bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of the effectiveness of prophylactic strategies for cytomegalovirus infection in pediatric kidney recipients
Authors: Tsirulnikova O. M. , Gadzhieva P. M. , Miloserdov I. A. , Saydulaev D. A. , Pashkova I. E.
Published: January 2022

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is the most severe viral infection in renal transplant recipients, which can occur in the post-transplant period in both adult and pediatric recipients. Developing and applying an effective prevention and treatment strategy for pediatric renal graft recipients is a priority. Objective: to compare the effectiveness of the protocols used for the prevention of CMV infection in pediatric kidney transplant recipients.

Materials and methods. The study enrolled 118 patients who underwent primary kidney transplantation at Shumakov National Medical Research Center of Transplantology and Artificial Organs. Based on retrospective analysis, all recipients were divided into two groups, depending on the prophylactic strategy after kidney transplantation. The followup period for pediatric kidney recipients ranged from 108 to 1803 (623.5 ± 379.5) days. CMV infection activity was monitored by polymerase chain reaction.

Results. The frequency of CMV infection activation episodes at 3 and 6 months was independent of the prophylaxis strategy used. The recurrence rate of CMV infection one year after surgery was significantly lower (p = 0.037) with Strategy 2. No cases of CMV syndrome or CMV disease, graft dysfunction, or chronic rejection associated with CMV infection were reported. Increasing the dose of antiviral drugs in Strategy 1 did not increase the risk of cytotoxicity and nephrotoxicity, which are reversible (creatinine levels were not significantly different in the study groups at 3, 6, 12 months, p = 0.542, p = 0.287, p = 0.535, respectively). The incidence of kidney graft rejection did not increase in patients with lower doses of immunosuppressants in Strategy 2.

Conclusion. Both prophylactic strategies are effective in pediatric kidney recipients. However, the choice of a strategy depends on the individual characteristics of the patient and requires a personalized approach.
Pattern of menstrual cycle after kidney transplant in reproductive women
Authors: Khan M. T. , Hamid R. , Rashid Sh. , Jahan E. , Lal N. , Ishtiaq R.
Published: January 2022

Background. In reproductive women, transplant disturbs the menstrual cycle pattern. The two major conditions usually encountered are amenorrhea and menorrhagia.

The objective of the study was to assess the pattern of menstrual cycle after kidney transplant in reproductive women.

Materials and methods. This cross-sectional study was carried out in a public sector hospital of Karachi, Pakistan. A total 69 patients of reproductive age were included who underwent living kidney donor transplant for more than a year ago. Women having genital tract infection, using hormonal treatment, organic cause of genital tract, clotting disorder and severe cardiac and/ or peripheral vascular disease were excluded. Frequency and percentages were calculated for demographic characteristics. Correlation and association analysis was calculated for type of menstruation with menstrual cycle pattern. A P-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results. Majority of female included in the study aged between 35–39 years (36, 52.2%). The most frequent menstrual disturbance observed was heavy menstrual bleeding (22, 31.9%) and amenorrhea (21, 30.4%). Only 2.9% cases showed normal menstrual pattern. The cross tabulation indicated that 26.1% patients had amenorrhea, 24.6% had oligomenorrhea and 31.9% had menorrhagia. The Durbin–Watson value of 0.656 indicated a strong positive relationship between menstruation cycle pattern (dependent variable) and type of menstruation, marital status, donor’s age, children and living location of the patients (independent variables).

Conclusion. From the result of the present study, it is concluded that the reproductive age women have shown a disturbed pattern of menstrual cycle after kidney transplant. The major observation was that such patients reported amenorrhea, menorrhagia, oligomenorrhea and hypomenorrhea.
Antibody-mediated rejection in heart transplantation
Authors: Kvan V. S. , Koloskova N. N. , Kachanova Yu. A. , Sayfullina N. N. , Goncharova A. Yu. , Krugly L. B. , Shevchenko A. O.
Published: January 2022

The role of antibody-mediated rejection in predicting survival among heart recipients has been studied in clinical transplantology for over 20 years. This condition is a significant risk factor for heart failure and graft vasculopathy. Antibody-mediated rejection results from activation of the humoral immune system and production of donorspecific antibodies that cause myocardial injury through the complement system. The presence of donor-specific antibodies is associated with lower allograft survival. Treatment of antibody-mediated rejection should take into account the rejection category and the presence or absence of graft dysfunction. The main principle of treatment is to suppress humoral immunity at different levels. World clinical practice has made significant inroads into the study of this issue. However, further research is required to identify and develop optimal treatment regimens for patients with humoral rejection in cardiac transplantation.
Design and 3D-model of a dynamic bubble trap for cardiopulmonary bypass
Authors: Kuleshov A. P. , Buchnev A. S. , Drobyshev A. A. , Itkin G. P.
Published: January 2022

