bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Trajectory of Healthcare Resource Utilization in Giant Cell Arteritis: A Population-based Study
Authors: Mohammad Aladdin J. , Turkiewicz Aleksandra , Stamatis Pavlos , Turesson Carl , Englund Martin , Kiadaliri Ali
Published: March 2021

Objective

To estimate the healthcare resource utilization (HRU) in patients with giant cell arteritis (GCA) compared with the general population in southern Sweden.

Methods

The study sample comprised 653 patients with GCA along with 10 age-, sex-, and residency area–matched reference subjects per patient. Data on public and private healthcare consultations and hospitalizations were extracted from the Skåne Healthcare Register. We assessed trajectories of primary and specialist healthcare visits, as well as hospital admissions and inpatient days from 3 years before through 5 years after the date of GCA diagnosis for patients and matched references. HRU was analyzed using generalized estimating equations adjusted for sex, age at the index year, calendar year of diagnosis, education, income, marital status, place of birth, and Charlson Comorbidity Index. Inverse probability weighting was used to account for dropout during study.

Results

Patients with GCA had higher rates of healthcare visits than the references from the year before GCA diagnosis and up to 4 years after diagnosis, with the largest relative (rate ratio 1.85, 95% CI 1.68–2.05) and absolute (mean difference 10.2, 95% CI 8.1–12.3 visits per person) differences in the year of diagnosis. Similar trajectories were observed for primary and specialist healthcare visits. For hospital admissions and inpatient days, the differences disappeared 1 year after diagnosis date.

Conclusion

Patients with GCA utilized healthcare services at a significantly higher rate than the reference population. The increased utilization among Swedish patients with GCA was evident 1 year before and prolonged up to 4 years after diagnosis date.
Relationship Between the Dynamics of Telomere Loss in Peripheral Blood Leukocytes From Knee Osteoarthritis Patients and Mitochondrial DNA Haplogroups
Authors: Fajardo Rebeca Guillén , Fariña Fátima Otero , Rey Alejandro Mosquera , Rego-Pérez Ignacio , Blanco Francisco J. , García José Luis Fernández
Published: March 2021

Objective

To evaluate the evolution of telomere length from peripheral blood leukocytes (PBLs) in subjects from the Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI) cohort in relation to the incidence of osteoarthritis (OA), and to explore its possible interactive influence with the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroup.

Methods

Dynamics of telomere sequence loss were quantified in PBLs from initially healthy individuals (without symptoms or radiological signs), 78 carrying the mtDNA cluster HV, and 47 with cluster JT, from the OAI, during a 72-month follow-up period. The incidence of knee OA during this period (n = 39) was radiographically established when Kellgren-Lawrence (KL) score increased from < 2 at recruitment, to ≥ 2 at the end of 72 months of follow-up. Multivariate analysis using binary logistic regression was performed to assess PBL telomere loss and mtDNA haplogroups as associated risk factors of incidence of knee OA.

Results

Carriers of cluster HV showed knee OA incidence twice that of the JT carriers (n = 30 vs 9). The rate of PBL telomere loss was higher in cluster HV carriers and in individuals with incident knee OA. Multivariate analysis showed that the dynamics of PBL telomere shortening can be a consistent risk marker of knee OA incidence. Subjects with nonincident knee OA showed a slower telomere loss than those with incident knee OA; the difference was more significant in carriers of cluster JT than in HV.

Conclusion

An increased rate of telomere loss in PBLs may reflect a systemic accelerated senescence phenotype that could be potentiated by the mitochondrial function, increasing the susceptibility of developing knee OA.
The Role of Ultrasound in Research and Clinical Practice in Psoriatic Arthritis: Highlights From the GRAPPA Ultrasound Workshop
Authors: Eder Lihi , Aydin Sibel Z. , Kaeley Gurjit S.
Published: March 2021

Ultrasound (US) is a valuable imaging modality that can accurately identify relevant features of psoriatic arthritis (PsA), such as synovitis, tenosynovitis, and enthesitis. The Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA) Ultrasound Committee ran a workshop during the annual GRAPPA meeting that was held in July 2020. The group presented the following 3 topics: (1) the transition from psoriasis to PsA and the role of US; (2) the effect of biomechanical forces on the entheses in health and disease, and insight for PsA pathogenesis; and (3) differentiation of enthesitis from pain sensitization: use and limitations of clinical and sonographic evaluation of enthesitis. This article summarizes the key messages from this workshop.
Instruments Measuring Physical Function for Psoriatic Arthritis Endorsed at GRAPPA 2020 Annual Meeting: Updates of the GRAPPA-OMERACT Working Group
Authors: Leung Ying Ying , Orbai Ana-Maria , Tillett William , Ogdie Alexis , Eder Lihi , Goel Niti , Hojgaard Pil , Holland Richard , Mathew Ashish J. , Lindsay Christine A. , Antony Anna , Chau Jeffrey , Christensen Robin , Coates Laura C. , Mease Philip J. , Strand Vibeke , FitzGerald Oliver , de Wit Maarten , Callis Duffin Kristina , Gladman Dafna D.
Published: March 2021

The Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA)–Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) Working Group provided updates at the 2020 GRAPPA annual meeting on its work toward developing a core outcome set for PsA. Working groups were set up for the 4 prioritized domains: enthesitis, fatigue, structural damage, and physical function. Two instruments for measurement of physical function were provisionally endorsed: (1) the Health Assessment Questionnaire–Disability Index and (2) the physical functioning domain in the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short Form survey.
Geography in secondary education: an analysis of the structure of curricula and their evaluation // Geografija v sekundarnem izobraževanju: analiza strukture in vrednotenje učnega načrta in kataloga znanja
Authors: Resnik Planinc Tatjana , Konečnik Kotnik Eva , Kolnik Karmen , Ilc Klun Mojca
Published: March 2021

The purpose of this paper is to present some of the results of a broader survey of current geography curricula at primary and secondary levels of education in Slovenia. The primary aim of the study was to find out what kind of curricula for geography lessons teachers of geography and others interested in geography would like to see at different levels of education. The study consisted of two parts: in the first part, we took an analytical view of the primary school curriculum in geography, and in the second part, which is provided in this paper, we focused on the secondary educational level, looking at both gymnasiums and secondary vocational and technical education. We present the opinions of the survey respondents on the basic conceptual orientation of the geography curricula in gymnasiums and in secondary vocational and technical schools, their elementary structure and scope, and the respondents' reflections on the comprehensiveness, usefulness and suitability of individual curriculum elements for teaching geography. //
 
Namen prispevka je predstaviti del rezultatov širše raziskave o dosedanjih geografskih učnih načrtih na primarni in sekundarni ravni izobraževanja v Sloveniji. Temeljni cilj raziskave je bil ugotoviti, kakšne učne načrte za pouk geografije si želijo učitelji geografije in druga zainteresirana geografska javnost na različnih vzgojno-izobraževalnih ravneh. Raziskava je bila dvodelna; v prvem delu smo osvetlili analitični pogled na osnovnošolski učni načrt za geografijo, v drugem delu, ki ga podajamo v tem prispevku, pa smo se osredotočili na srednješolsko vzgojno-izobraževalno raven, in sicer tako na gimnazijsko kot na srednje strokovno in poklicno-tehniško izobraževanje. Predstavljamo mnenje anketiranih o osnovni konceptualni usmeritvi učnega načrta za geografijo v gimnaziji ter kataloga znanja za geografijo v srednjem strokovnem in poklicno-tehniškem izobraževanju, o njuni elementarni strukturi in obsegu ter razmišljanja anketiranih o vključenosti, uporabnosti in ustreznosti posameznih elementov učnega načrta oziroma kataloga znanja za pouk geografije.
Hydrological connectivity: an introduction to the concept // Hidrološka povezljivost – temeljni konceptualni okvir
Authors: Zorn Matija , Hrvatin Mauro , Perko Drago
Published: March 2021

The concept of connectivity, especially hydrological connectivity, is used in Earth and environmental sciences as a term and as a conceptual framework for addressing spatial and temporal variability in runoff and sediment transport. Hydrological connectivity can be defined as the transfer of water and sediment through a fluvial system or a dynamic linkage between surface and subsurface waters flowing through a landscape. Five forms of hydrological connectivity may be distinguished: stream-hillslope connectivity, river-floodplain connectivity, stream-lake connectivity, longitudinal or upstream-downstream connectivity, and stream-groundwater connectivity. All of them are interconnected. Hydrological connections are not only unidirectional but cover multiple dimensions and operate across different temporal scales. As a framework, connectivity is useful for understanding spatial variations in runoff. //
 
Pojem povezljivosti, zlasti hidrološke povezljivosti, se v vedah o Zemlji in okolju uporablja kot strokovni izraz in kot konceptualni okvir za obravnavo prostorske ter časovne spremenljivosti v pretoku vode in prenosu gradiva. Hidrološko povezljivost lahko opredelimo kot prenašanje vode in sedimentov skozi rečni sistem ali kot dinamično povezavo med nadzemnimi in podzemnimi vodami, ki tečejo skozi pokrajino. Razlikujemo lahko pet oblik hidrološke povezljivosti: povezljivost med vodotokom in pobočjem, povezljivost med vodotokom in njegovim poplavnim območjem, povezljivost med vodotokom in jezerom, vzdolžno povezljivost med vodotokovim povirnim in izlivnim delom ter povezljivost med vodotokom in podzemno vodo. Vse so med sabo povezane. Vodne povezave niso samo enosmerne, ampak imajo več razsežnosti glede na prostor in čas. Kot okvir je povezljivost koristna za razumevanje prostorskih razlik pri odtoku.
Ohranjanje krajinskih značilnosti in njihovo vključevanje v ukrepe slovenske kmetijske politike // The preservation of landscape features and their inclusion into Slovenian agricultural policy measures
Authors: Šumrada Tanja , Rac Ilona , Juvančič Luka , Erjavec Emil
Published: March 2021

Namen prispevka je ovrednotiti upravljanje s krajinskimi značilnostmi v Sloveniji in opredeliti ključne potrebe na področju njihove identifikacije, ukrepov in podpornih sistemov za njihovo ohranjanje. Instrumenti kmetijske politike še ne omogočajo ohranjanja krajinskih značilnosti v zadostni meri in so deloma celo spodbudili njihovo izginjanje. Glavni oviri pri oblikovanju učinkovitejših ukrepov sta pomanjkanje podatkovnih virov in neupravičenost večine krajinskih značilnosti do dohodkovnih podpor. Predlagane izboljšave vključujejo natančnejšo opredelitev krajinskih značilnosti, vključitev v ukrepe z jasno intervencijsko logiko ter okrepitev podatkovnih baz in sistemov spremljanja. Prizadevati si je treba tudi za zapolnitev vrzeli v znanju, ki so povezane s tipologijo krajinskih značilnosti, njihovimi interakcijami s kmetijskimi ekosistemi in pristopi k njihovemu dolgoročnemu ohranjanju.
 
