bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Improving locum practice in public and Christian Health Association of Malawi hospitals in Malawi
Authors: Chinkhata Mabel Belinda Ngaiyaye , Gundo Rodwell , Msiska Masauko , Mwalabu Gertrude , Mapulanga Patrick
Published: September 2023

Background: The use of locum healthcare workers poses challenges to the quality of care provided. This study explored the strategies for addressing locum challenges and improve locum practice challenges that public and faith-based hospitals in Malawi, face in the implementation of the practice.
Methods: This study used an exploratory descriptive design. In-depth interviews with 15 hospital managers and three focus group discussions with nurses, midwives, medical officers, and clinical officers were conducted in the selected public and faith-based hospitals. All the interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. The transcribed data were analysed inductively using thematic analysis.
Results: The participants revealed several strategies to improve the quality of patient care provided by locum healthcare workers. The strategies included orientation of locum healthcare workers, need for regular supportive supervision, development of locum guidelines and adherence to the locum policy, and inclusion of locum payments in the hospital budget.
Conclusion: The study revealed that the use of locum healthcare workers could improve the quality of care and be cost-effective when managed well. Therefore, the availability of clear guidelines can address the challenges that affect the quality of care provided by locum staff.
Study on Algorithm of fault recording analysis combining its time-domain waveforms and phase-domain trajectories
Authors: Ge Qun , Ren Lu , Li Jia
Published: September 2023

When the period of a sinusoidal waveform is taken as a baseline, after sampling time of fault recording are transformed into polar angles and its instantaneous values are transformed into polar diameters, the recording is transformed from its time-domain waveform in a rectangular coordinate system into the phase-domain trajectory in a polar coordinate system. In the paper the recording is analyzed base on the combination of the time-domain waveform and the phase-domain trajectory of the fault recording to mine fault feature parameters for reformulating the recording, and then the reformulated recording is used to substitute the original one to achieve various fault analysis functions in power systems. A short-circuit current containing a dc component being taken as an example, the algorithm consisting of separating, reformulating and adjusting various components from the current waveform are researched. By the algorithm the programs are created in Matlab, after their running the post-adjustment reformulated waveforms with high accuracy are obtained, and their curves of absolute errors pre- and post-adjustment are plotted. The relational problems, such as the calculation of the phase angles of samples and their errors, the accuracy of the reformulated waveforms, etc., are discussed. The research results show that there is a high correlation between the reformulated waveform using the algorithm proposed in the paper and the original one for the fault recording with only dc components, and it can be used to substitute the origin one within an error range.
Geochemical Characterisation of Waste Rock Dump and Its Potential to Predict Acid Mine Drainage
Authors: Kusi James Kwame , Foli Gordon , Peasah Yaw Michael , Akoto Osei
Published: September 2023

This paper evaluates the potential of the abandoned Anyankyirem waste rock dump located in Obuasi to cause acid mine drainage (AMD). Twenty (20) rocks were collected from various locations of the dump site and their elemental and physicochemical compositions were examined. XRD analysis was conducted on the samples to assess the mineralogy. Acid Base Accounting (ABA) test was used to ascertain the AMD potential of the dump. The ABA test comprises calculating the acid neutralization capacity (ANC) and maximum potential acidity (MPA) of the various samples. The MPA and ANC values were used to compute the rock samples' net acid production potential (NAPP). To help with acid mine drainage prediction, a column leaching experiment was carried out. Leachates were collected for over a period of 20 weeks. Physiochemical parameters of the leachates were determined as well as its chemical analysis and estimation of dissolution of calcium carbonate and weathering rate. From the column leaching experiment, rate of weathering of calcium carbonate throughout the 20-week leaching experiment was 3.6%. The ICP-MS and ICP-AES was used to determine the concentrations of heavy metals and major elements from the samples. Iron recorded the highest concentration of 7783.65 mg/kg and the lowest of 0.645 mg/kg was recorded in Bi. The sulphur and carbon contents of the samples ranged from 0.1 to 1.61% and 0.23 to 2.53% respectively. From ABA test and the column leaching test results, Anyankyirem waste rock dump is not acid generating.
Vitamin D deficiency and VDR gene polymorphism FokI (rs2228570) are associated with diabetes mellitus in adults: COVID-Inconfidentes Study
Authors: de Moura Samara Silva , de Menezes-Júnior Luiz Antônio Alves , Rocha Ana Maria Sampaio , Batista Aline Priscila , Sabião Thaís da Silva , de Menezes Mariana Carvalho , Machado-Coelho George Luiz Lins , Carraro Júlia Cristina Cardoso , Meireles Adriana Lúcia
Published: September 2023