The use of extracorporeal circulation systems (cardiopulmonary bypass pumps, ECMO) can lead to brain and coronary artery microembolism, which significantly reduces postoperative rehabilitation and often leads to severe complications. Microembolism occurs when oxygen or air microbubbles (MBs) enter the arterial system of patients. Existing CPB pumps come with built-in bubble trap systems but cannot remove bubbles in the circuit. ECMO devices have arterial filters but cannot reliably filter out <40 μm bubbles in a wide flow range. We have proposed an alternative method that involves the use of an efficient dynamic bubble trap (DBT) for both large and small bubbles. The design includes development of two DBT variants for hemodynamic conditions of adult and pediatric patients. The device is installed in the CPB pump and ECMO outlet lines. It provides sufficient bubble separation from the lines in a blood flow of 3.0–5.0 L/min for adults and 0.5–2.0 L/min for children. The developed computer models have shown that MBs smaller than 10 μm can be filtered. The use of this device will greatly reduce the likelihood of air embolism and provide the opportunity to reconsider the concept of expensive arterial filters.
Mechanical properties of native and decellularized aortic wall after long-term storage in biocide solutions
Authors: Vasilyeva M. B. , Kuznetsova E. V. , Rusakova Ya. L. , Chepeleva E. V. , Sergeevichev D. S. , Juravleva I. Yu.
Published: January 2022

Objective: to determine the optimal method for long-term wet storage of donor material (50 days after collection), with maximum ability to preserve the original mechanical characteristics.

Materials and methods. Porcine aortic wall fragments were used as objects of study. Half of the original material underwent detergent-based decellularization. The entire material (native and processed) was placed for 50 days in biocidal solutions: complex alcohol solution; ethanol and glycerol mixture; antibiotics mixture. Then the tests for mechanical strength of native and decellularized samples were carried out by the method of uniaxial longitudinal and circumferential stress.

Results. Storage of native material in all media resulted in a significant increase in tensile strength. In the «complex alcohol solution», «ethanol and glycerol mixture», and «antibiotic mixture» group, tensile strength increased by 1.38-, 1.72- and 1.62-fold compared to the native control in circumferential tension. Also, in the «complex alcohol solution» group, the decellularized material was 1.57-fold stronger than the native in circumferential tension. In the «antibiotic mixture» group, the decellularized material was 1.33-fold less strong than the native in longitudinal tension. According to elongation to rupture data, significantly greater plasticity was noted in the «ethanol-glycerol» storage group for the decellularized aortic wall compared to the control group (1.5-fold). Young’s modulus did not reliably differ from those of control in all experimental groups regardless of the stress direction. Notably, decellularized specimens clearly tended to be stiffer under circumferential stress.

Conclusion. Detergent-based decellularization of the porcine aortic wall and subsequent storage of these samples in our chosen experimental solutions for 50 days does not significantly affect the elastic properties of the material. Our proposed treatment methods partially increase the stiffness of the material after storage in alcohol-containing solutions.
Bioactive coating for tissue-engineered smalldiameter vascular grafts
Authors: Surguchenko V. A. , Nemets E. A. , Belov V. Yu. , Sevastianov V. I.
Published: January 2022

Objective: to develop a method for modifying composite small-diameter porous tubular biopolymer scaffolds based on bacterial copolymer poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) and gelatin modified with a double-layered bioactive coating based on heparin (Hp) and platelet lysate (PL) that promote adhesion and proliferation of cell cultures.

Materials and methods. Composite porous tubular biopolymer scaffolds with 4 mm internal diameter were made by electrospinning from a 1 : 2 (by volume) mixture of a 10% solution of poly(3-hydroxybutyrateco- 3-hydroxyvalerate) copolymer, commonly known as PHBV, and a 10% solution of gelatin, respectively, in hexafluoro-2-propanol. The structure of the scaffolds was stabilized with glutaraldehyde vapor. The scaffolds were modified with a bioactive Hp + PL-based coating. The surface morphology of the samples was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy. Biological safety of the modified scaffolds in vitro (hemolysis, cytotoxicity) was evaluated based on the GOST ISO 10993 standard. Interaction with cultures of human endothelial cell line (EA. hy926) and human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hADMSCs) was studied using vital dyes.

Results. We developed a method for modifying small-diameter composite porous tubular biopolymer scaffolds obtained by electrospinning from a mixture of PHBV and gelatin modified with double-layered bioactive coating based on covalently immobilized Hp and human PL. The modified scaffold was shown to have no cytotoxicity and hemolytic activity in vitro. It was also demonstrated that the developed coating promotes hADMSC adhesion and proliferation on the external surface and EA.hy926 on the internal surface of the composite porous tubular biopolymer scaffolds in vitro.

