bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Review of Integrated Curriculum Models in Language Teaching
Authors: Amrina Amrina , Amelia Amelia , Nicholas Tsai
Published: October 2024

Integrated curriculum models in language education aim to combine multiple disciplines and language skills into a cohesive framework, fostering connections between language learning and real-world contexts. While these models offer a holistic approach, their implementation has raised concerns about effectiveness, teacher readiness, and challenges in cross-subject integration. This review evaluates the current literature on integrated curriculum models in language teaching, examining their impact on language proficiency and learner engagement. The study reviews empirical studies, case reports, and theoretical discussions, focusing on both qualitative and quantitative research that assesses outcomes in language classrooms. Key themes include cross-curricular integration, teacher collaboration, and the influence of cultural and contextual factors. Findings suggest that integrated curriculum models improve language proficiency by encouraging language use in diverse contexts, helping learners develop both language and critical thinking skills. However, successful implementation requires significant teacher collaboration and curriculum alignment. Teacher preparedness and institutional support are also crucial for achieving positive outcomes. In conclusion, integrated curriculum models hold great potential to enhance language education, but their success relies on effective implementation and collaboration between educators. Further research is needed to assess the long-term effects and scalability of these models in different educational settings.
The Direct Method in Language Teaching: A Literature Review of Its Effectiveness
Authors: Dakhalan Andi Muhammad , Tanucan Jem Cloyd M.
Published: October 2024

The Direct Method in language teaching, which emphasizes teaching language through immersion and avoiding the use of the learner’s native language, has been widely used in educational settings for over a century. Its focus on oral communication, everyday vocabulary, and inductive grammar teaching has made it a popular approach. However, debates about its effectiveness compared to more modern teaching methods have persisted, particularly in terms of long-term language acquisition and proficiency. This literature review aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the Direct Method by analyzing studies conducted across various educational contexts. The review examines how this method impacts learners’ speaking, listening, and overall communicative competence. By synthesizing both qualitative and quantitative research, the study provides a comprehensive view of the strengths and limitations of the Direct Method. The findings indicate that while the Direct Method improves oral proficiency and listening skills in the short term, it may not be as effective for developing reading and writing skills. Studies show that the method fosters greater student engagement and motivation but may not adequately address the complexities of advanced grammar and academic language. Furthermore, the method’s effectiveness depends heavily on the teacher’s skill in creating immersive language environments. In conclusion, the Direct Method offers valuable benefits for beginner and intermediate learners, especially in communicative aspects of language. However, it requires supplementation with other approaches to develop comprehensive language proficiency. Future research should explore ways to integrate the Direct Method with more advanced instructional techniques for a balanced approach to language teaching.
İmkân Kanıtı ve Yeter Neden İlkesi
Authors: Taşkın Zeynep Betül
Published: October 2024

İmkân kanıtı, âlemin imkânından hareketle zorunlu bir varlığın olması gerektiğini ve bu zorunlu varlığın Tanrı olduğunu öne sürmektedir. Bu çalışmada, Yeter Neden İlkesine da- yanan imkân kanıtının Tanrı’nın varlığını temellendirmede sağlam bir kanıt olduğu ileri sürülmüştür. Çalışmanın birinci bölümünde kozmolojik kanıt ile imkân kanıtı arasındaki ilişki incelenerek, Yeter Neden İlkesine dayanan imkân kanıtının kozmolojik kanıt geleneğindeki yeri gösterilmeye çalışılmıştır. Bu kanıt, Yeter Neden İlkesine dayandığı için imkân kanıtının haklı çıkarımı Yeter Neden İlkesinin haklı çıkarımına bağlıdır. Aynı zamanda imkân kanıtına yöneltilen eleştirilerin önemli bir kısmı Yeter Neden İlkesi üzerinden yapılmaktadır. Bu açıdan ikinci bölümde Yeter Neden İlkesinin anlam ve kapsamı ile haklı çıkarımı incelenmiştir. Burada her ne kadar Yeter Neden İlkesi’nin zorunlu bir ilke olduğu öne sürülemese de, onun inkarının da irrasyonel olduğu savunulmuştur. Üçüncü bölümde, Yeter Neden İlkesine dayanan imkân kanıtının diğer öncüllleri incelenmiştir. İmkân kanıtı iki aşamadan oluştuğu için bu inceleme iki başlıkta yapılmıştır. İlk aşama, âlemin imkânı ile zorunlu varlık arasında Yeter Neden İlkesi vasıtasıyla bir irtibat kurmaktır. Buna göre eğer âlem mümkün bir varlık ise, bir açıklamaya sahip olmalıdır. Mümkün olan âlemin açıklaması kendisi olamayacağına göre bu açıklama ancak zorunlu bir varlık ile sağlanabilir. O halde âlemin açıklaması, zorunlu bir varlıktır. İmkân kanıtının ikinci aşaması, zorunlu varlığı klasik teizmin öngördüğü bir tanrı anlayışıyla özdeşleştirmektir. Sonuç olarak, Yeter Neden İlkesi’ne dayanan imkân kanıtı, teizmin ileri sürdüğü bir tanrı anlayışının makul bir temel üzerine olduğunu sağlam bir şekilde göstermektedir.
Postmodern Felsefe Dilinin Semantiği -Derrida Örneği Üzerinden Bir İnceleme-
Authors: Özdil Ayhan
Published: October 2024

