bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Medidas objetivas e subjetivas de condição financeira governamental: os gestores públicos municipais conhecem sua condição financeira?
Authors: Araújo Ronaldo José Rêgo de , Freitas Souza Deborah Chaussê de , Diniz Josedilton Alves , Ferreira Nobre Rêgo Carla Janaina , Ramos de Lira Aluska
Published: February 2023

O objetivo deste trabalho consiste em analisar a relação entre as medidas subjetivas e objetivas da condição financeira governamental dos municípios do Estado da Paraíba. Entende-se por condição financeira de um governo a capacidade da gestão em cumprir com suas obrigações financeiras de forma tempestiva, presente e futura, além de fornecer bens e serviços públicos demandados pela sociedade em níveis e qualidades desejadas. No entanto, questiona-se a capacidade do gestor em perceber adequadamente a sua condição financeira atual. Diante desse cenário, utilizou-se o modelo de Wang et al. (2007) e o de Arnett (2014) para obtenção da medida objetiva da condição financeira e um questionário direcionado aos gestores públicos municipais, como medida subjetiva autodeclarada pelos mandatários a respeito de sua condição atual. Nessa premissa, analisou-se os dados de 200 municípios do Estado da Paraíba, correspondente ao período de 2017, por meio de análise gráfica e econométrica. Os principais resultados apontam que o gestor consegue ter uma percepção adequada de sua condição financeira a curto prazo (liquidez e endividamento), mas que diante de aspectos de longo prazo (solvência e investimentos), não consegue ter uma leitura adequada, assim como não consegue avaliar corretamente de forma genérica sua condição. Conclui-se, portanto, que os gestores locais precisam melhorar suas percepções acerca da condição financeira de longo prazo (solvência e investimentos) e que os relatórios contábeis precisam abordá-las melhor, contribuindo para avalia-la corretamente de forma genérica, fazendo com que o gestor conduza sua gestão à responsabilidade fiscal.
Análise de possíveis determinantes de custos em Universidades pública e privada
Authors: Richartz Larissa , Borgert Altair , Cavichioli Denize
Published: February 2023

Em função do discurso simplista, e em observância ao conjunto complexo de atividades desenvolvidas nas IES, o presente estudo apresenta uma análise dos possíveis determinantes do custo por aluno em universidades pública e privada. Por meio de abordagem qualitativa do problema e descritiva em relação aos objetivos, tem-se como objeto de estudo a Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC) e a Universidade do Vale do Itajaí (UNIVALI), cujos dados foram extraídos de demonstrações contábeis anexas nos respectivos relatórios, relativas ao ano de 2018, e tabulados por meio de quadros e equação para fins de cálculo. Dentre os resultados da pesquisa, destacam-se os valores de custo por aluno na UFSC que, na sua totalidade, ficou em R$ 21.859,78 e na UNIVALI em R$ 8.432,99, com importante diferença oriunda de alguns elementos causadores que se configuram como possíveis determinantes de custos. Assim, constatou-se que os recursos destinados às atividades de pesquisa e extensão na UFSC são consideravelmente superiores aos da UNIVALI, em função dos diferentes objetivos institucionais, de caráter público numa e privado noutra. Paralelamente, destacam-se a estrutura das IES, como a existência de hospital universitário, que incrementa o custo por aluno em 9,5% na UFSC; e, a titulação do corpo docente com presença de maior número de doutores na universidade pública, cujo custo por aluno, também, é maior. Por fim, conclui-se que os referidos causadores de custos se configuram como possíveis determinantes para análises mais robustas do ponto de vista técnico e acadêmico sobre o assunto.
Efeitos da competitividade de mercado na relação entre responsabilidade social corporativa e desempenho
Authors: Degenhart Larissa , Silva Zonatto Vinicius Costa da , Cepillo Victor , Giehl William Nunes
Published: February 2023

Esta pesquisa analisou os efeitos da competitividade de mercado na relação entre responsabilidade social corporativa e desempenho de mercado no período de 2010 a 2018. Realizou-se uma pesquisa descritiva, documental e quantitativa. A amostra compreendeu 41 empresas brasileiras. Os resultados indicaram que a RSC não está relacionada ao desempenho de mercado. Por outro lado, a RSC apresentou-se positivamente relacionada com o desempenho de mercado nas empresas com alta competitividade. Estes resultados revelam que a alta competitividade de mercado potencializa os investimentos em RSC e aumenta o desempenho. Quando considerados os efeitos da competitividade de mercado na relação analisada, foram confirmados os efeitos positivos dos investimentos sociais e ambientais no desempenho de mercado apenas das empresas com alta competitividade. Tais resultados sugerem que os investimentos em RSC contribuem para com o desempenho das empresas com alta competitividade. Ao apresentar a competitividade de mercado como fator relevante no contexto analisado, esta pesquisa contribui para a literatura que aborda a relação entre RSC e desempenho de mercado. Os achados evidenciam a importância de as empresas alocarem recursos para ações sociais e ambientais, pois tais investimentos tendem a melhorar o valor de mercado futuro, beneficiando as partes interessadas na empresa e o meio ambiente.
A Influência da evidenciação de provisões e contingências na qualidade da informação contábil
Authors: Dos Santos Rayane Farias , Da Silva Júnior Francisco José , Lopes Filho Leonardo Luiz , Maia Leite Filho Paulo Amilton , Da Costa Santos Marcos Igor
Published: February 2023

