bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The foreign language reading brain: connecting the dots in the age of paper and pixel
Authors: Elkabas Charles
Published: August 2019

Since the early eighties, numerous experiments have been conducted in order to answer the following question: How does reading on paper differ from reading on screen? Our article presents a brief review of comparative studies in this field of research. We then look at reading models in L1 and L2, and posit that digitally displayed language actually provides a rich source of comprehensible input, and that foreign language readers can benefit from digital presentation of texts, in particular by way of eBook readers. We also highlight the inevitable and profound impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) on the reading brain and, as digital literacy is fast becoming the norm in today’s modern society, we draw attention to the pedagogical implication for foreign language teaching and learning.
School and Families Cooperating to Ensure Support for Students’ Individual Preparation of Homewok
Authors: Bozova Margarita
Published: August 2019

The article presents a study of the school support provided to parents in order to enhance their pedagogical culture and the opportunity to provide full assistance to their own children in their individual school preparation at home. The article analyzes teachers' readiness to plan, organize and implement a variety of modern forms to increase parents’ potential to provide educational support for their children at home. Some opportunities are offered to help managing family-school partnerships as equal partners in education and upbringing of the students and the development of their personality.
Development of The Student as an Active Training Process Subject at the Medical School
Authors: Stancheva Galina , Grudeva Marinella
Published: August 2019

Modern pedagogical science increasingly perceives students as an active part of the learning process considering their preferences, interests, reactions and engagement in learning. Therefore the modern learning process is based on the understanding that building and establishing active interaction happens between two active subjects - the lecturer and the student. This modern interpretation of the educational process leads to the identification of the problem of subjectivity as a basic and specific feature of the training process in the medical schools expressed in the overall and systematic process of the development of the student as an active training process subject at the medical schools.
Comparative Analysis of Real and Virtual Self in Teenage
Authors: Doncheva Pavlina
Published: August 2019

Communication in a modern world tolerates revolution through new digital technologies and is now almost entirely projected into a parallel digital world. Social networks change the trajectory of interpersonal relationships. Looking at human development, a student nowadays spends much longer time in the virtual reality up to the time they become adults. He/She designs his / her personal characteristics by creating his / her parallel, virtual self. Freedom in virtual reality is a prerequisite for a person to present himself as he is or to the extend of social desirability. This research compares and analyzes the real and virtual personality of contemporary teenagers and looks for correlations between them.
Polityczny wymiar objęcia państw Europy Środkowej i Wschodniej standardami demokratycznymi Rady Europy
Authors:   Uniwersytet Jana Kochanowskiego w Kielcach, Akademia Finansów, Jaskiernia Jerzy
Published: August 2019

The Council of Europe, founded in 1949, is one of the most important international organizations. In its axiology it emphasises democracy, rule of law and protection of human rights. Its “pearl in the crown” is the European Convention on Human Rights. Until 1989 the Council of Europe was a “democratic club of Western European democratic countries.” Since political breakthrough in 1989 the Council has been open to the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. This changed the face of the “elite club”, carrying the risk of lowering standards. At the same time it also opened new ways for action for the Council of Europe, which highly determines contemporary sense of the organization. Central and Eastern European countries which were striving for the membership had to meet the threshold requirements, including a form of free elections and the willingness to sign and ratify the European Convention on Human Rights (in the phase of the accession procedure), and also to make substantial modifications to the political system after becoming the Council of Europe member (controlled under a monitoring procedure). They concerned the legislative, executive and judiciary authorities as well as the local government. The main constitutional solutions were consulted with the Venice Commission which acts within the structure of the Council of Europe and brings together the leading experts on constitutional issues. The Council of Europe also gave assistance to tchem in democratic know how. Sustainability of a monitoring procedure in respect to some countries (including Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia) indicates that the completion of the Council of Europe standards requires not only political will, changes in political culture and legal societies, determination in the implementation of political reforms but also significant financial resources. One of the reasons of meeting the requirements was paving the way for these countries to membership in the European Union.

Today the political dimension of opening the Council of Europe to the countries of Central and Eastern Europe is associated with the prominence of the fact that the process of European integration is not to be restricted to the framework of the European Union and not to build a new “fortress” on the River Bug. Therefore, countries of that region, especially outside the EU have an interest in the Council of Europe prestige not to weaken, and that participation in it will bring hope in further deepening of European integration.
Historia i pamięć: korzyść zdystansowana
Authors:   Rosyjski Państwowy Uniwersytet Humanistyczny w Moskwie, Riepina Lorina P.
Published: August 2019

