bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Modelling Small-scale Storage Interventions in Semi-Arid India at the Basin Scale
Authors: Horan Robyn , Wable Pawan , Srinivasan Veena , Baron Helen , Keller Virginie D. J. , Garg Kaushal K. , Rickards Nathan , Simpson Mike , Houghton-Carr Helen , Rees Gwyn
Published: March 2021

Recently, there has been renewed interest in the performance, functionality, and sustainability of traditional small-scale storage interventions (check dams, farm bunds and tanks) used across India for the improvement of local water security. The Central Groundwater Board of India is en-couraging the construction of such interventions for the alleviation of water scarcity. It is of critical importance to understand the hydrological effect of these interventions at basin scales to maximise their effectiveness. The quantification of small-scale interventions in hydrological modelling is often neglected, especially in large-scale modelling exercises. A bespoke version of the GWAVA model was developed to assess the impact of interventions on the water balance of the Cauvery Basin and two smaller sub-catchments. Model results demonstrate that farm bunds appear to have a negligible effect on the estimated average annual simulated streamflow at the outlets of the two sub-catchments and the basin whereas tanks and check dams have a more significant effect. In-terventions generally were found to increase evaporation losses across the catchment. The model adaption used in this study provides a step-change in the conceptualisation and quantification of the consequences of small-scale storage interventions in large- or basin-scale hydrological models.
2La Paracentric Chromosomal Inversion and Overexpressed Metabolic Genes Enhance Thermotolerance and Pyrethroid Resistance in the Major Malaria Vector Anopheles gambiae
Authors: Ibrahim Sulaiman S. , Mukhtar Muhammad M. , Muhammad Abdullahi , Wondji Charles S.
Published: March 2021

Climate change is impacting the spread/intensity of vector-borne diseases, including malaria, and accelerating evolutionary/adaptive changes in vector species. These changes including chromoso-mal inversions and overexpression and/or changes in allele frequencies of thermotoler-ance-associated genes, may facilitate insecticide resistance through pleiotropy. This study investi-gated the impact of thermotolerance on pyrethroid resistance in four populations of malaria vector An. gambiae, from savanna/sub-Sahel of northern Nigeria. Anopheles coluzzii and An. gambiae were the only malaria vectors found, sympatric in all the sites, with the former species predominant. High thermotolerance was observed, with no mortality at 38°C, and LT50 of ~44°C. Significantly high permethrin resistance was observed (mortality <50%) in heat-hardened (44°C) larvae from two sites, BUK and Pantami, compared with control, and heat-hardened adult females from Auyo (mortality = 3.00%±1.20, χ2 = 5.83, p<0.01) compared with control (12.00%±4.65). The 2La chromosomal inver-sion was detected at ~50% in larvae and 58% in adult females. Significant association was observed (OR = 7.2, p<0.03) between permethrin resistance and 2La/+a rearrangement compared with 2L+a/+a, in BUK larvae. For all sites permethrin resistance correlated with 2La/a homozygosity in adult fe-males [OR = 5.02, p=0.01). qRT-PCR identified 6 genes commonly induced/overexpressed, including heat shock protein 70 (AGAP004581) which was 2468x and 5x overexpressed in heat-hardened and permethrin-resistant females, respectively, trehalose-6-phosphate synthase (AGAP008227), and ionotropic glutamate receptor genes, IR25a (AGAP010272) and IR21a (AGAP008511). This study highlights challenges associated with insecticide-based malaria vector control, and the epidemiological significance of taking climate variables into account for design/choice of control measures.
A call for Linguistic Awareness in the Age of Pandemic: a Brief study of a Misleading Term in a Trending Covid19- Related Article in Nature Human Behavior
Authors: daneshzadeh soheil
Published: March 2021

In an insightful article published in Nature human behavior on November 2020, the effectiveness of 46 “non-pharmaceutical interventions” (NPI) regarding Covid-19 pandemic have been compared1. One of these 46 categories, the one which is ranked as the most effective measure, is named “small gatherings cancelation”. In the discussion section of that article, the authors introduce a list of what they probably assume to be representative examples of this category, namely, “closures of shops”, “closure of restaurants,” “mandatory home–working”, “gathering of 50 people or less” and so on. The name that the authors have given to this category could give rise to confusions and misunderstandings. We used corpus analysis to show that “small gathering” is commonly used to denote a planned or spontaneous “event”, and consequently does not convey what the authors intend this term to cover as its most representative instances i.e., Simultaneous presence of people (crowd) in shops or offices. Furthermore, taking a top-down approach, we focused on the information which was provided in reference material like CDC and WHO documents. The analysis showed that “small gatherings” is encoded in those sources to denote “events” and “small gatherings cancelation” is used to denote cancelling preplanned events. In conclusion, neither unspecialized language nor official/institutional discourse uses “small gathering” the way that the authors of the aforementioned article use it i.e., to refer to simultaneous presence of people (crowd) in shops or offices. Therefore, when language users come across this phrase, if they do not read the entire article, the only semantic frame that is evoked in their mind would be that of a festive or social “event” rather than of crowded shops or offices; this misunderstanding is cognitively justified and consequently changing this terminology is recommended.
Telenursing as a New Nursing Paradigm in the 21 Century: A Literature Review
Authors: Afik Al , Glorino Rumambo Pandin Moses
Published: March 2021

