bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Prevalence of knee osteoarthritis in rural areas of Bangalore urban district
Authors: Ajit Nisha Elizabeth , Nandish B  , Fernandes Roshan Joseph , Roga Gillian , Kasthuri Arvind , Shanbhag Deepthi N , Goud B Ramakrishna
Published: October 2024

Background
Osteoarthritis is a common arthropathy of the knee. In India, the prevalence of the disease in the adult rural population is estimated to be 5.8%.
 
Aim
To measure the prevalence of knee osteoarthritis among adults in a rural area and to study the risk factors associated with knee osteoarthritis in the study population. To compare the EULAR 2009 criteria with the modified clinical criteria given by American College of Rheumatology (ACR) for the diagnosis of primary osteoarthritis of the knee joint.
 
Materials and methods
A cross-sectional study was conducted across seven villages coming under a sub-center, from December 2011 to January 2012. A total of 342 subjects were selected by stratified random sampling. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to estimate the prevalence and associated risk factors of osteoarthritis based on EULAR 2009, modified ACR criteria, anthropometry, and clinical examination of the knees. The data was analyzed using standard statistical software.
 
Results
The mean age of the population was 42.56 ±16.5 years. The corresponding prevalence of osteoarthritis calculated using the ACR and the EULAR 2009 criteria were 17% and 5.6% in the adult population and 54.1% and 16.4% in the elderly. The etiological factors found to be associated with osteoarthritis are age (P <0.0001), poor education (P <0.0001), previous knee injury (P = 0.046), and regular climbing of stairs (P <0.0001).
Diagnosis of circulatory antibodies to Chlamydia trachomatis among asymptomatic undifferentiated spondyloarthropathy patients in India
Authors: Kumar Praveen , Khanna Geetika , Batra Sumit , Sharma Vinod Kumar , Rastogi Sangita
Published: October 2024

Background

trachomatisinfection has been reported in patients with undifferentiated spondyloarthropathy (uSpA). However, it is underdiagnosed globally, including India. 

 
Aim
The aim of the study was to determine circulatory anti-Chlamydia trachomatis antibodies in uSpA patients.
 
Materials and methods
Twenty two uSpA patients were included in the study following the European Spondylarthropathy Study Group (ESSG) criteria and 12 age- and sex- matched osteoarthritis patients were also included for comparison. From each patient, 5 ml of non-heparinized intravenous blood was collected for analysis. Anti-C. trachomatis IgG and IgA antibodies were detected in serum using commercially available ELISA kits and the data was statistically evaluated.
 
Results
During the study, 18.1% (4/ 22) uSpA patients were found positive for anti-C. trachomatis IgA antibodies, while 4.5% (1/ 22) patients were positive for anti-C.trachomatis IgG antibodies in serum. None of the control patients was positive for these antibodies.
The relevance of observational studies in rheumatology and clinical immunology
Authors: S Chandrashekara
Published: October 2024

Most of the developments happened in the field of science, especially in medicine, are based on meticulous observations and interpretations. In the recent years, it is necessary to support such observations or findings by evidence based on experiments done at controlled conditions. However, experiments involving humans have many limitations and drawbacks. In most cases, it is difficult to full imply the findings observed in animal experiments in human trials. Even in the era ruled by evidence- based medicine, especially with reference to treatment strategies, observational studies are significant to circumvent such inadequacies. Realizing this fact, FDA (USA) in 2007 launched a well-known sentinel program named Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership (OMOP) to create a nationwide data network.1 The program assisted in developing many useful methods and designs to utilize the available large observation data. Such programs highlight the relevance of having observational studies with significant findings.
DETERMINATION OF FERULIC ACID IN THE EXTRACTS OF LEAVES OF SOME MEMBERS OF THE LAMIACEAE FAMILY
Authors: PETROVA N.V. , MEDVEDEVA N.A. , SHAVARDA A.L.
Published: October 2024

Ferulic acid (FA) is a phenolic substance widespread in plants and exhibiting a wide range of potential therapeutic effects, such as antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory, and useful in the treatment of diabetes, lung and cardiovascular diseases. Methanol extracts from the fresh leaves of 40 species from the Lamiaceae family growing in the outdoor collections of the Botanical Garden of the Komarov Botanical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (BIN RAS, Saint-Petersburg) and the experimental station “Otradnoye” BIN RAS (Leningrad region) have been investigated. Ferulic acid was detected in 18 species under investigation, related to the subfamilies Lamioideae Harley (Betonica grandiflora Willd., Galeobdolon luteum Huds., Lamium album L., Sideritis taurica Steph. ex Willd., Stachys byzantine K. Koch) and Nepetoideae Kostel. (Clinopodium vulgare L., Hyssopus officinalis L., Lavandula angustifolia Mill., Meechania urticifolia (Miq.) Makino, Melissa officinalis L., Mentha piperita L., Monarda didyma L., Nepeta bucharica Lipsky, N. grandiflora M. Bieb., Origanum vulgare L., Prunella laciniata (L.) L., Salvia desertum L., Salvia officinalis L., Thymus serpillum L.). Ferulic acid was not detected in the representatives of Ajugoideae Kostel. and Scutellarioideae Caruel subfamilies. For 7 species, FA was detected for the first time. The content of FA in the representatives of Lamiaceae subfamily varied within a broad range from 0.01±0.00 mg/g (Meechania urticifolia) to 6.68±1.30 mg/g (Melissa officinalis L.). The high ferulic acid content was established in the Nepetoideae subfamilty in the species Melissa officinalis (6.68±1.30 mg/g) and Origanum vulgare L. (6.07±1.90 mg/g).
MODIFICATION OF ORGANOSILICON EMULSIONS FOR OBTAINING HYDROPHOBIC SURFACES AND FOR REDUCING DUST DEPOSITION
Authors: STROKOVA V.V. , NIKULINA M.V. , ISHMUKHAMETOV E.M. , ESINA A.YU. , BASKAKOV P.S. , STEPANENKO M.A. , MARKOVA I.YU. , ABZALILOVA A.V. , RYLTSOVA I.G.
Published: October 2024