At the end of the 20th century memory became a value corresponding to the modern pluralistic vision of the past. Today it is believed that “historical memory” in some way reproduces necessary for society communication with the past which before was provided by tradition. Issues of identity – individual and collective – have been attracting the attention of representatives of various social sciences and humanities for a long time. It is totally understandable that in contemporary historiography special attention is paid to the role of ideas about the past and historical myths as elements of social identity. Historical myths are perceived as credible “memories” and are a significant part of a specific world image while playing an important role both in the orientation of individual behaviours and the translation of ethical values. Therefore, there is a need to analyze the formation of various historical myths, their specific functions, their living environment, their marginalization or re-actualisation in everyday historical consciousness, their exploitation and ideological re-evaluation, including changing one another or competing national history narratives. A solution to one of the most important problems is becoming more and more current. It is associated with learning the mechanisms of recording and converting in memory of different generations their experiences of historical events, how nations and specific groups experienced profound social changes and conflicts (including the wars and revolutions), especially in the intercultural and comparative-historical perspective because these provide a key role in ideological polemics and political practice. What is the difference between “the history of historians” and other representations of the past, and what is the benefit of separating history from memory? Historical memory meets the sense of justice on the road of historical criticism. History gets its scientific status of historical knowledge by distancing itself from memory and making it the subject of critical analysis.
Improving Domain-Independent Planning via Critical Section Macro-Operators
Authors: Chrpa Lukáš , Vallati Mauro
Published: August 2019

Macro-operators, macros for short, are a well-known technique for enhancing performance of planning engines by providing “short-cuts” in the state space. Existing macro learning systems usually generate macros from most frequent sequences of actions in training plans. Such approach priorities frequently used sequences of actions over meaningful activities to be performed for solving planning tasks.

This paper presents a technique that, inspired by resource locking in critical sections in parallel computing, learns macros capturing activities in which a limited resource (e.g., a robotic hand) is used. In particular, such macros capture the whole activity in which the resource is “locked” (e.g., the robotic hand is holding an object) and thus “bridge” states in which the resource is locked and cannot be used. We also introduce an “aggressive” variant of our technique that removes original operators superseded by macros from the domain model. Usefulness of macros is evaluated on several stateof-the-art planners, and a wide range of benchmarks from the learning tracks of the 2008 and 2011 editions of the International Planning Competition.
Lifelong Path Planning with Kinematic Constraints for Multi-Agent Pickup and Delivery
Authors: Ma Hang , Hönig Wolfgang , Kumar T. K. Satish , Ayanian Nora , Koenig Sven
Published: August 2019

The Multi-Agent Pickup and Delivery (MAPD) problem models applications where a large number of agents attend to a stream of incoming pickup-and-delivery tasks. Token Passing (TP) is a recent MAPD algorithm that is efficient and effective. We make TP even more efficient and effective by using a novel combinatorial search algorithm, called Safe Interval Path Planning with Reservation Table (SIPPwRT), for single-agent path planning. SIPPwRT uses an advanced data structure that allows for fast updates and lookups of the current paths of all agents in an online setting. The resulting MAPD algorithm TP-SIPPwRT takes kinematic constraints of real robots into account directly during planning, computes continuous agent movements with given velocities that work on non-holonomic robots rather than discrete agent movements with uniform velocity, and is complete for wellformed MAPD instances. We demonstrate its benefits for automated warehouses using both an agent simulator and a standard robot simulator. For example, we demonstrate that it can compute paths for hundreds of agents and thousands of tasks in seconds and is more efficient and effective than existing MAPD algorithms that use a post-processing step to adapt their paths to continuous agent movements with given velocities.
Acting and Planning Using Operational Models
Authors: Patra Sunandita , Ghallab Malik , Nau Dana , Traverso Paolo
Published: August 2019

The most common representation formalisms for planning are descriptive models. They abstractly describe what the actions do and are tailored for efficiently computing the next state(s) in a state transition system. But acting requires operational models that describe how to do things, with rich control structures for closed-loop online decision-making. Using descriptive representations for planning and operational representations for acting can lead to problems with developing and verifying consistency of the different models.We define and implement an integrated acting-and-planning system in which both planning and acting use the same operational models, which are written in a general-purpose hierarchical task-oriented language offering rich control structures. The acting component is inspired by the well-known PRS system, except that instead of being purely reactive, it can get advice from the planner. Our planning algorithm, RAEplan, plans by doing Monte Carlo rollout simulations of the actor’s operational models. Our experiments show significant benefits in the efficiency of the acting and planning system.
Rotational Diversity in Multi-Cycle Assignment Problems
Authors: Spieker Helge , Gotlieb Arnaud , Mossige Morten
Published: August 2019