Yaklaşık iki asır önce gün yüzüne çıkmaya başlayan ve o çağa dek geçerliğini korumuş olan düşünme alışkanlıklarını peyderpey fesheden radikal gelişmeler, bu zamana tarihlenen postmodern felsefenin ürünü olarak beliren tamamlanmamış nesneler, kavramsız ve tutarsız fikirler ile belirsiz ve manasız ifadeleri hem idrak hem tahlil hem de tabir etmeyi sağlayabilecek yeni bir yaklaşımın geliştirilmesini zorunlu kılmıştır. Varlık-düşünce-dil arasında cereyan eden ilişkilerin hitabete olan yansımalarını ele alıp bahis konusu soruna bir çözüm arayan bu çalışma, Derrida’nın différance hareketine dayanan yapıçözüm yöntemiyle ortaya koyduğu eserlerinden yola çıkarak postmodern felsefenin esasını ve söylemini belirleyen hususları açıklamaya yönelik bir bakış açısı meydana getirmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Ne var ki bunu başarabilmek, öncelikle geleneksel ve modern düşünceye temel oluşturmuş olan paradigmaları çöküşe sürükleyen meseleleri ayrıntılı şekilde analiz etmeyi gerektirir. Dolayısıyla karşılaştırmalı yordam eşliğinde hazırlanmış olan bu metin, bir felsefî söylem çözümlemesi niteliğindedir.
Artificial intelligence, ChatGPT, and the new cheating dilemma: Strategies for academic integrity
Authors: Rane Nitin Liladhar , Desai Pravin , Paramesha Mallikarjuna
Published: October 2024

The rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI), particularly language models such as ChatGPT, has unique challenges to the protection of academic integrity. AI systems are becoming adept at producing human-like text in ways that present an entirely new array of dilemmas for higher education: how to effectively deter and respond to academic dishonesty in an age when students can easily use AI to complete assignments, write essays, or even answer exam questions. This research elaborates on the changing face of cheating through AI and examines the implications for the academic institution. The study takes into account new developments and trends in AI-generated content that blur the line between an original student work and a machine-produced one, utilizing traditional plagiarism detection tools that could not reveal the latter. In addition, it explores ethical considerations associated with the use of AI in education by weighing the potential benefits that AI could have as a learning aide against its misuse. The strategy for academic institutions is multifaceted. Except for updating the honor codes and emphasizing AI literacy among students and faculties, the institutions should be equipped with advanced AI detection tools and building a culture of academic integrity. The integration of these approaches can better enable an institution to meet the challenges brought forward by AI in the task of upholding the standard of academic honesty in an increasingly fast-paced educational environment. The research highlights proactive approaches to adaptation with regard to the changing role of AI in education.
Challenges of implementing artificial intelligence for smart and sustainable industry: Technological, economic, and regulatory barriers
Authors: Rane Nitin Liladhar , Desai Pravin , Choudhary Saurabh
Published: October 2024

Smart and sustainable is the way forward when it comes to industries, and, although artificial intelligence (AI) is the pathway to the transformation, it has its own set of challenges for massive incorporation. First, it costs a lot to build an AI infrastructure, investment would be hard for a lot of organizations, for instance, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to made coveted in the market. The field of AI is multi-layered, demanding technically sound workforce specializing in data science and machine learning, facilities a scarce resource at the global level. Also, in any industry with sensitive data there are big issues that arise alongside the adoption of AI systems, specifically related to data privacy and security. Ethics is another important issue and without careful handling tradition biased humans through AI can lead to a turbocharged outcome. In addition, operational issues are rampant; integrating AI into legacy systems and operations can be complex and time-consuming. This is not scalable at run-time due to the dynamic nature of AI technologies and results in incrementing operational burden of continuous updates/maintenance. Even so, legal issues accompany AI as it continues to grow in popularity, as the rules that apply to AI are forming and have significant differences depending on the region. Addressing such challenges will demand an integrated system approach, encompassing government ordinance, academic learning and industry exposure to enact a conducive policy environment, educate and train manpower properly and encourage innovation in creating efficient and sustainable AI-based solutions.
Emerging trends and future research opportunities in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and deep learning
Authors: Rane Nitin Liladhar , Rane Jayesh , Paramesha Mallikarjuna , Kaya Ömer
Published: October 2024

The Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and Deep Learning (DL), each built on a higher level of the proved technology driving innovation and efficiency. There are a few other futuristic trends clearly on the horizon too, such as the incorporation of AI with Internet of Things (IoT) devices to create environments that are smarter and more responsive. Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) is also becoming more important, as is the need for transparency and accountability in AI decision-making. Federated learning has also emerged as an interesting approach towards privacy-preserving model training in ML by training de-centralized models across multiple devices without sharing raw data. Transformer model such as GPT-4 and BERT are transformer models that have revolutionized the field of natural language processing (NLP) in DL, which are capable of more nuanced understanding and generation of human language. Their usage has increased dramatically, and they are used in everything from healthcare diagnostics to automated content creation. Also, the implication of blockchain-enabled AI to develop hack-proof AI applications, largely in finance and supply chain management is increasingly becoming popular. More research arises in the future, that will be around building hybrid AI models that contains both symbolic reasoning and neural networks, where we expect future research, will be focused on building much more stronger and flexible AI systems. Certainly, further study of the ethical issues around AI deployment - especially what is learned about bias and fairness - will remain an important area of investigation.
Applications of machine learning in healthcare, finance, agriculture, retail, manufacturing, energy, and transportation: A review
Authors: Rane Nitin Liladhar , Mallick Suraj Kumar , Kaya Ömer , Rane Jayesh
Published: October 2024

Utilizing machine learning (ML) in different sectors is transforming conventional methods, enhancing productivity, and encouraging creativity. In the field of manufacturing, ML algorithms are improving predictive maintenance, streamlining supply chains, and enhancing quality control with sophisticated data analysis techniques. The healthcare industry utilizes ML for precision medicine, predictive diagnostics, and patient monitoring, leading to improved patient results. ML is advantageous in financial services for identifying fraud, automating trading, and enhancing customized banking interactions. The retail and e-commerce sectors are incorporating ML for managing inventory, predicting demand, and tailoring marketing tactics, leading to improved customer satisfaction and operational effectiveness. In the energy sector, ML plays a crucial role in enhancing energy efficiency, forecasting equipment malfunctions, and incorporating sustainable energy resources. The transportation and logistics sector utilizes ML for optimizing routes, forecasting demand, and developing autonomous vehicle technology, leading to lower operational expenses and improved safety. ML benefits the agriculture sector by enabling precision farming, monitoring crop health, and predicting yields, which helps advance sustainable agricultural practices. In the construction industry, ML helps with managing projects, evaluating risks, and implementing advanced construction methods to increase project efficiency and safety.
Generative Artificial Intelligence in Agriculture, Education, and Business
Authors: Rane Jayesh , Kaya Ömer , Mallick Suraj Kumar , Rane Nitin Liladhar
Published: October 2024

The rapid digital development of the recent era has revolutionized the overall network of business and management as well as other sectors. The book discusses how emerging technologies, artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, big data analytics, cloud computing and the Internet of Things (IoT), have a high level of impact on different industries. With more and more businesses turning towards these techs, it is extremely important to really understanding their relation and use in order to remain at the cutting edge of technology while emerging as an innovator. Chapter 1 is a detailed introduction to the digital transformation, driven by AI, blockchain, IoT and other technologies are changing Business & Management processes. This paves the way for diving deeper into targeted topics where these innovations are starting to have a big influence. In chapter two we delve into the increasing popularity of generative AI, ChatGPT takes center stage and how it is impacting range of industries. In this research, we review generative AI applications and opportunities as well as challenges and the outlook, for future development. Also touched on in the book are the customer front-exporting portions of digital renovation. Chapter 3 - Overall Vision: How AI, Machine Learning and related technologies help in higher customer satisfaction and loyalty right into the services industry to build exceptional service quality.
Artificial intelligence in education: A SWOT analysis of ChatGPT and its implications for practice and research
Authors: Rane Jayesh , Kaya Ömer , Mallick Suraj Kumar , Rane Nitin Liladhar
Published: October 2024

Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing education, and at the forefront, tools like ChatGPT are helping to enhance personalized support in education and learning. This research does a SWOT analysis in relation to the role that ChatGPT can play in educational contexts and tries to arrive at implications toward practice and research issues that remain unaddressed. One of the strengths of ChatGPT is that it can provide quick, available, and customized responses for making learning experiences better through tailored tutoring and effective support. It allows educators to provide differentiated instruction and students to get real-time feedback for autonomous learning. However, there are still weaknesses like it may generate inaccurate/biased information sometimes, and the area of making AI understand the underlying nuances of a range of different educational contexts. This has the potential to challenge educational integrity and outcomes if not handled carefully. ChatGPT will fill the gaps for the availability of resources and service-driven scalability with various learning needs for improving the curriculum, professional development, and inclusive education. Furthermore, the more developments this gets from AI, the more reliable it will be as an educational tool. On the other hand, possible over-reliance on AI and its application can further reduce critical thinking and human interaction in a learning environment. Other threats include issues of ethical concern, such as data privacy and the possibility of misuse. This demonstrates the continued need for research and cautious implementation so that ChatGPT adds to, rather than detracts from, good educational practice.
Artificial intelligence, machine learning, and deep learning technologies as catalysts for industry 4.0, 5.0, and society 5.0
Authors: Rane Nitin Liladhar , Kaya Ömer , Rane Jayesh
Published: October 2024

