bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of physical characteristics of chevon as affected by post-mortem carcass dressing and freezing preservation
Authors: Apata E. A. , Olaleye O. O. , Apata O. A. , Olugbemi M. T. , Omojola A. B.
Published: July 2023

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of post-mortem dressing methods and freezing preservation on the physical characteristics of chevon. Twenty-seven Red-Sokoto male goats between 10 and 12 months of age weighing 18–20 kg were purchased, stabilized and slaughtered. The carcasses were randomly allotted to three post-mortem dressing procedures (scalding, skinning and singeing) and meat from thigh cuts was frozen for 0, 7, 14 and 21 days. Meat samples were excised each day after thawing for physical analysis and data collected were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) in a completely randomized design experiment with 3x4 factorial arrangement. The significant means were separated with the Duncan multiple range test at p<0.05. The results showed that the post-mortem dressing methods and freezing affected Red-Sokoto chevon significantly with the singeing method exerting the highest detrimental effects on physical attributes of meat with the exception of color, yield and pH, while the skinning method exerted the least detrimental effects. Also, cold, cooking and drip losses as well as thermal shortening, cold shortening and pH values increased between the 14th and 21st day, while color, yield, water holding capacity, texture and shear force values decreased across the three treatments during freezing periods. The effects were more significant in singed and scalded meat than in skinned chevon. It was recommended, therefore, that skinning method be encouraged if meat from Red-sokoto male goats is to be frozen and the period of freezing be limited to 14 days for wholesome meat.
Don Juan Basin, Antarctica: A chemically altering environment with martian analog potential
Authors: Foerder Andrew B. , Englert Peter A.J. , Bishop Janice L. , Koeberl Christian , Burton Zachary F.M. , Patel Shital , Gibson Everett K.
Published: July 2023

The McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica provide a testbed for alteration processes on Mars due to the cold, arid, and windy conditions. Analysis of three sediment cores collected from Don Juan Basin, Wright Valley, Antarctica, reveals that surface sediment formation is primarily dominated by physical alteration. Chemical alteration occurs sporadically in this region and is frequently indicated by the accumulation of sulfates and Cl-bearing salts. We investigated the effects of physical and chemical alteration in Don Juan Basin by considering major and trace element abundances in the sediments based on depth and location. Our results indicate inversely related chemical- and physical-alteration gradients with proximity to Don Juan Pond where the current center of the pond represents a more chemically altering environment and the perimeter a more physically altering one. Comparing calculated sulfate abundances for Don Juan Basin cores to rock and soil samples taken by the rover Curiosity at Gale crater, we observed that the core from within Don Juan Pond best matches Curiosity soil sulfate abundances.

A new Chemical Index of Alteration equation that adjusts for salt dilution was also applied to the Antarctic cores and Curiosity rocks and soils. Our analysis indicates a significantly higher degree of chemical alteration than originally reported for most Antarctic and martian samples. Our investigation provides evidence for aqueous-based chemical alteration under cold, hyper-arid conditions in Don Juan Basin, Antarctica. Our work also demonstrates the analogous nature of terrestrial microenvironments to similar, local-scale sample sites on Mars, thereby supporting past or present chemical alteration on Mars.
Tourmaline growth in the border and wall zones of the Emmons pegmatite (Maine, U.S.A.): Evidence for disequilibrium crystallization and boundary layer formation
Authors: van der Does Laura M. , Hulsbosch Niels , Kaskes Pim , Elsen Jan , Claeys Philippe , Muchez Philippe , Sirbescu Mona-Liza C.
Published: July 2023

The anisotropic textures, including unidirectional solidification textures and graphic intergrowths, characteristic for pegmatites, are interpreted to result from disequilibrium crystallization at high degrees of undercooling. Experimental studies have revealed the existence of thin boundary layers surrounding the rapidly growing crystals. Here, tourmaline-bearing samples from the outer zones of the Emmons pegmatite (Maine, U.S.A.) are used to examine if a boundary layer can also occur in natural samples. Crystal morphology is linked with geochemistry to understand the evolution of pegmatite melts and to constrain disequilibrium conditions at large degrees of undercooling. Petrographic studies and semiquantitative micro-X-ray fluorescence element mapping were conducted to identify crystal morphology and zonation, complemented with electron microprobe analyses to determine major and minor element compositions and LA-ICP-MS analyses of selected trace elements. Three textural groups were identified: comb-like tourmaline, quartz-tourmaline intergrowths, and radiating tourmaline. The intergrowths are optically coherent and are split into three different morphologies: central, second tier, and skeletal tourmaline. Most tourmaline is schorl, but chemical variation occurs on three different scales: between textural groups, between different morphologies, and intracrystalline. The largest scale geochemical variation is caused by the progressive evolution of the melt as it crystallized from the borders inwards, while the intracrystalline variations are attributed to sector zoning. A model is suggested where the systematic variation of Mg, Mn, and Fe within individual intergrowths is proposed to be the result of crystallization from a boundary layer, rich in water and other fluxing elements (e.g., Li, P, B), formed around the rapidly growing central tourmaline. Here, we show the first examples of boundary layers in natural pegmatites. Furthermore, the results bring into question whether boundary layer tourmaline can be used as a bulk melt indicator in pegmatitic melts.
New machine learning techniques for simulation-based inference: InferoStatic nets, kernel score estimation, and kernel likelihood ratio estimation
Authors: Kong Kyoungchul , Matchev Konstantin T. , Mrenna Stephen , Shyamsundar Prasanth
Published: July 2023

