bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ovarian Cancer Biomarkers: Headway Towards Early Diagnosis
Authors: Mueed Zeba , Rai Pankaj Kumar , Siddique Seemab , Poddar Nitesh Kumar
Published: January 2021

The advancements in cancer treatment have no significant effect on
ovarian cancer [OC]. The lethality of the OC remains on the top list of gynecological
cancers. The long term survival rate of the OC patients with the advanced
stage is less than 30%. The only effective measure to increase the survivability
of the patient is the detection of disease in stage I. The earlier the diagnosis, the
more will be the chances of survival of the patient. But due to the absence of
symptoms and effective diagnosis, only a few % of OC are detected in stage I. A
valid, reliable having a high acceptance test is imperative to detect OC in its early
stages. Currently, the most used approach for the detection of OC is the screening
of CA-125 and transvaginal ultrasonography together. This approach has an
efficacy of only 30-45%. A large number of biomarkers are also being explored
for their potential use in the early screening of OC, but no success is seen so far.
This review provides an overview of the biomarkers being explored for early-stage
diagnosis of OC and increasing the current long-term survival rates of OC
patients.
Nigella sativa, as Preventive Strategy in COVID-19
Authors: Mathur Vaishali , Sharma Mahak
Published: January 2021

:

The recent times have been difficult with the whole world fighting against the
COVID-19 pandemic. A herbal home-based spice can help people improve their immunity and
fight against this infection. Nigella sativa has been named as a prophetic spice as it has many therapeutic
effects. It is found to control diabetes, reduce high cholesterol levels, and serve as an anti-
oxidant, anti-cancer, anti-informatory, and immune booster. The compound thymoquinone can
be responsible for enhancing the immune system as it acts as an anti-oxidant and has an anti-inflammatory
property. Research has shown that to protect yourself from coronavirus, it is important to
avoid human contact and strengthen the immune system. This paper is a review of various studies
that prove that Nigella sativa can be beneficial in enhancing the immune system and thus fight
COVID-19.
A Review on the Applications of Nano-medicines in Treatments of Metabolic Diseases
Authors: Vij Mohit , Dand Neha , Wadhwa Pankaj
Published: January 2021

Metabolism is a cellular process for energy formation from food sources by
using a multitude of interdependent pathways with the help of thousands of enzymatic
machinery. Encyclopedia of genetics defines metabolic diseases as the inability of metabolism,
including improper functioning of enzymes for metabolism of carbohydrates,
amino acids derived from proteins, and fatty acids liberated from lipids, respectively.
Most of these are typically inherited, but a person may remain asymptomatic for years
before the disease could get triggered. An interesting characteristic of these diseases is
that their occurrence would be considered rare when individual statistics are studied but
the same diseases could be considered common when studied in a group of people with
unifying genetic features. A few metabolic diseases could be acquired and have their
origin in malnutrition, such as Kwashiorkor and Marasmus, or diseases that could be attributed
to endocrinal malfunction of which diabetes mellitus and obesity are classic examples.
Treatments for these diseases are as varied as the causes and can range from
simple dietary changes to organ transplants. Biopharmaceuticals such as proteins, peptides,
as well as antisense oligonucleotides, and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) preparations
for gene therapy could provide a viable, non-invasive mode to treat most of these
inherited diseases, whereas nutritional supplements along with herbal and synthetic
drugs would be the way to treat the acquired ones. Nevertheless, formulating biopharmaceuticals
with excellent efficacy, optimal shelf life and the ability for large scale
manufacturing have still eluded the pharmaceutical industry. Nanotechnology can maneuver
the structure of original therapeutic materials into a new nano range materials,
which demonstrate incredible property differences compared to those of original materials.
Hence, nanomedicine could be the way forward to deliver a plethora of drugs ranging
from biological, herbal, and synthetic nature as compared to traditional methods. A
wide spectrum of nanoparticulate based systems such as inorganic particles like quantum
dots, dendrimers; polymeric systems utilizing biodegradable polymers of natural or
synthetic origin, lipid-based systems like liposomes, solid lipid nanoparticles, etc., has
been employed successfully in the delivery of the aforementioned classes of drugs. This
review will encompass a brief introduction to various metabolic disorders and would focus
on the available and possible nano-based treatment options for each of them.
Frequency and Inertia Response Effects, Capabilities, and Possibilities in
Renewable Energy Sources
Authors: Gomez Jishu Mary , Shanmugam Prabhakar Karthikeyan
Published: January 2021

Background & Objectives:

The global power system is in a state of continuous evolution, incorporating more and more renewable energy systems. The converter-based systems are void of inherent inertia control behavior and are unable to curb minor frequency deviations. The traditional power system, on the other hand, is made up majorly of synchronous generators that have their inertia and governor response for frequency control. For improved inertial and primary frequency response, the existing frequency control methods need to be modified and an additional power reserve is to be maintained mandatorily for this purpose. Energy self-sufficient renewable distributed generator systems can be made possible through optimum active power control techniques. Also, when major global blackouts were analyzed for causes, solutions, and precautions, load shedding techniques were found to be a useful tool to prevent frequency collapse due to power imbalances. The pre-existing load shedding techniques were designed for traditional power systems and were tuned to eliminate low inertia generators as the first step to system stability restoration. To incorporate emerging energy possibilities, the changes in the mixed power system must be addressed and new frequency control capabilities of these systems must be researched.

