bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Antibiotic Skin Testing in the Intensive Care Unit: A Systematic Review
Authors: Alharbi Homood A.
Published: December 2019

Background

Recent research has shown that a large majority of patients with a history of penicillin allergy are acutely tolerant of penicillins and that there is no clinically significant immunologic cross-reactivity between penicillins and cephalosporins or other β-lactams. The standard test to confirm acute tolerance is challenge with a therapeutic dose. Skin testing is useful only when the culprit antibiotic can haptenate serum proteins and induce an immunoglobulin E–mediated reaction and the clinical history demonstrates such high risk that a direct oral challenge may result in anaphylaxis.

Objective

To review and evaluate the current practice of skin testing for antibiotics (other than penicillin) in critically ill patients by means of a systematic literature review.

Methods

This systematic review was performed using PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses) guidelines. Several electronic databases were searched using the following terms: antibiotics, skin test (tests, testing), intensive care, intensive care unit, ICU, critical care, critical care unit.

Results

Twenty-three articles were identified for inclusion in this review. The results indicate a lack of standardized skin testing for all antibiotics in critical care settings. Oral challenge with nonirritating concentrations of antibiotics can be helpful in determining allergy to these drugs.

Conclusions

Critical care providers should evaluate antibiotic allergy using nonirritating concentrations before administering antibiotics to patients. Introduction of a standardized skin test for all antibiotics in intensive care unit patients to help select the most appropriate antibiotic treatment regimen might help save lives and reduce costs.
Effect of 2 Enteral Feeding Schedules on Intra-abdominal Pressure in Patients Receiving Mechanical Ventilation: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Mahran Ghada , Mahgoup Asmaa , Kamel Emad Zarief , Ahmad Muayyad M.
Published: December 2019

Background

Elevated intra-abdominal pressure is associated with morbidity in critically ill patients. Enteral feeding is important for these patients but may cause complications.

Objective

To compare the effects of 2 intermittent feeding schedules on intra-abdominal pressure in patients receiving mechanical ventilation.

Methods

A single-blinded, prospective, parallel-group, randomized controlled trial was conducted in an intensive care unit in a teaching hospital in Egypt. Fifty adult patients requiring more than 48 hours of mechanical ventilation were enrolled. Patients were randomly sorted into 2 study groups. The intervention group received intermittent enteral feedings 5 times daily at 4-hour intervals. The control group received intermittent enteral feedings 10 times daily at 2-hour intervals. Both groups fasted for 8 hours overnight. Intra-abdominal pressure was measured 7 times: at admission and before and after the first 3 feedings on the third day of the intensive care unit stay.

Results

One-way repeated-measures analysis of variance showed that mean intra-abdominal pressure was higher in the control group before the first feeding (t = 2.27, P = .03) but was higher in the intervention group after the second feeding (t = 2.51, P = .02) and after the third feeding (t = 2.41, P = .02). Vomiting and diarrhea were not significantly different between the groups. More constipation and abdominal distension occurred in the intervention group than in the control group.

Conclusion

Intra-abdominal pressure was not significantly affected by feeding interval. However, reducing the time interval between intermittent enteral feedings may minimize the risk for constipation and abdominal distension.
Localized lymphadenopathy with myelodysplastic syndrome associated with tuberculosis
Authors: Nakaya Aya , Ishii Kazuyoshi , Shimizu Toshiki , Tamaki Takeshi , Ishiura Yoshihisa , Inaba Mayumi , Uemura Yoshiko , Nakamine Hirokazu , Nomura Shosaku
Published: December 2019

We report the case of a man who developed myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and refractory cytopenia of unilineage dysplasia, 5 months after aortic valve replacement surgery. He also developed fever of unknown origin. After bone marrow- and other laboratory examinations, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis.
Damping Factor and Dynamic Mechanical Analysis of Glass Fibre Reinforced Polyester Composite
Authors: Sathishkumar G. , Sridhar R. , Sivabalan S. , Joseph Irudaya Raja S.
Published: December 2019

This study aims to evaluate the result of experimental examination conducted on free vibration characteristics and dynamic mechanical analysis over a range of temperature and five different frequencies of short glass fibre polyester composite. The effect of temperature on the storage modulus, loss modulus, and damping efficiency (tan Î´) is determined. Synthetic reinforced material is created in random fibre orientation using hand lay-up method by domination of fibre length (10mm) and weight percent (5, 10, 15, 20%). Improvement in the fibre content will make a rise in the natural frequency and the storage modulus is maximum when fibre content of 20wt. % is introduced to the composite materials in the temperature ranges of 300-800Â°C. The peak of loss modulus and damping curves were lowered with respect to the fibre content. The properties were compared with neat polyester.
Fluid Flow in Microchannel Heat Sinks for various Flow Configurations in Tapered Manifold Arrangements
Authors: Singh Harpreet , Samir Sushant , Singh Perminderjit
Published: December 2019