Intense coal mining at the territory of our country, related to the growing amounts of exported fuel, promotes the development of logistic infrastructure but at the same time causes a worsening of the environmental situation near coal mining enterprises. One of the ways to cope with the surfaces that generate dust, in particular fine coal dust particles, is surface treatment with hydrophobising organosilicon emulsion. However, the problem connected with enhancing the hydrophobicity of coatings formed by the emulsion has not been solved yet. This parameter is estimated by determining the wetting angle. The efficiency of modification and the coalescing ability of various additives in the aqueous emulsions of organosilicon liquid GKZh-94 are evaluated in the present work from changes in the wetting angle. The dependences of film wettability changes on the modifying and coalescing agents, and on their amount in the emulsion are demonstrated. The dependences of wetting angle changes on the amounts of the modifying and coalescing agents in the emulsion are plotted on the basis of the polynomial approximations of functions. It is established that preliminary modification of the emulsifier causes an increase in the hardness of polyvinyl alcohol, which hinders coalescence of particles in the emulsion. It is also determined as a result of a comparative analysis that the best wetting angle values are detected for the emulsions with the emulsifier modified with a small amount of glutaric aldehyde, with the high concentration of ethylene glycol as a coalescing agent. The use of glutaric aldehyde in the amount of 0.1-0.25 % and ethylene glycol in the amount of 3-6 % of the total mass of emulsion will allow an increase in the wetting angle of the formed coatings to 125°.
ZIRCONIUM DIBORIDE WASTE RECYCLING BY GRINDING AND RECURRENT SPARK PLASMA SINTERING
Authors: MALI V.I. , KORCHAGIN M.A. , ANISIMOV A.G. , ESIKOV M.A. , DENISOV M.G. , LOMOVSKY O.I. , ZHAKOVA O.V. , KAISINA T.V.
Published: October 2024

An economically viable and environmentally friendly method is proposed for recycling the wastes from electrical discharge cutting of the blanks obtained by the spark plasma sintering of a powdered composition based on zirconium diboride with the addition of silicon carbide, lanthanum and yttrium oxides. The wastes are ground in a flow-type centrifugal mill TsEM-7-1, and the product of milling is further consolidated by spark plasma sintering. The microstructure and phase composition of the sintered materials made from initial powder composition and the powder obtained by grinding the ceramic wastes from final machining of finished products are investigated. It is shown that the largest pieces in the wastes that cannot be ground in the mill are to be crushed preliminarily to enhance the yield of ground powder. The absence of differences in the phase composition of initial and processed powder mixtures and blanks made of them has been revealed, which demonstrates the possibility of repeated use of the wastes for spark plasma sintering of the materials formed from ceramic powders based on zirconium diboride, for the purpose of decreasing the consumption of initial components.
Arte e sonho na metodologia de uma pesquisa sobre formação de docentes da Educação Infantil
Authors: Lombardi Lucia Maria Salgado dos Santos , Thais Helena Prini
Published: October 2024

Este artigo aborda uma experiência metodológica em artes que foi desenvolvida dentro de uma pesquisa sobre formação de professores(as) de Educação Infantil no Brasil. O estudo objetivou conhecer as contribuições da arte contemporânea, especialmente da arte da performance, para a prática docente com crianças pequenas na contemporaneidade. O artigo examina os resultados dessa abordagem, analisando-os à luz do trabalho como professora de uma sala de pré-escola (pre kindergarten) com crianças de 2 a 3 anos, em um Child Care Centre da Austrália. Os resultados apontam para a pertinência da “pesquisa em arte” na formação docente, dado que houve contribuição para o aperfeiçoamento do estado de presença, da escuta docente e do senso de pertencimento, gerando a construção de práticas educacionais mais reflexivas, sensíveis e contextualmente relevantes.
The phylogenetically isolated South African endemic diving beetle Caperhantus cicurius (Fabricius, 1787): redescription and range extensions (Coleoptera, Dytiscidae, Colymbetinae)
Authors: Bilton David T. , Turner Clive R. , Mlambo Musa C.
Published: October 2024

