bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Penyelenggaraan Pelayanan Publik Selama Pandemi Covid-19 di Kota Batam
Authors: Abue Abue , Tan Winsherly
Published: November 2022

The implementation of public services during the Covid-19 pandemic in Batam City must continue to be carried out in accordance with applicable minimum service standards for the realization of community legal protection and certainty. The purpose of this study is to find out and examine how the implementation of public services in Batam City during the Covid-19 pandemic. The research method in this writing is empirical juridical with primary data types through observations, distributing questionnaires to 130 people and interviews with 3 (three) recipients of public services in Batam City and secondary data consisting of primary legal materials and secondary legal materials the results of the research show that the implementation of public services during the Covid-19 pandemic in Batam City is still not running effectively and efficiently, even though the government has tried to optimize online services to reduce the crowd, in the end, service recipients or the public still have to provide face-to-face services.
In-situ Primary Stress Detection Based on Seismic Tomography Measurements and Numerical Back-analysis for an Underground Radwaste Repository
Authors: Deak Ferenc , Perras Matthew A. , Bakai János , Török Ákos
Published: November 2022

In order to understand how the in-situ primary stress state has evolved with subsidence and uplift in a granitic rock mass for anticipated of a radioactive waste repository in Hungary, the authors investigated the applicability of seismic tomography as an interpretive tool. Very high P wave velocity (Vp) values were obtained during the tomographic scanning of the study area of the repository, and these were compared with existing findings of in-situ and laboratory seismic measurements.Apart from seismic tomographic survey, dynamic FEM numerical modelling, empirical calculations of residual stresses, laboratory measurements of compression wave (ultrasonic) velocities on intact rock cores, in-situ primary stress measurements as well as site geological model were integrated to evaluate the use of seismic tomography for identifying possible in-situ stress increases around the excavation.A detailed calibration modelling was carried out based on the site seismic tomography measurements and during the large-scale modelling. It was observed that the increasing Vp is directly related to simulated increasing directional loadings on the rock mass. Using a measured wave raypath it was possible to check the different in-situ stress parametrizations which resulted in the best approximation to the measured Vp values.It was concluded that the rock mass under investigation to extend the repository must have higher in-situ stress values than the area of the constructed deposition chambers nearby. The results of this research indicated that seismic tomography is a useful tool for determining relative stress around and within the vicinity of underground excavation.
Microbiological characteristics and antibiotic resistance of field isolates Streptococcus suis
Authors: Savcheniuk M. , Kornienko L. , Tarasov O. , Dovgal O. , Bilyk S. , Dovhenko V. , Tsarenko T.
Published: November 2022

Streptococcus suis is an important associated pathogen with a wide range of diseases in pigs such as meningitis, septicemia, pneumonia, endocarditis and arthritis. S suis can be transmitted to humans through direct contact with a sick animal. The disease of pigs with streptococcus not only causes significant direct damage, but also contributes to the spread of viral infections such as PRRS, which is registered in 80% of cases on farms affected by streptococcus. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the prevalence of streptococcal infections, as well as their role as a complicating factor in viral and bacterial diseases. An important factor in the spread of this disease is the irrational use of antibiotics of different groups, which contributes to the rapid acquisition of polyresistance of pathogenic microflora. The article presents the results of studies on the microbiological characteristics and antibiotic resistance of isolates of Streptococcus suis isolated from pathological material from sick pigs. In order to better and faster isolation of the pathogen, the features of its damage to organs and tissues and its localization in the body of piglets were studied. Epizootological monitoring of streptococcal outbreaks on pig farms in Ukraine was carried out. The farms on the basis of which the sampling was carried out are permanently unfavorable for streptococcus of piglets. Laboratory studies of S. suis field isolates found that all studied microorganisms fermented arginine, salicin, glycogen, D-glucose, sucrose, galactose, maltose, salicin, trehalose, inulin, with positive reactions to α-galactosidase, β-glucutane and β-glucura . Of the isolated Str. suis isolates, 87% were sensitive to erythromycin, 75% to clindamycin and 55% to cephalexin, 43% of isolates were resistant to gentamicin and 20% to enrofloxacin. It was found that in 25% of cases S. suis caused the disease in the form of acute monoinfection, in 20% of cases S. suis isolated E. coli, in 16% of cases - with Pasteurella multocida, in 11% of cases - with Haemophilus parasuis. Mixed infection was observed in 17% of cases.
Key words: Streptococcus suis, antibiotic resistance, culture properties, diagnostic methods.
Aproximaciones afroindígenas: experiencias performáticas de interculturalización con estudiantes qom en una institución de formación docente (Rosario-Argentina)
Authors: Broguet Julia
Published: November 2022