Micro channels face several types of thermal engineering challenges from different levels of heat generation. The reduction of the available surface area for sufficient heat removal becomes mandatory. If the working temperature of the component becomes very high in the absence of the sufficient heat removal, leads to a critical failure. So working fluid and flow configuration plays an important role. In the present work, CFD analysis of flow on U, P, S type micro channels heat sinks with tapered manifold arrangements is presented. At Reynolds number 705-1410 and with different heat inputs, the P type flow configuration is better than U-type and then followed by S-type flow configuration.
Pricing Sovereign Debt in Resource-Rich Economies
Authors: McGregor Thomas
Published: December 2019

How do oil price movements affect sovereign spreads in an oil-dependent economy? I develop a stochastic general equilibrium model of an economy exposed to co-moving oil price and output processes, with endogenous sovereign default risk. The model explains a large proportion of business cycle fluctuations in interest-rate spreads in oil-exporting emerging market economies, particularly the countercyclicallity of interest rate spreads and oil prices. Higher risk-aversion, more impatient governments, larger oil shares and a stronger correlation between domestic output and oil price shocks all lead to stronger co-movements between risk premiums and the oil price.
Somalia
Authors:   International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.
Published: December 2019

Implementation of the new SMP IV is satisfactory and the
economic outlook is in line with expectations. The underlying growth momentum
continues, supported by ongoing reforms; however, lower than expected rains in late
2018 and the first half of 2019 threatens Somalia’s already fragile food security and the
UN has indicated that up to 2.1 million people face severe hunger through December
2019. The authorities are progressing on the HIPC Decision Point benchmarks, and
these efforts must be sustained.
Malta
Authors:   International Monetary Fund. Monetary and Capital Markets Department
Published: December 2019

Malta’s institutional framework for macroprudential policy, formalized in 2014, is broadly in line with the IMF guidance for effective macroprudential policymaking. Amendments to the Central Bank of Malta (CBM) Act designated the CBM as the national macroprudential authority with clear objectives and the power to formulate and implement macroprudential policy and instruments. The CBM has a dedicated department to pursue its statutory macroprudential functions and various communication tools to ensure accountability and transparency. The Joint Financial Stability Board (JFSB) was also established in 2013 to ensure effective coordination with relevant agencies, especially the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA; the country’s microprudential authority), and to address potential policy conflicts. The CBM also works closely with European counterparts on cross-border coordination.
Malta
Authors:   International Monetary Fund. Monetary and Capital Markets Department
Published: December 2019

The Malta FSAP stress testing exercise took place immediately following the IMF’s 2018 Euro Area FSAP and concurrently with the 2018 stress test of the European Banking Authority (EBA). A comprehensive set of stress tests and interconnectedness analyses were conducted to assess the resilience of Malta’s financial system and shed light on potential vulnerabilities, complementing the euro area FSAP and EBA exercises by tailoring the scope and depth to the Maltese financial system. The solvency stress test covered 11 banks representing 93 percent of the banking sector assets (excluding foreign branches) and diverse business models.
Influence of Asian Summer Monsoon Anticyclone on the Trace gases and Aerosols over Indian region
Authors: Basha Ghouse , Ratnam M. Venkat , Kishore Pangaluru , Ravindrababu S. , Velicogna Isabella
Published: December 2019

Abstract. The Asian Summer Monsoon Anticyclone (ASMA) persisting during monsoon season in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) region play an important role in confining the trace gases and aerosols for a longer period thus affects regional and global climate. Our understanding on these trace gases and aerosols variability in the ASMA is limited. In this study, the effect of the ASMA on the trace gases (Water Vapour (WV), Ozone (O3), Carbon Monoxide (CO)) and aerosols (Attenuated Scattering Ratio (ASR)) obtained from long-term (2006–2016) satellite measurements is investigated. Since the ASMA is present in the UTLS region, its influence on the tropopause characteristics is also explored. Higher tropopause altitude, WV, CO and ASR confining to the ASMA region is observed, whereas tropopause temperatures and O3 are found low. There exists large inter-annual variation in the ASMA and hence its effect on these trace gases and aerosols are also seen clearly. A significant relationship is also observed between the phases of Quasi-Biannual Oscillation (QBO) and El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on the trace gases and ASR, including the tropopause when measurements in the ASMA region are subject to multivariate regression analysis. Further, the influence of the Indian summer monsoon (ISM) activity on the ASMA trace gases and aerosols is studied with respect to active and break spells of monsoon, strong and weak monsoon years, strong La Niña, El Niño years. Results show a significant increase in WV, CO and decrease in O3 during the active phase of the ISM, strong monsoon years and strong La Niña years in the ASMA. Enhancement in the ASR values during the strong monsoon years and strong La Niña years is observed. Thus, it is prudent to conclude that the dynamics of the ASMA play an important role in the confinement of several trace gases and aerosols and suggested to consider the activity of summer monsoon while dealing with them at sub-seasonal scales.
Training citizen scientists through an online game developed for data quality control
Authors: Strobl Barbara , Etter Simon , van Meerveld H. J. Ilja , Seibert Jan
Published: December 2019