We propose an intuitive, machine-learning approach to multiparameter inference, dubbed the InferoStatic Networks (ISN) method, to model the score and likelihood ratio estimators in cases when the probability density can be sampled but not computed directly. The ISN uses a backend neural network that models a scalar function called the inferostatic potential \varphiφ. In addition, we introduce new strategies, respectively called Kernel Score Estimation (KSE) and Kernel Likelihood Ratio Estimation (KLRE), to learn the score and the likelihood ratio functions from simulated data. We illustrate the new techniques with some toy examples and compare to existing approaches in the literature. We mention en passant some new loss functions that optimally incorporate latent information from simulations into the training procedure.
Effect of multidimensional performance appraisal on the structure of local government expenditure
Authors: Han Ting , C. Lorenzo Lorenzo
Published: July 2023

In many countries, including China, traditional one-dimensional performance appraisal has led local governments to spend more on economic construction and less on human capital and public services. In 2013, China decided to abandon the traditional bias of performance appraisal. This study aims to analyze the effect of multidimensional performance appraisal on the local government expenditure structure in China. The study collected panel data from 31 provincial administrative regions in China during 2007–2018 for empirical analysis. By assigning different weights to economic-based performance appraisal pressure, livelihood-based performance appraisal pressure, and ecological-based performance appraisal pressure, the study observed the effects of performance appraisal criteria on local government expenditure structure. The results show that: local governments place more emphasis on tasks with higher relative incentive intensity and allocate more expenditures to them; the correlation between tasks affects the proportion of expenditures on related tasks; the basic principle of local government officials in balancing the expenditure structure is to maximize their own utility. They give priority to spending on tasks with high marginal revenue. In addition, this paper also discusses the causes and mechanisms of distortion in local government spending structure. Finally, the paper puts forward corresponding policy recommendations, which provide new ideas for multidimensional performance assessment of local governments.
“EKSİLEN FESLERİN PEÇELER İLE İTMÂMI”: GEÇ DÖNEM OSMANLI İMPARATORLUĞU’NDA KADININ ÇALIŞMA HAYATINDAKİ YERİ (1914-1918)
Authors: EKREM Seda
Published: July 2023

Geç Dönem Osmanlı İmparatorluğu’nda kadının çalışma hayatındaki yerini savaşın, “kadınları özgürleştirici” tezi bağlamında tartışmayı amaçlayan makalede, erkeklerin kamuda yarattığı boşluğu ikame eden kadınların geçici süreliğine artan kamusal görünürlüklerinin etkileri değerlendirilmektedir. Birinci Dünya Savaşı’nın Osmanlı toplumundaki Müslüman kadınların kamusal ve ekonomik alandaki görünürlüğünü artırdığı savı tartışmaya açılmakta ve bu durumun ne ölçüde süreklilik gösterdiği irdelenmektedir. Modernleşmenin vitrini olarak kadınların gerçek bir özgürleşme deneyimini tecrübe edip etmedikleri ve bu gelişmenin savaş öncesi ortaya çıkan kadın hareketine etkileri işlenerek kadın tarihi yazımına katkı sağlanması hedeflenmektedir. Birinci Dünya Savaşı’nın sona ermesi ile memur veya işçi olarak istihdam edilen kadınların hangi sâiklerle işlerinden uzaklaştırıldığı da üzerinde durulan meseleler arasındadır.
Design, Synthesis and Insecticidal Activity of Novel meta-Diamide Compounds Containing Methoxy Group
Authors: Liang Limei , Wu Minghui , Huang Pengmian , Liu Jiyong
Published: July 2023

This work is based on the precursor compound cyproflanilide and designs a series of methoxy containing meta-diamine compounds. By replacing the fluorine atom on the phenyl ring in cyproflanilide with methoxy group, 17 derivatives (12a-12q) were obtained with yields ranging from 46 to 92%, which were characterized by high-resolution mass spectrometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance (1 H and 13C) spectroscopy and infrared. The insecticidal activities were evaluated against the Plutella xylostella and Spodoptera frugiperda. Compound N-(3-((2-bromopropane4-(perfluoropropan-2-yl))-6-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)methoxyphenyl)-N-(cyclopropylmethyl)- 6-fluoronicotinamide (12q) showed significant insecticidal activity against the Plutella xylostella with a mortality rate of 97.67% at a concentration of 1 mg L-1. It also exhibited moderate activity against the Spodoptera frugiperda at a concentration of 0.1 mg L-1, which can be used as a template for structure modification to obtain higher insecticidal activity.
Vajon az unokáink is ismerni fogják? – Nemzetiségi értékek megőrzésének helyzetképe a hazai lakosság körében
Authors: Szeidl Klaudia
Published: July 2023