Aquí retomamos una experiencia pedagógica desarrollada en 2019 en una institución de formación docente de la ciudad de Rosario, en el marco del Programa de Profesionalización de Maestros Interculturales Bilingües del Ministerio de Educación de Santa Fe. Las y los estudiantes del programa integran la «comunidad qom» local. Algunas/os están incorporados al sistema educativo público santafesino bajo la figura de «maestros idóneos» y otras/os mantienen un vínculo irregular con tal sistema. La experiencia se desplegó en un taller denominado «Teatro y Danza Ritual» en el diseño provincial. La propuesta áulica fue recorrer prácticas culturales estético-expresivas vinculadas a los bagajes de –y a las históricas y conflictivas interacciones entre–, pueblos indígenas, afrodescendientes y europeos en América. Decidimos nombrar tal acontecimiento como experiencia performática de interculturalización a fin de problematizar emergentes que transcurrieron a nivel de las prácticas y relaciones en el aula y refieren a dos dimensiones: a intercambios con estudiantes que exponen determinadas valoraciones sobre la afrodescendencia y la negritud en nuestro contexto y; a la pertinencia de una estrategia pedagógica que propone un acercamiento performático a temáticas sociales. Nuestro interés es examinar cuanto permite (o no) establecer nuevas conexiones entre lo estético y lo ético/político.
Fecha de recepción: 30/3/2022Fecha de aceptación: 16/8/2022
Propuesta de una lista de chequeo para la auditoría del proceso de gestión de Inventarios
Authors: Medina Enríquez Arlyne , Medina León Alberto , Nogueira Rivera Dianelys , Camacho Villota Washington
Published: November 2022

La adecuada gestión de los inventarios resulta una de las vías comúnmente utilizada en la búsqueda de la efectividad de las organizaciones. La presente investigación posee como objetivo desarrollar una lista de chequeo para la evaluación de la gestión de los inventarios como herramienta de apoyo para la auditoría con enfoque de procesos, estratégico, sistémico y de mejora continua. Se parte de una revisión bibliográfica acerca de los procedimientos para la gestión de los inventarios publicados en Google Académico y enriquecido por la consulta de libros clásicos de la temática y de regulaciones propias del marco legal existente. Se seleccionan 17 procedimientos con los que se aplican los métodos teóricos de análisis – síntesis e inducción - deducción para determinar un conjunto de variables influyentes en la construcción de los procedimientos para la gestión de los inventarios, se construye una matriz binaria donde se evalúa la presencia de las variables seleccionadas en los procedimientos estudiados y se realiza un análisis de conglomerados jerárquicos, se utiliza el software UCINET 6. La lista de chequeo construida se aplica a varias instituciones del territorio para comprobar su factibilidad de aplicación y lograr una clara formulación de los elementos a comprobar. Con los resultados alcanzados y como resultado de un trabajo grupal se propone la lista de chequeo definitiva.
Compromisos profesionales de los docentes que enseñan contenidos matemáticos en ecuador
Authors: Martínez Padrón Oswaldo Jesús , Tapia Aguilar Omar Edison
Published: November 2022

Quienes tienen la responsabilidad de enseñar contenidos matemáticos deben poseer un conocimiento profesional capaz de facilitar el desarrollo de clases interactivas, dinámicas y motivantes centradas en los estudiantes, lo cual hace que el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje-evaluación sea complejo y demande la consideración de las necesidades de esos estudiantes, pero en ellas se conjugan factores como los cognitivos y afectivos que han de tomarse en cuenta para caracterizar los compromisos que tienen los docentes para enseñar contenidos matemáticos. Por tanto, se desarrolló esta investigación documental amparada en un análisis de contenidos realizado a una selección de literatura relacionada con la temática La mayoría de los compromisos encontrados fueron configurados después que se justificara su aparición, quedando amalgamados a lo largo del discurso, pero al cierre aparece una síntesis de los mismos, destacando la necesidad de ser abiertos a todo proceso creativo, dinámico y motivante que invite a la resolución de problemas matemáticos contextualizados, cabalgando siempre en senderos abiertos que permitan conquistar y analizar, en contexto, las posibles soluciones encontradas.
My Teachers
Authors: Haque Junaidul
Published: November 2022

Abstract not available
Spectrum, Volume 16, June 2021: 108-111
Voicing the Voids: The Burdens of Translation
Authors: Hasanat Fayeza
Published: November 2022

Using a diverse array of translation theory, this essay re-presents the task of a South Asian translator in terms of their presence, absence, and existence within the voids of translation and untranslativity of languages. In its exploration of translation theory, the essay uses Nawab Faizunnesa’s Rupjalal and Neelima Ibrahim’s Ami Birangona Bolchi, and examines how the translator addressed the issues of creative obligation and translative/academic autonomy in translating these two iconic texts.
Spectrum, Volume 16, June 2021: 127-135
Dismantling Gender Specificity and Establishing Women’s Space/Voice: A Womanist Study of Alice Walker’s The Third Life of Grange Copeland
Authors: Jesmin UH Ruhina , Buly Farhana Osman
Published: November 2022

The paper is a womanist study based on African-American novelist Alice Walker’s 1970 novel, The Third Life of Grange Copeland. The study uses content analysis method, Walker’s theory of womanism, and Judith Butler’s theory of undoing gender performativity to explore how Walker’s women characters dismantle gender specificity and establish women’s space/voice. Walker’s women characters perceive womanism as a defensive strategy and a healing force as they find it self-healing in restoring their mental health, self-respect, and identity. They do not believe in separation from their male partners; they stand victorious over the racist-sexist society by taking men as partners and by taking their own decisions regarding life and death. Womanism, as their philosophy of life, allows them space for raising voice, forming identity, uplifting status, and finding wholeness of their lives accompanied by men. Their womanist identities reflect a conscious/subversive act of transfiguring differentiation and give them a vision of women’s space, a sense of hidden possibilities, and a sense of wholeness. They exercise their sexual freedom which poses a threat to the ideological and political basis of male supremacy. Their womanist performativity questions heteronormativities and stimulates social change. As such, their womanist identities speak more of a political preference than a mere sexual/non-sexual preference. The study explores how Ruth idealizes her womanist foremothers as her role models and takes her grandfather as her partner. She creates women’s space/possibilities, weaves her future, and journeys towards wholeness. In fact, she defines herself as one of those possibilities which womanism opens up.
Spectrum, Volume 16, June 2021: 148-158
Poetry as a Sexual-textual Site of Transgression: Some Insights into the Poetry of Emily Dickinson and Forough Farrokhzad
Authors: Rahaman Habibur
Published: November 2022

