bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Staged Management of Congenital Chylothorax With Hydrops Fetalis: An Insight Into EXIT Related Procedures
Authors: Tai Hung-Lin , Mok Tze Yee Diane , Chao An-Shine , Chu Shih-Ming , Lien Reyin
Published: February 2021

Background: Idiopathic congenital chylothorax is a rare but serious disease. Advancement in perinatal care and the renovated treatment modalities have brought about significant improvement in patient outcome.

Objective: To describe the clinical course of severe forms of idiopathic congenital chylothorax, focusing on the development of recent treatment modalities and their impacts.

Design: A retrospective cohort by review of medical records in the NICU of a perinatal referral center in Taiwan. Study period was from January 2006 to June 2017. Neonates with the diagnosis of idiopathic congenital chylothorax with non-immune hydrops fetalis were enrolled. Clinical relevant including demographic data, perinatal interventions, post-natal course, and treatment outcome were described and analyzed.

Results: Twenty-eight neonatal patients were included. The median gestational age at birth was 34 (range 27–36) weeks and median birth weight was 2,369 (range 1,430–3,608) g. Prenatal intervention was performed in 39.3% of the patients. Besides, 11 out of the 28 neonates developed tension pneumothorax in the first 24 h and 4 (36.4%) of them died. Sepsis was documented in two patients (7.1%). Overall survival rate was 71.4%. There were five patients enrolled during the last 2 years of the study period. EXIT with intubation was performed in two and octreotide was given to four of these most recent neonates, and all of them survived.

Conclusion: Recent advances in the management of these neonates, specifically EXIT with intubation and use of octreotide. Both of them improved patient survival in our cohort, but the evidence of impact has yet to be validated.
Multiscale and Multimodal Optical Imaging of the Ultrastructure of Human Liver Biopsies
Authors: Kong Cihang , Bobe Stefanie , Pilger Christian , Lachetta Mario , Øie Cristina Ionica , Kirschnick Nils , Mönkemöller Viola , Hübner Wolfgang , Förster Christine , Schüttpelz Mark , Kiefer Friedemann , Huser Thomas , Schulte am Esch Jan
Published: February 2021

The liver as the largest organ in the human body is composed of a complex macroscopic and microscopic architecture that supports its indispensable function to maintain physiological homeostasis. Optical imaging of the human liver is particularly challenging because of the need to cover length scales across 7 orders of magnitude (from the centimeter scale to the nanometer scale) in order to fully assess the ultrastructure of the entire organ down to the subcellular scale and probe its physiological function. This task becomes even more challenging the deeper within the organ one hopes to image, because of the strong absorption and scattering of visible light by the liver. Here, we demonstrate how optical imaging methods utilizing highly specific fluorescent labels, as well as label-free optical methods can seamlessly cover this entire size range in excised, fixed human liver tissue and we exemplify this by reconstructing the biliary tree in three-dimensional space. Imaging of tissue beyond approximately 0.5 mm length requires optical clearing of the human liver. We present the successful use of optical projection tomography and light-sheet fluorescence microscopy to derive information about the liver architecture on the millimeter scale. The intermediate size range is covered using label-free structural and chemically sensitive methods, such as second harmonic generation and coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering microscopy. Laser-scanning confocal microscopy extends the resolution to the nanoscale, allowing us to ultimately image individual liver sinusoidal endothelial cells and their fenestrations by super-resolution structured illumination microscopy. This allowed us to visualize the human hepatobiliary system in 3D down to the cellular level, which indicates that reticular biliary networks communicate with portal bile ducts via single or a few ductuli. Non-linear optical microscopy enabled us to identify fibrotic regions extending from the portal field to the parenchyma, along with microvesicular steatosis in liver biopsies from an older patient. Lastly, super-resolution microscopy allowed us to visualize and determine the size distribution of fenestrations in human liver sinusoidal endothelial cells for the first time under aqueous conditions. Thus, this proof-of-concept study allows us to demonstrate, how, in combination, these techniques open up a new chapter in liver biopsy analysis.
TFEB: A Emerging Regulator in Lipid Homeostasis for Atherosclerosis
Authors: Li Manman , Wang Zitong , Wang Pengyu , Li Hong , Yang Liming
Published: February 2021

Atherosclerosis, predominantly characterized by the disturbance of lipid homeostasis, has become the main causation of various cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, there is an urgent requirement to explore efficacious targets that act as lipid modulators for atherosclerosis. Transcription factor EB (TFEB), whose activity depends on post-translational modifications, such as phosphorylation, acetylation, SUMOylation, ubiquitination, etc., is significant for normal cell physiology. Recently, increasing evidence implicates a role of TFEB in lipid homeostasis, via its functionality of promoting lipid degradation and efflux through mediating lipophagy, lipolysis, and lipid metabolism-related genes. Furthermore, a regulatory effect on lipid transporters and lipid mediators by TFEB is emerging. Notably, TFEB makes a possible therapeutic target of atherosclerosis by regulating lipid metabolism. This review recapitulates the update and current advances on TFEB mediating lipid metabolism to focus on two intracellular activities: a) how cells perceive external stimuli and initiate transcription programs to modulate TFEB function, and b) how TFEB restores lipid homeostasis in the atherosclerotic process. In-depth research is warranted to develop potent agents against TFEB to alleviate or reverse the progression of atherosclerosis.
‘Puppy Dog Eyes’ Are Associated With Eye Movements, Not Communication
Authors: Bremhorst Annika , Mills Daniel S. , Stolzlechner Lisa , Würbel Hanno , Riemer Stefanie
Published: February 2021