A evidenciação de informações contábeis, segundo os padrões internacionais, tem como ideia proporcionar maior comparabilidade entre as demonstrações e aumentar a qualidade das informações geradas para os usuários. Diante disto, este artigo tem por objetivo identificar se a evidenciação de provisões e de ativos e passivos contingentes estão relacionadas com a Qualidade da Informação Contábil, identificada por meio do Value Relevance e da Persistência dos Lucros nas companhias abertas brasileiras. Para a consecução da presente pesquisa, foram analisadas as notas explicativas de 60 companhias abertas brasileiras, pertencentes ao IBRx100. O período de análise compreendeu dados de 2010 a 2018 e, para a realização da análise foram utilizados modelos estatísticos que relacionaram as variáveis de interesse, provisões (Provit), passivos contingentes (PasContit) e ativos contingentes (AtvContit), com as proxies de representação do Value Relevance (VMPAit) e Persistência dos Lucros (Xit+1). Todos os modelos foram estimados por Dados em Painel balanceado e robusto. Os resultados obtidos permitiram inferir que as provisões e contingências não se apresentaram como fatores relevantes para o valor empresarial. Em contrapartida, as provisões demonstraram ser associadas a lucros mais persistentes, ao contrário dos ativos contingentes, que induziram para uma redução nos lucros, causando persistência reversa. Desse modo, afirma-se que as provisões e ativos contingentes podem ser influentes para a Qualidade da Informação Contábil, e importantes para análise dos shareholders quanto aos lucros subsequentes.
POLÍTICAS EDUCACIONAIS PARA A ALFABETIZAÇÃO
Authors: Czyzewski Analice , Galuch Maria Terezinha Bellanda
Published: February 2023

A alfabetização implica aspectos teórico-práticos, políticos, econômicos, sociais e, sobretudo, uma concepção de formação humana e de formação cultural que são constituídas no interior de um projeto de sociedade e que também o constituem. Neste artigo objetiva-se compreender em que medida, no Brasil, as políticas públicas para a alfabetização respondem às concepções de formação humana e de formação cultural que subjazem à sociedade em sua fase atual, cuja flexibilização dos processos e dos contratos de trabalho, dos paradigmas de consumo e dos conhecimentos exigem sujeitos igualmente e, desse modo, contribuir para a coesão social em âmbito global. Mediante conceitos da Teoria Crítica da Sociedade, analisam-se a Base Nacional Comum Curricular (BNCC) e a Política Nacional de Alfabetização (PNA), ou seja, políticas que orientam a organização curricular e os encaminhamentos didático-pedagógicos das instituições escolares, especificamente acerca da alfabetização, como expressão desse movimento político-social. Essas políticas públicas fazem parte da agenda mundial para a educação, cujas concepções de formação humana, de formação cultural, de sociedade e de cidadania adotadas pelo Estado atuam como mecanismo de controle por meio da padronização e da tipificação oficiais do conteúdo da formação, já que pela apropriação da cultura cada sujeito se constitui e se diferencia dos demais.
INIVALDO MILA
Authors: Mello Angela Luzia Magalhães Silva , Sá Elizabeth Figueiredo de
Published: February 2023

Este artigo analisa a formação profissional de um professor leigo, especificamente do professor Inivaldo Mila, que assumiu a docência no povoado de São José dos Quatro Marcos, criado em meados dos anos 1960, no âmbito do movimento de colonização recente no estado de Mato Grosso. Tem como referencial teórico os princípios da Nova História Cultural (Chartier, 1990) e da Micro-história (Revel, 1998). Para tal, utilizamos documentos encontrados no Arquivo Público de Cáceres-MT e o depoimento oral do professor Inivaldo Mila. A delimitação temporal (1967-1970) justifica-se pelo período em que Mila esteve à frente da Escola Rural Mista de São José dos Quatro Marcos. A pesquisa possibilitou perceber, a partir da trajetória profissional do professor Inivaldo Mila, a trajetória de outras pessoas sem formação que assumiram a docência em outras localidades no estado, ministrando aulas em escolas improvisadas e mal equipadas para que as crianças não ficassem sem receber educação escolar.
O DESAFIO DA FORMAÇÃO PROFISSIONAL AMPLIADA EM SAÚDE
Authors: Maraschin Renata , Dalbosco Cláudio Almir
Published: February 2023

As políticas nacionais e a literatura existente sobre o tema da formação profissional em saúde revelam a necessidade de se repensar modos de articular, de forma coerente, o modelo de saúde vigente, a formação profissional e a assistência/atuação.  Frente a esta necessidade, o presente ensaio tem como objetivo refletir sobre os fundamentos filosóficos, pedagógicos e metodológicos da formação profissional em saúde. Parte-se do entendimento de que a pedagogia das competências e as metodologias ativas de ensino-aprendizagem constituem o fundamento pedagógico e metodológico que melhor responde aos anseios do campo da saúde, no que se refere à atuação profissional futura dos graduandos. Todavia, é apresentada a hipótese de que a proposta da pedagogia das competências, quando analisada em seus fundamentos filosóficos, revela-se insuficiente se o almejado para a formação profissional em saúde é que ela também contemple a formação humana - ética e solidária. Trata-se de um ensaio teórico, de natureza bibliográfica, em que a pedagogia das competências é confrontada com a perspectiva hermenêutica, cuja origem se encontra na hermenêutica filosófica, proposta por Hans-Georg Gadamer, filósofo alemão do século XX. Desta perspectiva, são extraídos os conceitos de diálogo e sabedoria prática - phrónesis-, para compreender filosoficamente a pedagogia das competências e, ao mesmo tempo, propor perspectiva alternativa que amplie os fundamentos do processo formativo de profissionais da saúde.
YouTube Music Recommendation System Based on Face Expression
Authors: Rathod Kanchan Yadav , Pattanshetti Tanuja
Published: February 2023

