bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The talk test as a useful tool to monitor aerobic exercise intensity in healthy population
Authors: Kwon Yonghyun , Kang Kyung Woo , Chang Jong Sung
Published: June 2023

The talk test (TT) is subjective method to measure exercise intensity in costless and feasible manner, compared to sophisticated laboratory equipment. We attempted to investigate whether the TT was a valid method for evaluation of exercise intensity, by comparing with values derived from various physiologic markers during cardiopulmonary exercise testing on treadmill in healthy population. A total of 17 healthy subjects (12 males and 5 females) participated in this study. The TT was applied, which consisted of 3-stages difficulties demanding respiratory load while they performed the cardiopulmonary exercise testing on treadmill. In each of the TT stages, ergospirometric and psychophysiologic response marker were collected such as heart rate, oxygen consumption, respiratory exchange ratio, minute ventilation, carbon dioxide output, tidal volume, respiratory rate, and rating of perceived exertion of breathing. Statistical analyses revealed a significant difference of all dependent variables in each of three TT stages, comparing with the resting phase before the TT. The TT showed strong correlation coefficient with all variables except for rating of perceived exertion during the resting phase before the TT. According to increase of exercise intensity, all dependent variables showed a linear tendency with the stages of the TT. Our findings indicated that each of the TT stages was strongly correlated with ergospirometric variables as well as psychophysiologic response during cardiopulmonary exercise testing on treadmill. We suggested that the TT can be used to evaluate and prescribe exercise intensity of aerobic activity in cardiovascular and pulmonary rehabilitation settings.
Whole body vibration accelerates the functional recovery of motor nerve components in sciatic nerve-crush injury model rats
Authors: Doi Atsushi , Oda Kyoka , Matsumoto Masaki , Sakoguchi Honoka , Honda Mizuki , Ogata Yuma , Nakano Asuka , Taniguchi Misato , Fukushima Shunya , Imayoshi Kyogo , Nagao Kanta , Toyoda Masami , Kameyama Hiroki , Sonohata Motoki , Shin Min-Chul
Published: June 2023

This study aimed to investigate the effect of whole body vibration (WBV) on the sensory and motor nerve components with sciatic nerve injury model rats. Surgery was performed on 21 female Wister rats (6–8 weeks) under intraperitoneal anesthesia. The nerve-crush injuries for the left sciatic nerve were inflicted using a Sugita aneurysm clip. The sciatic nerve model rats were randomly divided into two groups (n= 9; control group, n= 12; WBV group). The rats in the WBV group walked in the cage with a vibratory stimulus (frequency 50 Hz, 20 min/day, 5 times/wk), while those in the control group walked in the cage without any vibratory stimulus. We used heat stimulation-induced sensory threshold and lumbar magnetic stimulation-induced motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) to measure the sensory and motor nerve components, respectively. Further, morphological measurements, bilateral hind-limb dimension, bilateral gastrocnemius dimension, and weight were evaluated. Consequently, there were no significant differences in the sensory threshold at the injury side between the control and WBV groups. However, at 4 and 6 weeks postoperatively, MEPs latencies in the WBV group were significantly shorter than those in the control group. Furthermore, both sides of the hind-limb dimension at 6 weeks postoperatively, the left side of the gastrocnemius dimension, and both sides of the gastrocnemius weight significantly increased. In conclusion, WBV especially accelerates the functional recovery of motor nerve components in sciatic nerve-crush injury model rats.
The Frailty Matters Project
Authors: Papadopoulou Constantina , Duffy Raymond , Andrew Mandy , Barrie Janette , Martin Jana , Birt Audrey , Hendry Anne
Published: June 2023

Preventing and managing frailty is a new area for many community practitioners; yet, frailty specific-education remains limited. This collaborative project aimed to understand and enhance the knowledge, confidence and capability of community nurses to manage frailty in a community setting. A person-centred coaching and educational programme was co-developed with community nurse participants to strengthen their leadership role in managing frailty within interprofessional teams. The “Frailty House” was created as an educational framework for the elements that participants described as important in order to live well with frailty, built on a foundation of leadership and coaching skills. Thematic content analysis of the data revealed the added value of combining technical knowledge and relational skills-building with peer support and coaching. All recognised the challenge of caring for people living with frailty at a difficult time and acknowledged that they would benefit hugely from further knowledge and skill development in this field.
Dementia: recognition and cognitive testing in community and primary care settings
Authors: Harrison Dening Karen
Published: June 2023

Dementia is an umbrella term used to describe a group of symptoms characterised by behavioural changes, as well as loss of cognitive and social functioning brought about by progressive neurological disorders. There are approximately 944 000 people living with dementia in the UK and estimates indicate this will increase to over 2 million by 2051. Dementia, if left undiagnosed, can have an insidious and harmful impact on the people and their families who are affected by it. A timely diagnosis can be made when a person with a possible dementia comes to the attention of clinicians due to concerns about changes in their cognition, behaviour, or functioning. Community nurses are well-placed to observe changes in their older patients, which may be indicative of early dementia. This paper uses a case study to illustrate possible early signs of dementia and discusses the recognition and initial cognitive tests that can be used in a primary care setting.
Mental health in the community: part two
Authors: Palmer Sarah Jane
Published: June 2023

