bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
La pregunta por los fundamentos epistemológicos de la investigación en Educación -aportes para una discusión epistemológica-
Authors: Cristancho Altuzarra José Gabriel
Published: March 2020

La epistemología es un campo de reflexión fundamental para la construcción del conocimiento. Por esta razón, en este artículo se explicitan las preguntas fundamentales que subyacen a la investigación en educación y sus pretensiones de cientificidad, tomando como base que se propone comprender las cuestiones epistemológicas implícitas en la construcción de conocimiento en el campo de la educación y la importancia de su determinación para su desarrollo. Luego de contextualizar y justificar la cuestión, el trabajo se divide en tres partes con un método deductivo; en la primera se ubica la cuestión de la epistemología mostrando los conceptos de ciencia más importantes que ha habido a lo largo del tiempo; luego se ponen en evidencia las constantes o mínimos que todo conocimiento riguroso parece requerir; en la tercera parte se plantea la pregunta por la investigación en educación como campo específico.
Separata sección Filosofía y ciencias sociales
Authors: Margen  Visual Corporación Artística y Cultural
Published: March 2020

Separata sección Filosofía y ciencias sociales
Peningkatan keterampilan bahasa Inggris masyarakat pegunungan di Desa Betao Kabupaten Sidrap
Authors: Tamrin Andi Febriana , Yanti Yanti
Published: March 2020

[Bahasa]: Pentingnya softskill bagi generasi muda menjadi dasar atas penyusunan Program Kemitraan Masyarakat (PKM) ini. Fokus dari kegiatan pengabdian ini adalah peningkatan minat belajar bahasa inggris masyarakat pegunungan berbasis buku cerita rakyat lingkungan/alam sekitar serta peningkatan softskill mitra Karang Taruna Desa Betao Kecamatan Pituriawa Kabupaten Sidrap. Tujuan khusus dalam PKM ini adalah dalam rangka untuk peningkatan minat belajar serta peningkatan ketrampilan Bahasa Inggris (soft skill). Beberapa metode yang digunakan dalam Program Kemitraan Masyarakat (PKM) ini adalah metode tanya jawab dan diskusi untuk mengidentifikasi pengetahuan dan teknologi pendukungnya. Metode ceramah digunakan pada saat proses belajar dan pemahaman teoritis bahasa inggris. Hasil pengabdian masyarakat yang telah dilatih menunjukkan bahwa pembelajaran Bahasa Inggris berbasis buku cerita bertema alam lebih mudah di mengerti oleh siswa yang diajar. Dengan menggunakan metode ini, terjadi peningkatan yang cukup baik bagi peserta didik. Selain itu, hasil lain yang diperoleh adalah para pemuda dan anak-anak lebih cepat menyerap materi pembelajaran Bahasa Inggris dan kegiatan ini juga menjadi awal untuk kegiatan lainnya.

Kata Kunci: Bahasa Inggris; buku bergambar; soft skill

[English]: The importance of soft skills for the young generation is the rationale for this community service program. The focus of the present program is to increase the interest of learning English for highlanders based on environmental/natural folklore books and soft skill enhancement for Karang Taruna in Betao Village, Pituriawa District, Sidrap. The specific purpose is to enhance learning interest and improve English (soft skills). The methods used in the program are the question and answer and discussion to identify knowledge and supporting technology. The lecturing method was used during the learning process and theoretical understanding of English. The results showed that English learning based on natural-themed storybooks is easier for students to understand. Using the book, the students have considerable improvement. In addition, another result was that young people and children could rapidly learn English and become the beginning of other activities.

Keywords: English; picture book; soft skill
PENGARUH.LATIHAN LADDER DRILL SLALOMS DAN LADDER CARIOCA TERHADAPSKELINCAHAN DAN KECEPATAN
Authors: Cahyati Anggraeni Dwi , Muhammad Muhammad , Sulistyarto Soni
Published: March 2020

Penelitian ini bertujuan menganalisis pengaruhslatihan ladder drill slaloms dan ladder carioca terhadap..kelincahan dan kecepatan. Sasaran penelitiansini adalah atlet bulutangkis dari PB. Jaya Raya Abadi Probolinggo dengan jumlah sebanyaks30 orang. Jenisspenelitian yang dalam penelitian ini adalah kuantitatif dengan metode eksperimen semu. Rancangan penelitiansini menggunakan matching only  design, dengan analisis data menggunakansANOVA. Berdasarkan hasil analisis, dapat disimpulkan bahwa terdapatspeningkatan kelincahan dan kecepatan untuk masing-masingskelompok setelah diberi perlakuan (treatment). Selain itu, latihan ladder..drill slaloms memberikan pengaruh yang lebih signifikan daripada latihan ladder carioca dan kelompok kontrol terhadap kelincahan. Sedangkan latihan ladder carioca memberikan pengaruhsyang baik dari latihan ladder drill slaloms dan kelompokskontrol terhadap kecepatan.Kata Kunci: Ladder Drill Slaloms, LaddersCarioca, Kelincahan, Kecepatan.
Clinical, Laboratory and Imaging Features of COVID-19: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Authors: Rodriguez-Morales Alfonso J. , Cardona-Ospina Jaime A. , Gutiérrez-Ocampo Estefanía , Villamizar-Peña Rhuvi , Holguin-Rivera Yeimer , Escalera-Antezana Juan Pablo , Alvarado-Arnez Lucia Elena , Bonilla-Aldana D. Katterine , Franco-Paredes Carlos , Henao-Martinez Andrés F. , Paniz-Mondolfi Alberto , Lagos-Grisales Guillermo J. , Ramírez-Vallejo Eduardo , Suárez Jose A. , Zambrano Lysien I. , Villamil-Gómez Wilmer E. , Rabaan Ali A. , Harapan Harapan , Dhama Kuldeep , Nishiura Hiroshi , Kataoka Hiromitsu , Ahmad Tauseef , Sah Ranjit
Published: March 2020

