bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Family-Centered Diabetes Care for Better Glycemic Outcomes of Outpatients in Rural Areas
Authors: Hezekiel Mphasha Mabitsela , Maria Mothiba Tebogo
Published: March 2021

Most of diabetes care of outpatients takes place at their families. Family members who may have inadequate or lack diabetes knowledge are expected to offer home care, predisposing patients to poor outcomes and associated health problems. To review and discuss literature related to family-centered diabetes care. Comprehensive Literature Review was used to collect data by reviewing literature related to family centered diabetes care. Literature review involved evaluating discoveries of other researchers. The results of literature review showed that family-centered care is essential for better diabetes outcomes and preventing new cases. So far, family-centered care was successful in children’s diabetes care and may be beneficial for older outpatients. Family-centered diabetes care improves knowledge of both patients and families, minimize prevalence and improve diabetes outcomes of outpatients.
Impact of Nanosilica in Ordinary Portland Cement over Its Durability and Properties
Authors: Reddy Babu Gude , Gireesh Kumar Pala , Venkata Ramana Nelluru , Madhusudana Reddy Bhumireddy
Published: March 2021

The present examination illustrates the impact on the hardened and fresh cement mortar and cement with the inclusion of nanosilica of size 40 nm in various environmental conditions (UltraTech, India). It is quite notified that an elevation in compressive strength as well as flexural strength along with an improvisation in the performance and life span of cement mortar. The samples of M5 grade blended with a ninety percentage of concrete and remaining with nanosilica was identified to have a finer working elevation in as well as in standards when collated with the conventional cement mortar. The corollary of hardened and fresh cement, strength parameters were looked upon with the aid of XRD (X-ray Diffraction). Also, the SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) test holds a predominant role in analysis.
Demographic Analysis and the Decomposition of Social Change
Authors: Eloundou-Enyegue Parfait , Giroux Sarah , Tenikue Michel
Published: March 2021

Social science has made great strides over the last half-century, with some of the most significant gains made in micro-level studies. However, analysts interested in broad societal change will not be satisfied with this micro-level detail alone. They will find the detail useful, but they still need to convert the micro-level relations into macro-level outcomes. Decomposition methods rooted in demography can help in those situations. This chapter discusses how these decomposition methods can build on other methods traditionally used in the social sciences. It specifies the kind of problems that are well suited for decomposition analysis, and it briefly reviews three basic types of decomposition approaches (demographic, regression, and mathematical). We illustrate, using mortality data as an example, and conclude with some suggestions for how this method might more broadly advance macrosocial research.
Potential of Inhaled Bacteriophage Therapy for Bacterial Lung Infection
Authors: Yan Wei , Mukhopadhyay Subhankar , Kin Wah To Kenneth , Shui Yee Leung Sharon
Published: March 2021

Phage therapy as a promising alternative antimicrobial to treat multidrug resistant (MDR) bacteria related lung infections, has drawn significant attention in clinical trials and bench-scale study in the recent decade, and the therapeutic effect of local delivery of phage has been demonstrated by several clinical reports. This book chapter discusses the current clinical development of inhaled phage therapy followed by the advancement of phage formulation designs for respiratory delivery of phage using various inhalation devices and their in vivo efficacy. The development of combination therapy of phage and antibiotics to combat MDR bacteria associated lung infections is also covered to reflect the current clinical practice. Lastly, we also share our insights on the challenges of advancing inhaled phage therapy and potential directions for future research.
Confocal Scanning Laser Microscopy in Medicine
Authors: Kiziltoprak Hasan , Ozkoyuncu Dilara , Tekin Kemal , Koc Mustafa
Published: March 2021

Confocal Scanning Laser Microscopy (CSLM) offers high resolution morphological details and generates en-face images with excellent depth discrimination for visualizing different structures of the living human body non-invasively. There have been significant advances in technology since the CSLM was first defined. It has been used commonly, especially in ophthalmological area, in order to diagnose and give direction for the treatment of corneal pathologies. Ocular surface, corneal subbasal nerve plexus, filtering blebs of glaucoma surgery were also investigated widely by CSLM. With the improvements in CSLM technology over time, it is widely used in other fields than ophthalmology. The combined use of CSLM with the slit lamp biomicroscopy and optical coherence tomography will also lead to significant advances in the diagnosis and treatment of more diseases in the future.
The Economic, Climate Change and Public Health Edges of the Geopolitics of COVID-19: An Exploratory Bibliometric Analysis
Authors: Pierre Doussoulin Jean , Mougenot Benoît
Published: March 2021

