bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Assessment of barriers to optimum enteral nutrition practices as perceived by critical care providers
Authors: Elmokadem Eman Mohamed , Hanna Maha Gamil , Darweesh Ebtissam Abdelghaffar , Bassiouny Ahmed Mohamed , Sabri Nagwa A. , El Borolossy Radwa Maher
Published: July 2023

Background

Nutritional support is a vital intervention for critically ill patients. Despite the existence of several clinical practice guidelines focused on enteral nutrition of critically ill, there is still a gap between guideline recommendations and actual nutrition practices. The purpose of this study is to understand the role of the clinical pharmacist in identifying the barriers to applying optimum enteral nutritional practices from the perspective of critical care providers. A descriptive cross-sectional design was utilized using self-administered questionnaire. A total of 90 critical care providers comprising of 3 categories: physicians (n = 30), clinical pharmacists (n = 30), and nurses (n = 30) were recruited. "The barriers to enteral feeding critically ill patients" questionnaire was used to explore the barriers that hinder them from optimal delivery of enteral nutrition.

Results

Not enough dietitian coverage during holidays was the most important barrier facing the physicians. As for the clinical pharmacists, the most important barrier was waiting for the dietitian to assess the patient. Regarding the nurses, familiarity with nutrition guidelines was the most important barrier. There was a highly significant difference between physicians, clinical pharmacists, and nurses regarding subscales’ scores and overall scores of Barriers Questionnaire except for the resources and provider attitudes.

Conclusion

Barriers to optimum enteral nutrition practices were explored with more attention on barriers regarding dietitian support and critical care providers' attitudes. This article provides the basis for the creation of interventions intended to overcome these barriers and enhance enteral nutrition practices.
Cognitive–behavioural versus cognitive–analytic guided self-help for mild-to-moderate anxiety: a pragmatic, randomised patient preference trial
Authors: Kellett Stephen , Bee Charlotte , Smithies Jess , Aadahl Vikki , Simmonds-Buckley Melanie , Power Niall , Dugen-Williams Caroline , Fallon Neil , Delgadillo Jaime
Published: July 2023

Background

Guided self-help (GSH) for anxiety is widely implemented in primary care services because of service efficiency gains, but there is also evidence of poor acceptability, low effectiveness and relapse.

Aims

The aim was to compare preferences for, acceptability and efficacy of cognitive–behavioural guided self-help (CBT-GSH) versus cognitive–analytic guided self-help (CAT-GSH).

Method

This was a pragmatic, randomised, patient preference trial (Clinical trials identifier: NCT03730532). The Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) was the primary outcome at 8- and 24-week follow-up. Interventions were delivered competently on the telephone via structured workbooks over 6–8 (30–35 min) sessions by trained practitioners.

Results

A total of 271 eligible participants were included, of whom 19 (7%) accepted being randomised and 252 (93%) chose their treatment. In the preference cohort, 181 (72%) chose CAT-GSH and 71 (28%) preferred CBT-GSH. BAI outcomes in the preference and randomised cohorts did not differ at 8 weeks (−0.80, 95% confidence interval (CI) −4.52 to 2.92) or 24 weeks (0.85, 95% CI −2.87 to 4.57). After controlling for allocation method and baseline covariates, there were no differences between CAT-GSH and CBT-GSH at 8 weeks (F(1, 263) = 0.22, P = 0.639) or at 24 weeks (F(1, 263) = 0.22, P = 0.639). Mean BAI change from baseline was a reduction of 9.28 for CAT-GSH and 9.78 for CBT-GSH at 8 weeks and 12.90 for CAT-GSH and 12.43 for CBT-GSH at 24 weeks.

Conclusions

Patients accessing routine primary care talking treatments prefer to choose the intervention they receive. CAT-GSH expands the treatment offer in primary care for patients with anxiety seeking a brief but analytically informed GSH solution.
Responsible AI practice and AI education are central to AI implementation: a rapid review for all medical imaging professionals in Europe
Authors: Walsh Gemma , Stogiannos Nikolaos , van de Venter Riaan , Rainey Clare , Tam Winnie , McFadden Sonyia , McNulty Jonathan P , Mekis Nejc , Lewis Sarah , O'Regan Tracy , Kumar Amrita , Huisman Merel , Bisdas Sotirios , Kotter Elmar , Pinto dos Santos Daniel , Sá dos Reis Cláudia , van Ooijen Peter , Brady Adrian P , Malamateniou Christina
Published: July 2023

Artificial intelligence (AI) has transitioned from the lab to the bedside, and it is increasingly being used in healthcare. Radiology and Radiography are on the frontline of AI implementation, because of the use of big data for medical imaging and diagnosis for different patient groups. Safe and effective AI implementation requires that responsible and ethical practices are upheld by all key stakeholders, that there is harmonious collaboration between different professional groups, and customised educational provisions for all involved. This paper outlines key principles of ethical and responsible AI, highlights recent educational initiatives for clinical practitioners and discusses the synergies between all medical imaging professionals as they prepare for the digital future in Europe. Responsible and ethical AI is vital to enhance a culture of safety and trust for healthcare professionals and patients alike. Educational and training provisions for medical imaging professionals on AI is central to the understanding of basic AI principles and applications and there are many offerings currently in Europe. Education can facilitate the transparency of AI tools, but more formalised, university-led training is needed to ensure the academic scrutiny, appropriate pedagogy, multidisciplinarity and customisation to the learners’ unique needs are being adhered to. As radiographers and radiologists work together and with other professionals to understand and harness the benefits of AI in medical imaging, it becomes clear that they are faced with the same challenges and that they have the same needs. The digital future belongs to multidisciplinary teams that work seamlessly together, learn together, manage risk collectively and collaborate for the benefit of the patients they serve.
A nomogram incorporating clinical, conventional ultrasound and shear wave elastography findings for distinguishing pleomorphic adenoma from Warthin’s tumor of the major salivary glands
Authors: Su Huan-Zhong , Yang Jia-Jia , Li Zhi-Yong , Hong Long-Cheng , Lin Wen-Jin , Chen Cong , Guo Jie , Fang Zhen-Yan , Xue En-Sheng
Published: July 2023

