bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Study of international experience in research of professional activity of pharmaceutical personnel in the context of restrictions,
related to the development of the system of professional qualifications in the Russian Federation
Authors: Ivanova Karolina A. , Ilinova Julia G.
Published: September 2020

The article examines the existing restrictions associated with the development of a national system of qualifications (recognition of qualifications of qualifications internationally, the coexistence of elements of the old and new qualification systems, the gap between the labor market and the system of vocational education). It is noted that in the field of pharmacy, along with existing restrictions, the development of the industry qualifications framework is hindered by the lack of descriptions of professional activities performed by pharmaceutical personnel at the legislative level. In this regard, the authors conducted a comparative analysis of the content of groups of occupations described for pharmaceutical personnel, in accordance with the Russian Сlassifier of Occupations (as a document that is the basis for the development of the sectoral qualifications framework) with the types of activities carried out by subjects of circulation of medicines (production of medicines and pharmaceutical activities) in order to define the boundaries of professional activity of pharmaceutical personnel at the national level. The international experience of research of the content of professional activity of pharmaceutical personnel and the main factors contributing to the appearance of labor functions in the professional activity of pharmaceutical personnel that are not fixed at the legislative level (in accordance with the ISCO) are studied. In order to eliminate the existing restrictions that prevent the development of a unified system of professional qualifications in the field of pharmacy in the Russian Federation, the article concludes with an approach to describing the professional activities of pharmaceutical personnel used by FIP industry experts.
SUPPORTING DEVICES IN THE TREATMENT OF CHRONIC HEART FAILURE IN ELDERLY AND OLD PATIENTS
Authors: Hubulava Gennadiy , Kozlov Kirill L. , Bogomolov Andrey N. , Volkov Aleksey , Fedorets Viktor N. , Senkina Ekaterina Ivanovna
Published: September 2020

Chronic heart failure (CHF) is a widespread disease associated with high rates of disability and mortality, as well as a decrease in the quality of life. Moreover, the vast majority of patients are elderly and senile. Modern surgical methods of treating heart failure are able to increase the duration and quality of life of such patients, however, the need far exceeds the volume of this care, and some highly effective methods common in Western countries are still not used in Russian clinical practice.

Elderly age is a risk factor for the development of senile asthenia (frailty) and concomitant pathology. Large abdominal surgery is often contraindicated for patients with signs of senile asthenia, and the method of choice in patients with severe heart failure is the implantation of devices for long-term mechanical circulatory support (LT-MCS). After implantation of LT-MCS, a regression of signs of senile asthenia may be observed.

The topic of an integrated approach to non-drug treatment of heart failure in elderly and senile patients in Russia has not been studied enough. In particular, the implantation of LT-MCS is not used in Russian clinical practice, while in many Western countries for many years it has been the main and most effective treatment for severe heart failure. Systematization of the available up-to-date information on this topic could help increase the duration and quality of life of patients with severe heart failure.
Long term outcome of Wilms' tumor in tertiary care hospital
Authors: T. Jeevarathi , Vadivelu Gomathi
Published: September 2020

Background: Nephroblastoma, or Wilms’ tumor, is an embryonal tumor that develops from remnants of the immature kidney. It is the most common renal tumor of childhood. The aim is to analyze the long term outcome in Wilms’ tumor in perplex situations as double moiety and to correlate with multiple organ defects.Methods: It is a combined perspective and retrospective study that pediatric urology outpatient department (OPD) at the Institute of Child Health and Hospital for Children, Madras Medical College, Chennai. The study included patients with Wilms, who attended the pediatric surgery during the ten years, from March 2008 to February 2011. The patients were subjected to detailed clinical examination and relevant investigations were performed.Results: Among patients with stage I–II fumarate hydratase (FH) tumors, the relative risk (RR) of relapse and death were increased for loss of heterozygosity (LOH) 1p only (RR=2.2 for relapse; RR=4.0 for death), for LOH 16q only (RR=1.9 and RR=1.4), and LOH for both regions (RR=2.9 and RR=4.3) in comparison with patients lacking LOH at either locus.Conclusions: Stage I and II have a good prognosis. Stage III and IV need close surveillance since they have a high rate of recurrence. Stage V has a bad prognosis. Stage IV Wilms need lung irradiation. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy reduces tumor spillage in stage III and IV.
A study proposal on short term outcome and prognosis of primary and delayed fulguration in posterior urethral valve
Authors: T. Jeevarathi , Vadivelu Gomathi
Published: September 2020

