bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
USE OF THE NUCLEUS SMARTNAV® SYSTEM IN INTRAOPERATIVE TELEMETRY OF COCHLEAR IMPLANT
Authors: Trabuco Isadora Aragão Silva , Hamerschmidt Rogério , Wiemes Nicole Richter Minhoto
Published: May 2024

Tests performed intraoperatively are routine tools in cochlear implant (CI) programs worldwide. Recently, Cochlear™ launched the Nucleus Smartnav® system that describes new parameters measured during insertion of the electrode array into the cochlea, verifies its position, tests impedance and AutoNRT. Objective: To describe the use of the Cochlear™ Nucleus SmartNav® system as an intraoperative measurement tool in cochlear implant surgery. Material and Methods: Patient with bilateral and congenital profound prelingual deafness. He has been using an individual sound amplification device (PSAD) bilaterally since childhood, has reasonable speaking skills and good understanding of others’ speech. Although IC was previously indicated, he chose to keep the hearing aid. However, given the inefficient gain, mainly in the left ear, a bimodal adaptation was suggested: CI in the left ear and hearing aids in the right. At the age of 48, he underwent CI surgery on the left, using the Cochlear™ CI622 model with CP1001 speech processor and intraoperative measurements performed by the Nucleus® SmartNav system. The impedance test and NRT were also performed intraoperatively using the Nucleus® SmartNav system, after reviewing the insertion of the electrodes. Result: The measurements obtained during the insertion of the electrode array in the cochlea allowed greater intraoperative control by enabling fine adjustments in the surgical technique. Conclusion: The Nucleus Smartnav® system endorses technologies that aim to increase surgical precision and reduce complications.
THREE-DIMENSIONAL SCANNING IN RHINOPLASTY AND INDIVIDUAL PATIENT EXPERIENCE
Authors: Oyama Letícia Akazaki , Cavalcanti Gabriel Zorron
Published: May 2024

Introduction: Three-dimensional facial scanning has been the object of study for decades and increasingly being used in rhinoplasty, and has recently been applied to surgical simulation. The patient’s perspective in this context should be explored, so that surgeons can individualize their approach. Objectives: Acess the patient’s perspective on three-dimensional scanning in rhinoplasty and their experience during the evaluation and simulation processes in preoperative consultation. Material and methods: Longitudinal, prospective and qualitative study, with the application of a questionnaire to patients who searched for rhinoplasty, during the preoperative consultation after obtaining images through 3D scanning and case simulation. Results: All participants agreed that three-dimensional scanning optimizes patient-surgeon communication; that it should become routine in the preoperative evaluation of cosmetic surgeries; and they felt more confident about the surgery after this process. None of the interviewees mentioned discomfort while obtaining the images. More than 60% were surprised by the images obtained by the three-dimensional facial scanning and by the result of the simulation. Discussion: The use of computerized imaging in the preoperative consultation transforms patients from passive listeners to active participants, who express their intentions and are involved in the discussion of the objectives of the surgery to which they will be submitted. Reservations regarding cost, additional time, and increased patient expectations must be considered. Conclusion: Three-dimensional facial scanning is an additional tool in the rhinoplasty preoperative period, bringing benefits to the communication and relationship between physicians and patients.
Chemical Workers Union Consortium Trains Trainers in Disaster Response While Building Both Resiliency in Disasters and Preparedness
Authors: Allen Shari Glines , Morawetz John S. , Ruttenberg Ruth
Published: May 2024

This paper studies disaster training work of one of the original grantees of the Worker Training Program of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences: The International Chemical Workers Union Council (ICWUC) and its consortium of unions and national organizations. The consortium developed disaster train-the-trainer curriculum in English and in Spanish, so worker trainers would be poised to do training during, after, and in prevention of disasters. This paper reviews the program and its impact on affected communities – with both a historical perspective and with interviews of 20 of those who were trained to be disaster response trainers. At least half the trainees actively trained at one or more disaster sites provided important information to keep community residents safer and to help them build resilience in their communities. Other trainers have used their knowledge to improve their workplaces during a disaster or to help prevent mold contamination and other post-disaster hazards in underserved neighborhoods.
Impact of Covid-19 on Readymade Garments Workers at Dhaka Division Of Bangladesh
Authors: Rabi Ullah Muhammad
Published: May 2024

