bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Costume, performance, and society: Engaging in a dialogue
Authors: Petranović Martina
Published: September 2022

Bearing in mind the potential of costume to construct and actively create meanings and to initiate, shape, and define a performance, the paper examines the nature and role of performance costume in projects and performances of several important Croatian artists who are either costume designers or performance artists or both, such as Vlasta Delimar, Ivana Popović, Ksenija Kordić, Tajči Čekada, and Ivana Bakal, and whose work significantly modified the notion and status of costume and costume design(er) in Croatian performing arts at the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st centuries. Furthermore, it focuses on the strategies of costume design(er) in articulating the relationship between costume, performance, and society with special emphasis on the position of costume design(er) and costume based performance towards producing, interpreting or performing various individual and collective identities, body, ecology, social activism, and the artist's social status.
Fashioning the individual and society in William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Macbeth and its film costume and fashion representations
Authors: Žarić Stefan
Published: September 2022

The proposed paper concerns with fashion and clothing as visual and semiotic signifiers of both the individual and society in William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Macbeth and its representations in other media: film (costume design) and haute couture (fashion design). As such, the language of fashion and the vestimentary frame of Shakespeare's tragedy are used as tools for visual and semiotic reading of sociocultural anxieties between the individual and the society as expressed through art. Given rich symbolic and metaphoric value of the language of fashion in Macbeth through which Shakespeare conceptualises his characters and their relationships with the societal framework they inhabit, the paper will thus demonstrate how such a relationship can be conveyed through film costume and fashion design. Analysed representations will consider costume design by Jacqueline Durran for Justin Kurzel's film Macbeth (2015) and fashion design by Alexander McQueen and his collection The Widows of Culloden (2006). In such analysis, fashion is, as fashion theorist Elizabeth Wilson defines it, seen as a cultural metaphor for the body and the material with which we write or draw a representation of the body into our cultural context.
Music content from the Internet: Educational aspects in the context of leisure
Authors: Ljujić Bojan , Leković Biljana
Published: September 2022

The subject of this paper is to consider the use of music content from the Internet in the context of free time and its functionalisation in education. The paper will deal with the theoretical problematisation of this topic from an interdisciplinary point of view, uniting andragogico-musicological competencies. In that sense, we will try to further elaborate and supplement the existing theoretical and empirical research, the results of which confirm that education appears as a factor in the use of free time, with concrete examples, that is, case studies (including specific media phenomena - for example, music video or computer games, applications, blogs, and others; but also various music practices that are realised via the Internet - creating, performing music or volunteering, and others.). The authors start from the following theoretical platforms which will be the basis for examining the characteristics and functions of music content from the Internet in the context of free time: first there will be examined special characteristics of free time - difficulty of recognising it, its multiple character, hierarchical organisation and mutual diversity; then the basic functions of free time will be looked at (leisure, entertainment and personal development), as well as educational intensities, spheres and specific content of leisure; in the end, music content from the Internet will be established within the theory of "serious leisure".
Connections between the European Pillar of Social rights and the Hungarian labour law, with special regard to Directive (EU) 2019/1152
Authors: Zaccaria Márton
Published: September 2022

The present paper examines two important and up-to-date topics in labour law. First, the analysis focuses on the general aspects and the significance of the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR), which is the most recent legal source - except for a couple of directives and regulations based on the EPSR itself - in the social policy of the European Union. It contains several fundamental labour and social rights and one of its main aims is to promote and to strengthen these rights and values throughout the Members States. At the same time, the EPSR is already having an impact on national labour and social law systems in the EU because of some new pieces of labour law-focused legislation. One of these new laws is the Directive (EU) 2019/1152 of the European Parliament and of the Council (20 June 2019) on transparent and predictable working conditions in the European Union that contains very important new norms regarding both the possible broad concept of the "employment relationship" and the workers' fundamental rights. Second, the paper focuses on some relevant questions of the Hungarian labour law as a case study, analysing the possible - and already visible - impact of the EPSR and the aforementioned new directive. The paper tries to answer some questions based on the paper's hypotheses centered on the possible change in the Hungarian regulation and legal interpretation taking into account the EPSR and the already cited directive. The analysis is based on the relevant regulations and laws, and the outcomes of the research focus both on some general remarks regarding the EPSR and the Directive (EU) 2019/1152 joint with the conclusions that can be drawn paying attention specifically to the Hungarian labour law system with special attention to the workers' fundamental rights.
Potential reform of Serbian network of bilateral investment treaties: An opportunity for a new beginning
Authors: Đundić Petar
Published: September 2022

