bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Initiatives durables dans un contexte supply chain management santé hospitalier
Authors: Babei Jean , Nzololo Moyo
Published: January 2023

Le but légitime de la supply chain santé hospitalière est la création de valeur pour le patient. Ceci dans un contexte multi-partenarial. Les professionnels de la santé (médecins, infirmiers et assimilés), les collecteurs de déchets, les managers, les pharmaciens et les patients sont tous membres de la chaîne. D’importantes quantités de déchets sont produites dans ces établissements, particulièrement à risques pour le personnel qui les manipulent. Cet article ambitionne de mettre en évidence quelques initiatives durables au sein de la supply chain santé. Une étude a été conduite au Cameroun, auprès d’un échantillon de 64 responsables des trois catégories d’hôpitaux les plus fréquentés. La démarche méthodologique était quantitative. Aussi, une analyse en composantes principales a été conduite. Les résultats ont permis de mettre en évidence une série d’initiatives durables potentielles : la sensibilisation aux risques via les affichages, l’usage de vidéos ou de panneaux électroniques ; la diffusion de la proportion annuelle des patients ayant retrouvé leur santé ; des primes pour le port régulier des EPI ; le recours aux technologies avancées, réseaux, ERP ou Cloud ; une gestion rationnelle des déchets ; l’installation d’un système de surveillance des f lux de produits ; l’organisation de campagne de lutte contre les médicaments et produits contrefaits ; l’organisation de séminaires sur la satisfaction du patient et la prise en compte du long terme dans la sélection des salariés.
Le niveau de maturité digitale de la chaîne logistique interne des établissements de santé de la province de Québec : une étude exploratoire
Authors: Belanger Valérie , Cousineau Martin , Snowdon Anne , Beaulieu Martin
Published: January 2023

La digitalisation interpelle autant les praticiens que les chercheurs depuis quelques années. Elle s’impose naturellement dans le domaine de la gestion de la chaîne logistique où la gestion des flux d’information occupe une place prépondérante. Au Québec (Canada), la digitalisation de la chaîne logistique des établissements de santé semble présenter des lacunes historiques : présence de stocks importants dans les différents maillons de la chaîne logistique combinée simultanément à des pénuries ou des ruptures de stocks. Pourtant, la digitalisation peut constituer une avenue prometteuse afin de rehausser la performance des établissements de santé. En considérant les investissements nécessaires afin d’opérer un tel virage, la digitalisation des chaînes logistiques doit être réalisée de manière stratégique afin d’en maximiser les bénéfices. Il devient donc important de réaliser un diagnostic de l’état des pratiques dans les établissements de santé afin de guider le choix des décideurs. Le présent article vise donc à répondre à la question de recherche suivante : quel est le niveau de maturité digitale de la chaîne logistique interne des établissements de santé de la province de Québec ? Afin de collecter les données nécessaires pour répondre à la question de recherche, un questionnaire visant à mesurer la maturité digitale de la chaîne logistique interne des établissements de santé sur quatre dimensions, soit l’automatisation, l’analyse prédictive des données, l’intégration clinique, et le leadership et la gouvernance, a été administré. Les analyses réalisées permettent de constater que le niveau de maturité digitale des établissements de santé est généralement bas. Conséquemment, des efforts importants sont à déployer pour atteindre un niveau de maturité supérieur. En particulier, le leadership et la gouvernance semblent jouer un rôle important. Ainsi, les décideurs doivent prendre le temps nécessaire de bien évaluer la présence de leadership avant d’amorcer des projets plus élaborés de digitalisation.
Bipartite fixed-time output containment control of heterogeneous linear multi-agent systems
Authors: Liu Zihan , Zhan Xisheng , Wu Jie , Yan Huaicheng
Published: January 2023

This study researches the bipartite fixed-time output containment control problem of heterogeneous linear MASs with signed digraphs. The leaders' states can be estimated by a designed distributed bipartite compensator. Furthermore, each follower is allocated a time-varying coupling weight, an adaptive bipartite fixed-time protocol is raised which can estimate the leader's system matrix but also the leader's state. On the foundation of control protocols, followers' outputs are included by the convex hull constituted by leaders' outputs. In addition, by utilizing the Lyapunov function theory, some abundant speculative knowledges are deduced to guarantee adaptive bipartite fixed-time output containment of multi-agent systems. Finally, the feasibility of the anticipant theoretical results is verified by a set of simulation examples.
The Smart Society Concepts and Elements for Assuring a Green Future
Authors: Nagode Kristina , Tomat Luka , Manfreda Anton
Published: January 2023

The cities and society are bound to change, and the residents want them to be pleasant places to live. Modern digital technology can provide different solutions that can solve several problems that cities are facing and can be applied to existing infrastructure as well. However, merely implementing the technology is not enough, and cities need to exploit the potential of digital resources, accept and utilize digital resources to support their strategies, and leverage each technology. Since digitalization has a broad impact on both organizations and society, this chapter will review the concept of digitalization as an enabler and facilitator of smart cities together with presenting the concept of a smart society and its impact on the green future. Several research areas are outlined in the chapter with important elements of a smart city and society that assure a green and sustainable future.
Use of Green Bonds to Promote Green Projects
Authors: Yücel Öykü
Published: January 2023