Nursing is a part of health services that serves individuals, groups and communities. In this 21st century the need for nursing services has changed rapidly and in a complex manner. Physical limitations, is on should to be considered, while the implementation and maintenance of patient-centered service infrastructure still have to be recked. The aim of this literature review is to identify the role of telenursing in nursing services for patients. This language method uses literature reviews which are summaries of 10 articles in the publication years of 2019, 2020, and 2021 on 3 search databases, namely Scopus, Science Direct, and SAGE. This review used the new Joanna Briggs Institute and Prisma. The eligibility of these studies were from its title, abstract, research methodology, results, and discussion. The results of the review were presented in narrative form. The results of a review of 10 articles found that the form of nursing services with telenursing could prove long-distance service, time efficiency and funding allocation, but in terms of quality it had been not satisfactory related to its physical implementation of nursing service. Conclusion: The nursing paradigm in the 21st century global era has been developed with the help of technology to meet the needs of distance efficiency and cost limitations. Thus, telenursing is a solution to answer these challenges.
Role of the Non-Canonical RNAi Pathway in the Antifungal Resistance and Virulence of Mucorales
Authors: Cánovas-Márquez José Tomás , Navarro-Mendoza María Isabel , Pérez-Arques Carlos , Lax Carlos , Tahiri Ghizlane , Pérez-Ruiz1 José Antonio , Lorenzo-Gutiérrez Damaris , Calo Silvia , López-García Sergio , Navarro Eusebio , Nicolás Francisco Esteban , Garre Victoriano , Murcia-Flores Laura
Published: March 2021

Mucorales are the causal agents for the lethal disease known as mucormycosis. Mortality rates of mucormycosis can reach up to 90%, due to the mucoralean antifungal drug resistance and the lack of effective therapies. A concerning urgency among the medical and scientific community claims to find targets for the development of new treatments. Here, we reviewed different studies de-scribing the role and machinery of a novel non-canonical RNAi pathway (NCRIP) only conserved in Mucorales. Its non-canonical features are the independence of Dicer and Argonautes proteins. Conversely, NCRIP relies on RNA-dependent RNA Polymerases and an atypical ribonuclease III (RNaseIII). NCRIP regulates the expression of mRNAs by degrading them in a specific manner. Its mechanism binds dsRNA but only cuts ssRNA. NCRIP exhibits a diversity of functional roles. It represses the epimutational pathway and the lack of NCRIP increases the generation of drug resistant strains. NCRIP also regulates the control of retrotransposons expression, playing an essential role in genome stability. Finally, NCRIP regulates the response during phagocytosis, affecting the multifactorial process of virulence. These critical NCRIP roles in virulence and antifungal drug resistance, along with its exclusive presence in Mucorales, mark this pathway as a promising target to fight against mucormycosis.
Analytical Modeling of the Temporal Evolution of Epidemics Outbreaks Accounting for Vaccinations
Authors: Schlickeiser Reinhard , Kröger Martin
Published: March 2021

With the now available vaccination against Covid-19 it is quantitatively explored how vaccination campaigns influence the mathematical modeling of epidemics. The standard susceptible-infectious-recovered/removed (SIR) epidemic model is extended to the fourth compartment V of vaccinated persons and the vaccination rate v(t) that regulates the relation between susceptible and vaccinated persons. The vaccination rate v(t) competes with the infection (a(t)) and recovery (\mu(t)) rates in determining the time evolution of epidemics. In order for a pandemic outburst with rising rates of new infections it is required that k+b<1-2\eta, where k=\mu_0/a_0 and b=v_0/a_0 denote the initial ratios of the three rates, respectively, and \eta << 1 is the initial fraction of infected persons. Exact analytical inverse solutions t(Q) for all relevant quantities Q=[S,I,R,V] of the resulting SIRV-model in terms of Lambert functions are derived for the semi-time case with time-independent ratios k and b between the recovery and vaccination rates to the infection rate, respectively. These inverse solutions can be approximated with high accuracy yielding the explicit time-dependences Q(t) by inverting the Lambert functions. The values of the three parameters k, b and \eta completely determine the reduced time evolution the SIRV-quantities Q(\tau). The influence of vaccinations on the total cumulative number and the maximum rate of new infections in different countries is calculated by comparing with monitored real time Covid-19 data. The reduction in the final cumulative fraction of infected persons and in the maximum daily rate of new infections is quantitatively determined by using the actual pandemic parameters in different countries. Moreover, a new criterion is developed that decides on the occurrence of future Covid-19 waves in these countries. Apart from Israel this can happen in all countries considered.
The Recent Progress of Natural Source and Manufacturing Process of Biodiesel: A Review
Authors: Supriyanto Eko , Sentanuhady Jayan , Dwiputra Ariyana , Permana Ari , Muflikhun Muhammad Akhsin
Published: March 2021