The inner brow raiser is a muscle movement that increases the size of the orbital cavity, leading to the appearance of so-called ‘puppy dog eyes’. In domestic dogs, this expression was suggested to be enhanced by artificial selection and to play an important role in the dog-human relationship. Production of the inner brow raiser has been shown to be sensitive to the attentive stance of a human, suggesting a possible communicative function. However, it has not yet been examined whether it is sensitive to human presence. In the current study, we aimed to test whether the inner brow raiser differs depending on the presence or absence of an observer. We used two versions of a paradigm in an equivalent experimental setting in which dogs were trained to expect a reward; however, the presence/absence of a person in the test apparatus was varied. In the social context, a human facing the dog delivered the reward; in the non-social context, reward delivery was automatized. If the inner brow raiser has a communicative function and dogs adjust its expression to an audience, we expect it to be shown more frequently in the social context (when facing a person in the apparatus) than in the non-social context (when facing the apparatus without a person inside). The frequency of the inner brow raiser differed between the two contexts, but contrary to the prediction, it was shown more frequently in the non-social context. We further demonstrate that the inner brow raiser is strongly associated with eye movements and occurs independently in only 6% of cases. This result challenges the hypothesis that the inner brow raiser has a communicative function in dog-human interactions and suggests a lower-level explanation for its production, namely an association with eye movements.
Social Support and Suicide Risk Among Chinese University Students: A Mental Health Perspective
Authors: Chu Haiyun , Yang Yanjie , Zhou Jiawei , Wang Wenbo , Qiu Xiaohui , Yang Xiuxian , Qiao Zhengxue , Song Xuejia , Zhao Erying
Published: February 2021

Background: World Health Organization recognizes suicide as a public health priority. This study aimed to investigate the risk life events which led university students to consider suicide and explore the protective mechanism of social support (including subjective support, objective support, and support utilization) on suicide risk.

Methods: Three thousand nine hundred and seventy-two university students were recruited in Harbin, China. Social Support Rating Scale, Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the 25-item scale of suicide acceptability were used to collect participants' information. Descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation, and mediation analysis were employed for statistical analysis.

Results: “Drug addict,” “infected with HIV,” and “incurable illness” were the top three events that led university students to consider suicide. Social support played an important protective role against suicide risk. Subjective support and support utilization had total effects on suicide acceptability, including direct and indirect effects. Anxiety (indirect effect = −0.022, 95% CI = −0.037 ~ −0.009) and depressive symptoms (indirect effect = −0.197, 95% CI = −0.228 ~ −0.163) mediated the relationship between subjective support and suicide acceptability; meanwhile, the association between support utilization and suicide acceptability was mediated by anxiety (indirect effect = −0.054, 95% CI = −0.088 ~ −0.024) and depressive symptoms (indirect effect = −0.486, 95% CI = −0.558 ~ −0.422). However, the protective impact of objective support worked totally through decreasing anxiety (indirect effect = −0.018, 95% CI = −0.035 ~ −0.006) and depressive symptoms (indirect effect = −0.196, 95% CI = −0.246 ~ −0.143). Moreover, the mediation effects of depressive symptoms had stronger power than anxiety in the impact of social support on suicide risk.

Conclusions: Among Chinese university students, suicide acceptability was elevated when there was a health scare. Social support effectively reduced suicide risk via decreasing anxiety and depressive symptoms. From the mental health perspective, families, peers, teachers, and communities should work together to establish a better social support system for university students, if necessary, help them to seek professional psychological services.
How Well the Government of Nepal Is Responding to COVID-19? An Experience From a Resource-Limited Country to Confront Unprecedented Pandemic
Authors: Rayamajhee Binod , Pokhrel Anil , Syangtan Gopiram , Khadka Saroj , Lama Bhupendra , Rawal Lal Bahadur , Mehata Suresh , Mishra Shyam Kumar , Pokhrel Roshan , Yadav Uday Narayan
Published: February 2021

COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, was first reported in Wuhan, China and is now a pandemic affecting over 218 countries and territories around the world. Nepal has been severely affected by it, with an increasing number of confirmed cases and casualties in recent days, even after 8 months of the first case detected in China. As of 26 November 2020, there were over 227,600 confirmed cases of COVID in Nepal with 209,435 recovered cases and 1,412 deaths. This study aimed to compile public data available from the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP), Government of Nepal (GoN) and analyse the data of 104 deceased COVID-19 patients using IBM SPSS (Version 25.0). Additionally, this study also aimed to provide critical insights on response of the GoN to COVID-19 and way forward to confront unprecedented pandemic. Figures and maps were created using the Origin Lab (Version 2018) and QGIS (Version 3.10.8). Most of the reported cases were from Bagmati Province, the location of Nepal's capital city, Kathmandu. Among deceased cases, >69% of the patients were male and patients ≥54 years accounted for 67.9% (n = 923). Preliminary findings showed respiratory illness, diabetes, and chronic kidney diseases were the most common comorbid conditions associated with COVID-19 deaths in Nepal. Despite some efforts in the 8 months since the first case was detected, the government's response so far has been insufficient. Since the government eased the lockdown in July 2020, Nepal is facing a flood of COVID-19 cases. If no aggressive actions are taken, the epidemic is likely to result in significant morbidity and mortality in Nepal. The best way to curb the effect of the ongoing pandemic in a resource-limited country like Nepal is to increase testing, tracing, and isolation capacity, and to set up quality quarantine centers throughout the nation. A comprehensive health literacy campaign, quality care of older adults and those with comorbidity will also result in the effective management of the ongoing pandemic.
A Survey on One Health Perception and Experiences in Europe and Neighboring Areas
Authors: Chiesa Francesco , Tomassone Laura , Savic Sara , Bellato Alessandro , Mihalca Andrei Daniel , Modry David , Häsler Barbara , De Meneghi Daniele
Published: February 2021

A questionnaire survey was promoted under the COST Actions “Network for Evaluation of One Health-NEOH”and “European Network for Neglected Vectors and Vector-Borne Infections-EURNEGVEC”, from June 2016 to April 2017, to collect information on the existence of One Health (OH) collaboration and implementation of OH initiatives in 37 EU COST Countries. The questionnaire was to be answered by key respondents representing the three major OH components: (i). Animal Health; (ii). Human Health/Public Health; (iii). Environmental Health. A target respondent rate of nine respondents/country was aimed for, representing the following categories: (i). ministries; (ii). academia-research; (iii). private sector and NGOs, associations and scientific societies. The questionnaire, composed of 27 questions organized in six sections, was circulated to target respondents by Committee Members of the two COST actions. A total of 171 respondents from 34 countries completed the questionnaire, mainly belonging to academic and research institutions (55.5%), and to Animal Health/Animal Science fields (53.8%). Although the majority (57.9%) declared they had heard about OH, few respondents (10.7%) provided a complete definition. The “human” and “animal” elements prevailed over other key elements of OH definition (ecosystem, intersectoral, transdisciplinary, holistic, collaboration). Overall, 62.6% respondents declared to take part in OH initiatives. Antimicrobial resistance, avian influenza and environmental pollution were cited as the top three OH issues over the past 5 years. Limitations and gaps in intersectoral collaboration included communication and organizational problems resulting in poor networking, differing priorities and a lack of understanding between sectors. Regarding control and monitoring of zoonotic diseases, respondents from different sectors preferentially selected their own directorates/ministries while actually in most countries both Ministry of Health and Ministry of Agriculture are engaged. According to respondents, the level of awareness of OH amongst the general public is limited. Similarly, a dearth of opportunities of collaborations at different institutional and/or professional levels was described. Our survey provided an overview of how respondents in COST countries perceived and experienced OH and current limits to OH implementation. Identifying how initiatives are currently working and knowing the promoting and hindering factors allowed suggesting strategies to promote efficiency and effectiveness of OH implementation in the future.
Plants: The Master Chemists of Our Planet
Authors: Carreno-Quintero Natalia , Cárdenas Pablo D.
Published: February 2021

Imagine your legs were buried in the ground and you were not able to move or to talk. What would you do to eat, grow, and defend yourself? This situation is more common than you think: It is part of the daily life of plants. Plants have developed many strategies not only to survive, but also to interact with other plants, animals, and microorganisms around them. Some of these strategies involve using chemical compounds that work as messages from the plant to its surroundings. Scientists have developed creative methods to estimate what and how much of a chemical is inside a plant. If we can identify the great diversity of plant compounds, in the future we might be able to better understand how plants grow and interact with their environments. Also, we may be able to use those compounds to make medicines and to produce healthier, tastier vegetables.
On the Outside Looking In: A Global Doula Response to COVID-19
Authors: Searcy Julie Johnson , Castañeda Angela N.
Published: February 2021

