bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Klasifikasi Buah dan Sayuran Segar atau Busuk Menggunakan Convolutional Neural Network
Authors: Munfaati Eka Aenun Nisa , Witanti Arita
Published: January 2024

Fresh fruits and vegetables contain many nutrients, such as minerals, vitamins, antioxidants, and beneficial fiber, superior to those found in rotten or almost rotten produce. On the other hand, fruits and vegetables that are nearly spoiled or already rotten have significantly lost their nutritional value. Rotten produce also harbors bacteria and fungi that can lead to infections and food poisoning when consumed. Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) offers a programmable solution for classifying fresh and rotten fruits and vegetables. Image processing using the TensorFlow library is employed in this classification process. During testing on the training data, the CNN achieved an accuracy of 90.42%. In comparison, the validation accuracy reached 94.21% when using the SGD optimizer, 20 epochs, a batch size 16, and a learning rate of 0.01. For the testing data, the accuracy obtained was 80.83%.
Implementasi Load Balancing dengan HAProxy di Sistem Informasi Akademik UIN Sunan Kalijaga
Authors: Wirawan Adi , Gatra Rahmadhan , Hidayat Hendra , Prasetyawan Daru
Published: January 2024

Efficiently managing academic information systems (AIS) is essential for educational institutions to provide reliable services to students and faculty. This research explores the integration of HAProxy load balancing and file synchronization techniques to optimize the performance of AIS. HAProxy is employed to distribute incoming requests across multiple backend servers, and the backend will call web service to access the data saved in the database to facilitate seamless data sharing and access. Additionally, file synchronization mechanisms are implemented to maintain consistency across scripts used in the backend system. The study conducts performance evaluations and benchmarks to assess the impact of HAProxy load balancing and file synchronization on AIS responsiveness and reliability. The results reveal significant system scalability and fault tolerance improvements, reducing downtime and enhancing user experience. This research contributes to optimizing academic information systems, enhancing their ability to handle increased loads, and ensuring the efficient delivery of educational services.
Pemeringkatan Kinerja Dosen pada Perguruan Tinggi Swasta Menggunakan Algoritma Simple Additive Weighting
Authors: Mufida Elly , Iriadi Nandang , Andriansyah Doni
Published: January 2024

The Tri Dharma of Higher Education is an obligation for lecturers while carrying out their duties as lecturers at higher education institutions, the implementation of which is regulated in Law Number 20 of 2003 concerning the National Education System. The Tri Dharma of Higher Education is a lecturer's obligation, including Education and Teaching, Research and Development, and Community Service. Lecturers need Support and motivation to implement quality Tri Dharma, especially at "X" Private Universities. Providing rewards or awards can motivate lecturers to give their best performance to Tri Dharma. Student feedback is also needed as evaluation material for lecturers to measure their teaching abilities. Rewarding lecturers can be done by ranking lecturer performance, especially at private universities. The SAW (Simple Additive Weighting) algorithm ranks lecturer performance through the criteria of education and teaching, research, community service, and student feedback. An assessment of several subcriteria presents each criterion. The normalized scoring matrix is ​​the ranking preference. From the results of data processing on lecturer performance and feedback from students, with a sample of 25 lecturers, a ranking score was obtained on a scale of 0 to 1, where a score of 1 is the highest ranking. The lecturer performance ranking process involves lecturers, students, and the Study Program Management Unit. A lecturer performance rating information system is needed to facilitate all actors' involvement in the lecturer performance rating process and provide valid and timely rating results to stakeholders.
Status Ontologis Tuhan dalam Teologi Pembebasan Hassan Hanafi
Authors: Adi Candra Wirinata  , Thoriq Ad Dakhil
Published: January 2024

Abstract

This article attempts to analyze Hassan Hanafi's theology of liberation. Belief in God has a great influence on human life. The direction of human life in the world is determined by his belief and understanding of God. In his theology of liberation, Hanafi positions God not as "distant" and "inaccessible", but God exists in human life in the world. Broadly speaking, Hanafi's theology of liberation is boosted by the theory of existence which believes in the absolute "Existence" of God as the "Real" which does not erase the "Existence" of Humans in the world as well as "the real". Through this view, Hanafi criticizes the thinking of classical scholars, both theologians and Sufis, who think that "Nothing is Real" except God. Hanafi gives a different view of the ontological status of God in Islamic theological thought. Hanafi's thinking encourages human life in the world to be more real and in accordance with the proposition that God created humans seriously as khalifah fi al-ard. With this in mind, Hanafi proposes and tries to shift civilization from the classical divine frame to neo-humanism.