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the management of landscape features in Slovenia and to identify key needs in terms of their identification, measures and support systems for their conservation. Agricultural policy instruments do not yet allow for the preservation of landscape features (LF) to a sufficient extent and have partly also encouraged their removal. The main obstacles to forming effective public interventions to conserve LF are the lack of data sources and ineligibility of most landscape features for income support. Consequently, a more precise definition of LF, incorporation into measures with a clear intervention logic and the strengthening of databases and monitoring systems are needed. Knowledge gaps related to LF typology, their interactions with agricultural ecosystems and approaches to long-term preservation should also be addressed.
The past and perspective development of pasturing and tourism in the mountains: insights from Norway and Slovenia // Pretekli in predviden razvoj planinskega pašništva in turizma: vpogledi v norveške in slovenske razmere
Authors: Potthoff Kerstin , Smrekar Aleš , Šmid Hribar Mateja , Urbanc Mimi
Published: March 2021

The paper aims to analyse the characteristics and trends in pastoral farming, tourism and recreation in the Norwegian and Slovenian mountains and resulting landscape changes. These land uses and related driving forces have been scrutinised in the context of economic, social, and political aspects. While pastoral farming has a centuries-old tradition in the higher altitudes of both countries, interest in mountains for tourism and recreational purposes dates back only to the nineteenth century but has been increasing steadily ever since. The findings of the study, based on a literature review and secondary data, suggest that the social, economic, and especially the political situation in Norway and Slovenia have been different, but the development of mountains in both countries in the field of mountain pasturing and tourism and recreation has shared more similarities than differences, although nuances and specificities should not be disregarded. It is evident that mountain pasturing in both countries is sensitive to societal changes. Further on, we can infer the synergy and the right balance between it and tourism and recreation can be an opportunity for a viable mountain economic situation and would preserve the long traditions of cooperation between the two sectors. //
 
Članek analizira značilnosti in trende pašništva in rekreacije ter posledične spremembe pokrajine v norveških in slovenskih gorah. Spremembe v rabi zemljišč in z njimi povezane gonilne sile smo preučili z ekonomskega, družbenega in političnega vidika. Planinsko pašništvo ima v obeh državah večstoletno tradicijo, zanimanje za gore iz turističnih in rekreativnih vzgibov pa se je začelo šele v 19. stoletju, vendar se od tedaj stalno povečuje. Ugotovitve te študije, ki temeljijo na pregledu obstoječe literature in sekundarnih podatkov, kažejo, da je bil družbeni, gospodarski in še posebej politični položaj na Norveškem in v Sloveniji sicer različen, vendar razvoj gorskih območij v obeh državah izkazuje več podobnosti kot razlik, pri čemur ne smemo zanemariti določenih razhajanj in posebnosti. Jasno je, da na planinsko pašništvo v obeh državah vplivajo družbene spremembe. Prav tako je očitno, da sinergija in ustrezno ravnovesje med planinskim pašništvom in turizmom ter rekreacijo nudita priložnost za vitalno gospodarsko stanje v gorah in obenem omogočata ohranitev dolgoletne tradicije sodelovanja med obema panogama.
Zgodbe z »najlepše reke«: humanističnogeografski pogled na zgodovino razvoja in upravljanja turizma na Soči
Authors: Vranješ Matej
Published: March 2021

V članku sta podana pregled in analiza razvoja turistične rabe reke Soče ter s tem povezanih upravljavskih praks. Turizem na Soči se je v treh desetletjih razvil od alternativne do izrazito množične tržne dejavnosti, Dolina Soče pa v mednarodno prepoznano outdoor destinacijo. Vzporedno s tem so se z zamikom sprejemali in spreminjali upravljavski ukrepi in pristopi. Na podlagi dolgoročnega etnografskega dela je v članku prikazano, ali in kako so se spreminjali vloga in stališča ključnih lokalnih akterjev ter interesnih skupin do upravljanja in razvoja turizma na Soči. Poleg za outdoor turizem značilnih upravljavskih vidikov (na primer varnost, infrastruktura, cena) je v ospredju vprašanje zaščite in smeri razvoja lokalne turistične ekonomije, ki se pojavi ob naraščajočem koriščenju omejenega vira v pogojih prostega pretoka ljudi, storitev in kapitala. //
 
Stories from the “most beautiful river«: a humanistic geographical perspective on the history of the development and management of tourism on the river Soča
The article presents an analysis of the development of the tourist use of the river Soča and the related management practices. In three decades, tourism on the Soča has developed from an alternative to mass tourism, while the Soča valley has become an internationally recognized outdoor destination. Management measures and approaches have been adopted and adapted with some delay. Based on long-term ethnographic fieldwork, the article presents whether and how the role and attitudes of the most important local actors and interest groups have changed in relation to the river tourism development and management. In addition to the typical management issues of outdoor tourism (e.g. safety, infrastructure, price), the focus is on the protection and development direction of the local tourism industry – an issue that often arises in cases of the increasing use of limited resources under conditions of free movement of people, capital and services.
Rekreacijske dejavnosti na območju Slavnika – analiza mnenj izbranih deležnikov // Recreational activities in the area of Slavnik – analysis of the opinions of selected stakeholders
Authors: Cencič Mojca , Koderman Miha , Brečko Grubar Valentina
Published: March 2021