Nowadays face recognition system is widely used in every field of computer vision applications such as Face lock-in smartphones, surveillance, smart attendance system, and driverless car technology. Because of this, the demand for face recognition systems is increasing day by day in the research field. The aim of this project is to develop a system that will recommend music based on facial expressions. The face-recognition system consists of object detection and identifying facial features from input images, and the face recognition system can be made more accurate with the use of convolutional neural networks. Layers of convolution neural network are used for the expression detection and are optimized with Adam to reduce overall loss and improve accuracy. YouTube song playlist recommendation is an application of a face recognition system based on a neural network. We use streamlit-webrtc to design the web frame for the song recommendation system. For face detection, we used the Kaggle-FER2013 dataset, and images in the dataset are classified into seven natural emotions of a person. The system captures the emotional state of a person in real-time and generates a playlist of youtube songs based on that emotion.
Functional and morphometric changes in children after neonatal arterial switch operation for transposition of the great arteries
Authors: Walter Carin Cristina , Escobar-Diaz Maria Clara , Cesar Sergi , Garrido Bosco Alejandro Moscoso , Sanchez-de-Toledo Joan
Published: February 2023

Background:

The increase in the survival of patients with D-Transposition of the great arteries (TGA) after arterial switch operation (ASO) has now turned our focus to the evaluation of mid and long-term outcomes. Although most patients are followed by conventional echocardiography, the study of cardiac functionality and morphometric parameters in children with TGA after ASO is scarce. The present study aims to describe the functional and morphometric echocardiographic changes in children after ASO.

Methods:

We performed an observational study in patients aged 1–5 years with TGA who underwent neonatal ASO. Morphometric and functional echocardiographic parameters were analyzed in 21 patients and compared with 52 age-matched healthy controls.

Results:

We found morphological and functional changes, especially in the right ventricle, which is more globular (right ventricle [RV] basal sphericity index 1.5 vs. 1.8, P = 0.016), and with a decreased systolic function compared to healthy controls (fractional area change 51 vs. 58%, P = 0.006; tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion 13 vs. 20 mm, P = 0.001; s’ 7 vs. 12 cm/s, P = 0.001). In the speckle-tracking strain imaging, there was a decrease in the longitudinal deformation of the apical septal myocardium (−23% vs. −27%; P = 0.005). Preoperative systemic overload to the right ventricle could be an important factor in the origin of these changes.

Conclusions:

In patients with TGA after ASO, there are morphometric and functional echocardiographic changes, such as globular form and decreased function, especially in the RV; the effect of these changes on long-term outcomes would require prospective follow-up studies.
Results from a Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Survey in Two Malaria Transmission Foci of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Authors: Keys Hunter , Bardosh Kevin , Ureña Keyla , Desir Luccene , Tejada Manuel , Noland Gregory S.
Published: February 2023

Metropolitan Santo Domingo has accounted for a majority of reported malaria cases in the Dominican Republic in recent years. To inform malaria control and elimination efforts, a cross-sectional survey of malaria knowledge, attitudes, and practices collected 489 adult household-level questionnaires across 20 neighborhoods in the city’s two main transmission foci, Los Tres Brazos (n = 286) and La Ciénaga (n = 203), in December 2020. Overall, most residents (69%) were aware of the problem of malaria in Santo Domingo, but less than half knew that mosquitos transmit the disease (46%) or took any correct preventative measure (45%). More residents of Los Tres Brazos, where malaria incidence is higher than in La Ciénaga, said that they had never been visited by active surveillance teams (80% versus 66%, respectively; P = 0.001), did not link mosquitos with malaria transmission (59% versus 48%, P = 0.013), and did not know medication can cure malaria (42% versus 27%, P = 0.005). Fewer residents of Los Tres Brazos said that malaria was a problem in their neighborhoods (43% versus 49%, P = 0.021) and fewer had mosquito bed nets in their homes (42% versus 60%, P < 0.001). The majority (75%) of questionnaire respondents in both foci did not have enough mosquito nets for all household residents. These findings demonstrate gaps in malaria knowledge and community-based interventions and highlight the need to improve community engagement for malaria elimination in affected areas of Santo Domingo.
Employability Skills Influencing Quantity Surveying Graduates’ Gainful Employment
Authors: Ahmadu H. A , Gimba M , Ibrahim Y. M , Yamusa M. A
Published: February 2023

