bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
AI-Driven Content Developing and Designing for Teaching Materials of Digital Healthcare
Authors: Muthmainnah M , Al Yakin Ahmad , NurJannah  , Mursidin Muthmainnah , Al Aqad Mohammed H.
Published: February 2024

The aim of this research is to contribute knowledge on English language teaching materials with public health content based on AI-based design. The authors sought student input and information before starting to design modules for EFL based on AI-powered English classes. The subjects of this research were 51 public health students and two EFL lecturers to determine their needs. Based on these findings, all students strongly agree to provide teaching materials for AI-based English learning courses in higher education.
Detecting Ambiguities in Requirement Documents Written in Arabic Using Machine Learning Algorithms
Authors: Althunibat Ahmad , Alsawareah Bayan , Maidin Siti Sarah , Hawashin Belal , Jebril Iqbal , Zaqaibeh Belal , Al-khawaja Haneen A.
Published: February 2024

The identification of ambiguities in Arabic requirement documents plays a crucial role in requirements engineering. This is because the quality of requirements directly impacts the overall success of software development projects. Traditionally, engineers have used manual methods to evaluate requirement quality, leading to a time-consuming and subjective process that is prone to errors. This study explores the use of machine learning algorithms to automate the assessment of requirements expressed in natural language. The study aims to compare various machine learning algorithms according to their abilities in classifying requirements written in Arabic as decision tree. The findings reveal that random forest outperformed all stemmers, achieving an accuracy of 0.95 without employing a stemmer, 0.99 with the ISRI stemmer, and 0.97 with the Arabic light stemmer. These results highlight the robustness and practicality of the random forest algorithm.
From Digital Platform Capabilities to Firm Performance
Authors: Ayadi Faouzi M. , Alaskar Thamir H. , Aloulou Wassim J. , Alsadi Amin Khalil
Published: February 2024

This study aims to explore the influence mechanism of digital platform capabilities (DPC) on firm performance (FP) through a parallel mediation model of firm agility (FA) and network capabilities (NC) in a specific context. Data for this study were collected from 422 randomly selected Saudi firms with survey questionnaires mainly in central, western, and eastern areas of Saudi Arabia and then analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results showed that there are significant relationships of DPC to FA and to NC. No direct and significant relationship was found between PDC and FP. Moreover, FA and NC fully play their mediating roles between DPC and FP. The study contributes to the literature on digitalization, capabilities, and performance by providing new insights from the Saudi context. It also contributes to the practice by providing managerial implications for Saudi managers. Based on empirical evidence, to the best of authors' knowledge, this is the first endeavor to link DPC and FP and provide a new perspective of its influence mechanism.
A Hotspot-Aware Personalized News Recommendation Mechanism Based on DistilBERT-TC-MA
Authors: He Qian , Wang Ke
Published: February 2024

Aiming at the problems of existing news recommendation methods, such as inadequate exploration of the semantic information of news, neglecting potential hotspot features of news, and challenging the balance between user preferences and hotspot features, a hotspot-aware personalized news recommendation model (DistilBERT-TC-MA) is suggested, which integrates the distilled version of BERT (DistilBERT), text convolutional neural network (TextCNN), and multilayer attention (MA). First, it takes full advantage of DistilBERT, TextCNN, and self-attention mechanism to achieve news encoding. Following this, representations of trending news are dynamically aggregated using the attention mechanism, while user preferences are mined utilizing user click history. Finally, in order to successfully accomplish the click prediction of candidate news, the hotspot features, user preferences, and candidate news are ultimately combined using a click predictor. The experimental results of the suggested DistilBERT-TC-MA model on MIND dataset are better than several other advanced methods.
Laboratory Experiments on Remediation of Landfill Leachate Contamination with Permeable Reactive Barriers (PRBs) of Reactive Media Derived from Waste
Authors: Dayanthi W. K. C. N. , Jagoda S. W. , Hasini K. A. A.
Published: February 2024

Groundwater at landfills is often contaminated with heavy metals. Permeable reactive barrier (PRB), a potential in-situ treatment system, was investigated in this study, using 'composite reactive media' (COM), primarily composed of waste materials, to remediate heavy metals in groundwater. The COM consisted of 40% Brick and Mortar Waste (BMW), 40% Biochar (BC), 10% Granular Activated Carbon (GAC), and 10% Zeolite, based on volume. In an up-flow column, the average removal efficiencies of Fe, Pb, Cu, As, Mn, Zn, and Cd were 70.9±2.7, 80.9±3.2, 72.2±1 .6, 76.3±2.5, 81.6±6.3, 88.0±2.0, and 67.3±4.6%, respectively. In a bench-scale COM-filled PRB (0.85 x 0.25 x 0.3 m), the average removal efficiencies of the same species were 71.4±1.3, 75.4±4.9, 67.4±4.3, 72.9±1.3, 83.6±7.6, 89.8±7.4, and 80.9±7.1%, respectively. Adsorption associated with fixation, and ion exchange could be the main treatment mechanisms. COM also has potential as a filtration medium in other treatment unit processes and to treat some other types of wastewater than landfill-leachate. Further, this use of COM could alleviate the burden of disposing of BMW waste, thereby addressing a significant issue in waste management. As the identification of potential failure points in reactive media is crucial, field-scale experiments are suggested to be conducted for further investigation.
Income diversification and household welfare in Sri Lanka
Authors: Senevirathna M. M. S. C. , Dharmadasa R. A. P. I. S.
Published: February 2024