Background: Posterior urethral valve (PUV) is the most common cause of lower urinary tract obstruction in male neonates. The incidence is 1 in 4000, 1 in 7500 births PUV occur exclusively in males. This disease has a broad spectrum of presentations. They may present at any age during childhood and may vary from ascites in the neonate to renal failure in infants and only minor voiding dysfunction in an older child. Urinary tract infection is common at all ages. The objectives of the study were to assess the impact of primary impaction on short term outcomes and to assess the outcome of diversion and delayed fulguration.Methods: This retrospective study was conducted at the Pediatric Urology outpatient department (OPD) at the Institute of Child Health and Hospital for Children, Madras Medical College, Chennai including the patients who attended the pediatric surgery from August 2008 to December 2011.Results: In the current series, the incidence of renal insufficiency in patients with urosepsis was 45%. Recurrent urosepsis >3 episodes in a year (fever with urine culture showing infection) primarily due to poor patient compliance lead to progressing pyelonephritis and nephron damage and plays an important role in the outcome of these children.Conclusions: The incidence of renal insufficiency in children with posterior urethral valves in this series was 38% (30-45%) with an average follow up 3 years. Several factors were important in prognosticating the progression towards renal insufficiency and bladder dysfunction. Urodynamics is of immense help in cases having symptoms despite good stream. The use of anticholinergic for abnormal urodynamics gives encouraging results.
Correlation between early magnetic resonance imaging brain abnormalities in term infants with perinatal asphyxia and neuro developmental outcome at one year
Authors: Satheesan Arun Puliyasserimana , Chinnappa Ashwini R. , Goudar Guruprasad , Raghoji Chaitali
Published: September 2020

Background: Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy is an important cause of permanent brain damage in neonates with perinatal asphyxia. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is valuable in predicting prognosis following HIE.Methods: Prospective observational cohort study was conducted in tertiary level referral hospital in term infants born with perinatal asphyxia. MRI brain was done between 5 to 14 days of age. Anthropometry and neurological examinations were recorded at birth, discharge and follow-up. Denver developmental screening test II was performed at follow up.Results: Out of 174 neonates born with PA, enrolled 64 underwent MRI brain. Out of these 14% had stage I, 70% stage II and 16 % stage III HIE as per Sarnat staging. At follow up, abnormalities in tone were noted in 36% infants, which included spastic quadriplegia in 34% and atonic cerebral palsy in 2%. DDST II was normal in 32 and suspect in 18 (36%) infants; with global developmental delay in 14 (28%) and predominantly motor development delay in 4 (8%). Abnormal lesions were seen in the corpus callosum in 34 (68%), posterior limb of internal capsule in 14 (28%), basal ganglia in 11 (22%), watershed region in 6 (12%), thalamus in 4 (8%) and corticospinal tract in 1 (2%) infants were associated with statistical significant poor neurodevelopment outcome p<0.05. Diffusion weighted MRI showed abnormalities in the posterior limb of internal capsule (PLIC) in 27 (54%), BG in 8 (16%) and thalamus in 2 (4%) infants was associated with statistically significant poor neurodevelopmental outcome (NDO) (p<0.05).Conclusions: Lesion in BG, thalamic region and PLIC in conventional MRI and abnormality in DW imaging in PLIC and BG were found to correlate with poor NDO at one year of life.
Compliance of surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis practices in the departments of general surgery and orthopaedics at a tertiary care centre in India
Authors: Ravi Gandham , Chikara Gaurav , Bandyopadhyay Arkapal , Handu Shailendra
Published: September 2020

Background: Antimicrobial (AM) prophylaxis is one of the major interventions to prevent surgical site infections. The guideline recommendations are meant for helping the surgeons to select the rationale and effective approach while. This study aimed to assess the compliance of surgical AM prophylaxis in terms of choice of antibiotic, duration and timing of administration using standard international and national guidelines.Methods: A prospective observational study was done in General Surgery and Orthopaedics over a period of one year. All the relevant data was collected and analysed. Results were then compared with standard Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGAS-2013 and ICMR-2017).Results: In terms of choice of AM, 31.32% of the cases from general surgery and 97.59% of the cases from orthopaedics according to ICMR 2017 guidelines; 28.91% of the cases from general surgery and none of the cases from orthopaedics according to CPGAS 2013 guidelines were found to be compliant. In terms of duration of prophylaxis, 28.91% and 22.89% of the cases from general surgery were found to be compliant to ICMR 2017 and CPGAS 2013 guidelines respectively; but none of the cases from orthopaedics were compliant to either of the guidelines. Timing of administration was found to be compliant with the guidelines in both the departments. Conclusions: Surgical prophylaxis practices were found to be partially compliant with the guidelines in the selected departments.
Vitamin D supplementation does not affect serum leptin and adiponectin levels in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials
Authors: Jafari-Sfidvajani Samira J , Jafari Fateme , Soltani Sepideh
Published: September 2020

Background & aims: It is proposed that vitamin D supplementation might influence serum adipokines level; however, the recent meta-analyses have led to inconsistent results while they had methodological limitations. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the effects of vitamin D supplementation on serum adipokines through a systematic review and a meta-analysis of randomized placebo-controlled trials (RCTs) using a more comprehensive search strategy.
Methods: PubMed, Google Scholar, and Scopus were searched to identify related articles published up to November 2017. Mean±standard deviation (SD) of changes in serum adiponectin and leptin were extracted, and the effect sizes were pooled using a random-effects model. Studies with Controlled clinical trials design were eligible. Two reviewers extracted mean values and SDs of the baseline, final and net change values of leptin and adiponectin in the intervention and control groups.
Results: The pooled results indicated that vitamin D supplementation affects neither circulating leptin (Hedges’ g = 0.042, 95% CI: -0.294 to 0.378, p = 0. 0.807, n=15) nor adiponectin (Hedges’ g = -0.034, 95% CI: -0.243 to 0.174, p = 0.748, n=18) levels.  Subgroup analysis showed that vitamin D supplementation might significantly decrease serum leptin level in patients with end stage renal disease (Hedges’ g = -0.634, 95 % CI: -1.221 to -0.047, p = 0.034).
Conclusions: Although the current evidence does not support the significant effect of vitamin D supplementation on adiponectin and leptin levels, further research is required to reach more definitive conclusions.
The Effect of Palm Oil on Health Outcomes: A Protocol for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses of Controlled Clinical Trials
Authors: Akbarian Shahab-aldin , Mohammadi Mohammad , Beigrezaei Sara
Published: September 2020

