bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of Associated Factors with Nutrition Behavior and Dietary Self-efficacy for Healthy Food Choice among Primary School Students
Authors: ÇAM Cüneyt , ATAY Emrah , AYGAR Hatice , ÖCAL Ece Elif , GÖKTAŞ Saniye , IŞIKLI Burhanettin , ÖNSÜZ Muhammed Fatih , METİNTAS Selma
Published: May 2021

Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate the associated factors with nutrition behavior and dietary self-efficacy for healthy food choices among primary school students.

Methods: The study is a cross-sectional research conducted with 4th grade students in the city center of Eskisehir in the 2018 academic year. The study group consisted of 402 students studying in six primary schools in the city center of Eskisehir. Data of the study were collected using a questionnaire including socio-demographic characteristics, Food Behavior Scale (FBS), and Children Dietary Self-efficacy Scale (CDSS).

Results: The mean age of the students in the study group was 9.88 ± 0.44 years and 51.0% of the students were female. Of the participants 19.9% were overweight and 10.2% were obese. While female students in CDSS chose healthy food with a mean ± SD 65% ± 24 percentages, male students chose healthy food with a mean ± SD 55% ± 25 percentages (p
Assessment of Relationship Between Hospital Resource Management Capacity and Characteristics of Hospitals and Managers
Authors: AKTAN Tolga , ŞAHİN Bayram
Published: May 2021

Objective: The purpose of the study is to investigate the relationship between hospital resource management capacity and hospital and manager characteristics.

Methods : The study was conducted on 41 hospitals affiliated to the Ministry of Health of Turkey in Istanbul and Ankara and 232 hospital managers working in these hospitals. Primary and secondary data sources were used as data collection methods. In the first part of the survey, which is used as the primary data source, the questions related to the duties of the managers, gender, total management time, the period of management in the hospital, formal management training, organizational and professional commitment and identification levels and hospital capacity management levels were included, which is used as the primary data source. As the secondary data source, hospital statistics were applied and data related to the characteristics of the hospitals.

Results: Exploratory factor analysis was performed to determine whether the questions used to evaluate the resource management capacity of the hospitals were structurally valid. As a result of exploratory analysis, a three-factor structure consisting of equipment, workforce and facility dimensions was reached, and the confirmatory factor analysis conducted to test the accuracy of this structure was found to be acceptable for the goodness of fit values. As a result of the structural equation model used in the study, the type of hospitals and the number of medical specialties, and the gender of the managers have significant effects on the resource management capacity of hospitals (p 0.05).

Conclusion: According to the findings, resource management capacities of specialty hospitals are at a better level than general hospitals. This result shows that the type of service and the scope of service in specialty hospitals are clearly defined. Even if the number of medical specialties becomes more complex in the findings, the resource management capacity of the hospitals is managed more successfully. In the last findings, it was concluded that female managers are more successful in evaluating resource management capacity.
La relación de la Corte Penal Internacional con el proceso de paz en Colombia
Authors: Brandão Bárrios Luísa
Published: May 2021

La Corte Penal Internacional (CPI, en adelante) adoptada el 17 de julio de 1998, con sede en La Haya (Holanda), es un tribunal permanente, con vocación universal, de carácter complementario respecto de las jurisdicciones nacionales, fue creada en respuesta a los genocidios, crímenes de lesa huma­nidad y crímenes de guerra, y recientemente, crímenes de agresión, cometidos durante el siglo xx, para que tales crímenes no queden sin castigo, a efectos de poner fin a la impunidad. La CPI tiene jurisdicción desde el 1.º de noviembre de 2002, para conocer de los demás crímenes contemplados en el Estatuto de Roma presuntamente cometidos en Colombia o por colombianos, a saber, geno­cidio y crímenes de lesa humanidad, para tal, y teniendo en cuenta que ciertas disposiciones del Estatuto eran diferentes a las de tradición jurídica nacional, fue necesario primero reformar la Constitución Política, más específicamente mediante el Acto Legislativo 02 de 2001, que adicionó el artículo 93 de la Norma Superior. En este trabajo abordaremos la posición de Colombia frente a tales atrocidades y el papel que desempeña la CPI con la Jurisdicción Especial para la Paz, frente a la justicia transicional en Colombia.
El principio de igualdad de armas: un análisis conceptual
Authors: Moratto Simón
Published: May 2021

El principio de igualdad de armas es un mandato esencial que consiste en que “cada parte debe tener una oportunidad razonable para presentar su caso en condiciones que no la pongan en desventaja con respecto a su oponente”1. Esta figura, a pesar de su connotada y evidente importancia, no ha sido objeto de estudio profundo y serio en la doctrina y la jurisprudencia colombianas. Lo anterior ha permitido un uso irresponsable y equivocado de este concepto, y es de ahí que nace la necesidad de este artículo, el cual tiene por objeto, sin pretender ser exhaustivo, dar una mayor claridad sobre este mandato de op­timización, empezando por revisar sus antecedentes; pasando por el análisis de cada uno de sus elementos esenciales; la referencia a algunas categorías desarrolladas en la jurisdicción internacional que son de suma importancia para alcanzar un entendimiento íntegro de dicho principio; el señalamiento de las diferentes posiciones sobre su fundamento, definición y alcance; y una diferenciación con otros derechos y principios con los que suele confundirse. De esta manera, se sentarán las bases para que, posteriormente, sea posible abrir un debate organizado acerca de esta figura que haga viable un ejercicio optimizado y responsable de ella.
Modified naive Bayes classifier for classification of protein-protein interaction sites
Authors: Uddin M. A. , Ahmed M. S.
Published: May 2021