In past several years many states have started a reform of their bilateral investment treaties (BITs). The idea behind this effort is to terminate altogether or to replace the existing BITs, often perceived as unbalanced instruments, focused solely on the protection of investors and containing broad and open language, with new treaties. Serbia is, at the moment, not engaged in such process. The paper offers an overview of the BITs currently in force in Serbia. It also discusses different options for inevitable reform of Serbian BITs, bearing in mind legal, economic and political implications of three alternatives: denunciation (unilateral termination) of the existing BITs, termination by consent and their replacement with new treaties.
Foreign travel writers on Serbian codifications
Authors: Drakić Gordana , Stanković Uroš
Published: September 2022

The article sheds light on the data on Serbian codes of law revealed by the travelers who visited the Principality of Serbia. The travel writers provide the information on the earliest attempts to codify law in Serbia and the contents of latterly enacted codes. The authors shall present the accounts of the travel writers and give the answer to what extent they correspond to the truth.
Spatial limitation of jurisdiction in administrative proceedings
Authors: Lončar Zoran
Published: September 2022

The competence of administrative bodies is an important precondition for the lawful conducting of administrative proceedings. About this kind of competence must be taken care ex officio during the entire procedure, and violations of rules on competence represents a significant violation of the rules in administrative procedure. Among the numerous novelties introduced in the administrative procedure by the Law on General Administrative Procedure from 2016 there are certain changes in rules on determining the competence of the body conducting the administrative procedure. The new rules on the competence of bodies in administrative procedure, and especially on the spatial limitation of competence, cannot be assessed as a significant improvement of the legal regime of administrative procedure, given that some of them represent a significant limiting factor for effective and economical management of administrative procedures. The future legislative revision of the administrative procedure should therefore be used to regulate, above all, issues of legal aid between administrative bodies, as well as administrative bodies and courts, and in particular the rules on spatial limitation of jurisdiction, which would enable the administrative body to, in case of urgency, take official action on territory of another body, with the duty to inform the authority in charged with territory where the action was taken. Careful and fundamental amendments to the legal provisions on the competence of administrative bodies would provide the necessary legal preconditions for efficient and economical conducting of administrative proceedings, and the rights and legal interests of the parties, as well as their legal security, would no longer be denied.
General theoretical settings on the principle of immediacy in criminal proceedings
Authors: Brkić Snežana
Published: September 2022

The paper presents some general theoretical settings about the principle of immediacy in criminal proceedings. It should serve as a theoretical platform for developing further research in this area. The author gives a definition of the principle of immediacy and sees his place in the classification of procedural principles, linking it to the judicial function. The principle of immediacy is one of the implicit procedural principles, which also have international legal roots in Art. 6 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and fundamental freedoms. The paper emphasizes and analyzes the following important features of the principle of immediacy: instrumentality, complexity, relativity (susceptibility to gradation) and connection with other procedural principles.
Experimental design for measuring the voltage and current waveforms of appliance usage in the NIST Net-Zero Energy Residential Test Facility
Authors: Omar Farhad
Published: September 2022

Buildings as a set of electric loads and sources can play an essential role in managing the stability of the power system in a smart grid. Traditionally, buildings assumed a passive rule in the day-to-day operation of the electric grid. Utilities controlled the supply of energy to match the demand of buildings. However, the power distribution grid dynamics are rapidly changing due to an increase in the integration of renewable energy, electric vehicles, and non-linear loads. This technical note only describes the experimental set up for measuring the voltage and current waveform data resulting from the operation of a two-stage air-source heat pump, a clothes dryer, a clothes washer, a refrigerator, a photovoltaic inverter, and a dishwasher. The experimental measurement set up is designed for the Net-Zero Energy Residential Test Facility (NZERTF) on the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) campus in Gaithersburg, MD. Future results are intended to develop better load forecasting models and analyze the propagation of power quality issues on both sides of the utility meter while operating these appliances. The technical note also provides information about the gain and frequency response of the voltage and current sensors as well as the uncertainty of measurement.
Pneumococcal Vaccination Practices in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis Receiving Anti-CD20 Monoclonal Antibodies After Pharmacy and Nursing Collaboration
Authors: Reindel Kristin , Rightmier Elizabeth , Dean Julie S. , Qualls Brandon W. , Wawrzyniak Julie
Published: September 2022

BACKGROUND

It is recommended that patients taking immunosuppressive anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) receive pneumococcal vaccinations before their first dose to ensure optimal immune response. An initial medication use evaluation reviewed adherence to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) pneumococcal immunization recommendations at the study site, and room for improvement was identified. The nursing team implemented workflow changes to increase nursing involvement in vaccination coordination, education, tracking, and administration. We sought to evaluate the impact of a nursing intervention on optimal pneumococcal vaccination administration rates in patients receiving anti-CD20 mAbs at a multiple sclerosis (MS) center.

METHODS

We performed a single-center, retrospective, pre/post medication use evaluation. Inclusion criteria were older than 18 years with a diagnosis of MS and received their first anti-CD20 mAb infusion at the study site during the preintervention or postintervention time frame.

