bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Protective effect of crocin on chronic heart failure and its mechanism of action
Authors: Hu Yali , Yang Jie , Pang Qianqian , Zhang Pengpeng , Liu Keqin
Published: February 2023

Purpose: To explore the mechanism of action of crocin in rat chronic heart failure (CHF).

Methods: One hundred male Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were used to establish CHF rat model by the abdominal aorta constriction method. They were equally randomized into either the model control group (injected with distilled water), crocin low, medium, and high dose groups (daily administered 0.05, 0.1, and 0.75 g/kg of crocin, respectively), or positive control group (daily administration of benazepril hydrochloride), and normal control (without treatment). Parameters evaluated include heart function, inflammatory index changes, and oxidative stress damage.

Results: The crocin low, medium, and high dose groups and the positive control group had significantly better cardiac function indices versus the model control group (p < 0.05). High-dose crocin resulted in significantly lower levels of inflammatory factors than a low or medium dose (p < 0.05). Rats that received a medium or high dose of crocin showed significantly increased activity of myocardial antioxidant enzymes, and reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) content when compared to those given low doses of crocin (p < 0.05). Protein expressions of Bax-activated caspase-3, and NF-kB decreased significantly with increase in crocin dosage. A high dose of crocin produced a significantly lower apoptotic rate of cardiomyocytes, sodium–calcium exchanger (NCX) level and higher content of sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium pump 2a (SERCA2a) compared with low- and medium-doses.

Conclusion: Crocin protects myocardial tissue and enhances ventricular diastolic function of CHF rats through down-regulation of NCX expression and up-regulation of SERCA2a expression. Further studies using clinical CHF models to categorize and analyze crocin-related cellular pathways will be required.
Fucoxanthin inhibits the proliferation and stem cell formation of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cells by regulating JAK/STAT3 pathway
Authors: Feng Xue , Li Yu , Zhang Lijia , Sun Heng , Liu Songjiang
Published: February 2023

Purpose: To investigate the effect and regulatory mechanism of fucoxanthin (FX) on oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).

Methods: Human OSCC SCC9 and Cal27 cells were treated with different concentrations of FX (7.5, 15, and 30 μM) to determine cell viability, number of colonies, and apoptosis rate using methyl thiazolyl diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, crystal violet staining, and flow cytometry, respectively. In addition, the number of spheres of OSCC cells was determined by a cell sphere-forming assay. The stem cells and levels of pathway-related proteins were evaluated by western blotting.

Results: Fucoxanthin decreased SCC9 and Cal27 cell viability and the number of colonies, but increased apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. The expression levels of SOX2 and POU5F1 were down-regulated, while the number of spheres was reduced in SCC9 and Cal27 cells treated with 7.5 or 15 μM of FX (p < 0.05). Moreover, FX attenuated p-JAK/JAK and p-STAT3/STAT3 expression levels in a dose-dependent manner (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: Fucoxanthin accelerates apoptosis and inhibits cell mobility and OSCC stem cell formation by suppressing JAK/STAT3 pathway in OSCC, thus providing an experimental basis for research on the anti-tumor effect of kelp extract and the development of new drugs from marine plants.
Efficacy of etanercept in rheumatoid arthritis patients and its effects on interleukin 6 and serum tumor necrosis factor α
Authors: Li Suihua , Mei Qinghua , Qian Dan , Huang Xianghong , Fan Cuimiao , Quan Jia
Published: February 2023

Purpose: To study the effects of etanercept (ETA) on the clinical manifestations and serum levels of TNF-α and IL-6 in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on the medical files of 138 active RA patients admitted to Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital, Guangzhou, China for rheumatic diseases from January 2016 to February 2019. Out of the total subjects, 58 patients were administered conventional methotrexate (MTX) as routine treatment (control group), while the remaining 80 patients (classified as study group) received subcutaneous injection of etanercept (ETA). Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) score, and TNF-α and IL-6 serum concentrations of the two groups before and after treatment were assessed.

Results: Pre-treatment HAQ score was comparable in both groups (p > 0.05). However, at 3, 6, 9 and 12 weeks post-treatment, HAQ scores decreased in the two groups. The mean score was significantly lower in study group than in control group (p < 0.001). Pre-treatment serum levels of IL-6 and TNF-α in both groups were comparable. However, after treating for 3, 6, 9 and 12 weeks, serum IL-6 and TNF-α decreased significantly, with lower values in the study group than in control group (p < 0.001).

Conclusion: ETA has a higher efficacy and safety than MTX for the treatment of joint inflammation and and also achieved greater improvement of joint function. However, further clinical trials are recommended prior to wider application in clinical practice.
Citrate pre conditioning inhibits ap optosis and protects rat myocardium from ischemia reperfusion injury by activating PI3K/Akt signaling pathway
Authors: Zhu Zhiyun , Nie Fugen , Qiu Bo , Wan Diqin , Duan Wenfeng
Published: February 2023

Purpose: To study the influence of citric acid pre-exposure on apoptosis and heart tissue ischemia-reperfusion lesion, and the involvement of PI3K/Akt signal route in this process.

Methods: Eighty-four male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into a sham group, model group, pretreatment group, and inhibitor group, with 21 rats in each group. Changes in myocardial infarction area were determined using TCC staining, while TUNEL assay was performed to assess apoptosis of cardiomyocytes in the rats. Expression levels of p-Akt, ppi3k, Bcl-2, Bax, and caspase-3 were assayed by Western blotting.