In multi-cycle assignment problems with rotational diversity, a set of tasks has to be repeatedly assigned to a set of agents. Over multiple cycles, the goal is to achieve a high diversity of assignments from tasks to agents. At the same time, the assignments’ profit has to be maximized in each cycle. Due to changing availability of tasks and agents, planning ahead is infeasible and each cycle is an independent assignment problem but influenced by previous choices. We approach the multi-cycle assignment problem as a two-part problem: Profit maximization and rotation are combined into one objective value, and then solved as a General Assignment Problem. Rotational diversity is maintained with a single execution of the costly assignment model. Our simple, yet effective method is applicable to different domains and applications. Experiments show the applicability on a multi-cycle variant of the multiple knapsack problem and a real-world case study on the test case selection and assignment problem, an example from the software engineering domain, where test cases have to be distributed over compatible test machines.
Polynomial-Time Probabilistic Reasoning with Partial Observations via Implicit Learning in Probability Logics
Authors: Juba Brendan
Published: August 2019

Standard approaches to probabilistic reasoning require that one possesses an explicit model of the distribution in question. But, the empirical learning of models of probability distributions from partial observations is a problem for which efficient algorithms are generally not known. In this work we consider the use of bounded-degree fragments of the “sum-of-squares” logic as a probability logic. Prior work has shown that we can decide refutability for such fragments in polynomial-time. We propose to use such fragments to decide queries about whether a given probability distribution satisfies a given system of constraints and bounds on expected values. We show that in answering such queries, such constraints and bounds can be implicitly learned from partial observations in polynomial-time as well. It is known that this logic is capable of deriving many bounds that are useful in probabilistic analysis. We show here that it furthermore captures key polynomial-time fragments of resolution. Thus, these fragments are also quite expressive.
Effects of air-injection pressure on airflow pattern of air sparging
Authors: Farid Arvin , Najafi Atena , Browning Jim , Smith Elisa Barney
Published: August 2019

Air sparging is a remediation technology for treating soil/groundwater contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs). VOC removal during air sparging is rendered less effective because of the random formation of air channels, creating preferential paths for airflow, thus limiting remediation to these channels, referred to as a zone of influence (ZOI). Pulsation is a popular method used to improve the effectiveness of air sparging through cyclic operation, with the hope that air channels would form elsewhere. Pulsation makes air sparging more time-consuming. This paper studies the effects of one cycle of pulsation and air pressure on the airflow pattern and presents a laboratory study that investigated the effects of initial and further increases in the injected air’s pressure on the airflow pattern within a glass-bead medium used as a medium analogous to the soil. Digital images of airflow patterns were collected; these images show a larger radius of influence (ROI) and ZOI due to the initial air-pressure increase, particularly when a higher overburden pressure (i.e. the stress due to the partially saturated layer on top of the saturated soil-simulant layer) exists above the water-saturated zone. Further air-pressure increases seem to have no measurable effect on the ROI and the shape of the ZOI.
Howrah Bridge: icon of a 330-year-old city in India – part II: construction and upkeep
Authors: Ghoshal Amitabha
Published: August 2019

Construction of a bridge with a main span of 457 m (1500 ft) and side spans of 99 m (325 ft), across a river that carried fleets of rivercraft on a regular basis and therefore not available to support the construction activity, was a challenging task in the 1940s. The balanced cantilever bridge, constructed by cantilevering from both ends and resting on foundations located on the banks, transferring huge loads on the soft clay, silt and sand founding strata, required careful planning and attention to details. The construction work required deployment of customised tools and equipment that had to be designed and built in advance. In-built provisions were made to take care of effects of foundation settlements. Closure of the large cantilevers was a big challenge, well attended by the builder. The upkeep of the bridge in Kolkata, India has been excellent with a dedicated maintenance cell in position.
Assessment of approaches to obtain ebullition pressures for organophilic clay blankets
Authors: Eun J. , McCartney J. S. , Znidarčić D.
Published: August 2019

The objective of this study is to compare two experimental approaches to characterize the ebullition pressure (or air-entry suction) of initially water-saturated organophilic clay blankets. The first is an indirect approach using the water-retention curve (WRC) and the second is a direct approach using ebullition experiments. The WRC along with the hydraulic conductivity of organophilic clay blankets in saturated and unsaturated conditions were measured using a flexible-wall permeameter with suction-saturation control. This device was also adapted to measure the ebullition pressure and the air permeability. The comparison of the experimental approaches was performed on organophilic clay blanket specimens in different initial conditions (unrinsed and rinsed to remove loose fines) under high and low effective confining stresses (20 and 5 kPa). The indirect estimates of air-entry suction from the WRC were similar to those obtained from the ebullition tests. This good agreement between the two approaches may add flexibility to the development of design specifications for capping systems. The hydraulic properties were found to be sensitive to rinsing and effective stress, with greater hydraulic conductivity and air permeability for the rinsed specimen due to the removal of fines, and greater air-entry suctions for specimens under higher effective stress.
Value-based optimisation for cross-asset maintenance in a Canadian municipality
Authors: Hwangbo Wonyeel , Mohammadi Alireza , Amador-Jimenez Luis , Kachua Shabani
Published: August 2019

