bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Rising to the Top One Rung at a Time
Authors: Kincey Sundra D. , Saylor Danette G. , Watson Allyson L. , Wiltsher Cheree Y.
Published: July 2022

Black women in academia have excelled to great heights and have paved the path for many others to become successful leaders. They provide examples of leading with excellence, vitality, and great strength in overcoming barriers in their quest to shatter the glass ceiling. Rising to the top one rung at a time will provide insight into pathways and critical steps that Black female leaders have taken to rise through the ranks in academia. Focus will be given to the role of mentoring and its impact on academic career success, the importance of a robust support system, self-reflection as one reaches each rung of the career ladder, and extending a helping hand to others following the same path. Practical implications will be shared that higher education institutions might use to support Black female leaders. Expanding the body of knowledge on this construct may aid institutions in recognizing, developing, supporting, and uplifting the next heroine in academia.
Facebook Addiction in Relation to Authenticity, Self-Presentation, and Psychological Well-Being
Authors: Gupta Ashima , Padickaparambil Sebastian , Praharaj Samir Kumar , Thomas Immanuel
Published: July 2022

Facebook has become ubiquitous with people of all ages and more than 1.9 billion daily active users. It allows people to portray themselves through their online profile.The aim of research was to establish a link between Facebook addiction and the inconsistency between the user’s online self and the self in the real world including other attributes such as personality, authenticity and psychological well-being of a Facebook user. Using appropriate questionnaires, data was collected from a sample of 618 university students of age range 18-30 years through purposive sampling in this time-bound cross sectional study. People addicted to Facebook were likely to have a distorted self-presentation on Facebook with poor authenticity and psychological well- being. Findings show that poor authenticity causes a drastic split between the real self and the online self which gives rise to several forms of pathology and further degrade mental health. The results have important implications in understanding the encompassing effect social media is having on our concept of self.
A Lone Wolf vs. an Affiliated Terrorist
Authors: Atsa'am Donald Douglas , Wario Ruth
Published: July 2022

The global terrorism database (GTD) shows that 3.5% of the total terror attacks across the world between 1970 to 2019 were targeted at tourists. A terror attack can be perpetrated by either a lone wolf or an affiliated terrorist. The analysis of the GTD conducted in this study shows that a terror attack targeted at tourists is 4.3 times more likely to have been perpetrated by a lone wolf than by affiliated terrorists. Since lone wolves operate individually, this finding implies that access control measures at tourist centers must regard individuals such as hawkers, newspaper vendors, freelance journalists, etc. who come around to do various businesses around tourists as potential terrorists until proven otherwise. Since lone wolves do not work for a terror group, tourist attraction centers located in the regions, territories, and countries with no presence of terror groups must not relax their counterterrorism control measures under the impression that they are safe from terror attacks.
Spatio-Temporal Graph for Improvement of Decision-Making in Risks Treatment
Authors: Messaoudi Mohamed Amine , Dekhici Latifa , Noureddine Myriam
Published: July 2022

Failures that hinder the proper functioning of complex systems are characterised by frequencies of occurrence, rates of evolution and variables periodicities. Indeed, a good design of this kind of systems requires the elaboration of an adapted analysis and modelling approach, which takes into account the spatial-temporal dynamics of the systems elements dysfunction. This paper proposes a Spatio-temporal modelling approach integrated into a risk management methodology. This modelling allows both to describe the evolution of the system in space and in time, and to follow the spatial and temporal scope of a failure of the system in order to improve decision making in choosing the appropriate corrective action. The elements of the methodology are illustrated and validated by a case study of a wireless sensor network system.
Prognostic of Soil Nutrients and Soil Fertility Index Using Machine Learning Classifier Techniques
Authors: Swapna B.  , Manivannan S. , Kamalahasan M.
Published: July 2022

Soil testing is a unique tool for finding the available soil reaction (pH), organic carbon, and nutrients status of the soil. It helps to select the suitable crops concerning available pH and soil nutrients level to increase crop production. In this current approach, the soil test prediction is used to differentiate several soil features like soil fertility indices of available pH, organic carbon, electrical conductivity, macro nutrients, and micro nutrients. The Classification and prediction of the soil parameters lead to reduce the artificial fertilizer inputs, increasing crop yield, improves soil health and crop growth and increase profitability. These problems are solved by using fast learning and classification techniques known as machine learning (ML) classifier techniques such as random forest, Gaussian naïve Bayes, logistic Regression, decision tree, k-nearest neighbour and support vector machine. After the analysis decision tree classifier attains the maximum performance to solve all problems which goes above 80% followed by other classifiers.
Human Activity Recognition Using Significant Skeletal Joints
Authors: Abdul Lateef Haroon P. S.  , Rashmi P.  , Supriya M. C.
Published: July 2022

The growing development in the sensory implementation has facilitated that the human activity can be used either as a tool for remote control of the device or as a tool for sophisticated human behaviour analysis. The prime contribution of the proposed system is to harness the potential of learning approach in order to carry out computational efficiency towards activity recognition process. A template for an activity recognition system is also provided in which the reliability of the process of recognition and system quality is preserved with a good balance. The research presents a condensed method of extraction of features from spatial and temporal features of event feeds that are further subject to the mechanism of machine learning to enhance the recognition accuracy. The importance of proposed study is reflected in the results, which, when trained using KNN, show higher accuracy performance. The proposed system demonstrated 10-15% of memory usage over 532 MB of digitized real-time event information with 0.5341 seconds of processing time consumption.
Demonstration of Structural Topic Modeling on Charter School Closures in 2019
Authors: Huang Lifei
Published: July 2022

