bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Change of Sources of Growth and Sustainable Development in China: Based on the Extended EKC Explanation
Authors: Wen Huaide , Dai Jun
Published: March 2021

This paper extends the “sources of growth” explanation for the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) proposed by Copeland and Taylor in a concise theoretical framework, that is, when the sources of growth are transformed from physical capital and labor to human capital and knowledge, the environmental pollution could at first rise and then fall with a sustainable growth in per capita income. Using the provincial panel data from 1995 to 2017 in the mainland of China, an empirical analysis is carried out by the System Generalized Method of Moment (sys-GMM). The results show that: first, the EKC hypothesis exists in China. The inflection point for SO2 emissions has been passed in all of the provincial regions, and for CO2 and comprehensive environmental pollution losses have not been passed in some regions, but the inflection point from the national average level in China has been passed; second, the main production factors of the traditional economy, physical capital and labor, are positively correlated with environmental pollution, while human capital and green technological progress, the main production factors of the knowledge economy, are negatively related to environmental pollution; third, human capital and green technological progress have become important factors to promote economic growth, and human capital, in particular, has become the primary factor, which indicates that China is in the process of transforming traditional economy into a knowledge economy. The stage of China’s economic development and the trend of environmental pollution is consistent with the extended “sources of growth” explanation for the EKC, which proved the theoretical hypothesis. This has an important practical significance for China’s current economic reform and important theoretical value for the economic transformation and sustainable development of developing countries. The paper finally puts forward corresponding policy recommendations.
Teachers Supporting Students in Collaborative Ways—An Analysis of Collaborative Work Creating Supportive Learning Environments for Every Student in a School: Cases from Austria, Finland, Lithuania, and Poland
Authors: Lakkala Suvi , Galkienė Alvyra , Navaitienė Julita , Cierpiałowska Tamara , Tomecek Susanne , Uusiautti Satu
Published: March 2021

Many studies have highlighted the importance of community and cooperation in inclusive education. However, traditionally, teachers are trained to manage their classes alone. Along with the aspirations of inclusive education, there is high pressure to develop school cultures that are more communal and to reorient school personnel’s work, making it more collaborative, in order to meet the diverse needs of all students. In this research, we explored and compared the collaborative ways in which teachers supported their students in four schools in Austria, Finland, Lithuania, and Poland. As a conceptual framework, the research utilized theories of interprofessional teamwork. The researchers applied a theory-led thematic analysis to the research data. The main findings indicate that collaborative action needs to be an essential part of teachers’ work in an inclusive school. The schools and teachers implemented both proactive and reactive ways of constructing an inclusive pedagogy when they supported their students.
Quantification of Food Losses and Waste in Peru: A Mass Flow Analysis along the Food Supply Chain
Authors: Bedoya-Perales Noelia S. , Dal’ Magro Glenio Piran
Published: March 2021

The quantification of food losses and waste (FLW) has become a research hotspot in the last decade, but little work has been done to have food waste data in Latin American countries. This paper contributes to addressing this knowledge gap by examining the magnitude of FLW along the whole food supply chain (FSC) in Peru. The methodological approach was based on the top-down mass flow analysis at all steps of the FSC for the 2007–2017 period (most recently available data), including different food commodity groups (CGs), such as cereals, roots and tubers, oil seeds and pulses, fruits, vegetables, meat, fish and seafood, and milk. Results show an annual average of FLW of 12.8 million tonnes, which represents 47.76% of the national food supply. Regarding per capita quantities, the average amount of FLW was 426.56 kg per year when considering the entire FSC, and 67.34 kg per year when considering only the consumption step. This study suggests which steps of the FSC and CGs are the most promising targets for FLW reduction strategies in Peru.
ASEAN’s Energy Transition towards Cleaner Energy System: Energy Modelling Scenarios and Policy Implications
Authors: Phoumin Han , Kimura Fukunari , Arima Jun
Published: March 2021

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) faces tremendous challenges regarding the future energy landscape and how the energy transition will embrace a new architecture—including sound policies and technologies to ensure energy access together with affordability, energy security, and energy sustainability. Given the high share of fossil fuels in ASEAN’s current energy mix (oil, coal, and natural gas comprise almost 80%), the clean use of fossil fuels through the deployment of clean technologies is indispensable for decarbonizing ASEAN’s emissions. The future energy landscape of ASEAN will rely on today’s actions, policies, and investments to change the fossil fuel-based energy system towards a cleaner energy system, but any decisions and energy policy measures to be rolled out during the energy transition need to be weighed against potentially higher energy costs, affordability issues, and energy security risks. This paper employs energy modelling scenarios to seek plausible policy options for ASEAN to achieve more emissions reductions as well as energy savings, and to assess the extent to which the composition of the energy mix will be changed under various energy policy scenarios. The results imply policy recommendations for accelerating the share of renewables, adopting clean technologies and the clean use of fossil fuels, and investing in climate-resilient energy quality infrastructure.
The Relationship of Chilean Minors with Brands and Influencers on Social Networks
Authors: Feijoo Beatriz , Sádaba Charo
Published: March 2021

