõe que existe algo, o caráter, que sustenta a existência de linhas robustas do ponto de vista do comportamento, moral, da nossa constituição moral, e que acaba por definir o modo pelo qual agimos, e, por conseguinte, operando como algo que realmente nos define. Essa noção de caráter é majoritária entre os comentadores de Aristóteles, ainda que interpretações distintas possam ser defendidas sobre o alcance dessa disposição de caráter em Aristóteles. Tal concepção grassou ao longo dos tempos, mas vem sendo questionada – ao menos sua leitura mais tradicional - por estudos recentes acerca da psicologia social, que atenua ou rejeita a ideia de um caráter que sustente a nossa agência moral, afirmando que não é este, mas as situações que determinam o agir. Nessa perspectiva, temos especialmente Nisbet, Ross, Doris e Harman, os quais, a partir dos resultados concernentes à psicologia social experimental, chegam a afirmar que não haveria isto que entendemos por caráter, o que implicaria em um sério problema para a conhecida ética das virtudes, já que esta requer, na maior parte de suas formulações, a ideia de um caráter absolutamente robusto (Harman), que nos permitiria prever o comportamento de um agente em uma dada circunstância (Doris).
Palavras-chave: Aristóteles, caráter, virtude, situacionismo.
Realismo, linguagem e processos mentais: uma reconstrução crítica a partir da filosofia de G. Ryle
Authors: Peruzzo Júnior Léo
Published: October 2021

Este artigo pretende mostrar que os argumentos sustentados por Ryle podem ser uma postura crítica ao problema do realismo e dos processos mentais: primeiramente, porque o realismo, diferentemente de algumas teorias da mente contemporâneas, separa a vida mental das outras propriedades que compõem o mundo e, posteriormente, porque tal argumento precisaria explicar como tais propriedades podem instanciar um conteúdo que não seria parte de um sistema físico [como o cérebro]. Deste modo, argumenta-se que, a partir de Ryle, a interação dos processos mentais com a possibilidade da existência de objetos externos à consciência não depende de nenhuma arquitetura biológica, mas dos elementos semânticos que utilizamos cotidianamente para falar e dizer o mundo. Esta postura, por um lado, redesenha críticas à chamada doutrina oficial e, por outro, nutre uma parcela de argumentos realistas que deveriam ser atacados e dissolvidos pelas atuais teorias da mente.
Palavras-chave: Realismo, linguagem, processos mentais, cognição, Ryle.
Nd-Hf isotope geochemistry and lithogeochemistry of the Rambler Rhyolite, Ming VMS deposit, Baie Verte Peninsula, Newfoundland: evidence for slab melting and implications for VMS localization
Authors: Piercey S J , Pilote J
-L
Published: October 2021

New high precision lithogeochemistry and Nd and Hf isotopic data were collected on felsic rocks of the Rambler Rhyolite formation from the Ming volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposit, Baie Verte Peninsula, Newfoundland. The Rambler Rhyolite formation
consists of intermediate to felsic volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks with U-shaped primitive mantle normalized trace element patterns with negative Nb anomalies, light rare earth element-enrichment (high La/Sm), and distinctively positive Zr and Hf anomalies relative to surrounding middle rare earth
elements (high Zr-Hf/Sm). The Rambler Rhyolite samples have epsilon-Ndt = -2.5 to -1.1 and epsilon-Hft = +3.6 to +6.6; depleted mantle model ages are TDM(Nd) = 1.3-1.5 Ga and TDM(Hf) = 0.9-1.1Ga. The decoupling of the Nd and Hf isotopic data is reflected in epsilon-Hft isotopic data that lies above
the mantle array in epsilon-Ndt -epsilon-Hft space with positive ?epsilon-Hft values (+2.3 to +6.2). These Hf-Nd isotopic attributes, and high Zr-Hf/Sm and U-shaped trace element patterns, are consistent with these rocks having formed as slab melts, consistent with previous studies. The association
of these slab melt rocks with Au-bearing VMS mineralization, and their FI-FII trace element signatures that are similar to rhyolites in Au-rich VMS deposits in other belts (e.g., Abitibi), suggests that assuming that FI-FII felsic rocks are less prospective is invalid and highlights the importance
of having an integrated, full understanding of the tectono-magmatic history of a given belt before assigning whether or not it is prospective for VMS mineralization.
Whole-rock lithogeochemistry, Nd-Hf isotopes, and in situ zircon geochemistry of VMS-related felsic rocks, Finlayson Lake VMS district, Yukon
Authors: Manor M J , Piercey S J
Published: October 2021