RESULTS

We included 406 and 73 patients in the preintervention and postintervention studies, respectively. The nursing intervention significantly improved the percentage of patients receiving optimal pneumococcal vaccination before their first infusion from 58% to 84% and significantly reduced the number with unknown vaccination status from 17% to 3%. Patients who received optimal follow-up vaccination with 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine after optimal 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine administration improved from 9% to 56%.

CONCLUSIONS

A nursing team intervention improved adherence to CDC pneumococcal immunization recommendations for patients receiving anti-CD20 mAb therapy. This project highlights the value of interdisciplinary team collaboration between health system specialty pharmacies and specialized nursing teams in the care of patients with MS.
Scientific and practical interpretation of health as a basic socio-psychological conceptual category
Authors: Shantyr Yevhen
Published: September 2022

This article is devoted to health as a basic socio-psychological conceptual category. The paper provides an analytical review of the history of understanding the phenomenon of health. It reveals all the diversity in the approaches and judgments of this conceptual category in social, psychological, biomedical and philosophical scientific developments, as well as in legislative documents. The article shows that the interpretation of the concept of health is not only an important medical and scientific aspect, but also has a key socio-psychological significance for the development of modern society and the formation of a person's personality. Using the example of coronavirus infection, the article substantiates the relevance of the semantic content of this conceptual category in our time, when health can no longer be considering separately from the state of the human psyche and those negative trends and various deformations of public consciousness that take place in the modern world. To change the situation for the better in this area, as shown in the work, it is possible only by forming in the public consciousness a fundamentally new concept of health as a fundamental socio-psychological conceptual category. The scientific novelty of this work consists in analytical studies of the concept of health as a basic socio-psychological conceptual category and the development on this basis of new theoretical approaches and corresponding definitions of the concept of health and its main derivatives: mental health, physical health, reproductive health and sexual health. The proposed interpretations, according to the author, have a more pronounced social and psychological determinant for the formation of a new worldview in modern society regarding the concept of health and its derivatives. As a result, of the new conceptual priorities, as shown in the work, it is possible to significantly strengthen the health of the population, increase the individual and collective level of immunity and, ultimately, improve the quality of the very realization of a person in all spheres of his life.
The Impact of Poverty in Parents and Caregivers’ Participation towards Community Child Wellbeing Activities among the Pastoral Communities of Baringo, Marsabit, Turkana and West Pokot in Kenya
Authors: Ogara William , Oyath Lamarck , Okwaro Sally , Kasiku Fredrick , Titomet Paul , Were Philip , Ganira Jedidah
Published: September 2022

Participation and involvement of parents and caregivers in community child wellbeing activities influences the achievement and cognitive development of children, youth, and even young adults (Melhuish et al., 2008; Sylva et al., 1999) [1]. The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of poverty in parents and caregivers’ participation towards community child well-being activities among the pastoral communities of Baringo, Marsabit, Turkana and West Pokot Counties in Kenya. It uses the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) and Poverty Probability Index (PPI) for classification of households as either rich or poor. Households with MPI score ≥ 0.33 or PPI ≥0.5 were classified as poor, otherwise rich. The data for this study were taken from both primary and secondary sources.

The study results showed that overall, nine in ten of the sampled households were poor while one in ten were rich. Among the households classified as rich, six in ten (62.7%) compared to five in ten (53.8%) of those classified as poor participated in child wellbeing activities.

Based on the study findings and Pearson Chi-Square test results, the study concluded that there was a significant relationship between poverty and participation of caregivers in community child wellbeing activities. The relationship reflected that caregivers from poor households had a higher risk of not participating in child wellbeing activities than those from rich households. The study recommended the need for accelerating interventions aimed at poverty alleviation. Such interventions may include but not limited to: increasing access to education, supporting poor households through cash transfer programmes, adoption of disaster risk reduction strategies in pastoral economies and women economic empowerment.
Fusion of the Sixth and Seventh Cervical Vertebra: A Case Report
Authors: Nwosu Nkechi Clara , Amasiatu Valentine Chidozie , Ekeneokot Utoon Ekeneokot , Bob-Manuel Ibinabo Fubara
Published: September 2022

Aim: To report a rare fusion of the 6th and 7th cervical vertebra in a cadaver specimen.

Presentation of Case: A fused C6-C7 vertebra was discovered during maceration in the Anatomy laboratory in a South-Eastern Nigerian University. The laminas were completely fused while their bodies, transverse processes and spinous processes were fused partially.

