bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A GDOP-Based Performance Description of TOA Localization with Uncertain Measurements
Authors: Wang Yao , Zhou Tao , Yi Wei , Kong Lingjiang
Published: February 2022

In this paper, we study a geometric dilution of a precision (GDOP)-based localization performance metric for multisite radar adopting a time-of-arrival (TOA)-based localization scheme. In contrast to the existing literature, we consider an actual uncertain measurement situation where the detection probabilities of radar nodes are assumed to be less than unity. The aim is to formulate a general signal-decoupled metric to describe the system localization performance while fully considering detection and estimation operations. Specifically, to match the uncertain measurements, we first establish effectively detected time delay measurements (TDMs) for localization and modify the traditional performance bounds for TDM estimation. Then, by combining the localization performance with the effective detection (ED) via probability, we propose a novel geometric dilution of precision with uncertain measurements (GDOP-UM) metric. The proposed metric can truly characterize the localization performance under the uncertain measurement situation. Finally, the simulation results show that the proposed GDOP-UM can describe the actual localization performance regardless of how the detection performance changes.
Magnetic Field and Electron Density Scaling Properties in the Equatorial Plasma Bubbles
Authors: De Michelis Paola , Consolini Giuseppe , Alberti Tommaso , Tozzi Roberta , Giannattasio Fabio , Coco Igino , Pezzopane Michael , Pignalberi Alessio
Published: February 2022

The ionospheric plasma density irregularities are known to play a role in the propagation of electromagnetic signals and to be one of the most important sources of disturbance for the Global Navigation Satellite System, being responsible for degradation and, sometimes, interruptions of the signals received by the system. In the equatorial ionospheric F region, these plasma density irregularities, known as plasma bubbles, find the suitable conditions for their development during post-sunset hours. In recent years, important features of plasma bubbles such as their dependence on latitude, longitude, and solar and geomagnetic activities have been inferred indirectly using their magnetic signatures. Here, we study the scaling properties of both the electron density and the magnetic field inside the plasma bubbles using measurements on board the Swarm A satellite from 1 April 2014 to 31 January 2016. We show that the spectral features of plasma irregularities cannot be directly inferred from their magnetic signatures. A relation more complex than the linear one is necessary to properly describe the role played by the evolution of plasma bubbles with local time and by the development of turbulent phenomena.
GANsformer: A Detection Network for Aerial Images with High Performance Combining Convolutional Network and Transformer
Authors: Zhang Yan , Liu Xi , Wa Shiyun , Chen Shuyu , Ma Qin
Published: February 2022

There has been substantial progress in small object detection in aerial images in recent years, due to the extensive applications and improved performances of convolutional neural networks (CNNs). Typically, traditional machine learning algorithms tend to prioritize inference speed over accuracy. Insufficient samples can cause problems for convolutional neural networks, such as instability, non-convergence, and overfitting. Additionally, detecting aerial images has inherent challenges, such as varying altitudes and illuminance situations, and blurred and dense objects, resulting in low detection accuracy. As a result, this paper adds a transformer backbone attention mechanism as a branch network, using the region-wide feature information. This paper also employs a generative model to expand the input aerial images ahead of the backbone. The respective advantages of the generative model and transformer network are incorporated. On the dataset presented in this study, the model achieves 96.77% precision, 98.83% recall, and 97.91% mAP by adding the Multi-GANs module to the one-stage detection network. These three indices are enhanced by 13.9%, 20.54%, and 10.27%, respectively, when compared to the other detection networks. Furthermore, this study provides an auto-pruning technique that may achieve 32.2 FPS inference speed with a minor performance loss while responding to the real-time detection task’s usage environment. This research also develops a macOS application for the proposed algorithm using Swift development technology.
SAR Image Despeckling Based on Block-Matching and Noise-Referenced Deep Learning Method
Authors: Wang Chen , Yin Zhixiang , Ma Xiaoshuang , Yang Zhutao
Published: February 2022

The noise2noise-based despeckling method, capable of training the despeckling deep neural network with only noisy synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image, has presented very good performance in recent research. This method requires a fine-registered multi-temporal dataset with minor time variance and uses similarity estimation to compensate for the time variance. However, constructing such a training dataset is very time-consuming and may not be viable for a certain practitioner. In this article, we propose a novel single-image-capable speckling method that combines the similarity-based block-matching and noise referenced deep learning network. The denoising network designed for this method is an encoder–decoder convolutional neural network and is accommodated to small image patches. This method firstly constructs a large number of noisy pairs as training input by similarity-based block-matching in either one noisy SAR image or multiple images. Then, the method trains the network in a Siamese manner with two parameter-sharing branches. The proposed method demonstrates favorable despeckling performance with both simulated and real SAR data with respect to other state-of-the-art reference filters. It also presents satisfying generalization capability as the trained network can despeckle well the unseen image of the same sensor. The main advantage of the proposed method is its application flexibility. It could be trained with either one noisy image or multiple images. Furthermore, the despeckling could be inferred by either the ad hoc trained network or a pre-trained one of the same sensor.
Toward the Personalization of Biceps Fatigue Detection Model for Gym Activity: An Approach to Utilize Wearables’ Data from the Crowd
Authors: Elshafei Mohamed , Costa Diego Elias , Shihab Emad
Published: February 2022

