bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Victory’s Twilight
Authors: Kaplan Edward
Published: May 2023

This chapter focuses on the third net assessment, the first undertaken with the Net Evaluation Subcommittee (NESC) as a standing body. Rather than relying on Pentagon analysts with a static Soviet attack plan, retired air force lieutenant general Harold George conducted a “free play” war game at Air University in Montgomery, Alabama. While the details of the game remain classified, they sparked intense fighting between the navy and air force, nearly derailed the study, and almost ended the NESC. George's group simulated two plans: a surprise attack without strategic warning, and one with full alert. Their report was effective at influencing President Dwight Eisenhower with regard to the diminishing possibilities of meaningful nuclear victory. However, as the methods under consideration became more challenging to implement and the objective less achievable, the subcommittee's role expanded. As the services wrestled for strategic primacy, the subcommittee's methods and outcomes became another venue for rivalry. Arguments such as those over carriers threatened perceptions of the NESC's neutrality and even its continued existence.
Prevailing in the Space Age
Authors: Kaplan Edward
Published: May 2023

This chapter assesses the effects of thermonuclear plenty and the emergence of the missile age. As missiles compressed time, the Net Evaluation Subcommittee (NESC) became more sophisticated in its analysis for the 1956, 1957, and 1958 reports. These studies sketched the outlines of what it meant to “prevail” in a nuclear war. The US could still win, but only by preparing for and limiting the initial devastation. Only after recovery could it try to dominate the USSR in a shattered world. As Dwight Eisenhower's second term closed, the NESC expanded its studies beyond the consequences of surprise attacks to different kinds of targeting. Winning might be rendered plausible if targeting shifted from a focus on the enemy's military to undermining his long-term economic and societal recovery.
Introduction
Authors: Klepper Deeana Copeland
Published: May 2023

This chapter explores pastoral literature and lived religion in Medieval Christian societies. Lived religion depends on theories of embodiment and materiality to claim that whatever intellectual, moral, theological, legal, or cosmological frameworks might be part of a particular religious tradition. Additionally, pastoral literature served as a common ground between the intellectual tradition of medieval Christian scholars and the parish clergy responsible for maintaining, monitoring, sustaining, and building Christian communities on the ground. The chapter discusses how priest Albert of Diessen's Mirror of Priests influenced the ways Christianity shaped and was shaped by local circumstances. It then considers the Mirror as an Augustinian project and an Upper Bavarian project.
Pastoral Care and Guides for Priests in Late Medieval Europe
Authors: Klepper Deeana Copeland
Published: May 2023

This chapter elaborates on the genre of pastoral literature as it developed throughout the twelfth through fourteenth centuries. The genre arose in line with the development of scholastic culture and new expectations for Christian clergy and laity. The most important factor of pastoral literature's development was the sacrament of penance through regular confession and a new commitment to doctrinal education for laypeople. The chapter looks into the proliferation of comprehensive confessors' manuals in schools. It also considers Albert of Diessen's credibility which comes from his mastery of the scholastic tradition of pastoral literature and the specific Augustinian tradition of pastoral care.
Albert of Diessen and the Augustinian Canons at Diessen am Ammersee
Authors: Klepper Deeana Copeland
Published: May 2023

This chapter tackles the influence of Albert of Diessen and his work, Mirror of Priests. The work reflects the fusion of monastic and priestly calling embraced by the Augustinian canons regular, reinforced by a distinctive Augustinian approach to education. Moreover, the Mirror of Priests showcases German regionalism since the priest was aiming for priests serving rural parish communities. The chapter expounds on Albert of Diessen's life and legacy, which were preserved through his writing and administrative labors on behalf of the Augustinian canons at Diessen. Built through spatial imagination, Albert's vision of the ideal Christian community as depicted in the Mirror of Priests reflects a constructed religious space.
The Plastic Turn
Authors: Ghosh Ranjan
Published: May 2023

This book offers a novel way of looking at plastic as the defining material of our age and at the plasticity of plastic as an innovative means of understanding the arts and literature. The author terms this approach the material-aesthetic and, through this concept, traces the emergence and development of plastic polymers along the same historical trajectory as literary modernism. Plastic's growth as a product in the culture industry, its formation through multiple application and chemical syntheses, and its circulation via oceanic movements, the book argues, correspond with, and offers novel insights into, developments in modernist literature and critical theory. Through innovative readings of canonical modernist texts, analyses of art works, and accounts of plastic's devastating environmental impact, the book proposes plastic's unique properties and destructive ubiquity as a “theory machine” to explain literature and life in the Anthropocene. Introducing several new concepts (like plastic literature, plastic literary, etc.) into critical-humanist discourse, the book enmeshes literature and theory, materiality and philosophy, history and ecology, to explore why plastic as a substance and as an idea intrigues, disturbs, and haunts us.
Dreaming
Authors: Safran Gabriella
Published: May 2023

