bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evaluating the result of sphincteric-preserving surgery (Parks procedure) for low rectal cancer
Authors: Huy Trinh Le , Ty Ngo Van
Published: January 2022

Sphincter-preserving surgery for low rectal cancer improved the quality of life while maintaining the oncologic outcomes. A retrospective, descriptive study was conducted with 45 patients who underwent sphincter-preserving surgery for low rectal cancer at the National Cancer Hospital and Hanoi Medical University Hospital between January 2016 and April 2020. The mean age was 55.6 years old. Male: female ratio = 0.7:1. Nearly all patients presented with hematochezia (95.6%). 75.6% of the tumors are located within 4-6 cm from the anal verge. The anastomotic leak rate was 4.4%. All patients had a normal postoperative urinary function. The sexual dysfunction rate was low (15.8%) and reversible. None had erectile or ejaculation dysfunction. 97.8% satisfied with sphincter function after one year. Tumors located > 4 cm and the anastomosis sites located > 2 cm from the anal verge were good prognostic factors for the recovery of sphincter function (p < 0.05). The Parks procedure had optimistic postoperative outcomes with a low complication rate, minimal sexual dysfunction, and good sphincter function in long-term follow-up.
ST-elevation myocardial infarction complicated by cardiac arrest in a young patient with familiar dyslipidemia
Authors: Tuan Pham Minh , Vu Doan Tuan
Published: January 2022

Coronary heart disease in young patients always poses great challenges for every healthcare system with differences in clinical manifestations, etiology, epidemiology, angiographic characteristics and prognosis. The objective of this study was to describe a case of ST-elevation myocardial infarction complicated by cardiac arrest in a young patient with familial dyslipidemia. A 30-year-old male visited our hospital with typical angina. During the examination, he suﬀered a sudden loss of consciousness, the monitor showed ventricular fibrillation. After successful resuscitation of cardiac arrest, electrocardiography showed apparent ST-elevation from V2 to V6 leads consistent with the diagnosis of anterolateral infarction. Emergency coronary angiogram showed severe three-vessel lesions including complete occlusion of the LAD artery and 80 - 90% stenosis of the other two coronary branches. Our patient’s coronary arteries were revascularized using drug-eluting stents in LAD artery and subsequently RCA artery, stem cell therapy was applied during the interventional process. Routine laboratory test results showed dyslipidemia and his family records suggested familiar (hereditary) dyslipidemia which affected his mother and sister. 1-month follow-up echocardiography showed a drastic improvement of LVEF by roughly 15%. The combination of revascularization, stem cell therapy, and lipid-lowering therapy has shown a good therapeutic effect.
Cuentas por pagar y capital de trabajo, en empresas cerveceras
Authors: Terry Ponte Otto Franklin , Inocente Conopuma Sayuri Breguith
Published: January 2022

El objetivo del estudio fue analizar las cuentas por pagar y el capital de trabajo, en el rubro cervecero que cotizan en la BVL; el tipo de investigación fue descriptivo- comparativo, diseño no experimental, de corte transversal y retrospectivo, con muestra de 20 estados financieros anuales del 2015 al 2019; la técnica fue el análisis documental y el instrumento la ficha de análisis. Las cuentas por pagar tienen un máximo de rotación de pago: 13 veces y el periodo de pago: mayor de 301 días; el capital de trabajo neto negativo de las dos entidades: el mayor monto representado -1.479.077 soles. El estudio es original, debido al periodo analizado de las empresas. Se concluyó que las empresas tienen un capital de trabajo bruto negativo, debido a sus deudas con sus entidades relacionadas.
Propuesta de un sistema de Control del Almacén
Authors: Vásquez Villanueva Carlos Alberto , Sumire Bustamante Consuelo , Romero Carazas Rafael
Published: January 2022

El presente artículo tiene la finalidad de proponer un sistema de control de almacén, para una empresa comercial, utilizando el modelo Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR), organizado en cinco procesos: evaluados, diagnosticados y propuestos en diagramas de Flujo. Presenta un diseño de investigación no experimental, un nivel descriptivo-propositivo, buscando alcanzar alternativas de solución a determinados problemas y evaluar la propuesta de solución. Se realizó el diagnóstico con los lineamientos del modelo escogido; crean y aplican los procesos de acuerdo con sus experiencias, en respuesta a las necesidades de la empresa y las características del modelo: alinear, integrar, colaborar y sincronizar. Se concluye que la empresa comercializadora no posee un sistema de control, cuya propuesta ha generado la satisfacción del cliente y ventaja competitiva sobre otras empresas del mismo rubro, mejorando su rentabilidad.
Coupled system of $\psi$--Caputo fractional differential equations without and with delay in generalized Banach spaces
Authors: DERBAZİ Choukri , BAİTİCHEZİDANE Zidane , BENCHOHRA Mouﬀak
Published: January 2022