Background:
Diabetes mellitus is a chronic and multifactorial condition, including environmental risk factors such as lifestyle habits and genetic conditions.
Objective:
We aimed to evaluate the association of VDRgene polymorphism (rs2228570) FokI and vitamin D levels with diabetes in adults.
Methods:
Cross-sectional population-based study in adults, conducted from October to December 2020 in two Brazilian cities. The outcome variable was diabetes, defined as glycated hemoglobin ≥ 6.5% or self-report medical diagnosis or use of oral hypoglycemic drugs. Vitamin D (25-hydroxyvitamin D) was measured by indirect electrochemiluminescence, and classified as deficiency when 25(OH)D < 20 ng/mL. All participants were genotyped for VDR FokI polymorphism by qPCR and classified as homozygous mutant (ff), heterozygous (Ff), or homozygous wild (FF). The association between the FokI polymorphism, vitamin D levels, and diabetes were estimated using multivariate logistic analysis. A combined analysis between the FokI polymorphism and vitamin D levels with diabetes was also examined. A directed acyclic graph (DAG) was used to select minimal and sufficient adjustment for confounding variables by the backdoor criterion.
Results:
The prevalence of DM was 9.4% and vitamin D deficiency (VDD) was 19.9%. The genotype distribution of FokI polymorphism was 9.9% FF, 44.8% Ff, and 45.3% ff. It was possible to verify a positive association between vitamin D deficiency and DM (OR= 2.19; 95% CI: 1.06-4.50). Individuals with the altered allele (ff) had a 1.78 higher prevalence of DM (OR: 1.78; 95% CI; 1.10-2.87). Combined analyses, individuals with vitamin D deficiency and one or two copies of the altered FokI allele had a higher prevalence of DM (Ff + ff: OR: 1.67; 95% CI; 1.07-2.61; ff: OR: 3.60; 95% CI; 1.40-9.25). Conclusion:
Our data suggest that vitamin D deficiency and FokI polymorphism are associated with DM.
Discovering the Diversity of Cultivable Endophytic Fungi in a Decumbent Subshrub Endemic of the Brazilian Tropical Savanna
Authors: Reis Jefferson Brendon Almeida dos , Bezerra Jadson Diogo Pereira , Vale Helson Mario Martins
Published: September 2023

The diversity of cultivable endophytic fungi in native subshrubs of the Brazilian Cerrado is largely unknown. Given the lack of knowledge, this study investigated the cultivable endophytic mycobiome of stems, leaves, and flowers of Peltaea polymorpha (Malvaceae). In total, 208 endophytic fungi were isolated, 95 from stems, 65 from leaves, and 48 from flowers. The isolates were classified as ascomycetes belonging to three classes, eight orders, ten families, 12 genera, and 31 species. Diaporthe, Nigrospora, and Colletrotrichum were the dominant genera in the three analyzed organs. The richness estimators suggested that the number of species might be slightly higher than observed. The highest values for the Shannon and Simpson diversity indices were observed in stems. Beta diversity showed overlapping of fungal communities in different organs, with a high rate of sharing of taxa. Furthermore, the dominant primary fungal lifestyles were plant pathogens and saprobes. Our findings show that the cultivable endophytic fungal community of P. polymorpha is species-rich and that communities in different organs share numerous genera and species. Finally, our findings reinforce the importance of the Brazilian Cerrado as a reservoir of fungal species to contribute to the national and global estimations of mycodiversity.
Two-dimensional wavelets collocation method for time-space fractional Schrödinger system
Authors: Darwish A. A. , Zedan H. A. , Kawala A. M. , Abdelaziz H. K.
Published: September 2023

This paper proposes a wavelet method to obtain a numerical solution to the time-space fractional Schrödinger equation. With Caputo fractional derivatives, two dimensional Legendre wavelets and their operational matrix with the collocation method are utilized to solve the coupled nonlinear time-space fractional Schrödinger system. Convergence and error analysis of the proposed method are discussed, and two illustrative examples are presented to demonstrate the simplicity and high accuracy of the proposed techniques.
Mathematics Subject Classi cation: 65N35 26A33 35R11 65T60
Automated Quantification of Background Parenchymal Enhancement in Longitudinal Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced MRI for Predicting Neo-adjuvant Chemotherapy Response in Breast Cancer
Authors: Huang Xin , Zhao Zhihe , Dong Rui , Huang Xiaomei , Du Siyao , Dai Yi , Liu Chunling , Liang Changhong , Han Chu , Zhang Lina , Liu Zaiyi , Shi Zhenwei
Published: September 2023