Nowadays, wearables-based Human Activity Recognition (HAR) systems represent a modern, robust, and lightweight solution to monitor athlete performance. However, user data variability is a problem that may hinder the performance of HAR systems, especially the cross-subject HAR models. Such a problem may have a lesser effect on the subject-specific model because it is a tailored model that serves a specific user; hence, data variability is usually low, and performance is often high. However, such a performance comes with a high cost in data collection and processing per user. Therefore, in this work, we present a personalized model that achieves higher performance than the cross-subject model while maintaining a lower data cost than the subject-specific model. Our personalization approach sources data from the crowd based on similarity scores computed between the test subject and the individuals in the crowd. Our dataset consists of 3750 concentration curl repetitions from 25 volunteers with ages and BMI ranging between 20–46 and 24–46, respectively. We compute 11 hand-crafted features and train 2 personalized AdaBoost models, Decision Tree (AdaBoost-DT) and Artificial Neural Networks (AdaBoost-ANN), using data from whom the test subject shares similar physical and single traits. Our findings show that the AdaBoost-DT model outperforms the cross-subject-DT model by 5.89%, while the AdaBoost-ANN model outperforms the cross-subject-ANN model by 3.38%. On the other hand, at 50.0% less of the test subject’s data consumption, our AdaBoost-DT model outperforms the subject-specific-DT model by 16%, while the AdaBoost-ANN model outperforms the subject-specific-ANN model by 10.33%. Yet, the subject-specific models achieve the best performances at 100% of the test subjects’ data consumption.
Handheld and Cost-Effective Fourier Lightfield Microscope
Authors: Galdon Laura , Yun Hui , Saavedra Genaro , Garcia-Sucerquia Jorge , Barreiro Juan C. , Martinez-Corral Manuel , Sanchez-Ortiga Emilio
Published: February 2022

In this work, the design, building, and testing of the most portable, easy-to-build, robust, handheld, and cost-effective Fourier Lightfield Microscope (FLMic) to date is reported. The FLMic is built by means of a surveillance camera lens and additional off-the-shelf optical elements, resulting in a cost-effective FLMic exhibiting all the regular sought features in lightfield microscopy, such as refocusing and gathering 3D information of samples by means of a single-shot approach. The proposed FLMic features reduced dimensions and light weight, which, combined with its low cost, turn the presented FLMic into a strong candidate for in-field application where 3D imaging capabilities are pursued. The use of cost-effective optical elements has a relatively low impact on the optical performance, regarding the figures dictated by the theory, while its price can be at least 100 times lower than that of a regular FLMic. The system operability is tested in both bright-field and fluorescent modes by imaging a resolution target, a honeybee wing, and a knot of dyed cotton fibers.
Toward a Selective Analysis of Heavy Metal Salts in Aqueous Media with a Fluorescent Probe Array
Authors: Melnikov Andrey G. , Bykov Denis A. , Varezhnikov Alexey S. , Sysoev Victor V. , Melnikov Gennady V.
Published: February 2022

Detection of heavy meals in aqueous media challenges worldwide research in developing particularly fast and affordable methods. Fluorescent sensors look to be an appropriate instrument for such a task, as recently they have been found to have made large progress in the detection of chemical analytes, primarily in the environment, along with biological fluids, which still suffer from not enough selectivity. In this work, we propose a new fluorescent method to selectively recognize heavy metals in an aqueous solution via employing an array of several fluorescent probes: acridine yellow, eosin, and methylene blue, which were taken as examples, being sensitive to a microsurrounding of the probe molecules. The exemplary sensor array generated six channels of spectral information through the use of various combinations of excitation and detection wavelengths. Following the known multisensor approach, we applied a linear discriminant analysis to selectively distinguish the vector signals from the sensor array from salts of heavy metals—Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd, and Cz—at the concentration ranges of 2.41 × 10−6–1.07 × 10−5 M, 2.8 × 10−5–5.87 × 10−4 M, 1.46 × 10−6–6.46 × 10−6 M, 1.17 × 10−8–5.2 × 10−8 M, and 2.11 × 10−6–9.33 × 10−6 M, respectively. The suggested approach was found to be promising due to it employing only one cuvette containing the test solution, simplifying a sample preparation when compared to preparing a variety of solutions in tests with single fluorescence probes.
TALBOT: A Track-Leg Transformable Robot
Authors: Guo Wenzhi , Qiu Jiandu , Xu Xinrui , Wu Juan
Published: February 2022