From around the world, doulas report the impact of new COVID-19 restrictions on their ability to provide continuous emotional, physical, and informational support to pregnant people and their families. In a qualitative survey conducted in March and April 2020, we heard from over 500 doulas in 24 countries. Doulas practicing across the world revealed rapid changes to hospital policies. Even accounting for different public health responses across countries, the doulas in our study pointed to one common theme - their absence at births and the subsequent need to support birthing people virtually. In a follow-up survey and in interviews we conducted in July, we reconnected with doulas from our initial study to track their access to institutional birthing spaces. As countries experienced the effects of “flattening the curve,” we found that doulas were still not considered “essential” workers and the majority could not attend births. Our research shows that doulas have ambiguous feelings about the efficacy of virtual support, that they raise concerns about the long-term impact of COVID on their profession and that they are concerned about mistreatment and obstetric violence as birthing people enter hospitals alone.
Dialektyzmy w tekście wspomnień Z miłości do wiedzy Stanisława Urbańczyka jako wyraz więzi uczonego ze środowiskiem wiejskim
Authors: Cygan Stanisław
Published: February 2021

Dialectisms in the memoirs in Z miłości do wiedzy (Out of Love to Knowledge) by Stanisław Urbańczyk as a sign of the scholar’s ties with rural environment Summary The memoirs in Z miłości do wiedzy (Out of Love to Knowledge) by Stanisław Urbańczyk, one of the most outstanding Polish linguists, are a perfect source of knowledge about the life of a Galician village of the early 20th century, they describe the laborious academic life of the Kraków scholar, people around him, and history of academic institutions. The paper presents how dialectisms function in Part I of the memoirs as an example of the author’s inspiration with the home environment, relations between his language and social origin. They include parenthetical statements, graphic metatextual elements, and metatextual operators.
Słowa miesiąca roku 2018 w polach leksykalno-semantycznych.
Authors: Sornat Katarzyna
Published: February 2021

Words of the month in 2018 in lexical and semantic fi elds Summary The aim of this study is to present the results of a lexical and semantic analysis of the so-called words of the month in 2018, that is words (or their combinations) with high frequency in the Polish daily press, published and commented by a group of linguists from the Institute of Polish Language, University of Warsaw, on www.slowanaczasie.uw.edu.pl over the past year. Apart from the analysis of the thematic structure of the excerpted lexemes and their assignment to contextually determined word fi elds, the examination covers the total number of occurrences of the units in the monthly list of words of the month. The outcome of the linguistic analysis not only permitted identifi cation of the most topical issues for Poles in a given year, but also enabled verifi cation of the conclusions drawn by various researchers of cyclic words to date. They have found, among others, a considerable share of borrowings from foreign languages, neologisms and neosemantisms, pointed to a seasonal motivation of the units, and argued that the greatest share in the set belonged to names related to politics, economics, and broadly understood social issues.
Rozpowszechnianie, zachowywanie i nauczanie języka polskiego w świecie w latach 1918–2018. Część I: Polszczyzna i Polacy w świecie w latach 1918–1939.
Authors: Miodunka Władysław T.
Published: February 2021

On the occasion of Poland’s regaining its independence in 1918, several
papers have been written to depict the development and transformations of
the Polish language over the period 1918–2018. However, none of the studies
covered popularising Polish by emigrant communities in various countries
around the world, preserving it and passing it down to new generations in
a bilingual environment, and its teaching not only in ethnic schools but also in
higher education institutions. This paper addresses the abovementioned issues
by presenting relations between the Polish state and emigration communities
in the period 1918–1939 fi rst. A characteristic typical of this period was the
fact that governmental authorities treated emigrants and their descendants as
Poles around the world who may pursue the objectives of the Polish foreign
policy. With this in mind, the World Union of Poles (Światpol) was established in
1934, which was opposed by representatives of the Polish American community.
A further part of the paper presents the organisation of summer school of the
Polish language and culture at the University of Warsaw and the Jagiellonian
University in Kraków beginning from 1931, teaching of the Polish language in
Polish schools abroad and aid provided to them by Poland, and fi nally, courses
of Polish and programmes in Polish Studies offered at foreign universities.
Tomasza Szumskiego poglądy normatywne w dziele Dokładna
nauka języka i stylu polskiego .
Authors: Bugajski Marian
Published: February 2021

Tomasz Szumski’s prescriptive views in the work
Dokładna nauka języka i stylu polskiego
(Learning the Polish language and style thoroughly)
Summary
The aim of this paper is to present Tomasz Szumski’s prescriptive views.
Dokładna nauka języka i stylu polskiego (Learning the Polish language
and style thoroughly) is not a highly popular work, yet one deserving attention
as it combines a grammatical description of the Polish language with the
rules governing its use, including a lecture on communication behaviours.
It is a systematic and a clearly prescriptive lecture of good Polish, where the
author distinguishes three levels of command of the language. It includes
not only a description of grammatical rules but also guidance regarding
proper pronunciation, text construction and delivery. The rules formulated by
T. Szumski are expressly oriented towards addressees with the aim to make them
feel comfortable; they are also conditions of an effective utterance/statement.
The study is embedded in the European grammatical and rhetorical tradition.
Historical, national, literary, and aesthetic criteria, although unnamed directly,
are clear in the author’s thinking about the language.
Keywords: history of language – language teaching – language culture – language
communication – language norm assessment criteria – Tomasz Szumski.
Rozpowszechnianie, zachowywanie i nauczanie języka
polskiego w świecie w latach 1918–2018, część II: Polszczyzna i Polonia
w świecie w latach 1944–2018
Authors: Miodunka Władysław T.
Published: February 2021