This article presents the results of a study that sought to analyze the relationship between minors and brands on social media. The frequency with which minors search for or share information or subscribe to brand web pages was measured, as well as their following of influencers, who commonly refer to consumer goods. The main purpose of this article is to contribute to learning about the commercial environment that surrounds children in their routines on social media, particularly because of their growing influence in home purchasing decisions. The results, obtained from a survey applied in 501 homes in the Metropolitan Area of Santiago de Chile to minors between 10 and 14 years old, show that the respondents effectively interact with brands through social media. Although it is not a widespread practice among 10- to 12-year-olds, it is increasingly becoming present among 13- to 14-year-olds. Children seem most interested in sportswear, fashion, and technology brands, areas in which children have significant influence in family purchasing decision. Following influencers through social media is also a common activity among minors. In particular, the age groups here studied preferred to follow celebrities, particularly from the worlds of music, football, or YouTube, over specific brands.
Low-Carbon Supply Chain Emission Reduction Strategy Considering the Supervision of Downstream Enterprises Based on Evolutionary Game Theory
Authors: Qu Guohua , Wang Yanfang , Xu Ling , Qu Weihua , Zhang Qiang , Xu Zeshui
Published: March 2021

In order to explore the issue of multi-party collaborative governance of energy conservation and emission reduction under the perspective of the low-carbon supply chain, the participation of downstream enterprises as an effective source of local government supervision is included in the selection of low-carbon behaviors of suppliers. First, this paper establishes a tripartite evolutionary game model among local governments, suppliers and downstream enterprise groups. By calculating and copying dynamic equations, the asymptotic stability analysis of the three parties of the game is performed and the stability of the Jacobian matrix proposed by Friedman is used to analyze the local stability of the model equilibrium point and the evolutionary stability strategy of the system. Secondly, the evolution results and evolution paths of the model under different strategies are simulated by system dynamics and the influence of different parameters on the main body selection strategy of the tripartite game is analyzed. Finally, the paper puts forward corresponding policy suggestions from the perspectives of local government, suppliers and downstream enterprises in order to provide new ideas for the governance of China’s environmental problems from the perspective of low carbon.
A Zero-Waste Multi-Criteria Decision-Support Model for the Iron and Steel Industry in Developing Countries: A Case Study
Authors: Schoeman Yolandi , Oberholster Paul , Somerset Vernon
Published: March 2021

The iron and steel industry is a major global industry that consumes vast quantities of energy and causes environmental degradation through greenhouse gas emissions and industrial waste generation, treatment, and disposal. There is a need to manage complex iron and steel industrial waste in Africa, which requires a system engineering approach to zero waste management as informed by multi-criteria decision-making. The purpose of the current study was to develop a hybrid four-step multi-criteria decision-support model, the i-ZEWATA (Industrial Zero Waste Tiered Analysis). I-ZEWATA acts as a road map to understand, design, assess, and evaluate the iron and steel industrial waste systems with the ultimate objective of moving towards and achieving a zero-waste footprint. The results demonstrate that iron and steel waste can be identified, visualized, prioritized, and managed to promote zero-waste by applying a system-engineered approach. Additionally, relationship patterns to environmental, social, operational, and economic aspects with system behavioral patterns and outcomes were identified. It was clear from the case study in South Africa that, although technology and solution investment is essential, waste management, valorization, and treatment components require a concerted effort to improve industrial waste operational management through effective zero-waste decision-support towards a circular economy.
A Prediction Method with Altering Equivalent Stiffness for Damping Evaluation of Shrouded Bladed Disk Dynamic Systems
Authors: Gao Shimin , Wang Yanrong , Sun Zhiwei , Chen Siyuan
Published: March 2021

In turbomachinery bladed disks are typical cyclic symmetric structures where high-cycle fatigue of the blades can easily occur. Increasing the shroud structure is an effective blade vibration reduction method using the dry friction of the shroud contact surface to dissipate vibration energy. During one vibration cycle of the blade, the contact surface of the shroud may have one or several states of stick, slip, and separation due to the different amplitude of blade, which affects not only the damping, but also the stiffness of the system. This paper proposes a method to analyze the damping characteristics of blades with shroud considering the change of equivalent contact stiffness of the shroud by using the finite element method. With a 2D contact model, this method calculates the equivalent damping and obtains the damping characteristic curve to evaluate the damping of shroud. During the design phase, the objective is that when resonance occurs, the shroud can provide the optimal damping ratio under the allowable vibration stress of the blade. The parameter sensitivity of the damping characteristic for one bladed disk with parallel shroud is investigated. It is shown that vibration phase angle, contact stiffness, contact force, friction coefficient significantly influence the damping characteristics.
An Efficient Shortest Path Algorithm: Multi-Destinations in an Indoor Environment
Authors: Asaduzzaman Mina , Geok Tan Kim , Hossain Ferdous , Sayeed Shohel , Abdaziz Azlan , Wong Hin-Yong , Tso C. P. , Ahmed Sharif , Bari Md Ahsanul
Published: March 2021