Conclusion. The developed coating can be used for the formation of in vivo tissueengineered small-diameter vascular grafts.
Ex post facto authorisation in South African environmental assessment legislation: a critical review
Authors: Paschke P , Glazewski J
Published: January 2022

One of the fundamental tenets underlying environmental assessment both internationally and in South Africa is that it is anticipatory in nature in that it is essentially an evaluation of the effects likely to arise from a major project or other action significantly affecting the natural or artificial environment. Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is therefore a systematic and integrative process for considering possible impacts prior to a decision being taken on whether or not a proposal should be given approval to proceed. 

This article argues that the current legislative basis for environmental assessment in South Africa, namely Part V of the Environment Conservation Act 73 of 1998 (ECA) and regulations made under it, reflects this philosophy. It argues that the phenomenon of ex post facto or retrospective environmental authorisation is ultra vires and thus not permissible under the current legislative regime. 

Finally the article outlines and assesses the environmental assessment regime under the National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998 (NEMA) and recent amendments to it under the NEMA Amendment Act 8 of 2004, which will in future govern the environmental assessment process. The amending Act introduces a new section 24G into the anticipated environmental assessment regime which will permit ex post facto or retrospective environmental authorisation. The authors argue that this is an unwelcome development which will militate against the purposes underlying environmental assessment.
Editorial
Authors: Rautenbach Christa
Published: January 2022

The last general issue of 2016 boasts 11 contributions dealing with a variety of issues. Chrizell Chürr compares some of the challenges experienced in the South African educational system with the situation in the German system to propose alternatives for South Africa. Deon Erasmus and Angus Hornigold discuss the emergence of a different kind of model of litigation in South African law, which they refer to as "court supervised institutional transformation". They also investigate the feasibility of importing something like the American special master into South African law to assist with the implementation of court sentences. Wian Erlank's first contribution re-evaluates traditional conceptualisations of property rights in space, especially against the background of objects that are deemed to be res nullius (things belonging to nobody) as well as the theory of terra nullius (land belonging to nobody). Wian Erlank's second contribution also deals with property but this time he deliberates on the relevance and meaning of virtual property in modern society. Evode Kayitana moves further abroad to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the question of whether and to what extent foreign State officials can plead immunity when they are accused of international crimes before South African courts. Drawing an analogy with the American Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act of 1940, Johann Knobel argues in favour of extending the legal protection afforded to rare bird species to more common species to prevent the use of the excuse that a protected species was mistaken as a common species and therefore mistakenly killed. Tumo Maloka two high court cases which dealt with the question whether a person with previous convictions could be considered a "fit and proper person" to be admitted to the roll of attorneys. Lindiwe Maqutu charts the narrative of judicial influence on the diminishing credibility of the National Prosecuting Authority, using selected cases from the past, including those involving the South African president, Jacob Zuma. Nina Mollema gives a comparative narrative of sex offender registration in South Africa, the United States and the United Kingdom and comes to the conclusion that a sex offender register would not necessarily prevent the commission of sexual offences in South Africa. Marius Olivier and Avinash Govindjee reflect on the shortcomings and deficiencies of the proposed amendments to the Unemployment Insurance Act 63 of 2001, introduced via the provisions of the Unemployment Insurance Amendment Bill of 2015. Riette du Plessis reviews the appropriateness of some of the assessment models available in Clinical Legal Education courses within a South African environment and, finally, Sarah Fick and Paul van der Merwe critique the interpretation of the "cap provision" in section 17(4)(c) of the Road Accident Fund Act 56 of 1998 in Road Accident Fund v Sweatman (162/2014) [2015] ZASCA 22 (20 March 2015).
Delivery of the Compulsory Section 129(1) Notice as required by the National Credit Act of 2005
Authors: Govender Sarah , Kelly-Louw Michelle
Published: January 2022

In terms of section 129(1) of the National Credit Act 34 of 2005 (NCA), a credit provider first needs to provide a consumer with notice of his default and a list of possible remedies to overcome the default, before enforcing the agreement in a court of law. This ensures that the consumer is given the opportunity to remedy his default by, for example, undergoing debt counselling instead of having to incur legal costs when defending legal action brought against him by the credit provider. Before the National Credit Amendment Act 19 of 2014 came into operation, the NCA neglected to specify how this notice should be delivered to consumers, and this has led to various conflicting decisions. The matter was eventually settled by the Constitutional Court in two separate cases. After the Constitutional Court pronounced on the matter, the National Credit Amendment Act came into operation prescribing the manner in which the notice must be delivered. Consumer-credit legislation that existed prior to the NCA coming into operation generally also made provision for similar notices to be delivered to consumers. In this article we briefly look at how the previous consumer-credit legislation dealt with the delivery of similar notices and also consider how the delivery of notices is currently governed by the NCA. Most of the problematic issues surrounding the delivery of the section 129(1) notice have been resolved, but some still remain. One such example is found in a recent Supreme Court of Appeal case, where despite the correct delivery of the notice to the consumer, the notice caused unintended jurisdictional problems for a credit provider trying to enforce the credit agreement
Digital Financial Services: Prospects and Challenges
Authors: Van Niekerk Martha Gertruida , Phaladi Nkgolodishe Hermit
Published: January 2022