Območje Slavnika je zaradi redkih in endemičnih rastlinskih in živalskih vrst zavarovano kot naravni spomenik državnega pomena. Z opazovanjem stanja na terenu in intervjuji s ključnimi deležniki smo preučili obremenitve okolja, ki nastajajo zaradi izvajanja različnih rekreacijskih dejavnosti ter opredelili pomanjkljivosti v upravljanju in sodelovanju deležnikov. Ugotovili smo, da se posledice množičnega obiska in različnih rekreacijskih dejavnosti najbolj kažejo v eroziji poti, poškodbah rastlinstva in onesnaženju z odpadki. Za trajnostni razvoj rekreacijskih dejavnosti na Slavniku bi bilo potrebno sodelovanje vseh »uporabnikov«, ozaveščanje in informiranje obiskovalcev, ključno vlogo pa bi morale prevzeti tudi pristojne lokalne in državne ustanove s sprejetjem ustreznih sistemskih rešitev. //
 
The area of Slavnik is protected as a natural monument of national importance due to the rare and endemic plant and animal species. The authors examined the environmental impacts of various recreational activities in this area by observing the situation along the hiking trails and with interviewing key stakeholders. Apart from most evident consequences of intense visitation and different recreational activities, such as soil erosion, vegetation damage, and waste pollution, the study identified inadequate environmental management and poor cooperation of stakeholders. The sustainable development of recreational activities in the Slavnik area would require the participation of all "users", as well as informing and raising awareness of visitors. Local and state institutions should also participate and take a more prominent role by adopting effective system solutions.
Zgodovina revije Acta geographica Slovenica – ob 60. letniku // History of Acta geographica Slovenica: 60th edition
Authors: Ciglič Rok , Komac Blaž , Perko Drago , Zorn Matija
Published: March 2021

Acta geographica Slovenica je znanstvena revija za vsa področja geografije in sorodnih ved. Izdaja jo Geografski inštitut Antona Melika ZRC SAZU, zalaga Založba ZRC in sozalaga Slovenska akademija znanosti in umetnosti. Med letoma 1952 in 1976 je revija izhajala občasno, nato enkrat letno, od leta 2003 dvakrat letno, od leta 2019 pa izhaja trikrat letno. Od leta 1995 revija izhaja tudi na spletu. Od leta 1981 je revija vključena v Scopus, od leta 2003 pa v Web of Science. Je med najbolj citiranimi slovenskimi znanstvenimi revijami v tujini. Leta 2020 je izšel njen šestdeseti letnik in tej obletnici je posvečen ta prispevek. //
 
Acta geographica Slovenica is a scientific journal for papers covering all fields of geography and related disciplines. It is issued by the ZRC SAZU Anton Melik Geographical Institute, published by Založba ZRC, and co-published by the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts. From 1952 to 1976, the journal was published periodically, then once a year, twice a year from 2003, and three times a year since 2019. The online version of the journal has been available since 1995. The journal has been included in Scopus since 1981 and in Web of Science since 2003. It is one of the Slovenian scholarly journals most cited abroad. The 60th volume was published in 2020 and this article is dedicated to the milestone anniversary.
Identification and Evaluation of Homographic Puns Using Similarity Methods
Authors: Agrawal Divya , Thomas Ani
Published: March 2021

Natural language processing is a subfield of linguistics concerned with the interactions between computers and human language, specifically in how to program computers to process and analyze large amounts of text data (natural language data). WSD, word sense disambiguation in natural language processing, is the task of determining the correct annotation of the pun word in given context. This paper describes about the endeavor in using cosine similarity method for detection of a single homographic pun in given context, its location, and the correct annotation with respect to helping words in the context. This paper includes two approaches: BIT_SYS1 and BIT_SYS2. The first contains the words having synset count one as it cannot be pun but it can serve as helping word to the pun, and in the later words with synset count one is eliminated and the concept of helping word is abandoned. Performance of BIT_SYS2 is better than BIT_SYS1 as F1 score of BIT_SYS2(0.8571, 1.0000, 1.0000) is higher than BIT_SYS1(0.8439, 0.8648, 0.8648) in pun detection task, pun location task, and pun annotation task.
Smart Farming
Authors: Pang Hui , Zheng Zheng , Zhen Tongmiao , Sharma Ashutosh
Published: March 2021

With the increasing demand on smart agriculture, the effective growth of a plant and increase its productivity are essential. To increase the yield and productivity, monitoring of a plant during its growth till its harvesting is a foremost requirement. In this article, an image processing-based algorithm is developed for the detection and monitoring of diseases in fruits from plantation to harvesting. The concept of artificial neural network is employed to achieve this task. Four diseases of tomato crop have been selected for the study. The proposed system uses two image databases. The first database is used for training of already infected images and second for the implementation of other query images. The weight adjustment for the training database is carried out by concept of back propagation. The experimental results present the classification and mapping of images to their respective categories. The images are categorized as color, texture, and morphology. The morphology gives 93% correct results which is more than the other two features. The designed algorithm is very effective in detecting the spread of disease. The practical implementation of the algorithm has been done using MATLAB.
Smart Agriculture and Food Storage System for Asia Continent
Authors: Si-Wen Guo , Ikabl Mohammad Asif , Kumar Pradeep
Published: March 2021