This paper explores different representations of female sexuality portrayed in the poetry of a nineteenth-century American poet, Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) and a twentieth-century Iranian poet, Forough Farrokhzad (1934-1967). Their poetry has been largely characterized by an assertion of female sexuality and its impact on female creativity. Their works particularly highlight the ways male sexuality subjugates female sexuality and formulates an androcentric world of creativity. As their poetry postulates, women’s suppressions and sufferings in their personalsexual- textual world can be attributed to the phallocentric world that consists of a myriad of socio-ethico-cultural regimens. The patriarchal world is shaped and continues to be consolidated by gender differentiations or binaries which exalt men as superior beings in everything and debase women through masculine hegemony. Thus, this paper traces the counter-masculine representations of female sexuality and creativity in the poetry of Dickinson and Farrokhzad.
Spectrum, Volume 16, June 2021: 173-194
How I Diagnose Hypereosinophilic Syndromes
Authors: Kavanagh Simon , Lipton Jeffrey H.
Published: November 2022

Hypereosinophilic syndromes are a group of disorders characterised by significant eosinophilia and organ damage. They have proven challenging to define, diagnose, and study for many years, due in part to their variable clinical presentations, the overlap between neoplastic and reactive eosinophilia, and the lack of a universal marker of eosinophil clonality. Herein, we give an overview of the term and discuss aetiology and our approach to diagnosis.
Effectiveness of Rehabilitation in Patients with Guillain-Barre Syndrome: a Systematic Review of the Literature
Authors: Petkevičiūtė Paulina , Valinčiūtė Justina , Varžaitytė Lina
Published: November 2022

Background. Guillain-Barre syndrome is an immune-mediated polyradiculoneuropathy characterized by acute neurological symptoms, usually following an infectious disease. The discovery of links between coronavirus infection and GBS has made the analysis even more relevant.
The aim. To evaluate the efficacy of rehabilitation for patients with GuillainBarre syndrome (GBS).
Methods. A systematic literature review was performed according to PRISMA statement. A literature search had begun on January 10, 2022, and ended on May 1, 2022. The search was performed in Pubmed, ScienceDirect, and ClinicalKey databases. Inclusion criteria were research articles published less than five years ago, written in English, evaluating the efficacy of rehabilitation for patients with GBS.
Results. The research strategy identified 606 results. After excluding duplicates (n = 230), and after a thorough assessment, six studies were included. Every study showed positive effects of rehabilitation in patients with GBS. Two studies used GBS – Disability Score to evaluate rehabilitation efficacy, which had positive results (p < 0.0001 and p < 0.01). Another study found that supervised, individualized exercise was more efficient than unsupervised home exercise. There was also a study with groups of children with GBS, who had electromyographic biofeedback therapy, that showed positive dynamics (p < 0.05). Another study assessed neuropathic pain and presented a reduction in pain after rehabilitation (p < 0.05).
Conclusion. Patients with GBS have achieved significant positive changes in mobility, cognitive function, and performance of daily tasks after rehabilitation treatment.
Keywords: Guillain-Barre syndrome, rehabilitation, electrical stimulation, physical therapy, exercise.
First Case of Prenatal Diagnostics of Type IV Mucopolysaccharidosis (Morquio Syndrome) in Azerbaijan Republic
Authors: Alizada S. , Aliyeva K. , Mammadbeyli A. , Musayev Sh. , Rasulov E.
Published: November 2022

In one of the regions of Azerbaijan Republic while clinic examination with doctor-pediatrician, doctor-neurologist and doctor-geneticist a girl of 5 years of age was identified as suspicious of mucopolysaccharidosis. N-acetyl-galactosamin-6-sulfatase enzyme analysis has shown low activity of 0,1 μmol/L at norm of >0,2 μmol/L/h. Molecular-genetic analysis of GALNS gene identified substitution of Adenine nucleotide with Guanine nucleotide in 1283 (с.1283 A>G) position accompanied with amino acid change Gln428Arg (Morquio A; OMIM®: 253000). These results correspond to the presence of MPS IVA type. With the consent of both parents and at the term of 16-17-week pregnancy transabdominal amniocentesis was carried out. At the level of DNA, isolated from fibroblasts from amniotic liquid, we have got heterozygous carriage of a с.1283 A>G mutation of GALNS gene, that says of a healthy fetus. We plan to carry out prenatal diagnostics to all families of reproductive age, who have got affected children diagnosed with MPS.
Testing Electromechanical Sensors to Ensure Reliability in Hot Environments
Authors: Kayumov B. , Mirzakarimov R.
Published: November 2022