Income diversification is globally considered as an effective way to reduce income risk and also to enhance household welfare especially in developing countries. However, much attention has not been paid to study the welfare implications of income diversification in Sri Lanka. By taking data of a nationally representative sample of 21,756 households of Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2016, this study attempted to examine the welfare implications of income diversification of households in Sri Lanka while identifying the determinants of income diversification. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, probit regression, and ordinary least square regression. Results suggest that income diversification significantly increased the welfare of Sri Lankan households. More than half of the households from the total population have diversified their income portfolio. Further, we explored that rural and estate households appeared to have a more diversified income portfolio relative to their urban counterparts, and households that depend on permanent employment income were less likely to diversify their income. Results depicted that the major determinants of household welfare and income diversification decision in Sri Lanka are human capital-related factors and regional differences. The study strongly recommends implementing programmes for entrepreneurial development, human capital development, and female empowerment which deserves special attention in the design of national poverty reduction strategies and enhancing the household welfare.
Investigating the Effect of Aspirin on apoAI-Induced ATP Binding Cassette Transporter 1 Protein Expression and Cholesterol Efflux in Human Astrocytes
Authors: Nazeri Zahra , Abdeveiszadeh Neda , Zarezade Vahid , Azizidoost Shirin , Cheraghzadeh Maryam , Aberumand Mohammad , Kheirollah Alireza
Published: February 2024

Background:

Neurons need a high amount of cholesterol to maintain the stability of their membrane-rich structures. Astrocytes synthesize and distribute cholesterol to neurons, and ABCA1 is a key mediator of cholesterol efflux to generate HDL for cholesterol transport in the brain. Several studies imply the effect of aspirin on ABCA1 expression in peripheral cells such as macrophages. Here, we compared the effect of aspirin with apoA-I on ABCA1 protein expression and cholesterol efflux in human astrocytes.

Materials and Methods:

Human astrocytes were cultured, and the effects of aspirin on the expression and protein levels of ABCA1 were investigated through RT-PCR and Western blot analysis. Additionally, the effect of co-treatment with apoA-I and aspirin on ABCA1 protein level and cholesterol efflux was evaluated.

Results:

Dose and time-course experiments showed that the maximum effect of aspirin on ABCA1 expression occurred at a concentration of 0.5 mM after 12 h of incubation. RT-PCR and western blot data showed that aspirin upregulates ABCA1 expression by up to 4.7-fold and its protein level by 67%. Additionally, co-treatment with aspirin and apoA-I increased cholesterol release from astrocytes, indicating an additive effect of aspirin on apoAI-mediated cholesterol efflux.

Conclusions:

The results suggest a potential role of aspirin in increasing ABCA1 expression and cholesterol efflux in astrocytes, similar to the effect of apoA-I. This indicates that aspirin could potentially regulate brain cholesterol balance and can be considered in certain neurological diseases, in particular in some neurological disorders related to cholesterol accumulation such as Alzheimer’s disease.
Effectiveness of Mediterranean diet educational program on the functional gastrointestinal disorders knowledge of employees in the University of Baghdad, Iraq
Authors: Najm Massara A. , Mohammed Tahseen R.
Published: February 2024

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:

A low risk of gastrointestinal disorders in the adult population has long been linked to consuming a Mediterranean diet (MD). The study aims to evaluate the effects of the Mediterranean diet educational program on employee’s knowledge regarding functional gastrointestinal disorders.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

A quasi-experimental study design of two study groups (pre-test and post-test) was carried out at four colleges in the University of Baghdad, Iraq of the period between January 10, 2022 and May 31, 2022. A purposive (non-probability) sample was used with a sample size of (160) employees divided into two groups (80 employees each). The study group of 80 employees was exposed to the Mediterranean Diet educational program while the control group with was not.

RESULTS:

The results showed a positive effect of the Mediterranean diet educational program on the employees’ functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) knowledge in the study group. The study results indicated that there are highly significant mean differences between the study and control groups in the pre-test and the post-test in the specific and general knowledge area of employees’ functional gastrointestinal disorders (t = 17.002, df = 158; t = 24.19, df = 158; P value ≤ 0.01). Findings indicated that there were no significant statistical relationships between the level of knowledge of functional gastrointestinal disorders and demographic characteristics except employees’ level of education with a high significant association P value ≤ 0.01).

CONCLUSION:

The Mediterranean diet educational program effectively improves the employees’ knowledge of functional gastrointestinal disorders. These results support the benefit of establishing educational programs for adult employees on the Mediterranean diet to improve individuals’ knowledge about the gastrointestinal diseases.
A preliminary validation of the impact on participation and autonomy questionnaire in an Iranian sample of patients with type 2 diabetes
Authors: Vazirinejad Reza , Zakeri Mohammad Ali , Ahmadinia Hassan , Rafsanjanipoor Sayed Mortaza Hossini
Published: February 2024

BACKGROUND:

This study aimed to determine the face, convergent validity, internal consistency, and stability reliability of the impact on participation and autonomy-Persian version (IPA-p) scale for using among Iranian patients with type 2 diabetes.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

Trained experts interviewed 227 type 2 diabetes patients who were registered in out-patient Diabetes Clinic of Ali-Ibn Abi-Talib Hospital, (Rafsanjan, Southeast Iran from May 2018 to February 2019) and their relatives to assess the face and convergent validity, internal consistency, and stability reliability of the IPA-p scale. A checklist was used to collect demographic information and also to record expert’s̛̛̛̛̛̛ points of view about the scale to assess face validity. Internal consistency was measured using Cronbach’s alpha, and stability was assessed using interclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). Test–retest method was used to detect the reliability of the questionnaire. Respondents completed the IPA-p scale on the two occasions with an interval of 30-45 days.