The shortest path-searching with the minimal weight for multiple destinations is a crucial need in an indoor applications, especially in supermarkets, warehouses, libraries, etc. However, when it is used for multiple item searches, its weight becomes higher as it searches only the shortest path between the single sources to each destination item separately. If the conventional Dijkstra algorithm is modified to multi-destination mode then the weight is decreased, but the output path is not considered as the real shortest path among multiple destinations items. Our proposed algorithm is more efficient for finding the shortest path among multiple destination items with minimum weight, compared to the single source single destination and modified multi-destinations of Dijkstra’s algorithm. In this research, our proposed method has been validated by real-world data as well as by simulated random solutions. Our advancement is more applicable in indoor environment applications based on multiple items or destinations searching.
Non-Polio Enteroviruses from Acute Flaccid Paralysis Surveillance in Korea, 2012–2019
Authors: Yoon Youngsil , Lee Yong-Pyo , Lee Deog-Yong , Kim Hye-Jin , Lee June-Woo , Lee Sangwon , Kang Chun , Choi Wooyoung , Bin Joong Hyun , Kim Young Hoon , Han Myung-Guk , Kang Hae Ji
Published: March 2021

The risk of polio importation and re-emergence persists since epidemic polio still occurs in some countries, and the resurgence of polio occurring almost 20 years after polio eradication was declared in Asia has been reported. We analyzed the results of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance in Korea to assess the quality of AFP surveillance and understand the etiology of non-polio enterovirus (NPEV)-associated central nervous system diseases in a polio-free area. We investigated 637 AFP patients under 15 years of age whose cases were confirmed during 2012–2019 by virus isolation, real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, and VP1 gene sequencing. Among the 637 AFP cases, NPEV was detected in 213 (33.4%) patients, with the majority observed in EV-A71, with 54.9% of NPEV positives. EV-A71 has been shown to play a role as a major causative agent in most neurological diseases except for Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM), and meningitis. This study provides information on the AFP surveillance situation in Korea and highlights the polio eradication stage in the monitoring and characterization of NPEV against the outbreak of neurological infectious diseases such as polio.
Interactions of HIV-1 Capsid with Host Factors and Their Implications for Developing Novel Therapeutics
Authors: Zhuang Shentian , Torbett Bruce E.
Published: March 2021

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus type 1 (HIV-1) virion contains a conical shell, termed capsid, encasing the viral RNA genome. After cellular entry of the virion, the capsid is released and ensures the protection and delivery of the HIV-1 genome to the host nucleus for integration. The capsid relies on many virus–host factor interactions which are regulated spatiotemporally throughout the course of infection. In this paper, we will review the current understanding of the highly dynamic HIV-1 capsid–host interplay during the early stages of viral replication, namely intracellular capsid trafficking after viral fusion, nuclear import, uncoating, and integration of the viral genome into host chromatin. Conventional anti-retroviral therapies primarily target HIV-1 enzymes. Insights of capsid structure have resulted in a first-in-class, long-acting capsid-targeting inhibitor, GS-6207 (Lenacapavir). This inhibitor binds at the interface between capsid protein subunits, a site known to bind host factors, interferes with capsid nuclear import, HIV particle assembly, and ordered assembly. Our review will highlight capsid structure, the host factors that interact with capsid, and high-throughput screening techniques, specifically genomic and proteomic approaches, that have been and can be used to identify host factors that interact with capsid. Better structural and mechanistic insights into the capsid–host factor interactions will significantly inform the understanding of HIV-1 pathogenesis and the development of capsid-centric antiretroviral therapeutics.
The Path to New Pediatric Vaccines against Pertussis
Authors: Locht Camille
Published: March 2021

Whooping cough, or pertussis, mostly caused by Bordetella pertussis, is a respiratory disease that affects all age groups, but severe and fatal pertussis occurs almost exclusively in young children. The widespread use of whole-cell and, more recently, of acellular vaccines has substantially reduced the disease incidence. However, it has not been eliminated in any part of the world and has made a worrisome rebound in several areas. Cocoon and maternal immunization have been implemented in several countries but have their intrinsic limitations. To effectively control pertussis, novel vaccines are needed that protect against disease and prevent B. pertussis infection and transmission, which is not the case for current vaccines. Several approaches are contemplated, including alternative administration routes, such as nasal immunization, improvement of acellular vaccines by adding more antigens and T-cell-promoting adjuvants, and the development of novel vaccines, such as outer membrane vesicles and live attenuated vaccines. Among them, only a live attenuated vaccine has so far been assessed for safety and immunogenicity in preclinical models other than mice and is in clinical development. Before any of these vaccines can be used in neonates, extensive safety and immunogenicity assessment in pre-clinical neonatal models and in carefully designed clinical trials is necessary. The aim of this review is to discuss the current pertussis problem, implemented strategies to resolve it, the value of animal models and novel vaccine approaches.
PERFIL EPIDEMIOLÓGICO DE GESTANTES PORTADORAS DE HIV/AIDS NO BRASIL
Authors: Tamires Lacerda Silva Cleisla , Pereira Vasconcelos Karla , Bezerra Alves Hirisdiane
Published: March 2021