Introduction: An epidemic of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) begun in December 2019 in China, causing a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. Among raised questions, clinical, laboratory, and imaging features have been partially characterized in some observational studies. No systematic reviews have been published on this matter. Methods: We performed a systematic literature review with meta-analysis, using three databases to assess clinical, laboratory, imaging features, and outcomes of confirmed cases of COVID-19. All the observational studies, and also case reports, were included and analyzed separately. We performed a random-effects model meta-analysis to calculate the pooled prevalence and 95% confidence interval (95%CI). Measures of heterogeneity were estimated and reported. Results: 660 articles were retrieved. After screening by abstract and title, 27 articles were selected for full-text assessment. Of them, 19 were finally included for qualitative and quantitative analyses. Additionally, 39 case report articles were included and analyzed separately. For 656 patients, fever (88.7%, 95%CI 84.5-92.9%), cough (57.6%, 40.8-74.4%) and dyspnea (45.6%, 10.9-80.4%) were the most prevalent clinical manifestations. Among the patients, 20.3% (95%CI 10.0-30.6%) required intensive care unit (ICU), with 32.8% presenting acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) (95%CI 13.7-51.8), 6.2% (95%CI 3.1-9.3) with shock and 13.9% (95%CI 6.2-21.5%) with a fatal outcome. Discussion: COVID-19 is a new clinical infectious disease, causing considerable compromise, especially in patients with comorbidities, requiring ICU in at least a fifth of them and sometimes with fatal outcomes. Additional research is needed to elucidate factors that may mediate the pathogenesis of the severe and fatal associated disease.
Analysis of Potential Risk of COVID-19 Infections in China Based on a Pairwise Epidemic Model
Authors: Luo Xiaofeng , Feng Shanshan , Yang Junyuan , Peng Xiao-Long , Cao Xiaochun , Zhang Juping , Yao Meiping , Zhu Huaiping , Li Michael Y. , Wang Hao , Jin Zhen
Published: March 2020

The ongoing outbreak of the novel coronavirus pneumonia (also known as COVID-19) has triggered a series of stringent control measures in China, such as city closure, traffic restrictions, contact tracing and household quarantine. These containment efforts often lead to changes in the contact pattern among individuals of the population. Many existing compartmental epidemic models fail to account for the effects of contact structure. In this paper, we devised a pairwise epidemic model to analyze the COVID-19 outbreak in China based on confirmed cases reported during the period February 3rd--17th, 2020. By explicitly incorporating the effects of family clusters and contact tracing followed by household quarantine and isolation, our model provides a good fit to the trajectory of COVID-19 infections and is useful to predict the epidemic trend. We obtained the average of the reproduction number $R=1.494$ ($95\%$ CI: $1.483-1.507$) for Hubei province and $R=1.178$ ($95\%$ CI: $1.145-1.158$) for China (except Hubei), suggesting that some existing studies may have overestimated the reproduction number by neglecting the dynamical correlations and clustering effects. We forecasted that the COVID-19 epidemic would peak on February 13th ($95\%$ CI: February $9-17$th) in Hubei and 6 days eariler in the regions outside Hubei. Moreover the epidemic was expected to last until the middle of March in China (except Hubei) and late April in Hubei. The sensitivity analysis shows that ongoing exposure for the susceptible and population clustering play an important role in the disease propagation. With the enforcement of household quarantine measures, the reproduction number $R$ effectively reduces and epidemic quantities decrease accordingly. Furthermore, we gave an answer to the public concern on how long the stringent containment strategies should maintain. Through numerical analysis, we suggested that the time for the resumption of work and production in China (except Hubei) and Hubei would be the middle of March and the end of April, 2020, respectively. These constructive suggestions may bring some immeasurable social-economic benefits in the long run.
Simeprevir, Potential Candidate to Repurpose for Coronavirus Infection: Virtual Screening and Molecular Docking Study
Authors: Hosseini Faezeh Sadat , Amanlou Massoud
Published: March 2020

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been first appeared in Wuhan, China but its fast transmission, led to its widespread prevalence in various countries and make it a global concern. In addition, lack of a definitive treatment is another concern that needs to be attention. Researchers have come up with several options, which are not certain, but protease inhibitor and some antiviral agent are in the forefront. In this study a virtual screening procedure employing docking of different databases including 1615 FDA approved drugs was used to identify new potential small molecule inhibitors for protease protein of COVID-19. The docking result indicates that among all, simeprevir (Hepatitis C virus (HCV) NS3/4A protease inhibitor) could fit well to the binding pocket of protease and because of some other positive features including ADME profile, might be a helpful treatment option for COVID-19.
Migrants Workers and Processes of Social Inclusion in Italy: The Possibilities Offered by Social Farming
Authors: Giaré Francesca , Ricciardi Gabriella , Borsotto Patrizia
Published: March 2020

