bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Global Brain Consortium’s GLAD White Paper: Challenges and Prospects for a Multi-National Children and Adolescents’ Brain Health Study
Authors: Bonney Emmanuel , Byington Nora , Miranda-Domínguez Oscar , Mushtaq Faisal , Yao Dezhong Yao , Panda Erin , Rahayel Shady , Das Samir , Harmony Thalia , Tekok-Kilic Ayda , Gallagher Anna , Lippé Sarah , Nyante Gifty G. , Abbo Catherine , Guerrini Sofia , Chiarenza Giuseppe , Bosch-Bayard Jorge , Ådén Ulrika , Padilla Nelly , Brew Yvonne , Smit Dirk , Thompson Paul , Poline Jean-Baptiste , Rogers Christine , Amunts Katrin , Rossini Paolo Maria , Roskams Jane A. , Smits-Engelsman Bouwien , Segalowitz Sid , Prasad Shailey , Nardos Rahel , Elison Jed , Evans Alan Charles , Fair Damien , Valdes-Sosa Pedro A.
Published: April 2023

Developmental brain health is paramount to the future of all society. As such, many western countries have heavily invested in several large-scale studies of brain development including the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, and the Healthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) study. However, since brain development and brain determinants of health are multidimensional and variable, true advancement requires a broader sampling of our populations – a global effort beyond western countries. To this end, advancing global brain health science requires a large effort in developing measures and testing protocols, methodological approaches, theoretical perspectives and systems that have cross-cultural relevance, and can be employed to generate globally representative data to inform inclusive public health interventions. In this White Paper, we discuss the daunting challenges of population neuroscience with specific focus on children and adolescents. After an executive summary and a concise overview of the major issues yet to be resolved, we present the global longitudinal study on child and adolescent development (GLAD) initiative and explain how it could potentially be deployed to generate globally relevant data to optimize brain health in young people across diverse contexts. Throughout the document, we emphasize that to optimize children’s brain health, we need to foster strong collaboration among multiple stakeholders including researchers, clinicians, educators, policy experts, and funding organizations.
Escape from fraught states in a coordination game
Authors: Tabor Whitney , Smith Garrett , Dankowicz Harry
Published: April 2023

Through a behavioral coordination game played by groups of humans and simulated with agent-based models, we investigated a social network dilemma that we call {\em fraughtness}. Seven players, connected to one another in various topologies via a computer network, each had to move a slider to the left or right along a horizontal bar on their screen. The goal was for all the players to move their slider to the same side. Players received feedback indicating the degree to which they and their neighbors agreed about the choice of side. When the topology had a hierarchical branching structure, the groups often got stuck in fraughtness: players on one branch favored one side, while players on the other branch favored the other; because all were receiving supportive local feedback, nobody wanted to change. Nevertheless, after being stuck in fraughtness for some time, most groups managed to escape it. Fraughtness is arguably an analog of generally negatively viewed social phenomena like polarization and echo chambers. Our analyses suggest that while fraughtness is problematic, it is closely linked to successful structure formation---it thus may be most effective to focus not on how to banish it, but on how to resolve it.
Differential expression of PRC1 in cancer of the cervix.
Authors: Mamoor Shahan
Published: April 2023

Almost all cervical cancers are caused by infection with high-risk human papillomaviruses (HPVs) (1-3); the transcriptional features that distinguish the gene expression programs of HPV-induced cancers from that of cancers resulting from non-viral abrogation of tumor suppression remain incompletely defined. We mined published microarray datasets (4, 5) to determine in an unbiased fashion and at the level of the transcriptome genes most differentially expressed in the primary tumors of patients with the most common type of cervical cancer, cervical squamous cell carcinoma. We found significant differential expression of the gene encoding protein regulator of cytokinesis 1, PRC1, when comparing tumor tissue from the human cervix to the tissue of origin. PRC1 mRNA was present at significantly higher quantities in tumors of the cervix as compared to normal tissues from the cervix. Analysis of human survival data revealed that expression of PRC1 in tumors of the cervix was correlated with overall survival in patients with cervical cancer. PRC1 expression changes may be important for the initiation or progression of cancer of the cervix in humans.
Geometric Series with Binomial Coefficients: A New Approach
Authors: Annamalai Chinnaraji
Published: April 2023

This paper presents a new approach for the computation to geometric series with binomial coefficients. The geometric series with binomial coefficients is derived from the multiple summations of a geometric series. In this article, several theorems and corollaries are established on the innovative geometric series and its binomial coefficients.
TaKhrij Hadits (Rizal Nurullah)
Authors: Nurullah Rizal
Published: April 2023

Kata bersih sering digunakan untuk menyatakan keadaan lahiriah suatu benda, misalnya air itu bersih, lingkungan bersih, tangan bersih dan sebagainya. Terkadang kata bersih memberikan pengertian suci, seperti air itu suci, tetapi biasanya digunakan untuk ungkapan sifat lahiriah sedangkan kata suci untuk ungkapan sifat batiniah seperti jiwanya suci. Tidak semuanya yang bersih adalah suci. Suci yaitu bersih dalam arti keagamaan, seperti tidak terkena najis, bebas dari dosa, atau bebas dari suatu barang yang mutanajis, najis, dan hadas. Sedangkan bersih berarti terbebasnya manusia atau suatu barang dari Sesutu yang kotor. Ada sebuah pepatah yang tak asing didengar mengatakan “kebersihan pangkal Kesehatan”. Kebersihan sangat berhubungan dengan Kesehatan dan lingkungan, oleh karena itu sangat penting untuk diperhatikan. Agar terhindar dari berbagai penyakit, maka hnedaknya membiasakan hidup bersih. Agama dan ajaran islam menyimpan perhatian yang sangat tinggi terhadap kebersihan, baik itu kebersihan secara fisik (jasmani), maupun secara jiwa (rohani).
存在与感知：以前思考“假如磁场、电磁波依赖坐标系”的两个文件
Authors: YANG Zheng-Ling
Published: April 2023

