bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Bile Acids and Farnesoid X Receptor: Novel Target for the Treatment of Diabetic Cardiomyopathy
Authors: Li Chao , Li Yunlun , Gai Zhibo
Published: August 2019

Diabetes mellitus (DM) has become an increasingly common disease with high disability and
mortality rates. Diabetes complications are the main cause of diabetes death and about 50% of diabetic
patients died from heart disease in developed countries reported by World Health Organization. Diabetic
cardiomyopathy (DCM) has been considered as a high incidence and serious complication of DM and
plays a key role in the incidence and development of diabetes related heart failure. Metabolism dysregulation
is regarded as an important and earlier factor occurred in the pathogenesis of DCM. Insulin resistance,
oxidative stress, inflammation and mitochondrial dysfunction also contribute to the development
of DCM. Farnesoid X Receptor (FXR) is a member of nuclear receptor superfamily, and plays a critical
role in regulating lipid and glucose metabolism, oxidative stress and inflammation. FXR is activated by
primary bile acids (BAs) such as chenodeoxycholic acid, cholic acid and synthetic agonists such as
obeticholic acid. BAs are the main active ingredients of many natural products and traditional medicines,
especially bile or gallstones in animals, such as calculus bovis. Due to the regulatory effect of
FXR on glucose and lipid metabolism, oxidative stress and inflammation, the treatment of BAs and FXR
agonists for metabolic syndrome and DCM have gained more attention. This review will focus on the
pathogenesis of diabetic cardiomyopathy and the regulatory effect of BAs and FXR on DCM.
Level of Knowledge About Alzheimer's Disease Among Nursing Staff in Suzhou and its Influencing Factors
Authors: Lin Lu , Lv Shujiao , Liang Jinghong , Li Huiling , Xu Yong
Published: August 2019

Background:

With the rapid aging process, an increasing number of individuals will be living with dementia worldwide. A good mastery of knowledge about Alzheimer's Disease (AD) by medical staff has been reported to improve the outcome of patients with AD, making it necessary to assess the level of AD knowledge among nursing staff and address their knowledge deficits in order to upgrade the quality of care and improve quality of life for AD patients.

Objective:

To assess the level of AD knowledge among nursing staff in Suzhou, using the Alzheimer's Disease Knowledge Scale (ADKS), and analyze its influencing factors.

Methods:

Nursing staff working in healthcare institutes such as hospitals, community centers, nursing homes, etc. in all the six districts of Suzhou City were selected by convenience sampling. A selfdesigned questionnaire was used to collect general information of the participants, including gender, age, education, professional title, workplace, AD-related training, contact with AD patients, experience in caring for AD patients, etc., and the ADKS scale was used to assess their level of AD knowledge.

Results:

A total of 1102 in-service nursing staff in Suzhou were included in the study. Univariate analysis showed that age, education, professional titles, bias towards AD patients, AD-related training, contact with AD patients, experience in caring for AD patients were the influencing factors of the total ADKS score; multivariate analysis indicated that age, bias towards AD patients, and contact with AD patients are independent influencing factors of the level of AD knowledge among nursing staff in Suzhou.

Conclusion:

Mastery of AD knowledge among the nursing staff in Suzhou is not satisfactory. It is urgent to change the nursing staff’s negative attitude towards AD and put into effect AD-related health education and training courses so that nursing staff can upgrade their level of AD knowledge and provide better care in order to improve the quality of life for AD patients.
Resveratrol Rescues Tau-Induced Cognitive Deficits and Neuropathology in a Mouse Model of Tauopathy
Authors: Sun Xiao-Ying , Dong Quan-Xiu , Zhu Jie , Sun Xun , Zhang Li-Fan , Qiu Mandy , Yu Xiao-Lin , Liu Rui-Tian
Published: August 2019

Background:

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is characterized by the presence of extracellular amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques and intraneuronal neurofibrillary tangles assembled by the microtubuleassociated protein tau. Increasing evidence demonstrated that tau pathology played an important role in AD progression. Resveratrol (RSV) has previously proved to exert neuroprotective effect against AD by inhibiting Aβ generation and Aβ-induced neurocytotoxicity, while its effect on tau pathology is still unknown.

Method:

The effect of RSV on tau aggregation was measured by Thioflavin T fluorescence and Transmission electron microscope imaging. The effect of RSV on tau oligomer-induced cytotoxicity was assessed by MTT assay and the uptake of extracellular tau by N2a cells was determined by immunocytochemistry. 6-month-old male PS19 mice were treated with RSV or vehicle by oral administration (gavage) once a day for 5 weeks. The cognitive performance was determined using Morris water maze test, object recognition test and Y-maze test. The levels of phosphorylated-tau, gliosis, proinflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α and IL-1β, and synaptic proteins including synaptophysin and PSD95 in the brains of the mice were evaluated by immunoblotting, immunostaining and ELISA, respectively.

Results:

RSV significantly inhibited tau aggregation and tau oligomer-induced cytotoxicity, and blocked the uptake of extracellular tau oligomers by N2a cells. When applied to PS19 mice, RSV treatment effectively rescued cognitive deficits, reducing the levels of phosphorylated tau, neuroinflammation and synapse loss in the brains of mice.