Industry 4.0 brought with it by the next-gen Industry 5.0 and Society 5.0 paradigms, catalysed by Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and Deep Learning (DL) technologies. These advances have the benefit of encouraging sustainability, improving output, and updating manufacturing. By enabling self-decision, continuous monitoring, and predictive maintenance with the processing of large data, AI is dramatically reducing downtime and associated costs of system downtime. As a result, ML algorithms, in light of their applicability for continuous learning and adaptation, have contributed to enriching product quality, streamlining supply networks and okaying personalized customer experiences. Neural networks are also being leveraged to improve computer vision and speech capabilities, for applications such as smart automation and human-robot cooperation in challenging industrial contexts. Industry 5.0 truly puts humans back at the centre of innovation. It is aimed to create an evolved society in which AI, ML, and DL are fused with the digital and physical world Society 5.0. The integration aims to address a plethora of societal challenges: environmental sustainability, health and ageing population, among others. It is a convergence of these said technologies that lead to a paradigm shift towards more resilient, adaptive, and sustainable industrial ecosystems. This paper aims to address these questions in a systematic way to offer a comprehensive view of what the future industrial landscape could look like leveraging the promise of Industry 4.0 and Industry 5.0 thus, and more opportunities to embrace intelligent and sustainable industries of tomorrow.
Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence in Industry and Society
Authors: Patil (ed) Dimple , Rane (ed) Nitin Liladhar , Desai (ed) Pravin , Rane (ed) Jayesh
Published: October 2024

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is evolving at an unprecedented rate, changing industries and reshaping social landscapes. However, the question still stands: how can we make sure that, even with this growth, AI stays ethical and trustworthy? In an effort to investigate this issue, the book Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence in Industry and Society provides a thorough analysis of AI's potential to promote resilience, accountability, and trust in a variety of contexts. Chapter 1 explores the essential need for transparent and interpretable AI systems, starting with the foundation of Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) and laying the framework for fostering trust among users, stakeholders, and society at large. In Chapter 2, deep learning and machine learning are explored, along with their applications, methods, and implementation challenges. In Chapter 3, the book delves into the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives. It specifically highlights the applications of AI in the financial services and investment sectors. We look at the adoption and application of AI in the construction sector in Chapter 4, offering some insight into the drivers, patterns, and obstacles that will shape the technology's future. The use of AI to improve supply chain sustainability and revolutionize the transportation industry is covered in Chapters 5 and 6, with a focus on generative AI technologies and ethical issues. Chapter 7 explores how artificial intelligence is affecting customer relationship management, highlighting how sentiment analysis is transforming customer loyalty and experience. This book seeks to shed light on the opportunities and difficulties that artificial intelligence (AI) brings to business and society by exploring these areas.
Effects of Resistance Training on Cancer-Related Fatigue in Adult Persons with Breast Cancer - A Review of Randomized Controlled Trials
Authors: Faizy Susan , Shayan Nasar Ahmad , Niazi Aziz-ur-Rahman
Published: October 2024

Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is the most common and distressing symptom in breast cancer patients. Approximately 40%-80% of cancer patients suffer from CRF. Evidence suggests that exercise improves CRF; however, the specific effects of training modalities are not well understood. This paper aims to analyze the effects of resistance training intervention on cancer-related fatigue in breast cancer patients. A systematic search of English articles was conducted using PubMed (2014-2019) to identify randomized control trials that evaluated the effects of resistance training on CRF in patients with breast cancer. One another were independently extracted by data for study characteristics; results were used to rate the methodological quality and description of the exercise intervention. Three randomized controlled trials (RCTs) met the inclusion criteria for this study. A significant improvement in cancer-related fatigue was observed for the exercise group in all three trials. Resistance training improves CRF in patients with breast cancer and could be considered a safe and effective adjunctive treatment in reducing CRF among breast cancer patients.
Prevalence of Refractive Errors Among Students of Faculty of Medicine, Herat University, Afghanistan
Authors: Hosaini Sayed Farooq , Seddiqi Abdul Subhan , Nabizada Mohammad Naser , Karimi Khairullah
Published: October 2024

One of the major health problems in the world, especially in developing countries, is impaired vision in different age groups. According to the World Health Organization, about 253 million people worldwide suffer from visual impairment, including 217 million people with moderate to severe visual impairment. Uncorrected refractive error is the major cause of visual impairment (53%) and the second leading cause of blindness worldwide. About a quarter of the world's literate and educated population have a refractive error. To determine the prevalence of visual impairment among medical students of Herat University.
This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out from September 6, 2019 until October 5, 2019 among medical students of the Herat University. After conducting optometric examinations and determining visual acuity among students, an interview-based pre-defined questionnaire was completed for each student. In this study, 497 students participated, 226 students (45.5%) had refractive error, including 101 cases (20.5%) with myopia, twenty-one cases (4.2%) with hyperopia, and 100 cases (20.1%) with astigmatism. In addition, three students (0.6%) had both myopia and astigmatism. The prevalence of myopia and astigmatism is high among medical students of the Herat University. Regular visual check-up is necessary to correct the refractive errors and to prevent the progression of visual impairment.
Risk of SARS-Cov-2 Infection Among Proton Pump Inhibitors Users:
Authors: Saeedy Said Abdul Ghafour , Gholizadeh Mohammad , Djafarian Kurosh
Published: October 2024

