bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Light Cigarette Smoking Increases Risk of All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality: Findings from the NHIS Cohort Study
Authors: Qin Wen , Magnussen Costan G. , Li Shengxu , Steffen Lyn M , Xi Bo , Zhao Min
Published: July 2020

Very few studies have examined the association between light cigarette smoking (i.e., ≤5 cigarettes per day) and mortality. The aim of this study was to examine the association of light cigarette smoking with all-cause and cause-specific mortality among adults in the United States. Data were from 13 waves of the National Health Interview Survey (1997 to 2009) that were linked to the National Death Index records through December 31, 2011. A total of 329,035 participants aged ≥18 years in the United States were included. Deaths were from all cause, cancer, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and respiratory disease and were confirmed by death certification. During a median follow-up of 8.2 years, 34,862 participants died, of which 8415 were from cancer, 9031 from CVD, and 2040 from respiratory disease. Compared with never-smokers, participants who smoked 1–2 (hazard ratios (HR) = 1.94, 95%CI = 1.73–2.16) and 3–5 cigarettes (HR = 1.99, 1.83–2.17) per day were at higher risk of all-cause mortality after adjustment for demographic variables, lifestyle factors and physician-diagnosis of chronic disease. The associations were stronger for respiratory disease-specific mortality, followed by cancer-specific mortality and CVD-specific mortality. For example, the HRs (95% CIs) of smoking 1–2 cigarettes per day were 9.75 (6.15–15.46), 2.28 (1.84–2.84) and 1.93 (1.58–2.36), respectively, for these three cause-specific mortalities. This study indicates that light cigarette smoking increases risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality in US adults.
Rhizosphere Soil Microbial Properties on Tetraena mongolica in the Arid and Semi-Arid Regions, China
Authors: Ruan Mengying , Zhang Yuxiu , Chai Tuanyao
Published: July 2020

Tetraena mongolica is a rare and endangered species unique to China. The total number and density of Tetraena mongolica shrubs in desertification areas have experienced a sharp decrease with increases in coal mining activities. However, available information on the T. mongolica rhizosphere soil quality and microbial properties is scarce. Here, we investigated the effect of coal mining on the soil bacterial community and its response to the soil environment in the T. mongolica region. The results showed that the closer to the coal mining area, the lower the vegetation coverage and species diversity. The electrical conductivity (EC) in the contaminated area increased, while the total nitrogen (TN), available phosphorus (AP), available potassium (AK), and soil organic carbon (SOC) decreased. The activity of NAG, sucrose, β-glucosidase, and alkaline phosphatase further decreased. In addition, the mining area could alter the soil’s bacterial abundance and diversity. The organic pollutant degradation bacteria such as Sphingomonas, Gemmatimonas, Nocardioides, and Gaiella were enriched in the soil, and the carbon-nitrogen cycle was changed. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) and Pearson’s correlation coefficients showed that the change in the bacterial community structure was mainly caused by environmental factors such as water content (SWC) and EC. Taken together, these results suggested that open pit mining led to the salinization of the soil, reduction the soil nutrient content and enzyme activity, shifting the rhizosphere soil microbial community structure, and altering the carbon-nitrogen cycle, and the soil quality declined and the growth of T. mongolica was affected in the end. Therefore, the development of green coal mining technology is of great significance to protect the growth of T. mongolica.
Modifications of Hydroxyapatite by Gallium and Silver Ions—Physicochemical Characterization, Cytotoxicity and Antibacterial Evaluation
Authors: Pajor Kamil , Pajchel Łukasz , Zgadzaj Anna , Piotrowska Urszula , Kolmas Joanna
Published: July 2020

Hydroxyapatite (HA) powders enriched with silver or gallium ions or both were synthesized by two different routes: standard precipitation and the solid-state method. The powders were characterized by using several methods: inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), powder X-ray diffractometry (PXRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (ssNMR). The effects of enrichment of the HAs in Ag+ or Ga3+ or both on in vitro cytotoxicity and microbiological activity were discussed. PXRD experiments showed that the samples obtained by the wet method consisted of single-phase nanocrystalline HA, while the samples prepared via the solid-state method are microcrystalline with a small amount of calcium oxide. The introduction of higher amounts of silver ions was found to be more effective than enriching HA with small amounts of Ag+. Gallium and silver ions were found not to affect the lattice parameters. Ga3+ affected the crystallinity of the samples as well as the content of structural hydroxyl groups. Among samples synthesized by the wet method, only one (5Ag-HAw) was cytotoxic, whereas all Ga-containing samples obtained by the dry method showed cytotoxicity. In the preliminary antimicrobial test all the materials containing “foreign” ions showed high antibacterial activity.
The Role of IgG4 in the Fine Tuning of Tolerance in IgE-Mediated Allergy and Cancer
Authors: Bianchini Rodolfo , Karagiannis Sophia N. , Jordakieva Galateja , Jensen-Jarolim Erika
Published: July 2020

