bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Challenges of promoting open science within the NI4OS-Europe project in Hungary
Authors: Lencsés Ákos
Published: November 2023

National Initiatives for Open Science in Europe (NI4OS-Europe) is a Horizon 2020 project, one of whose objectives is to promote the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) and open science in 15 Central and East European EU states and EU associated countries.

This paper describes the variety of NI4OS-Europe promoting activities carried out in Hungary by the Governmental Agency for IT Development (KIFÜ). All these activities aim at different, and sometimes overlapping groups and involve:

▸ publishing researcher interviews on research data management and open science practices for early career researchers;▸ open science news feed for open science practitioners;▸ publishing an e-learning course on EOSC and open science for graduate and PhD students;▸ testing research data management (RDM) tools for the Hungarian research community;▸ organising various events, including the Hungarian Open Science Forum targeting senior researchers and stakeholders;▸ an EOSC Champion programme at three major Hungarian universities.

Identifying good practices will give us the chance to find the best communication channels andmethods to promote open science and to manage expectations of funders, researchers, and librarians.

We will analyse audience diversity at six NI4OS events organised as part of the project. The anonymized dataset based on registration forms will be filtered by affiliation and profession. We will attempt to identify the main event features that mostly attract librarians or researchers. We will test the hypothesis that open science is generally more welcomed by research institutions’ librarians than, researchers, whose interests are more attached to funds and applications.

We will also study usage data of open science news feeds. Having around 200 posts and 5000 visitors from May 2021 to April 2022 gives us the chance to learn more about the characteristics of the most visited, event-related posts, followed by posts related to national policies, which are visited more frequently than international ones.

The paper will also argue that bottom-up and top-down approaches of promoting EOSC need to be used in a delicate balance to reach out to the widest audience possible.
Adoption of Transparency and Openness Promotion (TOP) guidelines across journals
Authors: Patarčić Inga
Published: November 2023

The Transparency and Openness Promotion (TOP) guidelines include eight modular standards, with three tiers of increasing stringency, which journals can adopt to promote open science (Nosek et al. 2015). Standards evaluate journal policies on data citation, data transparency, material transparency, code transparency, design and analysis, study preregistration, analysis preregistration, and replication.To get an idea about whether TOP guidelines are being adopted by journals, we analysed the policies of 1,219 journals available on the website of the Center for Open Science. Journals were categorized by the three stringency tiers of eight TOP standards - were analyzed. 68% of the journals have their policies aligned to at least one of the TOP standards, nearly 46% have their policies aligned to data citation standards, and only 10% have a policy for pre-registration of analysis plans or study preregistration. If a journal policy adopts TOP guidelines, it is most likely of the stringency Level 1 (less stringent) across all eight standards (median=70%). However, policies for the “Analysis code transparency” standard are more “stringent” compared to other standards, and half of the journals require Level 2 and 3 stringency, e.g. storage in an open repository and/or code reproducibility. In the future, we are planning to complement these preliminary results with information about the journal policy requirements stratified across different scientific disciplines and to add a component of time – the evolution of requirements from publishers for adoption of open science practices.Our results already suggest two ways to improve implementation of open science practices:1) adoption of policies that promote open science for journals that still have not adopted them, and2) increasing the stringency of requirements for open science practices for journals that have.
National Contact Point for Citizen Science in an University Library
Authors: Romih Tea , Kunaver Uroš
Published: November 2023

Citizen Science is one of the tiles in the open science mosaic, as it involves general public in science and keeps it informed about research results and methods. Its growing importance is reflected in scientific research policies across the European Research Area and is an integral part of the Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) policy. The European Commission has been promoting this concept for many years and has strongly supported it financially through Horizon 2020 with more than 460 million euros for Science with and for Society (SwafS) sub-programme.Citizen Science projects in Slovenia have been running in different ways for a long time but still await systematic funding through national research co-funding instruments. One way to do it is to set up a national contact point for citizen science (NCPCS) announced in Slovenia‘s Research and Innovation Strategy 2021–2030.Here we present our analysis on which we will try to build the NCPCS. We will present the current state of Citizen Science in Slovenia with its organisational challenges, some Citizen Science projects, and a vision of NCPCS structure and function. We will also discuss the role of university libraries in creating and managing NCPCS. So far, information about existing projects had to be collected manually by monitoring institutional webpages or through personal contacts, which is less than optimal. A relatively large number of projects are currently underway, but they are poorly linked or visible.NCPCS should be set up on recommendations such as BESPOC (Broad Engagement in Science, Point of Contact) and good international practices such as those of Österreich forscht (Austria, https://www.citizen-science.at/en/), Bürger schaffen Wissen (https://www.buergerschaffenwissen.de/) or Citizen Science Network Switzerland (Switzerland, https://citizenscience.ch/de/).The key tasks of the NCPCS should be:▸ Active monitoring, promoting, and documenting Citizen Science projects,▸ Reviewing and promoting infrastructures that will be available to researchers for the implementation of Citizen Science projects,▸ Connecting different stakeholders,▸ Promoting the production of various documents in the Slovenian language for the implementation of Citizen Science projects, such as the Citizen Science Toolkit,▸ Support in crowdsourcing for projects,▸ International cooperation.We will pay special attention to supporting the development of the Citizen Science concept at universities and to including a network of Slovenian public libraries to support Citizen Science projects at the local level.
Incentives and rewards in scholarly communication: the good, the bad, and the possible
Authors: Vrana Radovan
Published: November 2023