This article introduces a tracked-leg transformable robot, TALBOT. The mechanical and electrical design, control method, and environment perception based on LiDAR are discussed. The original tracked-leg transformable structure allows the robot to switch between the tracked and legged mode to achieve all-terrain adaptation. In the tracked mode, TALBOT is controlled by the method of differential speed between the two tracked feet. In the legged mode, TALBOT is controlled based on a bionic control strategy of the central pattern generator to realize the generation and conversion of gait. In addition, the robot is equipped with a LiDAR, through sensor preprocessing and optimization of the slam mapping algorithm, so that the robot achieves a better mapping effect. We tested the robot’s motion performance and the slam mapping effect, including going straight and turning in tracked and legged modes and building a map in an indoor environment.
Eye Movement Alterations in Post-COVID-19 Condition: A Proof-of-Concept Study
Authors: García Cena Cecilia , Costa Mariana Campos , Saltarén Pazmiño Roque , Santos Cristina Peixoto , Gómez-Andrés David , Benito-León Julián
Published: February 2022

There is much evidence pointing out eye movement alterations in several neurological diseases. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first video-oculography study describing potential alterations of eye movements in the post-COVID-19 condition. Visually guided saccades, memory-guided saccades, and antisaccades in horizontal axis were measured. In all visual tests, the stimulus was deployed with a gap condition. The duration of the test was between 5 and 7 min per participant. A group of n=9 patients with the post-COVID-19 condition was included in this study. Values were compared with a group (n=9) of healthy volunteers whom the SARS-CoV-2 virus had not infected. Features such as centripetal and centrifugal latencies, success rates in memory saccades, antisaccades, and blinks were computed. We found that patients with the post-COVID-19 condition had eye movement alterations mainly in centripetal latency in visually guided saccades, the success rate in memory-guided saccade test, latency in antisaccades, and its standard deviation, which suggests the involvement of frontoparietal networks. Further work is required to understand these eye movements’ alterations and their functional consequences.
Balanced Energy-Aware and Fault-Tolerant Data Center Scheduling
Authors: Shaukat Muhammad , Alasmary Waleed , Alanazi Eisa , Shuja Junaid , Madani Sajjad A. , Hsu Ching-Hsien
Published: February 2022

Fault tolerance, performance, and throughput have been major areas of research and development since the evolution of large-scale networks. Internet-based applications are rapidly growing, including large-scale computations, search engines, high-definition video streaming, e-commerce, and video on demand. In recent years, energy efficiency and fault tolerance have gained significant importance in data center networks and various studies directed the attention towards green computing. Data centers consume a huge amount of energy and various architectures and techniques have been proposed to improve the energy efficiency of data centers. However, there is a tradeoff between energy efficiency and fault tolerance. The objective of this study is to highlight a better tradeoff between the two extremes: (a) high energy efficiency and (b) ensuring high availability through fault tolerance and redundancy. The main objective of the proposed Energy-Aware Fault-Tolerant (EAFT) approach is to keep one level of redundancy for fault tolerance while scheduling resources for energy efficiency. The resultant energy-efficient data center network provides availability as well as fault tolerance at reduced operating cost. The main contributions of this article are: (a) we propose an Energy-Aware Fault-Tolerant (EAFT) data center network scheduler; (b) we compare EAFT with energy efficient resource scheduling techniques to provide analysis of parameters such as, workload distribution, average task per servers, and energy consumption; and (c) we highlight effects of energy efficiency techniques on the network performance of the data center.
A Review on Digitalization of CSR during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Indonesia: Opportunities and Challenges
Authors: Irawan Enjang Pera , Sumartias Suwandi , Priyatna Soeganda , Rahmat Agus
Published: February 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic has become a global problem since first appearing in 2020. Not only does it heavily affect the health sector, but it also spreads to other sectors such as social, economic, and education. Studies have shown that many global companies, including those based in Indonesia, contribute to the global pandemic mitigation by implementing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs. So far, the implementation of CSR is mainly focused on providing food, medicines, and vitamins, as well as medical facilities and equipment. On the other hand, other reviewed studies showed that the pandemic has transformed the CSR implementation from offline to online, also known as CSR digitalization. The limitation in mobility and strict social distancing rules by the government have resulted in this emergence of CSR digitalization initiatives. Although CSR digitalization is still relatively rare, several technology companies have started implementing it. CSR digitalization practices aim to empower micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) to master digital competencies and increase their economic condition affected by the pandemic. Companies implementing CSR digitalization reported a more efficient and effective CSR implementation. This article can potentially introduce a new paradigm to the industry players on the importance of CSR digitalization and future opportunities due to the changes in the behavior of society post-pandemic.
Contribution of Pulses to Agrobiodiversity in the View of EU Protein Strategy
Authors: Divéky-Ertsey Anna , Gál Izóra , Madaras Krisztina , Pusztai Péter , Csambalik László
Published: February 2022