Among the four immunoglobulin G (IgG) subclasses, IgG4 is the least represented in serum of a healthy human and it is considered an “odd” antibody. The IgG4 antibody has unique structural features that affect its biological function. These include the ability to undergo antigen-binding fragment (Fab)-arm exchange, to create fragment crystallizable (Fc) – Fc binding with other IgG4 and other IgG subclass antibodies, have a unique affinity profile for Fc gamma receptors (FcγRs) and no binding to complement component C1q. Altogether, these characteristics support anti-inflammatory roles of IgG4 leading to immune tolerance. Under conditions of chronic antigenic stimulation and Th2-type inflammation, both tissue and serum IgG4 levels are increased. This review seeks to highlight how in allergen immunotherapy IgG4 can confer a protective role as a “blocking” antibody and safeguard from subsequent allergen exposure, while IgG4 can confer immunomodulatory functions to support malignancy. While Th2 conditions drive polarization of macrophages to the M2a subtype, chronic antigen stimulation drives B cell class switching to IgG4 to further support phenotypical macrophage changes towards an M2b-like state. M2b-like macrophages can secrete chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 1 (CCL1) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) to support regulatory cell recruitment and to further shape a tolerogenic microenvironment. Thereby, IgG4 have a Janus-faced role, favorable in allergy but detrimental in cancer.
Large Eddy Simulation of Microbubble Drag Reduction in Fully Developed Turbulent Boundary Layers
Authors: Wang Tongsheng , Sun Tiezhi , Wang Cong , Xu Chang , Wei Yingjie
Published: July 2020

Microbubble drag reduction has good application prospects. It operates by injecting a large number of bubbles with tiny diameters into a turbulent boundary layer. However, its mechanism is not yet fully understood. In this paper, the mechanisms of microbubble drag reduction in a fully developed turbulent boundary layer over a flat-plate is investigated using a two-way coupled Euler-Lagrange approach based on large eddy simulation. The results show good agreement with theoretical values in the velocity distribution and the distribution of fluctuation intensities. As the results show, the presence of bubbles reduces the frequency of bursts associated with the sweep events from 637.8 Hz to 611.2 Hz, indicating that the sweep events, namely the impacting of high-speed fluids on the wall surface, are suppressed and the streamwise velocity near the wall is decreased, hence reducing the velocity gradient at the wall and consequently lessening the skin friction. The suppression on burst frequency also, with the fluid fluctuation reduced in degree, decreases the intensity of vortices near the wall, leading to reduced production of turbulent kinetic energy.
Automatic Labeled Dialogue Generation for Nursing Record Systems
Authors: Mairittha Tittaya , Mairittha Nattaya , Inoue Sozo
Published: July 2020

The integration of digital voice assistants in nursing residences is becoming increasingly important to facilitate nursing productivity with documentation. A key idea behind this system is training natural language understanding (NLU) modules that enable the machine to classify the purpose of the user utterance (intent) and extract pieces of valuable information present in the utterance (entity). One of the main obstacles when creating robust NLU is the lack of sufficient labeled data, which generally relies on human labeling. This process is cost-intensive and time-consuming, particularly in the high-level nursing care domain, which requires abstract knowledge. In this paper, we propose an automatic dialogue labeling framework of NLU tasks, specifically for nursing record systems. First, we apply data augmentation techniques to create a collection of variant sample utterances. The individual evaluation result strongly shows a stratification rate, with regard to both fluency and accuracy in utterances. We also investigate the possibility of applying deep generative models for our augmented dataset. The preliminary character-based model based on long short-term memory (LSTM) obtains an accuracy of 90% and generates various reasonable texts with BLEU scores of 0.76. Secondly, we introduce an idea for intent and entity labeling by using feature embeddings and semantic similarity-based clustering. We also empirically evaluate different embedding methods for learning good representations that are most suitable to use with our data and clustering tasks. Experimental results show that fastText embeddings produce strong performances both for intent labeling and on entity labeling, which achieves an accuracy level of 0.79 and 0.78 f1-scores and 0.67 and 0.61 silhouette scores, respectively.
A Machine Learning Integrated Portfolio Rebalance Framework with Risk-Aversion Adjustment
Authors: Jiang Zhenlong , Ji Ran , Chang Kuo-Chu
Published: July 2020

We propose a portfolio rebalance framework that integrates machine learning models into the mean-risk portfolios in multi-period settings with risk-aversion adjustment. In each period, the risk-aversion coefficient is adjusted automatically according to market trend movements predicted by machine learning models. We employ Gini’s Mean Difference (GMD) to specify the risk of a portfolio and use a set of technical indicators generated from a market index (e.g., S&P 500 index) to feed the machine learning models to predict market movements. Using a rolling-horizon approach, we conduct a series of computational tests with real financial data to evaluate the performance of the machine learning integrated portfolio rebalance framework. The empirical results show that the XGBoost model provides the best prediction of market movement, while the proposed portfolio rebalance strategy generates portfolios with superior out-of-sample performances in terms of average returns, time-series cumulative returns, and annualized returns compared to the benchmarks.
Heat-Treated Micronized Polyethylene Powder for Efficient Oil/Water Separating Filters
Authors: Mehanna Yasmin A. , Crick Colin R.
Published: July 2020

The targeted separation of oil/water mixtures is a rapidly growing field of research, mainly due to contaminated water becoming an increasingly important environmental issue. Superhydrophobic materials are highly suited to this application; however, growing efforts are being devoted to developing applicable technologies within a range of research communities. The optimal technical solution is one that combines a high separation efficiency with a straightforward fabrication procedure at a low cost. In this report, micronized polyethylene powder has been utilized as a low-cost hydrophobic material to manufacture easy-to-fabricate filters. The effect of heating and solvent addition on the water repellence behaviour has been investigated, according to which the optimum fabrication conditions were determined. The filters show high water repellence (WCA = 154°) and efficient oil/water separation (~99%). The filters are designed to provide a readily achievable approach for the separation of oils (hydrophobic solvents) from water in a range of potential applications.
Microstructure Evolution in Cu-Ni-Co-Si-Cr Alloy During Hot Compression by Ce Addition
Authors: Ban Yijie , Zhang Yi , Tian Baohong , Jia Yanlin , Song Kexing , Li Xu , Zhou Meng , Liu Yong , Volinsky Alex A.
Published: July 2020