Abstract. Some form of training is often necessary in citizen science projects. While in many citizen science projects it is possible to keep tasks simple so that training requirements are minimal, some projects include more challenging tasks and, thus, require more extensive training. Training can hinder joining a project, and therefore most citizen science projects prefer to keep training requirements low. However, training may be needed to ensure good data quality. In this study, we evaluated if an online game that was originally developed for data quality control in a citizen science project, can be used for training for that project. More specifically, we investigated whether the CrowdWater game can be used to train new participants on how to use the virtual staff gauge in the CrowdWater smartphone app for the collection of water level class data. Within this app, the task of placing a virtual staff gauge to start measurements at a new location has proven to be challenging; however this is a crucial task for all subsequent measurements at this location. We analysed the performance of 52 participants in the placement of the virtual staff gauge before and after playing the online CrowdWater game as a form of training. After playing the game, the performance improved for most participants. This suggests that players learned project related tasks intuitively by observing actual gauge placements by other citizen scientists and thus acquired knowledge about how to best use the app instinctively. Interestingly, self-assessment was not a good proxy for the participants’ performance or performance increase. These results demonstrate the value of an online game for training, particularly when compared to other information materials, which are often not used extensively by citizen scientist. These findings are useful for the development of training strategies for other citizen science projects because they indicate that gamified approaches might provide valuable alternative training methods.
Die behauptete und die gelebte Migrationskrise: der widersprüchliche Fall Italien
Authors: Hillmann Felicitas
Published: December 2019

Abstract. Italy, situated prominently middle of the Mediterranean Sea, has been confronted with migration and refugee issues for a long time. Within the European migration system it is a telling example of the way the issue of migration is dealt with more generally. After a prolonged phase of ignoring the existing exigencies of integration and regulation of the already present migrants on the territory, the country experienced a peak of arrivals of migrants on its coastlines in 2015/16. Since then, numbers of in-migration have been decreasing. Still, in the public discourse the idea of an invasion, e.g. mass immigration, continues. For many years the SPRAR system had contributed to tackling a situation of crisis by involving civil society and by reaching out for solutions beyond management. The article emphasizes that the migration crisis can be understood only when taking into account different realities and expectations. It further presents the case study of Genoa. Here, the crisis is mastered by normalisation and local action.
Simulating human impacts on global water resources using
VIC-5
Authors: Droppers Bram , Franssen Wietse H. P. , van Vliet Michelle T. H. , Nijssen Bart , Ludwig Fulco
Published: December 2019

Abstract. Questions related to historical and future water resources and water scarcity have been addressed by several macro-scale hydrological models over the last few decades. However, further advancements are needed to improve the integration of anthropogenic impacts and environmental flow requirements into hydrological models. The newly developed VIC-WUR model aims to increase the applicability of the VIC-5 model for water resource assessments, specifically by including human impacts and environmental flow requirements. To this end, VIC-WUR extends VIC-5 with modules for irrigation, domestic, industrial, energy and livestock water-use, environmental flow requirements for surface and groundwater systems, and dam operation. Model inputs of sectoral water demand were estimated independently and correlated well to reported national water withdrawals. VIC-WUR results, based on the newly developed modules, corresponded with results from reported global water withdrawals and other hydrological models, although differences exist. The VICWUR irrigation withdrawals were high compared to the other models but closer to the reported values, decreasing the gap between simulated and reported withdrawals. Irrigation withdrawals were probably high due to the inclusion of groundwater withdrawals and paddy irrigation in the model. Domestic and industrial water withdrawals were slightly lower than the reported values. Domestic and industrial withdrawals were probably insufficient due to low water availability, as the potential water withdrawals are more in line with reported values. Livestock water withdrawals were within the range of reported values and other models. The model additions comprehensively incorporate anthropogenic and environmental water use, which provides new opportunities for global water resource assessments. A preliminary assessment of environmental flow requirements shows competition between water resources allocated for human consumption and the environment, from ground and surface water sources. The improvements made here are a first step towards integrated water-food-energy nexus modelling.
Throw variations and strain partitioning associated with fault-bend folding along normal faults
Authors: Delogkos Efstratios , Saqab Muhammad Mudasar , Walsh John J. , Roche Vincent , Childs Conrad
Published: December 2019