The Finlayson Lake district in southeastern Yukon is composed of a Late Paleozoic arc-backarc system that consists of metamorphosed volcanic, plutonic, and sedimentary rocks of the Yukon-Tanana and Slide Mountain terranes. These rocks host >40 Mt of
polymetallic resources in numerous occurrences and styles of volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) mineralization. Geochemical and isotopic data from these rocks support previous interpretations that volcanism and plutonism occurred in arc-marginal arc (e.g., Fire Lake formation) and continental
back-arc basin environments (e.g., Kudz Ze Kayah formation, Wind Lake formation, and Wolverine Lake group) where felsic magmatism formed from varying mixtures of crust- and mantle-derived material. The rocks have elevated high field strength element (HFSE) and rare earth element (REE)
concentrations, and evolved to chondritic isotopic signatures, in VMS-proximal stratigraphy relative to VMS-barren assemblages. These geochemical features reflect the petrogenetic conditions that generated felsic rocks and likely played a role in the localization of VMS mineralization in the
district. Preliminary in situ zircon chemistry supports these arguments with Th/U and Hf isotopic fingerprinting, where it is interpreted that the VMS-bearing lithofacies formed via crustal melting and mixing with increased juvenile, mafic magmatism; rocks that were less prospective have
predominantly crustal signatures. These observations are consistent with the formation of VMS-related felsic rocks by basaltic underplating, crustal melting, and basalt-crustal melt mixing within an extensional setting. This work offers a unique perspective on magmatic petrogenesis that underscores
the importance of integrating whole-rock with mineral-scale geochemistry in the characterization of VMS-related stratigraphy.
Development of a Semi-Structured Instrument to Assess Religious Beliefs and Practices in Patients with Schizophrenia
Authors: Grover Sandeep , Davuluri Triveni , Chakrabarti Subho
Published: October 2021

Background:

Religion plays an important role in the life of a large proportion of population. Various dimensions of religion and religiosity have not been thoroughly investigated in persons with schizophrenia. Aim: This study aimed to develop a simple instrument to assess various aspects of religiosity, which can influence the assessment and management of schizophrenia and evaluate the same in a group of patients, who are currently in clinical remission.

Methodology:

A simple semi-structured interview was developed to assess various dimensions of religion relevant to patients with mental illnesses. The questionnaire was administered to 100 patients with schizophrenia.

Results:

About two-thirds of the patients gave religious and supernatural explanations for their delusions, hallucinations, and other symptoms. More than three-fourth (78%) of patients reported that their religious beliefs influence their intake of the prescribed medications. The majority of the patients believed that God was helping them in dealing with their illness to some extent (29%) or very much (57%). About four-fifth (81%) of the patients attributed their illness to one religious or supernatural etiological cause. About two-fifths (39%) of the patients were first taken to a magico-religious faith healer at the onset of symptoms. In terms of treatment practices along with treatment from the tertiary care center, during the most recent relapse, the majority (82%) of the patients took recourse to at least one of the religious or supernatural modalities.