In the world there are various methods of testing vehicles and its components used by various car manufacturing companies. Many methods are given in the UNECE regulatory documents in the field of transport, but these documents do not take into account the hot and climatic conditions of car operation. This article presents the road and climatic conditions of Central Asia, which is characterized by peculiar characteristics. The test methods are designed in such a way that, when operating cars in hot climatic conditions, the reliability of the sensors should be ensured when the car runs at least 250,000 km. It is established that in order to ensure the normal operability of sensors operating in hot climates, it is necessary to conduct tests at a nominal ambient temperature 45±5 °C, based on this parameter, a test procedure is built. The test methods are designed in such a way that all tests are carried out in accordance with the current standards in the field of electromagnetic, electromechanical and other electrical parameters of the automotive industry. Schematic diagrams of test benches are also given. The scientific work substantiates the methodology of accelerated reliability tests, in which the temperature is set as the accelerating factor. The tests fully reflect the operational characteristics of the movement of cars in a sharply continental climate with a hot slope of ambient temperature with sharp temperature changes, i. e. the impact of cyclical temperature changes. Based on the conducted research, conclusions are drawn, which reflects the results obtained.
Improving the Management of Organizational and Economic Mechanisms of Chemical Industry Enterprises
Authors: Nazarova L.
Published: November 2022

The effective development of the national economy of the Republic of Uzbekistan in a competitive market economy and the increasing trends of globalization affecting the chemical industry is carried out on the basis of an investment policy that takes into account modern realities and is aimed at intensifying production and reducing the impact of negative factors hindering the progressive socio-economic development of the state. The reforms carried out in the country to establish a market economy have predetermined the long-term importance of the chemical industry as generating a multiplicative effect in the social and economic spheres. Improving the organizational and economic mechanism of a chemical industry enterprise involves interaction in the operational and strategic management of restructuring projects of industry enterprises. In the article, the author attempts to consider some issues of improving the management of organizational and economic mechanisms at enterprises of the chemical industry of the economy of Uzbekistan.
‘Uncertain Voyages of Signification’: Salvage Poetics of the Caribatopia
Authors: Thomas Cathy
Published: November 2022

This essay considers how two comic books, Nalo Hopkinson’s House of Whispers (2018–2020) and Matthew Clarke and Nigel Lynch’s Hardears (2021), use a poetics of salvage to produce visually and textually rich speculative narratives that problematize Eurocentric versions of futurity. My argument is that the comic books conserve and preserve, through salvage, a diverse racial, spatial and historic archive from narratives that constantly remake bodies (human, animal, plant, metaphysical) alongside places and cosmologies within their larger imaginative geographies. They entangle nature, technology and ritual, and give rise to a Caribbean atopia, or what I term as ‘the Caribatopia’, the paradoxical qualities of an unconfined utopia or an inhospitable place marked by unusualness. These comic books by Caribbean creators augment the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of the region, allowing these narratives to become allegorical and political sites producing fantastic atopic settings for representations of resistance and worldbuilding in Caribbean and Caribbean diasporic life.
Borders, Boundaries and Barricades: Speculative Delhis
Authors: Subramanian Aishwarya
Published: November 2022

In Samit Basu’s SF novel Chosen Spirits (2020), a character offers a cosmology of power within India’s capital city: ‘Delhi has always been a city of seven walls […] You could guess you’d crashed into your wall before, when you couldn’t go further, but now the walls can be mapped and measured, the tools exist.’ Written against the backdrop of India’s discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the protests against it in 2019–20, Chosen Spirits extrapolates a near-future Delhi in which, despite the relative success of the protests, the stark inequalities of caste, class and religion have been reinforced by changes to the city’s geography, and state surveillance increasingly precludes the possibility of working for change. Reading the novel alongside other recent works of speculative fiction set in Delhi, this article analyses Basu’s walled city, and those of other contemporary Indian SF writers, against the shifting borders, boundaries and barricades of the city, exploring their potential as sites of radical activism.
The Ascension of the Astro-Goth – Yugen Blakrok’s Otherworldly Hip-Hop Poetics
Authors: Vögele Pius Jonas
Published: November 2022

This article explores the work of South African hip-hop artist Yugen Blakrok from an Afrofuturist perspective with a distinct focus on the Gothic, using Mark Fisher’s concept of sonic hauntology. The title of her debut album, The Return of the Astro-Goth (2013), already alludes to this otherworldly dimension in her music. On her second album, Anima Mysterium (2019), Yugen Blakrok delves deeper into the dark abyss of the cosmos and affirms her role as mythic sorceress, which becomes apparent in song titles such as ‘Gorgon Madonna’ and their visualizations as music videos. With the use of a broad set of intertextual references and sampling, and through the merging of various religious attributes from both African and Western traditions, the ancient fuses with the futuristic. The frequent use of Gothic tropes in the lyrics of Yugen Blakrok illustrates a deep interest in the otherworld, the in-between state of dreams, and the question of sound recordings as the haunting voices of the dead. While such contradictions of linear time exemplify Afrofuturism, this article makes a case for combining them with Rammellzee’s concept of Gothic Futurism in order to designate Yugen Blakrok’s unique approach as Astro-Gothic Futurism.
Past Selves, Future Worlds: Folklore and Futurisms in Science Fiction: Filipino Fiction for Young Adults
Authors: Lee Gabriela
Published: November 2022