Discussion:

In this paper, the power reserve control schemes that enable frequency regulation in the widely incorporated solar photovoltaic and wind turbine generating systems are discussed. Techniques for Under Frequency Load Shedding (UFLS) that can be effectively implemented in renewable energy enabled micro-grid environment for frequency regulation are also briefly discussed. The paper intends to study frequency control schemes and technologies that promote the development of self- sustaining micro-grids.

Conclusion:

The area of renewable energy research is fast emerging with immense scope for future developments. The comprehensive literature study confirms the possibilities of frequency and inertia response enhancement through optimum energy conservation and control of distributed energy systems.
Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) pada Pneumonia COVID-19
Authors:   SMF/Departemen Anestesiologi dan Terapi Intensif, Fakultas Kedokteran, Universitas Brawijaya/RSUD Dr. Saiful Anwar, Malang Indonesia, Fatoni Arie Zainul , Rakhmatullah Ramacandra ,   Intensivis Instalasi Anestesi dan Terapi Intensif RSU Karsa Husada Batu / Staf Pengajar Fakultas Kedokteran dan Ilmu Kesehatan Universitas Islam Negeri Malang Indonesia
Published: January 2021

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) merupakan penyakit pernafasan akut yang ditandai dengan pneumonia dan gagal paru-paru. Agen penyebab COVID-19 telah dikonfirmasi sebagai virus korona baru, yang sekarang dikenal sebagai severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) adalah salah satu komplikasi COVID-19 yang paling sering dengan angka kematian yang cukup tinggi. ARDS muncul sebagai salah satu gambaran disfungsi organ pada fase hiperinflamasi COVID-19. Patofisiologi dan manifestasi klinis ARDS yang disebabkan COVID-19 memiliki perbedaan dengan ARDS pada umumnya. Oleh sebab itu, kami merekomendasikan manajemen ARDS pada COVID-19 disesuaikan dengan tipe ARDS yang terjadi sehingga dapat memperoleh luaran yang baik
Modeling of Ceria Reduction in a Solar Thermochemical Reactor via DEM Method
Authors: Zhang Han , Smith Joseph D. ,   Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, MO 65409, United States
Published: January 2021

Solar thermochemical reactor provides an attractive approach that utilizes the most common solar radiation as the thermal driving force to motivate the reaction between CO2 and metal oxides, which is also called metal oxide redox pair-based thermochemical cycles. The CeO2/CeO2-δ is widely used in the two-step redox process due to its advantages including fast-redox kinetics, high crystallographic stability of a wide range of reacting oxygen non-stoichiometry, and relatively high oxygen solid-state conductivity. In this work, a three-dimensional transient numerical analysis has been completed to study the performance of a CeO2 reduction reaction in a 1/8th segment region of a novel partition cavity-receiver reactor. The porous CeO2 catalyst was analyzed using the discrete element method (DEM) to capture the heat transfer and reactive performances. The catalyst textural properties (particle size and void fraction) and reaction conditions (gas flow rate and radiative power input) were investigated in the CeO2 reduction reaction. The results indicated that increasing the catalyst specific surface area and the temperature are beneficial to the O2 production and further CO2 conversion.
Melting/Solidification Processes of PEG 1500 in Vertical and Horizontal Annular Enclosure
Authors:   School of Science, Engineering and Design, Teesside University Middlesbrough, United Kingdom, Hamad F. A. , Egelle E. , Mohammed Abbas , Gooneratne S. , Russell P.
Published: January 2021

In this paper, the primary aim is to look at the fundamental melting/solidification processes of polyethylene glycol 1500 (PEG 1500) for energy storage – insulation to prolong the cooling time of pipelines in unexpected shut-down conditions, prevent/minimize the wax deposition, and hydrate formation. Polyethylene glycol 1500 was selected because its melting temperature is >317 K making it a suitable candidate as lagging material to prevent wax deposition and hydrate formation in subsea oil pipelines. Experimental apparatus was designed with the Perspex to give an insight into the melting process. Vertical and horizontal annular geometries were used to consider the real-life cases. The vertical annular enclosure length is 950 mm and 34 mm width (Height/Width=27.94). The horizontal annular enclosure length is 300mm and 15.9 mm width (Height/Width=18.87). The thermocouples and camera are used to collect the data for three cases of inner wall temperature of 333 K,343 K and 353 K where is the heat added to the phase change material (PCM) for both cases. The main conclusions are: i) the horizontal annular case melt faster than the vertical case, in particular, at higher heating surface temperature of 353 K, ii)The temperature of the inner region was remained hot for long time which provide a good evidence that support the concept of using the PCM as heat storage–insulation material; iii) the melting percentage for horizontal case is 100% higher from the melting percentage of vertical case at 333 K which reduced to about 20% for 343 K, iv) increasing the heating surface temperature substantially reduces the total melting time for both orientations.
Comparative Analysis of Paper-Based and Web-Based Versions of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network-Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast Cancer Symptom Index (NFBSI-16) Questionnaire in Breast Cancer Patients: Randomized Crossover Study
Authors: Ma Jinfei , Zou Zihao , Pazo Emmanuel Eric , Moutari Salissou , Liu Ye , Jin Feng
Published: January 2021