Digital financial services (DFSs), being financial services accessed and delivered through digital channels, have grown rapidly in South Africa as well as globally. The adoption of the technology for DFSs has led to an increase in financial inclusion, enabling more individuals and businesses to have access to useful and affordable financial products and services, where payments, savings, credit, investment and insurance are included. Through the Financial Sector Regulation Act 9 of 2017 financial inclusion was statutorily enacted for the first time. The regulators are now empowered to insist that financial institutions take proactive steps to expand financial inclusion and can take the necessary steps to enforce these powers. One of the factors that have an influence on whether consumers will adopt DFSs is consumers' perspectives of DFSs. Lack of information and knowledge combined with the cost of data negatively influences the adoption of DFSs. The transfer of information to unbanked people in South Africa with regards to DFSs should be enhanced by the state as it strives to improve financial literacy. DFSs are susceptible to financial crimes like fraud, money laundering, terrorist financing, bribery, corruption and market abuse. The challenges that threaten the interests of customers should be addressed by stricter information verification methods when transacting with clients online. Technological detectors and digital identification should be used more effectively to verify customers and to alert authorities to suspicious transactions. Financial institutions might consider authenticating online transactions by thumb-print or a voice recognition system. This paper emphasises that because of the prospects of greater and deeper financial inclusion in South Africa, the use of DFSs has to be improved and developed and the challenges have to be constructively addressed to unleash the true potential thereof.
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Authors: not provided khamphukhoa.com
Published: January 2022

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Authors: not provided Exipure
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Digital Asset Management: A Lowdown on Intricacies of Digital Rights and Permissions
Authors: Chimakurthi Venkata Naga Satya Surendra
Published: January 2022

The adaptability of digital asset management has prevailed enormous businesses and individuals who desire to manage information effectively. The criteria of this paper will revolve around the in-depth intricacies of digital asset management, its functions, significance, and categories of DAM. The introduction of digital rights and permissions aligned with highlighted copyright permission. Initializing from manual asset management and proceeding towards digital asset management, media asset management, and finalizing at massive content management, these terms seem to be striving to explain a unified thing. However, each domain of asset management has separate aspects of managing information. Every organization will opt for its criteria of approach for managing the assets that rely upon the environmental, current cultural, and financial state of the company.
Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development: the Changing Mission of the Higher School
Authors: Izmailova M. A.
Published: January 2022

Purpose: of the article is to study the basic principles of higher education and their impact on the formation of a socially active position of universities and their involvement in achieving sustainable development goals on the scale of global humanity.

Methods: is based on the application of systemic and institutional approaches to the study of the role of higher education in solving the problems of society, as well as a group of methods of scientifc cognition: dialectical and retrospective, induction and deduction, comparative analysis, the method of rating assessment and others.

Results: the essence of the fundamental principles of higher education – academic freedom and academic responsibility, which form the value basis of classical education in its historical period of development, is revealed. In modern conditions, these principles are increasingly reﬂected in the activities of universities related to their key role in solving economic, social and environmental problems. More and more often universities declare their social responsibility and prove it by the example of their decisions in the conditions of social crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic isconsidered one of the crisis situations, and the measures taken by the university leadership to support the teaching staﬀ and its student audience are a kind of indicator of social responsibility. The range of tasks in which the higher school is involved is quite wide. It covers problems of a global nature, one of which is the search for ways of sustainable development of mankind: universities take responsibility for achieving the selected Sustainable Development Goals and report to society for the eﬀectiveness of this area of their activities.

Conclusions and Relevance: the implementation by universities of socially responsible behavior towards their internal stakeholders (teachers, students, employees), integration into solving vital problems of society, as well as involvement in achieving Sustainable Development Goals clearly demonstrate the transformation of their mission. Universities enter into an active dialogue with society to solve problems at diﬀerent levels of economic systems, making eﬀorts to combine the spheres of knowledge production, scientifc research expected by society, the transformation of knowledge and scientifc results into practice through the initiation of new directions and activities, technological transformation of the scientifc and educational space, diversifcation of channels of interaction with society
Methodology for Assessing the Transport Accessibility of Capital Objects in a Megacity Based on Geoinformation Data
Authors: Mkhitaryan S. V. , Musatova Zh. B. , Murtuzalieva T. V. , Timokhina G. S. , Shirochenskaya I. P.
Published: January 2022

Purpose: to present the author's methodology and the test results for calculating integral indicators of transport accessibility on the basis of weighted normalized private indicators for three housing estates in Moscow.