Results: The levels of Bax and caspase-3 were higher in model rats than in sham group, while concentrations of Bcl-2, p-Akt, and p-pi3k were significantly reduced. In pre-treated and inhibitor-exposed rats, caspase-3 and Bax levels were significantly down-regulated, relative to corresponding levels in model rats, but Bcl-2, p-pi3k, and p-Akt were significantly up-regulated (p < 0.05). In inhibitor-exposed rats, Bax and caspase-3 were higher than levels in pretreatment rats, but p-pi3k, Bcl-2, and p-Akt concentrations were significantly decreased (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: Citric acid pretreatment in rats activates PI3K/Akt signal pathway, inhibits cardiomyocyte apoptosis, protects the myocardium from ischemia-reperfusion injury, and improves cardiac function. The potential of citric acid pretreatment for its protective effect against myocardial injury due to ischemia-reperfusion should be further investigated.
Assessing Physical Attributes Associated with Implementation of Risk Management Practices among Small Strawberry Farms
Authors:   Dept. of Food, Nutrition, and Packaging Sciences, 223 Poole Agricultural Center, Clemson, SC 29634-0316, USA, Fraser Angela
Published: February 2023

Fresh strawberries are susceptible to contamination with foodborne pathogens, illustrating the importance of on-farm risk management practices (RMP). Understanding context is necessary for successful implementation of RMP, highlighting the importance of characterizing physical attributes (PA) associated with RMP. We determined the PA associated with implementation of eight RMP on 20 small (≤ 2 acres; 8,094 m2) strawberry farms in the southeastern United States. Descriptive statistics were performed to determine frequency of PA across farms. PA scores, presence or absence of observed PA expressed as a percentage, were calculated for each of the eight RMP. All 20 (100%) farms used plasticulture to grow strawberries. All (100%) used drip irrigation systems, and 19 (95%) had an adequate number of bathrooms and handwashing stations. Nearly all (95%) did not have a body fluid spill kit. Sixteen (80%) farms used groundwater or surface water for irrigation, with five (31%) treating the water and eight (50%) testing the microbiological quality of irrigation water. PA scores ranged from 55 to 90%, with the highest (90%) for animal control and the lowest (55%) for food safety signage. These findings can inform strawberry-specific safety interventions aimed to increase RMP implementation. More broadly, this represents another approach to informing commodity-specific training needs.
Perceptions of Risk, Control, and Responsibility Regarding Food Safety among Consumers in Lebanon
Authors:   ZERO2FIVE Food and Drink Research Unit, Food Industry Centre, Cardiff School of Sport and Health Sciences, Cardiff Metropolitan University, 200 Western Avenue, Cardiff, CF52YB, Wales, United Kingdom, Evans Ellen
Published: February 2023

The political situation in Lebanon has reportedly impacted the implementation of food safety law. Although responsibility is placed upon the food industry to ensure food safety, consumers should also take responsibility. To date, no studies have explored the perceptions of risk, control, and responsibility of consumers regarding food safety in the region. Consequently, this study explored the food safety perceptions of consumers in Lebanon by using quantitative researcher measures. Lebanese consumers (n = 95) responded to a self-complete questionnaire to determine perceptions of risk, control, responsibility, and hygiene consciousness regarding food safety. Correlations were determined between personal perceptions of risk, control, responsibility, and hygiene consciousness (P < 0.001), whereby low levels of risk were correlated with high levels of control, responsibility, and hygiene consciousness. Statistically significant differences were determined between perceived risk, control, responsibility, and hygiene consciousness for “self” compared with other people (“others”) (P < 0.005), suggesting consumers in Lebanon exhibit perceptions of invulnerability, optimistic bias, illusion of control, and superiority bias. The most notable finding was that experiencing foodborne illness had a negative impact upon perceptions of risk, control, and responsibility to prevent foodborne illness. The perceptions and biases identified among study respondents are of great importance to help inform the development of future food safety interventions.
Emerson, Ralph Waldo (1803–82)
Authors: Goodman Russell B.
Published: February 2023

The American philosopher and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson developed a philosophy of flux or transitions in which the active human self plays a central role. At the core of his thought was a hierarchy of value or existence, and an unlimited aspiration for personal and social progress. ‘Man is the dwarf of himself’, he wrote in his first book Nature (1836). Emerson presented a dire portrait of humankind’s condition: ‘Men in the world of today are bugs or spawn, and are called “the mass” and “the herd”’. We are governed by moods which ‘do not believe in one another’, by necessities real or only imagined, but also, Emerson held, by opportunities for ‘untaught sallies of the spirit’ – those few real moments of life which may nevertheless alter the whole.