Science is a dynamic system with many stakeholders performing different activities, expecting incentives or rewards for research outcomes such as published journal article, a conference paper, a book, a patent, or a research data set. Properly communicated, positive research outcomes tend to lead to new grants, academic promotion, or tenure, so it is important for scientists to remain highly motivated. Motivation usually comes from incentives or rewards given by academic institutions, industry, or funding bodies. The good and bad of the existing reward system have frequently been in focus of interest of researchers and science communicators, but problems with research integrity have shifted the spotlights on the reasons driving scientists to do bad science. Besides support (Jindal-Snape & Snape, 2006), current reward systems lure scientists into doing research that brings rewards and neglect or avoid research that does not. Some scientists choose publishable results over accurate ones (Nosek, Spies and Motyl, 2012) to advance their career, which is has become the major problem in science today.Catillon (2020) identified three key motivators for scientists: a) the intrinsic reward of doing science, b) academic prestige, and c) monetary rewards. The pitfall of the last is that it can drive scientists to do bad science in exchange for money. Such scientists may have conflicted interests, especially if monetary rewards are stipulated by the right kind of results (Catillon, 2020). Zhao (2020) offered another view on types of incentives: 1.) material incentives – the salary incentive; 2.) affirmative incentive – affirming the accomplishment of task, affirming scientific and technological progress and affirming innovative ideas; 3.) cultural incentive; 4.) honorary incentive – linking work performance with promotion 5.) environmental incentive – creation of good office environment including technology advancement.The EU funded project CONCISE, in turn, considers that incentives to engage in science communication arise from social commitment (whether as a way to pay back to tax payers or as an effort to advance democracy, inform society, raise awareness, or promote science). Other motives may include personal or professional benefit (to attract funding, scientific collaboration, broader audience or influence public policies, or to enjoy themselves). Some, however, fear that sharing research data may lose them competitive edge or diminish their credit in specific research.This paper will take a look at major issues about incentives and rewards in science today and how they contribute or affect the quality of scientific endeavour.
Current state of the preprint servers’ web accessibility
Authors: Majdandžić Matej , Dobrača Igor , Malički Mario , Baždarić Ksenija
Published: November 2023

Background. The concept of open science is related to several domains: open research data, open communication infrastructures, new metric indicators of scientific quality and impact, open and early sharing of scientific publications, concern for research integrity and public involvement in the scientific process (Open Science Factsheet, 2019). Early sharing of scientific publications is made possible by preprint servers (Fu & Hughey, 2019). Preprinting is an open science practice that allows deposition and distribution of manuscripts before submitting them to a journal for peer-review (Baždarić et al., 2021).Aim. To test web accessibility of preprint servers for persons with various visual, verbal, or other disabilities (15% of the general population) (Campoverde-Molina et al., 2021) as one of the core human right and a priority of the World Wide Web Consortium.Methods. We included 54 preprint server homepages (ASAP bio list; https://asapbio.org/preprintservers) with the WAVE Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool (https://wave.webaim.org/), one of the most used automated tools to test web accessibility, which relies on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG v. 2.1) method (Campoverde-Molina et al., 2021). WAVE results are grouped into six categories: Errors, Contrast Errors, Alerts, Features, Structural Elements, and ARIA.Results: Of the 54 server homepages, 47 could be tested. Most frequent Errors based on WCAG 2.1 are: 2.4.4 Link Purpose In Context (49%) and 1.1.1 Non-text Content (47%). Almost half the sites (45%) have Contrast Error (WCAG 1.4.3). Alerts are mainly related to 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (74%), 2.4.6 Headings and Labels (66%) and 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks (60%). Features errors are related to 3.1.2 Language of Parts (89%) and 1.1.1 Non-text Content (62%). Results for measure Structural elements are all over 60%: 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (68%), 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks (68%) and 2.4.6 Headings and Labels (64%). For measure ARIA only 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (53%) have results over 50%.Conclusion: This automated test clearly shows that there is still ample room for preprint servers to improve accessibility to their web pages, but manual detection is needed to overcome possible mismatches made by an automated tool.
Non-BPC models and collective library funding for university and mission driven presses
Authors: Pinter Frances
Published: November 2023