Biodiesel has caught the attention of many researchers because it has great potential to be sustainable fossil fuel substitute. Biodiesel has non-toxic and renewable nature and has been proven to emit less amount of environmentally harmful emissions such as hydrocarbons (HC), and carbon monoxide (CO), as well as smoke particles during combustion. Problems related to global warming caused by greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions could also be solved by utilizing biodiesel as a daily energy source. However, the expensive cost of biodiesel production, mainly because of the cost of natural feedstock, holds the potential of biodiesel commercialization. The selection of natural sources of biodiesel should be made with observations from economic, agricultural, and technical perspectives to obtain one feasible biodiesel with superior characteristics. This review paper presents a detailed overview of various natural sources, their physicochemical properties, as well as the performance, emission, and combustion characteristics of biodiesel when used in a diesel engine. The recent progress in studies about natural feedstocks and manufacturing methods used in biodiesel production were evaluated in detail. Finally, the findings of the present work reveal that transesterification is currently the most superior and commonly used biodiesel production method compared to other methods available.
Microneedle Arrays for Sampling and Sensing Dermal Interstitial Fluid
Authors: Kashaninejad Navid , Munaz Ahmed , Moghadas Hajar , Yadav Sharda , Umer Muhammad , Nguyen Nam-Trung
Published: March 2021

Dermal interstitial fluid (ISF) is a novel source of biomarkers that can be considered as an alternative to blood sampling for disease diagnosis and treatment. Nevertheless, in vivo extraction and analysis of ISF are challenging. On the other hand, microneedle (MN) technology can address most of the challenges associated with dermal ISF extraction and is well-suited for long-term, continuous ISF monitoring as well as in situ detection. In this review, we first briefly summarise the different dermal ISF collection methods and compare them with MN methods. Next, we elaborate on the design considerations and biocompatibility of MNs. Subsequently, the fabrication technologies of various MNs used for dermal ISF extraction, including solid MNs, hollow MNs, porous MNs and hydrogel MNs, are thoroughly explained. In addition, different sensing mechanisms of ISF detection will be discussed in detail. Subsequently, we identify the challenges and propose the possible solutions associated with ISF extraction. A detailed investigation is provided for the transport and sampling mechanism of ISF in vivo. Also, the current in vitro skin model integrated with the MN arrays will be discussed. Finally, future directions to develop a point-of-care (POC) device to sample ISF are proposed.
Computational Architecture Mediating Inhibitory Control of Coordinated Eye-Hand Movements
Authors: Jana Sumitash , Gopal Atul , Murthy Aditya
Published: March 2021

Significant progress has been made in understanding the computational and neural architecture that mediates eye and hand movements made in isolation. However, less is known about the mechanisms that control these movements when they are coordinated. Here, we outline our computational approaches using accumulation-to-threshold and race-to-threshold models to elucidate the mechanisms that initiate and inhibit these movements. We suggest that, depending on the behavioral context, the initiation and inhibition of coordinated eye-hand movements can operate in two modes- coupled and decoupled. The coupled-mode operates when the task context requires a tight coupling between the effectors; a common command initiates both effectors, and a unitary inhibitory process is responsible for stopping them. Conversely, the decoupled mode operates when the task context demands weaker coupling between the effectors; separate commands initiate the eye and hand, and separate inhibitory processes are responsible for stopping them. We hypothesize that higher-order control processes assess the behavioral context and choose the most appropriate mode. This computational architecture can explain heterogeneous results observed across many studies that have investigated the control of coordinated eye-hand movements and may also serve as a general framework to understand the control of complex multi-effector movements.
Patient-Ventilator Interaction Testing Using the Electro- mechanical Lung Simulator xPULM™during V/A-C and PSV Ventilation Mode
Authors: Pasteka Richard , Santos da Costa Joao Pedro , Barros Nelson , Kolar Radim , Forjan Mathias
Published: March 2021

During mechanical ventilation, a disparity between flow, pressure or volume demands of the patient and the assistance delivered by the mechanical ventilator often occurs. Asynchrony effect and ventilator performance are frequently studied from ICU datasets or using commercially available lung simulators and test lungs. This paper introduces an alternative approach of simulating and evaluating patient-ventilator interactions with high fidelity using the electro-mechanical lung simulator xPULM™ under selected conditions. The xPULM™ approximates respiratory activities of a patient during alternating phases of spontaneous breathing and apnoea intervals while connected to a mechanical ventilator. Focusing on different triggering events, volume assist-controlled (V/A-C) and pressure support ventilation (PSV) modes were chosen to test patient-ventilator interactions. In V/A-C mode a double-triggering was detected every third breathing cycle leading to an asynchrony index of 16.67%, being classified as severe. This asynchrony causes a major increase of Peak Inspiratory Pressure PIP = 12.80 ± 1.39 cmH2O and Peak Expiratory Flow PEF = -18.33 ± 1.13 L/min when compared to synchronous phases of the breathing simulation. Additionally, events of premature cycling were observed during PSV mode. In this mode, the peak delivered volume during simulated spontaneous breathing phases almost doubles compared to apnoea phases. The presented approach demonstrates the possibility of simulating and evaluating disparities in fundamental ventilation characteristics caused by double-triggering and premature cycling under V/A-C and PSV ventilation modes. Various dynamic clinical situations can be approximated and could help to identify undesired patient-ventilation interactions in the future. Rapidly manufactured ventilator systems could also be tested using this approach.
Segmental Evaluation of Thoracic Aortic Calcium and their Relations with Cardiovascular Risk Factors in the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil)
Authors: Pedrosa Jesiana Ferreira , Brant Luisa Campos Caldeira , Aquino Stephanie Alves de , Ribeiro Antonio Luiz , Barreto Sandhi Maria
Published: March 2021