The importance of legume crops in global agricultural systems is inevitable; conversely, less than 4% of European agricultural lands are dedicated for these plants. Besides total loss of biodiversity, agrobiodiversity is also in danger. The production of legumes diversifies arable plant production and supports the nutrient management of the agroecosystem, as well as that of the whole ecosystem. Increasing soybean production area means that other pulses are grown on smaller areas, that means a reduced resiliency of the whole production system. Expanding environmental stresses of climate change and intensive agricultural practices are easier to counteract with help of diversity on species and on genetic level as well. As a consequence of climate change and targeted breeding of the last decade, agricultural lands appropriate for soybean production shows an increase in Europe. The self-sufficiency rates of the European Union concerning single protein sources shows fluctuations. The easier utilization of soy-based products as forage displaces the use of other pulses, which are traditionally produced as protein crops. Besides protein flow, these leguminous plants have an important role in different levels of agricultural systems as well. Several recent initiatives aim to reduce the serious protein exposure of the EU. These programs, beyond the introduction and technological development of soybean production, always mention the strengthening of the role of other pulses. In this study, the last decades of EU pulse utilization were analyzed, using crop yield, crop harvested area, certified seed yield, seed production area, number of registered varieties, and the number of scientific publications as indicators to summarize trends of EU field bean, field pea, lupin, chickpea, lentil, and soybean production in the view of targeted protein initiatives.
Challenges to Adoption of Improved Legume Varieties: A Gendered Perspective
Authors: Dessalegn Bezaiet , Asnake Woinishet , Tigabie Abiro , Le Quang Bao
Published: February 2022

Limited availability and access to seeds of improved varieties are often blamed for the low adoption of legume-based rotations. In this paper, we use a case study of chickpea and lentil production in Ethiopia and a gendered lens to identify other determinants of farmers’ decisions for the adoption of improved legume varieties. Mixed methods were used to collect sex and age disaggregated data through 360 household surveys, 11 focus group discussions, and 8 key informant interviews. The analysis focused on key adoption parameters, including access to land, labor, improved seed varieties, fertilizers, pesticides, agriculture information, and credit. The main challenges identified include: differential access to timely and adequate seeds of improved varieties, quality fertilizers, and pesticides; availability of credit at an affordable interest rate; and equitable access to information. As compared to men, we found women’s access to these resources to be low and women’s cost production to be relatively high. Farmland remains a main constraint for the youth. Farmers responded to the challenges by recycling seeds and mono-cropping lentils, despite declining soil and crop productivity, and increased occurrence of pests and diseases. In the case of chickpea, we found that cultural norms also discouraged the adoption of the improved variety.
Applying Affordance Factor Analysis for Smart Home Speakers in Different Age Groups: A Case Study Approach
Authors: Wu Chih-Fu , Wong Ying-Kit , Hsu Hsiu-Hui , Huang Cheng-Yu
Published: February 2022

Many people use smart speakers at home nowadays for various reasons, such as playing music, checking news and weather, setting timers/alarms, etc. However, before smart speakers were created and available on the market, people used to have home audio systems for similar applications. Nonetheless, the control systems of smart speakers have many different appearances. Affordance is the information given by an object, which is determined by its appearance and supplies clues about its appropriate operation. Therefore, smart speakers should have affordances. Since smart speakers are the main device in the sustainable lifestyle of human beings in smart homes, this study analyzed the affordances of its appearance affect people and the result is essential to the sustainability of smart home. The present study presents a review of the smart speakers in Taiwan, focusing on the four main affordances (physical, cognitive, sensory, functional) and three different age groups (60 participants) based on four appearance categories of smart speaker control, namely, mechanical button control, no-button–no-touch control, touchscreen control, and touch sensor control. By examining the comparison of three age groups, 18–24, 25–49 and 50+, the results of one-way ANOVA showed that the smart speakers with touchscreen control and touch sensor control had a significant difference (p < 0.01) in four main affordances among these three age groups. The smart speakers with mechanical button control and no-button–no-touch control had no significant difference (p > 0.01) in four main affordances among these three age groups. In conclusion, age-range and cultural group affect the affordance of smart home speakers.
Comparing Different Phosphorus Extraction Methods: Effects of Influencing Parameters
Authors: Vona Viktória , Centeri Csaba , Biró Zsolt , Vona Márton , Kalocsai Renátó , Jakab Gergely , Kauser Jakab , Kulmány István Mihály , Kovács Attila József , Milics Gábor
Published: February 2022

The current study compares the phosphorus (P) analysis methods of ammonium lactate (AL), Mehlich 3 (M3); water extraction (P-WA(P)&P-WA(PO4)), cobalt hexamine (CoHex) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) as an estimate of total soil P. The ratio of the P-content/XRF was first calculated and compared with the whole dataset. Based on the comparison of all the data, there were significant differences between the results of P-WA(P) and P-WA(PO4) vs. M3 and AL, CoHex vs. M3 and CoHex vs. AL methods (p < 0.001). The second step was the analysis of the influencing factors based on their categories for a more in-depth understanding of their role (CaCO3-content, pH, soil texture and clay content). The results showed that higher CaCO3 content (>1%) resulted in lower correlations (6/10 cases). The extraction methods, the soil, the classification method of the soil properties and the statistical analyses affect the evaluation. The dataset covers a good range of the analysed factors for the evaluation of phosphorus in the majority of Hungarian soil types in arable use. There were two methods that detected the largest amount of P from the total P in the soil: AL and M3.
Evolutionary Game Model of Internal Threats to Nuclear Security in Spent Fuel Reprocessing Plants Based on RDEU Theory
Authors: Ni Susu , Zou Shuliang , Chen Jiahua
Published: February 2022