Most municipalities have a disconnection between the effective usage of their budget and their ability to preserve the value of their network of assets. Long-term planning for cross-asset infrastructures is always a challenge for municipalities. This paper proposes a decision-making platform which optimises municipal assets by integrating cross-asset models with asset value to achieve an optimal solution for the maximum returns of investment over a long-term period. The method was compared with the classical condition-based optimisation approach by implementing it on a case study of the Municipality of Kindersley, Canada. It was found that the value-based optimisation model demonstrated meaningful results by integrating engineering concepts with the value of the assets to determine the optimal long-term investment planning. For the same available budget, the value-based model achieved a similar overall condition while increasing the total value relative to that of the condition-based approach. The life-cycle analysis showed that for 20 years’ investment in the case study, the value-based model obtained Can$18 million (US$13·5 million) more return, which validates the higher efficiency of the proposed model. The developed value-based optimisation technique enables municipalities to apply a multi-asset decision-making process that balances engineering and economic approaches to delivering better value for money.
Modos e doses de aplicação de inoculante na cultura da soja
Authors: Pereira Cassiano Spaziani , Balbinot Lucas , Fiorini Ivan Vilela Andrade , Tavanti Renan Rimoldi , Costa Leticia Carolina
Published: August 2019

A inoculação é considerada uma das práticas mais importante na cultura da soja. O objetivo do trabalho foi verificar o efeito de diferentes doses de inoculante com Bradyrhizobium japonicum sob diferentes modos de aplicação. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi em blocos casualizados completos (DBC) com 4 repetições em esquema experimental fatorial 4 x 3, totalizando 12 tratamentos. As doses foram: 0; 400; 800 e 1200 mL de inoculante 50 kg-1 de sementes ou mL ha-1 quando o inoculante foi aplicado na cobertura. Os três modos de aplicação foram: via semente (semeadura), via pulverização foliar no estádio em V2 e diretamente no solo com a adição de 50 g de gelatina bovina em 4,0 L água-1 no estádio V2. A cultivar semeada foi a LG 60174 IPRO. Os tratamentos feitos com a gelatina bovina e ágar foram os que obtiveram os melhores resultados em altura de plantas, diâmetro de caule, número de folhas, área foliar, teor de clorofila, e massa seca da parte aérea, apresentando as maiores médias no crescimento vegetativo das plantas. A aplicação via semente atingiu as maiores médias de número de nódulos e na massa seca de nódulos, devido principalmente à proximidade da bactéria com a semente. Acredita-se que as gelatinas possam ter mantido a umidade do solo mais alta.
Análise dos efeitos do tratamento termoquímico de boretação, aplicado a aços comerciais de larga utilização industrial: revisão
Authors: Perini Maicon , Villanova Daniela Lupinacci
Published: August 2019

A intensificação dos estudos, visando o entendimento pleno das variáveis que envolvem o tratamento termoquímico de boretação é de fundamental importância para que se possa obter pleno conhecimento, dessa forma será possível implantar tal técnica em níveis de escala industrial. Apesar de se tratar de uma rica área dentro do contexto da produção científica, ainda existem muitas lacunas a serem desvendadas no que diz respeito à boretação, especialmente quanto aos agentes boretantes que podem ser utilizados no tratamento, além de temperatura e tempo adequado. Tem-se por objetivo elencar o maior número possível de dados disponíveis acerca do tema proposto, a partir de uma revisão bibliográfica atualizada, o quê evidenciará que a boretação, de fato, apresenta-se como uma solução eficaz para problemas de desgastes em componentes industriais, uma vez que pode elevar em até cinco vezes a dureza superficial do aço base em seu estado normalizado, o qual é utilizado para a fabricação dos mesmos.
Effect of scrap using in charge on the microstructure and properties of ZhS6U nickel-based superalloy. Part 2. Structure analysis and mechanical properties of ZhS6U prepared with scrap
Authors: Koltygin A. V. , Bazhenov V. E. , Bazlov A. I. , Bazlova T. A. , Belov V. D.
Published: August 2019

The second part of the article considers influence of the scrap amount on structure and mechanical properties of ZhS6U-VI nickelbased superalloy. As the use of scrap is associated with the possibility of alloy contamination by nonmetallic inclusions and loss of alloying elements, the influence of scrap on alloy structure and mechanical properties is in great importance. The samples with diameter of 12  mm were melted in a vacuum arc furnace and were casted into a copper mold from the virgin ZhS6U-VI alloy without scrap and from alloys with 50  % and 100  % of scrap. The alloys structures were investigated using optical microscopy on etched metallographic sections that were cut from the samples’ cross-sections. The studies were carried out on the as-cast samples and the samples after solution heat treatment for 4  hours at 1210  °C. The slightly higher nonmetallic inclusions content were observed in the structure of the alloy melted with scrap in comparison with virgin alloy melted without scrap. For the sample that was melted from 100  % of scrap the inclusions secure level is 3 (ASTM E 45-97) with an average size of inclusions of 28.4  ±  0.2  μm. Herewith the presence of single large inclusions with a size of not more than 70  microns was noted. However, it has no effect on the alloy mechanical properties. Mechanical properties after heat treatment (ultimate strength (UTS)  =  1090  –  1100  МPа and elongation (El)  =  9  –  11  %) were obtained on the samples melted using 50 and 100  % of scrap and fully correspond to the TU1-92-177-91 standard for ZhS6U-VI nickel-base superalloy. During solidification most of the large nonmetallic inclusions are concentrated under casting surface, which makes their machining difficult. Because of that the use of 100  % scrap without its preliminary processing is not recommended. Acceptable results were achieved when the 50  % of scrap was used.
Modeling of longitudinal welded pipe forming in open rolling pass unit of electric weld pipe mill
Authors: Samusev S. V. , Fadeev V. A.
Published: August 2019