Thoracic aortic calcium (TAC) appears to be a subclinical marker of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and to predict CV mortality. However, studies on TAC use tomographic scans obtained for coronary artery calcium (CAC) score, which does not include the aortic arch. This study evaluates TAC prevalence in aortic arch (AAC), ascending (ATAC) and descending thoracic aorta (DTAC) and verify whether they are associated with the same CV risk factors. Cross-sectional analysis, including 2,427 participants (mean age 55.6 ± 8.7; 54,1% women) of the ELSA-Brasil cohort. Nonenhanced ECG-gated tomographies were performed in 2015-2016. Multivariable logistic regression estimated the CV risk factors associated with calcium in each segment. Overall prevalence of ATAC, AAC and DTAC was, 23,1%, 62.1%, and 31.2%, respectively. About 90.4% of the individuals with TAC had AAC and only 19.5% had calcium in all segments. In the multivariable analysis, increasing age, lower levels of schooling, current smoking, higher body mass index, and hypertension remained associated with calcium in all segments. No sex or race/ethnicity differences were found in any aortic segment. Diabetes and Dyslipidemia were associated with ATAC and DTAC, but not with AAC, suggesting that AAC may reflect an overlap of mechanisms that impact vascular health, including atherosclerosis.
Digital Citizens’ Feelings in National #Covid19 Campaigns in Spain
Authors: Santoveña-Casal Sonia , Gil-Quintana Javier , Ramos Laura
Published: March 2021

(1) Background: Spain launched an official campaign, #EsteVirusLoParamosUnidos, to try and unite the efforts of the entire country through citizen cooperation to combat coronavirus. The research goal is to analyze the Twitter campaign’s repercussion on general citizen feeling. (2) Methods: The research is based on a composite design that triangulates from a theoretical model, a quantitative analysis and a qualitative analysis. (3) Results: Of the 7357 tweets in the sample, 72.32% were found to be retweets. Four content families were extracted: politics, education, messages to society and defense of occupational groups. The feelings expressed ranged along a continuum, from unity, admiration and support at one end to discontent and criticism regarding the health situation at the other. (4) Conclusions: The development of networked sociopolitical and technical measures that enable citizen participation facilitates the development of new patterns of interaction between governments and digital citizens, increasing citizens’ possibilities of influencing the public agenda and therefore strengthening citizen engagement vis-à-vis such situations.
Pengaplikasian Building Information Modeling (BIM) dalam Rancangan Pembangunan Gedung Induk Universitas Aisyiyah Surakarta
Authors: Wibowo Wibowo , Purwanto Edy , Winarno Ahmad Yusuf
Published: March 2021

Pengaplikasian BIM dalam suatu perencanaan dan simulasi pelaksanaan pembangunan sebuah gedung 3 lantai. Tujuan yang ingin dicapai adalah mampu memodelkan bangunan dalam bentuk 3 D dan mengambil output berupa detail gambar 2D, hitungan volume, dan membuat simulasi pelaksanaan proyek.
Kecenderungan Masyarakat Dalam Memilih Apartemen di Kota Tangerang Menggunakan Metode Fuzzy Hierarchy Process (F-AHP)
Authors: Salsabila Athaya , Setiono Setiono , Sugiyarto Sugiyarto
Published: March 2021

Abstrak

Kebutuhan akan tempat tinggal merupakan suatu hal yang sangat penting bagi masyarakat  pada perkembangan dunia modern dan globalisasi saat ini. Hal ini menyebabkan permintaan kebutuhan masyarakat di bidang properti semakin meningkat. Namun tingkat keinginan masyarakat tidak sebanding dengan luas lahan yang tersedia dan juga mengakibatkan tingginya harga lahan. Oleh sebab itu, hunian vertikal seperti apartemen adalah pilihan yang menarik bagi masyarakat. Hal ini menjadi daya tarik developer untuk berlomba-lomba mendirikan apartemen dengan hunian yang terjangkau dan fasilitas yang memadai. Maka dari itu, perlunya melakukan penelitian terkait kecenderungan masyarakat dalam pememilihan apartemen yang selaras dengan kebutuhan masyarakat. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mencari faktor apa saja yang paling berpengaruh pada masyarakat dalam memilih sebuah apartemen. Metode yang digunakan pada penelitian ini adalah metode Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (F-AHP) dengan pengisian kuisioner oleh masyarakat. Serta program yang digunakan adalah program software Microsoft Excel 2010. Hasil dari pengolahan data yang telah dilakukan, faktor yang memiliki bobot paling besar dan juga merupakan faktor yang paling berpengaruh pada masyarakat dalam pemilihan apartemen adalah faktor legalitas.