In late 2020, COPIM, an Arcadia and Research England funded project, announced an innovative revenue model to sustainably fund open access (OA) monographs: Opening the Future. This initiative harnesses the power of collective library funding: increasing collections through special access to highly regarded backlists and expanding the global shared OA collection while providing a less risky path for smaller publishers to make frontlist monographs OA. Since Opening the Future launched, we have seen several other collective library funding models emerge in quick succession, including MIT’s Direct 2 Open, University of Michigan Press’s Fund to Mission, and Cambridge University Press’ Flip it Open. At the same time, new policies and recommendations were announced, which included OA requirements for monographs (e.g. Plan S). The landscape is clearly changing rapidly. In this presentation we will appraise our model in the context of this changing environment.The programme has had success since its launch. The first publisher to adopt the model, Central European University Press, has accrued enough library support to fund their first seven OA monographs, and in 2021, the initiative was recognised by the publishing community and nominated for an ALPSP Award for Innovation in Publishing. And the programme is growing; a second well-respected publisher, Liverpool University Press, launched with Opening the Future in June 2021. The project has now begun to turn its focus to the thorny problem of scaling up. But herein lies a tension.OA monograph publishing needs to be sustainable not just for publishers, but also for libraries. Opening the Future was designed to be low-cost and simple, slotting into acquisitions budgets and existing library purchasing workflows. Publishers are working with scholars and other stakeholders, including librarians, university administrators, and research funders to develop appropriate new business models that serve the needs of authors and readers alike. Equity considerations require sustainable non- exclusionary models, especially for authors who do not have access to the large fees of Book Processing Charges (BPC) – typically five times and more than an APC. Mandates from some research funders are coming soon, especially members of Plan S.New models are being piloted now and this presentation will focus on how university presses in particular are developing their open access programmes and how funding issues might be addressed.
Publication integrity viewed from different perspectives
Authors: Buljan Ivan , Roje Rea , Tijdink Joeri , Marušić Ana
Published: November 2023

Publication and communication of research findings are important for the development of science, since future scientific work relies and builds on previous findings. However, this is not possible if researchers cannot trust the published work or if the principles of research integrity are not implemented in all phases of the research process, including the publication of research results (ALLEA 2017, NASEM 2017). This study aimed to explore authorship and publication practices across different disciplinary fields and to identify areas related to the publication of research findings that require improvements. We used a purposive sample strategy to recruit researchers from different disciplinary fields (humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and medical sciences), different levels of seniority, and geographical locations. We conducted 30 focus groups with 174 researchers and other stakeholders from eight European countries (Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands). The data will be analysed using the thematic analysis approach to develop a thematic map with themes and sub-themes. Currently, we are analysing the data using the NVivo software (QSR International). Some of the codes and sub-codes already identified are: 1) authorship distribution (authorship statement/plan; disciplinary field/country specifics and differences regarding authorship distribution/practices, ethical issues in authorship, handling authorship disputes); 2) authorship, publications, and academic career (stakeholders’ evaluation of authorship and publications); 3) research publication and dissemination (examples of good publication practices, examples of issues related to publication process); 4) peer review (good peer review practices, poor peer review practices); and 5) open science (perceptions on open science; open access, open data, open collaboration, and reproducible research).One possible limitation of our study, taking into account that publication practices differ significantly in different settings (countries, fields, etc.), could be that the knowledge obtained could not be generalised and applied globally, since we included participants from European countries alone. However, we believe that by including a large number of participants we managed to map publication practices in the European area and will be able to learn what should be improved and how to foster good publication practices by European researchers.
Science Communication Workshop
Authors: Košiček Marko , Buljević Zdjelarević Petra
Published: November 2023

Among many other things, the COVID -19 pandemics taught the world the importance of providing rational information to the public and fostering a scientific way of thinking among people. Therefore, communicating science is crucial if we want the public to understand the basics of science so they would be able to make informed decisions about crucial topics such as their health, or changes in the environment. Furthermore, resarchers need funding to conduct their research. Most research is funded by the government, by the EU programs, and rarely by private funders. In all of these cases, you are required to report your findings to the funders. In all these examples, your funders are part of the general public, part of a broader audience.As a researcher, you are an expert in your field of research, and you can easily communicate with your colleagues about your research and findings. You already know how to write a journal article that your colleagues can read and understand, and you are able to write a popular science article that can be understood by a researcher who is not in your field. But, could you explain your research to an 11-yearold student? How about a potential funder? Would a science reporter or a television host find your research worth presenting to a broader audience?