This chapter begins by telling the story of Pavel Rybnikov and the development of his story of listening. Drawing on Antonio Gramsci's idea of the contrast between the traditional and the organic intellectual, it relates his account of night-time eavesdropping to his work as a government bureaucrat during his time in exile. The chapter also describes the rise of the concept of hypnogogic perception in other countries in the midcentury. Epic singers in other times and places, as they compete for attention with other performers, claim some of the status of the heroes whose stories they relay. When Rybnikov told his story about hearing Sadko, who heard messages in his dreams, he claimed to be a hero of a similar kind: his encounter with the byliny was not the impersonal conveying of a tradition but a performance as creative and distinctive as those of Sadko and Leontii Bogdanovich.
Service Sector Republics
Authors: Scott Blake C.
Published: May 2023

This chapter examines how Cuba's and Panama's leaders embraced their new position as tropical vacation destinations and international models of sanitation and hygiene. Looking for opportunity in the era of US expansion, they decided to welcome the possibilities of tourism. They worked to expand the Caribbean's appeal, building new hotels and consumer attractions and promoting an identity that held up the region as a desirable destination, which would economically and politically benefit their nation-building projects. To historically ground this strategy of national development, the chapter looks at policies during the administration of President Belisario Porras (1912–24), remembered today as the “architect of Panama's modernization.” As president, Porras looked to convert US tropical triumphalism into an instrument of the economy. The opening of the Panama Canal, he believed, had drawn the world's attention to the isthmus as “one of the great centers of universal commerce.” The chapter then considers the racial injustice in the tourism industry, as well as the legalization of gambling and casinos.
“A Base and Unmanly Conspiracy”
Authors: Hessinger Rodney
Published: May 2023

This chapter examines how women such as Mary Connell, a loyal member of William Hogan's St. Mary's Catholic parish, had become deeply embroiled in a fight over the distribution of power in the Catholic Church. It charts their involvement in the so-called Hogan Schism as part of a larger effort to map women's political experience in the early republic. While Hogan was clearly controversial, he also brought to a rolling boil a conflict that had long simmered at St. Mary's and in many other Catholic congregations: trusteeism. Trusteeism should be seen as one of a series of Catholic responses to the religious marketplace of the early republic. When Hogan was charged with the attempted rape and assault of Mary Connell, the ensuing trial helped inspire a larger dialogue about the gender dynamics of religious conflict. Indeed, religious competition bred gender disruption: in a volitional religious market, when followers had to be courted, sexual improprieties were a real danger.
Hive
Authors: Jukes Helen
Published: May 2023

This chapter displays the template image for the modern beehive: A square shape, with a triangle roof. A small entrance at the bottom, and a ledge like a doorstep. The chapter traces when the modern hive came into use in the nineteenth century, and revolutionized beekeeping. The chapter then details that the basic structure is composed of a set of wooden boxes stacked one on top of the other, each packed with a series of rectangular frames hanging vertically and in parallel, on which the bees build their beeswax comb. With a lid on top and those removable frames inside, this new kind of hive made it possible for beekeepers to carry out regular inspections of the colony for signs of disease, and to extract honey without harming the bees. With the modern hive, the chapter highlights that beekeepers could begin influencing the internal functioning of their colonies. The interior could be monitored, even tweaked—component parts could be added, removed, and reworked to increase honey yields. Focusing on the author's study of François Huber's writing, the chapter aims to understand the true materials from which honey and wax are made, and some of the processes involved in their production.
Swarm
Authors: Jukes Helen
Published: May 2023

This chapter examines the growing colony of bees. It argues that one cannot stop a colony from growing once it's started—it will just keep on wanting to expand. The chapter describes that when a hive is full, the colony will split in two. The queen's pheromone, which usually gets passed around the hive, no longer spreads far enough; there are too many bodies, and the bees are building too far from her. The chapter underscores that without her smell around to act as a suppressor, the workers will begin raising a new queen. Once she's hatched, half the colony will leave with the old queen in tow to find a new hive elsewhere. The chapter stresses that swarming is a colony's reproductive function, and it is a natural process. It's how the bees make more of themselves. The chapter concludes by highlighting that with the colony diminished, the hive would be more vulnerable to attack, and the remaining bees would make less honey, too.
Introduction
Authors: Bouchard Constance Brittain
Published: May 2023

This introductory chapter provides an overview of peasants during the high Middle Ages, who were active agents in their society and recognized as such by the more powerful. Medieval peasants were more than the helpless and downtrodden beings often portrayed in popular accounts and even some scholarly works. Rather, they carried out their own plans, even in the face of oppression and humiliation, through a combination of negotiation, stubborn resistance, and collective action. The chapter explains that the book intends to make the French peasants specifically of the high Middle Ages far more visible. Using the sort of charters produced and preserved by churches, the book demonstrates that peasants as individuals can be commonly found in the documents if one knows to look for them. The challenges of studying medieval peasants are exacerbated by the lack of an agreed-upon meaning for the word “peasant” among scholars. The chapter then considers the representation of peasants in medieval scholarship, in narrative sources, and in medieval records. It also introduces the concept of peasant agency, arguing that common assumptions about these people need to be reexamined.
Peasant Status and the Meanings of Serfdom
Authors: Bouchard Constance Brittain
Published: May 2023