Objetivo: descrever o perfil epidemiológico de gestantes portadoras de HIV/Aids no Brasil. Metodologia: trata-se de uma revisão na literatura referente às gestantes portadoras de HIV/Aids. O levantamento bibliográfico foi realizado no mês de dezembro de 2019, utilizando as bases de dados Lilacs, Medline, SciELO e Google Acadêmico. Foram incluídos trabalhos completos, em português, publicados entre 2015 a 2019. Após avaliação, foram identificados 10 artigos que preencheram todos os critérios de inclusão e exclusão. Resultados: a maioria das gestantes tinham entre os 20 a 35 anos de idade, ensino médio incompleto, eram brancas, donas de casa, tiveram o diagnóstico de HIV antes da gestação, fazem pré-natal e uso de terapia antirretroviral. Conclusão: a implantação de ações de prevenção na gestação, parto e puerpério são as formas mais eficientes para reduzir o risco de transmissão vertical. Assim, podemos observar a importância de conhecer o perfil das gestantes portadoras de HIV/Aids, para que o governo e serviços de saúde tenham ações voltadas para essa população de acordo com o seu contexto social.

Palavras chave: HIV. Síndrome da Imunodeficiência Adquirida. Gravidez. Epidemiologia. Perfil de Saúde.
Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used against sickle cell anaemia in the eastern part of the Côte d’Ivoire
Authors: J Akakpo-Akue , T.K.M Kplé , Kiyinlma Coulibaly , Gnamien Marcel AHON , Yvette Fofié , A Yapo -Crezoit. , Guédé ZIRIHI , A. K.M. Kra
Published: March 2021

An ethnobotanical survey was conducted to record the various plant families, species, and plant parts used to manage sickle cell disease in the Indenié-Djouablin region eastern Côte d’Ivoire. Nine traditional healers aged 36 to 67 years old were selected in six different villages according to their reputation in knowledge of traditional medicine, their availability and their willingness to share information. A total of 26 species of plants belonging to 20 families were reported to have antisickling activity. Eleven (11) different medication recipes were composed from these 26 species of plants ((Afromonum melegueta (Roscoe) K. Schum., Xylopia aethiopica) mainly). The main plant parts used were stem bark (38%) followed by fruit (18%) and seeds (18%). The majority of the main plants recorded (84.61 %) were wild. From the recorded plants, 65.38 % were trees and 23.07 % shrubs. Most remedies (82%) were made up by decoction and were employed orally (54 %) or by enema (32 %). The potential anti-sickling activity of the plant species recorded during this study could be the effect of alkaloids, polyphenols, quinones and terpenoids compounds found during the phytochemical screening of the 26 plants species.
Modelling and CFD Simulation of Temperature and Airflow Distribution Inside a Forced Convection Mixed Mode Solar Grain Dryer with a Preheater
Authors:   Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa., Angula Johannes P. , Inambao Freddie ,   Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.
Published: March 2021

In this study, a 3D Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model was developed to simulate the drying process of maize ears cobs in a mixed-mode solar grain dryer. The dryer system is aimed to operate under forced convection and is integrated with a preheater to heat air prior to entering the solar collector. The 3D model was developed with great accuracy using SolidWorks software and the CFD simulation was carried out using ANSYS Fluent software. The study was aimed at analyzing and predicting temperature and airflow distribution in the mixed-mode solar dryer system. The CFD simulation was conducted at different airflow velocities varying from 0.5 m/s to 2 m/s for different temperature values of the preheater. Results from the simulation of the solar collector were satisfactory, indicating a minimum and maximum temperature of 59.7 ℃ and 70.5 ℃ at minimum and maximum drying conditions, respectively. The variation of temperature inside the drying chamber was predicted with an average maximum of 64.1 ℃ at the inlets. Results of airflow distribution in the solar collector and drying chamber indicated high turbulence and flow recirculation. This is a desirable flow combination that promotes good moisture evaporation from the maize ears during the drying process. This study proves that the use of computer software can allow one to clearly gain an understanding of the development, heat and mass transfer process, and performance of dryers used in the food drying industry. This approach can promote improvements in existing drying processes and increase food productivity.
EFURMS An Efficient Scheme for File Upload and Ranked Multi-Keyword Search over Encrypted Data in Cloud
Authors:   Department of Computer Science and Engineering University, Visvesvaraya College of Engineering Bengaluru, India., M Bhavya , J Thriveni ,   Department of Computer Science and Engineering University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering Bengaluru, India., K R Venugopal ,   Vice Chancellor Banglore University, Bengaluru, India.
Published: March 2021