The entire period 1944-2018 was divided chronologically into two parts: the
period 1944-1989, which was the period of the Polish People’s Republic (PRL),
when Poland was part of the Socialist Bloc, led by the USSR, and the period
1989-2018, when the Polish authorities and society built a free and independent
Republic of Poland in unison. In the former period, special attention is given
to the period 1978-1990, when Cardinal Karol Wojtyła’s election as Pope John
Paul II fi rst and the establishment and activity of the Solidarity movement
next made Poland a country well-known and admired all over the world, which
largely infl uenced the transformation of the awareness of the Polish community
in many countries. All this constitutes a background for the presentation of
the history of education of the Polish community abroad, foundation of schools
of the Polish language and culture at numerous Polish institutions of higher
education, with the University of Warsaw in the lead and fi nally, the process of
developing Polish Studies abroad as well as the process of integrating Polish and
foreign specialists in Polish studies in the period 1997-2018.
Podstawowe problemy teorii świadomości językowej.
Authors: Maćkowiak Krzysztof
Published: February 2021

The modern linguistics is gaining a more and more anthropocentric
markedness. This contributes, among others, to increased interest in
language awareness. This paper is intended to provide both an overview and
a systematisation. The threads it touches upon concern three issues. The
author defi nes the very notion of language awareness, outlines the operating
mechanisms of the mental base of speech, and identifi es the subjects to whom
language awareness may be attributed.
Language awareness needs to be considered a separate mental structure
being a fragment of the general human awareness. The structure has a dual
nature. Some of its reserves are innate components, others are contents
and dispositions obtained in the course of individual development. Both are
responsible for language acquisition, coordinate language activities, and
substantiate various judgments regarding speech as a portion of the collective
life, i.e. a product of culture and a culture-building measure. The contents
composing the broadly defi ned individual language awareness at the same time
create the cognitive sphere, the pragmatic sphere, and the affective sphere.
Obviously, specifi c language decisions are infl uenced by collective linguistic
views. The speaker always gives in to supraindividual rules, which are an
outcome of the states of collective consciousness.
„Zmierzch bezpowrotny?” O gwarze mazurskiej we współczesnych nieprofesjonalnych słownikach gwarowych.
Authors: Rembiszewska Dorota Krystyna
Published: February 2021

This paper discusses the content of amateur dialect dictionaries related to
the Masuria region, which have been published in recent years, as well as the
presentation methods of the lexical material.
It was also pointed to the fact that interest in dialects has increased and the
trend for revitalising various dialectal systems has been noticeable lately.
The analysis of Masuria dialect dictionaries allowed for the number of
entries, applied graphy, method of defi ning the meanings of entries.
The importance of the amateur material for enriching the resource of
professionally compiled dictionaries was noticed, at the same time indicating
numerous shortcomings in the word register preparation method, which arose
from insuffi cient skills of the authors.
O PROJEKCIE KORPUSU POLSZCZYZNY
DO 1500 ROKU
Authors: Deptuchowa Ewa , Jasińska Katarzyna , Klapper Magdalena , Kołodziej Dorota
Published: February 2021

This paper presents the assumptions of the Corpus of Polish until 1500, which
is being developed as part of the project titled Baza leksykalna średniowiecznej
polszczyzny (do 1500 roku). Fleksja (Lexical Database of Medieval Polish
(until 1500). Infl ection). It introduces the fundamental objectives of the project,
namely preparing an infl ectional description of all (infl ected) words from the time
until 1500 and building a morphosyntactically annotated collection of texts from
the same period. Afterwards, the authors discuss the present digital collections
of Old Polish texts. In the main part of the paper, they present the criteria for
selecting sources for the Corpus under creation and their elaboration methods,
which refer to the solutions developed in the Electronic Corpus of Polish Texts
from the 17th and 18th centuries (until 1772). Their major modifi cations aimed
to adapt the structural and morphosyntactic annotations for the purpose of
describing Mediaeval Polish are discussed on selected examples.
ANALIZA FLEKSYJNA TEKSTÓW HISTORYCZNYCH
I ZMIENNOŚĆ FLEKSJI POLSKIEJ
Z PERSPEKTYWY DANYCH KORPUSOWYCH
Authors: Woliński Marcin , Kieraś Witold
Published: February 2021

The subject matter of this paper is Chronofl eks, a computer system (http://
chronofl eks.nlp.ipipan.waw.pl/) modelling Polish infl ection based on a corpus
material. The system visualises changes of infl ectional paradigms of individual
lexemes over time and enables examination of the variability of the frequency of
infl ected form groups distinguished based on various criteria.
Feeding Chronofl eks with corpus data required development of IT tools to
ensure an infl ectional processing sequence of texts analogous to the ones used
for modern language; they comprise a transcriber, a morphological analyser,
and a tagger.
The work was performed on data from three historical periods (1601–1772,
1830–1918, and modern ones) elaborated in independent projects. Therefore,
fi nding a common manner of describing data from the individual periods was
a signifi cant element of the work.
Keywords: electronic text corpus – natural language processing – infl ection of
Polish – history of language
Pakistan – nierównowaga kontroli między establishmentem militarno-wywiadowczym a cywilnym i fasadowa demokratyzacja
Authors: Nitza-Makowska Agnieszka
Published: February 2021