Cu-Ni-Si alloys are widely used in lead frames and vacuum devices due to their high electrical conductivity and strength. In this paper, a Cu-Ni-Co-Si-Cr-(Ce) alloy was prepared by vacuum induction melting. Hot compression tests of the Cu-Ni-Co-Si-Cr and Cu-Ni-Co-Si-Cr-Ce alloys were carried out using a Gleeble-1500 simulator at 500–900 °C deformation temperatures and 0.001–10 s−1 strain rates. The texture change was analyzed by electron backscatter diffraction. The <110> fiber component dominated the texture after compression, and the texture intensity was reduced during recrystallization. Moreover, the average misorientation angle φ for Cu-Ni-Co-Si-Cr-Ce (11°) was lower than that of Cu-Ni-Co-Si-Cr (16°) under the same conditions. Processing maps were developed to determine the optimal processing window. The microstructure and precipitates of the Cu-Ni-Co-Si-Cr and Cu-Ni-Co-Si-Cr-Ce alloys were also analyzed. The average grain size of the Cu-Ni-Co-Si-Cr-Ce alloy (48 μm) was finer than that of the Cu-Ni-Co-Si-Cr alloy (80 μm). The average size of precipitates in the Cu-Ni-Co-Si-Cr alloy was 73 nm, while that of the Cu-Ni-Co-Si-Cr-Ce alloy was 27 nm. The addition of Ce delayed the occurrence of dynamic recrystallization.
Effect of the Formation of Ultrathin Selective Layers on the Structure and Performance of Thin-Film Composite Chitosan/PAN Membranes for Pervaporation Dehydration
Authors: Dmitrenko Mariia , Zolotarev Andrey , Plisko Tatiana , Burts Katsiaryna , Liamin Vladislav , Bildyukevich Alexandr , Ermakov Sergey , Penkova Anastasia
Published: July 2020

The aim of the study is to improve the performance of thin-film composite (TFC) membranes with a thin selective layer based on chitosan (CS) via different approaches by: (1) varying the concentration of the CS solution; (2) changing the porosity of substrates from polyacrylonitrile (PAN); (3) deposition of the additional ultrathin layers on the surface of the selective CS layer using interfacial polymerization and layer-by-layer assembly. The developed membranes were characterized by different methods of analyses (SEM and AFM, IR spectroscopy, measuring of water contact angles and porosity). The transport characteristics of the developed TFC membranes were studied in pervaporation separation of isopropanol/water mixtures. It was found that the application of the most porous PAN-4 substrate with combination of formation of an additional polyamide selective layer by interfacial polymerization on the surface of a dense selective CS layer with the subsequent layer-by-layer deposition of five bilayers of poly (sodium 4-styrenesulfonate)/CS polyelectrolyte pair led to the significant improvement of permeance and high selectivity for the entire concentration feed range. Thus, for TFC membrane on the PAN-4 substrate the optimal transport characteristics in pervaporation dehydration of isopropanol (12–90 wt.% water) were achieved: 0.22–1.30 kg/(m2h), 99.9 wt.% water in the permeate.
Preparing Sc-Bearing Master Alloy Using Aluminum–Magnesium Thermoreduction Method
Authors: Xiao Junhui , Ding Wei , Peng Yang , Chen Tao , Zou Kai
Published: July 2020

In this study, preparation of Al–Mg–Sc master alloy tests were carried out by Al–Mg thermoreduction method. Stirring by blowing argon and pressing with molten salt jar were adopted to reduce scandium segregation and upgrading scandium recovery of scandium-bearing master alloy. The results show that the Al–Mg–Sc master alloy ingot contained 2.90% Sc, 5.73% Mg, 0.0058% Cu, 0.29%, 0.029% Ti, 0.13% Fe, 0.075% Zn, 0.025% Na, and 96.72% recovered scandium obtained under the comprehensive conditions used: m(Al): m(Mg): m(ScCl3) = 10:1:1.5, stirring speed of eight rpm, reduction temperature of 1223 K, reduction time of 40 min. The experimental results are in agreement with the thermodynamic predictions, and Al–Mg–Sc master alloy indicator was ideal.
Phenotypic Response of Wolbachia pipientis in a Cell-Free Medium
Authors: Krafsur Alyssa M. , Ghosh Arnab , Brelsfoard Corey L.
Published: July 2020