Public health is affected seriously by COVID-19. Its mortality rate varies within different nations and identification of its risk factors is in progress. Here, we systematically reviewed articles that have evaluated the association between proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) intake and SARS-CoV-2 infection.
PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Cochrane databases from their inception till 2nd December 2020 were systematically searched to obtain any possible article for inclusion.
Results of this research reveal that After screening and removing unrelated or duplicate articles by the title and abstract by two independent reviewers, 6 articles were included. Results revealed a direct and dose-dependent relationship among PPIs intake and possibility of infection with SARS-CoV-2, the severity of the clinical manifestations of the COVID-19, and expression of SARS-CoV-2 receptors in the kidney and liver tissues.
In Conclusion, PPIs increase the risk of the infection with SARS-CoV-2 and cause severe clinical outcomes in the COVID-19 patient. They should be used when a clear indication is present at the lowest effective dose.
Genetic Inheritance and Yield Performance of Bambara Groundnut Genotypes Based on Seed Weight
Authors: KHALIQI ATIQULLAH
Published: October 2024

Though many studies on gene action of yield and yield related traits have been conducted on bambara groundnut, none of these focused on seed size and weight. Hence, this study was conducted to established inheritance pattern based on seed weight. Five bambara groundnut genotypes from Nigeria, namely Giwa, Duna, Cancaraki, Jatau, and Maiki were evaluated in randomized complete block design with three replication. The seeds of each genotype were grouped into three seed weight categories namely large, medium and small-seed size. Data were collected on 12 agromorphological traits and statistical analysis was conducted using SAS version 9.4 and variance component and heritability were estimated for each character. The present study revealed significant levels of variability among the five genotypes, fifteen combinations of seed size and genotypes, seed size categories and interaction of genotypes and seed size categories for most of the yield and yield components. High values of genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) coupled with genetic advance (GA) were reported for the number of medium seed per plant, total large seed weight per plant, total medium seed weight per plant and hundred seeds weight, while moderate GCV was observed for the total number of seed per plant. But the phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) was higher than GCV for all characters. Moderate broad-sense heritability for 100SW is responsible for the selection of this particular trait. Among the combination, G5S is the best for yield and yielding traits, while genotypes G3 is the best for yield and yield components, whereas among the seed size categories small seed size showed the high yield and yielding components.
Keywords: Inheritance, yield performance, Bambara groundnut, seed weight.
The role of Proton Pump Inhibitors in COVID-19
Authors: Saeedy Said Abdul Ghafour , Tokhi Elham , Mohammadi Farida , Faiz Ahmad Faisal , Shayan Nasar Ahmad
Published: October 2024

The use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) has been associated with an increased risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and severe outcomes. This may be because the gut is the most important immune organ in the body and the virus reach and replicate rapidly in the absence of gastric acid. Therefore, the use of PPIs as acid suppressant drugs may have a negative impact on COVID-19. We aimed to identify the relationship between the use of PPIs with the incidence of Covid-19 and the severity of outcomes. This case-control study was conducted on 246 participants who were pretested for Covid-19 in Herat city, Afghanistan. We investigated the incidence rate and risk of severe clinical symptoms and outcomes (mechanical ventilation, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and requirement of oxygen therapy) in COVID-19 patients. The incidence of Covid-19 was insignificantly higher among PPI users than non-users (OR 1.29, 95% CI 0.74 – 2.25). Moreover, the symptoms including respiratory, digestive and systemic complains, taste and smell disturbances and outcome of the disease were more severe in PPI users {OR (95% CI)}, 2.47 (0.71 – 8.63), 2.16 (0.97 – 4.84), 2.32 (1.01 – 5.31), 2.23 (1.05 – 4.72), 2.62 (1.23 – 5.45), 4.38 (2.01 – 9.51), 7.56 (2.93 – 19.61) and 5.99 (2.52 – 14.30) respectively. In Conclusion, we found a significantly increased risk of COVID-19 negative outcomes in PPIs users. Further studies with a larger sample size are needed to find the exact role of PPIs use on COVID-19.
Prevalence and causes of visual impairment and blindness among primary schoolchildren in Herat, Afghanistan
Authors: Niazi Aziz-ur-Rahman , Sadat Sayed Javid , Alekozay Mina , Akhondzadah Mohammad Naser , Najm Abdul Fattah
Published: October 2024