In this study we are attempts to identify the real situation of COVID-19 impact on working environment of RMG workers in Bangladesh. The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic impact on RMG workers is dire and include uncertainty about the wages during the COVID-19 pandemic and related issues such as lack of money for essentials such as food, and concerns about the re-opening of factories during COVID-19 infection peak times. The objectives of this study is to identify the COVID-19 impact on readymade garments (RGM) workers as well as shows the present conditions of readymade garments workers and work place environment of RMG sector in Bangladesh. Finally, to find out the problems and suggest some policy recommendations of RMG sectors in Bangladesh. This study attempts to know COVID-19 Impact on working environment of RMG workers in Bangladesh in Selected Factories in Dhaka division. The present study is an exploratory sample survey. Besides this, to enhance the acceptance of result and considering the circumstances few case studies are also conducted. The sampling of my study is 50 workers selected based on accidental sampling techniques and five garments selected based on sample survey and purposively out of the total population of these garments industries. The sources of data to carry out the proposed study data has been collected from two sources; Primary and Secondary sources. The data processing with various tables, pie-charts, bar-diagrams and figures have been used for analyzing the collected data. The information have been classified and tabulated under various characteristics. The results have been shown using simple statistical methods, qualitative and quantitative both kinds of analysis have been used. Some problems and limitations are therefore, inevitable in the way of conducting such a broad task. Finding of this study are most of the workers have lost their overtime work. Their income level falls that result, domestic violence has raised in most of the workers families. At last we can say that the production of clothing during the COVID-19 pandemic must not go ahead without an urgent overview of the system and the development of a plan to ensure the health and safety of workers.
Volleyball Players' Performance During Competition and Its Relation to The Coach's Familiarity with The Pedagogical Requirements of Training
Authors: Khalid Almaryami , Baaziz Mohamed , Khalfoun Jihen , Abderrahman Abderraouf Ben
Published: May 2024

The study outlines the necessary training requirements for a coach to achieve athletic excellence in players. These factors include the coach's scientific knowledge, such as their understanding of scientific concepts related to modern coaching and assessment methods, knowledge of fundamentals and training methods, ability to instill personal qualities in players, and knowledge of teaching and learning methods. Additionally, the coach's personal qualities in relation to the players are important, including their behavior, ability to develop a spirit of competition, socialization, and team spirit, and understanding of the educational aspects of coaching. Finally, the coach's application of scientific knowledge in training is crucial, including mastery of the training load, game plans, and the organizational aspects of matches. Furthermore, the coach's understanding of the selection criteria is recognized as a crucial element in enhancing player performance.
The Interplay Between Problem Gambling and Narcissism
Authors: Tochkov Karin
Published: May 2024

Problem gambling and narcissism represent two distinct yet interconnected psychological phenomena with significant implications for individuals and society. This paper seeks to explore the complex relationship between problem gambling and narcissism, shedding light on the psychological mechanisms, empirical evidence, and therapeutic implications. Through a comprehensive review of the literature, this research aims to deepen our understanding of how these constructs intersect and inform preventive and therapeutic interventions.
Keynan Somali Equation Theory: An Empirical Attempt to Explain What Led to the Collapse of the Somali State
Authors: Issa-Salwe Abdisalam M , Osman Abdullahi Salah
Published: May 2024

With the introduction of the contemporary state structure in Somalia, there have been and still are ways to explain what led to the collapse of the state. There have been many attempts from scholars who viewed the Somali case from different perspectives to explain what led to the state crumbling. The Somali state collapse has rejected conventional wisdom and evaded almost all attempts to impose a particular structure, explanation, or conclusion upon it. Much has been written and said about the country, particularly since 1991. One serious attempt which may help explain the Somali case is the Keynan Theory of Somali Equation (KSET). KSET is a philosophical attempt to explain the Somali state's collapse by theorising the country's political and social context, the factors that contributed to its demise, and the steps necessary for the Somali people to reconstruct their state. This paper will attempt to analyse and examine the theoretical framework of the phenomenon of social order fragmentation, which is the foundation of KSET. Applying the theory will further attempt to shed light on the factors that led to the establishment and continuation of Somali society. It will also examine "the complex of ideas, values, beliefs and institutions that define and underpin the Somali society" by looking at the methodology applied in KSET.
Adolescents' Social Emotional Health, Stress Resilience and Perceived Parenting Styles
Authors: Petrulyte Ala , Guogienė Virginija , Jakavičienė Aušra
Published: May 2024

The current study adopts a holistic and positive psychological approach to mental health, focusing on the emotional and social health domains of adolescents. The focus is on the correlation between adolescents' social emotional health, stress resilience and their perceived parenting style. Research methodologies: The Social Emotional Health Survey System (SEHS-S, Furlong et al., 2014); Brief Resilient Coping Scale (Sinclaire, Wallston, 2004); The parenting styles questionnaire (EMBU, Arrindell, 1999). Participants: 160 adolescents between 12 and 18 years of age. Research results: all parenting styles (except rejection) perceived by adolescents are significantly positively related to overall social emotional health (SEHS-S) index Covitality; adolescents stress resilience significantly positively correlates with all sub-scales of social emotional health and with the overall Covitality index. Effective communication between parents and children could help prevent or mitigate many problems and stresses during adolescence and contribute to positive development in adulthood.
DPSUR: Accelerating Differentially Private Stochastic Gradient Descent Using Selective Update and Release
Authors: Fu Jie , Ye Qingqing , Hu Haibo , Chen Zhili , Wang Lulu , Wang Kuncan , Ran Xun
Published: May 2024

Machine learning models are known to memorize private data to reduce their training loss, which can be inadvertently exploited by privacy attacks such as model inversion and membership inference. To protect against these attacks, differential privacy (DP) has become the de facto standard for privacy-preserving machine learning, particularly those popular training algorithms using stochastic gradient descent, such as DPSGD. Nonetheless, DPSGD still suffers from severe utility loss due to its slow convergence. This is partially caused by the random sampling, which brings bias and variance to the gradient, and partially by the Gaussian noise, which leads to fluctuation of gradient updates.