Conclusion:

The designed instrument provides a broad coverage of various aspects of religious practices which are prevalent in patients with schizophrenia. The use of this instrument in patients with schizophrenia suggests that religious beliefs and practices influence the type of psychopathology, etiological models about the illness, help seeking, and medication adherence.
Mental Health Problems in Health-Care Workers Working in COVID-19 Quarantine Centers
Authors: Meena Parth Singh , Jilowa Charan Singh , Sharma Anubhuti , Jain Mahendra , Nainwani Neelam , Palawat Manisha Singh , Ashish Parashar
Published: October 2021

Background:

The coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic in India has put health-care workers (HCWs) under intense pressure and has led to immense psychological stress due to factors including a high risk of infection, inadequate protection from contamination, overwork, cutting-off with families, and exhaustion. The unprecedented stressful conditions are causing mental health problems such as stress, anxiety, depression, disturbed sleep, irritability, fear, and panic. The present study was carried out to investigate the mental health problems among HCWs working in close proximity with COVID-19 patients in quarantine centers and to explore the relevant influencing factors for the development of psychological interventions for them.

Subject and Methods:

HCWs working in COVID-19 quarantine centers in Ajmer were interviewed for exploring mental health problems in a cross-sectional study carried out at JLN Medical College, Ajmer, India. Depressive symptoms, anxiety, and stress among HCWs were assessed using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Relevant data were analyzed, and comparisons between different groups were performed using the two independent sample t-tests. All statistical analyses were performed using the SPSS software version 22.0 for Windows.

Results:

53.57% (n = 30) of participants were suffering from depressive symptoms, 64.28% (n = 36) were suffering from anxiety symptoms, and 78.6% (n = 47) were suffering from stress. HCWs living in joint families were more affected by depression (P = 0.02). Both anxiety and stress were more commonly reported by HCWs of age <30, females, nurses and those living in joint families, but difference was statistically insignificant.

Conclusion:

The present study demonstrated that a considerable number of HCWs were suffering from mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, and stress. It is important to have periodic mental health assessment of HCWs dealing with COVID-19 patients.
Comparative Therapeutic Efficiency of Remdesivir in COVID in a Tertiary Care Center
Authors: Munirathnam Mahendra , Kishore R. , Sanjana S. N. , Archita R. , Mohan C. N. , Gandhi Rajeshwari Gandhi , Mohan Manjushree , Mulla Bhahuddin
Published: October 2021

Introduction:

The catastrophic effects of corona in 2020 identified the use of broad-spectrum antiviral remdesivir (RDV). The beneficial effects of RDV are not proven and documented in many trials in COVID.

Materials and Methods:

Reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)-confirmed cohort cases of COVID were retrospectively analyzed for outcomes including mortality and clinical improvement with and without RDV during the period September 21, 2020–October 9, 2020. The data were analyzed statistically for outcome in COVID. The present study was carried out to evaluate the clinical benefits of RDV and its outcomes in COVID.

Results:

A total of 91 RT-PCR positive COVID patients were grouped into 37 RDV (41%) and 54 non-RDV (51%). The mean age was 51 and 55. Male-to-female ratio of 67:32 and 65:35 in the RDV and non-RDV groups was found, indicating male predominance in the study. The recovery time for COVID was 11 days with a cure rate of 78% in the RDV group, while it was 21 days with 98% in the non-RDV group. A statistical significant association was found between RDV and the need for oxygen support (hypoxic patients) and noninvasive ventilation (NIV). Twenty-seven percent in RDV group needed NIV (P = 0.009). Morbidity and mortality were 19% (7) and 22% (8) and 7% (4) and 2% (1) in the RDV and non-RDV groups, respectively.

Conclusion:

RDV use in COVID was associated with increased mortality (22% vs. 2%) but reduced duration of hospitalization by 50% as compared to non-RDV group. Early identification of hypoxia plays an important role in COVID management for initiating RDV treatment.
Study of Impact of Comorbidities on Patients with COVID-19 Infection
Authors: Rohith M. G. , Monika N. , Rajanna Avinash Hannabe , Ravi K.
Published: October 2021

Aim:

To study the impact of comorbidities on patients with COVID-19 infection.