Methods: the study is based on the application of methods for collecting factual material, its processing, systematic, comparative historical and structural-functional analysis, which were supplemented by multivariate analysis of secondary information using content analysis of existing methods for calculating indicators of transport accessibility of capital objects. The results and conclusions of the research are based on the use of the author's methodology for calculating integral indicators of transport accessibility based on weighted normalized private indicators for three housing estates in Moscow. The analysis of a possible set of criteria for assessing transport accessibility of housing estates in Moscow metropolis was carried out on the basis of the use of a geographic information system database GIS NextGIS QGIS.

Results: a review of methodological approaches to the calculation of objective quantitative indicators characterizing the transport accessibility of capital objects is carried out; the author's methodology for calculating the integral indicators of the transport accessibility of residential complexes in Moscow is presented and tested on the basis of weighted normalized private criteria / indicators. The use of the authors’ methodology for calculating integral indicators of transport accessibility based on weighted normalized private criteria / indicators made it possible to calculate the values of indicators of transport accessibility for three housing estates in Moscow, calculate an integrated score for a set of transport accessibility criteria for each housing estate, to give a comparative quantitative assessment of their transport accessibility, to conduct a rating of housing estates in terms of their transport accessibility.

Conclusions and Relevance: the presented results of approbation of the author's methodology for calculating the integral indicators of transport accessibility for housing estates in Moscow allow to conduct a comparative and dynamic analysis of housing estates (or larger units) transport accessibility. The results of such an analysis can be applied in order to develop programs for transport infrastructure development of the megacity as a whole, its certain districts and city parts, as well as to assess such programs efciency. The authors see the directions for future research in the defnition and calculation of indicators based on the city dwellers perception of the transport accessibility
Regional Development and Interregional Migration Decisions in Jakarta
Authors: Hamzah Nurdin . , Sukanto . , Yunisvita .
Published: January 2022

Purpose: this study aims to examine the community's decision to migrate between regions in the Jabodetabek area using the KRL Commuterline public transportation and analyse regional criteria based on regional development based on Oriented Development Transit, where these criteria become integration with community movements in migrating to an area.

Methods: secondary data is used to fnd the number of people in migrating obtained from pt. Kai Indonesia. While to complete and explain each variable to be studied using primary data with several questions through a questionnaire submitted to 398 people who migrate between regions using logistic regression analysis techniques in their measurements. While to analyze the criteria for regional development in each region using an assessment approach from the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. With qualitative analysis techniques and to assist in this research, a spatial approach is used which is used to display a picture of the distribution of migration.

Results: (1) Regional development in each part of the Jabodetabek area is in the silver standard category which indicates that the regional development project has almost met the performance targets that have been conceptualized by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. (2) People in making decisions to migrate between regions will be aﬀected by the variables of distance, travel costs, gender, travel time, migration destination and regional development, while age and transit distance cannot provide a large enough inﬂuence on people's movements in migrating.

Conclusions and Relevance: the results of the study prove that regional development in the Jabodetabek area tends to be a non-metropolitan area where people who move prefer areas that are integrated with public facilities that lead to the destination rather than towards the metropolitan area, this is evidenced by the standard silver criteria obtained in the area in Jabodetabek.
Time Series Analysis of Global Energy Indices: Logarithmic and Normalized Techniques for Developmental Studies
Authors: Nnamchi S N , Jagun Z O , Ijomah M A , Nnamchi O A , Busingye J D
Published: January 2022

Diverse opinions exist in the time series analysis of energy and related indices, difference in methodology, sample size, and time variation. This paper will make a conscious effort to converge the divergent outlooks. To accomplish this essential task, five energy indices consisting of energy consumption (EC), gross domestic product (GDP), carbon dioxide emission (CDE), the human development index (HDI), and oil price (OP) were selected. Two analytical methods were adopted, namely logarithmic and normalized techniques, which are designed to complement each other in drawing unfalsified statistical inference concerning the causality between the energy indices. The methods were subjected to four statistical tests and analyses: the augmented Dickey-Fuller, cointegration, pairwise Granger causality, and vector error correction model (VECM). Irrespective of prevailing challenges, both logarithmic and normalized techniques unanimously filtered out causalities. This consisted of neural flow between oil price and energy consumption, gross domestic product and carbon dioxide emission, and energy consumption and the human development index, unidirectional flow between energy consumption and the human development index, oil price and energy consumption, gross domestic product and carbon dioxide emission, and the human development index and oil price, whereas a normalized technique established bidirectional flow between gross domestic product and the human development index, and the human development index and oil price. Pertinently, the research suggests appropriate policies that will generate sustainable development in all the causal directions. Assiduously, the overwhelming agreement between both techniques at the 0.05 level is recommended for further validation with more modern econometric tests.
Impact of Formative Assessment Practices on Student Motivation for Learning the English Language
Authors: Muho Anita , Taraj Gentjana
Published: January 2022