The main objective of this research manuscript is to establish various existence and uniqueness results as well as the Ulam--Hyers stability of solutions to a Coupled system of $\psi$--Caputo fractional differential equations without and with delay in generalized Banach spaces. Existence and uniqueness results are obtained by applying Krasnoselskii's type fixed point theorem, Schauder's fixed point theorem in generalized Banach spaces, and Perov's fixed point theorem combined with the Bielecki norm. While Urs's approach is used to analyze the Ulam--Hyers stability of solutions for the proposed problem. Finally, Some examples are given to illustrate the obtained results.
UV SPECTROPHOTOMETRY IN THE ANALYSIS OF A COMBINED MEDICINAL PRODUCT BASED ON DRY LICORICE ROOT EXTRACT
Authors: ОМАРИ А.М. , АРЫСТАНОВА Т.А.
Published: January 2022

Работа посвящена разработке методики количественного определения глицирризина и аскорбиновой кислоты при их совместном присутствии в комбинированном лекарственном препарате в виде саше методом УФ-спектрофотометрии.

This paper represents a developed technique for the quantitative determination of a new medicinal composition based on dry licorice extract and ascorbic acid for the prevention and treatment of immunode ciency in viral infections by UV spectrophotometry
THE NEGATIVE IMPACT OF ALIMENTARY OBESITY ON THE STATE OF LOCAL IMMUNITY OF THE VAGINAL MUCOSA AND THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE THERAPY OF BACTERIAL VAGINOSIS
Authors: ЖУКЕМБАЕВА А.М. , АСАН Б.Н. , АБЫЛГАЗИЕВА А.Т. , АЙТБАЙ А.А. , МУРАТХАН И.Г. , ЖАКСЫЛЫК М.Б.
Published: January 2022

Проведен анализ результатов стандартного лечения бактериального вагиноза у 143 больных с учетом наличия у них алиментарного ожирения. Все женщины, принимавшие участие в нашем исследовании, дали письменное информированное согласие на участие в нем. Лечение БВ проводилось по общепринятой методике метронидазолом и клиндамицином. В зависимости от наличия алиментарного ожирения больных бактериальным вагинозом разделили на 2 группы. В I группу вошли 97 без алиментарного ожирения. Во II группе у 46 больных отмечалось увеличение массы тела, соответствующее алиментарному ожирению II степени. Исследования проводили до начала лечения и через 14 суток после его завершения. Сравнительный анализ результатов лечения БВ в исследуемых группах показал, что на фоне АО II степени отмечались достоверно более выраженные увеличение количества «ключевых клеток» (P<0,05) и смещение pH в щелочную сторону (P<0,05) во II группе. При этом эффективность лечения у больных II группы, где отмечалось алиментарное ожирение II степени была достоверно меньше, чем в I (P<0,05), что свидетельствовало о негативном влиянии алиментарного ожирения на состояние локального иммунитета слизистой оболочки влагалища и результативность проводимой терапии бактериального вагиноза.

The results of standard treatment of bacterial vaginosis in 143 patients were analyzed, taking into account the presence of alimentary obesity in them. All the women who took part in our study gave written informed consent to participate in it.BV was treated according to the generally accepted method with metronidazole and clindamycin. Depending on the presence of alimentary obesity, patients with bacterial vaginosis were divided into 2 groups. Group I included 97 people without alimentary obesity. In group II, 46 patients had an increase in body weight corresponding to alimentary obesity of the II degree. Studies were conducted before the start of treatment and 14 days after its completion. A comparative analysis of the results of BV treatment in the study groups showed that against the background of grade II AO, there was a significantly more pronounced increase in the number of "key cells" (P<0.05) and a pH shift to the alkaline side (P<0.05) in group II. At the same time, the effectiveness of treatment in group II patients with grade II alimentary obesity was significantly less than in group I (P<0.05), which indicated a negative effect of alimentary obesity on the state of local immunity of the vaginal mucosa and the effectiveness of the therapy of bacterial vaginosis.
Review of the monograph by V.Kh. Akaev "Sufism in the Context of Arab-Muslim Culture. Monograph. Grozny: State Unitary Enterprise "Book Publishing House", 2020. 523 pp."
Authors: Ляушева Светлана Аслановна , Нехай Вячеслав Нурбиевич
Published: January 2022

Монографическое исследование В.Х. Акаева представляет собой самостоятельное авторское исследование, посвященное проблемам генезиса и эволюции суфизма в глобальном и региональном измерении. Отмечается, что суфизм, сформировавшись в лоне арабо-мусульманской культуры, как религиозно-мистический феномен проник в духовное пространство народов Северного Кавказа. Его отличительной чертой в рассматриваемом регионе стало то, что суфистские братства сумели встроиться в структуру традиционных этносоциальных институций ряда северокавказских народов. Однако деформация общественно-политической жизни Северного Кавказа в начале 1990-х гг. привела к активизации деятельности радикалистов и экстремистов в Чечне и Дагестане. В рецензируемой монографии осмыслен деструктивный потенциал религиозного радикализма, который активно продвигался идеологами ваххабизма, оперировавшими концептами шахидизма. Определены принципиальные расхождения ваххабизма и суфизма в интерпретации теологической доктрины ислама. Отдельного внимания заслуживает и авторское описание социально-политического портрета асоциальных акторов радикализма. Делается вывод о том, что наиболее эффективным инструментом профилактики религиозного радикализма является диалог культур, нацеленный на смягчение культурных конфликтов и обеспечивающий их активный обмен при сохранении культурно-исторической самобытности.