Materials and Methods:

A single center, cross-sectional, observational study was conducted among SARS-CoV-2 infected patients from March 2020 to July 2020. The diagnosis was confirmed by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Various comorbidities were studied to know the treatment outcomes and mortality risk in COVID-19 positive patients.

Results:

A total of 1977 COVID-19 patients were studied. The mean age was 43.89 ± 15.58 years and had male preponderance of 61.56% of the total subjects. Death rates increased linearly with age in decades with highest fatality rate among those who are aged more than 70 years (21.9%). Among those who died, 73 (52.9%) had both hypertension and diabetes associated with microvascular or macrovascular complications. The overall case fatality rate (CFR) among patients with comorbidities was 12.38%. Among subgroup of comorbidities, Chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients had highest CFR (32%) followed by patients with both hypertension and diabetes (17.5%). Delayed viral clearance is seen in patients with diabetes (33.3%).

Conclusion:

COVID-19 infection seems to cause high mortality in older individuals (>50 years) with male preponderance. Patients with diabetes and hypertension associated with microvascular or macrovascular complications and CKD patients are at increased risk of disease severity and mortality. Recovery time is also increased in patients with comorbidities mainly diabetes mellitus.
Co-Infection of Scrub Typhus and COVID-19
Authors: Jesrani Gautam , Chhabra Ankit , Garg Aman , Kaur Amandeep , Gupta Monica
Published: October 2021

Scrub typhus is a bacterial disease, caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi and has widespread clinical presentations. Coronavirus-19 disease (COVID-19) is an ongoing pandemic, which can demonstrate clinical symptoms similar to the scrub typhus. Herein, we are describing two such cases of scrub typhus and COVID-19 co-infection. A 35-year-old male and a 42-year-old female presented with respiratory failure, for which COVID-19 was diagnosed, but both of them had persistent thrombocytopenia. The patients were investigated for other tropical co-infections and the diagnosis of scrub typhus was established in both of the cases. Doxycycline was added to their ongoing treatment, which led to an uneventful recovery. The cases highlight the importance of keeping a high index of suspicion of concurrent infection in the regions where seasonal tropical infections are endemic.
Predictors of in-hospital mortality in patients admitted with Congestive Heart failure (HF) in a general medical ward – A case-control study from a tertiary care centre in South India
Authors: John Faith Mariam , Joy Anisha , Nellimala Nevine Joseph , Bharathy K Muruga , Prakash Turaka Vijay , John Kevin John , Mathuram Alice Joan , Sathyendra Sowmya , Abraham O. C. , Ramya I , Jayaseelan Visalakshi , Sudarsanam Thambu David
Published: October 2021

Background and Objectives:

Studies around the world have shown that incidence of HF is increasing with the highest risk of mortality during their first admission and in the subsequent 1 year. Only a few Indian studies had looked at the predictors of in-hospital mortality in patients admitted with HF in patients admitted in medical wards. We have done a case control study to determine the risk factors for in-hospital mortality, in patients admitted with HF, in general medical ward, in a tertiary care centre in south India.

Methods:

We collected demographic data, clinical details and outcome data from case records. We performed a univariate analysis comparing those who died as compared to those who did not. Factors that were significant in the above, were entered into a logistic regression analysis to identify factors that independently predicted poor outcomes.

Results:

The in-hospital mortality rate in patients admitted with HF was 12.19%. On multivariate analysis, Systolic blood pressure < 115 mmHg {OR – 2.82, CI (1.29 – 6.19)}, serum lactate > 2 mmol/l {OR-2.61, CI (1.16 – 5.87)}, and GCS < 15 {OR 6.64, CI (2.26 – 19.51)} were statistically significant.