以前反思电磁作用的两个文件（材料），即2008-11-12在南开大学举办的教育部高教司“高等学校青年骨干教师高级研修班”的大会发言，以及2012-04-12在中国科学院科学智慧火花贴出的《SI基本单位中安培定义的两种可能缺陷》，现在作为附件重新贴出。以期获得doi （digital object identifier）。
Making Planets on Earth: How Experimental Petrology Is Essential to Planetary Exploration
Authors: Iacovino Kayla , Lunning Nicole , Moore Gordon , Vander Kaaden Kathleen , Righter Kevin , McCubbin Francis , Prissel Kelsey , Asimow Paul
Published: April 2023

Our knowledge of the evolution of the solar system relies upon our ability to interpret a limited set of observations, including geochemical data from returned samples and meteorites, remotely sensed data from spacecraft and telescopes, and information measured in situ via landers and rovers. Our ability to obtain these data is constantly improving in quality and quantity, but the understanding of the universe derived from these data is only as good as our interpretive tools. Experimental petrology is the most powerful way in which we define fundamental geochemical principles, e.g., thermodynamic equations of state, volatile solubilities and partitioning, partitioning of elements between gaseous, fluid, silicate and/or metal phases, and pressure-temperature-redox-composition-time controls on phase composition, stability, and texture. These laboratory-derived insights are critical to precisely translating hard-won geochemical data sets into constrained models of the formation and evolution of our solar system.
A comparative study of transfer learning methodologies and causality for seismic inversion with temporal convolutional networks
Authors: Mustafa Ahmad , AlRegib Ghassan
Published: April 2023

Machine learning-based seismic inversion methods suffer from high labeled data requirement in the absence of which they may fail to generalize. Recent data-driven inversion methodologies based on temporal convolutional networks use 2-D sequence models and transfer learning to unburden the algorithm from high training data requirements. Such methods are restricted in that they only model seismic and well log data causally, contrary to the physics of the inversion process. Moreover, they require all data involved in the study to be of exactly the same sampling and resolution factors, a scenario unlikely to happen in practice. We show that it is possible to extend the method to unequal resolution and sampling factors. Further, we demonstrate that by removing the constraint of causality, we are able to improve the performance of the algorithm. Moreover, we perform a comparative study of various transfer learning methodologies in the literature in the context of data-driven inversion. Using the best performing transfer learning methodology in combination with non-causal networks, we achieve the lowest MSE on the SEAM dataset of 0.0603.
Active Learning with Deep Autoencoders for Seismic Facies Interpretation
Authors: Mustafa Ahmad , AlRegib Ghassan
Published: April 2023

Machine learning-assisted seismic interpretation tasks require large quantities of labeled data annotated by expert interpreters, which is a costly and time-consuming process. Where existing works to minimize dependence on labeled data assume the data annotation process to already be completed, active learning---a field of machine learning---works by selecting the most important training samples for the interpreter to annotate in real time simultaneously with the training of the interpretation model itself, resulting in high levels of performance with fewer labeled data samples than otherwise possible. Where active learning has been significantly performed for classification tasks with respect to natural images, there exist very little to no works for dense prediction tasks in geophysics like interpretation. We develop a unique and first-of-a-kind active learning framework for seismic facies interpretation using the manifold learning properties of deep autoencoders. By jointly learning representations for supervised and unsupervised tasks and then ranking unlabeled samples by their nearness to the data manifold, we are able to identify the most relevant training samples to be labeled by the interpreter in each training. On the popular F3 dataset, we obtain close to 10 percentage point difference in terms of interpretation accuracy between the proposed method and the baseline with only three fully annotated seismic sections.
Electronic gaming machine accessibility and gambling problems: A natural policy experiment
Authors: Russell Alex M T , Browne Matthew , Hing Nerilee , Rockloff Matthew , Newall Philip Warren Stirling , Dowling Nicki , Merkouris Stephanie , King Daniel , Stevens Matthew , Salonen Anne , Breen Helen , Greer Nancy , Thorne Hannah Briony , Armstrong Tess , Rawat Vijay , Woo Linda
Published: April 2023

Background: Electronic gaming machines (EGMs) are recognised as one of the most harmful forms of gambling at an individual level. It is unclear whether restriction of EGM functions and accessibility results in meaningful reductions in population-level gambling harm. Methods: A natural policy experiment using a large (N = 15,000) nationally-representative dataset was employed to compare gambling problems between Australian residents in Western Australia (WA), where EGMs are restricted to a single venue and have different structural features, to residents in other Australian jurisdictions where EGMs are widely accessible in casinos, hotels and clubs. Accessibility of other gambling forms is largely similar across jurisdictions. Results: Gambling participation was higher in WA, but EGM participation was approximately half that found in the rest of Australia. Aggregate gambling problems and harm were about one-third lower in WA, and self-reported attribution of harm from EGMs by gamblers and affected others was 2.7x and 4x lower, respectively. Mediation analyses found that less frequent EGM use in WA accounted for the vast majority of the discrepancy in gambling problems (indirect path = -0.055, 95% CI -0.071; -0.038). Moderation analyses found that EGMs are the form most strongly associated with problems, and the strength of this relationship did not differ significantly across jurisdictions.Discussion:Lower harm from gambling in WA is attributable to restricted accessibility of EGMs, rather than different structural features; and there is little transfer of problems to other gambling forms. These results suggest that restricting the accessibility of EGMs substantially reduces gambling harm.
Electrophysiological Comparison of Cumulative Area and Non-symbolic Number Judgments
Authors: Bonny Justin W , Lourenco Stella F.
Published: April 2023