The results of theoretical and physical modeling of pipes forming process are described. Experiments on strip billets forming were carried out on 10-50 pipe-welding mill for a pipe 50 mm in diameter with 1mm wall. Forming of pipe billets was carried out at unit of forming horizontal and vertical stands with estimation of geometrical parameters. Roll drafting is one-radial. Energy-power parameters of the process that affect quality of billet geometry were determined and measured. Analysis of geometric parameters of resulting billet has revealed defects of buckling type on the billet’s right edge between the second edger and the third molding stand. Similar defect was detected at the left edge of the billet at a distance of the third molding and edger stands. To eliminate defects in forming section, shaping stands were rebuilt so that forces on drive cells were identical. Energy-force parameters of the process were sequentially determined: pulling forces of drive stands, resistance to strip movement and vertical molding forces. Calculations for determining energy-force parameters were performed taking into account the main technical parameters using two methods. The first technique takes into account geometric parameters of molded billet and parameters of working zone with the zone of non-contact deformation. The second method is based on consideration of contact interaction between the billet and shaped instrument along the deformation section. Discrepancy between calculated and experimental data was 8  –  12  %. After adjusting technical parameters of the molding process and the passes re-adjusting, a defect-free pipe billet was formed. Comparative analysis of calculated and experimental edge trajectories along the height and width of the cages showed discrepancy in results in range of 6  –  9  %. While studying geometric parameters of the focus of deformation, contact and non-contact zones of working zone and area of sprinkling were taken into account. Parameters of the pipe billet shaping in monotonous and roll forming centers have been calculated. Analysis of the results has shown that change in billet’s geometry in shaping stand corresponds to the accepted statements of billet’s geometry changes in rolling pass.
Rhythm of Seasonal Development and Minor Life Cycle of Prunella vulgaris L. (Lamiaceae) in Khakasia
Authors: Cheryomushkina Vera A. , Barsukova Irina N.
Published: August 2019

Seasonal rhythms of plant development are related to plant adaptation to surrounding ecological coenotic and climatic conditions. To discover the patterns of seasonal development of plants in different phytocoenoses, it is essential to observe individual shoots and the entire course of shoot formation. So far the data on the rhythm of seasonal development of Prunella vulgaris L., a plant of the circumboreal region, have been available for the European part of Russia only. We examined the rhythm of seasonal development and minor life cycle of Prunella vulgaris L., the long-rhizome life form, in Siberia (Khakasia) in 2012-2013. Observations were carried out in a forest meadow every 5-7 days in the spring-summer-autumn period and 1-2 times a month in the winter. The development of dicyclic meso-rosetted and winter monocyclic semi-rosetted generative monocarpic shoots was observed using the method by I.G. Serebryakov. It was determined that the differentiation of vegetative and generative spheres in Prunella vulgaris L. shoots in Siberia occurs in early spring within the year of flowering. The species forms spring and autumn leaf generations and phenologically can be described as a summer-winter green plant with a long growing season. The period of shoot development from its initiation to dying the above-ground parts lasts 26 and 14 months in dicyclic meso-rosetted shoots and winter monocyclic semi-rosetted shoots, respectively. In both cases the development of the primordial shoot inside the bud lasts 8 months while the duration of shoot development after emerging from the bud varies. The latter phase lasts 18 months in dicyclic meso-rosetted shoots and only 6 months in winter monocyclic semi-rosetted shoots. Start times and duration of phenological phases (budding, flowering, fruiting and dissemination) are related to the weather conditions in the habitats including fluctuations in air temperature, precipitation patterns and types
Clinical case of thromboembolism of small branches of the pulmonary artery on the background of the single ventricle id type with the opening of the сava-caval collaterals
Authors: Skorodumova E. G. , Skorodumova E. A. , Kostenko V. A. , Shulenina Yu. B. , Gayvoronsky I. V. , Ilyina V. A. , Rysev A. V. , Savello V. E. , Antonova A. M. , Ragel A. S. , Egikyan L. D. , Shulenin K. S. , Soloviyov M. V. , Siverina A. V. , Fedorov A. N.
Published: August 2019