Background: It is suggested that palm oil consumption might increase chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease. Previous studies that investigated the effect of palm oil intake on anthropometric measures, blood glucose control, inflammation, and oxidative stress markers have led to inconsistent results. This is while no systematic review and meta-analysis has been conducted to summarize the data in this regard.
Objectives: The present study describes a protocol for a range of systematic reviews and meta-analyses to examine the effect of palm oil intake on body weight and fat, inflammatory markers, oxidative stress, liver enzymes, blood pressure, and blood glucose control indices.
Methods: ISI web of science, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Scopus, and Google Scholar will be searched using medical subject heading (MeSH) and non-MeSH keywords. Controlled clinical trials will be selected based on predefined eligibility criteria. The intra-study risk of bias will be checked by using the Cochrane collaboration tool. Mean difference (MD) (the difference between mean change values in the intervention group/period and control group/period) and its corresponding standard deviation will be calculated to be used as effect size. A random-effects meta-analysis will be performed to pool the results. Subgroup analysis and meta-regression will be conducted to explore the possible sources of heterogeneity. Sensitivity analysis will be conducted by removing the studies one-by-one from the overall analyses. Publication bias will be assessed by inspecting funnel plots and asymmetry tests.
Conclusion: The results of systematic reviews and meta-analyses might provide helpful information about the effects of palm oil consumption on different aspects of health among adults. The evidence provided by the results of systematic reviews can be useful for dietitians, clinicians, public health policy-makers, and the public.
Identifying the Causes and Extent of Insurance Deductions in a Hospital: An Interventional Approach to Cost Management
Authors: Taheri Roohangiz , Kalhor Rohollah , Ahadinezhad Bahman , Kiaei Mohammad Zakaria
Published: September 2020

Background: A significant amount of revenues and deductions exist in the hospitals each year. This study aimed to determine the number of deductions applied and identify its causes. Furthermore, we aimed to provide management strategies to reduce these deductions in Shafa Takestan hospital.
Methods: This applied and interventional study was conducted with a cross-sectional design. The data collection tool was a checklist from the previous studies. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as mean, percentage, and standard deviation as well as analytical statistics of the Wilcoxon test.
Results: Before the intervention, among 405 non-global inpatient cases, about 323 (80 %) contained subtractions. After the intervention, among 555 non-global hospital admissions, about 264 (47 %) included deductions. Most deductions were related to health services insurance (75.38 %). Concerning each hospital ward, most deductions were related to surgery ward (38 %). Before and after the intervention, service deductions were included in 5.59 % and 4.57 %, respectively.
Conclusion: Therefore, medical personnel should pay more attention to documenting patients' records and minimizing documentation errors. Moreover, to reduce patient record deductions, the health care staff should be familiarized with proper documentation procedures by conducting training sessions.
Diseño y validación de un instrumento para evaluar la práctica docente centrada en la metacognición en el aula
Authors: Romo Sabugal Claudia , Tobón Sergio , Juárez-Hernández Luis G.
Published: September 2020

Frente a los retos de la sociedad del conocimiento los docentes necesitan contar con instrumentos para identificar y hacer conscientes las intervenciones que realizan en el aula para que sus alumnos desarrollen habilidades metacognitivas. Eso les permitirá aprender a lo largo de la vida y enfrentar situaciones de forma competitiva y autónoma, lo que podría ser posible si en las aulas se implementan estrategias orientadas al conocimiento y a la regulación de su propia cognición. Por lo anterior, el objetivo del presente artículo fue diseñar y validar el instrumento de Escala de Intervención Docente Orientada a Promover la Metacognición en el Aula (EIDOPMA) cuyo propósito es ayudarlos a reconocer y orientar su intervención al desarrollo de la metacognición. Para cumplir con este objetivo se implementaron seis etapas que comprendieron: 1) la revisión de los instrumentos existentes para diagnosticar el empleo y la promoción de estrategias metacognitivas; 2) el diseño y la construcción del instrumento basado en una escala tipo Likert; 3) la revisión y mejora del instrumento por parte de tres expertos; 4) validación del contenido por un grupo de 13 jueces expertos en este campo; 5) la aplicación del instrumento a un grupo piloto conformado por 12 docentes y, 6) el mejoramiento final del instrumento a partir de las sugerencias de los jueces y su evaluación. Los resultados principales de estas fases fueron: la aprobación del instrumento por parte de los expertos, la validación de contenido por los jueces expertos con V de Aiken superiores a 0.80 para los criterios de pertinencia y redacción, un buen nivel de comprensión de las instrucciones e ítems así como la satisfacción con el instrumento por parte del grupo piloto. Conclusión: Estos resultados indican que el instrumento construido puede ser considerado como pertinente y válido para reconocer y orientar la intervención del docente en el desarrollo de la metacognición en el aula.
Desarrollo de la motivación en estudiantes de secundaria mediante la implementación de un programa educativo en Artes Plásticas basado en el Aprendizaje Cooperativo
Authors: Romero Artavia Efraín , Mora Campos Andrea , González Víquez Wendy , Garbanzo Hernández Patricia Renee , Zamora-Araya José Andrey , Quirós Fabiola , García Vargas Silvia
Published: September 2020