Basic/core competencies alone rarely translate into gainful employment for fresh graduates in today’s highly competitive labour market. Accordingly, assessing employability skills desired in addition to basic/core competencies by employers of fresh graduates, has become the focus of researchers and education authorities of disciplines/majors. This study assessed the most influential employability skills for gainful employment of graduate Quantity Surveyors (QS). A questionnaire was self-administered to a sample of 108 QS consultancy firms. Statistical analysis was conducted using Pearson correlation and multiple regression. Results revealed industry interaction, self-motivation skills and entrepreneurial skills with respective standardized coefficient of 0.406, 0.341 and 0.215 to be employability skills most influential in addition to basic/core competencies, for gainful employment of QS graduates. As previous attempts to improve employability of QS graduates focused largely on basic/core competencies only, this finding present QS education authorities with most important skills to consolidate on other than core competencies in order to ensure QS graduates are gainfully employable. From a practical perspective, the study’s findings can be used by quantity surveying education authorities as a basis to further consolidate their teaching plans and ensure fresh quantity surveying graduates are fully work ready and gainfully employable.
Can News also be ‘Made in China?’
Authors: Olawuyi Bisi
Published: February 2023

This paper explores the growing inuence of China in the world and the possibility of it dominating international news or prescribing a journalistic template that could suit the normative developmental challenges of Africa. Under the aegis of the Non-Aligned Movement, the Third World countries demanded a New World Information and Communication Order (NWICO). This was to challenge the journalistic philosophy of the West. Unfortunately, Third World countries were not able to realise the objectives of NWICO chiey due to the Cold War politics of that period. However, the challenges of the 21st century have made the need to restructure global information architecture more urgent now than before. The position of this paper is that since Africa looks to China for economic sustainability, would it be out of place for the continent to also imbibe China's journalistic model as an alternative model to cater to the aspirations that led to the demand for new world information and communication order?
A Consideration of Socio-Cultural Role of Women in Yeelen and Faat Kiné
Authors: Avorkliyah Cecilia , Kumado Prince
Published: February 2023

The study examines socio-cultural themes in African cinema with a specific focus on Souleyman Cissé’s Yeelen (1987) and Ousmane Sembeǹ e’s Faat Kiné (2000). The female characters epitomise the role of women within the Bambara culture as interlocutors and mediators between humans against their fellow humans and the deities. The enduring relevance of Faat Kiné (2000) cannot be simply glossed over when it comes to the travails of a ‘modern’ woman within the patriarchal constructed societies that characterise some traditional African states. The study concludes that traditional African women wield some influence in guiding the moral and spiritual direction of their children. In the case of Faat Kiné, Sembène appears to strongly suggest that education, and economic empowerment of females are the ingredients that lead to the collapse of male-dominated cultural and religious influence(s) within society.
Heritage Management and Community Engagement: The Story of the National Museum, Benin City, Nigeria
Authors: Emifoniye Austine
Published: February 2023

Heritage management is essential to the preservation of a people’s tangible and intangible culture. The heritage of a people may change over time or become extinct in the absence of conscious preservation, as is evident with many African cultures. Central to the preservation of heritages, is the engagement of communities in a dynamic process of continuity. The Great Benin kingdom engineered this process with the institution of the guild system, which served the royal court of the Oba (king). Although the guild is no longer practised strictly as court art today, the system is preserved as community art centres run by descendants of the ancient guild. Artisans in Benin City, play an important role as custodians of the culture and system, while the National Museum, Benin City houses some of the important relics of the Benin kingdom. This article looks at the history of the National Museum, and the structure in place for heritage preservation. It also examined the role played by Igun bronze casters who are important custodians of the arts and culture of the Benin kingdom. The study is qualitative research that relied on historical content and ethnographic methods, interviews and online publications for its data. Much of the ethnographic data was collected while the researcher was engaged in fieldwork in Benin City. His observation of the Benin guild workers, informal interviews and visits to the National Museum, Benin City are important parts of the data. Data collected were evaluated from observation assessment, text and interview analysis. The findings are presented within the general content of the essay. The study concludes that, although the National Museum, Benin City is an institutionalized heritage management organ of government, the preservation and continuity of important aspects of the tangible and intangible heritages of the Benin kingdom is been done also by the bronze casters who have continued with the ancient culture of bronze casting. This synergy, though informal, is a significant module, which may be adopted by other museums with similar structures.
Symbols and Meaning in Dress and Identity Construction in Benin Chieftaincy
Authors: Eromosele Owens Patricia
Published: February 2023

Benins are known for their unique culture which revolves around the revered tradition centred on the Oba (king). Renowned scholars like Nevadomski, Egharevba, Ena Eweka and Aisien have carried out extensive ethnographic research covering such areas as Benin arts and crafts, religion, traditional politics and culture on the people. In contributing to the existing literature in the area of Benin chieftaincy regalia. This article examines how costumes serve as a tool for identifying Benin chiefs in their various categories of chieftaincy groups. The aim is to clarify the confusion of identifying Benin chiefs bearing in mind the similarities that abound in the general traditional dress of the people. Using qualitative research methods, with relevant literature, interview and personal observation, findings reveal that the title of a chief contributes to the construction of the costume of the chief for different purposes.
Application of Technical Aesthetics of Costume, Make-up, Props and Performance Space in Idoma Traditional Performance Theatre
Authors: Amali Abdulmalik Adakole
Published: February 2023