 

Kata Kunci : Kecenderungan Masyarakat, Metode Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (F-AHP), Pemilihan Apartemen
Aldosterone: Implications in Diabetic Nephropathy
Authors:   Department of Pharmacy, University of Karachi, Pakistan., Rehman Fasiha Abdul ,   Clinertia Research Services, Karachi, Pakistan, Razzak Zaid Abdul ,   Department of Neuropharmacology, International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, Pakistan., Hussain Syed Saad ,   Department of Pharmacy, IQRA University, Karachi, Pakistan
Published: March 2021

Abstract: Objective: The focus of this review is to summarize the recent advancement to understand the molecular pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy (DN). Also, to highlight the role of abnormal aldosterone secretion on the development and progression of diabetic nephropathy. Background: Diabetic Nephropathy (DN) is a progressive disease of nephron due to slow progressive failure of kidney tubule to perform its filtration process. It is often associated with proteinuria and glomerular stiffening which eventually leads to low glomerular filtration rate, finally succumbs the patient toward the end stage of kidney disease. The abnormal level of aldosterone in diabetes mellitus is a fatal combination to combat because of progressive development of diabetic nephropathy. Methods: We reviewed the literatures for implications of aldosterone in diabetic nephropathy. The literatures that were related to different aspects of diabetic nephropathy in relation to aldosterone were analyzed and summarized in this review article. Result & Conclusion: Aldosterone, a mineralocorticoid of corticosteroid hormones releases under the influence of adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) from zona glomerulosa of adrenal gland of kidney. In normal physiological condition it regulates the renin-angiotensin system of kidney, which regulates the resorption and conservation of sodium (Na+), potassium (K+) ions and water (H2O) from distal tubule. Aldosterone secretion, despite an important regulator to maintain the equilibrium of water and ions in the body, its non-regulated higher secretion gives rise to various pathological conditions. Additionally, we also discuss the risk factors associated with the use of mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist and renin-angiotensin-aldosterone therapy, and suggesting the need of robust and controlled methods to administer these drugs. Keywords: Aldosterone, Diabetic nephropathy (DN), Diabetes mellitus, Mmineralocorticoid receptor antagonists, Renin angiotensin system
Aquatic Oligochaeta (Annalida:Clitellata) as Bio Indication for Sediment Quality Assessment in Tigris River Within Baghdad City /Iraq
Authors: Aljaff Dlovan kamal , Jaweir H. J.
Published: March 2021

Aquatic Oligochaeta is an important group of Macroinvertebrates that has been very remarkable as bioindicators for assessing water pollution and determining its degree in water bodies. Hence, the idea of the current study aims at studying the impact of Baghdad effluents on the Tigris River by using oligochaetes community as bioindicators . For this purpose, four sites along the inside of Baghdad has been chosen. Site S1 has been located upstream, site S2 and S3 has been at midstream and site S4 at the downstream of the River.This investigation has used different types of biological indicators, including the  percentage of oligochaeta  within benthic invertebrates, which ranged from 49.2-51.28%. The highest percentage of the tubificid worms in the benthic samples has been 26.95% and recorded at S4, while the lowest percentage has been 14.45% recorded at S1. Pollution index D ranged between 0.34 and 0.52. The highest value of the ratio of  oligochaeta to Chironomidae larvae has been 3.5 recorded at S4, while the lowest value has been 2.6 reported at S1. The percentage of L. hoffmeisteri within the oligochaetes community has been from 35-56%.  The highest value of  biological quality index Io has been   9.89  recorded at S1, and the lowest value has been (5.57)  recorded in S4.  A Composite index of Biological quality  (Eo) index recorded as C5 in S1 and C4,D3 and E3 in the other sites.  Oligochaeta index of sediment bioindication (IOBS) values ranged between 2.55 at S1 and 1.15 at S4. The tubicid index of sediment TUSP reported at d the highest value (52.57%) at  S4 where as the lowest value has been 28.68% at S1. The highest species richness value has been 7.35  recorded at S1 and the lowest value has been 6.12 at S3. Shannon- Weiner diversity index (H) ranged from 0.06-0.049 Bit/ind. Species uniformity index (E) has been 0.018-0.016.It is clear from the results that most of the biological indices indicate that the Tigris River sediment has been slightly impacted by anthropogenic activity during its passage through the Capital Baghdad.  S1 is considered as a reference site, as it has presented the first point of entry of the Tigris River to Baghdad and then the sediment gradually  has become polluted to reach its highest degree in  the last site S4 after passing through several  slightly polluted sites.
Insecticidal Activity of Some Chemicals of Mosquitoes Culex pipiens molestus Forskal
Authors: Yaseen Aulfat Tahseen , Sulaiman Khalida  Abdullah
Published: March 2021

The chemicals materials were used to study the effect of citric acid, detergents, sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate on the vitality of the third stage of mosquito Culex pipiens molestus. The highest larvicidal efficacy was established from citric acid solution followed by detergents solution, sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate with (LC50) values 2096, 2715, 13930, 13960 ppm respectively. The concentration of 1000 ppm of citric acid showed a fatal effect on the third stage larvae of mosquitoes which gave a mortality percent of 100% on the second day of the treatment. It was followed by the concentrations of 750 ppm and 500 ppm respectively which caused the death of all larvae on the fifth and sixth days respectively. On the other hand, the concentration of 1500 ppm for the detergents killed 100% of the larvae on the third day of treatment. Then, it was followed by the concentration of 1000 ppm, leading to the destruction of all the larvae on the fifth day of the exposure. As for the use of sodium carbonate, the mortality percentage reached to 100% at a concentration of 8000 ppm on the third day of treatment followed by the concentration of 6000 ppm, which led to a 100% killing rate on the sixth day of treatment. While the less impact of studied chemicals was sodium bicarbonate, the 8000 ppm concentration of which caused 84.21% mortality rate of larvae on the fourth day of treatment.
Determining the Quality and Quantity of Bioethanol Production using Golden Shower (Cassica fistula) Fruit
Authors: Rico Amy Lizbeth J.
Published: March 2021

