bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Maternal and fetal outcomes in pregnant patients with lupus nephritis
Authors: Basnayake Duminda B. , Wazil Abdul W. M. , Nanayakkara Nishantha , Nayanamali Ayesha , Deepani Ruwina A. , Chathurani Inoka , Thennakoon Kushan T. , Erandika Naduni H. , Wijayawickrama Buddhika , Devagiri Dulani K.
Published: February 2021

Background: Pregnancy in a woman with lupus nephritis (LN) carries a high risk of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. This study aims to analyze the effect of LN on maternal and fetal outcomes and lupus activity.Methods: In a single-center, cross-sectional observational study at national hospital Kandy, 32 pregnancies in 23 women with biopsy-proven LN between 2007 and 2019 were analyzed retrospectively.Results: Mean age at pregnancy was 28.4 years (SD=4.8, range 19–38 years). In six women, LN developed during pregnancy, 17 patients were already diagnosed with LN when they became pregnant. A renal biopsy performed 4.6 (SD=3.8) years before pregnancy, showed diffuse LN in 18 (78.3%) and focal LN in 5 (21.7%) cases. At conception, most patients were in complete (43.8%) or partial (21.9%) remission. Therapeutic abortion was performed in 8 pregnancies (indications: renal flares in 5, pre-eclampsia in 3) at a mean period of amenorrhea (POA) of 16.8 weeks (range 8-28 weeks). Spontaneous fetal loss occurred in one pregnancy. Among 23 live births, there were four pre-term deliveries (<36 weeks gestation) and 19 term deliveries. In term deliveries mean birth weight was 2.62 kg (SD=0.5) and in pre-term babies, it was 1.85 kg. Sixteen caesarian sections were performed in term deliveries, three as emergencies. All the pre-term babies were delivered by emergency caesarian sections. There was no statistically significant relationship (p>0.05) between LN histological type, initial clinical presentation and treated hypertension with fetal outcome. No case of neonatal lupus or congenital heart block was noted. During pregnancy, there were five (15.6%) renal flares and two acute kidney injury cases; all were reversible. Eight patients (25%) developed PIHConclusions: Pregnancy induced hypertension is a more commonly encountered complication in pregnancies with lupus nephritis. The fetal outcome is unfavorable in pregnancies with renal flares.
Prevalence of burnout among nurses practicing in the surgical departments of a Moroccan university hospital
Authors: Houmaini Loubna El , Zeggwagh Amine Ali
Published: February 2021

Background: The aim of our study is to evaluate the prevalence of burnout among nurses practicing in the surgical units of a Moroccan university hospital.Methods: This is a qualitative cross-sectional observational study Conducted from July 2017 to December 2017 among nurses working in the 12 surgical units of the hospital. Nurses provided a self-administered questionnaire with socio-demographic and burnout data using the Maslach burnout inventory.Results: Among 183 nursing nurses, 130 (82 women/48 men) completed the questionnaires (71%). The prevalence of burnout across all grades was 86.2% (low level: 33.8 %, moderate level: 46.2%, high level: 6.2%). High emotional exhaustion was noted among 95 nurses (73.1%), a high level of depersonalization among 75 nurses (57.7%) and a low level of personal accomplishment among 12 nurses (9.2%). High emotional exhaustion and major depersonalization were observed together in 61 nurses (46.9%). Women appeared more likely to burnout (p=0.03). Nurses working in visceral surgical emergency unit, neurosurgery unit and traumatology orthopedics unit seemed to be more affected by emotional exhaustion (p=0.002).Conclusions: The prevalence of burnout among surgical nurses is worrying. Surgical nurses whose activity is much more related to emergencies are the most exposed. A preventive and therapeutic strategy is needed to reduce the extent of burnout.
Attitude and practice of Saudi population towards self-medication with over the counter ophthalmic preparations
Authors: Alharbi Amjad M. , Alsuhaibani Marya A. , Rumman Suraka , Mousa Ahmed , Alaraj Ahmad
Published: February 2021

Background: This study was conducted to identify Saudi populations’ attitude and practice towards self-medication with over the counter (OTC) ophthalmic preparations.Methods: It was cross-sectional online-survey-based study using modified questionnaire from previous study targeting Saudi population (aged 15 years or above). Only who had used OTC ophthalmic preparations were included.Results: A total of 1426 participants were included and the mean age was 25.5±9.3 years. History of eye diseases were seen in n=860 (60.3%) which is include myopia n=481 (33.7%), dry eye n=296 (20.8%) and vernal keratoconjunctivitis n=180 (12.6%). Fifty four percent of the participants were familiar with OTC preparation (n=767) and n=927 (65.7%) believed that it is not safe to be used. More than one third consider antibiotics, antihistamines and decongestant eye drops as OTC. However, only n=275 (19.5%) think that lubricant eye drops are not under OTC categories. Participants who self-medicated with OTC were n=890 (62.4%), among them n=422 (47.4%) they do not know the names of medication, n=305 (34.3%) used lubricants and n=80 (9%) used antibiotics. Participants received prescription advice from n=208 (39.3%) pharmacists, n=133 (25.1%) relatives’ advice and n=26 (4.9%) from social media. Thirty eight percent use OTC because they used it before, while n=217 (27.7%) used it because of its easily accessibility.Conclusions: Saudi populations have awareness of various categories of OTC ophthalmic preparations. Despite that, those who used it tend to have poor practice.
Evaluation of abdominal wound closure using continuous versus interrupted sutures in patients of perforation peritonitis
Authors: Mohanty Arnab , Paljor Yoel Dewa , Sharma Rajeev
Published: February 2021

