bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Peace as a composite indicator: the goals and future of the Global Peace Index
Authors: Morgan T.
Published: December 2021

This article provides an overview of the purpose, development and future of the Global Peace Index (GPI), a composite indicator of peacefulness at the national level. It explains why the concept of negative peace is well suited to being captured by a composite index, for both theoretical and statistical reasons. It examines how the GPI fits within the field of peace and conflict studies and how its methodological soundness has been assessed. This is done by looking at the history and structure of the GPI and showing how it relates to other definitions and indicators of peacefulness. The article then analyzes how the index is constructed with respect to its weighting, aggregation, and robustness. Some of the criticisms of the index are also explored, as well as the main proposed directions for the GPI evolution over the coming decade. Three main advantages of the index are identified as the ones that best reflect its novel input in peace and conflict studies. First, a composite indicator of peace helps to provide a more compelling narrative around the dynamics of peace between countries, to generate more interest in the peace and conflict field and to promote the concept of peace as a crucial driver of development. Second, the aggregation of multiple indicators of violence allows for the construction of a continuous measure of peacefulness with a less skewed distribution that can serve as the baseline for seeing which factors in other areas are correlated with peacefulness. Third, this composite measure of peacefulness highlights areas where data on aspects of negative peace are missing, incomplete, or not comparable across countries and drives the creation of new and novel indicators to fill these data gaps.
SANTA TERESA DE ÁVILA: 50 ANOS DOUTORA DA IGREJA
Authors: Pedrosa-Pádua Lucia
Published: December 2021

O presente artigo tem como objeto a declaração de Santa Teresa de Ávila como Doutora da Igreja, em 1970. Aprofunda alguns significados deste acontecimento para a teologia e, especialmente, para a relação entre este saber e as mulheres. Inicia apresentando a figura de Santa Teresa a partir de algumas características da sua humanidade, em consonância com a homilia de Paulo VI na proclamação da Doutora da Igreja. Em seguida, traz aspectos históricos da importância da doutrina teresiana para a espiritualidade cristã. Explicita os fundamentos teológicos que possibilitaram o reconhecimento do doutorado das mulheres, no século XX, e dá as razões do doutorado teresiano, em contraste com a misoginia experimentada pela Santa em seu tempo histórico. Finaliza com os desdobramentos deste acontecimento para a teologia.
GREGORIO DE NISA Y LA FUNCIÓN CRÍTICA DE LA INTERPRETACIÓN DE LA ESCRITURA FRENTE A LA CULTURA. LA CRÍTICA A LA ESCLAVITUD EN LA CUARTA HOMILÍA SOBRE EL ECLESIASTÉS
Authors: Solano Pinzón Orlando , Jaramillo Vargas Gabriel Alberto , Villa-Betancourt Ana Cristina
Published: December 2021

El escrito contextualiza la institución de la esclavitud en la antigüedad grecorromana para mostrar algunas posturas de personajes del siglo IV y anteriores frente a dicha institución. Dicha contextualización sirve de preámbulo para presentar la lectura crítica que hace Gregorio de Nisa en la cuarta homilía del Eclesiastés sobre la institución de la esclavitud, cuyos postulados marcaron una gran diferencia frente a la opinión de sus contemporáneos y siguen vigentes hoy como crítica a todo intento de esclavizar al ser humano.
Umberto Eco, Migración e intolerancia, Madrid: Lumen, 2019, pp.78.
Authors: Ruiz Estramil Ivana Belén
Published: December 2021

Reseña del libro "Migraciones e intolerancia", de Umberto Eco.
Personalización y registro de un evento
Authors: Oliver González Ana Belén
Published: December 2021

La presente investigación pretende compartir con la comunidad académica y científica el estudio sobre el nexo existente entre la comunicación y el marketing en la organización de actos para llegar a personalizar un evento, a través de las herramientas más utilizadas por los profesionales del marketing para eventos en los últimos cinco años. El resultado es un compendio sobre las nuevas herramientas de marketing al servicio de las estrategias en el lanzamiento y posterior registro de eventos.

La técnica de investigación es cualitativa ya que explica y define las características de marketing aplicadas en la personalización de un evento y el proceso de comunicación para registrarlo, mediante la observación directa de las redes sociales, herramientas de marketing y estrategias de comunicación
Movilidad transnacional y estabilidad en el Mediterráneo: el modelo migratorio hispano-marroquí
Authors: Boundi Mohammed
Published: December 2021

Este ensayo tiene como objetivo demostrar que una inmigración marroquí en situación regular en España atribuye un contenido concreto y positivo a la cooperación entre los dos Estados. En la elaboración de nuestro trabajo, realizamos un balance de la cooperación hispanomarroquí en las cuatro últimas décadas en materia de migración presentando los principales acuerdos, convenios y memorandos bilaterales. Era imprescindible en este proceso explorar distintos textos legales, estadísticas oficiales y resultados de investigación académica. Todas estas fuentes son convenientemente citadas como referencias bibliográficas. La regulación de las condiciones de entrada, residencia y trabajo de la mano de obra marroquí es fruto de los resultados logrados en este campo. El fomento de una inmigración circular entre Marruecos y España se considera actualmente como un modelo de cooperación migratoria en el Mediterráneo.
Teorías feministas, teorías de género. Una metateorización
Authors: Guzmán Cáceres Maricela
Published: December 2021