Abstract. Normal faults have irregular geometries on a range of scales arising from different processes including refraction and segmentation. A fault with an average dip and constant displacement on a large-scale, will have irregular geometries on smaller scales, the presence of which will generate fault-related folds, with major implications for across-fault throw variations. A quantitative model has been presented which illustrates the range of deformation arising from movement on fault surface irregularities, with fault-bend folding generating geometries reminiscent of normal drag and reverse drag. The model highlights how along-fault displacements are partitioned between continuous (i.e. folding) and discontinuous (i.e. discrete displacement) strain along fault bends characterised by the full range of fault dip changes. Strain partitioning has a profound effect on measured throw values across faults, if account is not taken of the continuous strains accommodated by folding and bed rotations. We show that fault throw can be subject to errors of up to ca. 50 % for realistic fault bend geometries (up to ca. 40°), even on otherwise sub-planar faults with constant displacement. This effect will provide apparently more irregular variations in throw and bed geometries that must be accounted for in associated kinematic interpretations.
Analysing Uncertainties in Offshore Wind Farm Power Output using Measure Correlate Predict Methodologies
Authors: Mifsud Michael Denis , Sant Tonio , Farrugia Robert Nicholas
Published: December 2019

Abstract. This paper investigates the uncertainties resulting from different Measure-Correlate-Predict methods to project the power and energy yield from a wind farm. The analysis is based on a case study that utilizes short-term data acquired from a LiDAR wind measurement system deployed at a coastal site in the northern part of the island of Malta and long-term measurements from the island’s international airport. The wind speed at the candidate site is measured by means of a LiDAR system. The predicted power output for a hypothetical offshore wind farm from the various MCP methodologies is compared to the actual power output obtained directly from the input of LiDAR data to establish which MCP methodology best predicts the power generated. The power output from the wind farm is predicted by inputting wind speed and direction derived from the different MCP methods into windPRO® (https://www.emd.dk/windpro). The predicted power is compared to the power output generated from the actual wind and direction data by using the Mean Squared Error (MSE) and the Mean Absolute Error (MAE) measures. This methodology will establish which combination of MCP methodology and wind farm configuration will have the least prediction error. The best MCP methodology which combines prediction of wind speed and wind direction, together with the topology of the wind farm, is that using Artificial Neural Networks. However, the study concludes that the other MCP methodologies cannot be discarded as it is always best to compare different combinations of MCP methodologies for wind speed and wind direction, together with different wake models and wind farm topologies.
Brief communication: Wind-speed-independent actuator disk control for faster annual energy production calculations of wind farms using computational fluid dynamics
Authors: van der Laan Maarten Paul , Andersen Søren Juhl , Réthoré Pierre-Elouan
Published: December 2019

Abstract. A simple wind-speed-independent actuator disk control method is proposed that can be applied to speed up annual energy production calculations of wind farms using Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes simulations.
The new control method allows the user to simulate the effect of different wind speeds in one simulation by scaling a calibrated thrust coefficient curve, while keeping the inflow constant.
Since the global flow is not changed, only the local flow around the actuator disks need be recalculated from a previous converged result, which reduces the number of required iterations and computational effort by a factor of about 2–3.
Fabián Estapé, introductor de Schumpeter en España
Authors: Nogueira Centenera Antonio
Published: December 2019

La difusión de la obra de Joseph Schumpeter en España a cargo de Fabián Estapé (1923-2012) forma parte de la interpretación de las teorías económicas a la luz de las historias nacionales del pensamiento económico. Catedrático de Política Económica, rector de la Universidad de Barcelona, alto cargo en los gobiernos tecnócratas, desde su análisis pionero en 1950 “El profesor Schumpeter y el porvenir del sistema económico”, su interés hacia el gran economista austriaco fue permanente. Estapé introdujo al autor de la Teoría del desenvolvimiento económico a través de una doble vía. La primera consistió en promover los principios de la “destrucción creativa” en los círculos empresariales y en las esferas de la Administración, con el propósito de lograr la definitiva modernización de la economía española tras el Plan de Estabilización de 1959. La segunda radicó en propagar la noción schumpeteriana de “indeterminación cultural del socialismo” —los riesgos de la socialización prematura— tanto desde la cátedra universitaria como por medio de sus colaboraciones en la prensa de la época. En ambos casos, la labor editorial de Estapé en favor de Schumpeter resultó primordial.
Los límites de la teoría dominante del valor
Authors: Peláez Gramajo José Guillermo
Published: December 2019