This chapter defines and describes medieval peasants and the meanings of serfdom. The word “peasant,” from the French paysan, simply means a person of the countryside (pays). The term “peasants” in this book includes shepherds and herdsmen as well as agricultural workers, most of whom would have lived in villages in the Middle Ages, rather than the isolated farmsteads typical in North America. The term also includes a fairly wide selection of skilled occupations which would have been important in village economy. The chapter then looks at the various economic and social statuses of peasants: some peasants were allodists, that is, they owned their property outright, and others were tenants, being required to pay rent for the land where they lived and on which they raised food. Serfs were peasants who were legally unfree, considered “bound in the body” for life to a lord, with restrictions on their ability to act independently; the status was assumed to be hereditary. Because legally they were considered bound to their lord's will, they were not supposed to sue in court or take orders in the church—although there are many examples of them doing so. The chapter also discusses the concept of mainmorte and the disappearance of the terminology of serfdom from twelfth-century charters in northern France.
A Metaphor for the Totality of Experience
Authors: Blumenberg Hans
Published: May 2023

This chapter discusses the current clichés of cultural criticism that can be condensed into discontent with civilization that is dominated by a disappointment for which no one has yet been able to identify. It points out that the basic human claims on the world arise, persist, and are frustrated, particularly if we proceed from the laconic natural law principle that everyone is free to do as they please. Metaphor offers material for interpretation that prefaces something else, coordinates and colors other matters, and falls short of objective determinacy without permitting to infer the blank indeterminacy of the whole. The chapter highlights how to deal with metaphors that concern the totality of nature and the world. The metaphorics of the capacity to experience the world, for which “readability” stands as paradigm, have to do with the determinate indeterminacy.
World Chronicle or World Formula
Authors: Blumenberg Hans
Published: May 2023

This chapter discusses how to supplement the elementary self-evidence of the spatial perspective with a less accessible temporal optics. It looks at metaphorics that presupposes that people relate to each other in their possible expressive behavior and that the world ground is extroverted and expressive. It also reviews Counter-Reformation at the brink of restoring ancient metaphysics, which contradict the best of possible worlds being only one among infinitely many. The chapter describes the ancient cosmos as unique since it was identical with all the available possibilities and combined facticity and singularity. The biblical idea of creation implied that the reasons behind God's command for the genesis of the world were beyond question.
The Hamburg Book of Nature and Its Reflection in Königsberg
Authors: Blumenberg Hans
Published: May 2023

This chapter discusses that the Enlightenment took on regional variations despite being convinced of the oneness of reason for all inhabitants of the universe and all possible worlds. It explains that empiricism and sensualism are understood more as gateways to the phenomenal world than as epistemological doctrines and yield a corresponding intensity of focus. It also cites that the book of nature offered devotional reading for the mind in repose and mentions anthropocentrism as one of the great consolations for history's necessary write offs. The chapter explores things in nature that are written in characters that may be read by the most simple and illiterate and that evidently display the intelligence and dispositions of the Creator. The Hamburg Enlightenment had opted for the public book of nature while at the same time preserving the privacy of Hermann Samuel Reimarus's book of Bible criticism.
Signs on Foreheads, Signs in the Sky
Authors: Blumenberg Hans
Published: May 2023

This chapter considers the metaphor of readability as a guideline for the history of how a reason that deemed itself incorruptible was constantly undermined by secret wishes for a more meaningful world that would reveal more to humankind than could reasonably be expected. Shown the door by reason, the longing for meaning finds other ways to creep back in, proving more cunning than the reason that proclaims itself such. The chapter discusses what an enlightened and enlightening mind still considers readable in reality and brought into relief by what it declares to be unreadable. It highlights the book of books, which is not the critical test case demanded or justified by the display of historical acumen. The greatest inconsistency of human nature has made itself liable for is allowing reason to be placed under the yoke of a book.
Preparation for the Interpretation of Dreams
Authors: Blumenberg Hans
Published: May 2023

This chapter explores that the world of philosophical examples does not exist in isolation from the world of philosophical theories. The age-old enmity between book and world, literature and reality, is dispelled by means of the simplest paradigm. It points out how the book can still and again be a metaphor for nature when perception and readability, and nature and book represent the great alternative. The chapter considers history in its function as the self-consciousness of the human race that only reproduces the weakness of individual memory, placing the historical subject before a monument of extreme antiquity. It looks at the advantage of art over history, which is that it steers contemplation of the artwork away from the discursive movement of reading toward a tranquilized introspection that defies the restlessness of the Will.
Multidirectional Laughter
Authors: Klumbyte Neringa
Published: May 2023

This chapter explains the multidirectional laugh that Broom utilized to serve and undermine the Soviet regime all at once. The Broom artists' graphic art violated the principles of political aesthetics endorsed by the Communist Party. The partial rejection of the Communist Party's ideological prerogative and the creation of a distinct graphic art tradition are examples of artists' banal opposition to Soviet social, economic, and political developments and the regime's structures of authority. Moreover, the banality of opposition is a routinized, commonplace disagreement that simultaneously accepts and threatens power structures. The chapter looks into political cartoons that feature anti-imperialism, anti-religion, and foreign humor. It also discusses the comic strips of Broom.
A History of Plague in Java, 1911-1942
Authors: Meerwijk Maurits Bastiaan
Published: May 2023