In 2021, 4.3 million referrals were made to mental health servies. Such numbers prompted the Royal College of Psychiatrists to urge the government to put together additional policies, to ensure that mental health is prioritised in the UK. In part two of her two-part series on mental health, Sarah Palmer sign-posts community nurses towards relevant services, in cases where they may come across a patient with mental health issues. Furthermore, a case for digitally enabled mental health care is made by the author, as this would let individuals receive help sooner.
Activities and Outputs from SME and MNC Collaboration on R&I Projects
Authors: Nesse Per J. , Opsahl Kristoffer
Published: June 2023

The fifth generation (5G) of telecommunication systems is creating new business opportunities for many industry verticals. Managing the innovation process is risky and calls for collaboration with various ecosystem stakeholders to meet the demands of technology, business, and customers. This article investigates the activities and output of participation in collaborative research and innovation (R&I) activities for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) and Multi National Corporations (MNCs) and how they engage with such activities. A survey was conducted with a non-random sample of 42 respondents involved in R&I projects and further supplemented with three in-depth interviews of a subset of the survey respondents. Our key findings indicate that SMEs benefit from technology-related activities and access to decision makers in MNCs. Heavy-handed bureaucracy in projects is a friction point for SMEs, which prefer development speed over scheduled reports and deliverables. In contrast, MNCs benefit from business-related activities by advertising technology to clients, suppliers, and downstream business models. Suggested improvements include additional client needs assessments, trialing of technology and service concepts, and dissemination of the results of R&I activities. SMEs and MNCs view establishing relationships with other partners as valuable for accessing key competencies and vertical industry ecosystems. Our findings provide novel insight in the collaboration of R&I projects with SMEs and MNCs and contributes to the business ecosystem and open innovation literature. Further research should include follow-up studies of the SME–MNC collaboration towards commercialization of innovative 5G use cases.
The mirror stage: a reflection on borderline personality disorder
Authors: Reynolds Emily
Published: June 2023

A personal reflection on the diagnosis of borderline personality disorder.
Amplitude gradient-based metasurfaces for off-chip terahertz wavefront shaping
Authors: Lyu Wen , Huang Jianzhi , Yin Shengqi , Wang Xukang , Liu Jiaming , Fang Xu , Geng Hua
Published: June 2023

Metasurfaces provide an effective technology platform for manipulating electromagnetic waves, and the existing design methods all highlight the importance of creating a gradient in the output phase across light scattering units. However, in the emerging research subfield of meta-waveguides where a metasurface is driven by guided modes, this phase gradient-oriented approach can only provide a very limited emission aperture, significantly affecting the application potential of such meta-waveguides. In this work, we propose a new design approach that exploits the difference between meta-atoms in their light scattering amplitude. By balancing this amplitude gradient in the meta-atoms against the intensity decay in the energy-feeding waveguide, a large effective aperture can be obtained. Based on this new design approach, three different wavefront shaping functionalities are numerically demonstrated here on multiple devices in the terahertz regime. They include beam expanders that radiate a plane wave, where the beam width can increase by more than 900 times as compared to the guided wave. They also include a metalens that generates a Bessel-beam focus with a width 0.59 times the wavelength, and vortex beam generators that emit light with a tunable topological charge that can reach −30. This amplitude gradient design approach could benefit a variety of off-chip light shaping applications such as remote sensing and 6G wireless communications.
Chinese health funding in Africa: The untold story
Authors: Dolan Carrie B. , Malik Ammar A. , Zhang Sheng , Mao Wenhui , McDade Kaci Kennedy , Svoboda Eli , Odhiambo Julius N.
Published: June 2023

The motivations behind China’s allocation of health aid to Africa remain complex due to limited information on the details of health aid project activities. Insufficient knowledge about the purpose of China’s health aid hinders our understanding of China’s comprehensive role in supporting Africa’s healthcare system. To address this gap, our study aimed to gain better insights into China’s health aid priorities and the factors driving these priorities across Africa. To achieve this, we utilized AidData’s Chinese Official Finance Dataset and adhered to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) guidelines. We reclassified all 1,026 health projects in Africa, originally categorized under broad 3-digit OECD-DAC sector codes, into more specific 5-digit CRS codes. By analyzing the project count and financial value, we assessed the shifting priorities over time. Our analysis revealed that China’s priorities in health aid have evolved between 2000 and 2017. In the early 2000s, China primarily allocated aid to basic health personnel and lacked diversity in sub-sectors. However, after 2004, China shifted its focus more toward basic infrastructure and reduced emphasis on clinical-level staff. Furthermore, China’s interest in addressing malaria expanded both in scale and depth between 2006 and 2009. This trend continued in 2012 and 2014 when China responded to the Ebola outbreak by shifting its focus from basic infrastructure to infectious diseases. In summary, our findings demonstrate the changes in China’s health aid strategy, starting with addressing diseases already eliminated in China and gradually transitioning towards global health security, health system strengthening, and shaping the governance mechanisms.
Climate zones are a key component of the heterogeneous presentation of malaria and should be added as a malariometric for the planning of malaria elimination
Authors: Yadav Chander Prakash , Hussain Syed Shah Areeb , Mullick Rajit , Rahi Manju , Sharma Amit
Published: June 2023