Background

Breast cancer remains the most common neoplasm diagnosed among women in China and globally. Health-related questionnaire assessments in research and clinical oncology settings have gained prominence. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network–Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy–Breast Cancer Symptom Index (NFBSI-16) is a rapid and powerful tool to help evaluate disease- or treatment-related symptoms, both physical and emotional, in patients with breast cancer for clinical and research purposes. Prevalence of individual smartphones provides a potential web-based approach to administrating the questionnaire; however, the reliability of the NFBSI-16 in electronic format has not been assessed.

Objective

This study aimed to assess the reliability of a web-based NFBSI-16 questionnaire in breast cancer patients undergoing systematic treatment with a prospective open-label randomized crossover study design.

Methods

We recruited random patients with breast cancer under systematic treatment from the central hospital registry to complete both paper- and web-based versions of the questionnaires. Both versions of the questionnaires were self-assessed. Patients were randomly assigned to group A (paper-based first and web-based second) or group B (web-based first and paper-based second). A total of 354 patients were included in the analysis (group A: n=177, group B: n=177). Descriptive sociodemographic characteristics, reliability and agreement rates for single items, subscales, and total score were analyzed using the Wilcoxon test. The Lin concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) and Spearman and Kendall τ rank correlations were used to assess test-retest reliability.

Results

Test-retest reliability measured with CCCs was 0.94 for the total NFBSI-16 score. Significant correlations (Spearman ρ) were documented for all 4 subscales—Disease-Related Symptoms Subscale–Physical (ρ=0.93), Disease-Related Symptoms Subscale–Emotional (ρ=0.85), Treatment Side Effects Subscale (ρ=0.95), and Function and Well-Being Subscale (ρ=0.91)—and total NFBSI-16 score (ρ=0.94). Mean differences of the test and retest were all close to zero (≤0.06). The parallel test-retest reliability of subscales with the Wilcoxon test comparing individual items found GP3 (item 5) to be significantly different (P=.02). A majority of the participants in this study (255/354, 72.0%) preferred the web-based over the paper-based version.

Conclusions

The web-based version of the NFBSI-16 questionnaire is an excellent tool for monitoring individual breast cancer patients under treatment, with the majority of participants preferring it over the paper-based version.
Lexicon Development for COVID-19-related Concepts Using Open-source Word Embedding Sources: An Intrinsic and Extrinsic Evaluation
Authors: Parikh Soham , Davoudi Anahita , Yu Shun , Giraldo Carolina , Schriver Emily , Mowery Danielle
Published: January 2021

Background

Scientists are developing new computational methods and prediction models to better clinically understand COVID-19 prevalence, treatment efficacy, and patient outcomes. These efforts could be improved by leveraging documented COVID-19–related symptoms, findings, and disorders from clinical text sources in an electronic health record. Word embeddings can identify terms related to these clinical concepts from both the biomedical and nonbiomedical domains, and are being shared with the open-source community at large. However, it’s unclear how useful openly available word embeddings are for developing lexicons for COVID-19–related concepts.

Objective

Given an initial lexicon of COVID-19–related terms, this study aims to characterize the returned terms by similarity across various open-source word embeddings and determine common semantic and syntactic patterns between the COVID-19 queried terms and returned terms specific to the word embedding source.

Methods

We compared seven openly available word embedding sources. Using a series of COVID-19–related terms for associated symptoms, findings, and disorders, we conducted an interannotator agreement study to determine how accurately the most similar returned terms could be classified according to semantic types by three annotators. We conducted a qualitative study of COVID-19 queried terms and their returned terms to detect informative patterns for constructing lexicons. We demonstrated the utility of applying such learned synonyms to discharge summaries by reporting the proportion of patients identified by concept among three patient cohorts: pneumonia (n=6410), acute respiratory distress syndrome (n=8647), and COVID-19 (n=2397).

Results

We observed high pairwise interannotator agreement (Cohen kappa) for symptoms (0.86-0.99), findings (0.93-0.99), and disorders (0.93-0.99). Word embedding sources generated based on characters tend to return more synonyms (mean count of 7.2 synonyms) compared to token-based embedding sources (mean counts range from 2.0 to 3.4). Word embedding sources queried using a qualifier term (eg, dry cough or muscle pain) more often returned qualifiers of the similar semantic type (eg, “dry” returns consistency qualifiers like “wet” and “runny”) compared to a single term (eg, cough or pain) queries. A higher proportion of patients had documented fever (0.61-0.84), cough (0.41-0.55), shortness of breath (0.40-0.59), and hypoxia (0.51-0.56) retrieved than other clinical features. Terms for dry cough returned a higher proportion of patients with COVID-19 (0.07) than the pneumonia (0.05) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (0.03) populations.