This book demonstrates how the official response to the 1911 outbreak of plague in Malang led to one of the most invasive health interventions in Dutch colonial Indonesia. Eager to combat disease, Dutch physicians and officials integrated the traditional Javanese house into the “rat–flea–man” theory of transmission. Hollow bamboo frames and thatched roofs offered hiding spaces for rats, suggesting a material link between rat plague and human plague. Over the next thirty years, 1.6 million houses were renovated or rebuilt, millions more were subjected to periodic inspection, and countless Javanese were exposed to health messaging seeking to “rat-proof” their beliefs along with their houses. The transformation of houses, villages, and people was documented in hundreds of photographs and broadcast to overseas audiences as evidence of the “ethical” nature of colonial rule, proving so effective as propaganda that the rebuilding continued even as better alternatives, such as inoculation, became available. By systematically reshaping the built environment, the Dutch plague response dramatically expanded colonial oversight and influence in rural Java.
The Spectacle of Home Improvement
Authors: Meerwijk Maurits Bastiaan
Published: May 2023

This chapter probes how home improvement was represented and to whom it was displayed, both photographically and in person. It explains that the plague control measures were not solely pursued for the benefit of the Javanese. Rather, plague and plague control in Java were broadcast to diverse Dutch and foreign audiences in lectures, photographs, exhibitions, and even tours to articulate Dutch political and cultural superiority, the ethical nature of Dutch colonial rule, and Dutch scientific ability. The chapter stresses that photographs and tours (for select audiences) of sites that had been subjected to “improvement” conveyed a compelling vision of Dutch colonial modernity. It suggests that scenes of home improvement offered a colonial spectacle through which colonial power relations were reified and the continued need for Dutch colonial rule established.
Plague, Malaria, and Vaccination
Authors: Meerwijk Maurits Bastiaan
Published: May 2023

This chapter discusses the notion of the house as a site of multispecies encounters and the implications thereof on human health. Particularly, the chapter scans the last years of plague and plague control in Java. Originally, it was envisioned as demonstrating the continued dominance of home improvement and domestic reform through the remainder of the Dutch colonial period. But, as the chapter uncovers more sources, this picture became more complex. Yes, officials and physicians emphatically defended the role that housing reform could play in bringing plague under control, even if vaccination was vital to its ultimate demise. Together with the challenge posed by woningverbeteringsmalaria, however, several questions presented themselves. The chapter shifts to examine the following questions: Why had vaccination not been deployed in the Indies much earlier, as it had elsewhere? What prompted new vaccine research this late in the game, so to speak, when home improvement had already been “perfected” over the course of twenty years? How did health officials navigate the ethical challenges posed by the correlation between plague control and malaria?
Introduction
Authors: Hoffer Peter Charles
Published: May 2023

This chapter introduces William Henry Seward, who is an antebellum and Civil War politician that nearly won the Republican presidential nomination in 1860. Moreover, Seward was one of the era's most successful litigators, anointed the “king” of the patent law bar by one newspaper. The chapter explains how Seward remained a country lawyer at heart as most of his habits and jurisprudential instincts arose from his practice of law in New York. Seward was exceptional in his effort to flesh out the doctrine and apply relational rights jurisprudence in public discourse. The chapter cites that Seward's notion of relational rights law confronted the most vexing issue of slavery.
“To the Arbitrament of Courts of Law and to the Councils of Legislation”
Authors: Hoffer Peter Charles
Published: May 2023

This chapter discusses how William Henry Seward and Abraham Lincoln addressed slavery in correlation to Seward's jurisprudence and relational rights. While Seward accused slavery and the Democrats of demoralizing the nation and causing talk of disunion, Seward never demanded the emancipation of the slaves. According to Seward, slavery was part of long-standing relationships of free persons within the nation, but the remedy primarily lay within the discretion of the slave owner. The chapter explains Seward's shift of focus on his attachment to relational rights. It notes Seaward's task as secretary of state to send the Thirteenth Amendment to the states for ratification.
Conclusion
Authors: Hoffer Peter Charles
Published: May 2023

This chapter elaborates on the jurisprudence and legacy of William Henry Seward. It tackles the notion of relational rights as a jurisprudence and category of legal thinking. Even though Seward believed that fundamental legal rights grew from a communal obligation that all who lived in civilized society owed to each other, relational rights did not comprehend the corrosive effect of racism on all relationships. The chapter also considers how Seward applied relational jurisprudence to other issues other than slavery. It discusses why the restoration of the Union took precedence over the project of relational rights, referencing the growing discord over a militant color line.
Graph neural networks for preference social recommendation
Authors: Ma Gang-Feng , Yang Xu-Hua , Tong Yue , Zhou Yanbo
Published: May 2023