We are in the middle of the storm and this does not allow us to see clearly what is coming. This often generates partial analyses of the issues of the situation. Therefore, this manuscript attempts to generate an integral perspective on the issues of the crisis. This chapter proposes a discussion of the Coronavirus crisis following analysis and comparison of the most important outstanding conversations of general public health, economics and environmental issues. The objective of this chapter is to travel on the far side of the discussion of the articles presently planned within the academic world and that were analyzed within the bibliometric review, that consist of these three issues. This analysis that integrates these dimensions allows to give an additional prospective answer to the queries exposed by the COVID crisis, conjointly taking into consideration geopolitics as a forgotten dimension within the public discussion. Our paper helps to indicate the positions of every one of those ideas and enrich the literature on the environmental sciences and public health by providing analysis of the consequences of international policies.
Bitcoin and Ethics in a Technological Society
Authors: R. Porras Eva , Daugherty Bryan
Published: March 2021

Bitcoin came into existence as a peer-to-peer payment system for use on online transactions. This achievement was the result of a shared vision about the future relationship between governments’ control and citizenry, and the collaborative work of the many who contributed to the development of the cryptographic field. This innovation and its underlying technology, the blockchain, have been at the root of a change of paradigm, as the joint use of blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) seed the next technological revolution. However, as it is often the case, these revolutionary inventions have also been met with skepticism in the financial sector and society at large. Using the case of Bitcoin and the blockchain, this paper analyzes the intersection between the philosophy and technology underlying these innovations, and the outlook of a sector of society who fears these developments while others try to profit. In this chapter, we first look at the history of Bitcoin together with that of those behind it. We then review the mixed reception it obtained after coming to the market. We assess the innovations’ properties and confront these with the needs of a society eager to obtain further clarity and enjoy more transparency in matters of relevance to their participation in democratic processes.
The Role of Statistical Methods and Tools for Weather Forecasting and Modeling
Authors: P. Agbo Emmanuel
Published: March 2021

The need to understand the role of statistical methods for the forecasting of climatological parameters cannot be trivialized. This study gives an in depth review on the different variations of the Mann-Kendall (M-K) trend test and how they can be applied, regression techniques (Simple and Multiple), the Angstrom-Prescott model for solar radiation, etc. The study then goes ahead to apply some of them with data obtained from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), and applying tools like the python programming language and Wolfram Mathematica. Results show that the maximum ambient temperature for Calabar is increasing (Z = 2.52) significantly after the calculated p-value <0.05 (significant level). The seasonal M-K test was also applied for the dry and wet seasons and both were found to be increasing (Z = 3.23 and Z = 4.04 respectively) after their calculated p-values <0.05. The relationship between refractivity and other meteorological parameters relating to it was discerned using partial differential equations giving the gradient of each with refractivity; this was compared with results from the correlation matrix to show that the water vapor contents of the atmosphere contributes significantly to the variation of refractivity. Multiple linear regression has also been adopted to give an accurate model for the prediction of refractivity in the region after the residual error between the calculated refractivity and predicted refractivity was minimal.
Qualitative Analysis for Controllable Dynamical Systems: Stability with Control Lyapunov Functions
Authors: Ionescu Adela
Published: March 2021

The present chapter focuses on some recent work on the qualitatively analysis of dynamical systems, namely stability, a powerful tool with multiple connected appliances. Among them, feedback is a powerful idea which is used extensively in natural and technological systems. In engineering, feedback has been rediscovered and patented many times in many different contexts. Stabilizing a dynamical system could be often easier if we approach controllable systems. When the dynamical system is in a controllable form, we can place bounds on its behavior by analyzing the improvement of the linear and nonlinear operators that describe the system. In this chapter it is analyzed how a control in a simple form, could influence the possibility to construct the so-called Control Lyapunov Function (CLF) in order to stabilize the dynamical system in study. The main idea is to test multiple cases, in order to get a rich information panel and to make easier the problem of finding a CLF, which is generally a difficult task. As applications, models from excitable media are chosen.
Vitamin D and Autism Spectrum Disorder
Authors: Vegelin Maud , Teodorowicz Gosia , F.J. Savelkoul Huub
Published: March 2021

1,25(OH)2D is the hormonally active form of vitamin D known for its pleiotropic immunomodulatory effects. Via altering gene transcription, 1,25(OH)D exerts immunosuppressive effects and stimulates immune regulation. Recently, the interest in vitamin D in association with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been triggered. The prevalence of ASD has increased excessively over the last few decades, emphasizing the need for a better understanding of the etiology of the disorder as well as to find better treatments. Vitamin D levels in ASD patients are observed to be lower compared to healthy individuals and maternal vitamin D deficiency has been associated with an increased risk of ASD. Moreover, vitamin D supplementation improves ASD symptoms. These recent clinical findings strongly suggest that vitamin D is a factor in ASD onset and progression. Yet, possible mechanisms behind this association remain unknown. This review summarizes immunomodulatory properties of vitamin D and peripheral immune dysregulation in ASD, after which possible mechanisms via which vitamin D could rebalance the immune system in ASD are discussed. Although promising clinical results have been found, further research is necessary to draw conclusions about the effect and mechanisms behind the effect of vitamin D on ASD development.
Time-Dependent Behavior of Rock Materials
Authors: Paraskevopoulou Chrysothemis
Published: March 2021