It does not matter whether a researcher is at the beginning of his or her career as a doctoral student or whether he or she is an experienced scientist with a long scientific career. For any researcher, communicating his or her research to a wider audience that is not part of the scientific community or familiar with his or her field can be a challenge.In this workshop, participants will get practical advice on how to make the most of available communication tools and opportunities to successfully engage with their audience. In doing so, they will use the media as one of the most important channels and focus on how to get the most out of their TV interview. For this purpose, we will simulate a TV interview and put the tips and tricks taught into practice.
Managing the Open Access publication process
Authors: Dyke Gareth , Kim July
Published: November 2023

Come learn about Bentham Science Open for journals and e-books and get insights about Managing the Open Access Publication Process. This presentation will focus on helping you understand the publication process, from how to submit a scientific paper through to how to manage your interactions with editors and reviewers to maximize your chances of a successful high-impact outcome for your research.As a result of this course learners will understand:▸ how to effectively submit scientific papers;▸ write highly effective cover letters;▸ select effective and suitable reviewers;▸ ensure your work has the highest possible chance of getting published in your target journal;▸ how to effectively communicate with editors and what they expect from authors and reviewers,and;▸ maximize the impact of your research after publication.Course ContentThe stages of publication:▸ what editors expect from submissions▸ navigating formatting requirements▸ an amazing cover letter – details and selling your work▸ initial review and how to survive▸ ensure your papers gets out for peer-review▸ dealing with peer-review comments, especially those you disagree with▸ managing your editor▸ revisions: how to do the most effective job while making the least number of changes▸ surviving rejection▸ how to make complaints if you feel unfairly treated
Emerald Publishing - Come on in, we are OPEN
Authors: Krivankova Radka
Published: November 2023

We are passionate about helping authors tell their story in a meaningful and timely way. In doing so, we are committed to providing a leading service for open research, celebrating transparency and co-creation in a way that instils trust and confidence in our communities and global audiences worldwide. We’re passionate about supporting all forms of open research.As a leading social science publisher, we’re passionate about leading change, and align everything we do with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. In doing so we publish research that influences thinking, changes policies, and positively makes a difference to lives beyond the walls of academia.
Third TRIPLE ThatCamp on Sustainability in Open Science
Authors: Cupar Drahomira , Arasteh Sona Lisa
Published: November 2023

Sustainability is easily one of the most pressing matters and most discussed topics of our time. This is as true for the economy and society as it is for research and thereby for Open Science. At the third TRIPLE ThatCamp we want to discuss and brainstorm on the relationship between sustainability and Open Science with you. If you are a researcher, a librarian, an interested citizen or someone otherwise involved or interested in sustainability in Open Science you are welcome to join us at this event.Topics of discussion could be:▸ How can the long-term quality of data be secured?▸ What governance/business models are sustainable for Open Science?▸ How do tools and services that have been developed within the life span of Open Science projects live on after?▸ Do training sessions provide sustainability?▸ How can we ensure sustainability in scholarly communication?▸ Any other topic that crosses your mind!
Introductory words
Authors: Stojanovski Jadranka
Published: November 2023

Since 2014, the PUBMET international conference has served as a significant venue for gathering editors, publishers, librarians, journalists, policymakers, scholars and practitioners investigating and advancing scholarly communication in open science. The ninth PUBMET2022 conference was held at the University of Zadar from 14 to 16 September 2022, continuing a series of very successful conferences organised by the University of Zadar, Croatian Association for Scientific Communication - ZNAK, University of Zagreb, University of Rijeka and Ruđer Bošković Institute, under the auspices of the OPERAS consortium, OpenAIRE, the European Association of Science Editors (EASE) and SPARC Europe.We are happy that after two years of holding the conference online, we met again in person to discuss the latest developments in scientific communication and its most visible part, scientific publishing, and to share our knowledge, visions, expertise and the outcomes of numerous studies in this interdisciplinary field. This year we have seen the development and application of the principles of open science and open access as a prerequisite for achieving innovative scientific communication. Sharing all outputs in the earliest stages of research, including research data, software, protocols, methods, laboratory notes, reviewers’ reports, and publications, is the basis for the accelerated development of responsible science.This year’s PUBMET2022 has brought us a series of invited lectures, short presentations, panel discussions, posters, and workshops, discussing the progress of open science and promoting transparent and informed reporting on the results of scientific research. PUBMET2022 is the result of the year-long hard work of the programme and organising committees. Our excellent speakers, poster presenters, panellists, workshop leaders and moderators contributed to the conference’s success with their valuable, carefully selected and peer-reviewed content. In addition, more than 300 registered participants from 42 countries attended the conference in person or online, providing exciting questions and comments and sharing their opinions.Major themes of PUBMET2022 include:▸ Redesigning of open access - what can the scientific community do to retain rights over their research results, and what are the alternatives to the high fees for publishing in open access;▸ Raising efficiency and effectiveness in scholarly communication - changes that have been achieved by applying the principles of open science bring numerous advantages for scholars, but raise some new challenges;▸ The fairness of open science – transparency, responsibility, equity, diversity and cooperation in creating and sharing knowledge must be uncompromising;▸ Potentials of public engagement in science - how can research results make a more significant and positive impact on society?;▸ Assessing the quality of the research process, research outputs and publication channels - how does open science change the traditional quantitative research assessment criteria?
Realizing interoperable end-to-end systems for efficient open scholarly communication
Authors: Manola Natalia
Published: November 2023