Este artículo examina la teoría dominante del valor propuesta por Walras la cual desemboca en una teoría subjetiva del valor con valor de uso absoluto, rareté, y valor de cambio constreñido a una expresión relativa determinada por el ingrediente absoluto, el rareté. El máximo apogeo de esta propuesta del análisis del equilibrio general se alcanza en 1954 con la demostración de existencia de Arrow y Debreu; sin embargo, a finales de esa década este proyecto empieza a mostrar sus limitaciones en el terreno del desequilibrio con las críticas de Koopmans (1957) y Scarf (1960). Posteriormente, Arrow y Hahn (1971) evidencian las limitaciones de esta teoría del equilibrio general respecto a resultados de alcance general y, finalmente la teoría dominante del valor colapsa con los aportes de Sonnenschein (1972, 1973); Mantel (1974 y 1976); y Debreu en (1974). En conclusión, la falla fundamental de la teoría económica dominante radica en el carácter absoluto de la subjetividad del valor, valor de uso, en efecto, el axioma fundamental de la teoría económica es la teoría del valor.
Do Exchange Rate Changes Have Asymmetric or Symmetric Effects on the Demand for Money in the Gambia
Authors: Bah Kebba , Khan Karamat , Aziez Artif Taufiq Nurrachman , Kishwar Ali
Published: December 2019

In trying to explain the relationship between exchange rate and demand for money researchers have applied different models. In this paper, we applied both the linear and nonlinear ARDL to check the effects of exchange rate changes on the demand for money (M1 and M2) in The Gambia. The result revealed that the demand for money is cointegrated with its determinants and have a stable short-run relationship. It also revealed that exchange rate changes have only short-run asymmetric effects on demand for money (M1 or M2) but don’t have long-run effects.
Evaluating Academic Course Rigor, Part 1: Defining a Nebulous Construct
Authors: Johnson James E. , Weidner Thomas G. , Jones James A. , Manwell Allison K.
Published: December 2019

A widely accepted definition of academic course rigor is elusive within higher education. Although many conceptualizations of course rigor have been identified, both empirically and anecdotally, the need to operationally define and investigate course rigor is necessary given contemporary attacks on the quality of higher education. This article, part 1 of a two-part study, describes the three-phase process by which academic course and instructor rigor and corresponding rigor questions were defined and validated. Results revealed that five rigor components are critical to a definition of course rigor: critical thinking; challenge; mastering complex material; time and labor intensity; and production of credible work. These components were used to create questions distributed in 264 courses (2,557 students). The final phase of part 1 used factor analysis to confirm a strong one-factor solution, confirming the operational definition and corresponding rigor questions were acceptable to empirically evaluate course and instructor rigor.
Item Analysis of Test of Proficiency in Korean: Classical Test Theory and Item Response Theory
Authors: Yu Minae , Kim Hyunah
Published: December 2019

This study aimed to examine the quality of both individual items and overall test construction of the Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK) by applying classical test theory and item response theory. The item-level responses of 30 listening items and 30 reading items in each of the three different levels of test from the 28th TOPIK administration were analyzed. Item difficulty and item discrimination parameters were estimated based on classical test theory (CTT) and item response theory (IRT). The item characteristic curves, item information functions, and test information functions based on IRT were also examined. The findings suggest that most items were found to be satisfactory in item difficulty and discrimination, with high correlation between the results analyzed by CTT and IRT. However, the analysis of the IRT-based test information functions revealed that the TOPIK is useful in providing information regarding the examinees with an ability level in only a considerably narrow range. The tests did not provide sufficient information regarding examinee groups who had a high ability or low ability. The findings of this study offer implications in advancing the test by adopting the IRT-based approaches that can provide more information about examinee groups spanning a wide range of abilities so that it can better serve the assessment purpose.
Utopia and Endless War: Bernard Shaw's Major Barbara
Authors: Harding Desmond
Published: December 2019

Bernard Shaw's Major Barbara (1905) revives the premodern notion of utopia and in doing so bears a more complex relation to modernism and capitalist culture than previously acknowledged. In keeping with his lifelong commitment to a radical reorganization of urban society, Shaw uses the cooperative form of urban polity that is Perivale St. Andrews to challenge the claim that unfettered markets go hand in hand with urban democracy; rather, Undershaft's fundamentalist brand of “disaster” capitalism engenders a brutal form of coercion masquerading as a better, more rational model of urban existence predicated on a state of endless war.
Un acercamiento al arte rupestre en cuatro municipios de la RACCN, Nicaragua
Authors: González Hodgson Kevin
Published: December 2019

Esta investigación presenta una clasificación estilística de 45 representaciones gráficas rupestres, (petrograbados y pictografías), localizados en cuatro municipios de la Región Autónoma de la Costa Caribe Norte de Nicaragua resultado de varias etapas de investigación. El objetivo principal de este estudio consistió en analizar los motivos rupestres a través, de un análisis iconográfico que, además, implicó determinar el contexto histórico-cultural de elaboración y el significado aproximado de las características icónicas identificadas en los ejemplares seleccionados. De acuerdo a los resultados obtenidos de la descripción iconográfica y tomando en cuenta importantes variables en su configuración como las técnicas de elaboración y las características de las rocas sobre las que se plasmaron las representaciones son indicadores sustanciales para decir, que los ejemplares estudiados fueron elaborados sobre la base de diversos grados de especificidad técnica y estilística por tanto, el grupo cultural que dio origen a este tipo de manifestación gráfico rupestre dejó testimonio  de complejas escrituras que permitieron a través de las imágenes representar su realidad, es decir, su cotidianidad y entorno con un entramado simbólico muy importante
La evolución de las creencias de los profesores de Inglés en servicio sobre la enseñanza de la gramática
Authors: Roa Rocha Julio César
Published: December 2019