Traditional performances in Africa are cherished and honoured with divinity despite the advent of modernity. These performances are taken with the seriousness of life and death because they embody the people’s culture, beliefs, life and life after death. Consequently, these performances are often accompanied by music, dance, songs, masquerades and so on to actualise and merge their corporal and spiritual cosmos. Therefore, the technicality of costume, make-up, props, performance space and so on are harnessed and utilised to establish the performance and to bring out the message, meaning and aesthetics in the performances. The study employs descriptive and analytical methods, complemented with materials from books, journal articles and appropriate internet sources. Findings reveal that technical aesthetics defines the performance, brings out its beauty and establishes the Idoma cultural identity. The paper concludes that technical aesthetics of costume, make-up, props and performance space create communication and identity in Idoma culture. We, therefore, recommend that traditional performances should be encouraged and sustained to unite and maintain the people’s identity, using it as a cultural voice for the Idoma people.
A Mythic Reading of the Materialist Epiphany in Femi Osofisan’s Another Raft
Authors: Ehiemua Kingsley Iyayi
Published: February 2023

This paper is a mythic reading of Another Raft written and published in 1988 by the Nigerian playwright, Femi Osofisan. The paper gives a materialist interpretation of the play and its mythic resources to illustrate Osofisan’s drama as a dispassionate critique of society. It observes that the playwright’s deployment of mythology in the play, and the play’s intertextual connection to an earlier one, The Raft (published 1964), by J. P. Clark, is revelatory. One problem any reader familiar with the two plays may find with understanding Osofisan’s version is the prominent use of supernatural beings as characters mingling with humans, which is nonexistent in the older play. This paper’s interpretation, therefore, reveals and affirms that the supernatural figures in the play are only creative metaphors deployed by the playwright to comment on the mundane social reality of the world outside the text. It also reveals that Osofisan’s response in Another Raft to Clark’s The Raft is to differ ideologically from the older play on the root causes of the decadence and sterility in Nigeria’s social and political space. Osofisan’s response demystifies the seemingly elusive solution to the cankerworms destroying the fabric of the nation. The paper concludes that Osofisan’s recourse to mythic and traditional elements is very helpful to his creative imagination and his effort to provide a panacea, through the theatre, to the obstacles impeding economic and political progress in postcolonial Nigerian society.
Comparative efficacy and safety investigation of eight antidiabetic herbal products distributed within South- Western Nigeria
Authors: Adegbolagun Olayemi Modupe , Ibukun Olaoluwa Daniel , Ogunremi Yetunde
Published: February 2023

Herbal preparations, often promoted as being natural and completely safe, are gaining popularity in the management of diabetes mellitus, despite lack of scientific data to confirm their efficacy and safety claims. This study investigated efficacy and safety of eight commercial antidiabetic herbal products. Antidiabetic activities were investigated in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats at doses based on their labelled recommended dosages using metformin as reference drug. Body weights, blood glucose level (BGL), haematogical and biochemical parameters as well as histopathology of the kidney and lungs were assessed by standard procedures. All the samples demonstrated weight reduction (p<0.05), with accompanying BGL decrease ranging from 21.9 ±1.71 to 73.9 ±1.42% which was significant (p < 0.01) in three samples, when compared with metformin (37.9 ±7.41%). Of all the hematological indices, only WBC, platelet and eosinophil were affected by two of the samples, while for the biochemical parameters only alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels were increased (p<0.05) by one of the samples. Varied histopathological damages were observed with the liver, lungs and kidney tissues of treated groups. Hypoglycaemic activities were confirmed in all the samples, however, their deleterious effects on the liver, kidney and lungs calls for caution in their consumption.
Plasmid DNA mediated vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA) from cases of urinary tract infection
Authors: Okunye Olufemi Lionel , Idowu Philip Adegboyega , Okanlawon Babatunde Meshach , Durowaiye Mojirayo Titilayo , Adejumo Olufunmilayo Ebunoluwa , Babalola Caroline Olufunke , Ayedun Joshua Seun , Oyinloye Oladapo Elijah , Osungunna Michael Oluwole
Published: February 2023

Vancomycin resistance commonly occurs with Staphylococcus aureus, a pathogen that exhibits intrinsic virulence. Sixty isolates of Staphylococcus aureus tested positive as vancomycin possessive isolates on Brain Heart Infusion Agar medium fortified with 6 μg/mL vancomycin from 100 clinical samples of urine from patients with cases of UTIs via agar diffusion method. Standard 30 μg vancomycin disc served as control. Increase in zones of growth inhibition in relation to vancomycin concentrations was noticed in some of the isolates while it was reversed in others, despite the increase in concentration. Typed strain was susceptible to six concentrations of vancomycin exposed and to the control. Thirty one of the sixty isolates were resistant to vancomycin control. Resistant isolates from standard vancomycin discs were then subjected to molecular investigation. Of the 31 isolates exposed to gel electrophoresis, 14 (47%)elicited plasmids of varied molecular weights ranging from 0.79-23.13 kb. The magnitudes of vancomycinresistant isolates from the clinical samples studied, coupled with some incoherent zones of inhibition and the plasmid DNA obtained from the resistant isolates, suggest the need for infection control practitioners and epidemiologist to devise strategies to curtail the spread of this pathogen both in hospital and community settings.
An Experiment in Determining the High-water Mark
Authors: Whittal Jennifer , Mackie Keith
Published: February 2023

As a boundary of the seashore, the high-water mark (HWM) is relevant to the public, the State, and other rights holders in the coastal zone. Unlike most fixed property boundaries that are surveyed and beaconed, the HWM is subject to dynamic natural coastal processes and moves over time. Its location is difficult to determine, and the precision of this determination is unknown. This paper reports on an experiment to measure the precision (variability/repeatability) of the location of the HWM at a variety of sites near Cape Town, by volunteer participants. Four sites were chosen along stable (non-mobile) shores along the open, high energy oceanic shores south of Cape Town on the Cape Peninsula. One of these sites exhibits large variation in coastal terrain and type – at this site three sets of measurements were undertaken, bringing the total number of experimental sites to six. Surveying was undertaken in the South African national control survey system using network real-time kinematic global navigation satellite systems (GNSS).