This study aimed at exploring the impact of formative assessment practices on student motivation for learning the English language. As Leahy, Lyon, Thompson, and Wiliam (2005) stated, education needs to change its function from collecting the results of right or wrong, and to encourage teachers in gathering information that will affect the educational decisions. This study is a non-experimental, correlational study, to describe the relationship between formative assessment practices and motivation for leaning. The instrument used was a questionnaire on high school students from public and private schools, who were selected randomly by stratified sampling. They belonged to three major high schools of Durres, Albania. The findings of this study showed that factors like strategic questions used by the teacher during formative assessment, student’s portfolio, self-assessment, and peer assessment affected positively the motivation for learning the English language. The results of the regression equation revealed that from four independent variables, the factor that had the greatest impact on motivation for learning were strategic questions used by the teacher during formative assessment, followed by self-assessment, peer assessment and student’s portfolio. This study identified ways of intervention to promote motivation for learning the English language. The study will contribute in the Albanian context showing how assessment practices made an impact on student motivation. It will help educational institutions and policy makers, foreign language teachers in improving the assessment practices to promote student motivation in learning the English language.
Dwindled serum IgG levels of Rubella, Diphtheria toxin, Hepatitis B virus and Tetanus Toxoid after chemotherapy; a report from Iranian children with malignancy
Authors: Ghaffari Kazem , Sarlak Simin , Absalan Abdorrahim , Rahimi Afzal Roghayeh , Eghbali Aygin , Eghbali Aziz
Published: January 2022

Backgrounds: Epigenetic regulation such as DNA methylation plays a major role in chromatin organization Background: Chemotherapy suppresses immunoglobulin production as a result of cell toxicity. Decreased immunoglobulin levels can result in the onset of opportunistic infections. The aim of the current study is to compare the immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels of the selected vaccine-preventable disease (VPD) before and six months after chemotherapy in a group of Iranian children with malignancies.
Materials and Methods: In this interventional study, serum levels of Rubella, Diphtheria toxin, Hepatitis B virus (HBV), Tetanus Toxoid, Mumps, and Measles IgG were measured in 30 children with malignancy and previously vaccinated for these diseases. Six months after chemotherapy, serum IgG levels were reassessed and compared with their corresponding pre-chemotherapy levels.
Results: In this study, 17 (56.7%) male and 13 (43.3%) female were included. The mean age was 7.69±3.09 years. After chemotherapy, Rubella IgG levels dropped from 73.88±85.11 to 56.59±72.84 IU/mL (P<0.05; r= 0.956; 33.4% become serum negative (SN)). Diphtheria toxin IgG was diminished from 0.683±0.454 to 0.174±0.248 IU/mL (P<0.05; r=0.601; 26.7% SN). Anti-HBV IgG showed a reduction from 46.26±101.56 to 25.56±80.49 IU/mL (p<0.05; r= 0.524; 60% SN) and Anti-Tetanus Toxoid IgG fell down from 1.031±0.582 to 0.321±0.408 IU/mL (p<0.05; r= 0.365; 33.4% SN). Anti-Measles and Anti-Mumps IgGs showed no significant change (p>0.05).
Conclusion: Pediatric chemotherapy was associated with dropped serum IgG levels of most VPDs. A good correlation was also observed between serum levels of IgG before and six months after chemotherapy. Revaccination of children with malignancies may be necessary upon declined serum IgG titers.
Evaluating the blood toxicity of functionalized graphene-arginine with anticancer drug ginsenoside Rh2 in balb/c mouse model with breast cancer
Authors: Farhangfar Shervin Dokht , Fesahat Farzaneh , Miresmaeili Sayed Mohsen , Zare-Zardini Hadi
Published: January 2022

Background: Gensenoside Rh2 is an anticancer drug with low toxicity and stability in the body. The aim of this study was to evaluate the blood toxicity of functionalized graphene-arginine with anticancer drug ginsenoside Rh2 in balb/c mouse model with breast cancer.
Materials and Methods: Graphene-Arginine (G-Arg) and Graphene-Arginine-ginsenoside Rh2 (G-Arg-Rh2) were synthesized using microwave method. For evaluation of blood toxicity, 32 mice with breast tumors were randomly divided into 4 groups: control (3mg/kg 6 mg / kg PBS sterile), group 1 (6 mg / kg ginsenoside), group 2 (3 mg / kg G-Arg), and group 3 (3 mg / kg G-Arg-Rh2). Treatment was done intravenously once every three days for 32 days. Finally, blood factors were also examined by sampling from the heart.
Results: Complete functionalization was proven by FTIR and Raman. Examination of blood factors showed that white blood cells had a very small increase. Anova test showed significant difference among four groups in term of WBC count (p=0.016). Pair sample T test showed that there was significant difference between control and group 1(p=0.036) and control and group 2 (p=0.036). There was no significant difference between control and group 3 (p=0.051). Other blood factors had no significant difference among examined groups (p>0.05).
Conclusion: Based on results, after treatment with all designed nanostructures, only white blood cells had a very small increase and inflammatory reactions were statistically similar in all groups. This indicates the high efficiency of designed drug.
A comparative investigation of clients' attitudes toward breaking bad news to patients with cancer
Authors: Alefbae Akram , Agamohammadi Masoomeh , Gardashkhani Sevda , Beazar Neda , Babaei Fatemeh
Published: January 2022