To ensure the success of Open Science, we have to understand how it systematically changes the research system as a whole. This presentation focuses on the synthesis of the changing research landscape and the utilisation of policies, emerging tools, and practices into shaping end-to-end systems for embedding actionability in all research stages: planning, tracking, and assessing. Specifically, it will explore the designing of interconnected systems that involve Data Management Plans, Scientific Knowledge Graphs, and FAIR Assessors, all of which are essential components of research workflows.
FAIR as a journey
Authors: De Santis Luca
Published: November 2023

The TRIPLE project ran from October 2019 to March 2023, with its main outcome being the GoTriple discovery platform. The platform allows users to search and find documents, projects, authors and researchers’ profiles, all related to the Social Sciences and Humanities domain (SSH). GoTriple harvests documents and project metadata from over 1300 sources, published from repositories of research institutes (including Croatia’s HRČAK) and big aggregators, like Isidore, BASE or OpenAIRE.
Luca has been actively involved in GoTriple’s implementation, first designing and managing the development of the metadata harvesting and processing platform, SCRE, and later becoming the technical director for the entire TRIPLE project.Ensuring compatibility with the FAIR principles has been one of the main goals of TRIPLE but doing everything right at the first shot is hard. In his presentation, Luca will present the experiences done in the project regarding to adhering to FAIR principles in representingthe digital assets of GoTriple: he will talk about the things that were done right from the start, those which were adjusted “along the way”, without hiding the weak spots that, with the benefit of hindsight, could have been managed differently.This presentation will on the one hand serve to showcase some of the TRIPLE’s valuable contributions in terms of FAIR principles, that can be reused by other SSH related initiatives; on the other hand it will hopefully provide some useful suggestions on how to in general improve metadata FAIRness.
Not wasting a good crisis in publication ethics
Authors: Hodgkinson Matt
Published: November 2023

“You don’t communicate with anyone purely on the rational facts or ethics of an issue. … It is only when the other party is concerned or feels threatened that he will listen—in the arena of action, a threat or a crisis becomes almost a precondition to communication.”– Saul Alinsky, Rules for RadicalsTwo decades ago, discussions about ethics were relatively rare in publishing. Retractions were almost unheard of. Science was ‘self correcting’. Today, the rise of paper mills, peer review manipulation, and predatory journals, alongside an increased awareness of a lack of reproducibility, have forced publication ethics up the agenda. What has caused this surge in issues and what can be done to take advantage of the concern about these ‘crises’ to tackle these problems at scale, to ensure the future integrity of both researchand its publication?
Why is Citizen Science important for libraries?
Authors: Mumelaš Dolores , Martek Alisa
Published: November 2023

Citizen science, as part of open science, holds significant importance for its participants, including citizen scientists and professional scientists who engage in collaborative scientific research (Booney et al., 2009). However, the benefits that organizers of citizen science gain are rarely emphasized. These organizers can include governmental organizations, non-governmental organizations, corporations, universities (Walker et al., 2016), as well as institutions such as libraries. Citizen science is important for libraries because it increases civic and research interests, scientific publishing, and scientific progress (Trouille, Lintott, and Fortson, 2019). Additionally, it helps libraries attract new users, enhance social cohesion, and improve the perception of library's social value (Cigarini et al., 2021). With the help of citizen science, libraries can enrich their collections and make them more accessible (Ignat et al., 2018), and librarians can develop new competencies.The presentation aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the specific ways in which citizen science can benefit libraries and how libraries can effectively utilize citizen science to achieve their goals. Therefore, the benefits of citizen science for libraries will be discussed in detail, with examples and practical insights provided to illustrate their potential impact. The presentation will include an analysis and experience of the National and University Library in Zagreb with carrying out citizen science activities and the advantages this institution had for librarian education. It will highlight the essential role of libraries as implementers of citizen science activities and the impact of such activities on the positioning of libraries in local society and the scientific community.
Diamond Open Access - a robust, accessible and federated network for journals
Authors: Cupar Drahomira , Arasteh-Roodsary Sona Lisa
Published: November 2023