Esta investigación analiza el desarrollo de la motivación de estudiantes de octavo año de una institución de educación pública de Costa Rica en la clase de Artes Plásticas (AP) mediante la implementación de un programa educativo basado en el Aprendizaje Cooperativo (AC) (Johnson, Johnson & Holubec, 1994). En cuanto a instrumentos y materiales, para realizar la investigación se adaptó y validó la Escala de Motivación Académica (EMA) (Manassero y Vázquez, 2000) para determinar la Motivación (M) en estudiantes de enseñanza secundaria. Para el proceso de recolección de la información se utilizaron técnicas cualitativas tales como el cuestionario y la observación con el fin de evidenciar los diferentes aspectos de la motivación. La población participante estuvo conformada por estudiantes de octavo año, entre los 13 y 15 años de edad. Asimismo se emplearon dos grupos: uno de estudio y otro control. Se concluye que el desarrollo de la motivación mejoró en el grupo experimental con la intervención de las estrategias procedentes del AC desde el acercamiento cualitativo. No obstante, los métodos cuantitativos de recolección de datos no aportaron evidencia estadísticamente significativa a favor del grupo de estudio ya que el instrumento no fue sensible al paso del tiempo. Por tanto, esta escala no se recomienda para estudios de diseño longitudinal experimental.
Desafíos hacia una evaluación sistémica de la educación terciaria en Uruguay
Authors: Clavijo Emiliano , Marques Agustina , Rodríguez Cecilia
Published: September 2020

La Ley General de Educación N° 18.437 (LGE) aprobada en 2008 impulsó cambios institucionales sustantivos en el contexto de la educación terciaria (ET). En el ámbito de la evaluación surgen novedades tales como la creación del Instituto Nacional de Evaluación Educativa (INEEd) o la reciente creación del Instituto Nacional de Acreditación y Evaluación de la Educación Terciaria (INAEET). Vistos estos antecedentes, la discusión de dimensiones e indicadores para la evaluación de la ET desde un enfoque sistémico resulta más que pertinente a una década del inicio de este proceso. En este sentido, a partir de una revisión bibliográfica sobre las temáticas en el campo de la ET se proponen siete dimensiones para abordar la evaluación en ET desde una perspectiva sistémica. Las mismas incluyen: los diseños institucionales, el factor territorial -que cobra mayor relevancia en el marco del proceso de descentralización que experimentó la política educativa a nivel superior-, aspectos sociodemográficos, características del proceso educativo, asuntos vinculados a la currícula, asuntos vinculados a la dimensión presupuestal y el creciente proceso de internacionalización. Mediante el análisis documental de informes institucionales y leyes, entre otros, se describen estas dimensiones para el caso uruguayo. Dado que el proceso de diversificación institucional experimentado en el ámbito de la ET implicó el desarrollo de estrategias particulares por parte de las instituciones, consideramos que el principal desafío radica en lograr consenso entre las instituciones del sistema para poder avanzar en la evaluación de las dimensiones consideradas.
La formulación de preguntas como estrategia didáctica para motivar la reflexión en el aula
Authors: Benoit Ríos Claudine Glenda
Published: September 2020

Las diversas estrategias que los docentes implementan en el aula tienen como propósito fundamental el aprendizaje significativo de sus estudiantes. Una de ellas es la formulación de preguntas, una estrategia pedagógica que permite no solamente el aprendizaje de contenidos sino la reflexión en el aula. Dicha reflexión surge en los primeros años de formación docente. En este contexto, el presente artículo da cuenta de un estudio empírico en el que participaron 40 estudiantes de pedagogía en lenguaje de una Universidad de la Región del Biobío, Chile. El objetivo general fue analizar la importancia de la pregunta como estrategia didáctica y de reflexión para profesores en formación, a través de un cuestionario de preguntas abiertas y cerradas. La metodología empleada consideró tanto un análisis cualitativo como cuantitativo, bajo un enfoque descriptivo. Los resultados muestran que las preguntas potencian en los profesores en formación las habilidades de argumentar y de explicar, habilidades esenciales en las prácticas docentes. A su vez, la pregunta se manifiesta como una estrategia basada en una relación bidireccional, asociada directamente con la reflexión sistemática y con la adquisición de nuevos aprendizajes significativos para la formación académica. El empleo de esta estrategia en el aula potencia una actitud crítica y fomenta el autoaprendizaje del alumnado, aspectos fundamentales para el asentamiento de saberes permanentes en el tiempo.
Presentación
Authors: Vaillant Denise
Published: September 2020