Background: The type of wound closure plays a critical role in patients of perforation peritonitis, since many of these patients also have poorly controlled co-morbidities and risk factors for wound dehiscence. Though many studies have evaluated abdominal wound closures in the elective scenario, similar studies in the emergent scenario are rather scarce. Hence, we have dealt with this issue in patients presenting with hollow viscus perforation peritonitis.Methods: This was a prospective randomized case control single-centre study with 120 patients performed at St. Stephen’s Hospital, New Delhi, India between February 2016 and January 2019. These patients were randomized divided into two groups; group A comprising those patients in whom, the abdominal wound was closed with continuous sutures, and group B comprising those in whom it was closed with interrupted sutures. Informed consent was taken from all the patients. A detailed proforma included all parameters. Follow up was conducted at 2, 4, 6 and 12 weeks from the date of surgery. Data analysis was done using S.P.S.S. version 17.Results: The time taken for continuous suture fascial closure was significantly less than the interrupted technique. There were no significant differences in other parameters, immediately or on follow-up.Conclusions: The continuous method of abdominal closure was faster than interrupted suturing on account of the use of only two terminal knots, this difference being statistically significant. The outcomes were comparable to other studies that have dealt with this issue in elective surgeries.
Video assisted surgery: a unique approach for non-resolving retroperitoneal abscess
Authors: Kumar Prashant , Chaurey Sanjay , Mishra Rudra P. , Kar Irfan F. , Gupta Aditya
Published: February 2021

Abdominal gunshot injuries and its management has always been challenging for surgeons. Challenges start from diagnosis and extent of injury and its immediate management and further its long term complications and their management. Injuries extending up to retroperitoneal space complicated by abscess formation are difficult to manage because the retroperitoneal space is relatively inaccessible leading to very poor outcome, and a tailor made approach is the best method of treatment for an individual patient. Current study report a rare case of video assisted approach for non-resolving retro-peritoneal abscess caused by abdominal gunshot injury with previous laparotomy and unilateral nephrectomy (left-side) with retro-peritoneal abscess along with sepsis, acute renal failure and hemopneumothorax.
CAPITALISMO E EMANCIPAÇÃO EM KARL MARX: ESTUDOS SOBRE TRABALHO, EDUCAÇÃO E ESTUDOS DE GÊNERO
Authors: Cunha Custódio Diane Ângela , Barbo Siqueira Teresa Cristina
Published: February 2021

Este artigo visa desenvolver uma análise teórica sobre a concepção de capitalismo e emancipação nas obras de Karl Marx e alguns autores marxistas. Realizou-se revisão sistemática da literatura na base de dados Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) no recorte temporal de 2008 a 2016, com o objetivo de analisar o que já foi publicado sobre o tema e quais aspectos já foram abordados. Considerando critérios de inclusão/exclusão foram selecionados 6 artigos para a análise. Evidencia-se a pertinência de estudos que abordam as concepções marxistas para a compreensão dos distintos fenômenos sociais da atualidade como, educação, luta de classes e estudos de gênero.
O SER HUMANO E SUA FORMAÇÃO PESSOAL EM EDITH STEIN: UM GESTO EMPÁTICO
Authors: Nogueira Emivaldo Silva
Published: February 2021

Edith Stein foi uma grande teóloga e filósofa alemã, discípula de Edmund Husserl, cujo pensamento conserva o método fenomenológico. Morta na câmara de gás pelo regime nazista foi e é hoje um sinal de contradição em uma sociedade desumana e reducionista. Em uma época de grandes descobrimentos a respeito da constituição transcendental da pessoa humana na perspectiva da filosofia e da psicologia, Stein ofereceu e oferece grandes contribuições. Baseado na importância dessa pensadora e na atualidade da sua antropologia filosófica escolheu-se como tema deste estudo o ser humano e sua formação pessoal em Edith Stein. Sabe-se que esse tema é bastante complexo, visto que cada pessoa possui uma individualidade que merece um estudo acadêmico específico. Ser humano é um ser pessoal, e ser pessoa pressupõe liberdade e espiritualidade, ou seja, o homem possui em si, além da capacidade de conhecer-se por meio do autodiscernimento, também pode conhecer, uma vez que, sendo pessoa, o ser humano é abertura, cuja vivência empática o constitui como ser interpessoal. A individualidade da pessoa humana é peculiar, já que, como afirma Edith Stein, ela é tripartida unitariamente, a saber: corpo, alma (psique) e espírito. Utilizando-nos de material bibliográfico, podemos confirmar a hipótese de que, no pensamento fenomenológico de Edith Stein, a pessoa humana tem que realizar-se, e é sua responsabilidade perseguir tal realização por meio dos “materiais formativos”.
JUVENTUDE, CRIMINALIDADE E TERRITÓRIO: UMA REVISÃO DA LITERATURA
Authors: Prado Tayná Portilho do , Pereira Eliane Regina , Pegoraro Renata Fabiana
Published: February 2021