Despite the importance of representing different magnitudes (i.e., number and cumulative area) for action planning and formal mathematics, there is much debate about the nature of these representations, particularly the extent to which magnitudes interact in the mind and brain. Early interaction views suggest that there are shared perceptual processes that form overlapping magnitude representations. However, late interaction views hold that representations of different magnitudes remain distinct, interacting only when preparing a motor response. The present study sheds light on this debate by examining the temporal onset of ratio and congruity effects as participants made ordinal judgments about number and cumulative area. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded to identify whether the onset of such effects aligned with early versus late views. Ratio effects for both magnitudes were observed starting in the P100. Moreover, a congruity effect emerged within the P100. That interactions were observed early in processing, at the same time that initial ratio effects occurred, suggests that number and cumulative area processes interacted when magnitude representations were being formed, prior to preparing a decision response. Our findings are consistent with an early interaction view of magnitude processing, in which number and cumulative area may rely on shared perceptual mechanisms.
Friendship and self-harm: A retrospective qualitative study of young adults’ experiences of supporting a friend who self-harmed during adolescence
Authors: Bilello Delfina , Townsend Ellen , Broome Matthew R , Burnett Heyes Stephanie
Published: April 2023

Rationale: Self-harm among young people is becoming increasingly prevalent. Understanding, responding and supporting young people who self-harm is vital. Friends are typically the first and sometimes only source of support sought by adolescents who self-harm. Despite their important role as confidants, friends’ perspectives and experiences remain poorly understood. Objective: To explore the role and experiences of young people who supported a friend who self-harmed during adolescence. Method: We conducted retrospective qualitative semi-structured interviews, prompted by an adapted version of the Card-Sort Task for Self-Harm (CaTS-FF), about the experiences of nine female young adults (18-20 years old) who supported a friend who self-harmed during adolescence. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Four themes were developed: 1) “I did not realise my friend was on the road to self-harm”: Friends’ reactions to self-harm; 2) “That’s what friends do”: The role of friends; 3) “Obviously, I was fine”: The impact of supporting a friend who self-harms; and 4) “They were quite formative years”: Reflecting on growth through the experience. Conclusions: The present findings highlight the complex experiences of young people supporting a friend who self-harms. Despite being willing to take on the role of a supporter, participants experienced a range of difficult emotions and consequences. The temporal transition running through the four themes reflects the evolving nature of participants’ attitudes, knowledge and friendships. Overall, results highlight the unmet needs of adolescents supporting young people who self-harm, as well as identifying potential pathways to ‘support the supporters’ towards resilience.
Strange Bedfellows: The Alliance Theory of Political Belief Systems
Authors: Pinsof David , Sears David O. , Haselton Martie G.
Published: April 2023

What explains the contents of political belief systems? A widespread view is that they derive from abstract values, like equality, tolerance, and authority. Here, we challenge this view, arguing instead that belief systems derive from political alliance structures that vary across nations and time periods. When partisans mobilize support for their political allies, they generate patchwork narratives that appeal to ad-hoc, and often incompatible, moral principles. In the first part of the paper, we explain how people choose their allies, and how they support their allies using propagandistic tactics. In the second part, we show how these choices and tactics give rise to political alliance structures, with their strange bedfellows, and the idiosyncratic contents of belief systems. If Alliance Theory is correct, then we need a radically different approach to political psychology—one in which belief systems arise not from deep-seated moral values, but from ever-shifting alliances and rivalries.
The Representation of Third-Party Helping Interactions in Infancy
Authors: Schlingloff Laura , Tatone Denis , Csibra Gergely
Published: April 2023

Despite the numerous findings on the sophisticated inferences that human infants draw from observed third-party helping interactions, currently there is no theoretical account of how they come to understand such events in the first place. After reviewing the available evidence in infants, we describe an account of how human adults understand helping actions. According to this mature concept, helping is a second-order goal-directed action aiming to increase the utility of another agent (the helpee) via reducing the cost, or increasing the reward, of the helpee’s own goal-directed action. We then identify the cognitive prerequisites for conceiving helping this way and ask whether these are available to infants in the interpretation of helping interactions. In contrast to the mature concept, we offer two simpler alternatives that may underlie the early understanding of helping actions: (i) helping as enabling, which requires second-order goal attribution but no utility calculus, and (ii) helping as joint action, which requires efficiency (i.e., utility) evaluation without demanding second-order goal attribution. We evaluate the evidence supporting these accounts, derive unique predictions from them, and describe what developmental pathway towards the mature concept they envisage. We conclude the article by outlining further open questions that the developmental literature on the interpretation of helping interactions has not yet addressed.
Praxis und Potenziale von Friedensbildung in der Schule – das Beispiel der Servicestelle Friedensbildung in Baden-Württemberg
Authors: Hagen Julia
Published: April 2023