With increasing concern in environment and sustainability and rising costs, the need for alternative financing mechanisms has arisen. Especially in developing countries, where financial resources are scarce, it is necessary to come up with new ways of financing options to cover for the upfront investment needs of green projects. Recently green bonds are commonly used to finance green projects. Like conventional bonds, green bonds are fixed income securities, however proceeds of green bonds can only be used in financing or re-financing new or existing green projects that have environmental benefits. In this chapter the author details the concept and types of green bonds, figures on how developed and integrated green bond market is, green bond principles and measurement of objectives, regulatory bodies, investment advantages and risks, investment alternatives, real-life examples as well as suggested greenium (green premium) and concept for investors.
An Overview of Sustainable Public Transportation in Higher Education
Authors: Irgin Pelin
Published: January 2023

Very few engineering and business/management education programs emphasize the importance of sustainable public transportation in urban environments, even though agencies and practitioners recognize it. Many undergraduate and graduate students have little training on how a sustainable public transport system is planned, designed, and operationalized, which is critical for a better understanding of sustainability and equity in public transportation. Content and instructional materials in sustainable public transportation education are still not readily available for practitioners. Therefore, this chapter aims to examine the public content and instructional materials on the websites of various universities in North America and Europe and to understand their commitment to education in sustainable public transportation, specifically to “sustainable public transportation” courses offered in the programs. It addresses how sustainability and equity in public transportation are integrated with textual and visual materials used in engineering and business/management education programs.
The Use of Information and Communication Technologies and Renewable Energy in Europe
Authors: Nincevic Pasalic Ivana
Published: January 2023

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) can help in cutting up to 20% of global carbon emissions by assisting consumers, different industries, and the public sector in energy savings and energy efficiency improvement. This chapter explores the relationship between ICTs and the development of renewable energy in European countries. In the first part of the research, the author conducted a cluster analysis to measure the differences in the use of ICTs in Europe through information society indicators. The results of the clustering (hierarchical and K-means) showed the existence of four clusters, and the increased differences between clusters from 2015 to 2020. The second part of the research confirms the existence of differences between clusters in the share of energy consumption from renewable sources, and the differences proved to be statistically significant. The results are discussed in terms of implications for public transportation, concluding that local governments must start and/or keep using ICTs for urban solutions for the future to be greener and sustainable.
Evaluation of the Barriers to the Use of Sustainable Transportation Systems in City Logistics With an Integrated Grey DEMATEL-ANP Approach
Authors: Durmaz Nida , Budak Aysenur
Published: January 2023

The rapid increase in journeys, freight transport, and the use of private vehicles in cities causes environmental problems such as the decrease in urban environmental quality as well as economic and social problems in transportation. In this context, the concept of the city logistics shows up to improve and maintain logistics activities in settlements. It is necessary to define the barriers to the use of sustainable transportation systems in city logistics and to plan strategic steps by prioritizing these barriers according to their importance. In this study, an integrated approach of Grey DEMATEL-ANP is proposed to model these barriers in the city logistics for Istanbul. The proposed method determines the cause-effect relationships and relative weights of the key barriers. The results of this study may help decision makers and practitioners to address the key barriers highlighted and provide the theoretical guideline to use the sustainable transport systems across city logistics successfully.
Metaverse Applications as a Tool in Urban Policy Design
Authors: Kemeç Abidin
Published: January 2023

The purpose of this chapter is to make assessments of the metaverse's utility in urban policies. Within the scope of the study, the role of the metaverse in increasing people's quality of life, increasing efficiency in business processes, and creating policies that will meet expectations by changing the understanding of service delivery in public administration will be discussed. A literature review was conducted in this context in order to develop a theoretical framework for the concept of the metaverse. In the literature review, articles, book chapters, proceedings papers, websites, and reports were used. In the application part, the projects carried out by the municipalities on the metaverse were examined in detail within the scope of city management.
Ethical Concerns in the Metaverse Business
Authors: Anshari Muhammad , Syafrudin Muhammad , Fitriyani Norma Latif , Al-Mudimigh Abdullah
Published: January 2023

Companies are beginning to utilize the metaverse to broaden their service network and create new co-creation value for their clients. To better understand how the metaverse phenomena could impact corporate sustainability, investigative research should be conducted. In this chapter, the authors looked at the moral issues raised by businesses using metaverse to gain a competitive advantage. An exploratory evaluation of business ethics and a metaverse business model were used. Users, the general public, and consumers have a right to be fully informed of and understand that their data cannot be used by a third party for any reason in accordance with the consequentialist utilitarian principle and the notion of moral unity. Finally, those working in the disciplines of technology and public policy, including academics, entrepreneurs, and legislators, are expected to use the study.
A Step Forward, Two Steps Backward
Authors: Anjum Khan M.
Published: January 2023