Cloud based services provide scalable storage capacities and enormous computing capability to enterprises and individuals to support big data operations in different sectors like banking, scientific research and health care. Therefore many data owners are interested to outsource their data to cloud storage servers due to their huge advantage in data processing. However, as the banking and health records usually contain sensitive data, there are privacy concerns if the data gets leaked to un-trusted third parties in cloud storage. To protect data from leakage, the widely used technique is to encrypt the data before uploading into cloud storage servers. The traditional methods implemented by many authors consumes more time to outsource the data and searching for a document is also time consuming. Sometimes there may be chances of data leakage due to insufficient security. To resolve these issues, in the current VP Search(VPS) scheme is implemented, which provides features like verifiability of search results and privacy preservation. With its features the current system consumes more time for file uploading and index generation, which slows down the searching process. In the existing VPS scheme time minimization to efficiently search for a particular document is a challenging task on the cloud. To resolve all the above drawbacks, we have designed an index generation scheme using a tree structure along with a search algorithm using Greedy Depth-first technique, that reduces the time for uploading files and file searching time. The newly implemented scheme minimizes the time required to form the index tree file for set of files in the document which are to be uploaded and helps in storing the files in a index tree format. These techniques result in reducing the document upload time and speeding up the process of accessing data efficiently using multi-keyword search with top-‘K’ value.
Impact of Ethical Behavior on Employees’ Performance in the Nepalese Commercial Banks
Authors:   U Padhyay (Ph D) Nepal Commerce Campus, T. U., Prasad Jitendra , Adhikari Pitri Raj ,   Lecturer, Shanker Dev Campus, T. U.
Published: March 2021

Ethical behavior is a very important fact for the success of any organization because it influences its relations with numerous stakeholders for making certain the success of a business. This paper attempts to examine the impact of ethical behavior on employees’ performance in Nepalese commercial banks. Descriptive research design has used to identify characteristics, frequencies, trends and categories of the impact of ethical behavior on employee performance and causal comparative research design has also used to ascertain and understand the directions, magnitude and forms of the observed relationship between ethical behavior and employees’ performance. Self-administered structured questionnaires were distributed to a total of 810 respondents (30 respondents of each 27 commercial banks) but only 575 usable responses are collected and has used to analyze the data. Employees’ performance is dependent variable and respect, teamwork, reward and punishment, racial discrimination, leadership style, discipline and corruption are independent variables. It is found that respect, teamwork, reward and punishment, leadership style and discipline have a positive impact on the performance of employees, and however, racial discrimination and corruption hurt employee’s performance in Nepalese commercial banks.
Design and Implementation of Secure Smart Shopping System using Arduino
Authors:   Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Dhaanish Ahmed College of Engineering, Chennai, India., Parameswaran R. , Bhuvaneswari Dr. P.T.V. ,   Department of Electronics Engineering, M.I.T Campus, Anna University, Chennai, India.
Published: March 2021

The contemporary electronic technology is based on embedded system which deals with integrating numerous transistors on a single silicon chip. The main goal of growing technology is to make lifestyles turn out to be simpler and more comfy. Nowadays, people like visiting shopping malls that are characterized by their colorful variety and heterogeneity besides beauty. A shopping center is where people can discover all kinds of shops including eateries and cinema under one roof. In shopping malls, people can purchase the groceries, fruits, etc., so it requires a trolley to carry the things they purchase. Every time consumers have to make some calculations regarding those items & need to compare them with their budgets. After this procedure, the customer must wait for the billing. So to avoid the boredom of waiting in the billing queue our research proposal has been carried out on a novel concept that is “Smart Shopping Using Smart Trolley”. In this proposed work uses RFID tags to be displayed on the product. Whenever the customer places a product in the trolley, the RFID reader will check it and the price and cost of the product will be displayed on LCD display. The main advantage of this work is that it provides for the caring of child that the customer may bring and so it has introduced a child unit. It comprises of RF module that is used as a transceiver and once the child moves away from the customer through the parent it may get some indication. When the child moves from the trolley through a certain distance, the LED which is placed in the cart turns off. After the completion of shopping, billing can be done using QR code that is pasted either on the trolley or at the exit point.
Influence of using Micropiles as Retrofitting Method for Bridge Shallow Footing Numerical Study
Authors:   Department of Civil Engineering, Prince Mugrin University, Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah, Saudi Arabia., Abas Hassan. A. , Ismaeil M.A. ,   Department of Civil Engineering, Prince Mugrin University, Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah, Saudi Arabia.
Published: March 2021

Seismic retrofitting of the existing bridges, which was not properly constructed for seismic loading, is necessary. This paper examines and evaluates the effect of using micropiles as retrofitting method to improve seismic performance for bridge shallow footing. Numerical simulations using Plaxis-3D have been performed to study the effect of using micropiles to mitigate the seismic hazard and enhance the deformation characteristic of bridge shallow footing. Displacement and acceleration induced by seismic loading before and after retrofitting were assessed and compared. The results showed a significant influence of the micropiles on the control of the displacement and acceleration during the seismic period.
IMPACT OF OUTSOURCING ON ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE OF LISTED FOOD AND BEVERAGES FIRMS IN NIGERIA
Authors: ANDOW Afang Andow , DABO Zainab , EJEH Enenche Cletus
Published: March 2021