Our key idea to address these issues is to apply selective updates to the model training, while discarding those useless or even harmful updates. Motivated by this, this paper proposes DPSUR, a Differentially Private training framework based on Selective Updates and Release, where the gradient from each iteration is evaluated based on a validation test, and only those updates leading to convergence are applied to the model. As such, DPSUR ensures the training in the right direction and thus can achieve faster convergence than DPSGD. The main challenges lie in two aspects --- privacy concerns arising from gradient evaluation, and gradient selection strategy for model update. To address the challenges, DPSUR introduces a clipping strategy for update randomization and a threshold mechanism for gradient selection. Experiments conducted on MNIST, FMNIST, CIFAR-10, and IMDB datasets show that DPSUR significantly outperforms previous works in terms of convergence speed and model utility.
FusionQuery: On-demand Fusion Queries over Multi-source Heterogeneous Data
Authors: Zhu Junhao , Mao Yuren , Chen Lu , Ge Congcong , Wei Ziheng , Gao Yunjun
Published: May 2024

Centralised data management systems (e.g., data lakes) support queries over multi-source heterogeneous data. However, the query results from multiple sources commonly involve between-source conflicts, which makes query results unreliable and confusing and degrades the usability of centralised data management systems. Therefore, resolving the between-sourced conflicts is one of the most important problems for centralised data management systems. To solve it, many batch data fusion-based methods have been proposed, which require traversing all the data in the centralised data management systems and cause scalability and flexibility issues.

To address these issues, this paper explores the problem of on-demand fusion queries, where the between-sourced conflicts are solved with only the query-related data; moreover, we propose an efficient on-demand fusion query framework, FusionQuery, which consists of a query stage and a fusion stage. In the query stage, we frame the heterogeneous data query problem as a knowledge graph matching problem and present a line graph-based method to accelerate it. In the fusion stage, we develop an Expectation Maximization-style algorithm to iteratively updates data veracity and source trustworthiness. Furthermore, we design an incremental estimation method of source trustworthiness to address the lack of sufficient observations. Extensive experiments on two real-world datasets demonstrate that FusionQuery outperforms state-of-the-art data fusion methods in terms of both effectiveness and efficiency.
How Do Categorical Duplicates Affect ML? A New Benchmark and Empirical Analyses
Authors: Shah Vraj , Parashos Thomas , Kumar Arun
Published: May 2024

The tedious grunt work involved in data preparation (prep) before ML reduces ML user productivity. It is also a roadblock to industrial-scale cloud AutoML workflows that build ML models for millions of datasets. One important data prep step for ML is cleaning duplicates in the Categorical columns, e.g., deduplicating CA with California in a State column. However, how such Categorical duplicates impact ML is ill-understood as there exist almost no in-depth scientific studies to assess their significance. In this work, we take the first step towards empirically characterizing the impact of Categorical duplicates on ML classification with a three-pronged approach. We first study how Categorical duplicates exhibit themselves by creating a labeled dataset of 1262 Categorical columns. We then curate a downstream benchmark suite of 16 real-world datasets to make observations on the effect of Categorical duplicates on five popular classifiers and five encoding mechanisms. We finally use simulation studies to validate our observations. We find that Logistic Regression and Similarity encoding are more robust to Categorical duplicates than two One-hot encoded high-capacity classifiers. We provide actionable takeaways that can potentially help AutoML developers to build better platforms and ML practitioners to reduce grunt work. While some of the presented insights have remained folklore for practitioners, our work presents the first systematic scientific study to analyze the impact of Categorical duplicates on ML and put this on an empirically rigorous footing. Our work presents novel data artifacts and benchmarks, as well as novel empirical analyses to spur more research on this topic.
CGgraph: An Ultra-Fast Graph Processing System on Modern Commodity CPU-GPU Co-processor
Authors: Cui Pengjie , Liu Haotian , Tang Bo , Yuan Ye
Published: May 2024

In recent years, many CPU-GPU heterogeneous graph processing systems have been developed in both academic and industrial to facilitate large-scale graph processing in various applications, e.g., social networks and biological networks. However, the performance of existing systems can be significantly improved by addressing two prevailing challenges: GPU memory over-subscription and efficient CPU-GPU cooperative processing.