Conclusion:

Our study has shown that, in patients admitted with HF in general medical ward, at admission, low systolic blood pressure, high serum lactates, low GCS were predictors of in-hospital mortality.
Visual Hallucinations in 246-Km Mountain Ultra-Marathoners: An Observational Study
Authors: Huang Ming-Kun , Chang Kuo-Song , Kao Wei-Fong , Li Li-Hua , How Chorng-Kuang , Wang Shih-Hao , Lin Yen-Kuang , Hwang Yuh-Shyan , Chien Ding-Kuo , Chiu Yu-Hui
Published: October 2021

Ultra-marathons are typically held over harsh terrains such as mountains, deserts, or other wilderness, and place severe demands on the physical and psychological capabilities of participants. Adventure-race competitors commonly report hallucinations. The goal of this study was to gain insight into visual hallucinations (VHs) during a mountain ultra-marathon. Thirty-one Taiwanese runners who participated in the 2018 Run Across Taiwan Ultra-Marathon, which spans 246 km with an altitude difference of 3266 m and an overall cut-off time of 44 h, volunteered for this study. Self-reported questionnaires on sleep duration, hallucinatory experiences, clinical symptoms of cold- and heat-related illnesses, and the 2018 Lake Louise Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) Score were recorded prerace, during the summit, immediately postrace, and 3-days postrace. Hematological samples were collected 1 week before, immediately after, and 3 days after the race. Eight ultra-marathoners (six males and two females; seven finishers and one withdrawer) were recruited. Three out of eight (37.5%) subjects (two males and one female) reported experiencing VHs during the last 60 km. Three out of five (60%) lower-ranked subjects experienced VHs. All eight runners slept for <30 min during the race. None of the runners presented with headache either during or after the race to meet the criteria for AMS. None of the runners suffered an abnormal thermoregulatory response or a hypoglycemic episode throughout the ultra-marathon. The changes in blood osmolality immediately postrace were subclinical, despite being statistically significant. Among the three runners with VHs, none presented with severe dehydration or dysnatremia immediately postrace. High-altitude exposure, hyper/hypothermia, dehydration, dysnatermia, or hypoglycemia did not seem to contribute to hallucination onset in our subjects during the event. VHs of ultra-marathoners may be associated with excessive physical exertion and sleep deprivation.
Does Positive Feeling Lead to More impulsiveness? – Implication of Previous Rewarded Experience on Location-Dependent Motoric Impulsivity
Authors: Chen Tsung-Hua , Chen Yu-Jung , Huang Teng-Shun , Hsiao Michael , Lin Chen-Cheng , Liu Yia-Ping
Published: October 2021

Positive feeling or rewarding experience is crucial for individuals to operative their cognitive activities via an outcome evaluation of incentive reinforcement. For a long time, rewarding process or outcome evaluation is assumed greatly influenced by neuronal construct that holds individuals' impulsiveness, a capacity to inhibit unwanted behaviors provoked in a given situation. In the present study, we proposed that the outcome evaluation or rewarding experience can influence the occurrence of impulsiveness too. We hypothesized that animals would be more likely to deliver impulsive action in the place where it was previously associated with reinforcing process, in which central dopamine may play an important role. By employing five-choice serial reaction time task (5-CSRTT), we examined whether one of the five holes where rats made a correct response to get the reward would gain a higher probability to deliver premature or perseverative activities than other holes in the next trial of 5-CSRTT under baseline or longer waiting period condition. The effects of D1 receptor antagonist SCH23390 were also evaluated in the above paradigm. We demonstrated that (i) the influence on motoric impulsive response from previous rewarded experience can be described in a behavioral paradigm such as the 5-CSRTT, (ii) both prematures and perseverations at the hole associated with previous rewarding were about one-fifth of probability, however were statistically not correlated unless the interventions of inter-trial interval = 7 plus SCH23390, and (iii) the hole associated with the positive reinforcement of the 5-CSRTT appears more likely for rats to carry out an intuitive impetus under SCH23390 in a longer waiting condition. Our results may shed some insight toward the role of rewarding process in impulsive behavior.
Phytosome drug delivery system for natural cosmeceutical compounds
Authors: Susilawati Yasmiwar , Chaerunisa Anis Yohana , Purwaningsih Hesti
Published: October 2021