Objective:

Pre-operative differentiation between pleomorphic adenoma (PA) and Warthin’s tumor (WT) of the major salivary glands is crucial for treatment decisions. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a nomogram incorporating clinical, conventional ultrasound (CUS) and shear wave elastography (SWE) features to differentiate PA from WT.

Methods:

A total of 113 patients with histological diagnosis of PA or WT of the major salivary glands treated at Fujian Medical University Union Hospital were enrolled in training cohort (n = 75; PA = 41, WT = 34) and validation cohort (n = 38; PA = 22, WT = 16). The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression algorithm was used for screening the most optimal clinical, CUS, and SWE features. Different models, including the nomogram model, clinic-CUS (Clin+CUS) and SWE model, were built using logistic regression. The performance levels of the models were evaluated and validated on the training and validation cohorts, and then compared among the three models.

Results:

The nomogram incorporating the clinical, CUS and SWE features showed favorable predictive value for differentiating PA from WT, with the area under the curves (AUCs) of 0.947 and 0.903 for the training cohort and validation cohort, respectively. Decision curve analysis showed that the nomogram model outperformed the Clin+CUS model and SWE model in terms of clinical usefulness.

Conclusions:

The nomogram had good performance in distinguishing major salivary PA from WT and held potential for optimizing the clinical decision-making process.
Maximum and mean standardized uptake values of medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw with bone SPECT/CT: comparison of mandibular pathologies, control and temporomandibular joints
Authors: Tezuka Yasuhito , Ogura Ichiro
Published: July 2023

Objective:

Recently, single-photon emission CT/CT (SPECT/CT) plays an important role in assessing patients with medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ). The aim of this study was to investigate maximum and mean standardized uptake values (SUVs) of MRONJ with bone SPECT/CT, especially comparison of mandibular pathologies, control and temporomandibular joints.

Methods:

61 mandibular patients with MRONJ who underwent bone SPECT/CT were included in this study. The maximum and mean SUVs of the lesion, right and left sides of the lesion, opposite side of the lesion as control, right and left temporomandibular joints were analyzed using a workstation and software. The SUVs of MRONJ were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance with Tukey’s honestly significant difference test. Patient characteristics with MRONJ and SUVs were analyzed using Mann–Whitney U test. P-values less than 0.05 were considered to indicate statistical significance.

Results:

The maximum and mean SUVs for opposite side of the lesions (4.4 ± 2.0 and 1.8 ± 0.7) were significantly lower than those for mandibular lesions (18.3 ± 8.1 and 6.3 ± 2.8), right side of the lesions (8.1 ± 3.9 and 2.9 ± 1.3) and left side of the lesions (8.1 ± 3.9 and 2.8 ± 1.4), respectively. The maximum and mean SUVs for right and left sides of the lesions, and opposite side of the lesions, right and left temporomandibular joints were not significant difference. Furthermore, the maximum SUVs of the mandibular lesions were a significant difference for age and staging.

Conclusions:

The maximum and mean SUVs with SPECT/CT can be useful in the quantitative management of MRONJ patients.
Creation of Dimicleft radiological cleft phantom skulls using reversed virtual planning technique
Authors: Pálvölgyi Laura , Kesztyűs Artúr , Shujaat Sohaib , Jacobs Reinhilde , Nagy Krisztián
Published: July 2023

Objectives:

The aim of this technical report was to develop customized pediatric phantoms for cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT)-related research in cleft patients.

Methods:

Six human pediatric skulls (age: 5–10 years) were recruited. A cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scan was taken for each skull, followed by virtual modeling through the process of segmentation. An artificial cleft was designed and printed to be applied onto the skull for the creation of an artificial cleft. The skulls were covered with non-radiopaque tape and immersed in melted Mix-D soft tissue equivalent material. The resulting phantoms covered with Mix-D were assessed radiologically by two expert radiologists. These phantoms were referred to as Dimicleft pediatric skull phantoms.

Results:

Dimicleft phantoms were able to appropriately mimic in vivo circumstances. No gaps existed between Mix-D and bony tissue. Virtual planning allowed the optimal designing of an artificial cleft onto the phantom. The artificially created cleft was suitable to determine the size, location, and extent of the cleft.