Depletion of fossil fuel is one of the main reasons why the bioethanol has become popular. It is a renewable energy source. In order to meet the great demand of bioethanol, it is best that the bioethanol production is from cheap raw materials. Since the golden shower fruit is not being utilized and is considered as waste material, hence, this study was conducted to make use of the large volume of the residue as feedstock to test its potential for bioethanol extraction.The main goal of this study is to obtain the most volume of bioethanol from the golden shower fruit liquid residue by the factors, days of fermentation (3, 5, and 7 days) and sugar concentration (15, 20 and 25 brix) of the liquid residue. Also, part of the study is to compute the cost of production in extracting bioethanol from the golden shower fruit. Each treatment was replicated three (3) times. The Two-Factorial Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) of the Complete Randomized Design (CRD) was used to analyze the treatments. Treatments means were compared using the Duncan’s Multiple Range Test (DMRT).
Solving Fractional Damped Burgers' Equation Approximately by Using The Sumudu Transform (ST) Method
Authors: Abd AL- Hussein Wurood Riyadh , Fawzi Rand Muhaned
Published: March 2021

In this work, the fractional damped Burger's equation (FDBE) formula    = 0,
Fixed Point Theorems in General Metric Space with an Application
Authors: Luaibi Hadeel hussein , Abed Salwa Salman
Published: March 2021

This paper aims to prove an existence theorem for Voltera-type equation in a generalized G- metric space, called the -metric space, where the fixed-point theorem in - metric space is discussed and its application.  First, a new contraction of Hardy-Rogess type is presented and also then fixed point theorem is established for these contractions in the setup of -metric spaces. As application, an existence result for Voltera integral equation is obtained.
Local Dependence for Bivariate Weibull Distributions Created by Archimedean Copula
Authors: Ahmed Swar O. , Fatah Khwazbeen S. , Esa Sahib
Published: March 2021

In multivariate survival analysis, estimating the multivariate distribution functions and then measuring the association between survival times are of great interest. Copula functions, such as Archimedean Copulas, are commonly used to estimate the unknown bivariate distributions based on known marginal functions. In this paper the feasibility of using the idea of local dependence to identify the most efficient copula model, which is used to construct a bivariate Weibull distribution for bivariate Survival times, among some Archimedean copulas is explored. Furthermore, to evaluate the efficiency of the proposed procedure, a simulation study is implemented. It is shown that this approach is useful for practical situations and applicable for real datasets. Moreover, when the proposed procedure implemented on Diabetic Retinopathy Study (DRS) data, it is found that treated eyes have greater chance for non-blindness compared to untreated eyes.
Investigating the Sensitivity Effect of Actuarial Assumptions on Pension Liabilities in Malaysia
Authors: Ibrahim Rose Irnawaty , Nordin Norazmir Mohd , Chek Mohd Zaki Awang
Published: March 2021

Malaysia will be an ageing population by 2030 as the number of those aged 60 years and above has increased drastically from 6.2 percent in 2000 and is expected to reach 13.6 percent by 2030. There are many challenges that will be faced due to the ageing population, one of which is the increasing cost of pensions in the future. In view of that, it is necessary to investigate the effect of actuarial assumptions on pension liabilities under the perspective of ageing. To estimate the pension liabilities, the Projected Unit Credit method is used in the study and commutation functions are employed in the process. Demographic risk and salary risk have been identified as major risks in analyzing pension liabilities in this study. The sensitivity analyses will be conducted in the study to investigate how the pension liabilities will be affected when these major risks changes. This study analyzes nine scenarios under assumptions in the actuarial model, namely age of retirement, rate of mortality and rate of salary growth. The result of this study indicates that the implied mortality experience and salary growth rate assumptions have a significant impact on pension liabilities.
Approximate Analytical Solutions of Bright Optical Soliton for Nonlinear Schrödinger Equation of Power Law Nonlinearity
Authors: Hussin Che Haziqah Che , Azmi Amirah , Ismail Ahmad Izani Md , Kilicman Adem , Hashim Ishak
Published: March 2021

This paper introduces the Multistep Modified Reduced Differential Transform Method (MMRDTM). It is applied to approximate the solution for Nonlinear Schrodinger Equations (NLSEs) of power law nonlinearity. The proposed method has some advantages. An analytical approximation can be generated in a fast converging series by applying the proposed approach. On top of that, the number of computed terms is also significantly reduced. Compared to the RDTM, the nonlinear term in this method is replaced by related Adomian polynomials prior to the implementation of a multistep approach. As a consequence, only a smaller number of NLSE computed terms are required in the attained approximation. Moreover, the approximation also converges rapidly over a wide time frame. Two examples are provided for showing the ability and advantages of the proposed method to approximate the solution of the power law nonlinearity of NLSEs. For pictorial representation, graphical inputs are included to represent the solution and show the precision as well as the validity of the MMRDTM.
Solvability of Some Types for Multi-fractional Integro-Partial Differential Equation
Authors: Jabbar Ali Kadhim , Hasan Sameer Qasim
Published: March 2021