Despite the revolutionary changes in the Indian nation's culture and lifestyle over the past few decades, the dominant attitude towards gender has not experienced a significant change. Although gender inequality and violence incited by gender identity prevail mostly in the villages, but the urban spaces are no exception to these phenomena. This chapter focuses on how Indu Sundaresan's short story collection In the Convent of Little Flowers explores and excavates the half-dead truths of gender inequality in the country concealed under pseudo modernity and social progress. It is argued that the collection includes narratives that present counter-histories of urban spaces where women confront challenges and exploitation. In pursuing this argument, the chapter uses a socio-spatial approach to demonstrate how urbanization is not a gender gap equalizer and to show how the line between rural and urban spaces is overlapping and crisscrossing.
Reshaping Existing Discourses on Urban Spaces
Authors: Sebastine Kiron Susan Joseph
Published: January 2023

Activism can occur in urban spaces independent of their spatial proportions. This chapter analyses the representations of women's activism as observed in their autobiographical works. The study focusses on women's activism documented in life writings by Nalini Jameela titled The Autobiography of a Sex Worker (2007) and Kiran Bedi's Dare to Do! For the New Generation (2012). The chapter draws upon the sociologist Mario Diani's deliberations on the different types of grassroot activism and social movements that can be understood as a manifestation of the right to the city struggle. Through a comparative analysis of the texts, the chapter examines how city spaces can become arenas of transformation, and the myriad ways people can come together to propose a common agenda and conjointly act to accomplish their goals.
Transnational Urban Solidarities
Authors: Lashkari Maryam
Published: January 2023

In theorizing solidarity among women, feminist scholars often ask what is it that can unite women in their fight against misogynistic social, cultural, and political structures, without reinforcing a victimized discourse and subjectivity. This chapter addresses the question by examining solidarities among Iranian feminist and women's activists in light of the existing dynamics between urban and virtual spaces. To this end, the study examines eye-witness accounts obtained from semi-structured interviews with activists, scholars, and policymakers, and conducts a content analysis of organizations' websites, journals, and documents. The findings indicate that feminist solidarities are moving across geographical scales ranging from the body, neighborhoods, cities, and beyond nation-state borders. Furthermore, although virtual spaces have provided significant tools for shaping feminist solidarities for Iranians, platform biases and authoritarian interventions have posed challenges against feminist activities and agendas.
Engendering the City
Authors: Jin Jiayi , Huang Kexin , Zhu Mingyu
Published: January 2023

The city of Cairo has witnessed a considerable increase in crimes against women, compelling women to avoid or minimise their use of public spaces in recent years. The absence of consideration for women in city planning has made Egyptian women feel further excluded and threatened by the public space, in addition to the patriarchal social relations and religious conservatism. As part of the ‘gender-inclusive cities' research project, this study adopts a participatory approach as a tool for women's empowerment with the goal of promoting bottom-up models of planning, dissolving gendered norms, and improving women's status in a patriarchal society. The chapter provides an example of localised gender-inclusive design addressing women's spatial sensibilities and connecting them to the broader objectives of participation and emancipation. The findings of this study can help planners and policy makers co-create safer public spaces for local women, reduce spatial inequality, and facilitate their right to the city.
A preliminary study of cost and energy analysis of bio-fuel production from microalgae cultivated in parboiled rice mill wastewater
Authors: Mudunkothge H. P. , Jayarathne D. P. R. U. A. V. , Shanthamareen M. , Ketheesan B.
Published: January 2023

Microalgae industry is rapidly growing industry with high potential for value added products. Especially microalgae derived biofuels provide a sustainable solution for continuously rising energy crisis, food security and greenhouse gas emission. However, at present economical limitations make this green fuel not commercially viable. Integrating wastewater treatment with the microalgae cultivation can significantly reduce the biofuel production cost. Parboiled rice mill is rich in nutrients and capable of providing inexpensive water resources. Nevertheless, energy and cost analysis are required in order to ensure the cost effectiveness of such approaches. Thus, the study evaluates the cultivation of microalgae in rice mill wastewater in the outdoor uncontrolled conditions for the cost and energy effective, biofuel production. Microalgae biomass was cultivated in low-cost poly-bags of 3L volume using parboiled rice mill wastewater in outdoor. Cultivation was done under ambient temperature with 0.2vvm aeration without any optimization of the natural environmental conditions. This can be rationalized to reflect a realistic scenario in terms cost and energy estimation of production of lipid and bio-ethanol at laboratory scale. The obtained bioethanol and lipid yield were 1.4% and 5.81% respectively. Cultivation of the microalgae consumed 2.16 MJ of energy per gram. The required energy content for production of bioethanol and lipid from a gram of biomass were 3.61764 MJ and 3.5336 MJ respectively. Cost of microalgae cultivation to produce gram of bioethanol and lipid were $ 22.91 and $ 5.52 respectively. Total production cost per gram of bioethanol and lipid were $ 64.73 and $ 55.91 respectively. These values are comparatively exorbitant. Since the production was at very small scale and the yield was very low due to the microalgae cultivation in outdoor under natural condition in laboratory scale. The production of biofuel could become economically feasible if the yield could optimally increase and simultaneous production of bioethanol and lipid along with other value added products such as biofertilizer, aquaculture feed etc. could be achieved. Therefore, the method resulted in the lower cultivation cost can be incorporated with the residual biomass utilization and could produce sustainable microalgae biofuel.
The Impact of Exchange Rate Volatility on Industrial Exports: A Case of Sri Lanka
Authors: Rathnayaka I. W. , Dunusinghe D. D. P. M.
Published: January 2023