The agricultural sector, even though it has been greatly reduced and is in constant transformation, continues to be of strategic importance. Although it does not represent a quantitatively relevant employment sector, the dynamics are interesting because they reflect the structural, economic and social transformations that are affecting the sector in recent years; there is a growing need for external labour that corresponds to a massive recourse of foreigners to work. Innovative approaches are required to explore the capacity of social farming to create a sustainable and inclusive workplace for migrant. The overall methodological approach of the paper seeks to synthesize fieldwork research and qualitative interviewing to validate the Italian inclusive model. To do this, we have selected four experiences of Italian social agriculture in which migrants are included.
Robust Visual-Inertial Integrated Navigation System Aided by Online Sensor Model Adaption for Autonomous Ground Vehicles in Urban Areas
Authors: Bai Xiwei , Wen Weisong , Hsu Li-Ta
Published: March 2020

Visual-inertial integrated navigation system (VINS) has been extensively studied over the past decades to provide accurate and low-cost positioning solutions for autonomous systems. Satisfactory performance can be obtained in an ideal scenario with sufficient and static environment features. However, there are usually numerous dynamic objects in deep urban areas, and these moving objects can severely distort the feature tracking process which is fatal to the feature-based VINS. The well-known method mitigates the effects of dynamic objects is to detect the vehicles using deep neural networks and remove the features belongs to the surrounding vehicle. However, excessive exclusion of features can severely distort the geometry of feature distribution, leading to limited visual measurements. Instead of directly eliminating the features from dynamic objects, this paper proposes to adopt the visual measurement model based on the quality of feature tracking to improve the performance of VINS. Firstly, a self-tuning covariance estimation approach is proposed to model the uncertainty of each feature measurements by integrating two parts: 1) the geometry of feature distribution (GFD), 2) the quality of feature tracking. Secondly, an adaptive M-estimator is proposed to correct the measurement residual model to further mitigate the impacts of outlier measurements, such as the dynamic features. Different from the conventional M-estimator, the proposed method effectively alleviates the reliance of excessive parameterization of M-estimator. Experiments are conducted in a typical urban area of Hong Kong with numerous dynamic objects, and the results show that the proposed method could effectively mitigate the effects of dynamic objects and improved accuracy of VINS is obtained when compared with the conventional method.
Investigation of Sinkhole Formation with Human Influence: A Case Study from Wink Sink in Winkler County, Texas
Authors: English Shannon , Heo Joonghyeok
Published: March 2020

The formation of sinkholes in Winkler County, Texas is concerning due to the amount of oil and gas infrastructure and the potential for catastrophic losses. Evidences of new and potential sinkholes have been documented, and determining the cause of these sinkholes is paramount to mitigate the devastating consequences thereof. Studies shown that the Wink sinkholes result from both natural and anthropogenic influences. Data depicting land-cover changes, alterations in the hydrologic systems, climate changes, and oil and gas activity were analyzed in an effort to better understand the link between these processes and sinkhole formation. Results indicate that the combination of these processes lead to the current state; Land cover changes were highest in shrub versus grasses, undeveloped to developed and croplands. Rises in temperature and a decrease in precipitation indicate a shift towards a more arid climate. Changes to the hydraulic system are a direct result of these land cover changes while the groundwater quality depict an environment prone to dissolution. Historical oil and gas activities have created pathways of meteoric water infiltration to the underlying limestone and evaporite formation. The combination of these processes create an environment that accelerates sinkhole formations. Understanding these processes allows for the development and implementation of better land practices, better groundwater protections, and the need for monitoring and maintaining aging oil and gas infrastructure.
Virus Population Bottlenecks: What Are They Telling Us?
Authors: Qu Feng , Zheng Limin , Zhang Shaoyan , Sun Rong , Slot Jason
Published: March 2020

Stringent, stochastic viral population bottlenecks have been observed in the infections of many 5 viruses, but exactly how and why they occur is unclear. A critical review of recent literature prompts us 6 to propose a new hypothesis, designated Isolate, Amplify, and Select (IAS), that satisfactorily explains 7 the bottlenecks in single-stranded, positive sense (+) RNA virus infections. This new hypothesis 8 postulates that, unlike those in free-living organisms, the viral population bottlenecks are imposed by 9 viruses themselves, inside the infected cells, through virus-encoded bottleneck-enforcing proteins 10 (BNEPs) that function in a concentration-dependent manner. Most BNEPs are directly translated from 11 the (+) RNA genomes of invading viruses, so that if numerous virions of the same virus invade a cell 12 simultaneously, the bottleneck-ready concentration of BNEPs would be reached sufficiently early to 13 arrest nearly all internalized viral genomes. As a result, in these cells very few (as few as one) viral 14 genomes escape from the bottlenecks stochastically to initiate viral reproduction. Repetition of this 15 process in successively infected cells ensures the progeny genomes in each cell descend from the same 16 parental genome(s), hence isolating different mutant genomes in separate cells. This isolation precludes 17 mutant viral genomes encoding defective replication proteins from exploiting the complementing 18 proteins synthesized by sister genomes, leading to the prompt elimination of such mutants. Conversely, 19 the IAS model ensures replication proteins with beneficial mutations exclusively amplify the viral 20 genomes that harbor the very mutations. Reiteration of this process in consecutively infected cells 21 enriches such beneficial mutations in the virus pool. In conclusion, the IAS hypothesis provides a 22 compelling evolutionary model for population bottlenecks of (+) RNA viruses.
Carbon and Biodiversity Outcomes under Divergent Management Scenarios in Shifting Cultivation Landscapes in the Upland Philippines
Authors: Mukul Sharif A. , Herbohn John , Firn Jennifer , Gregorio Nestor
Published: March 2020