While evidence often exists in local newspapers, Facebook pages, and on other platforms, a lack of centralization means that researchers looking to determine the causes of school closure suffer from the unenviable task of manually hunting for data. Worse still, once they collect the texts, researchers need to sift through them to determine the underlining causes for closure. This sifting leads to a variety of issues related to human error. This paper demonstrates the efficacy of using a Structural Topic Model (STM) to automate this last step, reduce human bias, and save time. Topic Modeling is a machine learning technique that builds on a base of artificial intelligence research that seeks to automate complex meta-cognitive tasks. This method is new to the education space, but the paper aims at demonstrating the potential uses by leveraging closure data for the 2018-19 school year. After testing this method on the 2018-19 school year, the researcher determined that the top two reasons for charter school closure at the end of 2019 were financial fraud and low academic performance.
Challenge-Based Learning in Higher Education
Authors: Christersson Cecilia E. , Melin Margareta , Widén Pär , Ekelund Nils , Christensen Jonas , Lundegren Nina , Staaf Patricia
Published: July 2022

Higher education institutions (HEIs) have a pivotal role in fulfilling the social dimension of sustainability and contributing to a complex changing society. To meet these challenges, Malmö University has in interdisciplinary groups researched the role of challenge-based learning (CBL) in relation to staff, students, disciplines, and stakeholders. This position paper is based on that work. Malmö University argues that with a CBL approach, HEIs will actively contribute to the building of a sustainable learning society through collaboration in education, research, and innovation. This paper theoretically explores the CBL approach as a collaborative learning exchange within HEIs and society at large. CBL is defined through eight key elements, clustered as entities of three domains: diversity and inclusion, co-creation and collaboration, and change agents and contextual challenges. These are discussed and empirically exemplified with the purpose to support designing, planning, and accomplishing CBL in teaching and learning in HE for a global learning society.
Differentiated Management of IT Service Workers
Authors: Trusson Clive
Published: July 2022

This article examines how the widespread adoption of IT service management best practices challenges traditional approaches to managing IT workers. Via a multiple case study of servitized IT functions, it was found that IT service workers might be usefully segmented into four groups: ‘Customer-focussed Technicians’, ‘Developing IT Talent’, ‘Skilled IT Artisans’, and ‘Skilled IT Locals’. It is proposed that this segmentation is useful for managers practicing in IT functions that combine compatible IT service management and IT project management ‘best practices’. Specifically, such employee segmentation may enable differentiated people management practices to improve worker performance within IT functions delivering IT service projects and ongoing service provision.
A Study of Knowledge Transfer and Organizational Culture in Two Project-Intensive IT Organizations
Authors: Karlsen Jan Terje , Gjøby Ingeborg , Rismyhr Ingeborg
Published: July 2022

Facilitating knowledge transfer in organizations has proven to be challenging, and one of the most prominent obstacles for successful knowledge transfer is the organization’s culture. Therefore, the core objective of this study was to investigate how organizational culture affects the knowledge transfer process in project-intensive IT organizations. We conducted a multiple-case study with in-depth semi-structured interviews from two IT consultancy companies. We identified five main categories of factors within organizational culture that have a significant effect on knowledge transfer in project-intensive IT companies: organizational values, relationships and communication, leadership, project characteristics, and individual factors. The role of organizational values, cooperation, and leaders’ behavior are all crucial for successful knowledge transfer. Organizational values must support knowledge transfer. Cooperation creates the best environment for knowledge transfer, and leaders must be aware of their behavior.
The Efficacy of Maker Education and STEAM Content Delivery Through Cooking
Authors: Sabourian Layla
Published: July 2022

The research explores a multimodal platform and curriculum, Chef Koochooloo, that merges cooking instruction with the science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) approach to education. This curriculum and application uses narrative content emphasizing cuisines, cultures, and food from many countries, aiming to develop healthy cooking skills and enhance STEAM, nutrition, and human geography knowledge through food preparation. Further, the effectiveness of this approach toward maker education in developing student interest across disciplines is discussed. The experimental study consisted of a 10-week pilot study across 11 schools in California to test the effectiveness of this approach and curriculum. 259 students participated in this study. Narrative methods, semi-structured interviews, and multimodal analyses of platform and lesson iterations based on educational standards were used to evaluate this approach. Additionally, interviews with stakeholders reveal a set of challenges and affordances useful toward the analyses of maker education interventions as a whole.
Economic Growth With Improvement of People's Lives in Vietnam
Authors: Minh Nguyen
Published: July 2022

In order to improve people's living standards (PLS), in addition to the economic growth, the regulation on distribution of economic growth results by the government plays a very important role. In recent years, the achievements of economic growth have contributed to improving the quality of people's lives; however, there have been many challenges that require the Government of Vietnam to take specific and appropriate measures to ensure both promotion of economic growth and improvement of people's living standards.
Local ozone therapy options for lumbosacral dorsopathy
Authors: Agasarov Lev G. , Konchugova Tatiana V. , Kulchitskaya Detelina B. , Davyan Olga S. , Apkhanova Tatiana V. , Fesyun Anatoliy D. , Rachin Andrey P. , Yakovlev Maxim Yu. , Terentev Kirill V. , Sanina Natalia P.
Published: July 2022