Conclusion:

These findings suggest that RSV has promising therapeutic potential for AD and other tauopathies.
Effects of Hot Air and Microwave Drying on the Phenolic Components and Physicochemical Properties of Unripe Grapes (Qoura)
Authors: Razgeh Loghman D. , Fathabad Ayub E. , Shariatifar Nabi , Esmail Mohsen , Khaneghah Amin M.
Published: August 2019

Background::

Unripe grape (Qoura) in the forms of either intact or juice can be used as a flavoring agent in several foods of Iranian cuisines such as soup and salad due to its sour taste.

Methods::

In the current study, the effects of microwave (270, 540, and 720 W) and hot air drying (40, 50 and 60°C) on the polyphenol components content and chemical properties (including chroma, hue angle, L* value, total color difference, soluble sugars, acidity, total phenols and phenolic components including rutin, gallic acid, hydroxybenzoic acid, syringic acid, p-coumaric acid, and resveratrol) of Qoura obtained from unripe white seedless grape were investigated.

Results::

The obtained results showed that in both methods, by increasing the oven temperature and microwave power, the L value (The L* value was used to express the whiteness and darkness) was decreased. There was a notable reduction in the initial phenolic content of the sample (381.671 mg gallic acid/ 100 g) as a result of both of the used techniques. The initial content of resveratrol was decreased from 30.27 mg/100 g; to 23.07, 16.64, 10.73 mg/100 g sample in the samples treated with the air-drying method at 40, 50, 60°C, respectively. Also, by using the microwave in 270, 540, 720 W, it decreased to 5.77, 5.38. 5.26 mg/100 g sample at 270, 540, 720 Watt, respectively.

Conclusion::

The results of the present study revealed that the drying method affects the amount of polyphenolic compounds and physicochemical properties.
Combined Brain/Heart Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Authors: Mavrogeni Sophie , Koutsogeorgopoulou Loukia , Dimitroulas Theodoros , Markousis-Mavrogenis George , Boki Kyriaki , Katsifis Gikas , Vartela Vasiliki , Kallenberg Cees G. , Kolovou Genovefa , Kitas George
Published: August 2019

:

Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) and Neuropsychiatric
SLE (NPSLE) has an estimated prevalence of 50% and 40%, respectively and both constitute
major causes of death among SLE patients. In this review, a combined brain/heart Magnetic
Resonance Imaging (MRI) for SLE risk stratification has been proposed.

:

The pathophysiologic background of NPSLE includes microangiopathy, macroscopic infarcts and
accelerated atherosclerosis. Classic brain MRI findings demonstrate lesions suggestive of NPSLE
in 50% of the NPSLE cases, while advanced MRI indices can detect pre-clinical lesions in the majority
of them, but their clinical impact still remains unknown. Cardiac involvement in SLE includes
myo-pericarditis, valvular disease/endocarditis, Heart Failure (HF), coronary macro-microvascular
disease, vasculitis and pulmonary hypertension. Classic and advanced Cardiovascular
Magnetic Resonance (CMR) indices allow function and tissue characterization for early diagnosis
and treatment follow-up of CVD in SLE.

:

Although currently, there are no clinical data supporting the combined use of brain/heart MRI in
asymptomatic SLE, it may have a place in cases with clinical suspicion of brain/heart involvement,
especially in patients at high risk for CVD/stroke such as SLE with antiphospholipid syndrome
(SLE/APS), in whom concurrent cardiac and brain lesions have been identified. Furthermore, it
may be of value in SLE with multi-organ involvement, NPSLE with concurrent cardiac involvement,
and recent onset of arrhythmia and/or heart failure.
Modified Local Binary Pattern Algorithm for Feature Dimensionality Reduction
Authors: Kumar Manish , Gupta Rahul , Raju Kota S. , Kumar Dinesh
Published: August 2019

Background:

Bio metric authentication is becoming popular now a days and becoming
integral part of IoT and other systems. Face recognition is one of the major and important aspect of
bio metric systems after the fingerprint.

Objective:

A face recognition algorithm with feature dimensionality reduction is proposed which is
very much required in recognition system for high speed and accuracy.

Methods:

The proposed algorithm is based on a variant of Local Binary Pattern (LBP) for face detection
and recognition. The features of each block of face image is extracted and then global feature
of face is constructed from super histogram.

Results:

For recognition, traditional methods are used. The query image is compared with the data
set (ORL Dataset, LFW Dataset and Yale Dataset) in similarity index and the minimum distance.
The maximum similarity is used to define as the class of query image. The reduction in number of
features is achieved by modifying the traditional LBP process.