Friedensbildung hat zum Ziel, Einstellungen, Wertvorstellungen sowie Verhaltens- und Lebensweisen im Sinne einer Kultur des Friedens zu fördern. Die Servicestelle Friedensbildung in Baden-Württemberg ist zentrale Beratungs-, Informations- und Kontaktstelle für alle Schulen des Landes sowie staatlichen, halb- und nichtstaatlichen Akteur/-innen im Bereich der Friedensbildung. Sie hat den Auftrag, Friedensbildung an den Schulen des Landes zu stärken. Mit Beginn des Angriffskrieges Russlands gegen die Ukraine wurden in der nationalen wie internationalen Politik zahlreiche Errungenschaften der internationalen Friedensordnung infrage gestellt und von vielen Menschen eine Rückkehr zum Primat von Verteidigung gefordert. Gerade in Zeiten von Krieg unterstützt Friedensbildung darin, größere Zusammenhänge internationaler Politik zu betrachten, Ursachen und Folgen von bewaffneten Konflikten besser zu verstehen, ein breites Spektrum an Instrumenten zur Konfliktbearbeitung zu kennen, deren Nutzung in der Politik zu identifizieren und Hoffnung finden zu können, an einer besseren Zukunft mitzuwirken.
Chancen und Grenzen der politischen Bildung zur Förderung des Friedens in Kolumbien
Authors: Peters Stefan
Published: April 2023

Kolumbien steht aktuell an einer entscheidenden Wegmarke mit Möglichkeiten zur Vertiefung des Friedensprozesses im von Gewalt zerrütteten Land. Die aktuelle Regierung des Landes spricht dabei der Bildung eine zentrale Rolle für die Friedenskonsolidierung zu. Der Artikel argumentiert, dass dies einen gesellschaftlichen Mindestkonsens über die Ziele, Methoden und Inhalte der politischen Bildung erfordert. Er diskutiert hierfür die Möglichkeiten und Grenzen der Übertragbarkeit von Konzepten der politischen Bildung und insbesondere des Beutelsbacher Konsens und stellt dabei drei strukturelle Herausforderungen heraus: 1) die große Diversität der Bevölkerung, 2) die extremen sozialen Ungleichheiten und 3) die fortwährende Gewalt.
Sosialisasi Peningkatan Kemampuan Manajemen Keuangan Unit Kegiatan Mahasiswa UIN KH Abdurrahman Wahid Pekalongan
Authors: Fidia Nur , Alvianita Dian , Sa’adah Naelu
Published: April 2023

Manajemen merupakan proses pemanfaatan sejumlah sumber daya organisasi untuk mencapai tujuan tertentu melalui proses perencanaan, pengorganisasian, pengarahan, dan pengendalian. Manajemen keuangan organisasi berarti kegiatan perencanaan, pengelolaan, penyimpanan, serta pengendalian dana dan asset yang dimiliki oleh suatu organisasi. Unit Kegiatan Mahasiswa sendiri merupakan wadah yang menjadi tempat berhimpunnya mahasiswa dengan kesamaan minat, hobi, kegiatan, dan kreativitas. Sebagian pengurus organisasi masih sangat asing dengan yang namanya manajemen keuangan, akibatnya banyak maslah terkait keuangan yang timbul dikemudian hari. Pengelolaan dalam suatu organisasi harus direncanakan secara matang dan pengetahuan mengenai keuangan manajemen saat ini sangat diperlukan terutama bagi mahasiswa milenial. Tujuan dari dilaksanakan pengabdian ini adalah dengan untuk meningkatkan pengetahuan manajemen keuangan dalam suatu organisasi. Dengan cara memberikan pelatihan tentang penyusunan laporan keuangan dalam organisasi, dan memberikan edukasi kepada para pengurus UKM mengenai pentingnya manajemen keuangan dalam berjalannya suatu organisasi. Berdasarkan hasil pelaksanaan pengabdian yang sudah dilakukan tentang peningkatan pengetahuan â€œManajemen Keuanganâ€ bagi mahasiswa UKM UIN KH. Abdurrahman Wahid bisa disimpulkan bahwa sebagian mahasiswa sudah memahami mengenai manajemen keuangan. Mereka mengatakan bahwa manajemen keuangan merupakan ilmu yang harus dimiliki untuk bekal kita dimasa depan.
Information and Communication Technology Learning Assistance Training with the Drill method
Authors: Edy  , Renaldi Dram , Subhana Muhammad
Published: April 2023

Indonesia adalah negara yang cukup baik memperhatikan sistem pendidikan. Di dalam Undang – Undang Nomor 20 Tahun 2003, tertuang tentang sistem Pendidikan Nasional yang menjelaskan bahwa pendidikan adalah tempat atau wadah untuk mengembangkan seluruh potensi diri pada manusia. Juga telah terbukti atas kebijakan pemerintah tentang sistem pendidikan jarak jauh secara dalam jaringan selama pandemi Covid 19 yang sedang berlangsung. Keadaan tersebut mendesak masyarakat Indonesia harus menjadi “melek” akan teknologi infomasi dan komunikasi (TIK). Dan tak dipungkiri TIK berkembang pesat selama pandemi. Oleh sebab itu, siswa – siswa di sekolah pun harus diberikan materi pembelajaran TIK yang lebih efektif, agar perkembangan pengetahuan TIK tersebut dapat dengan mudah diserap. Salah satu metode pembelajaran yang efektif agar siswa – siswa tersebut dapat memahami materi dengan baik adalah metode Drill. Metode tersebut adalah salah satu model pembelajaran pada kegiatan Latihan yang dilakukan berulang – ulang secara terus menerus. Melalui latihan yang diulang suatu keterampilan dapat dikuasai setahap demi setahap hingga keterampilan dapat dikuasai secara menyeluruh.
Penyuluhan Pengelolaan Investasi bagi Pelajar (Anak Asuh Mudita Love Children)
Authors: Novianti Rini , Angraeni Tri , Hanitha Vivin , Dama Yanti Lia
Published: April 2023