In this article, the solvability of some proposal types of the multi-fractional integro-partial differential system has been discussed in details by using the concept of abstract Cauchy problem and certain semigroup operators and some necessary and sufficient conditions.
The impact of microfinance to borrowers. business, personal and financial status and the mediating role of service satisfaction: evidence from the Philippines
Authors: Gabriel Arneil Garcia , Suyu Jeff B. , Fronda Jennifer G. , Ramos Vilma
Published: March 2021

The backbone of the economy of a developing country like the Philippines is its small and medium enterprises relying on soft loans provided by microfinance institutions. To assess the level of satisfaction of microfinance borrowers on the services of microfinance institution and their services as well as its impact to the business, personal and financial status are necessary for the continued operation of this industry. The objective of this study is to measure the customer level of satisfaction of the services of a microfinance institution in the Philippines and determine its impacts on the customers’ small scale business. The study used a mixed of qualitative and quantitative research methods to gather data and analyze them. The study found that the micro finance institution is giving its borrowers quality services as manifested by a very satisfied rating to the four services provided. It was also described that the institution is positively bringing impact on its borrowers’ business, personal & financial status as manifested by a high and very high impact on the two variables. The study finally revealed that the profile of the customers has significant relationship with the level of satisfaction and impact to business of its borrowers while some areas of services have to be revisited to prevent customer dissatisfaction as there are signs showing low level of satisfaction.
Photobiomodulation with LEDs And Laboratory Parameters in the Contexts of Oral Mucositis After High-Dose Methotrexate in Children
Authors: Ferreira Isabella Melo Brito , Brazão-silva Marco Tulio , Junior José Miguel Alves , Fernandes Kristianne Porta Santos , Guimaraes Douglas Magno
Published: March 2021

Purpose

The present, retrospective cohort study evaluated the efficacy of photobiomodulation (PBM) with LEDs to prevent and treat oral mucositis (OM) in pediatric patients receiving high doses of MTX, and the relationship of the occurrence of OM with laboratory parameters as possible risk factors for the development of OM.
Methods

The medical records of children who received high doses of MTX (> 2g/m2) and photobiomodulation with LEDs were reviewed. Development of OM, hepatic and renal function, hemogram, delayed MTX excretion, febrile neutropenia were analyzed.
Results

Only 28 cases of OM were observed in the 358 cycles of high-dose MTX analyzed. Oral mucositis was associated with low levels of hemoglobin (p < 0.0001), hematocrits (p < 0.0001), ALT (p < 0.0001), and AST (p = 0.002). The risk of developing OM was associated with AST (OR 7.24; 95%CI 2.56–20.45), urea (OR 6.95; 95%CI 1.49–32.42), hemoglobin (OR 6.04; 95%CI 2.33–15.64), and febrile neutropenia (OR 4.41; 95%CI 2.89–15.73). This risk increases when these parameters are associated.
Conclusion

The low incidence of mucositis, compared with the literature, indicates that PBM can prevent and reduce the severity of OM, as well as hospitalization time. The risk of OM development is associated with febrile neutropenia, hematological, and kidney and liver toxicity, with the risk increasing when these factors are associated.
Measuring the exposure of Black, Asian and other ethnic groups to Covid-infected neighbourhoods in English towns and cities.
Authors: Harris Richard , Brunsdon Chris
Published: March 2021

Drawing on the work of The Doreen Lawrence Review – a report on the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities in the UK – this paper develops an index of exposure, measuring which ethnic groups have been most exposed to Covid-19 infected residential neighbourhoods during the first and second waves of the pandemic in England. The index is based on a Bayesian Poisson model with a random intercept in the linear predictor, allowing for extra-Poisson variation at neighbourhood and town/city scales. This permits within-city differences to be decoupled from broader regional trends in the disease. The research finds that members of ethnic minority groups tend to be living in areas with higher infection rates but also that the risk of exposure is distributed unevenly across these groups. Initially, in the first wave, the disease disproportionately affected Black residents. As the pandemic has progressed, especially the Pakistani but also the Bangladeshi and Indian groups have had the highest exposure. This higher exposure of the Pakistani group is not straightforwardly a function of neighbourhood deprivation because it is present across a range of average house prices. However, we find evidence to support the view, expressed in The Doreen Lawrence Review, that it is linked to occupational and environmental exposure, particularly residential density.
Implementation of All-Optical 1x4 Memory Register Unit using the Micro-Ring Resonator Structures
Authors: Kumar Ajay , Kumar Manish , Jindal Sumit Kumar , Raghuwanshi Sanjeev Kumar , Choudhary Rakesh
Published: March 2021

Implementation of switching activity in the all-optical domain is one of the most important aspects in the field of modern high-speed and secured communication technology. Micro-ring Resonator (MRR) based switching activity can be used to implement all-optical active low tri-state buffer logic and clocked D flip-flop. The paper describes the switching activity of micro-ring resonator structures and the switching activity is further used to implement the effective all-optical 4 - bit memory register using the appropriate arrangement of all-optical tri-state buffers and clocked D flip-flops with the functionality of RD and WR. The complete description of layouts and switching mechanisms of all-optical 4-bit memory registers have been explained and appropriate MATLAB simulation results are presented to observe the suitability of the proposed unit. The analysis shows that implementation of tri-state buffer logic and D flip-flop assisted 4-bit memory register in the all-optical domain includes the considerable advantages of optical communication e.g. immunity to electromagnetic interference, parallel computing, compactness, signal security, etc. The manuscript describes the detailed analysis of performance parameters e. g. extinction ratio, contrast ratio, amplitude modulation, on-off ratio, and switching speed of micro-ring resonator structures to achieve an efficient selection of device parameters and finally describes an efficient technique to implement all-optical MRR based 1 x 4 memory registers.
Evaluation of Active Tectonics in Northwest of Saveh
Authors: Rezaeinahal Bahar , PourKermani Mohsen , Zare Mehdy , Dehbozorgi Maryam , Nozaem Reza
Published: March 2021