Understanding the geomechanical behavior of a geological model is still an on-going challenge for engineers and scientists. More challenges arise when considering the long-term behavior of rock materials, especially when exposed to environments that enable time-dependent processes to occur and govern overall behavior. The latter is essential in underground projects such as nuclear waste repositories. The lifespan can exceed one million years or other openings where the project’s lifetime and sustainability are the critical design parameter. In such cases, progressive rock mass deformation that can lead to instabilities, time-dependent overloading of support and delayed failure are considered the product of time-dependent phenomena. Understanding and predicting the overall impact of such phenomena aims to achieve design optimization, avoiding dlivery delays and thus cost overruns. This chapter provides more insight into the time-dependent behavior of rocks. Simultaneously, the emphasis is given to investigating and analyzing creep deformation and time-dependent stress relaxation phenomenon at the laboratory scale, and in-depth analyses are presented. This work further develops the understanding of these phenomena, and practical yet scientific tools for estimating and predicting the long-term strength and the maximum stress relaxation of rock materials is presented. The work presented in this chapter advances the scientific understanding of time-dependent rock, and rock mass behavior increases the awareness of how such phenomena are captured numerically and lays out a framework for dealing with such deformations when predicting tunnel deformations.
Solar Energy in Industrial Processes
Authors: Martínez-Rodríguez Guillermo , L. Fuentes-Silva Amanda
Published: March 2021

A design methodology to integrate solar heat into industrial process is showed in this chapter, attending restrictions like availability for area of installation, economic, environmental, and operating conditions. The evaluation of each of the restrictions allows responding to real situations that arise in the industrial sector and thereby determining the scenario that best suits the industry. To achieve this objective, the evaluation of two real scenarios was carried out; in the first one there are no installation area limitations, while in the second, only the 50% of required installation area is available. The results obtained when evaluating the scenarios exhibit a direct relationship between the available space, the capital of the investment and the CO2 emissions, but this is not reflected in the same proportion in the operation of the process. In scenario one, the payback of the integrated system is 5.99 years with zero emissions to the atmosphere. For scenario two, the reduction of CO2 emissions is 80.62% with a recovery time of the investment of the integrated system of 2.61 years. In this context, Chemical Vapour Deposition is proposing as a innovative technology to improve the solar devices efficiency.
DNA Analyses Have Revolutionized Studies on the Taxonomy and Evolution in Birds
Authors: Wink Michael
Published: March 2021

Whereas Linné aimed to classify all species of our planet by a unique binomial Latin name, later generations of taxonomists and systematicists intended to place the taxa in a natural system according to their phylogeny. This also happened in ornithology and still scientists are on the way to find the ultimate “Avian Tree of Life”. Formerly, systematic relationships were studied by comparing morphological characters. Since adaptive character evolution occurred frequently, convergences could lead to misleading conclusions. An alternative to morphological characters are biochemical markers, especially nucleotide sequences of marker genes or of complete genomes. They are less prone to convergent evolution. The use of DNA sequences of marker genes for bird systematics started around 1990. The introduction of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) facilitated the sequence analysis of large parts of bird genomes and to reconstruct the Avian Tree of Life. The genetic analyses allowed the reconstruction of phylogenetic trees and the detection of monophyletic clades, which should be the base for a phylogenetic classification. In consequence, several orders, families and genera of birds had to be rearranged. In addition, a number of species was split into several new species because DNA data could point out hidden lineages in cryptic species or in species complexes.
Norovirus: Clinical Findings and Pharmaceutical Developments
Authors: Yang Ying-Fei , Liao Chung-Min
Published: March 2021

Norovirus (NoV) is one of the most ubiquitous factors contributing to acute gastroenteritis that causes widespread outbreaks in travel industry, military, or healthcare facilities. NoV could lead to serious symptoms and result in severe societal costs worldwide. Surprisingly, there has been no available licensed vaccines, albeit there are ongoing pre-clinical or clinical trials of several candidate vaccines. Development of effective universal vaccines has been found difficult clinically due to the frequent point mutations and a lack of robust animal model and cell culture system. Preclinical studies showed that vaccines with virus-like particles (VLPs) have high immunogenicity and efficacies and were demonstrated to be protective and safe. Recent in vitro research also suggests that human intestinal enteroids can enhance our understanding of protection mechanism and give guidance for vaccine development. Overall, this chapter will give a comprehensive review of the current challenge and progress of clinical findings, efficacy/safety of the developing vaccines, and antiviral drug developments for NoV in clinical trials or preclinical investigations.
Urine Methotrexate Concentration at 46–48 Hours Post-Treatment Reflects Methotrexate-Induced Acute Kidney Injury
Authors: Greenmyer Jacob R. , Burd Larry , Kobrinsky Nathan L.
Published: March 2021