Keywords: God, Liberation Theology, The Real

 

Absrak

Artikel ini berusaha menganalisis pemikiran teologi pembebasan Hassan Hanafi. Keyakinan kepada Tuhan memiliki pengaruh besar bagi kehidupan manusia. Arah hidup manusia di dunia ditentukan oleh keyakinan dan pemahamannya tentang Tuhan. Dalam teologi pembebasannya, Hanafi memposisikan Tuhan bukan sebagai “yang jauh” dan “tak terjangkau”, tapi Tuhan itu Ada dalam kehidupan manusia di dunia. Secara garis besar, teologi pembebasan Hanafi didongkrak oleh teori metafisika wujud yang meyakini “Ada-Nya” Tuhan sebagai “Yang Nyata” secara mutlak yang tidak menghapus “Ada-nya” Manusia di dunia juga sebagai “yang nyata”. Melalui pandangan ini Hanafi mengkritik pemikiran ulama klasik, baik kalangan teolog maupun sufi, yang beranggapan bahwa “Tidak Ada Yang Nyata” selain Tuhan. Hanafi memberi pandangan yang berbeda tentang status ontologis Tuhan dalam pemikiran teologi Islam. Pemikiran Hanafi mendorong hidup manusia di dunia semakin nyata dan sesuai dengan dalil bahwa Tuhan menciptakan manusia dengan sungguh-sungguh sebagai khalifah fi al-ard. Dengan pemikiran ini juga Hanafi mengusulkan dan berusaha untuk menggeser peradaban dari bingkai ketuhanan klasik ke neo-humanisme.

Keywords: Teologi Pembebasan, Tuhan, Yang Nyata
Effect of long-term in-row branch covering on soil microorganisms in pear orchards
Authors: Ji Minghui , Xu Jintao , Gao Lijuan , Li Longfei , Liu Huan , Hao Baofeng
Published: January 2024

Branches covering (BC) is a way to reuse the pruned branches and save the cost of ground cloth. This study investigated the effects of BC and ground-cloth covering on the soil microcosm environment by measuring the chemical properties and microbial communities at different soil depths for 6 years. The results revealed that BC significantly improved soil chemical properties, increased the abundance of bacterial microbial communities and the diversity and homogeneity of bacteria and fungi, while decreased the abundance of fungal microbial communities. There was a threshold value for the regulation of microbial communities by BC, which decreased the high-abundance communities (Proteobacteria, Ascomycota, etc.) and increased the low-abundance communities (Acidobacteriota, Basidiomycota, etc.). Fungi were more sensitive to BC than bacteria. The stability and homogeneity of microorganisms were stronger in the 15–25 cm soil layer. The bacterial phyla were dominated by Proteobacteria, with the top 10 phyla accounting for more than 80% of the relative abundance; the genera were dominated by MND1, with the top 10 genera accounting for about 10%. The fungal phyla were dominated by Ascomycota, with the top 10 phyla accounting for 50–90%; the genera were dominated by unidentified Pyronemataceae sp., with the top 10 genera accounting for 30–60%. The phyla that differed significantly between treatments were mainly Proteobacteria, Ascomycota, Acidobacteriota, and Basidiomycota. In addition, metabolism was the predominant function in bacteria, while Saprotroph was the predominant function in fungi. Bacteroidota correlated strongly with soil chemical properties and bacterial functions, while Chytridiomycota correlated strongly with soil chemical properties and Pathogen-Saprotroph-Symbiotroph. In conclusion, BC can improve soil nutrient content and optimize microbial community structure and function. Through initially assessing the effects of BC on soil nutrients and microorganisms in pear orchard rows, this study provides a reference for excavating key microorganisms and updating the soil row management model.
Physiologic measurements of cognitive load in clinical reasoning
Authors: Mullikin Dolores R. , Flanagan Ryan P. , Merkebu Jerusalem , Durning Steven J. , Soh Michael
Published: January 2024

Objectives

Cognitive load is postulated to be a significant factor in clinical reasoning performance. Monitoring physiologic measures, such as heart rate variability (HRV) may serve as a way to monitor changes in cognitive load. The pathophysiology of why HRV has a relationship to cognitive load is unclear, but it may be related to blood pressure changes that occur in a response to mental stress.

Methods

Fourteen residents and ten attendings from Internal Medicine wore Holter monitors and watched a video depicting a medical encounter before completing a post encounter form used to evaluate their clinical reasoning and standard psychometric measures of cognitive load. Blood pressure was obtained before and after the encounter. Correlation analysis was used to investigate the relationship between HRV, blood pressure, self-reported cognitive load measures, clinical reasoning performance scores, and experience level.

Results

Strong positive correlations were found between increasing HRV and increasing mean arterial pressure (MAP) (p=0.01, Cohen’s d=1.41). There was a strong positive correlation with increasing MAP and increasing cognitive load (Pearson correlation 0.763; 95 % CI [; 95 % CI [−0.364, 0.983]). Clinical reasoning performance was negatively correlated with increasing MAP (Pearson correlation −0.446; 95 % CI [−0.720, −0.052]). Subjects with increased HRV, MAP and cognitive load were more likely to be a resident (Pearson correlation −0.845; 95 % CI [−0.990, 0.147]).

Conclusions

Evaluating HRV and MAP can help us to understand cognitive load and its implications on trainee and physician clinical reasoning performance, with the intent to utilize this information to improve patient care.
Impact of diagnostic management team on patient time to diagnosis and percent of accurate and clinically actionable diagnoses
Authors: Brashear Jessica , Mize Ryan , Laposata Michael , Zahner Christopher
Published: January 2024

Objectives

Diagnostic management teams (DMT) are groups of experts with specialized knowledge to guide test selection and interpretation of results. They have been active in institutions over the past 20 years. To date, there are limited data on whether the presence of experts to advise healthcare providers on appropriate laboratory test selection and interpretation of complex test results positively impacts patient care.

Methods

A retrospective study at a regional healthcare system with 257,000 patient encounters between 2011 and 2022 reviewing test interpretations provided by clinical laboratory experts on a diagnostic management team.

