bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Disturbances can facilitate prior invasions more than subsequent invasions in microbial communities
Authors: Lear Luke , Hesse Elze , Buckling Angus
Published: April 2024

Invasions are commonly found to benefit from disturbance events.
However, the importance of the relative timing and order of the invasion
and disturbance for invader success remains uncertain. Here, we
experimentally test this by invading a five-species bacterial community
on eight separate occasions – four before a disturbance and four after.
Invader success and impact on community composition was greatest when
the invasion immediately followed the disturbance. However, the
subsequent invasions had negligible success or impact. Pre-disturbance,
invader success and impact was greatest when the invader was added just
before the disturbance. Importantly however, the first three
pre-disturbance invasion events had significantly greater success than
the last three post-disturbance invasions. Moreover, these findings were
consistent across a range of propagule pressures. Overall, we
demonstrate that timing is highly important for both the success and
impact on community composition of an invader, with both being on
average greater pre-disturbance.
Icariin alleviates renal inflammation and tubulointerstitial fibrosis via Nrf2-mediated attenuation of mitochondrial damage
Authors: Ding Nannan , Sun Shanyue , Zhou Shuting , Lv Zhimei , Wang Rong
Published: April 2024

Tubulointerstitial fibrosis is an inevitable consequence of all
progressive chronic kidney disease (CKD) and contributes to a
substantial health burden worldwide. Icariin, an active flavonoid
glycoside obtained from Epimedium species, exerts potential
antifibrotic effect. The study aimed to explore the protective effects
of icariin against tubulointerstitial fibrosis in unilateral ureteral
obstruction (UUO)-induced CKD mice and TGF-β1-treated HK-2 cells, and
furthermore, to elucidate the underlying mechanisms. The results
demonstrated that icariin significantly improved renal function,
alleviated tubular injuries, and reduced fibrotic lesions in UUO mice.
Furthermore, icariin suppressed renal inflammation, reduced oxidative
stress as evidenced by elevated SOD activity and decreased MDA level.
Additionally, TOMM20 immunofluorescence staining and transmission
electron microscope revealed that mitochondrial mass and morphology of
tubular epithelial cells in UUO mice was improved by icariin. In HK-2
cells treated with TGF-β1, icariin markedly decreased profibrotic
proteins expression, inhibited inflammatory factors, and protected
mitochondria along with improving mitochondrial morphology, reducing
reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitochondrial ROS (mtROS)
overproduction, and preserving membrane potential. Further
investigations demonstrated that icariin could activate Nrf2/HO-1
pathway both in vivo and in vitro, whereas inhibition of
Nrf2 by ML385 counteracted the protective effects of icariin on
TGF-β1-induced HK-2 cells. In conclusion, icariin protects against renal
inflammation and tubulointerstitial fibrosis at least partly through
Nrf2-mediated attenuation of mitochondrial dysfunction, which suggests
that icariin could be developed as a promising therapeutic candidate for
the treatment of CKD.
Deploying Kronfeldner’s concept of human nature in archaeology
Authors: Porcic Marko
Published: April 2024

This essay represents a reflection on the role and relevance of the concept
of human nature in archaeology, inspired by the ideas about human nature
presented and elaborated by Maria Kronfeldner in the book What?s Left of
Human Nature?. It is a comment from an archaeologist?s perspective.
Kronfeldner formulated three ways in which human nature can be
conceptualized: classificatory, descriptive and explanatory human nature. In
the text, I review the archaeological and anthropological topics for which
the three aspects of human nature are relevant. In the first part, I address
the problems related to the concepts of classificatory and descriptive human
nature in the late Pleistocene, when Homo sapiens was not the only species
of the genus Homo on the planet. In the second part, I discuss the role of
human nature from the epistemological position when it comes to the
theoretical basis of reconstructing human behavior in the past and the more
general anthropological issue of establishing cross-cultural regularities
and laws. This is by no means a comprehensive and detailed survey of the
potentially relevant topics, but it should illustrate the usefulness and
relevance of Kronfeldner?s concepts for the fields of archaeology and
anthropology.
Simulation analysis of enhanced fluidization leaching process and geothermal synergy in deep ground metal mines
Authors: Zhang Deqing , Wang Ende , Luan Jinpeng , Wang Xue
Published: April 2024

Based on the mining of deep metal mineral resources and the current in-situ
leaching mining process of uranium ore, combined with the technological
characteristics of ?fluidized mining of metal ore? and ?deep geothermal
development?, an innovative concept of strengthening the fluidized leaching
process of deep metal ore - geothermal co mining is proposed, A numerical
simulation method was used to analyze the turbulent flow and heat transfer
characteristics of a new type of heat transfer enhancement element - a swirl
plate as a support between tubes. The renormalization two equation
turbulence model was used for numerical simulation, and the SIMPLEC
algorithm was used for pressure and velocity coupling, and the enhanced wall
treatment method was used for wall treatment. The periodic changes in the
cross-sectional flow field and turbulence intensity of the unit flow channel
were analyzed, as well as the synergistic relationship between the flow
field and temperature field on the cross-section. The corresponding
variation trends of the average Nusselt number and the average synergy angle
of the cross-section were compared. The experimental results show that the
270-4.25 cyclone sheet can more fully utilize the enhanced heat transfer of
the spin flow, and the overall average Nusselt number is higher than
180-2.0, which is consistent with the experimental results. That is, ?m is
low where high Nub and ?m is high where low Nub is low, indicating that the
changing trend of the two is fully consistent with the field synergy
principle. This paper systematically analyzes the basic theoretical
bottleneck, key technical problems and future development trend in the
process of geothermal joint mining of deep metal mine, and aims to provide
reference for the strengthening of geothermal joint mining and geothermal
joint mining of deep metal ore.
Design and performance analysis of motor phase change heat storage heat pump system for new energy vehicles
Authors: Du Meng
Published: April 2024