The developing world witnessed the exchange rate fluctuations enormously to instability and a lack of economic confidence over the years. The relationship between exchange volatility and industrial exports in Sri Lanka is a continuing matter in economic growth and development. Many developing countries are engaging in a wide range of cross-border transactions with developed and emerging economic countries. This situation has led countries to witness exchange rate fluctuations, and the unpredictability of exchange rates affects the export earnings. The relationship between exchange rate volatility and industrial exports in Sri Lanka is a continuing matter in economic growth and development. The aim of this study is to analyze the exchange rate volatility on industrial exports in Sri Lanka from 2001 to 2018. The motivation of this study is to investigate the relationship between exchange rate volatility in industrial export earnings in Sri Lanka after implementing floating exchange rate policy. The ARDL model is employed to examine this phenomenon and the study found a positive relationship between exchange rate volatility and industrial exports in Sri Lanka in the short run and long run.
TET Proteins in the Spotlight: Emerging Concepts of Epigenetic Regulation in T Cell Biology
Authors: Tsagaratou Ageliki
Published: January 2023

Ten-eleven translocation (TET) proteins are dioxygenases that oxidize 5-methylcytosine to form 5-hydroxymethylcytosine and downstream oxidized modified cytosines. In the past decade, intensive research established that TET-mediated DNA demethylation is critical for immune cell development and function. In this study, we discuss major advances regarding the role of TET proteins in regulating gene expression in the context of T cell lineage specification, function, and proliferation. Then, we focus on open questions in the field. We discuss recent findings regarding the diverse roles of TET proteins in other systems, and we ask how these findings might relate to T cell biology. Finally, we ask how this tremendous progress on understanding the multifaceted roles of TET proteins in shaping T cell identity and function can be translated to improve outcomes of human disease, such as hematological malignancies and immune response to cancer.
Integrating Yoga Into Undergraduate American Medical Education
Authors: Pitta Sridevi R. , Reischman Alexandra , Zalenski Robert
Published: January 2023

Undergraduate medical education (UGME) is the time when doctors' attitudes toward patients and their profession are formed. It is also a period of tremendous stress for future physicians, including high levels of negative stress. Such stress can be maladaptive and may sow the seeds of burnout and long-term dissatisfaction. We believe that the introduction of yoga practice in the 1st year of medical school could ameliorate the negative stressors to which undergraduate medical students are exposed. Although there are some studies in the U.S. and internationally that support the use of Yoga in UGME, they do not provide sufficient data to make a compelling case for widespread implementation of yoga programs in undergraduate curricula. We, therefore, wish to advocate for conducting a trial of the integration of yoga in the undergraduate medical curriculum to combine yoga's ancient health wisdom into the context of modern scientific medicine. Large, prospective, multicenter, and multi-method pilot projects are needed to identify how a program of yoga practice and theory could counter the UGME environment that ultimately produces depression, anxiety, and non-effective coping strategies among medical students. A curriculum for yoga for undergraduate medical students deserves serious consideration and a prominent place among efforts to improve UGME.
Yoga as an Escape from Depreciating Mental Health due to COVID 19
Authors: Malhotra Varun , Sampath Ananyan , Javed Danish , Bharshankar Rajay , Mishra Shweta , Singh Vijender , Singh Dibyanshu , Kulkarni Avani , Gautam Namita , Rastogi Rimjhim
Published: January 2023

Introduction:

The COVID-19 pandemic has left an array of direct physical consequences unevenly on the elderly apart from leaving a wide range of indirect consequences of mental health problems on them. This study aims to understand the effect of a Yoga-Meditation based mobile phone application intervention to reduce the duress by mental health issues via a qualitative analysis.

Methods:

A phenomenological qualitative succession of an explanatory sequential design of a prior quantitative study followed by a Yoga-Meditation mobile phone based intervention, where 30 participants who had mild or moderate Depression, Anxiety or Stress as assessed by DASS-21 were chosen by random sampling and were asked to take part in an interview. The interview was transcribed, coded, patterns identified and themes were created to understand the perceptions.

Results:

Three major schools of thought were identified and explored to understand the general perception of Mental health, COVID-19 and the intervention: a) Knowledge Axis patterns of COVID-19, which included their prior knowledge about the disease, its consequences and their cues to action based on those beliefs, b) Mental Health and Strategies to Positivity, involves all their actions to promote, restore or propagate a positive mental attitude from religious activities to physical activities and c) Application related thoughts, involved their perceptions of the app, the barriers to use and suggestions to improve.