The internal threat to nuclear security is one of the most serious problems in the physical protection supervision of spent fuel reprocessing plants. Both insiders and nuclear security departments have obvious characteristics of situational decision making and even irrational decision making. Combined with Game theory and RDEU theory, the RDEU Game model of insiders and nuclear security departments was constructed to analyze the existence of equilibrium solutions of two-way strategies under different emotional states. From a dynamic point of view, the influence and change process of emotion on participants’ decision-making behavior were analyzed. Then, the model was numerically simulated to verify its accuracy and effectiveness, which showed that different emotional states and intensities would not only affect the final result of evolutionary equilibrium, but also change the evolution speed of the strategies. In addition, compared with insiders, the intensity of pessimism in the nuclear security department had a greater impact on the game equilibrium. Finally, we present some reasonable recommendations to prevent and protect nuclear security events at spent fuel reprocessing plants by strengthening the emotional supervision and guidance of insiders and the nuclear security department.
Monitoring of Butylated Hydroxyanisole in Food and Wastewater Samples Using Electroanalytical Two-Fold Amplified Sensor
Authors: Arab Zahra , Jafarian Sara , Karimi-Maleh Hassan , Roozbeh Nasiraie Leila , Ahmadi Mohammad
Published: February 2022

A high performance and fast response sensor was fabricated as a monitoring system for the determination of butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) in food and wastewater samples. In this regard, a carbon paste electrode (CPE) that was amplified with platinum-decorated single wall carbon nanotubes (Pt/SWCNTs) and 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([C4mim][Cl]) was investigated as a new electroanalytical sensor for the monitoring of BHA in aqueous solution. The [C4mim][Cl]/Pt/SWCNTs/CPE offered an excellent catalytic activity on oxidation signal of BHA and enhanced its oxidation current about 5.51 times. In the final step, the standard addition results confirmed the powerful ability of [C4mim][Cl]/Pt/SWCNTs/CPE to the monitoring of BHA in different water and food samples with acceptable recovery data.
Students’ Attitudes and Competences in Modeling Using 3D Cartoon Toy Design Maker
Authors: Fu Yu , Zhang Dongliang , Jiang Hao
Published: February 2022

With the rapid development of education and information technology, there has been an increasing focus on maker education, which emphasizes cultivating students’ creative thinking and problem-solving ability. This paper presents our efforts to create a 3D cartoon toy design curriculum system that offers a playful and collaborative way to engage students with creation-based learning. It consists of a 3D modeling software and a series of 3D cartoon toy design courses. The former was developed according to students’ cognitive characteristics and hands-on operation habits, and the toy design courses include activities such as hand-painting, computer modeling, pattern design, handcraft, and creative display. This 3D cartoon toy design course was preliminarily implemented in one kindergarten and two primary schools in Hangzhou, an eastern city in mainland China. A learning assessment of participating students was conducted upon completion of the course. Results show that (1) the initial attitudes of junior students towards learning 3D cartoon toy design were mainly influenced by their interests, whereas senior students paid more attention to turning their ideas into reality with the help of technical tools. (2) All students were highly successful at mastering foundational modeling concepts, but the junior students were less successful at mastering abstract modeling concepts. (3) The course was most successful in developing students’ collaborative ability and content creation. (4) Additionally, teachers were successful at promoting a collaborative and communicative environment. Findings are discussed.
Installation Quality Inspection for High Formwork Using Terrestrial Laser Scanning Technology
Authors: Zhao Linlin , Mbachu Jasper , Wang Bill , Liu Zhansheng , Zhang Huirong
Published: February 2022

Current inspection for installation quality of high formwork is conducted by site managers based on personal experience and intuition. This non-systematic inspection is laborious and it is difficult to provide accurate dimension measurements for high formwork. The study proposed a method that uses terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) technology to collect the full range measurements of a high formwork and develop a genetic algorithm (GA) optimized artificial neutral network (ANN) model to improve measurement accuracy. First, a small-scale high formwork model set was established in the lab for scanning. Then, the collected multi-scan data were registered in a common reference system, and RGB value and symmetry of the structure were used to extract poles and tubes of the model set, removing all irrelevant data. Third, all the cross points of poles and tubes were generated. Next, the model set positioned on the moving equipment was scanned at different specified locations in order to collect sufficient data to develop an GA-ANN model that can generate accurate estimates of the point coordinates so that the accuracy of the dimension measurements can be achieved at the millimetre level. Validation experiments were conducted both on another model set and a real high formwork. The successful applications suggest that the proposed method is superior to other common techniques for obtaining the required data necessary for accurately measuring the overall structure dimensions, regarding data accuracy, cost and time. The study proposed an effective method for installation quality inspection for high formwork, especially when the inspection cannot be properly operated due to cost factors associated with common inspection methods.
Reduced Cross-Sectional Muscle Growth Six Months after Botulinum Toxin Type-A Injection in Children with Spastic Cerebral Palsy
Authors: De Beukelaer Nathalie , Weide Guido , Huyghe Ester , Vandekerckhove Ines , Hanssen Britta , Peeters Nicky , Uytterhoeven Julie , Deschrevel Jorieke , Maes Karen , Corvelyn Marlies , Costamagna Domiziana , Gayan-Ramirez Ghislaine , Van Campenhout Anja , Desloovere Kaat
Published: February 2022