Based on the work of air conditioners for new powerful cars, the author
created a heat pump air conditioner with various functions, such as cooling
and heating passengers, cooling and preheating the battery, defogging,
defrosting, and PTC heating. Developed basic components of AC heat pumps
such as scroll compressor model, running condenser model, combined
evaporator model, plate evaporator extended valve model, and radial basis
function neural network model for predicting compressor volumetric
efficiency and isentropic efficiency. The accuracy of the gas-flow,
gas-flow, and plate evaporator simulation model was verified. The maximum
error between the experimental and simulated values of compressor power,
heat exchanger, and system COP in various operating models is 0.34~10.09,
which is consistent with the experimental results. correct and can be used
for ventilation pump research. Also, an operational simulation analysis
platform was used to analyze the performance of the heat pump and study the
system characteristics. It is clear that this system provides more warmth to
the occupants in the defrost mode, and current research on the operation of
the air conditioning pump is based on the first law of thermodynamics.
Power disassembly equipment for high efficiency heat transfer plate heat exchangers
Authors: Liu Yadan , Chen Shaohua , Zhang Caiyu , Ma Hui , Li Na , Bai Juan
Published: April 2024

Plate heat exchangers are realized by means of a heat transfer mechanism, in
which heat is naturally transferred from the hot substance to the object
with a lower temperature according to the laws of thermodynamics. Two
liquids of different temperatures flow on the wall, heat transfer on the
wall and convection of the liquid on the wall, thus promoting heat transfer
between the two liquids. Under the same flow rate and power consumption
conditions, its heat transfer coefficient is three times that of shell and
tube heat exchangers, which is a key and efficient new equipment for
effectively using effective resources and saving and developing new energy.
However the heat supply plate heat exchanger has a tiny circulation surface
and is easily obstructed. Regular maintenance and cleaning, troubleshooting,
and plate replacement all necessitate frequent heat exchanger disassembly
and installation. The requirements and challenges in dismantling and
assembling the heat exchanger are very high, and manual disassembly is
wasteful, making consistent force difficult to achieve. The current methods
of disassembly and assembly are inefficient and incorrect. The intelligent
mechanization of disassembly and assembly equipment is realized in this
paper by driving, clamping, automatic control, distance measurement,
sensing, and other systems. The problems of uneven force, low efficiency,
and precision in plate heat exchanger disassembly and assembly are solved.
Our power disassembly equipment for high efficiency heat transfer plate heat
exchangers not only enhances disassembly efficiency and precision, but it
also ensures the safe operation of the plate heat exchanger heating system,
and the heat transfer efficiency and heat exchange efficiency are improved.
Furthermore, it has a wide range of applications in the petroleum, chemical,
and other industries.
Research and application of heat recovery and automation monitoring system for new energy vehicle motor equipment
Authors: Wang Wei , Wang Jun , Ling Li-Shi-Bao
Published: April 2024

In order to improve the energy efficiency of pure electric vehicles, the
author proposes a thermal energy recovery and automation monitoring system
for motor equipment based on new energy vehicles. Based on the analysis of
the battery thermal management model, a series heat exchange model between
the motor and the battery was established. An integrated thermal management
system control strategy based on motor waste heat recovery was proposed for
electric vehicles in low temperature environments, and simulation and
validation were conducted at different environmental temperatures (-10~0 ?).
The simulation results show that this configuration can shorten the heating
time by 111-343 seconds compared to traditional battery thermal management
systems during the heating stage. During the insulation stage, frequent
activation of positive temperature coefficient thermistor can be avoided
and the battery temperature can be maintained around 20?C, which is not only
conducive to extending the battery life but also reduces the comprehensive
energy consumption by 4.39-7.70%. On the other hand, this configuration can
reduce the impact of low temperature on comprehensive energy consumption
from 9.77-2.07%. It is proved that heat recovery can effectively alleviate
the range anxiety caused by ambient temperature.
Internet of things temperature control of indirect dual tank heat storage system in solar photo-thermal power plant
Authors: Tian Feng
Published: April 2024