Science fiction written specifically for young readers has had difficulty in establishing itself as a separate genre from fantasy, especially since there is a blurred notion of what constitutes fantasy vis-a-vis science fiction in children’s literature. This difficulty is reflected in the stumbling development of children’s and YA science fiction compared to the relatively clear development of children’s and YA fantasy. As such, trying to define what science fiction for young readers is takes on a malleable, inconsistent quality compared to the more established megatexts of science fiction for adult readers. It is through these unstable definitions of science fiction for adolescents that this essay examines how selected stories from the 2016 anthology Science Fiction: Filipino Fiction for Young Adults, the first anthology of Philippine sf writing that caters directly for a young adult audience, negotiate the genre definitions of ‘science fiction’ and ‘young adult’ for a non-Western audience. Studying how these imagined futures represent the experiences of young non-Western readers who have otherwise been excluded from YA science fiction reveals how the genre can widen and expand its parameters.
Contested Common Space, Regulation and Inclusion at the Coogee Women’s Pool
Authors: Morgan Bronwen , Goldblatt Beth
Published: November 2022

This article concerns two disputes that occurred between 2020–22 at the Coogee Women’s Pool, a public ocean pool in Sydney reserved for use only by women. One contest concerned the governance of the pool by its Management Committee related to differing conceptions of the ethos of the pool and the nature of its custodianship. The other concerned the exclusion of trans women from the pool over the definition of ‘women’ allowed access to the facility. The article examines these disputes and the contests they generated in exploring when and how forms of law encourage or undermine relational regulation in the context of community-controlled public space. It draws on ideas about the commons elaborated by Silvia Federici and the concept of ethos articulated by Ivan Illich to understand the nature and value of community-controlled public space. The article links these ideas to the role of law in engaging with scholarship on the right to the city and rights to protest in relation to the commons. It draws on this framing, and uses interviews, primary and secondary sources, to closely study the recent history at the Women’s Pool regarding governance of common space and issues of inclusion within the space. In looking at how law was used in relation to both aspects, it finds the idea of relational regulation helpful. The article suggests that light touch relational regulation might support the ethos of managed communal spaces, making room for deliberative practices that facilitate the resolution of challenging questions of membership and participation. The events in this small space of recreation prefigure possibilities for deliberation, care and (re)enchantment as a counter to neoliberal ordering.
ملاحظة ميدانية: تطبيق إطار تقييم الاحتياجات الإنسانية بغرض تنمية الطفولة المبكرة: توفير المعلومات اللازمة لتصميم التدخل لمجتمعات الروهينغيا النازحة في بنغلاديش
Authors: Foulds Kim , Khan Naureen , Subramanian Sneha , Haque Ashraful
Published: November 2022

تؤكد الكتابات الحديثة التي تركز على موضوع التعليم في البيئات المتضررة من النزاعات على العلاقة بين التدخلات في مرحلة الطفولة المبكرة والحد من الفقر وتأثيرات التجارب السلبية في مرحلة الطفولة، لاسيما لأولئك الذين تعرضوا لنزاع عنيف. من العوامل المهمة في التدخلات الفعالة التي تستهدف الأطفال الصغار وأُسَرِهِم، ومن ثم، استدامة التغيير السلوكي على الأجل البعيد، كيفية تلقي المجتمعات المحلية لتلك التدخلات. رغم أهمية استيعاب الاعتبارات المحلية، فإن عمليات تقييم الاحتياجات عادة ما تتراجع في الأولوية عندما يكون الاهتمام منصبًا على تلبية الاحتياج المُلِح للأمن والغذاء والماء والمأوى. إن عملية إعداد البرامج في ظل عدم وجود تقييم للاحتياجات تتم دون فهم لأهم أولويات ومحفزات المجتمعات التي تتم خدمتها. إن برامج تنمية الطفولة المبكرة التي تُصمم دون مراعاة للاعتبارات المحلية تحمل في طياتها تداعيات طويلة الأجل والعزوف من جانب المجتمع؛ ومن ثم، يكون تأثيرها محدودًا إلى منعدم، وذلك بعد أن أصبح متوسط حالات اللجوء طويل الأمد الآن يتجاوز 20 سنة؛ لهذا، فمن المرجح أن تتجاوز تكاليف عدم تقييم الاحتياجات في السياقات الإنسانية في الأجل البعيد قيمة الاستثمارات المبدئية التي تُوجَّه إلى إجراء تلك البحوث. اعترافًا بهذه الفرص والقيود، يقدم هذا المقال إطارًا لإجراء عمليات تقييم الاحتياجات في السياق الإنساني، فضلاً عن نتائج توضيحية تبرز قيمة الوقوف على فهم أكبر للمجتمع قبل الشروع في تصميم برامج تنمية الطفولة المبكرة. يستعين هذا المقال بتقييم الاحتياجات بغرض توفير المعلومات اللازمة لتصميم تدخل تنمية الطفولة المبكرة، ويُستَخدَم تصميم ذلك التقييم في تقديم إطار يجعل عمليات تقييم الاحتياجات في السياق الإنساني قابلة للتنفيذ.
ملاحظة ميدانية: الزيارات المنزلية في الشرق الأوسط: آراء حول تطبيق مشروع تواصل وتعلّم (Reach Up and Learn)
Authors: Wilton Katelin Swing , Vachon Aimée , Murphy Katie Maeve , Al Aqra Ayat , Ensour Abdullah , Ibrahim Iman , Tahhan Anas , Hoyer Kayla , Powell Christine
Published: November 2022