El propósito de este estudio fue medir cómo cambian las creencias sobre la enseñanza de la gramática de los maestros de inglés en servicio en Nicaragua después de completar un programa de pregrado de enseñanza de inglés de 5 años y con cierta experiencia de enseñanza acumulativa. Se recopilaron datos de cuestionarios, diarios y observaciones de la práctica en el aula. Los participantes fueron 20 profesores de inglés en la escuela secundaria en servicio que estaban tomando un programa de capacitación de un año y fueron seleccionados mediante muestreo de conveniencia. Los resultados mostraron que había inconsistencia entre las creencias de los maestros y la práctica en el aula y sus creencias están influenciadas de alguna manera por sus experiencias como estudiantes y maestros. En conclusión, las creencias de los maestros son a menudo un reflejo de cómo ellos mismos fueron enseñados y sus experiencias, ya sea como maestros o estudiantes, se reflejan en su práctica docente
Conocimiento pre científico: punto de partida de los procesos investigativos
Authors: López González Álvaro
Published: December 2019

El presente ensayo aborda algunos tópicos que pocas veces son temas de conversación entre investigadores y docentes de la educación superior relacionados con el poco rigor científico con que se abordan algunos temas de investigación, los que muchas veces son abordados sin llegar a conclusiones importantes.

Se destaca en este escrito lo relativo al conocimiento previo que debe poseer todo investigador científico como premisa indispensable para un abordaje objetivo del objeto de investigación, y por último se señalan algunas deficiencias que presentamos en nuestro quehacer académico cuando nosotros mismos realizamos investigación o cuando asignamos alguna responsabilidad a nuestros estudiantes.

El escrito hace referencia a algunos tópicos o enfoques filosóficos que a lo largo de los últimos decenios se han hecho acerca del conocimiento científico y de las propuestas hechas por algunos teóricos para llegar a este. Se señalan además, algunas de las múltiples deficiencias que afrontamos muchos miembros de la comunidad educativa, docentes y estudiantes cuando enfrentamos la tarea de investigar con carácter científico algún tema que consideramos relevante en nuestro desempeño académico
Una mirada al departamento de Carazo desde los estudios regionales
Authors: Guevara Wilmer Martín
Published: December 2019

Ubicado en la reciente historiografía regional nicaragüense, impulsada por la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua, Managua (UNAN-Managua) desde la década de los 80, el presente artículo se propone demostrar que las regiones históricas tienen dinámicas de integración y articulación que no necesariamente se corresponden con las divisiones políticas administrativas del territorio. Para explicar esta dinámica se ha recurrido al método de la ecología cultural del antropólogo Julian Steward (1955) que propone entender las regiones desde su núcleo cultural, es decir, la adaptación e interacción del hombre con su entorno; por supuesto, el trabajo etnográfico ha sido fundamental. Los resultados revelan que Carazo, tiene cuatro regiones históricas internas. Por lo cual se pudo concluir, entre otras cosas que tanto la divisiones políticas como regionales coexisten sin oponerse una a la otra, pero se destaca el entendimiento regional como una posibilidad de acortar la brecha centro-periferia
Editorial
Authors: Orozco Alvarado Julio
Published: December 2019

Las funciones sustantivas de la Universidad son la docencia, investigación,  proyección y extensión, gestión universitaria e internacionalización. En la presente edición, la Revista está llevando a la práctica de forma simultánea las cinco funciones del quehacer universitario. En la llamada sociedad de la información y del conocimiento la difusión del conocimiento cobra gran relevancia social.
Gender Disparity Among Cooperative Farmers in Accessing Agricultural Credits in Anambra State, Nigeria
Authors: Nduka Helen O. , Ezeokafor Uche R. , Ekwere Gabriel E. , Ngoka Ikechukwu E.
Published: December 2019