Pada tahun 2045, Indonesia akan mendapatkan bonus demografi yaitu jumlah penduduk Indonesia 70%-nya dalam usia produktif (5-64 tahun), sedangkan sisanya 30% merupakan penduduk yang tidak produktif (usia dibawah 14 tahun dan diatas 65 tahun) pada periode tahun 2020-2045. Jika bonus demografi ini tidak dimanfaatkan dengan baik akan membawa dampak buruk terutama masalah sosial seperti kemiskinan, kesehatan yang rendah, pengangguran, dan tingkat kriminalitas yang tinggi. Penyelengaraan penyuluhan pengelolaan keuangan dan investasi bagi pelajar dilaksanakan pada tanggal 20 September 2022 dan 27 November 2022 pukul 12.00 – 13.30 WIB. Metode sosialisasi digunakan yaitu ceramah dan diskusi terkait materi yang diberikan. Seluruh alat dan perlengkapan dipersiapkan dan mendapat dukungan dana dari Fakultas Bisnis. Pembahasan materi tanggal 20 September 2022 adalah materi tentang Cara Bijak Mengelola Keuangan. Kegiatan Pengabdian kepada Masyarat ini dilaksanakan dengan Mitra Mudita Love Children yang merupakan divisi yang bernaung dibawah Yayasan Mudita Center yang bergerak dalam bidang Pendidikan. Saat ini MLC menaungi 9 orang siswa asuh yang terdiri dari siswa SD, SMP & SMK.
PELATIHAN SOFT SKILL KEWIRAUSAHAAN PADA PUJA BHAKTI REMAJA CETIYA VIJJA GANA DI KOTA TANGERANG
Authors: Hartayo Shandi , Ginny Puti Lenggo , Farunik Canggih Gumanky , Silaswara Diana , Alexander  , Priyowidodo Agustinus , Trinurfa Yuliadi Erizka , Puspa Rini Yanti
Published: April 2023

Tujuan dari kegiatan PKM (Pengembangan Kreativitas Mahasiswa) ini adalah untuk memberikan bekal kepada pemuda Cettiya Vijja Gana untuk memiliki pengetahuan pendidikan non formal di bidang kewirausahaan. Kegiatan PKM ini terselenggara atas kerjasama Fakultas Buddhi Dharma dengan Yayasan Vijja Gana Adhikara yang diselenggarakan di Cettiya Vijja Gana, Kotabumi, Kabupaten Tangerang. Kegiatan berlangsung selama tiga bulan. Pelatihan dilakukan dalam bentuk pemaparan materi, diskusi, tanya jawab, dan pendampingan bagi peserta pelatihan. Materi yang disampaikan oleh pembicara sesuai dengan kebutuhan remaja Cettiya Vijja Gana. Target luaran dari kegiatan PKM ini adalah peningkatan softskill tentang kewirausahaan bagi pemuda Cettiya Vijja Gana.
Chemical and Instrumental Analysis of Limestone and Red Clay from Makwanpur District for Cement Production
Authors: Dubey Rupesh Kumar , Bhatta Bishan Datta
Published: April 2023

Limestone and red clay are widely used in construction as primary raw materials since they are readily available and economically viable. The present work has been carried out primarily to explore the fresh reserves of acceptable raw materials in the Makawanpur district for producing cement. Four limestone and four red clay samples were collected from different locations in the Makwanpur district. The samples were analyzed using chemical (titrimetric and gravimetric) and instrumental (wave dispersive X-ray fluoroscopy, WDXRF) methods. Chemical, as well as instrumental methods, were utilized not only to authenticate the results but also to evaluate the merits of these methods. Loss on ignition (LOI), determined gravimetrically, ranged from 41.98 to 39.03% for limestone samples and from 9.24 to 7.82% for red clay samples.Chemical analysis of limestone samples revealed the presence of 40.72 to 48.53% CaO, 0.97 to 1.96% Fe2O3, 1.83 to 3.64% Al2O3 and 5.69 to 12.84% SiO2. Chemical analysis of red clay revealed the presence of 2.26 to 3.27% CaO, 9.54 to 14.20% Fe2O3, 12.90 to 19.68% Al2O3 and 46.70 to 61.50% SiO2. The WDXRF analysis of limestone revealed the presence of 39.37 to 50.46% CaO, 0.8 to 2.29% Fe2O3, 1.34 to 3.01% Al2O3 and 4.75 to 17.03% SiO2. The WDXRF analysis of red clay revealed the presence of 1.98 to 3.59% CaO, 9.89 to 13.96% Fe2O3, 12.45 to 19.82% Al2O3 and 47.62 to 60.94% SiO2.
The analyzed compositions were found to lie within the range allowed by the Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology (NBSM) for the manufacture of high-quality cement. The results from the chemical methods were found to be in good agreement with the results from the instrumental method. This research is expected to contribute to the cement industry not only by providing insight into raw material compatibility but also by evaluating the merits of these methods.
Cytotoxicity of Compounds Isolated from Usnea aciculifera
Authors: Shyaula Sajan L , Shah Teresa , Rathnayaka Rajitha Kalum , Samarakoon Sameera R , Manandhar Erendra , Yue Jian Min , Manandhar Mangala Devi
Published: April 2023