While Diamond Open Access is widely considered the most progressive publishing form for Open Access journals, these journals face various challenges including (technological) standardisation, ensuring sustainability for journals, and juggling a broad set of workflows while depending largely on voluntary work.The CRAFT-OA project (Creating a Robust Accessible Federated Technology for Open Access) aims to help standardise Diamond Open Access journals by offering technological innovations available to all Diamond Open Access journals. In cooperation with the DIAMAS project, CRAFT-OA will foster a community of practice, further enhancing Diamond Open Access publishing by uniting the scholarly community behind common goals.The proposed poster will include an overview of the key objectives and phases of the project as well as a section dedicated to explaining how the project’s results will support diamond OA publishing and be made available via the capacity centre prepared jointly with the DIAMAS project. Specifically, it will explain how the results of DIAMAS and CRAFT-OA complement each other in that regard by providing all information, best practice guidelines, workflows and training materials relating to Diamond Open Access in one place.
Prostorska statistika: univerzitetni učbenik
Authors: Turk Goran
Published: November 2023

Uˇcbenik je v prvi vrsti namenjen ˇstudentom druge stopnje pri pouku Prostorske statistike, lahko pa tudi kot osnovno gradivo ˇstudentom tretje stopnje, ki jih zanima oziroma ˇzelijo uporabiti metode te veje statistike.
The significance of short-term preoperative calcium and activated vitamin D3 supplementation in thyroidectomy: a randomized trial and prospective study
Authors: Jin Xiaoli , Shen Jiankang , Liu Tao , Zhou Ru , Huang Xunbo , Wang Tianxiang , Wu Weize , Wang Mingliang , Xie Rongli , Yuan Jianming
Published: November 2023

Objective

The aim was to explore the effects of preoperative calcium and activated vitamin D3 supplementation on post-thyroidectomy hypocalcemia and hypo-parathyroid hormone-emia (hypo-PTHemia).

Methods

A total of 209 patients were randomly divided into control group (CG) and experimental group (EG). Oral calcium and activated vitamin D3 supplementation were preoperatively administered to EG, whereas a placebo was administered to CG. Data on serum calcium, phosphorus, and PTH concentrations before operation, on postoperative day 1 (POPD1), at postoperative week 3 (POPW3), and on the length of postoperative hospitalization were collected.

Results

The serum calcium, phosphorus, and PTH concentrations, as well as the incidence of postoperative hypocalcemia and hypo-PTHemia, did not significantly differ between EG and CG. Subgroup analysis revealed that the serum calcium concentrations of the experimental bilateral thyroidectomy subgroup (eBTS) on POPD1 and POPW3 were higher than that of the control bilateral thyroidectomy subgroup (cBTS) (P < 0.05); the reduction of serum calcium in eBTS on POPD1 and POPW3 was less than those in cBTS (P < 0.05). However, significant differences were not observed between the unilateral thyroidectomy subgroups (UTS) (P > 0.05). Moreover, the incidence of postoperative hypocalcemia in cBTS on POPD1 was significantly higher than that in eBTS (65.9% vs 41.7%) (P < 0.05). The length of hospitalization in cBTS (3.55 ± 1.89 days) was significantly longer than that (2.79 ± 1.15 days) in eBTS (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

Short-term preoperative prophylactic oral calcium and activated vitamin D3 supplementation could effectively reduce the incidence of postoperative hypocalcemia and decrease the length of postoperative hospitalization in patients who have undergone bilateral thyroidectomy.
Crab-Aquatic Plant System: A Model for Taking Ecological and Economical Care of the Lakes in Yellow River Delta, China
Authors: Zhiguo Liu , Wei Gao , Wen Chang , Jinming Liu
Published: November 2023

The lakes, including reservoirs and ponds in the Yellow River Delta, are characterized by many fragile ecosystems and low economic values. How to take into account both ecology restoration and the economic benefits of the lakes in this region is a complex problem. The Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis)-aquatic plant system may have this potential. In this study, we planted aquatic plants, e.g., Elodea nuttallii, Hydrilla verticillate, and Vallisneria natans, with the crabs and investigated geochemical parameters in the ponds. The concentration of NH4+-N was lower than 0.5 mg/L, the pH of the breeding peiponds was 8.274-9.365, and the dissolved oxygen was 3.554-6.048mg/L, which was better than the class II environmental quality standards for surface water. The more extensive specifications ( > 150g/pcs) of the crab growth with the aquatic plants account for >35% of the total production. This model is significant to the ecological utilization of reservoirs in the Yellow River Delta but has low promotion. Therefore, some compulsory breeding policies and breeding standards must be proposed. It is the current ecological needs of the ecological protection Yellow River Delta.
Beginnings of Literary Images of a Lithuanian and Lithuania in Latvia
Authors: Butkus Vigmantas
Published: November 2023

In Latvian literature since the second half of the 19th century, Lithuanians, Lithuania, its history, its particular sites are quite often depicted in some specific view, sometimes comprehensively, conceptually, sometimes episodically, passingly. The article attempts to demonstrate what image of Lithuanians and Lithuania that could have made an impact on Latvian literature, formed before it emerged and while emerging: in folklore, writings of Baltic Germans in the 18th–19th centuries and works by activists of the National Awakening.