Conclusion:

The proposed modified method is observed as more fast and efficient for face recognition
as compared to the existing algorithms.
Synthesis of 7,3'-Epoxy-8,4'-Oxyneolignane-1’-Carboxylic Acid from Natural Eusiderin A and its Activity Against Trichophyton mentagrophytes
Authors: Muhaimin Muhaimin , Syamsurizal Syamsurizal , Latief Madyawati , Iskandar Rahmi , Chaerunisaa Anis Yohana , Mujahidin Didin
Published: August 2019

Background:

Eusiderin A is a neolignan derivate, which makes up the majority of the secondary metabolite of Eusideroxylon zwageri. It has been reported as a potent biopesticide and antifungal agent. Previous studies on the oxidation of terminal methylene of the allylic chain in Eusiderin A have been able to produce primary alcohol, pinacol, and an aldehyde which demonstrated strong activity against plant pathogenic fungi, therefore activity against dermal fungi needs to be studied.

Objective:

The current study aims to improve the hydrophilicity of Eusiderin A via oxidation of the allylic chain in order to derive a potent antifungal property.

Methods:

Transformation of Eusiderin A has been achieved by using the Wacker Oxidation Method in combination with the α-Hydroxylation-Ketone Method to produce 7,3’-epoxy-8,4’-oxyneolignane-1’- carboxylic acid. The structure of the 7,3’-epoxy-8,4’-oxyneolignane-1’-carboxylic acid was identified from spectroscopy data. The in vitro antifungal activity study was performed using the paper disc diffusion method against Trichophyton mentagrophytes.

Results:

New molecule of natural Eusiderin A through the oxidation of the allylic chain to increase the hydrophilicity of Eusiderin A has been designed. Based on the observed UV, IR, 1H and 13C-NMR, and MS spectra, it can be stated that the 7,3’-epoxy-8,4’-oxyneolignane-1’-carboxylic acid has been formed. At a concentration of 50 ppm, this compound showed antifungal activity against Trichophyton mentagrophytes.

Conclusion:

It can be concluded that the 7,3’-epoxy-8,4’-oxyneolignane-1’-carboxylic acid is a potent antifungal agent as it is able to inhibit the Trichophyton mentagrophytes colonies growth.
Sonification With Music for Cybersecurity Situational Awareness
Authors: Falk Courtney , Dykstra Josiah
Published: August 2019

Cyber defenders work in stressful, information-rich, and high-stakes environments. While other researchers have considered soniﬁcation for security operations centers (SOCs), the mappings of network events to sound parameters have produced aesthetically unpleasing results. This paper proposes a novel soniﬁcation pro-cess for transforming data about computer network trafﬁc into music. The musical cues relate to notable network events in such a way as to minimize the amount of training time a human listener would need in order to make sense of the cues. We demonstrate our technique on a dataset of 708 million authentication events over nine continuous months from an enterprise network. We il-lustrate a volume-centric approach in relation to the amplitude of the input data, and also a volumetric approach mapping the input data signal into the number of notes played. The resulting music prioritizes aesthetics over bandwidth to balance performance with adoption.
Psychoacoustical Signal Processing for Three-dimensional Sonification
Authors: Ziemer Tim , Schultheis Holger
Published: August 2019

Physical attributes of sound interact perceptually, which makes it challenging to present a large amount of information simultaneously via soniﬁcation, without confusing the user. This paper presents the theory and implementation of a psychoacoustic signal processing approach for three-dimensional soniﬁcation. The direction and distance along the dimensions are presented via multiple perceptually orthogonal sound attributes in one auditory stream. Further auditory streams represent additional elements, like axes and ticks. This paper describes the mathematical and psychoa-coustical foundations and discusses the three-dimensional soniﬁcation for a guidance task. Formulas, graphics and demo videos are provided. To facilitate use at virtually all places the approach is mono-compatible and even works on budget loudspeakers.
A Psychoacoustic Sound Design for Pulse Oximetry
Authors: Schwarz Sebastian , Ziemer Tim
Published: August 2019

Oxygen saturation monitoring of neonates is a demanding task, as oxygen saturation (SpO2) has to be maintained in a particular range. However, auditory displays of conventional pulse oximeters are not suitable for informing a clinician about deviations from a target range. A psychoacoustic soniﬁcation for neonatal oxygen saturation monitoring is presented. It consists of a continuous Shepard tone at its core. In a laboratory study it was tested if participants (N = 6) could differentiate between seven ranges of oxygen saturation using the proposed soniﬁcation. On average participants could identify in 84% of all cases the correct SpO2 range. Moreover, detection rates differed signiﬁcantly between the seven ranges and as a function of the magnitude of SpO2 change between two consecutive values. Possible explanations for these ﬁndings are discussed and implications for further improvements of the presented soniﬁcation are proposed.
Real-time Auditory Contrast Enhancement
Authors: Weger Marian , Hermann Thomas , Höldrich Robert
Published: August 2019

Every day, we rely on the information that is encoded in the auditory feedback of our physical interactions. With the goal to perceptually enhance those sound characteristics that are relevant to us — especially within professional practices such as percussion and auscultation — we introduce the method of real-time Auditory Contrast Enhancement (ACE). It is derived from algorithms for speech enhancement as well as from the remarkable sound processing mechanisms of our ears. ACE is achieved by individual sharpening of spectral and temporal structures contained in a sound while maintaining its natural gestalt. With regard to the targeted real-time applications, the proposed method is designed for low latency. As the discussed examples illustrate, it is able to signiﬁcantly enhance spectral and temporal contrast.
An Investigation Into Customisable Automatically Generated Auditory Route Overviews for Pre-navigation
Authors: Aziz Nida , Stockman Tony , Stewart Rebecca
Published: August 2019