Discussion:  Block vertebra is the fusion of one or more adjoining vertebrae in which they act as one, both structurally and functionally. These fusions, although present in other regions, is more common in the cervical region. Among the reported cases, there is a higher incidence of fusion between C2-C3 with only few reported cases of fusion between C6-C7. Fused cervical vertebra impact biochemical and mechanical stress on the adjoining vertebra which results in various neurological and physical problems, hence the report could create an insight that could aid researchers and medical diagnoses. 

Conclusion: This unusual fusion of C6-C7 vertebra reported provides basis of anatomical variations in which proper documentation of incidence and knowledge will be beneficial to anatomists, orthopaedic surgeons, radiologists and other medical personnel.
Genetic Analysis of (Oreochromis niloticus) Nirvana Tilapia Cultivated in Wanayasa and Galunggung, Lumajang, Bali, Minahasa Using Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Method
Authors: Yustiati Ayi , Suryadi Ibnu Bangkit Bioshina , Rosidah . , Lili Walim , Pratiwi Dian Yuni , Rahmania Anandita , Latifah Maryam Nur
Published: September 2022

This research aims to determine the kinship of nirvana tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) cultivated in Wanayasa with Galunggung, Lumajang, Bali, and Minahasa by Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA method. All tilapia cultivated in these four places originated from Wanayasa. This research was conducted in the Biotechnology Laboratory, Laboratory of Microbiology and Molecular Biotechnology, FPIK UNPAD. The research method was an explorative experiment with the RAPD-PCR technique using primary OPA-3 and OPA-5. However, the results of DNA amplification with OPA-3 were better than with OPA-5. Therefore, further analysis was carried out using data from OPA-3. Kinship was analyzed based on the similarity index which was calculated by Numerical Taxonomy and Multivariate Analysis System (NTSYS) program. The results showed that the kinship between Nirvana tilapia cultivated in Wanayasa with Galunggung, Lumajang, Bali, and Minahasa, according to the similarity index was high, about 77-85%. The highest similarity index (85%) was obtained between nirvana tilapia cultivated in Wanayasa with Galunggung, and the lowest similarity index (77%) between tilapia cultivated in Bali with Minahasa. Genetic changes that occur because of differences in cultivation environments range from 15-23%.
The Effect of Executive Competence and Integrity on Employee Performance: Motivation as a Mediation
Authors: Suryanti . , Ahadiat Ayi , Hayati Keumala
Published: September 2022

Aims: The financial services sector is a strategic industry, so developing a competitive financial services sector needs to be supported by professional human resources with integrity and global competitiveness. This study aimed to determine the effect of competence and integrity on employee performance through motivation as a mediating variable.

Study Design and Methodology: The sample of this study was 205 employees of Sharia Rural Bank (BPRS) in Lampung Province, Indonesia. Data were obtained through questionnaires and processed using the Smart PLS analysis tool.

Results: The results of this study show that competence has a positive and significant effect on employee performance. Integrity has a positive and significant effect on employee performance. Competence has an insignificant positive effect on employee performance through motivation mediation. Integrity positively and significantly affects employee performance through motivation mediation.

Implications: This research suggests that BPRS needs to increase Good Corporate Governance (GCG) in the management to produce executive officers and employees with high competence and integrity so that they can make banks healthy. They can minimize fraud in bank financial management.
The Impact of Financial Technological Advancement (FinTech) on the Economic Growth: Evidence from Palestine
Authors: Badwan Nemer , Awad Azmi
Published: September 2022

This study examined the impact of financial technology FinTech on economic growth in Palestine, moreover, the study used annual time series data from the Palestinian Ministry of National Economy (MoNE), the Palestinian Ministry of Finance and Planning (MoFP), as well as the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) and the Palestinian Monetary Authority (PMA), in addition to investigating the current study of the impact of FinTech on Palestinian economic development for the period (2008 to 2021). In addition, the co-integration was evaluated using a distributed autoregressive approach, and a vector error correction model was used to consider long- and short-term causation. However, the data shows that FinTech products (number of people using the Internet, number of broadband subscriptions, number of mobile cellular subscriptions, number of automated transfer machines, number of branches) contribute to the growth in financial inclusion, which in turn fuels the growth economy in Palestine. Moreover, these results indicate that the (PMA) in Palestine is focusing more on expanding access to financial services. Moreover, this study aims to explore opinions and attitudes regarding the emergence of financial technology in Palestine's future financial services industry. The study’s objectives were also achieved by speaking to a group of managers in the banking and financial services industries, who were administrative employees from departments with technical, software and information technology departments, in addition to departments specialized in technological fields electronic payment services. The study analysis was performed based on the objectivity of the data collected. The approach used in this study was used to produce and rank data-related results for these traits and patterns. According to the findings of the study, it is critical that existing banking and financial institutions, academic institutions, technology companies and business incubators work together to build a supportive environment for the Fintech system in Palestine. According to the ADFGLS co-integration test results, all variables are stable at the initial difference. The results of the ARDL technique show that the co-integration of the variables occurs and that the null hypothesis is rejected. The VECM results show that fintech products have a long-term and short-term causal relationship with both economic growth and financial development. Thus, the results indicate that financial technology in Palestine has many obstacles: rules and regulations, cybersecurity, customer distrust of digital services, etc. All of this is believed to have a direct and beneficial impact on the Palestinian economy.
Impact of Nutrition Education on University Students’ Eating Behavior among Higher Education Institutions in Malaysia
Authors: Erfanian Arezoo , Lee Kenny Cheah Soon , Omar Intan Marfarrina
Published: September 2022