Background
Background parenchymal enhancement (BPE) shows high association with cancer risk and treatment response to neo-adjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in breast cancer. However, it still lacks automated method for BPE characterization.
Methods
In this retrospective study, we ultimately included 894 patients from three cohorts (GDPH, CUM1 and I-SPY2) for analysis. The proposed processing workflow included two main stages: (1) image pre-processing, development of breast and fibroglandular tissue (FGT) segmentation models, (2) BPE index calculation and evaluation. The dice coefficient and area under the curve (AUC) metric were used to evaluate the segmentation performance and discrimination ability of BPE indices for predicting pathological complete response (pCR).
Results
For breast segmentation, our model achieved impressive dice scores of 0.88 and 0.90 in the test cohorts. Also, the developed FGT segmentation model attained dice scores 0.86 and 0.86 in the test cohorts respectively, reflecting its proficiency in identifying and isolating fibroglandular tissue regions. The ΔBPE0-1indices showed significant association with pCR in the CUM1 and I-SPY2 cohorts, with (OR, 4.861 [CI: 1.248–22.292]; P = 0.030), and (OR, 3.027 [CI: 1.471–6.784]; P = 0.005). Also, the ΔBPE0-1 index presented better predictive performance, with AUCs of 0.614 (CI: 0.506–0.721) and 0.608 (CI: 0.546–0.671) in the CUM1 and I-SPY2 cohorts respectively. Finally, for early treatment, the BPE indices of sub-cohorts split by molecular subtypes are significantly different in the CUM1 (P = 0.044) and I-SPY2 (P < 0.001) cohorts respectively.
Conclusion
In this study, we proposed a novel workflow to automatically quantify BPE in DCE-MRI, and verified the statistically significant predictive ability of BPE for neo-adjuvant chemotherapy efficacy in multi-center data. The delta-BPE between pre-treatment and early treatment within NAC treatment showed significant association with pCR. It is expected that the developed BPE quantification method can aid personalized treatment for patients with breast cancer.
Effects of substituting natural prey for ancestral prey on food preference in the Alcatrazes Island dwarf pitviper
Authors: Alves-Nunes João Miguel , Fellone Adriano , Marques Otavio Augusto Vuolo
Published: September 2023

Snakes employ both chemical and visual cues to recognize their prey during hunting, varying in their dependencies. Sensory studies reveal that genetics, experience, nutritional value, and natural prey restrictions affect dietary choices. However, the effect of substituting natural prey with ancestral prey on dietary preferences remains unknown. To address this question, we opted to explore the Bothrops jararaca group. Despite displaying significant phylogenetic conservatism, this group showcases ecological diversity and dietary variations due to processes of insularization. Among these species, Bothrops alcatraz possesses distinctive characteristics. Owing to the absence of small mammals on Alcatrazes Island, this species has specialized in preying upon ectothermic creatures such as centipedes and lizards. Hence, our objective was to investigate the impact of restricting native prey while introducing ancestral prey (rodents) for 10 years in captivity on the dietary preferences of B. alcatraz. We utilized snakes sourced from the natural environment alongside individuals born in captivity. We carried out two experiments, employing distinct sensory approaches. Nevertheless, the results of the experiments yielded conflicting outcomes. Due to the specific sensory nature of B. alcatraz, the results of the second experiment, which encompassed all sensory cues of the prey, demonstrated that despite a mammal-based diet for a decade, B. alcatraz retained its preference for natural prey. Although this study is limited by sample size, it suggests that B. alcatraz's dietary preference is genetically determined and conserved, with significant implications for the conservation of both this species and other island snakes.
Quantifying the sampling error on burn counts in Monte-Carlo wildfire simulations using Poisson and Gamma distributions
Authors: Waeselynck Valentin , Johnson Gary , Schmidt David , Moritz Max A , Saah David
Published: September 2023

This article provides a precise, quantitative description of the sampling error on burn counts in Monte-Carlo wildfire simulations - that is, the prediction variability introduced by the fact that the set of simulated fires is random and finite. We show that the marginal burn counts are (very nearly) Poisson-distributed in typical settings and infer through Bayesian updating that Gamma distributions are suitable summaries of the remaining uncertainty. In particular, the coefficient of variation of the burn count is equal to the inverse square root of its expected value, and this expected value is proportional to the number of simulated fires multiplied by the asymptotic burn probability. From these results, we derive practical guidelines for choosing the number of simulated fires and estimating the sampling error. Notably, the required number of simulated years is expressed as a power law. Such findings promise to relieve fire modelers of resource-consuming iterative experiments for sizing simulations and assessing their convergence: statistical theory provides better answers, faster.
CTA-Net: A Gaze Estimation network based on Dual Feature Aggregation and Attention Cross Fusion
Authors: Xia Chenxing , Tao Zhanpeng , Wang Wei , Zhao Wenjun , Ge Bin , Gao Xiuju , Li Kuan-Ching , Zhang Yan
Published: September 2023

Recent work has demonstrated the Transformer model is effective for computer vision tasks. However, the global self-attention mechanism utilized in Transformer models does not adequately consider the local structure and details of images, which may result in the loss of information and local details, causing decreased estimation accuracy in gaze estimation tasks when compared to convolution or sequential stacking methods. To address this issue, we propose a parallel CNNs-Transformer aggregation network (CTA-Net) for gaze estimation, which fully leverages the advantages of the Transformer model in modeling global context while the convolutional neural networks (CNNs) model in retaining local details. Specifically, Transformer and ResNet are deployed to extract facial and eye information, respectively. Additionally, an attention cross fusion (ACFusion) Block is embedded with CNN branch, which decomposes features in space and channels to supplement lost features, suppress noise, and help extract eye features more effectively. Finally, a dual-feature aggregation (DFA) module is proposed to effectively fuse the output features of both branches with the help feature a selection mechanism and a residual structure. Experimental results on the MPIIGaze and Gaze360 datasets demonstrate that our CTA-Net achieves state-of-the-art results.
Study on Low Viscosity Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose Obtained by Electron Beam Irradiation and Its Role in Powder Modification
Authors: Cheng Hong , Wang Youjie , Hong Yanlong , Wu Fei , Shen Lan , Lin Xiao
Published: September 2023