Wolbachia, an obligate intracellular bacterium estimated to infect millions of arthropod species worldwide, is currently being utilized in novel control strategies to limit the transmission of Dengue and Zika viruses. A limitation for Wolbachia-based control approaches is the difficulty of transferring Wolbachia to novel hosts and the lack of tools for the genetic transformation of Wolbachia due to the inability to culture Wolbachia outside the insect host cell in an axenic media. Here, we applied extracellular Wolbachia to phenotypic microarrays to measure the metabolic response of Wolbachia in media formulations with different pH levels and supplementation with Casamino acids. Results suggested a pH of 6.5–6.8 and showed that the supplementation of 1 mg/mL casamino acids increased the survival and longevity of Wolbachia in an axenic medium. In addition, phenotypic microarrays are a useful tool to measure the phenotypic response of Wolbachia under different media conditions, as well as determine specific components that may be required for an axenic medium. This study is an initial step toward the development of a potential Wolbachia axenic culture system.
Serum and Muscle 1H NMR-Based Metabolomics Profiles Reveal Metabolic Changes Influenced by a Maternal Leucine-Rich Diet in Tumor-Bearing Adult Offspring Rats
Authors: Miyaguti Natália Angelo da Silva , Stanisic Danijela , Oliveira Sarah Christine Pereira de , dos Santos Gabriela Sales , Manhe Beatriz Schincariol , Tasic Ljubica , Gomes-Marcondes Maria Cristina Cintra
Published: July 2020

A maternal leucine-rich diet showed a positive effect on the gastrocnemius muscle of adult tumor-bearing offspring. To improve the understanding of the metabolic alterations of cancer cachexia and correlate this to preventive treatment, we evaluated the 1H NMR metabolic profiles from serum and gastrocnemius muscle samples of adult Wistar rats. These profiles were initially analyzed, and chemometrics tools were applied to investigate the following groups: C, control group; W, tumor-bearing group; L, the group without tumors and with a maternal leucine-rich diet; WL, the tumor-bearing group with a maternal leucine-rich diet. Tumor growth that led to a high protein breakdown in the W group was correlated to serum metabolites such as tyrosine, phenylalanine, histidine, glutamine, and tryptophan amino acids and uracil. Also, decreased muscle lactate, inversely to serum content, was found in the W group. Conversely, in the WL group, increased lactate in muscle and serum profiles was found, which could be correlated to the maternal diet effect. The muscle lipidomics and NAD+, NADP+, lysine, 4-aminohippurate, and glutamine metabolites pointed to modified energy metabolism and lower muscle mass loss in the WL group. In conclusion, this exploratory metabolomics analyses provided novel insights related to the Walker-256 tumor-bearing offspring metabolism modified by a maternal leucine-rich diet and the next steps in its investigation.
Resilience and CVD-protective Health Behaviors in Older Women: Examining Racial and Ethnic Differences in a Cross-Sectional Analysis of the Women’s Health Initiative
Authors: Springfield Sparkle , Qin FeiFei , Hedlin Haley , Eaton Charles B. , Rosal Milagros C. , Taylor Herman , Staudinger Ursula M. , Stefanick Marcia L.
Published: July 2020

Little is known about the relationship between self-reported psychological resilience (resilience) and health behaviors shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). This study examines the associations between resilience and CVD-related risk factors, such as diet, smoking, physical activity, sleep, and alcohol consumption among older American women from diverse backgrounds. Methods: A cross-sectional secondary analysis was conducted on 77,395 women (mean age 77 years, Black (N = 4475, 5.8%), non-Hispanic white (N = 69,448, 89.7%), Latina (N = 1891, 2.4%), and Asian or Pacific Islander (N = 1581, 2.0%)) enrolled in the Women’s Health Initiative Extension Study II. Resilience was measured using an abbreviated version of the brief resilience scale. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to evaluate the association between resilience and health behaviors associated with risk for CVD, while adjusting for stressful life events and sociodemographic information. To test whether these associations varied among racial/ethnic groups, an interaction term was added to the fully adjusted models between resilience and race/ethnicity. Results: High levels of resilience were associated with better diet quality (top 2 quintiles of the Healthy Eating Index 2015) (OR = 1.22 (95% Confidence Interval (1.15–1.30)), adhering to recommended physical activity (≥ 150 min per week) (1.56 (1.47, 1.66)), sleeping the recommended hours per night (7–9) (1.36 (1.28–1.44)), and moderate alcohol intake (consuming alcoholic drink(s) 1–7 days per week) (1.28 (1.20–1.37)). The observed association between resilience and sleep is modified by race/ethnicity (p = 0.03). Conclusion: Irrespective of race/ethnicity, high resilience was associated with CVD-protective health behaviors. This warrants further investigation into whether interventions aimed at improving resilience could increase the effectiveness of lifestyle interventions.
Lower Energy Intake among Advanced vs. Early Parkinson’s Disease Patients and Healthy Controls in a Clinical Lunch Setting: A Cross-Sectional Study
Authors: Fagerberg Petter , Klingelhoefer Lisa , Bottai Matteo , Langlet Billy , Kyritsis Konstantinos , Rotter Eva , Reichmann Heinz , Falkenburger Björn , Delopoulos Anastasios , Ioakimidis Ioannis
Published: July 2020