Conclusions:

Dimicleft phantoms could act as a viable alternative to other commercially available options for assessing image quality and optimizing CBCT protocols in cleft patients for diagnostics and three-dimensional treatment planning.
Managers’ perceptions of partnerships between social enterprises and the public sector in Brazil
Authors: Mathias Ana Luiza Terra Costa , Fischer Rosa Maria
Published: July 2023

Social enterprises adopt hybrid organizational models and offer new possibilities for cross-sector collaborationbetween business and philanthropic sectors. However, there is a lack of research on partnerships involving socialenterprises. This study examined the benefits and challenges of cross-sector partnerships between social enterprises and public sector organizations in Brazil. In-depth interviews with six managers of three partnerships revealed that social enterprises and public sector managers perceived “visibility” as a key benefit of the partnerships. However, both groups identified “budget constraints,” “differences in work logic and pace,” “lack of project continuity,”and “complex approval processes” as significant challenges. These findings suggest that many of the benefits and challenges previously identified in partnerships between traditional sector organizations also apply to cross-sector partnerships involving social enterprises. The study contributes to understanding the potential of these cross-sector partnerships and highlights the need for further research in this area.
A governança pública do carnaval em Salvador e Recife
Authors: Fernandes Antônio Sérgio Araújo , Andrade Carlos Magno Diniz Guerra de , Canedo Daniele Pereira , Miguez Paulo , Nascimento Alex Bruno Ferreira Marques do
Published: July 2023

O trabalho analisa o processo de governança pública do carnaval de modo comparado em Salvador (BA) e noRecife (PE). Com base no conceito de Ostrom (1990) sobre common pool resources, desenvolveu-se a análise degovernança pública, tendo como objeto de análise a atuação dos respectivos conselhos municipais do carnavalnas duas cidades – o Conselho Municipal do Carnaval e Outras Festas Populares (Comcar), em Salvador, e oConselho Municipal de Política Cultural (CMPC), no Recife, no ano de 2019. Utilizou-se no trabalho pesquisadocumental, com a apreciação das atas de reunião do Comcar e do CMPC, assim como os documentos legaise regimentos internos ligados aos dois conselhos. Os resultados mostram aderência relativa aos conceitos degovernança de Ostrom (1990), e na análise comparada existem semelhanças e diferenças da governança públicado carnaval nas duas cidades.
Is replacing standard investments with ESG substitutes a good choice?
Authors: De Souza Tavares Ricardo , Frois Caldeira Joao
Published: July 2023

We compare traditional portfolio selection strategies with traditional stock market indexes in their standard and ESG versions. In addition to the comparison of 12 indexes from different markets in their ESG and standard versions. To compare the portfolios we use conventional performance measures, and the results show that replacing the indexes with their ESG versions does not detract from performance in terms of the Shape ratio and other measures. In general, there is no statistically significant difference between the returns of the indexes and the portfolios built with these indexes compared to those using the standard versions. So that the investor concerned with environmental and social issues can replace their equity market investments with ESG assets without harming their financial performance.
A direção do mercado acionário impacta o alfa de fundos?
Authors: Noguchi Alexandre , Bortoluzzo Adriana Bruscato , Araujo Michael Viriato
Published: July 2023

Este trabalho procura mostrar se o desempenho histórico dos gestores dos 141 maiores fundos de investimentos de ações do Brasil, de gestão ativa, supera o retorno previsto pelo modelo de 3 fatores de Fama e French (1993) ao longo de um período de 10 anos. Foi verificado que, na média, os gestores não conseguem gerar retorno excessivo positivo. Adicionalmente, o trabalho realiza uma análise para verificar se o desempenho desses mesmos fundos sofre influência de altas e baixas nos preços das ações. Os resultados indicam que a direção do mercado não possui influência no retorno excessivo. Por fim, o estudo verifica se o tamanho do patrimônio dos fundos tem impacto em seu desempenho. Os dados indicam que existe uma relação negativa explicada por ineficiências de escala. A amostra exclui fundos restritos e exclusivos, assim como aqueles cuja carteira seja composta predominantemente por investimentos no exterior e outros fundos de investimento.
Comentários acerca do artigo “O risco de informação assimétrica sobre a liquidez dos contratos futuros de commodities agrícolas”
Authors: Cruz Júnior José César , Capitani Daniel Henrique Dario , Silva Renato Moraes , Franco da Silveira Rodrigo Lanna
Published: July 2023

Esta nota de comentário tem como objetivo explorar quais os limites e os cuidados necessários para analisar a relação entre liquidez e informação assimétrica nos mercados de derivativos agropecuários, diante dos métodos empregados no trabalho de Ribeiro et al. (2020, Revista Brasileira de Finanças 18(2)), “O risco de informação assimétrica sobre a liquidez dos contratos futuros de commodities agrícolas”, que investigaram a influência da assimetria de informações sobre a liquidez nos mercados futuros agropecuários (de milho, soja, café e boi gordo) da bolsa brasileira, B3 (Brasil, Bolsa, Balcão).
Taxas de câmbio e distorções contábeis nas operações de hedge
Authors: Machado Morais Gilvan , Ladeia Christovam Pietro , Vieira Cicogna Maria Paula , Menezes da Silva Ricardo Luiz , Ribeiro do Valle Maurício
Published: July 2023

O objetivo da pesquisa é evidenciar distorções contábeis causadas pelo uso de diferentes taxas de câmbio na contabilização das operações de hedge e mostrar o hedge accounting como solução. As divergências surgem pela omissão das normas contábeis em definir a taxa de câmbio que deve ser empregada. Ilustramos, a partir de um caso, o efeito das diversas taxas cambiais sobre os demonstrativos contábeis. Os resultados revelam que os efeitos sobre o resultado e o patrimônio podem mudar dependendo do emprego do hedge accounting. Além do hedge accounting, sugere-se que os ativos e passivos em dólar dos instrumentos de hedge sejam descontados pelo cupom cambial e convertidos pela PTAX, como forma de compatibilizar com a conversão dos ativos e passivos em dólar; alternativamente, o órgão normativo brasileiro poderia divulgar uma taxa de câmbio oficial para ser empregada.
The Impact of Technology on Improving the Learning Process in Physical Education Lessons for Medically-Exempt Pupils
Authors: Pârvu Carmen , Ungurean Bogdan Constantin , Zamfir Cristina Gabriela , Khamraeva Zukhro Bahadirovna , Alistar Daniel Gabriel
Published: July 2023