Social recommendation aims to improve the performance of recommendation systems with additional social network information. In the state of art, there are two major problems in applying graph neural networks (GNNs) to social recommendation: (i) Social network is connected through social relationships, not item preferences, i.e., there may be connected users with completely different preferences, and (ii) the user representation of current graph neural network layer of social network and user-item interaction network is the output of the mixed user representation of the previous layer, which causes information redundancy. To address the above problems, we propose graph neural networks for preference social recommendation. First, a friend influence indicator is proposed to transform social networks into a new view for describing the similarity of friend preferences. We name the new view the Social Preference Network. Next, we use different GNNs to capture the respective information of the social preference network and the user-item interaction network, which effectively avoids information redundancy. Finally, we use two losses to penalize the unobserved user-item interaction and the unit space vector angle, respectively, to preserve the original connection relationship and widen the distance between positive and negative samples. Experiment results show that the proposed PSR is effective and lightweight for recommendation tasks, especially in dealing with cold-start problems.
Política pública de acesso ao ensino superior na percepção de beneficiários quilombolas em Serra do Evaristo, Baturité, Ceará
Authors: Maluf Sâmia Nagib , Dos Santos Maria Gabriela Pereira , Xavier Antônio Roberto , Kanikadan Andrea Yumi Sugishita , Amorim Aiala Vieira , Nascimento Antônio Adriano Semião
Published: May 2023

Objetivou-se investigar a percepção dos beneficiários quilombolas, graduados/as e graduandos/as, da comunidade quilombola da Serra do Evaristo, Baturité, Ceará, sobre a política pública de acesso ao ensino superior. Estudo de caso descritivo-exploratório, qualiquantitativo, cumprindo as questões éticas exigidas. Os resultados encontrados indicam: satisfação com o curso escolhido; acolhimento pela comunidade acadêmica; aplicam os conhecimentos obtidos e as habilidades desenvolvidas na academia em suas atividades na comunidade; atribuem relevância ao ensino superior em termos de ascensão social, melhoria da renda e maior inserção no mercado de trabalho. Os sujeitos da pesquisa sugerem maiores ofertas de vagas para os quilombolas; nas produções científicas; nos grupos de pesquisa; nos projetos na área de saúde, formação na área ambiental e sobre o legado cultural afro-brasileiro e africano.
Personal Characteristics and Knowledge of Beneficiary Farmers towards Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana in Amber Block of Jaipur, India
Authors: Sharma Gauri Shankar , Mazhar Syed H.
Published: May 2023

The main goal of the study was to assess the socio-economic profile and knowledge of the beneficiaries farmers towards the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana. It is established that the majority (54.17%) of farmers were from the middle-aged group, and 43.33% of respondents had a small family size, i.e., up to 5-8 members. In selected villages, 90.00% were literate, while 10.00% of the illiterate respondent were doing agriculture only (76.67%), with 34.17% of medium-type farmers having medium land holdings and (76.67%) of the respondent having an annual income of 1 lakh, revealing that (75.83%) had extension contact with private agencies. It reveals that the majority of the respondents, accounting for 43.33 percent of the total sample, had a medium score of information. From the study, it was also established that the respondents (50.00%) had medium-level knowledge, further (32.50%) of them had low-level knowledge, and (17.50%) respondents had a high level of knowledge about PMKSY schemes for the study area.
Kinetic and Thermodynamic Study on the Pyrolysis of Low Density Polyethylene in the Production of Polyethylene Wax
Authors: Okey-Onyesolu Chinenye Faith , Okoye Chukwunonso Chukwuzuloke , Ejimofor Marcel Ikenna , Nwokedi Ikenna Chukwudi
Published: May 2023

Polyethylene wax was obtained from pyrolysis experiments on Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) wastes using a muffle furnace in inert condition. 60 – 80% of the initial mass of wax were obtained as heating was added at a rate of 10oC/min. Operating conditions for the reaction were 400 – 450oC over time of 30 – 50min and effects of these parameters were discussed. Using Friedman’s iso-conversional model, the kinetic parameters - activation energy, pre-exponential factor and frequency factor were 58.71kJ/mol, 13.726E+12/s and 914378.61 respectively. Also, spontaneity of LDPE pyrolysis occurs at high temperatures and these were validated from the calculated thermodynamic parameters.
Influence of Marketing Turnaround Strategies on Performance of Uchumi Supermarket in Nairobi City County, Kenya
Authors: Gathiru Martin Kimemia , Khamah Ali , Nyakora Musa
Published: May 2023