New distribution records and a redescription are presented for Caperhantus cicurius (Fabricius, 1787), a diving beetle endemic to the Cape region of South Africa, which is only distantly related to other Afrotropical dytiscids. We show that the species is much more widely distributed than previously recognized and present details of occupied habitats for the ﬁrst time. Caperhantus cicurius occurs throughout the winter rainfall zone in South Africa, from Namaqualand to the Eastern Cape Province, particularly in temporary waters in the Fynbos and Succulent Karoo biomes.
Forms of address and the Portuguese presence in Santos, Brazil
Authors: Carreão Victor
Published: October 2024

The city of Santos in Brazil is the only area in the state of São Paulo where the form of address tu is found (Modesto 2006). The contact between Brazilians of European descent and Portuguese immigrants, in the beginning of the 20th century, is a possible cause of this phenomenon (Pereira & Frutuoso 2007). The literature on language contact highlights three important social variables which may lead to linguistic change. The first of these variables, as stated by Ravindranath (2015), is related to demography. The city of Santos became home to many Portuguese immigrants back in the first decade of the 20th century. The second variable is space and mobility (Britain 2013). Due to sanitary reforms (Mello 2007), the city of Santos had its urban mobility and spatial arrangement transformed, and this reshaped how the Brazilian and the Portuguese immigrants would move around the city. The last social variable is described by Dodsworth (2017) as the social role of individuals within a community. In Santos, the Portuguese immigrants had important roles in labor unions and helped to organize many of the harbor workers (Maram 1979). These factors converged to create a "solidary" scenario in Santos, which may have favored the use of more solidary forms of address where interlocutors could engage on more equal terms (see Brown & Gilman 1960) such as tu. In order to verify how the forms of address were used by Portuguese immigrants in the state of São Paulo in the beginning of the 20th century, 114 personal letters (Museu de Imigração de São Paulo 2019) were analyzed. Those immigrants who lived by the coast presented a higher use of tu in relationships among peers. In Santos, linguistic and social variables seem to have favored the use of tu and its usage persists today.
A comparison of Heritage vs Homeland Taiwanese Mandarin speaker attitudes towards sajiao
Authors: Lai Audrey H. , Griffin Laura S.
Published: October 2024

This study investigates the language attitudes and perceptions of Taiwanese Mandarin heritage and homeland listeners towards the use of sajiao, a stylized speech type, in two varieties of Mandarin. A matched guise experiment was conducted via Qualtrics with heritage listeners from the United States (n = 6) and homeland listeners from Taiwan (n = 7). Participants listened to a recording and rated their perceived social constructions of the speakers in terms of their cuteness, pleasantness, femininity, masculinity, and professionalism on a scale from one to seven. In total, participants listened to 130 recordings, 64 target and 66 filler, of 4 different sentences with both sajiao and non-sajiao forms. We find that heritage speakers pattern similarly to homeland speakers, although not to the same extent. This positions heritage speakers in their own category, where they have acquired the social associations with this specialized speech style, but not to the same degree as homeland speakers. This research sheds new light on heritage language socialization and perceptions of language variation, namely regarding two varieties of Mandarin and speech style. Further research is needed to investigate how Beijing Mandarin heritage speakers would perform in this same task.
INTEGRATIVE REVIEW ON EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE TRAINING OF SCIENTISTS
Authors: ANTUNES JEFERSON , TORRES CICERO MAGERBIO GOMES , QUEIROZ ZULEIDE FERNANDES DE
Published: October 2024

ABSTRACT: The training of scientists is a long-term social investment that contributes to society through the construction of knowledge that can be applied to urgent societal issues. Training scientists requires the mobilization of various chains of social actors. Nevertheless, scientific literature presents numerous reports of experiences from around the world at different institutions that contribute to the development and discussion of scientist training. This study aims to identify and understand the main strategies adopted for training scientists found in the scientific literature. An integrative literature review was conducted between 2003 and 2022, focusing on scientist training, in order to identify and understand the reported experiences of scientist formation. As a result, experiences of interdisciplinary training, methodological capacity-building, internationalization of training, educational management activities, and the incorporation of scientific dissemination into the curriculum are identified as beneficial training practices for aspiring scientists.
Space-time analysis, severity of the wilt disease in escabeche pepper (Capsicum baccatum var. Pendulum) and identification of the causal agent (Phytophthora capsici L.) under subtropical climate conditions in Peru
Authors: Toledo A. , Aragón L. , Casas A.
Published: October 2024

Phytophthora capsici is an aggressive pathogen in escabeche pepper on the Peruvian coast. Root rot has a strong correlation with humidity and environment. Disease behavior was evaluated epidemiologically using spatiotemporal variables. Severity was evaluated according to the advance of the secondary symptom according to grades 1 to 5. Then, coordinates of each plant were established by photogrammetric survey of a field with 1705 escabeche pepper plants. For temporal analysis, severity was adjusted to an exponential model (R2 = 0.909) and incidence to a Gompertz model (R2 = 0.921) that detected an initial delay of the disease due to temperature. For the spatial analysis, the Global Moran Index (Ii) showed a high spatial dependence of the disease reaching a peak of 0.4 and 0.7 for severity and incidence, respectively. Also, heat maps related to the Local Ii were generated from which an initial source of infestation was determined where the furrow irrigation started in random infestations. Then, the infestation spots were settled in areas of surface water accumulation. Also, rhizosphere samples were collected per plant by degree of severity on V8 or CMA whit PARB and PDA-A selective medium. As a result, significant differences were obtained between grade 1, grade 2, 3, 4 and grade 5. In addition, the effect on yield was significant for plants with grade 4 and 5 with respect to fruit weight (22.3 and 18.5g/fruit) and weight per plant (509.5 and 371.8g/plant), respectively.
Public debate about the model change in Hungarian higher education: The representation of radical changes in university governance in Hungary in politically opposing online newspapers between 2019 and 2021
Authors: Géring Zsuzsanna , Kováts Gergely , Tamássy Réka , Király Gábor
Published: October 2024