The monographic study of V.Kh. Akaev is an independent author's research on the problems of genesis and the evolution of Sufism in the global and regional dimension. Having formed in the bosom of Arab-Muslim culture, Sufism as a religious-mystical phenomenon penetrated the spiritual space of the peoples of the North Caucasus. Its distinctive feature in the region under consideration was that Sufi fraternities managed to integrate into the structure of traditional ethnosocial institutions of a number of North Caucasian peoples. However, the deformation of the socio-political life of the North Caucasus in the early 1990s led to the activation of the activities of radicalists and extremists in Chechnya and Dagestan. The peer-reviewed monograph makes sense of the destructive potential of religious radicalism, which was actively promoted by Wahhabism ideologists who operated on the concepts of Shahidism. Fundamental differences between Wahhabism and Sufism in the interpretation of the theological doctrine of Islam were determined. The author's description of the socio-political portrait of asocial actors of radicalism deserves special attention. The research shows that the most effective tool for preventing religious radicalism is the dialogue of cultures aimed at mitigating cultural conflicts and ensuring their active exchange while preserving cultural and historical identity.
Finnish efforts to promote cultural relations with Romania
during the Second World War
Authors: Alenius Kari
Published: January 2022

This paper analyzes intercultural relations between Finland and Romania during the Second World War. The main focus is on the Finnish viewpoints. The aim of the analysis is to explain why the Finnish activities at this field of life were of a certain kind.Intercultural relations between Finland and Romania do not form a separate field of study, but are closely intertwined with the two countries’ mutual relationship on the whole. At the same time, this interrelation was dependent on the overall situation in World War II, with its shifting strategies.
Existing Finnish archive material on cultural cooperation clearly indicates that, in terms of advancing this relationship, Romania was clearly the more active party throughout. In Finland, the group of activists favouring Romania was smaller and more heterogeneous, and the government’s stance in particular was hesitant.The explanation for this Finnish restraint lies in Finland’s special relationship with Hungary.The Finns hesitated to implement Romanian initiatives in the field of culture, fearing that they would jeopardise relations with Hungary.
Despite the Finnish government’s hesitation regarding the development of cultural relations with Romania, there were also advocates of closer cultural ties. A key figure in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was envoy Eduard Hjalmar Palin. Another significant player was the Finnish-Romanian Association, which commenced activities in January 1943 and continued until the summer of 1944.
Leonidas Donskis – an encyclopedic Renaissance-like figure
Authors: Bârlea Gheorghe
Published: January 2022

This report was made at the Doctor Honoris Causa conferred to Prof. Leonidas Donskis by Valahia University of Târgoviște on November 6th, 2014. The editors express their gratitudeto Vlad-Gabriel Ghiorghiu, a CoolPeace graduate, for the admirable translation of this report. The publication of this report is supported by EEA Grants, contract no 4/22.07.2014.

Currently a professor of advanced studies and academic development at the ISM University of Management and Economics of Kaunas and Vilnius, Lithuania, and a former member of the European Parliament, Leonidas Donskis was born on the 13th of August 1962 in Klaipėda, Lithuania. From 2005 to 2009 he served as dean of the Faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy at Vytautas Magnus University of Kaunas, Lithuania. As a docent, visiting and associate professor, he also taught at the University of Helsinki, Finland, in the field of social and moral philosophy, at the University of Tallinn, Estonia, in the field of philosophy and theory of culture, as well as universities from the United States (Dickinson College, Pennsylvania and Montevallo University, Alabama) in the field of cultural studies and universities from England, Italy and Hungary in similar fields of endeavor.
Alongside his scholarly career stands his remarkable contribution to the field of the mass-media, both as a producer and moderator of cultural programs for the Lithuanian Television or as editor for the print media (The Baltic Times, The Ukrainian Week etc).
The academic bettering carried out in countries like Lithuania and Finland spawned his encyclopedic character and determined the ramification of his intellectual interests. His bachelor’s degree in philosophy and theater, received from the Lithuanian State Conservatoire (presently the “Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre”) in 1985 was followed by a master’s degree program in philosophical studies at the University of Vilnius (1987). From the same university he took his first doctorate in philosophy and the humanities, with a thesis about the culture in crisis and the philosophy of culture in the views of O. Spengler, A. J. Toynbee and L. Mumford (1990). This was soon to be followed by a second doctorate, received from the University of Helsinki, with a thesis dwelling on the relation between ideology and utopia, moral imagination and cultural criticism in the 20th century (1999).
Sunne – Göran Tunström‘s land of peace and beauty
Authors: Dreve Roxana-Ema
Published: January 2022