In this work, we propose CGgraph, an ultra-fast CPU-GPU graph processing system to address these challenges. In particular, CGgraph overcomes GPU-memory over-subscription by extracting a subgraph which only needs to be loaded into GPU memory once, but its vertices and edges can be used in multiple iterations during the graph processing procedure. To support efficient CPU-GPU co-processing, we design a CPU-GPU cooperative processing scheme, which balances the workloads between CPU and GPU by on-demand task allocation. To evaluate the efficiency of CG-graph, we conduct extensive experiments, comparing it with 7 state-of-the-art systems using 4 well-known graph algorithms on 6 real-world graphs. Our prototype system CGgraph outperforms all existing systems, delivering up to an order of magnitude improvement. Moreover, CGgraph on a modern commodity machine with a CPU-GPU co-processor yields superior (or at the very least, comparable) performance compared to existing systems on a high-end CPU-GPU server.
ChatGPT als Recherchetool?
Authors: Oertner Monika
Published: May 2024

„ChatGPT may produce inaccurate information about people, places, or facts“, so warnt Open AI vor der Unzuverlässigkeit der Auskünfte, die sein Chatbot erteilt. Zu KI-Kompetenz, die heute zu den zukunftsrelevanten und berufsvorbereitenden Studienzielen gezählt wird, gehört, diese Unzuverlässigkeit einschätzen zu können. Der Beitrag bietet dazu eine Fehlertypologie und setzt sie in Bezug zur technischen Funktionsweise. Zwanzig Arten der Unzuverlässigkeit von KI-Auskünften ordnet er den drei Ursachenfeldern Trainingsmaterial, Generierungsprozess und Programmierung zu. Außerdem entwirft er ein Modell des paradoxen Mechanismus der User-Psychologie – Technikglaube vs. Eliza-Effekt – und rekurriert auf Harry Frankfurts Begriff des Unfugs („Bullshit“), der wie zugeschnitten auf KI-Auskünfte scheint. Einige der Fehlertypen, insbesondere die im Generierungsprozess selbst erzeugten, sind als unbehebbares Kernphänomen zu sehen. Im Einsatz generativer KI als Informations- und Recherchetool steckt daher ein großes und dauerhaftes Gefahrenpotenzial – für den Kompetenzaufbau im Studium, aber auch für unsere Wissensgesellschaft als Ganzes.
Comparative evaluation of volumetry estimation from plain and contrast enhanced computed tomography liver images
Authors: Balagourouchetty Lakshmipriya , Jayanthi Pragatheeswaran K. , Pottakkat Biju , Ramkumar Govindarajalou
Published: May 2024

Objectives

Surgery planning for liver tumour is carried out using contrast enhanced computed tomography (CECT) images to determine the optimal resection strategy and to assess the volume of liver and tumour. Current surgery planning tools interpret even the functioning liver cells present within the tumour boundary as tumour. Plain CT images provide inadequate information for treatment planning. This work attempts to address two shortcomings of existing surgery planning tools: (i) to delineate functioning liver cells from the non-functioning tumourous tissues within the tumour boundary and (ii) to provide 3D visualization and actual tumour volume from the plain CT images.

Methods

All slices of plain CT images containing liver are enhanced by means of fuzzy histogram equalization in Non-Subsampled Contourlet Transform (NSCT) domain prior to 3D reconstruction to clearly delineate liver, non-functioning tumourous tissues and functioning liver cells within the tumour boundary. The 3D analysis from plain and CECT images was carried out on five types of liver lesions viz. HCC, metastasis, hemangioma, cyst, and abscess along with normal liver.

Results

The study resulted in clear delineation of functional liver tissues from non-functioning tumourous tissues within the tumour boundary from CECT as well as plain CT images. The volume of liver calculated using the proposed approach is found comparable with that obtained using Myrian-XP, a currently followed surgery planning tool in clinical practice.

Conclusions

The obtained results from plain CT images will undoubtedly provide valuable diagnostic assistance and surgery planning even for the subset of patients for whom CECT acquisition is not advisable.
Occurrence of Dictyosphaeria (Cladophorales, Chlorophyta) species on the Brazilian coast and oceanic islands, based on morphological and molecular data
Authors: Brito Jhullyrson Osman Ferreira de , Santos Silva Michelle Cristine , Oliveira Mariana Cabral , Pellizzari Franciane , Cassano Valéria , Gama Watson Arantes
Published: May 2024

Molecular data related to morphology from the multicellular vesiculated genus Dictyosphaeria are scarce. We provide the first molecular data on Dictyosphaeria species from the southwestern Atlantic Ocean, sampled from the Brazilian northeastern coast, and two oceanic islands (Trindade, southeastern Brazil, and Fernando de Noronha, northeastern Brazil). The samples from Brazil were morphologically identified as Dictyosphaeria versluysii and D. ocellata. Our newly generated sequences of D. versluysii formed a monophyletic clade, while their relationship with D. versluysii from the Indo-Pacific Ocean, where the type locality of the species is located, was unresolved. Additionally, the newly generated sequences of D. ocellata confirm its status as a distinct species but reinforce the difficulties in morphologically separating this species. These results might be indicative of cryptic diversity in D. versluysii and highlight the need for molecular data from other geographic locations to understand the diversity and distribution of Dictyosphaeria species.
Critical Multitype Branching Processes with Random Migration
Authors: González Miguel , Martín-Chávez Pedro , del Puerto Inés
Published: May 2024