Este artículo revisa las principales teorías que dan cuenta del pensamiento feminista y de género desde la primera ola que abarca la década de 1960 hasta el posfeminismo del siglo XXI. La metodología utilizada es la metateorización de George Ritzer Los resultados apuntan a que la historia del feminismo puede analizarse mediante un esquema que contempla tres fases históricas: la base material, la base teórica y la base operativa. Se concluye que el feminismo constituye un cuerpo de conocimientos que tiene en común la lucha social, la cual ha contribuido al enriquecimiento de la teoría social y en la práctica ha roto muchos techos de cristal, sin embargo, todavía se ve muy lejos la igualdad, la equidad y la justicia de género en la sociedad global.
Highly Efficient and Diastereoselective Construction of Substituted Pyrrolidines Bearing A Quaternary Carbon Center via 1,3-Dipolar [3 + 2] Cycloaddition
Authors: wang Kaikai , Li Yanli , Zhao Yingchao , sun Aili , Chen Rongxiang , wang Zhanyong
Published: December 2021

A general approach to substituted pyrrolidines via [3 + 2] 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition between nonstabilized azomethine ylides and cyanosulfones was developed. The efficient method provides a series of substituted pyrrolidines bearing a quaternary carbon center in high yields (up to 98%) excellent diastereoselectivities (up to >25:1 dr) under ambient reaction conditions.
The Pivotal Role of Phenological Stage Enhanced by Plant Origin Preparations in the Process of Rhizogenesis of Rosa ‘Hurdal’ Stem Cuttings
Authors: Monder Marta , Niedzielski Maciej , Woliński Konrad
Published: December 2021

Some biostimulants, including plant origin preparations, act similarly to plant hormones. Moreover, the supplementation of known and unknown rooting cofactors can stimulate rhizogenesis in cuttings. The aim of this research was to assess the response of difficult-to-root and long-rooting stem cuttings of the once-blooming old variety Rosa ‘Hurdal’ to preparations of plant origin. The hypothesis was that plant origin preparations could enhance rooting processes by inhibiting chlorophyll a/b degradation in leaves and postponing leaf senescence, simultaneously increasing the quality of cuttings. The one-bud stem cuttings were made in four phenological stages: (H1) flower buds closed, (H2) open flowers, (H3) just after petal fall, (H4) 7-14 days after petal shedding. They were treated with either standard commercial powder preparations containing 0.4% indolebutyric acid (IBA) or 0.2% naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) as well as with commercial plant origin preparations that this work will henceforth refer to as: Algae Extract, Organic Preparation, and Plant Extract. The cuttings were evaluated after 12 weeks of rooting them in two substrates: peat-perlite and peat-sand (v:v; 1:1). Mean root percentages for both substrates were noted after preparation from stage H1 (74.5 %), H2 (59.5 %), H3 (50.8 %) shoots. The H4 cuttings didn’t root at all and were not considered further. The means for all phenology stages together were the highest by the use of 0.6 % Algae Extract, 0.012 % and 0.02 % Organic Preparation, 0.2 % and 0.4 % Plant Extract. The lowest means were reported for the control cuttings as well as NAA and IBA treatment. Plant origin preparations encouraged growth parameters but did not unequivocally inhibit the decrease of chlorophyll content in the cuttings’ leaves. Rooting percentage depended on the quality of cuttings as well as chlorophyll a/b and soluble protein content in leaves in both rooting substrates.
Designing Climate-Smart Brinjal That Can Withstand a Variety of Environmental Conditions: A Perspective
Authors: Shankar Bandi Arpitha
Published: December 2021

Brinjal is a beautiful vegetable crop with strong nutritional properties specifically folate concentration and total chlorogenic acid content. These vitamins and minerals are very much effective in building up the immune system, whilst chlorogenic acid content protects the human body against heart illnesses, liver issues and diabetes. The quantity of these chemicals changes from cultivar to cultivar largely based upon the location of growth and changing environmental circumstances. Many plant breeding strategies are used to alleviate the losses but have proved to be less successful. Whereas the use of molecular markers and other biotechnology technologies have created a road for creating climate smart brinjal with maximum yields and nutritious contents.
Karstic Groundwater Origin and Recharge Process in Zagros Region: Insights From Stable Isotopes (δ18O and Δ2H) Approach
Authors: Heydarizad Mojtaba
Published: December 2021

Zagros is an important region with high quality and quantity karstic water resources in the Middle East. This region provides a dominant part of potable and agricultural water needs for its inhabitants as well as agricultural water needs for nearby regions. Therefore, studying karstic water resources in Zagros by accurate methods such as stable isotopes techniques is very important. In this investigation, hydrological characteristics of groundwater resources including groundwater origin, recharge rate and recharge elevation have been studied using stable isotopes (18O and 2H). The results show that stable isotopes signatures in groundwater resources show notable variations across Zagros and groundwater resource mainly plot on south and west Zagros meteoric water lines. In addition, recharge elevation and recharge rate in groundwater resources also show significant variations in Zagros. Finally, the stable isotopes signatures in precipitation and groundwater has been used to study the role of each dominant air mass (contribution percentage of precipitation events originate from each air mass) in groundwater resources recharge using Simmr package in R language. Overall, groundwater resources in Zagros is recharged by precipitation events originate from various air masses and they have various recharge rates and recharge elevations.
ANÁLISIS INTEGRAL DE LA GESTIÓN DE LA CONVIVENCIA ESCOLAR. UNA PROPUESTA DE EVALUACIÓN
Authors: CONDE VÉLEZ SARA , AZAUSTRE LORENZO CARMEN , DELGADO GARCÍA MANUEL
Published: December 2021