Unintentional weight loss has been observed among Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients. Changes in energy intake (EI) and eating behavior, potentially caused by fine motor dysfunction and eating-related symptoms, might contribute to this. The primary aim of this study was to investigate differences in objectively measured EI between groups of healthy controls (HC), early (ESPD) and advanced stage PD patients (ASPD) during a standardized lunch in a clinical setting. The secondary aim was to identify clinical features and eating behavior abnormalities that explain EI differences. All participants (n = 23 HC, n = 20 ESPD, and n = 21 ASPD) went through clinical evaluations and were eating a standardized meal (200 g sausages, 400 g potato salad, 200 g apple purée and 500 mL water) in front of two video cameras. Participants ate freely, and the food was weighed pre- and post-meal to calculate EI (kcal). Multiple linear regression was used to explain group differences in EI. ASPD had a significantly lower EI vs. HC (−162 kcal, p < 0.05) and vs. ESPD (−203 kcal, p < 0.01) when controlling for sex. The number of spoonfuls, eating problems, dysphagia and upper extremity tremor could explain most (86%) of the lower EI vs. HC, while the first three could explain ~50% vs. ESPD. Food component intake analysis revealed significantly lower potato salad and sausage intakes among ASPD vs. both HC and ESPD, while water intake was lower vs. HC. EI is an important clinical target for PD patients with an increased risk of weight loss. Our results suggest that interventions targeting upper extremity tremor, spoonfuls, dysphagia and eating problems might be clinically useful in the prevention of unintentional weight loss in PD. Since EI was lower in ASPD, EI might be a useful marker of disease progression in PD.
Method for Assessment of Water Supply Diversification
Authors: Boryczko Krzysztof , Rak Janusz
Published: July 2020

The approaching prospect of obligatory implementation and pursuit of Water Safety Plans forces water companies to reflect on supplies in crisis situations that, for example, relate to the closure of a basic intake, or scarcity of water due to climates changes (droughts). Where supplies are diversified, there can be greater certainty as to the continuity of good quality supply, even in an emergency. As one of each country’s systems of critical infrastructure, the collective water supply system (CWSS) should be protected, with the diversification of supply treated as a basic tool to raise levels of security among consumers. This article, therefore, presents a method from the authors’ by which diversification may be assessed, including by reference to basic and key elements of the CWSS capable of affecting the continuity of water supply. Sample calculations using the proposed method are also presented here for selected Polish cities. In the event, as only one Polish CWSS can be assigned to the category representing excellent diversification, the suggestion is clearly that Poland’s systems must still progress with the diversification of water supply, in order to further reduce the risk of water shortages.
Introduction to Sustainability Journal Special Edition “Global Warming and Sustainability Issues”
Authors: McConnell Will
Published: July 2020

Sustainability, in its multiple facets, is nothing if not interdisciplinary [...]
A Vaccine Displaying a Trimeric Influenza-A HA Stem Protein on Capsid-Like Particles Elicits Potent and Long-Lasting Protection in Mice
Authors: Thrane Susan , Aves Kara-Lee , Uddbäck Ida E. M , Janitzek Christoph M. , Han Julianna , Yang Yuhe R. , Ward Andrew B. , Theander Thor G. , Nielsen Morten A. , Salanti Ali , Thomsen Allan R. , Christensen Jan P. , Sander Adam F.
Published: July 2020

Due to constant antigenic drift and shift, current influenza-A vaccines need to be redesigned and administered annually. A universal flu vaccine (UFV) that provides long-lasting protection against both seasonal and emerging pandemic influenza strains is thus urgently needed. The hemagglutinin (HA) stem antigen is a promising target for such a vaccine as it contains neutralizing epitopes, known to induce cross-protective IgG responses against a wide variety of influenza subtypes. In this study, we describe the development of a UFV candidate consisting of a HAstem trimer displayed on the surface of rigid capsid-like particles (CLP). Compared to soluble unconjugated HAstem trimer, the CLP-HAstem particles induced a more potent, long-lasting immune response and were able to protect mice against both homologous and heterologous H1N1 influenza challenge, even after a single dose.
Etiology, clinical presentation, laboratory diagnostics, pathogenesis of impetigo and treatment methods
Authors: Laknitskaya Anastasiya
Published: July 2020

Currently, one of the priority medical and social problems is the optimization of treatment methods for pyoderma associated with Streptococcus pyogenes — group A streptococcus (GAS). To date, the proportion of pyoderma, the etiological factor of which is Streptococcus pyogenes, is about 6 % of all skin diseases and is in the range from 17.9 to 43.9 % of all dermatoses. Role of the bacterial factor in the development of streptococcal pyoderma is obvious. Traditional treatment complex includes antibacterial drugs selected individually, taking into account the antibiotic sensitivity of pathognomonic bacteria, and it is not always effective. Currently implemented immunocorrection methods often do not take into account specific immunological features of the disease, the individual, and the fact that the skin performs the function of not only a mechanical barrier, but it is also an immunocompetent organ. Such an approach makes it necessary to conduct additional studies clarifying the role of factors of innate and adaptive immunity, intercellular mediators and antioxidant defense system, that allow to optimize the treatment of this pathology.
Evaluación del efecto de la albahaca (ocimum basilicum) y el orégano (origanum vulgare) en las propiedades físicas, químicas y sensoriales del queso blanco llanero
Authors: Escobar Mariangel , Rodríguez Ángel
Published: July 2020