While travelling to new places, maps are often used to determine the speciﬁcs of the route to follow. This helps prepare for the journey by forming a cognitive model of the route in our minds. However, the process is predominantly visual and thus inaccessible to people who are either blind or visually impaired (BVI) or doing an activity where their eyes are otherwise engaged. This work explores effective methods of generating route overviews, which can create a similar cognitive model as visual routes, using audio. The overviews thus generated can help users plan their journey according to their preferences and prepare for it in advance. This paper explores usefulness and usability of auditory routes overviews for the BVI and draws design implications for such a system following a 2-stage study with audio and sound designers and users. The ﬁndings underline that auditory route overviews are an important tool that can assist BVI users to make more informed travel choices. A properly designed auditory display might contain an integration of different soniﬁcation methods and interaction and customisation capabilities. Findings also show that such a system would beneﬁt from the application of a participatory design approach.
Evaluating the Magnitude Estimation Approach for Designing Sonification Mapping Topologies
Authors: Ferguson Jamie , Brewster Stephen
Published: August 2019

A challenge in soniﬁcation design is mapping data param-eters onto acoustic parameters in a way that aligns with a listener’s mental model of how a given data parameter should sound. Studies have used the psychophysical scaling method of magnitude estimation to systematically evaluate how participants per-ceive mappings between data and sound parameters - giving data on perceived polarity and scale of the relationship between the data and sound parameters. As of yet, there has been little re-search investigating whether data-to-sound mappings that are de-signed based on results from these magnitude estimation experiments have any effect on users’ performance in an applied audi-tory display task. This paper presents an experiment that com-pares data-to-sound mappings in which the mapping’s polarity is based on results from a previous magnitude estimation experiment against mappings whose polarities are inverted. The experiment is based around a simple task in which participants need to rank WiFi networks based on how secure they are, where security is represented using an auditory display. Results suggest that for a simple auditory display like the one used here, whether or not the polarities of the data-to-sound mappings are based on magnitude estimation does not have a substantial effect on any objective per-formance measures gathered during the experiment. Finally, potential areas for future work are discussed that may continue to investigate the problems addressed by this paper.
Interactive Auditory Navigation in the Molecular Structures of Amino Acids: A Case Study Using Multiple Concurrent Sound Sources Representing Nearby Atoms
Authors: Liu Danyi , van der Heide Edwin
Published: August 2019

We are interested in sonifying the molecular structures of amino acids. This paper describes the context and the ﬁrst design choices for our approach. So far, we believe an amino acid molecule is too complex to be perceived at once. Therefore, we have designed an interactive form of soniﬁcation in which the listener navigates through the molecule over the network of carbon atoms. We describe our different approaches and discuss the topic of immediacy: the time it takes to recognize the structure surrounding the listener’s position while navigating. Furthermore, we touch upon the question how many atoms we can sonify simultaneously and the role auditory masking plays in this context. To overcome auditory masking, we propose to use irregular but easy to recognize sounds. We conclude with an interest in a three-dimensional navigation environment using general molecular structures for further research and development.
Preliminary Guidelines on the Sonification of Visual Artworks: Linking Music, Sonification & Visual Arts
Authors: Nadri Chihab , Anaya Chairunisa , Yuan Shan , Jeon Myounghoon
Published: August 2019

Sonification and data processing algorithms have advanced over the years to reach practical applications in our everyday life. Similarly, image processing techniques have improved over time. While a number of image sonification methods have already been developed, few have delved into potential synergies through the combined use of multiple data and image processing techniques. Additionally, little has been done on the use of image sonification for artworks, as most research has been focused on the transcription of visual data for people with visual impairments. Our goal is to sonify paintings reflecting their art style and genre to improve the experience of both sighted and visually impaired individuals. To this end, we have designed initial sonifications for paintings of abstractionism and realism, and conducted interviews with visual and auditory experts to improve our mappings. We believe the recommendations and design directions we have received will help develop a multidimensional sonification algorithm that can better transcribe visual art into appropriate music.
Trends in Accentedness and Comprehensibility Research, with Respect of L2 Speech Ratings
Authors: Poljak Livia
Published: August 2019

Accentedness and comprehensibility research has greatly evolved since its infancy in in the 1980s. As language learner trends have shifted from native-like mastery to being comprehensible to listeners, a broader range of factors, such as speaker rates, and lexical/grammatical measures have since been evaluated for research and pedagogical purposes. This paper attempts the break down the major methodological procedures used in accentedness and comprehensibility research, chiefly, by examining the types of speakers and listeners that are most commonly present in studies, the types of stimuli and rating methods, the various features of accentedness and comprehensibility and listener attitudes, to name a few. Finally, this review briefly highlights what new components should be added in order to further our understanding in this field, both for academic interest and practical pedagogical purposes.
Listening to Young Children: A Mosaic approach
Authors: Tan Poh
Published: August 2019