Conclusions

Word embeddings are valuable technology for learning related terms, including synonyms. When leveraging openly available word embedding sources, choices made for the construction of the word embeddings can significantly influence the words learned.
Mobile HIV Testing Through Social Networking Platforms: Comparative Study
Authors: Chiou Piao-Yi , Ko Nai-Ying , Chien Chien-Yu
Published: January 2021

Background

Improving HIV screening in key populations is a crucial strategy to achieve the goal of eliminating AIDS in 2030. Social networking platforms can be used to recruit high risk-taking men who have sex with men (MSM) to promote the delivery of voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) as mobile HIV testing. Therefore, client recruitment and availability of mobile HIV testing through social networking platforms requires further evaluation.

Objective

The aim of this study is to compare the effects of targeting high risk-taking MSM and HIV case finding between two mobile HIV testing recruitment approaches: through the traditional website-based approach and through social networking platforms.

Methods

A comparative study design and propensity score matching was applied. The traditional VCT model, that is, the control group, recruited MSM through a website, and a trained research assistant visited the walk-in testing station at a gay village on Friday and Saturday nights. The social networking VCT model, the experimental group, recruited MSM from social networking platforms by periodically reloading into and conducting web-based discussions on dating apps and Facebook. The participants then referred to others in their social networks via a popular messenger app in Taiwan. The test was conducted at a designated time and place during weekdays by a trained research assistant. Across both modes of contact, before the mobile HIV testing, participants needed to provide demographic characteristics and respond to a questionnaire about HIV risk-taking behaviors.

Results

We recruited 831 MSM over 6 months, with a completion rate of 8.56% (616/7200) in the traditional VCT model and 20.71% (215/1038) in the social networking VCT model. After propensity score matching, there were 215 MSM in each group (mean age 29.97, SD 7.61 years). The social networking model was more likely to reach MSM with HIV risk-taking behaviors, that is, those seeking sexual activity through social media, having multiple sexual partners and unprotected anal intercourse, having experience of recreational drug use, and never having or not regularly having an HIV test, compared with the traditional model. HIV positive rates (incidence rate ratio 3.40, 95% CI 1.089-10.584; P=.03) and clinic referral rates (incidence rate ratio 0.03, 95% CI 0.001-0.585; P=.006) were significantly higher among those in the social networking VCT model than in the traditional VCT model.

Conclusions

Through effective recruitment strategies on social networking platforms, the social networking VCT mode can be smoothly promoted, as compared with the traditional VCT model, to target high risk-taking MSM and increase testing outcomes.
Differences in Basic Life Support Knowledge Between Junior Medical Students and Lay People: Web-Based Questionnaire Study
Authors: Sturny Ludovic , Regard Simon , Larribau Robert , Niquille Marc , Savoldelli Georges Louis , Sarasin François , Schiffer Eduardo , Suppan Laurent
Published: January 2021

Background

Early cardiopulmonary resuscitation and prompt defibrillation markedly increase the survival rate in the event of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). As future health care professionals, medical students should be trained to efficiently manage an unexpectedly encountered OHCA.

Objective

Our aim was to assess basic life support (BLS) knowledge in junior medical students at the University of Geneva Faculty of Medicine (UGFM) and to compare it with that of the general population.

Methods

Junior UGFM students and lay people who had registered for BLS classes given by a Red Cross–affiliated center were sent invitation links to complete a web-based questionnaire. The primary outcome was the between-group difference in a 10-question score regarding cardiopulmonary resuscitation knowledge. Secondary outcomes were the differences in the rate of correct answers for each individual question, the level of self-assessed confidence in the ability to perform resuscitation, and a 6-question score, “essential BLS knowledge,” which only contains key elements of the chain of survival. Continuous variables were first analyzed using the Student t test, then by multivariable linear regression. Fisher exact test was used for between-groups comparison of binary variables.

Results

The mean score was higher in medical students than in lay people for both the 10-question score (mean 5.8, SD 1.7 vs mean 4.2, SD 1.7; P<.001) and 6-question score (mean 3.0, SD 1.1 vs mean 2.0, SD 1.0; P<.001). Participants who were younger or already trained scored consistently better. Although the phone number of the emergency medical dispatch center was well known in both groups (medical students, 75/80, 94% vs lay people, 51/62, 82%; P=.06), most participants were unable to identify the criteria used to recognize OHCA, and almost none were able to correctly reorganize the BLS sequence. Medical students felt more confident than lay people in their ability to perform resuscitation (mean 4.7, SD 2.2 vs mean 3.1, SD 2.1; P<.001). Female gender and older age were associated with lower confidence, while participants who had already attended a BLS course prior to taking the questionnaire felt more confident.