The Hungarian higher education (HE) system went through a transformation, the so-called “model change” in the last years. During this process, the majority of public HE institutions were transformed into institutions maintained by private foundations. This paper focuses on the media representation of this transformation by analysing all relevant articles about the transformation (169 in total), published between 2019 and 2021 from two of the most active online journals on the topic representing the main opposite political sides (mno.hu and hvg.hu). Our analysis reveals the main actors as well as the arguments for and against the model change. The media representation in the Hungarian context is particularly important because there was not any governmental White Paper about the process. Therefore, Hungarian media served as the primary source of information to the public about the goals (and later the critiques) of the model change. However, the inner structures of the pros and cons expose how the two sides talk at cross-purposes, with minimal reactions to the arguments of the ‘other side’. This resulted in „monologizing” instead of any real dialogue.
Political polarization and corruption: A theoretical and empirical review
Authors: Hajnal Áron
Published: October 2024

Notwithstanding the considerable scholarly and public attention that political polarization and corruption have attracted in recent years and the important mechanisms through which the former may influence the latter, research in this area remains limited and inconclusive. This article offers a comprehensive theoretical and empirical synthesis of the current state of research in this domain. It finds that a large fraction of the apparent contradictions can be attributed to the conceptual inconsistencies and ambiguity surrounding political polarization. The types of polarization that have an inherently hostile and uncivil element (usually referred to as affective or pernicious polarization) undermine democratic accountability, which leads to more corruption. The role of ideological polarization among parties and the general population is more complex: it may boost accountability and decrease corruption but can also contribute to the aforementioned harmful forms of polarization and enhance the role of partisan bias in public opinion formation, thereby increasing corruption. The overall effect of ideological polarization on corruption may depend on the nature and the degree of the former, as well as on mitigating contextual factors. The two may create a vicious circle as corruption also increases political polarization via various channels.
IMPROVEMENT OF MATHEMATICAL MODELS OF DETECTION OF EXPLOSIVE OBJECTS BY ELECTROMAGNETIC METHODS
Authors:   Hetman Petro Sahaidachnyi National Army Academy, Lviv, Ukraine, Kryvtsun V. , Kotsiuruba V. ,   Air Force Command of UA  Armed Forces, Kyiv, Ukraine, Stanislavov V. ,   Air Force Command of UA  Armed Forces, Kyiv, Ukraine
Published: October 2024

One of the negative consequences of warfare is the contamination of territories with explosive ordnance. Due to the significant contamination of the territories of dozens of countries with explosive objects, the issue of guaranteed demining has become a global problem. Ukraine is no exception, as it has become the most mined country in the world as a result of Russia's war against Ukraine. The most difficult task of demining is to find and detect explosive objects in the environments that cover them. In these conditions, methods and ways to guarantee the detection of explosive objects are being searched for. One of these ways is the development and implementation of unmanned demining systems. The paper presents the results of theoretical research on improving the mathematical model of detecting explosive objects. The main stages of the demining process are considered. An analysis of research related to demining processes, in particular the search and detection of explosive objects, is carried out. Based on the results of the analysis of existing research in this subject area, ways to improve mathematical models of detection of explosive objects are identified - taking into account the reliability of search elements and a mobile platform. An approach to improving the mathematical models for determining the probability of detecting explosive objects is proposed on the example of search elements with a radio wave method of detecting explosive objects. It is proposed to use this approach to determine the probability of detecting explosive objects of remotely controlled (robotic) demining means (complexes), the search elements of which work with the use of other electromagnetic methods of search and detection of explosive objects.
«Simple» Criminal Law Measures to Combat Organized Crime and Consequences of their Application
Authors: Ishchenko P. P.
Published: October 2024

Effective criminal law measures to counter organized crime should be based on an adequate understanding of this phenomenon and should comply With the principles, approaches and traditions of the national legal system. The disposition of the article 210.1 «Occupying the highest position in the criminal hierarchy» introduced in the Special Part of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is excessively concise and does not correspond to the fundamental principle of legal certainty of criminal law norms. Despite the declared successes in its application, the practice of judicial review of criminal cases of crimes is ambiguous. In addition, the conviction of a «thief-in-law» («criminal lord») and his incarceration does not deprive him of either a criminal «title» or real power in the criminal world. The low effectiveness of criminal law measures is explained by the fact that the «thieves’ world» and its criminal hierarchy headed by «thieves-in-law» are neither a criminal community (criminal organization), nor an organized group or any other form of complicity listed in Article 35 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. It is proposed, having eliminated terminological redundancy, to call it a criminal community, in contrast to the forms of complicity provided for in Part 4 of Article 35 and Article 210 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation that are more correctly called criminal organizations. The paper defines a criminal community in its new understanding, and proposes a set of criminalized acts to effectively counter this phenomenon.
Theoretical and Methodological Justification of the Public Danger of an Act in Criminal Law
Authors: Miroshnichenko D. V.
Published: October 2024