A complexidade da questão do envolvimento de jovens com o crime impõe a necessidade de se compreender aspectos do território e os modos pelo quais os jovens se apropriam dele. Diante disso, o presente artigo objetiva compreender qual o lugar do território nas pesquisas acadêmicas que se voltam para o envolvimento de jovens com a criminalidade. Foi realizada uma busca nas bases de dados Scielo, Lilacs e Adolec, utilizando como um dos critérios de inclusão: ter sido publicado entre 2006 e 2016. Foram selecionados 35 artigos para leitura na íntegra e destacamos que a maioria das pesquisas acontecem no contexto da segurança pública, demarcando o elemento judicial no discurso sobre os sujeitos. Quanto ao aspecto do território ficou evidente que a maioria das pesquisas desconsideram os contextos nos quais jovens envolvidos com o crime estão inseridos e apontam para aspectos individuais que justificam tal envolvimento.
INTEGRAÇÃO ENTRE ORGANIZAÇÕES NÃO GOVERNAMENTAIS (ONGs) E A UNIVERSIDADE: CONTRIBUIÇÕES PARA EFETIVAÇÃO DA POLÍTICA NACIONAL DA PESSOA IDOSA
Authors: Lima Maria Paula Simôes , Barbarotto Clarissa
Published: February 2021

Objetiva-se discutir o papel da universidade na sociedade, pela experiência de estudantes em uma ONG. Fez-se um estudo descritivo e transversal, no qual 7 estudantes do 3º ano de medicina de uma instituição privada sob supervisão fizeram avaliação global de idosos voluntários em um Centro de Convivência do Idoso. Resultados apontam inúmeros desajustes pressóricos, glicêmicos, ponderais, oftalmológicos, emocionais, dentre outros, salientando a ineficácia da execução da Política Nacional de Saúde da Pessoa Idosa (PNSPI), a qual deveria promover ações de proteção e manutenção da saúde, prevenção de agravos e redução de danos. O trabalho é inovador, pois qualifica o projeto da ONG, agregando serviços prestados aos idosos, contemplando aspectos multidimensionais, com uma assistência humanizada, longitudinal e oportuna, conforme a PNSPI, preenchendo uma lacuna da assistência prestada a essa faixa etária. Permitiu, também, o aprendizado médico do biopsicossocial, fato ainda recente nesse meio.
VISUALIDADES, SENTIDOS E OUTRAS ARTES NO TEMPLO DE NUESTRA SENÕRA DEL PILAR - COBIJA
Authors: Souza Romário Ney Rodrigues de
Published: February 2021

Tendo como aporte os Estudos Culturais, este texto tem por objetivo refletir sobre os processos imagéticos que compõem a cultura e o imaginário de sujeitos na fronteira do Estado Acre com a República da Bolívia. Nesse sentido, em torno da arte religiosa implementaram-se visualidades híbridas especificamente relacionadas às imagens cristãs dentro do templo de Nuestra Señora del Pilar, na cidade de Cobija - Bolívia. Ao lado das “imagens cristãs” tradicionais se alocam outras “imagens não cristãs”, porém, ressignificadas, cristianizadas, imiscuindo as experiências sociais de seringueiros à instituição de outros sentidos/narrativas religiosos, culturais e históricos, reconfigurando o modo de ver, sentir e interpretar a vida cotidiana. Para refletir sobre essas questões imagéticas, este texto dialoga com autores como Stuart Hall (2003), Maurice Halbwachs (2004), Eni Orlandi (1990), Castro-Gomez (2005), Serge Gruzinski (2006) e Albán Achinte (2009).

Palavras-chave: Imagens. Sentidos. Cultura. Colonização. Memória.
Literature Review on Rural Revitalization Industry Revitalization
Authors: Lu Xiaoli
Published: February 2021

The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) proposed the implementation of rural revitalization strategy for the first time, and established the 20-word general policy of “thriving industry, livable ecology, civilized rural customs, effective governance and rich life”. “Industry prosperity” in the first place, undoubtedly highlights the rural industry revitalization is the most important policy implementation points in the strategy. Among them, the expression “production development” is upgraded to “industry prosperity”, indicating that the rural revitalization strategy puts forward higher requirements for the development of rural industries, that is, the industrial integration development that highlights the multi-function of agriculture[1]. Many researchers have begun to pay attention to the revitalization of rural industries. The existing researches on the influencing factors of rural industry revitalization mainly include system supply, main body activation, factor allocation and development mode.
On C-E Translation of Culture-Specific Items from the Perspective of Eco-translatology—A Case Study of Howard Goldblatt’s Red Poppies
Authors: Zhang Xiaojun
Published: February 2021

This thesis researches the translation of Chinese culture-specific items in Red Poppies from the perspectives of Eco-translatology. Eco-translatology, which was put forward by Chinese scholar Hu Gengshen, adopts some concepts of ecology in translatology and provides a new perspective for translation study and practice. Red Poppies is a novel by Alai whose contents covers a wide range of Tibetan culture and history, which is praised as Tibetan encyclopedia. On one hand, the study focuses on the definition and features of culture-specific items, and their classification of in Red

Poppies. Based on Nida’s classification of five categories of sub-culture, those culture-specific items are classified into five groups, namely linguistic culture-specific items, material culture-specific items, ecological culture--specific items, social culture-specific items and religious culture-specific items. On the other hand, this thesis explores how Goldblatt deal with those culture-specific items from the perspective of three-dimension transformation in eco-translatology, and it finds translator adopts a combination of foreignization strategy and domestication strategy, and the former plays a dominating role. Besides, various translation methods are adopted such as free translation, transliteration, transliteration plus annotation, and amplification and so on.
Produção de cebola desidratada em Secador Solar Convectivo de Bandeja
Authors: Miranda Sthela Aparecida , Santos Kássia Graciela dos
Published: February 2021