The characteristic resistance of dorsopathies to conventional therapy explains the attention to new technologies that combine several therapeutic links and, in particular, ozone therapy. The study involved 90 patients under the age of 55 in the exacerbation phase of lumbar and sacrum dorsopathy with the leading vascular component. The patients were divided into three groups, in which basic medical and physical treatment was given. At the same time, ozone therapy was used the first two groups: the 1st group received standard ozone therapy, with a predominant selection of algic zones, the 2nd - according to the rules of biopuncture, affecting the complex of segmental, distant and "vascular" points. In the 3rd control group, the correction was limited to a standard therapeutic complex. The verification of the observed changes was carried out through clinical, psychological and electrophysiological analysis. As a result, both ozone therapy schemes (effective in 69% and 73% of observations respectively) were found to have a reliable advantage over the base complex, where 49% of patients demonstrated improvement. Differences within the ozone therapy groups themselves related to the achievement of a stable effect (in the 2nd group 2.6 days earlier) and the degree of reduction of vaso-reflex reactions (observed in 50% and 75% of observations respectively). Thus, by bringing in additional control methods, it has been proven that the implementation of ozone therapy in compliance with the rules of biopuncture ensures faster and more sustainable effects.
The effect of valproic acid on intrinsic, extrinsic, and JAK/STAT pathways in neuroblastoma and glioblastoma cell lines
Authors: Sanaei Masumeh , Kavoosi Fraidoon
Published: July 2022

Background and purpose:

Epigenetics has been defined as the study of mitotically heritable alterations in gene expression that are not caused by changes in DNA sequence. Epigenetic-mediated silencing of a gene includes genomic imprinting, histone deacetylation, DNA methylation, and RNA-associated silencing. Cell growth and cell proliferation are inhibited by some histone deacetylase and histone inhibitors. This study was designed to investigate the effect of valproic acid (VPA) on extrinsic, intrinsic, and the Janus kinase (JAK)- signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) pathways in neuroblastoma and glioblastoma cell lines.

Experimental approach:

The neuroblastoma and glioblastoma cells were cultured and treated with VPA. MTT assay was done to determine cell viability. Besides, a flow cytometry assay was performed to determine apoptotic cells and finally, the relative gene expression level was evaluated by qRT-PCR.

Findings / Results:

VPA changed the expression level of the genes of the extrinsic, intrinsic, and JAK/STAT pathways which induced cell apoptosis and inhibited cell growth in the neuroblastoma and glioblastoma cells. In the neuroblastoma cell lines, VPA upregulated the expression level of FAS, FAS-L, DR4, DR5, and TRAIL genes significantly. Additionally, it significantly up-regulated the expression level of Bak, Bax, and Bim genes and down-regulated the expression level of Bcl-xL, Bcl-2, and Mcl-1 genes in both neuroblastoma and glioblastoma cell lines.

Conclusion and implications:

VPA induced cell apoptosis through extrinsic, intrinsic, and JAK/STAT pathways.
Protective effect of probiotics and ascorbic acid on bile duct ligation-induced chronic hepatic encephalopathy in rats
Authors: Patel Chirag , Shahgond Lalita , Acharya Sanjeev , Boddu Sai HS. , Ranch Ketan
Published: July 2022

Background and purpose:

Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a brain dysfunction caused by acute and chronic hepatic failure. The pathogenesis of HE is unknown, although small intestinal bacterial overgrowth associated with chronic liver damage, hyperammonemia, and oxidative stress are considered major factors for HE. Effective lowering of circulating ammonia and neuroinflammation is the main strategy for preventing and treating HE in cirrhosis. In the present study, the protective effect of probiotics (Lactobacillus plantarum and Bacillus clausii) and ascorbic acid in combination was assessed in bile duct ligation (BDL)-induced chronic HE in rats.

Experimental approach:

Sprague Dawley rats were divided into five groups (n = 6). All groups were subjected to double ligation of the bile duct and fed a hyperammonemia diet, except group I (normal control). Groups III and IV were treated with a low and high dose of combination therapy, respectively, while group V was given lactulose. Four weeks post ligation, behavioral, biochemical, and neurochemical parameters were measured. The liver and brain were dissected for histopathology and protein analyses.

Findings / Results:

Combination therapy reduced plasma AST, ALT, ALP, and ammonia levels and attenuated hepatic inflammation/fibrosis in cirrhotic rats. Furthermore, combination therapy significantly improved behavioral parameters and restored the antioxidant enzyme activity. Histological changes were observed in the brain and liver of BDL animals.

Conclusion and implications:

The additive impact of probiotics and ascorbic acid on BDL-induced chronic HE in rats was mediated by a reduction in ammonia and oxidative stress, implying the therapeutic potential of combination therapy in HE.
Fibrinolysis versus thoracoscopy
Authors: Ibarra Rodríguez Maria Rosa , Garrido Pérez Jose Ignacio , Rueda Fernando Vázquez , Murcia Pascual Francisco Javier , Wiesner Torres Sandra Rocio , Paredes Esteban Rosa Maria
Published: July 2022

OBJECTIVE:

The objective of this study is to compare the outcome of treatment with drainage and urokinase (UK) versus thoracoscopy (TS) in pleural empyema secondary to complicated pneumonia.