Malaria is a climate-sensitive disease and different climatic conditions affect the propagation of malaria vectors thereby influencing malaria incidence. The present study was undertaken to delineate malaria distribution across different climate types and sub-types in India and assess its significance as a malariometric in the ongoing elimination activities. All Indian districts were classified into three major climatic zones (Tropical, Temperate, and others (Arid, Cold, and Polar) based on the Köppen-Geiger climate classification system. The Annual Parasite Incidence (API) of malaria was analyzed in these climatic zones using the Kruskal Wallis test, and a post hoc comparison was done using the rank-sum test with an adjusted p-value for the level of significance. Further logistic regression was used to investigate the association of these climatic zones with high malaria incidence (i.e., API>1). The majority of Indian districts fall in Temperate (N = 270/692 (39.0%)) and Tropical (N = 260/692 (37.6%)) regions, followed by Arid (N = 140/692 (20.2%)), Polar (N = 13/692 (1.9%)) and Cold (N = 9/692 (1.3%)) regions. Three climate zones: Arid, Polar, and Cold were similar in terms of malaria incidence over the years and thus were grouped into one. It was found that the tropical and temperate zones display a significantly higher burden of malaria as compared to others for the studied years (2016–2021). Future projections of climate suggest a significant expansion of tropical monsoon climate towards central and northern India, along with a growing footprint of tropical wet savannah climate in the northeast of India by 2100, which could increase the risk of malaria transmission in these regions. The heterogeneous climatic zones of India play an important role in malaria transmission and can be used as a malariometric for the stratification of districts destined for malaria elimination.
Increasing SARS-CoV-2 testing capacity through specimen pooling: An acute care center experience
Authors: Cabrera Ana , Al Mutawah Fatimah , Kadour Mike , Schofield Shannon , Conkey Beverley , Fuller Jeffrey , Payne Michael , Elsayed Sameer , Delport Johan
Published: June 2023

Innovation in laboratory testing algorithms to address seemingly uncontrollable global supply chain shortages in plastics and other consumables during emergencies such as the current COVID-19 pandemic have been urgently needed. We report our experience with specimen pooling on SARS-CoV-2 testing in an acute care hospital microbiology laboratory during a high testing demand period that exceeded available processing capacity. A fully automated four-in-one pooling algorithm was designed and validated. Correlation and agreement were calculated. A custom Microsoft Excel tool was designed for use by the technologists to aid interpretation, verification and result entry. Cost-per-test impact for pooling was measured in reference to the consumable cost and was denoted as the percentage reduction of cost versus the baseline cost-per-test of testing specimens individually. Validation showed a strong correlation between the signals observed when testing specimens individually versus those that were pooled. Average crossing point difference was 1.352 cycles (95% confidence interval of -0.235 and 2.940). Overall agreement observed between individually and pooled tested specimens was 96.8%. Stratified agreement showed an expected decreased performance of pooling for weakly positive specimens dropping below 60% after a crossing point of 35. Post-implementation data showed the consumable cost-savings achieved through this algorithm was 85.5% after 8 months, creating both testing and resource capacity. Pooling is an effective method to be used for SARS-CoV-2 testing during the current pandemic to address resource shortages and provide quick turnaround times for high test volumes without compromising performance.
Rapid monitoring of cropland primary productivity and shipping activity in Ukraine
Authors: Wellington Michael , Kuhnert Petra , Lawes Roger
Published: June 2023

Ukraine is an important global exporter of grain, especially to several countries with vulnerable food systems. The war in Ukraine may disrupt global food supply by limiting the planting, growth, and harvest of crops, or disrupting grain supply logistics. We apply a novel statistical modelling approach to satellite images of cropland in Ukraine for fast inference and exploration of cropping patterns and their influences in challenging environments. We also present satellite-derived cargo shipping activity as an accompaniment to these outputs to better explore the outcomes. Cropland Gross Primary Productivity in 2022 was 0.25gC/m2 lower than the 2010–2021 baseline period (p < 0.001). Similarly, cumulative annual cargo shipping activity ports in the Odesa and Mariupol regions were 45% and 62% lower in 2022 than in 2021, respectively. This suggests that cropland primary productivity has suffered during the conflict, and reliance on a few key port areas introduces vulnerability to the value chain.
Multi-modal adaptive gated mechanism for visual question answering
Authors: Xu Yangshuyi , Zhang Lin , Shen Xiang
Published: June 2023