The Philippines is both a biodiversity hotspot and a megadiverse country. The country also has experienced one of the highest rates of deforestation in Southeast Asia and is among the first countries to introduce a massive reforestation program to address the country’s rapid biodiversity and forest loss. Drawing upon an empirical study from the Leyte island and other relevant case studies from the Philippines, in this chapter, we demonstrate that recovering secondary forests following shifting cultivation, locally known as kaingin have the high potentials for biodiversity and carbon co-benefits. Based on our empirical study, we also found that secondary forest regrowing after kaingin use can potentially be used as a cost-effective reforestation measure with multiple benefits to people and the environment in upland areas of the Philippines. We also discuss measures that are essential for such programs to be successful.
Higher Education in Post-truth, postmodernism and the problem of moral devaluation
Authors: Syzdykova Zhibek , Akinina Olga , Shilova Vera , Gromatikopolo Dina
Published: March 2020

Of the goal of this study is to Educate the abstract concept as : Post-truth and Post modernism.  Post-truth as a social phenomenon has put scientific discourse into polemic discussions in connection with an acute public request for the restoration of the Truth. Postmodernism, the previous era that gave rise to the problems of moral devaluation, is regarded as a cynical environment that produced these problems. Postmodernism has softened up the ground for radical openness of the public to the requests for the Truth, which can no longer be ignored in the last decade. The research considers modern sources of the formation of socio-ethical phenomena, which are the main life criteria in developed countries. Politics, media and culture are the core of any state and the entire global space. It is in the time of globalization, interstate interdependence, information wars and global warming that these aspects have attracted increased public interest. We provide a comparative argumentation of postmodernism and post-truth proving that the request for the Truth has become a new reality factor due to the mass public demand. The morality and ethics of the Truth have regained their classical forms and escaped from mass manipulation. Consequently, the issues of morality and values have become relevant. Ideologically, the world community demonstrates a genuine desire to restore the socio-ethical mission of the Truth. This statement is proved in our research.
Obesity and Mechanisms of its Negative Impact on the Cardiovascular System
Authors: Miklishanskaya S. V. , Solomasova L. V. , Mazur M. A.
Published: March 2020

Currently, the number of obese people in the world is constantly increasing. Obesity has a direct negative impact on the heart and blood vessels, which can be considered not only as an appropriate response to an increase in the volume of circulating blood due to an increase in body weight, but also as a side tissue reaction of the myocardium to hormonal and metabolic changes inherent in obesity. Our review is devoted to the description of the mechanisms of influence of obesity on the structural and functional parameters of the heart, which create prerequisites for the development of cardiovascular diseases, as well as the existing contradictions. Currently, the accumulated data suggest that an excessive amount of adipose tissue, in addition to metabolic disorders, including insulin resistance, imbalance of adipokines and inflammation markers, leading to the development of lipotoxicity, can directly penetrate the myocardium and cause violations of its contractile properties, as well as affect the conduction of excitation pulses and provoke the development of rhythm and conduction disorders. The development of endothelial dysfunction in obesity ultimately leads to the development of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease. In addition, obesity contributes to the emergence of risk factors for hypertension, diabetes, atrial fibrillation, chronic heart failure, obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Given the differences in the literature on the effect of obesity on long-term outcomes in patients with cardiovascular diseases, it is important to conduct prospective studies on the role of individual factors and their combinations that affect the mortality of patients with cardiovascular diseases.
Levocarnitine for the Treatment of Polymorbid Patients
Authors: Pereverzev A. P. , Shevchenko D. A. , Filippova A. V. , Kirichenko A. A. , Krotkova I. F. , Ostroumova O. D.
Published: March 2020

Effective and safe treatment of patients with polymorbidity is an urgent task of modern healthcare. Of particular difficulty is the treatment of patients with cardiovascular comorbidity, which requires an integrated approach to the treatment and development of a special, so-called patient-oriented approach. Modern scientific evidence proposes the use of levocarnitine, as part of complex therapy to increase its effectiveness. So, it was shown that levocarnitine can have a beneficial effect on blood pressure in patients with hypertension, especially those who are overweight and obese. Levocarnitine is also effective in the treatment of heart failure, which has been studied in several clinical studies, which demonstrated its ability to increase the ejection fraction of the left ventricle, stroke volume of blood and other indicators. Optimization of the bioavailability of nitrogen oxide (NO) and a decrease in systemic oxidative stress while taking levocarnitine plays an important positive role in complex therapy in patients with coronary artery disease: exertional angina and post-infarction cardiosclerosis, reducing the number of anginal attacks. Since levocarnitine has powerful antioxidant effects, it also has the neuroprotective effect found in in vitro studies in animal experiments. In case of impaired renal function, due to accelerated elimination and impaired reabsorption, a deficiency of levocarnitine in the body tissues develops, and therefore the US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) decided on the possibility of using levocarnitine in patients on hemodialysis. Thus, taking into account the positive effects of levocarnitine in a number of frequently combined diseases, it can be considered as the drug of choice in the treatment of patients with polymorbidity.
Deprescribing Antihypertensive Drugs in Patients of Older Age Groups
Authors: Ostroumova O. D. , Cherniaeva M. S. , Sychev D. A.
Published: March 2020