En esta nueva edición de Cuadernos de Investigación Educativa compartimos con ustedes destacados artículos tanto de autores nacionales como internacionales. Sus aportes, de gran relevancia, nos ayudan a comprender las distintas problemáticas y los desafíos de la agenda educativa actual.
The Impact of Raising Awareness of the Speech Act On Speaking Ability across Gender and Proficiency Level
Authors: Ghayebi Kobra , Farrokh Parisa
Published: September 2020

The present study intended to investigate the possible effects of speech acts strategies on Iranian beginner and intermediate EFL learners’ speaking ability. The first step in conducting this research was the administration of QPT as the homogenizing tool. It was administered to 180 beginners and intermediate EFL learners. After analyzing the results, 80 males and females as starters and 80 males and females as intermediate subjects were chosen. Then, the beginner and intermediate EFL learners were randomly divided into control and experimental groups (including 40 beginner male and 40 female EFL learners in each class). Next, a pretest of speaking was administered to all the participants and the experimental groups received speech act role play as treatment. However, the researcher did not use any treatment of speech acts in control groups. After ten sessions, the posttest was administered to all participants. The findings suggested that awareness raising on speech acts resulted in a better speaking ability as compared to the simply traditional teaching of speaking for Iranian intermediate and beginner EFL learners. Additionally, intermediate EFL learners’ achievement in speaking was not in line with the beginner EFL learners’ achievement in the corresponding group. Finally, it was found that gender does not interact with awareness raising on speech acts in such a way as to produce a statistically significant effect on the beginner and intermediate EFL learners’ speaking ability.
Statistics for Classroom Language Assessment: Using Numbers Meaningfully
Authors: Giraldo Frank
Published: September 2020

Large-scale language testing uses statistical information to account for the quality of an assessment system. In this reflection article, I explain how basic statistics can be used meaningfully in the context of classroom language assessment. The paper explores a series of statistical calculations that can be used to examine test scores and assessment decisions in the language classroom. Therefore, interpretations for criterion-referenced assessment underlie the paper. Finally, I discuss limitations and include recommendations for teachers to use statistics.
Inquiring pre-service teachers’ narratives on language policy and identity during their practicum.
Authors: Montoya-López Juan Carlos , Mosquera-Andrade Ayda Vanessa , Peláez-Henao Oscar Alberto
Published: September 2020

This narrative inquiry study aims to unveil the incorporation of policy agency within the construction of teacher identity of pre-service teachers in their academic practicums. Drawing on a critical-sociocultural approach to narrative inquiry, language policy, and teacher identity, the narratives of five students of an English teaching program in Medellín, Colombia,  were examined. Their reflections and decision making on foreign language policies regulating their pedagogical practices at various schools show their social and critical awareness. Teaching represents a high moral load for them as they embrace a humanistic perspective. However, their narratives also pose challenges to language teaching programs in helping pre-service teachers to build micropolitical agency supported on solid theoretical knowledge to participate in policymaking. On the one hand, their narrations of the policy appropriation process they undertook show their frustration and disappointment in trying to participate when policy structures and other policy arbiters were close to them. On the other hand, when policy structures and arbiters openly allowed their policy participation, their actions and reflections focused on methodological concerns but rarely addressed social or critical awareness regarding curriculum design and development. Therefore, supporting pre-service teachers in strengthening their identities with solid theoretical constructs should be a priority because they will build micropolitical agency to overcome political tensions and negotiate their policy participation.
Hard-of-Hearing Individuals’ narratives of Inclusion and Exclusion about their schooled EFL learning
Authors: Castillo Rigoberto , Florez-Martelo Laura S.
Published: September 2020

This paper deals with research on inclusion concentrating on the pedagogical implications derived from a qualitative case study that looked into three hard-of-hearing (HHs) students’ perspectives and retrospectives on their schooled EFL learning. Data came from narratives gathered in autobiographical writings and interviews. Although there is a good body of literature on pedagogy in terms of strategies for dealing with HHs, few works have counted on the student’s perspectives. The authors’ insights, one of them being hard-of-hearing, call for truly inclusive policies and practices that address the categories developed in this case study, namely: 1. Deafness separates HHs from people. 2. Hearing aids are not like glasses, and 3. An exemption is not inclusion. The authors feel that the recommendations made are valid for learners with or without disabilities.
Inquiring into the Coloniality of Knowledge, Power, and Being in EFL Textbooks
Authors: Núñez-Pardo Astrid
Published: September 2020

This article inquires into the coloniality present in EFL textbooks, which continue being used as the core resource for language learning and teaching in Colombia. However, its instrumentalization, imperialism, and exploitation as an instrument of subalternation suggest that EFL textbooks produced by foreign and local publishing houses in the Colombian context are colonised in three interrelated dimensions: knowledge, power, and being. Therefore, this research proposal aims at unveiling the ontological, epistemological, and power criteria rooted in critical interculturality as a decolonial alternative, and inspired by the decolonial turn, to orient the development of other contextualised materials from the voices of Colombian teachers, authors and experts.
SİGORTA ŞİRKETLERİNİN DERECELENDİRİLMESİNDE MAKİNE ÖĞRENMESİ YÖNTEMLERİ TAHMİN PERFORMANSININ KARŞILAŞTIRILMASI: TÜRKİYE ÖRNEĞİ
Authors: AKSOY Barış
Published: September 2020