Results

Cases reviewed by the coagulation DMT were 6 times more likely to have an established, scientifically based diagnosis compared to those without a DMT. Patients who have a coagulation DMT review were twice as likely to receive a diagnosis vs. having no diagnosis.

Conclusions

This study demonstrates that for several objective clinical outcomes, specifically diagnostic conclusions and length of stay, a DMT of coagulation experts assessing patients’ test results has had a major impact on outcomes and delivery of care.
Thermal performance of radiant floor cooling with phase change material for energy-efficient buildings
Authors: Kamil Qusay , Abd Najim
Published: January 2024

In this article, we propose a novel radiant floor cooling system employing phase change materials (PCMs) with the applicability of a thermal energy simulation (TES) using two different TESs (spiral and counter). The numerical simulation was done with the help of a computational fluid dynamic program tool, namely, the ANSYS FLUENT 2022R2 software package. The results indicated that the cooling system’s performance is not greatly improved by the water mass flow rate (0.5 kg/s). Such radiant floor cooling systems can be calculated and designed with the help of the model. The results also showed that the PCM took a long time to dissolve with respect to the counterblow model (144 min) more than the spiral model reached (130 min) and thus benefited from storing and reducing energy consumption during peak load. The results also showed the temperature range of melting during the charging process is about 27–29°C, while it ranges between 22 and 26°C) during the discharge process. It is found that, generally, the counter pattern is the best configuration, allowing better thermal homogenization.
“… God Said”: Toward a Quantum Theology of Creation
Authors: Walton Ryder Dale
Published: January 2024

This work argues that because Quantum Mechanics (QM) is superb at simulating natural, physical phenomena, so-called quantum-native phenomena, and that Quantum Natural Language Processing (QNLP), its child, is also quantum-native, God’s generative language of physical creation is native to a quantum world; therefore, it is now possible to postulate an argument for God’s creation of the world through language without requiring divine revelation. This argument is, in essence, an extension of the Augustinian argument – the baseline argument from mathematics and abstract objects – for the existence of God that accounts for contemporary advances in QM. Additionally, this work invites further research and investigation into applying category theory to model the theistic universe thereby allowing both modeling and simulations of the symbolic world.
Courageous Vision to Decisive Action
Authors: Chang Andrea
Published: January 2024

It is having the courage to look that enables decisive movement, or power, defined as “the ability to do or act.” This ability to look is critically related to an ability to truthfully identify oneself, others, and the problems in one's societal context. This identification process is what empowers characters to act decisively. In Dante’s epic poem Inferno, powerlessness, or the inability to do or act, is even associated with hell. The character Dante is able to continuously move forward, through the static hell, due to the guidance and encouragement from the figure Virgil. Characters from Wolf’s 1983 novel Cassandra and the Homeric epic The Iliad are similarly faced with opportunities to begin seeing, identifying and therefore moving out of their static positions through decisive action. Most notably, an empathetic approach to seeing and identification is a powerful way of moving forward. This paper uses the guiding Virgilian framework from Inferno to consider empowering and disempowering interactions in Cassandra and The Iliad.
Function after Form: The Democratic Detriment of Episodic Television News
Authors: Pikkert Owen
Published: January 2024

This paper analyzes the impact of television news upon political mobilization and awareness. In particular, it places a strong emphasis on the inherent inability of episodic news to form a cognitive framework through which to understand current events. The paper begins with preliminary statements on the significance of television news and describes the limits of the paper’s scope. It then examines the correlation of episodic television news with political cynicism, the trivialization of news content, and the formation of a pro-establishment attitude among viewers. A greater stress is placed upon the way in which television news is presented than upon news content or on the paucity of social capital. In conclusion, an argument is made for the imposition of sound bite quotas, with the desire to counter the handicaps of the episodic medium.
Introduction
Authors: Harper Morgan
Published: January 2024

O ver the course of the last year there have been many changes made to the McMaster Journal of Communication and I would foremost like to welcome you to the new website. We have updated the content and look of the site, giving it a much more collegiate feel, representing both McMaster and the combined Communication Studies and Multimedia program. There is now greater ease of access to all the back issues from Volume 1 through to 5, as well as a more professional layout and design template.
The Environmental Scan in Corporate Citizenship
Authors: Ferguson Heather
Published: January 2024

Bringing the lofty concepts of corporate citizenship, or corporate social responsibility, into the sphere of operations is a challenge for organizations. Many communications practitioners do not have the time or scope of practice to reflect on the role of the corporate citizen, with the effect that activity relies too heavily on philanthropy or publicity campaigns, despite the existence of broader implications. How does one translate the responsibilities of corporations to the societies in which they work, into day-to-day activity that produces measurable results? This research begins that task by outlining a prospective management tool and proposing an underlying conceptual framework to give it shape and depth. The Environmental Scan in Corporate Citizenship is a starting point to the planning process. It provides a baseline for those creating a business or communications plan, allowing for better planning at the beginning of the process and better evaluation at the end.
"Forever Blowing Bubbles": Deflating Web 2.0
Authors: Lewis Evan L. M..
Published: January 2024