Public danger is a fundamental category of criminal law that defines its essence and social purpose. At   the same time, science has not yet developed a unified view on the nature of public danger, its place and role in the structure of criminal law knowledge and law enforcement. In particular, the following questions remain unresolved: the legal boundaries of public danger, the correlation of the principle of legality with the social foundations of criminal liability, the correlation of the concept of harm with public danger, the possibility of its objective cognition, the impact on the assessment of public danger of acts of social values and personality, determining the quality of a crime. The paper analyzes the phenomenology of social perception of public danger in the aspect of law enforcement assessments of real harm. For this purpose, dialectics is used in the categories of reality and possibility. Harm is considered as a category of reality, and public danger as a category of opportunity. At the same time, the author understands harm and public danger not in a universal, but in a legal sense. The essence of harm means an encroachment on social values and a response to it from society and the state — a moral rebuke of the act, elevating it to the degree of social threat (danger). The public danger of a crime is constructed by the legislator, therefore this property (public danger) is associated with the reality of harm and is an important and necessary criminal law construct filled with real social meaning.  The modern problem, actualized by the security paradigm, is the definition of moral criteria for the validity of socially dangerous harm.
Legal Aspects of Demographic Policy in the Russian Empire
Authors: Igitkhanyan N. S.
Published: October 2024

The paper provides a legal analysis of demographic processes in Russia in a retrospective aspect during the pre-revolutionary period. The solution of demographic problems in the Russian Federation at the present stage is possible only taking into account the historical and legal experience of state legal regulation of public relations in the demographic sphere, including in the Russian Empire, taking into account positive historical and legal traditions. It should be borne in mind that demographic processes influence the possibility of making and implementing management decisions at the national and regional levels. State legal demographic policy is an integral part of the legal policy of the state as a whole. The paper examines the stages of the formation of demographic policy in the Russian Empire, its place, role, and goals. The author defines demographic processes, demographic policy, and its modern representation in the norms of law. The paper describes correlation between social policy and demographic policy of the State. The importance of the development and State support of demographic policy in particular and social policy in general is determined. The author analyzed several laws of the Russian Empire adopted from the 18th to the 20th centuries, determined features of demographic and social policy. The author takes into account statistical data of the 1897 census that became the first general census of the population, which determines the quantitative and qualitative composition of the population of the Russian Empire. The paper investigates major reforms in labor relations, health care, pension reforms.
Building a New Ideology in the conditions of a Transitional State-Legal System (the Case Study of the Russian Republic in February — October 1917)
Authors: Lyasovich T. G.
Published: October 2024

The paper presents the author’s point of view regarding the spiritual sphere of Russian society, changes in which were caused by the crisis resulting from the revolutionary events of February 1917, and the related experience of building a new ideology in the conditions of the transitional state law system in the Russian state in March-October 1917. The author, based on the study of a wide range of sources, critically analyzed this experience and made a number of conclusions: such construction in the conditions of permanent spiritual crisis was difficult and it was conditioned by a set of factors, namely, political, socio-economic, cultural-religious, etc. The author’s analysis of this experience was based on the study of a wide range of sources. The state of a state law anomie, that can rightly be considered one of the characteristic features of the transitional state-legal system, was the result of a deep spiritual, religious, ideological, cultural conflict that emerged, starting from the first days of the formation of the «new» Russian state, and the resulting spiritual vacuum and situation of ideological and religious uncertainty. The changing position of the Russian Orthodox Church in relation to the new bourgeois government and its reformist plans due to the political situation also contributed to the deepening of the spiritual crisis in Russian post-revolutionary society. The emphatically indifferent position of the Russian clergy towards the Provisional Government once again emphasized the unpopularity of its decisions in the eyes of society, deprived its projects of ideological support. Thus, this contributed to the loss of the government’s authority among the population. Under such conditions, all attempts of the central government to form a new post-revolutionary bourgeois-republican ideology were unsuccessful.
The Soviet-Japanese Basic Convention of 1925 (the Historic and Legal Aspect)
Authors: Smaznov V. T.
Published: October 2024

The paper is devoted to the problem of international cooperation between the Soviet Union and Japan in the 1920s. The author uses the method of historical and legal analysis to examine the convention on the basic principles of relations between the USSR and Japan that was adopted in 1925. The Convention was one of the first significant historical instruments of the 20th century within the framework of the development of the Russian Far Eastern political program. The author examines the document from a historical and legal point of view in order to reveal its legal component and deepen the understanding of its diplomatic significance and influence on the development of international relations in the first half of the 20th century. The paper presents historical resources on the key reasons and conditions that led to the signing of the Convention. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of the Convention’s content, basic principles of cooperation enshrined in the Convention that laid the foundations for the regulation of relations between the Soviet Union and Japan. The author also examines the consequences the Convention had for both countries both in the short and long run. The study presents the author’s standing regarding the contradictory nature of the Convention of 1925 expressed in realization by the parties of their foreign policy objectives through unequal concessions, particularly for the USSR. The contribution of the Convention to the formation of political and economic relations between Japan and the USSR in the following years is emphasized.
The 2021 and 2022 North Coast California Earthquake Sequences and Fault Complexity in the Vicinity of the Mendocino Triple Junction
Authors: Hellweg Margaret , Dreger Douglas S. , Lomax Anthony , McPherson Robert C. , Dengler Lori
Published: October 2024