In this field note, we make a case for adapting Reach Up and Learn, an evidence-based home-visiting intervention, to the needs of refugees, internally displaced persons, and other vulnerable populations in the conflict-affected settings of Jordan, Lebanon, and northeastern Syria. We outline the implementation of the intervention in all three countries and share our observations, including successes and challenges, from the first two years (2016 and 2017) of this multiyear project. We also provide insights into the country-by-country evolution of the project. We compare and contrast the adaptation approaches in each country and highlight innovations based specifically on in-country feedback. We also touch on the measurement and costing approaches for the intervention, noting the ways the project is contributing to the limited body of evidence in this area. We offer specific recommendations for additional research to generate evidence on early childhood development in humanitarian programming, and we conclude with an overview of the next stage of the Reach Up and Learn project, which is part of a wider initiative to improve the developmental outcomes of children in the region who are affected by crisis and conflict.
Declined adipogenic potential of senescent MSCs due to shift in insulin signaling and altered exosome cargo
Authors: Voynova Elizaveta , Kulebyakin Konstantin , Grigorieva Olga , Novoseletskaya Ekaterina , Basalova Natalia , Alexandrushkina Natalia , Arbatskiy Mikhail , Vigovskiy Maxim , Sorokina Anna , Zinoveva Anna , Bakhchinyan Elizaveta , Kalinina Natalia , Akopyan Zhanna , Tkachuk Vsevolod , Tyurin-Kuzmin Pyotr , Efimenko Anastasia
Published: November 2022

Multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) maintain cellular homeostasis and regulate tissue renewal and repair both by differentiating into mesodermal lineage, e.g., adipocytes, or managing the functions of differentiated cells. Insulin is a key physiological inducer of MSC differentiation into adipocytes, and disturbances in MSC insulin sensitivity could negatively affect adipose tissue renewal. During aging, regulation and renewal of adipose tissue cells may be disrupted due to the altered insulin signaling and differentiation potential of senescent MSCs, promoting the development of serious metabolic diseases, including metabolic syndrome and obesity. However, the potential mechanisms mediating the dysfunction of adipose-derived senescent MSC remains unclear. We explored whether aging could affect the adipogenic potential of human adipose tissue-derived MSCs regulated by insulin. Age-associated senescent MSCs (isolated from donors older than 65 years) and MSCs in replicative senescence (long-term culture) were treated by insulin to induce adipogenic differentiation, and the efficiency of the process was compared to MSCs from young donors. Insulin-dependent signaling pathways were explored in these cells. We also analyzed the involvement of extracellular vesicles secreted by MSCs (MSC-EVs) into the regulation of adipogenic differentiation and insulin signaling of control and senescent cells. Also the microRNA profiles of MSC-EVs from aged and young donors were compared using targeted PCR arrays. Both replicatively and chronologically senescent MSCs showed a noticeably decreased adipogenic potential. This was associated with insulin resistance of MSCs from aged donors caused by the increase in the basal level of activation of crucial insulin-dependent intracellular effectors ERK1/2 and Akt. To assess the impact of the paracrine cross-talk of MSCs, we analyzed microRNAs profile differences in MSC-EVs and revealed that senescent MSCs produced EVs with increased content of miRNAs targeting components of insulin-dependent signaling cascade PTEN, MAPK1, GAREM1 and some other targets. We also confirmed these data by differentiation of control MSCs in the presence of EVs from senescent cells and vice versa. Thus, aging attenuated the adipogenic potential of MSCs due to autocrine or paracrine-dependent induction of insulin resistance associated with the specific changes in MSC-EV cargo.
Clinical benefit of long-term use of dual antiplatelet therapy for acute myocardial infarction patients with the PEGASUS-TIMI 54 criteria
Authors: Lee Kwan Yong , Hwang Byung-Hee , Choo Eun-Ho , Lim Sungmin , Kim Chan Jun , Kim Jin-Jin , Byeon Jaeho , Choi Ik Jun , Oh Gyu Chul , Choi Yoon Seok , Yoo Ki Dong , Chung Wook Sung , Ahn Youngkeun , Jeong Myung Ho , Chang Kiyuk
Published: November 2022

Background

We evaluated the effectiveness of extended dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) usage after 2nd-generation drug elution stent implantation in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) survivors with high ischemic risk characteristics who had no major bleeding for 24 months under at least 1 year of DAPT maintenance.

Materials and methods

The primary ischemic and bleeding endpoints were the risk of mortality and the risk of BARC 3 or 5 (major) bleeding. We investigated the event rates for 2–5 years after the index procedure.

Results

Of 3382 post-AMI survivors who met the PEGASUS-TIMI 54 (PEGASUS) criteria and without major bleeding until 2 years, 2281 (67.4%) maintained DAPT over 24 months, and 1101 (32.5%) switched DAPT to a single antiplatelet agent. The >24 M DAPT group showed a lower risk of mortality than the 12–24 M DAPT group (7.2 vs. 9.2%; adjusted hazard ratio: 0.648; 95% confidence interval: 0.595–0.976; p < 0.001). The mortality risk was significantly greater as the number of PEGASUS criteria increased (p < 0.001). DAPT > 24 months was not significantly associated with a decreased risk for major bleeding in the population meeting the PEGASUS criteria (2.0 vs. 1.1%; p = 0.093). The results were consistent after propensity-score matching and inverse probability weighting to adjust for baseline differences.