Since Tim O'Reilly coined the phrase in 2004, there has been much ado about Web 2.0 as a democratizing force – a global conversation characterized by “grassroots participation, forging new connections, and empowering from the ground up” (Granick, 2006). Technological utopians claim that Web 2.0 is revolutionizing our political processes by encouraging user participation and open discussion of social issues. Additionally, Web 2.0 has become an industry buzzword haphazardly attached to any start-up seeking venture capital (Gilman, 2007). With the ubiquity of sites like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, many online businesses are eager to capitalize on the tantalizing idea behind Web 2.0: create a site and have users do most of the “grunt” work in the site-building process for free via user-generated content. However, in spite of these assumptions, Web 2.0 sites have failed to produce results to justify this optimism. This paper aims to challenge two commonly held notions regarding Web 2.0. First, that it facilitates open discussion of social issues, thereby acting as a democratizing force in society, and second, that it is a largely successful and lucrative business model. In doing so, the paper suggests that Web 2.0 constitutes a second coming of the dot-com bubble.
Political Trust in South Asia
Authors: Guo Gang , Acharya Mahesh
Published: January 2024

This study examines relative trust in national versus local institutions in South Asia using a tripartite framework that combines political and economic performance with religious identity to explain the three categories of relative trust that correspond to individuals whose trust in national institutions is stronger than, equal to, or weaker than their trust in local institutions. In particular, religious minorities in South Asia are often discriminated against and poorly represented at the national level but tend to cluster in local communities, which erodes their trust in national institutions but not necessarily in local institutions. The empirical analysis of two waves of South Asian Barometer surveys eight years apart produced consistent results which suggest that the religious segregation and discrimination in South Asian countries tilt relative trust patterns among religious minorities in favor of local institutions at the expense of national ones.
Comparative study on capped SiO2 and TiO2 to improve efficiency in plasmonic solar cell through modified synthesis approach
Authors:   Department of ECE, National Institute of Technology, Durgapur-713209, India, Sarkar P. , Panda S. ,   Department of ECE, Dr. Sudhir Chandra Sur Institute of Technology & Sports Complex, Kolkata-700074, India, Maji B. ,   Department of ECE, National Institute of Technology, Durgapur-713209, India, Mukhopadhyay A. K. ,   Margadarshak (Mentor), AICTE, New Delhi -110070, India
Published: January 2024

This study investigates the effectiveness of plasmonic improvement on photonic absorber properties of capped SiO2 and TiO2 nanoparticle in thin film a-Si photovoltaic cell. It also examines their J-V properties when exposed to sunlight. The modified Stober approach was used for irradiation tests, revealing lower reflectivity in different doses with SiO2 1st dose:0.485mg/ml, SiO2 2nd dose:0.693mg/ml, and TiO2 1st dose:0.525 mg/ml, TiO2 2nd dose:0.748 mg/ml solutions. Silica-based solar cells showed a 2.45% efficiency improvement, while titania-based solar cells improved efficiency by 0.657% compared with the uncoated sample.
The use of authentic materials while teaching English as a Foreign Language to SEN students
Authors:   Zespół Szkół im. Władysława Szybińskiego w Cieszynie, Kałuża Ewelina Anna , Polok Krzysztof ,   Uniwersytet Bielsko-Bialski, Wydział Społeczno-Humanistyczny, Instytut Neofilologii
Published: January 2024

The article focuses on the use of authentic materials when teaching English as a Foreign Language to SEN Students. A mixed-method study (with the help of questionnaires and interviews) was conducted to investigate teachers’ awareness of students with SEN. We were interested to find the types of additional materials used in English lessons with SEN students, and in particular whether the investigated teachers (with different teaching seniority) use authentic materials when they work in inclusive classrooms. It turned out that English teachers’ awareness of SEN students is low and their opinions are not precisely formed; the teachers use selected authentic materials, believing that inclusive classrooms do not allow them to use these teaching materials they would be willing to use there.
Mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma of thyroid and adrenal glands with primary adrenal insufficiency
Authors: Hsieh Chi-Ta , Yu Jui-Ting , Tsao Tang-Yi , Tseng Yao Hsien
Published: January 2024

A 69-year-old woman presented with weight loss, fever, dizziness, exertional dyspnea, and drenching night sweats. Imaging showed a thyroid goiter at the left lobe that measured 5.6 × 3.4 × 3.5 cm in size. On computed tomography, she was found to have large adrenal masses. Core needle biopsy of the left thyroid mass revealed the presence of a mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue extranodal marginal zone B cell lymphoma. Non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas (NHL) typically develop in lymph nodes or other lymphatic tissues. There have been cases where the thyroid has been affected, and the secondary involvement of the adrenal gland is common. In reported cases, 7–59% of patients with NHL exhibited symptoms of thyroid dysfunction. Our patient presented no symptoms of thyroid dysfunction or Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. The patient had bilateral adrenal lymphomas that led to adrenal insufficiency. Immunochemotherapy provided a good response in this case, as seen by the rapid improvement in thyroid and adrenal mass on follow-up PET/CT.

Learning points

Thyroid lymphoma requires a high index of suspicion for diagnosis in patients with a rapidly growing thyroid tumor, even in the absence of chronic inflammatory thyroid disease.

Depending on the extent of involvement, adrenal lymphoma may rapidly cause adrenal insufficiency.

In the setting of acute illness, appropriate levels of plasma cortisol are often unclear, necessitating early initiation of glucocorticoid therapy based on clinical suspicion, especially when features like bilateral adrenal masses and elevated ACTH levels are present.