Bu çalışmada Türkiye’de hayat dışı sigorta sektöründe faaliyet gösteren ve 2019 yılında en yüksek pazar payına sahip ilk 20 şirket içerisinde yer alan 11 sigorta şirketinin kredi derece notu tahmin edilmiştir. Çalışma dönemi olan 2009-2019 yılları arasındaki mali tablo verileri kullanılarak düzenli verilerine ulaşılabilen ve yılsonu mali tabloların elde edildiği yıldan sonraki yıl içerisinde kredi derece notu verilmiş olan 11 sigorta şirketinden 69 örnek alınmıştır. Kredi derece notunun verilmesinden önceki yılsonu bilanço, gelir tablosu ve nakit akım tablolarından elde edilen 13 nicel değişken ve borsaya kayıtlı olup olmadığı bilgisini içeren bir nitel değişken kullanılmıştır. Sigorta şirketlerinin yılsonu mali tablolarından elde edilen verilerle bir sonraki yıl için Standard & Poors Derecelendirme Kuruluşunun notları baz alınarak Yapay Sinir Ağları (ANN) ve En Yakın k-Komşu Algoritması (KNN) ve NaiveBayes Algoritması kullanılarak analizler gerçekleştirilmiştir. 10 katlı çapraz doğrulama yönteminin kullanıldığı çalışmada tahmin performansı en yüksekten düşüğe doğru sırasıyla ANN (%98,55), KNN (%95,65), NaiveBayes (%85,51) olarak sınıflandırma başarısı göstermiştir. Bu sonuç yatırımcılar, sigorta şirketi müşterileri, kredi verenler, reasürans şirketleri, düzenleyici- denetleyici kurumlar ve araştırmacıların kullandıkları tahmin modelleri içerisine bu çalışmada elde edilen tüm modellerin dâhil edilebileceğini göstermektedir.
DEĞER AKIŞ MALİYETLEME VE ANALİTİK HİYERARŞİ SÜRECİ: TEKSTİL SEKTÖRÜNDE BİR UYGULAMA
Authors: KAYA Ahmet , HATUNOĞLU Zeynep
Published: September 2020

Yalın düşüncenin 1990’lı yılların başından itibaren birçok sektörde benimsenmesiyle işletmeler yalın üretim tekniklerini uygulamaya başlamışlardır. Ancak zaman içerisinde geleneksel maliyetlendirme yöntemlerinin yalın üretim süreçlerini yansıtmada yetersiz kaldığı görülmüştür. Literatürde yalın üretim tekniklerini uygulayan işletmelere yeni bir maliyet yönetimi aracı olarak değer akış maliyetleme yöntemi önerilmektedir. Bu çalışmanın amacı; yalın üretim tekniklerini uygulayan işletmelerde Analitik Hiyerarşi Süreci (AHS) temelli yalın maliyet yönetimi (Değer Akış Maliyetleme-DAM) sistemi kurulması, ortak giderlerin değer akışlarına doğru bir şekilde dağıtılması ve mamul maliyetinin daha doğru hesaplanması konusunda yol gösterici olmaktır. Bu amaçla yalın üretim tekniklerini uygulayan bir tekstil işletmesinde maliyet yönetimi aracı olarak değer akış maliyetleme yöntemi kurulmuştur. Ortak giderlerin değer akışlarına ve değer akışlarında toplanan giderlerin mamullere dağıtımında dağıtım anahtarı belirlenemeyen durumlarda AHS yönteminden yararlanılmıştır. Çalışmanın sonucunda işletmenin geleneksel yöntemlerle hesapladığı birim maliyetler ile AHS temelli değer akış maliyetleme yöntemi ile belirlenen maliyetler arasında farklılık olduğu tespit edilmiştir.
A Risk Score to Predict Admission to the Intensive Care Unit in Patients with COVID-19: the ABC-GOALS score
Authors: Mejía-Vilet Juan M , Córdova-Sánchez Bertha M. , Fernández-Camargo Dheni A. , Méndez-Pérez R. Angélica , Morales-Buenrostro Luis E , Hernández-Gilsoul Thierry
Published: September 2020

Objective. To develop a score to predict the need for ICU admission in COVID-19.Methods. We assessed patients admitted to a COVID-19 center in Mexico. Patients were segregated into a group that required ICU admission, and a group that never required ICU admission. By logistic regression, we derived predictive models including clinical, laboratory, and imaging findings. The ABC-GOALS was constructed and compared to other scores.Results. We included 329 and 240 patients in the development and validation cohorts, respectively. One-hundred-fifteen patients from each cohort required ICU admission. The clinical (ABC-GOALSc), clinical+laboratory (ABC-GOALScl), clinical+laboratory+image (ABC-GOALSclx) models area under the curve were 0.79 (95%CI=0.74-0.83) and 0.77 (95%CI=0.71-0.83), 0.86 (95%CI=0.82-0.90) and 0.87 (95%CI=0.83-0.92), 0.88 (95%CI=0.84-0.92) and 0.86 (95%CI=0.81-0.90), in the development and validation cohorts, respectively. The ABC-GOALScl and ABC-GOALSclx outperformed other COVID-19 and pneumonia predictive scores.Conclusion. ABC-GOALS is a tool to timely predict the need for admission to ICU in COVID-19.
Gradient Boosting for Parkinson’s Disease Diagnosis from Voice Recordings
Authors: Karabayir Ibrahim , Goldman Samuel , Pappu Suguna , Akbilgic Oguz
Published: September 2020