Background and Study Aim. The focus of our attention lies on the medically exempt students, who more often than not take part in physical education (P.E.) classes as spectators, without any tasks to complete in accord with the collective work of their classmates or the objective of the lesson. The purpose of the present research is to develop and implement the application Info-Scutit-Sport in the P.E. lesson to the purpose of teaching and assessing medically-exempt students, who are present, but do not take part in the lesson. Material and Methods. The present paper emphasises the usefulness of the Info-Scutit-Efort [Info-Exempt-Effort] application aimed at the active and mindful inclusion of 55 students (aged=11.29±1.84), who have a medical exemption (58.2% total and 42.8% partial) in the P.E. lesson. The appli-cation, in an improved form, comprises the entire content of the curriculum of physical edu-cation in secondary school, transformed into 2080 questions with three answer variants, with 1500 processed images, that may be accessed with the teacher’s accord, on the stu-dent’s own phone. The assessment obtained by means of the application after the working session may provide the student with a mark for the information taught before, if he accesses topics from the previous lessons, or a mark for the current assessment in order to test the ac-tive and mindful participation in the lesson which is being taught. Conclusions. The study utilized multiple statistical tests to establish a relationship between platform access time and student performance. The results of the tests demonstrated that platform use time has a significant impact on student performance, with longer platform access time leading to hi-gher marks. The study concluded that the proposed model is significant, as it identifies plat-form access time as a crucial factor in determining student performance. Moreover, the study found that even small increases in platform access time can lead to significant impro-vements in student performance, with an increase of one unit resulting in a 0.54% increase in marks.
How not to Understand Community:
Authors: Balogun Babalola Joseph
Published: July 2023

Robert Bellah’s article “Community Properly Understood…” is critical of the conventional conception of community as a product of consensus established by shared values and goals among people of common social reality. The need for such a critical approach is arguably encouraged by the rather imprecise deployment of the notion of community in the vast communitarian literature, a deployment which truly raises issues of concern over what the term ‘community’ really means. Bellah’s article is one of the numerous responses to this quest. This paper challenges Bellah’s view on community and offers some arguments to demonstrate why his conception of community may not be adequate. While the uniqueness of his argument is not in doubt, the paper argues that Bellah commits a straw man fallacy by conflating a normative question, “what ought we to do to achieve a working and progressive community?” with the descriptive question, “what is community?” The paper argues that an adequate conception of community must be such that its conception is acceptable to both the liberals and the communitarians. To achieve this, the paper introduces the notion of shared spaces to the conceptualization of the concept of community, and thereby arrives at the definition of community in terms with which both sides of the debate can relate. The paper concludes that with an appropriate concept of community, it would be obvious, contrary to the popular opinion, that liberals and communitarians are both committed to the survival of the community, and that they only differ in their respective approaches to achieving this common goal.
Mathematical Theory of Thermoelasticity
Authors: Ζώη Στεφανία-Μαρία
Published: July 2023