Many retail outlets in Kenya are facing declining performance due to myriad of challenges from changing business environment. One of the major variables threatening their performance is marketing aspects. The organizations work hard in their distress for survival. To effect this, they initiate and implement marketing turnaround strategies to attain recovery and sustainable performance. This article is an effort to study and establish the relationship between marketing turnaround strategies and organizational performance. Specific marketing turnaround strategies studied included aggressive marketing stance of the company’s products, development of new products, marketing of new products, marketing of the company’s history, adoption of relationship marketing strategy, adoption of multichannel marketing strategies, market acquisition strategies through promotions, market retention strategies through promotions, marketing of the company values such as home-grown, and marketing of the company’s service elements. The objective of the study was the relationship of marketing turnaround strategies on performance of Uchumi supermarket. The study used a casual research design. The investigation was carried out using open ended, closed ended questionnaires and interviews. The theories underpinning the study were Resource Based View, Dynamic Capabilities Theory, Open Systems Theory, and competitive theory. The target population is 450 Uchumi supermarket staff members respectively. The sample size of the study was 82 employees. The validity of the questionnaire was examined using the face and content validity while the reliability was examined using the Cronbach alpha coefficient. Data analysis was carried out using descriptive statistics (means, frequency distribution and standard deviations) and inferential statistics (linear correlation and multiple linear regressions). The null hypothesis was rejected since F (10, 58) = 17.413, p<0.05. Since p value is 0.000, it implied that there is a 0.000% likelihood or probability that the model gave a wrong prediction and therefore the model was found to a good fit of the data. Therefore, the alternative hypothesis that marketing strategies have significant influence on organizational performance of Uchumi supermarket was adopted.
Analysis of Economic Growth on Carbon Dioxide Gas Emissions in G20 Countries
Authors: Ramadhan Hafizd Khalam , Marselina  , Nirmala Tiara , Aida Neli , Ratih Arivina
Published: May 2023

Aims: The purpose of this research is to analyze the effect of GDP, GFCF, and urban population on carbon dioxide gas emissions. In this case, the member countries of the G20 are the group of countries responsible for 75% of the greenhouse gas emissions produced. The role of the G20 countries is needed in reducing the resulting carbon dioxide gas emissions, to prevent global warming or climate change.

Study Design: This study used a quantitative descriptive method.

Place and Duration of Study: The scope of this research is the member countries of the G20 such as Indonesia, South Africa, United States, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, India, United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, Germany, Canada, South Korea, Mexico, France, Russia, and Turkiye, European Union with Time Period 2000-2019.

Methodology: This study uses a descriptive method with a quantitative approach, namely to analyze and determine the effect of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Gross Fixed Capital   Formation (GFCF), and urban population (URB) on carbon dioxide gas emissions in the G20 countries. Furthermore, the data used is secondary data with a panel data regression model, namely a combination of time series data and cross sections starting from 2000-2019.

Results: The results of this study indicate that GDP, GFCF and urban population have a positive and significant effect on increasing carbon dioxide gas emissions in G20 member countries.

Conclusion: Based on the calculation results, it is found that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF), and urban population (URB) in G20 member countries have a positive and significant effect on increasing carbon dioxide gas emissions, both in partial and simultaneous tests. So that the government's role in this case is needed to maintain a healthy environment with increasing economic growth, or in the sense of creating Sustainable Development Goals.
Influence of Biofertilizers and Organic Liquid Nutrients on Growth, Yield and Economics of Maize (Zea mays L.)
Authors: Reddy Singam Reddy Praneeth Kumar , Debbarma Victor , Reddy K. Thulasi Krishna
Published: May 2023

A field experiment was conducted during Summer season 2022 at Crop Research Farm, Department of Agronomy, Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology And Sciences Prayagraj (U.P) to determine the “Influence of biofertilizers and organic liquid nutrients on growth, yield and economics of maize (Zea mays L.). The results showed that treatment 8 [Azotobacter (12.5 g/kg) + Azospirillum (12.5 g/kg) + Panchagavya (4%) recorded significantly higher plant height (172.43 cm), higher plant dry weight (135.93 g), maximum number of cobs/plant (1.53), maximum rows/cob (16.00), maximum seeds/row (26.76), higher seed index (24.83 g), higher seed yield (6.33 t/ha), higher stover yield (19.80 t/ha), maximum gross returns (144,420.60 INR/ha), maximum net returns (102,245.60 INR/ha) and highest benefit cost ratio (2.42) was also recorded in treatment 8 [ Azotobacter (12.5 g/kg) + Azospirillum (12.5 g/kg) + Panchagavya (4%)] as compared to other treatments.
Enhanced L-lysine Production by UV-irradiated and S-2-aminoethyl-L-cysteine Resistant Mutants Derived from Bacillus species Using Agricultural Products as Carbon and Nitrogen Sources
Authors: Okpalla J. , Ekwealor I. A. , Okoye E. C. S. , Okoye L. C. , Ike V. E.
Published: May 2023