Treatment modalities include chemotherapy and radiation therapy for localized lesions, together with hormone replacement for organ dysfunction.

The origin of the tumor influences the clinical outcome of patients with lymphoma simultaneously involving the thyroid and adrenal glands.
Primary pituitary tuberculoma with a pituitary apoplexy-like presentation
Authors: Krishnan Gaayathri , Mohd Makhatar Nur Hidayah , Ching Tee Hwee , Khoo Serena
Published: January 2024

Pituitary tuberculoma is extremely rare and may pose as a diagnostic challenge especially when encountered as an isolated lesion without other systemic manifestation of tuberculosis. A 21-year-old female was admitted for diabetic ketoacidosis. On the third day of admission following the resolution of diabetic ketoacidosis she developed a sudden onset of headache and blurring of vision suggestive of pituitary apoplexy. An urgent MRI brain revealed a large sellar mass with erosion into the sphenoid sinus and intracranial vasculitis. Transphenoidal surgery was done for tumour debulking which allowed histopathological examination of the sellar mass. Immunohistochemical examination of the sellar mass was positive for Gene Xpert MTB/Rif suggesting a tuberculoma. Anti-tuberculous therapy was commenced with full recovery of pituitary hormonal profile seen 7 months post-treatment. In regions with a high incidence of tuberculosis, a tuberculoma should be a considered in a diagnostic evaluation of a sellar lesion.

Learning points

In an endemic area of tuberculosis, tuberculoma should be considered as a differential diagnosis when evaluating sellar lesions.

Pituitary tuberculoma can present with pituitary apoplexy-like symptoms.

Prompt diagnosis and treatment may lead to recovery of pituitary function.
Diabetes mellitus in Kabuki syndrome 1 on a background of post-transplant diabetes mellitus
Authors: Chew Sue Mei S , Pritchard N , Grayton H , Simonicova I , Park S M , Adler A I
Published: January 2024

Kabuki syndrome is a genetic disorder characterised by distinctive facial features, developmental delays, and multisystem congenital anomalies. Endocrine complications such as premature thelarche and short stature are common, whereas disorders of glycaemic control are less frequent. We describe a 23-year-old white female referred to the diabetes clinic for hyperglycaemia during haemodialysis. She was subsequently diagnosed with Kabuki syndrome based on characteristic clinical features, confirmed by detecting a heterozygous pathogenic variant in KMT2D. She was known to have had multiple congenital anomalies at birth, including complex congenital heart disease and a single dysplastic ectopic kidney, and received a cadaveric transplanted kidney at the age of 13. She had hyperglycaemia consistent with post-transplant diabetes mellitus (DM) and was started on insulin. Examination at the time revealed truncal obesity. She developed acute graft rejection and graft failure 14 months post-transplant and she was started on haemodialysis. Her blood glucose levels normalised post-graft explant, but she was hyperglycaemic again during haemodialysis at the age of 23. Given her clinical phenotype, negative diabetes antibodies and normal pancreas on ultrasound, she was assumed to have type 2 DM and achieved good glycaemic control with gliclazide.

Learning points

Involve clinical genetics early in the investigative pathway of sick neonates born with multiple congenital anomalies to establish a diagnosis to direct medical care.

Consider the possibility of Kabuki syndrome (KS) in the differential diagnoses in any neonate with normal karyotyping or microarray analysis and with multiple congenital anomalies (especially cardiac, renal, or skeletal), dysmorphic facial features, transient neonatal hypoglycaemia and failure to thrive.

Consider the possibility of diabetes as an endocrine complication in KS patients who are obese or who have autoimmune disorders.
Hormonal changes in PCOS
Authors: Yang Jianmei , Chen Chen
Published: January 2024

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrinopathy occurring in reproductive-age women. Hyperandrogenism, polycystic ovaries, chronic anovulation, and metabolic aberrations are the common features in PCOS. Hormonal changes are causing pathological symptoms in women with PCOS. The various hormone alterations in PCOS have been demonstrated. Hormones, such as insulin, growth hormones (GH), ghrelin, LEAP-2, gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), insulin, the luteinizing hormone/follicle-stimulating hormone (LH/FSH) ratio, androgens, and estrogens, are all abnormal in PCOS women. These hormones are related to metabolic disorders, such as diabetes and insulin resistance, overweight and obesity, infertility, and disturbed menstrual cycle in PCOS patients. The pathological changes of these hormones, such as increased insulin, reduced GH, increased ghrelin, and leptin resistance, result in an increased prevalence of diabetes and obesity in PCOS women. A reduced GH, increased LEAP-2 levels, high LH basal, increased LH/FSH ratio, high androgens, and low estrogen are demonstrated in PCOS and linked to infertility. This narrative review aims to clarify the changes of hormone profiles, such as insulin, GH, LH, FSH, androgens, estrogen, progesterone, ghrelin, LEAP-2, asprosin, and subfatin, in PCOS, which may reveal novel targets for better diagnosis and treatment of PCOS.
(Ne)susvetimėjimas Lietuvos mokyklose: keturių abiturientų atvejų analizė
Authors: Labokas Juozapas
Published: January 2024