Arterial hypertension (AH) is one of the most common diseases in the elderly. It has been proven that lowering blood pressure (BP) is effective in preventing stroke and cardiovascular complications in patients even at the age of ≥80 years. On the other hand, there is evidence that a significant decrease in BP can be harmful to older people and may lead to a higher risk of overall mortality. Therefore, existing guidelines for the treatment of AH determine specific approaches for managing patients of older age groups, where the target BP levels are determined not only by age and concomitant diseases, but also by the presence of frailty. Moreover, there is a need to monitor the dynamics of frailty indicators (social, functional, cognitive and mental status of the patient), since their deterioration may require changes in the tactics of antihypertensive therapy (dose reduction, drug withdrawal or replacement) and changes in target BP levels. In this regard, in recent years, the possibility/necessity of a planned and controlled process of dose reduction, drug withdrawal or replacement, if this drug can be harmful and/or does not bring benefits (deprescribing), has attracted attention. This article is a review of current literature, which presents the design and main characteristics of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and systematic reviews on the deprescribing of antihypertensive drugs in elderly patients with AH and frailty. An analysis of these studies showed the benefits of deprescribing of antihypertensive drugs for elderly patients with frailty, which avoids potential harm to their health, improves the quality of life and reduces the economic cost of treatment. Therefore, deprescribing of antihypertensive drugs can be used as an additional tool to achieve the necessary target BP values in patients of an older age group. However, for the development of deprescribing of antihypertensive drugs schemes and its introduction into clinical practice, the results of large specially planned RCTs are needed to study this issue.
Association of the Level Healthcare Resource Consumption and Frequency of Temporary Disability Cases with Cardiovascular Risk Factors Based on Data of Population Study in Russian Federation
Authors: Suvorova E. I. , Kontsevaya A. V. , Shalnova S. A. , Deev A. D. , Balanova Yu. A.
Published: March 2020

Aim. To analyze the associations of health care system resources utilization and temporary disability (TD) with the main cardiovascular risk factors (RF) at the population and individual level in working age population based on ESSE-RF study data.

Material and methods. The analysis was based on ESSE-RF study data. Standard epidemiological survey methods and evaluation criteria were used. Analysis of probability and number of outpatient visits, hospitalizations, ambulance calls and TD was conducted by using hurdle model. Hypertension, obesity, hypercholesterolemia, hyperglycemia and tobacco consumption were independent variables.

Results. A total of 21923 individuals aged 25-64 years were included: men – 8373 (38%) and women – 13550 (62%). The probability of outpatient visits significantly determined in group with tobacco consumption and with hypercholesterolemia for men, and for women – in the smoking group, with obesity and with hyperglycemia. Numbers of outpatient visits has doubled for patient with hyperglycemia. The numbers of outpatient visits were higher among women smokers compared to non-smokers. Chance to be hospitalized significantly associate with smoking, obesity, hypercholesterolemia for men and with obesity, hyperglycemia – for women. Hypercholesterolemia was associated with a smaller number of inpatient treatment cases among men. The probability of ambulance calls increased for smoking men, for male group with hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, obesity and with hyperglycemia, at the same time, the likelihood increased in female group with hypertension, hyperglycemia, smoking and with obesity. In addition, numbers of ambulance calls were higher in 1.55 times for women with obesity (p<0.05).

Conclusion. So, there is a significant association of probability of using and consumption level of healthcare recourse with the RF depending on the type of medical care, sex and RF.
Surfactant Cloud Point Extraction as a Procedure of Preconcentrating for Metoclopramide Determination Using Spectro Analytical Technique
Authors: Al-Tameemi Maha
Published: March 2020

In current article an easy and selective method is proposed for spectrophotometric estimation of metoclopramide (MCP) in pharmaceutical preparations using cloud point extraction (CPE) procedure. The method involved reaction between MCP with 1-Naphthol in alkali conditions using Triton X-114 to form a stable dark purple dye. The Beer’s law limit in the range 0.34-9 μg mL-1 of MCP with r =0.9959 (n=3) after optimization. The relative standard deviation (RSD) and percentage recoveries were 0.89 %, and (96.99–104.11%) respectively. As well, using surfactant cloud point extraction as a method to extract MCP was reinforced the extinction coefficient(ε) to 1.7333×105L/mol.cm in surfactant-rich phase. The small volume of organic solvent (500mL/sample) provides an environmentally friendly and low-cost preconcentration method. The suggested method was utilized for analyzing of MCP in commercial pharmaceutical injections.
On S*-Supplemented Modules
Authors: Et al. Ibrahiem
Published: March 2020