Egy ország globális és lokális kulturális kínálata nagymértékben függ a társadalom összetettségétől, hiszen az egyedi szokásvilággal rendelkező népcsoportok nagyban meghatározzák a desztináció egyediségét, vagyis a turisztikai attrakciókínálat változatosságát. Az elmúlt évek trendváltozásai hatására joggal merül fel a kérdés, hogy vajon az unokáink ismerni fogják a jelenleg még élő hagyományokat? A kutatás eredményeként felvázolásra kerül a nemzetiségi értékek turisztikai megjelenésük és hasznosításuk. Továbbá a kérdőíves felmérés rávilágít a társadalom nemzetiségi értékmegőrző szerepvállalására.
On the Front Line: The White Army and the Population
Authors:   Povolzhsky Institute of Management named after P. A. Stolypin, Posadsky A. V.
Published: July 2023

The article considers the interaction of the White Army and the population in the South and East of Russia. It evaluates the specifics of combat operations and recruitment in the conditions of civil war and emphasizes the importance of interaction with the civilian population. The author analyzes the areas of large-scale confrontation of the population and the causes of this phenomenon, and explains the reasons behind the blurring of the boundaries between combatants and non-combatants in internecine struggle. The author draws attention to the restoration of law enforcement and other forms of infrastructure in the areas occupied by the White Army, to the phenomenon of self-defense on a territorial or ethnic basis. The conclusion made concerns the decisive interaction between the army and the population on the front line in the conditions of a large-scale civil war. The article provides numerous examples of support of the white units by the population; analyses successful and unsuccessful examples of the demand for such support by the command of White formations. For this purpose, various sources are used, primarily memoirs, both published and stored in the archives of the Russian Federation. The author concludes about the utmost importance of contact with the population on the front line for the victory in the civil war and highlights a high potential for the support of white formations and the areas where this was manifested most prominently. The article proposes to distinguish between the willingness to surrender or to be legalized with the approach of the Whites and the willingness to actively support the troops with military participation. This phenomenon was also evident on the red side of the confrontation, which had its own specifics and is worthy of independent study.
Russian Reassertion in Afghanistan: Implications of the Doha Peace Agreement 2020
Authors:   NED University of Engineering & Technology, Begum I.
Published: July 2023

The research aims to explore the causes of Russian reassertion in Afghanistan and delves into its impact on the peace process. Russia has a deep-rooted history in Afghanistan. At the peak of its power, it sent troops to Kabul to protect the communist regime but faced strong resistance from the Afghan people. The Soviet- backed Afghan regime and the Soviet forces tried to control the insurgency for ten years; eventually, it had to pull back all troops from Afghanistan. The extended engagement in Kabul worsened internal conditions in Russia which attempted to prevent them from the Afghan scenario. During the brief period of the government of Mujahedeen and later, under the rule of the Taliban*, it was concerned by the rise of Islamic militancy in Afghanistan that emerged as a peril for Russia and the Central Asian states where Moscow aspired to maintain a soft influence. The 9/11 incident transformed the political approach of the world community. The paper analyses the reasons for Russian support of the US in the war against terrorism, and Russian coordination with Central Asian states to facilitate the US in utilizing military bases of the former Soviet Union for the first time. Russia re-opened its embassy in Kabul in 2007. After two years, it endorsed a new strategy of the US President in Afghanistan based upon a troop surge, a withdrawal plan, and reconciliation with the moderate Taliban*. Russia also formed a multi-dimensional policy towards Afghanistan. Kremlin developed ties with the Afghan government as well as diplomatic engagement with the Taliban*. A hypothesis is made that due to the assertive Russian role in Afghanistan, the US had to speed up the peace process which resulted in the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Afghanistan.
All-Union Housing Census of the USSR in 1960: Organization and Results
Authors:   Chelyabinsk State University, Bakanov S. A. , Khlyzov V. E. ,   Chelyabinsk State University
Published: July 2023

The article examines the organizational forms of housing accounting in the USSR and analyzes the results of the census and accounting of the housing stock of the USSR as of January 1, 1960. The article presents the criteria by which the Soviet leadership attributed a specific structure to a certain category of housing and also took into account the degree of its convenience and amenities. Throughout the USSR, the census registered 12.2 million residential buildings with a living area of 659.1 million m2, in which 109.1 million people were settled. In rural areas, the housing stock, being the personal property of citizens, was outside the census. The article provides data on the number of floors of residential buildings, the materials of the walls, describes the qualitative characteristics of housing and the provision of certain types of conveniences — sewerage, central heating, water supply, gas. The authors also consider the issue of providing Soviet citizens with living space. They come to the conclusion that the average space of 5.9 m2 per person is a rather approximate estimate since the standards for the provision of living space were set by local councils depending on the complexity of the housing situation in a particular city or district. These standards were necessary for the authorities to regulate housing queues. The census’s figures reflected the appearance of the majority of Soviet cities, which by 1960 remained (with the exception of capitals and some large cities) mostly wooden and one-storey, with small inclusions of stone blocks built at the beginning of the twentieth century and the period of industrialization as well as panel new buildings of the second half of the 1950s.
Modeling the Competition for Land: Methods and Application to Climate Policy
Authors: Sands Ronald , Kim Man-Keun
Published: July 2023