Nos dias atuais, o aumento do custo da energia tem comprometido a segurança alimentar, pois implica diretamente na preparação e conservação dos alimentos. A energia solar vem destacando por representar uma das fontes não poluente e inesgotável da Terra. Nesse sentido o trabalho propõe o aperfeiçoamento de um equipamento de secagem solar, construído por estudantes de Engenharia Química da UFTM, para a secagem de cebola. Foram realizados testes laboratoriais em infravermelho e estufa a fim de determinar cinética de secagem da cebola, nas temperaturas de 60, 80, 100 e 110 °C. Realizou-se também a caracterização morfológica da partícula. Duas configurações do secador solar foram testadas e comparadas, realizando testes de secagem ao sol em duas condições, alta e baixa velocidade de rotação do ventilador, monitorando a temperatura a cada 30 minutos. A cinética de secagem da cebola foi descrita satisfatoriamente pelos modelos de Page, Midili e o Logarítmo. Os resultados mostraram que a inserção do secador no interior do forno solar apresentou maior eficiência de secagem, principalmente na maior velocidade de rotação do cooler, que promove a convecção forçada. Foram alcançadas temperaturas entre 40° e 60 °C, sendo que baixas razões de umidade foram obtidas quando foram utilizadas duas bandejas no secador.
ФИЗИКО-ХИМИЧЕСКИЕ СВОЙСТВА НЕФТИ МЕСТОРОЖДЕНИЙ ВОСТОЧНОЙ И ЗАПАДНОЙ СИБИРИ: КОМПЛЕКСНОЕ ИЗУЧЕНИЕ МЕТОДАМИ ДИЭЛЕКТРИЧЕСКОЙ СПЕКТРОСКОПИИ И ЯМР-РЕЛАКСОМЕТРИИ
Authors: Мезин Андрей Алексеевич , Шумскайте Мария Йоновна , Чернова Елена Сергеевна , Бурухина Александра Ильинична
Published: February 2021

Актуальность работы обусловлена возрастающим интересом к комплексной интерпретации данных нескольких методов при определении петрофизических и физико-химических свойств горных пород и внутрипластовых флюидов. Физико-химические свойства нефти определяются по данным комплекса методов диэлектрической спектроскопии, ЯМР-релаксометрии и геохимического анализа. Результаты этих методов дополняют друг друга, поскольку отличаются разной чувствительностью к определенным характеристикам породы и насыщающего ее флюида. Цель: совместная интерпретация данных методов диэлектрической спектроскопии и ЯМР-релаксометрии для определения группового состава и физико-химических свойств проб нефти, сопоставление с результатами геохимического анализа. Объекты: пробы нефти и конденсатов месторождений Восточной и Западной Сибири, характеризующиеся разными физико-химическими свойствами. Методы: лабораторные методы диэлектрической спектроскопии, направленной на определение комплексной диэлектрической проницаемости; ЯМР-релаксометрии, позволяющей оценить групповой состав исследуемого флюида; стандартные геохимические методы, включающие определение физико-химических свойств, фракционного и группового химического состава нефти. Результаты. Изучено 48 проб нефтей и конденсатов месторождений Восточной и Западной Сибири. Для 29 проб установлены значения: плотности при 20 ℃, вязкости при 20 и 60 ℃, содержания температурных фракций выше и ниже 200 ℃, содержания метано-нафтеновых и нафтено-ароматических углеводородов, смол и асфальтенов. Экспериментально установлена зависимость диэлектрической проницаемости и времени поперечной релаксации от содержания разных групп углеводородных соединений, которая показала высокую чувствительность применяемых в работе методов к содержанию смолисто-асфальтеновых соединений. Увеличение их доли в составе пробы нефти приводит к существенному уменьшению времен поперечной релаксации и значительному увеличению значений диэлектрической проницаемости. По ЯМР-данным был определен групповой состав проб нефти, который с точностью до 5 % при температуре 25 °С согласуется с результатами геохимического анализа. Поскольку времена поперечной релаксации ароматических соединений и насыщенных углеводородов сильно перекрываются, это не позволяет более детально установить граничные времена поперечной релаксации для каждой группы углеводородных соединений.
Developing a Cost Structure of Frozen Semen Production and Performance of Artificial Insemination for Sheep Breeding Program
Authors: Asaduzzaman M. , Saha A. , Alam M.G.S. , Bari F.Y.
Published: February 2021

Background: Artificial insemination is an important applicable tool in increasing productivity by genetic exploitation through the male line. But farmers or breeders adoption require to be known the detailed cost structure and the nature of the cost function of the new technology. In this paper, therefore an attempt is made to develop a cost structure for frozen semen dose and a representative artificial breeding program in ewes. Methods: Semen was frozen twice-weekly for a period of a month following traditional box-freezing. Variable and fixed costs associated with the ram management, semen collection, processing and freezing were estimated and used in frozen semen production cost calculation. Cost items estimated as per cost assumption model and used for artificial insemination cost calculation. Result: The mean production cost of a frozen semen straw was estimated as Tk. 41.66 where ram maintenance cost, semen processing and preservation cost and staff cost shared the maximum expenses were to be 53.69, 12.93 and 33.38%, respectively. The average performance cost of artificial insemination incurred in the study was approximately Tk. 217.31, there in the semen dose, AI pipette and hormone cost covered the top areas of expenses to be 38.34, 23.00 and 19.33%, respectively. The cost estimate of the current study will be of more informative for breeders, stakeholders and researchers in sheep breeding technology.
Value Chain Finance to Dairy Sector-A Case Study of Eastern Uttar Pradesh
Authors: Kumar Sarvesh
Published: February 2021