The main goal of this paper is to introduce and study a new concept named d*-supplemented which can be considered as a generalization of W- supplemented modules and d-hollow module. Also, we introduce a d*-supplement submodule. Many relationships of d*-supplemented modules are studied. Especially, we give characterizations of d*-supplemented modules and relationship between this kind of modules and other kind modules for example every d-hollow (d-local) module is d*-supplemented and by an example we show that the converse is not true.
An Application of Non-additive Measures and Corresponding Integrals in Tourism Management
Authors: Et al. Sabri
Published: March 2020

Non-additive measures and corresponding integrals originally have been introduced by Choquet in 1953 (1) and independently defined by Sugeno in 1974 (2) in order to extend the classical measure by replacing the additivity property to non-additive property. An important feature of non –additive measures and fuzzy integrals is that they can represent the importance of individual information sources and interactions among them. There are many applications of non-additive measures and fuzzy integrals such as image processing, multi-criteria decision making, information fusion, classification, and pattern recognition. This paper presents a mathematical model for discussing an application of non-additive measures and corresponding integrals in tourism management. First, the problem of tourism management is described for one of the tourism companies in Iraq. Then, fuzzy integrals (Sugeno integral, Choquet integral, and Shilkret integral) are applied with respect to non-additive measures to evaluate the grade of the gratification of the tourist of staying in a particular town for determining the best evaluation.
Crystal structure of DRIK1, a stress-responsive receptor-like pseudokinase, reveals the molecular basis for the absence of ATP binding
Authors: Aquino Bruno , Silva Viviane C. H. da , Massirer Katlin B. , Arruda Paulo
Published: March 2020

Background Plants reprogram metabolism and development to rapidly adapt to biotic and abiotic stress. Protein kinases play a significant role in this process by phosphorylating protein substrates that activate or inactivate signaling cascades that regulate cellular and metabolic adaptations. Despite their importance in plant biology, a notably small fraction of the plant kinomes has been studied to date. Results In this report, we describe ZmDRIK1, a stress-responsive receptor-like pseudokinase whose expression is downregulated under water restriction. We show the structural features and molecular basis of the absence of ATP binding exhibited by ZmDRIK1. The ZmDRIK1 kinase domain lacks conserved amino acids that are essential for phosphorylation activity. The crystal structure of the ZmDRIK1 kinase domain revealed the presence of a spine formed by the side chain of the triad Leu240, Tyr363, and Leu375 that occludes the ATP binding pocket. Although ZmDRIK1 is unable to bind nucleotides, it does bind the small molecule ENMD-2076 which, in a cocrystal structure, revealed the potential to serve as a ZmDRIK1 inhibitor. Conclusion ZmDRIK1 is a novel receptor-like pseudokinase responsive to biotic and abiotic stress. The absence of ATP binding and consequently, the absence of phosphorylation activity, was proven by the crystal structure of the apo form of the protein kinase domain. The expression profiling of the gene encoding ZmDRIK1 suggests this kinase may play a role in downregulating the expression of stress responsive genes that are not necessary under normal conditions. Under biotic and abiotic stress, ZmDRIK1 is down-regulated to release the expression of these stress-responsive genes.
Implementation of a new program of gestational diabetes screening and management in Morocco: A qualitative exploration of health workers’ perceptions
Authors: Utz Bettina , Assarag Bouchra , Lekhal Touria , Damme Wim Van , De Brouwere Vincent
Published: March 2020

Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is associated with an increased risk for a future type 2 diabetes mellitus in women and their children. As linkage between maternal health and non-communicable diseases, antenatal care plays a key role in the primary and secondary prevention of GDM associated adverse outcomes. While implementing a locally adapted GDM screening and management approach through antenatal care services at the primary level of care, we assessed its acceptability by the implementing health care providers.
Methods : As part of a larger implementation effectiveness study assessing a decentralized gestational diabetes screening and management approach in the prefecture of Marrakech and the rural district of Al Haouz in Morocco, we conducted four focus group discussions with 29 primary health care providers and seven in-depth interviews with national and regional key informants. After transcription of data, we thematically analysed the data using a combined deductive and inductive approach.
Results: The intervention of screening and managing women with gestational diabetes added value to existing antenatal care services but presented an additional workload for first line health care providers. An existing lack of knowledge about gestational diabetes in the community and among private health care physicians required of public providers to spend more time on counselling women. Nurses had to adapt recommendation on diet to the socio-economic context of patients. Despite the additional task, especially nurses and midwives felt motivated by their gained capacity to detect and manage gestational diabetes, and to take decisions on treatment and follow-up.

Conclusions : Detection and initial management of gestational diabetes is an acceptable strategy to extend the antenatal care service offer in Morocco and to facilitate service access for affected pregnant women. Despite its additional workload, gestational diabetes management can contribute to the professional motivation of primary level health care providers.
Outcomes of children with hepatoblastoma who underwent liver resection at a tertiary hospital in China: A retrospective analysis
Authors: Li Jiahao , Li Huixian , Wu Huiying , Niu Huilin , Li Haibo , Pan Jing , Yang Jiliang , Tan Tianbao , Hu Chao , Xu Tao , Zhang Xiaohong , Zheng Manna , Li Kuanrong , Zou Yan , Yang Tianyou
Published: March 2020