This experiment shows that the professional land surveyors located the HWM to ±1,6m, coastal engineers to ±4,1m, and the group of ‘others’ to ±4,2m. The professional land surveyors determined the height of the HWM to ±0,4m over all sites, compared to ±0,7m for all participants. The HWM is likely to be about 4 - 5m above the lowest astronomic tide. However, the line is not a contour – it is affected by weather and local variations in the coastline such as slope and seashore composition. The averaged heights of the HWM at each of the sites for all participants showed a range of 1,3m. Since the boundaries of the seashore cannot be determined with precision, property, cadastral and environmental law needs to continue to respect the nature of this environment and the limitations of locating the HWM.
Exploring the spatial variation of the effect of Covid-19 on property market activity in Kampala District
Authors: Ssemwanga Davis , Ssengendo Ronald , Oryema Lilian , Bamweyana Ivan
Published: February 2023

The real estate sector in Uganda has been substantially impacted by the onset of COVID-19 in this country. Studies conducted worldwide have indicated that, pandemics affect property market activities differently. Additionally, the effect of pandemics on property market activity varies from one place to another. Studies conducted in Uganda, however, have not captured how the effect of COVID-19 on property market activities varies from one place to another. This study therefore explored the spatial variability of the effect of COVID-19 on property market activities in Kampala district, Uganda. The study took advantage of the spatial statistical analytical models advocated by GIS (Getis-Ord Gi*, OLS, GWPR) and a unique dataset of property transactions registered by the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development (MLHUD) during the outbreak of the deadly disease. Whereas the study observed high volumes of property transactions registered in the residential outskirts of the city, low volumes were observed in the Central Business District (CBD) and the low-income areas of the eastern and western parts of the district. On the other hand, the local model approach of GWPR exposed the substantial effects of COVID-19 on property market activities that varied from -39% to 10%. It was further established that COVID-19 generated negative effects in areas with low and high prices of land per acre, to the extent of increasing as the prices dropped or increased. On the contrary, a positive effect was realized in the residential outskirts of the city where prices of land per acre were moderate. Work from home, land parcel size as well as the composition of the population, proved to be the main drivers of the changes in property market transactions (activity). The findings of the study underpin the earlier postulations of various researchers that pandemics affect property market activity. However, the effects of the pandemics vary from one pandemic to another and from one place to another.
Comparison of GRACE Gravity Anomaly Solutions for Terrestrial Water Storage Variability in Arid and Semi-arid Botswana
Authors: Segobye Mooketsi , Motlogelwa Loago K. , Nkwae Boipuso , Ouma Yashon O. , Maphale Lopang , Manisa Bagadzi M.
Published: February 2023

Explorations of the differences between Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) solutions in local regions and basins are fundamental in determining their suitability and applicability in these environments. Because of the different mathematical inversions used by the respective processing centers, individual solutions exhibit discrepancies in terms of mass increase or loss, which makes it difficult for users to select the best model for studying terrestrial water storage anomalies (TWSAs). This study compares TWSA trends, as derived from different GRACE solutions over the arid and semi-arid Botswana (2002-2019), where both storage and flux from CSR, JPL, GFZ, TUGRAZ, AIUB, and COST-G[1] were compared. The results show that the six solutions are fairly correlated with the least correlation of R=0.829 between JPL and AIUB, and a maximum of R=0.921 between CSR and TUGRAZ at a 95% confidence level. The TWSA analyses for 2002-2019 indicate that TWS is increasing in Botswana, with the least linear trend of +0.11cm/yr detected from the TUGRAZ inversion model, and the highest linear trend at +0.43cm/year from the COST-G model. On comparing TWS with rainfall, all the solutions presented the same spatio-temporal trends as the rainfall patterns, indicating that the GRACE solutions exhibit the same responses with respect to the received rainfall.  Over the 18 years investigated, the long-term rainfall trend was found to decrease, which was only detected by the TUGRAZ model in terms of the recorded equivalent water height (EWH) of -0.008cm/yr from the monthly trend observations. Overall, the AIUB inversion solution gave a better result as its signal was found to be the same as the rainfall signal.