RESULTS:

In relation to convergent validity, the confirmatory model showed an acceptable fit and the scale had a highly convergent validity. Exploratory factor analysis showed that the IPA-p scale has a ten-factor structure that explained 77.42% of the variance. Cronbach’s alpha between the mean IPA-p scores achieved on the two occasions ranged from 0.65 to 0.92. Test–retest ICCs for the ten domains were between 0.64 and 0.81.

CONCLUSIONS:

The IPA-p questionnaire can be a relatively valid and reliable instrument for assessing self-reported participation among Iranian type 2 diabetes patients. However, some improvement is needed to make it fully suitable for using among Persian-language diabetic patients.
Healthcare provision for medical tourism: A comparative review
Authors: Raoofi Samira , Khodayari-Zarnaq Rahim , Vatankhah Soudabeh
Published: February 2024

Providing quality services, using modern technologies, having effective marketing, and providing services at an international level have led to the globalization of hospital services. This study aimed to identify the components of health services in developing countries that provide services to international patients. A comparative review was conducted by searching in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Google, and the websites of the World Medical Tourism Organization, the World Bank, and the Ministry of Health of the selected countries from 2000 to 2022. Iran, Turkey, Jordan, Costa Rica, the UAE, and Singapore were selected. The data were collected and analyzed using a comparative table. Different strategies were used to develop the medical tourism industry among the studied countries, but the main challenges in this field included the inappropriateness of the quality of the services provided or the provision of services that did not meet the needs of patients, the lack of expert human resource, not using medical facilitation companies, communication problems with patients, insufficient government support for medical tourism, and strict laws regarding business. The development of activities in the medical tourism industry requires planning in various dimensions. It seems that developing the medical marketing and activities of facilitator companies to facilitate patient admission, monitoring the quality of services provided, improving interdepartmental coordination, and considering a single trustee for this industry will improve the medical tourism status in Iran.
Inadequate food diversity and food taboo associated with maternal iron deficiency among pregnant women living in slum settlements in Makassar City, Indonesia
Authors: Magfirah Nurul , Ansariadi Ansariadi , Amiruddin Ridwan , Wijaya Eri , Maria Ida L. , Salmah Ummu , Ibrahim Erniwati
Published: February 2024

BACKGROUND:

Anemia in pregnancy is a major public health problem, especially in developing countries. The most common cause is nutritional deficiencies, especially iron deficiency. Adequate nutritional intake from food is essential during pregnancy. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between food access and intake patterns with the incidence of iron deficiency among pregnant women living in the slum settlement in Makassar City.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

This research is a sub-study of the Indonesian Birth Cohort Study based in Makassar City. This sub-study used a cross-sectional design and recruited 173 pregnant women in their second and third trimesters using total sampling. All data were collected using a structured questionnaire and recorded using KoboToolbox software. Serum ferritin levels were examined for iron status using the ELISA method at the Microbiology Laboratory Unit at Hasanuddin University Teaching Hospital. The statistical data were analyzed using STATA version 14 with Chi-square analysis and logistic regression.

RESULTS:

The prevalence of iron deficiency in pregnant women living in slum settlements in Makassar City was 78%. Logistic regression analysis showed that inadequate food diversity (AOR: 2.58; 95% CI: 1.17-5.69; P = 0.019) and food taboos (AOR: 2.81; 95% CI: 1.26-6.26; P = 0.011) were significantly associated with the incidence.

CONCLUSIONS:

Most pregnant women living in slum settlements in Makassar City experienced iron deficiency. Pregnant women who experience iron shortages have been connected to food taboos and dietary diversity.
Comparison between MCQ, Extended matching questions (EMQ) and Script concordance test (SCT) for assessment among first-year medical students – A pilot study
Authors: Nalini YC , Manivasakan Shivashakthy , Pai Dinker R.
Published: February 2024

BACKGROUND:

Single-best response types of MCQs are commonly used tools in medical assessment. However, these are not particularly apt for the assessment of higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) among students. Assessment of HOTS and clinical reasoning skills requires unexplored tools like extended matching questions (EMQs) and SCTs. The aim is to assess HOTS and clinical reasoning skills during formative assessment among medical students post a simulation-based education (SBE) using EMQ and SCT on the topic of shock and collect student perceptions regarding new assessment tools.

METHODS AND MATERIAL:

The research is an observational descriptive study. Fifty-two first-year medical students were asked to take a formative assessment consisting of 20 MCQs, 6 EMQs, and 2 SCT post a SBE during July 2022 on the topic of shock. MCQs were categorized into themes of aetiology, pathophysiology, and management of shock. These categorized MCQs were compared and analyzed with EMQs and SCTs prepared on the same themes. The data analysis by a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to compare the difference in per cent mean scores of MCQ with EMQ and MCQ with SCT.