Visual Question Answering (VQA) is a multimodal task that uses natural language to ask and answer questions based on image content. For multimodal tasks, obtaining accurate modality feature information is crucial. The existing researches on the visual question answering model mainly start from the perspective of attention mechanism and multimodal fusion, which will tend to ignore the impact of modal interaction learning and the introduction of noise information in the process of modal fusion on the overall performance of the model. This paper proposes a novel and efficient multimodal adaptive gated mechanism model, MAGM. The model adds an adaptive gate mechanism to the intra- and inter-modality learning and the modal fusion process. This model can effectively filter irrelevant noise information, obtain fine-grained modal features, and improve the ability of the model to adaptively control the contribution of the two modal features to the predicted answer. In intra- and inter-modality learning modules, the self-attention gated and self-guided-attention gated units are designed to filter text and image features’ noise information effectively. In modal fusion module, the adaptive gated modal feature fusion structure is designed to obtain fine-grained modal features and improve the accuracy of the model in answering questions. Quantitative and qualitative experiments on the two VQA task benchmark datasets, VQA 2.0 and GQA, proved that the method in this paper is superior to the existing methods. The MAGM model has an overall accuracy of 71.30% on the VQA 2.0 dataset and an overall accuracy of 57.57% on the GQA dataset.
A statistical theory of optimal decision-making in sports betting
Authors: Dmochowski Jacek P.
Published: June 2023

The recent legalization of sports wagering in many regions of North America has renewed attention on the practice of sports betting. Although considerable effort has been previously devoted to the analysis of sportsbook odds setting and public betting trends, the principles governing optimal wagering have received less focus. Here the key decisions facing the sports bettor are cast in terms of the probability distribution of the outcome variable and the sportsbook’s proposition. Knowledge of the median outcome is shown to be a sufficient condition for optimal prediction in a given match, but additional quantiles are necessary to optimally select the subset of matches to wager on (i.e., those in which one of the outcomes yields a positive expected profit). Upper and lower bounds on wagering accuracy are derived, and the conditions required for statistical estimators to attain the upper bound are provided. To relate the theory to a real-world betting market, an empirical analysis of over 5000 matches from the National Football League is conducted. It is found that the point spreads and totals proposed by sportsbooks capture 86% and 79% of the variability in the median outcome, respectively. The data suggests that, in most cases, a sportsbook bias of only a single point from the true median is sufficient to permit a positive expected profit. Collectively, these findings provide a statistical framework that may be utilized by the betting public to guide decision-making.
Nation-based peer assessment of Europe’s Sustainable Development Goal performance
Authors: Murphy Enda , Walsh Patrick Paul , Murphy Ethan
Published: June 2023

Less than seven years remain for Europe to meet the targets of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However robust and accurate methods for assessing SDG progress are currently lacking. Through the development of several SDG indices, this study addresses this critical knowledge gap by providing the means to accurately identify national ’problem areas’ and thereby accelerate SDG achievement. Specifically, an indicator-based approach has been used to create a composite index containing 166 unique SDG indicators that assess a nation’s SDG performance compared to the best and worst performers in the European Union (EU). Our results indicate that each EU nation is on average, 58% of the way towards the best performer in the overall SDG indicator framework. A nuanced taxonomy has been developed that allows for the assessment of SDG performance in several critical dimensions of the SDGs, including in ’Means-of-Implementation (MoI)’, ’Linkage’, and ’Outcome’ indicators. The index’s comprehensive framework allows for EU’s performance in individual SDG indicators to be investigated while providing the most accurate assessment of national SDG performance, to date. Overall, the indices presented in this paper can significantly enhance the understanding of SDG performance while concurrently guiding national and EU SDG policy development.
Editorial
Authors: Cox Ailsa
Published: June 2023

Ailsa Cox introduces Volume 13.1 of Short Fiction in Theory & Practice with some reflections on the centenary of Katherine Mansfield’s death. She links Mansfield’s fiction to her wider interests in the arts and performance, suggesting that the short story genre is in perpetual dialogue with other art forms. Articles in the issue address the short story’s relationship with the visual arts, drama, music and film. They also show how the short story can subvert dominant narrative frameworks.
Reading the ‘wordless unease’ in Margaret Atwood’s ‘Death by Landscape’
Authors: Togyer Eleanora
Published: June 2023

This article examines the way Margaret Atwood’s short story ‘Death by Landscape’ (1991) engages with the representational strategies of Canada’s celebrated Group of Seven artists. I situate my reading of Atwood’s work first within aesthetics, focusing on her subtle problematization of the masculine ideology and wilderness aesthetic of the Group of Seven. I argue that Atwood unsettles the dominant, virulently male tradition of representation of the wilderness by uncovering an alternative female narrative through an ekphrastic engagement with the paintings. By doing so she not only dismantles the concept of wilderness both as a physical space that women have limited access to and as an imaginary construct; but at the same time she also reconfigures the structure and the content of wilderness stories, and in fact the concept of wilderness itself. Atwood offers a counter-discursive revision of the male adventure and maturation story by deconstructing and restructuring traditional narrative practices to render the female experience visible. This article hopes to show that Atwood expands the possibilities of the adventure story and wilderness writing and creates room for a female version of the maturation story with a fundamentally different aesthetic.
Platonov or bust
Authors: Grace Fraser
Published: June 2023