Women have been the focus of gender disparity and this has been widely referred to the disparity faced by women in the field of agriculture. Agricultural credit is imperative for sustainable agricultural development in any country of the world. In order to substantiate the assertion, this study evaluated the issues of gender disparity in farmers’ access to agricultural credit among cooperative societies in Anambra north zone of Anambra State. Specific objectives were to ascertain the quantum of credit obtained and repaid by female and male members; determine the effect of gender on the quantum of credit obtained and repaid; ascertain critical factors influencing access to credit by cooperative members; determine how gender contributed to credit repayment behaviour of cooperative members and examine perception of members on gender-related issues in credit operations. ANOVA and regression models were used to test hypotheses 1-5. Findings revealed that male members obtained more credit than female members, and female members repay more than their male counterparts. Gender was not a significant determinant of credit obtained and repaid by cooperative members and gender issues in credit operation were handled among cooperative members. However, the researcher recommended that the issues of gender inequality should not be encouraged. Both males and females should have equal access to credit and repayment of credit operation; despite the membership strength, more members should be encouraged to join cooperative societies in order to access credit and repay accordingly and cooperative officers should set up friendly credit scheme to ensure a functional and effective credit access.
Effects of Multiple Dimensions of Intangible Distance on Agro-food Exports: Evidence from China
Authors: Liu Xinran
Published: December 2019

Intangible distance may play a role as both trade barriers and competitive advantages in cross-border trade. Moreover, for agro-food products, intangible distance reflects the discrepancy between eating habits of the importing and exporting countries, and thus affects agro-food trade also as “eating-habit distance”. This paper investigates the effects of four dimensions of intangible distance on China’s agro-food exports, namely, cultural distance, institutional distance, distance in education, and distance in industrial development. A panel data of 78 countries covering the period 2002-2016 is used, and an extended gravity model is employed. We control for the effects of quality or level of institution, education, and industrial development of China and its trading partners to distinguish the “quality effects” from “distance effects” and to test the robustness of the results. To explore the (possible) different effects of intangible distance on different categories of agro-food products, we consider not only the total agro-food exports, but also the individual samples of the four agro-food categories classified according to the Harmonized System codes. We find that all these dimensions of intangible distance influence China’s agro-food exports significantly, at least for certain categories of agro-food products. Distance in institution, education, and industrial development function as measures of trade costs, whereas cultural distance functions more like a reflection of competitive advantage. Furthermore, when the distance in institution, education or industrial development increases in favor of the importing countries, the negative effects of intangible distance are partly neutralized by the importers’ improved level of institution, education or industrialization.
Reviewer Acknowledgements for Journal of Molecular Biology Research, Vol. 9, No. 1
Authors: Brown Grace
Published: December 2019

Reviewer Acknowledgements for Journal of Molecular Biology Research, Vol. 9, No. 1, 2019
Reviewer Acknowledgements for Modern Applied Science, Vol. 13, No. 12
Authors: Lee Sunny
Published: December 2019

Reviewer Acknowledgements for Modern Applied Science, Vol. 13, No. 12
De realisatie van de digitale transformatie door provincies
Authors: Thaens Marcel
Published: December 2019

The realization of the digital transformation by the provinces

Digital transformation offers provinces both opportunities and threats. A long-held wish that social tasks (and the demand from citizens and companies) can be put at the center seems to be fulfilled. But, in addition to opportunities, the transformation also provides the necessary risks for, for example, the privacy of citizens and companies, but also due to the disruptive nature of digital transformation. This contribution looks at the digital transformation from a provincial perspective. The data vision in the making of the Dutch province of Noord-Brabant forms the basis for this essay, but what emerges applies broadly (with differences in emphasis) to several provinces. The author also gives a number of suggestions for the implementation of the transformation.
Hydrolase-Catalyzed Promiscuous Reactions and Applications in Organic Synthesis
Authors: Wang Yun , Wang Na
Published: December 2019

The potential of biocatalysis becomes increasingly recognized as an efficient and green tool for modern organic synthesis. Biocatalytic promiscuity, a new frontier extended the use of enzymes in organic synthesis, has attracted much attention and expanded rapidly in the past decade. It focuses on the enzyme catalytic activities with unnatural substrates and alternative chemical transformations. Exploiting enzyme catalytic unconventional reactions might lead to improvements in existing catalysts and provide novel synthesis pathways that are currently not available. Among these enzymes, hydrolase (such as lipase, protease, acylase) undoubtedly has received special attention since they display remarkable activities for some unexpected reactions such as aldol reaction and other novel carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bond-forming reactions. This chapter introduces the recent progress in hydrolase catalytic unconventional reactions and application in organic synthesis. Some important examples of hydrolase catalytic unconventional reactions in addition reactions are reviewed, highlighting the catalytic promiscuity of hydrolases focuses on aldol reaction, Michael addition, and multicomponent reactions.
Bracing Adult Scoliosis: From Immobilization to Correction of Adult Scoliosis
Authors: Claude de Mauroy Jean , Gagliano Fabio , Gagliano Rosario , Lusenti Piera
Published: December 2019