The inclusion of children’s responses in research of educational settings are important and have been described as a pertinent tool to understand and be aware of children’s perspectives that adults may not be aware of (Lundqvist, 2014).  Sheridan (2011) further expresses that the “evaluation of quality of early childhood education must include the voices of children” and is an essential part of the overall understanding of early childhood education.  The responses and voices of young children reflect diverse forms of communicating, representing and interpreting their thoughts and emotions. This paper will present some models that can help guide the researcher to make decisions about how a child can participate in the research activity.  Specifically, I will describe the use of an ethnographic combined with Clark and Moss’s Mosaic approach to researching with children.
Translation Strategies in Legal Texts: Selected Articles of the Translation of the US-Iraqi Security Agreement
Authors: Abed Ahmed Ibrahim , Shihab Omar A. , Jameel Mushtaq A.
Published: August 2019

Legal language is characterized as the professional use of words. Thus, it can be said that the international law (as a result of translation and interpretation as well) has become more crucial. Therefore, legal translation has become important among the other domains of translation. This study aims at investigating the translation strategies adopted in translating the US- Iraqi security agreement from English into Arabic. So, there is a set of translation strategies that help translating the two texts properly and accurately. The translation strategies followed in translating the US- Iraqi security agreement will be investigated in the two of the two English and Arabic texts as there are many strategies in the linguistic theory of translation. Dr. As. Safi in his model covers both the local strategies which belonging to text segment and global ones that have to do with the whole text. Translation strategies are divided into general ones which deal with all types texts and specific strategies that deal with specific kinds of texts; specific ones are divided into domestication, compensation, (in kind, in place, by merging, or splitting and compensation by addition) , addition, elaboration and explication, and approximation and compromise. Thus, the text under study is a legal one and, of course, has a specific type of text; only specific strategies are applied in this study.
Needs Analysis as a Measure for the Accuracy of ESP Syllabus Courses in Kurdistan Technical Institutes, Department of Administration as a Case Study
Authors: Najmaddin Shler Mohammed Ali , Hama Sur Shilan Ali
Published: August 2019

ESP courses are used in all Higher Education institutions in Kurdistan/Iraq. These courses are supposed to provide students with both awareness and skills to handle communication in English in the target subjects. This paper addresses the effect and shortcomings of “Administrative Reading in English’, an ESP course taught in Kurdistan Technical Institutes.  The paper examines the extent to which these courses fit the needs of Kurdish students; and whether the curricula of the course reflect the characteristics of a systematic standard ESP course. Data was collected through a questionnaire distributed to three different student groups and interviews were conducted with instructors. The data is used to identify the drawbacks of the course material; and investigate the relevance of the teaching methods, assessment and the language used, to the level, motivation and needs of the students. The research concludes that a solid curriculum that takes into consideration students’ motivation for learning as well as their receptive and productive learning skills has not been correctly constructed for the courses in general.
METHOD DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF SELECTIVE AND HIGHLY SENSITIVE METHOD FOR DETERMINATION OF APIXABAN IN HUMAN PLASMA USING LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY-TANDEM MASS SPECTROMETRY
Authors: ATMAKURI CHAITANYA KRISHNA , PRASAD CHEEPURUPALLI , S. PATIL RAJARAM , DHARANI KARUNAKRANTH
Published: August 2019

Objective: The present research work aims to develop and validate a selective and highly sensitive method for the determination of apixaban in human plasma using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).

Methods: 200 µl of sodium heparin plasma samples were acidified and clean-up was performed by using solid-phase extraction (SPE). Apixaban 13C D3 was used as an internal standard (deuterated) to lower the relative matrix effects and a single step SPE was employed for sample clean up. 10 µl of SPE eluent was loaded onto Hypersil Beta Basic C18, 100×4.6 mm, 5 µ column for highly selective chromatographic separation using an isocratic mobile phase. 2 mmol ammonium acetate in water and acetonitrile were delivered by using a quaternary low-pressure gradient pump without premixing at a minimum flow rate of 0.50 ml/min.

Results: LC-MS/MS method was successfully developed and validated to demonstrate the lowest detection limit of 0.05 ng/ml and a linear dynamic range from 1-250 ng/ml with r2>0.99. Method development and validation results proved that the method is selective and highly sensitive for the determination of apixaban in human plasma using LC-MS/MS.