The author presents a highly personal case for considering Andrey Platonov as the third person of a ‘holy trinity’ of writers from early twentieth-century Russia. Where Chekhov foresaw huge social upheaval (but died before seeing it) and Gorky staged the beginnings of insurrection, Platonov explores the fallout of the Revolution. The malign impact of Gorky’s doctrine of Socialist Realism on Platonov’s life and work is tracked. The challenges of adapting Platonov’s fiction to the stage are examined, and a case study offered of the new play Bliss, based on ‘The River Potudan’, which premiered in Platonov’s hometown of Voronezh, in June 2019.
Mestiçados e forros nas Minas Gerais e em Buenos Aires, séculos XVIII e XIX
Authors: França Paiva Eduardo , Bernand Carmen
Published: June 2023

Este artigo compara histórias de mestiçados forros em Minas Gerais e Buenos Aires ao longo dos séculos XVIII e XIX. A análise patenteia dinâmicas sociais semelhantes, mas também diferentes, dimensões claramente atreladas à importância histórica assumida por ambas as sociedades e às pujantes economias desenvolvidas nessas regiões. Não obstante as diferenças marcantes encontradas, ficou claro que os mestiçados procuraram, com maior ou menor grau de sucesso, conduzir as suas vidas, transitando entre o cativeiro e a vida em liberdade, vinculando-se a atividades económicas específicas, formando famílias e redes de relacionamento, tornando-se senhores e senhoras de escravos e inserindo-se social e culturalmente nas realidades que ajudaram a conformar.
Lazaretos, rentas y beneficencia
Authors: Carreño-Tarazona Clara Ines , Amado-Oliveros Giovanni Fernando
Published: June 2023

Este artículo analiza tres elementos que predominaron en las discusiones sobre salubridad pública por parte de las autoridades políticas en el Estado de Boyacá durante la segunda mitad del siglo XIX: el degredo o Lazareto, la renta de mortuorias y la beneficencia. El estudio aborda los intentos legislativos y gubernamentales para contener y exiliar leprosos, destacando la pretensión política y la estrategia de financiación para destinar los recursos económicos por parte del Estado. Se analizan y comparan los informes gubernamentales, la normatividad, el código de policía y el código de beneficencia con las leyes de presupuesto y el estado de caja de la administración general de hacienda. El estudio concluye que más allá de las discusiones médicas y religiosas, los legisladores establecieron una importante cantidad de leyes y normas para ordenar la enfermedad en términos jurídicos que no lograron materializarse.
Inventar una policía republicana
Authors: Vaquero Martínez Sergio
Published: June 2023

Este artículo analiza los discursos sobre el orden público emitidos por la clase política de la Segunda República española en las Cortes Constituyentes y la opinión pública policial durante el primer bienio, del 14 de abril de 1931 al 12 de septiembre de 1933. Dichas retóricas se clasifican en dos grandes narrativas: una gubernativa que priorizaba la defensa de la República y otra que reclamaba respeto por los derechos constitucionales desde la oposición. Se presta especial atención al proceso de invención de una policía republicana, subrayando el carácter plural, contingente y disputado de sus significados y formas. También se tienen en consideración el equilibrio de poder entre los principales partidos, así como las políticas públicas y las reformas policiales implementadas.
Trajetória Mestiça
Authors: Machado de Oliveira Anderson José , De Sousa Soares Márcio
Published: June 2023

Aos 17 dias do mês de outubro de 1717, Domingos Barbosa, filho legítimo de João Barbosa da Costa e Maria Ribeira, foi batizado na Sé Catedral de São Luís do Maranhão pelo vigário geral Agostinho Mouzinho Garro. No registo de batismo nenhum termo classificatório, relacionado com os processos de mestiçagem, foi utilizado para identificar Domingos e seus pais. No entanto, em 1742, durante a investigação de genere com vista à obtenção das ordens sacerdotais, as testemunhas do processo indicaram que Domingos, pela parte paterna e materna, tinha “sangue de gente da terra”, tendo os seus bisavós “casta de mamaluco”. Não obstante o gentilismo dos seus ascendentes, Domingos foi ordenado e posteriormente exerceu a função de pároco em duas freguesias maranhenses. O objetivo deste artigo é discutir o processo de mobilidade social traçado por este mestiço, considerando as relações sociais construídas por ele e sua família e as variações na conjuntura da Igreja maranhense no decorrer de Setecentos. Convergem para esta análise o peso das relações pessoais e políticas na superação dos estigmas geracionais em sociedades com traços da cultura política do Antigo Regime, bem como a postura de setores da hierarquia eclesiástica favoráveis à formação de um clero nativo em resposta ao imperativo da cristianização dos povos.
Escravidão e mestiçagens
Authors: Guedes Roberto , Alves de Godoy Silvana
Published: June 2023

O artigo analisa mamelucos, mulatos e poucos pardos na sociedade paulista do século XVII. Calcado em inventários post-mortem, o artigo ressalta que a classificação social e os termos de mestiçagem em São Paulo foram gestados em meio ao confronto entre as leis reinóis portuguesas anti-escravidão indígena e a perspectiva escravista dos paulistas. Mamelucos, mulatos e poucos pardos foram vocábulos empregados de forma diferenciada em relação a várias outras categorias de época.
De los Austrias a los Borbones
Authors: Castillo Palma Norma Angélica
Published: June 2023