The aim of this paper is to introduce a multitype branching process with random migration following the research initiated with the Galton–Watson process with migration introduced in [N. M. Yanev and K. V. Mitov,
Controlled branching processes: The case of random migration,
C. R. Acad. Bulgare Sci. 33 1980, 4, 473–475]. We focus our attention in what we call the critical case. Sufficient conditions are provided for the process to have unlimited growth or not. Furthermore, using suitable normalizing sequences, we study the asymptotic distribution of the process. Finally, we obtain a Feller-type diffusion approximation.
Preparation of silymarin-loaded zein polysaccharide core–shell nanostructures and evaluation of their biological potentials
Authors: Khalil Muhammad Saqib , Khan Ibrar , Khan Farhat Ali , Shireen Farah , Zahoor Muhammad , Azam Sadiq , Kumar Sanjeet , Ullah Riaz , Esa Muhammad , Bari Ahmed
Published: May 2024

Silymarin-loaded zein polysaccharide core–shell nanoparticles (SZPCS-NPs) were synthesized where sodium alginate and pectin offer stability and controlled release qualities to zein, a maize protein, having excellent biocompatibility. The present study is an attempt to develop zein–silymarin polysaccharide core–shell nanostructures to enhance water solubility, thereby improving bioavailability and producing enhanced biological responses in living systems. SZPCS-NPs were prepared using pH-induced antisolvent precipitation method. Five different types of SZPCS-NPs were synthesized using different combinations of sodium alginate and pectin, namely P100–A00 (non-uniform size ranging from 20 to 100 nm), P70–A30 (spherical and uniform size measuring approximately 80 nm in diameter), P50–A50, P30–A70, and P00–A100 exhibited irregular shapes with the presence of some triangular and oval structures and non-uniform size ranging from 20 to 100 nm. The SZPCS-NPs P70–A30 possessed the best results in terms of shape, size, and other characterization studies. Furthermore, the SZPCS-NPs possessed a percent drug loading of 72.5% and entrapment efficiency of 51.7%, respectively. The resulting SZPCS-NPs exhibited an excellent relative bioavailability percentage of 97.4% in comparison to commercial silymarin, having 58.1%, and crude silymarin, having 46.97% bioavailability percentage, correspondingly. In addition, SZPCS-NPs possessed an almost two folds’ increase in antioxidant activity in comparison to crude and commercially available silymarin. Similarly, SZPCS-NPs also showed better stabilization in hepatic biomarker enzymes and possessed better hepatoprotective activity for a period of 6 weeks, in contrast to commercial and crude silymarin formulations.
Resting her Case: “MeToo à la française” – Springora and Others
Authors: Almog Shulamit , Amar Ruth
Published: May 2024

In January 2020, Vanessa Springora published Consent, an unusual memoir that discloses the elaborated version of a personal story. Springora was 14 years old when she met the 50-year-old Gabriel Matzneff, a well-known French writer. Thirty years later, she decided to take back the agency that she claims was taken from her, with the artilleries of literature. While closely following Springora’s narrative, the paper focuses on the emergence of a new “memoir genre”, which besides presenting a platform for personal redemption, instigated an important shift within the French public opinion regarding the nature of consent, and ignited significant legal reform in this regard. As will be elaborated, Consent and other works in similar spirit appositely demonstrate the power of law to stimulate certain narrative patterns, and the power of stories to influence cultural atmosphere which leads to legal changes.
The Istanbul Convention, Sofagate, and Turkey’s EU Candidacy: A Gender-Centric Convergence Analysis
Authors: Kollias Christos , Messis Petros
Published: May 2024

Gender-related issues feature prominently on the EU’s agenda and in policies such as the Gender Equality Strategy 2020–2025 which identifies gender equality as a core principle of the EU. Within the broader convergence discourse which examines whether candidate countries are converging with the EU, prompted by Turkey’s withdrawal from the Council of Europe Istanbul Convention and the Sofagate incident, this paper conducts a gender-centric convergence analysis in the case Turkey. To this end, it uses five gender-focused indices compiled by the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) project. The empirical results from the convergence tests do not provide evidence supporting convergence in terms of these five gender-related indices. The findings of the present study concur with the existing relevant literature and should be viewed in the broader context of Turkey’s democratic backsliding and de-Europeanization process.
Achievement or Social Background? The Impact of Tracking on the Composition of Schools in an International Comparison
Authors: Brinkmann Maximilian , Huth-Stöckle Nora , Schunck Reinhard , Teltemann Janna
Published: May 2024

This study explores the implications of early between-school tracking within educational systems – a practice that involves sorting students into different educational pathways based on their achievement levels. We examine two potential effects of this process: (i) the promotion of homogeneous learning environments through tracking, and (ii) the potential for tracking to exacerbate social segregation among schools. To scrutinize these effects, we analyze data from the assessment studies PISA, TIMSS, and PIRLS (1995–2019). Additionally, we investigate whether school selectivity influences the tracking effects. Using difference-in-differences models combined with multiverse analyses, our findings demonstrate that early between-school tracking indeed contributes to the homogeneity of learning environments and can lead to increased social school segregation. However, our results do not indicate a moderating role of school selectivity.
„Moralismus“ als „fait social“. Eine Formalanalyse moralischer Konfliktpotentiale
Authors: Schneider Christoph
Published: May 2024