Childhood visual impairment and blindness (VI&B) significantly affects socioeconomic status and health of an individual in adult age. The prevalence and etiology of VI&B in children varies considerably around the world and across different studies. This study aims to identify the prevalence and causes of VI&B among schoolchildren in Herat, Afghanistan. This school-based cross-sectional study was conducted through a stratified cluster sampling on schoolchildren of both sexes aged between 7 and 15 years, between September and December 2021. Visual acuity of study participants was assessed using standard Snellen chart. Participants with VI&B were further assessed for identification of etiology. Data was analyzed in IBM SPSS Statistics (version 27). A total of 8930 schoolchildren, comprising 4366 (48.9%) boys and 4564 (51.1%) girls with a mean age of 10.1 ± 2.3 years were examined. The prevalence of VI&B in the worst eye was 5.2% (5.0% VI and 0.2% blindness). Of the 4366 boys in this study, 228 (5.2%) had VI, while 17 (0.4%) had blindness, while of the 4564 girls in this study, 211 (4.6%) had VI and 4 (0.1%) had blindness in the worst eye. Refractive error was the principle cause of VI&B in 334 (72.6% of the visually-impaired and 3.6% of the overall sample population). This is the first comprehensive study that reports the prevalence and causes of VI&B in schoolchildren in Afghanistan. The prevalence of VI&B among participants was high in Herat, and the principle cause was uncorrected refractive error.
Database Security Mechanisms in MySQL
Authors: Hamidi Abdullah , Hamraz Abdul Razzaq , Rahmani Khadija
Published: October 2024

MySQL security is a concept that originates from database security and mainly comprises attacks that exploit database systems vulnerabilities. SQL injection, inference attack, passive attack, active attack, and other database side attacks are general security issues in many modern database systems. Those methods are used by hackers to retrieve, manipulate, misuse, make or delete information in organizations’ relational databases through application layer or backend layer. Different techniques to prevent MySQL against these attacks investigated and discussed in this article. Besides, different ways to secure or database were introduced. In this article, different ways to protect the data in relational databases including database backups, database and table locking, database encryption, user control, MySQL Enterprise Firewall, and use of views are discussed. Furthermore, each protection method explained with their usages and advantages. Database designers have to be aware of these methods to increase data protection on their designed information management systems. The goals of this research are to cover all security problems that occur in MySQL backend, declaring the security vulnerabilities and providing suggestions to improve MySQL security and preventing an attacker from attacking these systems.
Effect of biostimulants on mustard microgreens grown under different cultivation conditions
Authors: Clément Justine , Delisle-Houde Maxime , Nguyen Thi Thuy An , Dorais Martine , Tweddell Russell J.
Published: October 2024

Ten products, commercially available as biostimulants or reported for their biostimulating properties, were tested under conventional and organic growing systems for their effects on mustard microgreens (Brassica juncea) grown in presence of abiotic (salt) or biotic (Pythium ultimum) stress. Drench application of wollastonite (calcium silicate) significantly improved the germination rate of mustard seeds sown in a substrate inoculated with P. ultimum in conventional growing system exclusively. In both growing systems, no significant effect of biostimulants was observed on the dry biomass or the proportion of healthy microgreens grown in presence of P. ultimum. None of the biostimulants significantly increased the germination rate of seeds exposed to a salinity stress in both growing systems while humic acid, triacontanol, chitosan, and Bacillus subtilis PTB185 significantly decreased the germination rate of seeds exposed to 40, 80 or 120 mM NaCl L-1 under conventional or organic management. Seed treatment with Trichoderma harzianum T-22 and humic acid resulted in microgreens with a significantly higher dry biomass when subjected to 40 and 80 mM NaCl L-1 under conventional and organic management, respectively. The study showed that the effects of the biostimulants vary from beneficial to detrimental and that plant response to biostimulants is influenced by the cultivation conditions.
Le pouvoir du langage. Double enquête dans Un attiéké pour Elgass de Tierno Monénembo
Authors: Ndiaye Christiane
Published: October 2024

Les études sur l’oeuvre de Monénembo tiennent assez rarement compte du quatrième roman de l’écrivain, Un attiéké pour Elgass, qui semble occuper une place à part dans sa production. Il présente en effet une forme hybride où le populaire et le « lettré » se rencontrent. Sans se réclamer ouvertement du roman policier, le roman convoque plusieurs de ses composantes pour construire une double enquête dont l’une cherche à élucider les circonstances de la mort d’Elgass, tandis que l’autre s’éloigne du canon du genre en inscrivant dans le texte un questionnement sociopolitique sur les dérives des indépendances africaines. Une analyse intertextuelle révèle que le roman renvoie spécifiquement au célèbre classique d’Agatha Christie, Le meurtre de Roger Ackroyd, dont il emprunte plusieurs procédés et motifs, pour les redistribuer, les adapter au contexte africain et les mettre au service d’un discours moins ludique. D’une part, la fonction de la narration truquée déjoue les attentes du lecteur et met en lumière le dérèglement de l’ordre social lorsque l’usage du « mensonge bien arrangé » se généralise ; d’autre part, la mise en scène du pouvoir de la parole collective (la rumeur) suggère que le langage dispose encore de ressources pour contrer cette glissade vers le chaos.
Les ambiances dans la poétique du désir révolutionnaire. Les Renards pâles de Yannick Haenel, Mathias et la Révolution de Leslie Kaplan
Authors: Hachette Pauline
Published: October 2024