Background: To report the outcomes of hepatoblastoma resected in our institution.
Methods: We diagnosed 135 children with hepatoblastoma at our institution between January 2010 and December 2017. Patients who underwent liver resection were included for analysis. However, patients who abandoned treatment after diagnosis were excluded from analysis, but their clinical characteristics were provided in the supplementary material.
Results: Forty-two patients abandoned treatment, whereas 93 patients underwent liver resection and were included for statistical analysis. Thirty-six, 23, 3, and 31 patients had PRETEXT stages II, III, IV, and unspecified tumours, respectively. Seven patients had ruptured tumour; 9 had lung metastasis (one patient had portal vein thrombosis concurrently). Sixteen patients underwent primary liver resection; 22, 25, and 30 patients received cisplatin-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy and delayed surgery, preoperative transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) and delayed surgery, and a combination of cisplatin-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy, TACE, and delayed surgery, respectively. Forty patients had both PRETEXT and POST-TEXT information available for analysis. Twelve patients were down-staged after preoperative treatment, including 2, 8, and 2 patients from stages IV to III, III to II, and II to I, respectively. Ten patients with unspecified PRETEXT stage were confirmed to have POST-TEXT stages II (n=8) and I (n=2) tumours. Seven tumours were associated with positive surgical margins, and 12 patients had microvascular involvement. During a median follow-up period of 30.5 months, 84 patients survived without relapse, 9 experienced tumour recurrence, and 4 died. The 2-year event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) rates were 89.4±3.4%, and 95.2±2.4%, respectively; they were significantly better among patients without metastasis (no metastasis vs metastasis: EFS, 93.5±3.7% vs 46.7±19.0%, adjusted p=0.002. OS, 97.6±2.4% vs 61.0±18.1%, adjusted p=0.005), and similar among patients treated with different preoperative strategies (chemotherapy only vs TACE only vs Both: EFS, 94.7±5.1% vs 91.7±5.6% vs 85.6±6.7%, p=0.542. OS, 94.1±5.7% vs 95.7±4.3% vs 96.7±3.3%, p=0.845).
Conclusion: The OS for patients with hepatoblastoma who underwent liver resection was satisfactory. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy and TACE seemed to have a similar effect on OS. However, the abandonment of treatment by patients with hepatoblastoma was common, and may have biased our results.
Factors Associated With Low Handgrip Strength In Older People: Data Of The Study Of Chronic Diseases (EDOC-I)
Authors: Amaral Cledir de Araújo , Amaral Thatiana Lameira Maciel , Monteiro Gina Torres Rego , de Vasconcellos Mauricio Teixeira Leite , Portela Margareth Crisostomo
Published: March 2020

Background

Handgrip strength (HGS) is an important health biomarker, whose low scores have been shown to be associated with morbimortality. This study aimed to analyze the factors associated with low HGS in older persons in Rio Branco, Acre, Brazil.

Methods

The study was carried out with data from the Study of Chronic Diseases (EDOC-I) – Older People, a cross-sectional household PAPI probability sample survey performed with 1,016 people aged over 60 residing in Rio Branco in 2014. The low HGS was defined by the 20th percentile of the maximum HGS by sex and age group. Associations between variables of health status (psychological and physical) and low HGS, by sex, were estimated using logistic regression, expressed by adjusted ORs (aOR).

Results

Older individuals had lower median HGS than younger individuals (-6.0 kg among men and -2.6 kg among women). Women aged over 80 years had, on average, the lower quintile of HGS compared to women of the previous age groups. Factors independently associated with low HGS in men and women, respectively, were low weigh in body mass index [(aOR = 2.80; 95%CI: 1.19, 6.61) and (aOR = 2.61; 95%CI: 1.46, 4.66)], anemia [(aOR= 4.15; 95%CI: 2.09, 8.21) and (aOR = 1.80; 95%CI: 1.06, 3.06)] and diabetes as a risk factor in men (aOR 1.95; 95%CI: 1.00, 3.81). There was a higher chance of low HGS in men with partners (aOR = 2.44; 95%CI: 1.32, 4.51), smokers or former smokers (aOR = 3.25; 95%CI: 1.25, 8.44), with current self-assessment of health worse than the 12 previous months (aOR = 2.21; 95%CI: 1.14, 4.30) and dependence in activities of daily living (aOR = 2.92; 95%CI: 1.35, 6.30). Only among women, there was an increased chance of low HGS associated with altered waist-to-hip ratio (aOR = 1.79; 95%CI: 1.02, 3.12), insomnia (aOR = 1.83; 95%CI: 1.10, 3.03) and physical activity from displacement/occupation (aOR = 1.75; 95%CI: 1.08, 2.84).

Conclusion

Factors associated with low HGS are not common to sex and the inclusion of HGS as a component of health assessment seems to be a promising strategy for disease prevention and health promotion.
Significant decline of HPV 6 infection and genital warts despite low HPV vaccination coverage in young women in Germany: a long-term prospective, cohort data analysis
Authors: Denecke Agnieszka , Iftner Thomas , Iftner Angelika , Riedle Sebastian , Ocak Marion , Luyten Alexander , Üye Isak , Tunc Kübra , Petry Karl Ulrich
Published: March 2020

Background

The introduction of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination has resulted in a remarkable decline of genital warts in women and men, but in Germany historical rates of vaccination are relatively low. We report long-term surveillance data on changes in HPV 6 and HPV 11 infection and the prevalence of genital warts in young women in the Wolfsburg HPV epidemiological study (WOLVES).