In this study, hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose (HPMC) with lower viscosity was obtained by electron beam irradiation (EBI), and its physical modifiers for pharmaceutical powders was investigated when it was used during spray drying. After HPMC was irradiated at a dose of 150 kGy, the main structure of HPMC was not affected, and the substitution degree of methoxy and hydroxypropyl was not destroyed significantly. As the irradiation dose increased from 10 to 150 kGy, the molecular weight and viscosity of HPMC decreased continuously. The results of spray drying showed that HPMC could quickly migrate to the surface of the liquid medicine to cover droplets during spray drying and atomization, which improved the hygroscopicity and increased the softening point of spray-dried powder. And the powder water content is lower. After the powder is prepared into particles, the dissolution rate of particles is faster. Therefore, the modified powder exhibits better physical properties. The low viscosity HPMC obtained by electron beam irradiation is suitable for powder modification materials during spray drying, and is expected to be developed as excipient in traditional Chinese medicine and other industries.
Factors Associated With Inappropriately Use of Urinary Catheters in Elderly Patients Hospitalized in Internal Medicine Departments
Authors: Shimoni Zvi , Mustarchi Abdoul , Froom Paul
Published: September 2023

Purpose
To identify factors resulting in excess rates of urinary catheterization in elderly hospitalized patients to internal medicine departments.
Methods
We retrospectively selected randomly a sample of about 30% (n = 350) of the hospital charts of 1176/4571 (25.7%) discharged patients aged 65 or older who were newly catheterized and admitted during six months in 2019 and during 3 months in 2021 to one of three internal medicine departments in the Laniado Hospital, a 400-bed regional hospital. The independent variables included patient age, sex, disorientation (demented and or confused), urine volume on catheterization, and serum creatinine. The outcome variables were proportion of patients with inappropriately inserted catheters on admission and not adhering to consensus indications for keeping the catheter in after admission.
Results
There were 25.7% (1176/4571) of patients aged ≥ 65 years with newly placed urinary catheter. From a random sample reviewed, only 11.1% (39 /350) had consensus criteria for an indwelling catheter. There were 144 (41.1%) patients catheterized to obtain a urine sample for culture, not removed after admission in 57 (39.6%). Factors associated with failure to remove the catheter (odds ratios, 95% confidence intervals) included an incidentally detected increase in urine volumes (1.69,1.155–2.47), elevated serum creatinine values (2.71,1.66–4.42), and being disoriented (1.75,1.06–2.87).
Conclusions
Adherence to consensus criteria would have reduced urinary indwelling catheterization rates by nearly 90%, and efforts to ensure removal on admission might focus on those catheterized to obtain a urine sample, those with an incidentally detected increase in urine volumes, and those disoriented.
Investigating the Impact of Facebook Advertising Features on Consumer Behavior
Authors: Vo Thi Huong Giang , Luong Duy Binh , Le Khoa Huan , Huynh Thi Minh Tuyen
Published: September 2023

Many agencies have selected Facebook, one of the most popular social media platforms in Vietnam, as their primary communication and connection channel in their units due to its widespread usage and simplicity of use. Using social networks to advertise products could make people more likely to buy things. Nevertheless, there is still a need for more scholarly attention to understand the impact of social media usage on users' purchase intention, especially in Vietnam— a country with a significant number of social media users worldwide. Hence, this study aims to examine factors regarding social media advertising including informativeness, performance expectancy, perceived relevance, and interactivity that impact consumer buying intention through popular platforms in Vietnam such as Facebook. The authors utilized a set of established scales to measure the constructs under investigation. An online questionnaire with 22 items was designed and developed based on previous research. The survey specifically targeted Vietnamese shoppers who regularly engage in online activities through the social media platform Facebook. From the collected questionnaires, a data of 217 valid responses were utilized for the analysis using SPSS. The study revealed the indicators relevant to Facebook advertising of consumer purchase intention. Among them, two-way communication in the form of interactivity, one of the most common features of social networks plays a vital role in fostering purchase intention as its greatest effect on consumer purchase intention, followed by perceived relevance, performance expectancy, and informativeness. The current research extends consumer behavior literature in online shopping settings and consolidates further the importance of advertising value toward behavioral intention in the context of social media. The findings provide valuable insights for advertising companies to leverage Facebook media in their marketing and advertising endeavors such as providing users with the informative and relevant content, appealing appearance, as well as two-way interaction features so that they will be able to attract potentials consumers. Yet there were some limitations including the generalizability, the focus on a specific product category and the extension of other social media platforms which should be suggested in the future research.
Leadership and Motivation as the Part of Corporate Culture in Selected Company
Authors: Ubreziova Iveta , Vrablikova Maria , Diacikova Anna
Published: September 2023