Unlike adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, bracing was used in adults less and was used more as a way of reducing pain. There is little publication of adult scoliosis series in the literature. The use of very high-rigidity and high-precision CAD/CAM technologies currently makes it possible to create corrective braces for the adult. The digital CAD/CAM cast in three blocks allows for precise correction at the pelvic, lumbar, and thoracic levels. This chapter presents the results of a series of 62 consecutive adult scoliotic patients treated with a corrective asymmetric detorsion brace of very high rigidity made in 2014–2016. Tolerance and angular correction results will be compared to those of 158 patients treated with the former bivalve polyethylene overlapping immobilization brace mainly used for lumbar scoliosis. The new Lyon adult ARTbrace is a detorsion brace adapted to all the curvatures which controls the sagittal plane. Despite a resistance four times greater than that of polyethylene of the same thickness, the tolerance of the Europlex’O is excellent as it is a “shock absorber,” and the anterior opening facilitates the use for very old people. Consequently, the aim of this chapter is to consider if it is possible to envisage for some patients an alternative to surgery, thanks to the new technologies of bracing.
The Impact of Natural Disasters on Dietary Intake
Authors: Ji Mengmeng , An Ruopeng , Qiu Yingjie , Guan Chenghua
Published: December 2019

Objectives: In this study, we explored the potential impact of disasters on individuals' fruit and vegetable consumption. Methods: Individual-level data (N = 351,229) from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) 2011 survey were merged with county-level
disaster declaration data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) based on disaster duration, interview month and residential county. Multilevel mixed-effects generalized linear models were conducted to examine the impact of different types of disasters on self-reported daily fruit,
100% pure fruit juice, beans, green vegetables, orange vegetables, other vegetables and overall vegetables consumption frequencies, adjusting for individual covariates. Results: No associations between disasters and daily fruit and overall vegetable consumption frequency were identified
at either national or state levels. Only floods were consistently associated with reduced consumption of orange vegetables. Conclusions: This study did not identify an association between natural disasters and daily overall fruit/vegetable consumption frequency at national or state
levels, whereas disasters were found to alter the consumption of certain vegetable subgroup (orange vegetables) slightly. Longitudinal studies with validated and detailed measures on diet and disaster are warranted to advance research in this field.
Gérard Genette de Bardadrac a Postscript
Authors: Pardo Jiménez Pedro
Published: December 2019

Conocido hasta entonces por sus estudios de poética y de estética, Gérard Genette publica en 2006 Bardadrac, una especie de diccionario informal en el que se recogen recuerdos de infancia y juventud, anécdotas de la vida profesional y personal, experiencias de viajes, reflexiones sobre la sociedad contemporánea, ideas sobre el arte y la literatura, opiniones sobre los temas más diversos, inventarios de usos lingüísticos peculiares, etc. Este libro inicia una serie auto(bio)gráfica que a lo largo del siguiente decenio se completa con cuatro volúmenes más –Codicille (2009), Apostille (2012), Épilogue (2014) y Postscript (2016)– en los que el escritor, recientemente fallecido, y a modo pues de testamento, nos da a conocer su lado más desconocido en un brillante ejercicio de memoria, inteligencia y sensibilidad.
Le langage juridique dans le Français du tourisme (FOS): les conditions générales de vente
Authors: EL Krirh Khatima
Published: December 2019

Este trabajo tiene como objetivo el estudio del lenguaje jurídico en el género turístico de contrato de condiciones generales de venta (CCGC). Existe la necesidad de integrar aspectos multidisciplinarios en los cursos de FOS (francés turístico) para desarrollar las habilidades de práctica profesional entre nuestros estudiantes. El enfoque discursivo nos permite tomar conciencia de la implicación tanto de la macroestructura como de los términos legales utilizados en este género "híbrido". La importancia de este estudio emana de que el CCGV representa la piedra angular en cualquier operación de compraventa de servicios turísticos a futuros clientes o intermediarios del sector turístico.

 

This article aims at the study of the legal language anchored in the contracts of general conditions of sale (CCGC) of the tourist field. Indeed, there is a need to integrate multidisciplinary aspects into the courses of FOS (French Tourism) in order to develop the skills of professional practice among our students. The approach of the discursive approach allows us to become aware of the implication of the macrostructure and the legal concepts in this textual genre ̒ hybrid ̓. In this sense, the CCGV represents the cornerstone in any operation of intelligence to customers and / or sale-purchase of tourist services.

 

Este trabajo tiene como objetivo el estudio del lenguaje jurídico en el género turístico de contrato de condiciones generales de venta (CCGC). Existe la necesidad de integrar aspectos multidisciplinarios en los cursos de FOS (francés turístico) para desarrollar las habilidades de práctica profesional entre nuestros estudiantes. El enfoque discursivo nos permite tomar conciencia de la implicación tanto de la macroestructura como de los términos legales utilizados en este género "híbrido". La importancia de este estudio emana de que el CCGV representa la piedra angular en cualquier operación de compraventa de servicios turísticos a futuros clientes o intermediarios del sector turístico.