Background: Dairy sector has highly fragmented supply base and unique ecosystem of delivery resulting that a chain of value addition actors involved in its production and distribution. Value chain financing approach provides opportunities to develop equitable business models that better link all actors in the value chain. Accordingly, this study has carried out to assess the diversity of financial arrangements and the actors involved in dairy value chain in the Eastern Uttar Pradesh. The study also brings about the relatively prominent components/actors of the dairy value chain that could be emphasised while financing dairy value chain. Method: The value chain actors including milk producers have identified purposively and interviewed with well-constructed scheduled. The study has analysed on the data collected from 64 milk producers in 8 villages, 3 inputs suppliers, 8 milk collectors/assemblers, 4 milk transporters, 1 milk processor and 12 distributers for the year 2019-20. Result: The study observed that there is vast network of financing institutions have engaged in the financing of dairy value chain in the study area. Financing agencies have identified the set of activities associated with milk value chain and determine the structure of finance accordingly, in order to minimize costs, to maximize efficiency and to reduce risk. However, there are several informal mechanism of value chain financings also existed parallel to institutional finance due to informal sources are willing to lend money more easily without collateral. Relationships between actors in the value chain facilitate informal financial flows directly to his client actors is also observed in the study. The study has further inferred that among all the actors involved in milk value chains, the processor, producer and distributer have added greater value addition in comparison to other actors in the value chain.
Concentration of Digestible Threonine in Diet on Production Performance and Intestinal Morphometry of WL Layers
Authors: Kumari K. Naga Raja , Kalyani P. , Rao S.V. Rama , Rajkumar U.
Published: February 2021

A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of digestible threonine in graded concentrations on production performance and mucosal barrier function in layers. A total of 180 layers at 25 weeks of age were randomly distributed into six treatment groups each with five replicates of 6 birds each. The experimental diets were isocaloric with three crude protein(CP) levels i.e. low 13.46% CP(LCP), medium 15.56% CP (MCP) and high 17.05% CP(HCP) and three lysine levels (13.46/0.65%; 15.56/0.60%; 17.00/0.70%) each with 63 and 66% threonine concentrations and were offered to treatment groups for 20 weeks. Increase (p less than 0.05) in egg production was observed with an increase in protein/lysine level and threonine concentration. Mucin gene (MUC2) expression was increased (p less than 0.05) in LCP group and was evident at 66% threonine concentrations in LCP and MCP and 63% threonine concentration in HCP. The results of the study concluded that the diet with 13.46% CP and 0.65% lysine at 66% threonine were optimum for layers at 25-44 weeks of age.
Germination Behavior of Rauvolfia serpentine (L.) Seeds with the use of Different Seed Treatments
Authors: Tiwari Amit Kumar , Verma Prawal P.S. , Kumar Dipender , Singh Sonveer , Kumar Rakesh , Padalia R.C. , Upadhyay R.K.
Published: February 2021

Background: Sarpagandha is an indigenous medicinal herb of Indian continent. It has many medicinal properties. Due to increasing demand of Sarpagandha, its exploitation is increasing continuously but for lack of cultivation, this plant has been listed in endangered category. Commercially, it is propagated through seeds but the main barrier of seed propagation is its irregular and low germination. Hence, the current study was undertaken to study the effect of growing media and seed treatment methods on seed germination and seedling growth of Sarpagandha to eliminate the inhibitory effect of the hard stony endocarp. Methods: Seed germination and seedling growth experiments of Sarpagandha were carried out with following different seed treatments, T1 (Control), T2 (Water soaking for 24 hours), T3 (water soaking for 48 hours), T4 (Water soaking for 24 hours + cotton cloth wrapping for 24 hours), T5 (GA3 200 ppm), T6 (FYM treatment for 24 hours), T7 (FYM treatment for 48 hours), T8 (Hot water treatment) and T9 (Cow dung treatment for 24 hours). Experiment was laid out in CRD. The data recorded on the various parameters were analyzed at 5% level of significance by using ANOVA. Result: Results indicated highest germination percentage (51), lowest mortality percent (49), minimum days for initiation of germination (23), minimum days taken for germination completion (33), highest speed of germination (3.77), maximum vigour index (1441.44), highest root (11.27 cm) and highest shoot length (17 cm) in T5 (GA3 200 ppm) followed by T3 (water soaking for 48 hours). Indicating, T5 (GA3 200 ppm) to be best seed treatment for higher germination and subsequent seedling growth of Sarpagandha (Rauvolfia serpentine L.).
Seasonal Incidence of Pulse Aphid (Aphis craccivora Koch.) and its Natural Enemies on Field Pea (Pisum sativum L.) in Relation to Some Abiotic Factors in Alluvial Zone of West Bengal
Authors: Pal S. , Samanta S. , Banerjee A.
Published: February 2021