Conclusion:

This study gave deeper insight into the schools of thought which will be important in designing future interventions and yoga-meditation based programs in the future, essentially for geriatric populations as it serves as a feasible simple measure for the same.
Yoga as an Adjunct Therapy for Musculoskeletal Pain and Burnout in Orthopedic Surgery
Authors: Brown Jeffrey Mark , Wellman Mariah L.
Published: January 2023

Orthopedic surgeons face significant physical and psychosocial stressors during their training as surgical residents and throughout their career. Aside from occupational hazards intrinsic to the profession, two notable and treatable concerns are musculoskeletal pain and emotional burnout, which have a reported prevalence as high as 97% and 56%, respectively, among orthopedic residents. Management of musculoskeletal pain and burnout is essential for promoting surgeon well being, education, and longevity as well as avoiding medical errors and compromises to patient care. This perspective manuscript describes the occupational challenges faced by orthopedic surgeons and promotes a habitual practice of yoga as an adjunct therapy for managing musculoskeletal pain and emotional burnout, and furthermore, introduces the need to reconsider gendered perceptions surrounding orthopedics and the practice of yoga in a profession largely comprised of men.
Smart Yoga Instructor for Guiding and Correcting Yoga Postures in Real Time
Authors: Kishore D Mohan , Bindu S , Manjunath Nandi Krishnamurthy
Published: January 2023

In recent days, Yoga is gaining more prominence and people all over the world have started to practice it. Performing Yoga with proper postures is beneficial. Hence, an instructor is required to monitor the correctness of Yoga postures. However, at times, it is difficult to have an instructor. This study aims to provide a system that will act as a personal Yoga instructor and practitioners can practice Yoga in their comfort zone. The device is interactive and provides audio guidance to perform different Yoga asanas. It makes the use of a camera to capture the picture of the person performing Yoga in a particular position. This captured pose is compared with the benchmark postures. A pretrained deep learning model is used for the classification of different Yoga postures using a standard dataset. Based on the comparison, the practitioner's posture will be corrected using a voice message to move the body parts in a certain direction. As the device performs all the operations in real-time, it has a quick response time of a few seconds. Currently, this work aids the practitioners in performing five Asanas, namely, Ardha Chandrasana/Half-moon pose, Tadasana/Mountain pose, Trikonasana/Triangular pose, Veerabhadrasana/Warrior pose, and Vrikshasana/Tree pose.
Heartfulness Meditation Alters Electroencephalogram Oscillations
Authors: Krishna Dwivedi , Prasanna Krishna , Angadi Basavaraj , Singh Bikesh Kumar , Anurag Shrivastava , Deepeshwar Singh
Published: January 2023

Background:

Heartfulness meditation (HM) has been shown to have positive impacts on cognition and well-being, which makes it important to look into the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying the phenomenon.

Aim:

A cross-sectional study was conducted on HM meditators and nonmeditators to assess frontal electrical activities of the brain and self-reported anxiety and mindfulness.

Settings and Design:

The present study employed a cross-sectional design.

Methods:

Sixty-one participants were recruited, 28 heartfulness meditators (average age male: 31.54 ± 4.2 years and female: 30.04 ± 7.1 years) and 33 nonmeditators (average age male: 25 ± 8.5 years and female: 23.45 ± 6.5 years). An electroencephalogram (EEG) was employed to assess brain activity during baseline (5 min), meditation (10 min), transmission (10 min) and post (5 min). Self-reported mindfulness and anxiety were also collected in the present study. The EEG power spectral density (PSD) and coherence were processed using MATLAB. The statistical analysis was performed using an independent sample t-test for trait mindfulness and anxiety, repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) for state mindfulness and anxiety, and Two-way multivariate ANOVA for EEG spectral frequency and coherence.

Results:

The results showed higher state and trait mindfulness, P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively, and lower state and trait anxiety, P < 0.05 and P < 0.05, respectively. The PSD outcomes showed higher theta (P < 0.001) and alpha (P < 0.01); lower beta (P < 0.001) and delta (P < 0.05) power in HM meditators compared to nonmeditators. Similarly, higher coherence was found in the theta (P < 0.01), alpha (P < 0.05), and beta (P < 0.01) bands in HM meditators.