*Chapter 7 of the forthcoming book "Economic Analysis of Land Use in Global Climate Change Policy," edited by Thomas W. Hertel, Steven Rose, and Richard S.J. Tol The Agriculture and Land Use (AgLU) model was developed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to assess the impact of a changed climate or a climate policy on land use, carbon emissions from land use change, production of field crops, and production of biofuels. The level of analysis to date is relatively aggregate, at the global or national scale, but the model captures important interactions such as endogenous land use change in response to a climate policy and international trade in agricultural and forest products. This paper describes exploratory efforts to extend the conceptual framework, including geographical disaggregation of land within the United States, improving the dynamics of the forestry sector, valuing carbon in forests, and land requirements for biofuel crops. Conceptual development is done within a single-country, steady-state version of AgLU. Land use is simulated with carbon prices from zero to $200 per t-C, with forests, biofuels, and food crops competing simultaneously for land.
The Role of Irrigation in Determining the Global Land Use Impacts of Biofuels
Authors: Taheripour Farzad , Hertel Thomas , Liu Jing
Published: July 2023

In recent years there has been a flurry of activity aimed at evaluating the land use consequences of biofuels programs and the associated carbon releases. In this paper we argue that these studies have tended to underestimate the ensuing land use emissions, because they have ignored the role of irrigation, and associated constraints on cropland expansion. In this paper, we develop a new general equilibrium model which distinguishes irrigated and rainfed cropping industries at a global scale. Using the new model we evaluate the implications of land use change due to US ethanol programs, in the context of physical constraints on the expansion of irrigated cropland. We find that models which mingle irrigated and rainfed areas underestimate the global land use changes induced due to the US ethanol expansion by about 5.7%. They tend to underestimate the corresponding land use emissions by more than one fifth.
Fossil Fuel Producing Economies Have Greater Potential for Interfuel Substitution
Authors: Steinbuks Jevgenijs , Narayanan Badri
Published: July 2023

This study extends the literature on interfuel substitution by investigating the role of transactions costs and technological adjustment, focusing specifically on differences across countries with different potential for fossil fuel production. We find that fossil fuel producing economies have higher elasticities of interfuel substitution. Our simulations show that, compared to the baseline case of uniform elasticities, energy and climate policies result in a greater substitution among different sources of energy for countries with larger potential to produce fossil fuels. These results are important because they imply lower economic cost for policies aimed at climate abatement and more efficient utilization of energy resources in energy-intensive economies. Keywords: climate policies, dynamic linear logit, energy subsidies, fossil fuel production, GTAP-E model, interfuel substitution JEL: E22, H25, Q41
Using continental grids to improve our understanding of global land supply responses: Implications for policy-driven land use changes in the Americas
Authors: Villoria Nelson B. , Liu Jing
Published: July 2023

Global economic models with explicit treatment of global land markets are crucial to understanding the consequences of different policy choices on global food and environmental security. However, these models rely on parameters for which there is little econometric evidence. A fundamental parameter in these models is the land supply elasticity. We provide a novel set of land supply elasticities estimated using gridded data for the American continent, and we use them in exploring previous work on the indirect land-use effects of US ethanol policy. Our estimates provide a basis for better-informed simulations of global land-use transitions under different economic and policy scenarios. JEL Codes: Q24, C21, C68
Cutting Russia’s Fossil Fuel Exports: Short-Term Pain for Long-Term Gain
Authors: Chepeliev Maksym , Hertel Thomas , van der Mensbrugghe Dominique
Published: July 2023

In response to the invasion of Ukraine, most OECD countries have announced punishing sanctions against Russia. In addition to targeting financial markets and service sectors, some countries have begun to impose restrictions on exports of Russia’s fossil fuels. In this paper, we analyze a scenario whereby most OECD countries put major restrictions on Russia’s energy exports. Results suggest that the short-term implications are likely to be non-trivial for EU – Russia’s largest energy export destination. Households’ real income could drop by 0.7-1.7 percent (relative to the reference case) with energy prices growing by as much as 11 percent. But after the initial adjustment period, the cost of such restrictions for the EU is expected to be more modest over the longer run (0.04 percent slowdown in the annual growth rate of real income over the 2022-2030 period), even as they lead to substantial environmental co-benefits through reductions in CO2 (6.6 percent in 2030) and air pollutant emissions (2.8-5.9 percent in 2030). Such emission reductions would take the EU more than halfway to its Green Deal mitigation target, reducing the necessary carbon price by around 40 EUR per tCO2. Adverse impacts on the Russian economy would be overwhelming and, in relative terms, 10 time larger than that for EU. By 2030 the cumulative reduction in Russian real income would exceed 1.1 trillion USD, while lost revenue from fossil fuel exports would be almost 1.4 trillion USD. Key words: Russia; Fossil fuel export restrictions; Economic impacts; European Union; Climate mitigation; Environmental co-benefits; Computable general equilibrium. JEL codes: C68, O13, Q43, F17, F18
A Summary Guide to the Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS) Utility
Authors: van der Mensbrugghe Dominique
Published: July 2023

Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS) is one method of Monte Carlo-type sampling, which is useful for limiting sample size yet maximizing the range of sampling of the underlying distributions. The LHS utility, for which this document describes the usage, also allows for user-specified correlations between two or more of the sampled distributions. The LHS utility described herein is a full re-coding using C/C++ of the original LHS utility—developed at Sandia National Labs (Swiler and Wyss (2004)), written in FORTRAN and freely available. The re-coding hones close to the original FORTRAN code, but allows for significantly more flexibility. For example, dynamic memory allocation is used for all internal variables and hence there are no pre-determined dimensions. The new utility has additional features compared to the original FORTRAN code: (1) it includes 10 new statistical distributions; (2) it has four additional output formats; and (3) it has an alternative random number generator. This guide provides a summary of the full features of the LHS utility. For a complete reference, with the exception of the new features, as well as a description of the intuition behind the LHS algorithm users are referred to Swiler and Wyss (2004)
Recent Advances in Bioactive Peptides as Functional Food for Health
Promotions and Medicinal Applications
Authors: Sreelekshmi Premchanth Jyothi , Devika Vinod , Aiswarya Lakshmi Satheesh , Jeevan Sankar Rajeevan , Ramanunni Kannamathu , Nair Pranav Biju , Sadanandan Sandhya
Published: July 2023

Bioactive peptides obtained from natural resources are useful due to their ability to prevent
the risk of dreadful conditions such as hypertension, cancers, obesity and cardiovascular diseases.
Proteins from food, plants, animals and dairy products are chemically or enzymatically hydrolyzed
or fermented in the presence of microbes to produce bioactive peptides. Bioactive peptides
are antioxidant, antihypertensive, anti-inflammatory, antiproliferative, antibacterial, anticancer,
antimicrobial and some of them also show multiple bioactivities. Also, bioactive peptides
offer much potential as nutraceuticals or functional food components. This paper reviews recent
progress (2020-2022) on bioactive peptides derived from food, animals, plants, and dairy products.
Emphasis is given to their production, purification, and potential use for health promotions and
medicinal applications.
Pulmonary Tuberculosis in Post COVID-19 Patients: Occurrence and
Clinical Profile
Authors: Vijayalakshmi S. , Akshata J.S. , Chakraborthy Anushree , Karanth Swathi , Ramaswamy Swapna , Chikkavenkatappa Nagaraja
Published: July 2023

Background:

Tuberculosis continues to be a major public health disease to date. The mortality of this disease, which was reducing till 2019, was reversed in 2020 and 2021, as per the global tuberculosis report 2022. The novel coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) pandemic has af-fected tuberculosis management in various aspects. The transient immunosuppression associated with the disease and the treatment modality has been speculated to activate latent tuberculosis infec-tion as well as increase the infection risk with Mycobacterium Tuberculosis.

Objective:

The aim of this study was to analyze the clinical characteristics of post-COVID-19 pul-monary tuberculosis patients.

Methods:

We conducted a retrospective descriptive analysis of post-COVID-19 patients admitted from January 2021 to May 2022 with persistent or new-onset respiratory symptoms. The occurrence of pulmonary tuberculosis in these patients and their clinico- demographic details are summarized.

Results:

About 31(19.4%) of 160 post-COVID-19 patients with respiratory symptoms were diag-nosed to have pulmonary tuberculosis. About 21(67.7%) had comorbidities, of which the predomi-nant was diabetes mellitus in 14(45%) patients, and the majority (85%) had poorly controlled blood sugar levels. None of the patients had a history of contact with a pulmonary tuberculosis patient in the previous 2 years, but 4(13%) patients had a previous history of tuberculosis. Moreover,.66% of cases had a history of moderate and severe COVID-19 disease, and 70% had received systemic cor-ticosteroids and other immunosuppressive drugs like tocilizumab during the COVID-19 illness treatment. More than 50% of the patients had negative smears for acid-fast bacilli and were diag-nosed using rapid molecular methods like CBNAAT and LPA. Drug-resistant tuberculosis was seen in 6(19%) patients. 4(13%) patients died during the hospitalized course of treatment, and the re-maining 27(87%) were discharged with antituberculous treatment, but their final outcome is un-known.

Conclusion:

A high index of suspicion and use of rapid molecular diagnostic methods is indicated in post-COVID-19 patients with respiratory symptoms for early diagnosis of tuberculosis and pre-vention of community transmission. Identification of post-COVID-19 patients with latent tuberculo-sis infection and the feasibility of advocation of tuberculosis preventive therapy in such patients, es-pecially those with other risk factors like diabetes mellitus, need to be considered.
Vaccination in Children/Caries Vaccine
Authors: Thosar Nilima , Chatterjee Shailja , Bhaje Priyanka
Published: July 2023

Vaccination is an important measure that is undertaken to provide an individual with acquired immunity against a variety of diseases which may result in significant morbidity and sometimes, may even result in mortality. The vaccination program undertaken by Government has helped in containing many diseases which were responsible for many fatalities in the past. Like any other branch of science, vaccines are also evolving with continuous advancements in their mode of synthesis as well as the method of delivery.Even though various approaches to caries prevention are available, dental caries is still considered to be an irreversible, and a prevalent disease among humans mankind. Mutans streptococci are responsible for such activity. Biofilm is formed on the tooth surface due to everyday diet consumption followed by the role of mutans streptococci through the entry into biofilm on the tooth surface. Most treatment options or medications work for the disposal or destruction of this microorganism. The concept of immunization can be the alternative that works on either inactive or passive grounds. Certain molecular determinants of mutans streptococci are studied and considered for caries formation. Therefore, their use in the preparation of the caries vaccine is widely researched.
Mastery of information technology and strengthening collaboration between editors and marketing: Local media strategies for surviving during Covid-19 pandemic
Authors: Alim Anas Syahirul , Rahmanto Andre Noevi , Hastjarjo Sri
Published: July 2023