A three-compartment heart – a severe congenital defect, can develop after genetic mutation or teratogenic influence on fetus at early stages of embryogenesis. According to the literary data, the survival of such patients without surgery is 6–7 %. This publication demonstrates clinical case of the patient who has single ventricle of the heart and lived up to 56 without surgery.
Risk factors in relation to neurological morbidity in children: a study on perception of health professionals and parents
Authors: Adhikari K. M. , Bhandari Ashok
Published: August 2019

Background: Morbidity resulting from various neurological illnesses is a common reason for seeking regular help from health care facilities. There is increased requirement of awareness about neurological, psychiatric, physical, and developmental disorders in the community. Present study was undertaken to assess the community awareness and perception of risk factors for neurodevelopmental disabilities in children.Methods: The study was conducted with an objective of finding out level of awareness of a group of young health professionals and parents regarding their perception of likely factors that contribute for the occurrence of neurodevelopmental disabilities. This was a cross sectional study with discussion between the participants of various groups by using the method of Focused Group Discussions. Perceived risk factors as emerged during the discussions were free-listed and categorized under Biological/Familial/Genetic factors, Environmental factors, Socio-cultural factors and Economic/ Financial factors.Results: Lack of prenatal care, prematurity, unaffordability of care, low birth weight, malnutrition, infections and lack of maternal education emerged as important risk factors for neuromorbidity as perceived by the participants. Participants also enumerated insufficient knowledge on preventable risk factors, lack of trained manpower and neglect of female children as important contributors to occurrence of developmental disabilities.Conclusions: It is of paramount importance to identify the community perception of the risk factors for developmental disability which gives us an estimate of awareness among people and caregivers. Interventions tailored to the needs based on the level of community awareness help us in better channelling of preventive programmes and strategies.
Kramer’s scale or transcutaneous bilirubinometry: the ideal choice of a pediatrician? can we trust our eyes?
Authors: Varughese Pearl Mary
Published: August 2019

Background: Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia, though benign in 80% cases, can lead to kernicterus if not diagnosed and treated early. The golden method of estimation is measuring serum bilirubin levels. Both Kramer’s scale and Transcutaneous bilirubinometer are non -invasive methods. Its high time the pediatricians choose an ideal non-invasive and reliable method to detect hyperbilirubinemia. Objective of this study is to find out which has a better correlation with serum bilirubin - transcutaneous bilirubinometer reading (TcB) or Kramer's scale.Methods: The study was conducted in a tertiary newborn center from November 2014 to June 2016. The inclusion criteria included all babies above 34 weeks gestation and exclusion criteria included babies with established direct hyperbilirubinemia, neonatal septicemia, major congenital/ gastrointestinal malformations and those on phototherapy. The sample size was 450 and the correlation was analyzed using ROC curves and plots of agreement was done using Bland Altman charts.Results: The incidence of significant Hyperbilirubinemia is 12%. Transcutaneous bilirubin level had a better correlation and prediction level compared to Kramer at both 24 hours and 48 hours. Bland Altman analysis showed that transcutaneous values were closer to the total serum bilirubin level compared to Kramer values.Conclusion: Transcutaneous bilirubinometry is a better and more ideal choice to replace serum bilirubin levels. In settings where TcB is not feasible, it’s always best to screen for jaundice using Kramer’s scale rather than estimating serum bilirubin values in all babies. In babies where TcB levels are above the cut off range, it’s better to do serum bilirubin levels.
Cystatin C- an early marker indicative of renal dysfunction in critically ill children: a prospective cohort study
Authors: Siddiqua Hawwa M.S. , John Mathew , Manoj V. C. , Santhakumar Rati
Published: August 2019

Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a sudden onset of kidney failure or kidney damage that happens within a few hours or a few days and can also affect other organs such as brain, heart and the lungs. Hence early diagnosis and intervention is needed to improve the outcome of the children. In these studies this objective was to determine if cystatin C is an early marker indicative of renal dysfunction in critically ill children and to determine if Cystatin C can detect Acute kidney injury earlier than serum creatinine.Methods: This prospective cohort study was undertaken in PICU at Jubilee Mission Medical College from December 2016- May 2018. Blood samples were collected from 34 critically ill children for serum creatinine estimation at 0,24 and 48 hours of admission and serum and urine were collected for cystatin C estimation at admission. Children were categorized into AKI and NON-AKI based on pRIFLE criteria. Comparison of cystatin C values with serum creatinine was performed and Statistical analysis was done using IBM SPSS version 20.Results: A total of 34 critically ill children were enrolled in this study, out of which 12 children progressed to AKI during the course of illness according to modified Pediatric Risk, Injury, Failure, Loss, End Stage Renal Disease (pRIFLE) criteria. We found a strong positive correlation between cystatin C at 0 hours and serum creatinine at 48 hours among AKI groups.Conclusions: Serum and Urine cystatin C are early markers to diagnose AKI in critically ill children. Serum cystatin C is more sensitive than urine cystatin C for the diagnosis of AKI.
Cardiovascular malformations in infants of diabetic mothers: a retrospective study
Authors: Shankar Poornima , Marol Jayalalitha S. , Lysander Shilpa Deborah , Manohar Abhishek
Published: August 2019