Emerson’s lectures drew large audiences throughout America and in England, and his works were widely read in his own time. He influenced the German philosophical tradition through Nietzsche – whose The Gay Science carries an epigraph from ‘History’ – and the Anglo-American tradition via William James and John Dewey. Emerson’s major works are essays, each with its own structure, but his sentences and paragraphs often stand on their own as expressions of his thought.
Romanticism, German
Authors: Beiser Frederick
Published: February 2023

Because Romanticism has many meanings which vary according to time and place, it is best to examine the movement in a specific culture and period. Of all the phases of Romanticism, early German Romanticism is the most important in the history of Western philosophy. The early German Romantics – Friedrich Schlegel, Friedrich von Hardenberg, Schleiermacher, and Schelling – developed influential ideas in the fields of metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, aesthetics, and politics. The aim of their movement was essentially social and political: to overcome the alienation and disenchantment created by modernity, and to restore unity with oneself, others, and nature. In accord with this agenda, the Romantics advocated, in opposition to hedonism and the Kantian ethics of duty, an ethics of love and self-realisation. They championed an ideal of community against the competitive egoism of modern society, and, finally, they developed an organic concept of nature against the mechanistic worldview of Cartesian physics. Romantic ethics, politics, and aesthetics should all be seen in the light of their essential cultural goal: to cure humanity of homesickness and to make people feel at home in the world again.
Burge, Tyler (1946–)
Authors: Gerken Mikkel , Dunlop Katherine
Published: February 2023

Tyler Burge is an American philosopher whose body of work spans several areas of theoretical philosophy in the analytic tradition. While Burge has made important contributions to the philosophy of language and logic, he is most renowned for his work in philosophy of mind and epistemology. In particular, he is known for articulating and developing a view he labels ‘anti-individualism’. In his later work, Burge connects his views with state-of-the-art scientific theory. Despite this emphasis on empirical considerations, Burge stands in an important relationship to the rationalist tradition in philosophy.
Kristeva, Julia (1941–)
Authors: McAfee Noëlle
Published: February 2023

Born in Bulgaria in 1941 and an emigré to Paris in 1965, Julia Kristeva is a world-renowned philosopher, novelist and practising psychoanalyst. Author of more than 30 books and a professor emeritus at University of Paris VII–Denis Diderot, she has been awarded Commander of the Legion of Honour, Commander of the Order of Merit, the Holberg Prize, the Hannah Arendt Prize and the Vaclav Havel Prize. Her early work, Revolution in Poetic Language (1974), distinguished her as a major poststructuralist thinker, especially for its new ways of conceiving of the speaking being as one who is always subject to the revolutionary power of the affective dimensions of language, that is, the semiotic dimension, which, with the symbolic dimension, produces signification. In her major works of the 1980s – Powers of Horror (1980), Tales of Love (1984) and Black Sun: Depression and Melancholia (1987) – she developed new psychoanalytic theories of early development which gave ‘the maternal function’ a central role that had been neglected by previous psychoanalytic theories. Kristeva is also the author of numerous works of fiction, mostly detective novels with female protagonists, in which she tries to exemplify some of her theoretical ideas. These include The Old Man and the Wolves (1994), Possessions: A Novel (1996) and Murder in Byzantium (2006). Over the past 20 years she has turned to intellectual biography with the trilogy Female Genius: Hannah Arendt (1999), Melanie Klein (2000) and Colette (2002); and more general social theory with Hate and Forgiveness (2005) and The Incredible Need to Believe (2009). She has also continued her inquiry into revolt with books on the importance of self-reflection, critical questioning and inquiry in works such as Proust and the Sense of Time (1994), Intimate Revolt (1997) and the essay, ‘New Forms of Revolt’ (2014).
Family, ethics and the
Authors: Ferracioli Luara
Published: February 2023

What is the family? Why is it valuable? And how does the institution of the family bear on the requirements of both social and global justice? These questions have occupied many political philosophers since the publication of a Theory of Justice by John Rawls, and there is now a substantial body of work on the philosophy of the family (Rawls 1999; see Rawls, John (1921–2002)). This entry provides an overview of the most prominent philosophical accounts of what is distinctive and valuable about the family. It draws a distinction between narrow understandings of the family, which only pick out parent–child relationships, and broad understandings of the family, which also pick out spouses and relatives. It shows that there are philosophical difficulties in moving from parent–child relationships to these other relationships when describing the family and investigating its value, but that some philosophical accounts succeed in accounting for parents and their children, as well as spouses and relatives at large. Finally, it discusses the work of scholars who believe that although the family is a valuable institution, the requirements of justice impose limits on what family members can demand from one another, and from society at large (see Justice).
Ethics of ignorance
Authors: Wieland Jan Willem
Published: February 2023

Moral ignorance is ignorance about the permissibility of one’s conduct. It involves both conceptual and normative issues. We could ask what it is, and we could ask when agents are culpable for it.

§1 distinguishes some main forms of moral ignorance. Agents could be ignorant of different things, for example that their conduct has a certain outcome, or that they could act otherwise. Moreover, agents may be ignorant in different ways. They might never have considered the issue, or they might have considered it, but be mistaken about it.

§2 asks when agent have duties to inform ourselves better and remedy their ignorance, and what these duties prescribe. A duty to question all one’s beliefs seems to provide poor advice, while a duty to reflect to some reasonable degree is insufficiently detailed, and so unhelpful. Suggested duties of inquiry enable one to comply with other duties one has, such as the duty to maximise general welfare.

§3 concerns the follow-up question: if we should have informed ourselves better, then when are we culpable for failing to do so, and our ensuing ignorance? There are two rival views on this question. Volitionism says that we are culpable for our ignorance only if we were aware that we had to inform ourselves better, while attributionism says that we are culpable whenever our ignorance is due to a lack of moral concern.