RESULTS:

The overall mean scores and also under the theme of aetiology and management, the student’s score in MCQ were higher than EMQ and SCT and the difference was statistically significant with the P value (≤0.001).

CONCLUSIONS:

Students scored better in familiar assessment tools like MCQ, but majority of the students were of the opinion that EMQ tested the delivered content better and SCT tested the clinical application better.
Historical background and current situation of pharmacy education in Mongolia
Authors: Sodnomtseren Purevsuren
Published: February 2024

In Mongolia, the medical education system with a long history has developed with its characteristics since ancient times. Modern medical education, including pharmacy education, began to grow in 1921. Before modern pharmaceutical science developed in Mongolia, pharmacy and pharmacy education were part of Traditional Mongolian Medicine and education. Medical knowledge and experience were transferred from generation to generation through simple teaching. From the sixteenth century, Manba Datsan was established in religious temples to teach Mongolian medicine through discipleship. Modern pharmacy education in Mongolia began in 1926 with the course training of pharmacy technicians, and pharmacist training started in 1961. Pharmacy technician training with a 3-year and pharmacist training with 5-year programs oriented on patient-centered pharmaceutical care are implemented in Mongolia. Pharmacy technicians can also study towards a B. degree in Pharmacy with an additional 3 years of training. As of 2023, seven state-owned and private higher education institutions offer pharmacy education and the number of institutions and students of pharmacy is expected to increase. The pharmacy education policy and the license examination type may be reformable, and the curricula should be regularly updated in line with international trends.
Hospital capacities and response to COVID-19 pandemic surges in Iran: A quantitative model-based study
Authors: Hosseini-Jebeli Sedighe , Tehrani-Banihashemi Arash , Eshrati Babak , Mehrabi Ali , Benis Mahshid Roohravan , Nojomi Marzieh
Published: February 2024

The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic resulted in serious limitations for healthcare systems, and this study aimed to investigate the impact of COVID-19 surges on in-patient care capacities in Iran employing the Adaptt tool. Using a cross-sectional study design, our study was carried out in the year 2022 using 1-year epidemiologic (polymerase chain reaction-positive COVID-19 cases) and hospital capacity (beds and human resource) data from the official declaration of the pandemic in Iran in February 2020. We populated several scenarios, and in each scenario, a proportion of hospital capacity is assumed to be allocated to the COVID-19 patients. In most of the scenarios, no significant shortage was found in terms of bed and human resources. However, considering the need for treatment of non- COVID-19 cases, in one of the scenarios, it can be observed that during the peak period, the number of required and available specialists is exactly equal, which was a challenge during surge periods and resulted in extra hours of working and workforce burnout in hospitals. The shortage of intensive care unit beds and doctors specializing in internal medicine, infectious diseases, and anesthesiology also requires more attention for planning during the peak days of COVID-19.
Prevalence of Eustachian Tube Dysfunction in Patients with Allergic Rhinitis: An Observational Cross-sectional Study
Authors: Jayadevan P. Jijesh , Raj Poonam , Anand V. , Singh Kamalpreet
Published: February 2024

Background:

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is implicated in the pathogenesis of Eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD). Its sequelae cause burgeoning of several middle ear diseases. Testing of ETD is a diagnostic challenge and requires objective methods of assessment.

Materials and Methods:

In our prospective observational study, 402 patients with AR were grouped into mild and moderate to severe AR. Nasal endoscopy, tympanometry, and Williams test were used for objective assessment of ETD. The severity and laterality of ETD were assessed and the prevalence of the same was calculated.

Statistical Analysis:

The graphical tabulation of data was prepared using MS Excel 2010. Unpaired t-test was used to compare the study groups and the association among the groups was extracted with the help of Fisher’s test and Chi-square test. P < 0.05 was considered significant.

Results:

Mild AR was found in 44.5% of cases, while moderate to severe AR was seen in 55.5% of cases. 38.1% of cases of AR had ETD, out of which significant population (28.6%) had bilateral involvement. The dysfunction was partial or complete in 22.2% and 15.9% patients, respectively. 38.6% of patients had a type C curve on tympanometry in patients with AR and the rest had type A curve.

Conclusions:

AR patients have a higher propensity to develop bilateral ETD. The patients having moderate to severe AR have more ETD. A tympanometry will only provide information regarding ETD, whether present or absent, whereas ET function tests such as Williams test provide information regarding the functionality of ET and severity of ETD. It is recommended that all newly diagnosed cases of AR should be evaluated for ETD and be followed up regularly.
Embracing Well-being: Strategies to Cultivate and Prioritize Wellness and Resilience in Undergraduate Medical Students
Authors: Shrivastava Saurabh RamBihariLal , Shrivastava Prateek Saurabh
Published: February 2024