Conclusions

Although junior medical students were more knowledgeable than lay people regarding BLS procedures, the proportion of correct answers was low in both groups, and changes in BLS education policy should be considered.
Quantifying the Influence of Delay in Opinion Transmission of COVID-19 Information Propagation: Modeling Study
Authors: Yin Fulian , Shao Xueying , Ji Meiqi , Wu Jianhong
Published: January 2021

Background

In a fast-evolving public health crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic, multiple pieces of relevant information can be posted sequentially on a social media platform. The interval between subsequent posting times may have a different impact on the transmission and cross-propagation of the old and new information that results in a different peak value and a final size of forwarding users of the new information, depending on the content correlation and whether the new information is posted during the outbreak or quasi–steady-state phase of the old information.

Objective

This study aims to help in designing effective communication strategies to ensure information is delivered to the maximal number of users.

Methods

We developed and analyzed two classes of susceptible-forwarding-immune information propagation models with delay in transmission to describe the cross-propagation process of relevant information. A total of 28,661 retweets of typical information were posted frequently by each opinion leader related to COVID-19 with high influence (data acquisition up to February 19, 2020). The information was processed into discrete points with a frequency of 10 minutes, and the real data were fitted by the model numerical simulation. Furthermore, the influence of parameters on information dissemination and the design of a publishing strategy were analyzed.

Results

The current epidemic outbreak situation, epidemic prevention, and other related authoritative information cannot be timely and effectively browsed by the public. The ingenious use of information release intervals can effectively enhance the interaction between information and realize the effective diffusion of information. We parameterized our models using real data from Sina Microblog and used the parameterized models to define and evaluate mutual attractiveness indexes, and we used these indexes and parameter sensitivity analyses to inform optimal strategies for new information to be effectively propagated in the microblog. The results of the parameter analysis showed that using different attractiveness indexes as the key parameters can control the information transmission with different release intervals, so it is considered as a key link in the design of an information communication strategy. At the same time, the dynamic process of information was analyzed through index evaluation.

Conclusions

Our model can carry out an accurate numerical simulation of information at different release intervals and achieve a dynamic evaluation of information transmission by constructing an indicator system so as to provide theoretical support and strategic suggestions for government decision making. This study optimizes information posting strategies to maximize communication efforts for delivering key public health messages to the public for better outcomes of public health emergency management.
"Epidemiology of Diphtheria in Yemen, 2017-2018: Surveillance Data Analysis" (Preprint)
Authors: Alamad Mohammed , Khader Yousef S. Khader,
Published: January 2021

BACKGROUND

As a consequence of war and collapse of health system in Yemen, diphtheria fatal epidemic occurred at the end of 2017

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to describe epidemiology of diphtheria in Yemen, determine its incidence and case fatality rate

METHODS

Data of patients with diphtheria was obtained from the Diphtheria program in a form of line list which were collected on daily basis by electronic Diseases Early Warning System (eDEWS). Probable case was defined as any person suffered from laryngitis or pharyngitis or tonsillitis and adherent membrane of the tonsils, pharynx and/or nose. Confirmed case was defined as probable case that is laboratory-confirmed or linked epidemiologically to laboratory-confirmed case

RESULTS

A total of 2,243 cases were reported during the period between July 2017 and August 2018. About 49% of cases were males and 51% of cases were females. About 44% of cases were 5 -15 years old. Respiratory tract infection was the predominant symptoms (91%) followed by psedumembrane (81%). Based on the vaccination status, the percentage of partial vaccinated patients, vaccinated, unvaccinated, and unknown were 7%, 31%, 48% and 14%, respectively. The overall incidence of diphtheria was 8 per 100,000 of population. The highest incidence was among age group <15 years (11 per 100,000) and the lowest incidence was among age group of ≥ 15 years (5 per 100,000). The overall case fatality rate (CFR) among all age groups was 5%, being higher (10%) in the age group < 5 years. . Five of difficult to access governorates had double CFR (22%) which were Raymah, Abyan , Sa'ada, Lahj, Al Jawf.

CONCLUSIONS

: Diphtheria in Yemen in 2017-2018 affected a significant number of people. The majority of patients were partially or not vaccinated. Children ≤ 15 years were more affected with higher fatality among children < five years. Five of difficult to access governorates had double CFR of WHO estimate. To control diphthereia epidemic in Yemn, it is recommended to increase vaccination coverage through campaigns and boosters, increase public health awareness toward diphtheria and strengthen the surveillance system for early detection and immediate response and provide antitoxin for management of severe cases.
Performance of the Neonatal Tetanus Surveillance System (NTSS) in Sana'a, Yemen: Evaluation Study (Preprint)
Authors: Al-Jamrah Khaled Mohammed , Al Nabehi Basheer Abdulgalil , Almoayed Khaled Abdullah , Anam Labiba Saeed , Khader Yousef S
Published: January 2021

BACKGROUND

The Neonatal Tetanus Surveillance System (NTSS) in Yemen was established in 2009 to identify high-risk areas, determine trends, and evaluate elimination activities. Since its launch, the NTSS had never been evaluated.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to assess the performance of NTSS and determine its strengths and weaknesses to recommend improvements.