Plants have been used as traditional medicine since ancient times for treating the diseases, metabolite active compounds from plants have excellent bioactivity, and pharmacological properties from plants are used as skin whitening agent and antioxidant in multiple mechanisms of action. However, these compounds have physicochemical limitations in terms of its poor solubility and penetration into the cells membrane. Phytosome drug delivery system can be the primary choice to improve the physicochemical properties, which allows increasing the effectiveness. This review aimed to summarize and discuss the phytosome formulations of potential active compounds as skin whitening agent and skin antioxidant, which obtained from Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar databases. We assessed that the main purpose of these phytosome formulations was to improve penetration, stability, and solubility of the active compounds. These studies proved that phytosome formulations can improve the physicochemical characteristics and effectiveness of compounds. The phytosome drug delivery system becomes a promising modification technique for natural compounds due to the ability to improve the physicochemical properties and increase the effectiveness. Phytosome formulation could be the excellent approach for cosmeceutical product with good effectivity in the future.
Prospects for using Origanum Syriacum (L.) as a source of antimicrobial agents
Authors: Mohamad Ranim , Mussa Ramadan , Suslina Svetlana N
Published: October 2021

Origanum syriacum (O. syriacum) (L.) belongs to Group B of the genus Origanum from (Lamiaceae), which is rich in essential oils that exhibit antimicrobial efficacy, anti-inflammatory efficacy, antioxidant activity, and antitumor efficacy. These processing activities are because of its richness in carvacrol and Thymol. In this article, we will focus on O. syriacum, discussing the antimicrobial efficacy for its essential oil and extracts, in addition, cast light on mechanism of essential oil antimicrobial action. This study was conducted from March 2019 to February 2021. We have analyzed the results of studies on antimicrobial efficacy of a plant O. syriacum in the PubMed, Google Scholar, Elsevier over the past 15 years using keywords. O. syriacum essential oil and its extracts have an extensive antimicrobial efficacy give it a great importance in pharmaceutical and medical purposes.
Preparation and physicochemical characterization of sildenafil cocrystals
Authors: Sawatdee Somchai , Atipairin Apichart , Rakkummerd Supitchaya , Suriyaphol Onsinee , Harding David J. , Muenraya Poowadon , Harding Phimphaka
Published: October 2021

Sildenafil is a specific inhibitor of the phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE-5) enzyme that protects cyclic guanosine monophosphate from breakdown by PDE-5. It is a biopharmaceutical categorization system Class II medication with low bioavailability because it is almost insoluble in water. The objectives of this study were to prepare sildenafil cocrystals with co-former molecules including aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid [ASA]), fumaric acid (FMA), and benzoic acid (BZA) to improve the water solubility of sildenafil. The cocrystals were prepared by antisolvent addition (AA) and slow solvent evaporation (SE) methods. The stoichiometric ratios of sildenafil and co-former molecules were varied. The obtained crystals were characterized by stereomicroscope, Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD). The water solubility of sildenafil cocrystals was compared with sildenafil base. In the AA method, the crystals only form in sildenafil-ASA reaction. These crystals were not cocrystals between sildenafil and ASA because they were formed to new substances that were confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. In the SE method, the cocrystals were successfully prepared in the reaction of sildenafil with ASA, FMA, and BZA which use acetone or ethyl acetate as a solvent. The obtained crystals are irregular shapes and their FT-IR, NMR, and PXRD results exhibited the characteristics of sildenafil and its co-former. The stoichiometric ratios of sildenafil and co-formers after cocrystallization were different from an initial of crystallization. The sildenafil cocrystals with ASA, FMA, and BZA by SE method had higher water solubility than sildenafil base. The sildenafil-FMA cocrystals had the highest water solubility and increased up to five times when compared with sildenafil base.
Paradoxical Infective Endocarditis of the Right Coronary Aortic Cusp in a Restrictive Ventricular Septal Defect
Authors: Das Debasish , Acharya Debasis , Das Tutan , Pramanik Subhas
Published: October 2021