Background: Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a clinically diagnosed neurodegenerative disorder that affects both motor and non-motor neural circuits. Speech deterioration (hypokinetic dysarthria) is a common symptom, which often presents early in the disease course. Machine learning can help movement disorders specialists improve their diagnostic accuracy using non-invasive and inexpensive voice recordings.Method: We used “Parkinson Dataset with Replicated Acoustic Features Data Set” from the UCI-Machine Learning repository. The dataset included 44 speech-test based acoustic features from patients with PD and controls. We analyzed the data using various machine learning algorithms including Light and Extreme Gradient Boosting, Random Forest, Support Vector Machines, K-nearest neighborhood, Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator Regression, as well as logistic regression. We also implemented a variable importance analysis to identify important variables classifying patients with PD. Results: The cohort included a total of 80 subjects: 40 patients with PD (55% men) and 40 controls (67.5% men). Disease duration was 5 years or less for all subjects, with a mean Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) score of 19.6 (SD 8.1), and none were taking PD medication. The mean age for PD subjects and controls was 69.6 (SD 7.8) and 66.4 (SD 8.4), respectively. Our best-performing model used Light Gradient Boosting to provide an AUC of 0.951 with 95% confidence interval 0.946-0.955 in 4-fold cross validation using only seven acoustic features.Conclusions: Machine learning can accurately detect Parkinson’s disease using an inexpensive and non-invasive voice recording. Light Gradient Boosting outperformed other machine learning algorithms. Such approaches could be used to inexpensively screen large patient populations for Parkinson’s disease.
Upregulation of long non-coding RNA LOC284454 may serve as a new serum biomarker for head and neck cancers
Authors: Fan Chunmei , Wang Jinpeng , Tang Yanyan , Zhang Shanshan , Xiong Fang , Guo Can , Zhou Yanhong , Li Zheng , Li Xiaoling , Li Yong , Li Guiyuan , Zeng Zhaoyang , Xiong Wei
Published: September 2020

Background: Identification of effective diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers of cancer is necessary for improving precision medicine. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play an important regulatory role in tumor initiation and progression. The lncRNA LOC284454 is distinctly expressed in various head and neck cancers (HNCs), as demonstrated by our previous bioinformatics analysis. However, the expression levels and functions of LOC284454 in cancer are still unclear.Methods: We investigated the dysregulation of lncRNAs in HNCs using the GEO database and found that LOC284454 was highly expressed in HNCs. Serum samples from 212 patients with HNCs and 121 normal controls were included in this biomarker study. We measured the expression of LOC284454 in the sera of HNC patients and normal controls using RT-qPCR. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis is an important statistical method that is widely used in clinical diagnosis and disease screening. ROC was used to analyze the clinical value of LOC284454 in the early diagnosis of HNCs.Results: LOC284454 was significantly upregulated in the sera of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma, oral cancer, and thyroid cancer. LOC284454 upregulation had good clinical diagnostic value in these cancers, as evaluated by area under the ROC curve values of 0.931, 0.698, and 0.834, respectively.Conclusions:LOC284454 may be a valuable serum biomarker for HNCs facilitating the early diagnosis of malignant cancers. Further studies are needed to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the involvement of LOC284454 in HNCs. This study provides the first evidence that LOC284454 may be a serum biomarker for HNCs.
Diagnosis of left ventricular hypertrophy using convolutional neural network
Authors: Jian Zini , Wang Xianpei , Zhang Jingzhe , Wang Xinyu , Deng Youbin
Published: September 2020

Background: Clinically, doctors obtain the left ventricular posterior wall thickness (LVPWT) mainly by observing ultrasonic echocardiographic video stream to capture a single frame of images with diagnostic significance, and then mark two key points on both sides of the posterior wall of the left ventricle with their own experience for computer measurement. In the actual measurement, the doctor's selection point is subjective, and difficult to accurately locate the edge, which will bring errors to the measurement results.Methods: In this paper, a convolutional neural network model of left ventricular posterior wall positioning was built under the TensorFlow framework, and the target region images were obtained after the positioning results were processed by non-local mean filtering and opening operation. Then the edge detection algorithm based on threshold segmentation is used. After the contour was extracted by adjusting the segmentation threshold through prior analysis and the OTSU algorithm, the design algorithm completed the computer selection point measurement of the thickness of the posterior wall of the left ventricle. Results: The proposed method can effectively extract the left ventricular posterior wall contour and measure its thickness. The experimental results show that the relative error between the measurement result and the hospital measurement value is less than 15%, which is less than 20% of the acceptable repeatability error in clinical practice. Conclusions: Therefore, the measurement method proposed in this paper has the advantages of less manual intervention, and the processing method is reasonable and has practical value.
Discovery and validation of mucosal TNF expression combined with histological score - a biomarker for personalized treatment in ulcerative colitis
Authors: Florholmen Jon R. , Johnsen Kay-Martin , Renate Meyer , Olsen Trine , Moe Øystein Kittel , Tandberg Petter , Gundersen Mona D. , Kvamme Jan-Magnus , Johnsen Knut , Løitegård Terje , Raschpichler Gabriele , Vold Cecilia , Sørbye Sveinung W. , Goll Rasmus
Published: September 2020