Conclusions:

These findings suggest that HM practice may result in wakeful relaxation and internalized attention that can influence cognition and behavior.
Yoga Module Development and Validation
Authors: Katla Naresh , Ramsahaye Atmika , Thulasi Arun , Ilavarasu Judu , Jagannathan Aarti , Bhargav Hemant , Varambally Shivarama , Gangadhar Nanjudaiah
Published: January 2023

In the past decades, more than fifty different yoga styles have been implemented in the therapeutic context to manage various diseases. Yet, not all of these yoga styles have been validated or standardized as a program. The aim of this article is to review the different methodologies used for yoga module development and to assess their quality. Three databases (PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus) were searched using the following keywords and Boolean operators: (validation OR development OR design) AND (yoga OR mind-body) AND (module OR protocol OR program). Three thousand six hundred and seventy-one articles were enlisted, and based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 37 articles were narrowed down for review. Since no checklist exists to assess the quality of yoga modules, the authors designed a 23-item checklist to categorize each having low, medium, or high quality. As per the yoga module quality checklist, only 21.6% of the studies had high quality, while 75.3% of the articles had medium quality and 8.11% had low quality. A commonly used development method was literature review, while for validation, experts' scoring of the Likert scale was the preferred means. The feasibility of the module was carried out only by half of the studies. Few diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, obesity, Parkinson's disease, and obesity had more than one yoga module developed. The findings of this systematic review have shed some light on the growing need for standardized methods of yoga module development. The 23-item checklist can guide researchers in the homogeneous development strategies when designing yoga interventions in the future.
Nine Techniques of Prāāyāma from One Yoga-Sūtra? A Review of 15 Safsta Commentaries of Yogasūtra 1.34
Authors: Mahadevan Jayaraman
Published: January 2023

The current pandemic situation has put a lot of strain on both the human respiratory system and mind. As contemporary sources are to be explored to find solace and solution, ancient yogic resources in this regard should also be systematically studied. With this as background, a study of hitherto less noticed Sūtra in the first chapter of Yogasūtras-pracchardanavidhāraābhyāṁ vā prāasya (1.34) was done based on 15 Safskta commentaries ranging from 4th to 20th century CE. This Sūtra mentions about a practice of prāāyāma toward attainment of calmness of the mind. Calmness of mind is an indicator of subjective wellbeing – which will be necessary in facing the challenges posed by the pandemic confidently and effectively. A systematic study of these commentaries reveals nine unique techniques of Prāāyāma toward steadiness and calmness of the mind (Cittasthairya and Cittaprasādana). It is to be noted that these techniques are not to be found in any of the numerous Haṭhayoga texts that run parallel to the period of the commentaries of Yogasūtras. Although the commentaries also add other insights on the practice including the kind of food for the practitioners, the mechanism of working of this Prāāyāma in bringing about the outcomes, and so on, this paper focuses on the nine techniques only, to draw the attention of researchers and practitioners for further exploration, validation, and utilization.
Madonmada of Bhela samhita
Authors: Gupta Kshama , Mamidi Prasad
Published: January 2023

A unique condition called “Mada” or “Madonmada” is available in Bhela samhita. Mada is considered as a prodromal phase of Unamada, or it can occur as an independent disease condition also. Mada/Madonmada is caused by various traumatic events or extreme stressors, and it is characterized by various features such as pradhyayati (immersed in thoughts/flashbacks/recurrent or persistent distressing thoughts), praswapati (excessive sleep), animittitam rodati (crying without any reason/pervasive negative emotions/depressed mood), akasmaat hasati (laughing inappropriately or without any reason/disorganized behavior), nidraalu (hypersomnia/excessive sleep), alpa vaak (diminished speech or poverty of speech/social withdrawal), nityam utsuka (hypervigilant/restlessness), trasta shareeri (tiredness/weakness), deenaaksha (depression/pervasive negative emotions), krodhana (angry outbursts/irritable behavior), nirapatrapa (self-destructive behavior/recklessness), purastaat avalokee (exaggerated startle response), na yathavritta eva (disorganized or abnormal behavior), parushatva of roma (roughness or dryness of skin and hair), and aavilam chakshusha (confused/teary eyes). Mada/Madonmada has shown similarity with various psychiatric conditions such as “acute stress disorder,” “posttraumatic stress disorder,” “brief psychotic disorder,” and “adjustment disorder.” The present study provides insights for clinical implementation of “Mada/Madonmada” in the diagnosis and management of “trauma- and stressor-related disorders” in terms of Ayurveda. It is astonishing that thousands of years before, “Acharya Bhela” has documented the conditions such as trauma- and stressor-related disorders in the form of Mada or Madonmada.
Bondage and Freedom
Authors: Wang Zanyi , Rawat Vikas , Yu Xinli , Panda Ramesh Chandra
Published: January 2023

Freedom has been the eternal theme of human pursuit since ancient times. Freedom is always related to bondage, it is difficult to only talk about freedom without bondage. These two concepts are extremely important in Eastern philosophy and relevant to the modern thinking of India and China. The concepts of bondage and freedom in ancient India and ancient China are derived from their respective cultures; the striking similarity of both sides is the starting point of this paper. Pursuit of freedom is the eternal theme in all Upanishads and Zhuangzi, the means to attain ultimate freedom is to understand the real self. The ancient scriptures explained bondage and freedom in their ways. The Upanishads and Zhuangzi share the same desire for freedom, which refers to the realm of spiritual freedom. They all seek an absolute reality, and there is no difference in essence between the knowledge of the Brahman and the self, and the knowledge of the Tao and I is the same. One is bound because one does not know the ultimate reality. To obtain the ultimate reality is to obtain the highest freedom. This article tries to trace back to the source of ancient Indian scriptures and early Taoism scriptures, from the start point of the origin of bondage and freedom, the cause of bondage, the solution of bondage, and the result, and to analyze the similarities and differences of the two important concepts “bondage” and “freedom” in both traditions.
Enhancing the Sustainable Development Goals through Yoga-Based Learning
Authors: Dayananda Swamy H R , Agoramoorthy Govindasamy
Published: January 2023