Este trabajo analiza el cambio de actitud de los curas al asignar categorías de calidad en las actas de bautismo o matrimonio. El método consiste en analizar, en las partidas sacramentales, cómo se consignó la calidad de las personas. Se muestran casos en donde los funcionarios eclesiásticos aceptaron, verbatim, la declaración de sus fieles; si los juzgaron por su apariencia, o si averiguaron la calidad de sus familiares. Se concluye que bajo los austrias los sacerdotes aceptaron con mayor apertura la declaración de los fieles y consignaron categorías que no necesariamente les correspondían, lo que permitió la movilidad social de los descendientes de esclavos. Al contrario, bajo el dominio de los borbones, cuando la profusión del mestizaje produjo una población inclasificable, la actitud cambió para convertir los procesos más difíciles y conflictivos. Ante la dificultad de negociación y la limitación al ascenso social, se multiplicaron conflictos en el ámbito judicial.
A Comprehensive Comparative Analysis of Tissue Sample Volumes and Quality Between Side Notch and Full Core Biopsy Devices
Authors: Stibbs Peter , Smith Damon , Szu Cheng
Published: June 2023

Biopsy techniques play a pivotal role in diagnosing and treating diseases. The significance of acquiring sufficient, high-quality tissue samples for accurate diagnosis and prognosis is irrefutable. This comprehensive study investigates the differences in tissue sample volumes procured from side notch biopsy devices and full core biopsy devices, specifically the BioPinceUltra™, quantifying these discrepancies. It also expounds on the implications of these findings in view of current and anticipated future diagnostic trends.
Continuing Medical Education Questions: July 2023
Authors: Hoppmann Nicholas A.
Published: June 2023

Article Title: American College of Gastroenterology Acute Liver Failure Guidelines
Práticas sociais e significação do conceito de medidas
Authors: Sarmento Alan Kardec Carvalho , Moura Manoel Oriosvaldo de
Published: June 2023

Neste artigo discutiremos o processo de significação do conceito de medidas a partir de uma pesquisa realizada objetivando investigar as relações existentes entre o desenvolvimento lógico-histórico e o modo de apropriação do conceito de medida em coletividades agrícolas. Baseado na Teoria Histórico–Cultural/Teoria da Atividade, o trabalho empírico teve como referência: a) investigação das práticas sociais relacionadas às medidas nas lavouras, b) realização de experimentos didáticos com estudantes do Ensino Básico e c) experimento formativo com professores. Concluímos que na objetivação do ensino do conceito de medida, o processo de significação reflete o modo de apropriação do desenvolvimento lógico-histórico dele pelo sujeito e depende do compartilhamento dos significados culturais subjacentes às medidas, adquiridos no contexto das práticas sociais das diferentes coletividades, apontando a necessidade de considerar, na praxe docente, os sistemas simbólicos extras matemáticos que regem tais práticas no ambiente cultural dos alunos.
Apuntes para la construcción de un “nosotros” en la integralidad de las funciones sustantivas universitarias
Authors: Hidalgo Ana Laura
Published: June 2023

Esta contribución se propone construir un posicionamiento ante el conocimiento basado en el diálogo de saberes cuando el contenido del mismo es la comunicación en el marco de la integralidad de funciones universitarias. En este contexto, se reconoce como necesaria la construcción de un “nosotros” como momento relacionante de la propia subjetividad ante el encuentro con “otros”. Se enuncia una serie de posibles obstáculos epistemológicos que podrían condicionarla en las prácticas de docencia, investigación y extensión.
Cerber i inni. Potwory w Boskiej komedii
Authors: Ciseri Lorenzo Montemagno
Published: June 2023

W tekście zaprezentowano metodę detalicznej lektury poematu Dantego, czytanego poprzez analizę teratologiczną. Namysł nad opisanymi w dziele wybitnego Włocha potwornościami i potworami pozwala przywrócić Boską komedię współczesności. Czytelnik zauważa znaczenie detalu w procesie poznawania i rozumienia tekstu, co propedeutycznie stanowi doskonały wstęp do poematu, a także uczy określonego sposobu lektury dostrzegającej literackie imponderabilia i poddającej je analizie.
Improving the Guyana REDD+ Monitoring Reporting and Verification System: stakeholders perception
Authors: Thornhill-Gillis D. , Ramdial D.
Published: June 2023