Background: Field pea, Pisum sativum L. is an important winter-season pulse crop. It is subjected to damage by both field and storage insect pests and approximately 10-15 per cent reduction in yield was reported due to the infestation of different insect pests. Among these, pulse aphid (Aphis craccivora Koch.) affects plant physiology directly by removal of nutrients or indirectly by dispersal of various viral diseases. The present investigation has been aimed to study the seasonal fluctuations of aphids and their natural enemies as well as their correlation. Another objective was to know the effect of various weather parameters on pulse aphids and their natural enemies which ultimately would be helpful to develop a forewarning model. Methods: The field experiment was conducted at the A-B Block Farm of Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Nadia, West Bengal using two varieties of field pea (KPMR 935 and IFPD 122) during rabi seasons of two consecutive years of 2017-18 and 2018-19 following a Randomized Block Design with three replications. After recording the total population of both pests (nymphs and adults) and their natural enemies across the season, the mean population was worked out and used for correlation and regression studies along with the weather parameters. Result: Maximum aphid population was noticed during the peak pod formation stage of the crop irrespective of the varieties. The pest population was very strongly correlated with the incidence of coccinellid and ant population in both test varieties. Among the weather parameters, both maximum and minimum temperature and sunshine hour showed a positive correlation with the pest population and their natural enemies but relative humidity and rainfall showed a negative correlation. Regression studies indicated that temperature and relative humidity were the most influencing factors over the incidence of aphid in both the seasons.
Water Stress Induced Changes in Seed quality of Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum- graecum L.) Genotypes
Authors: Ghosaliya B.K. , Mittal G.K. , Shivran A.C. , Sharma S.K. , Saxena S.N. , Jain S.K.
Published: February 2021

Background: Seed quality of fenugreek is determined by its primary metabolites and an alkaloid diosgenin. Apart from these fenugreek seeds contains total oil, saponins, carbohydrates, protein and major nutrients. Seeds are bitter in taste due to presence of an alkaloid “trigonelline”. In India, major cultivated area of fenugreek is still dependent on conserved moisture and moisture stress conditions reduces its productivity. Methods: A field experiment was carried out in randomized block design (RBD) with three replications during Rabi 2016-2017. Performance of ten fenugreek genotypes was evaluated on the basis of seed quality parameters under normal and water stress condition. Seed samples from both normal and water stressed plant were used for quality analysis in laboratory. Analysis of different quality parameters was done by using standard methods and protocol. Result: Water stress was found to increase seed total oil, saponins and diosgenine content in all the genotypes. Genotypes RMt-1, RMt-305 and RMt-143 were able to accumulate significantly higher total oil and diosgenine content in normal as well as water stress conditions. Water stress condition induced more saponins synthesis in genotype RMt-361 and RMt-351 while crude protein and total carbohydrate declined in all the genotypes. The minimum decrease in crude protein and carbohydrate due to water stress was recorded in genotype RMt-351 and genotypes Hisar Sonali respectively. Moisture was found to decrease in all the genotypes under influence of water stress conditions, minimum (13.75%) being observed in genotype RMt-305. Maximum seed yield was recorded in genotype RMt-361 both under normal as well as water stress conditions. Genotype RMt-1 had least reduction in yield under water stress condition (3.54%). Results suggested that a significant genotypic variation in seed quality parameters of fenugreek genotypes induced through stress may be utilize to introduce novelty of different purpose for developing new cultivars.
Origin of large diamonds in kimberlite
Authors: Shkodzinskiy V. S.
Published: February 2021

The evidence of the existence and fractionation of the global magmatic ocean on the Earth allows us to distinguish two stages of the formation of diamonds of increased size. The largest giant diamonds arose at an early stage of crystallization and fractionation of the peridotite layer of the magmatic ocean, since its bottom layer at that time was blocked by still hot upper ones and therefore cooled and crystallized very slowly and long. The mafic composition of this layer and the low viscosity of its magmas caused mainly octahedral cutting of the formed giant diamonds. Later crystallized mainly rhombododecahedral diamonds have increased coarseness due to the formation mainly by the growth of early octahedral crystals.
Soft Power Effectiveness: Problem of Evaluation
Authors: Kharitonova E.
Published: February 2021

The article focuses on the task of measuring and evaluating a state's soft power. While the soft power concept developed by Joseph Nye is currently widely accepted and used, its theoretical understanding and practical application remains challenging. Both international relations scholars and those responsible for soft power in governmental and non-state agencies are looking for the tools to assess their work and the country's standing in the world in terms of soft power. As the author of the concept and other researchers noted, evaluation and measurement may be difficult due to the number of influencing factors including the use of hard power that can overshadow soft power efforts, and also because soft power efforts can bring results only in a distant period of time. However, in response to the researchers' and policy makers' need to evaluate, measure and compare soft power related parameters, a number of international ratings evolved during the past several years, such as various ratings of soft power, nation brands, countries' reputation and presence. At the same time, such rankings have several weaknesses. First of all, they present mainly the western point of view which focuses on the parameters important for western audiences and may overlook characteristics important for other, non-western cultures. They also may be subjective due to financial reasons. Besides that, while some of the ratings aim to evaluate resources or assets of nations' soft power, other focus on results like influence or reputation. Evaluation of instruments used to enhance a country's soft power and their effectiveness is also important. In many cases, even significant resources of soft power do not guarantee strong positions in this context. Comparing certain countries' positions in different ratings helps to understand a country's standing in terms of soft power, identify strong sides and analyze whether a state's soft power potential transforms into the desired outcomes.
Euroscepticism: New Factor of European Politics
Authors: Vainshtein G.
Published: February 2021