This article focuses on the alienation manifested in the field of the teacher-student relationship. The study uses Morinaj, Hadjar and Hascher’s (2020) quantitative-diagnostic instrument for determining the level of alienation, with the help of which participants experiencing 2 high and 2 low alienation in relation to teachers were selected from the studied population of twelfth graders (n=227). The latter were invited to a qualitative semi-structured interview. The aim of this study was to better understand the problem of alienation in the student–teacher relation, discuss and reflect on the possibilities of the diagnostic instrument and reveal the experiences of (non)alienation of four research participants. It was found that the participants interpreted the statements of the instrument differently, giving different answers, which could potentially distort the results of the diagnostic study. The revealed diversity of pedagogical experiences showed that alienation is an individual and multifaceted phenomenon, thus it is meaningful to supplement further alienation research with a qualitative methodological perspective.
Outcome of BMI2+: Motivational Interviewing to Reduce BMI Through Primary Care AAP PROS Practices
Authors: Resnicow Ken , Delacroix Emerson , Sonneville Kendrin R. , Considine Shannon , Grundmeier Robert W. , Shu Di , Faerber Jennifer A. , Fiks Alexander G. , Steffes Jennifer , Harris Donna , Woo Heide , Proctor Tim , Wright Margaret E. , Shone Laura P. , Barlow Sarah E. , Wasserman Richard C. , Siegel Robert , Stockwell Melissa S.
Published: January 2024

BACKGROUND

Pediatric obesity rates in the United States remain at an all-time high. Pediatric primary care clinicians and registered dietitians can help treat childhood obesity, and motivational interviewing (MI) has shown promising effects in prior trials.

METHODS

We randomized 18 pediatric primary care practices to receive the Brief Motivational Interviewing to Reduce BMI or BMI2+ intervention or continue with usual care (UC). Practices were recruited through the American Academy of Pediatrics Pediatric Research in Office Settings network. The intervention comprised 4 components1: in-person and telehealth MI counseling by pediatric clinicians; 4 recommended sessions,2 6 telephone MI counseling sessions from a registered dietitian,3 text message reminders and tailored motivational messages, and4 parent educational materials. The main outcome was the change in the percentage of the 95th percentile of BMI. The study was conducted 2017 through 2021.

RESULTS

There was a significant treatment x time interaction (b = 0.017, 95% confidence interval: [0.0066–0.027]) for the main outcome, favoring the UC group, with youth in the intervention arm showing a greater relative increase in their percent of the 95th percentile.

CONCLUSIONS

There was no overall benefit of the intervention and, contrary to expectations, youth in the intervention arm gained more weight, based on percent of the distance from the 95th percentile than matched youth from UC practices. The absolute excess weight gain among intervention relative to UC youth was small, approximately 0.5 BMI units and 1 kg over 2 years. We offer several potential explanations for these unexpected findings.
Designing a process quality control framework using Monte Carlo simulation
Authors: Morán-Zabala Jean P. , Cogollo-Flórez Juan M.
Published: January 2024

Quality control seeks to collect and analyze large amounts of data to take appropriate corrective actions and ensure that products or services meet quality requirements. This study proposed a methodological framework to analyze the quality control process employing Monte Carlo simulation. The methodology consists of four steps: (i) Establishment of probability distributions, (ii) Construction of the mathematical model, (iii) Running the simulation, and (iv) Analysis of the results. The application of the methodological framework in a carbonated beverage production made it possible to ensure with 99% confidence that one of the most important quality characteristics of the product, the degrees Brix, varies in a range of ± 0.02. The results show the methodology allows to broadly map the process variables behavior and to make decisions on optimal levels for quality monitoring and control.
Multi-objective reconfiguration of the distribution systems by using NSGA-II and local improvement
Authors: Crespo-Sánchez Gustavo , Pérez-Abril Ignacio
Published: January 2024

Many heuristics for network reconfiguration rely on the systematic applying of the branch-exchange technique. In this work, two novel genetic operators for crossover and mutation have been developed that are based on the referred technique. The chromosome's codification to use these operators is straightforward and is not required any additional knowledge of graph theory to achieve the feasibility of individuals. As one of their main novelties, the methodology shows how can be employed a local improvement step, used commonly in the single-objective optimization, in the multi-objective optimization. This step increases the convergence of the optimization with populations of much reduced size. The proposed methodology is tested by solving several examples of the literature, including or not the local improvement step. The comparison of the results with the best solutions published for these examples shows the effectiveness of the method.
Flooding mapping detection and urban affectation using Google Earth Engin
Authors: Arias-Choquehuanca Diego Alonso , Campos-Neciosup Brayan Indalecio , Quiroz-Jiménez Karena
Published: January 2024

Floods are a phenomenon that can be triggered by river overflow or heavy rainfall. In this context, detecting flooded areas is crucial to document affected zones in urban environments over time. This study focuses on the development of a model based on automatic extraction of flood map images using the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) of Sentinel-1 from the online Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform, specifically for the metropolitan city of Iquitos in Peru. The methodology involved mapping the flooding extent occurred over a seven-year period (2015-2021) to create a probability map of occurrences. Subsequently, identified flood areas were validated using river levels from a two-stage gauge, revealing a positive correlation. The probability map of occurrences was then superimposed on a basemap, identifying the affectation of 14.7 km of roads, 130 schools, and 91 hospitals. These findings can provide significant information for decision-making related to disaster prevention and management.
Monitoring via Infrared Spectrometry and Rheometry of a Vulcanization-Like Process of Chewing Gum Waste
Authors: Castellanos Cuellar Isabel Cristina , Luque Zabala Carolina Maria , Avella Moreno Eliseo , Huertas Cárdenas Stiven , Toro santos Mischel Stefany , Rojas Mendez Daniel
Published: January 2024