Asia is the largest and most populous continent of Earth with an overall population of 446.27 crores. Housing this population drives various challenges in different aspects, in which providing healthy and nutritious food to each and every individual is most challenging. Unfortunately, because of certain production issues, farmers are not getting the desired throughput, and in some critical cases, situations lead to suicide. On the other hand, proper storage and distribution of these harvests are other challenges. Various models and IoT (internet of things)-based approaches have been presented and are available for implementation, but a dedicated layout combining the digitization of all the essential steps, starting from preparation of soil for agriculture to the making food available for every needy person, is still missing. In the paper, various related models have been studied, and an integral model is presented where integration of IoT is carried out with agriculture and with the food storage and distribution system.
A Cyber Sensor Model for Cyber-Physical-Social Systems
Authors: Murdoch Olga , O'Grady Michael J. , O'Hare Gregory M. P.
Published: March 2021

Engineering sustainable cyber-physical-social systems demand a transdisciplinary approach. Within an arbitrary domain, many systems, including those of the physical and cyber categories, may already be in-situ; however, heterogeneity permeates such systems, for example, differing protocols, data formats, among others. Heterogeneity is not a deliberate feature of an arbitrary system; rather, it is the cumulative result of pragmatic decisions that were made during design and is driven by many different factors, some of which may not be technological. Nonetheless, heterogeneity represents a critical obstacle for system designers as they seek to harness and integrate diverse system elements to deliver innovative services. This obstacle is acutely manifested in cyber-physical-social systems when collecting and fusing data for evidence-based decision-making; social and human-derived data exacerbate the problem. This paper proposes a programming model for fusing information sources in cyber-physical-social systems. The efficacy of the model is validated via a usability analysis.
The Impact of Natural Amenities on Home Values in Western Colorado
Authors: Perry Nathan , Casey Tim , Parece Tammy E. , Castaneda Cory
Published: March 2021

This paper investigates the impact that proximity to natural amenities has on improving home values in Mesa County, Colorado. Controlling for standard home characteristics, the study investigates the value to homes of the proximity to trails, the Colorado National Monument, Bureau of Land Management Land, golf courses, the Colorado/Gunnison River, open space, and public parks, using ordinary least squares, fixed effects (controlling for time and zip codes), and a spatial error model. GIS is used to determine distances for the spatial econometric model. Each amenity is evaluated at 250, 500, and 1000 meters. The results show that homes located within 250 meters of a trail sell for 4.45% more, homes located within 500 meters of BLM land sell for 9.07% more, homes located within 250 meters of a golf course sell for 12.70% more, and homes located within 250 meters of the Colorado National Monument sell for 12.90% more.
Neural Network Inversion-Based Model for Predicting an Optimal Hardware Configuration
Authors: Al-Qutt Mirvat Mahmoud , Khaled Heba , El Gohary Rania
Published: March 2021

Deciding the number of processors that can efficiently speed-up solving a computationally intensive problem while perceiving efficient power consumption constitutes a major challenge to researcher in the HPC high performance computing realm. This paper exploits machine learning techniques to propose and implement a recommender system that recommends the optimal HPC architecture given the problem size. An approach for multi-objective function optimization based on neural network (neural network inversion) is employed. The neural network inversion approach is used for forward problem optimization. The objective functions in concern are maximizing the speedup and minimizing the power consumption. The recommendations of the proposed prediction systems achieved more than 89% accuracy for both validation and testing set. The experiments were conducted on 2500 CUDA core on Tesla K20 Kepler GPU Accelerator and Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5-2695 v2.
Assessment of the Purpose of the Use of GAS
Authors: Smidt Louis , Steenkamp Leandi , Ahmi Aidi , van der Nest D. P. , Lubbe David Schalk
Published: March 2021

This article explores the purpose for which GAS, as a data analytics tool, is utilised by internal audit functions in Australia. A quantitative research method was applied, and the data was analysed using descriptive statistics. The total number of online questionnaires returned was 50 (i.e., a response rate of 15.53%) from the total research population of 322 chief audit executives of internal audit functions of organisations that are registered members with the IIA-Australia. The purpose of descriptive statistics is to describe what the data looks like and to compare variables numerically; therefore, no inferences or extrapolation of the data results were made. The results of the study can be used as a benchmark that may enable CAEs to identify whether they are staying abreast of current best practice in the area of technology-based tools and techniques for tests of controls.
Emotional Models
Authors: Fathalla Rana
Published: March 2021

Emotion modeling has gained attention for almost two decades now due to the rapid growth of affective computing (AC). AC aims to detect and respond to the end-user's emotions by devices and computers. Despite the hard efforts being directed to emotion modeling with numerous tries to build different models of emotions, emotion modeling remains an art with a lack of consistency and clarity regarding the exact meaning of emotion modeling. This review deconstructs the vagueness of the term ‘emotion modeling' by discussing the various types and categories of emotion modeling, including computational models and its categories—emotion generation and emotion effects—and emotion representation models and its categories—categorical, dimensional, and componential models. This review deals with applications associated with each type of emotion model including artificial intelligence and robotics architecture, computer-human interaction applications of the computational models, and emotion classification and affect-aware applications such as video games and tutoring systems applications of emotion representation models.
A Scalable Unsupervised Classification Method Using Rough Set for Remote Sensing Imagery
Authors: Raj Aditya , Minz Sonajharia
Published: March 2021