Methods

Women born in 1983/84, 1988/89, and 1993/94 participated in four cohorts between 2009/10 and 2014/15. Quadrivalent vaccination coverage and prevalence of HPV 6/11 infection and genital warts are reported for participants aged 19−22 years and 24−27 years at the time of sample collection. Statistical analyses were done to compare similarly aged participants using 2 x 2 contingency tables (Röhmel-Mansmann unconditional exact test; two-side alpha of 0.05).

Results

A total of 2,456 women were recruited. In 2010, vaccination rates were 40/659 (6.1%) in women aged 24−27 years and 142/600 (23.7%) in those aged 19−22 years; 5 years later, vaccination rates had increased to 135/733 (18.4%) and 177/368 (48.1%), respectively. Between 2010 and 2015, there was a statistically significant decrease in the prevalence of HPV 6 infection among women aged 24−27 years (2.12% versus 0%; P<0.0001) and women aged 19−22 years (2.0% versus 0%; P=0.0056). There was no significant decline in HPV 11 infection. In total, 52 of 2341 participants were diagnosed with genital warts. There was a statistically significant decrease in the life-time risk of developing genital warts in women aged 24−27 years between 2010 and 2015 (4.7% versus 1.68%, respectively; P=0.0018). The overall life-time risk of developing genital warts in women aged 19−27 years decreased from 3.1% in 2010 to 1.2% in 2015 (P=0.0022).

Conclusions

An increase in vaccination coverage was associated with a decreased prevalence of genital warts in young women. A protective effect greater than herd immunity alone was seen despite low vaccination rates. Quadrivalent vaccine had a protective effect on genital HPV 6 infection and an almost fully protective effect on the development of genital warts in the youngest population.
Association among biofilm formation, virulence gene expression, and antibiotic resistance in Proteus mirabilis isolates from diarrhetic animals in northeast China
Authors: Sun Yadong , Wen Shanshan , Zhao Lili , Xia Qiqi , Pan Yue , Liu Hanghang , Wei Chengwei , Chen Hongyan , Ge Junwei , Wang Hongbin
Published: March 2020

Background
The aim of this study was to investigate the association among biofilm formation, virulence gene expression, and antibiotic resistance in P. mirabilis isolates collected from diarrhetic animals (n = 176) in northeast China between September 2014 and October 2016. Results
Approximately 92.05% of the isolates were biofilm producers, whereas 7.95% of the isolates were non-producers. The prevalence of virulence genes in biofilm producers was significantly higher than that in non-producers. Biofilm production was significantly associated with the expression of ureC , zapA , rsmA , hmpA , mrpA , atfA , and pmfA ( P < 0.05). Drug susceptibility tests revealed that approximately 76.7% of the isolates were multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR). Biofilm production was significantly associated with resistance to doxycycline, tetracycline, sulfamethoxazole, kanamycin, and cephalothin ( P < 0.05). Although the pathogenicity of the biofilm producers was stronger than that of the non-producers, the biofilm-forming ability of the isolates was not significantly associated with morbidity and mortality in mice ( P > 0.05).
Conclusion
Our findings suggested that a high level of multidrug resistance in diarrhetic animals infected with P. mirabilis in northeast China.The results of this study indicated that the positive rates of the genes expressed by biofilm-producing P. mirabilis isolates were significantly higher than those expressed by non-producing isolates.
Internal ammonium excess induces ROS-mediated reactions and causes carbon scarcity in rice
Authors: Yang Shunying , Hao Dongli , Jin Man , Li Yi , Liu Zengtai , Huang Yanan , Chen Tianxiang , Su Yanhua
Published: March 2020

Background: Overuse of nitrogen fertilizers is often a major practice to ensure sufficient nitrogen demand of high–yielding rice, leading to persistent NH4+ excess in the plant. However, this excessive portion of nitrogen nutrient does not correspond to further increase in grain yields. For finding out the main constraints related to this phenomenon, the performance of NH4+ excess in rice plant needs to be clearly addressed beyond the well-defined root growth adjustment. The present work isolates an acute NH4+ excess condition in rice plant from causing any measurable growth change and analyses the initial performance of such internal NH4+ excess. Results: We demonstrate that the acute internal NH4+ excess in rice plant accompanies readily with a burst of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and initiates the downstream reactions. At the headstream of carbon production, photon caption genes and the activity of primary CO2 fixation enzymes (Rubisco) are evidently suppressed, indicating a reduction in photosynthetic carbon income. Next, the vigorous induction of glutathione transferase (GST) genes and enzyme activities along with the rise of glutathione (GSH) production suggest the activation of GSH cycling for ROS cleavage. Third, as indicated by strong induction of glycolysis / glycogen breakdown related genes in shoots, carbohydrate metabolisms are redirected to enhance the production of energy and carbon skeletons for the cost of ROS scavenging. As the result of the development of these defensive reactions, a carbon scarcity would accumulatively occur and lead to a growth inhibition. Finally, a sucrose feeding cancels the ROS burst, restores the activity of Rubisco and alleviates the demand for the activation of GSH cycling. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that acute NH4+ excess accompanies with a spontaneous ROS burst and causes carbon scarcity in rice plant. Therefore, under overuse of N fertilizers carbon scarcity is probably a major constraint in rice plant that limits the performance of nitrogen.