§4 addresses two further issues concerning the ethics of ignorance. First issue: does culpability for ignorance come in degrees, and how? Second issue: if agents are culpable for their ignorance (or rather excused), then what does this mean, i.e. what kind of culpability is at issue?
Enhancement in sport
Authors: Thau Tena
Published: February 2023

The philosophical literature on enhancement in sport focuses largely on the question of whether, and what sort of, restrictions on enhancement in sport are morally justified. Those who support bans on enhancement often appeal to the harmful side-effects of performance-enhancing drugs, while those who support liberalising performance-enhancing drug policies argue that medically supervised doping would be healthier than illicit use. Besides raising concerns about health, those in the anti-enhancement camp often make appeals to fairness – either to justify bans on enhancement in sport, or to explain why it is morally wrong to flout those bans that are in place – though there are difficulties with both types of appeal.

When it comes to the enforcement of those restrictions on enhancement that are in place, there are a number of important ethical questions that can be raised. In particular, we can question: (1) whether current levels of funding for anti-doping are appropriate; (2) whether the ‘strict liability’ standard that athletes are held to is justified; (3) whether punishments for doping violations are proportionate; and (4) whether doping policies give due respect to athletes’ privacy rights.

Those who argue for permitting enhancement in sport need not view the use of enhancement as positively good. Nevertheless, a positive moral case for enhancement might be made, either by appealing to the intrinsic value of athletic accomplishments, or to the welfarist benefits of wider use.
Nominalism
Authors: Guigon Ghislain
Published: February 2023

‘Nominalism’ refers to a family of views about what there is. The objects we are familiar with (e.g. hands, laptops, cookies, and trees) can be characterized as concrete and particular. Nominalists agree that there are such things. But one group of nominalists denies that anything is nonparticular and another group denies that anything is nonconcrete. These two sorts of nominalism, referred to as ‘nominalism about universals’ and ‘nominalism about abstract objects’, have common motivations in contemporary philosophy.

According to nominalists, universals and abstract objects are mysterious entities whose claim to existence is suspicious or ad hoc. This gives them reasons to want to reject universals and abstract objects but leads to an explanatory challenge: nominalists must explain away the appearance of the universal or the abstract. Varieties of nominalism differ with respect to how they address this challenge.

Universals are sui generis entities that are typically thought to be what properties are. Nominalist theories about universals can thus be divided between those that admit that there are sui generis properties but maintain that they are particular instead of universal; those that use constructions out of concrete particular objects to play the role of properties, and those that reject properties altogether. Each of these nominalist strategies has its own merits and difficulties.

Theories that seem to posit the existence of abstract objects, like mathematics and set theory, are successfully used in natural sciences. The utility of these theories challenges nominalism about abstract objects and has shaped the current debate about whether these objects exist. According to some nominalists, theories that posit abstract objects are useful but false. Other nominalists maintain that these theories are true but that their truth does not entail that abstract objects exist.
Truth, deflationary theories of
Authors: Liggins David
Published: February 2023

Deflationists aim to offer a lucid and metaphysically lightweight account of truth, stripped of obscure or redundant elements. They hold that the theory of truth should be simpler than the theories that have traditionally been proposed, such as the correspondence theory, the coherence theory, and the Moorean theory of truth as a simple unanalysable quality. In constructing their accounts, deflationists lay particular stress on biconditional claims such as ‘“‘Snow is blue” is true if and only if snow is blue’, which are usually taken to be uncontentious. The word ‘true’ helps us to generalise; for instance, we can endorse Thea’s claim, whatever it was, by saying ‘What Thea said is true’. Deflationists typically hold that we can fully explain why we have the word ‘true’ by pointing out that it helps us to generalise.

Critics of deflationism have alleged – among other things – that deflationary theories cannot explain the phenomena which a theory of truth ought to explain; that the deflationist account of truth has no acceptable formulation; that it cannot accommodate our intuitions about truth; and that it leads to paradox.
Open Future, The
Authors: Loss Roberto
Published: February 2023

There seems to be an objective asymmetry between the past and the future. The past has already happened, and is thus settled, determinate, and ‘closed’. Instead, the future is yet to happen, and appears thus to be unsettled, indeterminate, and ‘open’. This intuitive idea gives rise to two main philosophical questions. The first one concerns statements about aspects of the future that are presently unsettled (‘future-contingent statements’) and the issue about whether they are either true or false (see Bivalence). The second question concerns the issue about whether the openness of the future consists in the fact that what exists is insufficient to determine the truth-value of future-contingent statements (for instance, because the future does not exist or because many different futures exist) and, thus, whether the future’s being open is, at the bottom, a matter of ontology. The two questions appear to be closely connected. In fact, the idea that future-contingent statements are neither true nor false seems to be motivated by the following line of reasoning:

(i) the openness of the future is a matter of ontology, and so what exists is insufficient to determine the truth-value of future-contingent statements;

(ii) if the openness of the future is a matter of ontology, then future-contingent statements are neither true nor false;

(iii) therefore, future-contingent statements are neither true nor false.

Those who embrace an ‘Aristotelian’ approach to the open future and take future-contingent statements to lack a determinate truth-value (which is often claimed to be Aristotle’s position in De Interpretatione) can accept this argument as sound. Instead, ‘Ockhamists’ (after William of Ockham’s position in Predestination, God’s Foreknowledge, and Future Contingents) reject premise (ii) and claim that future-contingent statements are bivalent even under an ontological account of the open future. Others (such as David Lewis 1979) reject (i) and give an alternative, non-ontological account of the open future.
Extended Cognition
Authors: Sprevak Mark
Published: February 2023

Extended cognition takes the idea that your mind is ‘on’ your smartphone literally. It says that human cognitive states and processes sometimes spill outside our heads and into objects in our environment. Alleged examples include not just smartphones, but also the use of simpler technology (pencil and paper to perform a calculation), our own body (ticking off on our fingers when we count), and other people (our spouse who remembers appointments so that we do not have to).