Learning based on indigenous knowledge has been widely accepted as an important means to inspire and enforce the sustainable development goals (SDGs) mandated by the United Nations. Nevertheless, little is known on the potential of yoga-based traditional learning to enhance the SDGs. In fact, yoga-based learning started in India over two millennia ago, and the practice has gained global attention in recent decades. This article discusses the less known aspect of how students can learn more about yoga-based knowledge to refine their personalities to promote the SDGs. It also discusses teachers, especially those who lead yoga knowledge transferring enterprises in catalyzing the active participation of learners leading to sustainable outcomes to preserve nature and decelerate climate change consequences.
Differential Effects of Classical Yoga Intervention on Resilience of Male and Female Migrant College Students
Authors: Karmalkar Sanhitta J , Vaidya Alpana
Published: January 2023

Background:

Yoga is effective for managing stress and increasing resilience of college students. However, there is a scarcity of research on differences between males and females in the effects of Yoga.

Aim:

The present study aims to investigate the effect Classical Yoga Intervention (CYI) on resilience of rural-to-urban migrant college students as migration is a challenging situation demanding resilient adaptation. It also explores sex differences in the effects of CYI.

Methods:

The study included 125 migrant college students (age 16–18 years). Sixty-two students (30 males, 32 females) from the CYI group underwent 40 sessions of CYI and 63 (33 males, 30 females) in the control group did not receive intervention at that time. Resilience was measured using Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale. Mixed Analysis of Variance was conducted to understand the independent and interactive effects of test time (pretest, posttest), sex (male, female), and group (CYI, control).

Results:

CYI group improved significantly on resilience as compared to control group from pretest to posttest indicating positive effects of Yoga. CYI group females were significantly higher than control group females on posttest scores of resilience, whereas no difference was found between CYI and control group males. Within the CYI group, no significant difference was found between males and females on posttest scores of resilience.

Conclusion:

The study indicates a positive effect of CYI on resilience. Although females of the CYI group showed higher improvements as compared to control group females, it can be said that Yoga is effective for both males and females.
The Transparent Mind and the Peaceful Self
Authors: Deshmukh Vinod D.
Published: January 2023

This review article is about the spontaneous dawn of the transparent mind and the peaceful self. The article starts with my direct observations as documented in my recent journal entries. As a neurologist, I ask myself, “how can I understand and explain these experiences in terms of modern neuroscience?” We as human beings have been asking such fundamental questions for thousands of years. The often asked questions are: Who am I? What is self? What is I-Me-Mine? What is self-consciousness? What is reality? How can I be free and peaceful? I have tried to answer some of these questions based on my personal experience and the review of current neuroscience. Self-aware experience is singular, nonspecific, multimodal with deep roots in human life, self-development, and evolution. Human development depends on both exogenous signals and endogenous self-organization. It is nature-guided. The evolution of vertebrates including humans is complex and fascinating. Our sense of self has been described in terms of two aspects namely, the subjective and objective self. We are alive as embodied and embedded beings in nature. The wholeness of our spontaneous peaceful being is unique and hard to describe, but it can be joyously actualized. One can understand self better by the affective rather than the cognitive approach. The nuances of self-aware being, the Atman have been extensively described in Upanishads, Vedanta, Yoga, and Buddhism.
Association of Augmented Immune-Staining of G-Quadruplex Tertiary DNA Structure in Chemo-Tolerant TNBC with Downregulation of WNT/Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Pathway Receptor Genes
Authors: Islam Saimul , Basu Mukta , Roy Anup , Alam Neyaz , Panda Chinmay Kumar
Published: January 2023

Purpose:

The aim of the study is to understand the involvement of G-Quadruplex (G-Q) structures in altering the expression profile of WNT/epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) pathway receptor genes in chemo-tolerant Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) samples.

Materials and Methods:

At first, Gene Expression Omnibus datasets were mined where the expression profile of WNT/EGFR pathway genes in TNBC samples and MDA-MB-231, a TNBC cell line, were checked in response to doxorubicin, a chemotherapeutic drug. Next, to unveil the probable mechanism of regulation, the presence of G-Q structure was checked in in silico study and later validated by immunohistochemical analyses in our pool of sample. These observed results were correlated with patient's demography and survival status.