The phenomenon of Euroscepticism, not long ago a marginal part of the European political landscape, increasingly moves forward to the political foreground. This article explores the meaning of the notion of Euroscepticism, analyzes current peculiarities of this phenomenon, its scale and main sources, as well as differentiation of anti-integrationist political actors. While the very phenomenon existed in European politics throughout the implementation of the European project, a new characteristic of the socio-political situation in the EU is the ongoing broadening of this phenomenon's scale, the growth of its electoral support and the radicalization of its articulation forms. The strengthening of critical public attitudes towards realities of the European integration which is a feature of the contemporary socio-political climate in Europe not only has weakened the traditional pro-integrationist consensus of the political establishment, but has also led to a substantial reinforcement of more or less radical opponents of the European project within the European party-political space. This development seems to be an indicator of the European political mainstream “qualitative renewal”. Though the current growth of electoral support for Eurosceptic parties is to a great extent induced by the global financial and economic crisis, economic factor is not the main driving force of the Euroscepticism. At present, a wide range of diverse political and cultural factors increasingly determine commitment of European citizens to the EU. In some cases, these factors are crucial to the development of Euroscepticism. This fact is of significant importance, with regard to assessing the prospects for the given phenomenon, since political and socio-cultural motives of public Euroscepticism build much more sustainable basis for the Eurosceptical trend than economic ones. Issues relating to the prospects of Euroscepticism are of particular relevance, in connection with high performance of Eurosceptic politicians at the 2014 European Parliament elections. The elections result is not only strengthening of the "soft Eurosceptics'" positions, but also a sensational electoral “breakthrough” of “hard Eurosceptics” (Europhobes). While ability of Eurosceptics' direct influence on the decision-making process in the EP seems insignificant, much more important is their capacity to influence the agenda of the mainstream pro-European parties both in Europe and at home. Ultimately, the rise of the Euroscepticism makes the future of the European project more uncertain. Today (and probably, in the foreseeable future), the real purpose of European political elites may only be countering the trends of national sovereignty restoration, and maintenance of an integration process at its current level rather than its extension.
Lowering wine alcohol content by reverse osmosis and spinning cone columns: effects on sensory characteristics of the beverages
Authors: Loyola García Rodrigo , Gutiérrez-Gamboa Gastón , Medel-Marabolí Marcela , Díaz-Gálvez Irina
Published: February 2021

Reverse osmosis and spinning cone columns are promising techniques for reducing alcohol content in wines. Most wineries are only interested in reducing ethanol content by one or two alcoholic degrees in order to obtain more balanced wines. However, new consumption habits and alcohol safety laws have induced the wine industry to produce new beverages from non-alcoholic or low alcohol wines. The aim of this study was therefore to evaluate the impacts of the dealcoholisation of wines by reverse osmosis and spinning cone columns on the sensory characteristics of the final product.
Who is Responsible for Embodied CO2?
Authors: Sanderson Hans
Published: February 2021

With the Paris Agreement, countries are obliged to report greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduc-tions, which will ensure that the global temperature increase is maintained well below 2C. The Parties will report their Nationally Determined Contributions in terms of plans and progress to-wards these targets during the postponed COP26 in Glasgow in November 2021. These commit-ments however do not take significant portions of the consumption related emissions related to countries imports in to account. Similarly, the majority of companies that report their emissions to CDP also do not account for their embodied value-chain related emissions. Municipalities, on the path towards carbon neutrality in accordance with the methods outlined by C40, also do not in-clude imported and embodied CO2e in their total emission tallies. So, who is responsible for these emissions - the producer or the consumer? How can we ensure that the NDC's, municipalities and companies reduction targets share the responsibility of the emissions in the value-chain thus en-suring that targets and plans become, sustainable, climate fair, and just in global value chains? Today the responsibility lays with the producer, which is not sustainable. We have the outline for the tools needed to quantify and transparently share the responsibility between producers and consumers at corporate, municipal and national level based on an improved understanding of the attendant sources, causes, flows and risks og GHG emissions globally. Hybrid LCA/EEIO models can for example be further developed. This will, in the end, enable everyday consumption to support a more sustainable, green and low carbon transition of our economy.
Evaluation of Cup Profile for Postharvest in Coffee Variety Castillo from Cauca Department
Authors: Solis Pino Andrés Felipe , Anacona Bambague Carlos Andres , Montoya Bibiana , Ramos Cabrera Efren Venancio
Published: February 2021

It is widely accepted that the post-harvest processes of coffee are key factors in determining the final quality of the product. In the department of Cauca in Colombia, this stage is carried out empirically by the farmers of the region, using old methods that do not assure consistent quality. We propose a study to determine the best conditions of temperature and time in post-harvest for the coffee produced in the region. For this purpose, we carried the fermentation and honey process out on different samples of coffee of the Coffea Arabica species of the Castillo variety. Subsequently, the quality of the samples was determined through sensory evaluation by experts. Finally, descriptive statistical techniques applied to the resulting data, and component and hierarchical cluster analysis to find similarities between the samples. The results suggest that the honey process gets better evaluations in the cup profile over any fermentation condition.
Lignin Extraction from Waste Pine Sawdust Using a Biomass Derived Binary Solvent System
Authors: Magalhães Solange , Filipe Alexandra , Melro Elodie , Fernandes Catarina , Vitorino Carla , Alves Luís , Romano Anabela , Rasteiro Maria Graça , Medronho Bruno
Published: February 2021