Young adults in Malaysia are suffering from alarmingly high rates of obesity, and more than half of the students do not consume enough essential nutrients, according to Malaysian recommendations. There are indicators of links between nutrition education and eating behavior, but the results are lacking in the body of knowledge. Hence, this study is to ascertain this hypothesis. In terms of methodology, this study was conducted using a quantitative research design and was based on the opinions of 222 university students studying in the faculties or departments of food science or nutrition at two public universities and two private universities. The instrument was modified to measure the students' eating behaviors and a nutrition education program for data collection. Non-parametric statistics, descriptive statistics, the chi-square test, and the t-test were employed in the analysis. Most students were found to "strongly agree" with their nutrition education program, and they exhibited acceptable eating behaviors. There is no statistically significant link between a nutrition education program and eating behaviors in terms of the relationship between the variables. Additionally, the variation in eating behaviors between private and public universities is not noticeably different.
Statistical Analysis of Misfiling Causes in Higher Education: A Test Construction
Authors: Iddrisu Basintale D. , Kwablah Kwadzokpui Precious , Prempeh Emmanuel Barima Agyemang , Azorlibu Johnson S. , Akrong Solomon D. , Kpeglo Cynthia Sena , Adedia David , Adebanji Atinuke O. , Appiah Simon Kojo
Published: September 2022

Introduction: Misfiling remains a substantial challenge in data management in various institutions of higher learning. It has been asserted that one in every ten documents or files stored becomes immediately lost forever, due to inadequate filing techniques and practices. The results of this canker primarily are a high-profile failure in accountability and a retrogression in the development of the institution. There is paucity in scales developed for measuring misfiling. This study developed a scale called the data misfiling assessment scale (DMAS) to measure the various factors responsible for misfiling in institutions of higher learning and assessed them in terms of other relevant variables.

Methodology: A questionnaire was designed and administered in a cross-sectional study conducted among all administrative assistants who were tasked with the utmost responsibility for filing in the offices of the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS), Ho in the Volta Region of Ghana. The various components of the causes of the misfiling scale were found using factor analysis and were confirmed with confirmatory factor analysis.

Results: The study revealed a highly reliable scale (Cronbach’s alpha of 0.85) of thirteen misfiling items sub-classified into four factors of misfiling namely; internal factors of misfiling, misfiling due to methods and tools, external factors of misfiling, and other factors of misfiling, with Cronbach’s alpha of 0.85, 0.77, 0.62, and 0.60, respectively. The four-factor structure of the DMAS was confirmed with CFA. A strong positive relationship was observed between internal and external factors of misfiling (p-value = 0.015) and between internal and other factors of misfiling (p-value = 0.032). External factors of misfiling also strongly correlated positively with other factors of misfiling (p-value = 0.025). Per the scale, participants who have file references in their offices were less likely to face other factors of misfiling (p-value = 0.008). Also, those working in offices with filing policies were less likely to experience internal and external factors of misfiling.

Conclusion: With the help of this scale, factors responsible for misfiling and by extension, challenges with data management can be investigated and appropriate actions are taken for accurate data management in institutions of higher learning.
Proximate Composition Analysis of Spirulina platensis in Lab Scale Cultivation: Prospects of Digested Rotten Guava as a Culture Media
Authors: Rahman Md. Hashibur , Alam Mohammad Ashraful , Flura . , Islam Md. Saiful , Arifuzzaman Md. , Moniruzzaman Md. , Jaman Asma , Mukti Sharmin Sultana , Talukdar Anik , Didar Md. Abu Kawser
Published: September 2022