The prediction of protein-protein interaction sites (PPIs) is a vital importance in biology for understanding the physical and functional interactions between molecules in living systems. There are several classification approaches for the prediction of PPI sites; the naïve Bayes classifier is one of the most popular candidates. But the ordinary naïve Bayes classifier is sensitive to unusual protein sequence profiling feature dataset and sometimes it gives ambiguous prediction results. To overcome this problem we have been modified the naïve Bayes classifier by radial basis function (RBF) kernel for the prediction of PPI sites. We investigate the performance of our proposed method compared with the popular classifiers like linear discriminant analysis (LDA), naïve Bayes classifier (NBC), support vector machine (SVM), AdaBoost and k-nearest neighbor (KNN) by the protein sequence profiling data analysis. The mNBC method showed sensitivity (86%), specificity (81%), accuracy (83%) and MCC (65%) for prediction of PPI sites.
Whole transcriptome sequencing and analysis of jute (Corchorus olitorius) fiber cell
Authors: Ahmed R. , Hossain M. S. , Kabir S. M. T. , Ahmed B. , Hasan R. , Sarker M. S. A. , Tareq M. Z. , Emdad E. M. , Islam M. S.
Published: May 2021

The demand for products made by jute fiber is increasing day-by-day for its biodegradable nature regarding environmental concerns. To gain this opportunity correctly, the development of high yielding and improved fiber quality jute variety is essential for ensuring diversified use of jute fiber. The major developed jute varieties, so far, are the outcome of conventional breeding which is a very time consuming process. Improvement of fiber quality and yield through genetic modification approach is highly desired. However, very little is known about the molecular mechanism behind fiber cell formation in jute. Here, we attempted to do the whole transcriptome sequencing of fiber cell RNA to reveal the molecular mechanisms were happening in the premises of jute fiber cells. We performed RNA isolation from jute fiber cells followed by whole transcriptome sequencing. De novo assembly of sequencing reads resulted in 21,294 contigs representing the transcriptome size of 4.07 Mbp. Gene ontology analysis assigned 14144 genes (52.21%) for biological process, 8399 genes (31%) involved in molecular function and 4549 genes (16.79%) for cellular component. Total 66 fiber related genes were found from reference based annotation where 9 genes involved in fiber cell initiation and elongation and the rest 57 for secondary cell wall development. We presented the overall view of the jute fiber cell transcriptome in this study. These findings help for understanding the molecular basis of fiber formation in jute plant.
Structural Racism and Immigrant Health: Exploring the Association Between Wage Theft, Mental Health, and Injury among Latino Day Laborers
Authors: Fernandez-Esquer Maria Eugenia , Ibekwe Lynn N. , Guerrero-Luera Rosalia , King Yesmel A. , Durand Casey P. , Atkinson John S.
Published: May 2021

Background: Although wage theft has been discussed primarily as a labor and human rights issue, it can be conceptualized as an issue of structural racism with important consequences for immigrant health.Objectives: The objectives of this study were to: 1) identify sociodemographic, employment, and stress-related characteris­tics that increase LDLs’ odds of experiencing wage theft; 2) assess the association be­tween wage theft and serious work-related injury; 3) assess the association between wage theft and three indicators of mental health—depression, social isolation, and alcohol use—as a function of wage theft; and 4) assess serious work-related injury as a function of wage theft controlling for mental health.Methods: Secondary data analyses were based on survey data collected from 331 Latino day laborers between November 2013 and July 2014. Regression analyses were conducted to test the relationships described above.Results: Approximately 25% of participants reported experiencing wage theft and 20% reported serious work-related injury. Wage theft was associated with working in construction and was initially associated with work-related injury. Wage theft was not significantly associated with mental health indicators. The association between wage theft and injury became non-significant when controlling for the mental health variables.Conclusions: The hardship and stress associated with wage theft incidents may ultimately lead to more frequent injury. Al­though we expected an association of wage theft with mental health, we found vulner­ability to physical health as indicated by in­jury incidents. Thus, our basic premise was partially supported: wage theft may act as a stressor that stems from conditions, in part, reflecting structural racism, making work­ers vulnerable to poorer health.Ethn Dis.2021;31(Suppl 1):345-356; doi:10.18865/ed.31.S1.345
The practice of simplifying texts in the teaching of Polish as a foreign language (formerly and today)
Authors: Burzyńska-Kamieniecka Anna
Published: May 2021