Atranorin 1, Usnic acid 2, and D-Arabinitol 3 were isolated from Usnea aciculifera by extensive column chromatography. The structures were elucidated based on the comprehensive spectral analysis including FT IR, GC MS, ESI MS, 13C NMR, and 1H NMR. The compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxic activity against LN-229 glioblastoma cancer cell line by performing Sulforhodamine B assay (SRB). Usnic acid 2 showed strong cytotoxic activity against LN-229 glioblastoma cancer cell with an IC50 value of 3.09 μg/mL.
Study of Phytochemical Constituent and Biological Activities of Methanolic Extract of Rhizomes of Neopicrorhiza scrophulariiflora and Roots of Rheum australe collected from the Alpine Region of Nepal
Authors: Kumai Ganesh Prasad , Baskota Manish , Aryal Pramod , Subba Bimala
Published: April 2023

Rhizomes of Neopicrorhiza scrophularii flora and roots of Rheum australe were collected from the alpine regions of the Jumla district of Nepal. The phytochemical analysis of the methanolic extract of these plants revealed the presence of polyphenols, flavonoids, quinones, saponins, and tannins. The total phenolic and flavonoid content in the extracts of N. scrophulariiflora were estimated to be 141.27±1.414 mg GAE/gm and 43.48±5.476 QE/gm respectively and that in the extracts of R. austral were estimated to be 101.54±4.061 mg GAE/gm and 24.97±2.857 mg QE/gm respectively. A brine shrimp lethality test was performed with the extracts of N. scrophulariiflora and R. austral against brine shrimp nauplii and results revealed high toxicity of the extracts towards nauplii with LC50 values 173.78μg/mL and 257.03μg/mL respectively. N. scrophulariiflora showed the strongest DPPH radical scavenging activity with IC50 value of 57.49 μg/mL in comparison to R. austral whose IC50 was determined to be 68.91μg/mL, ascorbic acid taken as standard with IC50 value 49.05μg/ml. In α-amylase inhibition assay, N. scrophulariiflora extract exhibited strong activity with IC50 value 140.67μg/mL while that of R. austral extract showed mild activity with IC50 value 192.88μg/mL. All the biological studies revealed that N. scrophulariiflora extract is more active than that R. austral extract. Column chromatography of the extract of N. scrophulariiflora was performed and 50 % methanolic fraction was further subjected to FTIR and GC-MS analysis. The GC-MS analysis showed various compounds and among them, 13 major compounds were identified.
Impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) on Rural Marketing & Development with Reference to selected Villages in India
Authors: Nath Saumyabrata , Chaudhary Manisha , Safi Bahrullah , Biswas Rita , Sangeetha R
Published: April 2023

Information is power and power is information. Without information there can be no growth. Now information is penetrating into rural India as well, because without its presence there, we cannot think about development of the entire country. India is in the midst of a knowledge revolution, complemented by the opening up of entirely new-vistas in information and communication technology. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has emerged as an effective facilitator in the development of any society and is a prime driving force in the growth of rural economies. The Rural Market of India is showing an impressive growth largely due to changing lifestyle patterns, better communication network and rapidly changing demand structure of consumers of rural area. With the changing patterns of Rural Market, the role of ICT has increased from providing only the Networks to set-up the basis of updated technological programs in the rural area. It is widely believed that Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) are effective tools in the development of rural India. Rural people are less knowledgeable rather than their city counterparts. Thus, technological advancement is necessary for every nook and corner of India.
Green Knowledge Management as a Predictor of Green Innovation in Cement Industries: the role of Green Innovation Culture
Authors: Bhattarai Supuspa
Published: April 2023

The purpose of this research paper is to reveal the relationships among green knowledge management, green innovation, and green innovation culture. These relationships were assessed using correlation analysis and hays process macro. Data were gathered from full-time cement factory employees having designations officers and above (N: 260) in the Lumbini Dhakdhai industry corridor region of Nepal. The results indicate that green knowledge management has a positive effect on green innovation and green innovation culture. Accordingly, green knowledge management is an important determinant of green innovation and green innovation culture. In addition, green innovation culture acted as a complementary partial mediator of the effects of green knowledge management on green innovation. Specifically, green knowledge management predicted green innovation, which in turn predicted green innovation culture. Finally, considering that causal studies on green knowledge management, green innovation and green innovation culture in the cement industry are limited, this study may contribute to understanding how green knowledge management affects green innovation in the cement industry.
Impact of Liquidity Management on Profitability of Joint Venture Commercial Banks in Nepal
Authors: Shrestha Binaya , Chaurasiya Sneha
Published: April 2023

This study investigates the Impact of Liquidity Management and Profitability of Joint Venture Commercial Banks in Nepal. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, regression analysis, and t-test. The data used to analyze five (5) samples size, out of 27 which has found to be covering period 2012-2021 of joint venture commercial Banks in Nepal. The Liquidity management represents the variables of the Credit Deposit Ratio (CDR), Capital adequacy ratio (CAR), Current Reserve ratio (CRR), Total deposit to total ratio (TDTAR), Total loan to total assets ratio (TLTAR) and the profitability including Return on Assets (ROA). The findings of the study have a R square value of 0.615 meaning that 61.5% of the variation in the dependent variable is explained by the independent variables while 38.5% is explained by other variables outside the model and also showed that there is a strong positive correlation between the dependent variable and the set of independent variables. The result showed that there is significant impact of TLTAR on ROA and there is insignificant impact of CDR, CAR, CRR and TDTAR on ROA of joint venture commercial banks in Nepal.
Factors Affecting the Performance of the Mutual Fund in Nepal
Authors: Thapa Gharti Netra Bahadur , Lamsal Rajendra
Published: April 2023

This study examines macro and micro factors affecting Nepalese mutual fund results. This study used panel data from March 2016 to November 2022 to determine the success factors of Nepal's 16 mutual funds.