Our times have been described as the age of globalization, of emergent technologies, an ”information era” where diversity and specificity express the complexity of several essential themes, such as identity, culture, language. But is today’s society built on a culture of peace? This is the question we will try to answer, while aiming to understand the forces affecting the identity and the behaviour of individuals in the novels written by the Swedish author Göran Tunström.
Peace through cultural interaction: the ethnic relations in Finland and Turkey
Authors: Furu Adél
Published: January 2022

This paper centres on the ethnic relations in Finland and Turkey, approaching the Black Sea region from a larger geographical and cultural perspective. I will examine how the governments of these two multicultural societies maintain good relations with their linguistic and cultural minorities. Through this paper I point out how close cultural relations with the Sami people maintain the peace in Finland. Peace in this area is implemented through culture and education. I will describe how Finland is involved in the implementation of educational programmes for the Sami and how it aims at acquainting the Finnish majority with various aspects of Sami cultural traditions. Moreover, the dialogue between these two cultures plays an important role in eliminating the prejudice that has stirred up conflicts for so many decades. Since the problem of the Kurdish people in Turkey is not only a problem within the borders, but also an international problem, in this paper I look at the ways in which the aspirations of the Kurds in Turkey have an impact on cross-border minority aspirations as well. Therefore, Turkey is expected to embrace a liberal legal approach and should put emphasis on the liberalization of minority politics.
Peace or conflict? Past cultural relations between the Nordic countries, Russia and the Romanian area (17th – 19th Centuries)
Authors: Mehedinţi-Beiean Mihaela
Published: January 2022

During the modern period, Europe was affected by a series of military conflicts, which periodically rebalanced and reshaped political, social and cultural relations between the states involved in them. The wars in which the Nordic countries, the Russian Empire and/or the Romanian area took part thus resulted in temporary or more constant alterations of the bilateral and multilateral connections between them.
Although not always accurate when put into the perspective of the subsequent events, contemporary accounts regarding these conflicts and the shape of the political and cultural relations surrounding them represent extremely important sources of information for researchers interested in establishing the reasons that caused certain international developments of the 20th century. Having this in view, the present study’s aim is twofold. Firstly, it intends to reveal the value of the written accounts pertaining to Nordic and Russian travellers through the Romanian area in the modern period and, secondly, to bring to light some rather hidden aspects of the cultural relations between these three geographically and culturally distinct spaces.
As cultural interactions are closely connected to political developments, a fact particularly relevant during the modern period, these two types of interstate contacts can only be analysed jointly and this general observation was either intrinsic to or made explicit in most of the analysed travel accounts. Moreover, the conclusion that must be drawn after evaluating the relations between the Nordic countries, Russia and the Romanians during the 17th-19th centuries is that sometimes political conflicts, even when they took the form of wars, could stimulate, not hinder, cultural contacts between the parties involved.
Representations of political power in medieval Iceland: Íslendingabók
Authors: Coroban Costel
Published: January 2022

This paper aims to analyse emblematic sources from the Golden Age of literature in High Medieval Iceland, such as Íslendingabók, from the point of view of the ideology of power, in order to compare the findings to those from other sources of the time. If in Norway towards the 13th century all power gravitated around the person of the King and the institution of the court, in Iceland the political situation from the assembly of the Alþingi in 930 up to the country’s annexation (1262) was wholly different, owing to the different political organization of the Old Icelandic Commonwealth (Þjóðveldið). The Icelandic political milieu has not been researched very extensively from the point of view of political ideology, as one of the pioneers of this approach, Jón Viðar Sigurðsson noted. There is much to be said on the subject of the worthiness of the Icelandic Family sagas as useful in describing the political ideology of power due to their role as both historical and literary sources. These skaldic texts were sponsored with specific purposes by rulers who understood how songs and stories could improve a leader’s position and prestige. As a similarity to the literature sponsored by the kings of Norway, the texts created in Iceland during the literary miracle of the Middle Ages had a greater importance for those chieftains who did not enjoy a strong position, who were either attempting to legitimate themselves as rulers of newly usurped positions, or who were threatened by stronger neighbouring rulers.
The people’s expectations of good governance in German-occupied Estonia, 1941–1944
Authors: Alenius Kari
Published: January 2022

This paper aims to explain why certain elements were present in the expectations of the Estonian people and how, in the end, Estonians perceived the activities of German administration. On the basis of the analysis it is evident that a few central elements were distinguishable. The expectations consisted of several universal elements while others derived their roots from local and time-specific conditions and the history of Estonian-German relations. Similarly, there were remarkable divergences as to how different levels and parts of administration were perceived by the local population. For instance, the highest German representative in Estonia, Generalkommissar Karl-Siegmund Litzmann was seen in a different light than the rest of the administration and different hopes were placed on him. The course of war also brought along changes in opinion and mood of the Estonians.
The source material of this study mainly consists of the surveillance reports of the German Security Police and other relevant documents of the German occupation administration, including those of the Estonian Self-Administration. Revealing examples of both good and bad governance exist in the original material.
The withdrawal of the Soviet/Russian armed forces and the end of the occupation (Essay of the chronology of the troop withdrawal negotiations)
Authors: Jarmolenko Vladimir
Published: January 2022