Background: Truth disclosure is one of the major challenges for physicians with cancer patients. The attitude toward breaking news adopted by individuals depends on their cultural background. The present study was conducted at Ardabil University of Medical sciences, Ardabil, Iran, to investigate the attitudes of Turkish-speaking patients with cancer and their families to the disclosure of bad news.
Materials and Methods: The present descriptive cross-sectional study used convenience sampling to select 62 patients, 76 family members of young and 58 children. The mean age of the patients was 37.29 years, and their majorities were 32-42 years old. The data were collected using the questionnaire proposed by Managheb et al., which included six dimensions, i.e., suitability of the person, suitability of the time, the place, factors affecting the delivery of bad news, amount of disclosed information, and acceptance.
Results: Despite the insignificant differences in the total score of attitude between the groups (P=0.23), significant differences were found in terms of suitability of the time (P=0.017) and affecting factors (P=0.007) between children's families. Also, in parents of children, employment made truth acceptance better (p=0.04). The acuteness of the disease increased the total attitude score in all the participants (P=0.047). Significant relationships were also observed between age and accepting truth (P=0.045), male gender and place of disclosing the truth (P=0.004), male gender and amount of disclosed information (P=0.043), as well as owning a house and accepting truth (P=0.002). Moreover, education was negatively related to the person for truth disclosing (P=0.036) and factors affecting the truth disclosing (P=0.015).
Conclusion: There are different circumstances and economic impacts in children's families on their tolerance. Given the difficulty of disclosing the truth to the employee and highly-educated individuals, it is recommended that health workers consider individual conditions in these circumstances.
Evaluation of relationship between biochemical parameters and osteoporosis in patients with β-thalassemia major
Authors: Hamidpour Mohsen , Jafari Fatemeh , Mehrpouri Mahdieh , Azarkyvan Azita , Bashash Davod , Khadem Maboudi Ali Akbar
Published: January 2022

Background: Osteoporosis is one of the late complications of β-Thalassemia major. The pathogenesis of osteoporosis depends on different factors. Ineffectiveness of hematopoiesis is the major factor, and the other factors are defected by hormonal functions or biochemical parameters. Osteoclasts hyperactivity in thalassemia increases the serum receptor activator of nuclear factor Kappa B ligand (RANKL), which plays a crucial role in bone development. This study aimed to evaluate the biochemical and hormonal parameters in patients with β-thalassemia major and their association with osteoporosis.
Materials and Methods: In this case-control study, 52 patients with β-thalassemia major and 23 with thalassemia minor as controls were enrolled. The patients’ Bone Mineral Density (BMD) was measured using the Dual Energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) method, and 6 mL peripheral blood of the patients and controls was obtained to detect hormonal and biochemical parameters. Data were analyzed using ANOVA, Spearman correlation coefficient, and T-test.
Results:  The mean of BMD in patients was 0.59±0.01 and 0.69±0.11 in femur and vertebrae, respectively. The biochemical parameters in the (patients/ controls) including calcium and alkaline phosphatase (ALK) were 9.1/ 10.2 mg/dL and 171.1/310 IU, respectively indicating a significant decrease (P< 0.05) compared to the controls. On the contrary, the mean levels of Ferritin and Zinc were 1914.18 µg/L and 113.92 mg/mL, respectively which were significantly increased (P= 0.015 and P=0.045, respectively). There was a negative correlation between the femurs BMD of patients with the RANKL level (r= - 0.8, p = 0.034) and the vertebrae BMD of patients with a Parathormone (PTH) level (r= - 0.8, P = 0.028). 
Conclusion: The study results indicated that the hyperactivity of RANKL and PTH in thalassemia patients might cause osteoporosis; therefore, detecting biomarkers mentioned above could be useful to diagnose osteoporosis.
Is type 1 diabetes mellitus associated with ABO & Rh blood groups? A cross-sectional study
Authors: Ordooei Mahtab , Namiranian Nasim , Jam-Ashkezari Saeedeh , Jalali Hadi , Golzar Azam
Published: January 2022