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the proximate composition of Spirulina platensis and growth performance in supernatant of different concentrations (supernatant of 20, 40 and 60 rotten guavas) of digested rotten guava medium (DRGM). The growth rates in terms of optical density, dry cell weight and chlorophyll a of spirulina were varied from each other. The cell weight of Spirulina was attained a maximum of 0.818 ± 0.003 mg/L in 60% DRGM followed by 0.815 ± 0.0015 and 0.809± 0.0012 mg/L in supernatant of 20 and 40%, respectively on the 10th day of culture. Similar trend was also observed in the case of optical density of the media contained Spirulina, chlorophyll a content (mg/L), total biomass (mg/L), specific growth rates (on the basis of cell weight and chlorophyll a) and total biomass of Spirulina. Cell weight of Spirulina grown in these media had highly significant (P < 0.01) correlation with the chlorophyll a content (r = 0.746) and total biomass  (r = 0.742) of Spirulina. The growth performance of Spirulina in supernatant of 60% DRGM was significantly (P < 0.01) higher than that of grown in 20% and 40% DRGM. The percentage of crude protein was found 53.35 ± 0.32% in supernatant of 40% DRGM. The crude lipid was attained of 10.15 ± 0.14% in supernatant of 60% DRGM which was significantly (P < 0.05) higher than that of grown in 20% and 40% of DGRM.
A Hybrid Optimization Model for Vehicle Routing Problem, a Case Study at Zoomlion Ghana Limited, Shama District
Authors: Kangah Justice , Otoo Henry , Acquah Joseph
Published: September 2022

The aim of this study was to develop a hybrid optimization model for solving the routing problem identified at Zoomlion Ghana Limited in Shama district in the Western Region of Ghana. Two main optimization models were considered: Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Genetic Algorithm (GA). A hybrid algorithm was developed from the two by merging crossover and mutation operators of GA with PSO. A sample of 20 breakpoints was run through 10,000 iterations for all the models and the results of the proposed hybrid model was compared with PSO and GA separately. The optimal results of PSO, GA and the proposed models are 1160.6km, 1190.3km and 1132.3km respectively. The proposed model’s results were also compared with other hybrid models to test the robustness of the new model. This result was achieved because the new model eliminates the low convergence rate in PSO and also prevents it from easily falling into local optimum in high-dimensional space and the inclusion of crossover and mutation operators of GA improves the diversity of the iterations. After the iterations, PSO reduced a field distance of 1700 km to 1160.6 km within 780.4098 seconds. GA on the other hand reduced the same field distance of 1700 km to 1190.3km within 397.3308 seconds. The proposed hybrid model reduced the same field distance from 1700 km to 1132.3 km within 550.2527 seconds. This indicates that the proposed hybrid model performed better than PSO and GA separately. A performance test between the proposed hybrid model and other hybrid models showed that merging crossover and mutation operators into PSO gives a better optimal result. MATLAB was used for the iterations.
Common Fixed Point Theorems for Four Weakly Compatible Self Maps Along with (CLR) Property in Fuzzy 2-Metric Spaces
Authors: Deepika . , Kumar Manoj
Published: September 2022

In this paper, we prove some common fixed point theorems for four weakly compatible self-maps along with (CLR) property in fuzzy 2- metric spaces. Our results are the improved version of the theorems proved by Shojaei et al. [1] in 2013, since our results does not require closedness of ranges of subsets of X.
Laplace Transforms Method on a System of Differential Equations for Non-isothermal Chemically Reactive Flow
Authors: Okolie Hope Osogom , Nwaoburu Adolphus Okechukwu
Published: September 2022

This study analyses Laplace transforms method on a system of partially coupled differential equations for non-isothermal chemically reactive flow through a cylindrical channel. The dimensionless governing equation for velocity, temperature and concentration was solved using Laplace Transform. Various parameters such as Temperature boundary parameter, Concentration boundary parameter, Cooling Parameter, Grashof number, pressure gradient and Magnetic field, as well as perturbation parameter had an effect on the velocity profile as well as temperature and concentration profile. The graphs were obtained with the results showing that an increase in the temperature boundary parameter resulted to an increase in the temperature of flow, an increase in perturbation parameter resulted to an increase in temperature profile of a body and an increase in Grashof temperature number results to an increase in the velocity of the body.
Comparing the Accuracy of Sonoelastographic Ultrasound with Biopsy in the Assessment of Breast Masses among Nigerian Women in the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria
Authors: Mirian Akujuobi, Obianuju , Nneamaka Ogbonna, Adaobi , Angela Ayonote, Uzoramaka
Published: September 2022

Background: Breast cancer is the commonest cause of cancer related deaths globally, particularly in Africa where late presentation is prevalent. Early diagnosis demands the evolution of non-invasive, highly sensitive and specific screening and diagnostic investigation. This study assessed the diagnostic properties of Sonoelastography ultrasonography, in classifying breast masses compared to biopsy among women receiving care at the Lagos University Teaching hospital (LUTH), Lagos.

Methods: Using a cross-sectional, analytical study design, 100 women with breast masses were recruited consecutively as they presented to a multidisciplinary breast clinic in LUTH. They were assessed by history taking, clinical examination, and sonoelastography ultrasound was done to classify the breast masses. Breast masses were also biopsied to get a histological diagnosis. The outcomes were compared in a cross tabulation and the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and accuracy were calculated for sonoelastography USS to assess its diagnostic properties. These indicators were also calculated for the 3 parameters (Elastography score, Strain and Lesion ratio) of sonoelastography USS.