In order to study the temperature control of the IoT for indirect dual tank
heat storage systems in solar thermal power plants, the author proposes a
refined design method for heat storage systems. Through CFD software FLUENT
analysis, the author proposes a temperature control scheme for storage tanks
in solar thermal power plants and applies this method to the temperature
control and salt injection processes of actual commercial power plants. The
refined design of a systematic heat storage system mainly involves precise
calculation of molten salt content and refined analysis of overall and local
stresses in the storage tank. For molten salt storage tanks with a diameter
of about 30 m, every 1 cm of liquid level design error will result in
economic losses of tens of thousands of Yuan. In addition, the design
process of storage tanks should fully consider temperature control, salt
injection, and some special operating conditions during operation. By
numerically simulating the flow process of flue gas and molten salt in the
storage tank and the real-time wall temperature of the storage tank, a
temperature control scheme that does not exceed the maximum allowable wall
temperature difference of the storage tank is obtained to reduce thermal
stress during the temperature control process of the storage tank, reduce
the risk and failure rate of the storage tank. The temperature control
scheme has achieved good results in practical projects.
Experiment and calculation of charge and release characteristics of phase change electronic heat storage system
Authors: Kang Di , Li Yongjiang , Kang Lijie , Ma Yuan
Published: April 2024

A phase change heat storage device for an active thermoelectric heat pump was
tested for its heat storage and release performance at different operating
voltages and heat source temperatures. A study on heat release/discharge
characteristics of a phase active heat exchanger is proposed. The
experimental results show that there are significant differences in
heating/discharging time and operating performance of the device under
different operating conditions and heating conditions. When the operating
voltage is high and the temperature of waste heat is high, the heating time
of the device is short. Continuing to increase the voltage efficiency during
this period will increase the temperature difference between the cold and
hot ends of the semiconductor chip, decrease the heat coefficient of the
device. Compared to passive phase change heating equipment, the best way of
this equipment is to adjust the voltage. Adjusting the operating voltage in
a suitable manner can maximize its heat/discharge efficiency, while
overcoming the shortage of heat-supply equipment in low voltage secondary
heat storage systems, and cannot improve the inequality between supply and
demand in terms of time, position, and energy.
Information Technology Capability, Managerial Ability, and Financial Reporting Quality: A Research Note
Authors: Mungai Ann N. , Lee Lorraine S.
Published: April 2024

The role of a firm’s information technology (IT) capability and managerial ability on financial reporting quality has been documented in prior literature. However, scant empirical work exists on the moderating effect of managerial ability on a firm’s IT capability and its impact on financial reporting quality. Drawing on the resource-based view of the firm and a sample of firms from 2000 to 2013, we predict and find that InformationWeek 500 (IW500) firms with high-ability managers are associated with better financial reporting quality than non-IW500 firms. Specifically, we find that IW500 firms have better financial reporting quality and are less likely to restate their financial statements in subsequent periods and the interaction of IT capability and managerial ability improves financial reporting quality. Our findings document the importance of IT and the moderating effect of managerial ability on IT in influencing financial reporting quality.

Data Availability: Data are available from the public sources cited in the text.

JEL Classifications: M40.
Sequential Reporting Bias
Authors: Aghamolla Cyrus , Guttman Ilan , Petrov Evgeny
Published: April 2024

Firms with correlated fundamentals often issue reports sequentially, leading to information spillovers. The theoretical literature has investigated multifirm reporting, but only when firms report simultaneously. We examine the implications of sequential reporting, where firms aim to maximize their market price and can manipulate their reports. The introduction of sequentiality significantly alters the biasing behavior of firms and the resulting informational environment relative to simultaneous reporting. In particular, a lead firm always manipulates more when reports are issued sequentially. Moreover, relative to simultaneous reporting, sequential reporting reduces the overall information available to the market about each firm, resulting in less efficient and less volatile prices. Additionally, we find that stronger correlation in firm fundamentals can amplify the lead firm’s incentive for manipulation under sequentiality, in contrast to simultaneous reporting. We offer further results regarding, for example, market response coefficients, and provide a number of empirical implications.

JEL Classifications: C72; D82; D83; G14; M41.
African Medical School Academic Success and Social Drug use among Undergraduate Students
Authors: TA* Dengela
Published: April 2024

Background: It has long been known that using drugs like alcohol, khat, and tobacco is one of the main causes of human suffering. It is now regarded as one of the most significant socioeconomic and public health concerns in the world. Although it has an impact on many facets of society, juvenile substance abuse is alarmingly on the rise. Objective: This study’s goal is to evaluate how social drug usage affects students’ academic performance, specifically among those who will undergraduate from Africa medical college in 2023. Methodology: A cross-sectional study that was done on an institutional level among Africa medical college undergraduates. For the current study, a sample of 173 students was selected using a straightforward random selecting procedure from nine departments. Result: This survey included a total of 173 graduating students from various departments. Overall, 97.4 women, or 64.2%, and 174.5 women, or 35.8%, were present. Social drugs were taken by 33.6% of people at some point in their life. The most often used social drugs, according to this study, were beer, khat, and cigarettes (41.8%, 40.7%, and 12.1%, respectively). The most frequent effects of social drug use on students’ academic performances were higher absenteeism from class (31.9%) and a decline in cumulative grade point (27.5%), followed by a lack of interest in routine activities (25.3%) and worsening academic performance (15.2%), according to respondents. Peer pressure and socialization (17.8%) were the two most frequent reasons given by respondents, whereas academic unhappiness (13.3%), the desire to improve academic performance (11.1%), and loss of family control (8.9%) were the least frequent. Age, Religion, Ever Social Drug Use, Current Social Drug Use, Started Using Social Drug Use, and Impact of Social Drug Use show statistically significant associations with CGPA, according to statistical analysis and p-value. Conclusion and Recommendation: The studies revealed that social drug use had a negative impact on kids’ academic performance. The most prevalent outcomes were an increase in absences from school, a drop in cumulative grade point, and a decrease of interest in everyday chores. Khat, alcohol, and cigarettes were the most popular social drugs. This finding calls for further in-depth investigation into the various challenges connected to social drug use as well as instruction by responsible organizations about the detrimental effects that social drug use has on students’ academic performance, particularly when they first enrol in college.
Evaluación de habilidades blandas para mejora en el servicio de las pequeñas y medianas empresa turísticas
Authors: Ruiz de Chávez Alfaro Carolina , Álvarez Cedillo Jesús Antonio , Yarzábal Coronel Nashielly
Published: April 2024