Botulinum Neurotoxin type-A (BoNT-A) injections are widely used as first-line spasticity treatment in spastic cerebral palsy (SCP). Despite improved clinical outcomes, concerns regarding harmful effects on muscle morphology have been raised. Yet, the risk of initiating BoNT-A to reduce muscle growth remains unclear. This study investigated medial gastrocnemius (MG) morphological muscle growth in children with SCP (n = 26, median age of 5.2 years (3.5)), assessed by 3D-freehand ultrasound prior to and six months post-BoNT-A injections. Post-BoNT-A MG muscle growth of BoNT-A naive children (n = 11) was compared to (a) muscle growth of children who remained BoNT-A naive after six months (n = 11) and (b) post-BoNT-A follow-up data of children with a history of BoNT-A treatment (n = 15). Six months after initiating BoNT-A injection, 17% decrease in mid-belly cross-sectional area normalized to skeletal growth and 5% increase in echo-intensity were illustrated. These muscle outcomes were only significantly altered when compared with children who remained BoNT-A naive (+4% and −3%, respectively, p < 0.01). Muscle length growth persevered over time. This study showed reduced cross-sectional growth post-BoNT-A treatment suggesting that re-injections should be postponed at least beyond six months. Future research should extend follow-up periods investigating muscle recovery in the long-term and should include microscopic analysis.
Telehealth Reduces Missed Appointments in Pediatric Patients with Tuberculosis Infection
Authors: Zhao Angela , Butala Nirali , Luc Casey , Feinn Richard , Murray Thomas
Published: February 2022

Pediatric patients with untreated tuberculosis infection (TBI), also called latent TBI, are at risk of progression to active TB disease. The primary aim of this study was to identify factors associated with higher rates of missed appointments and failure to complete therapy for pediatric patients with TBI. A secondary aim was to determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of telehealth on TBI missed appointment rates. We first performed a retrospective chart review of 129 pediatric patients referred to the free Yale Pediatric Winchester Chest Tuberculosis Clinic from 2016–2019. Associations between demographic/clinical variables and missed appointments/failure to complete therapy were analyzed using univariate and bivariate chi-square tests. Language, lack of primary provider, and distance to clinic were the main contributors to missed appointments and poor treatment adherence. There was an association between the number of missed appointments and failure to complete treatment (p = 0.050). A second cohort of 29 patients was analyzed from January–December 2021 when telehealth was offered for follow-up appointments. Of these follow-up visits, 54% were conducted via telehealth, and the clinic’s missed appointment rate dropped significantly from 16.9% to 5.8% during this time frame (p = 0.037). These data demonstrate that telehealth is accepted as an alternative by patients for follow-up TBI visits.
Marija Gimbutas’ dissertation and its value: burial customs in the Roman Iron Age
Authors: Banytė-Rowell Rasa
Published: February 2022

The aim of this article is to assess the value of Marija Alseikaitė-Gimbutienė’s (Gimbutas) 1946 dissertation published in Tübingen (Germany). It is also important to follow how much of an impact this work had on Lithuanian archaeology and what inspiration it may provide for scholars today. This paper concentrates on the parts of the book which deal with burial customs during the Roman Iron Age. Relevant problems of cultural divisions based on burial site types as per Gimbutienė are examined to see how much this classification may be accepted today. The second part of Gimbutienė’s dissertation, which focused on the meaning of burial customs, provides insights that are still important for scholarship today, and reveals the young scholar’s ability to reconstruct an old belief system and to discern the prospects for the further investigation of burial site material.
Transylvania and the of Indo-European migration problem. The Romanian paradigm
Authors: Gogaltan Florin
Published: February 2022

In this article, I discuss the manner in which the model proposed by Marija Gimbutas regarding the Indo- European migration in Europe was perceived by Romanian specialists. The article is also an extension of my efforts to understand the relations between prehistoric Transylvania and the North-Pontic steppe. Approached from this historiographic perspective, the subject illustrates a situation symptomatic of Romanian archaeology: the lack, with few exceptions, of serious debates on this controversial subject, the frequent repetition of unverified opinions, statements supported by invalid arguments, etc.
Department of Theory and History of Culture, Russian State Pedagogical University named after A.I. Herzen
Authors:   Department of Philosophy and Cultural Studies of the St. Petersburg Humanitarian University of Trade Unions, Verkhovykh I.A.
Published: February 2022