Ante la certeza del carácter integral que caracteriza el abordaje de la convivencia en centros educativos, y la ausencia de estudios que realicen un tratamiento complejo, este estudio se propone analizar la estructura global de la gestión de la convivencia en centros de educación secundaria. Para ello, toma como marco de referencia el modelo de la European Foundation Quality Management (EFQM en adelante) para la evaluación de la Calidad. La muestra es intencional y la configura un total de 46 centros educativos de Andalucía que pertenecen a la red “Escuela: Espacio de Paz”, y con una experiencia en la misma superior a los ocho años. Se utiliza el cuestionario validado a través de una revisión teórica, de los componentes del modelo EFQM y del juicio de expertos, que se aplica a 46 coordinadores y 46 familiares integrantes de las comisiones de convivencia escolar. Para el análisis se realiza una reducción de variables a través del análisis factorial, que concluye con un análisis de ecuaciones estructurales que permite observar las relaciones de influencia entre factores. Los resultados del estudio, con el ánimo de estimular la aplicación de otros modelos alternativos o complementarios, confirman la validez del modelo EFQM para el análisis integral la convivencia escolar, si bien, se insiste en la necesidad de replicar el estudio en otros contextos y de fortalecer la validez teórica del modelo.
REPENSAR LA EDUCACIÓN Y EL DESARROLLO AFRICANO EN CLAVE DE GÉNERO: ESTUDIO CENTRADO EN EL ESTADO DE LA EDUCACIÓN EN MOZAMBIQUE
Authors: MARTÍNEZ MARTÍN IRENE
Published: December 2021

Esta comunicación se contextualiza en una serie de investigaciones llevadas a cabo en el marco de proyectos de cooperación al desarrollo en Mozambique y una Tesis doctoral. Tales proyectos tienen como objetivo común aproximarse al estado de la educación del país basándose en criterios de equidad y justicia social. Derivado del anterior proceso investigador se detectan diversos problemas educativos, son especialmente llamativos aquellos relacionados con la desigualdad de género y la educación. La finalidad de este artículo es repensar la educación y el desarrollo en clave de género bajo una mirada africanapostcolonial. En consonancia con esta finalidad se pretende: a) construir una perspectiva de género postcolonial y africana; b) incluir dicha perspectiva en las acciones de educación y desarrollo; c) plantear el empoderamiento feminista como estrategia educativa para el cambio social. La metodología responde a la habitual en investigaciones sociales, críticas y cualitativas, definida como etnografía crítica y feminista para la acción social. Este proceso comienza con el estudio del estado de la educación de las niñas en Mozambique –incluye análisis del profesorado y de las mujeres activistas de la sociedad civil-; continúa contrastando la educación de las niñas con la inclusión de un enfoque de género postcolonial y africano, previamente construido a partir del amplio estudio documental y bibliográfico. Por último, los resultados y conclusiones previstos responden a la construcción de una pedagogía feminista y transformadora que tenga en cuenta las lógicas postcoloniales y contra-hegemónicas. Aquí, la educación se impone como un importante recurso feminista para desmontar los imaginarios patriarcales normalizados en nuestras sociedades, y donde la formación del profesorado es una importante estrategia de acción.
MODALIDADES DE ACTUACIÓN DE LOS PROFESIONALES DE LA EDUCACIÓN EN EL CAMPO DE LO SOCIAL
Authors: MOLINA RUIZ ENRIQUETA , CARBONELL BUSTOS SUSANA
Published: December 2021

Mostramos un aspecto parcial del estudio vinculado a un Proyecto de Innovación dirigido a orientar a los estudiantes de Pedagogía sobre salidas profesionales. Se instala en el marco general representado por el componente formativo que supone el Practicum. Éste, es entendido como plataforma de formación que permitirá conocer los diferentes ámbitos donde ejercer la profesión y, en ellos, las diferentes “modalidades” existentes. De los varios ámbitos en que los pedagogos pueden intervenir, nos centramos en el social y, concretamente, en el campo de colectivos desfavorecidos necesitados de desarrollo y protección social, siendo nuestro objetivo mostrar información precisa sobre las diferentes modalidades de actuación existentes al respecto en nuestro contexto. La metodología de investigación de la que derivan los resultados es de tipo cualitativa. Las fuentes de las que obtendremos información vienen representadas por los “organismos que determinan la política de intervención social” a nivel regional. Apoyamos la recogida de datos en “documentos institucionales” elaborados desde dichos organismos. Aplicamos el procedimiento “análisis de contenido” en el tratamiento y reducción de los datos. Situamos la aportación en una primera fase del estudio dirigida a localizar las posibilidades de intervención de los profesionales de la educación en general, tratando de descubrir, a partir de ellas, las específicas de pedagogos. Los resultados muestran las diferentes modalidades de actuación educativa en los sectores representados por: “Servicios Sociales e Inclusión”, “Drogodependencia”, “Personas Mayores”, “Infancia y Familias”, “Personas con Discapacidad” y “Atención a la Dependencia”, precisando características, condiciones, actuaciones, competencias exigidas al profesional, etc. que orientarán la acción de los estudiantes en prácticas y permitirá obtener una visión global del campo profesional.
COMMUNICATIVE CONSTRUCTIONS IN WRITTEN TEXTS
Authors: Lendínez Robayo María del Rosario
Published: December 2021