Reference to geographic scale and geographic space representation are characteristics of geospatial data. This work has discussed two issues related to satellite image data, namely huge size and mixed pixels. In clustering, an unsupervised classification and a set of similar objects are grouped together based on the similarity measures. The similarity between intracluster objects is high, whereas the similarity between intercluster objects is low. This paper proposes a clustering technique called spatial rough k-means that classifies the mixed pixels based on their spatial neighbourhood relationship. The authors compared the performance of different state-of-the-art clustering algorithms with that of proposed algorithms for image partitioning and map-reduce methods. The results show that the proposed algorithm has produced clusters of better quality than state-of-the-art algorithms in both the approaches used for handling the vast input data size. Experiments conducted on Landsat-TM 5 data of Delhi region demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed work.
Pulmonary Microbiome of Patients Receiving Mechanical Ventilation: Changes Over Time
Authors: Sole Mary Lou , Yooseph Shibu , Talbert Steven , Abomoelak Bassam , Deb Chirajyoti , Rathbun Kimberly Paige , Penoyer Daleen , Middleton Aurea , Mehta Devendra
Published: March 2021

Background

Interest in the pulmonary microbiome is growing, particularly in patients undergoing mechanical ventilation.

Objectives

To explore the pulmonary microbiome over time in patients undergoing prolonged mechanical ventilation and to evaluate the effect of an oral suctioning intervention on the microbiome.

Methods

This descriptive subanalysis from a clinical trial involved a random sample of 16 participants (7 intervention, 9 control) who received mechanical ventilation for at least 5 days. Five paired oral and tracheal specimens were evaluated for each participant over time. Bacterial DNA from the paired specimens was evaluated using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Bacterial taxonomy composition, α-diversity (Shannon index), and β-diversity (Morisita-Horn index) were calculated and compared within and between participants.

Results

Participants were predominantly male (69%) and White (63%), with a mean age of 58 years, and underwent mechanical ventilation for a mean of 9.36 days. Abundant bacterial taxa included Prevotella, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Stenotrophomonas, and Veillonella. Mean tracheal α-diversity decreased over time for the total group (P = .002) and the control group (P = .02). β-Diversity was lower (P = .04) in the control group (1.905) than in the intervention group (2.607).

Conclusions

Prolonged mechanical ventilation was associated with changes in the pulmonary microbiome, with the control group having less diversity. The oral suctioning intervention may have reduced oral-tracheal bacterial transmission.
Вероятностная интерпретация метода исчезающей вязкости
для систем законов сохранения и баланса
Authors: Belopol'skaya Yana Isaevna
Published: March 2021

Рассматриваются системы нелинейных параболических уравнений
с малым параметром при старшей производной и
ассоциированные с ними стохастические модели. Показано,
что метод исчезающей вязкости, позволяющий выбирать
физические решения задачи Коши
для систем нелинейных законов сохранения,
имеет естественное обоснование в терминах стохастических моделей.
Аналогичный результат получен и для балансовых законов.
Библиография: 10 названий.
Multi-Locus Sequence Typing of Ehrlichia chaffeensis Reveals Extensive Genotypic Variation across the United States
Authors: Zambrano Maria L. , Paddock Christopher D. , Karpathy Sandor E.
Published: March 2021

Ehrlichia chaffeensis causes human monocytic ehrlichiosis, and its principal vector is the Amblyomma americanum tick. The most frequently identified cases of ehrlichiosis come from the southeastern and south central states of the United States. In this study, a molecular typing system was developed that allows for the genetic differentiation of E. chaffeensis isolates. This multi-locus typing system included sequencing and analyzing intergenic regions ECH0033–ECH0035 and ECH0217–ECH0218, plus, variable genes variable length PCR target, 28-kDa, 120-kDa, and hemE. We examined a total of 31 unique isolates from humans and white-tailed deer, and eight DNA samples extracted from infected A. americanum collected from multiple states. This is the largest evaluation of E. chaffeensis isolates and their genotypes. Our findings show that when sequences of all six loci were concatenated and compared, the 39 samples could be separated into 23 genotypes and further grouped into six phylogenetic clades. The data in this study show no clear pattern between the geographic alignment with the genetic differentiation between the strains. As a result, this poses a challenge to understanding the spread of E. chaffeensis in the United States. Interestingly, our findings indicate that multiple strains from distant geographic origins share the same mutations, which suggests that the strains are being moved from one site to another by their hosts or vectors. In addition, we are seeing a northward shift in the lone star tick distribution in the United States. Last, some data also suggest minimal genetic mutations have occurred over time among strains that are within geographical proximity.
Mejora del aprendizaje desde la óptica de la gestión pedagógica.
Authors: Gudiño León Alfonso Ramiro , Acuña López Ricardo Javier , Terán Torres Víctor Guillermo
Published: March 2021