Lignocellulosic biomass fractionation is typically performed using methods that are somehow harsh to the environment, such as in the case of the kraft pulping. In recent years, the development of new sustainable and environmentally friendly alternatives has grown significantly. Among the developed systems, bio-based solvents emerge as promising alternatives for biomass processing. Therefore, in the present work, the bio-based and renewable chemicals, levulinic acid (LA) and formic acid (FA), were combined to fractionate lignocellulosic waste (i.e., Maritime pine sawdust) and isolate lignin. Different parameters, such as LA/FA ratio, temperature, and extraction time, were optimized to boost the yield and purity of extracted lignin. The LA/FA ratio was found to be crucial regarding the superior lignin extraction from the waste biomass. Moreover, the increase in temperature and extraction time enhances the amount of extracted residue but compromises the lignin purity and reduces its molecular weight. The electron microscopy images revealed that biomass samples suffer significant structural and morphological changes, which further suggests the suitability of the new developed bio-fractionation process. Same was concluded by the FTIR analysis, in which no remaining lignin was detected in the cellulose-rich fraction. Overall, the novel combination of bio-sourced FA and LA has shown to be a very promising system for lignin extraction of high purity from biomass waste, thus contributing to extend the opportunities of lignin manipulation and valorisation into novel added-value biomaterials.
Vision-Based Deep Learning Algorithm for Detecting Potholes
Authors: Gajjar Kanushka , Niekerk Theo van , Wilm Thomas , Mercorelli Paolo
Published: February 2021

Potholes on roads pose a major threat to motorists and autonomous vehicles. Driving over a pothole has the potential to cause serious damage to a vehicle, which in turn may result in fatal accidents. Currently, many pothole detection methods exist. However, these methods do not utilize deep learning techniques to detect a pothole in real-time, determine the location thereof and display its location on a map. The success of determining an effective pothole detection method, which includes the aforementioned deep learning techniques, is dependent on acquiring a large amount of data, including images of potholes. Once adequate data had been gathered, the images were processed and annotated. The next step was to determine which deep learning algorithms could be utilized. Three different models, including Faster R-CNN, SSD and YOLOv3 were trained on the custom dataset containing images of potholes to determine which network produces the best results for real-time detection. It was revealed that YOLOv3 produced the most accurate results and performed the best in real-time, with an average detection time of only 0.836s per image. The final results revealed that a real-time pothole detection system, integrated with a cloud and maps service, can be created to allow drivers to avoid potholes.
Sequence Length of HIV-1 Subtype B Increases Over Time: Analyzing a Cohort of Patients with Hemophilia Over 30 Years
Authors: Cho Young-Keol , Kim Jung-eun , Foley Brian
Published: February 2021

The objective of this study is to investigate whether the sequence length of HIV-1 increases over time. A longitudinal analysis of full-length coding region sequences (FLs) in an outbreak of HIV-1 infection among patients with hemophilia and local controls identified as infected with the Korean subclade B of HIV-1 (KSB). Genes amplified by overlapping RT-PCR or nested PCR were subjected to direct sequencing. In total, 141 FLs were sequentially determined over 30 years in 62 KSB-infected patients. Non-KSB sequences were retrieved from the Los Alamos National Laboratory HIV Database. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that within KSB, 2 FLs from plasma donors O and P comprised two clusters together with 8 and 12 patients with hemophilia, respectively. Signature pattern analysis for the KSB of HIV-1 revealed signature nucleotide residues at 1.05%, compared with local controls. Additionally, in-depth FLs sequence analysis over 30 years in KSB indicates that the KSB FL significantly increases over time before combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) and decreases on cART. Furthermore, the increase in FLs over time significantly occurred in the subtypes B, C and G, but, there was no increase in the subtypes D, A, and F1. Consequently, subtypes F1 and D had the shortest sequence length. Our analysis was extended to compare HIV-1 with HIV-2 and SIVs. Essentially, the longer the sequence length (SIVsm > HIV-2 > SIVcpz > HIV-1), the longer the survival period. The increase in the length of the HIV-1 sequence over time suggests that it might be an evolutionary direction toward attenuated pathogenicity.
Investigations on Dynamical Stability in 3D Quadrupole Ion Traps
Authors: Mihalcea Bogdan , Lynch Stephen
Published: February 2021

We firstly discuss classical stability for a dynamical system of two ions levitated in a 3D Radio-Frequency (RF) trap, assimilated with two coupled oscillators. The system dynamics is characterized using a well established model that relies on two control parameters: the axial angular moment and the ratio between the radial and axial trap pseudo-oscillator characteristic frequencies. We augment this model and employ the Hessian matrix of the potential function in an attempt to better describe dynamical stability and the critical points. Our approach is then used to explore quantum stability in case of strongly coupled Coulomb many-body systems and establish a technique aimed at determining the critical points. Finally, we apply the model in case of a 3D Quadrupole Ion Trap (QIT) with axial symmetry, for which we obtain the associated Hamilton function. A different approach is used to better characterize many-body dynamics in combined (Paul and Penning) traps, with applications such as stable trapping of antimatter or fundamental tests of the Standard Model. The ion distribution can be described by means of numerical modeling, based on the Hamilton function we assign to the system. The approach we introduce is effective to infer the parameters of distinct types of traps by applying a cohesive method.