Comment saisir le moment énigmatique où la vie réglée en société bascule dans un régime insurrectionnel, voire révolutionnaire ? Les explications rationnelles ou idéologiques semblent souvent insuffisantes pour appréhender les enjeux subjectifs et sensibles au coeur d’un passage à des formes d’action collective apparemment spontanées. Les Renards pâles de Yannick Haenel (2013) et Mathias et la Révolution de Leslie Kaplan (2016) représentent ce moment de rupture et de désorganisation de la vie quotidienne en accordant une large part aux ambiances. En analysant les différents pans selon lesquels celles-ci se déploient, ainsi que les stratégies narratives et les régimes descriptifs qui les donnent à éprouver, on voit que ces romans, loin de créer un simple décor au désir révolutionnaire, offrent une lecture des liens entre individu et collectif ainsi qu’une réflexion sur les articulations entre régimes affectifs et action, qui mettent en valeur le rôle déterminant du sensible dans la motivation politique.
DYRK1A interacts with the tuberous sclerosis complex and promotes mTORC1 activity
Authors: Wang Pinhua , Sarkar Sunayana , Zhang Menghuan , Xiao Tingting , Kong Fenhua , Zhang Zhe , Balasubramanian Deepa , Jayaram Nandan , Datta Sayantan , He Ruyu , Wu Ping , Chao Peng , Zhang Ying , Washburn Michael , Florens Laurence A , Nagarkar-Jaiswal Sonal , Jaiswal Manish , Mohan Man
Published: October 2024

DYRK1A, a ubiquitously expressed kinase, is linked to the dominant intellectual developmental disorder, microcephaly, and Down syndrome in humans. It regulates numerous cellular processes such as cell cycle, vesicle trafficking, and microtubule assembly. DYRK1A is a critical regulator of organ growth; however, how it regulates organ growth is not fully understood. Here, we show that the knockdown of DYRK1A in mammalian cells results in reduced cell size, which depends on mTORC1. Using proteomic approaches, we found that DYRK1A interacts with the tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) proteins, namely TSC1 and TSC2, which negatively regulate mTORC1 activation. Furthermore, we show that DYRK1A phosphorylates TSC2 at T1462, a modification known to inhibit TSC activity and promote mTORC1 activity. We also found that the reduced cell growth upon knockdown of DYRK1A can be rescued by overexpression of RHEB, an activator of mTORC1. Our findings suggest that DYRK1A inhibits TSC complex activity through inhibitory phosphorylation on TSC2, thereby promoting mTORC1 activity. Furthermore, using the Drosophila neuromuscular junction as a model, we show that the mnb, the fly homologs of DYRK1A, is rescued by RHEB overexpression, suggesting a conserved role of DYRK1A in TORC1 regulation.
Muscle synergies during the walk-run and run-walk transitions
Authors: Lagos-Hausheer Leonardo , Vergara Samuel , Munoz-Martel Victor , Pequera Germán , Bona Renata L. , Biancardi Carlo M.
Published: October 2024

Background

Muscular synergies could represent the patterns of muscular activation used by the central nervous system (CNS) to simplify the production of movement. Studies in walking-running transitions described up to nine synergy modules, and an earlier activation of flexor and extension ankle muscular groups compared to running or walking. Our project aims to study the behaviour of muscle synergies in different stance and swing variations of walking-running (WRT) and running-walking (RWT) transitions.

Methods

Twenty-four trained men participated in this study. A variable speed protocol on a treadmill was developed to record the activity of 14 muscle during walking, running and relative transitions. The protocol was based on five ramps of 50 seconds each around ± 10 and 20% of the WRT speed. WRT and RWT were identified according to an abrupt change of the duty factor. Analysing surface electromyography using non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) we obtained synergy modules and temporal activation profiles. Alpha threshold for statistical tests set at 0.05.

Results

We described four different transition strides, two for increasing speed transitions, and two for decreasing speed transitions. Four to six synergy modules were found in each condition. According to the maximum cosine similarity results, the two identified WRT conditions shared five modules, while the two RWT conditions shared four modules. WRT and RWT overall shared 4.33 ± 0.58 modules. The activation profiles and centres of activation revealed differences among conditions.