Las habilidades blandas pueden ser el detonante para potenciar a las empresas mediante la prestación de servicios de calidad o experiencias satisfactorias, para lo cual los proveedores deben involucrar habilidades emocionales y sociales para alcanzar la satisfacción de los clientes. Por ende, en el presente trabajo se llevó a cabo un análisis de pequeñas y medianas empresas (pymes) turísticas para intentar comprender sus necesidades, de modo que puedan convertirse en empresas adaptables y competitivas, en especial a raíz de la pandemia por covid-19. Para ello, se diseñó una investigación cualitativa basada en la teoría fundamentada mediante la revisión de artículos, y se aplicó la codificación con el software Taggette. Los resultados demuestran la importancia de que el turismo fortalezca el servicio y la atención al cliente para generar experiencias memorables y contribuir a la preservación del patrimonio natural, cultural y paisajístico, elementos vitales para mantener la sostenibilidad territorial y el crecimiento de la zona. Asimismo, se evidencian deficiencias en la formación y desarrollo de quienes ofrecen este servicio, pues carecen del conocimiento y las habilidades específicas necesarias para este sector.
Educação Matemática “de” Indígenas
Authors: Vieira Lygianne Batista , Moreira Geraldo Eustáquio
Published: April 2024

A matemática escolar e acadêmica, no contexto da educação de indígenas, apresenta organização curricular subordinada à lógica ocidental, colonizada e homogeneizada. Diante disso, refletimos sobre os desafios curriculares e pedagógicos do ensino da matemática de estudantes indígenas e propomos um diálogo com aproximações de uma Educação Matemática “de” indígenas. Este texto é um ensaio teórico, do tipo exploratório, oriundo do estudo da literatura referente, principalmente, aos constructos da etnomatemática e matemática para a justiça social. Mais do que promover o acesso dos/as estudantes indígenas à educação, é preciso reconhecer estruturas sociais que impedem sua participação ativa, como a superação do currículo etnocentrado. Compreendemos que a equidade só será alcançada quando atitudes e práticas pedagógicas decoloniais, em relação ao conhecimento matemático, se fizerem presentes.
Políticas educacionais na realidade brasileira pós-BNCC
Authors: Miesse Maria Carolina , Queiroz Leonardo Cordeiro de , Romero Francielli Ferreira da Rocha , Souza Vânia de Fátima Matias de
Published: April 2024

Este artigo objetiva analisar a produção científica com ênfase na relação entre qualidade na educação e formação integral nas políticas educacionais brasileiras entre 2017 e 2020, disseminada nos periódicos de Educação, por meio dos pressupostos da revisão integrativa. Utilizou-se das bases de dados: Portal de Periódicos da Capes, Google Acadêmico, Edubase, Scielo, Scopus e PEDro, adotando os descritores: “Qualidade na educação” and “Formação Integral” and “BNCC”. A seleção resultou em um n. amostral de 356 artigos, dos quais foram selecionados 18. Os dados foram analisados e categorizados a partir dos pressupostos da análise de conteúdo de Richardson (2017). Os resultados demonstraram que a qualidade educacional defendida prioriza o tempo de permanência na escola e a melhoria dos resultados nas avaliações, visando à preparação ao mercado e não uma formação integral dos sujeitos.
Para além dos silêncios curriculares da colonialidade
Authors: Pavan Ruth , Tedeschi Sirley Lizott
Published: April 2024

O artigo objetiva mostrar que, apesar de a colonialidade ser forte nos currículos, ela está sendo questionada em diferentes espaços, inclusive nos currículos de formação de professores. Para tal propósito, aproximamo-nos do campo teórico dos estudos decoloniais, que, ao mesmo tempo em que critica o processo de construção e imposição da colonialidade, traz possiblidades de ruptura. A pesquisa foi realizada por meio de entrevistas semiestruturadas com acadêmicos de diferentes licenciaturas de uma universidade da região centro-oeste do país. Pela análise qualitativa efetuada, conclui-se que a presença de sujeitos de diversos movimentos e grupos culturais trouxe, para dentro dos currículos, discussões que vão questionando a colonialidade, com destaque para a lógica da universalidade, o desejo de uniformidade e a lógica da produção dos estereótipos.
Criações curriculares com narrativas em podcast nas pesquisas com os cotidianos
Authors: Cerdeira Maristela Petry , Teixeira Roberta Guimarães , Rodrigues Maria do Carmo de Morais Mata , Brandão Rebeca
Published: April 2024