L-Lysine is essential for human and animal nutrition and may be added to food and feed materials to improve the protein quality. It is utilized in human medicine, in cosmetics and in the pharmaceutical industry, particularly in the formulation of diets with balanced amino acid concentration and in amino acid infusions. Enhanced L-lysine production by UV irradiated and S-2-aminoethyl-L-cysteine resistant (AECR) mutants derived from Bacillus species, using agricultural products as carbon and nitrogen sources was studied. The L-lysine producing bacteria had already been isolated from Nigerian soil. They were purified and identified as B. subtilis PR13, B. subtilis PR9 and B. pumilus SS16, using cultural and biochemical characteristics. UV irradiated mutants were obtained by exposing the parent strains which include B. subtilis PR13, B. subtilis PR9 and B. pumilus SS16,  to UV light while, AECR mutants were derived by exposing the parent strains to various concentrations of AEC. The mutants were screened for L-lysine production by cultivating in fermentation media. The results obtained showed that, UV mutants PRMU-8 and PRMU-14 derived from Bacillus subtilis PR13 accumulated higher lysine yield of 2.47 and 2.55 mg/ml compared to the wild type. Also, UV mutant MUPR-4 derived from Bacillus subtilis PR9 recorded a higher lysine yield of 1.77 mg/ml while, enhanced lysine yields of 1.96 and 2.34 mg/ml were observed in UV mutants SSMU-4 and SSMU-9 respectively. AECR mutant PRT-2 derived from Bacillus subtilis PR13, accumulated higher lysine yield of 2.35 mg/ml compared to the wild type. Enhanced  lysine production of 1.47 and 1.32 mg/ml was observed in mutants ART-5 and ART-8 derived from B. subtilis PR9 while, mutant SRT-4 derived from B. pumilus SS16 recorded enhanced lysine accumulation of 2.18 mg/ml. The results obtained in the study showed that L-lysine production by some UV irradiated and AECR mutants was enhanced.
Antimicrobial and Metal Tolerance of Bacteria Isolated from Underground Water Sample of Aged Crude Oil Contaminated Site
Authors: Igoni Yirabari Gote , Stephenson Danagogo Lawson , Atah Nbaa Smart , Amaechi Clement Okpulor
Published: May 2023

The study was aimed at evaluating metal tolerant and antibiotic resistant bacteria isolated from underground water around aged crude oil polluted site. Samples were collected from different locations around aged crude oil polluted site and control sample from an uncontaminated site of Bodo community, Gokana Local Government, Rivers state, Nigeria. The samples were cultured on nutrient agar, Bushnell Hass and MacConkay agar using standard microbial technique. Antibiogram of the isolated and identified bacteria were determined by Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. The bacterial tolerance of different concentrations of the heavy metals, Chromium, Vanadium, Arsenic, Cadmium and Lead was determined. The total heterotrophic bacterial count (THBC) of the samples ranged from 1.26×104 CFU/ml to 3.6×105 CFU/ml. Count of hydrocarbon utilizing bacteria (HUB) ranged from 1.02×103 to 3.2×103 CFU/ml and the coliform count of the sample ranged from 4.2×103 CFU/ml to 4.0×103ml. The predominant bacteria identified were Bacillus sp, Micrococcus sp, and Staphylococcus sp, Enterobacter sp and Proteus sp. All (100%) the Gram-positive bacteria were resistant to the antibiotic, Ceftazidime, Cefprozil and Cloxacin, 92% were resistant to Gentamycin and Erythromycin while 80% were resistant to Augmentin. All (100%) of the Gram-negative bacteria isolates were resistant to cefluroxime, 66% were resistant to Augmentin and Ceftazidim, and 33% were observed to be resistant to Nitrofurantin and Gentamicin. It was observed that all the isolates were tolerant to 50 µg/ml concentration, 70 to 100% of the isolates were tolerant to 100 µg/ml concentration, 17 to 100% were tolerant to 200 µg/ml concentration while 11 to 41% were tolerant to 300 µg/ml concentration of all the heavy metals studied. From this study, it was revealed that petroleum aged contamination could be a source of heavy-metal tolerance and antibiotic resistance in bacteria.
Comparison of Generic Prescribing Patterns Among 340B-Eligible and Non-340B Prescribers in the Medicare Part D Program
Authors: Dickson Sean , James Katelyn
Published: May 2023

This cross-sectional study examines generic prescribing patterns for 2020 among 340B-eligible and non-340B clinicians in the Medicare Part D program to assess whether 340B revenue incentives may influence prescribing.
Perceived Influence of Incentives on COVID-19 Vaccination Decision-making and Trust
Authors: Faherty Laura J. , Hunter Gerald P. , Holmes Pierrce , Ringel Jeanne S.
Published: May 2023

This survey study examines the prevalence of incentive receipt for COVID-19 vaccination and the association of various sociodemographic characteristics with perspectives on incentives’ influence on trust in the COVID-19 vaccine.
Inaugural outcomes study released by NAATP
Authors: Knopf Alison
Published: May 2023

Designed as a long‐term project, the first report on the outcomes‐monitoring research done by the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP) has been released. In answer to the question, “Does treatment work?,” the report found that there was a decrease in severity of symptoms of substance use disorder (SUD), depression, and anxiety over the course of treatment and throughout the first year of follow‐up.
Exploiting Cancer Vulnerabilities by Blocking of the DHODH and GPX4 Pathways: A Multifunctional Bodipy/PROTAC Nanoplatform for the Efficient Synergistic Ferroptosis Therapy
Authors: Yao Lang , Yang Na , Zhou Wei , Akhtar Mahmood Hassan , Zhou Weiping , Liu Chang , Song Shuang , Li Ying , Han Wenzhao , Yu Cong
Published: May 2023