There are three main arguments for extended cognition:

Functionalist arguments rely on similarities in functional structure between extended processes and (actual or possible) internal cognitive processes. Cognition extends because the physical mechanisms that support it ‘work in the same way’ in both cases. Inference to the best explanation arguments canvas the benefits that extended cognition would bring to psychology. We should believe that cognition extends because it would make our psychological theories more unified, elegant, and fruitful. Second-wave arguments emphasise the ways in which our brains integrate with our environment. Cognition extends because brains, bodies, and environment are so tightly intertwined that, when we solve certain cognitive tasks, they count as a single system.

Extended cognition is attacked on many fronts. It has been claimed that it generates absurdly high levels of extension (‘cognitive bloat’); that it is inferior to the more conservative hypothesis of embedded cognition; that its arguments confuse causal coupling with constitution; and that its alleged cases fail to satisfy some proposed mark of the cognitive.

Extended cognition concerns only the cognitive, information-processing aspects of mental life. It has, however, inspired similar claims about extension for other aspects of the mind, including conscious experience, emotions, moods, intentional agency, knowledge, and the self.

Extended cognition is part of a wider ‘4E cognition’ research programme. The four Es stand for extended, embedded, embodied, and enactive cognition. Each E offers a closely related, albeit distinct perspective on the role of the environment in cognition. Other forms of externalism about the mind – content externalism, direct realism about perception, collective intentionality, and group cognition – are less closely related to extended cognition.
Modernitenin Evi: 1950-1965 Yılları Arası Türkiye’deki Apartman Mimarlığının Arkitekt Dergisi Üzerinden İncelenmesi
Authors: BALABAN VAROL Eda
Published: February 2023

1950’lerde Türkiye’de yaşanan tarihsel değişim nedeniyle, toplumsal ve kültürel bağlamda bir kopmanın gerçekleştiği söylenebilir. Nedensellik bağlantısı içinde mekân, hem bu kopuşa bir araç olmuş hem de yaşamda yarattığı duvarlar bakımından tartışılır duruma gelmiştir. Dönem içinde çok katlı apartmanların artması ile birlikte, konut kültüründe ve toplumun gündelik yaşamında köklü değişimler yaşanmıştır. Bu bağlamda yapılan araştırmanın amacı, modernitenin yarattığı bir konut biçimi olarak apartman kavramı üzerinde durmak; Türkiye’deki apartmanlaşmanın hız kazandığı ilk on beş yıllık süreç olan 1950-1965 yıllarını, bu dönem içinde yayınlanmış Arkitekt dergisindeki örnekler üzerinden tartışmaktır. Bu amaç kapsamında Arkitekt dergisinin 1950-1965 yılları arasında yayınlanan toplam 65 yayın detaylı bir şekilde incelenmiş; bu sayılarda yer alan ve araştırma sonucu ulaşılan 22 apartman örneği araştırmanın örneklemi olarak belirlenmiştir. Örneklemdeki apartmanların yapım aşaması, dergide yayınlandığı yayın yılı, konumu, mimarı, blok sayısı, kat sayısı ve daire sayıları çalışma içinde tablolaştırılarak değerlendirilmiştir. Nitel bir araştırma olarak tasarlanan bu çalışmadaki verilere ilgili literatürün taranmasıyla ulaşılmıştır.
Prospects for Women in Journalism in Bangladesh
Authors: Safa Md Nurus , Jinzhang Jiang , Akter Tahera
Published: February 2023

This study explores the Women journalists’ contributing to the society for economic prosperity and changing the attitude towards the concept of the process of development in Bangladesh. They are protecting and talking outside when facing any discrimination in their journalistic profession. Despite the barriers, women journalists are showing strong interest in journalism as a career. The findings show that women journalists are facing many barriers like family pressure, societal problem, pay‑allowances, gender discrimination, sexual harassment and even lack of workplace. It is possible to survive if you have passion, professionalism, and love to this profession. In recent time Bangladesh is encouraging her women to work outside of home. Currently a significant change has come into the social attitude which is represented by women’s advancement in journalism sector of Bangladesh. This study uses survey questionnaire from 120 female journalists in television, online and print media journalists to find out a fruitful result.
DVADESET PET GODINA NEZAVISNOG SINDIKATA FILOZOFSKOG FAKULTETA U NIŠU 1997-2022.
Authors: Autora Grupa
Published: February 2023