El estudio tuvo como propósito evaluar el efecto de la albahaca y el orégano sobre las propiedades físicas, químicas y sensoriales de un queso blanco llanero. La metodología empleada fue integrativo de tipo evaluativa. Los datos de la determinación de las propiedades físicas y químicas entre los tres tratamientos de queso adicionado con especias sobre el pH, humedad, densidad a exención de la acidez que presento diferencias estadísticas significativas. Para el tratamiento de los datos se utiliza la Prueba de Basker con cada grupo de trabajo experimental (formulación con orégano, formulación con albahaca, formulación con albahaca y orégano/mezcla), para ser evaluado el nivel de preferencia de los quesos adicionados con especias y determinar la muestra más preferida de las tres propuestas. De las estimaciones obtenidas bajó la Prueba de Basker la muestra N°2 es la más preferida y la muestra N°3 la menos preferida. Así mismo, a través de la prueba de Friedman, se concluye que hay pruebas estadísticas suficientes para rechazar la hipótesis nula y aseverar que existen diferencias significativas entre las preferencias de las muestras.
Penanganan Kejahatan Preman Pada Wilayah Hukum Polisi Resort Indragiri Hilir
Authors: Agustinus Samosir Ali Azhar, Maryanto, Vivi A Siregar, Mulono Apriyanto,
Published: July 2020

ABSTRACT

 

The phenomenon of street crime in Indragiri Hilir began to develop and is undeniable, this phenomenon gave birth to a group of thugs who commit violence. Prema violence in maintaining its existence, both in the social and economic fields. Since the economy is getting harder and higher the poverty rate. Thugs in the jurisdiction of Indragiri Hilir Police Station began to increase in the area of community life. Thugs do extortion (voluntary) extortion on a voluntary or voluntary basis from the merchant community, private communities, especially in the City of Tembilahan. the number of cases of gangsterism in 2014 there were 27 cases of violent crime. the investigation process contained 21 cases, 21 cases.

Keywords: Premans, Indragiri Hilir, Thuggery, Law, Tembilahan City.

 

ABSTRAK

 

Fenomena kejahatan jalanan di Indragiri Hilir mulai berkembang dan tidak dapat disangkal, fenomena ini melahirkan sekelompok penjahat yang melakukan kekerasan. Kekerasan prema dalam mempertahankan eksistensinya, baik di bidang sosial maupun ekonomi. Karena ekonomi semakin sulit dan semakin tinggi tingkat kemiskinan. Preman di wilayah hukum Kantor Polisi Indragiri Hilir mulai meningkat di bidang kehidupan masyarakat. Preman melakukan pemerasan (sukarela) dengan pemerasan atas dasar sukarela atau sukarela dari komunitas pedagang, komunitas swasta, khususnya di Kota Tembilahan. Jumlah kasus premanisme pada 2014 ada 27 kasus kejahatan dengan kekerasan. proses penyelidikan berisi 21 kasus, 21 kasus telah diserahkan ke kantor kejaksaan. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui kendala dan implementasi Penegakan Hukum atas Tindakan Premanisme.

Kata Kunci: Premanisme, Tembilahan, Polrest INHIL
Thinking Together, Working Apart: Leveraging a Community of Practice to Facilitate Productive and Meaningful Remote Collaboration
Authors: Embrett Mark , Liu Rebecca H. , Aubrecht Katie , Koval Andriy , Lai Jonathan
Published: July 2020

Considering the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, scholars were encouraged to cease collocated meetings. Many researchers have turned to remote collaboration to continue group-based projects. This paper focuses on the structure, processes, and outcomes that a group of physically distanced, embedded researchers used to collaborate across Canada to produce research outputs prior to the pandemic. The intent of this paper is to provide an overview of mechanisms that can facilitate meaningful and productive remote collaboration using online and digital technologies as a feasible and effective alternative mode of communication for research teams.
A STUDY ON AWARENESS AND INTENTION TO PURCHASE HALAL COSMETICS PRODUCTS AMONG MALAYSIANS
Authors: Mohamed Yousoof Farida Bhanu , Jayaraman Kalaivani , Munusamy Komathi
Published: July 2020

The term halal cosmetics are getting popular around the world not only to women but also to man regardless of race. In buying cosmetics, consumers are not only concerned about the price and quality, but also on ingredients used in their cosmetics products. In view of that, this study aims to examine the factors that affect the purchase intention of Malaysian consumers in the context of halal cosmetics products. The questionnaires were distributed to 300 Muslim and non-Muslim consumers in Klang Valley using a convenience sampling technique. A Pearson correlation test was carried, and the results showed a significant relationship between consumers’ awareness and intention to purchase halal cosmetics. Furthermore, the ANOVA-test showed that there is a significant difference among race and intention to purchase halal cosmetics. This study will provide the cosmetics industry with a greater knowledge of the consumer’s behaviour towards halal cosmetics. Thus, this will share knowledge of these industries to produce halal cosmetics products which meet the consumers’ expectation. Furthermore, this study will strategies their marketing activities which can increase their profit and contribute to corporate social responsibility.
RISK AMONG CLEANERS: THE USAGE OF PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (PPE)
Authors: Mohd Nawi Nur Syazwani , Ting Huey Yin , Sukadarin Ezrin Hani
Published: July 2020

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is involved in many industries including cleaning nowadays. The influence factors and usage levels of PPE are very different based on groups. The data in this research is to collect and analysis through the qualitative method. A total of 34 cleaners was observed and interviewed. In this study, the influence factors of PPE usage included the scope of job tasks and works environment, organization culture, rule and enforcement, PPE accessibility/ availability, personal feeling and perspective, knowledge and awareness on safety and hazard factors, and personal behavior. The result also showed that the PPE usage condition is good at a moderate level which fits the cleaning tasks and works environment. The risk of cleaners is low. However, UCLEANSB takes safety action to maintain and enhance the PPE usage among cleaners. For further study, the study can implement to other diverse cleaning group samples with different job task categories.
THE ROLE OF CONVENIENCE, COMPATIBILITY AND MEDIA RICHNESS IN ACCEPTING MOBILE WEB IN MALAYSIA
Authors: Thaneshan L. , Mat Yamin Fadhilah , Othman Siti Norezam
Published: July 2020