This speech discusses the withdrawal of the Russian troops from the Republic of Lithuania mostly based on some personal recollections and the integration of research conclusions reached so far in the scholarly literature. The paper outlines the international environment which made the withdrawal of Russian troops from Lithuania possible, the goals of the Lithuanian side and the peaceful means to achieve them as well as the responsibility of foreign occupations resting upon the shoulders of Russian state then and now, as the legal heir of the Soviet Union. This speech is to be perceived as an exercise of historical memory.
Confluencia entre los ecosistemas forestales y el conocimiento científico frente al cambio climático: Marco legal peruano
Authors: Rodríguez Mirano Jeanpierre , Vértiz-Osores Jacinto Joaquín
Published: January 2022

El presente artículo consta de un estudio exploratorio que reflexiona sobre el alcance de las políticas en cambio climático del Perú, la generación de conocimiento científico a partir del estudio de ecosistemas forestales y la factibilidad de un escenario de confluencia entre ambos. Se basó en un análisis cualitativo, a través del diseño de Teoría Fundada Emergente, de tipo Jurídico-comparativo. Se explicó el valor de la vulnerabilidad de un ecosistema forestal como herramienta de análisis de políticas de adaptabilidad frente al cambio climático, además de los beneficios instantáneos que devienen de la sistematización de información científica para facilitar el proceso de definición de estrategias hacia estas políticas.
State of open wagon body when loading on a rotary car dumper
Authors: Chepurchenko Ilya V. , Korkina Svetlana V.
Published: January 2022

The use of modern means of mechanization of loading and unloading operations in places of mass processing of bulky loads in railway and water connection allows to increase the efficiency and productivity of various types of transport, to ensure the safety of load and rolling stock. The most common method of unloading open wagons in ports, mining enterprises, thermal power plants, etc. is the use of special rotary car dumpers. However, it should be noted that unloading on the car dumpers leads to damage of the carriages structural elements. The article presents the results of strength calculations of the car dumper body under the influence of specified dynamic loads from the expiring cargo. They show that the safety margin of the load-bearing elements of the car body is not enough at critical corners of rotation of the car dumper rotor. The studies were carried out using modern computer modeling methods used in the development of new-generation freight car designs. The software package took into account the effects of dynamic loading as external factors that occur at different corners of the car dumper rotor. The implementation of the results obtained at the design stage of innovative structures of open wagon car bodies will allow predicting the operational parameters of load-bearing structures. The presented studies are aimed at improving the safety and operational reliability of the cargo car fleet.
Thermal studies of vacuum panels of cellular structure of a passenger car
Authors: Balalaev Anatoly N. , Parenyuk Maria A. , Timkin Dmitry M.
Published: January 2022

Aluminum alloys and composite materials are used in the body structures of modern passenger railway cars, which required the use of new manufacturing technologies: extrusion, pultrusion, etc. The use of new materials and new production technologies is changing the design requirements of passenger rail cars. The use of computer-aided design systems, in particular, SolidWorks Simulation, allows you to optimize the profile of cellular panels used in the construction of the body of a passenger railway car and obtained by extrusion or 3-D printing. Purpose of this work is to optimize the design stage of the enclosing structures of the body of a passenger railway car made of cellular profile panels, which can significantly reduce the heat transfer coefficient of the body walls and their mass, as well as provide the necessary strength conditions. Optimal profile of the vacuum panel, consisting of two rows of hexagonal cells, provides, according to calculations, the value of the specific thermal resistance R = 2.922 (m2 K)/W, which is 16.5% more than that of the existing body structure of a passenger rail car.
On the relationship between fundamental science and contemporary applied research in the field of high-rate laser Nanowhiskerography
Authors: Maksimovsky Sergey Nikoloaevich , Bobkov Alexandr Nikolaevich , Stavtsev Aleksey Urievich
Published: January 2022

In practice, in various areas of life, there is often a need to use materials that have mutually exclusive requirements. Therefore, the study of the issues related to manufacturing materials in certain states for certain technical applications, and methods of controlling structurally sensitive properties to obtain specified effects, is quite relevant today. A new effect was discovered, namely, the rapid growth of amorphous and composite materials in the form of “coherent” nanowhiskers using laser-induced plasma at temperatures exceeding 4,000oC and high pressures up to 100 thousand atmospheres at a rate reaching 80-100 m/s. This method of growing whiskers is based on fundamental studies of pulsed laser radiation and predictions of Nobel Prize laureates – Ch.H. Townes, A.M. Prokhorov (splitting of a laser beam of above-threshold power) and G.A. Askaryan (effects of self-focusing of light in the condensed state of matter, and sublimation evaporation). The authors show possible practical applications of this method, such as protection of securities, banknotes, and plastic cards, as well as production of a new type of silicon batteries, automotive catalysts, and solar silicon batteries.
Development of methodology for determining a-parameters of an asymmetric rail line
Authors: M. Tarasov Evgeniy , Vasin Nicolay N. , Tarasova Anna E.
Published: January 2022