The study examines the impact of outsourcing on organizational performance of listed food and beverage firms in Nigeria. In spite of the rapid drift in outsourcing, there are limited published sources of literature related to outsourcing in Nigeria, and also previous studies shows contradictory results. The study uses a correlation design, and used secondary data as the main instrument of data collected from the financial statements of the firms contained in the fact-book of the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE). The population and sample of the study includes all the eighteen (18) food and beverages firms listed on the floor of the Nigeria stock exchange between2007-2016. Ordinary Lease square (OLS) regression analysis using statistical package for social science (SPSS) was employed to analyze the data and test the hypotheses. The findings reveal that both business process outsourcing and knowledge process outsourcing have a positive and significant impact on organizational performance of listed food and beverage firms in Nigeria. The study concludes that business process outsourcing and knowledge process outsourcing have significantly impacted on the organizational performance which is profitability and competitive advantage of the listed food and beverages firms in Nigeria. The study recommends that the management of these firms should engage in outsourcing strategy in decision making by outsourcing its business processes and knowledge processes in order to increase their profit and achieve performance.
WİRELESS ELEKTROKARDİOQRAMIN QURULMASI VƏ İŞ PRİNSİPİ
Authors:   Azərbaycan Dövlət Neft və Sənaye Universiteti, Agamirza Aliyeva Rena
Published: March 2021

electrocardiogram (ECG), Bluetooth, wireless, telemedicine
METHODOLOGICAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF A SYS-TEM OF MONITORING OF ECONOMIC SECURITY FOR OIL AND GAS COMPANIES
Authors:   Federal State Treasury Military Educational Institution of Higher Edu-cation (FGKVOU VO) ", Babenkov V.I. ,   Military Academy of Logistics and Technical Support named after Army General A.V. Khrulyov", Zhukov I.F. ,   Saint-Petersburg University of the State Fire Service of the Ministry of the Russian Federation for Civil Defense, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters
Published: March 2021

The present paper contains a description of a system of monitoring of economic security for oil and gas companies. An analysis of specific features of functioning of oil and gas companies in the present situation is given. Three levels of monitoring of economic security are introduced. These levels correspond to three levels of business environment. The need for transition to dynamic monitoring of economic security on the basis of digital technologies is demonstrated.
THE "SMART CITY" CONCEPT: PROSPECTS FOR DEVELOPMENT AND THREATS TO IMPLEMENTATION (CASE OF ST. PETERSBURG)
Authors:   Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education ", Plotnikov V.A. ,   Saint-Petersburg State University of Economics", Katrashova Yu.V. ,   Russian Association of Sports Facilities
Published: March 2021

This paper presents the main characteristics of the concept of "smart city", based on the current trends of digital transformation of various spheres of activity of society and the state. Based on fundamental research in the field of digital technologies, as well as on the experience of implementing the "smart city" strategy of foreign countries, the analysis of the validity of methods for developing strategic plans for improving the city and its infrastructure facilities using ICT is presented. The risks and benefits of digitalization of the infrastructure of the city of St. Petersburg were also assessed. The main directions of the development of information and communication technologies, as well as digital technologies, providing integration and a plan for the effective implementation of the smart metropolis strategy are identified.
MANAGEMENT OF CORPORATE MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS AND THEIR BUDGET
Authors:   Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education ", Shchetinina E.A. ,   Saint-Petersburg State Technologi-cal Institute (Technical University)"
Published: March 2021

The article develops the topic of management of corporate marketing communications, taking into account modern conditions and new trends. The author examines the problems associated with communication strategies for various groups of clients, as well as with the assessment of their costs. Approaches to the formation of a communications budget based on a number of factors are proposed, including the goals, objectives of the communication strategy, as well as the stages of the life cycle of a product and an organization. The structure of communication costs by type and place of origin is proposed, ways of their reduction and optimization are described.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR USING GRAPHICAL BREAKEVEN ANALYSIS
Authors:   Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education ", Bezukladova E.U. ,   Saint-Petersburg State Techno-logical Institute (Technical University)"
Published: March 2021

The article deals with the problems of breakeven analysis, the order of plotting the schedule taking into account the volume of sales of certain types of products. The possibility of using graphical breakeven analysis to identify the risk of loss of breakeven is analyzed.
Gewalt gegen Frauen -Fachtagung Bedrohungsmanagement - Tagungsband 2019
Authors: Brunner Reinhard , Carstensen Regina , Martinez Rosa Maria , Ott Rahel , Schwarzenegger Christian , Siegrist Luzia , Wiederkehr Claudia
Published: March 2021