Background: Despite improvements in medical care provided during pregnancy to diabetic mothers, the cardiac complications in their infants are still more frequent than in infants of general population.Methods: A retrospective case-control study was performed between the years 2017-2018 on two groups of newborns, recording details of outcome of live born babies born to diabetic and non-diabetic mothers.Results: Data were extracted from medical records, and the descriptive and analytical statistics of this information was duly applied. in a total of 50 studied infants, 40 cases (80%) of cardiovascular anomalies have been diagnosed. Most of the cardiac anomaly was hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The incidence of cardiovascular anomalies in infants of diabetic mothers is significantly higher than the infants of non-diabetic mothers (P=0.002). The type of maternal diabetes (diabetes mellitus, overt or gestational diabetes) did not bring about any significant difference in the incidence of cardiac malformations in infants (P=0.406).Conclusions: The incidence of cardiovascular anomalies in infants of diabetic mothers is significantly higher than the infants of non-diabetic mothers. Many of the infants were asymptomatic and therefore clinical examination and follow up in infants of diabetic mothers is important.
Effectiveness and safety of pidotimod in recurrent respiratory infections in children: a pilot study
Authors: Acharya T. C. , Nivangune Kundan , Muchhala Snehal , Jain Rishi
Published: August 2019

Background: Recurrent respiratory infections (RRIs) are common in children especially in age 1 to 6 years. Pidotimod, an immunostimulant has been found to lower the recurrences of RRIs and improve the quality of life. The Objective of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of pidotimod in children with recurrent respiratory infections (RRIs).Methods: In this single-centre, prospective, observational study, children aged 2 to 15 years diagnosed with RRIs were included. RRIs were defined as occurrence of 3 or more episodes of acute respiratory infections (ARIs) or more than 15 days of respiratory symptoms in the past 3 months. These children were treated with pidotimod in addition to standard care treatment. Treatment duration was two months and the follow-up continued for three months. Number of RRIs and severity of RRIs, antibiotic courses and rate of hospitalization before and after treatment were compared.Results: In total 25 children included in the study, mean age was 7.34±3.63 years. Among them, 68% were males. After treatment with pidotimod, there was significant reduction in mean number of ARI episodes (3.84±0.85 at baseline to 0.48±0.51 at follow-up, p<0.0001). Also, there was significant reduction in the duration of acute infectious episodes (p<0.0001), need of antibiotic courses (p<0.0001) and rates of hospitalization (p<0.0001). No safety concerns were identified and pidotimod was well tolerated.Conclusions: Addition of pidotimod to the standard treatment in children with RRIs significantly reduces the recurrence, duration of repeat infectious episodes, need of antibiotic treatments and future rates of hospitalizations. These findings support previous data.
Study on spectrum of heart diseases in children aged 1 month to 12 years in a rural medical college in Southern India
Authors: R. Selvakumar , C. Vasanthamalar , N. Sreeman
Published: August 2019

Background: To study the pattern of heart diseases in children aged 1 month to 12 years of age and to assess the pattern, age and gender specific distribution of congenital heart diseases and acquired heart diseases in various age groups like infants, toddler, preschool and school children to prevent morbidity and mortality. To study the various complications associated with various types of heart diseases.Methods: This is a descriptive study of one-year duration in which children with suspicion of heart disease were subjected to ECG, Chest X ray and Echocardiogram. Patients with confirmed heart disease were included and the infants less than 1 month, CCF due to anaemia or without any structural abnormality were excluded.Results: The prevalence of heart disease was 0.9% in author study. VSD is the commonest acyanotic lesion in all age group observed and TOF is the commonest cyanotic lesion. Most of the cyanotic lesions were observed in less than one year. Most of the acyanotic lesions fall within 5 to 12 years. RHD and rheumatic carditis forms the major acquired lesion followed by dilated cardiomyopathy. VSD, ASD, PDA, TOF, Pulmonary stenosis, Rheumatic carditis and MR were predominant in females whereas Aortic stenosis (Bicuspid aortic valve), AV canal defect, TGA, TAPVC were predominant in males. Among the nutritional status 64.2% of patients from acyanotic group and 100% patients from cyanotic group were malnourished. 35% of acyanotic and 100% of cyanotic group were stunted.Conclusions: Acyanotic lesion is the commonest, among which VSD is most common. TOF is the common cyanotic CHD. More than half of the patients were asymptomatic in acyanotic group and presented in the 5- 12 years age group and diagnosed on the basis of clinical suspicion on routine health visits or for some other reason.
Association between breastfeeding practices and anemia in children aged 6-60 months
Authors: Anjali T. R. , Abbas Shanavas , Elizabeth K. E. , Leelakumari M.
Published: August 2019