There was a global pandemic with the emergence of the Covid-19 virus from 2019 until  2022. The pandemic affected all aspects of life, including the press/media world. Media crews had been facing tough challenges during the midst of a pandemic situation. Journalists were required to do work in the field to produce quality content. The business division was required to continue to generate revenue for the company in order to produce quality journalistic works. On the other hand, they had to protect themselves from contracting the plague while carrying out their duties with all the challenges and risks. Since the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic, local media revenue has continued to fall. Newspaper sales dwindled, advertising sales slumped, events could not run. While operational costs were not reduced but instead increased. Local media also had to struggle with their own strategies to survive. Mastery of information technology to strengthen collaboration between the editorial department and the marketing department was the key to succeed
Negotiation and compromise in online learning during the Covid-19 pandemic
Authors: Januarti Nur Endah , Nugroho Heru , Sujito Arie
Published: July 2023

The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated technological transformation in education. Online learning has become a new culture in education that brings significant changes in the intersubjective relationship between educational actors, which was originally full of warmth but has now turned into formality due to distance meetings. This research aims to reveal the ways of relationship that occur between teachers and students and their consequences in online learning practices. The study used a phenomenological approach by collecting data through interviews with 11 teachers and 11 students and observing the online learning process conducted through various applications. The results of the study showed a weakening of the intersubjective relationship between teachers and students. Distance meetings have turned into mere formalities and emptiness. The closeness and warmth between teachers and students are diminishing and filled with emptiness. The interactions that exist are filled with deceit and fraud. In online learning, teachers and students negotiate and compromise on the learning to be conducted amidst all the limitations of distance learning. The consequence is widespread pragmatism towards technology, with students feeling lonely and isolated, and academic dishonesty increasing. In the end, there is a restriction of relationships and a tendency to prioritize mechanisms of silence as a compromise for the loss of true reality in the teacher-student relationship.
Research of subchronic oral toxicity after the injection of organotin compounds containing a fragment of 2,6-di-tert-butylphenol
Authors: Alkhusein-Kulyaginova M. S. , Arkaniya I. I. , Trepel V. V. , Mogushkova S. A. , Kirtanasova E. Y. , Dodokhova M. A. , Gulyan M. V. , Shpakovsky D. B. , Milaeva E. R. , Kotieva I. M.
Published: July 2023

Objective: to assess the subchronic  toxicity of bis(3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl)dimethyltin (Me-3) and (3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl)triphenyltin (Me-5) with the identification  of external signs  of toxicity and changes  in the indicators of the functional state of the liver and kidneys of Wistar rats (females) with 14-fold daily intragastric injection to simulate a metronomic  chemotherapy  regimen. Materials and method: the study was conducted  on 24 Wistar rats (females) weighing 190-210 g. The tested compounds were administered  fourteen times daily intragastrically  at a total dose of 2000 mg/kg for Me-3, 954 mg/kg for Me-5. Results: for substances belonging to the class of organic tin derivatives: the features of the toxic process and indicators of the functional  state of detoxification  organs (liver and kidneys) with subchronic administration were revealed. The injection  in total doses amounting to a half-year dose with a fourteen-fold administration did not cause the death of animals and the development  of external signs of toxicity, changes in the functional state of the liver and kidneys were not noted. Conclusion: the analysis of the results of the study will allow us to develop optimal schemes for the injection of organotin compounds containing a fragment of 2,6-di-tert-butylphenol in the metronomic regimen.
Comparative analysis of metabolic and structural changes in the skeletal muscles and myocardium of rats on the background of long-term administration of simvastatin
Authors: Belousova E. S. , Mikashinovich Z. I. , Vinogradova E. V. , Loseva T. D.
Published: July 2023

Objective: to conduct a comparative analysis of the dynamics of changes in the end products of glycolysis and the isoform composition of the giant protein - titin and nebulin in the skeletal and cardiac muscles of animals with HC during long-term administration of simvastatin.Materials and methods: the study was conducted on rats that were kept on a high-fat and high-carbohydrate  diet for three months. After GC confirmation, the animals were divided into groups: group 1 received only the experimental diet; group 2 received simvastatin in the form of an aqueous suspension for two months at the rate of 0.012 g/kg of animal weight once a day. The control group of animals was kept on the general diet of the vivarium.Results: The formation of HCh was accompanied  by the accumulation  of pyruvate and lactic acid both in the myocardium and in muscle tissue. The revealed metabolic changes reflect structural disorders and indicate the formation of hypoxia. Against the background of the introduction of simvastatin, both in the myocardium and in the skeletal muscles, a decrease in the level of pyruvate and lactic acid was noted and these indicators approached the values of the control group. Such changes reflect a tendency to restore the integration of intracellular metabolic processes. However, in the study of titin and nebulin proteins against the background of the use of simvastatin, both in the myocardium and in skeletal muscles, structural changes were noted: accumulation  of the proteolytic T-fragment, a decrease in the content of intact titin isoforms. Also, statin-induced structural abnormalities have been identified in earlier studies of rat muscle biopsies.Conclusion: The conducted comparative study clearly demonstrates that the myocardium, along with skeletal muscles, is the target organ of the toxic effect of statins. Based on this, the data obtained as a result of the study, it is important to take into account the pharmacotherapy with statins.
Serotipificación y perfil de resistencia antimicrobiana de Salmonella spp. aislados de crocodilios en cautiverio
Authors: Vargas-Abella Julio César , Tarazona-Manrique Luis Edgar , Andrade-Becerra Roy José
Published: July 2023