After two democratic transitions of power in 2013 and 2018, Pakistan remains a hybrid regime. The military-security establishment continues to control key policies in the country. The causes of this imbalance of control are (i) the lack of capable political elites, (ii)an unofficial alliance between military-security establishment and religious organisations, (iii)external threats. On the one hand, these threats result from geopolitics that doesnot depend on Islamabad; on the other hand, they are escalated by the military-securityestablishment to legitimise its dominant position.
Analiza regresji z programem R – przykład użycia w badaniach politologicznych
Authors: Wajzer Mateusz , Cugier-Syguła Monika
Published: February 2021

The aim of the article is to present the basic functionalities of the R program for the creation of regression models describing political phenomena. A database of voter turnout during the 2014 U.S. Congress elections categorised according to voters’ age was used for the analyses. The statistical procedures (linear and second-degree polynomial models) applied were discussed in detail, with paths to their respective commands being provided. The article is addressed primarily to postgraduate students in political science and related disciplines, as well as to researchers who have never used the R program before.
W poszukiwaniu nowego modelu współzarządzania – dylematy koncepcji wartości publicznej
Authors: Szczupaczyński Jerzy
Published: February 2021

The literature on public value has grown significantly in recent decades. The aim of the article is to present this concept, and to develop some critical arguments. Especially two demands put by public value proponents are discussed: the need for public policymakers to tackle the legitimacy deficit and, second, the new role of public manager as a pro-active shaper of the public sphere. This article makes a case for paying more attention to classic questions of uneven distribution of societal power and to need for politics/administration separation.
Chuligaństwo stadionowe – próba socjologicznej analizy zjawiska
Authors: Gac Karol
Published: February 2021

The main aim of this article is to analyze the phenomenon of football hooliganism in Poland. This analysis is evolving – that is the reason why constant studies are being conducted. Additionally, the author decided to show the genesis of football hooliganism and he described supporters’ community. A great asset to the article is a depth interview which with active hooligans from the biggest Polish supporters’ groups. Thanks to this interview, the author verified a part of the information available in different articles.
Populistyczne strategie – narzędzia polskich neoliberalnych elit w kampaniach wyborczych 2015 roku
Authors: Borowiec Piotr
Published: February 2021

The articles presents how thestrategy of populism was used by Polish liberaldemocratic elitesin the presidential and parliamentary campaigns of 2015. Thestrategy
was used in two ways. Firstly,theelection promisesmade by theliberals’ opponents were
assigned a derogatory terms of populism. Secondly, theliberals madetheir own promises
to the public, which fulfilled the main characteristics ascribed to populism. This way the
strategies of populism was used by neoliberalelitesto securetheir own position in power.
It served to maintain the existing dominance and concentration of power. The observations presented in the articlewere based on thorough research and analysis of political discourse of the 2015 elections.
k-Circle Formation and k-epf by Asynchronous Robots
Authors: Bhagat Subhash , Das Bibhuti , Chakraborty Abhinav , Mukhopadhyaya Krishnendu
Published: February 2021

For a given positive integer k, the k-circle formation problem asks a set of autonomous, asynchronous robots to form disjoint circles having k robots each at distinct locations, centered at a set of fixed points in the Euclidean plane. The robots are identical, anonymous, oblivious, and they operate in Look–Compute–Move cycles. This paper studies the k-circle formation problem and its relationship with the k-epf problem, a generalized version of the embedded pattern formation problem, which asks exactly k robots to reach and remain at each fixed point. First, the k-circle formation problem is studied in a setting where the robots have an agreement on the common direction and orientation of one of the axes. We have characterized all the configurations and the values of k, for which the k-circle formation problem is deterministically unsolvable in this setting. For the remaining configurations and the values of k, a deterministic distributed algorithm has been proposed, in order to solve the problem. It has been proved that for the initial configurations with distinct robot positions, if the k-circle formation problem is deterministically solvable then the k-epf problem is also deterministically solvable. It has been shown that by modifying the proposed algorithm, the k-epf problem can be solved deterministically.
Effect of Knotweed in Diet on Physiological Changes in Pig
Authors: Maděra Petr , Kovářová Marcela , Frantík Tomáš , Filipčík Radek , Novák Jan , Vencl Štěpán , Maděrová Lucie , Rozkot Miroslav , Kuchařová Stanislava , Václavková Eva , Truněčková Jana , Volková Jana , Nývltová Zora , Bartoš Michal
Published: February 2021