Pred vama je monografija o dvadeset pet godina delovanja Nezavisnog sindikata Filozofskog fakulteta u Nišu. Neposredni povod za monografiju je obeležavanje ovog jubileja. Međutim, pored toga, naša želja je bila da ona istovremeno bude jedno svedočanstvo i moguća interpretacija društvenih događaja u Nišu i Srbiji u periodu od 1997. do danas. Želja nam je da zabeležimo značaj i ulogu Filozofskog fakulteta u Nišu i njegovih zaposlenih za razvoj demokratije u Srbiji i da podsetimo da teorijsko znanje koje smo stekli u toku svoje akademske i naučne karijere nije samo „mrtvo slovo na papiru“ već da zaposleni Filozofskog fakulteta – organizovano, kao sindikat, ili pojedinačno - to znanje često koriste direktno u konkretnoj društvenoj situaciji: preuzimanjem odgovornosti, objašnjavanjem društvenih pojava javnosti, pozivanjem na akciju, organizovanjem tribina, protesta, demonstracija, bojkota – sve u cilju izgradnje modernog, demokratskog društva, poštovanja osnovnih ljudskih sloboda i prava, razvoja odnosa tolerancije, razumevanja i poštovanja. Od svog osnivanja Nezavisni sindikat Filozofskog fakulteta u Nišu nikada se u svojim aktivnostima nije ograničavao samo na ono što se usko smatra „socijalnim“ pitanjima i pravima. Stav Nezavisnog sindikata u vek je bio da je nemoguće odbraniti i izboriti se za svoja socijalna p rava u d ruštvu u k ome vlada opresija i zakon jačega, u kome se ne poštuju zakoni, u kome je država otuđeni aparat koji zna samo da naređuje svojim građanima, u kome su građani samo statistička brojka a ne individue sa pravima i potrebama koje država treba da štiti i zadovolji.
Obnovljivi izvori energije u kontekstu dobre prakse projekta FIRESPOL
Authors: Markuz Ana , Mustajbegović Suada , Hrvatin Stella
Published: February 2023

Europska unija svoj gospodarski rast i razvoj temelji na principima održivog razvoja, a on je nezamisliv bez obnovljivih izvora energije, koje Europa izdašno podupire financiranjem, promidžbom i dijeljenjem dobre prakse. U ovome se radu analiziraju efekti međunarodnog projekta FIRESPOL kroz koji se promicanjem dobre prakse i razmjenom iskustava između različitih zemalja i regija osnažuju ulaganja u obnovljive izvore energije (OIE), a time daje doprinos zapošljavanju i rastu niskougljičnog gospodarstva članica Europske unije.
Percipirana uspješnost metoda online nastave (2020/2021.) prema mišljenju studenata Libertas međunarodnog sveučilišta
Authors: Lučev Iva , Lukić-Jakopčević Lucija , Špiljak Višnja
Published: February 2023

Cilj rada bio je istražiti jesu li i na koji način prilagođene metode nastave, vanjske okolnosti i unutrašnji faktori nezadovoljstva utjecali na to kako studenti percipiraju online nastavu na Libertas međunarodnom sveučilištu u Zagrebu. U istraživanju je sudjelovalo 300 studenata sveučilišta Libertas, koji su u siječnju i veljači 2021. ispunili anketni upitnik. U radu se ispituje: (1) u kojoj su mjeri nastavnici prilagodili metode svoje nastave online načinu rada (predavanja, vježbe, nastavni materijali, uključivanje studenata u nastavu, način praćenja rada studenata, ispiti, ocjenjivanje), (2) u kojoj su mjeri promjene u metodama online nastave utjecale na efikasnost studiranja studenata (mjereno postotkom dolaznosti, aktivnim sudjelovanjem u nastavi, motivacijom studenata, koncentracijom studenata za vrijeme online nastave, prosječnom ocjenom na svim predmetima, uloženim trudom) i (3) faktori zadovoljstva studenata u online nastavi. Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju kako su se studenti uspješno priviknuli na novi način rada, uz minimalan stres, zahvaljujući nastojanjima nastavnika da osiguraju visoku kvalitetu nastave i u online okruženju. Kao najveće nedostatke online nastave studenti navode nedostatak socijalnog kontakta s kolegama, smanjenu interakciju između studenata i nastavnika, smanjenu koncentraciju i motivaciju za rad u odnosu na nastavu u dvorani. Na kraju rada donose se preporuke za daljnja istraživanja. Rad pridonosi cjelokupnoj raspravi o online nastavi na tercijarnoj razini i pruža uvid u vanjske i subjektivne faktore zadovoljstva studenata provedenom online nastavom.
Wie wichtig sind Deutschkenntnisse für ein erfolgreiches Studium internationaler Bachelorstudierender? Kernbefunde des SpraStu-Projekts
Authors: Wisniewski Katrin , Lenhard Wolfgang , Möhring Jupp
Published: February 2023

Internationale Studierende brechen ihr Studium deutlich häufiger ab als deutsche Studierende. Häufig werden dafür insbesondere nicht ausreichende Sprachkompetenzen verantwortlich gemacht. In diesem Beitrag werden Kernergebnisse eines Projekts geschildert, das den Zusammenhang von Deutschkompetenzen mit dem Studienerfolg von internationalen Studierenden im Bachelorstudium empirisch untersuchte. Die Befunde verweisen auf sehr heterogene Sprachkompetenzen zum Studienstart und Schieflagen beim sprachlichen Hochschulzugang. Ferner zeigte sich, dass insbesondere rezeptive Kompetenzen (Lesen, Hören) tatsächlich eine wichtige Rolle für den objektiven Erfolg in der Studieneingangsphase spielen. Für den subjektiven Studienerfolg und die soziale und akademische Integration (die wiederum für den objektiven Studienerfolg eine entscheidende Rolle spielen) erwiesen sich andere sprachliche Faktoren als bedeutsam, insbesondere der Umfang des Sprachkontakts auf Deutsch.
El valle del rift y los australopitecos.
Authors: Arízaga Eduardo
Published: February 2023