From the perspective of medical students, they are exposed to intense academic pressures, demanding clinical experiences, peer pressure, and emotionally stressful events during their period of undergraduate training. In the field of medical education, wellness and resilience have attracted lots of attention, owing to their positive impact on the personal and professional lives of medical students. The well-being and resilience of medical students are determined by a wide range of personal, family-level, and workplace-related attributes. Acknowledging the impact that lack of wellness and poor resilience can have on the working efficiency of medical students, it is indispensable that we must plan for specific strategies to systematically address them. In conclusion, wellness and resilience among medical students occupy a special place in medical education delivery. Considering the fact that these domains are not still addressed in medical colleges universally, it is the need of the hour to prioritize the well-being of medical students and empower them with resilience skills to ensure their optimal personal and professional growth and production of more compassionate and empathetic health-care professionals.
Endoscopy of the Gut: A Window into the Puzzle of Iron-deficiency Anemia
Authors: Kumar Ajay , Kumar Dharmendra , Manrai Manish , Srivastava Sharad , Dawra Saurabh , Chandra Alok , Verma Vishesh , Kumar Abhinav
Published: February 2024

Background:

Iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) is the most common form of anemia which affects almost every age group. It impacts with varied severity the quality of life of the person affected. IDA is caused by either decreased availability of food, especially during times of increased requirement or decreased absorption from the gastrointestinal (GI) tract or increased loss due to various reasons in different age groups. We tried to estimate the prevalence of GI causes in patients with IDA in a tertiary care hospital and describe the clinicopathological profile of the patients with IDA.

Materials and Methods:

A cross-sectional observational study was conducted in a tertiary care center in Western India on patients suffering from IDA. Male patients of >18 years and female patients >45 years with IDA and no known chronic disease or infection were included in the study and their endoscopic/colonoscopic findings were recorded and analyzed. A biopsy was taken, whenever deemed relevant. Advanced procedures such as enteroscopy or capsule endoscopy were not performed on these patients.

Results:

A total of 120 patients were evaluated for IDA. At least one GI lesion was found in 42.5% (n = 51) of patients. Upper GI (UGI) lesions (27.5%) were most commonly encountered, followed by lower GI lesions (9.1%).

Conclusion:

The patients with unexplained IDA were found to have a high incidence of GI lesions (42.5%). Hence, evaluation of the GI system with UGI endoscopy, colonoscopy, and mucosal biopsies in relevant patients is recommended for the determination of the cause of anemia.
To Study the Efficacy of Intrauterine Device and Endometrial Regeneration Therapy versus Endometrial Regeneration Therapy Alone in the Prevention of Adhesions after Hysteroscopic Resection of Uterine Septum
Authors: Dwivedi Pranjali , Dalal Vinod Kumar , Sharma Sanjay Kumar , Sharma Rajesh , Kapur Anupam , Tangri Manoj K.
Published: February 2024

Background:

Septate uterus is a very common defect of the female reproductive system. Septate anomalies are associated with diminished fertility and increased risks for adverse pregnancy outcomes. Treatment must aim for optimization of pregnancy outcomes with minimum adverse effects. The aim of this study was to compare the presence or absence of adhesions and assess the efficacy of intrauterine device (IUD) along with endometrial regeneration therapy (ERT) vis-a-vis ERT alone in the prevention of adhesions after hysteroscopic resection of septum.

Objectives:

(1) To compare the two groups with respect to their efficacy. (2) To analyze the side effects of therapy in each group, e.g., intermittent spotting/bleeding and cyclical pain. (3) To assess endometrial thickness after 3 months, i.e., preovulatory endometrium without therapy. This was a prospective observation study.

Materials and Methods:

A sample size of 42 was calculated for each study group for comparative analysis and subjects were randomly allocated into one of the two groups using computer-generated randomization tables. Group 1 received IUD and ERT while group 2 received ERT alone.

Results:

In first group receiving IUD + ERT therapy, 10 patients reported side effects in the form of hypomenorrhea, amenorrhea, severe pelvic pain and prolonged spotting as compared to only 8 patients developing side effects in the second group which received ERT alone therapy.: The rates of postsurgical intrauterine adhesion and other complications were not statistically significant in both groups (P = 0.457). There was no statistically significant difference between the groups with respect to preovulatory endometrial thickness.

Conclusion:

The findings from this clinical study reconfirm the results of already published efficacy and safety studies of the use of IUD and ERT preventive therapies following hysteroscopic metroplasty.
Management of High-velocity Firearms Injury in Counterinsurgency Area: A Single-Center Study
Authors: Agrawal Vivek , Murali Murukesan , Deshpande S. K. , Merkhed Rahul , Singh Bhanu Pratap , Gosavi Jayesh Dhananjay
Published: February 2024

Background:

High-velocity firearms injuries in counterinsurgency (CI) areas are different from civilian injuries in terms of mechanism of injury, pathophysiology, management, and outcome. Hostile environments and difficult terrain are the main roadblocks in providing quality first aid and timely evacuation, which leads to compromised outcomes. This study was designed to analyze the epidemiology, management modalities, and complications of firearm injuries referred to a trauma care center in a counterinsurgency (CI) area.

Methodology:

This is a single-center prospective observational study over 3 years at a trauma care hospital in the Union Territory of Kashmir in India. All patients with firearm injuries sustained during CI operations were part of the study cohort. Patient profile, evacuation modalities, time elapsed since injury, and treatment modalities, including complications, were analyzed.