Στην παρούσα διδακτορική διατριβή μελετάται η μαθηματική θεωρία της θερμοελαστικότητας και ειδικότερα η θεωρία σκέδασης θερμοελαστικών κυμάτων. Μοντελοποιούνται και μελετώνται θερμοελαστικά προβλήματα σκέδασης για χρονικά αρμονικά εξαρτημένα πεδία, για τις περιπτώσεις ενός μη διαπερατού ή ενός διαπερατού σκεδαστή όπως επίσης και για την περίπτωση ενός πολυστρωματικού σκεδαστή με μη διαπερατό ή διαπερατό πυρήνα. Μια τετραδιάστατη μορφή των θερμοελαστικών πεδίων της οποίας οι τρεις πρώτες συνιστώσες αντιστοιχούν στο πεδίο μετατόπισης και η τέταρτη συνιστώσα αντιστοιχεί στο πεδίο θερμοκρασίας, χρησιμοποιείται για τη μοντελοποίηση των προαναφερθέντων προβλημάτων σκέδασης σε ενοποιημένη μορφή. Κάνοντας χρήση των συνθηκών πάνω στην επιφάνεια του σκεδαστή και χρήση των συνθηκών πάνω στις επιφάνειες των στρωμάτων του σκεδαστή αντίστοιχα, κατασκευάζονται εναλλακτικές ολοκληρωτικές αναπαραστάσεις του θερμοελαστικού σκεδασμένου πεδίου και εναλλακτικές εκφράσεις των θερμοελαστικών μακρινών πεδίων στις οποίες έχουν ενσωματωθεί οι θερμοελαστικές φυσικές παράμετροι του εσωτερικού του σκεδαστή και τα εσωτερικά θερμοελαστικά πεδία. Αποδεικνύεται η μοναδικότητα λύσης των υπό μελέτη θερμοελαστικών προβλημάτων σκέδασης κάνοντας χρήση μίας Helmholtz αναπαράστασης, των συνθηκών ακτινοβολίας του Kupradze και ενός Λήμματος τύπου Rellich. Επίσης, αποδεικνύεται η ύπαρξη λύσης κάνοντας χρήση θερμοελαστικών δυναμικών απλού και διπλού στρώματος και της θεωρίας Riesz-Fredholm. Στη συνέχεια, μοντελοποιούνται προβλήματα σκέδασης αρμονικά χρονικά εξαρτημένων ελαστικών κυμάτων από ένα διαπερατό και από ένα πολυστρωματικό θερμοελαστικό σκεδαστή με διαπερατό πυρήνα. Κάνοντας χρήση των συνθηκών διαπερατότητας, κατασκευάζονται εναλλακτικές ολοκληρωτικές αναπαράστασεις του ελαστικού σκεδασμένου πεδίου και εναλλακτικές εκφράσεις των ελαστικών μακρινών πεδίων, οι οποίες περιλαμβάνουν τα εσωτερικά θερμοελαστικά πεδία και τις φυσικές παραμέτρους του σκεδαστή. Επίπλέον, παρουσιάζονται και αποδεικνύονται σχέσεις σκέδασης που αντιστοιχούν στο θεώρημα αμοιβαιότητας, στο γενικό θεώρημα σκέδασης και στο οπτικό θεώρημα. Τέλος, μελετάται ένα αντίστροφο πρόβλημα σκέδασης θερμοελαστικών κυμάτων από έναν άκαμπτο θερμοελαστικό σκεδαστή ο οποίος είναι a-priori γνωστό ότι είναι ελλειψοειδούς σχήματος και αποσκοπεί στον προσδιορισμό του μεγέθους και του προσανατολισμού του. Παρουσιάζεται μία μέθοδος επίλυσης του προαναφερθέντος αντιστρόφου προβλήματος σκέδασης, κάνοντας χρήση δεδομένων κοντινού πεδίου και συγκεκριμένα ενός πεπερασμένου αριθμού μετρήσεων του πρώτου όρου του αναπτύγματος χαμηλών συχνοτήτων του θερμοελαστικού σκεδασμένου πεδίου. Αντίστοιχα αποτελέσματα παρουσιάζονται για την γεωμετρικά εκφυλισμένη περίπτωση της σφαίρας.
Attending to Customer Attention: A Novel Deep Learning Method for Leveraging Multimodal Online Reviews to Enhance Sales Prediction
Authors: Chen Gang , Huang Lihua , Xiao Shuaiyong , Zhang Chenghong , Zhao Huimin
Published: July 2023

Review helpfulness has been measured commonly relying on quantitative indicators at the review level. Helpful reviews qualified by such simple indicators, however, may not necessarily yield accurate sales predictions, owing to the ever-evolving review information quality, customer demand, and product attributes. Positing that reviews with higher customer attention should be more influential to customers’ purchase intention and product sales, we propose to leverage customer attention to better realize the potential of multimodal reviews for sales prediction. We conceptualize customer attention at the holistic review set, review subset, individual review, and review element levels, respectively, and induce four indicators of customer attention, that is, timeliness, semantic diversity, voting-awareness, and varying multimodal interaction. We then propose a novel deep learning method, which incorporates these customer attention indicators using neural network attention mechanisms specifically designed for multimodal-review-based sales prediction. Empirical evaluation based on a large data set in a case study predicting hotel sales (specifically, monthly occupancy rate) shows that, in terms of both prediction performance and representation learning performance, our proposed method outperformed benchmarked state-of-the-art deep learning methods. As multimodal reviews become increasingly prevalent, this method serves as a tool for adequately leveraging such multimodal data to support business decision making.
Combating Counterfeit and Substandard Medicines in India: Legal Framework and the Way Ahead
Authors: Singh Ankit
Published: July 2023

India has witnessed an exponential rise in markets of counterfeit medicines. Public health and well-being have suffered drastically due to these nefarious enterprises that are engaged in the trade of fake and substandard drugs for making illegal profits. As per WHO, the global market of fake drugs amount to 200 billion USD and 67% of these counterfeit drugs were categorized as dangerous to human health. Perpetrators have targeted Indian markets because it is a lucrative avenue for them and India doesn’t have a stringent regime or legal framework to tackle the menace of counterfeit drugs. India is the fourth largest export-import market for counterfeit and substandard medicines. In addition to people, ethical companies manufacturing genuine medicines have also endured heavy losses due to the booming counterfeit medicine market. Though India has certain administrative bodies in place to combat the challenge, criminals keep coming up with new methods to defraud the public as well as the government. The authors, in this article, have attempted to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the contemporary trends and challenges pertaining to counterfeit and substandard drugs racket. The author has also analyzed the legislative and policy framework and its efficacy against the menace of fake and substandard drugs.
Advances in diagnosis and management of canine insulinoma: a review
Authors: Buishand Floryne O. , Scudder Chris J.
Published: July 2023

Insulinomas are the most common pancreatic tumours in dogs. Diagnosis of insulinoma requires the concurrent presence of hypoglycaemia and serum insulin levels within or above the upper limit of the reference range. The diagnostic imaging modality of choice is triple-phase contrast enhanced tomography. Surgical resection is generally the most effective treatment option, leading to prolonged survival; however, medical management becomes necessary for many dogs at some point. After surgery, dogs can live for a few years without clinical signs of hypoglycaemia, but eventually clinical hypoglycaemia frequently recurs due to the outgrowth of micrometastases that were undetected at the time of surgery. This review consolidates and provides updated recommendations from the veterinary literature on the diagnosis and management of canine insulinomas.
Cooperative care for companion dogs: emotional health and wellness
Authors: Jones Erin
Published: July 2023