La Tierra ha tenido muy diversos escenarios que han acogido a nuestros ancestros desde hace 70 millones de años. Al final del Cretácico vivió en Montana, nuestro más lejano antepasado, un pequeño presimio, el Purgatorius. En los millones de años siguientes encontramos aislados ejemplos de ancestros desperdigados por distintos lares europeos, al inicio septentrionales como en el lago de Messel que preservó a Ida en Alemania, y que luego se ubicaron en tierras más meridionales hasta llegar a las riberas del Mediterráneo. Atapuerca y otros lugares de la península ibérica, como Cataluña, se convirtieron en escenarios importantes para el estudio de los homínidos. Es un verdadero santuario que ha abrigado durante 1.4 millones de años ha diversas especies relacionadas con el Homo sapiens. En junio de 2022 apareció en uno de los yacimientos más antiguos la cara indudable de un ancestro de sapiens, con 1.4 millones de años.
Neurociencias y quinta revolución industrial: El futuro ha llegado.
Authors: Cortés Manuel E.
Published: February 2023

Señora Editora Las Neurociencias están siendo protagonistas en los avances tecnológicos del siglo XXI,1 desarrollos catalizados por la Quinta Revolución Industrial (5RI). Esta carta presenta los principales componentes de la interacción Neurociencias-Tecnologías 5RI, vínculo revolucionario para la biomedicina y otras áreas.
Programas de control de cisticercosis y erradicación de epilepsia relacionada a neurocisticercosis.
Authors: Del Brutto Oscar H.
Published: February 2023

Señora editora: Los programas de control destinados a erradicar la cisticercosis humana son dignos de elogio. En el programa más grande y probablemente mejor diseñado de los realizados hasta la fecha, se seleccionaron seres humanos y cerdos como objetivos de intervención. Los seres humanos recibieron varias rondas de niclosamida y los cerdos recibieron oxfendazol y vacunación posterior. Al final del período de seguimiento, se pudo demostrar interrupción de la transmisión de la enfermedad, que persistió por lo menos un año después de la finalización del programa. La principal lección de este programa de control es que varios pasos en el ciclo de la Taenia solium deben abordarse simultáneamente para lograr el éxito deseado. Sin embargo, el diseño de este y otros estudios no han permitido evaluar si el éxito estuvo asociado con una reducción en la tasa de incidencia de epilepsia en la región.
Ejecución en el Test de Fluidez Verbal en pacientes con Trastorno Neurocognitivo Leve.
Authors: Uribe-Pérez Andrea , Flores-Vázquez Juan Francisco , Mondragón-Maya Alejandra , Yañez-Tellez Guillermina , Rodríguez-Agudelo Yaneth
Published: February 2023

Objetivo. Comparar aspectos cuantitativos y cualitativos de la ejecución del test de fluidez verbal (TFV) semántica (animales) y fonológica (F, A, S y M), en pacientes con Trastorno Neurocognitivo Leve (TNL) y un grupo control. Método. La muestra se compuso de 70 participantes: 35 con diagnóstico de TNL con una media de 71.5 (± 8) años de edad y escolaridad de 13.1 (± 3.6) y 35 individuos como grupo control con edad media de 72.1 (± 7.1) con 13.2 (± 3.7) años de escolaridad. Se realizó un análisis de la ejecución del TFV en términos de: número de aciertos y errores, número y tamaño de agrupaciones, número de saltos. Resultados. No se observaron diferencias significativas entre grupos en número de aciertos y errores. No obstante, se encontraron diferencias respecto a las estrategias empleadas, el grupo control mostró mayor número de agrupaciones que el grupo con TNL en los TFV semántica y fonológica. Asimismo, el tamaño de las agrupaciones en el TFV fonológica fue mayor en el grupo control que en los pacientes con TNL. No se encontraron diferencias entre grupos en el número de saltos. Conclusiones. El análisis cualitativo del TFV aporta mayor información sobre el procesamiento cognitivo, y puede ser una herramienta de utilidad para diferenciar el funcionamiento ejecutivo del envejecimiento normal y del TNL, en un breve periodo de tiempo.
Paraproteinemic Neuropathies: A Review for Neurologists Neuropatías.
Authors: De León Andrés M. , Jeanneret Valerie
Published: February 2023

As part of the workup of polyneuropathy, neurologists often encounter patients with paraproteinemias, also called monoclonal gammopathies. Given the relatively rising prevalence of both polyneuropathy and paraproteinemias in our aging population, this coexistence is frequently due to chance. Still, certain types of paraproteinemias have a well-defined causal role in the development of polyneuropathy, and therefore has implications in their subsequent work-up and management. Once a monoclonal gammopathy has been deemed as “benign” or of undetermined significance, looking at the heavy chain subtype is paramount in deciding whether it is related to a polyneuropathy. Conversely, polyneuropathies associated with monoclonal gammopathies tend to have a distinct clinical, serological, and/or electrodiagnostic phenotype that helps in establishing an association. Recognizing this association will determine appropriate workup and management.
Identifying Risk of Neonatal Hyperbilirubinaemia and Early Discharge for Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase Deficient Newborns in Singapore
Authors: Shah Varsha Atul , Yeo Cheo Lian
Published: February 2023

Introduction: This study aims to compare and assess usefulness of day 3 and 4 (49 to 96 hours) pre-phototherapy total serum bilirubin (TSB) in predicting subsequent significant hyperbilirubinaemia (SHB) in glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficient neonates.