El proceso enseñanza-aprendizaje debe de ir acompañado de la implementación de acciones coordinadas y de recursos para potenciar el proceso pedagógico y didáctico de los profesores. La investigación exhibe la aplicación de un instrumento para determinar el nivel de asociación de diferentes variables de la gestión pedagógica y su influencia en el aprendizaje con el objetivo general: determinar la relación entre la gestión pedagógica y la mejora del aprendizaje del curso de educación cívica del primer año de bachillerato de la Institución Educativa del Colegio Militar Eloy Alfaro de la Ciudad de Quito, Ecuador. Los resultados obtenidos estuvieron dirigidos a resaltar el papel de la programación curricular; las estrategias metodológicas y didácticas; las evaluaciones de los aprendizajes; el uso de materiales y recursos didácticos.
Misconception and effect of Menstruation (Chhaupadi) and Delivery on Women’s Health in Bajura, District Nepal
Authors: Pandit Chetraj , Singh Anil Kumar , Parajuli Ayuska , Pandey Ashok
Published: March 2021

Background: Chhaupadi is the old unscientific system in mid and far western parts of Nepal. Reproductive age women were considered unclean during the menstrual and delivery period. Invisible cultural taboos and practices were prevailing in each and every household. The objective of the study is to assess the associated factors affecting during Chhaupadi and delivery practice with their health outcome. Method: The cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted amongst 175 reproductive age women in Bajura districts of Nepal, by using multistage random sampling. Both qualitative and quantitative methods was used. All the data were entered in Ms excel and exported into SPSS 16.0. The necessary descriptive and inferential statistics was used for quantitative analysis and thematic analysis was done for qualitative analysis. Results: More than one third (38.9%) of the participants were in the age group 20-29 years. Almost all the participants were from Hindu religion. The majority (91%) of participants know about the Chhaupadi system.  Almost (74%) of the participants were staying in the Chhaupadi hut during menstruation. Similarly, (78.3%) of the respondents were mentioned, they did not like the Chhau system and never like to continued. There is a significant association between health effect in women and the Chhaupadi system (p < 0.031). Conclusion: It shows that the larger proportion of women in Bajura District still believes in old unscientific tales and Chhaupadi practices which lead to the different health problems.
Diaphyseal Femur Fracture in Paediatric Age group: Outcome with fixation by Elastic Nailing System
Authors: Panthi Sagar , Shrestha Rishiswor , Pradhan Jigyasu , Neupane Bikash , Bhusal Ishory , Karki Angelica
Published: March 2021

Background: Diaphyseal femur fracture in paediatric age group account for 1.6% of all paediatric fractures. Fracture fixation by elastic nail provides three point fixation. This study aims to assess the outcome of diaphyseal femur fracture in paediatric age group from 5 to 15 years treated with titanium elastic nailing system.Methods: Thirty six patients with diaphyseal femur fracture were treated with titanium elastic nailing system from November 2018 to August 2020 was analyzed prospectively. All the patients were followed up for six months for the study. Final outcome was evaluated at six months.Results: The mean time of fracture union was 9.12 weeks. Two patients had limb lengthening of 6 mm and 8 mm respectively. One patient had 1 cm of shortening and 8 degree of varus angulation and 9 patients had bursitis over nail insertion site. According to Flynn grading 26 cases have excellent results (72.22%) and 10 cases have satisfactory results (27.78%).Conclusion: Diaphyseal femur fracture can be treated with elastic nailing system with early mobilization and good functional outcomes.Keywords: Diaphyseal femur fracture, Elastic nail, Fracture union, Titanium elastic nailing system
Entropy Analysis of a Dataset using Machine Learning Approach
Authors: Singhal Aakanksha , D.K. Sharma
Published: March 2021

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning's component to recognise communication between machines and individual (real) languages is a natural language processing. Natural Language Processing is the identification of emotion mostly used to interpret terms to provide strong, slightly bad emotions due to people's reading patterns. Shannon's entropy helps me know whether or not people more like Zomato is a ranking program for restaurants. The assessment involves a restaurant review that can be used for entropy assessment. On this basis, the authors want to respond to the expected view of the analysis. The method used to pre-process the research is to minimise all terms, monitor access, remove quantities, sentence structure, stop words and compile. The latent semantic document frequency (TF-IDF) is then constructed from word to vector. The data we are gathering is 1,50,000 reviews. Great responses are rated 3 and above, poor comments are rated 3 and below, glowing reviews are rated 3 and above. The author uses split Evaluation, 80% full and 20% Data Screening. Accuracy, recall and precision is the criteria used to evaluate random forest classifiers. The reliability of this analysis is 92 percent. 92 %, 93 %, 96 % is the consistency of each selection's thoughts and feelings. 99%, 89%, 73% are a reminder of positive, pessimistic and constructive views. 93 % and 87 % are the average accuracy and recall. "Poor", "great", "fair", "better", "location", "care", "request", "food", "seek" and "pleasant" are the 10 terms that influence the results.
Philosophical Roots of Classical Grounded Theory: Its Foundations in Symbolic Interactionism
Authors: Aldiabat Khaldoun , Le Navenec Carole-Lynne
Published: March 2021