Objetivo. Determinar la presencia de Salmonella spp y el PRA en aislamientos de hisopados cloacales y musculares en especímenes de Caiman crocodilus fuscus y Crocodylus acutus en cautiverio en Colombia. Materiales y métodos. Se realizó un muestreo de tipo transversal y descriptivo con un diseño no probabilístico por conveniencia una única vez, durante el mes de febrero de 2021. Se incluyeron 150 animales de Caiman crocodilus fuscus y Crocodylus acutus, con una distribución 50/50. Se tomaron muestras cloacales y musculares con hisopos estériles. Estas se sembraron en agar MacConkey, posteriormente en agar SS. Luego, se reconfirmaron las muestras positivas en agar TSI. Se realizó la serotipifación con antisueros monovalentes y polivalentes específicos. Se realizó la prueba de difusión en agar Mueller-Hinton. Resultados. No existió crecimiento de colonias en ninguna muestra muscular. La presencia de la bacteria en muestras cloacales de Caiman crocodilus fuscus fue del 36% y para Crocodylus acutus de 50.6%, los dos serotipos con mayor porcentaje de detección en ambos grupos fueron el serogrupo C1 y el serogrupo polivalente B. Ocho colonias fueron resistentes a tetraciclina, mientras que otras colonias tuvieron una resistencia intermedia a ampicilina, cefoxitin, sulfatrimetropim y tetraciclina. Conclusiones. Este es el primer reporte relacionado con la detección de Salmonella spp. en canales de caimanes en el país, sin encontrar presencia del agente en ninguna muestra evaluada, sin embargo, se recalca la importancia de seguir su monitoreo para garantizar productos inocuos.
Analisis Kemampuan Literasi Informasi Mahasiswa dengan Model The Seven Pillars of Information Literacy dalam Pembelajaran Daring
Authors: Mubasiroh Siti Latifah
Published: July 2023

Tujuan penelitian ini untuk menganalisis kemampuan literasi informasi mahasiswa dengan model The Seven Pillars of Information Literacy dalam pembelajaran daring. Jenis penelitian yang dilakukan adalah penelitian kuantitatif. Data dalam penelitian ini menggunakan data primer. Pengumpulan data dilakukan dengan kuesioner melalui Google Form. Sampel dalam penelitian ini diambil dengan cara random sampling, minimal 10% dari jumlah mahasiswa aktif Program Studi Ekonomi Islam, Fakultas Ilmu Agama Islam, Universitas Islam Indonesia. Kuesioner disusun berdasarkan teori dalam The Seven Pillars of Information Literacy oleh SCONUL. Analisis data dilakukan dengan software PLS AMOS. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa kemampuan literasi informasi mahasiswa dengan model The Seven Pillars of Information Literacy  dalam pembelajaran daring sudah baik, tetapi perlu peningkatan dalam beberapa aspek. Rata-rata nilai pada variabel mengidentifikasi adalah 4,19 (baik), ruang lingkup 4,2 (baik), merencanakan 4,25 (sangat baik), mengumpulkan 4,25 (sangat baik), mengevaluasi 4,19 (baik), mengelola 4,25 (sangat baik), dan menyajikan 4,14 (baik).

 

Kata Kunci: mahasiswa, literasi informasi, the seven pillars, pembelajaran daring
Pemetaan Literasi Lingkungan pada Materi Pencemaran Lingkungan
Authors: Berlian Mery , Vebrianto Rian , Yuliastrin Adisti , Efendi Silvina
Published: July 2023

Tujuan dari penelitian ini yaitu untuk mengetahui tingkat literasi lingkungan siswa. Manfaat dari penelitian ini yaitu untuk memperoleh hasil test terkait kemampuan literasi lingkungan siswa. Metodologi pada penelitian ini menggunakan metode survey yang melibatkan siswa 60 siswa SMP kelas 8 yang diambil secara random (acak). Instrumen yang digunakan berupa soal literasi lingkungan yang disebarkan melalui gform. Data yang didapatkan di analisis menggunakan SPSS. Berdasarkan hasil survei diketahui bahwa jumlah subjek sebanyak 64 siswa kelas 8 SMP yang terdiri dari 39 perempuan dan 25 laki-laki. serta terdiri dari 4 suku yaitu melayu, minang, batak dan jawa. Berdasarkan hasil survey juga diketahui bahwa rata-rata kemampuan literasi lingkungan siswa yaitu dalam kategori baik dengan skor 7,6 yang dapat dijelaskan secara terperinci yaitu konstrak Kompetensi lingkungan 7,8 (baik), konstrak Pengetahuan lingkungan 7,6 (baik), konstrak Sikap terhadap lingkungan 7,3 (baik). Rekomendasi dari penelitian ini adalah masih perlu ditingkatkan kemampuan literasi lingkungan siswa dan para guru dapat menggunakan instrument yang sudah digunakan ini.
Ola Invernal. Tecnologías para recuperar el sector agropecuario :recomendaciones para la fabricación de ensilajes con cereales en climas fríos.
Authors: Amado S. Gina M. , Londoño V. Carlos E. , Balleteros Diana P. , Herrera Jenny , Arreaza T. Luis C.
Published: July 2023