Nepalese mutual funds' irregular performance is due to national economic conditions and individual fund peculiarities. This research analyzes the influence of economic events and fund attributes on the performance of Nepalese mutual funds by using risk-adjusted returns proposed by William Sharpe (1994). This research evaluated how macroeconomic and fund-factor changes affected Nepal's mutual funds.

The results show a positive relationship between fund age, assets turnover ratio, fund size, and exchange rate. Liquidity is a non-factor in mutual fund performance, but growth in gross domestic product, inflation, interest rates, and the money supply (M2) all harm fund return. Managers of mutual funds are encouraged to follow the recommendations made in this study to keep their portfolios as diversified as possible.
Farmers' perception and awareness towards agriculture insurance as a tool of risk management in Kaski and Chitwan Districts of Nepal
Authors: Ghimire Rabindra , Chapagain Ram Krishna , Jagari Dhana Bahadur , Shahi Lalit Bahadur
Published: April 2023

This study aims to assess farmers' awareness and perception towards agriculture risk management and insurance in Nepal's Kaski and Chitwan districts. Despite agriculture being the primary occupation for more than 60% of the population, the contribution of agriculture to GDP remains at 23%. Agriculture insurance is a new concept in Nepal, and the growth of the insurance market has been unimpressive over the past twelve years. The study's sample consists of existing agriculture insurance policyholders who have received or are in the process of receiving claims. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire from 200 respondents in Bharatpur and 200 respondents in Pokhara Metropolitan city, with a five-point Likert scale measuring awareness and perception. Results suggest that farmers are generally aware of the risks associated with agriculture and perceive insurance to be a useful scheme. Trust between farmers and insurance companies is deemed essential for insurance to succeed. Economic and claims-related factors were found to be more influential than family size and education, while the sex and age of respondents were insignificant. The study implies that while insured and claim-recipient farmers have a fair awareness of agriculture insurance, they lack traditional risk management techniques
The Need of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for Capital Market Investors of Northern India – An Empirical Analysis
Authors: Sukla Shivam , Babu Deepak , Shukla Sudhir Kumar , Prasad Dinesh
Published: April 2023

The sudden and rapid growth of Indian capital markets has not only attracted global attention but has also propelled Indian people to invest in the markets, but there is a sizeable portion of such investors who have not actually been supposedly rational at making investment decisions and have ended up committing behavioural blunders with their capital market investment decisions which are giving them mental trauma and sleepless nights.

This study is the first of its kind on a global level where a total of 168 randomly selected capital market investors were asked to fill up a survey questionnaire aimed at testing the presence of five most prominent cognitive disorders (anxiety, panic attack, addiction, anger and eating disorder) among the capital market investors of India and the extent to which these disorders impact the stock investment decisions of Indian investors.

The results of the study show that cognitive disorders are not only closely associated with the investment decisions of Indian investors but also carry a significant impact on their market investment decisions. Moreover, there are considerable differences in opinions of investors across their socio-demography at 95% significance level (p<0.05) which gives a clear indication that Indian investors do need cognitive behavioural therapy to become more refined and sagacious at making capital market investments.

CBT has proven to be very helpful in treating a variety of mental illnesses in the past. Therefore, owing to the presence of cognitive disordersamongcapital market investors of India CBT can be of great help in developing an understanding of capital markets among investors by making them mindful of the unfavorable and frequently unreasonable considerations which adversely affect their sentiments, temperaments and subsequent market earnings.
Effect of working capital management and credit management policy on financial performance of commercial bank in Nepal
Authors: Maharjan Sweta
Published: April 2023

This study analyzes the impact of working capital management and credit management policy on the financial performance of Nepalese commercial banks. The study uses data from 16 commercial banks, collected from their annual reports, over the period from 2014/15 to 2021/22. The dependent variables considered are return on asset and return on equity, while the independent variables are working capital, loan to deposit ratio, capital adequacy ratio, non-performing loan, cash asset ratio, operating cash flow to total asset, and rate of bank’s ability to return deposits. The study finds that working capital, cash asset ratio, operating cash flow to total assets, and rate of bank’s ability to return deposits have a positive impact on bank return on assets and return on equity. On the other hand, loan to deposit ratio, capital adequacy ratio, and non-performing loan have a negative impact on both return on assets and return on equity. The study provides insights for the management of commercial banks to enhance their financial performance.
Banking Depth and Economic Growth of South Asian Countries
Authors: Malla Kajal
Published: April 2023

This study aims to find the effect of banking depth on economic growth of South Asian countries. For analysis, different models are selected based on different tests (BP tests, Hausman tests) rather depending solely on the possible theoretical explanations. Six SAARC countries are selected for the study with data ranging from 1983-2020. The findings conclude negative and positive significant effect of credit flow to private sector and broad money respectively. Overall, banking depth has significant effect on GDP of SAARC nations. Meanwhile, gross domestic savings have significant positive contribution to GDP growth, whereas; inflation and gross capital formation negatively and positively insignificantly impact the economic growth respectively. These insignificances show the weakness of the economy in utilizing the credit and capital in the productive sectors of the economy. It further adds empirical evidence to existing finance-growth nexus in SAARC nations.
Diffusing capacity of gills of a hill-stream fish Glyptothorax telchitta (Hamilton-Buchnan) in relation to body weight
Authors: Subba Bharat Raj , Ghosh Tapan Kumar , Roy Prabhat Kumar
Published: April 2023