The aim of the article is to show that the practice of simplifying texts, referring to the concept of plain language, has long been present in the teaching of Polish as a foreign language. Nowadays, various strategies of text simplification are used for teaching Polish, the most useful of which are: simulation of original texts with the use of graphic materials (especially at levels A1 and A2), text development (by exemplification or paraphrasing) and the technique of text glossing (in the target or intermediary language). An analysis of old textbooks for learning Polish shows that the practice of modifying teaching texts has also been applied in the past. The transformation techniques used formerly concern both the global structure of the text and changes at the word, sentence and paragraph level.
Updating Frasnian miospore zonation from the Boulonnais (Northern France) and comparison with new data from the Upper Palaeozoic cover on the Brabant Massif (Western Belgium)
Authors: STREEL Maurice , BOULVAIN Frédéric , DUSAR Michiel , LOBOZIAK Stanislas , STEEMANS Philippe
Published: May 2021

Accurate palyno-analysis by S. Loboziak (from 1980 to 1983) of 28 samples from the Upper Givetian to the Middle Frasnian Blacourt, Beaulieu and Ferques Formations and of 44 samples of the Upper Frasnian to the Lower Famennian Hydrequent Formation are re-evaluated. Chelinospora concinna, Verrucosisporites bulliferus, Cirratriradites jekhowskyi, Lophozonotriletes media first occurrences are major criteria for Lower and Middle Frasnian, well calibrated by conodonts. Cymbosporites acanthaceus, Rugospora bricei, Grandispora gracilis, Diducites plicabilis, Corbulispora vimineus first occurrences allow to subdivide the Upper Frasnian where conodonts are poorly present. Samarisporites triangulatus versus Auroraspora pseudocrista taxonomy and stratigraphic significance are discussed.
The reconnaissance borehole Nieuwkerke-De Seule (95W152), near the limit of the Upper Palaeozoic subcrop on the Brabant Massif (West Flanders, Belgium, 75 km east of the Boulonnais), which has intersected conodont-dated Givetian/Frasnian boundary at the transition between the Bois de Bordeaux and Bovesse Formations, contained poorly preserved miospores attributed to the triangulatus–concinna (TCo) Oppel Zones. In the nearby Nieuwkerke-Noordhoek borehole (95W153), strata also assigned to the Bovesse Formation yielded better preserved miospores which demonstrate a close succession of triangulatus–concinna (TCo) and bulliferus–jekhowskyi (BJ) Oppel Zones at the transition Lower–Middle Frasnian, also known in the Beaulieu Formation in the Boulonnais.
Samples from the Heuvelland groundwater monitoring well (95W175), 10 km north of Nieuwkerke, contain the bricei-acanthaceus (BA) Oppel Zone suggesting a late Frasnian age, also known in the Hydrequent Formation in the Boulonnais area and in the Booischot Formation in the Booischot borehole (59E146) from the Campine Basin (Belgium).
International correlation using Frasnian miospore zonation is attempted between the Pripyat Depression in Belarus, the Timan–Pechora province in Russia and North-West China.
Sampling Methods and Risk Stratification Regarding Environmental Contamination by SARS-CoV-2
Authors: Mendes Marta , Andrade Oliveira Ana , Pires Olga , Branca Fernando , Beirão Maria , Santa-Cruz André , Carvalho Alexandre , Alves Joana
Published: May 2021

Introduction: Transmission of COVID-19 through close contact and droplets is well established, but the influence of aerosol and surface contamination remains to be determined. Literature is scarce and inconsistent about the viable virus particles free-distance from infected patients, as well as about different swabbing methods for surface contamination evaluation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the most sensitive method for the assessment of surface contamination, classify the likelihood of environmental contamination in risk zones and compare the environmental contamination between oxygenation and ventilatory support.Material and Methods: Swabs from potentially contaminated surfaces in a COVID-19 ward, with patients treated with different types of oxygen and ventilatory support, were collected. Three types of swabs were compared in order to evaluate the most sensitive collection method. For risk zone categorization, areas were divided according to the distance from the patient.Results: Of the 63 swabs collected, 17 (27%) tested positive for the presence of SARS-CoV-2. The highest positivity rate was observed with the sterile premoistened swab with saline (n = 8; 38%), but without statistically significant differences. The highest number of positive samples were collected from the high-risk zones, specifically those located one meter from the patient (n = 13; 48%), with statistically significant differences. Only the rooms of patients supported with non-invasive ventilation or high-flow nasal cannula had evidence of bedroom contamination, with 45% and 27% of swab positivity, with statistically significant differences.Discussion: Our findings favour the premoistened swab without transport medium for surface contamination assessment, even though without statistical differences. A statistically significant trend supporting the division in risk zones, according to the distance from the patient, was also identified. The higher positivity rate from the non-invasive ventilation and high-flow nasal cannula bedrooms suggests a significant association between ventilatory strategies and surface contamination, probably due to higher particle dispersion.Conclusion: Our findings support the use of the sterile premoistened swab without preservation medium, the classification of risk areas considering the distance from the patient, and the variability of RNA dispersion between oxygenation and ventilatory support.
Are patients comfortable with medical students examining them?
Authors: Ravishankar Shruthi
Published: May 2021