In Latvian folk songs, Lithuanians (leiši) are mostly depicted either as close, connected to Latvians by marital bonds, likely bonding people or as enemies, raiders to defend against. There are many other, random, hardly classified Lithuanian motifs in the discussed songs. In narrative folklore, the image of a Lithuanian is more one-sided and not very amiable: a Lithuanian person is usually portrayed in a mocking manner, emphasising negative traits, such as laziness, lack of intelligence, gullibility, etc.

In texts by Baltic Germans, a Lithuanian of that period was also mostly characterised negatively, by emphasising one’s indolence, backwardness, ignorance. The image of Lithuania in the past, its rulers described by them is different: reserved, objectivised, including sometimes expressed nuances of surprise, respect towards the former geopolitical, military might of Lithuania. The old Lithuanian (and Prussian) religion, mythology started being treated as Latvian ones (Gotthard Friedrich Stender (1714–1796) and others), community of the Lithuanian, Old Prussian and Latvian languages, ethnoses was observed, even considering them all to be one nation (Carl Friedrich Watson (1777–1826) and others), history of Lithuania started being positively assessed and presented while bringing it closer to the history of Latvia (Garlieb Helwig Merkel, 1769–1850).

Ideas of community or kinship of the Lithuanian and Latvian languages, religion, history were actively taken over and intensively fostered by the New Latvians (jaunlatvieši) and other activists of the Latvian National Awakening in the 19th century. They were writing on an inseparable history of Latvians and Lithuanians or even one nation, carried out in-depth investigation of the past and language of Lithuanians, both grounding on their data, objectively, reasonably and subjectively, motivelessly extending the concept of Latvian history, enriching the Latvian language. Atis Kronvalds (1837–1875), Juris Alunāns (born Gustavs Georgs Frīdrihs Alunāns, 1832–1864), Fridrihs Veinbergs (1844–1924), Andrejs Dīriķis (1853–1888) and other enlightened people were those whose endeavours contributed to making the image of Lithuanians and Lithuania in the public space of Latvia more positive, usually, while linking to the past, it was being idealised. Such, idealised, image was mostly taken over by Latvian romantic, neoromantic literature since the 19th century.
Beyond Bipolar Disease: Primary Hyperparathyroidism in a Bipolar Patient
Authors: Paiva Carolina , Assunção Sandra , Moreira Sofia , Verraest Xenia , Eduardo Sousa José , Madureira Nuno , Paiva António , Vilas-Boas Andreia
Published: November 2023

Primary hyperparathyroidism consists of a dysregulated production of parathyroid hormone that results in abnormal calcium homeostasis. It is mostly detected in the asymptomatic phase; however, presentation may include a broad spectrum of clinical manifestations. We describe the case of a 67-year-old female patient with a previous history of bipolar disorder and several vascular risk factors who presented with generalized muscular weakness, anorexia and weight loss, polydipsia, nausea, constipation and mental confusion with behavioural change. Mental and behaviour changes were previously considered a cognitive deficit. Blood tests revealed severe acute renal injury, severe hypercalcemia and frankly increased parathyroid hormone. During hypercalcaemia study, cervical ultrasound identified a nodule compatible with parathyroid adenoma, coincident with hypercaptant focus on the sestamibi scintigraphy. Patient underwent treatment with zolendronic acid and posterior parathyroidectomy with gradual symptomatic and analytical improvement. The authors report this case recalling that psychiatric pathologies can delay the diagnosis of physical conditions.
Advancing microbial insights: bridging academia, industry, and society
Authors: Jones Cameron L.
Published: November 2023

.
The Image and Mission of Geographical Science in Ukraine
Authors:   Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ukraine, Dronova O.L. , Maruniak Eu.O. ,   Institute of Geography of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine, Rudenko L. H. ,   Institute of Geography of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine, Topchiyev O. G. ,   Odesa I. I. Mechnikov National University, Odesa, Ukraine
Published: November 2023