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the management and motivation of people and employees as part of the corporate culture in aselected company in a retail chain. The selected company has been operating in Slovakia since 2000, when it opened its first branch. Today, this chain of stores operates almost all over Slovakia and is still expanding. Primary and secondary data, methods of analysis, synthesis, deduction, comparison and statistical methods (Chi square test) are used to prepare the paper. The first part contains theoretical starting points and knowledge of the investigated issue from Slovak and foreign sources. The methodology contains a precise definition of the main goal, subgoals of the work, material and work procedure. The following is an analysis of the actual state of the selected entity. We use the questionnaire method to obtain information to evaluate leadership and motivation. The questionnaire is composed of 14 questions, 5 of which are identification questions, and the others are focused on the preferred style of leadership and satisfaction, on building a corporate culture, on current benefits and satisfaction with them, on potential benefits and on demotivation factories. The survey was completed by 57 respondents who were employees of one of the branches. Three hypotheses are formulated as part of this survey. Among the main analysis results, we can include satisfaction with the leadership style and the perception of corporate culture in the sense of “Everything for people” (for customers and employees) but also negative things such as insufficient current benefits and demotivation in the form of employee overload, bad working relations or insufficient environmental responsibility. All 3 hypotheses were rejected. Satisfaction with the leadership style does not depend on years of service, satisfaction with benefits received does not affect the age of the employees, and building a corporate culture does not depend on the leadership style of people. Subsequently, proposals and recommendations for practice are formulated based on the analysis. Among the most important proposals are support for the health of employees in the form of vitamin packages and wellness, sick days, financial rewards and team building. The conclusion of the paper also includes the limitations of the research and its possible extensions.
A measurement of the proton plus helium spectrum of cosmic rays in the TeV region with HAWC
Authors: Arteaga-Velázquez Juan Carlos
Published: September 2023

HAWC is an air-shower detector designed to study TeV gamma and cosmic rays. The observatory is composed of a 22000 m^2m2 array of 300 water Cherenkov tanks (4.5 m deep x 7.3 m diameter) with 4 photomultipliers (PMT) each. The instrument registers the number of hit PMTs, the timing information and the total charge at the PMTs during the event. From these data, shower observables such as the arrival direction, the core position at ground, the lateral age and the primary energy are estimated. In this work, we study the distribution of the shower age vs the primary energy of a sample of shower data collected by HAWC from June 2015 to June 2019 and employ a shower-age cut based on predictions of QGSJET-II-04 to separate a subsample of events dominated by H and He primaries. Using these data and a dedicated analysis, we reconstruct the cosmic ray spectrum of H+He from 6 to 158 TeV, which shows the presence of a softening at around 24 TeV with a statistical significance of 4.1\sigmaσ.
Measuring the attenuation length of muon number in the air shower with muon detectors of 3/4 LHAASO array
Authors: Feng Xiaoting , Zhang Hengying , Feng Cunfeng , Ma Lingling
Published: September 2023

LHAASO KM2A consists of 5915 scintillation detectors and 1188 muon detectors, and the muon detectors cover 4% area of the whole array with 30 m interdetector spacing. The muon number in air shower events, with very high energy, is investigated with the data recorded by muon detector of the 3/4 LHAASO array in 2021. The attenuation length of muon number in the air shower is measured by fitting the muon number with constant flux in various zenith angles, based on the constant intensity cut method. The variation of the attenuation length as shower energy from hundreds TeV to tens PeV is presented. The results of simulation also is presented for comparing.
BIOCHEMICAL PRODUCTS OF THE GUT MICROBIOME: INSIGHT INTO DISEASES AND PROBIOTIC NUTRITION
Authors:   B.E. Students, Department of Biotechnology, R V College of Engineering., Joshi Siddharth , Tutika Snigdha ,   B.E. Students, Department of Biotechnology, R V College of Engineering., J. Kothari Rutu ,   B.E. Students, Department of Biotechnology, R V College of Engineering., Kumar S. Narendra ,   Assistant Professor, Department of Biotechnology, R V College of Engineering August 7, 2023.
Published: September 2023

Probiotics are compounds that are finding increased relevance and markets in the health in- dustry.Bacteria, archaea, viruses, and eukaryotic organisms live in and on our bodies, making up the human microbiome. These bacteria have enormous potential to influence human physiology in both good and bad health. They support metabolic functions, protect against infections, train the immune system, and influence most of our physiologic functions directly or indirectly through these basic roles. Continued research into the roles of the microbiome and the mechanisms under- pinning host-microbe interactions will help researchers better comprehend the microbiomes role in health and disease. This paper focusses upon the variant nature of the human gut microbiota, its expressions and roles in different diseases. It also devels into the applications, upliftment and effects caused by probiotics on the same. Finally we explore the relevance of these biota to the probiotics markets.
Positive Business Communication: Means of Harmonizing Communication in Commercial Group Chats
Authors: Baikulova Alla N. , Kormilitsyna Margarita A.
Published: September 2023