A key feature of medical curricula across the world is the interaction of medical students with patients at teaching hospitals. However, patients may not be comfortable engaging with medical students in certain situations, and there are a number of possible reasons for this. Teaching hospitals often overlook the need to take consent for such interactions. Certain measures can be taken to increase the confidence of patients in the medical students treating them. Studies on the subject make it clear that this ethical question is common throughout the world.
Developing an Integrative Theoretical Framework for Climate Proofing Spatial Planning Across Sectors, Policy Levels and Planning Areas
Authors: Juschten Maria , Reinwald Florian , Weichselbaumer Roswitha , Jiricka-Pürrer Alexandra
Published: May 2021

Spatial planning holds a key role in preventing or mitigating the impacts of climate change on both cities and rural areas, taking a forward-thinking and holistic approach to urban and regional development. As such, spatial planning deals with challenges occurring at different scales and across sectors. The international literature points out the need for horizontal and vertical cooperation to tackle climate change impacts. While there is abundant knowledge regarding the challenges related to climate change at different spatial levels, procedural integration into planning frameworks and practice is currently under-researched. This paper presents a novel theoretical framework that integrates various steps towards a holistic, integrative and adaptive climate proofing process. An iterative process was used for conceptual development, based on literature review followed by external feedback meetings and two workshops with the core team of planning experts responsible for exchange across federal states. By specifically addressing the challenges relating to cross-regional and cross-sectoral planning, this novel framework attempts to (i) facilitate a hierarchy of measures, (ii) maximise co-benefits for various adaptation purposes and climate change mitigation and (iii) foster the long-term institutionalisation of integrative processes across sectors, planning areas and policy levels.
A Formalism of the General Mathematical Expression of Multilayer Perceptron Neural Networks
Authors: Hounmenou Castro Gbememali , Gneyou Kossi Essona , GLELE KAKAÏ Romain Lucas
Published: May 2021

Neural networks models are mostly represented by oriented graphs where only the components, constitutive elements of the graph, are transcribed into mathematical xpression. Indeed, accurate knowledge of the full expression of the model is required in certain situations such as selecting among several reference models, the one that best fits the available data or comparing the explanatory and predictive performance of an established model with respect to some reference models. In this paper, we establish a formalism of the mathematical expression for multilayer perceptron neural network in a general framework, MLP-p-n-q, with p, n and q natural integers and show its restriction to cases where one has a hidden layer and multivariate outputs (MLP-p-1-q), and then a single output (MLP-p-1-1). Then, we give some specific cases of the most commonly used models. An application case is presented in the context of solving a nonlinear regression problem.
Vitamin D, Zinc and Iron in Adult Patients with Covid-19 and Their Action in The Immune Response as Biomarkers: A Case Report
Authors: Ramos Eliza Miranda , Araújo Emerson Luiz Lima , de Souza Igor Domingos , Facco Gilberto Gonçalves , de Abreu Antônio Carlos , Teodoro Pamella Aline Miranda , da Fonseca Alessandro Carvalho , da Fonseca Junior Ernani Mendes , Ramos Iara Barbosa , Do  Nascimento Valter Aragão
Published: May 2021

Abstract: COVID-19 in 2020 brought challenges to the Brazilian public health system with an emerging virus with respiratory contagion called SARS-CoV-2. There are few studies in Brazil and in some countries, on the increased incidence of certain viral respiratory infections, includ-ing H1N1 and coronavirus and their association with low levels of vitamin D, zinc and iron. The aim of this study was to demonstrate that the deficit of vitamin D, zinc and iron has an impact on the infectious process of patients with COVID-19 and to establish new forms of prevention for the worsening of COVID-19 in the human body. Data were collected from medical records and test results from patients being followed up during the treatment period for COVID-19. Patients with low blood levels of vitamin D, zinc and iron during the treatment period of COVID-19 had a higher percentage of worsening and complications requiring hospitalization in intensive care beds. The ingestion of vitamin D, zinc and iron in the treatment period of patients with COVID-19 in addition to being an immunological protector against SARS-CoV-2 and alleviating the process of worsening the disease can also act as a biomarker in cases of this disease.
Cellular Senescence: Pathogenic Mechanisms in Lung Fibrosis
Authors: Parimon Tanyalak , Hohmann Miriam , Yao Changfu
Published: May 2021

:Pulmonary fibrosis is a chronic and fatal lung disease that significantly impacts the aging population globally. To date, anti-fibrotic, immunosuppressive, and other adjunct therapy demonstrate a limited efficacy. Advancing our understanding of pathogenic mechanisms of lung fibrosis provides a future path for the cure. Cellular senescence has gained substantial interest in the past decades due to the increased incidence of fibroproliferative lung diseases in the older age group. Furthermore, the pathologic state of cellular senescence that includes maladaptive tissue repair, decreased regeneration, and chronic inflammation resembles key features of progressive lung fibrosis. This review describes regulatory pathways of cellular senescence and discusses the current knowledge on the senescence of critical cellular players of lung fibrosis, including epithelial cells (alveolar type 2 cells, basal cells, etc.), fibroblasts, and immune cells, their phenotypic changes, and the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which these cells contribute to the pathogenesis of pulmonary fibrosis. A few challenges in the field include establishing appropriate in vivo experimental models and identifying senescence targeted signaling molecules and specific therapy to target senescent cells, known collectively as "senolytic" or “senotherapeutic” agents.
Implementation of General Sustainability Objectives as Tools to Improve the Environmental Performance of Industry
Authors: Almgren Richard , Hjelm Olof
Published: May 2021