By definition, man is a social being who interacts with peers either by necessity and as a hobby, which determines its relations with the group and it is shaping it. The way this communication is expressed is vitally important to the educational community regarding the acquisition and the transmission of knowledge, which is determined by how they are expressed in the written texts, and this is even more relevant to the literary field. My aim in this report is to study the main approaches to the way of expressing communication from the use of different type of verbs, including the linguistic forms, discursive procedures of the expression, and communicative activity types. In order to do that, I have studied constructions with and without verba dicendi collected in the Corpus of Spanish and English languages, and constructions posted on various publications, novels, etc, written in both languages, to establish relevant comparison between the uses of each other.I am particularly concerned with communicative construction, which presupposes interaction with others, and what I am trying to determine is how often these constructions happen, is it common or isolated cases? Key words: Communicative constructions, verba dicendi, verbs of communication, quotative constructions, language use.
LA EVALUACIÓN DE COMPETENCIAS INTERPERSONALES EN LA FORMACIÓN DEL PROFESORADO DE EDUCACIÓN FÍSICA A TRAVÉS DE UN PROGRAMA DE EXPRESIÓN CORPORAL
Authors: APARICIO HERGUEDAS JOSÉ L. , FRAILE ARANDA ANTONIO
Published: December 2021

Este artículo recoge cómo a través de un programa de expresión corporal, desarrollado en la formación inicial del profesorado de educación física con 47 estudiantes, se adquieren competencias docentes interpersonales que inciden en su mejora personal y profesional. Valorado el programa a través de una escala de valoración de competencias interpersonales del docente de educación física (EcoiDEF), consideran que este programa formativo les ha ayudado a mejorar su compromiso ético, el trabajo en equipo y las habilidades interpersonales.
LEXICAL RICHNESS AND ENVIRONMENTAL LITERACY IN TEACHER TRAINING EXPLORATORY STUDY
Authors: Tinedo Rodríguez Antonio Jesús
Published: December 2021

Teaching a foreign language requires a holistic approach that involves teaching the instrumental language, its literature and its culture. Besides, it is important to highlight the role of education and values when it comes to teach English as a foreign language. During the second decade of the 21st century many natural disasters have taken place worldwide and teachers should be prepared to deal with them in the English classroom. This preparedness involves scientific knowledge together with linguistic knowledge.

This exploratory study has the objective to set a first approach to the preparedness of pre-service teachers to deal with the aforementioned issues through the analysis of the lexical richness of the texts they have written on environmental issues and natural disasters. The limitations of the study are bounded to the low number of samples, but it allows to explore new ways of improving language skills and environment literacy in pre-service teachers which might help to provide future citizens with commitment on environmental issues.
Lower–Middle Pleistocene Stratigraphy of the Southern West Siberian Plain: New Data
Authors: Zykin V.S. , Zykina V.S. , Malikov D.G. , Smolyaninova L.G. , Kuzmina O.B.
Published: December 2021

—The Quaternary stratigraphy of the southern West Siberian Plain is considered in the context of the updated International Chronostratigraphic Scale, with the Neogene/Quarternary boundary at 2.588 Ma. New geological, lithological, paleontological, and paleomagnetic data from a reference Quaternary section in the Irtysh River valley near Isakovka Village provide more rigorous constraints on the Lower–Middle Pleistocene stratigraphy and the respective deposition conditions. The Isakovka outcrop exposes two stratigraphically expressed and paleontologically characterized units that were deposited during regional Pleistocene interglacial events of different ages: the Strunino and Serebryanoe alluvium beds lying over eroded surfaces. The species of the Corbicula genus coexisting with numerous species of Palearctic molluscs, small mammals Allophaiomys deucalion, Mimomys reidi, and last rooted lagurids Borsodia found in the Strunino alluvium are known also from continental equivalents of the warm upper Gelasian Stage in different parts of northern Eurasia. Judging by the presence of extant corbicules, the Strunino alluvium was deposited in a warm climate, with a mean annual air temperature above +16 °C and a mean winter temperature no colder than –8 °C, in rivers that remained free from ice all year round. On the basis of fauna constraints for the Serebryanoe alluvium, along with the first appearance of the European Pisidium clessini molluscs in West Siberia, the unit can be correlated with one of the earliest Middle Pleistocene interglacial events. The faunal assemblages and spore-pollen patterns of the two units indicate that the climate during the Serebryanoe deposition was slightly cooler and wetter than during the Strunino deposition, though steppe landscapes predominated on watersheds in both events. The two alluvial beds, which are traceable in river bluffs, at 30 m above the modern water level in a tectonically stable part of West Siberia, mark the hypsometrically higher position of the river network during the Early Pleistocene and early Middle Pleistocene interglacials.
Corticosteroid-associated Changes Resembling a Demyelinating Brain Lesion in Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma (DLBCL)
Authors: De la Cruz Gio Earnest , Uy Justine Alessandra
Published: December 2021