METHODS:

This was a retrospective study of patients with complicated parapneumonic effusions between 2008 and 2019 treated with UK or TS. Epidemiological and evolutionary data compared days of fever, antibiotic, pre- and postprocedure stay, time to radiological resolution, and complications. The results were expressed as medians and the comparisons were made by the Mann–Whitney U-test.

RESULTS:

Of 143 patients with NC, 46 were empyemas (26 men), 25 were treated with TS, and 10 were treated with UK. The remaining 11 received combined treatment, being excluded from the study. There were no significant differences between TS versus UK in age (median 4 vs. 3 years), days of fever before the procedure (4 vs. 2) and after (2 vs. 2), days of antibiotic treatment before the procedure (4 vs. 4), overall hospital stay (15 vs. 13 days), and months until radiological normalization (2 vs. 2). The complications related to the therapy were scarce in both groups and had no impact on evolution. Patients with TS had a longer preprocedural stay (4 vs. 1; P < 0.001) and required fewer days of subsequent antibiotic after procedure (8 vs. 11; P = 0.03), and a shorter overall antibiotic treatment time (11 vs. 16; P = 0.03). They also had a shorter post-TS stay (9 vs. 12 days), although this difference did not become significant (P = 0.09).

CONCLUSIONS:

In our experience, the results obtained with both procedures are quite similar, although patients undergoing TS had a better evolution (fewer days of antibiotic and a tendency to less hospitalization), despite having been performed a priori in more evolved patients.
The optimal oral body temperature cutoff and other factors predictive of sepsis diagnosis in elderly patients
Authors: Alsalamah Majid , Alrehaili Bashaer , Almoamary Amal , Al-Juad Abdulrahman , Badri Mutasim , El-Metwally Ashraf
Published: July 2022

INTRODUCTION:

The aim of this study was to identify the optimal oral temperature cut-off value and other factors predictive of sepsis in elderly patients presenting to emergency department.

METHODS:

A hospital-based retrospective study was performed on all elderly patients who presented to the Adult Emergency Department at King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh (January to December 31, 2018).

RESULTS:

Of total of 13,856 patients, 2170 (15.7%) were diagnosed with sepsis. The associated area under the curve estimate was 0.73, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.72–0.74. Body temperature ≥37.3 was found as optimal cut-point with sensitivity = 50.97% and specificity = 87.22% and 82.39% of patients with sepsis will be correctly classified using this cut-off. An increase of 1° in body temperature was associated with an odds ratio of 9.95 (95% CI 8.95–11.06, P < 0.0001). Those aged ≥100 years having 11.12 (95% CI 2.29–20.88, P < 0.0001) times the likelihood for sepsis diagnosis compared with those aged 60–69 years. People admitted in weather such as winter, spring, or autumn were more likely to develop sepsis than people admitted in summer.

CONCLUSION:

The risk factors of sepsis such as age, temperature, and seasonal variation inform important evidence-based decisions. The hospitals dealing with sepsis patients should assess older patients for other severe illnesses or co-morbid that might lead to sepsis if left untreated. Therefore, older patients need to be prioritized over younger patients. The body temperature of patients admitted to hospitals needs to be monitored critically and it is important to consider seasonal fluctuations while managing cases of sepsis and allocating resources. Our findings suggest that clinicians should explore the possibility of sepsis in elderly patients admitted to emergency units with oral temperature ≥37.3°C. Risk factors for sepsis reported in this study could inform evidence-based decisions.
Evaluation of the outcomes of intraoperative subconjunctival injection of triamcinolone acetonide at the surgical site after pterygium excision using bare-sclera technique and mitomycin C
Authors: Elsayed Tamer G. , Dessouky Reem A.K. , Salamah Moustafa , Hegab Mohammed A.
Published: July 2022

Purpose

To determine the role of the intraoperative triamcinolone acetonide application after pterygium excision using bare-sclera technique and mitomycin C (MMC).

Patients and methods

This prospective randomized clinical study included 80 patients (80 eyes) who had primary pterygium and was done at the Alpha Center of Ophthalmology. In total, 40 eyes were treated by excision with bare-sclera technique with MMC combined with intraoperative subconjunctival triamcinolone-acetonide injection (group I) (steroid group), and the other 40 eyes were treated by excision with bare-sclera technique with MMC alone (group II) (control group). All patients were subjected to complete ophthalmic evaluation preoperatively and were followed up for 6 months postoperatively. The postoperative conjunctival inflammation rate at 1 week was the primary outcome measure, while the rate of pterygium recurrence 6 months postoperatively and intraocular pressure (IOP) was the secondary outcome measure. No complications developed intraoperatively or postoperatively.

Results

The postoperative conjunctival inflammation was significantly higher in group II (45%) than group I (12.5%) (P=0.001). The recurrence rate of pterygium 6 months postoperative in group I was 7.5%, while in group II was 17.5%, which was statistically insignificant (P=0.176). The mean IOP 6 months postoperative in group I was 14.2±1.9, and in group II was 13.6±1.7, which was statistically insignificant (P=0.172). Pyogenic granuloma developed in one (2.5%) eye in group I and two (5%) eyes in group II.