Early identification of methotrexate-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) and delayed elimination of methotrexate are critical to limiting toxicity of the drug. The current monitoring strategy consists of serial serum methotrexate concentrations at 24, 36, 42, and 48 hours. Appropriate serum concentration monitoring and intervention does not always prevent AKI. Therefore, ongoing study of biomarkers and improved methods of screening for methotrexate-induced AKI is critical to reduce toxicity. This case series reports urine methotrexate values of 4 patients undergoing treatment with high-dose methotrexate. Urine methotrexate concentration was measured 46 to 48 hours after methotrexate infusion. Urine methotrexate concentration was compared with the duration of drug clearance from the serum. Only 1 patient (case 3) developed AKI. Serum concentration of methotrexate were < 0.3 μmol/L at 42, 48, and 48 hours in patients 1, 2, and 4, respectively, and at 168 hours in patient 3 (p < 0.01). Urine methotrexate concentrations were 2.77, 6.45, and 7.8 (μmol/L), in patients 1, 2, and 4, respectively, and 113.69 (μmol/L) in patient 3 (p < 0.001). This case series provides preliminary data that urine methotrexate concentration at hours 46 to 48 may reflect AKI. Future studies should investigate the ability of serial urine methotrexate concentrations to predict delayed drug clearance and the development of AKI.
Ethical aspects of guerrilla and ambush marketing
Authors: Dašić Dejan , Milojević Nataša , Pavićević Aleksandra
Published: March 2021

The paper analyzes the ethical aspects of guerrilla and ambush marketing in the time of the great crisis of the advertising industry and sponsorship agreements. Guerrilla marketing is a creative, imaginative, unexpected, unusual, aggressive, interactive, fun, cheap, inspiring, convincing, mobile and flexible way of achieving marketing goals. We can define ambush marketing as a tactic, which is contrary to the ethical principles of business, especially towards the competition in the form of other sponsors at a certain event. Unethicalness is highlighted in attempts to marginalize the activities of other sponsors who have acquired rights under a contract with the sponsoring entity.
'Natural law' of Jovan Sterija Popović
Authors: Vukadinović Gordana
Published: March 2021

Sterija, the first high school professor in Kragujevac, gave his introductory lecture of natural law on December 1-st in the year 1840. According to the understanding and terminology of his epoch Sterija differentiates positive from natural law. The positive law depends on lawgiver's will, is variable and arbitrary. The natural law is unchangeable and has universal validity.
Prolonged and untreated hypothyroidism as one of possible causes of acute psychotic episode
Authors: Buzejić Jelena , Jovanović Teodora , Jovanović Sonja , Buzejić Matija , Vučen Duška , Stepanović Boban , Kostić Milutin
Published: March 2021

Psychosis is a set of symptoms that lead to contact disorders or even cessation of contact with reality. It can be in the form of disorders of perception, emotions, thoughts, and behavior. Psychosis has many causes, and one of them is hypothyroidism. Thyroxin is important for the global function of brain activity, cholinergic activity in the frontal cortex and hippocampus increases significantly in its presence. The diagnosis of psychotic episodes is made on the basis of autoanamnesis and heteroanamnesis, as well as psychiatric examination. The presence of: positive syndrome, disorganization and negative syndrome. After the diagnosis of a psychotic disorder, antipsychotics are included in the therapy, and upon arrival, the findings that verify hypothyroidism, include thyroxin in the therapy. The therapeutic response is achieved after a few days or a week. In patients with an acute psychosis, and especially in those with a positive personal and family history of hypothyroidism, one should think in the direction of an unrecognized endocrine disease.
Taking all the sideroads of hyperthyroidism therapy: Pitfalls and possibilities
Authors: Miletić Marija , Stojanović Miloš , Nedeljković-Beleslin Biljana , Stojković Mirjana , Ćirić Jasmina , Žarković Miloš
Published: March 2021

There are three basic modalities for the treatment of thyrotoxicosis: thyrosuppresive drug therapy, ablation with radioactive iodine and surgical treatment. Patients who do not achieve adequate thyrotoxicosis control, as was the case of described patient, have a high mortality rate due to the possibility of developing a thyroid storm. The use of drug therapy for hyperthyroidism, as the first line of treatment, is associated with the appearance of various side effects, as was the case in our patient. Side effects of Methimazole are dose-dependent, while in the case of Propylthiouracil, the occurrence of side effects is not clearly dose-dependent. In the case of the described patient, all alternative, lesser known modalities for the treatment of hyperthyroidism were applied, after the occurrence of adverse reactions to thyrosuppressive therapy. Sodium perchlorate, ie. Sodium with perchloric acid is rarely used in the treatment of hyperthyroidism, as in cases of severe idiosyncratic reactions to thionamides, agranulocytosis or hepatitis, if the eumetabolic state is not achieved and the application of a therapeutic dose of radioiodine is not possible. It is applied in the form of a solution, usually 8%; In more severe forms of the disease, when hyperthyroidism is very pronounced, 10 to 15 drops a day are given 4 to 6 times and the dose is sometimes reduced to the minimum maintenance dose. After the adverse reaction even to sodium perchlorate therapy we were left with one more, last option-Plasma Therapy exchange. Plasma Therapy Exchange (TPE) is an out-of-body blood purification technique designed to remove high-molecular-weight substances bound to plasma proteins (autoantibody pathogens, immunocomplexes, cryoglobulins, myeloma light chains, endotoxins, lipoprotein-containing cholesterol, and thyroid). The effectiveness of treatment depends on the volume of blood being processed, the volume of plasma exchanged in each process, the number of procedures performed, the frequency of exchange and the rate of mobilization, stabilization and re-synthesis of cells or plasma components. TPE is an effective alternative treatment that provides an opportunity to prepare patients for definitive treatment: ablative therapy such as RAI ablation or thyroidectomy. Therapeutic plasmapheresis, if performed in specialist centers, is a safe, fast and effective method.
Tranexamic acid in trauma-induced coagulopathy
Authors: Ratković Sanja , Hadžibegović Adi , Jovanović Isidora , Rajković Marija , Jovanović Aleksandar , Stanisavljević Jovana
Published: March 2021