Conclusion

Extended DAPT over 24 months was associated with a lower risk of mortality without increasing the risk of major bleeding among 2 years survivors after AMI who met the PEGASUS criteria and had no major bleeding events before 24 months.
Assessment of right ventricular remodeling in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension by 2D-speckle tracking echocardiography: A comparison with cardiac magnetic resonance
Authors: Wang Yeqing , Guo Dichen , Liu Mingxi , Zhang Xinyuan , Hu Huimin , Yang Hao , Yang Yuanhua , Lv Xiuzhang , Li Yidan , Guo Xiaojuan
Published: November 2022

Background

Right heart remodeling occurs in a substantial proportion of patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) and significantly affects their prognosis. Two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography (2D-STE) can be used to evaluate myocardial deformation under physiological and pathological conditions. This study aimed to assess the feasibility of 2D-STE for evaluating right ventricular (RV) remodeling in CTEPH patients.

Methods

This retrospective study included 21 CTEPH patients who underwent transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR). Data for the following parameters that can reflect RV function were collected: tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE), fractional area change (FAC), right ventricular index of myocardial performance (RIMP), peak systolic velocity of the tricuspid annulus (S'), and CMR-right ventricular ejection fraction (CMR-RVEF). The following strain parameters were calculated using post-processing software: STE-RV global longitudinal strain (STE-RVGLS), STE-RV free wall longitudinal strain (STE-RVFWLS), and CMR-RVGLS.

Results

As CMR-RVEF deteriorated, RV remodeling in CTEPH patients became more apparent and was mainly characterized by significant enlargement of the RV, weakening of myocardial deformation, and a decrease in RV contractility (RV area, STE-RVFWLS, STE-RVGLS: mild vs. severe and moderate vs. severe, p < 0.05; CMR-RVGLS: mild vs. severe, p < 0.05; TAPSE: moderate vs. severe, p < 0.05). Moreover, the Pearson correlation coefficient for correlation with CMR-derived RVEF was stronger for RVFWLS than for CMR-GLS (r-value: 0.70 vs. 0.68), and the strain values measured by 2D-STE showed a weak correlation with right heart catheterization data. Bland-Altman analysis showed good agreement between 2D-STE and CMR-feature tracking (FT) for RVGLS (bias = −0.96; 95% limit of agreement from −8.42 to 6.49).

Conclusions

For the measurement of RVGLS, 2D-STE is similarly feasible to CMR-FT and could sensitively identify right heart remodeling.
Spontaneous speech feature analysis for alzheimer's disease screening using a random forest classifier
Authors: Hason Lior , Krishnan Sri
Published: November 2022

Detecting Alzheimer's disease (AD) and disease progression based on the patient's speech not the patient's speech data can aid non-invasive, cost-effective, real-time early diagnostic and repetitive monitoring in minimum time and effort using machine learning (ML) classification approaches. This paper aims to predict early AD diagnosis and evaluate stages of AD through exploratory analysis of acoustic features, non-stationarity, and non-linearity testing, and applying data augmentation techniques on spontaneous speech signals collected from AD and cognitively normal (CN) subjects. Evaluation of the proposed AD prediction and AD stages classification models using Random Forest classifier yielded accuracy rates of 82.2% and 71.5%. This will enrich the Alzheimer's research community with further understanding of methods to improve models for AD classification and addressing non-stationarity and non-linearity properties on audio features to determine the best-suited acoustic features for AD monitoring.
Flower production prospects and sustainability challenges in Ethiopia: A systematic review
Authors: Mebrat Shiferaw , Degwale Alemu , Mekonen Temesgen , Mebrat Amare
Published: November 2022

The people, planet, and profit sustainability concerns emerged as a novel concept in the ethical business governance system in the floriculture industry. In Ethiopia, however, the sectoral sustainability concern is in its infant stage. Currently, the floriculture industry faced many criticisms because its improper cultivation greatly worsened social well-being and the environment. Therefore, the industry needs to examine the current findings about sustainability and explain the apparent discrepancies. As a result, a systematic review was conducted to analyze the sustainability challenges in the floriculture business and its impact on the environment and society. Relevant studies were collected using the Web of Science, Science Direct, PubMed, and Google Scholar databases. Gray literature search from private and governmental institutions was also conducted. Papers outside the topic’s scope or published articles with a weak methodology setup and numerous editorial issues were eliminated. While documents with high relevance to the topic of interest were used as inclusion criteria. Accordingly, 80 articles through databases and 29 papers via gray literature search were collected and chosen for synthesis. In this article, therefore, the Ethiopian floriculture industry sustainability challenges were analyzed along with various empirical findings. The effects of unsustainable flower farming on society, soil and water health were also enclosed. The underlying factors that led to sectoral sustainability problems were addressed and used as debating points for discussion. The paper also contributes to the scientific discussion by highlighting the areas that need further study and the policy ramifications of sustainability in the flower business.
Integration of small RNAs from plasma and cerebrospinal fluid for classification of multiple sclerosis
Authors: Needhamsen Maria , Khoonsari Payam Emami , Zheleznyakova Galina Yurevna , Piket Eliane , Hagemann-Jensen Michael , Han Yanan , Gierlich Jannik , Ekman Diana , Jagodic Maja
Published: November 2022