The image of Ukrainian geography is formed in the difficult conditions of the establishment of statehood, deep political and economic reforms, and geopolitical and military resistance to russian aggression. Geographical science still does not sufficiently respond to the contemporary demands of society for geographical information and geographical knowledge. The reformation of national science and education presents geographers with many new problems that need to be considered and solved. The latest information technology revolution, along with new technical capabilities, means more and deep complex requests for geographic information. The paper considers the mentioned issues. The authors focus attention on the features of the transformation of the functions of geographical science in the conditions of post-industrial society and new people’s interaction with natural systems. The technological findings created by modern society are a prospect for the implementation of many solutions in the sphere of sustainable economic, social, and ecological development, as well as the transition to new models of production and consumption, and adaptation to climate change. The paper mentioned that geography plays a significant role in the development of organizational plans and business models in EU countries in such areas as regional and local development, urban and community planning and development, emergency risk management, and transition to a circular economy. In Ukraine, unfortunately, geography, like other sciences such as mathematics and physics, is increasingly perceived as part of basic education. Public demand and the market for projects are practically not formed, which causes both gaps in the implementation of numerous EU directives and international standards, as well as the decline of the discipline. Currently, the war with Russia is definitely the one of the bitter phenomena that requires the involvement of geographers. The first reaction of scholars took place as early as 2014, which was reflected in the adjustment of several educational programs, including human geography, political geography, urban geography, landscape ecology, spatial planning and development, cartographic modeling and GIS, geography of transport systems, population settlement, etc. Simultaneously, today Ukrainian geographers talk about large-scale changes in research priorities, focusing on the assessment of losses and the potential for the restoration of territories, the sustainable development of cities and regions, and geostrategization.
Geoconflictological Approach in Research of Russian-Rkrainian War
Authors:   Institute of Geography of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv, Mozghovyi A. A.
Published: November 2023

The article is devoted to possibilities of applying geographical approaches in the study of protracted multilevel conflicts. In particular, the research potential of such a new interdisciplinary field of science as geoconflictology was assessed. The purpose of this study is to show spatio-temporal parameterization of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and determination of the influence of geographical factors on its structure and dynamics. The main results of the research: the object and subject of the conflict are defined, its spatial and temporal boundaries are outlined, the evolution of the morphology of the participants in the conflict, possible points of maximum escalation and de-escalation are traced. The influence of geographical factors on the conflict was determined and analyzed. In particular, the influence of the geographical remoteness of metropolises and colonies on the subsequent frequency of conflicts and the risk of conflicts between them. The article emphasizes the determinism and inevitability of the emergence of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. In particular, it is determined by the patterns of development and interaction of territorial systems. An attempt to extrapolate the duration and stages of previous protracted conflicts in Europe to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict was made. The possible influence of the potential of the geographical location on the course and resolution of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict is also determined. The article is one of the first attempts to interpret the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in a geographical dimension.
The Beligerative Landscapes of Ukraine
Authors:   Vinnytsia Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi State Pedagogical University, Vinnytsia, Ukraine, Denysyk H.I. , Kiziun A. H. ,   Vinnytsia Institute of Trade and Economics of State University of Trade and Economics, Vinnytsia, Ukraine, Kanskyi V. S. ,   Vinnytsia Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi State Pedagogical University, Vinnytsia, Ukraine
Published: November 2023

In the structure of modern landscapes in Ukraine, special attention is deserved by beligerative (from Latin beligero—to wage war) landscape complexes. They are widespread throughout Ukraine, but only in the late 20th to early 21st centuries did they capture the attention of researchers. The aim is to analyze the current state and functioning of beligerative landscapes in the plains of Ukraine in order to develop measures for their further rational use and conservation. In the study of beligerative landscapes, principles of historicism, natural-anthropogenic compatibility, and related methods were applied, including historical-landscape analysis, compilation of historical-genetic series of landscape maps, analysis of final results, comparative method of natural analogs, analysis of beligerative landscape complexes as components of a paragenetic system, and GIS-technologies. The widespread distribution and significant diversity of belligerent landscape complexes within the plains of Ukraine have made it possible to identify a number of beligerative areas and corresponding sites. Among the largest typical ones are the areas of fortified points with sites of defensive ramparts, defensive ditches, and scarps; areas of isolated defensive ramparts with corresponding sites of earthen multi-age ramparts and ditches; areas of defensive lines with a complex system of beligerative sites such as fortresses, ramparts, redoubts, firing points, entrenchments, and more. The directions for their restoration are substantiated for further rational use as specific objects of scientific research, tourist and reserve sites, and objects for the development of local studies and patriotic education. It is noted that the rational use and conservation of beligerative landscapes should be implemented in the form of beligerative geosites—anthropogenic formations of military origin with corresponding territories. Beligerative landscapes formed as a result of russian military aggression are partially discussed and require further research.