The Mendocino Triple Junction (MTJ), one of the most tectonically active and complex regions of California, has damaging earthquakes on the San Andreas and Mendocino faults, within the oceanic and subducting regions of the Gorda section of the Juan de Fuca plate, and within the overriding North American plate (NAP). Two recent earthquake sequences in the MTJ region, starting on 20 December 2021 and 20 December 2022, highlight the complex interactions of regional faults. We explore these sequences to better define the deep faults in the MTJ region, and their rupture modes. Our finite-source analysis shows the 2021 sequence began with two M ∼6.0 earthquakes separated by ∼11 s in time and 30 km in distance. The first earthquake occurred offshore on the Mendocino fault at a depth of 16.5 km. Its S waves triggered an “onshore” intraplate Gorda event at a depth of 27 km, which ruptured a vertical fault toward the northeast. Finite-source analysis of the mainshock of the 2022 sequence, M 6.4, indicates the rupture started offshore north of Cape Mendocino within the Gorda plate and propagated east-northeast, toward populated areas. Damage to towns and infrastructure was exacerbated by directivity and the sediment-filled valleys, as well as by a large aftershock (M 5.4) centered 20 km south-southeast of the mainshock rupture plane. The depths and mechanisms of the onshore 2021 and the 2022 earthquakes and their aftershock sequences indicate that they occurred on different strike-slip faults within the subducted portion of the Gorda plate. The faults active in these earthquakes are unrelated to mapped surface faults in the overriding NAP and are oblique to the tectonic trends seen at the surface. The 2021 and 2022 earthquakes are close to the boundary between two distinct regions of the Gorda plate, where offshore north–south horizontal compression transitions to east–west downslab tension.
The 2024 Mw 7.0 Wushi Earthquake in Southern Tianshan Convergent Zone: Finite-Fault Model for the Coseismic Rupture and Aftershock
Authors: Zheng Rui , Zou Rong , Dong Rendong , Fang Zhiwei , Wang Qi
Published: October 2024

On 22 January 2024, an Mw 7.0 earthquake struck the oblique thrust Maidan fault (MDF) at the boundary between the Southern Tianshan and Tarim basin, making it the largest earthquake on the fault in the last 100 yr. Here, we use Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) to retrieve coseismic and aftershock deformation caused by the earthquake and then constrain fault geometry and slip distribution. Line-of-sight InSAR observations revealed a coseismic deformation area of 70 km × 60 km with a maximum value of ∼0.8 m and also captured the deformation from the aftershock event seven days after the mainshock. Our preferred two-segment coseismic fault model ruptures the MDF locked segment and deeper regions, exhibiting a homogeneous elliptical rupture with a maximum slip of ∼2.7 m on a rectangular plane with a dip angle of ∼60°, a length of ∼55 km, and a depth between 5 and 20 km. The aftershock formed a rupture plane of 10×8  km2 with the maximum slip of ∼0.3 m, causing slip in the shallow area of the fault where the coseismic ruptures were smaller, and supplementarily released the stress in the shallow part of the fault. The strong earthquake (Mw 7) return period on MDF inferred from the interseismic slip rate is 170–200 yr. Oblique thrust slip revealed by the slip distribution model is the result of long-term absorption of oblique convergence strain in the Southern Tianshan by the MDF and then concentrated release. The 2024 event resulted in a 60 km unruptured segment on the MDF being in a stress-triggering zone, increasing the potential seismic hazard, in contrast to the delayed seismicities on 100 km region of the southern Kalping fault (KPF).
Atividade Antibacteriana de Extratos de Chlorella sorokiniana Obtidos por Extração com Diferentes Solventes Orgânicos
Authors: Teixeira Simões da Silva Iasmin , César Richter Nogueira Caio , Da Silva Josemeyre Bonifácio , Rodrigo Ito Morioka Luiz , Hiroshi Suguimoto Hélio
Published: October 2024

O estudo teve como objetivo avaliar qualitativamente o efeito inibitório de extratos de Chlorella sorokiniana obtidos pela extração com diferentes solventes orgânicos com polaridades crescentes em bactérias patogênicas. A microalga C. sorokiniana cepa IPR 7104 foi liofilizada e submetida às extrações com os respectivos solventes: hexano, diclorometano, acetato de etila e metanol para posterior ensaio inibitório. Para o teste de inibição, as bactérias Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica e Serratia marcescens foram cultivadas em meio Müeller-Hinton e a partir disso, foi preparado um inóculo bacteriano, diluído na proporção 1/100. 195 µL de inóculo bacteriano foi acondicionado em tubo de ensaio com 5 µL dos diferentes extratos de C. sorokiniana. O conteúdo dos tubos foi esgotado em placas e avaliado. Os resultados do ensaio antibacteriano com os extratos da microalga C. sorokiniana obtidos pela extração com diferentes solventes indicaram que somente o extrato hexânico na concentração de 500 µg/mL apresentou inibição para a bactéria Serratia marcescens. A concentração inibitória mínima do extrato hexânico de C. sorokiniana é de 400 µg/mL. O ensaio temporal aponta que a partir da oitava hora o extrato hexânico tem atividade de inibição.
Palavras-chave: Inibição. Hexano. Microalgas. Bactérias Patogênicas.
 