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune, neurological disease, commonly presenting with a relapsing-remitting form, that later converts to a secondary progressive stage, referred to as RRMS and SPMS, respectively. Early treatment slows disease progression, hence, accurate and early diagnosis is crucial. Recent advances in large-scale data processing and analysis have progressed molecular biomarker development. Here, we focus on small RNA data derived from cell-free cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), cerebrospinal fluid cells, plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cells as well as CSF cell methylome data, from people with RRMS (n = 20), clinically/radiologically isolated syndrome (CIS/RIS, n = 2) and neurological disease controls (n = 14). We applied multiple co-inertia analysis (MCIA), an unsupervised and thereby unbiased, multivariate method for simultaneous data integration and found that the top latent variable classifies RRMS status with an Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristics (AUROC) score of 0.82. Variable selection based on Lasso regression reduced features to 44, derived from the small RNAs from plasma (20), CSF cells (8) and cell-free CSF (16), with a marginal reduction in AUROC to 0.79. Samples from SPMS patients (n = 6) were subsequently projected on the latent space and differed significantly from RRMS and controls. On contrary, we found no differences between relapse and remission or between inflammatory and non-inflammatory disease controls, suggesting that the latent variable is not prone to inflammatory signals alone, but could be MS-specific. Hence, we here showcase that integration of small RNAs from plasma and CSF can be utilized to distinguish RRMS from SPMS and neurological disease controls.
CARARIME: Interactive web server for comprehensive analysis of renal allograft rejection in immune microenvironment
Authors: Liu Xiaoyou , Liu Ding , Zhou Song , Jiang Weihao , Zhang Jie , Hu Jianmin , Liao Guorong , Liao Jun , Guo Zefeng , Li Yuzhu , Yang Siqiang , Li Shichao , Chen Hua , Guo Ying , Li Min , Fan Lipei , Li Liuyang , Zhao Ming , Liu Yongguang
Published: November 2022

Background

Renal transplantation is a very effective treatment for renal failure patients following kidney transplant. However, the clinical benefit is restricted by the high incidence of organ rejection. Therefore, there exists a wealth of literature regarding the mechanism of renal transplant rejection, including a large library of expression data. In recent years, research has shown the immune microenvironment to play an important role in renal transplant rejection. Nephrology web analysis tools currently exist to address chronic nephropathy, renal tumors and children’s kidneys, but no such tool exists that analyses the impact of immune microenvironment in renal transplantation rejection.

Methods

To fill this gap, we have developed a web page analysis tool called Comprehensive Analysis of Renal Allograft Rerejction in Immune Microenvironment (CARARIME).

Results

CARARIME analyzes the gene expression and immune microenvironment of published renal transplant rejection cohorts, including differential analysis (gene expression and immune cells), prognosis analysis (logistics regression, Univariable Cox Regression and Kaplan Meier), correlation analysis, enrichment analysis (GSEA and ssGSEA), and ROC analysis.

Conclusions

Using this tool, researchers can easily analyze the immune microenvironment in the context of renal transplant rejection by clicking on the available options, helping to further the development of approaches to renal transplant rejection in the immune microenvironment field. CARARIME can be found in http://www.cararime.com.
Photodynamic therapy improves the clinical efficacy of advanced colorectal cancer and recruits immune cells into the tumor immune microenvironment
Authors: Gu Baohong , Wang Bofang , Li Xuemei , Feng Zedong , Ma Chenhui , Gao Lei , Yu Yang , Zhang Jing , Zheng Peng , Wang Yunpeng , Li Haiyuan , Zhang Tao , Chen Hao
Published: November 2022

Objective

Although photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been proven effective in various tumors, it has not been widely used as a routine treatment for colorectal cancer (CRC), and the characteristics of changes in the tumor microenvironment (TME) after PDT have not been fully elucidated. This study evaluated the efficacy of PDT in patients with advanced CRC and the changes in systemic and local immune function after PDT.

Methods

Patients with stage III-IV CRC diagnosed in our hospital from November 2020 to July 2021 were retrospectively analyzed to compare the survival outcomes among each group. Subsequently, short-term efficacy, systemic and local immune function changes, and adverse reactions were assessed in CRC patients treated with PDT.

Results

A total of 52 CRC patients were enrolled in this retrospective study from November 2020 to July 2021, and the follow-up period ended in March 2022. The overall survival (OS) of the PDT group was significantly longer than that of the non-PDT group (p=0.006). The objective response rate (ORR) and disease control rate two months after PDT were 44.4% and 88.9%, respectively. Differentiation degree (p=0.020) and necrosis (p=0.039) are two crucial factors affecting the short-term efficacy of PDT. The systemic immune function of stage III patients after PDT decreased, whereas that of stage IV patients increased. Local infiltration of various immune cells such as CD3+ T cells, CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, CD20+ B cells and macrophages in the tumor tissue were significantly increased. No severe adverse reactions associated with PDT were observed.

Conclusion

PDT is effective for CRC without significant side effects according to the available data. It alters the TME by recruiting immune cells into tumor tissues.