Abstract This article examines the implementation of the Swedish national environmental quality objectives and discusses what can be learnt for the equivalent process for the set of global UN 2030 goals (SDGs), established in 2015. The empirical basis is a study on 50 large companies in Sweden and their use of these objectives in their policy formulation. The SDGs are crafted with a broader approach than the Swedish national environmental quality objectives. Therefore, the SDGs probably better reflect the agenda of the business community since they have a global character, cover the whole spectrum of important sustainability issues and provide a mutual agenda for the business community world-wide. More than 90 percent of the large companies in the study have explicitly committed themselves to the SDGs, only 1-2 years after they were published, whereas similar commitments hardly exist for the national environmental quality objectives, even 20 years after its establishment. A large majority of the large companies in this study know about the SDGs, have actively endorsed them, and started to adjust their activities accordingly. At the end, the results of these endorsements remain to be seen.
Vibration Analysis of Axially Functionally Graded Non-Prismatic Timoshenko Beams Using the Finite Difference Method
Authors: Fogang Valentin
Published: May 2021

This paper presents an approach to the vibration analysis of axially functionally graded non-prismatic Timoshenko beams (AFGNPTB) using the finite difference method (FDM). The characteristics (cross-sectional area, moment of inertia, elastic moduli, shear moduli, and mass density) of axially functionally graded beams vary along the longitudinal axis. The Timoshenko beam theory covers cases associated with small deflections based on shear deformation considerations. The FDM is an approximate method for solving problems described with differential or partial differential equations. It does not involve solving differential equations; equations are formulated with values at selected points of the structure. The model developed in this paper consists of formulating differential or partial differential equations with finite differences and introducing new points (additional or imaginary points) at boundaries and positions of discontinuity (concentrated loads or moments, supports, hinges, springs, and brutal change of stiffness). The introduction of additional points allows satisfying boundary and continuity conditions. Vibration analysis of AFGNPTB was conducted with this model, and natural frequencies were determined. Finally, the direct time integration method (DTIM) was presented. The FDM-based DTIM enabled the analysis of forced vibration of AFGNPTB, considering the damping. The efforts and displacements could be determined at any time.
DLR HySU - A Benchmark Dataset for Spectral Unmixing
Authors: Cerra Daniele , Pato Miguel , Alonso Kevin , Köhler Claas , Schneider Mathias , de los Reyes Raquel , Carmona Emiliano , Richter Rudolf , Kurz Franz , Reinartz Peter , Müller Rupert
Published: May 2021

Spectral unmixing represents both an application per se and a pre-processing step for several applications involving data acquired by imaging spectrometers. However, there is still a lack of publicly available reference data sets suitable for the validation and comparison of different spectral unmixing methods. In this paper we introduce the DLR HyperSpectral Unmixing (DLR HySU) benchmark dataset, acquired over German Aerospace Center (DLR) premises in Oberpfaffenhofen. The dataset includes airborne hyperspectral and RGB imagery of targets of different materials and sizes, complemented by simultaneous ground-based reflectance measurements. The DLR HySU benchmark allows a separate assessment of all spectral unmixing main steps: dimensionality estimation, endmember extraction (with and without pure pixe assumption), and abundance estimation. Results obtained with traditional algorithms for each of these steps are reported. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that real imaging spectrometer data with accurately measured targets are made available for hyperspectral unmixing experiments. The DLR HySU benchmark dataset is openly available online and the community is welcome to use it for spectral unmixing and other applications.
Public Perceptions about COVID-19 Vaccines: Policy Implications from US Spatiotemporal Sentiment Analytics
Authors: Ali G. G. Md. Nawaz , Rahman Md. Mokhlesur , Hossain Md. Amjad , Rahman Md. Shahinoor , Paul Kamal Chandra , Thill Jean-Claude , Samuel Jim
Published: May 2021

There exists a compelling need to better understand the temporal dynamics of public sentiment towards COVID-19 vaccines in the US on a national and state-wise level for facilitating appropriate public policy applications. Our analysis of social media data from early February of 2021 and late March of 2021 shows that in spite of overall strength of positive sentiment, and increasing numbers of Americans being fully vaccinated, negative sentiment about COVID-19 vaccines still persists among sections of people who are hesitant towards the vaccine. In this study, we performed sentiment analytics on vaccine tweets, studied changes in public sentiment over time, conducted vaccination sentiment validation using actual vaccination data from the US CDC and Household Pulse Survey (HPS), explored influence of maturity of Twitter user-accounts and generated geographic mapping of sentiments by location of Twitter users. Furthermore, we leverage the emotion polarity based Public Sentiment Scenarios (PSS) framework which was developed for COVID-19 sentiment analytics, to systematically analyze directions for public policy processes to potentially improve the administration of vaccines. Application of the PSS framework provides important time sensitive insights for state and federal government agencies and associated organizations to better implement public policy processes for healthcare management, communication, transparency, motivation and societal operational policies such as social distancing. These insights are expected to contribute to processes that can expedite the vaccination program and move closer to the cherished herd immunity goal.
Globalization, Inequality, Environmental Damage and the Corona Pandemic - Lessons for Economic, Environmental and Social Policy
Authors: Blum Bianca , Neumärker Bernhard Karl Justus
Published: May 2021