Traditionally, humans treated their companion dogs with absolute authority. Furthermore, much of human behaviour towards dogs is cloaked in myths and driven by human-centric labels such as ‘good,’ ‘bad,’ ‘stubborn’ or ‘friendly’ to describe behaviours, emotions, traits or personalities. This has meant that companion dogs have little, if any, autonomy or choice in what happens to them, and this can be traumatic and emotionally damaging. However, providing dogs with the opportunity to make choices when and where it is safe and appropriate to do so may improve their optimism and is part of a clear two-way system of communication between humans and dogs. This translates to reduced stress and enhanced positive welfare that includes their emotional wellness. Cooperative care is a training protocol that provides some measure of predictability and clarity. It removes ambiguity and thus reduces stress from handling. Because it allows the animal to choose to participate or not, it builds trust and grants for some degree of bodily autonomy. The practical applications have additional effects on overall wellness and also reduce the chances of aggressive behaviours that may lead to human injury and veterinary care can be improved, with benefits to the dog, staff and clients.
Parasite roundup for 2023
Authors: Wright Ian
Published: July 2023

Increasing numbers of imported rescue cats and dogs have been seen over the past few years with an associated risk of exotic pathogens entering the UK. This article provides an update on the parasitic infections seen in UK cats and dogs, as a result of changes in climate, habitat and movement of pets.
Novel type 1 5a-reductase Inhibitors with Antiproliferative Potential on LNCaP cells
Authors: Cabeza Marisa , Menes Luis A. , Fuentes Evelyn , Bahena Iván , Heuze Yvonne
Published: July 2023

This study demonstrated the antiproliferative potential of several dehydroepiandrosterone derivatives 2a-b, 3a-f, and 4a-f in LNCaP cells. LNCaP cells were cultured in the presence of the vehicle, dihydrotestosterone, or testosterone plus 2a-b, 3a-f, 4a-f, or finasteride. At 24 h the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-di phenyltetrazolium bromide-test was performed to determine cell proliferation. In addition, the kinetic of SRD5A1 in these cells was studied in the presence or absence of different concentrations of 2a. Testosterone and dihydrotestosterone increased the proliferation of LNCaP compared to the vehicle-treated cells. Furthermore, steroids 2a-b, 3a-f, and 4a-f decreased the number of viable cells compared to testosterone treatment. However, finasteride did not affect viability. LNCaP cells converted radiolabeled testosterone into dihydrotestosterone. This conversion was inhibited by high concentrations of 2a, while at a pM concentration, the conversion increased slightly, suggesting the presence of allosteric sites in SRD5A1. In conclusion, the three series of derivatives of dehydroepiandrosterone significantly decreased the number of viable LNCaP cells, therefore, showing therapeutic potential to treat metastatic prostate cancer.
Prediction of Urease Inhibition Activity of 1,2,4-triazole Congeners by 2D QSAR Analysis
Authors: Chawla Rinky , Gupta Surya Prakash
Published: July 2023

The objective of the present investigation was to obtain a QSAR model to predict the antiurease activity of a series of 1,2,4-triazole congeners with reported IC50 values in order to design new and better congeners. The calculation of descriptors was done using CDK package and the correlation matrix was developed using all the descriptors. All the variables were subjected to blind simulation in order to select the independent variables with least inter-correlation and high correlation with the anti-urease action. A total of 14 descriptors were finalized for QSAR model generation using Ezqsar. The MLR method was used to obtain the equation and fit of the equation to predict the anti-urease activity of the congeneric compounds. The QSAR model generated for the series was presented 14 independent variables affecting the urease inhibition action.With a regression coefficient of 0.9976 (R2), the created model was determined to have strong predictive power.
Yam (Dioscorea rotundata) tuber waste as feed for poultry production: An alternative kitchen garbage waste management
Authors: Anigbogu Nnamdi M. , Ononuju Amen N. , Agida Christopher A.
Published: July 2023

High cost of feedstuff especially maize and its major contribution of energy source between man and livestock. The study assessed the effect of yam tuber waste meal on broiler bird performance and as an alternative kitchen garbage waste. Specific objectives determined the growth performances, carcass parameters and cost benefits. The experiment lasted for 8 weeks and was conducted at the Poultry Unit of the Teaching and Research Farm, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike, Abia State, Nigeria. A total of 220day old broiler chicks (mixed sexes) of Agric-tech were selected for the study. The diets consist of Diet 1 = 44% maize and 0% yam tuber waste meal, Diet 2 = 32% maize and 12% yam tuber waste meal, Diet 3 = 22% maize and 22% yam tuber waste meal and Diet 4 = 12% maize and 32% yam tuber waste meal, where palm kernel cake, wheat offal, soybean meal, local fish meal, limestone, vitamin premix, lysine, methionine and salt were used to balance the diets. The feed intake was measured daily, while the weight gain, feed efficiency, efficiency of feed utilization, cost benefits and feed conversion ratio were calculated at the end of the study. The result of the weight gain, the efficiency of feed utilization, feed conversion ratio and average daily weight gain had the same significance level (p0.05) on Diets 3 and 4, respectively, higher than those fed to the other Diets. While the total feed intake and cost benefits analysis showed significance (p0.05) among each other, the average daily feed intake and feed efficiency were not significant (p0.05) among treatments. The dress percentage, dress weight and liveweight were significant (p0.05) across the treatments. Conclusively, using yam tuber waste meal in replacement for maize in broiler diets revealed no adverse effect; and could serve as an alternative for kitchen garbage waste. The study, therefore, recommends that; yam tuber waste meal be included at 22 – 32% in broiler diets without deleterious effects in all parameters studied.
Short communications: Effect of red spinach (Amaranthus tricolor L. var Blitumbrum) extract in the diet on color brightnes of guppy fish (Poecilia reticulata)
Authors: Yusni Eri , Hasibuan Nurul F.D.
Published: July 2023