The article describes the characteristics of the national humanitarian thought, which the author considers as a resource for educational activities. The author considers as the basic human-creative resources of humanitarian culture: anthropocentrism of domestic humanitarian thought; the priority of the spiritual and moral principle in the interpretation of the mission and functions of culture; metaphysical vision of national culture outside historical realities; the integrity of knowledge based on the synthesis of rationality and faith; the design nature of philosophical and cultural thought, which has formed and stores scenario forecasts and models of the “demanding future”. The spiritual potential of the national humanitarian culture, demanded by the institute of education, in the information society becomes: a key factor in preserving the uniqueness of the national world, a condition for the formation of “moral immunity” of the nation, which is extremely necessary today to preserve the humanistic essence of man; an important stage in the assertion of the humancreative essence of education is its ability to ensure spiritual continuity, personal identity and social solidarity through the creation of the subject of national culture. English version of the article is available at URL: https://panor.ru/articles/educational-resources-of-domestic-humanitarian-culture/78548.html
Marketing tools as the basis for the formation of an effective company policy
Authors:   Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, Moscow, Cherkasov E.T. , Bykova O.N. ,   Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, Moscow
Published: February 2022

The main problem of international marketing in the context of geopolitical confrontation is the deep contradiction between the potential of doing successful business in the international environment and the possibility of real use of marketing tools in an extremely critical and risky period of application of international economic sanctions. Today, the existence of the entire business as a whole is impossible without marketing. That is why there is a need to develop a competent marketing policy.
Pénzügyi oktatás a világban
Authors: Terták Elemér
Published: February 2022

Az elmúlt két évtized során a pénzügyi oktatás világszerte egyre fontosabb eszközévé vált a pénzügyi befogadás – tehát a pénzügyi szolgáltatásokhoz való hozzáférés és az esélyegyenlőség – kiteljesítésének, a fogyasztói jólét növelésének, valamint a pénzügyi rendszerek stabilitása megerősítésének az érdekében. A pénzügyi oktatás az 1990-es években került először a nagypolitika látókörébe, de széles körű politikai támogatást különösen a 2007–2008-as globális pénzügyi válság óta élvez. A tanulmány először a pénzügyi oktatás történelmét ismerteti, bemutatva a fejlődés fő állomásait. Ezt követően a tanulmány a pénzügyi oktatás különféle formáit, hatékony megvalósulását, valamint az oktatás és a szabályozás kölcsönhatásait veszi szemügyre, és bemutatja a pénzügyi oktatással kapcsolatos legfőbb vitákat, így pl. az oktatás és a tanácsadás vagy az oktatás és a szabályozás viszonyát, valamint a pénzügyi oktatásnak a személyes autonómiára gyakorolt hatását.
Análisis sobre el derecho a la tutela judicial por incumplimiento de sentencias de garantías jurisdiccionales en Ecuador
Authors: Quinde Quizhpi Luis Ernesto
Published: February 2022

En el presente manuscrito se detalla, la necesidad de que la Corte Constitucional, organismo con facultad exclusiva para conocer y resolver garantía jurisdiccional, intervenga en la ejecución de sentencias ejecutoriadas destacando el compromiso que le otorgó el constituyente al cumplimiento de las sentencias que declaran derechos u obligaciones para las instituciones públicas, sujetos de Derecho privado y las personas en general. Para lo cual se realizó un análisis de las características y exigencias que se derivan del derecho a la tutela judicial efectiva y a la seguridad jurídica constitucional ecuatoriana. Para lo cual se realizó una revisión sistemática, basada en Derecho a la tutela judicial efectiva y derecho a la seguridad jurídica. En donde se concluye que es de vital importancia que el Estado ecuatoriano, cumpla con las principales garantías como el acceso a la justicia gratuito; el acceso a la justicia no se debe ver mermado por la falta de observancia en las formalidades del proceso, siempre y cuando las faltas de estas formalidades no impliquen un cambio sustancial en la resolución del proceso, conforme el artículo 169 de la Constitución y el principio pro actione; imparcialidad, así como la celeridad con la que se debe administrar justicia; y se garantice el cumplimiento de las resoluciones tomadas por la justicia.
ANALISIS DAMPAK MAKROEKONOMI terhadap KEUNTUNGAN pada SEKTOR PERBANKAN di BEI
Authors: Sipahutar Tetty Tetty
Published: February 2022

The increasing number of banking institutions in Indonesia is accompanied by an increase in literature studies related to banking institutions. It is important to update the study related to banking developments in Indonesia. This study aims to analyze the influence of the macroeconomy that affects profitability in the banking sector. The sample used in this study is the banking sector which is listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) for the period 2014-2017 totaling 30 banks. The results of the regression analysis showed no significant effect between GDP and inflation on ROE and had a negative direction
PENGABDIAN KEPADA MASYARAKAT PENYULUHAN DAN PEMERIKSAAN KESEHATAN (TENSI DARAH, Hb, KOLESTEROL, GULA DARAH, ASAM URAT ) DI DESA TELAGA SARI TANJUNG MORAWA
Authors: M.F. Situmeang Suryani , Setiyawati Dewi , Suparni Suparni
Published: February 2022