The rapidly expanding corona pandemic in 2020 brought the world to virtual economic stagna-tion. While the impact on the environment from suspended air traffic, idle industry and economic lockdown has been considerable, so have the economic and social consequences of the crisis. To make matters worse, the resulting state of stagnation is neither economically nor socially sustaina-ble. Nevertheless, we need to ask ourselves what we can learn from the situation in order to ex-plore the benefits of globalization, intercept similar crisis situations more effectively in the future and move towards more sustainable development on an ecological, economic and social level. This paper identifies the areas of expanded externality management needed to further improve environmental quality, digitalization, network expansion and basic income. These central issues need to be addressed both during and after the crisis in order to deal with problems of inequality and climate change mitigation for current and future generations. Concrete concepts will be put forward and discussed in the paper.
A Basic Model to Predict Enteric Methane Emission from Dairy Cows and Its Application to Update Operational Models for the National Inventory in Norway
Authors: Niu Puchun , Schwarm Angela , Bonesmo Helge , Kidane Alemayehu , Aspeholen Åby Bente , Storlien Tonje Marie , Kreuzer Michael , Alvarez Clementina , Sommerseth Jon Kristian , Prestløkken Egil
Published: May 2021

The aim of this study was to develop a basic model to predict enteric methane emission from dairy cows and to update operational calculations for the national inventory in Norway. Basic models were developed using a database with 63 treatment means from 19 studies. The database included records for enteric CH4 production (MJ/day), dry matter intake (DMI), and dietary nutrient composition. The basic models were evaluated against an external database (n=36, from ten studies) along with other extant models. When evaluated by low root mean square prediction errors and high concordance correlation coefficients, the developed basic models that included DMI, dietary concentrations of fatty acids and neutral detergent fiber performed slightly better in predicting CH4 emissions than extant models. In order to propose country-specific values for the CH4 conversion factor Ym (% of gross energy intake partitioned into CH4) and thus to carry out the national inventory for Norway, the existing operational model was updated for the prediction of Ym over a wide range of feeding situations using energy corrected milk and dietary concentrate share as predictor variables. Input values of Ym were updated based on the results from the basic models. The predicted Ym ranged from 6.22 to 6.72%. In conclusion, the prediction of CH4 production from dairy cows was improved with the help of newly published data, which enabled an update of the operational model for calculating the national inventory of CH4 in Norway.
Chandrasekhar's integral stability criterion for an equilibrium spherical cloud of a protostar, modified in the framework of non-Gaussian kappa-statistics
Authors: Kolesnichenko Aleksandr Vladimirovich
Published: May 2021

Within the framework of the non-extensive statistical mechanics of Kanyadakis, a generalization of the integral stability theorem of Chandrasekhar for the spherically symmetric distribution of matter and black radiation in an exoplanetary cloud in a state of gravitational equilibrium is obtained. For this purpose, the elements of deformed thermodynamics for an ideal gas, deformed canonical Gibbs distribution, as well as the effective gravitational constant, calculated in the formalisms of Kanyadakis and Verlinde, are used. In this, the deformation parameter κ (kappa) measures the so-called degree of nonextensiveness of the cloud system. In addition, the modified thermodynamic properties of blackbody radiation, in particular, the analogue of Stefan's law for radiation energy and generalized expressions for the entropy, heat capacity and radiation pressure, are discussed in the context of κ -statistics. The presented method of combining the indicated anomalous physical processes provides an alternative to the classical procedure of Chandrasekhar's derivation of the well-known integral theorems for gas configurations in gravitational equilibrium, and restores all standard expressions in the limit κ → 0. The results obtained will be able, according to the author, to explain some astrophysical problems of stellar-planetary cosmogony, associated, in particular, with modeling the processes of joint formation and evolution of a protosun and an exoplanetary cloud from a single nebula.
The effect of flax seeds addition in nutrition of quails on the quality of carcass and meat
Authors:   Laboratory of Commodity Science of Food Products, Department of Microbiology and Biotechnology West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin, al. Piastów 45, 70-311 Szczecin, Poland, Jakubowska Małgorzata , Karamucki Tadeusz ,   Laboratory of Commodity Science of Food Products, Department of Microbiology and Biotechnology West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin, al. Piastów 45, 70-311 Szczecin, Poland
Published: May 2021