The article considers the methodology of forming the matrix of A-parameters of a rail line, represented by a multi-pole equivalent circuit. It is shown that when using a four-pole equivalent circuit of a rail line in case of violation of the equipotentiality of the circuit, it is impossible to take into account the flow of current along bypass paths, along the earth path, and the influence of adjacent track circuits. A multi-pole equivalent circuit of a rail line is represented as a 2x4 pole, in the rail lines of which self-induction EMF sources are included, and an earth path is used as the second wire. An equivalent multi-pole of equivalent circuit is represented by two groups of poles – at the input and output of the rail line, including one common (ground). The parameters of all elements of the equivalent multi-pole circuit are presented in the form of matrices, which makes it possible to analyze the state of the rail lines when changing the primary parameters of the rail multi-pole in a wide range. Using Kirchhoff's laws and solving a system of ordinary differential equations, the A-parameters of a rail multi-pole are obtained.
Parametric stress-strain analysis for upstream slope of the asphaltic concrete core rockfill dams in static state
Authors: Shiravi Shahram , Razmkhah Arash
Published: January 2022

In this study, the effects of various geometric parameters of a dam in 2D static analysis of stress-strain on the upstream slope of the asphaltic concrete core rockfill dams were investigated. For this purpose, first the geometric characteristics of a large number of world's dams were collected and assessed, then by geometric modeling of these dams, many numerical models were developed for static analysis using GeoStudio software in eight height classes, three cases of upstream and downstream slopes, three different shape and thickness of the asphaltic concrete core under different Impounding states including "Full Reservoir", "Half full Reservoir", "End of construction and "Rapid Drawdown on a rigid type of foundation. The results of this study demonstrated that in four different construction and impounding states and in three different cases of slopes, Increasing the height parameter, causes increasing the Maximum total stress, Maximum total strain, Shear strain and Maximum shear stress for all construction and impounding states. The Maximum total stress decreased for all operating situations as the upstream slope reduced. According to the obtained results from the static stress-strain analysis, increasing both vertical and inclined asphaltic concrete core thicknesses, leads to decreasing the Maximum shear stress in Full Reservoir state but it increases in other state of impoundment. Moreover, by comparing the displacements related to specified points on the upstream slopes, increasing the height parameter, leads to increasing both horizontal and vertical displacements, the volumetric strain, deviator strain and deviator stress for all impounding conditions. In the following, the additional results were provided along with diagrams for further analysis.
Think Globally, Start Locally: Value-Based Breast Cancer Care for Newly Diagnosed Patients in A Safety-Net Medical Center
Authors: Tang Annie , Ugarte Shannon R , Khoury Amal L , Gyawali Bishal , Chiang Anna , Lai Nicole , John Rohan E , Bennett Charles , Knopf Kevin
Published: January 2022

Introduction

We assessed the efficacy of a multidisciplinary, patient-focused approach emphasizing appropriate use of medical resources among a population of breast cancer patients at our safety-net hospital.

Methods

A multidisciplinary program coordinated and provided value-based care. Surgery, oncology, and navigation were physically co-located. Real time decisions were made by medical and surgical oncologists. Focused institution-specific protocols initiated in 2018, advised against four specific cancer resources that our team had determined as lower-value: imaging tests for indications not recommended in NCCN guidelines, inappropriate Oncotype Dx testing, radiation for patients ≥65 years with stage I hormone-positive disease, and administration of pertuzumab and neratinib as adjuvant therapy in HER2+ breast cancer patients. Time to treatment and rates of use of these resources were monitored.

Results

Newly diagnosed breast cancer patients from 2015-2019 were compared to the pre-protocol era (2015-2017). Time from first breast clinic visit to oncology appointment decreased 39 days (60% decrease, median of 63.0 vs 22.5 days, p<0.001), no patients ≥65 years with stage I hormone-positive breast cancer in 2018-2019 received radiation therapy, and rates of ordering of CT, PET, and bone scans for asymptomatic patients decreased by 80%. Overall survival did not differ by cohort protocol category/treatment choices (p=0.69) Compared to the pre-protocol cohort, the post-protocol cohort did not have a significantly lower risk of death (Hazard Ratio 0.66, 95% Confidence Interval 0.08-5.38, p=0.69). Overall breast cancer care cost decreased by $3,675,374 between 2018 and 2019 versus 2015 to 2017.