Abstract
The study aimed to qualitatively evaluate the inhibitory effect of Chlorella sorokiniana extracts obtained by extraction with different organic solvents of increasing polarity on pathogenic bacteria. The microalga C. sorokiniana strain IPR 7104 was lyophilized and subjected to extractions with the following solvents: hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, and methanol for subsequent inhibitory assay. For the inhibition test, Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica, and Serratia marcescens were cultured in Müeller-Hinton medium, and from this, a bacterial inoculum was prepared, diluted at a 1/100 ratio. 195 µL of bacterial inoculum was placed in a test tube with 5 µL of the different C. sorokiniana extracts. The tube contents were plated and evaluated. The results of the antibacterial assay with C. sorokiniana extracts obtained by extraction with different solvents indicated that only the hexane extract at a concentration of 500 µg/mL showed inhibition for the bacterium Serratia marcescens. The minimum inhibitory concentration of the hexane extract of C. sorokiniana is 400 µg/mL. The time-course assay indicates that from the eighth hour, the hexane extract exhibits inhibitory activity.
Keywords: Inhibition. Hexane. Microalgae. Pathogenic Bacteria.
Of Patriots and Traitors. The Ideological Odyssey of José Fernando Ramírez (1804–1871) and Its Relevance for Reflecting on Contemporary Mexico
Authors: Gil Fons Antonio
Published: October 2024

When in contemporary Mexico terms like “patriots” or “traitors,” more fitting for other eras, are used in a banal, dangerous, and irresponsible manner, it is history that must provide perspective on the dynamic events of the present. With this objective, aiming to distance itself from the dichotomies in which current Mexican society seems to be sinking, this article delves into the complex figure of José Fernando Ramírez, who lived and participated in the turbulent times of Mexico’s nation-building during the 19th century. As a historian, jurist, and politician, Ramírez had a distinguished public career, serving multiple times as a minister and even as a justice of the Supreme Court. However, his political trajectory paralleled a complex ideological journey that took José Fernando Ramírez from radical liberalism to more moderate positions, eventually leading him to collaborate with the Second Mexican Empire. Thus, this article seeks to analyze the particular circumstances of Ramírez, with the primary aim of providing an explanatory answer to the ideological odyssey undertaken by numerous Mexican liberals of his generation, which led them from being considered patriots to being labeled as traitors. Additionally, from a historical perspective and through the analysis of Ramírez’s case, it aims to contribute to a reflection that reduces the exclusionary dichotomous political practices present today, where self-proclaimed immaculate patriots deny this status to former political rivals, classifying them as enemies to be defeated or simply as traitors to the homeland.
Who Is a Friend and Who Is an Enemy? Serbia’s Relations with Selected International Entities from the Perspective of the Inhabitants of Serbia
Authors: Sielska Zuzanna Halina
Published: October 2024

As a consequence of recent events in the world, people have become more interested in international politics, clarifying their approach to international entities, especially hegemons such as the USA, China, Russia or the European Union. Serbs have been maneuvering between the East and the West for centuries, which is why I decided to find out how they currently assess relations with individual international entities. According to surveys, the majority of Serbs believe that Russia is Serbia’s most important partner in the international arena and that their countries have the most friendly and partner relations. In addition, Serbs have the greatest confidence in Russia, claiming for the most part that it has good intentions towards their country. However, most respondents believe that the European Union and China are investing the most in Serbia.
Esofagectomía por cáncer de esófago. Experiencia de cinco años en el Hospital Nacional de Itauguá. Periodo 2015-2020
Authors: Paredes-Rojas Andrés Aníbal , Paredes-Rojas Luz Diana , Avila-Ortiz Rossana Montserrat , Paredes-Rojas Julio César
Published: October 2024