Our lifestyle has changed and keeps changing with emerging software and hardware technologies. In the same way, mobile devices are changing the way people accessing the Internet. More users have changed from using desktop computers to mobile devices. A mobile device such as smartphones and tablets are widely used devices in accessing the Internet all over the world. From an early investigation, it is found that although mobile devices are highly flexible, accessible, and convenient, their usage to access websites is still average. The objective of this study is to conceptualize the factors that drive users to access websites through mobile devices. This study presents the scenario and the current situation of mobile web usage among mobile device users. It further critically discusses the role of three constructs namely, convenience, compatibility, and media richness in explaining the user’s intention to use the mobile web. The study adopts the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to understand what factors affect usage intention of the mobile web, an important topic for current and future research. The limitations lie in the depth of investigation where the empirical investigation should be conducted in future studies to prove the findings of this conceptual study. This study aims to explain the factors that will influence the intention to access mobile websites. Determining those factors will help web designers to develop mobile web pages that will be preferred by its users. Improving user’s experience of accessing the web through mobile devices will enable web service providers to offer web services more effectively that will satisfy the needs of the users.
MARINE PROTECTED AREAS IN MALAYSIA: TOWARDS THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT
Authors: Lim Darwinah Darwin , Osman Nor Hasni
Published: July 2020

Nowadays, sustainable development brings a different kind of meaning especially among scholars who have their own purposes. This principle is not only limited to the preservation of the environment and its resources, but it also included human resources and financial management as well as physical development. The awareness towards sustainable development had been started in 1987 which was pioneered by the report of Brundtland (UNWCED), then it was recognized by Rio de Jeneiro Summit in 1992. Next, the concept of this agenda is also has been reinforced during the World Conference in 2002 on sustainable development in Johannesburg, South Africa by bringing the world's attention to the challenges and importance of sustainable development. In Malaysia, there are not all of the activities on Marine Protected Area (MPA) that are carried out in line with the concept of sustainable development, although there are various efforts and policies that have been introduced to preserve the natural environment and ecosystems for the sake of future generations. Therefore, this article highlights the key aspects that stakeholders should consider in order to introduce a philosophy of sustainable development in the Marine Protected Areas management sector. The initiative proposed in this article provides a strategic focus on maintaining harmony between those involved in the management of the Marine Park and the industry of maritime tourism. It also takes into account the legal framework and economic interests of stakeholders in this sector to focus on exploiting the national resources of the National Park and protecting the integrity of the Marine Park environment in line with the concept of sustainable development.
CONCEPTUAL MODEL FOR MILLENIALS TOURIST VISIT MOTIVATION IN BOROBUDUR
Authors: Ghassani Ghitha Ghaida , Rahadi Raden Aswin , Jatmika Bisma
Published: July 2020

This paper aims to explore Millennial tourists' visit motivation to Borobudur and surrounding areas. The approach used is by analyzing 20 papers related to tourist motivation to visit, making synthesis from the collected papers, and producing critical views for each related paper. The objective of this paper is to find the conceptual model for Millennials' tourist visit motivation, especially in Borobudur and surrounding areas. This paper found that tourist visit motivation is about tourists' perceived quality and tourist's perceived value. The perceived quality is from the quality of tourist services and destination appearance, and the emotional experience that tourists expect to get in the destination. The perceived cost from the monetary and non-monetary cost they spend to visit the destination. This perceived quality and cost will greatly influence tourist's behavioral intentions that cause tourists to make a visit or even revisit intention. The limitation of this research is that this research only studies millennials’ tourist visit motivation. In the future, the qualitative research process can be conducted in Borobudur and surrounding areas to testify and improve the conceptual model found in this paper.
ONLINE PARAMETER IDENTIFICATION OF RICE TRANSPLANTER MODEL BASED ON IPSO-EKF ALGORITHM
Authors: Li Yibo , Li Hang , Guo Xiaonan
Published: July 2020

In order to improve the accuracy of rice transplanter model parameters, an online parameter identification algorithm for the rice transplanter model based on improved particle swarm optimization (IPSO) algorithm and extended Kalman filter (EKF) algorithm was proposed. The dynamic model of the rice transplanter was established to determine the model parameters of the rice transplanter. Aiming at the problem that the noise matrices in EKF algorithm were difficult to select and affected the best filtering effect, the proposed algorithm used the IPSO algorithm to optimize the noise matrices of the EKF algorithm in offline state. According to the actual vehicle tests, the IPSO-EKF was used to identify the cornering stiffness of the front and rear tires online, and the identified cornering stiffness value was substituted into the model to calculate the output data and was compared with the measured data. The simulation results showed that the accuracy of parameter identification for the rice transplanter model based on the IPSO-EKF algorithm was improved, and established an accurate rice transplanter model.
NOTES ON THE LIISSILÄ INGRIAN FINNISH DIALECT
Authors: Muslimov Mehmet Zakirovich
Published: July 2020