Conclusion

After pterygium excision using the technique of bare sclera and MMC, the intraoperative subconjunctival injection of triamcinolone acetonide at the surgical site was found to be beneficial in reducing the incidence of postoperative conjunctival inflammation without elevation of the IOP and decreasing the recurrence rate of the pterygium.
Comparison of Accuracy in Calculation of Absorbed Dose to the Kidneys Following Radioligand Therapy with 177Lu-DKFZ-PSMA-617 by Two Different Background Correction Methods
Authors: Mahmoudi Elahe , Pirayesh Elahe , Deevband Mohammad Reza , Amoui Mahasti , Rad Mehrdad Ghorbani
Published: July 2022

Background:

To improve the accuracy of activity image quality, scatter correction is a critical method. The aim of this study is to compare the accuracy in calculation of absorbed dose to patients following radioligand therapy (RLT) with 177Lu-DKFZ-PSMA-617 by two different methods of background correction in the conjugate view method.

Materials and Methods:

This study involved 10 patients. The individualized patient dosimetry calculations were based on whole-body planar scintigraphy images acquired in 10 patients with a mean age of 71.4 ± 6.07 years (range 63–85 years) at approximately 0–2 h, 4–6 h, 18–24 h, and 36–48 h after administration of the mean 6253 ± 826.4 MBq (range 5500–7400 MBq) of 177Lu-DKFZ-PSMA-617. Organ activities were calculated using the conjugate view method by Buijs and conventional background correction. Eventually, the absorbed dose of radiation was calculated using Medical Internal Radiation Dose formalism.

Results:

The dose per unit of injected activity (mGy/MBq) ± standard deviation for kidney using Buijs and conventional methods was 1.05 ± 0.11 and 0.63 ± 0.14, respectively.

Conclusion:

The Buijs background correction method was more accurate than the conventional method.
Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography Imaging in Pneumocystis jiroveci Pneumonia
Authors: Rathore Hemant , Thaker Nirav , Talwar Inder
Published: July 2022

Fever or pyrexia of unknown origin (PUO) is commonly defined as body temperature higher than 38.3°C on several occasions for a period of at least 3 weeks with uncertain diagnosis after initial routine obligatory investigations. In most cases of PUO, there is an uncommon presentation of a common disease which includes infection, noninfectious inflammatory diseases, malignancy, and miscellaneous causes. We present an interesting case of a 48-year-old man with PUO, who is a known case of multiple myeloma on immunosuppressive therapy, where 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography was able to detect occult cause of infective etiology.
Renal Dynamic Scintigraphy as a Sensitive Tool for Detecting Small Volume Urinoma Following Live-Related Renal Transplant
Authors: Ravindra Shubha Gadde , Garg Sumit , Kumar Rakesh , Sagar Sambit , Khurana Aditi , Aggarwal Sandeep , Padhi Siba Narayan , Ritwik Chekuri
Published: July 2022

Renal transplant (RT) is the preferred treatment modality in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). However, it is associated with a significant rate of complications. Early diagnosis and management of these complications are essential to prevent graft loss. Herein, we describe a case of a 48-year-old male who developed ESRD due to underlying autosomal-dominant polycystic kidney disease and underwent an RT. A routine renal dynamic scintigraphy (RDS) performed on day 4 posttransplant showed a focal minute area of radiotracer accumulation on the delayed static images raising suspicion for urinoma. However, it was deemed normal considering the normal renogram curve and stable clinical condition of the patient. However, on day 9 posttransplant, in view of clinical deterioration marked by decreasing urine output and rising serum creatinine levels, ultrasonography – kidney, ureter, and bladder (USG-KUB) and a repeat RDS were performed. Although the USG-KUB described a peri-nephric fluid collection, the nature of the collection could not be determined. RDS confirmed that the collection was urinoma. On retrospective analysis, the focal area of increased radiotracer uptake corresponded to the site of initial suspicion, although there was an increase in the size of the same. In experienced hands, RDS thus proves to be a highly sensitive tool for the diagnosis of urinoma, much before the clinical complications set in.
Recurrent Intra Articular Osteochondroma of Left 4th Finger
Authors: Palaniswamy Shanmuga Sundaram , Subramanyam Padma
Published: July 2022

Osteochondromas are common benign bone tumors arising from metaphyseal region of long bones. They are notorious for undergoing malignant transformation. We present a case of a middle aged woman with recurrent episodes of swelling in the middle of left 4th finger post excision. Bone scan was performed to look for any malignant transformation of finger lesion and also to rule out skeletal metastases due to recent onset bone pains. 99m Tc MDP (Technetium methylene diphosphonate) bone scan demonstrated a focal hot spot in middle of left 4th finger along the radial side. There was no evidence of skeletal metastases. Surgery is usually curative (70-90%). Limb sparing wide local excision is treatment of choice.
Patient Bill of Rights Knowledge and Perceived Practice Among Females Visiting a Patient Safety Event at King Saud University
Authors: Dabbagh Rufaidah Mohammad , Alyousefi Nada A. , Alrowais Norah A. , Alduraywish Shatha A. , Saja Maha , Alwatban Lemmese , Al-Qahtani Shahad , Al-Nomi Areej
Published: July 2022

Objectives:

This study aimed to assess the level of knowledge about the patient bill of rights (PBR) among visitors of the King Saud University (KSU) “Patient Safety Day” event and the associated demographic features, to measure the level at which these PBR items were observed among the visitors during their medical care experiences, and to assess the perception of the importance of the PBR items from the participants' perspectives.