Results:

Expression of the receptors (FZD7, LRP6, EGFR) of the WNT/EGFR pathway were found to be differentially expressed in TNBC samples; further emphasized in our samples (n = 61). Notably, these G-Q structures were found in the promoter region of the WNT pathway receptor genes (FZD7, LRP6, and EGFR). Validating in our patient sample pool, a significant increase in G-Q immunostaining was observed in samples, after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) samples (n = 17) than the pretherapeutic samples (n = 44). Similar pattern of G-Q immunostaining was noticed in doxorubicin-treated MDA-MB-231 cell line. Intriguingly, low staining of G-Q among the pretherapeutic samples, but NACT TNBC samples, was found to be significantly correlated with lymph node metastasis.

Conclusions:

This study showed that the augmented immunostaining of G-Q structure might have an important involvement in regulating the expression pattern of the WNT/EGFR pathway genes in response to doxorubicin treatment of TNBC.
Content‐based image retrieval using a fusion of global and local features
Authors: Bu Hee Hyung , Kim Nam Chul , Kim Sung Ho
Published: January 2023

Color, texture, and shape act as important information for images in human recognition. For content‐based image retrieval, many studies have combined color, texture, and shape features to improve the retrieval performance. However, there have not been many powerful methods for combining all color, texture, and shape features. This study proposes a content‐based image retrieval method that uses the combined local and global features of color, texture, and shape. The color features are extracted from the color autocorrelogram; the texture features are extracted from the magnitude of a complete local binary pattern and the Gabor local correlation revealing local image characteristics; and the shape features are extracted from singular value decomposition that reflects global image characteristics. In this work, an experiment is performed to compare the proposed method with those that use our partial features and some existing techniques. The results show an average precision that is 19.60% higher than those of existing methods and 9.09% higher than those of recent ones. In conclusion, our proposed method is superior over other methods in terms of retrieval performance.
Design and experimentation of remote driving system for robotic speed sprayer operating in orchard environment
Authors: Yu Wonpil , Song Soohwan
Published: January 2023

The automation of agricultural machines is an irreversible trend considering the demand for improved productivity and lack of labor in handling agricultural tasks. Unstructured working environments and weather often inhibit a seemingly simple task from being fully autonomously performed. In this context, we propose a remote driving system (RDS) to aid agricultural machines designed to operate autonomously. Particularly, we modify a commercial speed sprayer for orchard environments into a robotic speed sprayer to evaluate the proposed RDS's usability and test three sensor configurations in terms of human performance. Furthermore, we propose a confidence error ellipse‐based task performance measure to evaluate human performance. In addition, we present field experimental results describing how the sensor configurations affect human performance. We find that a combination of a semiautonomous line tracking device and a wide‐angle camera is the most effective for spraying. Finally, we discuss how to improve the proposed RDS in terms of usability and obtain a more accurate measure of human performance.
Case Report: Exposure to Relapsing Fever Group Borreliae in Patients with Undifferentiated Febrile Illness in Mexico
Authors: Vázquez-Guerrero Edwin , Gordillo-Pérez Guadalupe , Ríos-Sarabia Nora , Lopez Job E. , Ibarra J. Antonio
Published: January 2023

Relapsing fever (RF) borreliosis is a neglected disease in Mexico. A retrospective serological survey using diagnostic antigens GlpQ and BipA from Borrelia turicatae was performed to evaluate human exposure to RF borreliae. Seventy serum samples were used from a cohort of patients with undifferentiated febrile illness in Mexico. Four samples were positive to GlpQ and three to BipA. Results indicate that RF borreliae continue to circulate in regions of Mexico and pose a risk to human health.
Los coordinadores y su función en la coherencia del discurso
Authors: Fernández Lorences Taresa
Published: January 2023

Los coordinadores —o conjunciones coordinativas— han sido analizados a partir de los estudios de la gramática funcional del español (especialmente, en la línea propuesta por Emilio Alarcos Llorach), estableciendo determinados rasgos que los caracterizan frente a unidades como los transpositores (Martínez 1994b), o bien separándolos de otras como las denominadas «marcadores» o «conectores del discurso» (Cortés Rodríguez 2000; Martín Zorraquino 1994; Montolío 2001; Portolés 1993, 2015; Fuentes Rodríguez 1987, 1995; Garcés Gómez 2001; Duque 2016, entre otros).

En general, resulta ya admitido que unidades como las señaladas, englobadas en la denominación de «marcadores del discurso», van más allá del marco estricto de la sintaxis oracional, pues aunque puedan desempeñar en la oración en la que se incrustan determinada función (generalmente, en posición extrapredicativa) su presencia permite establecer relaciones cohesivas entre los distintos enunciados que componen un texto. (Fuentes Rodríguez 2007: 69). Sin embargo, algunos autores (Garrido 2014; Garrido y Ramalle 2015; Fuentes Rodríguez 2018) han analizado también la función de los coordinadores cuando aparecen en la periferia izquierda del enunciado.

En esta aportación exponemos cómo ha definido la gramática la función de los coordinadores. A continuación, nos detenemos en la definición de enunciado y sus límites. Finalmente, examinamos tres tipos de coordinadores (y, o, pero) para comprobar el valor semántico que aportan a la cohesión del discurso.