Ferroptosis is a form of programmed cell death and plays an important role in many diseases. Dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH) and glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) play major roles in cell resistance to ferroptosis. Therefore, inactivation of these proteins provides an excellent opportunity for efficient ferroptosis‐based synergistic cancer therapy. In this study, a multifunctional nanoagent (BPNpro) containing a GPX4 targeting boron dipyrromethene (Bodipy) probe (BP) and a DHODH targeting proteolysis targeting chimera (PROTAC) is reported. BPNpro is prepared using a nanoprecipitation method in the presence of a thermoresponsive liposome, where BP is encapsulated inside and the cathepsin B (CatB)‐cleavable PROTAC peptide (DPCP) is modified on the outer surface. In the presence of near‐infrared (NIR) photoirradiation, BPNpro is melted and BP is released in tumor cells. Subsequently, BP inhibits the activity of GPX4 by covalently bonding with the selenocysteine at the enzyme active site. In addition, DPCP achieves sustained degradation of DHODH upon activation by CatB overexpressed in the tumor. The synergistic deactivation of GPX4 and DHODH induces extensive ferroptosis and subsequent cell death. In vivo and in vitro studies clearly show that the proposed ferroptosis therapy provides excellent antitumor effect.
Highly Stretchable and Sensitive Strain Sensor Based on Porous Materials and Rhombic‐Mesh Structures for Robot Teleoperation
Authors: Ye Zhiqiu , Pang Gaoyang , Liang Yihao , Lv Honghao , Xu Kaichen , Wu Haiteng , Yang Geng
Published: May 2023

Wearable sensors for human motion capture offer a promising human–robot interface to control robots in the teleoperation scenario, where robots could function as the second body of human operators to fulfill tasks remotely and accurately. In this paper, a novel strain sensor based on a soft polyurethane (PU) sponge and carbon nanotubes (CNT) is designed for motion capture of human joints. The unique 3D porous microstructure of the PU‐CNT sponge provides the sensor with high sensitivity. To bridge the gap between the high sensitivity and high stretchability of the strain sensor, a rhombic‐mesh structure with optimized geometric parameters, in conjunction with a pre‐compression design, is proposed for strain sensor prototyping, which endows the sensor with an extra elongation rate during the stretching process. The proposed PU‐CNT strain sensor manifests promising sensing performance with a stretchability of up to 300% and a maximum gauge factor of 3893, together with long‐term durability, low detection limit, and fast response capacity. Finally, the validation of the strain sensor is carried out by deploying the sensor on a human elbow to realize the teleoperation of a robot arm, which could be monitored through the digital twin model of the robot in a real‐time manner.
Design and feasibility of an Alzheimer's disease blood test study in a diverse community‐based population
Authors: Li Melody , Li Yan , Schindler Suzanne E. , Yen Daniel , Sutcliffe Siobhan , Babulal Ganesh M. , Benzinger Tammie L. S. , Lenze Eric J. , Bateman Randall J.
Published: May 2023

INTRODUCTION

Alzheimer's disease (AD) blood tests are likely to become increasingly important in clinical practice, but they need to be evaluated in diverse groups before use in the general population.

METHODS

This study enrolled a community‐based sample of older adults in the St. Louis, Missouri, USA area. Participants completed a blood draw, Eight‐Item Informant Interview to Differentiate Aging and Dementia (AD8®), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), and survey about their perceptions of the blood test. A subset of participants completed additional blood collection, amyloid positron emission tomography (PET), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR®).

RESULTS

Of the 859 participants enrolled in this ongoing study, 20.6% self‐identified as Black or African American. The AD8 and MoCA correlated moderately with the CDR. The blood test was well accepted by the cohort, but it was perceived more positively by White and highly educated individuals.

DISCUSSION

Studying an AD blood test in a diverse population is feasible and may accelerate accurate diagnosis and implementation of effective treatments.

Highlights

A diverse group of older adults was recruited to evaluate a blood amyloid test.

The enrollment rate was high and the blood test was well accepted by participants.

Cognitive impairment screens have moderate performance in a diverse population.

Alzheimer's disease blood tests are likely to be feasible for use in real‐world settings.
Longitudinal changes in metabolic network activity in early Alzheimer's disease
Authors: Perovnik Matej , Tang Chris C. , Namías Mauro , Eidelberg David ,   Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI)
Published: May 2023

INTRODUCTION

The progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been linked to two metabolic networks, the AD‐related pattern (ADRP) and the default mode network (DMN).

METHODS

Converting and clinically stable cognitively normal subjects (n = 47) and individuals with mild cognitive impairment (n = 96) underwent 2‐[18F]fluoro‐2‐deoxy‐D‐glucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) three or more times over 6 years (nscans = 705). Expression levels for ADRP and DMN were measured in each subject and time point, and the resulting changes were correlated with cognitive performance. The role of network expression in predicting conversion to dementia was also evaluated.

RESULTS

Longitudinal increases in ADRP expression were observed in converters, while age‐related DMN loss was seen in converters and nonconverters. Cognitive decline correlated with increases in ADRP and declines in DMN, but conversion to dementia was predicted only by baseline ADRP levels.

DISCUSSION

The results point to the potential utility of ADRP as an imaging biomarker of AD progression.