Although many researchers have discussed the historical relationship between the Grounded Theory methodology and Symbolic Interactionism, they have not clearly articulated the congruency of their salient concepts and assumptions. The purpose of this paper is to provide a thorough discussion of this congruency. A hypothetical example about smoking among college students is included in this paper to illustrate this relationship. This paper will be useful for qualitative researchers who seek a fuller understanding of how the assumptions and concepts provided by Symbolic Interactionism can inform the researcher who adopts a Grounded Theory methodology to investigate human behaviour. The relevance of this congruency for nursing researchers is discussed.
Winning the PhD Game: Evocative Playing of Snakes and Ladders
Authors: Dickie Carolyn
Published: March 2021

The purpose of this paper is to describe a qualitative approach to developing an understanding of the lived experiences of PhD students. Rather than relying on textbook reports and theories about studying a higher degree by research, by allowing the students' voices to be heard, explicit and conscious research can be used to generate appropriate responses to the needs of students as they progress through the PhD process. Thematic analysis focuses on identified themes and patterns of research-learner behaviours.
Methodological Gravitism
Authors: Zaman Muhammad
Published: March 2021

In this paper the author presents the case of the exchange marriage system to delineate a model of methodological gravitism. Such a model is not a deviation from or alteration to the existing qualitative research approaches. I have adopted culturally specific methodology to investigate spouse selection in line with the Grounded Theory Method. This approach, indeed, suggests the unification of methodological individualism, collectivism, and the social positioning of the actor to study the complex and intricately intertwined networks of relatedness.
Voicing the Less Heard: A Review of Focus Group Methodology: Principles and Practice
Authors: Kulavuz-Onal Derya
Published: March 2021

Focus Group Methodology: Principles and Practice is a powerful text in not only equipping novice researchers with all the stages of designing a focus group, but also facilitating their understanding of the philosophies and in-depth principles of focus group methodology. Although the text seems to have specifically aimed at researchers in health and social sciences, beginning qualitative researchers in other fields, such as educational sciences, can also gain valuable insights. The text also provides detailed accounts of previous research where focus groups have been used as well as an intensive discussion of more specific topics such as focus groups with vulnerable groups, focus groups in cross-cultural research, and virtual focus groups.
A Qualitative Inquiry in the Evaluation of a Pedagogical Course from the Prospective Teachers’ Points of View
Authors: Toy Banu , Ok Ahmet
Published: March 2021

Qualitative inquiry has gained importance in the evaluation of educational settings because it provides in-depth information, shedding light on context, situations, or processes. In this study, a qualitative inquiry was undertaken in order to evaluate a pedagogical course from the prospective teachers’ points of view. In this case study, data were collected through focus group interviews with three groups of prospective teachers. The lack of putting theories into practice, the lack of relating the topics to teaching life, the lack of attention and participation, and the lack of a variety of materials appeared to be the most essential problems. In this study, the expressed problems and suggestions were discussed in terms of their implications for the improvement of the course.
Обучение английскому языку студентов-дизайнеров с использованием
технологии «вики сайта» в вузе
Authors: Ляшенко М.С. , Родионова М.С.
Published: March 2021

Исследование направлено на изучение восприятия студентами-дизайнерами применения вики-сайта как обучающей платформы для обучения английскому языку в неязыковом вузе. Вики сайт был разработан и внедрен в образовательный процесс в период пандемии и перехода на дистанционный формат обучения. По окончании курса студенты на добровольной основе приняли участие в устном интервью. Данные интервью были проанализированы с использова-нием качественного анализа, в результате которого были выделены пять основных категорий, описывающих восприятие студентами своего опыта. Полученные результаты позволили представить модель обучения с использованием вики технологии, которая описывает необхо-димые дидактические составляющие совместного обучения студентов на вики- сайте. Ре-зультаты исследования можно использовать при разработке процесса внедрения вики-сайтов в образовательный контекст в университете
Изучение отношения к занятиям элективными дисциплинами по физической культуре и спорту в БФУ имени Иммануила Канта
Authors: Соболева Л.Л. , Станчик Т.И. , Пасевина В.В.
Published: March 2021

Рассматривается вопрос отношения студентов к элективной дисциплине физическая культура и спорт, к традиционным и нетрадиционным средствам физической культуры, мотивы, побуждающие к занятиям физической культурой, роль преподавателя в развитии мотивации.
Исторические аспекты развития системы подготовки военных инженеров российской армии
Authors: Жемчужников А.В. , Дмитриев А.И. , Артамонов С.М.
Published: March 2021

Раскрывается исторический аспект развития военного образования в России. Предложена периодизация развития инженерного образования в России. Выведены тенденции перехода к новому историческому периоду. Проанализировано современное состояние военного инже-нерного образования в военных образовательных организациях высшего образования силовых структур Российской Федерации. Выведены субъективные причины социально-политического и экономического характера, влияющие на развитие инженерного образования военных специалистов. Представлены краткосрочные и среднесрочные перспективы развития военного образования
Педагогические условия эффективной подготовки курсантов военных вузов к
профессиональной коммуникации в полиэтническом коллективе
Authors: Поляков О.А.
Published: March 2021

Рассматриваются педагогические условия эффективной подготовки курсантов военных вузов войск национальной гвардии Российской Федерации к профессиональной коммуникации в полиэтническом коллективе. Автор обосновывает выбор основных педагогических условий эф-фективной подготовки к профессиональной коммуникации в условиях полиэтнического пространства Российской Федерации. Выявленные автором педагогические условия имеют большое значение для организации работы в данном направлении развития и становления будущего офицера