Results:

Four hundred and eighty patients were admitted over 3 years. The mean time elapsed in reaching the hospital was 7 h. Gunshot injury was the most common mechanism in 58% of the patients. 21.3% were priority I, 45.0% were priority II, whereas 33.7% were priority III. One hundred and fifty-four patients required definitive operative management. Lower extremity was the most common site. Sixty (12.5%) had penetrating abdominal trauma and 27 (5.6%) had vascular injury. Six patients succumbed to death postoperative due to various reasons.

Conclusions:

High-velocity firearms injury is a common cause of morbidity and mortality in military combat operations. This study highlights the challenges faced in managing high-velocity firearm injuries in such a large cohort of injured patients.
A Comparative Study of the Efficacy of Platelet-rich Plasma Therapy versus Topical Application of 0.1% Tretinoin Gel in the Management of Striae Gravidarum
Authors: Agarwal Reetu , Chopra Ajay , Oberoi Anant , Sharma Loknandini , Srinivasan Padmapriya
Published: February 2024

Aim:

To determine the relative efficacy of platelet rich plasma therapy versus topical 0.1% tretinoin gel in the management of striae gravidarum.

Objectives:

To determine the degree of response to platelet rich plasma therapy in comparison with topical 0.1% tretinoin gel in striae gravidarum and to determine the treatment of choice amongst platelet rich plasma and topical 0.1% tretinoin gel.

Material and Methods:

Study design - A randomised control cross sectional comparative study among the female patients with striae gravidarum was carried out at department of Dermatology, Venereology & Leprosy, Base Hospital, Delhi Cantt, New Delhi.

Results:

There was early and fast clinical improvement in PRP group with continuous clinical improvement noticed in successive sittings although degree of improvement was lower in 5th and 6th sittings. There was also an earlier plateau of response, in tretinion group after 04 sittings with mild or little improvement in the last 02 sittings in comparison to the PRP group.

Conclusion:

Platelet Rich Plasma therapy was effective as compared to topical 0.1% Tretinoin gel in the management of Striae gravidarum. PRP had better treatment outcome as well as patient satisfaction.
Suboptimal video coding for machines method based on selective activation of in‐loop filter
Authors: Kim Ayoung , An Eun‐Vin , Jung Soon‐heung , Choo Hyon‐Gon , Seo Jeongil , Seo Kwang‐deok
Published: February 2024

A conventional codec aims to increase the compression efficiency for transmission and storage while maintaining video quality. However, as the number of platforms using machine vision rapidly increases, a codec that increases the compression efficiency and maintains the accuracy of machine vision tasks must be devised. Hence, the Moving Picture Experts Group created a standardization process for video coding for machines (VCM) to reduce bitrates while maintaining the accuracy of machine vision tasks. In particular, in‐loop filters have been developed for improving the subjective quality and machine vision task accuracy. However, the high computational complexity of in‐loop filters limits the development of a high‐performance VCM architecture. We analyze the effect of an in‐loop filter on the VCM performance and propose a suboptimal VCM method based on the selective activation of in‐loop filters. The proposed method reduces the computation time for video coding by approximately 5% when using the enhanced compression model and 2% when employing a Versatile Video Coding test model while maintaining the machine vision accuracy and compression efficiency of the VCM architecture.
Sustainable engineered geopolymer composites: A study on the potential of fly ash, BOF slag, and iron ore tailings
Authors: Subramanian Saravanan , P Robin Davis , Thomas Blessen Skariah
Published: February 2024

Industrial residues like Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF) slag and Iron Ore Tailings (IOT) in the construction sector conserves natural resources by reducing carbon emissions and enhancing sustainability. However, it is crucial to establish significant research findings to build confidence among end users and stakeholders to facilitate the adoption of the same for practical applications. This study aims to investigate the feasibility of using BOF slag and Fly ash (FA) as primary precursors in the development of steel fibre (SF) reinforced Engineered Geopolymer Composites (EGC) with IOT replacing M-Sand as fine aggregate. Trial mixes (600 No.s) were conducted to synthesize EGC with BOF slag, FA, IOT, and SF. Compressive strength was measured and IOT was found to significantly improve the strength of EGC, following SF and BOF levels. Six optimized mixes were identified and subjected for water absorption, flexure, impact resistance and leaching toxicity of heavy metals. The mix comprising 40% BOF, 1.5% SF and 45% IOT showed the highest strength characteristics viz., 41.8 MPa, 5.78 MPa and 313.92 Nm correspondingly for compression, flexure and impact. The obtained results have implications for sustainable construction involving BOF slag and FA as viable precursors, alongside IOT as a partial substitute for fine aggregate.
Metaphors of Authority: Power Politics of Identity and Perception in Irish Texts
Authors: AYRIM Oğuzhan
Published: February 2024

The central aim of this article is to explore the power politics of perception between English and Irish representations within selected canonised Irish texts. The focal point of this article orbits around the relationship between the observer and the observed with an essential emphasis on the roles of defining and defined subjects. Focusing on the metaphorical framework of Father England as the authority of gaze and Mother Ireland as the object of gaze, this article introduces Ireland’s post-independence era as the inception of a transformative journey that is characterised by a promise of self-definition after liberation from English dominion. In navigating the power dynamics of perception between Father England and Mother Ireland, this article takes a focused approach by analysing key literary works. Specifically, James Joyce’s “The Dead” (1914), Máirtín Ó Cadhain’s The Key (1949), and John Banville’s The Book of Evidence (1989) serve as illustrative examples. With these texts, this article aims to depict the trajectory of Ireland’s evolution from a position of being defined to a self-defining position.
Ortaokul Öğrencilerinin Enerji Okuryazarlığının Demografik Değişkenler ile İlişkisinin İncelenmesi
Authors: Ayata Semra , Oylumluoğlu Görkem , Alpaslan Muhammet Mustafa
Published: February 2024