A produção de narrativas trazidas em conversas durante encontros virtuais com 'docentesdiscentes' nos períodos da pandemia e pós-Covid-19 possibilitou criar currículos, a partir das redes educativas que formamos e pelas quais somos formados. Ao narrar a vida e literaturizar a ciência, em vivências de ‘práticasteorias' com podcasts, via ambientes virtuais, criou-se um acervo de áudios com produções sensíveis, em um período de extrema necessidade de escuta, acolhimento e afetividade. Defendemos em nossas pesquisas que, nas conversas, currículos são fabulados nos cotidianos da pesquisa, narrativas e escutas se entrelaçam para novas criações. Neste artigo, vamos narrar essa história com a intercessão de Alves, Cavarero, Certeau, Deleuze, Ferraço e muitas outras vozes com as quais conversamos e que nos ajudam a fabular a criação de 'conhecimentossignificações'.
O GeoGebra como ferramenta de apoio para aprendizagem significativa da Transformação linear de funções trigonométricas
Authors: Salmina Francisco , Lijanga Francisco Lola Celestina , Issufo Dauto Sulemane
Published: April 2024

No contexto atual, com o avanço tecnológico, é fundamental que o professor não se limite apenas a uma mera estruturação de conteúdos, seguindo sequência lógica dos programas de ensino preconizados para cada classe. Esta pesquisa, inserida no projeto “Geogebra & STEAM: implicações para melhoria da Educação Matemática em Países de Língua Oficial Portuguesa” é de natureza qualitativa e enquadra-se no âmbito de uma experiência em sala de aulas cujo objetivo geral é auxiliar os alunos a compreender a estruturação conceitual das translações das funções trigonométricas aplicadas no quotidiano e seus comportamentos singulares. Ao trazer uma abordagem tecnológica, como é o uso do Software GeoGebra, para o ensino das Funções Trigonométricas, em especial das translações lineares, pôde-se perceber que a proposta foi de grande importância, pois despertou-se nos alunos possibilidades de estudos que facilitaram o processo de ensino e aprendizagem. Através da observação das emoções, todos estavam muito interessados e participativos, dialogando sempre e discutindo entre eles todas as actividades solicitadas, demonstrando curiosidade e entusiamo.
Palavras-Chave: Aprendizagem significativa; translações trigonométricas; GeoGebra e Educação STEAM
GeoGebra como Software auxiliar no processo de ensino e aprendizagem de funções quadráticas
Authors: Buene Bento Carlos , Munguambe Yula
Published: April 2024

O presente trabalho pretende analisar o uso do GeoGebra no contexto da Educação STEAM como ferramenta auxiliar ao estudo das Funções Quadráticas, visando fomentar a aprendizagem com compreensão e significativa dos conceitos matemáticos, de forma ativa e interativa. Optou-se por um estudo de caso exploratório, de natureza essencialmente qualitativa. A experiência envolveu uma turma da 9ª classe da Escola Secundária Unidade T3, com 120 alunos. No contexto de utilização do GeoGebra, com condições precárias e desprovidas de tecnologia, verificou-se que as ações inovadoras provocaram uma interação participativa e colaborativa, mostrando um instigante e significativo interesse nos alunos na construção do conhecimento matemático. O GeoGebra levou-nos a ver que é possível melhorar o ensino e a aprendizagem das Funções Quadráticas, aliando a teoria e a prática em diferentes situações da vida real. Assim, o foco deste artigo centra-se na apresentação dos resultados trabalhos desenvolvidos no âmbito da experiência supracitada.

Palavras-chave: GeoGebra & STEAM, Função Quadrática, Aprendizagem Significativa.
O GeoGebra como recurso didático para a promoção da aprendizagem das funções exponencial e logarítmica
Authors: Adamugy Salma , Cavele Agostinho Augusto
Published: April 2024

Este artigo enquadra-se em uma experiência desenvolvida na Escola Secundária da Munhuana, na 10a classe, no estudo das Funções Exponencial e Logarítmica, suportadas pelo software GeoGebra. A pesquisa comporta um estudo de caso exploratório e interpretativo, essencialmente qualitativo. Foi aplicado um questionário inicial e outro final aos alunos, bem como experimentos em sala de aulas, a partir dos quais, coletamos informações para o artigo. Da pesquisa, concluímos que há necessidade de se rever as metodologias de Ensino da Matemática e, optar por alternativas que estejam no contexto do aluno atual, com ênfase em Software educacional e interdisciplinaridade, em prol de uma aprendizagem significativa. Assim, com este artigo, pretende-se elucidar os resultados que o software GeoGebra pode trazer às aulas de Matemática, no ensino das funções exponencial e logarítmica.
A Study on Contributing Factors of IT Outsourcing Satisfaction Financial Service Industry in Hong Kong
Authors: Mo Wing Ying , Chiang Ray Chun Wah
Published: April 2024