The article focuses on some peculiarities of the Ingrian Finnish dialect spoken in the former Lutheran parish of Liissilä in Central Ingria.Two main pecularities of the Liissilä dialect are the imperative 2Sg -kai and a special group of verb type with the -oi stem ending. Most of the isoglosses, which were previously proposed as typical of the Äyrämöinen dialect, are currently absent in the Liissilä dialect. The dialect of Liissilä partially preserves two old pecularities of the Äyrämöinen dialect, namely nouns ending in - ее and verbs ending in - oi. On the other hand, there are quite a lot of areal isoglosses, which are common in local dialects of both Savakko (Inkere, Venjoki) and Äyrämöinen (Liissilä, Tuutari) parishes. These isoglosses include tarttu ‘potato’, potra ‘beautiful’, hirvitä ‘to be afraid’, the presence of the diphthong in the 3Sg imperfect form, the 1Pl affix -mma , the vowel ö in the verb pölästyy ‘to be scared’, the present stem niäe- of the verb nähhä ‘to see’ and some others. In the Linguistic Atlas of the Baltic-Finnish Languages the dialect zones of the Finnish language, including such units as the “South-Eastern Southern dialect” or the “dialect of Northern Khyame” are classified as “Evremeysky dialect”, “Savaksky dialect” and “dialect of Narvusi” in the territory of Ingria.
ARISTOTELISM AS THE BASIS OF THE WESTERN WORLD VIEW
Authors: Yanovsky M.I. , Yanovskaya L.V.
Published: July 2020

There are reasons to believe that the teachings of Aristotle, his way of thinking, had a significant impact on the formation of certain basic structures of the Western worldview and the thinking of Western people. The features of Aristotle's thinking patterns include: egocentrism in the basis of understanding of reality; phenomenologism (use of forms and phenomena in theoretical constructions without reference to essence); attitude to form as a self-sufficient principle, in isolation from the content; Aristotelian method of thinking suggests similarity, but does not imply the possibility of equalities, identities; therefore, in the Aristotelian picture of the world, the structure of the world is possible only as hierarchical; the use of causality that is close to everyday - teleological - causality, which leads to an understanding of the world as a system of fixed places, with its “embedded” a priori goals; a combination of two schemes in a world picture - hierarchism and a system of places - gives rise to an idea of the world as a hierarchical system of fixed places; this is how the physical, social and mental worlds are understood; the idea of the world as a hierarchical system of fixed places leads to a general scheme of understanding the world, which serves as a matrix for understanding other objects (for example, a person): the world has a center and periphery, with the center being the bottom and the top being the periphery; in the centrality of the lower and the peripherality of the higher there is a deep ambivalence; negation of infinity denies the possibility of any other picture of the world, and contains an implicit denial of the reality of the world. These mental schemes can be regarded to some extent as a key to Western thinking and the Western picture of the world.
DEVELOPMENT AND APPROVAL OF THE PROGRAM FOR REDUCING THE INFLUENCE OF LOOKISM, BEAUTYSM AND LOOKOPHOBIA IN THE YOUTH ENVIRONMENT
Authors: Shkurko T.A. , Drozdova I.I.
Published: July 2020

The article is devoted to the substantiation of the development and description of the results of testing a practice-oriented program for reducing the influence of lookism, beautysm and lookophobia among young people. It describes the purpose, tasks, structure of the training program and contains a case analysis and examples of exercises from individual sections of the program. The article presents data of a comparative analysis of the results of preliminary and final testing of training participants according to the Wilcoxon criterion, allowing the conclusion that the program is effective. The results show that young people having taken part in the training significantly changed themselves in the direction of increasing the intensity of self-esteem of the appearance parameters (self-esteem of the face, bodily structure, appearance decoration); the integral indicators of self-esteem: integral self-esteem of the appearance, assessment of the appearance attractiveness for the opposite sex, self-esteem of sexuality and femininity/masculinity of the appearance; the intensity of concern about their appearance significantly decreased and the satisfaction with that increased; the integral indicator of the importance of attractive appearance decreased for improving various aspects of life.
INDIVIDUALIZATION OF EDUCATION IN THE IRAQI EDUCATION SYSTEM
Authors: Taan Ghazi Hussain
Published: July 2020

The article examines how the education of the Republic of Iraq is forced to address such a process of updating the pedagogical system as individualization of education. It describes its state until recent times as an authoritarian traditional system, which gave good results, being inscribed in the traditional social order. In the early 2000s, there was a social catastrophe - the war broke out, which led to the destruction of the educational infrastructure, the flight of the population, the exclusion of a significant number of students from attending schools. Naturally, this affected the results of training. Thus, in the system of primary vocational education, less than 40 % of students achieve positive results according to 2019. Another phenomenon that affected the stability of the traditional system was the change of the civilizational era, which affected many countries. We are talking about the advent of the information age - the rapid spread of digital devices and related information and communication technologies. The type of relationship between teacher and students is changing. The teacher is no longer the exclusive bearer of the content of instruction, the younger generation is more advanced in the possession of the new means of instruction that deliver them the content of instruction. It is required to introduce the student as an active subject of learning activities, to abandon his passive role. The idea of individualization of learning is beginning to penetrate the educational space of Iraq. The author refers to the Russian theory and practice of individualization pedagogy, in particular to the personality-oriented and activity-based approach in teaching in his research work on the development of an electronic course of Informatics for primary vocational education for the Republic of Iraq. He gives concrete steps in this direction and reports on the results.