Results: The mean age of the women with breast mass was 39.4 years with a standard deviation of 13.4 years. Above half of the women were overweight (53.0%) with tertiary education (58.0%), Mean weight of breast mass was 368.7±627.6mg. Histology report and sonoelastography USS classified 46.0% and 47.0% of breast masses respectively, as malignant breast masses. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of sonoelastography USS in relation to histology report was 87.0% in the study. The diagnostic performance of each parameter was good but Elastogram score was best with 69.6% sensitivity, 87.0% specificity and 79.0% accuracy.

Conclusion: This study concluded that sonoelastography is useful in characterizing breast masses as either benign or malignant which can be compared to the use of histologic diagnosis in characterizing breast masses. The Elastography score was the elastography parameter that yielded the highest diagnostic accuracy, and the lesion ratio yielded the least diagnostic accuracy. More research may be needed for better standardization of the cut-off values to be applied for the elastography parameters (Elastography score, strain ratio and lesion ratio)to improve their diagnostic performance.
Studies on Leaf Blight Disease of Medicinal Plants (Piper longum, Tylophora indica, Hibiscus subdariffa) in Lower Gangetic Plains of West Bengal, India
Authors: Saren Debashis , Bakey Seteng , Soren Chaitan , De Sekhar , Saha Abhijit , Murmu Sahar , Mandi Rajib
Published: September 2022

Herbal medicinal plants are in great demand for their use in food preparations, pharmaceuticals, cosmetic and beauty aids. But its availability is reduced every year due to attack of fungal disease i.e. leaf blight. Therefore an experiment was conducted to gather the knowledge about the future management aspect of this disease. Here three medicinal plants viz, Piper longum, Tylophora indica and Hibiscus subdariffa were planted and observed the disease throughout year. The characteristic symptoms of the disease along with causal organisms (Colletotrichum gloeosporioides- Piper longum, Sclerotianum rolfsii- Tylophora indica, Fusarium sp- Hibiscus subdariffa) were recorded. In the seasonal study, the lowest disease incidence and severity of the disease were observed in the month of August and higher in June. Hibiscus subdariffa showed less disease incidence (15.33%) and severity (6.11%) at initial stage (August) and 67.33% & 42.46% respectively at peak period (June). But Piper longum and Tylophora indica showed higher disease incidence and severity at the same times. All these pathogens were isolated in PDA medium from the infected parts of plants and confirmed their pathogenicity. The cultural characteristics along with their micrometric measurement of spores were recorded in four different media (PDA, CZA, OMA and MMA). Colletotrichum gloeosporioides was found to grow better in PDA (9.0 cm) along with high dry weight (1.47g) and lowest growth in maize meal medium (4.8cm). In Sclerotium rolfsii, highest radial growth (9.0cm) and dry weight (1.48g) were observed in maize meal medium but no growth in Czepek’dox. Fusarium sp showed highest radial growth (8.3 cm) and dry weight (1.34 g) in czepek dox and lowest in maize meal agar medium (4.4cm).
Effect of Storage Containers to Stabilize the Seed Quality in Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)
Authors: Rathore Mukesh , Gupta Jai Prakash , Pathak Sudheer Kumar , Ahmad Tufail
Published: September 2022

Seed detoriation is a mjor constraint for right production of different crops and detoriation of seeds starts with physiological maturity of crop up to storage. The process of seed deterioration may be related to various physiological changes, such as a continuous fall in germinability, an increase in mean germination time, an increase in aberrant seedling frequency, and a lower tolerance to unfavourable climatic conditions. Numerous physical and chemical factors, such as moisture content, atmospheric relative humidity, temperature, preliminary seed quality, the physical and chemical makeup of the seed, gaseous exchange, storage structure, storage materials, etc., affect the viability and vigour of the seeds while they are in storage in addition to varying from genus to genus and variety to variety. Seeds of wheat variety, Sharbati C306 was stored in different containers i.e., Polyethylene bag, Muslin cloth bag and Bamboo storage structure in the laboratory. Effect of storage containers were analysed for various storage period and found that all the containers are significantly with various parameters. The polythene bag recorded the least insect infestation (5.94%) and electrical conductivity (21.25), whereas, polythene was found to be effective in maintaining seed and seed quality parameters with highest germination (87.00%), mean seedling length (12.92 cm), seed vigor index was 1 (1125.65) and 2 (25.23), Dry weight (0.297 gm), test weight (43.79 gm) and biochemicals i.e., Carbohydrate (71.00%) and gluten (11.36%).
Perception of Farmers Regarding Climate Change: A Comparative Study of Hisar and Shimla
Authors: Kapri Anju , Kaushik Sushma
Published: September 2022