The study was performed on 6-week-old Pharaoh quails. The birds were divided into 2 feeding groups: the control, fed with the standard starter and finisher fodder, and the experimental one, fed with the fodder mixtures containing 4% fragmented flax seeds. After the experiment was completed, the birds were slaughtered and a simplified slaughter analysis was performed. From each carcass the pectoral and leg muscles, liver, stomach, heart, and fat were obtained. The pectoral muscles were used to determine the basic chemical composition and for the sensory assessment of the colour, aroma, tenderness and juiciness of the cooked meat was performed. The study allowed to find that the quails from the experimental group were characterized by a significantly lower carcass fatness, and in the remaining parameters of slaughter analysis, no differences between the control and experimental group were found. The use of flax seeds in quails nutrition had no effect on the chemical composition of pectoral muscles, only a tendency to increase the protein, dry weight and ash content, and a decrease in the intramuscular fat content were observed. The sensory evaluation showed that in the meat of birds receiving flax seeds deviations in colour, juiciness and palatability may occur.
Analysis of selected parameters influencing the technological and sensory quality of pork
Authors:   Faculty of Agrobioengineering and Animal Husbandry, Siedlce University of Natural Sciences and Humanities, B. Prusa 12/14, 08-110 Siedlce, Poland, Socha Stanisław , Kozakiewicz Ewa ,   Faculty of Agrobioengineering and Animal Husbandry, Siedlce University of Natural Sciences and Humanities, B. Prusa 12/14, 08-110 Siedlce, Poland, Kołodziejczyk Dorota ,   Faculty of Agrobioengineering and Animal Husbandry, Siedlce University of Natural Sciences and Humanities, B. Prusa 12/14, 08-110 Siedlce, Poland
Published: May 2021

The aim of the study was to analyze selected parameters influencing the technological and sensory quality of pork. The material for the study was pork from the ham muscle and the ribeye muscles. The raw material came from a meat processing plant located in north-eastern Poland. The research was carried out on 80 porkers from various farms and farms. The tests included pH in 45 minutes and 24 hours from slaughter, meat color, water holding capacity, and the chemical composition of meat. It was found that half of the porkers had a lean content of more than 50%, and the best distinction between meat of normal quality and other quality classes results from the use of two or three different evaluation methods. The measurements of color and pH are most useful in assessing the quality of meat, but for the classification to be precise, some of them must be carried out immediately on the slaughter and as soon as the carcasses have cooled down. The brightness of the meat and the final pH values enable distinguishing between DFD meat and PSE meat. The color of normal meat is very similar to that of meat with the RSE defect. Significant (P ≤ 0.01) relationships were found between the protein content and the pH of the meat measured 45 minutes and 24 hours after slaughter. Significant relationships (P ≤ 0.01) also occurred between the values of the parameter a* and b* (trichromaticity coordinates).
Evaluation of broiler chickens rearing parameters in relation to intensity of infection with Eimeria protozoa
Authors:   Institute of Animal Breeding and Biodiversity Conservation, Laboratory for Organic Production of Food of Animal Origin, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Akademicka 13, 20-950 Lublin, Poland, Januś Ewa , Sablik Piotr ,   Department of Ruminant Science, West Pomeranian University of Technology, Klemensa Janickiego 29, 71-270 Szczecin, Poland
Published: May 2021

The study was aimed to assess the rearing parameters in Ross 308 broiler chickens depending on the intensity of infection with Eimeria protozoa. Two flocks were included in the analysis. One was found to be free from coccidiosis (healthy flock HF) and the other was classified as infected flock (IF). The collected data included the age of the chickens, losses (including falls and culls), body weight, weight gains, and daily feed intake. Additionally, the mean feed intake per kg body weight was estimated and the European Production Efficiency Factor (EPEF) was calculated. The study demonstrated that the presence of Eimeria parasites in the rearing environment of broiler chickens had an impact on the rearing performance by increasing the demand for feed and the percentage of falls and culls during the rearing period, in comparison with chickens from the coccidiosis-free flock. Although they consumed higher amounts of feed, the coccidia-infected chickens were characterized by substantially lower weight gain values. The EPEF value on rearing day 42 in the Eimeria-infected broiler flock was by 103.66 lower than that calculated in the healthy flock.
Schwannoma of the First Webspace
Authors: Alçada Rita , Caetano João , Barreiros Margarida , Côrte-Real Nuno
Published: May 2021

Case:

A 65-year-old man presented with plantar foot pain associated with a mass in the first webspace. A Morton neuroma was considered the probable diagnosis. Despite nonoperative treatment the pain continued. Surgical excision was performed, and histology was interpreted as a schwannoma. Symptoms resolved after surgery.

Conclusion:

Schwannoma of the foot is a rare condition, and to the best of our knowledge, this is the first case reported in the first webspace. Definitive treatment and diagnosis is surgical excision. Surgeons should consider schwannomas in the differential diagnosis of plantar foot pain because this can be misdiagnosed as a Morton neuroma.
Meniscal Entrapment After Tibial Plateau Fracture and Fixation
Authors: Fraind-Maya Gabriel , Laniado David , Ilsar Idan , Chaimsky Gershon , Mosheiff Rami , Weil Yoram
Published: May 2021

Case:

A 40-year-old man presented with limited in range of motion, pain, and tenderness over the medial joint line after an open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) because of a bicondylar tibial plateau fracture (TPF). The cause of his pain was inconclusive on Magnetic Resonance Image (MRI), so arthroscopy was performed and identified an incarcerated medial meniscus at the fracture site. An osteotomy with medial joint elevation was performed followed by a meniscus release, with excellent results at the 1-year follow-up.