Background: Anemia is one of the most common nutritional problems in India. Anemia is significantly influenced by dietary factors. Objective was to study the association between breast feeding practices and occurrence of moderate to severe anemia in children aged 6-60 months in relation to those without anemia, admitted to SAT Hospital.Methods: Case control study done at SAT Hospital. 85 moderates to severe anemic children and 85 non anemic children were enrolled in the study. Detailed history was taken including dietary history stressing infant and young child feeding practices. Physical examination was done including anthropometric measurements. Relevant haematological investigations were done.Results: Highest percentage of cases 76.4 % were from the age group 6 months to 24 months. Out of 85 cases 58.8% were with exclusive breastfeeding<6 months and among controls is 37.6%. Association of lack of exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months and anemia is statistically significant. Lack of timely introduction of complementary feeding, poor score for infant and young child feeding practices, male gender, lack of iron rich foods, small for gestational age babies were also significantly associated.Conclusions: Maximum number of anemic children were belonging to 6 months to 24 months, Lack of exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months was a major risk factor for developing anemia in children. Lack of timely introduction of complimentary feeding at 6 months and poor infant and young child feeding practices were significant risk factors for developing nutritional anemia.
Clinico-epidemiological study of dengue fever in Ajmer region
Authors: Rawat Dharmendra , Singh Kanwar , Garg Pukhraj
Published: August 2019

Background: Dengue infection is a major challenge to public health, especially in South-East Asia. It present with a diverse clinical spectrum. Estimates suggest that annually over 50 million cases of dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) occur in Asian countries with a case fatality rate of less than 5%. Of those with DHF, at least 90% are children younger than 15 years old. In humans, dengue infection causes a spectrum of illness ranging from relatively mild, non-specific viral syndrome known as Dengue fever (DF) to severe hemorrhagic disease and death. Definitive early Dengue diagnosis requires laboratory tests and those suitable for use at this stage of illness are either costly, such as RT-PCR for Dengue; not sufficiently rapid, such as virus isolation. Currently test available are NS1 antigen detection and ELISA for dengue, IgM and IgG antibodies. Objective of this study is to study clinico-epidemiological and haematological features of Dengue infection.Methods: Prospective observational study involving initial 100 registered cases who were serologically confirmed dengue infection for a period of one year.Results: DF, DHF and DSS were found in 41%, 53% and 6% patients respectively. Most common presenting complaint and bleeding manifestation were fever and petechiae. Uncommonly altered sensorium and icterus were found in severe dengue infection. 6% patients had coagulopathy, 37 patients had hepatic involvement and 2 patients had deranged renal function who had DSS. Fever was present in (100%) cases of DF, DHF and DSS. 26% patients had their platelet count <50000/mm3.Conclusions: Dengue is a common disease in the India with wide spectrum of clinical presentations, affecting 5-15 years age group children commonly. It is one of the dreaded fevers but early diagnosis and management according to recent WHO guidelines can decrease case fatality rate significantly.
Spectrum of congenital malformations at birth among neonates in a private medical college in South Rajasthan
Authors: Bhatia Ravi , Bhatia Gunjan
Published: August 2019

Background: Congenital anomalies contribute to about 12% neonatal deaths annually .Neonates with multiple congenital malformations pose a very difficult management problem for the treating physician. This study was done to know the incidence, pattern of congenital anomalies and to study various maternal risk factors leading to congenital anomalies which may help us in devising strategies for better patient counseling and management.Methods: Prospective cross sectional study carried out from 1st Jan 2014 to 31st December 2018 in a private medical college in India. Neonates (both live and still born) delivered in our hospital during this period formed the part of study group. All congenital anomalies present were documented and classified according to system involoved.Results: Total number of neonates with congenital anomalies were 90, out of which 73 were live births and 17 were still births. The overall incidence of congenital anomalies was 2.375%. The commonest system affected was musculoskeletal system (27.7%) followed by CNS (24.4%). Among the maternal risk factors studied, increased maternal age, consanguineous marriage, maternal gestational diabetes mellitus were all significant risk factors associated with congenital anomalies.Conclusion: Congenital anomalies are a global health problem. In our study we have documented that multiparity, consanguinity, diabetes mellitus, Pregnancy induced Hypertension (PIH), maternal anemia, maternal malnutrition to be major contributing factors for congenital anomalies. Present study highlighted that musculoskeletal and CNS systems to be the most commonly affected by congenital malformations. Antenatal scans remain an important diagnostic tool in screening for congenital anomalies. A good clinical examination at birth could help in early detection of life threatening congenital malformation thereby improving chances of his or her survival.