Discussion

Transition occurred at step level, and transition strides were composed by walk-like and run-like steps. Compared with previous studies in running and walking, both transitions needed earlier activation of a comparable number of synergy modules. Synergies were affected by acceleration: during RWT the need to dissipate energy, to decrease the speed, was achieved by increasing the number of co-activating muscles. This was reflected in fewer synergy modules and different activation profiles compared to WRT. We believe that our results could be enforced in different applied fields, like clinical gait analysis, physiotherapy and rehabilitation, where plans including co-activation of specific muscular groups could be useful. Gait transitions are common in different sports, and therefore also application in training and sport science would be possible.
Ecological and taxonomic dissimilarity in species and higher taxa of reptiles in western Mexico
Authors: Calderón-Patrón Jaime Manuel , Téllez-López Jorge , Canales-Gómez Eréndira , Peña-Joya Karen Elizabeth
Published: October 2024

Reptiles are one of the most diverse groups of vertebrates in the world that are distributed in almost all ecosystems. Many of these studies have focused on exploring their diversity patterns across different environments; and recent studies on reptile alpha and beta diversity have incorporated a multifaceted approach into their analysis to have more comprehensive evaluations. This study presents an assessment of the taxonomic diversity of reptile patterns using methods that incorporate the assessment of higher taxa. Likewise, the taxonomic dissimilarities between reptile communities in the physiographic regions of the state of Jalisco were analyzed. Evaluations for the groups of snakes and lizards independently are presented. We use the taxonomic distinctiveness index that assesses the complexity of the taxonomic structure of communities through hierarchical classification above the species level to measure the relationships between taxa. The dissimilarity of the taxonomic structure in each community was also analyzed. Beta diversity partitions were performed to identify the contribution of turnover and the differences in richness. We determined that alpha diversity of species and higher taxa maintain different patterns, indicating that Jalisco presents regions with overrepresentation of reptile families and genera, as well as regions with an opposite trend. The representation of higher taxa is higher in the lizard group, although in terms of species richness snakes are the most prominent group. The turnover is the most important component at species and higher taxa, with similar values for lizards and snakes. The findings presented show that incorporating phylogenetic information about species through taxonomic relationships provides complementary information that species diversity per se, especially at the level of alpha diversity.
A Python program to merge Sanger sequences: an update
Authors: Lin Shiming , Huang Bifang , Zhao Li-li , Xu Fei , Pan Danni , Chen Xuanyang , Lin Shiqiang
Published: October 2024

Gene cloning is an important step in investigating gene structure and function. To verify gene sequence, Sanger sequencing is used, which may produce several overlapping sequencing files that need to be merged before alignment to the target gene sequence is performed. Previously, we reported the Python program to Merge Sanger sequences (https://peerj.com/articles/11354/), which ran in command line and relied heavily on EMBOSS suite. In this updated version of the program, we have made several remarkable improvements. It provides a graphical user interface (GUI) written with tkinter, which is convenient and stable. It does not require users to rename the input sequences before performing merging. With regard to the implementation, the updated version utilizes Python function (Align.PairwiseAligner) to align adjacent sequences, which is more flexible (can adjust program parameter i.e., the number of first-time consecutive matching bases). The new version of the program makes merging Sanger sequences much more convenient and facilitates gene study.
Prevalence and Antifungal Susceptibility of Candida Infections in Patients with Pulmonary Tuberculosis: A Cross-sectional Study from the Union Territory of Puducherry, India
Authors: Murugavel Mahendran , Howlader Anusheela , Nagarajan Prithiviraj , Kuthalaramalingam Sethumadhavan
Published: October 2024

Introduction: Pulmonary Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Candida albicans is the most commonly isolated fungal pathogen in bronchopulmonary patients. Invasive candidiasis due to Candida species has been on the rise in recent years. However, drug sensitivity studies of C. albicans isolated from TB patients are not routinely conducted in India and other developing countries. Aim: To isolate and identify Candida albicans from patients with TB and to determine its antifungal susceptibility. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 129 patients suspected of having pulmonary TB, analysed from August 2016 to January 2018 at the Department of Chest Medicine, Aarupadai Veedu Medical College and Hospital, Puducherry, India. Sputum samples were collected and processed to identify Candida species through Gram staining, Ziehl-Neelsen staining, germ tube formation, and sugar fermentation. Antifungal resistance testing was performed using the disk diffusion method recommended by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI). The collected data were subsequently analysed using descriptive statistics and the Chi-square test to evaluate the results. Results: Candida infection was observed in 10 (7.75%) out of 129 patients with pulmonary TB. Among patients with co-infection, C. albicans was the most common, accounting for 4 (40%) cases, followed by C. krusei with 2 (20%) cases, C. tropicalis with 1 (10%) case, C. kefyr with 1 (10%) case, C. glabrata with 1 (10%) case, and C. parapsilosis with 1 (10%) case. Among the azole category, itraconazole and amphotericin B exhibited the highest sensitivity percentages against Candida. Conclusion: The current study revealed a high prevalence of coinfection between pulmonary TB and Candida spp., which may contribute to the symptoms of pulmonary lung disorders. The prevalence of Candida species could also be associated with an inadequate response to antitubercular drugs. Amphotericin B and itraconazole, two commonly used drugs in the community, are often employed as the preferred treatments for fungal infections. Early detection and treatment of this opportunistic candidiasis in patients with pulmonary TB will likely enhance outcomes for such individuals.