 

[1] CSR = Center for Space Research;  JPL = Jet Propulsion Laboratory; GFZ = the German Research Center for Geosciences; TUGRAZ = Graz University of Techology; AIUB = the Astronomical Institute of the University of Bern; COST-G = the International Combination Service for Time-Variable Gravity Fields
Molecular Detection of Epstein Barr Virus Co-Infection in HIV Positive Women Attending Selected Hospitals in Sokoto, Nigeria
Authors: Raji M.I.O. , Balogun D.O. , Riskuwa M.L , Ibrahim A.D. , Adisa-Raji N.O.
Published: February 2023

Viral infections contribute a larger percentage of all human cancers. Epstein Barr virus (EBV) is a type of herpes virus with no clinical manifestation in majority of individuals. However, when it occurs in adulthood, it causes benign lymph proliferative disease known as mononucleosis. This study investigated the molecular detection of EBV co-infection among HIV positive women attending some selected hospitals in Sokoto, Nigeria. Questionnaires were administered on 80 consenting HIV positive women attending three selected hospitals in Sokoto to gather data on socio-demography and risk factors. Blood samples were aseptically collected by venipuncture from the HIV positive patients and EBV screening done using PCR analysis with primer +5' ACAACCACTCATGATGCCAC (Forward), 5' ACCGTGGTTCTGGACTATCT (Reverse) for Type 1 EBV (EBV-1) and primer +5' GGTAGCCTTAGGACATACTC (Forward), -5' TGGAGGGAGTCCTGTACTAT (Reverse) for Type 2 EBV (EBV-2). Result indicated that majority (63.75%) of the HIV positive women were in the age group of 21-30 years with EBV-1 having the highest occurrences of 60.7%. Co-infection of EBV among HIV positive women attending the selected hospitals in Sokoto, Nigeria was established with EBV-1 having the highest prevalence and in subjects in polygamous relationships.
MiR 216b modulates cisplatin resistance and stem cell like features in breast cancer cells by targeting E2F4
Authors: Zhang Xiaoshen , Chen Lun
Published: February 2023

Purpose: To study the influence of miR-216b expression in breast cancer (BC), and the underlying mechanism(s) of action. Methods: Viability of BC cell lines was determined using CCK-8 as well as colony formation assays, while the abundance of mRNAs of key genes was assessed by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Western blot assay was utilized to measure protein expressions of E2F4 and stem cell markers. Bioinformatics and dual-luciferase procedures were deployed to predict the targets of miR-216b on 3′-UTR of E2F4.

Results: MiR-216b was reduced in BC tissues and mammary carcinoma cell line, MCF-7, relative to those in paracancerous tissue and normal breast cell line, MCF-10A (p < 0.05). Compared with miR-NC group, cell viability, median inhibitory concentration (IC50), and potential to form colonies in cisplatin-insensitive cell line MCF-7/DDP were reduced by miR-216b. Moreover, MiR-216b suppressed stem cell characteristics and decreased the expressions of ALDH1 and Oct-4 in BC cells. Inhibition of miR-216b resulted in significant increase in microsphere formation and expressions of ALDH1 and Oct-4, when compared with NC-inhibitor group. In addition, E2F transcription factor 4 (E2F4) was identified as the downstream gene of miR-216b. Knockdown of E2F4 annulled the influence of miR-216b on insensitivity to cisplatin and stem cell likeness of MCF-7/DDP.

Conclusion: MiR-216b induces increase in BC response to cisplatin and suppressed stem cell characteristics by regulating E2F4. This finding may be useful for developing strategies aimed at reversing cisplatin insensitivity in BC.
Salvianolic acid A exerts a protective effect against sodium laurate induced thromboangiitis obliterans in rats
Authors: Yu Chaowen , Tang Wenbo , Tao Yuan , Ren Tiancai , Chen Qiwei , Gao Yong
Published: February 2023

Purpose: To study the potential therapeutic effects of salvianolic acid A (Sal A) on thromboangiitis obliterans (TAO).

Methods: An in vitro model of TAO-mimicking endothelial cell damage was established by incubating ECV304 cells with H2O2. An in vivo model of TAO rats was developed via injection of sodium laurate. After treatment with varying doses of Sal A, TAO symptoms were monitored over time and compared. The effects of Sal A on oxidative stress, pyroptosis, inflammation, and thrombosis were assessed using biochemical assays, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), western blot, and histopathology.

Results: Sal A significantly alleviated the inhibition of cell viability induced by H2O2 (p < 0.05). The H2O2-induced increases in levels of ROS, IL-1β, and IL-18 in ECV304 cells were significantly decreased by Sal A (p < 0.05). Moreover, Sal A alleviated TAO symptoms in rats. The enhanced levels of IL-1β, IL-18, NLRP3, and active Caspase-1 observed in TAO rats were reduced by Sal A in vivo (p < 0.05). Moreover, Sal A significantly reduced the size of thrombus in TAO rats. In addition, upregulated levels of ROS were significantly inhibited by Sal A (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: Sal A exerts significant therapeutic effects on TAO. This provides mechanistic insights into the clinical effects of RSMA on TAO patients, which might be beneficial in the development of effective drugs against TAO in the future.
Therapeutic effect of the combination of eltrombopag and low dose hormone in patients with primary immune thrombocytopenia
Authors: Yan Chaoqi , Len Qing , Ji Zhen , Wu Yin , Ning Daohua , Zhang Lijun
Published: February 2023

Purpose: To investigate the clinical effect and side effects of early addition of small-dose eltrombopag in initial treatment of primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) patients with decreased platelet count and hormone reduction, and patients with persistent ITP.