Am 1. April 2018 ist das Übereinkommen des Europarats zur Verhütung und Bekämpfung von Gewalt gegen Frauen und häuslicher Gewalt (Istanbul-Konvention) für die Schweiz in Kraft getreten. Sie ist das umfassendste internationale Übereinkommen, welches sich die Bekämpfung dieser Art von Menschenrechtsverletzungen zum Ziel setzt. Die Eckpfeiler des Übereinkommens sind die Bereiche Gewaltprävention, Opferschutz, Strafverfolgung sowie ein umfassendes und koordiniertes Vorgehen (Integrated Policies). Die Beiträge dieses Sammelbandes beschäftigen sich mit kriminologischen, strafrechtlichen und polizeilichen Massnahmen zur Umsetzung dieses europäischen Standards.
Experience of using the drug «Selenopiran» to optimize indicators of reproduction of dairy cows
Authors:   Candidate of Biological Sciences, Associate Professor, Nizhny Novgorod State Agricultural Academy, Nizhny Novgorod, Russian Federation, Lodyanoy M. S. , Erzutov A. I. ,   Graduate student, Nizhny Novgorod State Agricultural Academy, Nizhny Novgorod, Russian Federation
Published: March 2021

As a result of research and production experience in the economy of the Nizhny Novgorod region, the effect of three-time administration of the drug «Selenopiran» at a dose of 300 mg during the dry season on the ease of calving, milk productivity and reproductive functions of cows was studied. For this purpose, two groups of cows (n=10) were selected: an experimental group and a control group. Starting from the confirmation of 6-month pregnancy, 25% oil solution of the drug «Selenopiran» at a dose of 30 ml was administered three times at intervals of 5–6 days to animals of the experimental group. 14 days after last injection from experimental and control animals were taken blood samples for haematological study determined the red blood indices: the number of red blood cells and hemoglobin, white blood: white blood cell count and leukocyte formula, and lysozime and bactericidal activity of blood serum. Further, the animals were monitored both during calving and postpartum period, and during subsequent artificial insemination and lactation, the duration of independent and manual separation of the afterbirth, the frequency of occurrence, form, duration of the course and outcome of specific diseases of the postpartum period (endometritis and early mastitis) were recorded. Fruitful insemination was determined based on the results of rectal studies. Based on these observations, the main indicators of herd reproduction were calculated, i.e. the insemination index (the number of inseminations per 36 fruitful), the duration of the period and the interbody period. As a result, the service period in the experimental group decreased by 113,7% relative to the control animals (178,2 days versus 2,3), the insemination index also improved in the experimental group – 3,8, against 1,6 in the control group. The average daily milk yield in the experimental group is 2,9 kg higher, and the live weight of calves at birth is XNUMX kg. A comparative analysis of hematological parameters of experimental and control cows obtained a higher level of markers of nonspecific immunity in the experimental group. Consequently, along with relatively rapid recovery of reproductive organs and shortening of the service period, the cows of the experimental group also had higher indicators of non-specific resistance compared to the cows of the control group.
Fear of COVID-19 Among the Hashemite University Students According to Some Variables
Authors: Alkhazaleh Ziad M. , Altarawneh Awad Faek , Al-tarawneh Ahmad , Milhem Osamah Abdel Qader Bani
Published: March 2021

The current study aimed at identifying the level of the fear of Novel Coronavirus (covid-19) among the students of the Hashemite University in Jordan, in the light of the following variables: faculty, academic year, sex, religion, residence, social status, birth order, family income, chronic diseases and Facebook account on a sample of 852 male and female students. As for the study tool, the researcher used the scale of fear of Corona based on the statistical analysis of the arithmetic means and standard deviations, as well as (ANOVA- Analysis of Corona. The study came to some results, prominent among which were: the existence of moderate fear of Corona. According to the demographic variables, there were differences of statical significance among the students in the fear of Corona in the light of two variables only: suffering from chronic diseases, and the family income standard. As for the rest of the variables, they had no effect in the differences among students regarding the fear of Corona. Based upon these results, the current study will be a qualitative addition to the current scientific research about the Corona Pandemic, particularly, in the study of the psychological implications of the impact of the Corona Virus on the people of the world.

 

Received: 26 October 2020 / Accepted: 8 February 2021 / Published: 5 March 2021
Perceptual Narrative Layer in Muriel Spark’s Story “The Dark Glasses”
Authors:   Military University of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, Zhanturina Bakhyt N.
Published: March 2021

The article deals with the visual perception layer in Muriel Spark’s short story “The Dark Glasses” with the aim of carrying out a conceptual analysis of this text. Meaning generation models have already been demonstrated as multilayer non-homogeneous structures describing different points of view and different narrative layers in B. Uspensky’s, G. Genette’s and W. Schmid’s theories. The text as a complex structural language unit can, like the word, vary in different semantic fields. This article presents the spatial, temporal, ideological, and linguistic narrative layers according to the dominant visual perception layer in the protagonist-narrator’s internal point of view expressed in the story. The perceptual layer is demonstrated on the basis of the cognitive process in visual perception, namely, the optic array and human perceptual system. The optic array is implied in the story’s composition as a framed closed structure comprising two texts: the frame and the embedded text. Both of them follow the subject-object model of perception and are organized according to the principles of reflectivity, doubling, and copying. The perceptual system is expressed through various language units: simple verbal predicates see, look and a set of verbs of perception, substantives eyes, glasses and their direct (initial) and figurative meanings, colour terms based on adjectives in descriptions of the characters, as well as conceptual archetypal visual metaphors from the light–dark family, and metonymies based on causal and partitive semantic relations.
Syncretism of Ancient Concepts Exemplified by the Macroconcept “Earth/Land” (a Review of Motivating and Archaic Conceptual Signs)
Authors:   Military Educational Institution of Logistics named after General of the Army A.V. Khrulyov, Moshina Elena A.
Published: March 2021