Salah satu wujud kepedulian Perguruan Tinggi terhadap lingkungan sosial dan budaya masyarakat (Tri Dharma Perguruan Tinggi) adalah Pengabdian masyarakat. Dengan terjalinnya hubungan yang serasi antara Perguruan Tinggi dengan masyarakat, maka diharapkan adanya masukan untuk perbaikan mutu Perguruan Tinggi dimata masyarakat yang memerlukannya. Telah dilaksanakan Kegiatan Pengabdian Masyarakat Penyuluhan Kesehatan  Pemeriksaan Kesehatan Tekanan Darah, Haemoglobin, Kadar gula darah, Kadar  Asam urat dan  Kadar Kolesterol di Desa Telaga Sari Tanjung Morawa Pada Hari Jumat  tanggal 2  Oktober 2020. Sebelum dilakukan penyuluhan, pengetahuan masyarakat mengenai penyakit hipertensi, diabetes, asam urat,  kolesterol dan anemia masi sangat rendah. Setelah dilakukan penyuluhan, dilakukan kembali evaluasi berupa post tes pada orang yang sama sebanyak 20 orang, didapatkan semua masyarakat sudah meningkat pengetahuannya. Pemeriksaan Kesehatan bagi masarakat Desa Telaga Sari Kecamatan Tanjung Morawa Kabupaten Deli Serdang berjumlah 103 Orang yang terdiri dari 20 orang Laki- laki dan 83 orang perempuan dimana usia yang di atas 40 tahun berjumlah 74 orang, yang tekanan darahnya meninggi berjumlah 44 orang (49,7%), kadar Hb yang di bawah normal berjumlah 18 orang (17,47%) Kadar gula darah yang meninggi 32 orang (31,6 %), Kadar asam Urat yang meninggi berjumlah 15 orang (14,6 % ) dan 53 orang (51,45 % ) yang kadar kolesterolnya yang meninggi.
PROMOSI KESEHATAN TENTANG MEMPERSIAPKAN GENERASI DALAM 1000 HARI PERTAMA KEHIDUPAN PADA IBU HAMIL
Authors: Panggabean Hetty , Siregar Marni
Published: February 2022

ABSTRACT

Background Every parent wants their children to grow up healthy. For this reason, mothers and fathers must pay attention to children's nutrition, especially at an important time in their lives, namely, the First Thousand Days of Life (HPK) or what is commonly called the Golden Period. At this time, the mother must meet her daily nutritional intake so that the development of the fetus's organs and brain is perfect. Fulfillment of nutrition for children in the first 1000 days of life is very important. Because if the nutritional intake is not met, the impact on children's development will be permanent. The impact can be in the short term and long term, as a result of malnutrition during fetal period (pregnancy) and early childhood. The short-term impact will interfere with brain development, growth, and metabolic programming. In Simatupang Village, the Muara Community Health Center Work Area, there were 15 pregnant women in October 2018. Based on data obtained in September 2018, it is known that exclusive breastfeeding in the Muara Puskesmas area is still low (37%).

Purpose of this PKM activity is to increase public knowledge, especially pregnant women and to determine growth and development in the form of height and weight of toddlers.

Method begins with coordination with the Muara Puskesmas, the Village Head, the Simatupang Village Midwife about counseling for pregnant women and examining the growth and development of toddlers.

Results Obtained from 15 pregnant women, there were 3 people (20%) who experienced the risk of pregnancy and from the results of the growth and development of underfives including height and weight for 30 toddlers, there were 3 (16.67) toddlers with height and weight. not according to his age.

 Conclusion Health promotion by conducting counseling and examinations to pregnant women has been carried out. The results of antenatal care found that (20%) had a risk of pregnancy. Examination of height and weight to male and female toddlers found 16.67% experienced height and weight not according to their age.

 

Keywords; The first 1000 days of life, pregnant women
PELAKSANAAN PASTORAL CARE OLEH PERAWAT DI RUANGAN INTENSIVE CARE UNIT RUMAH SAKIT ELISABETH MEDAN TAHUN 2019
Authors: Sianipar Connie
Published: February 2022

Introduction:Pastoral care activities to actualize the love of God in the life of the faith community. The problem in this case is the large number of pastoral care that has not been well implemented in the hospital, in this case it is important to be carried out as motivated, provide comfort, feel supportive, relax, calm and peaceful because it can reduce anxiety and anxiety in dealing with internal pain healing process. Aim: this study aim to determine the implementation of pastoral care by nurses in the trigger room of Elisabeth Medan Hospital in 2019. Method: the type of research used is descriptive research with the type of cross sectional approach. The population in this study were 30 nurses in the ICU room at Elisabeth Medan Hospital. The sampling technique uses total sampling. The results of this study in the implementation of pastoral care by nurses in the trigger room were both 80% (24 nurses), enough 16% (5 nurses) and less carried out were 4% (1 nusres). Conclusion: the implementation of pastoral care by nurses in the trigger room of Elisabeth Medan Hospital was well implemented, with activities carried out by nurses such as religious assistance, spiritual assistance, pastoral counseling, sick people's visits and mentoring. From the implementation of pastoral care, the role of health workers or nurses is very important in implementing pastoral care for healing, sustaining, guiding and reconciling.