In 2009 Guyana developed and tested their REDD+ Monitoring Reporting and Verification System (REDD+ MRVS) to satisfy a Memorandum of Understanding between Guyana and the Kingdom of Norway. Despite being a developing country, it has been one of the few countries to progress its MRVS
substantially with comparatively similar results to independent auditing standards. While socio-political support has helped efforts to implement a national based monitoring system challenges of improving stakeholder coordination and collaboration can potentially undermine efforts to maintain
a robust system. The effectiveness of the REDD+ MRVS was assessed to determine end users demands, and system output applications. We employed a qualitative methodological approach using the Borich needs assessment model. The results revealed that the overall structure of REDD+ MRVS was mostly
likely to reduce the efficiency in reporting the outcomes of the MRVS and its value as a tool to aid in natural resources management. Stakeholders believe that Guyana's REDD+ MRVS has the potential to improve natural resource management in Guyana. However, to boost the system's credibility,
monitoring, data exchange capabilities, and the timeliness of the assessment should be promptly addressed. Further, the role of Indigenous communities in real time monitoring remains a central idea to be explored.
Timber trade in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC): effectiveness of timber parks in tackling tax frauds/Commerce du bois dans l'est de la République Démocratique du Congo (RDC): efficacité des parcs á bois dans la lutte contre la fraude
fiscale
Authors: Ferrari S. , Cerutti P.O.
Published: June 2023

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) shares borders with nine countries and has around 150 million hectares of tropical moist forests. A moratorium on logging titles has been in place since 2002 and infrastructure is very poor. The country plans to lift the moratorium and invest
in infrastructure as part of the broader East-African road and railway networks. We present a case-study conducted for thirty months (2020– 2022) on timber trade and export at the first 'timber park' established on the eastern border. Multiple forms of potentially illegal timber trade
were detected. In the case of transiting timber, results indicate that 100% of export declarations mention only one, and the same tree species. There also exist several mismatches between declared vs actually exported species (e. g. Mammea africana instead of genus Afzelia, recently
listed in Annex II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)). We estimate the potential financial losses for the DRC Government and discuss possible improvements. The model's extension to major border crossings could contribute to both
sectoral improvements and better environmental policies. Yet results also indicate that the model's replication, sustainability and effectiveness can only occur and be maintained if interest and political support by provincial governments and their field staff remain strong.
The role of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in assessment of forest condition, pressures and conservation actions at key forest sites in tropical Asia and New Guinea
Authors: Crowe O. , Crosby M. , de la Paz M.B.E. , de la Rosa G.E. , Gowae G.Y. , Gurung H. , Kumpel N. , Hani T. , Lee E.L. , Panopio J.K. , Perumal B. , Quimpo J.D.G. , Resurreccion N.A. , Satyal P. , Simkins A.T. , Thomas J. , Thomas J. , Widyanto A. , Yeap C.A.
Published: June 2023

Forests in tropical Asia and New Guinea provide local and global benefits to people and are exceptionally rich in biodiversity but they have receded by more than 75% in the past 100 years. This project set out to strengthen effective engagement of non-state actors in forest monitoring,
planning and policy processes in Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and New Guinea, and hence reduce the rate of loss of tropical forests and biodiversity. Monitoring assessments of state, pressure and response were undertaken at key sites for biodiversity conservation using a monitoring
protocol established for Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas. Indigenous Peoples and local communities participated in a range of surveillance activities. These assessments were supported by global datasets on tree cover loss and forest integrity. The inputs from Indigenous Peoples and local
communities were especially valuable in implementing actions, informing national and regional policies, and in helping them manage their local environment and resources.
The nonlinear analysis of reactive powder concrete effectiveness in shear for reinforced concrete deep beams
Authors: Jaafar Azhar Ayad , Yussof Mustafasanie M. , Azeez Alyaa Abdulrazzaq , Mezher Thaer Matlab , Ali Blash Abrahem A.
Published: June 2023

The aim of this article is to investigate the effect of using reactive powder concrete (RPC) for reinforcement concrete deep beams (CDBs) to study the shear effect by the numerical analysis. The method of finite element analysis model simulations using a program was used. The characteristics of RPC and the deep beam of reinforced concrete were obtained from previous scientific research. Non-linear analysis for two models of deep beams, one with RPC and the other without using it, was conducted to compare with experimental results from recent tests of deep concrete beams with RPC and loaded until failure. The data obtained from the specimens have many factors related to the effect of the strength and action of reinforcement CDBs such as shear load deflection, crack pattern, mode failure, and concrete strength. On the other hand, the mesh changing was investigated in terms of the maximum concrete strength and the running time by changing the mesh size to 50, 25, and 15. Models were simulated with a two-point load using a shear span-to-depth with an av/d ratio of 0.77. The difference in percentage deflection between the numerical and experimental models’ data was observed at 2.60 and 5.9% for concrete deep beam and RPC deep beam, respectively, and the maximum shear load was 2.27 and 5.40%. The importance of the outputs of this article lies in bridging the research gap of this new topic and identifying the shear behavior of deep beams reinforced with RPC due to the lack of research related to this topic. It was noted that the obtained data for finite element analysis are very consistent with the previous laboratory scientific research, while the error rate did not exceed 10%.
Activated carbon from sugarcane as an efficient adsorbent for phenol from petroleum refinery wastewater: Equilibrium, kinetic, and thermodynamic study
Authors: Abdulrahman Mustafa S. , Alsarayreh Alanood A. , Barno Suondos K. A. , Abd Elkawi Mervat A. , Abbas Ammar S.
Published: June 2023