Conclusion: Current method can be applied for both therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) and pharmacokinetic (PK) study analysis.
Propiedades geoquímicas y magnéticas de sedimentos como indicadores de contaminación. Caso de estudio: río Suquía, Córdoba, Argentina
Authors: Sepúlveda Laura Daniela , Lecomte Karina Leticia , Pasquini Andrea Inés , Mansilla Estefania Gisele , Chaparro Marcos Adrián Eduardo
Published: August 2019

La cuenca del río Suquía (superficie ~6300 km2) es un sistema hidrológico de mediana extensión, ubicado en la provincia de Córdoba, en la región central de Argentina. El río Suquía nace del lago San Roque, discurre por sectores serranos, atraviesa una ciudad densamente poblada (Córdoba: 1.5 millones de habitantes) y continúa su curso por la llanura Chaco-Pampeana donde se desarrollan actividades agrícolas y ganaderas. Debido a diversas actividades urbanas e industriales, el río recibe, a lo largo de su curso, aportes contaminantes, los cuales se depositan aguas abajo, en el lecho del mismo. Los resultados de los análisis geoquímicos y magnéticos de los sedimentos depositados en el lecho principal del río, permitieron evaluar el grado de contaminación de este sistema natural. Se extrajeron muestras de sedimento de fondo del cauce del río y se separaron distintas fracciones granulométricas para determinaciones magnéticas. Se utilizaron métodos de magnetismo ambiental (susceptibilidad magnética y magnetización remanente anhistérica) para la identificación y cuantificación de minerales magnéticos, entre ellos, ferrimagnéticos del tipo magnetita. En la fracción limo-arcilla (< 62.5 mm) se determinaron óxidos mayores y elementos traza. Desde el punto de vista geoquímico los sedimentos evidencian un bajo grado de madurez mineralógica y son equivalentes a lutitas y lutitas ricas en Fe. Los indicadores de contaminación (Índice de Geoacumulación, Igeo; Factor de Enriquecimiento, FE; Contaminación Urbana Industrial, C.U.I.) arrojaron los valores más altos en el área serrana, donde también se registraron los mayores valores de susceptibilidad magnética, debido a factores naturales potenciados por la explotación de canteras. En el área urbana se registraron los valores más bajos de contaminación, mientras que, en la zona rural, se determinó un grado de contaminación moderado a alto, asociado a las actividades agrícolas propias del uso de la tierra. De este modo, los procesos que dan origen a las características geoquímicas y magnéticas de estos sedimentos se diferencian espacialmente a lo largo de la cuenca y se deben a factores tanto naturales como antrópicos. Además, las concentraciones de metales en los sedimentos se han incrementado en la última década en toda la cuenca. La correlación significativa entre variables geoquímicas y parámetros magnéticos demuestra la potencialidad de estudios combinados como una metodología de monitoreo ambiental en sistemas hídricos.
Morfometría geométrica en elementos óseos postcraneales de los caballos del Pleistoceno tardío en México: implicaciones taxonómicas y ecomorfológicas
Authors: Marín-Leyva Alejandro Hiram , Alberdi María Teresa , García-Zepeda María Luisa , Ponce-Saavedra Javier , Schaaf Peter , Arroyo-Cabrales Joaquín , Bastir Markus
Published: August 2019

El género Equus es el último representante de la Familia Equidae cuya historia evolutiva tiene aproximadamente 55 millones de años. Este género es abundante en los depósitos mexicanos del Pleistoceno. En el presente trabajo se analizan elementos de las extremidades distales (metacarpos y metatarsos terceros, primeras y segundas falanges del tercer dígito) de Equus cedralensis, E. conversidens y E. mexicanus de tres localidades del Rancholabreano (0.21–0.16 a 0.095 Ma) en México mediante técnicas de morfometría geométrica. El objetivo es conocer si la forma de cada elemento estudiado difiere entre las especies de équidos, además de encontrar alguna relación ecomorfológica (forma vs. sustrato). Los resultados comprueban la existencia de tres grupos diferentes de forma que se relacionan con las tres especies de caballos registradas en las localidades estudiadas, además de existir elementos diagnósticos explicativos y poco explicativos para la diferenciación de las tres especies de caballo del Pleistoceno tardío en México. Con base en los tres diversos morfotipos se deduce que las especies pudieron vivir en microhábitats diferentes y por lo tanto coexistir en el mismo macrohábitat. Finalmente, la variedad de morfotipos en las localidades en estudio permite inferir que eran ambientes heterogéneos.
Fires and volcanic activity: History of fire in the Mexico basin during late Pleistocene based on carbonized material records in the Chalco lake
Authors: Martínez-Abarca Rodrigo , Lozano-García Socorro , Ortega-Guerrero Beatriz , Caballero-Miranda Margarita
Published: August 2019

Forest fires, considered as free and not programmed fire propagation, are perturbations that greatly alter ecosystems. During fires, variable quantities of charcoal particles are produced by the burning vegetation, which can be later deposited in lacustrine basins. The traditional charcoal size particle model associates the > 100 µm primary particles to local fire events, within the watershed, and the < 100 µm particles are linked to regional fire events, outside the watershed. Fires can be related with favorable climatic conditions, but in tectonically active areas like the basin of Mexico, volcanism can also be a factor producing fires and charcoal particles. We document the history, intensity and frequency of fires recorded in the lacustrine sediments of lake Chalco (core CHAVII-11), by performing a high-resolution charcoal particle analysis in sediments deposited before and after three main volcanic events.  The sources of these events had different distances to lake Chalco: Tláhuac tephra (TTH; 28690 years cal BP), probably produced by the Teuhtli volcano, was a local event; the Tutti Frutti Pumice (PTF; 17000 years cal BP) produced by the Popocatépetl volcano, was an extra-local event and the Upper Toluca Pumice (PTS; 12300 years cal BP) produced by the Nevado de Toluca volcano, was a regional event.  Charcoal accumulation rates (CHAR) and distribution of size particles indicate that paleoclimate was a direct factor defining the intensity and recurrence of fires before and after volcanic activity, as climate defines vegetation type and density, and therefore fuel availability.  Fires before and after the TTH were frequent, local and intense in comparison with fires reconstructed before or after the PTF and PTS events. CHAR values were lower during the more widespread PTF event, than for the local TTH event, although the highest CHAR values were recorded for the most distant, regional, and intense PTS event. These results show that charcoal accumulation rates during the volcanic events in central Mexico cannot be interpreted following traditional model of charcoal particle dispersion. This model have important restrictions in active volcanic regions such as central Mexico.
HINTERLAND MEDAN CITY BETWEEN BINJAI CITY: A GRAVITATION APPROACH
Authors: Nasir Muhammad
Published: August 2019