Materials and Methods:

A cross-sectional survey among visitors of the KSU “Patient Safety Day” event was conducted, using interview-based questionnaires. The questionnaire was adapted from the items assessed in previous studies exploring knowledge of PBR. All analyses were conducted using a statistical analysis system.

Results:

Around 198 individuals participated in the surveys (response = 95.2%) and the majority of them were students. Only 28.6% of them reported being aware of the PBR mainly from hospital posters (27.3%) and by a treating physician (1.8%). Results of the survey did not yield significant associations between the knowledge of PBR and each of the levels of completed education and participant status. The faculty and staff had greater odds of knowing about PBR compared to the students (odds ratio = 1.93, 95% confidence interval = 0.60, 6.00).

Conclusion:

The study showed that only about a quarter of the participants reported being aware of the PBR. This necessitates increasing the efforts of health-care facilities to educate their patients about PBR. Hospital posters may be the best way to introduce these PBR to patients. However, this does not replace the need for direct communication about PBR by treating health-care teams.
Extent and Feasibility of the Application of the Clinical Pathway, Clinical Guideline, and Practice Protocol in Eastern Province Saudi Arabian Hospitals
Authors: AL Qamariat Zahra , Alkhalifah Khawlah , Alqarni Safia
Published: July 2022

Background:

Diversity in clinical practice may become a problem and increase the risk of errors. Several tools have been suggested to reduce this diversity and improve unification in clinical practice. These tools include the clinical pathway, clinical guidelines, and practice protocol. They have been proven effective. However, there are different barriers to their application.

Methods and Data Analysis:

A cross-sectional survey in the Eastern Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia aimed to identify the availability of the clinical pathway, clinical guidelines, and practice protocol and their benefits, as well as barriers in their development and utilization. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses were used to evaluate the study results. Findings are presented as numbers and percentages.

Results:

Clinical pathway, clinical guidelines, and practice protocol are available to a large extent in the Eastern Province. The study showed some difficulties in the development and implementation of these tools, such as insufficient training and leader support. It also provided some suggestions to overcome these barriers.

Conclusion:

The availability of clinical pathway, clinical guidelines, and practice protocol has helped unify practice and reduce errors in the clinical setting. The barriers can be overcome by different solutions.
Value of pancreatic cyst fluid SPINK1 and glucose in differentiating potentially malignant cysts from those of benign nature
Authors: Habib Ghada M. , Ramadan Ahmed , El-Ansary Mervat , Abdellatif Zeinab , El-Serafy Magdy , Okasha Hussein
Published: July 2022

Background:

Diagnosis of malignant pancreatic cystic lesions (PCLs) is challenging as there is no investigation that offers both high diagnostic sensitivity and specificity for a definite diagnosis. Accurate diagnosis of cyst type is vital in order to not miss opportunities for early treatment of potentially malignant lesions and to avoid unnecessary surgeries. Serine protease inhibitor Kazal type I (SPINK1) and glucose are promising cyst fluid markers for differentiation of mucinous from non-mucinous cysts. We aim to validate the value of SPINK1 and glucose in detecting potentially malignant PCLs.

Methods:

A prospective study was conducted on 80 patients presenting with PCLs. Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) evaluation of detailed cyst morphology and EUS with fine needle aspiration (FNA) were done. Fluid analysis for carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), glucose and SPINK1 and cytopathology were done. We compared these data with the final diagnosis based on cytopathological and postoperative histopathological examination.

Results:

Cyst fluid SPINK1 was significantly higher in malignant or potentially malignant cysts compared to benign cysts (0.91 vs 0.47 ng/ml; P = 0.001). Also, glucose was significantly lower in malignant or potentially malignant cysts compared to benign cysts (21.5 vs 68.5 mg/dl; P = 0.0001). Glucose and SPINK1 had the best sensitivity and specificity for differentiating mucinous from non-mucinous cysts with 84.78% and 73.53% (AUC 0.76; 95% CI [0.65–0.88]; cutoff value = 42 mg/dl), and 70.59% and 65.22% (AUC 0.72; 95% CI [0.64–0.86]; cutoff value = 0.58 ug/L) respectively. CEA level >192 ng/ml, high SPINK1 level and lymph node enlargement were the independent predictors of malignant cysts.