Der Artikel befragt das Phänomen des „Moralismus“ nach den handlungsstrukturierenden Bedingungen von Beziehungsmustern und Akteursverhältnissen, innerhalb derer sich Moralakteur:innen und ihre Gegenspieler:innen in Gesellschaft begegnen. Das Augenmerk gilt dabei einer Auswahl an idealtypischen Interaktionsrahmungen und daraus resultierenden Handlungszwängen, aufgrund derer die Wahrscheinlichkeit konfliktverschärfender Effekte durch Moralbeanspruchung für die darin involvierten Akteur:innen ansteigt. Nicht dem Werteprogramm der Moral an sich wird aus dieser Perspektive Aufmerksamkeit geschenkt, als vielmehr den akteursbezogenen Kontextbedingungen derjenigen sozialen Interaktionsformen, im Rahmen derer Moralkonflikte in Gesellschaft ausgetragen werden.
Institutional effects on family business internationalization: A systematic review
Authors: Kalhor Elham
Published: May 2024

Family firms play a vital role in the global business landscape, significantly impacting their home countries GDP. These firms diverge from non-family counterparts in their internationalization strategies, yet they stand to gain substantial benefits from international expansion. Beyond economic considerations, family resources and values introduce non-economic factors that challenge traditional economic theories. This study leverages an institutional approach to illuminate the multifaceted influences shaping family firms’ internationalization, encompassing positive and adverse dynamics. The integration of institutional theory marks a recent shift in understanding family firm internationalization, encompassing institutional and economic geography perspectives. To foster discourse and guide future research, this paper systematically reviews peer-reviewed articles covering over a decade, from 2010 to 2023. It identifies formal and informal institutional elements, alongside economic geography factors, that either facilitate or impede family firms’ internationalization. This review underscores existing knowledge gaps at the nexus of institutional theory, economic geography, internationalization, and family business studies. Notably, the systematic literature review uncovered a limited corpus of only 41 articles, indicating the need for more research exploring the synergy between economic geography and institutional factors in the context of diverse internationalization strategies. Furthermore, the review highlights the underexplored terrain within social institutions and economic geography, revealing a notable gap in the extant research.
Archaeological object interviews as a method to study and engage with finder-collectors
Authors: Thomas Suzie , Wessman Anna
Published: May 2024

The activities of metal-detectorists and other finders and collectors of archaeological objects are increasingly of interest for researchers in archaeology and related disciplines. In this methods article, the authors introduce semi-structured archaeological object interviews—inspired by the object interview in sociology—as a means of observing the meanings and biographies that finder-collectors create for, and with, the objects in their stewardship. The challenges and opportunities for researchers using this method are explored and the authors offer reflections from in-the-field experiences with finder-collectors in Flanders, Finland and Norway.
Upitnik psihosomatskih simptoma: priručnik, normativni podatci i upitnici
Authors: Vulić-Prtorić Anita
Published: May 2024

Rukopis pod nazivom Upitnik psihosomatskih simptoma (PSS): priručnik, normativni podatci i upitnici sastoji se od 3 dijela: priručnika s opisom, načinom primjene, analize i interpretacije Upitnika PSS, tablica sa statističkim pokazateljima i normativnim podatcima, te upitnicima PSS na hrvatskom i stranim jezicima. Upitnik psihosomatskih simptoma PSS instrument je za procjenu tjelesnih simptoma u djece, adolescenata i odraslih. Namijenjen je sudionicima u dobi od 10. godine nadalje, premda se zbog svoje jednostavnosti može primjenjivati i u mlađim skupinama, osobito ako se radi o individualnoj primjeni. Može se primijeniti u kliničkoj procjeni, planiranju, praćenju i evaluaciji psihološkog tretmana te savjetovanju, znanstvenim istraživanjima i sl. Sastoji se od liste sa 35 tjelesnih simptoma iz 7 organskih sustava (pseudoneurološki, kardiovaskularni, muskulatorni, respiratorni, gastrointestinalni, dermatološki i bol / osjećaj slabosti) te dopunskih pitanja kojima se prikupljaju podatci o nekim drugim pokazateljima zdravstvenog statusa i doživljavanju bolnih simptoma. Procjenjuje se učestalost javljanja pojedinih tjelesnih simptoma, te stupanj ometanja svakodnevnog života. Upitnik je dostupan u 3 istovjetne verzije kojima se prikupljaju podatci tjelesnih simptoma dobiveni samoprocjenom djeteta, adolescenta ili odrasle osobe, zatim podatci simptoma kod djeteta ili adolescenta dobiveni procjenom roditelja ili skrbnika, kao i neke druge osobe (npr. liječnika). Na taj je način moguće uspoređivati percepciju simptoma različitih procjenjivača, njihovo slaganje, ali i sličnosti u doživljavanju simptoma djeteta i roditelja. Djelo je objavljeno na internetskim stranicama Sveučilišta u Zadru kako bi se omogućio besplatan pristup korisnicima i upotreba u njihovom stručnom i istraživačkom radu. Upitnici, koji su sastavni dio ovog djela, mogu se besplatno preuzimati i upotrebljavati u nekomercijalne svrhe. Svaka upotreba navedenog djela podrazumijeva navođenje izvora na ispod opisani način.
Psychosomatic symptoms scale: Manual, Normative Data and Questionnaires
Authors: Vulić-Prtorić Anita
Published: May 2024