Biopsies of suspected lymphoma cases with history of pre-biopsy corticosteroid therapy present several diagnostic issues, such as the inability to demonstrate the neoplastic hematolymphoid cells, the similarity of post-corticosteroid changes with inflammatory demyelinating lesions, and the possibility of a demyelinating lesion preceding a central nervous system lymphoma. This report presents the case of a 51-year-old immunocompetent male with a solitary callosal mass, with immunomorphologic features suggestive of a demyelinating lesion on initial biopsy, and upon re-biopsy after three months revealed a diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Awareness of these issues in post-corticosteroid stereotactic biopsy specimens, together with adequate clinical and radiologic data, is important for proper diagnosis and further therapeutic guidance.
Enhanced Stability of Inactivated Foot-And-Mouth Disease Virus Vaccine With A Novel Solution Buffer.
Authors: Li Jing , Wei Yanming , Zhang Rong , Yang Huiqing , Liu Xuerong
Published: December 2021

Objectives: Stability is vital for potency of food-and-mouth disease virus vaccine preparation. However, the assembly of inactivated foot-and-mouth disease virus is poor stable and prone to dissociate into 12s under mild acidic or heating conditions, especially emulsified with oil-adjuvant. Thus, it is crucial to explore a suitable medium and condition to improve the stability and efficiency of inactivated FMDV vaccine. Results: In this study, the basic solution buffer and a serious of potential stabilizers, such as carbohydrate, amino acid, antioxidant, salt and antioxidant were screened for evaluating stable effect on FMDV antigen with aid of high performance size exclusion chromatography (HPSEC). On this basis, orthogonal experiment was performed to optimize and finally confirm the formulation. Anti-aging test were carried out to asses the efficiency of formulation on vaccine stability and the results showed that the vaccine was more stabler either stored at 37℃or 4℃. Moreover, physicochemical monitoring revealed that formulation had no influence on the properties of vaccine. The combined results suggested that the novel solution buffer would lower degradation and prolong shelf life of vaccine. In a word, the novel buffer is beneficial to make FMD vaccine more stable and effective, reducing the dependence on cold delivery and storage. This study also provides insight into the processes of optimization and inactivated vaccine development.
Dynamic Permission Access Control Model Based on Privacy Protection
Authors: Zhang Qikun , Zhu Liang , Wu Yimeng , Li Jianyong , Meng Yinghui , Hu Sikang
Published: December 2021

Access control technology is one of the key technologies to ensure safe resource sharing. Identity authentication and authority distribution are two key technologies for access control technology to restrict unauthorized users from accessing resources and resources can only be accessed by authorized legal users.However, user privacy protection and frequent permission changes are two thorny issues that need to be solved urgently by access control technology. To deal with these problems, this paper proposes a dynamic access control technology based on privacy protection. Compared with existing access control technologies, the main advantages of this paper are as follows: 1) encrypt and hide the attributes of entities, and use attribute-based identity authentication technology for identity authentication, which not only achieves the purpose of traditional identity authentication, but also ensures the attributes and privacy of entities are not leaked; 2) Binding resource access permissions with entity attributes, dynamically assigning and adjusting resource access control permissions through changes in entity attributes, making resource access control more fine-grained and more flexible. Security proof and performance analysis show that the proposed protocol safe under the hardness assumption of the discrete logarithm problem (DLP) and the decision bilinear Diffie-Hellman (DBDH) problem. Compared with the cited references, it has the advantages of low computational complexity, short computational time, and low communication overhead.
The Fire Resistance Performance of Concrete Columns With Different Compressive Strength
Authors: Atea Rafid Saeed
Published: December 2021

Four full concrete columns have been created Tested below high temperature for The fire resistance of concrete elements in concrete with particular compressive strengths. The standard concrete with compressive strength values of C25 were made of one of the four specimens, while the rest were made of C35, C60 and C75 respectively, respectively. During simulation of Within the laboratory furnace, the same For the specimens, axial forces were applied. Many experimental outcomes parameters were evaluated in contrast, including temperature changes, Vertical moving, side deflection, fire resistance and Failed properties of the specimen. The results have shown a rise in the compressive strength of the concrete for the concrete columns from the outside up to the inside of the column the same cross section of the lower compressive forces of concrete display better fire resistance efficiency with the same initial axial strength ratio. The C35, C60 and C75 columns' fire resistance is higher than standard concrete columns. The initial and secant rigidity of the columns of Reinforced concrete (RC) has also The percentage decreased dramatically after fire exposure and the temperature increased from 25 to 750 ° C.
Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria with ESBL Genes: A Growing Threat Among HIV Patients in Nepal
Authors: Maharjan Riju , Bastola Anup , Adhikari Nabaraj , Rijal Komal Raj , Banjara Megha Raj , Ghimire Prakash , Shrestha Upendra Thapa
Published: December 2021

Background

Bacterial opportunistic infections are quite common in HIV patients. Besides HIV-TB coinfection, lower respiratory tract infections by multidrug-resistant bacteria cause significant morbidity and mortality among HIV patients. This study was done to evaluate the bacterial coinfection of LRT and detect plasmid-mediated blaTEM and blaCTX−M genes among Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamase (ESBL) producing isolates from sputum samples in HIV patients.
Methods