La ganadería de leche y carne en Colombia debe enfrentar grandes desafíos, como los tratados de libre comercio con otros países, y grandes amenazas, como los efectos del cambio climático que hacen más fuerte la estacionalidad en la producción de forraje; por ello, uno de los principales problemas que afronta la ganadería nacional es la escasez de forraje durante las épocas críticas (verano y lluvias prolongadas, heladas, etc.).
Assessing Vulnerability to Surges in Suicide-Related Tweets Using Japan Census Data: Case-Only Study
Authors: Mitsuhashi Toshiharu
Published: July 2023

Background

As the use of social media becomes more widespread, its impact on health cannot be ignored. However, limited research has been conducted on the relationship between social media and suicide. Little is known about individuals’ vulnerable to suicide, especially when social media suicide information is extremely prevalent.

Objective

This study aims to identify the characteristics underlying individuals’ vulnerability to suicide brought about by an increase in suicide-related tweets, thereby contributing to public health.

Methods

A case-only design was used to investigate vulnerability to suicide using individual data of people who died by suicide and tweet data from January 1, 2011, through December 31, 2014. Mortality data were obtained from Japanese government statistics, and tweet data were provided by a commercial service. Tweet data identified the days when suicide-related tweets surged, and the date-keyed merging was performed by considering 3 and 7 lag days. For the merged data set for analysis, the logistic regression model was fitted with one of the personal characteristics of interest as a dependent variable and the dichotomous exposure variable. This analysis was performed to estimate the interaction between the surges in suicide-related tweets and personal characteristics of the suicide victims as case-only odds ratios (ORs) with 95% CIs. For the sensitivity analysis, unexpected deaths other than suicide were considered.

Results

During the study period, there were 159,490 suicides and 115,072 unexpected deaths, and the number of suicide-related tweets was 2,804,999. Following the 3-day lag of a highly tweeted day, there were significant interactions for those who were aged 40 years or younger (OR 1.09, 95% CI 1.03-1.15), male (OR 1.12, 95% CI 1.07-1.18), divorced (OR 1.11, 95% CI 1.03 1.19), unemployed (OR 1.12, 95% CI 1.02-1.22), and living in urban areas (OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.17 1.35). By contrast, widowed individuals had significantly lower interactions (OR 0.83, 95% CI 0.77-0.89). Except for unemployment, significant relationships were also observed for the 7-day lag. For the sensitivity analysis, no significant interactions were observed for other unexpected deaths in the 3-day lag, and only the widowed had a significantly larger interaction than those who were married (OR 1.08, 95% CI 1.02-1.15) in the 7-day lag.

Conclusions

This study revealed the interactions of personal characteristics associated with susceptibility to suicide-related tweets. In addition, a few significant relationships were observed in the sensitivity analysis, suggesting that such an interaction is specific to suicide deaths. In other words, individuals with these characteristics, such as being young, male, unemployed, and divorced, may be vulnerable to surges in suicide-related tweets. Thus, minimizing public health strain by identifying people who are vulnerable and susceptible to a surge in suicide-related information on the internet is necessary.
Effect of Rapid Urbanization in Mainland China on the Seasonal Influenza Epidemic: Spatiotemporal Analysis of Surveillance Data From 2010 to 2017 (Preprint)
Authors: Lei Hao , Zhang Nan , Niu Beidi , Wang Xiao , Xiao Shenglan , Du Xiangjun , Chen Tao , Yang Lei , Wang Dayan , Cowling Benjamin , Li Yuguo , Shu Yuelong
Published: July 2023

BACKGROUND

The world is undergoing an unprecedented wave of urbanization. However, the effect of rapid urbanization during the early or middle stages of urbanization on seasonal influenza transmission remains unknown. Since about 70% of the world population live in low-income countries, exploring the impact of urbanization on influenza transmission in urbanized countries is significant for global infection prediction and prevention.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to explore the effect of rapid urbanization on influenza transmission in China.

METHODS

We performed spatiotemporal analyses of province-level influenza surveillance data collected in Mainland China from April 1, 2010, to March 31, 2017. An agent-based model based on hourly human contact–related behaviors was built to simulate the influenza transmission dynamics and to explore the potential mechanism of the impact of urbanization on influenza transmission.

RESULTS

We observed persistent differences in the influenza epidemic attack rates among the provinces of Mainland China across the 7-year study period, and the attack rate in the winter waves exhibited a U-shaped relationship with the urbanization rates, with a turning point at 50%-60% urbanization across Mainland China. Rapid Chinese urbanization has led to increases in the urban population density and percentage of the workforce but decreases in household size and the percentage of student population. The net effect of increased influenza transmission in the community and workplaces but decreased transmission in households and schools yielded the observed U-shaped relationship.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results highlight the complicated effects of urbanization on the seasonal influenza epidemic in China. As the current urbanization rate in China is approximately 59%, further urbanization with no relevant interventions suggests a worrisome increasing future trend in the influenza epidemic attack rate.