This study aimed to determine the motivating and archaic conceptual signs of the macroconcept “earth/land” through data analysis of etymological and historical-etymological dictionaries, as well as to demonstrate the solidity (syncretism) of native Old English speakers’ perception of this macroconcept. Cognitive analysis of linguocultural facts and a profound study of national mentality through language data determine the relevance of this study. The motivating and archaic conceptual signs of the macroconcept “earth/land” have not previously been the subject of a separate research. The main methods applied in the paper are descriptive, conceptual, comparative, and interpretative. The study revealed that the macroconcept “earth/land” has a long history of development. In addition to motivating signs, its structure comprises symbolic signs that go back to ancient mythology. As early as at the beginning of its development, the macroconcept “earth/land” was reflected in native speakers’ consciousness through a large number of conceptual signs (14 signs are represented by the semantic components of earth and 20 signs are represented by the semantic components of land), suggesting high importance of this macroconcept in English linguoculture. The identified conceptual signs form a rather extensive mental structure, which includes several, inextricably linked, blocks: ‘earth/land-space’, ‘earth/land-substance’, ‘earth/landproperty’, ‘earth/land-people’, ‘earth/land-material world’. The etymological analysis of dictionary definitions of the words earth and land as well as determination of the components of their lexical meaning allow us to demonstrate the diversity of English speakers’ ancient ideas about earth/land and the syncretism of these ideas within mythological consciousness.
The Concept of Scientific Worldview in the Russian Philosophy of the First Quarter of the 20th Century (Based on the Works by V.I. Vernadsky and L.M. Lopatin)
Authors:   Samara National Research University, Demin Il’ya V.
Published: March 2021

This article analyses the concept of scientific worldview in the Russian philosophical journalism of the first quarter of the 20th century. It examines and compares the interpretations of scientific worldview in the works by V.I. Vernadsky and L.M. Lopatin. Both philosophers distanced themselves from the positivist model of scientific knowledge; however, Lopatin was able to identify certain elements of positivism in Vernadsky’s ideas on the relationship between philosophy and science. It should be noted that Lopatin left unchanged the juxtaposition of metaphysics and positivism. The definitions of scientific worldview given by the two Russian philosophers are tautological, being reduced to the following: scientific worldview is a set of ideas about the world shared by the majority of scientists of a particular era. Vernadsky and Lopatin used the term scientific worldview as a synonym for the concepts of science, scientific knowledge, scientific thinking, and scientific way of comprehending the world, without attributing any additional meaning to it. The dispute over scientific worldview is actually a dispute about the metaphysical origins, foundations and prerequisites of scientific knowledge as such. The expression scientific worldview (when it implies an organized conceptual unity and not just a set of conclusions in special sciences) indicates no more than one or another metaphysical system and the principle (or set of principles) of thinking that determines it. Thus, the concept of scientific worldview in the works by Vernadsky and Lopatin expresses a vain pursuit to preserve the conceptual unity of philosophical and scientific knowledge, without dissolving philosophy in the theory and methodology of science.
Interpretation of volume kinetics in terms of pharmacokinetic principles
Authors: Choi Byung-Moon
Published: March 2021

Volume kinetics is the pharmacokinetics of infusion fluids and describes the distribution and elimination of infused volume. Generally, pharmacokinetic parameters can be estimated by measuring the concentration of a drug. However, it is almost impossible to directly measure the concentration of fluids. Therefore, in volume kinetics, the disposition of fluids is indirectly quantified by measuring the hemoglobin concentration under the premise of no hemoglobin loss. If the hemoglobin concentration is repeatedly measured while administering the fluids, the dilution (relative change of the plasma volume) for each corresponding hemoglobin concentration can be obtained. The dilution is based on the concept of plasma volume expansion. The method of quantifying the drugs disposition with compartmental analysis has been equally applied to volume kinetics. The transfer of fluids between compartments is explained by first-order kinetics, and it is assumed that fluid is only removed from the central compartment. Population analysis can be used to identify covariates that can account for inter-individual variability in volume kinetic parameters. Body weight and mean blood pressure are well-known representative covariates of kinetic volume parameters. Using volume kinetic parameters, the volume expansion effects of crystalloid and colloid solutions can be understood more effectively, thereby facilitating appropriate fluid therapy. Although limitations exist in volume kinetics, its implications are important for clinicians when administering fluids.