Trauma is still the leading cause of death in the world among the population under the age of 45 and bleeding is the dominant cause of early mortality in one third of all injured. Coagulopathy in trauma is directly related to the outcome and is considered to be the most significant preventable cause of death. Trauma-induced coagulopathy is a complex, multifactorial disorder that can be roughly divided into three phases. The entity of acute traumatic coagulopathy is characterized as an endogenous hemostatic disorder that occurs in the first few minutes of injury associated with tissue damage caused by severe trauma and hemorrhagic shock, regardless of external factors. The pathogenesis of trauma-induced coagulopathy is not fully known and is still the subject of research. According to the latest recommendations of the European Guide for the Management of Massive Bleeding and Coagulopathy in Trauma, tranexamic acid should be used as soon as possible, and no later than three hours after the injury in a patient who is bleeding or at risk of significant bleeding. Its prehospital application should be considered. In the light of new knowledge, the question of the justification and safety of the free use of tranexamic acid in trauma has been raised. The use of tranexamic acid in trauma-induced coagulopathy is a simple and affordable therapeutic approach that should be used in the prehospital period in those patients who are bleeding or at risk of significant bleeding. The implementation of this therapy in our country has not yet come to life.
Self-mutilation in urologic patients: Case report
Authors: Zikić Radoš , Adamović Zvonimir , Jelenković Zoran
Published: March 2021

Self-mutilation is intentionally injuring oneself. Generally, the most common self-inflicted wounds are burns and cuts which can be closed and open. In extreme cases it could be a suicidal attempt. In urology, genitals are usually the object of mutilation. Because of their anatomical features and topographic location, they are most commonly exposed to these procedures. There may be cuts on the penis, perineum, scrotum; scrotum avulsion, orhiectomia, castration to penile amputation. These are mental patients suffering from paranioid schizophrenia. As part of their delusions, they have bodily-cinesthetic hallucinations that manifest discomfort in the genital area. There is a delusional idea that the only solution to eliminate the hallucinations present is to self-mutilate. Because these organs are very blood-borne, they are always shocked after the ritual because of bleeding and pain. We present a 46-year-old patient with severe genital injury, scrotum avulsion, and subtotal penile amputation. Since more than 2 hours had passed since self-mutilation, the suture of the penis could not be done, so after resuscitation, a suture of the scrotum, tunica albuginae and an external urethral opening were done. After leaving the recovery room, he was transferred to a psychiatric ward and later to a higher health care facility.
Number line tasks and their relation to arithmetics in second to fourth graders
Authors: Georges Carrie , Schiltz Christine
Published: March 2021

Considering the importance of mathematical knowledge for STEM careers, we aimed to better understand the cognitive mechanisms underlying the commonly observed relation between number line estimations (NLEs) and arithmetics. We used a within-subject design to model NLEs in an unbounded and bounded task and to assess their relations to arithmetics in second to fourth grades. Our results mostly agree with previous findings, indicating that unbounded and bounded NLEs likely index different cognitive constructs at this age. Bounded NLEs were best described by cyclic power models including the subtraction bias model, likely indicating proportional reasoning. Conversely, mixed log-linear and single scalloped power models provided better fits for unbounded NLEs, suggesting direct estimation. Moreover, only bounded but not unbounded NLEs related to addition and subtraction skills. This thus suggests that proportional reasoning probably accounts for the relation between NLEs and arithmetics, at least in second to fourth graders. This was further confirmed by moderation analysis, showing that relations between bounded NLEs and subtraction skills were only observed in children whose estimates were best described by the cyclic power models. Depending on the aim of future studies, our results suggest measuring estimations on unbounded number lines if one is interested in directly assessing numerical magnitude representations. Conversely, if one aims to predict arithmetic skills, one should assess bounded NLEs, probably indexing proportional reasoning, at least in second to fourth graders. The present outcomes also further highlight the potential usefulness of training the positioning of target numbers on bounded number lines for arithmetic development.
Three addend addition: Who goes out of order and why?
Authors: Sharma Madhur , Bashir Satwat , Suri Gaurav
Published: March 2021