Küreselleşme ve endüstriyel gelişmeler enerjiye olan ihtiyaç giderek artmaktadır. Bunun neticesinde enerji okuryazarı bireyler yetiştirmek için ülkeler eğitimsel, sosyal ve ekonomik politikalar geliştirmektedir. Bu çalışmanın amacı ortaokul öğrencilerin enerji okuryazarlıklarının demografik değişkenler ile ilişkisini incelemektir. İlişkisel tarama modelinin kullanıldığı çalışmaya gönüllü olarak Muğla İlinden 702 ortaokul yedinci sınıf öğrenci katılmıştır. Veriler demografik bilgi formu ile Enerji Okuryazarlığı Ölçeği ile toplanmıştır. Betimsel istatistiklerle beraber veriler bağımsız örneklem t-testleri ve tek yönlü ANOVA testi ile analiz edilmiştir. Bulgular öğrencilerin kendilerini enerji konusunda biraz bilgili olarak tanımladıkları göstermektedir. Katılımcıların enerji okuryazarlığında davranışsal alt boyuta yüksek düzeyde, duyuşsal boyutta orta düzey ve bilişsel boyutta düşük düzeyde oldukları belirlenmiştir. Bağımsız örneklem t-testi sonuçları davranışsal boyutta kızlar ve bilişsel boyutta merkez okullardaki öğrenciler lehine istatistiksel olarak anlamlı farklılık olduğunu göstermiştir. ANOVA sonuçları öğrencilerin bilişsel boyutta anne-baba eğitim seviyesinin önemli olduğunu ve üniversite mezunu ebeveyn çocukları lehine istatistiksel olarak anlamlı fark olduğunu göstermiştir. Bu çalışmanın sonuçları bilişsel boyutta öğrencilerin enerji okuryazarlığı geliştirilmesi için daha fazla çaba harcanması gerektiğini önermektedir. TRANSLATE with x EnglishArabicHebrewPolishBulgarianHindiPortugueseCatalanHmong DawRomanianChinese SimplifiedHungarianRussianChinese TraditionalIndonesianSlovakCzechItalianSlovenianDanishJapaneseSpanishDutchKlingonSwedishEnglishKoreanThaiEstonianLatvianTurkishFinnishLithuanianUkrainianFrenchMalayUrduGermanMalteseVietnameseGreekNorwegianWelshHaitian CreolePersian //  TRANSLATE with COPY THE URL BELOW Back EMBED THE SNIPPET BELOW IN YOUR SITE Enable collaborative features and customize widget: Bing Webmaster PortalBack//
Müzik Öğretmeni Adaylarının Yaşam Boyu Öğrenme Eğilimleri
Authors: Gödeneli İpek , Aksoy Yakup
Published: February 2024

Bu çalışmanın amacı müzik öğretmeni adaylarının yaşam boyu öğrenme eğilimlerinin düzeyini, yaşam boyu öğrenme eğilimlerinin çeşitli değişkenlere göre değişimini ve yaşam boyu öğrenmeye ilişkin görüşlerini incelemektir. Araştırmanın çalışma grubunu 80 müzik öğretmeni adayı oluşturmaktadır. Araştırmada karma yöntem desenlerinden açıklayıcı desen kullanılmıştır. Araştırmanın nicel boyutundaki veriler “Yaşam Boyu Öğrenme Eğilim Ölçeği” ile nitel boyutunda ise odak grup görüşmeleri ile toplanmıştır. Nicel veriler istatistiksel yöntemler, nitel veriler ise betimsel analiz tekniği ile çözümlenmiştir. Çalışmanın nicel bulgularında, müzik öğretmeni adaylarının yaşam boyu öğrenme eğilimlerinin hem genel ortalamada hem de öğrenmeye isteklilik ile gelişime açıklık alt boyutlarında yüksek düzeyde olduğu, yaşam boyu öğrenme eğilimleri düzeyinin cinsiyet ve sınıf değişkenine göre istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bir fark oluşturmadığı tespit edilmiştir. Nitel bulgularda ise katılımcılar müzik öğretmenlerinin güncel ve teknolojik gelişmelere adapte olmakla beraber öğrencilerine rol model olduğu için yaşam boyu öğrenenler olması gerektiği ifade etmiştir.
Regulation of Social Work Practice in the United States, United Kingdom, and European Economic Area: A Perspective on Governance
Authors: Davis Nickolas B.
Published: February 2024

Social regulation as a tool is designed to change behavior and ultimately protect the public from some form of harm. In this sense, social work regulation is a tool with the primary goal of public protection. Social work practice regulations vary widely within the United States, and the concept becomes more distorted when examined through an international lens. This manuscript outlines the regulation of social work practice in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Economic Area. Regulation in this context is examined through the framework of governance. Attention is given to the mechanism of regulation that is the regulatory body. The regulation of social work practice in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Economic Area share many similarities and several fundamental differences.
Nomophobia Levels of University Students: A Comparative Study
Authors: Afacan Adanir Gulgun , Muhametjanova Gulshat
Published: February 2024