We present the case of a 35-year-old female with small restrictive ventricular septal defect (VSD) presenting with prolonged fever for the last 1 month with vegetation on the right coronary cusp (RCC) of the aortic valve with flail aortic leaflet causing severe aortic regurgitation (AR). Her echocardiography done 1 year back had revealed the presence of small restrictive VSD with a gradient of 80 mm Hg without any prolapse of RCC or presence of AR. She did not have any early diastolic murmur of AR during 3 monthly routine follow-up in the cardiology outpatient department suggestive of previous aortic valve prolapse with AR in the aforesaid period before the infective endocarditis episode. Common sites of the vegetation in small restrictive VSD are right ventricular side of the interventricular septum, undersurface of the tricuspid valve, free wall of the right ventricle, and rarely the pulmonary valve on the low-pressure site of the shunt where the turbulent jet containing the bacteria slows down, and bacteria adhere the underlying endocardium. Normally, vegetation across any turbulent jet does not occur on the high-pressure site due to the reason that bacteria can not adhere to the wall across the turbulent jet in high-pressure zone, which sweeps away all the bacteria from the high-pressure zone to low-pressure zone. Paradoxical finding in our case was that vegetation was noted on the RCC of the aortic valve which was a high-pressure zone, which may be explained by only Bernoulli's phenomenon. Our case illustrates paradoxical vegetation on the RCC of the aortic leaflet in a patient with small restrictive VSD and is also a unique demonstration of left-sided endocarditis in a patient with left-to-right shunt.
Drowning in the Effusion
Authors: Singhi Anil Kumar , Bharat A. P. , Varghese Roy , Sivakumar Kothandam
Published: October 2021

Cardiac tamponade in children has multiple etiological factors such as infection, post-inflammatory, malignancy, or blunt trauma. Detailed evaluation of the accompanying clinical features along with laboratory investigations and imaging help in appropriate diagnosis and management. We describe a case where cardiac tamponade manifested as the first presentation of childhood lymphoma but was mistaken as post-traumatic hemopericardium and tamponade.
The Effect of the Dataset Size on the Accuracy of Software Defect Prediction Models: An Empirical Study
Authors: Alshayeb Mohammad , Alshammari Mashaan A.
Published: October 2021

The ongoing development of computer systems requires massive software projects. Running the components of these huge projects for testing purposes might be a costly process; therefore, parameter estimation can be used instead. Software defect prediction models are crucial for software quality assurance. This study investigates the impact of dataset size and feature selection algorithms on software defect prediction models. We use two approaches to build software defect prediction models: a statistical approach and a machine learning approach with support vector machines (SVMs). The fault prediction model was built based on four datasets of different sizes. Additionally, four feature selection algorithms were used. We found that applying the SVM defect prediction model on datasets with a reduced number of measures as features may enhance the accuracy of the fault prediction model. Also, it directs the test effort to maintain the most influential set of metrics. We also found that the running time of the SVM fault prediction model is not consistent with dataset size. Therefore, having fewer metrics does not guarantee a shorter execution time. From the experiments, we found that dataset size has a direct influence on the SVM fault prediction model. However, reduced datasets performed the same or slightly lower than the original datasets.
Zlouporaba prava na pristup sudu
Authors: Mršić Gordana , Bartolin Vojta Gordana
Published: October 2021