Knotweeds (Reynoutria spp.) are plants producing useful secondary metabolites, including stilbenes (resveratrol and piceid have been studied more thoroughly) and emodin. Many studies have shown the positive effects of resveratrol on the health status of humans and animals. Resveratrol has been added into pigs’ diet as a pure extract, but it has never been supplemented into the fodder with knotweed biomass which contains other secondary metabolites, thus we would expect it would provide a more complex effect. The study objective is to discover whether the 2 weight percent addition of knotweed into pigs’ diet will have positive effects on their health. We compared two groups of Prestice Black-Pied pigs, the experimental group was fed by fodder with the knotweed rhizomes additive, the control group without knotweed additive. Investigated parameters were feed consumption, the composition of excrements, weight increment, muscle-to-fat ratio, fatty acid composition and blood haematology and biochemistry. The addition of knotweed stimulated a whole range of physiological changes. It positively stimulated weight growth and increased the back fat and proportion of muscle, but statistically significant only in gilts. On the other hand, the changes in fatty acid composition seemed to be unsatisfactory. It is the first study of the effects of knotweed on pigs’ development, and more detailed research is desirable.
Effect of Climate Change on Staple Food Production: Empirical Evidence from a Structural Ricardian Analysis
Authors: Luh Yir-Hueih , Chang Yun-Cih
Published: February 2021

The structural Ricardian model has been used to examine the links between climate variables and staple food production in the literature. However, empirical extensions considering the cluster-correlated effects of climate change have been limited. This study aims to bridge this knowledge gap by extending the structural Ricardian model to accommodate for spatial clustering of the climate variables while examining their effects on staple food production. Based on nationally representative farm household data in Taiwan, the present study investigates the effect of climate conditions on both crop choice and the subsequent production of the three most important staple foods. The results suggest that seasonal temperature/precipitation variations are the major determinants of staple food production after controlling for farm households’ socio-economic characteristics. The impacts of seasonal climate variations are found to be location-dependent, which also vary significantly across the staple food commodities. Climate change impact assessment under four Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) scenarios indicates the detrimental effect of climate change on rice production during 2021–2100. Under RCP6.0, the adverse effect of climate change on rice production will reach the high of approximately $2900 in the last two decades of the century. There is a gradual increase in terms of the size of negative impact on vegetable production under RCP2.6 and RCP4.5. Under RCP6.0 and RCP8.5, the effects of climate change on vegetable production switch in signs during the entire time span. The impact of climate change on fruits is different from the other two staple foods. The simulated results suggest that, except for RCP8.5, the positive impact of climate change on the production of fruits will be around $210–$320 in 2021–2040; the effect will then increase to $640–$870 before the end of the century.
What Do Lithuanian Hunters Think of African Swine Fever and Its Control—Perceptions
Authors: Stončiūtė Evelina , Schulz Katja , Malakauskas Alvydas , Conraths Franz , Masiulis Marius , Sauter-Louis Carola
Published: February 2021

After the introduction of African swine fever (ASF) into Lithuania in 2014, continuous spread of the disease resulted in infection of the wild boar populations in most parts of Lithuania. The virus has been moving closer to other Western European countries where pig density is high. An efficient surveillance system detecting ASF cases early in domestic and wild animals is necessary to manage this disease. To make surveillance appropriate and effective, it is critical to understand how key players perceive the implemented control measures. This study investigated the attitudes and beliefs of hunters in Lithuania regarding currently implemented or proposed measures for the control of ASF in the wild boar population. Study data were collected through questionnaires distributed via the internet and by hunting associations in Lithuania. In total, 621 fully completed questionnaires were received and analyzed. All measures interfering with extensive hunting, like ban of driven or individual hunting or ban of supplementary feeding were considered as unacceptable and as ineffective measures to control ASF in wild boar. However, selective hunting of female wild boar was generally considered as an unethical act and therefore rejected. Some measures that seem to have been successful in other countries, like involvement of additional forces, were rejected by Lithuanian hunters, thus implementation of these measures could be difficult. The study highlighted that there is a need for improving important relationships with other stakeholders, since many hunters expressed a lack of trust in governmental institutions and regarded cooperation with them as insufficient. Hunters emphasized that their motivation to support passive surveillance measures could be improved with financial compensation and reduction of workload. The present study provides insights into hunters’ perceptions, which may be used as a foundation for additional discussions with these important stakeholders and for adapting measures to improve their acceptance if appropriate.
Redefinition of the Mora Romagnola Pig Breed Herd Book Standard Based on DNA Markers Useful to Authenticate Its “Mono-Breed” Products: An Example of Sustainable Conservation of a Livestock Genetic Resource
Authors: Tinarelli Silvia , Ribani Anisa , Utzeri Valerio Joe , Taurisano Valeria , Bovo Claudio , Dall’Olio Stefania , Nen Francesco , Bovo Samuele , Schiavo Giuseppina , Gallo Maurizio , Fontanesi Luca
Published: February 2021