The questionnaire is available in 3 identical versions, one recording the self-assessment of somatic symptoms by the child, adolescent or adult, and the other recording the assessment of symptoms by a parent or caregiver and another person (e.g. a doctor). In this way, it is possible to compare the perception of symptoms by different sources, their differences and similarities in the experience of somatic symptoms. The manual describes the basic psychometric properties of the PSS, which were determined on a sample of 1637 participants, children, adolescents and adults. The statistical indicators obtained in the normative and clinical samples are presented in the tables. The PSS questionnaire belongs to the A category of psychodiagnostic instruments and can be used by professionals from various fields - psychologists, psychiatrists, physicians, social workers, educators, rehabilitators, etc. Questionnaires that are part of this work may be downloaded and used free of charge for non-commercial purposes. Any use of this work requires that the source be acknowledged in the manner described below.
Drought Tolerance in Rice (Oryza sativa L.): Impact, Performance and Recent Trends
Authors: Shah Bibek , Yadav Shubh Pravat Singh , Khadka Alisha , Dahal Kushum , Neupane Barsha , Bhandari Sujan
Published: May 2024

Drought poses a significant challenge to rice cultivation in Asia's rain-fed regions, which is expected to worsen with climate change. This article presents a comprehensive review of the current state of knowledge on drought tolerance in rice, based on a literature review of 52 relevant articles. The articles were chosen based on their relevance to the topic of drought tolerance in rice. The selected articles were then analyzed using a qualitative approach to summarize and synthesize their findings into three main sections: impact, performance, and recent trends. The article highlights several key findings on the development of drought-tolerant rice cultivars, including the identification of genes that control responses to water availability, the use of submergence-tolerant varieties in flood-prone lowlands, and the importance of physiological, biochemical, and molecular adaptation processes in improving rice's tolerance to drought stress. The article emphasizes the importance of marker-assisted breeding and cultivation in semi-arid and rainfed environments to develop more drought-tolerant cultivars. The development of drought-tolerant rice cultivars is crucial to ensure food security and mitigate the effects of climate change in Asia's rain-fed regions. The article also discusses various types of droughts and their effects on different plant species and drought pressures. As the global population increases, the demand for rice as a dependable food crop also rises. To meet this demand, rice cultivation must be expanded to rainfed areas. However, rice's adaptation mechanisms and habitat make it one of the most challenging crops for breeders to develop drought-tolerant varieties. Overall, this article provides important insights and recommendations to improve rice productivity and address the challenges associated with drought in rice cultivation.
La relación entre la heterogeneidad del paisaje y los servicios ecosistémicos en Santa María Huatulco, Oaxaca, México
Authors: Alfonso Martínez Ángel A. , Carrillo Vitale Ernesto R. , Monzón Aldama Yenisleidys , Priego-Santander Ángel G. , Boudet Rouco Dagne
Published: May 2024

[Introduction]: The variability of geographic space, in terms of the horizontal structure of landscapes, influences ecology and suggests an association between landscape heterogeneity indices (LHI) and ecosystem services (ES). This relationship is crucial for conservation and sustainable development in Latin America, given the diversity of landscapes, from tropical forests to snow-capped mountains and deserts, which harbor a unique wealth of biodiversity and ecological functions. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between LHI and ES. [Methodology]: Fourteen landscape heterogeneity indices and seven ecosystem services were calculated in Santa María Huatulco, Oaxaca, and related to the estimated ecosystem services for the same area. [Results]: The models showed a statistically significant relationship between LHI and ES, suggesting that certain LHI can influence the provision and distribution of ES. [Conclusions]: Therefore, understanding how LHI affect ES is essential to promote sustainable development in Latin America.
Gravitational wave detection by hollow-core fiber-optics Mach-Zehnder interferometry
Authors: De Martini Francesco
Published: May 2024

Recent advances in the field of very long distance optical communication suggest the adoption of the advanced technology based on Hollow Core Nested Anti- resonant Nodeless Fiber (HC-NANF) within the endeavour of Gravitational Wave detection using a Mach-Zehnder optical interferometer (MZ-IF). The proposal, consisting of a summary project of the device emphasizes the favorable properties of (MZ- IF) in comparison with Michelson Interferometer (M-IF) currently in operation. The key feature of the proposed method consists of the use of a couple of “fibrated” metallic antennas enfolded by a very large number (h x 7,7 x 104 with h= 1,2,3 etc.) of coiled rings or of straight sections of the (HC-NANF) fiber. This amounts to a corresponding fiber length: L (K) = h x 1500 Km. The relevant properties of the device are noise reduction, absence of critical optical mirror alignment in a noisy environment, reduced spatial extension of the apparatus, exploration of the entire sky scenario by freely orientable antennas, a substantial cost reduction of the apparatus. The remarkable properties of (HC-NANF), invented by F. Poletti in 2013 are currently investigated by his group at the University of Southampton, UK.
Publishing in Scholarly Journals
Authors: Scharlemann Robert P
Published: May 2024