U radu se opisuje zlouporaba prava na pristup sudu kroz njegova tri najvažnija vida, a to su pravo na podnošenje tužbe sudu, pravo na donošenje meritorne odluke i pravo na povoljnu meritornu odluku. Sudska praksa pokazuje da postoje tužitelji koji podnošenjem neosnovanih tužbenih zahtjeva čine zlouporabu prava na pristup sudu, jer pravo na pravnu zaštitu kao temeljno ljudsko pravo ima i svoja ograničenja kako ne bi došlo u koliziju s drugim temeljnim vrijednostima pravnog poretka.
Ističe se cilj cjelokupne politike zabrane zlouporabe prava na pristup sudu, koji podrazumijeva preventivno i represivno djelovanje na počinitelje, a koji se ostvaruje kompromisom zakonodavca i sudova, odnosno svih subjekata koji sudjeluju u zaštiti pravnog poretka. U zaključnom dijelu, ukazuje se na pravna sredstva za sprečavanje zlouporabe prava na pristup sudu.
Стратегічний оборонний бюлетень України як інструмент реформування та розвитку військової охорони здоров’я і медичного забезпечення військ (огляд літератури)
Authors: Zhakhovsky V. O. , Livinskyi V. G. , Petruk S. O.
Published: October 2021

Мета роботи. Дослідження повноти виконання завдань і досягнення цілей оборонної реформи України 2016-2020 років щодо медичного забезпечення Збройних Сил (ЗС) України та інших складових сил оборони та напрямів подальшого реформування і розвитку системи військової охорони здоров’я та медичного забезпечення сил оборони, визначених новим Стратегічним оборонним бюлетенем (СОБ) України.

Матеріали та методи. Використано законодавчі, нормативно-правові акти, доктринальні документи, монографії та інформаційно-довідкові матеріали щодо реформування і розвитку військової охорони здоров’я та медичного забезпечення сил оборони. Методи дослідження: бібліографічний, аналітичний, системного підходу, узагальнення. Об’єкт дослідження – система військової охорони здоров’я та медичного забезпечення сил оборони. Предмет дослідження – організація виконання положень СОБ України.

Результати. Проаналізовано та встановлено повноту виконання завдань і досягнення цілей щодо медичного забезпечення ЗС України та інших складових сил оборони, визначених СОБ України, схваленим Указом Президента України від 6 червня 2016 року № 240. Зазначено, що у 2016 році розпочато створення нової системи медичного забезпечення військ, спроможної надавати відповідну медичну підтримку всім завданням, що стоять перед силами оборони, яка функціонує відповідно до стандартів НАТО, водночас констатовано про незавершеність започаткованої роботи та проаналізовано основні причини, що до цього призвели. Наведено стратегічну ціль розвитку системи медичного забезпечення ЗС України та інших складових сил оборони, основні завдання та пріоритетні заходи для її досягнення до 2030 року, які визначені новим СОБ України, що затверджений Указом Президента України від 17 вересня 2021 року № 473, та пропонуються шляхи для успішного виконання завдань і досягнення цілей.

Висновки. Незавершеність створення системи військової охорони здоров’я і медичного забезпечення ЗС України та інших складових сил оборони викликають необхідність розроблення окремої державної цільової програми розвитку системи військової охорони здоров’я і медичного забезпечення ЗС України та інших складових сил оборони. Важливим інструментом досягнення стратегічних цілей розвитку сил оборони в галузі військової медицини є використання та впровадження сучасних досягнень медичної науки, техніки і новітніх технологій.
Radio in The Midst of Technological Development and New Media: Case Study of Delta FM Broadcasting Segment ‘Siaran Lagu Cinta’
Authors: Cempaka Putri Surya
Published: October 2021

This article discussed radio broadcasting technology in general and how the industry is relatively resilient amid the development of other media technologies today, such as the Internet. Internet technology is able to present number of social networks through social media that are interactive, direct, and user generated. In addition, the Internet forces conventional broadcasting industries such as radio to penetrate digital mechanisms by practicing radio streaming. Radio broadcasting also add this type of interaction to their listeners, for example through websites, blogs, vlogs (video blogs), Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook accounts. This integrated conventional media technology and new media is often called media convergence. By using qualitative approach and descriptive method, this paper explained a case of media convergence by one of the radio broadcast station in Indonesia that is Delta FM. As a result, Delta FM presents its broadcasts with the help of new media in order to survive in the broadcasting industry amid the current widespread use of new media.