The term climate stands for general weather conditions prevailing over a period of many years, while climate change refers to significant variation in average weather conditions during a long time period that may be several decades or more. Agriculture is the major source of livelihood for almost 60% of the India's total population. Its different regions are highly vulnerable to various natural disasters like avalanches, earthquakes, floods, drought etc. stressors of water resources” [1]. The present comparative study was conducted in the purposively selected Haryana state and Himachal Pradesh state. One district from each state i.e., Hisar from Haryana and Shimla from Himachal Pradesh were selected at random. A total sample of 240 farm families, 40 from each village (total six village, 1 village from each block) was selected purposively comprising of 120 farm families of Hisar district and 120 of Shimla district. The result was analysed by the statistical tools viz., frequency, percentage, weighted mean score, spearman;s rank correlation and mean. Result showed that in both Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, maximum respondents were familiar about the term climate change but they were unaware about many related terms. Result also elucidated that increasing population and food and water scarcity were perceived most important threat in Haryana and economic situation and unemployment & poverty, food and water scarcity were most important threats perceived in Himachal Pradesh and in Haryana maximum changes were noticed in terms of extreme heat and cold and pattern of rainfall whereas, in Himachal Pradesh maximum changes were observed in pattern of rainfall and season shift. Result also observed that in Haryana most important problem caused by global warming included heat waves which ranked first followed by lesser rainfall and water shortage ranked second and third respectively while in Himachal Pradesh most important problems included lesser snow with ranked first followed by lesser rainfall (rank II) and reduced lake ice cover (rank III).
Effect of Nitrogen, Zinc and Iron on Growth and Yield of Baby-corn (Zea mays L.) Prayagraj Condition
Authors: Kumar Dalu Kiran , Dawson Joy , Ramesh Chakali , Sreekanth Dalu , Reddy R. Ranganad , Dudekula Gurrappa
Published: September 2022

A field experiment was conducted at the Crop Research Farm (CRF), Department of Agronomy, Naini Agricultural Institute, Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences (SHUATS), Prayagraj (UP) during the year 2021 zaid season. To find out suitable Nitrogen, zinc and iron levels for profitable baby corn yield. The experiment comprised of 9 treatments with different combinations of nitrogen, zinc and iron replicated thrice in a Randomized Block Design. The main objective of the experiment was to evaluate the Effect of Nitrogen, Zinc and Iron on growth and yield of baby-corn (Zea mays L.). The nitrogen levels include [70, 80 and 90 kg/ha] where-as levels of zinc (0.5%) and iron (0.2%) From the present investigation The results showed that viz: Plant height (169.75 cm),Number of leaves per plant (13.80) plant dry weight (113.09 g/plant) were recorded significantly higher in 90kg/ha Nitrogen along with 0.5% Zinc and 0.2% Iron. Number of cobs per plant (1.69), cob length (18.50 cm), cob girth (8.10cm), cob weight with husk (48.85g), cob weight with out husk (13.80 g), cob yield with husk (11.75 t/ha), cob yield without husk (4.35 t/ha), green fodder (33.58t/ha) and the profitable production of baby corn can be secured by 90kg/ha Nitrogen + [0.5% Zinc + 0.2% Iron].
Screening of Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Genotypes for High Temperature Stress under Temperature Induction Response
Authors: Nandhitha G. K. , Vanitha K. , Chandrasekhar C. N.
Published: September 2022

Plants are exposed to multifarious external environmental conditions that affect plant growth, development and productivity. Heat stress is one of the abiotic stress that occurs due to high ambient temperature. Also, it is a serious threat to crop production worldwide. Rice is a major food crop cultivated all over the globe. In the present study, temperature induction response (TIR) was carried out for screening the rice genotypes. Initially, three rice genotypes namely Swarnamukhi, Kasalth and N22 (tolerant check) were used to standardize the optimum induction temperature and lethal temperature. Optimum induction temperature was 46-54o C and the lethal temperature 56oC were standardized for rice. At this temperature, a total of 58 diverse genotypes were screened for high-temperature stress tolerance. Among the genotypes tried, sivapu chithiraikar (94.33%), kavya (93.67%), kasalath(94.23), samleshwari (93.56), poongar (87.34), vedhividangan (75.10), Naveen (89.56), surakuruvai (84.90), swarnamukhi (92.10), vellaikatrai (80.50) and kavuni (92.60) expressed higher seedling survival percentage of tolerance (93.5%) to high temperature and remaining were identified as temperature susceptible as compared to control (100% survival). There was a considerable variation among the genotypes screened for acquired thermotolerance. Results suggested that TIR is a simple and powerful technique and can be used to screen a large population at the seedling stage to identify thermotolerant lines.