Internet communication and its genres are one of the most relevant issues of modern linguistics. Genres of Internet communication are in constant development. Internet chats started as a platform of phatic communication that provided leisure activities. These days, group chats serve a lot of purposes. For instance, commercial group chats are aimed at online buying and selling. This research focused on two Viber commercial chats that united women-customers and sellers from the city of Saratov (2021–2023). The discursive analysis revealed conflict-free environment, which is not typical of phatic chats, where anonymity usually contributes to the violation of communication and ethical standards. The authors identified the means of harmonizing communication that communicants resorted to for effective interaction. The participants created a benevolent atmosphere by using hypocoristic proper names, emoticons, complementarity, etc. Etiquette genres of greetings, gratitude, compliments, congratulations, and wishes resulted in a balanced communication. Tactics of conflict prevention included solidarity, mitigation, e.g., diminutives, reminders, concern for the addressee, assessment, courtesy, humor, etc. The resulting communicative attraction contributed to effective communication between sellers and buyers. The positive communication experience in such chats may improve the real communication.
ESPAÇO-TEMPO ENQUANTO CATEGORIA DE ANÁLISE NA FILOSOFIA BAKHTINIANA
Authors: Câmara Rocha Ramon Diego , Da Silva Regina Simon
Published: September 2023

O presente artigo tem o objetivo de refletir sobre o impacto da filosofia do linguista e teórico russo Mikhail Bakhtin, em meados da década de 1920, acerca de movimentos discursivo-ideológicos sobre enunciados concretos, aplicados ao estudo da análise literária. Nesse caminho de compreensão acerca do tema, o espaço-tempo ou “cronotopo”, como cunhado pelo teórico, surge como importante categoria de análise, dentro do que o próprio chamará de “análise material da linguagem”. Assim sendo, deter-nos-emos, em um primeiro momento, às relações entre discurso e espaço-tempo mediante reflexões da filosofia da linguagem no século XX e, em um segundo, à importância destas discussões para se pensar em uma análise do objeto estético na qual o espaço-tempo, dentro e fora da obra, seja pensado de maneira correlacionada, através, também, de uma consideração dos elementos constituintes do objeto artístico: conteúdo, material e forma. Para nos auxiliar nessas discussões, além da produção de Mikhail Bakhtin (1997; 2014; 2018), importantes teóricos e pensadores da linguagem serão utilizados, entre eles Pavel Medviédev (2012), Ernst Cassirer (2001), Carlos Alberto Faraco (2007), G. Lofts (2016), entre outros.
GENERAL RESULTS OF THE 21-DAY HEAD-DOWN BEDREST STUDY WITHOUT THE USE OF COUNTERMEASURES
Authors:   Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Puchkova А.А. , Shpakov A.V. ,   Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Baranov V.M. ,   Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Katuntsev V.P. ,   Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Stavrovskaya D.M. ,   Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Primachenko G.К. ,   Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Gorbachev V.P. ,   Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Tomilovskaya Е.S. ,   Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Orlov O.I. ,   Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow
Published: September 2023

The paper reports the major results of an IBMP bedrest study with the emphasis on its preparation and implementation. The study involved 12 healthy males (29.8 ± 4.6 years of age, M ± SD) volunteered for a 21-d head-down bed rest at –6° (HDBR). Body length, mass and water balance were measured daily (2 days prior, during and in 2 days after HDBR). Routine checkups were performed twice a day. They included heart rate (HR), blood pressure(BP) and temperature measurements, and recording complaints, if any. Data analysis pointed to a tendency for body elongation and mass loss in the period of acute adaptation; these changes retained till the end of HDBR. Water balance was noted to be negative during HDBR but became positive on completion. HR, BP and body temperature were decreased in the early HDBR period and increased significantly on the first day after its completion. The most common complaints were about back discomfort, generally inthe lumbar region.
PRENOSOLOGICAL DIAGNOSTICS AS A METHODOLOGY OF ORGANISM PHYSIOLOGICAL CONDITION ASSESSMENT AND ITS PLACE IN SPACE AND TERRESTRIAL MEDICINE
Authors:   Institute of Biomedical Problems of Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Berseneva A.P. , Funtova I.I. ,   Institute of Biomedical Problems of Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow
Published: September 2023

A new concept of the health doctrine – prenosology – was conceived in space medicine. Roman M. Baevsky was one of the founders. The concept was built not on diagnostics of diseases but assessment of health quality by assigning to one of 4 adaptation states: good, strained, bad, and failure. Mass prenosological examinations of more than 25 thousand people in the period between 1975 and 2005 showed a high effectiveness of this approach in assessment of both personal and group health. It was found that about 20–30 % of people required medical care. In recent decades, the stress level and development of de-adaptation transiting to pathologies within six months have been growing catastrophically. Automated prenosological diagnostics system approved by the Russian Ministry of Health can be instrumental in prophylactic examination to triage the stream of people by the level of adaptation and need of medical care. In future, medicine will certainly be focused on the health of healthy people and prenosology will gain acceptance and progress.
OXIDATIVE STRESS AS SENECCENCE INDUCTOR FOR ADIPOSE-DERIVED MESENCHYMAL STROMAL CELLS
Authors:   Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Ratushnyy A.Yu.
Published: September 2023