Mora Romagnola is an autochthonous pig breed, raised in the north of Italy. Mono-breed pork products of this breed are part of important niche value chain that is intrinsically linked to the conservation of this local genetic resources that can only survive due to the premium price that these products can obtain on the market. However, the added value attracts fraudsters that unscrupulously sell mis-labelled Mora Romagnola products, causing consumer distrust that, in turn, undermines the conservation strategy of this breed. To monitor and better characterise this local breed, we phenotyped 826 Mora Romagnola pigs for three breed-specific traits. Then, we genotyped almost all living sows and boars registered to the Herd Book (n. = 357 animals) for polymorphisms in the MC1R and NR6A1 genes (affecting coat colour and vertebral number, respectively). The results were used to re-define the breed descriptors of the Mora Romagnala breed that included information on the allowed genotypes at these two genes. A few pigs that did not carry the allowed genotypes were excluded from its Herd Book. Finally, we evaluated the usefulness of these DNA markers to authenticate Mora Romagnola meat against meat derived from other 11 pig breeds and wild boars. To our knowledge, the Mora Romagnola Herd Book is one of the first examples that established a direct link between a genetic standard of a breed with the possibility to authenticate mono-breed products using DNA markers with the specific purpose to combat frauds and, indirectly, support the conservation of a livestock genetic resource.
Application of Olive By-Products in Livestock with Emphasis on Small Ruminants: Implications on Rumen Function, Growth Performance, Milk and Meat Quality
Authors: Tzamaloukas Ouranios , Neofytou Marina C. , Simitzis Panagiotis E.
Published: February 2021

The olive oil industry has a leading position in the Mediterranean countries, resulting in the production of considerable quantities of the respective by-products (OB) that constitute an important environmental issue. OB contain valuable nutrients and bioactive components that can be re-used under the bioeconomy strategy, and several chemical, physical, and biological processes have been evaluated with the intention to improve their nutritional value. One feasible application of OB is their incorporation in the diets of livestock and especially ruminants due to their high fiber content. As indicated by numerous studies, OB dietary supplementation increases the levels of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) and decreases that of saturated fatty acids (SFAs) in the milk and meat of ruminants with beneficial effects for consumers’ health. At the same time, environmental impact and feeding costs are reduced without detrimental effects on ruminal fermentation, nutrients utilization, growth performance, carcass traits, milk yield and composition.
Refining Knowledge of Factors Affecting Vitamin B12 Concentration in Bovine Milk
Authors: Duplessis Mélissa , Fréchette Annie , Poisson William , Blais Lya , Ronholm Jennifer
Published: February 2021

Milk is an excellent source of vitamin B12 (B12) for humans. Therefore, being able to guarantee a high and consistent concentration of this vitamin would enhance consumer perception of milk as a health food. The aim of the paper was to gather additional knowledge on factors that could explain B12 variation in cow milk through two observational studies: (1) to explore the relationship between milk B12 and ruminal conditions, such as pH and volatile fatty acid concentrations; and (2) to examine the impact of bedding on B12 concentrations in bulk tank milk. For study 1, a total of 72 milk and ruminal liquid samples were obtained from 45 Holstein cows fitted with ruminal cannula between 10 and 392 days of lactation. For study 2, bulk tank milk samples were obtained from 83 commercial herds; 26 herds used recycled manure solid bedding and 57 used straw bedding. Milk samples were analyzed for B12 using radioassay. Using principal component regression analysis, we observed that ruminal pH and the acetate:propionate ratio for cows receiving the early lactation ration were positively correlated with milk B12. Bedding did not influence milk B12 in bulk tanks, which averaged 4276 pg/mL. In conclusion, as B12 is synthesized by ruminal bacteria, optimizing ruminal conditions had a positive effect on milk B12, while bedding management had no influence.
Congenital Suborbital Undifferentiated Sarcoma in a Crossbred Calf
Authors: Jacinto Joana G. P. , Bolcato Marilena , Gentile Arcangelo , Benazzi Cinzia , Muscatello Luisa Vera
Published: February 2021

Undifferentiated sarcomas are rare conditions that represent a group of unclassified sarcomas. The purpose of this study is to describe the clinical and pathological features of a calf showing a congenital infiltrating suborbital mass suggestive of undifferentiated sarcoma. The animal was referred because of respiratory distress and the presence of a right suborbital mass since birth. At ultrasonography, the mass displayed an irregular shape with multiple cavities. Radiographs revealed a diffuse, poorly defined mass with different densities overlying the bony structures of the skull. Endoscopy showed a co-involution of the mass in the right side with extension into the nasopharynx. Post-mortem examination showed a round, poorly demarcated neoplasia infiltrating the nasal turbinate and displacing the nasal septum. Histologically, the subcutis was expanded by lobules and bundles of densely cellular neoplastic spindle cells. The neoplasm infiltrated the underlying muscles, bone and the right retromandibular lymph node. The neoplastic cells had a diffuse intense cytoplasmic immunexpression to vimentin, and were negative to cytokeratin AE1/AE3, desmin, MUM1, IBA1, melan A, chromogranin and synaptophysin.