A total of 263 sputum samples from HIV-positive cases were processed with standard microbiological methods to isolate and identify the possible pathogens. The identified bacterial isolates were assessed for antibiotic susceptibility pattern by using modified Kirby Bauer disk diffusion method following Clinical Laboratory Standard Institute (CLSI) guidelines. Plasmid DNA was extracted from multidrug-resistant and ESBL producers for screening of ESBL genes; blaCTX−M and blaTEM by conventional PCR method using specific primers.
Results

Of 263 sputum samples, 67 (25.48%) were culture positive showing Klebsiella pneumoniae; 17(25.37%) as the most predominant one. A higher rate of infection (4/8, 50%) was observed among old-aged people of 61 -70 years, whereas no infection was observed below 20 years. About 30.0% (15/50) of smokers, 32.86% (23/70) cases with previous pulmonary tuberculosis and 52.38% (11/21) with CD4 count <200 cells/µl were found to be susceptible to LRTIs. Among 53 bacterial isolates, 52.83% (n=28) were multidrug-resistant and 43.4% (n=23) were ESBL producers. All ESBL producers were sensitive to Colistin and Polymyxin B. Of 23 ESBL producers, 47.83% (11/23) and 8.6% (2/23) possessed only blaCTX−M and blaTEM genes respectively and 43.48% (10/23) possessed both ESBL genes.
Conclusion

The increasing rate of MDR bacterial infections mainly ESBL producers of LRTIs causes difficulty in the management of diseases leading to high morbidity and mortality of HIV patients.
Protocatechuic Acid Counteracts Oxidative Stress And Inflammation In Carrageenan- Induced Paw Edema in Mice
Authors: Albrakati Alaa
Published: December 2021

PCA (protocatechuic acid), a phenolic compound found in teas, fruits and vegetables, is widely recognized with its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Here we verified the protective role of PCA on carrageenan-induced paw edema in mice. PCA (25 mg/kg and 50 mg/kg) administration was applied for five consecutive days prior to the carrageenan injection. Diclofenac sodium (20 mg/kg) was used as a reference drug. PCA pretreatment notably decreased the volume of the developed edema and alleviated the histopathological alterations induced by carrageenan. Additionally, PCA administration enhanced the cellular antioxidant capacity as demonstrated by the increased levels of catalase, superoxide dismutase and reduced glutathione, in addition to the decreased malondialdehyde level in the edematous tissue. Interestingly, PCA administration was able to suppress the developed inflammatory response upon carrageenan injection as indicated by the decreased levels and expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and mediators including tumor necrosis factor alpha, interlukin-1 beta, interlukin-6, inducible nitric oxide synthase, nitric oxide, cyclooxygenase-II, prostaglandin E2, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, myeloperoxidase and nuclear factor kappa B. These results collectively confirm the protective effect of PCA against carrageenan-induced paw edema owing to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory characteristics.
Interference Suppression in Heterogeneous Massive MIMO Systems with Imperfect CSI
Authors: Sedghi Rana , azghani masoumeh
Published: December 2021

Interference management is of paramount importance in heterogeneous massive mimo networks (HetNet). In this paper, an algorithm has been suggested to suppress the interference in large-MIMO HetNets with imperfect channel state information(CSI). The proposed technique controls both the intra-tier and cross-tier interference of the macrocell as well as the small cells. The intra-tier interference of the macrocell as well as the cross-tier interference have been minimized under maximum transmission power and minimum signal to interference and noise ratio (SINR) constraint. The channel estimation error matrix has also been modeled using the joint sparsity property. The precoding algorithm is thus achieved through the application of semi-definite relaxation and block coordinate descent techniques. The intra-tier interference of the small cells are addressed with the aid of the zero forcing scheme. The proposed method has been validated through various simulations which confirm the superiority of the algorithm over its counterparts.
Estimation of Aboveground Biomass For Winter Wheat In The Later Growth Stage By Combining Digital Texture And Spectral Analysis
Authors: Zheng Ling , Jianpeng Tao , Qian Bao , Shizhuang Weng , Yakun Zhang , Jinling Zhao , Linsheng Huang
Published: December 2021

Background: Aboveground biomass (AGB) is an important indicator to predict crop yield. Traditional spectral features or image textures have been proposed to estimate the AGB of crops, but they perform poorly in estimation of AGB at high biomass levels. The present study thus evaluated the ability of spectral features, image textures, combinations thereof to estimate winter wheat AGB. Result: The spectral features were obtained from the wheat canopy reflectance spectra of 400–1000 nm including original wavelengths and seven vegetation indices (VIs), then we screened effective wavelengths (EWs) through successive projection algorithm (SPA) and the optimal vegetation index selected by correlation analysis. The image textures features were extracted by gray level co-occurrence matrix including texture features (TEX) and normalized difference texture index (NDTI), then we selected effective variables including the optimal texture subset (OTEXS) and the optimal normalized difference texture index subset (ONDTIS) through the ranking of feature importance of random forest (RF). Linear regression (LR), partial least squares regression (PLS) and random forest (RF) were established to evaluate the relationship between each calculated feature and AGB. The results demonstrate that the ONDTIS with PLS based on validation datasets exhibited better performance in estimating AGB for the post-seedling stage (R2 = 0.75, RMSE = 0.04). Moreover, the combinations of OTEXS and EWs with LR based on validation datasets exhibited the highest prediction accuracy for the post-seedling stage (R2 = 0.78, RMSE = 0.05). Conclusion: The findings show that the combined use of spectral features and image textures can effectively improve the accuracy for AGB estimation especially in post-seeding stage.
Effects of Urea Supplementation On The Nutritional Quality And Microbial Community of Alfalfa (Medicago Sativa L.) Silage
Authors: Hou Zhenping , Zheng Xia , Zhang Xuelei , Chen Qing , Wu Duanqin
Published: December 2021