The diffusing capacity of the gills of Glyptothorax telchitta was determined in relation to body weight by calculating harmonic mean  of the thickness of water blood diffusion barrier from different regions of the secondary lamellae. The harmonic mean  was 1.7202 μm, whereas the arithmetic mean was found to be 2.607 μm, which was more than the harmonic mean. The thickness of the water blood pathway varied from 0.77 to 7.70 μm. The diffusing capacity Dt (ml O2 min-1 mmHg-1) has been found to increase with increasing body weight by a power of 0.7008. As the slope of the diffusing capacity is less than 1.0, the weight specific diffusing capacity Dt1 (ml O2 min-1 mmHg-1 Kg-1) decreases with increasing body weight by a power of -0.2996.
Effects of the 5E Learning Model on Physics Students’ Academic Achievements
Authors: Dahal Bishnu Kumar
Published: April 2023

This study aims to determine the effects of the 5E learning cycle model at the bachelor level physics students’ academic achievement. Null hypotheses were examined to accomplish this study. The population included all students studying science education at the bachelor’s level on Tribhuvan University’s constitutional campuses. The sample of the study consisted of sixty (60) physics students from two constitutional education campuses in Kathmandu and Bhaktapur districts, who were in their second year of bachelor’s degree. A quasi-experimental research method was adopted for this investigation. There were 30 students in each of the control and experimental groups. The instrument was validated by university professors and lecturers, and the Kuder Richardson -21 formula was used to determine the reliability coefficient which was found to be 0.78. The experimental and control groups were taught for fifteen hours on the topic “Electrostatic Force, Field, and Potential” using a learning cycle model and conventional teaching methods. The results of this investigation demonstrated that students taught using the learning cycle model were shown to be more successful learners in physics than those taught using the conventional teaching technique.
Including Children with Visual Impairment in General Class: Teacher’s Lived Experience
Authors: Baraily Khagendra
Published: April 2023

This study aimed to explore the perception of general teacher with the major challenges while teaching students with visual impairment in general class. The qualitative research design with hermeneutics phenomenology was employed in the study. It also delineates how general teacher of integrated school use potential resource to assimilate children with visual impairment in mainstream setting. Four teachers from two integrated schools located in Kathmandu valley having different disciplines were purposively selected. The profound interview had been conducted in face to face situation through open ended questions in their existing position. The interview responses were transcribed as verbatim and triangulated among participants. The data were analyzed by using narrative analysis and thematic technique to develop theme under the insight of literature review. From the teacher’s narratives, unusual behavior, problem of intention, uncertainty of job placement and unwillingness of reading were deduced as major challenges to include children with visual impairment in general class. The essence of study contributes to over[1]view the challenges and adopts appropriate strategies to create inclusive environment in regular classroom. This also energize teacher to professional development from the lens of diversity management approach. The essence of study can contribute to set up inclusive atmosphere in regular class room and to energize professional development from the lens of inclusive approach.
‘काम्यो लुग्लुग त्यो’ कविताको सङ्कथन विश्लेषण
Authors: न्यौपाने भागीरथा
Published: April 2023

पाठको अध्ययन गर्ने भाषाविज्ञानको एउटा महŒवपूर्ण अङ्गका रूपमा सङ्कथन विश्लेषणलाई लिइन्छ । यस लेखमा सङ्कथन विश्लेषण गर्नका निम्ति भीमनिधि तिवारीको ‘काम्यो लुग्लुग त्यो’ शीर्षकको कविता छनोट गरिएको छ । सङ्कथन विश्लेषण गर्ने उद्देश्यले कविताबाट शब्दगत, वाक्यगत तथा श्लोकगत तथ्यलाई आधार बनाई असम्भावनात्मक नमुना छनोट पद्धतिअनुसार तथ्य सङ्कलन गरिएको छ । सङ्कथनमा प्रयुक्त संसक्ति विश्लेषण र सन्दर्भपरक विश्लेषण गर्न गुणात्मक पद्धतिको प्रयोग गरिएको छ । माघ महिनाको चिसो मौसममा गरिब वर्गको प्रतिनिधि पात्रले भोगेका दुःख, दर्दहरूलाई मार्मिक तथा कारुणिक ढङ्गले यस फुटकर रचनामा प्रस्तुत गरिएको छ । सङ्कथनको विषयवस्तुका रूपमा नेपाली समाजको सामाजिक स्तरमा प्रत्यक्ष देखिने यथार्थ घटना आएको छ । यस कवितामा उठान गरिएको विषयवस्तु करिब छ दशकपछि व्यवस्थाको परिवर्तनअनुसार जनताको अवस्थामा परिवर्तन नआएको वर्तमानपरिप्रेक्षमा पनि उत्तिकै सान्दर्भिक छ । यस कविताले आजको मानिसले निर्दयीपन त्यागेर आपसी सहयोगमा जुट्न सक्नुपर्छ भन्ने सन्देश दिनुका साथै कवितामार्पmत सर्जकले सामाजिक परिवेशको बेमेलको स्थितिलाई प्रस्तुत गरी अप्रत्यक्ष रूपमा परिवर्तन तथा समानताको अपेक्षा र आह्वान पनि गरेका छन् । यो लेख सामान्यतया सन्दर्भ विश्लेषण र कविताको विश्लेषणसँग सम्बन्धित अनुसन्धानकर्ता, शिक्षक र विद्यार्थी आदिलाई सहयोगी सामग्री बन्न सक्छ भन्ने अपेक्षा गरिएको छ ।