The adsorption method may be one of the environmentally friendly, economical, and effective techniques to remove phenol from wastewater using low-cost adsorbent activated carbon (AC). The effects of the initial concentration of phenol, temperature, and time of the adsorption on the phenol removal percent were studied. The maximum removal percentage of phenol was 63.73% of the initial 150 mg/l concentration obtained at 25°C. Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin, and Dubinin–Radushkevich isotherm models have been applied to study the adsorption equilibrium. The results show that both Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms fitted the equilibrium data better with a high correlation coefficient (R
2) and a maximum adsorption capacity of 108.70 mg/g. Thorough fitting of adsorption kinetics data followed the pseudo-second-order model. Thermodynamic parameters were calculated in the temperature range of 25–50°C. The results show that the adsorption process of phenol on AC is more favorable at low temperatures.
Circularly polarized multimode smart antenna system for micro base station application
Authors: Duan Zhu , Xu Chen-Chen , Wang Feng , Wen Geyi
Published: June 2023

A smart antenna system suitable for micro base stations is proposed, which consists of three left-handed circularly polarized designs operating at 3.5 GHz. The first one is an eight-port cylindrical conformal antenna with both omnidirectional and directional modes. Its maximum omnidirectional realized gain is 5.0 dBic, and its maximum single/dual beam realized gain under the directional mode on the horizontal plane is 9.4/6.9 dBic. In addition, it can achieve elevational scan from 70° to 110°. The second one is based on the first one with a feeding network, therefore reducing the number of ports to four, achieving a maximum omnidirectional and directional realized gain of 4.2 and 7.9 dBic. The third one is also based on the first one, but with two additional omnidirectional antennas added, making it a hybrid system with enhanced omnidirectional radiation. It has a maximum omnidirectional and directional realized gain of 6.4 and 8.2 dBic. To validate the proposed concept, three prototype arrays are designed, fabricated, and measured, showing that the proposed antenna system can achieve the desired radiation patterns according to different targeted applications.
Gauss--Newton--Kurchatov method for the solution of non-linear least-square problems using ω-condition
Authors: Bhagat Naveen Chandra , Parida Pradip Kumar
Published: June 2023

We propose to study the convergence of an iterative method used for solving non-linear least-square problems having differentiable as well as non-differentiable functions. We use the ω-condition on both first order divided difference of non-differentiable part and first order derivative of differentiable part to establish the condition for convergence of the method. We also present some numerical experiments as test beds for the proposed method. In all the numerical examples, we have compared our results with a well-known Gauss–Newton–Potra method and shown that our convergence analysis gives better error bounds.
Experimental study on boiling heat transfer of γ-Fe2O3 nanofluids on a downward heated surface
Authors: Gao Jia , Hsieh Huai-En , Liu Songling , Cai Xintian , Wang Saikun , Wang Shiqi , Zhang Shihao , Guo Zhusheng
Published: June 2023

This investigation reports on the experimental outcomes of the pool boiling heat transfer characteristics, specifically on the downward heated surface, concerning reverse osmosis water and γ-Fe2O3 nanofluids. To conduct the pool boiling experiments, γ-Fe2O3 nanofluids were prepared with variable concentrations ranging from 2 mg/L to 10 mg/L. Analysis of the experimental data revealed that a concentration of 5 mg/L yielded the greatest enhancement effect on critical heat flux (CHF), with an increase of 13.5 %. However, the results also indicated that excessively high concentrations of nanofluid had a negative impact on CHF enhancement. The impact of nanofluids on heat transfer performance was investigated by analyzing the observed bubble behavior during the boiling process, measuring the drop angle and surface roughness post-experiment, and characterizing the heated surface morphology via scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Through these methods, the underlying mechanism behind the impact of nanofluids on heat transfer performance was identified and analyzed.
Crowdwashing Surveillance; Crowdsourcing Domination
Authors: Megiddo Tamar
Published: June 2023

Governments regularly rely on citizens’ cooperation in exercising their authority, including the enforcement of rules. This is not only common, but also a necessary practice in a legal system. Technology makes such reliance easier, facilitating increased enforcement of law at little cost. Emergency provides an added legitimizing logic, encouraging citizens’ cooperation and leading them to uncritically follow the government’s lead to reduce the risk to the nation and to themselves. This article considers governments’ crowdsourcing citizens to monitor and surveil other citizens. One central concern this practice raises is that it allows governments to circumvent the limits of their legitimate authority and to augment their power while also obscuring the actor responsible for the surveillance and enforcement action. Consequently, accountability and public oversight over the government are diminished. Where does conventional enlisting of cooperation from law-abiding citizens end, and crowdsourcing totalitarian mass mobilization of citizens against fellow citizens begin? The article’s principal claim is that a bright line should be drawn where governments’ crowdsourcing of information from citizens serves as a means to circumvent democratic checks on their power to collect information, while also disguising the actor responsible for the surveillance. Such practice severely erodes social trust between citizens, jeopardizing their ability to organize and collaborate as engaged citizens and thus serve as a check on government. It further grants excessive power to some citizens over others, endangering the latter’s freedom, especially where the information gathered is used to symbolically or actually exclude certain individuals from the political community.