Studies of tissue-specific mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) for medical purposes are inspired by their potential to multilineage differentiation, a broad spectrum of bioactive molecule secretion and other properties. Cell senescence induced by oxidative stress can alter the MSCs morphofunctional characteristics. The work was aimed at studying the senescence-related morphofunctional changes in adipose-derived MSCs (AD-MSCs) under sublethal oxidative stress. Viability of cells in 96 hours after adding 500 µМ H2O2 made up less than 5 % (incubation time – 6 hrs.). Percentage of survived cells in other samples was higher (> 85 %); however, the rate of cell growth decreased significantly. Treated AD-MSCs were increased in size and cytoplasm was more granular. Active senescence-associated β-galactosidase was detected in nearly 100 % cells. These findings are evidence of activation of senescence. The level of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) was increased, as well as the activity of lysosomal and mitochondrial compartments. After the one-hour oxidative stress, ROS returned to baseline values. Increase in endogenous ROS was observed in 24–96 hrs. post the stress.
EFFECT OF SYSTEMATIC GRAVITATIONAL OVERLOADS ON STRUCTURAL ORGANIZATION OF THE ADRENALS AND THYMUS IN AN EXPERIMENT
Authors:   V.I. Vernadsky Crimean Federal University, Simferopol, Moroz G.A. , Kriventsov М.А. ,   V.I. Vernadsky Crimean Federal University, Simferopol, Kutia S.А. ,   V.I. Vernadsky Crimean Federal University, Simferopol
Published: September 2023

Effects of various anthropo-ecological factors on organism are one of the central topics of present-day morphology. Subject of our investigation was structural transformations in the adrenals and thymus as a result of systematic exposure to gravitational overloads (GOL), and arginine glutamate as a corrigent agent. Light and electron microscopy techniques were used to explore morphological changes in the adrenals and thymus of 24 adult male Wistar rats with the initial body mass of 260–280 g. Over the period of 45 days, the rats were daily exposed to 10-minute rotation at 9 G with and without injection of 4 % arginine glutamate solution as an antioxidant and membrane stabilizer. It was established that systematic exposure to extreme GOL produces serous changes in the structural and functional organization of both organs such as obvious hemodynamic disorders and degenerative structural effects in all cell populations. The extent of structural changes attests to adaptation failure and development of irreversible damages. The experiment showed that prolonged injection of arginine glutamate failed to abate these morphofunctional disorders in the adrenals and thymus and to enhance adaptive potential during the systematic rotation at extreme GOL.
Naturally and Chemically Sulfated Polysaccharides in Drug Delivery Systems
Authors: Prado Héctor J. , Matulewicz María C. , Ciancia Marina
Published: September 2023

Sulfated polysaccharides have always attracted much attention in food,
cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. These polysaccharides can be obtained from
natural sources such as seaweeds (agarans, carrageenans, fucoidans, mannans and
ulvans), or animal tissues (glucosaminoglycans). In the last few years, several neutral
or cationic polysaccharides have been sulfated by chemical methods and anionic or
amphoteric derivatives were obtained, respectively, for drug delivery and other
biomedical applications. An important characteristic of sulfated polysaccharides in this
field is that they can associate with cationic drugs generating polyelectrolyte-drug
complexes, or with cationic polymers to form interpolyelectrolyte complexes, with
hydrogel properties that expand even more their applications. The aims of this chapter
are to present the structural characteristics of these polysaccharides, to describe the
methods of sulfation applied and to review extensively and discuss developments in
their use or their role in interpolyelectrolyte complexes in drug delivery platforms. A
variety of pharmaceutical dosage forms which were developed and administered by
multiple routes (oral, transdermal, ophthalmic, and pulmonary, among others) to treat
diverse pathologies were considered. Different IPECs were formed employing these sulfated polysaccharides as the anionic component. The most widely investigated is κ-carrageenan. Chitosan is usually employed as a cationic polyelectrolyte, with a variety
of sulfated polysaccharides, besides the applications of chemically sulfated chitosan.
Although chemical sulfation is often carried out in neutral polysaccharides and, to a
less extent, in cationic ones, examples of oversulfation of naturally sulfated fucoidan
have been found which improve its drug binding capacity and biological properties.
Biofilms: the Achilles’ Heel of Antimicrobial Resistance
Authors: Gabriela Paraje María
Published: September 2023