METHODS

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines were used for evaluating the NTSS. Stakeholders at the central, district, and facility levels were interviewed to rate the attributes of the NTSS. The percentage scores for attributes were ranked as poor (<60%), average (≥60% to <80%) and good (≥80%).

RESULTS

The overall usefulness score percentage was 38%, which indicates a poor performance. The performance of the NTSS was rated as average on flexibility (score percent: 68%) and acceptability (score percent: 64%) attributes and poor on stability (score percentage: 33%), simplicity (score percentage: 57%), and representativeness (score percentage: 39%) attributes. About 65% of investigation forms were completed within 48 hours of notification date. Data quality was poor, as 41% of the core variables were missing.

CONCLUSIONS

The overall performance of the NTSS was poor. Most of the system attributes require improvement, including stability, simplicity, quality of data, and completeness of investigation. To improve the performance of NTSS, the following are recommended: capacity building of staff (focal points), strengthening NTSS through technical support and government funding to ensure its sustainability, establishing electronic investigation forms for improving the system data quality, and expansion of NTSS coverage to include all private health care facilities.
Notes from the Field: The Combined Effects of Tocilizumab and Remdesivir in a Patient with Severe COVID-19 and Cytokine Release Syndrome (Preprint)
Authors: Ali Sabahat , Khalid Sundas , Afridi Maham , Akhtar Samar , Khader Yousef S , Akhtar Hashaam
Published: January 2021

UNSTRUCTURED

SARS-CoV-2 is known to cause severe bilateral pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome or COVID-19 in patients, which can be debilitating and even fatal. With no drugs or vaccines available yet, a wide range of treatment regimens used are being repurposed. The need of the hour is to analyze various currently available regimens and devise a treatment plan that is most effective for COVID-19. Here we describe the case of a 68-year-old man with hypertension and diabetes, exhibiting symptoms of cough and shortness of breath, who presented at the emergency department of our hospital. Chest computed tomography revealed bilateral ground glass opacities that were indicative of COVID-19, and a computed tomography score of 24 was indicative of severe pulmonary pneumonia. He tested positive for COVID-19. His treatment regimen included the use of convalescent plasma, oxygen therapy, steroids, high-dose antibiotics, broad-spectrum antiviral remdesivir, and anti–interleukin-6 monoclonal antibody (Tocilizumab) at various stages of the disease. Oxygen supplementation was required at the time of admission. The patient initially developed a cytokine release storm, and oxygen supplementation was initiated to manage his condition. Supportive care and multiple treatment regimens were used to successfully recover the patient’s health. With a rapid increase in number of confirmed cases worldwide, COVID-19 has become a major challenge to our health care system. With no available vaccines currently, the establishment of a combination of therapeutic drugs that effectively reduce disease progression is of utmost importance.
Анализ распределения антропологических материалов (костей посткраниального скелета) по курганным группам
Authors:   Kalmyk Scientific Center of the RAS, Bembeeva Lyubov’ A.
Published: January 2021

The article deals with the results of the distribution of the anthro¬pological materials, namely bones of postcranial skeleton. Due to the great amount of material, the cranial part of the collection will be analyzed separate¬ly. In the process of cataloging of the bone material kept at the depository of the Kalmyk Scientific Center of the RAS, there is the need for paying a special attention to the distribution of the existing anthropological materials into dif¬ferent mound groups, which were located in different landscape-geographical zones of the Republic of Kalmykia. The special attention was given to the rep¬resentation of the anthropological unit (which exactly skeleton bones) and also the integrity of the bone tissue. This criterion is important for the evaluation of the influence of soil characteristics on the integrity of the mineral and organic parts of the bones. The cultural-chronological belonging of the anthropologi¬cal material in question is given in a general way on the basis of field studies reports.
Рукопись Д. С. Бембеева-Сальмина «Ойратские триады»
Authors:   Kalmyk Scientific Center of the RAS, Mandzhikova Larisa Badmaevna
Published: January 2021

Introduction.Dorje Soktunovich Bembeyev-Salmin is one of the famous representatives of the old Kalmyk intelligentsia, a linguist, orientalist, public and political figure. His scientific works and biographical information are preserved in the private archive of D. S. Bembeev-Salmin in the Scientific Archive of the Kalmyk Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences (F. 10). This archive contains 12 items of storage for 1959. Among them are translations of works by Russian writers to the Kalmyk language, manuscripts of the text «The Orthography of the Oirat-Mongolian writing», Kalmyk folk proverbs and sayings, triads, pentastichesrecorded by D. S. Bembeev-Salmin. Of particular interest are the triads ― «orchlngingurvnts»(‘that there are three in the world’), recorded by him in 1931, they are one of the varieties of Kalmyk riddles. The themes of the riddles of the triads are diverse: everyday life, house hold activities, material culture, nature, family and kinship relations, ethics. D. S. Bembeyev-Salmin translated some of the three verses himself. This determines the value of the materials collected by him and their introduction into scientific circulation. The full text of the manuscript materials is published for the first time in this article.
Тюркские топонимы в языке писем калмыцкого хана Аюки (конец XVII – начало XVIII вв.)
Authors:   Kalmyk Scientific Center of the RAS, Gedeeva Darya B.
Published: January 2021