Regional economy explains that there is an urban hierarchical relationship, cities that have higher hierarchy will serve cities that are below it as well as cities that are in the hierarchy undersupplying cities that are in the hierarchy above them, so there is a gravitational relationship between the two. This study aims to determine the gravitational relationship of Medan city to the hinterland of the city of Binjai. Furthermore, this study also wants to explain its influence on economic growth in both cities. This analysis tools used are descriptive statistics, gravity models, unit root test, co-integration test, optimal lag, VECM, Granger causality test, impulse response function, and variance decomposition. The results showed that the city of Medan has a gravity style greater than the gravitational style of the city of Binjai. The VECM estimation results show that the gravitational variable in the city of Binjai in lag -1 and lag-2 has a positive and significant effect on the economy of Medan city. Then the economic variable of the city of Binjai itself in lag-1, the population of the city of Medan in lag-2 and the gravity of the city of Medan in lag-2 had a positive and significant effect on the economy of Binjai city. While the variable population of Binjai city in lag -1 and residents of the city of Medan in lag -1 negatively affected the economy of Binjai city.
THE EFFECT OF INHIBITION OF LNCRNA MIR100HG ON THE PROLIFERATION OF HUMAN PROMYELOCYTIC LEUKEMIA CELLS
Authors: BAGHERI MARZIEH , SHARIFI MOHAMMADREZA , SALEHI MAHSA
Published: August 2019

lncRNAs are one of the main classes of non-coding RNAs, responsible for RNA regulation in a variety of cellular processes, and their effect on human cancer remains largely unexplored; Abnormal expression of lncRNAs has been shown to be associated with many human diseases and cancers, such as leukemia. Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is the M3 subtype of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), with the aberrant accumulation of promyelocytes. One of the lncRNAs that showed upregulation in AML is lncRNA MIR100HG, involved in different cancers. The aim of our study is to investigate the functional role of MIR100HG antisense LNA GapmeRs, on APL cells. In this experimental study, we have used an Antisense LNA GapmeRs, in order to block MIR100HG in APL Cells. HL60 (APL cell line) cells were transfected with MIR100HG antisense LNA GapmeRs and at three different time points (24, 48 and 72 h) and were investigated apoptosis, necrosis, MIR100HG and TGFβ expression. MIR100HG inhibition could reduce the viability of HL- 60 cells, through induction of apoptosis; because of the TGFβ upregulation. qRT-PCR was performed to determine the MIR100HG expression by antisense LNA GapmeRs. Our results suggest that degradation of MIR100HG could serve as a novel approach for controlling the proliferation of APL cells and therefore, can be used in translational medicine for targeted therapy in APL
ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFECT OF MATERNAL PRE-PREGNANCY BODY MASS INDEX ON PREGNANCY OUTCOMES
Authors: VAFAEEROK DR.HEDIEH , RANI.R. HIREMATH DR.SHOBHA , KAZIM SHERIFF DR.MOHAMMED , GUDI DR.SHOBHA
Published: August 2019

Obesity is a significant health problem which can lead to serious health complications. It does not exclude pregnant population. It is well known that maternal pre pregnancy obesity and overweight is a common health problem which can lead to adverse neonatal and maternal outcomes such as gestational diabetes, pre eclapmsia, post partum haemorrhage, caesarean delivery, neonatal intensive care unit admission, small/ large for gestational age, stillbirth, etc. The aim of the present study is to assess the effect of maternal pre- pregnancy BMI on maternal and fetal outcomes. It was a prospective hospital based cohort study that was carried out for a period of 6 months at St. Philomena’s Hospital, Bangalore. The subjects were included after obtaining informed consent. Women with multiple pregnancies and pregnant women whose gestational period was<20 weeks and those who were not willing to participate in the study were excluded. All the relevant data of both maternal and fetal demographic details, type of delivery and neonatal outcomes were collected. Chi square test was used to assess associations between maternal BMI and period of gestation, fetal position, type of delivery, fetal weight, newborn complications and Apgar score. A total of 432 pregnant women were included in the study comprising 49.5% normal weight, 29.3% overweight and 21.2% obese women. We observed higher incidence of LSCS and neonatal complications including pneumonia, hydronephrosis, hypoglycaemia, respiratory distress syndrome, transient tachypnea of newborn in obese and overweight mothers compared to normal weight mothers. We could not find any significant relation between pre pregnancy BMI and neonatal birth weight, period of gestation, Apgar score and fetal position at time of delivery. Maternal and neonatal complications are associated with pre pregnancy obesity.
TO TRACK ADVERSE REACTIONS, EVENTS AND INCIDENCE ASSOCIATED WITH BLOOD AND BLOOD PRODUCT TRANSFUSION
Authors: DR.PRASANNA  , GANPISETTI DR.RAMESH , SUSMITHA DR.GADAMSETTI.
Published: August 2019