Methods: This prospective study was on all the G6PD deficient newborns weighing >2500 g. Day 3 and 4 pre-phototherapy TSB and phototherapy requirements in their first 2 weeks of life were analysed for its value in predicting subsequent SHB.

Results: The frequency of G6PD deficiency was 2.4%, 1 per 42 live births (1.3% in males and 1.1% in females). Phototherapy was required in 51% of G6PD deficient infants, all within the first week of life. In the absence of SHB in the first week, the probability of its development in the second week was zero (95% confidence interval, 0 to 0.051). The day 4 pre-phototherapy TSB of <160 umol/L predicted no measurable risk of subsequent SHB (sensitivity, 94%; 95% confidence interval, 83.5% to 97.9%; specificity 82.8%; 95% confidence interval, 71.1% to 90.4%).

Conclusions: G6PD deficient newborns without SHB in their first week of life were at no measurable risk of its development in the second week. Day 4 pre-phototherapy has better sensitivity and specificity compared to day 3 pre-phototherapy TSB in predicting the risk of subsequent SHB. Low-risk infants, thus identified, may be eligible for discharge on or before day 7 of life. Infants with Day 4 TSB <160 can be even discharge on day 4 with follow-up appointment. Evidence-based early discharge can decrease the social, emotional and financial burden of G6PD deficiency in Singapore.

Key words: Neonatal jaundice, Pre-phototherapy total serum bilirubin
Correlates of Self-reported Disability in Patients with Low Back Pain: The Role of Fear-avoidance Beliefs
Authors: Cai Congcong , Pua Yong-Hao , Lim Kian Chong
Published: February 2023

Introduction: The purpose of the study was to examine the determinants of self-reported disability – MODQ (Modified Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire) in patients with low back pain (LBP); and to examine the level of FABQ (Fear-Avoidance Belief Questionnaires) scores in an ambulatory clinical population referred to physiotherapy management. We believe that identifying potentially modifiable determinants of disability in patients with LBP provides an opportunity to broaden the strategies to reduce its socioeconomic burden. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was designed to be conducted in the physiotherapy department of a local hospital. The data were taken from standard examination of patients [n = 162, female 15.4%, male 84.6%, agemean = 30.6 years [standard deviation (SD), 11.4; range, 17 to 68)] presenting to the department with acute or chronic LBP. The data included physical examination of back, self-reported disability by MODQ, fear-avoidance beliefs by FABQ, pain intensity and demographic information. Results: The final model generated by hierarchical regression analysis revealed that MODQ scores included self-reported symptom aggravation with all movements, pain medication usage, average straight leg raise (SLR), pain intensity, and Fear-Avoidance Belief Questionnaire-Work (FABQ-W). Overall, these variables account for approximately 40% of variance. The mediational analysis indicated that the relationship between the FABQ-W and MODQ scores may be partially mediated by pain intensity, average SLR values and pain medication usage. Conclusion: In this correlational study of physical impairments, psychosocial factors and self-reported disability, disability was driven primarily by measures of pain and fear-avoidance beliefs. Because the FABQ is a simple and useful clinical tool, we suggest that physicians and physiotherapists alike should make it a routine attempt to characterise the fear-avoidance beliefs of patients with LBP. Key words: Physical impairments, Psychosocial factors
A Survey of Brain Death Certification – An Impetus for Standardisation and Improvement
Authors: Chin Ki Jinn , Kwek Tong Kiat , Lew Thomas WK
Published: February 2023

Introduction: Despite well-established guidelines, multiple recent studies have demonstrated variability in the conduct of brain death certification. This is undesirable given the gravity of the diagnosis. We sought therefore to survey local clinicians involved in brain death certification to identify specific areas of variability, if any, and to elicit information on how the testing process can be improved.

Materials and Methods: An anonymous questionnaire was sent to all clinicians on the brain death certification roster in a tertiary neurosciences referral centre. This survey covered clinician demographics, evaluation of current and proposed resources to assist clinicians in certification, knowledge of the legislation governing brain death and organ procurement, technical performance of the brain death tests, and their views on the appropriate limits of physiological and biochemical preconditions for brain death testing.

Results: We found significant variability in the conduct of brain death testing, especially in performing the caloric and apnoea tests. Of the existing resources to assist clinicians, written aide-memoires were the most popular. Respondents felt that bedside availability of a more detailed written description of the brainstem tests, and a formal accreditation course would be useful. There was wide variation in the limits of serum sodium and glucose, and the minimum core temperature and systolic blood pressures that respondents felt would preclude testing but we were able to identify thresholds at which the majority would be happy to proceed. We addressed the issues identified in our study by improving our written hospital brain death protocol, and designing an instructional course for clinicians involved in brain death certification.

Conclusions: Our findings confirm that variability in the performance of brain death testing is indeed a universal phenomenon. Formal training appears desirable, but more importantly, clear and detailed protocols for testing should be made available at the bedside to assist clinicians. These protocols should be tailored to provide step-bystep instructions so as to avoid the inconsistencies in testing identified by this and other similar studies.

Key words: Apnoea test, Brainstem death, Caloric test, Guidelines, Preconditions