Fish color brightness is influenced by food intake, but no prior reviews have explored the use of red spinach extract in fish feed to enhance color brightness and promote growth in guppy (Poecilia reticulata). Therefore, this study aims to determine the suitable concentration of red spinach extract Amaranthus tricolor color brightness, growth, and survival of guppy. The experiment followed a completely randomized design with three concentrations of red spinach extract (3%, 4%, and 5%) replicated three times at the UPTD Fish Breeding Center in North Binjai Regency, North Sumatra Province. Furthermore, red spinach extract was mixed with the commercial diet containing 41% crude protein and administered to fish at a rate of 3% of their body weight daily for 40 days. The results showed a significant effect of red spinach extract doses on guppy color brightness (P0.05), but no significant influence on weight gain and fish survival (P0.05). It was also discovered that the average color increase was 2,652 in feed mixed with 5% red spinach extract. Similarly, the highest fish weight gain was observed at the 5% concentration, which did not significantly differ from the other concentrations. Fish survival rates were high, with no significant differences among the treatments. Therefore, it was concluded that the optimal concentration of red spinach extract for enhancing guppy color brightness was 5%
Correlation and determination of the Metabolizable Energy (ME) of tropical forage with nutrient content for ruminants
Authors: Indah Andi Sukma , Permana Idat Galih , Despal Despal
Published: July 2023

The metabolizable energy (ME) of tropical forages measured by in vivo method in ruminants had a high degree of accuracy but requires a long time and is expensive. One method that can be done is the ME estimation model. The objectives of the present study were carried out to investigate the relationship between tropical forage nutrient content and ME for ruminants as well as determine and validate a model for estimating ME of tropical forage based on nutrient content. A total of 26 forage samples consisting of 14 types of grass and 12 legumes were obtained after data pre-processing or data cleaning and data normalization. Forage samples will be grouped into 3, Grass + Legume (G+L=26), grass (R=14), and legume (L=12). The database used is Crude Protein (CP), Extract Ether (EE), Neutral Detergent Fiber (NDF), Acid Detergent Fiber (ADF), and hemicellulose as well as ME with in vivo experiments. The initial stage is preprocessing data. Nutrient content and ME were analyzed using Pearson Correlation and followed by multiple linear regression to determine the ME estimation model. However, validated used the mean absolute deviation (MAD), root means square error (RMSE), and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE). The results showed that there was a significant and highly significantly correlated between nutrient composition and ME in the Grass + Legume, Grass, and Legume groups so it could be used to determine ME. There are 9 regression equations with significance and have high R2 and after being validated with the lowest MAD, RMSE, and MAPE values, three regression equations are obtained with one each for each group Grass + Legume (G+L), Grass (R), and Legumes (L). It is concluded that the regression equation of ME of tropical forage is MER+L = 12.429 – 0.122 ADF for Grass + Legume, EMR = 15.609 – 0.115 NDF for Grass, and EML = 3.726 – 0.186 CP for Legume.
Length-weight relationships and condition index of Pokea clams (Batissa violacea var. celebensis, von Martens 1897) in the Laeya River, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia
Authors: Bahtiar Bahtiar , Findra Muhammad Nur , Ishak Ermayanti
Published: July 2023

The length-weight relationship and condition index of pokea clams in the Laeya River are not fully known. This study was aimed to determine the length-weight relationship and condition index of pokea clams in the Laeya River, Southeast Sulawesi. This research was conducted 10 months from May 2016 to February 2017 in the Laeya River, Southeast Sulawesi. Pokea clams are collected using a shovel. The length and weight of each clam was using calipers and analytical scales with accuracy of 0.05 mm and 0.01 g, respectively. The weight of the shell and dried meat was obtained by drying the shells first using an oven and weighing using an analytical balance with an accuracy of 0.01 g and 0.0001 g, respectively. The results showed that the relationship between length and weight of pokea clams in males and females were 2.61 and 2.78, respectively; with R2 values of 0.89 and 0.93, respectively. The highest b values for males and females were found in July with values of 3.03 and 2.94, respectively. The lowest b value was found in November with values of 2.45 and 2.46, respectively. The condition index values for males and females were 4.7 ± 2.2 and 5.17 ± 2.32, respectively. The highest condition index was found in May with values of 6.00 ± 3.07 and 7.83 ± 2.55, respectively. The condition index values for males and females increased with increasing shell size. Male and female at the largest size (6.01-6.05 cm) had the highest index with values of 8.05 ± 6.41 and 9.12 ± 3.38, respectively. In conclusions, the growth was negative allometric pattern, condition index was in fat category, and had peak spawning in July and experienced partial spawning in September-February.
Pulse fluence noise dynamics at free-space propagation
Authors: Martyanov Mikhail , Khazanov Efim
Published: July 2023

The dynamics of fluence noise of an optical pulse at free-space (e.g., vacuum) propagation has been studied. It has been shown that the fluence noise with high spatial frequency is effectively cleaned out from the primary smooth pulse either by spatial walk-off or by temporal delay at a relatively small propagation distance. This effect can be referred to as spatial and temporal self-filtering and is of major interest in ultra-high-power and ultra-short-pulse applications. The study comprises a rigorous theory and a few relevant numerical simulation examples.
Time-domain fit for improved contrast in quantitative coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy
Authors: Lu Minjian , Zhang Yujia , Li Jiarui , Li Yan , Wei Haoyun
Published: July 2023