Single-digit, three addend sums of the type a + b + c offer a rich opportunity to directly observe the range of strategies that different participants may use because they afford the possibility of measuring a partial sum (i.e., a + b or a + c or b + c). For example, while computing the sum 9 + 7 + 1, do participants go in order by first adding 9 + 7 and then adding 1, or do they incur the cost of going out of order by adding 9 + 1 in order to obtain the partial sum of 10, which makes the subsequent addition of 7 less effortful? Informed by findings in simple and complex arithmetic, we investigated the problem types and participant characteristics that can predict out of order switching behavior in such three-addend sums. To test our hypotheses, we tasked participants, first in an online study, and then in an in-person study to complete 120 single-digit, three addend problems. We found that participants switched the order of addition to prioritize efficiency gains in contexts in which the partial sum addends were small or equal to each other, or when doing so led to a partial sum of 10, or led to a partial sum that is equal to the third remaining integer. Response latency data confirmed that participants were deriving efficiencies in the manner we expected. Related to individual differences, our findings showed that participants with higher levels of math education were most likely to seek efficiency benefits whenever they were on offer.
Desacralización religiosa y denuncia social en "Algo parecido al juego", de Maritza Cino Alvear
Authors: Araújo-Nieto Leira
Published: March 2021

Este escrito pretende evidenciar cómo la poesía escrita por mujeres ecuatorianas utiliza códigos religiosos y se sirve de herramientas como la desacralización y la carnavalización literaria para hablar de la realidad latinoamericana y de la injusticia social. Maritza Cino es un ejemplo de cómo una autora puede apropiarse de los textos bíblicos para realizar una re-escritura de la historia de las mujeres y de los grupos marginados en sociedad. Concretamente, se tomará como referencia su primer poemario: Algo parecido al juego, el cual será sometido a un análisis literario utilizando como apoyo teórico los desacralización de Mijaíl Bajtín y nociones de Teología feminista.

This article aims to show how the poetry written by Ecuadorian female feeds of religious codes and uses tools such as desacralization and Literary Carnivalization to speak about Latin-American reality and social injustice. Maritza Cino exemplifies how an author can use the appropriation of biblical writings in order to re-write female history and the one of people in social exclusion. The main subject of this study will be Cino’s first poetry book: Algo parecido al juego, which will be analyzed within a theoretical framework based on the writings of Mijaíl Bajtín on desacralization and on notions of Female Theology.
Ramón Gaya en mi poesía
Authors: Sánchez Rosillo Eloy
Published: March 2021

Tres poemas recogidos en Las cosas como fueron. Poesía completa, 1974-2017, Barcelona, Tusquets Editores, 2018.
Viabilidad de la economía circular en países no industrializados y su ajuste a una propuesta de economías transformadoras. Un acercamiento al escenario latinoamericano
Authors: Paño Yáñez Pablo
Published: March 2021

En el contexto actual de análisis de los límites de la economía lineal y de propuestas desde las economías transformadoras el presente documento de revisión teórica y proposición, reflexiona sobre su adaptación a países de la periferia y no industrializados de América Latina en particular. Específicamente se plantea: i) el estado del arte y sistematización sobre el contexto de las denominadas como economías transformadoras con especial énfasis en los planteamientos, ámbitos y prácticas de economía circular tanto desde el norte como desde el sur global, incluidas las limitaciones retos que se señalan sobre ella; y ii) esbozar un planteamiento de principios normativos, incluida la circularidad, para economías transformadoras en países latinoamericanos como alternativa estructural a sus determinantes internacionales, ambientales, sociales, culturales y económicos.
La gestión de la comunicación digital en las cooperativas españolas
Authors: Marín Dueñas Pedro Pablo , Gómez Carmona Diego
Published: March 2021

El futuro de las empresas, y las cooperativas en particular, por su contribución al progreso económico y social de las comunidades en las que desarrollan su actividad enfrentadas a una gran competencia y a un entorno muy cambiante, va a depender en gran medida de su capacidad de gestión estratégica en general y, más específicamente, de su capacidad para gestionar su comunicación. Ante la importancia creciente que la comunicación en general y la comunicación digital en particular tiene para el desarrollo de las cooperativas, es fundamental llevar a cabo investigaciones que profundicen en la gestión que éstas hacen de la misma. Dada la relevancia que para la economía tienen estas organizaciones, este trabajo se plantea como objetivo general analizar la gestión que de la comunicación digital hacen las cooperativas españolas, a través de la metodología cuantitativa de la encuesta a una muestra de 338 cooperativas. De los resultados se desprende que, si bien la comunicación es una herramienta clave, esto no se ve reflejado ni en la inversión ni en el desarrollo de planes estratégicos por parte de las cooperativas, situándose en un nivel medio-bajo en cuanto a la gestión que de la comunicación digital hacen estas organizaciones.
Monetising the social value of inclusive entrepreneurship: the case of the Abono Café social economy enterprise
Authors: Barba Sanchez Virginia , Salinero Martin Maria Yolanda , Jimenez Estevez Pedro
Published: March 2021