Background There are no accurate markers that can predict clinical outcome in ulcerative colitis at time of diagnosis. The aim of this study was to explore a comprehensive data set to identify and validate predictors of clinical outcome in the first year following diagnosis. Methods Treatment naive-patients with ulcerative colitis were included at time of initial diagnosis from 2004-2014, followed by a validation study from 2014-2018. Patients were treated according to clinical guidelines following a standard step-up regime. Patients were categorized according to the treatment level necessary to achieve clinical remission: mild, moderate and severe. The biopsies were assessed by Robarts histopathology index (RHI) and TNF gene transcripts. Results We included 66 patients in the calibration cohort and 89 patients in the validation. Mucosal TNF transcripts showed high test reliability for predicting severe outcome in UC. When combined with histological activity (RHI) scores the test improved its diagnostic reliability. Based on the cut-off values of mucosal TNF and RHI scores from the calibration cohort, the combined test had still high reliability in the validation cohort (specificity 0.99, sensitivity 0.44, PPV 0.89, NPV 0.87) and a diagnostic odds-ratio (DOR) of 54.Conclusions The combined test using TNF transcript and histological score at debut of UC can predict severe outcome and the need for anti-TNF therapy with a high level of precision. These validated data may be of great clinical utility and contribute to a personalized medical approach with the possibility of top-down treatment for selected patients.
Incidence and risk factor for short term postoperative cough after thyroidectomy
Authors: Wu Junfu , Dai Liyuan , Lou Weihua
Published: September 2020

Background: The prevalence of potential risk factors for postoperative cough after thyroidectomy remain unknown. The current study aimed to research postoperative cough in patients undergoing thyroid surgery prospectively.Methods: Adult patients who underwent primary thyroid surgery were selected prospectively. Data regarding age, sex, BMI, pathology and surgical procedure were collected and analyzed. The Leicester Cugh Questionnaire (LCQ) was required to be completed by all patients before operation, 2 weeks and 4 weeks after operation.Results: There were 1264 patients enrolled in total. Eleven patients with vocal cord paralysis were excluded. In patients with benign disease, postoperative cough occurred in 61 patients, with an prevalence rate of 17. 0% compared to an prevalence rate of 33.1% in patients with malignant disease; the difference was significant. For benign patients, the factors of smoking and operation time were independently related to the occurrence of postoperative cough. For malignant patients, the factors of smoking, operation time, operation extent, and the number of positive nodes at level 6 were independently related to the occurrence of postoperative cough. There was no significant difference regarding the LCQ score in patients with benign or malignant disease at the preoperative and the postoperative 4-week time periods. Patients with malignant disease had a significantly lower LCQ score than patients with benign disease at the postoperative 2-week time point (p=0.004).Conclusions: Patients undergoing thyroid cancer surgery had a higher incidence of postoperative cough and were also associated with a decreased cough-related quality of life. The factors of smoking and operation time were the most important predictors for postoperative cough after thyroidectomy.
Inequality in institutional delivery of the recent birth among married women in Nepal: a trend analysis
Authors: Adhikari Ramesh , Wagle Aakriti
Published: September 2020

Background The huge discrepancy in health statistics between developed and developing countries occur in the area of maternal mortality, with developing countries contributing most of the figures. Nepal has higher maternal mortality ratio than its South Asian neighbors. This study assesses the trend of institutional delivery of recent birth and compared the inequalities with associated factors that affect institutional delivery in Nepal.Methods The data for this study was obtained from three sequential Nepal Demographic and Health Surveys [NDHS] of 2006, 2011, and 2016. The information was collected from mothers having a child within last five years preceding the survey years. The total number of such mothers was 4066, 4148, and 3998 respectively in the survey of 2006, 2011, and 2016.The association between institutional delivery and the explanatory variables was assessed via bivariate analysis (chi-square test) and multivariate analysis (binary logistic regression).Results The utilization of health service during delivery stepped up from 21% in 2006 to 62% in 2016.Although the proportion of delivery in health facility increased among poorest over the period of 10 years, the disparity between richest and poorest still persisted from 2006 to 2016 and the association was highly significant in all the surveys. Although, government of Nepal has launched the maternity incentive scheme through safe delivery incentive program in 2005, poor women are still deprived from utilizing the service. Poorest and poorer women were 78 percent (aOR=0.22, 95% CI 0.17-0.27) and 71 Percent (aOR=0.23, 95%CI 0.23-0.35) respectively less likely to have institutional delivery than the richest women after controlling the other socio-demographic and culture factors. Furthermore, this study found that education, place of residence, women’s autonomy, religion, number of ANC visits, exposure to newspaper and TV were significant predicators for place of delivery. Conclusion Although there has been three-fold increment in utilization of health services during delivery over the period of 10 years, the discrepancy between rich and poor, educated and uneducated and urban and rural area is highly evident. Overall, our study highlights the necessity of interventions to promote institutional delivery with greater focus on poor, uneducated, and rural women.