This paper aims to identify the critical success factors in Hong Kong Financial Service Industry IT outsourcing satisfaction and propose possible satisfaction rate boosts. A hybrid methodology (qualitative and quantitative) was adopted to analyze the variables and their relationship thoroughly. The six members focus group was formed to discuss IT outsourcing, and the survey was conducted to collect 447 valid responses for data analysis. The six critical success factors were Perceived Information Security Risk, Quality of Service Provider, Contract Management, Internal Contract Experience, Communication and Regulatory Policy, identified to support satisfaction of Hong Kong FSI IT outsourcing after conducting the analysis. Three recommendations are proposed to improve IT outsourcing satisfaction based on the findings of critical success factors: (1) A Build-up of Vendor Evaluation Framework, (2) Enhancement for Knowledge Management, and (3) Enhance Performance Monitoring. The snowball sampling method might have introduced biased information. In future research, a more extensive research scale would be required to understand the whole population, which would be more appropriate for the industry to understand the need and construct any policy. This paper is a holistic approach to identifying factors that affect Hong Kong FSI IT outsourcing satisfaction. In addition, practical recommendations were proposed to improve those factors, thereby increasing the satisfaction rate of IT outsourcing.
A Logistic Regression Model to Predict Malaria Severity in Children
Authors: Ansong Mary Opokua , Obeng Asare Yaw , Opoku Samuel King
Published: April 2024

One of the main causes of death around the globe is malaria. Researchers have sought to develop predicting models for malaria outbreaks based on metrological data, climate data and the breeding cycle of plasmodium, the causative agent of malaria. This study predicts the severity of malaria based on environmental and biological factors. A logistic regression model was developed in this study to predict the severity of malaria based on such factors as sickle cell disease, stagnant water, garbage dumps, wet lawns, and the use of treated mosquito nets with an 83.3% accuracy rate. The study was carried out in the Bosomtwe District of Ghana with 417 respondents. It was deduced that although children in the district are highly prone to malaria infection, the severity is very low. The study recommends that not just having a good sample size alone is important during machine learning model development but also having a good sample representation of the various class labels is equally important.
Diagnostic Approach to Secondary Sjögrens Syndrome: Case Report
Authors: De Freitas George Borja , De Oliveira Vinicius da Silva , Santos Lacerda Maria Dayane da Silva , Da Cruz Sibelle Vieira Dias , De Sousa Milena Nunes Alves , De Sousa Barbosa Wanderson Limeira , Rocha Julierme Ferreira
Published: April 2024

Sjögren’s syndrome (SS) is a chronic, multisystem inflammatory disorder of probable autoimmune etiology and progressive nature, characterized by hypofunction of the exocrine glands, mainly affecting the epithelium of the salivary and lacrimal glands and causing clinical pictures of keratoconjunctivitis sicca (xerophthalmia) and xerostomia. This case report will describe the diagnostic methods and therapeutic approach used in a patient with a condition compatible with Secondary Sjögren’s Syndrome (SSS). The patient underwent diagnostic tests, schimmer tests, parotid gland ultrasonography, and minor salivary gland biopsy to confirm the diagnosis and interviews.
Hybrid Data Augmentation Based Machine Learning Approach for Botnet Attack Detection in IOT Networks
Authors: Zafar Fatma , Soni Shivank
Published: April 2024

This paper presents a comprehensive approach to botnet detection in Internet of Things (IoT) networks through the development and evaluation of a Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) augmented machine learning model. The methodology encompasses a multi-step process, starting with data collection and pre-processing, including feature extraction, normalization, and handling missing values. To address the challenge of data imbalance, a novel application of GANs is proposed. For classification of network traffic into botnet and legitimate traffic is performed using xgboost. The performance of the proposed model is rigorously evaluated using the N-BaIoT dataset, demonstrating its effectiveness through high accuracy, precision, recall, and F1-score metrics. The results indicate significant improvements over existing models, showcasing the potential of the proposed methodology in enhancing IoT network security against botnet threats.
Cascaded Deep Learning Model for Detecting Lung Infections Using Chest X-Rays
Authors: Chaturvedi Akash , Soni Shivank
Published: April 2024

This work focuses on efforts for accurately predicting lung diseases like omicron and pneumonia using chest X-ray imaging, a reliable method in this domain. The work adopts a transfer learning model for lung infection predictions from chest X-ray images. The proposed architecture encompasses both training and testing functions, with key steps including pre-processing, deep feature extraction, and classification. Initially, each X-ray image is enhanced through digital filtering for quality improvement. These processed images are then input into a robust, step-wise learning model that efficiently facilitates the automatic learning of features. The highlight of this approach is the Cascaded learning model, which not only achieves a high accuracy rate of 99% but also significantly reduces computational complexity. This is evidenced by a lower number of training parameters, making the model both more efficient and lightweight, and hence more practical for clinical applications in differentiating between omicron and pneumonia.
El pensamiento de escenarios como estrategia para el análisis institucional en universidades latinoamericanas
Authors: Cisternas Irarrázabal César
Published: April 2024

El entorno universitario sufre constantes transformaciones, lo que incrementa enormemente la complejidad e incertidumbre que deben procesar las universidades alrededor del mundo y, en particular, en América Latina. Este ensayo propone un modelo teórico-metodológico para el uso del pensamiento de escenarios como estrategia en el análisis institucional universitario orientado a la generación de evidencia para la toma de decisiones en contextos de alta incertidumbre. Se comienza exponiendo las características de la universidad latinoamericana y su entorno, se continúa con una discusión sobre la naturaleza del entorno organizacional y el aporte de los escenarios a su observación. Finalmente, se presentan lineamientos para su aplicación referentes a tres dimensiones: (1) fuentes de evidencia y gestión del no-conocimiento, (2) características estructurales del entorno universitario y (3) procedimientos metodológicos sobre los que se debe basar la construcción de estos escenarios.
Identidad del Instituto Malvinas
Authors: Vignau Coralia I.
Published: April 2024