In The Archive, we republish an article that, in hindsight, may have been ahead of its time with its prescience. Our pull for this issue is a 1984 piece by Robert P. Scharlemann. In this paper Scharlemann, the former editor of The Journal of the American Academy of Religion, lends his experience—from being on both sides of the journal publishing divide—to Religious Studies colleagues who are newer to the field.
Gut microbiota modulation by postbiotics in patients with coronary artery disease and atrial fibrillation
Authors: Melnychuk Iryna
Published: May 2024

The aim: is to improve gut microbiota composition by the long-term postbiotics (glycine and propionic acid) supplementation in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and atrial fibrillation (AF).
Materials and methods: 40 patients were divided into 3 groups: first (CAD) – 14 patients with CAD but without arrhythmias; second (CAD+AF) – 18 patients with CAD and AF paroxysm; and the control group – 8 patients without CAD and arrhythmias. 16 patients from the II group received basic therapy, according to the latest ESC guidelines, and postbiotic supplementation: rebamipide (2-(4-chlorobenzoylamino)-3-[2(1H))-quinolon-4-yl] propionic acid) by 100 mg 3 times a day and glycine by 100 mg 3 times a day during 6 months. 16-S rRNA sequencing checked gut microbiota composition.
Results: The II group patients had a significant rise in Pseudomonadota (by taxonomic analysis), Actinobacter Spp. and a decrease in Blautia Spp., Bacteroides Thetaiotaomicron compared with the I group, P<0.05. Long-term postbiotics supplementation for patients with coronary artery disease and atrial fibrillation leads to a significant decrease in Firmicutes/ Bacteroides ratio, P<0.05; a significant rise in Verrucomicrobiota and a decrease in Firmicutes, P<0.05; a significant increase in Lactobacillus spp., Akkermansia muciniphila, Blautia spp., Prevotella spp. and a decrease in Streptococcus spp. and Methanosphaera stadmanae, P<0.05. A significantly lower F/B ratio was found in the patients with long-term postbiotics supplementation in comparison with placebo group patients, P<0.05. A significant increase in Actinomycetota was found in the patients with long-term postbiotics supplementation compared to placebo group patients, P<0.05. A significant increase in probiotic species (Akkermansia muciniphila, Blautia spp., Eubacterium Rectale, and Prevotella spp.) and a decrease in species, associated with cardiometabolic disorders (Streptococcus spp.) was found in the patients with long term postbiotics supplementation in comparison with placebo group patients, P<0.05.
Conclusion: Long-term postbiotics supplementation for patients with coronary artery disease and atrial fibrillation leads to positive gut microbiota modulation
Sociological research of the men’s androgenic alopecia problem
Authors: Fedorovska Mariana , Yarema Inna , Sinichenko Anna , Hlushchenko Olena , Strus Oksana
Published: May 2024

Diseases of the skin and its appendages currently occupy one of the leading places in terms of prevalence. In addition, today the relationship between dermatopathologies and the psychoemotional state of people and vice versa is clearly monitored. Psychodermatology is engaged in the study of exactly this regularity. One of the most common trichological diseases is androgenic alopecia, which is characterized by excessive hair loss under the influence of androgens in individuals with a hereditary predisposition. Androgenic alopecia is often accompanied by secondary mental disorders, which significantly impair the quality of people’s life. It is relevant to conduct sociological research of this problem among men of all age groups. Such research will reveal the level of influence of androgenic alopecia on the psychoemotional state of men who may be potential consumers of medicines and dermatocosmetics.
The aim of the work was to conduct a sociological study to establish the impact of androgenic alopecia on the psychoemotional state of men and their readiness for pharmacotherapy.
Materials and methods. Sociological research was conducted from 01.03.2019 to 31.08.2019 by surveying 150 men aged 18 to 66. Respondents were visitors to pharmacies in the Ivano-Frankivsk and Chernivtsi regions of Ukraine, who gave written consent to participate in the survey. Only persons with visible manifestations of androgenic alopecia according to the Norwood scale were included in the survey. All respondents were divided into the following age groups: from 18 to 20 years old, from 21 to 30 years old, from 31 to 40 years old, from 41 to 50 years old, from 51 to 60 years old, from 61 years old and older. The distribution was carried out to segment the target market. The results of the study were displayed as percentages with 95 % confidence intervals. Statistical analysis was performed using R version 4.1.2 (R Core Team (2021).
The results. According to the results of the sociological study, 48.7 % of interviewed men consider that androgenic alopecia is a problem which can affect the emotional state and, so, the quality of life. As a result, about 90 % of the respondents indicated that they need to expand the assortment of effective remedies to solve this problem on the pharmaceutical market of Ukraine, of which 36.7 % are ready to pay for a course of effective pharmacotherapy from 200 to 500 hryvnias.
Conclusions. The obtained results confirm that androgenic alopecia has a negative effect on the psychoemotional state of men and worsens their quality of life. To solve the problem of androgenic alopecia, men are interested in using effective medicinal or dermatocosmetic products