Currently a number of studies on Kalmyk toponymy have been carried out, materials for which were geographical maps, historical and fictional literature, information from informants. However, until now, no attempt has been made to study toponyms based on materials from archival documents of the 17th – 19th centuries (the period of the old-written Kalmyk language functioning). Archival documents, which have the exact date of compilation, provide valuable linguistic material for the study of Kalmyk place names in diachrony, allow studying the process of phonetic adaptation of foreign language toponyms in the Kalmyk language. Old texts contain not only names familiar to the modern generation, but also forgotten, unknown Kalmyk toponyms, which will complement the range of the studied material. The purpose of this article is to identify place names in the letters of Ayuki Khan and their historical and linguistic analysis. This article is based on the letters of Ayuki Khan, one of the most famous rulers of the Kalmyk Khanate, written in the period from 1685 to 1724 to representatives of the Russian administration. The letters are kept in the funds of the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts and the National Archives of the Republic of Kalmykia.
«Луу унжих» домгийн аман сурвалжийн шинжилгээ (= Исследование устной версии легенды о «Луу унжих» (смерче))
Authors:   Institute of Language and Literature of the Academy of Sciences of Mongolia, G. Batmunkh
Published: January 2021

The author in his article analyzes of the natural phenomenon that is reflected in oral legends named luu unzhikh (‘tornado’) on the materials of Mongolian Folklore samples and on the basis of the analysis of oral testimonies of the people who witnessed or heard about it, gives a scientific evaluation and specifies terminology. When analyzing the natural phenomenon that Mongols call luu unzhikh and reflect in legends it can be described as ‘a strong whirlwind that emerges in thundercloud, vertical to ground surface and sometimes detours irregular axis forming a vortex”.
Байгаль, экологийн сэдэвт монголын аман болон орчин үеийн яруу найргийн бүтээлүүд (= Произведения устной и современной поэзии о природе и экологии)
Authors:   Institute of Language and Literature of the Academy of Sciences of Mongolia, A. Alimaa , D. Tseveendorj ,   Institute of Language and Literature of the Academy of Sciences of Mongolia
Published: January 2021

The social priorities of literature are the tribune of environmental idiology. Today, in the Mongolian literature, the direction of ecocriticism has been established. This article makes an analysis in traditional Mongolian poetry and modern poetry on the topic of nature conservation and ecology. In Mongolian folklore praise the purity of nature and the motherland. His idol of pure nature is praise and praise. But each species has its own color. The topic of nature protection in Mongolian folklore (Orthodoxy, Magtaal-praise, Tuul-epic, du-folk songs and myth) is that a person should not control and control nature but understand and convert to nature as a living creature; means that people will have a natural relationship, a balanced and safe life. Probably, there is not a single poet of Mongolia who does not address the topic of “man and nature”. Each in its own way perceives nature, and each in its own way revealing to the reader the world of nature and himself in this world. The space of the “Mongolian spirit” created by the poet is filled with natural landscapes, people, and historical memory. His ancestors and descendants, the dead and living, are called upon to preserve this space and believing that nature and civilization can exist in equal harmony, he would like to reconcile them among themselves. Therefore, the poems of Mongolian poets writing about nature sound like a distress signal, like a cry for help to nature. This is a feature. That is why Mongolian writers have initiated environmental protection measures. They stopped the construction of a chemical plant on Lake Hubsgul. The lake is the main freshwater reservoir in the world. Mongolian writers also warned that the pine forest “Tuzin Nars” was destroyed in nature every year billions of tons of waste. With such an attitude of man to nature on Earth there will soon be nothing left. There are examples of the writer C. Galsan, who planted 360 thousand trees. In this article we propose that we do not limit the observation and conclusions about the mastery of writers to the nature of the writings, but take into account personal, mental and social changes in the environment.
Птицы в сказках о животных ойратов Синьцзяна
Authors:   Kalmyk Scientific Center of the RAS, Goryaevа Baira B. , Lan Yu ,   Institute of Ethnic Literature, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
Published: January 2021

Birds in fairytale traditions of different nations are indispensable characters of animal epos. In the fairytales of Oirats of Xinjiang and Kalmyks of Russia there is a wide representation of birds along with other animals. It is commonly known that a lie in all its varieties and forms is one of the essential compositional stems of the animal fairytale. Every character in a fairytale is capable of lying. It is the only and specific way of protection of weaker character from its physically stronger opponent. In the fairy tales about animals birds often surpass animals in wit and wisdom. Birds protect themselves in different ways, but predominantly use methods that put their opponents off guard. The analysis of the Xinjiang fairy tales about animals shows that storylines about birds that surpass much stronger animals by their wit and wisdom are widely presented there. Stories about animals often have etiological meaning explaining the specific behavior patterns and external distinctive features of the birds.
Песни о выселении калмыков и их возвращении из Сибири, записанные у информанта М. Б. Мудаевой
Authors:   Kalmyk Scientific Center of the RAS, Boldyreva Indzhir M.
Published: January 2021