Methods: Thirty ITP patients newly diagnosed with poor hormonal levels were recruited, along with 36 patients with persistent ITP. The ITP patients were given prednisone in combination with eltrombopag. Blood routine tests, blood pressure, blood sugar, liver and kidney function, and serum ion levels were monitored every two weeks. Adverse events were recorded at 2, 4, and 8 weeks after eltrombopag treatment.

Results: After treatment for 2, 4, and 8 weeks, there was obvious effectiveness in 45.0, 39.4, and 40.9 % of patients, respectively, while effectiveness was good in 22.7, 37.9, and 50 % of patients, respectively. Treatment was ineffective in 31.8, 22.7, and 9.1 % of patients, respectively. In the 8th week, 15 patients (22.7 %) had to use prednisone at a dose of more than 20 mg/day to keep their platelet level above 30 x 109/L, while 7 patients (10.6 %) stopped using prednisone completely. Moreover, 4 patients (6.1 %) had their platelet counts maintained above 30 x 109/L after stopping the use of eltrombopag for more than 2 weeks.

Conclusion: The combined use of eltrombopag and low-dose hormone is an effective treatment for ITP patients. It produces only a slight side effect, and it is affordable. A larger population study will be required to validate these findings of this new therapeutic option.
Erythropoietin exerts neuroprotective effect against hypoxic ischemic brain injury in neonatal mice by activating AMPK pathway and upregulating UCP2
Authors: Bian Weini , Zhou Ling , Jia Yi , Wu Xinting , Meng Yuancui
Published: February 2023

Purpose: To investigate the neuroprotective effect of erythropoietin (EPO) against hypoxic-ischemic brain injury in neonatal mice, and the underlying mechanism(s) of action.

Methods: Sixty neonatal mice were assigned to 3 groups: sham, model and EPO intervention groups, each with 20 mice. Western blot assay was used to determine changes in the protein expressions of AMPK, UCP2 and KLF2. Fluorescence intensity of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was evaluated with flow cytometry.

Results: The protein expressions of AMPK and KLF2 in the cerebral tissues of EPO intervention mice were significantly up-regulated, relative to model mice (p < 0.05), while UCP2 protein level was also significantly higher in EPO intervention mice than in model mice (p < 0.05). Mean fluorescence intensity of ROS was significantly higher in the cerebral cortex of model mice than in sham mice, but it was down-regulated in the cerebral cortex of mice in EPO intervention group, relative to the model group (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: EPO exerts neuroprotective effect by activating AMPK pathway, up-regulating protein expression of UCP2, inhibiting production of mitochondrial ROS, and reducing oxidative stress in brain tissue. Thus, EPO has potentials for use in clinical practice as a neuroprotective agent.
Nagel, Thomas (1937–)
Authors: Sedivy Sonia
Published: February 2023

Thomas Nagel offers a distinctive realist framework across metaphysics, theory of mind, epistemology, and moral theory that shows how fundamental philosophical problems in these areas result from our capacity to take up increasingly objective viewpoints that detach us from our individual subjective viewpoints as well as from the viewpoints of our community, nation, and species. Nagel argues that our ability to recognize our subjectivity is also an objective impulse that allows us to recognize and take on more general viewpoints. But the fact that we occupy objective as well as subjective perspectives poses unsolvable problems for us because subjective and objective viewpoints reveal conflicting facts and values. Our ability to undertake increasingly detached perspectives from which objective facts become available indicates the core idea of metaphysical realism: that we are contained in a world that transcends our minds. Our ability to examine our values and reasons from a detached or impartial objective viewpoint implies that moral values are real in the sense that they transcend our personal motives and inclinations. Yet Nagel also holds that our capacity for objective thought is limited by the fact that we cannot detach ourselves completely from our own natures in our attempts either to know our world or to act morally. Subjective facts are equally a part of reality and our moral outlook is essentially the outlook of individual agents with personal and communal ties. This makes his metaphysical and normative moral realisms distinctive. His metaphysical realism opposes reductive philosophical and scientific theories that privilege objective facts, while his normative moral realism opposes ethical theories that prioritize impartial values without giving due weight to individual agents’ concern with the nature of their own actions. Nagel’s attention to the fact of our subjectivity in all its guises leads to very modest or even pessimistic views of our present understanding and its potential. He urges that without fundamental revision, the conceptual resources of physics and evolutionary science to date are not adequate to explain the development of conscious beings like us. His outlook in moral and political theory argues that the inequality that marks current socio-political institutions makes it unlikely that we will be able to transform those institutions and the motivations they shape.
Intensionality and hyperintensionality
Authors: Nolan Daniel
Published: February 2023

Roughly speaking, the extension of an expression is what it picks out in our world: an object for a name, a set of objects for a predicate, and so on. Sometimes information about the extensions of terms is not enough to fully specify how those expressions contribute to the truth-value of sentences that they appear in. Many hold there is a further aspect of meaning, the intension of an expression. This is enough to at least determine the extension of an expression in any possible circumstance. Increasingly, theorists are recognizing distinctions between expressions that have the same extension in any possible worlds: these distinctions are known as hyperintensional distinctions.

A number of philosophical disagreements are framed in terms of these questions, in the philosophy of language and beyond. There are issues about whether we even need to go beyond extensional language for a theory of the world, and if we do so whether we need hyperintensional distinctions as well, and if so for what. There are also questions that arise about what framework we should employ for an intensional semantics, or a hyperintensional one.