Haemovigilance is defined as a set of surveillance procedures covering whole transfusion chain from the collection of blood and its components to the follow up of its recipients, intended to collect and assess the information. The major aim of this study is to track adverse reactions/ events and incidence associated with blood and blood product transfusion unexpected or undesirable effects resulting from therapeutic of liable blood products. To identify hazards , risks and to provide information as to where the system is breaking down. To analyze any incidents and errors that may impact on the safety of blood products. To promote, enable and maintain a high level of ethical medical and scientific standards in blood transfusion science and medicine. which shows that the transfusion was majorly done in patients between the age group of 20-30 (29.00%) followed by 30-40 years (22.00%). The age group with the least blood transfusion was found as 40-50years (15.00%), 10-20 years (6.00%) and 0-9 years (8.00%). In our study it was observed that the PRBC administration for the patients with normal Hb levels were due to dialysis and anemic conditions. PRBC are administered in surgery cases even if they have Hb levels greater than 10 gm/dl. Pharmacist should involve in the development of local educational and training materials which is required by staff involved in transfusion procedures. Staff training should be maintained and updated with evidence of training and competency documented assessment of training should be undertaken in accordance with local and national guidelies.
“DEFENDS” as An Effective Writing Strategy to Create Students Creativity
Authors: Fathoni Mu'alim Ibnu , Sumardi Sumardi , Supriyadi Slamet
Published: August 2019

In the educational process, specifically in the classroom, students must be able to produce good writing in academic writing that is relevant to the topic that is given or determined by the teacher. Most students get difficulty in learning writing moreover producing good writing. Teachers need to help the students build their habits of writing creatively. DEFENDS, a strategy that was developed by Ellis (1989,1990,1993) can help students to defend a particular position in a written assignment, improve writing strategies, facilitate writing process, and strengthen learning to learn writing skill. DEFENDS strategy gives students the means to plan before they begin writing. This strategy guides students to be an independent writer through several stages (Decide, Estimate, Figure, Express, Note, Drive, and Search). Students are demanded to have not only language skill but also other factors such as creativity. Creativity gives a contribution in education field nowadays, the issue of creativity has brought to the forefront of educational policy and practice, including the importance of creativity in writing. Research dealing with creativity in writing is needed. This research was an experimental design called post-test design using 2x2 factorial arrangements. The sample was high school students. Two instruments used by the researcher; those were writing test and creativity test. The value of Ftable at the level of significance is α = 0.05 is 4.01, while the value of Fo between columns is 5.734141. Fo between rows (16.5821) is higher than Ft at the level of significance α = 0.05 (4.01), and Fo columns by rows (9.21) are higher than Ft at the level of significance α = 0.05 (4.01).
What Do Employees Know? Evidence from a Social Media Platform
Authors: Huang Kelly , Li Meng , Markov Stanimir
Published: August 2019

We use employee predictions of their companies' six-month business outlook from Glassdoor.com to assess the information content of employee social media disclosures. We find that average employee outlook is incrementally informative in predicting future operating performance. Its information content is greater when the disclosures are aggregated from a larger, more diverse, more knowledgeable employee base, consistent with the wisdom of crowds phenomenon. Average outlook predicts bad news events more strongly than good news events, suggesting that employee social media disclosures are relatively more important as a source of bad news. Consistent with the organizational theory, we find systematic differences in the quantity and nature of the information in employee disclosures when the disclosures are grouped based on employee attributes and job responsibilities. Finally, average outlook predicts future returns of firms that attract less attention by analysts and investors, suggesting that investors in these firms use outlook inefficiently.
Beyond Pre/Post Measurement: Discourse Analysis as an Alternative Methodology in Reporting on an Intervention Programme
Authors: Wijaya Mulya Teguh
Published: August 2019

Pre/post comparison has become the most prominent method in reporting on a psychological intervention programme, to the extent that it is almost impossible to report on such programmes without a pre/post evaluation framework. This article introduces discourse analysis methodology as an alternative in reporting on an intervention programme, highlights some of its benefits, and provides an empirical example of its application. Discourse analysis methodology is applied to analyze a diversity workshop, conducted by the author, in a youth refuge in Surabaya (N = 15). Three key discourses were identified, namely, a discourse of (different) abilities, a discourse of peaceful resolution, and a discourse of crime as a natural consequence of inequality; which are discussed in relation to the methodological benefits of the application of discourse analysis, in an intervention programme.