The fact that so many people with disabilities are unemployed is a cause for concern among those responsible for employment and creating social policies, and also for families and stakeholders themselves. Self-employment, which is understood as the creation of businesses, could be a means to mitigate this problem. The market evaluation of this type of company should consider not only its economic, but also its social results in terms of both cost savings for various public administrations and the generation of social value. This includes taking advantage of the talent of an important part of the population or increasing the wellbeing of people with disabilities, thus making decent employment possible as regards all that is sought by Sustainable Development Objective (SDA) 8 of the United Nations (UN) Agenda 2030. The objective of this work is, therefore, to monetise the social value of this type of undertaking through the use of a case study: that of the Abono Café company. The results show that the non-market value of this company greatly exceeds its market value, thus confirming its potential to generate social value for its stakeholders. The multiplying effect of the funds that Public Administrations allocate to the promotion of this type of initiative among people with disabilities makes them a useful tool and represents a change in the design of public policies, both on a social and employment level.
La Valoración de Empresas en la Economía Social. Valor Social Esperado del Museo de la Minería del País Vasco
Authors: Amiano Bonatxea Iratxe , San-José Ruiz de Aguirre Leire , Gutiérrez-Goiria Jorge
Published: March 2021

Las técnicas de valoración de empresas se centran en aspectos económico-financieros, que no resultan suficientes para las entidades no lucrativas, cuyas prioridades se asocian a la consecución de un interés general. Hasta ahora, diversas técnicas de contabilidad social como el Valor Social Integrado (VSI) han servido para reflejar estas inquietudes en las entidades no lucrativas. En este artículo, utilizando un museo como caso ilustrativo, se va a demostrar cómo es posible la valoración de las entidades no lucrativas utilizando la contabilidad social, y aprovechando al tiempo (de forma adaptada) las bases de las técnicas de valoración de empresas. Los principales resultados demuestran, en primer lugar, que el Valor Social Integrado es una variable monetizable, y por tanto útil y sencilla para realizar valoraciones de entidades. Aunque esta variable puede ser utilizada para todo tipo de organizaciones, para las no lucrativas es esencial ya que permite la comparación de su dimensión social, más acorde con su propósito como entidades. La principal contribución consiste en demostrar que es posible calcular el Valor Social Esperado (VSE, mediante la proyección y actualización de VSI) para valorar entidades de todo tipo. Esto tiene también implicaciones en las teorías relacionadas con la valoración de empresas, que podrán tener en cuenta variables más allá de las meramente económicas o transaccionales, y adaptarse a las situaciones actuales donde lo social es una variable más a valorar por parte de los decisores, tanto estratégicos, institucionales, como inversionistas.
Philosophical conceptualization of evil in the ethical space of Confucianism
Authors: Aleksandrov Aleksei Ivanovich , Kovalev Andrei Andreevich
Published: March 2021

The subject of this research is the philosophical conceptualization of evil in the Confucianism. This goal is achieved by solving the following tasks: 1) assessment of Confucianism as a synthesis of the philosophical views of Confucius and Mencius; 2) determination of good and evil as  the contrasting concepts in the ethical space, which is based on the ideal of a “person of high nature” Junzi and the real world of a “petty person"; 3) evaluation of evil as the antipode of good, which is based on the sense of duty and regard of moral rules. The novelty of this research consists in the first within the Russian historical-philosophical literature comparative analysis of the views of Confucius and Mencius upon the nature of evil, examination of the genesis of such representations, and their relevance for modern philosophy. Representations on the nature of good and evil of Confucius and Mencius are based on the contrast within the ethical space of the ideal of a “gentleman” (due) and the reality of a “petty person”. The virtue of a “gentleman” is a means of achieving good; and the virtuous life leads to prosperity of the country. Evil of a “petty person” captured by selfish motives, leads to social demise and political disintegration. Mecius applies same moral principles, which govern the individual’s everyday life, to the political sphere of social existence. The thinker underlines circumscription of the monarchs, indicating that even the monarch – if not a “gentleman”, but merely a “petty person” – can be corrupted by evil, in which case the country faced demise.
Individual and Institutional Ownership, Firm Age and Productivity
Authors: Du Jun , Mickiewicz Tomasz , Douch Mustapha
Published: March 2021