Conclusion:

Cyst fluid SPINK1 and glucose are promising diagnostic markers for the diagnosis of potentially malignant PCLs.
On the general dyadic grids on
Authors: Anderson Theresa C. , Hu Bingyang
Published: July 2022

Adjacent dyadic systems are pivotal in analysis and related fields to study continuous objects via collections of dyadic ones. In our prior work (joint with Jiang, Olson, and Wei), we describe precise necessary and sufficient conditions for two dyadic systems on the real line to be adjacent. Here, we extend this work to all dimensions, which turns out to have many surprising difficulties due to the fact that
$d+1$
, not
$2^d$
, grids is the optimal number in an adjacent dyadic system in
$\mathbb {R}^d$
. As a byproduct, we show that a collection of
$d+1$
dyadic systems in
$\mathbb {R}^d$
is adjacent if and only if the projection of any two of them onto any coordinate axis are adjacent on
$\mathbb {R}$
. The underlying geometric structures that arise in this higher-dimensional generalization are interesting objects themselves, ripe for future study; these lead us to a compact, geometric description of our main result. We describe these structures, along with what adjacent dyadic (and n-adic, for any n) systems look like, from a variety of contexts, relating them to previous work, as well as illustrating a specific exa.
Permutation modules and cohomological singularity
Authors: Balmer Paul , Gallauer Martin
Published: July 2022

We define a new invariant of finitely generated representations of a finite group, with coefficients in a commutative noetherian ring. This invariant uses group cohomology and takes values in the singularity category of the coefficient ring. It detects which representations are controlled by permutation modules.
ECOLOGIA DE BENTOS: UMA SEMENTE NO SEDIMENTO DO LABORATÓRIO DE LIMNOLOGIA DA UFRJ
Authors:   Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Callisto Marcos , Leal João José Fonseca ,   Instituto Federal de Educação Ciência e Tecnologia do Rio de Janeiro, Moretti Marcelo da Silva ,   Universidade Vila Velha, Ligeiro Raphael ,   Universidade Federal do Pará
Published: July 2022

Os estudos relacionados à Ecologia de Organismos Bentônicos dedicam-se aos organismos que habitam o sedimento e substratos de fundo, consolidados ou não, de ecossistemas aquáticos continentais, tais como rios, riachos de cabeceira, lagos e reservatórios. Este artigo apresenta uma síntese sobre a importante contribuição do Prof. Francisco de Assis Esteves, do Laboratório de Limnologia da UFRJ, à formação de pessoal e à produção científica na área de Ecologia de Organismos Bentônicos no Brasil. Avaliamos os curricula vitae dos ex-alunos do Prof. Esteves, e seus orientados. Foram analisadas as bases Lattes/CNPq e Scopus, realizando avaliações qualitativas e quantitativas, respectivamente. Avaliamos a formação de pessoal desde a criação do Laboratório de Limnologia na UFRJ no final dos anos 80 e a produção científica (livros, capítulos de livros, artigos científicos publicados em revistas nacionais e internacionais), áreas de atuação, periódicos e programas de pós-graduação associados a ex-alunos do Prof. Esteves em que atualmente são realizados estudos sobre Ecologia de Organismos Bentônicos no Brasil. A contribuição científica desses estudos foi classificada em três grandes áreas: (i) Distribuição Espaço-temporal de Populações e Assembleias, e Estrutura de Comunidades Bentônicas; (ii) sua participação em Processos Ecológicos (p.ex.: Ciclagem de Nutrientes, Bioturbação e Decomposição de Matéria Orgânica, Interações Tróficas e Estequiometria Ecológica); e (iii) sua utilização como Bioindicadores de Qualidade de Água e em Índices Multimétricos de Integridade Ecológica. Identificamos as principais linhas de pesquisa desenvolvidas no período 1996-2021 e projetamos as perspectivas de novas abordagens para os próximos 20 anos, considerando o cenário político-ambiental no Brasil e na perspectiva de mudanças ambientais globais. A semente plantada no Laboratório de Limnologia da UFRJ pelo Prof. Esteves cresceu, frutificou e tem dispersado novas sementes para diferentes regiões do Brasil.
PHYTOPLANKTON BIOMASS INCREASES IN A SILT-IMPACTED AREA IN AN AMAZONIAN FLOOD-PLAIN LAKE OVER 15 YEARS
Authors:   Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Huszar Vera Lúcia de Moraes , Graco-Roza Caio ,   University of Helsinki, Nabout João Carlos ,   Universidade Estadual de Goiás, Nunes Patrícia ,   Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Ribeiro Enoque , Melo Sergio de , Cardoso Simone , Pereira Uanderson , Barros Marcos Paulo Figueiredo de , Bozelli Reinaldo , Roland Fabio , Silva Lucia Helena Sampaio da , Esteves Francisco
Published: July 2022