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the contribution of urea on the nutritional quality and microbial community of ensiled alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.). Alfalfa silage was control group without urea (AL), supplementation with 0.5 % urea (AU1), or supplementation with 1 % urea (AU2). The silage tanks were opened and sampled after silage at 0, 15, 30, and 60 d. Results showed that AU2 had higher pH, ratio of NH3-N/TN and CP content than those in AL and AU1 while AU1 had higher ADF than that in AL and AU2 after 15 d silage. Richness and diversity indices of microbial communities in silage were no significant differences among AL, AU1 and AU2 group. Proteobacteria (58.23%) and Firmicutes (40.95%) were the predominant phylum in three groups during the silage process. The percent of community abundances on genera level of Enterobacteriaceae (37.61%) and Klebsiella (41.78%) in AL were a little higher than those in AU1 (30.39%, 25.02%) and AU2 (33.48%, 26.92%). These results showed that silage with urea alone could not improve the quality of alfalfa.
Leveraging Parrondo's paradox for sustainable agriculture
Authors: Gokhale Chaitanya , Sharma Nikhil
Published: December 2021

Rotating crops is a sustainable agricultural technique that has been at the disposal of humanity since time immemorial.
Switching between cover crops and cash crops allows the fields avoids overexploitation due to intensive farming.
How often the respite is to be provided and what is the optimum cash cover rotation in terms of maximising yield schedule is a long-standing question tackled on multiple fronts by agricultural scientists, economists, biologists and computer scientists, to name a few.
Dealing with the uncertainty in the field due to diseases, pests, droughts, floods, and impending effects of climate change, is important to consider when designing the cropping strategy.
Analysing this time-tested technique of crop rotations with a new lens of Parrondo's paradox allows us to improve upon the technique and use it in synchronisation with the burning questions of contemporary times.
By calculating optimum switching probabilities in a randomised cropping sequence, suggesting the optimum deterministic sequences and judicious use of fertilisers, we propose methods for improving crop yield and the eventual profit margins for farmers.
Overall we also extend the domain of applicability of the seemingly unintuitive paradox by Parrondo, where two losing situations can be combined eventually into a winning scenario.
Environmental sources along natural cave ripening shape the microbiome and metabolome of artisanal blue-veined cheeses
Authors: Alexa Elena , Cobo-Diaz José F , Renes Erica , O´Callaghan Tom F , Kilcawley Kieran , Mannion David , Skibinska Iwona , Ruiz Lorena , Margolles Abelardo , Fernández-Gómez Paula , Alvarez-Molina Adrián , Crispie Fiona , Puente-Gómez Paula , López Mercedes , Prieto Miguel , Cotter Paul , Alvarez-Ordóñez Avelino
Published: December 2021

Microorganisms colonising processing environments can significantly impact food quality and safety. Here we describe a detailed longitudinal study assessing the impact of cave ripening on the microbial succession and quality markers across different producers of blue-veined cheese. Both the producer and cave in which cheeses were ripened significantly influenced the cheese microbiome and metabolome. The cheese microbiome was significantly determined by the microbiome of caves, which were a source of Brevibacterium, Corynebacterium, Staphylococcus, Tetragenococcus and Yaniella, among others, as demonstrated through source tracking and the characterization of 613 metagenome assembled genomes. Tetragenococcus koreensis and T. halophilus were detected at high abundance in cheese for the first time, associated with the occurrence of various metabolites, and showed high levels of horizontal gene transfer with other members of the cheese microbiome. Overall, we demonstrated that processing environments can be a source of non-starter microorganisms of relevance to ripening of artisanal fermented foods.
Antarctic Permafrost Degassing Revealed By Extensive Soil Gas and Co2 Flux Survey in Taylor Valley
Authors: Ruggiero Livio , Sciarra Alessandra , Mazzini Adriano , Florindo Fabio , Wilson Gary , Tartarello Maria Chiara , Mazzoli Claudio , Anderson Jacob , Romano Valentina , Worthington Rachel , Bigi Sabina , Sassi Raffaele , Ciotoli Giancarlo
Published: December 2021