Objetivo: Reportar la experiencia con las esofagectomías en pacientes con cáncer de esófago, en el Servicio de Cirugía General del Hospital Nacional de Itauguá, periodo 2015-2020. Metodología: Estudio descriptivo, retrospectivo, transversal, donde se revisaron los expedientes clínicos de pacientes con diagnóstico de neoplasia en el esófago sometidos a esofagectomía en el Hospital Nacional de Itauguá, período 2015-2020. Resultados: El estudio incluyó 18 expedientes clínicos. El 78% fueron del sexo masculino, la edad media fue de 62,6 años. El IMC promedio fue de 19. La frecuencia de los síntomas fueron la disfagia en un 86%, pérdida de peso en un 83% y epigastralgia en un 28%. El carcinoma escamoso predominó en un 67% sobre el adenocarcinoma. La ubicación de los tumores se distribuyó con más frecuencia en tercio medio. El 78% de los pacientes fueron sometidos a una esofagectomía total transhiatal por técnica de Orringer y el restante por vía transtorácica por técnica de Mc Keown. Las complicaciones de la anastomosis esofagogástrica correspondieron al 34% y las respiratorias a un 28%. La tasa de mortalidad perioperatoria fue de 17%. Conclusión: La esofagectomía sigue siendo el único tratamiento curativo para el cáncer de esófago a pesar de su alta tasa de morbimortalidad. Es importante el diagnóstico precoz para poder ofrecer un tratamiento curativo. Es infortunado que los pacientes estudiados no tuvieran un seguimiento, de manera que resulta imposible la evaluación objetiva de los resultados a mediano y largo plazo.
IJSD Volume 14 2024 Making Television Dance (Again): Full Issue
Authors: Kalyanasundaram Sandhiya , Hayes Marisa C.
Published: October 2024

No abstract available.
Crítica a un nuevo Derecho del Trabajo al servicio de la flexibilidad y subordinado al crecimiento, la competitividad y el empleo
Authors:   Universidad de Sevilla, Igartua Miró María Teresa
Published: October 2024

El Derecho del Trabajo vive momentos de incertidumbre motivados por las constantes reformas urgentes, que implican un auténtico giro copernicano desde su tradicional función de ordenamiento equilibrador de las desiguales posiciones de las partes, a una defensa acérrima de la empresa, la competitividad, el crecimiento y el empleo. Partiendo de la culpabilización del ordenamiento laboral de los gravísimos problemas del mercado de trabajo, se han adoptado disposiciones que institucionalizan la precariedad laboral, en defensa del empleo, con un importante recorte de derechos y tutelas. La falta de resultados positivos de esta opción refuerza la defensa del carácter esencial e irrenunciable de la función tuitiva de la disciplina, en tanto la desigualdad de partida persiste, aun cuando no se ceje en la búsqueda de un justo equilibrio con otros intereses también dignos de tutela.
Discapacitados: inserción social a través del empleo y principios de igualdad y no discriminación (Informe español)
Authors:   Universidad de Huelva, Gorelli Hernández Juan
Published: October 2024

TEl presente trabajo analiza el régimen jurídico actualmente vigente en materia de inserción social de los discapacitados en España. La aparición de una nueva Ley General de derechos de las personas con discapacidad justifica la necesidad de un estudio de estas características, que pone el acento fundamentalmente en la necesidad de impulsar un principio de igualdad efectiva, especialmente facilitando el acceso de los discapacitados al trabajo. En este sentido, el autor analiza los diferentes mecanismos establecidos para alcanzar el objetivo de una plena integración laboral de los discapacitados.
Critical Labor Law versus Labor Law
Authors:   University of A Coruña, Martínez Girón Jesús , Arufe Varela Alberto ,   University of A Coruña
Published: October 2024

The authors argue their option to put aside the explanation of Labor Law at Law School, to go on to explain a «critical» Labor Law, in Spanish and English. On one side, it is due to the limitations and new requirements deriving from the implementation of «Bologna Plan». On the other side, it is also due to the destroying impact of the current economic-financial crisis on the traditional Labor Law.
Game On! The Effectiveness of Gamified Approaches in Thai Higher Education
Authors:   School of Languages and General Education, Walailak University, Nahon Si Thammarat, Thailand, Waluyo Budi
Published: October 2024

Despite the growing interest in the use of gamification applications in English language teaching and learning, research on the effectiveness of gamified grammar learning compared to conventional methods and its impact on students’ learning enjoyment in the Thai higher education context remains limited. This study employed a quasi-experimental research design and a sequential mixed-methods explanatory design to investigate the learning outcomes and factors that contribute to students’ learning enjoyment in a gamified English grammar class. The study involved 52 first-year Liberal Arts and Management students aged 18–20 with A1–A2 CEFR levels. The quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Wilcoxon tests, while the qualitative data were examined through thematic analysis. The results showed that gamified grammar learning (Z = 4.32, p < 0.001) is more effective than traditional learning approaches (Z = 4.49, p < 0.001), leading to better learning outcomes, and five themes that contributed to the students’ learning enjoyment in a gamified English grammar class were identified. The findings suggest that integrating gamification into English grammar classes could provide an engaging and motivating learning environment that enhances learning outcomes. Future research could expand on these findings by investigating other outcomes and comparing the effectiveness of different gamification applications.
Tomando la akrasia en serio
Authors: Rodríguez-Blanco Verónica , Botero-Bernal Andrés
Published: October 2024

Este artículo representa el primer paso para demostrar que la akrasia[1] proporciona la característica estructural subyacente en los juicios de culpabilidad o responsabilidad ética y jurídica por actos negligentes; el trabajo explica el fenómeno de la akrasia y compara las concepciones clásicas y contemporáneas de este fenómeno. Argumentamos que actuamos inadvertidamente porque actuamos acráticamente, lo que se explica en términos de un compromiso defectuoso específico del razonamiento práctico por parte del agente ejecutor, es decir, una falta de integración entre el carácter y el pensamiento que debe entenderse como una falla para habitar la perspectiva deliberativa-aspiracional.