Tailings from bauxite mining in Porto Trombetas (Pará state, Central Amazonia, Brazil) was discharged (1979–1989) into Batata Lake affecting about 30% of its area. The lake belongs to a clear-water flood-plain system along the Trombetas River, a tributary of the Amazon River. Siltation is the main perceived factor impacting aquatic and flooded communities. Besides natural regeneration, a program to restore a section of igapó forest in the impacted area (IA) has been conducted since 1991. Decreased light is the main factor reducing total phytoplankton biomass (PhyBM) in IA. We hypothesized that PhyBM in IA increases over time because of the improvement of the underwater light conditions due to the natural regeneration and restoration. We sampled quarterly PhyBM and limnological variables (depth, transparency, temperature, pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, suspended solids, total Kjeldahl nitrogen, and total phosphorus), over 15 years (2005–2019) at eight sampling sites in the two areas (N = 349). We also obtained daily climatic and hydrologic data. PhyBM was higher in NIA than in IA. The temporal trend in the annual mean of PhyBM increased significantly over time only in the IA, approximating the NIA values, confirming our general hypothesis. The increase of PhyBM in the IA was negatively related to the residual light attenuation caused by non-phytoplankton turbidity and to total phosphorus, and positively to air temperature and site depth (p < 0.05; Marginal r2 = 0.18; Conditional r2 = 0.29). Instead, in NIA, PhyBM was explained only by the increase in air temperature (p < 0.05; Marginal r2 = 0.15; Conditional r2 = 0.34). We concluded that the PhyBM in the IA positively responds to the synergy between increasing light availability, air temperature, and site depth, and decreasing total phosphorus concentrations, regardless of hydrologic phase.
LEAF LITTER WITH CONTRASTING CHEMICAL TRAITS AND DECOMPOSITION PROMOTE SIMILAR BENTHIC MACROINVERTEBRATES COMMUNITIES
Authors:   Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Maia-Jorge Marcos Paulo , Bevilacqua Maria Silvina , Gripp Anderson da Rocha , Caliman Adriano , Guariento Rafael Dettogni , Figueiredo-Barros Marcos Paulo , Junior José Francisco Gonçalves , Dias André Tavares Corrêa , Bozelli Reinaldo Luiz , Esteves Francisco de Assis
Published: July 2022

In aquatic ecosystems, allochthonous inputs of leaf litter are common substrates for the invertebrates communities. The quality and physical structure of these substrates are expected to strongly determine benthic invertebrates structure and functioning. Therefore, we carried out an experiment to evaluate the association between these organisms and the chemical traits of leaf litter from 16 restinga plant species in Jurubatiba lagoon, a coastal aquatic ecosystem at Restinga de Jurubatiba National Park. After 123 days, litter mass loss varied from 14 - 30%, indicating that decomposition was in the initial stage for most species. Litter converged to have a similar nutritional quality after this time submerged. Initial K concentration positively affected, whereas initial lignin and C concentration negatively affected species richness and diversity. It indicates that nutrients attract whereas structural compounds limit benthic species colonization. Chemical compounds such as C, nutrients (N, P, K and Na), lignin and cellulose tended to be positively associated with the dominant taxa (Chironominae n.i. and Heleobia australis) and functional feeding groups (scrapers and collector-gatherers). However, no significant associations were detected by the redundancy analyses. We may conclude that litter quality affect benthic structure, but not community composition nor FFG distribution at Jurubatiba lagoon. The benthic composition and FFG may be randomly distributed among litter substrates or may be better explained by some other litter aspect(s) different from those considered in this study. Future studies may also consider the temporal dynamic of litter colonization to better elucidate the relationship between litter traits and invertebrate community.
Towards Ecumenical Dialogue between African Pentecostalism and Roman Catholic
Authors: Kgatle Mookgo Solomon , Lephoto Mokone Bruno
Published: July 2022

There are undoubtedly differences between Roman Catholic and African Pentecostalism such as doctrinal issues and salvific conceptualisations. Besides non-Catholics, specifically Pentecostal churches have always been perceived as non-churches and lacking the real salvation by Roman Catholics. Thus, Roman Catholics have looked at Pentecostals with the eye of suspicion regardless of ecumenical efforts made to bring the two together. Similarly, Pentecostals have perceived Catholics as carrying a non-transformative doctrine, lacking the Spirit, and leaning towards political institutions and systems. Hence, the relationship between these two movements has been perceived as irreconcilable and incompatible with some leaders giving up on ecumenical engagements. However, a literature review on the relationship between Roman Catholic and African Pentecostalism reveals some similarities between the two movements through the ecumenical dialogue model. In other words, as much as the two movements do not see eye to eye, they have commonalities such as the use of sacramentals, common foundational beliefs, and salvation through Jesus. These similarities can be used as a starting point toward ecumenism and helping the two movements to move towards unity.
The lusophone world of Iberoamerica: between the “left wave” and the “right turn” (the example of Portugal and Brazil)
Authors: Sigachev M. I. , Timofeeva Yu. A.
Published: July 2022

The authors analyze political cycles of the Portuguese (Lusophone) world, which is based on Portugal-Brazil civilizational axis. The authors seek to prove the existence of synchronicity and parallelism in the context of the movement of political pendulum from right to left and back within the Lusophone world of Iberoamerica. The main thesis of this study is that the Ibero-American transcontinental macro-region is sandwiched between a “left wave” and a “right turn”, with the conclusion that further continuation of the “left wave” with right-wing fluctuations in the current context is going to continue. As far as Portugal is concerned, the case of the municipal elections of September 26, 2021 is used as empirical material and is subjected to a detailed analysis from the perspective of the Portuguese party-political landscape. In addition, some attention is paid to the early parliamentary elections of January 30, 2022 in Portugal. The authors also assess the development of populism in Portugal, given that in European countries, left-wing and right-wing populist movements are gaining popularity. Similarly, the authors consider the results of the 2020 municipal elections, and political situation in Brazil on the eve of the 2022 presidential elections. We give a forecast about further shift to the left of the Ibero-American Lusophone world, if after the confident victory of the Portuguese socialists under the leadership of Costa the socialist president Lula da Silva comes to power in Brazil, and, as a result, about formation of the left-socialist power pole within the framework of the Ibero-American Lusophony.