Conclusions

After initiating a breast cancer program focused on reducing rates of use of four commonly excessively ordered breast cancer resources our team identified as lower-value, care at our safety-net hospital achieved high compliance with NCCN maging guidelines and also reduced use of a low-value diagnostic test, and low-value radiation and chemotherapy.
EXPANDING THE RECORD OF LARVAE OF FALSE FLOWER BEETLES WITH PROMINENT TERMINAL ENDS
Authors: ZIPPEL ANA , HAUG CAROLIN , HOFFEINS CHRISTEL , HOFFEINS HANS-WERNER , HAUG JOACHIM T.
Published: January 2022

Beetle larvae contribute to the overall biomass with a great share, yet they often stay unnoticed and underexplored. Larvae of the group Scraptiidae, also called false flower beetles, lead a life hidden in the wood, not easily accessible for observers. There, they contribute to wood decomposition and carbon cycling. Even though their ecological role is of great importance, these larvae have been comparably rarely studied. This is true for extant as well as fossil representatives of this group. It seems that this knowledge gap is not based on the limited availability of material but results from insufficiently studied material. Here we report new specimens, of which seven are extant and twelve are fossil. Fossil specimens are either from 40-million-year-old Baltic amber (Eocene) or 100-million-year-old Myanmar amber (Cretaceous), the latter representing the oldest record of these larvae. All specimens considered here possess a large, elongated terminal end. We performed an outline analysis of the shape of this terminal end for all so far known larval specimens sufficiently well preserved (in total 33 specimens: 17 extant, 14 Eocene, 2 Cretaceous). There is a recognisable difference between Eocene and extant specimens, yet it remains unclear whether this is due to different represented larval stages or an effect of evolution.
Estimation of monsoon wind characteristics in India
Authors: BHARGAVA P. K.
Published: January 2022

A detailed statistical analysis of monthly average wind speed data of monsoon period (June-September) for the year 1921-90  for 57 stations spread all over India have been reported. Probability densities, average wind speeds, standard deviations, kurtosis and  skewness of wind speed frequency distribution for each station have been worked out. Histograms depicting relative frequency distribution of average wind speeds have also been prepared. It is observed  that the different histograms do not exhibit any similarity among themselves indicating thereby  that no single distribution is uniformly applicable for all the stations. It is also seen that the average  wind speeds during monsoon period over major part of India  varies from 7 to 14 kmph. Further, at most of the stations average monsoon  wind speed is generally higher than average annual wind speeds. It is also noted that most of the time the wind speed exceeds 10 kmph in coastal regions of Gujarat and southern parts of the peninsular India. The information generated is of multi fold application such as (i) Identification of sites suitable for installation of Wind Energy Conversion Systems  (ii) Development of Driving Rain Index and (iii) Design of buildings for creating comfortable environment indoors.
Prediction of potential and attainable yield of wheat : A case study on yield gap
Authors: MALL R. K. , SRIVASTAVA M. K.
Published: January 2022

This study reports the role of field experimentation and system simulation in better quantifying the productivity of wheat crop, and examine how knowledge on potential productivity can improve the efficiency of the production system. When knowledge from field experimentation is utilised into crop weather simulation models, gap between actual, attainable and potential yield for a given environment can be determined and opportunities for yield improvement can be assessed. Results show that while actual district average yields show increasing trend, decreasing trend is noticed in potential and attainable yield. While the total and management yield gap is decreasing over time, research yield gap does not show any trend, it is nearly stagnant from early eighties to late nineties. The study reported here presents the advantage of simulation models to determine the yield gap against a variable annual yield potential for a agro-climatic region.
Tropospheric temperature variation over India and links with the Indian summer monsoon : 1971-2000
Authors: KOTHAWALE D. R. , KUMAR K. RUPA
Published: January 2022

In the context of the ever increasing interest in the regional aspects of global warming, understanding the spatio-temporal variations of tropospheric temperature over India is of great importance. The present study, based on the data from 19 well distributed radiosonde stations for the period 1971-2000, examines the seasonal and annual mean temperature variations at the surface and five selected upper levels, viz., 850, 700, 500, 200 and 150 hPa. An attempt has also been made to bring out the association between tropospheric temperature variations over India and the summer monsoon variability, including the role of its major teleconnection parameter, the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO).

 

Seasonal and annual mean all-India temperature series are analyzed for surface and five tropospheric levels.  The mean annual cycles of temperature at different tropospheric levels indicate that the pre-monsoon season is slightly warmer than the monsoon season at the surface, 850 hPa and 150 hPa levels, while it is relatively cooler at all intermediate levels.  The mean annual temperature shows a warming of 0.18° C and 0.3° C per 10 years at the surface and 850 hPa, respectively.