El proyecto de identidad del Instituto Malvinas representa una valiosa oportunidad en la que el diseño en comunicación visual puede contribuir valorando y destacando un acontecimiento sumamente importante de nuestra historia, de nuestro presente y, sobre todo, de nuestro futuro, como lo es la cuestión Malvinas. El desarrollo de una identidad gráfica apropiada, para este tipo de contenidos estratégicos, acompaña e impulsa las políticas públicas en el ámbito universitario y facilita la labor de las autoridades, permitiendo su puesta en valor y potenciando su difusión, alcance y recepción por parte de la comunidad.
El lenguaje retórico en la producción de Max Rompo
Authors: Giaquinta Francisco
Published: April 2024

El siguiente texto analiza la producción visual del diseñador argentino Max Rompo. La relevancia y particularidad de sus trabajos se centra en el desarrollo de operaciones retóricas que le otorgan un sentido poético a sus piezas. Mediante una matriz de datos construida a partir del texto Retórica de la imagen (1964) de Ronald Barthes, se seleccionó y analizó trabajos comprendidos entre los años 2012 al 2015 que permitieron identificar los aportes que realizó el diseñador en el ámbito de la comunicación visual, coincidiendo con los primeros años del auge de las redes sociales en Argentina.
Hungary and Refugee: From Historical to Legal Development
Authors: Bahri Mohammad Thoriq
Published: April 2024

In 2015 refugee crisis, Hungary’s strict border controls and legal reforms drew international criticism, straining EU relations. This article employs the qualitative legal historical methodology to investigate the historical dynamics underpinning Hungary’s shifting refugee policies. The analysis uncovers a significant shift in Hungary’s approach to refugees. Following World War I, the Trianon agreement, which led to territorial loss and population displacement, posed migration challenges that Hungary addressed on a case-by-case basis. Furthermore, after 1989, Hungary aligned its legal systems with international standards. It ratified the 1951 Refugee Convention, marking the first official regulation of refugees under Decree 101. In 2007, upon EU accession, Hungary enacted the Asylum Act 2007, aligning it with the Dublin regulation and relevant EU directives, which formed the foundation for refugee crisis legislation in 2015. The study also examines the 2011 constitutional amendment, indirectly creating sociocultural barriers between Hungarian society and refugees.
Intelligent Analysis of Import and Export in Green Trade Barrier Based on Big Data Analysis
Authors: Mao Yu , Lu Shan
Published: April 2024

With the rapid development of economic globalisation, global economic and trade activities are escalating. However, environmental problems and the emergence of green economy, a response to these problems, has led to the widespread introduction of green trade barriers. These barriers implicitly limit the development of trade activities. This paper focuses on the export difficulties caused by green trade barriers and proposes a method to quantify discrete product characteristics, explore the internal characteristics of commodities and decide optimally on intended export regions. Firstly, the discrete feature of products is quantified by quantitative transformation method. Secondly, the quantitative data are used to derive the best decision for export regions through support vector regression (SVR) method. Particle swarm optimisation is used in optimising SVR parameters to achieve high-precision decision making. Comparison with historical data from the industry park shows the identification accuracy of the optimised SVR model to be better than that of the traditional regression model. This finding presents a novel perspective for developing import and export under the background of green trade barriers.
The Importance of Sports Participation on Lithuanian Adolescents’ Social and Emotional Health
Authors: Lochbaum Marc , Lisinskiene Ausra , Sisneros Cassandra , Cooper Sydney , Paulauskas Rutenis , Majauskiene Daiva
Published: April 2024

Global mental health rates are staggering. Youth mental health in sport is a topic with increasing research attention. To date, most youth sport research examines mental health from isolated events as opposed to a cumulative-assets framework. Our main research question examined sport participation group differences regarding four mental health domains; emotional competence, belief-in-others, belief-in-self, and engaged living, and the composite covitality meta-indicator. To answer our research questions, 1965 Lithuanian youths (60.10% female) ranging in age from 11 to 17 (M = 13.62, SD = 1.96) from urban and rural school districts completed our survey. Our results indicated many significant differences (p < 0.001) emerged for participant sex, age grouping, and sport participation (competitive, leisure, or none). Only for the sport participation were the MANOVA and ANOVA effect size values at least small in magnitude. In the follow-up analyses (all p’s < 0.001), the competitive group differed from the no sport group (effect sizes medium-to-large) and to the leisure participant group (effect sizes small) in all four mental health domains and the meta-indicator covitality. Small-to-medium effect size values resulted between the leisure and no sport groups. Sport participation, even for leisure, is related to improved self-reported social and emotional health in our large sample. The practical implication is clear that all governments and such bodies should provide accessible and affordable sport participation opportunities, whether competitive or recreational. Longitudinal research, as a future direction in sport contexts, will help to best understand and move forward with youth mental health.
Medication administration errors in the selected Czech hospitals: an observational study
Authors: Hajduchová Hana , Červený Martin , Brabcová Iva , Chloubová Ivana , Prokešová Radka , Malý Josef , Doseděl Martin , Tesař Ondřej , Vlček Jiří , Tóthová Valérie
Published: April 2024

Aim. The study aimed to identify the occurrence of medication administration errors in clinical practice.