The northwest zone of Saveh city is located in the fault zone of the Indes, Koosh e Nosrat, Avaj and Aipak. Indes faults, Cox Nosrat, Avaj and Aipak are considered as the major faults of central Iran, which are also active in the Quaternary and the last movements of these faults are attributed to the present covenant, therefore, the estimation of morphometri in order to identify the effect of active tectonics on the tectonic evolution of drainage basins seems necessary. Therefore, in this study, six important morphotectonic indexes were analyzed; longitudinal gradient of the river, asymmetry of drainage basin, hypometric integral, Drainage basin shape,the ratio of the width of the floor to the height of the valley and forehead of the mountain is discussed.to create the basins on the studied area, Arc Hydro software (Arc GIS software) has been used based on data from a digital elevation model, Then, 6 morphotectonic indexes have been compiled and classified on each of the basins.Finally, according to which the region has been classified into 4 categories of high, medium and low tectonic activity the, Active Tectonic Index (IAT) has been calculated.According to the IAT index, 5% of the study area shows very high tectonic activity, 25% of the studied area has high tectonic activity, the average tectonic activity has 65% and about 5% of the tectonic activity are low. In this study, the highest level of tectonic activity is in the north-eastern part of the region. In most of the sectors, the level of activity is high and moderate, which is related to the activity of Koshk E Nosrat, Aipak, Avaj faults.
Performance Enhancement for Visible Light Communication Based ADO-OFDM
Authors: Hameed Samir M. , Abdulsatar Sinan M. , Sabri Atheer A.
Published: March 2021

The increasing demand for bandwidth through modern applications and multimedia services has led to high-speed wireless communications. Optical Wireless Communications (OWC) encourages solutions that provide a higher data rate due to the large bandwidth available. In this paper, performance enhancement approaches will be studied and simulated for Visible Light Communication (VLC) as a case study. The Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) systems are used to investigate Intensity Modulation/ Direct Detection (IM/DD) to improve the performance of VLC. The IM/DD in OWC requires positive real OFDM symbols, so there are many approaches to satisfy this requirement. This paper proposed a model of Asymmetrically Clipped DC-Biased Optical (ADO-OFDM) to use in OWC/VLC environment. The Proposed system has avoided the use of the noise cancelation technique that is used in traditional ADO-OFDM. The results show that the ADO-OFDM has the best spectral efficiency than DC-biased Optical (DCO-OFDM) and Asymmetrically Clipped Optical (ACO-OFDM). Also, it has better optical efficiency than DCO-OFDM with the equally overall Bit Error Rate (BER) at the same signal-to-noise ratio. Hamming channel coding/decoding with different code lengths is applied in various optical OFDM schemes for BER improvements. Furthermore, we simulate and analyze these optical OFDM systems with many modulation orders.
Spatio-temporal analysis of bacillary dysentery in Sichuan province, China, 2011-2019
Authors: Zhang Yao , Zhang Mengyuan , Kang Dianju , Sun Wei , Yang Changhong , Wei Rongjie
Published: March 2021

Background: Bacillary dysentery (BD) is a common infectious disease in China and causesenormous economic burdens. The purpose of this study was to describe the epidemiological characteristics of BD and to identify its possible hot spots and potentially high-risk areas in Sichuan province of China.Methods: The data of BD in Sichuan during 2011-2019 were derived from the China National Disease Surveillance Reporting and Management System. Spatial autocorrelation and spatio-temporal cluster analysis were used to explore the spatial temporal patterns.Results: The annual incidence of BD ranged between 16.13/10 million and 6.17/10 million from 2011 to 2019 in Sichuan. The majority of the cases were children aged 5 years or younger. Regarding temporal analysis, BD showed significant seasonality and mainly concentrated from May to October. Regarding spatial distribution, the epidemics were mainly concentrated in the northwest and southwest of Sichuan. After 2016, the scope of BD significantly narrowed and severe epidemic areas were relatively stable. The spatial autocorrelation analysis showed a high global autocorrelation at the county level.,and the high-high clusters mainly distributed in the northwest and southwest of Sichuan. he spatiotemporal clusters of BD occurred every year from 2011 to 2019. The most likely cluster areas ranged largely, at the beginning, it mainly distributed in the southwest and northwest of Sichuan, and then gradually concentrated in the southwest. The secondary cluster mainly concentrated in the northwest and its surrounding areas. Moreover, the 2nd secondary cluster was relatively small and mainly distributed in the central area. No clusters were noted in eastern Sichuan.Conclusions: Based on our current analysis, BD is still a common challenge in Sichuan, especially for counties in the southwest and northwest in summer and autumn. More disease prevention and control measures should be taken in such higher-risk susceptible areas at a certain time to achieve rational allocation of public health resources, and finally reduce the spread of BD.