Once chewed, chewing gum becomes a disposable and non-degradable cumulative residue that causes environmental, economic, and social problems. Collecting and treating chewing gum waste until its properties are adapted for some profitable use will generate environmental and economic savings. In this work, chewing gum waste was collected, sanitized, and subjected to a laboratory-scale rubber vulcanization-like process with sulfur. The evolution of the process was monitored via sequential measurements of torque and the acquisition of a series of ATR-FTIR spectra on the raw and resulting material of aliquots isolated from the reaction medium every 10 minutes for 4 hours. The absorbance values of the signals in the series of ATR-FTIR spectra were normalized and subjected to a descriptive statistical analysis, which allowed detecting intensity variations in bands attributed to carboxylate, as well as a slight decrease in the intensity of the bands attributed to hydroxyl, carbonyl, methylene in alpha to carbonyl, and other CHn groups in aliphatic fragments. These intensity changes and the trend of rheometric measurements during the process (vulcanization curve) evidenced that chewing gum waste did indeed react. Its vulcanization process had an absolute cross-linking maximum 5,15 minutes into the process and caused a remarkable increase in the torque of the resulting material; the Shore A hardness changed from 20 to 95 units, and the density varied from 1 280 to 1 510 kg/m3. These findings hint at an alternative treatment to reduce environmental pollution and revalue chewing gum waste.
EVALUATION OF VARIOUS PARAMETERS OF NATTADAVU IN BHARATANATYAM USING A RASPBERRY Pi-BASED SENSOR
Authors: Ramya A. , Natarajan S. , Nithya A. , Sarala M. S. , Karuppuchamy S.
Published: January 2024

The Bharatanatyam dance requires excellent coherency and precision from the performer. In order to calibrate and gauge the physical moments of the performer, we propose a Raspberry Pi based sensor. Using the data obtained from the prototype, the classical Bharatanatyam dance movements of a performer have been sensed and analyzed. Based on the results, suggestions to improve the performance of Bharatanatyam are reported.
The Extreme Polygons for the Self Chebyshev Radius of the Boundary
Authors: Nikitenko Evgeniĭ Vitalievich , Nikonorov Yuriĭ Gennadievich
Published: January 2024

The paper is devoted to some extremal problems for convex polygons on the Euclidean plane, related to the concept of self Chebyshev radius for the polygon boundary. We consider a general problem of minimization of the perimeter among all 𝑛-gons with a fixed self Chebyshev radius of the boundary. The main result of the paper is the complete solution of the mentioned problem for 𝑛 = 4: We proved that the quadrilateral of minimum perimeter is a so called magic kite, that verified the corresponding conjecture by Rolf Walter.
Outbreak caused by pandrug-resistant blaOXA-69/blaOXA-23/blaGES harboring Acinetobacter baumannii ST2 in an intensive care unit
Authors: Raddaoui Anis , Mabrouk Aymen , Chebbi Yosra , Frigui Siwar , Al-Gallas Nazek , Abbassi Mohamed Salah , Achour Wafa
Published: January 2024

Acinetobacter baumannii has emerged as a main nosocomial pathogen exhibiting high rates of resistance to clinically relevant antibiotics. Six pandrug-resistant A. baumannii (PDR-A. baumannii) were recovered from three patients in a Tunisian Intensive Care Unit (ICU) between 10th and 16th of May 2018 resulting in one fatal case and raising the possibility of an outbreak. On 18th of May environmental screening of ICU surfaces was carried out. On 22nd of May a fourth patient was infected with PDR-A. baumannii and died. A second investigation was carried out for environmental screening and PDR-A. baumannii was isolated from the respirator. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed according to EUCAST (2019) guidelines. MIC of colistin was determined by broth microdilution method. PCR was used to detect 14 beta-lactamases/carbapenemases and mcr (mcr-1 to mcr-5) genes. The genetic relatedness of PDR-A. baumannii isolates was determined by PFGE and MLST. Seven PDR-A. baumannii isolates were recovered from four patients, one MDR strain from wash basin, a PDR strain from hand sanitizer bottle and another PDR strain from respirator. All PDR-A. baumannii (n = 9) harbored blaOXA-69 gene and none carried mcr. Moreover, seven carried blaGES and blaOXA-23 genes. PFGE identified four pulsotypes (A, B, C, and D) with the pulsotype A gathering seven PDR-A. baumannii isolates: six from three patients and one from hygiene sample. MLST revealed that all PDR-A. baumannii isolates of pulsotype A belonged to the pandemic clone ST2. Systematic screening of MDR and PDR-A. baumannii is highly recommended to limit dissemination of such strains in ICUs.
VHL-dependence of EHHADH Expression in a Human Renal Cell Carcinoma Cell Line
Authors: Pilz Julia Felicitas , Klein Marinella , Neumann-Haefelin Elke , Ganner Athina
Published: January 2024