McMurdo Dry Valleys comprise 10% of the ice-free soil surface areas in Antarctica. Permafrost stability plays an important role in C-cycle as it potentially stores considerable quantities of greenhouse gases. While the geomorphology of the Dry Valleys reflects a long history of changing climate conditions, comparison with the rapidly warming Northern polar region suggests that future climate and ecosystems may change more rapidly from permafrost degradation. In Austral summer 2019/2020 a comprehensive sampling of soil gases and CO2 flux measurements was undertaken in the Taylor Valley, with the aims to identify potential presence of soil gases in the active layer. The results obtained show high concentrations of CH4, CO2, He and an increasing CO2 flux rate. We identify the likely source of the gas to be from dissolved gases in deep brine moving from inland (potentially underneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet) to the coast at depth beneath the permafrost layer.
C3aR1 Correlates With Immune Cell Infiltration and Serves as Prognostic and Therapeutic Biomarker in Gastric Cancer
Authors: liu weifeng , Chu Zhijie , Yang Cheng , Yang Tianbao , Yang Yanhui , Sun Junjun
Published: December 2021

As the fourth most common malignancy worldwide, gastric cancer can lead more than 720 000 patient death every year. Precisely therapeutic intervention can significantly improve patients’ survival status underlying the precise clarification by molecular indexes. Identifying the biomarkers highly associated with disease prognosis will be helpful to guide the clinical therapy. C3ar1 is an essential receptor in the complement system, and participates in various biological processes associated with immunological responses. To identify the crucial roles of C3AR1 in gastric cancer tmorigenesis, we determined the mRNA profile, protein expression levels and the clinicopathological indexes using cBioportal, Kaplan-Meier plotter and the Human Protein Atlas databases. To identify the molecular network in C3AR1-expressed gastric cancer, we obtained the differentially expressed genes using the GEPIA database compared with normal stomach tissues. Furthermore, we analyzed the biological impact of these differentially expressed genes using protein-protein interaction network and gene set enrichment analysis, in which we identified the hub genes and critical pathways influenced by over-expressed C3AR1 in gastric cancer. Finally, we evaluated the correlation between the C3AR1 expression levels and immune cell infiltration levels utilizing the Tumor Immunoassay Resource database. Our results revealed that the higher expression level of C3AR1 can lead higher infiltration of T cell CD8+, T cell CD4+, macrophage, neutrophil, B cell and myeloid dendritic cells into tumor tissue. Moreover, we also found that higher infiltration of macrophage cells into tumor tissue can worsen the survival of patients with gastric cancer, which may be highly associated with the polarization states of macrophages (TAM and M2 status). Our investigation suggest that C3AR1 can be as an efficient diagnostic biomarkers for gastric cancer therapy.
Tranexamic Acid Alters The Immunophenotype of Phagocytes After Lower Limb Surgery
Authors: Draxler Dominik F. , Hanafi Gryselda , Zahra Saffanah , McCutcheon Fiona , Ho Heidi , Keragala Charithani B. , Liu Zikou , Daly David , Painter Thomas , Wallace Sophia , Plebanski Magdalena , Myles Paul S. , Medcalf Robert L.
Published: December 2021

Introduction: Tranexamic acid (TXA) is an antifibrinolytic agent frequently used in elective surgery to reduce blood loss. We recently found it also acts as a potent immune-modulator in patients undergoing cardiac surgery.Methods: Patients undergoing lower limb surgery were enrolled into the “Tranexamic Acid in Lower Limb Arthroplasty” (TALLAS) pilot study. The cellular immune response was characterised longitudinally pre- and post-operatively using full blood examination (FBE) and comprehensive immune cell phenotyping by flowcytometry. Red blood cells and platelets were determined in the FBE and levels of T cell cytokines and the plasmin-antiplasmin complex determined using ELISA.Results: TXA administration increased the proportion of circulating CD141+ conventional dendritic cells (cDC) on post-operative day (POD) 3. It also reduced the expression of CD83 and TNFR2 on classical monocytes and levels of circulating IL-10 at the end of surgery (EOS) time point, whilst increasing the expression of CCR4 on natural killer (NK) cells at EOS, and reducing TNFR2 on POD-3 on NK cells. Red blood cells and platelets were decreased to a lower extent at POD-1 in the TXA group, representing reduced blood loss. Discussion: In this investigation we have extended our examination on the immunomodulatory effects of TXA in surgery by also characterising the end of surgery time point and including B cells and neutrophils in our immune analysis, elucidating new immunophenotypic changes in phagocytes as well as NK cells. This study enhances our understanding of TXA-mediated effects on the haemostatic and immune response in surgery, validating changes in important functional immune cell subsets in orthopaedic patients.
A New Model for Studying Nonlinear Vibration Behaviors of Gear-Bearing System
Authors: Wang Zi , Zhu Caichao
Published: December 2021

A new model for nonlinear vibration behaviors of gear-bearing system is proposed in this work. For presenting the nonlinear excitation from bearing compliance, the enhanced bearing force excitation model containing two kinds of bearing stiffnesses, which are mean stiffness for the load transfer capacity and alternating stiffness for the disturbance resisting ability, is developed. Considering other dynamic excitations including mesh stiffness, contact pressure angle, center distance, unbalance force caused by static and dynamic eccentricity, an advanced iterative numerical method is introduced, which can timely and accurately update the excitations caused by load-dependent and time-varying nonlinearities inside of the system. The constant bearing stiffness and time-varying bearing alternating stiffness models are introduced and compared with the enhanced bearing excitation force model. The parametric resonant regions and system nonlinear periodic motion states are studied and compared for different bearing supporting models. The effects from internal and external excitations on the system nonlinear vibration behaviors are investigated.