Total factor productivity represents a dimension of output that cannot be attributed to factors of production; it is unique to the firm, and central to its competitiveness. We posit that ownership structure plays a key role in productivity. However, ownership structure has an effect on productivity which changes with a firm’s age. Ownership structure that is optimal for new firms may not be optimal for older firms. We here consider the impact of ownership structure as defined by shares of individuals’ versus (broadly defined) institutional ownership. Our empirical counterpart draws on the UK company data for 2008-2017, obtained from the Orbis database. Our key explanatory variables are the joint share of the individual owners in equity and its square, but we also control concentration of ownership indices, along with a range of other firm-level characteristics. Applying fixed effects models along with instrumenting ownership with regional level variables, we found that new companies with majority individual owners and minority institutional owners outperform others. As firms age, however, these differences begin to disappear, with individual owners losing their control-related advantage. The results of the relative advantage of individual owners in the early stage is consistent with the property rights theory, which emphasises that residual control rights should remain with those whose investment is critical. It can be argued, however, that for whom the investment is critical changes as firm ages. Our managerial implications emphasise ownership competence in optimising ownership structure, which should evolve along the stages of the life-cycle of the firm.
Creating Value for the Consumer Through Marketing Communication Tools
Authors: Kovanoviene Viktorija , Romeika Giedrius , Baumung Wjatscheslav
Published: March 2021

The situation in the markets is changing rapidly and competition in the business sector is increasing rapidly. As a result, corporate marketing decisions are based on creating greater value for the consumer, which creates competitiveness and provides an advantage in competing for future customer loyalty. The purpose of this study is to determine whether there is a link between marketing communication tools and consumer perceived value in pursuit of consumer loyalty. Qualitative (observational research) and quantitative (a questionnaire survey) research methods were used to investigate the problem empirically. The observational research elucidated the value provided to the consumer by the research objects through marketing communication tools, supplementing the key questions for the quantitative study. Correlation and regression analysis were used in the study, with the results showing a statistically significant relationship between marketing communication tools and consumer perceived value in terms of user loyalty. It has also been determined that the greatest and strongest relationship in consumer value creation through marketing communication tools is the appropriate, mutually coordinated and complementary use of a package of marketing communication tools to achieve synergies that create the preconditions for increasing consumer loyalty in a competitive market.
Corporate Social Responsibility As a Source of Competitive Advantage in Large Enterprises
Authors: Marakova Vanda , Wolak-Tuzimek Anna , Tuckova Zuzana
Published: March 2021

The competitive advantage of enterprises in the conditions of market economy is not generated merely by ensuring high quality products and services. Therefore, in their strategies, they need to involve elements such as corporate social responsibility. The aim of the paper is to identify the key sources of competitive advantage of large enterprises. In the empirical research, the hypothesis has been tested to determine if the application of corporate social responsibility by enterprises has a statistically significant effect on gaining competitive advantage in the market. The hypothesis is verified on the basis of the authors’ study of 253 large enterprises operating in Poland by means of exploratory factor analysis, the statistical method of reducing the number of classifying empirical variables, i.e. of discovering a structure in their interrelations. The procedure enabled the selection of the factors with the greatest statistical shares in explaining variability. To this end, the input space was rotated in accordance with the Varimax criterion, with the number of determined factors specified by means of the Kaiser criterion and Cattell’s scree test. The application of an exploratory factor analysis enabled the authors to construct an original factor model of sources of enterprise competitive advantage, with three factors identified: marketing, innovation activity and corporate social responsibility. This indicates that marketing activities, innovation activities and the application of corporate social responsibility are the key sources of competitive advantage in large enterprises operating in the market.
Male pheromones modulate synaptic transmission at the C. elegans neuromuscular junction in a sexually dimorphic manner
Authors: Qian Kang-Ying , Zeng Wan-Xin , Hao Yue , Zeng Xian-Ting , Liu Haowen , Li Lei , Chen Lili , Tian Fu-min , Chang Cindy , Hall Qi , Song Chun-Xue , Gao Shangbang , Hu Zhitao , Kaplan Joshua M , Li Qian , Tong Xia-Jing
Published: March 2021

The development of functional synapses in the nervous system is important for animal physiology and behaviors, and its disturbance has been linked with many neurodevelopmental disorders. The synaptic transmission efficacy can be modulated by the environment to accommodate external changes, which is crucial for animal reproduction and survival. However, the underlying plasticity of synaptic transmission remains poorly understood. Here we show that in Caenorhabditis elegans, the male environment increases the hermaphrodite cholinergic transmission at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ), which alters hermaphrodites’ locomotion velocity and mating efficiency. We identify that the male-specific pheromones mediate this synaptic transmission modulation effect in a developmental stage-dependent manner. Dissection of the sensory circuits reveals that the AWB chemosensory neurons sense those male pheromones and further transduce the information to NMJ using cGMP signaling. Exposure of hermaphrodites to the male pheromones specifically increases the accumulation of presynaptic CaV2 calcium channels and clustering of postsynaptic acetylcholine receptors at cholinergic synapses of NMJ, which potentiates cholinergic synaptic transmission. Thus, our study demonstrates a circuit mechanism for synaptic modulation and behavioral flexibility by sexual dimorphic pheromones.