There is growing concern about the influence of nomophobia among the majority of young people, attributed to excessive mobile phone use. This study aims to investigate the nomophobia levels of Azerbaijani and Kyrgyz university students. The Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q) was employed as the data collection tool. Data were collected from participants during the spring term of the 2021-2022 academic year. A total of 478 students participated: 238 from Azerbaijan and 240 from Kyrgyzstan. Results indicated that Azerbaijani and Kyrgyz students exhibit different nomophobia behaviors. While 36.1% of Azeri students experience a severe level of nomophobia, 23.3% of Kyrgyz students do. Female students in both countries are more affected than their male counterparts. Younger students are also more susceptible to nomophobia. Moreover, smartphone ownership significantly influences students' nomophobia behavior in both Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan.
Energy-, Environmental-, and Climate Change Literacy among Primary and Middle School Students
Authors: Gebeyehu Desta , Dalelo Aklilu , Eshetu Fikadu , Belachew Woldie , Wodaj Habtamu , Abate Abera , Hagos Mulugeta
Published: February 2024

The aim of the present study was to assess the energy- environmental-, and climate change literacy among primary and middle school students in selected cities of Ethiopia. This survey study was conducted in primary and middle schools found in six cities and involved a total of 1589 students. The finding indicate that the participants of the study had a very good awareness about principles underlying generation and use of energy but performed much poorly in items related to awareness about impacts of climate change. The paper also concluded that students’ views about issues related to generation and use of energy cannot be considered as favorable. On the other hand, the results on practices related to energy use and environmental protection reveal that participants reported pro-energy and environmental practice. Interestingly, the practice of participants doesn’t seem to align with the generally unfavorable attitude towards energy generation and climate change. Therefore, it is advised that primary and middle schools offer a thorough education on energy and environmental education because these levels of instruction have a special role to play in raising awareness of and developing skills and attitudes related to environmental and climate change education.
Perceptions of Higher Education Students towards ChatGPT Usage
Authors: Das Soumya Ranjan , J.V. Madhusudan
Published: February 2024

In the context of contemporary technological advancements, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has gained considerable significance in the field of education. In light of ChatGPT’s growing popularity, this research aims to explore how higher education students perceive the use of ChatGPT in academics, examining factors influencing its acceptance, as well as its benefits, limitations, and ethical concerns. The study applied a survey design, collecting data through Google Forms from undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral students. A total of 162 participants, who were using ChatGPT selected through convenience sampling. The findings indicate a positive perception among respondents regarding ChatGPT's academic applications, its benefits, limitations, acceptance factors, and ethical concerns. The study also reveals that the perception of higher education students towards ChatGPT usage is not significantly influenced by gender, academic programs, and streams. The insights gained from this study holds significant implications for the responsible and effective integration of ChatGPT in higher education environments, taking into account its perceived benefits and ethical concerns.
Are Lesson Plans Created by ChatGPT More Effective? An Experimental Study
Authors: Karaman Muhammet Remzi , Göksu İdris
Published: February 2024

In this research, we aimed to determine whether students' math achievements improved using ChatGPT, one of the chatbot tools, to prepare lesson plans in primary school math courses. The research was conducted with a pretest-posttest control group experimental design. The study comprises 39 third-grade students (experimental group = 24, control group = 15). The implementation process lasted five weeks and 25 lesson hours. In the experimental group, lessons were taught according to plans prepared using ChatGPT, while in the control group, existing lesson plans were used. Students' academic achievement was measured with a multiple-choice achievement test of 25 questions with two separate questions for each learning objective. According to the results, students' academic achievement increased significantly (d = 1.268) in math lessons taught according to lesson plans prepared using the ChatGPT. Although there was a difference between the post-test scores of the experimental group and the control group in favor of the experimental group, it was determined that this difference was not significant. These results show that teaching primary school math according to lesson plans prepared using ChatGPT is effective in academic achievement. Teachers should consider ChatGPT and their plans, combining them and benefiting from both in the implementation process.
Predicting Secondary School Students' Academic Performance in Science Course by Machine Learning
Authors: Seckin Kapucu Munise , Ozcan Ibrahim , Ozcan Hulya , Aypay Ahmet
Published: February 2024

Our research aims to predict students' academic performance by considering the variables affecting academic performance in science courses using the deep learning method from machine learning algorithms and to determine the importance of independent variables affecting students' academic performance in science courses. 445 students from 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grades attending a school in Central Anatolian City in Turkey, participated in this study in the 2022-2023 school year. Data was collected with a. A deep learning method called deep neural network, one of the ways of machine learning, was used in data analysis. The average number of books read per year had the highest importance among the variables affecting academic performance in science courses. In addition, deep learning predicted students' final science scores with 90% accuracy. According to the results of this study, the percentage of the academic achievement prediction might be raised by reproducing the required data set for the data analysis method with deep learning. A forecast of the student’s academic achievement with artificial intelligence and detecting the importance of variables’ percentage might be researched for other courses in addition to the Science course.