 

Tropospheric temperature anomaly composites of excess (deficient) monsoon rainfall years show pronounced positive (negative) anomalies during the month of May, at all the levels.  The pre-monsoon pressure of Darwin has significant positive correlation with the monsoon temperature at the surface and 850 hPa.
Predictive relationships between Indian Ocean sea surface temperatures and Indian summer monsoon rainfall
Authors: RAJEEVAN M. , PAI D. S. , THAPLIYAL V.
Published: January 2022

Monthly sea surface temperature (SST) data of 49 years (1950-98) have been analysed to examine the relationship of SST anomalies in the Indian Ocean with Indian summer monsoon rainfall (ISMR) and to derive useful predictors for long-range forecasts of ISMR. There is significant positive relationship between ISMR and SST anomalies over the Arabian Sea during November to January and also in May. SST anomalies over southeast Indian Ocean during February to March and over North Pacific during May are also positively correlated with ISMR. The composite analysis revealed that in Non-ENSO drought years (1966, 1968, 1974 and 1979) negative SST anomalies are observed over south Indian Ocean from February which slowly spread towards equator during the subsequent months. These negative SST anomalies which persist during the monsoon season may be playing an important role in modulating ISMR especially in non-ENSO years.

 

We have derived two indices, ARBSST (SST anomalies in Arabian Sea averaged over 15o - 25o N, 50o -70o E      and November-December-January) and SIOSST (SST anomalies over south Indian Ocean averaged over 15o -30o S,      70o -110o E and February and March) as useful predictors for the long-range forecasts of ISMR. The correlation coefficient (for the period 1950-98) of ARBSST and SIOSST with ISMR is 0.45 and 0.46 respectively which is statistically significant at 99.9 % level. SIOSST index has shown consistently stable relationship with ISMR. However the ARBSST index showed significant correlation with ISMR only after 1976.
Defining the Opioid Requirement in Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction
Authors: Sayegh Eli T. , Otto Tracey S. , Garvey Kirsten D. , Martin Anna , Lowenstein Natalie A. , Matzkin Elizabeth G.
Published: January 2022

Introduction:

The amount and duration of opioids necessary after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) are inadequately defined. This study sought to prospectively (1) define the amount and duration of opioid consumption, (2) investigate the relationship between preoperative pain expectation and postoperative satisfaction with pain management, and (3) identify risk factors for increased opioid use after ACLR.

Methods:

One hundred eight patients undergoing primary ACLR with hamstring graft were prospectively analyzed for preoperative pain expectation, using visual analog scale (VAS) rating, and postoperative satisfaction with pain management. Univariate and multivariate analyses were done to identify patient characteristics associated with satisfaction and/or amount and duration of opioid use.

Results:

Mean duration and cumulative intake of opioid consumption after ACLR were 5.3 days and 15.3 tablets, respectively. Patients expected moderate postoperative pain: mean preoperative VAS = 68.9. The preoperative VAS rating was associated with a significantly greater amount (P = 0.0265) and longer duration (P = 0.0212) of opioid consumption. Baseline opioid users took opioids for twice as long postoperatively (10.0 versus 5.0 days; P = 0.0149) and consumed twice as many tablets (29.3 versus 14.8 tablets; P = 0.0280) compared with opioid-naive patients.

Discussion:

This study demonstrated on average 15.3 opioid tablets over 5.3 days provided satisfactory pain management after ACLR. Risk factors for increased opioid consumption included preoperative opioid use.
TUBULAR STRENGTH COMPARISON OF OFFSHORE JACKET STRUCTURES UNDER API RP2A AND ISO 19902
Authors: B. Idrus Arazi , Potty Narayanan Sambu , Nizamani Zafarullah
Published: January 2022

Offshore jacket platforms in Malaysia are designed using API RP2A Working Stress Design (WSD) code. WSD code has proved its effectiveness and has been in use for long time, but it needs to be changed into Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) based code which is being followed by all building code agencies. In WSD, design safety factor is provided only on resistance side and is based on judgement and experience. In place of WSD, Limit State Design or LRFD has proved to be more rational as it is based on probabilistic models. The reliability of jacket platforms is maintained in API RP2A LRFD by setting target safety factor the same as that provided in WSD designs, which means structures designed as per LRFD code will have the same reliability as API RP2A WSD (which has already provided safe structures and the best available practice for design). When adopting LRFD methodology, the appropriate load and resistance factors can be optimised through the process of calibration. Knowledge of the strength equations in the different codes and the similarities and differences between them is useful for the calibration. The first step in the calibration process is the determination of reliability of structural tubular members of the jacket designed as per existing practice of WSD and LRFD code. Here in this research, API RP2A WSD code and International Standard Organization (ISO 19902) (LRFD based code) are taken into consideration for the reliability analysis. In this paper, the relevant strength equations of three codes are identified and compared and the similarities and differences are determined for tubular members which are the main part of jacket structures.
An efficient secure sum of multi-scalar products protocol base on elliptic curve
Authors: Van Vu Thi , Dung Luong The , Quan Hoang Van , Luong Tran Thi
Published: January 2022

The secure scalar product protocol is widely applied to solve practical problems such as privacy-preserving data mining, secure auction, secure electronic voting, privacy-preserving recommendation system, privacy-preserving statistical data analysis, etc.. In this paper, we propose an efficient multi-party secure computation protocol using Elliptic curve cryptography, which allows to compute the sum value of multi-scalar products without revealing about the input vectors. Moreover, theoretical and experimental analysis shows that the proposed method is more efficient than others in both computation and communication.