The von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor gene (VHL) is mutated in up to 90% of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) cases, thus playing a key role in ccRCC pathogenesis. ccRCC can be classified as a metabolic disease in which alterations in fatty acid metabolism facilitate cancer cell proliferation. Enoyl-CoA hydratase and 3-hydroxyacyl CoA dehydrogenase (EHHADH) is an enzyme involved in peroxisomal fatty acid degradation. It is primarily expressed in renal proximal tubule cells, presumably the origin of ccRCC. Although EHHADH is still a relatively unexplored gene, it is known to be differentially expressed in several tumors. In this study, analysis of several databases revealed that EHHADH expression is downregulated in ccRCC samples compared to healthy kidney samples. Moreover, cell culture experiments were performed to investigate the relationship between EHHADH and VHL at the gene and protein level. qPCR and Western blot analyses using the human ccRCC cell line RCC4 revealed that EHHADH is expressed in a VHL-dependent manner. RCC4 cells reconstituted with VHL show significantly higher EHHADH mRNA and protein levels than VHL-deficient RCC4 control cells. These results indicate that the downregulation of EHHADH in ccRCC reported may be due to the loss of VHL function. This study is the first to molecularly characterize EHHADH, a key enzyme in peroxisomal ß-oxidation, in relation to VHL, suggesting a potential pathogenic interaction that is worthy of further investigation.
Estimation of the elastic characteristics of the enucleated eye from its response to the introduction of liquid
Authors:   Moscow State Lomonosov University, Moiseeva Irina , Stein Alexander , Lyubimov Gregory
Published: January 2024

Mathematical modeling of the deformation of the eyeball under the action of internal pressure is performed. The modeling is carried out within the framework of the general approach developed by the authors, which represents the eyeball as a set of a deformable two-dimensional surface (cornea) and a zero-dimensional element that responds with a change in volume to changes in intraocular pressure (scleral region). The calculation results are compared with the experimental data presented in the literature, which are obtained on the enucleated human eyes. It is concluded that the experimentally observed nonlinearity of the dependence of the intraocular volume on pressure is determined by the nonlinearity of the elastic behavior of the cornea, while the scleral region in the studied pressure range is deformed almost linearly. The values of the constants present in the model (corneal and scleral stiffnesses and a parameter that determines the nonlinearity of elastic corneal deformation) are estimated. The values of the elastic moduli turned out to be close to the estimates previously obtained by the authors on the basis of measurements performed on the living eye. The value of the nonlinearity parameter of the cornea, determined from measurements on the whole enucleated eye, turned out to be close to the values estimated by the authors on the basis of data from experiments with an isolated cornea, but slightly lower on average. The individual values of all elastic parameters for specific examined eyes differ markedly from each other.
Linguistic means of the impact on addressees in sermons of Tomash Mlodzianovskyi
Authors: Zelinska Oksana
Published: January 2024

The means of the linguistic impact on addressees in sermons of Polish preacher of baroque epoch T. Mlodzianovskyi were studied in the paper. The analyzed texts of T. Mlodzianovskyi’s sermons prove that the author has used various linguistic tactics to produce an impact on addressees, to convince them in the contents of his preachers. T. Mlodzianovskyi applied linguistic resource skillfully, mastered communicative linguistic tactics and techniques of their realization. He used communicative tactics of the solidarization with addresses, the tactics of the reference to the authority and applied them along with expressive linguistic means. The analyzed material is an empiric basis for the studying of the Polish language.
The vision of institutional reforms: Capital and Ideology by Thomas Piketty
Authors: Miszewski Maciej
Published: January 2024

The article is a polemic with selected considerations from Thomas Piketty’s Capital and Ideology. As a basis for future-oriented inquiry, Piketty takes inequalities from both the economic and sociological (especially educational) sphere, along with their sources and ways to address them. The book aims to present Piketty’s vision of a just system and the mechanisms to ensure its functioning. I focus on systemic issues, in which I view a discrepancy between Piketty’s commendable intentions and the objective possibilities of creating a coherent vision of transition.
& O VSO DE DIUERSAS PARTES DO BRASIL SERA O MILHOR MESTRE: O CONCEITO DE USO NO PENSAMENTO LINGUÍSTICO DE ANCHIETA
Authors: Kaltner Leonardo Ferreira , Santos Melyssa Cardozo Silva dos
Published: January 2024

Estudar as línguas indígenas é, de certa forma, apoiar as causas sociais e políticas atuais dos povos originários. O artigo tem como objetivo debater o conceito de uso segundo o pensamento linguístico de José de Anchieta (1534-1597), a partir do texto Arte de gramática da língua mais usado na costa do Brasil (Anchieta, 1990 [1595]). O termo uso é registrado em diversos momentos em sua gramática que descreve a língua tupinambá empregada nas atividades de catequese intercultural da América portuguesa quinhentista. A fundamentação teórico-metodológica a ser empregada na pesquisa é a Historiografia da Linguística, conforme o modelo de Konrad Koerner (2014) e Pierre Swiggers (2019; Batista, 2019), em que temos como escopo a investigação do pensamento linguístico (linguistic thought) de Anchieta. Como resultado da investigação, encontramos a relação do emprego do termo uso na obra do missionário com concepções teológico-filosóficas e gramaticais que influíram em seu pensamento, o que denota o pensamento linguístico vigente na política missionária da América portuguesa do século XVI, em que a sua obra gramatical se situa.