Among the multiple coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) techniques that provide important quantitative molecular microscopic contrast, Fourier-transform CARS (FT-CARS) stands out with the immunity to nonresonant background and high-speed detection capacity. However, by using FFT for the exponentially decaying signal, FT-CARS faces the dilemma of choosing the delay range of the signal for high SNR or high resolution, the lack of either of which is detrimental to the quantitative contrast of imaging. Here, time-domain fit (TDF) is proposed to fully utilize the time-domain information of FT-CARS, providing optimized SNR and vibrational feature distinguishment. The capacity of noise restriction and feature distinguishment of the traditional FFT and the proposed TDF is analysed with theoretical examination and simulation. Exploiting the matrix pencil extraction of vibrational parameters, TDF is performed for quantitative analysis for simulated FT-CARS signal, and shows more accurate and consistent performance than the FFT method. FT-CARS coupled with TDF intensity evaluation holds the promise to provide micro-spectroscopic contrast with higher SNR and free of spectral overlapping, contributing to a more powerful diagnostic tool.
Wave optics approach to solar cell BRDF modeling with experimental results
Authors: Compean Madilynn , Small Todd , Hyde Milo , Marciniak Michael
Published: July 2023

Light curve analysis is often used to discern information about satellites in geosynchronous orbits. Solar panels, comprising a large part of the satellite’s body, contribute significantly to these light curves. Historically, theoretical bidirectional reflectance distribution functions (BRDFs) have failed to capture key features in the scattered light from solar panels. In recently published work, a new solar cell BRDF was developed by combining specular microfacet and “two-slit” diffraction terms to capture specular and periodic/array scattering, respectively. This BRDF was experimentally motivated and predicted many features of the solar cell scattered irradiance. However, the experiments that informed the BRDF were limited to a single laser wavelength, single beam size, and single solar cell sample. In addition, the BRDF was not physics based and therefore, physical insight into what causes certain features in the scattered irradiance was not evident. In this work, we examine solar cell scattering from first principles and derive a simple physics-based expression for the scattered irradiance. We analyze this expression and physically link terms to important scattering features, e.g., out-of-plane phenomena. In addition, we compare our model with experimental data and find good agreement in the locations and behaviors of these features. Our new model, being more predictive by nature, will allow for greater flexibility and accuracy when modeling reflection from solar cells in both real-world and experimental situations.
Ab initio spatial phase retrieval via intensity triple correlations
Authors: Peard Nolan , Ayyer Kartik
Published: July 2023

Second-order intensity correlations from incoherent emitters can reveal the Fourier transform modulus of their spatial distribution, but retrieving the phase to enable completely general Fourier inversion to real space remains challenging. Phase retrieval via the third-order intensity correlations has relied on special emitter configurations which simplified an unaddressed sign problem in the computation. Without a complete treatment of this sign problem, the general case of retrieving the Fourier phase from a truly arbitrary configuration of emitters is not possible. In this paper, a general method for ab initio phase retrieval via the intensity triple correlations is described. Simulations demonstrate accurate phase retrieval for clusters of incoherent emitters which could be applied to imaging stars or fluorescent atoms and molecules. With this work, it is now finally tractable to perform Fourier inversion directly and reconstruct images of arbitrary arrays of independent emitters via far-field intensity correlations alone.
Dual-function plasmonic device on photonic crystal fiber for near to mid-infrared regions
Authors: Rahman Md. Hasanur , Khaleque Abdul , Hosen Md. Sarwar , Shaha Kumary Sumi Rani , Mizan Md. , Rahman Md. Tarek
Published: July 2023

Broadband multifunction optical devices can play an important role in the field of integrated photonics but achieving high tunability and versatility on a fabricated device by implementing external control or structural modification is still challenging. In this article, what we believe to be a new dual-function optical device based on photonic crystal fiber, having an ultra-broad bandwidth that partially covers near-infrared (IR) to mid-IR regions, is proposed and analyzed. This device is designed on a fabrication friendly geometry such a way that it can be used as a polarization filter as well as refractive index sensor without any external tuning or structural modification. In this case, plasmonic material plays a crucial role for achieving simultaneous operation of the device both in communication and sensing applications. Our proposed device, with a fiber length of 100 µm, can effectively suppress the y-polarized light within the wavelength range of 1.29 µm to 1.60 µm, while the x-polarized light is maintained properly in the core, and vice-versa for the region of 1.69 µm to 4.39 µm. The maximum confinement losses of 840.8 dB/cm, 1013.2 dB/cm, 659.65 dB/cm, and 792.68 dB/cm are obtained at wavelengths of 1.37 µm, 1.56 µm, 1.72 µm, and 2.65 µm, respectively. By maintaining a crosstalk level of better than 20 dB, this device achieves broad bandwidths of 310 nm over the 1.29 µm to 1.60 µm wavelength range and 2700 nm over the 1.69 µm to 4.39 µm wavelength range. In addition to the filtering performance, our device possesses sensing capabilities, which is also well discussed as an example of refractive index sensor. Considering the analyte refractive index of 1.10-1.40, this device shows an average wavelength sensitivity of 1000 nm/RIU. Therefore, the above exceptional characteristics of our proposed device make it suitable for both optical communication and sensing systems.