Goals. The paper introduces texts of songs dealing with the Kalmyk deportation and its follow-up period recorded from M. B. Mudaeva. These songs illustrate the historical truth of 1943 nation-wide tragedy and enormous happiness of the ones to have survived and returned to ancestral lands. Materials. The work examines songs recorded by the scholars of Kalmyk Research Institute of Language, Literature and History (present-day Kalmyk Scientific Center of the RAS) from M. B. Mudaeva during the 1960 folklore research expedition in Yashkulsky District. The song Hal’mgudyg nүүlһsnә tusk dun (‘Song of the Kalmyk Deportation’) deals with the deportation itself, and the song Hal’mgud Sibrәs irsnә tusk dun (‘Song of the Kalmyks’ Arrival from Siberia’) depicts the successful return and universal joy of ones who after all reached their dear steppe. Conclusions. The work introduces the songs about deportation of Kalmyks and their return to their native land that have not been published before.
Экономическая безопасность и миграционные процессы в полиэтничном регионе РФ
Authors:   Kalmyk Scientific Center of the RAS, Namrueva Ludmila V.
Published: January 2021

The object of our research — the Republic of Kalmykia — is notable for its ethno-cultural and ethno-religious characteristics. This factor has to be reflected in the scientific analysis for the evaluation of economic security as a result of integrative processes. Representatives of about one hundred ethnic groups and three world religions (Buddhism, Christianity and Islam) peacefully coexist and successfully interact in the region. The republic is developing under the influence of globalizing world community. One of its features is active migration: moving of people out of the republic and people coming from neighboring regions and also from near and far abroad. The article gives the results of 2019 poll that define the perception of migrant workers by the hosting community.
Las relaciones entre los sentidos de la actividad de estudio y el pensamiento teórico
Authors: García Cañedo Rafael , Zanelato Eliéte , Urt Sônia da Cunha
Published: January 2021

En este trabajo nos proponemos desde el enfoque histórico-cultural, realizar un estudio teórico acerca dos sentidos de la actividad de estudio, especialmente en las tareas escolares propuestas pelos profesores, en intuito de posibilitar el desarrollo del pensamiento teórico. En el transcurso del texto nos dedicamos a resolver el siguiente problema: ¿Qué son los sentidos de la actividad de estudio? ¿ejercen influencia en la ejecución de las tareas pedagógicas? En la búsqueda de respuestas traemos los estudios de Leontiev (1978; 2004), Davidov (1978), Davidov y Slobódchikov (1991). Evidenciamos que las formas como el profesor propone las tareas son importantes para la formación de motivos para la actividad de estudio, de sentidos y de desarrollo del pensamiento teórico.
Educação Popular Negra
Authors: Silva Natalino Neves da
Published: January 2021

Neste ensaio, a cultura e a educação popular realizada pela população negra são entendidas no contexto de lutas políticas de libertação e emancipação. Nesse contexto, indaga-se: essas lutas ocasionam saberes de libertação e emancipatórios? A elaboração conceitual Educação Popular Negra (EPN) emerge como modo de apreender esses saberes gerados que buscam reconhecer e valorizar determinada produção sociopolítica e cultural afrodiaspórica. As ideias foram desenvolvidas por meio da pesquisa bibliográfica. Para elucidar a operacionalidade conceitual da EPN relacionada às práticas sociais buscou analisar, por meio da técnica análise de conteúdos, três estudos que pautam o reconhecimento da diversidade étnico-racial. As reflexões apontam que é na concretização de práticas sociais voltadas para a cultura popular negra que são constituídos, organizados e compartilhados os saberes de libertação e emancipatórios relacionados ao reconhecimento e à valorização da cultura africana e afro-brasileira.
Futuro do trabalho e da educação
Authors: Lima Marcelo
Published: January 2021

O contato direto e precoce com o trabalho me antecipou inquietudes sobre requisitos de acesso ao emprego. Das dúvidas sobre a validade da Teoria do Capital Humano, que confirmaria os efeitos do conhecimento escolar para o acesso ao trabalho formal, transitei das experiências dramáticas do desemprego para questões mais complexas, advindas da teoria. Com Antunes e Braga (2009), e em contraposição a Castells (2007), mas, sobretudo, alinhado à Marx (2008) e Mészáros (2008), consideramos haver uma tendência de aprofundamento não linear, mas real, da polarização das qualificações; na absorção progressiva, mas finita, do trabalho vivo pelo trabalho morto; na ampliação residual do trabalho complexo e imaterial; na precarização e flexibilização do trabalho. A partir da teoria resisto às apologias da sociedade do conhecimento de pleno emprego (muito lazer e alta produtividade), de sorte que, pela pesquisa antevejo a combinação do movimento singular, “para frente”, das forças produtivas, e universal, “para trás”, das relações sociais de produção.