Background: This study was conducted to determine whether type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is associated with ABO & Rhesus (Rh) blood groups.
Materials and Methods: This analytical cross sectional study was carried out on 77 patients suffering from T1DM and 96 healthy children less than 18 years old referring to Yazd Diabetes Research Center from April 2018 to May 2019. The ABO blood group and Rh factor in both groups were determined. Fasting blood sugar (FBS) and hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c) were measured at baseline, 12 weeks, and 24 weeks in these patients, and the mean of FBS and HbA1C in three-time assessments were considered as the FBS and HbA1C variables. The statistical analysis was performed by SPSS software version 22.
Results: About 46.8% in T1DM and 36.5% in the control groups were male. There was a significant difference between groups regarding blood groups (p-value: 0.042). Although the frequency of B+ was 33.8% and 19.8% in the T1DM and controls, respectively, AB+ and O+ were more prevalent in the controls. The mean of FBS was significantly different between groups (p-value: 0.023).
Conclusions: The findings revealed that patients with blood group B are more likely to develop T1DM whereas those with blood group O showed a lower tendency towards diabetes.
Therapeutic approaches in patients with β-thalassemia
Authors: Eini Mohammad , Shoae Mohammad , Miri-moghaddam Ebrahim
Published: January 2022

Beta-thalassemia (β-thal) is a congenital hemoglobinopathy explained by a decreased level (β+) or absence (βο) of β-globin gene expression. Microcytic hypochromic anemia and various clinical symptoms comprising severe anemia to clinically nonsymptomatic features. Treatment with an ordered blood transfusion and iron chelator agents can decrease transfusion iron overload that causes normal maturation. These patients also are at high risk for secondary iron overload because of erythropheron (GF15–TWSG1) release from erythroblasts resulting in erythroid hyperplasia. Based on the previous studies, chemicals such as hydroxyurea and 5-azacytidine are useful in treating β-hemoglobinopathy, including β-thal and sickle cell disease (SCD). Regarding both side effects and lifelong treatment of these chemical components, researchers have recently regarded gene-based treatments. These techniques, such as micro RNA gene silencing, viral-mediated gene editing, and clustered regulatory interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-CAS9 systems, are the most commonly used gene therapy methods. Nowadays, ɣ-globin (fetal globin) gene reactivation is one of the most popular treatments for β-thal. Researches showed that these gene modification methods for γ-globin gene reactivation are also useful in increasing hemoglobin F (HbF) and helping patients with β-thal. In this review study, new therapeutic approaches to manage this disorder are regarded.
El museo como institución de referencia en el ámbito de la Diplomacia Cultural: Museos inclusivos en Portugal y España
Authors: Castellano Sansón Sara
Published: January 2022

La institución museo tiene en Portugal y España formas de gestión y objetivos similares en los que la puesta en valor de sus colecciones, la conservación del Patrimonio Cultural y la inclusión de todos los públicos son puntos referenciales de herramientas de la Diplomacia Cultural de ambos países. Los museos tienen un papel fundamental como puentes de intercambio de conocimiento y como espacios de inclusión social. Este estudio hará un análisis de los proyectos que los museos han realizado en un ámbito transfronterizo desde perspectivas de integración social como la exposición de “La Mujer en la Raya Hispano–Portuguesa” del Museo Etnográfico Extremeño González Santana y desde perspectivas de la puesta en común de nuestro patrimonio cultural como los proyectos de investigación conjunta del Museo Nacional de Arte Romano de Mérida y el Museo Nacional de Arqueología de Lisboa con universidades y fundaciones culturales. Toda una suerte de proyectos de acción cultural bilateral en las que se pone de manifiesto que los museos son hoy uno de los principales agentes de la Diplomacia Cultural. Dentro de ese marco conceptual, los museos potencian el establecimiento de un soft power marcando la singularidad de las relaciones entre España y Portugal y las posibilidades de enriquecimiento cultural.
L’elmo di Telesilla
Authors:   Università LUMSA, Roma, Italy, Cianci Dorella
Published: January 2022

This contribution examines the poetess Telesilla of Argo, as one of the few names that came from female Greek lyric, in which we can find precise information, despite the small number of verses that have come. Through the testimonies, we focus here on the myths mentioned by the poetess as a precious documentation of the Cults practiced in the Peloponnese’s area, often linked to the Apollo. The image of the warrior woman who saves her city is contextualized, more realistically, in a frame of female ritual performances. The contribution concludes with some indications on the well-known battle of Sepeia, fought against Sparta (6th-5th century) according to different versions. The sources are Herodoto and Pausanias, as well as the entry “Telesilla” of the Suda lexicon. The historicity of the battle remains problematic, but especially compelling for the question of the Argive women, who have the protection of an armed and bearded, almost masculine Aphrodite.
La temporalidad del Treno: el lamento de la Musa en Reso (890-982)
Authors:   Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Centro de Estudios Helénicos, Argentina, Zecchin de Fasano Graciela
Published: January 2022

The scene of the Muse’s Lament in the exodus of the polemic tragedy Rhesus stands out for its compositional features. In this article I analyse verses 890-982 and its thrênos, as a kind of a singular poetry in terms of its type and function, and the controversial reading of those textual models postulated as underlying, with special attention to its temporality. In this way, I attempt to show there is a compositional matrix of the funeral lament reformulated and reworked significantly new.