Conclusion:

To our knowledge, this is the first case reporting a trapped/incarcerated meniscus in a healed TPF after ORIF.
Biomarkers of Blood from Patients with Atherosclerosis Based on Bioinformatics Analysis
Authors: Qian Yongjiang , Zhang Lili , Sun Zhen , Zang Guangyao , Li Yalan , Wang Zhongqun , Li Lihua
Published: May 2021

Background: atherosclerosis is a multifaceted disease characterized by the formation and accumulation of plaques that fix to the arteries and causes some cardiovascular disease and vascular embolism. A range of diagnostic techniques, including selective coronary angiography, stress tests, CT, and nuclear scans allow assessment of cardiovascular disease risk and treatment targets. However, there is not a very simple blood biochemical index or biological target for the diagnosis of atherosclerosis at present. So it would be interesting to find a blood biochemical marker for atherosclerosis.Methods: Three datasets from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database were analyzed to obtain differentially expressed genes (DEG) and the results were integrated using Robustrankaggreg algorithm. The genes considered more important by Robustrankaggreg algorithm were put into their own data set and the data set system with cell classification information for verification.Results: 21 possible genes were screened out. Interestingly, we found a good correlation between RPS4Y1, EIF1AY and XIST. In addition, we know the general expression of these genes in different cell types and whole blood cellsConclusions: In this study, we identified BTNL8 and BLNK as having good clinical significance. These results will contribute to the study of the underlying genes involved in the progression of atherosclerosis and provide insights for the discovery of new diagnostic and evaluation methods.
Eradicating chronic myeloid leukemia stem cells by IRAK1/4 inhibitors
Authors: Tanaka Yosuke , Fukushima Tsuyoshi , Mikami Keiko , Tsuchiya Shun , Tamura Moe , Adachi Keito , Umemoto Terumasa , Watanabe Naoki , Morishita Soji , Imai Misa , Nagasawa Masayoshi , Araki Marito , Takizawa Hitoshi , Fukuyama Tomofusa , Lamagna Chrystelle , Masuda Esteban , Ito Ryoji , Goyama Susumu , Komatsu Norio , Takaku Tomoiku , Kitamura Toshio
Published: May 2021

Leukemia stem cells (LSCs) in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) are quiescent, insensitive to BCR-ABL1 tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) and responsible for CML relapse. Therefore, eradicating quiescent CML LSCs is a major goal in CML therapy. Here, using a novel G0 marker (G0M), we narrowed down CML LSCs as G0M- and CD27- double positive cells among the conventional CML LSCs. Whole transcriptome analysis revealed NF-κB activation via inflammatory signals in imatinib-insensitive quiescent CML LSCs. Blocking NF-κB signals by IRAK1/4 inhibitors together with imatinib eradicated mouse and human CML LSCs. Intriguingly, IRAK1/4 inhibitors attenuated PD-L1 expression on CML LSCs, and blocking PD-L1 together with imatinib also effectively eradicated CML LSCs in the presence of T cell immunity. Thus, IRAK1/4 inhibitors could eradicate CML LSCs through inhibiting NF-ΚB activity and reducing PD-L1 expression. Collectively, the combination of TKIs and IRAK1/4 inhibitors is an attractive strategy to achieve a radical cure of CML.
Global microbial necromass contribution to soil organic matter
Authors: Liu Yuan , Tian Jing , He Nianpeng , Tiemann Lisa
Published: May 2021

Soil organic matter (SOM) plays an important role in mitigating climate change and sustaining soil health and food production 1,2. Mounting evidence suggests that microbial necromass is the main contributor to SOM 3; however, we lack quantification of microbial necromass at a global scale, especially in subsoils. Here, we generate, for the first time, global distribution maps of microbial necromass carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) and contributions to SOM in topsoil and subsoil. Globally, necromass concentrations varied widely across ecosystems and by latitude, contributing 19-60% to SOC and 41-92% to soil N stocks, with particularly large accumulations in boreal and tropical ecosystems. On average, fungal necromass contributions to SOM are 3x greater than bacterial, although this varied across ecosystems. Microbial necromass contributions to SOC are strongly associated with soil C:N ratios and pH; necromass contributions are greater in soils with narrow C:N ratios and higher pH. Microbial necromass is on average 23 and 77 times greater than living microbial biomass in topsoil and subsoil, respectively. These data highlight the importance of necromass contributions to SOM, especially soil N, and the need for spatially resolved necromass data sets that can be used in biogeochemical models to estimate SOM dynamics more accurately.
COVID-19: Relationship between mobility and macroeconomic indicator
Authors: Chand Sai , Dange Vaibhav , Dixit Vinayak
Published: May 2021

Lockdowns have been widely used as a policy instrument to manage the COVID pandemic and ensure that the safety of communities and the healthcare system does not get overwhelmed by the number of cases. Though lockdowns are meant to assist with effectively managing the spread of the pandemic, they come at an enormous economic cost to individuals and households. Economically poorer households may be unable to adhere to such lockdowns as they might struggle to maintain their livelihood and venture out to find a livelihood. Using the Google Mobility Data of several countries and sub-regions, we find that increase in economic indicators such as per-capita GDP (in case of countries) and household income (in case of sub-regions within a country) is the single biggest indicator of the likely reduction in mobility to work and increase in time spent in-residence. The trend is remarkably stable, which can help determine elasticity values. It is anticipated that these macro-economic elasticities can be used to potentially design economic relief to make it possible for individuals to adhere to lockdown.