Material and methods. This was a direct observational study. The study included observing the medication administration process over three years in four hospitals in the Czech Republic. STROBE was used as a checklist.

Results. A total of 18,370 medication administrations to hospitalized patients were observed and recorded, including morning, noon, and evening administrations. The most common MAE was substituting a prescribed medication without the doctor’s consent, especially among nurses aged 35-44 (p < 0.001). These MAEs involved giving a medication of diff erent strength than prescribed (p < 0.001), giving the wrong medication (p < 0.001), and giving a diff erent dose (p < 0.001). Substitutions of MAEs occurred most often during morning medication administration (p < 0.001).

Conclusions. A critical fi nding of this study was the substitution of medications without a doctor’s consent. It has been found that MAEs were not uncommon in clinical practice, and factors such as the nurse’s age, overall length of clinical practice, education, and workplace interruptions played a role.
Commentary on the article by S. V. Petrov et al. «Simultaneous replacement of the aortic valve and hip joint in a patient with critical aortic stenosis and femoral neck fracture»
Authors: Neverov V. A.
Published: April 2024

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The use of an aortic allograft in infection of an aortic prosthesis in a patient with a multi-storey lesion of the arterial bed of the lower extremities
Authors: Dmitriev O. V. , Ital’iantsev A. Yu. , Chernovalov D. A. , Kozin I. I. , Lukyanov A. A.
Published: April 2024

The article presents a clinical case of treatment of patient K, 61 years old, with previously performed aorto-femoral bifurcation bypass surgery for critical lower limb ischemia. 6 months after the initial surgery, the patient developed thrombosis of the right arm of the prosthesis. After another 3 months, a persistent subfebrile body temperature appeared, multiple fistula passages formed with the release of pus in the areas of postoperative scars on the hips. Infection of a synthetic prosthesis was diagnosed. A decision was made to perform repeated surgical intervention in the volume of abdominal aortic reprosthetics with a cadaveric allograft. The surgery was performed at the clinic of the Faculty of Surgery of SamSMU: removal of the bifurcation synthetic prosthesis; rehabilitation of the prosthesis bed; reprosthetics of the aorta with vascular aortic allograft; endarterectomy from the deep artery of the thigh on both sides; bifurcation aorto-femoral reprosthetics; femoral-popliteal bypass with allograft on the right. The postoperative period was uneventful. Healing of wounds on the hips by secondary tension due to marginal skin necrosis. Critical limb ischemia was stopped. The patient was discharged on the 20th day in a satisfactory condition.

CONCLUSION. The use of allografts makes it possible to perform reprosthetics of the abdominal aorta in case of infection of synthetic prosthesis and simultaneous reconstruction of the femoral-popliteal segment.
Travelling with Father Morin: Missionaries, colonial projects, and the transnational core of national debates in Quebec
Authors: Burrill Fred
Published: April 2024

Tracing his writings and reflections can help us understand the historical roots of Quebec’s understanding of Islam and non-Western  cultures more broadly.
Indigenous languages in Canada
Authors: Oxford Will
Published: April 2024

This booklet is an introduction to the linguistic study of the Indigenous languages spoken in Canada. The following topics are covered: approaching the study of Indigenous languages from an informed and respectful perspective; the geographical distribution of Indigenous languages in Canada; some notable structural properties of Indigenous languages; the writing systems used for Indigenous languages; the effects of contact between Indigenous and non-Indigenous languages; the current vitality of Indigenous languages in Canada.
Ingeniería inversa aplicada en función del contexto
Authors: Monroy Martin E , Pinzger Martin , Arciniegas José L.
Published: April 2024

La ingeniería inversa se realiza en múltiples contextos. Cada contexto está definido por un grupo de participantes, un conjunto de recursos y situaciones que se encuentran dentro de un ámbito específico. Existen múltiples propuestas para realizar ingeniería inversa, sin embargo, todas asumen que se hace en el contexto de la producción de software. El objetivo de este trabajo es proponer un referente para recuperar el diseño de productos software, que pueda ser utilizado en diferentes contextos. Se hizo un análisis comparativo de los enfoques de ingeniería inversa utilizando la técnica de coincidencia de patrones. Para validar los resultados obtenidos se realizó un estudio de caso en dos contextos diferentes, el primero en un contexto de educación para apoyar un proceso de enseñanza aprendizaje y el segundo en un contexto de producción para recuperar el diseño de un producto software. Se definió un marco de referencia conformado por un sistema conceptual descriptivo y un conjunto de elementos instrumentales de tipo operativo, que guía el proceso de recuperación del diseño de productos software, ajustándose a las características del contexto en el que se realiza esta actividad. Se concluye que el marco de referencia definido, ofrece un nuevo enfoque para la recuperación del diseño de productos software, porque involucra el contexto en el que se realiza el proceso y oculta su complejidad a los participantes que no son expertos en ingeniería inversa.