Microbial biofilms are communities of sessile cells with a three-dimensional
(3D) extracellular polymeric substance (EPS). The EPS consists of exopolysaccharides,
nucleic acids (eDNA and eRNA), proteins, lipids, and other biomolecules, that they
produce and are irreversibly attached to living or non-living surfaces. This is the most
frequent growth mode of microorganisms in nature. The biofilm formation consists of
several steps, starting with attachment to a surface and the formation of microcolonies.
Subsequently, in the maturation step, three-dimensional structures are formed and end
the life cycle of biofilms with the dispersal or detachment of the cells. This type of
growth has been reported to be more resistant to antimicrobial treatment and immune
response than its planktonic (free-living) counterparts. Several intrinsic resistance
factors including the interaction between antimicrobial and biofilm matrix components,
reduced growth rates, persister cells presence, increased production of oxidative stress,
and antagonist and degradation mechanisms may be active in some parts of the
biofilms have been described. Extrinsic factors such as increased horizontal genes
transmission conferring antimicrobial resistance have been described contributing to
the biofilm antimicrobial resistance.
Due to the heterogeneous nature of biofilms, it is likely that multiple mechanisms of
biofilm antimicrobial resistance are useful in order to explain biofilm survival in a
number of cases, being the result of an intricate mixture of intrinsic and extrinsic
factors. The understanding of the nature of biofilm development and drug tolerance are
great challenges for the use of conventional antimicrobial agents and indicate the need
for multi-targeted or combinatorial therapies.
Development of Analytical Methods for Analysis of Drugs of Abuse in Biological Fluids using Design of Experiments and Response Surface Methodology
Authors: dos Santos Christiano , Fernandes Grecco Caroline , Florêncio Jacques , Tapia Blácido Delia Rita
Published: September 2023

New Psychoactive Substances (NPS), also known as design drugs, are
developed by modification of the chemical structure of the initially prohibited
substances. The idea behind this strategy is to create alternatives for consumption and
to evade national and international control measures applied to controlled substances,
bypassing the legislative prohibition. In this context, the emergence of NPS has raised
questions about the analytical methods that can be applied to identify and to
characterize these substances in different scenarios, including biological fluids
(serum/plasma, whole blood, oral fluid, and urine). Because biological fluids are
complex matrixes, a sample preparation step is required to remove undesired
endogenous matrix components and to isolate and pre-concentrate the analytes before
chromatographic analysis. Different extraction or sample preparation techniques such
as liquid-liquid extraction, solid phase extraction, dispersive liquid-liquid
microextraction, and microextraction by packed sorbent can be used prior to
chromatographic analysis (gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, or liquid
chromatography mass spectrometry). All these techniques involve many factors that
must be optimized so that the analytical method can detect NPS in biological samples.
Tools like design of experiments (DoE) and Response Surface Methodology (RSM)
can contribute to the study and optimization of the variables involved in these
analytical techniques. This book chapter shows how experimental design tools (full
factorial design, fractional factorial design, Plackett-Burman design, Box-Behnken
design, central composite design) and response surface methodology can aid the
development of analytical methods for the analysis of drugs of abuse in biological
fluids.
Levels of Automation
Authors: Afolabi Daniyan Ilesanmi , Daniyan Lanre , Adeodu Adefemi , Uchegbu Ikenna
Published: September 2023

This chapter discusses the levels of automation (LOA). The degree to which
a system, process or task is automated is referred to as the level of automation. They
are: manual, semi-automatic and fully automatic depending on the level of human
involvement, the system or processes to be automated and the end users’ requirements.
At the lowest level; the manual represents the human control level while the fully
automatic level represents the computer controls level. At the semi-automatic level, the
control activities involve both human and computer controls. The human control tasks
include sensory processing for information acquisition, perception for information
analysis, decision-making based on cognitive processing for action selection, and
response selection for action implementation. Furthermore, this chapter also highlights
the elements of system automation and classes of automated systems. The
identification and specifications of the elements of the system’s automation based on
the end-user requirements are a critical aspect of the control design phase. The major
elements of the system’s automation include a sensor, a controller, an actuator, a power
component, a motor and drives, a communication protocol, a human-machine interface,
etc. Classes of automation systems could also be fixed, programmable, flexible,
integrated, or cognitive automation depending on the need. The future of fully
autonomous systems is exciting and promising although many industrial processes and
systems are semi-autonomous thus relying on human factors such as physical, mental
and technical capabilities such as intuition, perception, sensitivity, observation,
experience, and judgment to arrive at effective decision making as it relates to system’s
control.
The Control System
Authors: Afolabi Daniyan Ilesanmi , Daniyan Lanre , Ramatsetse Boitumelo , Mpofu Khumbulani
Published: September 2023

This chapter presents the control system and its functions, types, examples,
and representation of the process control systems. A control system is a system that
regulates, directs, commands, and manages the performance of other sub-systems using
a control loop. Basically, there are two major types of control systems, viz; the open
and closed loop control systems. For the open loop control system, control action is
independent of the desired output. This control system is referred to as a non-feedback
control because of the absence of a feedback path. Although they are simple in design
and relatively inexpensive but are less accurate compared to the closed-loop control
system. On the other hand, for the closed-loop control system, control action is a
function of the desired output. This control system is referred to as feedback control
because of the presence of the feedback path. Although it is complex in design and
expensive but more accurate compared to the open loop control system. To enhance the
performance of basic controls, many modern systems incorporate advanced controls
such as advanced regulatory controls, advanced process controls, multivariable
predictive control, non-linear multivariable predictive control, fuzzy logic control,
inferential measurements, etc. Advanced controls are a set of technologies employed to
address a specific control deficiency in a system. While the basic controls facilitate the
control of a system’s basic operations, advanced controls are incorporated to enhance
the performance of the basic controls.