bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
ACCOUNTING MEASURES IN EVALUATING TOP MANAGEMENT PERFORMANCE
Authors: Slapničar Sergeja , Kavčič Slavka
Published: June 2021

The paper provides a theoretical framework to assess the adequacy of accounting measures in the evaluation of top management performance. It has often been claimed by economists that accounting measures of profitability are inadequate measures of managerial performance. Our objective is to analyse whether accounting measures are appropriate performance measures. The key characteristics of an ideal performance measure are its congruence with the principal's goal (an increase in its value should reflect increase in wealth for owners of the firm) and its noisiness (it should be noiseless to uncontrollable events). Such a measure would act as both a target for management and an assessment of its performance in terms of achieving owners' goal. While a stock price is perfectly congruent measure, it is not likely to be an efficient measure for incentive purposes. The article starts by contrasting the German corporate governance structure to the UK - USA one in order to find out the likely development of the Slovene corporate governance model by considering economic and legal circumstances in which the Slovene companies operate. Thereafter consideration is given to some of the empirical studies to examine the congruence of accounting profit and stock price. We then briefly overview the most widely used profitability ratios as well as additional accounting and non accounting information which help assess different aspects of top management performance. Since corporations in the touristic sector face similar problems regarding management control, the conclusions of the paper are as well applicable to the larger companies of the sector. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications for further accounting research of this field.
THE STATE AND PROBLEMS OF THE MARKETING CONCEPT ADOPTION IN HOSPITALITY COMPANIES OF ISTRIA
Authors: Štoković Ariana , Križman Danijela
Published: June 2021

Survival and the achievement of competitive advantages in the contemporary business conditions imperatively require consistent application of postulates of the marketing concept from the companies. Regard to the fact that tourism represents the strategic development direction, and that the hospitality industry is one of the main bearer of tourism supply, the authors aimed to investigate the state and problems of the marketing concept adoption in hospitality companies of Croatia. For that purpose, they conducted primary research on the sample of 11 most important hospitality companies of Istrian county - the most developed tourism region in Croatia. Method of personal interview based on the structured questionaire was applied during the research. Internal and external problems of the marketing concept adoption, which were identified in the research, hospitality companies should use as milestone for the achievement of the higher level of marketing concept adoption, and consequently the achievement of adequate business result.
TOURISM RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ON THE EXAMPLE OF TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN THE PUNAT COVE ON THE ISLAND OF KRK
Authors: Turk Hrvoje
Published: June 2021

The Punat Cove is one of the most striking features of the indented coastline of the island of Krk. The bay is fairly well sheltered and in the past it was a Karst valley which was later flooded by the sea. This region has favourable natural resources as well as rich anthropogenic tourist resources such as the Old Croatian chapel of St. Dunata and the Franciscan monastery and church on the island of Kosljun. The tourist development of the Punat Cove began in the second half of the 19th cent, with the arrival of individuals and organized groups of holiday-makers visiting the Franciscan monastery and church on Kosljun island. As early as 1876, the Bishop requested that a list of visitors to the island be kept by the Franciscan monks. At the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, hotels and restaurants began to appear in the town of Punat. A Swimming Club was founded and in 1912 the first small private beach was opened. During the period between the two World Wars, new boarding-houses and hotels were built, a large new beach was constructed and the coastal zone was reforested and leveled. Following 1945, tourism in Punat was known for its company vacation homes and children’s rest homes, its newly built motor camps and hotels and its marina which was to become the largest in the Adriatic Sea. Companies which were founded through the various phases of tourist development in the Punat Cove played a profound role in the management of tourism resources and the development of tourism. The most evident effect of the modem tourist evaluation of Punat are the recently built settlements of holiday houses south of the old center of Punat. There are about 1000 of these holiday houses in the Punat Municipality, mostly belonging to owners from Zagreb and Rijeka.
DIE POSITION KROATIENS AM ÖSTERREICHISCHEN REISEMARKT
Authors: Jordan Peter
Published: June 2021

Österreicher nehmen unter den ausländischen Gästen Kroatiens den 5. Platz ein und tragen mehr als 11% zum Volumen des Ausländertourismus in Kroatien bei. Der Artikel untersucht dieses wichtige Segment des kroatischen Tourismus, und zwar Kroatiens Anteil am österreichischen Reisemarkt, die wichtigsten Motive, die Österreicher für Kroatien-Reisen haben oder angeben, die bevorzugte Reisesaison, die demographische und sozio-ökonomische Struktur österreichischer Touristen, die nach Kroatien kommen (Altersstruktur, Bildung, Beschäftigung), die Organisationsform österreichischer Reisen nach Kroatien, die Wahl der Verkehrsmittel und die Ausgaben österreichischer Touristen in Kroatien. Die meisten Daten über österreichische Kroatienreisende werden mit den Durchschnittswerten österreichischer Auslandsurlauber und mit den Daten über österreichische Urlauber in Italien, einem Hauptkonkurrenten Kroatiens am österreichischen Reisemarkt, verglichen. Der Artikel schließt mit einigen Hinweisen, wie Kroatien am österreichischen Reisemarkt noch mehr Erfolg haben könnte.
"ECO - HOTEL” - TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY OF TOURISM
Authors: Petrić Lidija
Published: June 2021

The term "eco" originates from the Greek word "oikos" and means "home, household", and the fact is that hotel is a kind o f home (at least for a certain period of time) for both tourists and employees. However, being a certain kind of home (oikos), hotel has to follow the basic principles of good housekeeping and those are the principles based on maximising benefits and minimising costs. These principles are at the same time the main principles of the ecology as a scientific approach and as a global movement aimed at preserving our environment and implementing so called "sustainable development" concept. Accordingly, eco-hotel is a hotel that, acting according the principles of "good housekeeping" keeps the environment clean and improves its quality, rises up the level of satisfaction of more sophisticated and ecologically more conscious guests and reduces costs, which, all together helps promoting the concept of tourism sustainable development. These are the principles of so called "environmental management". The main objective of this paper is aimed at analysis of the results that have been achieved so far in implementing different ecological standards in hotels abroad and in the Republic of Croatia. Attention will also be paid to some examples of how these efforts have been supported by the state through the measures of the economic policy.
KAJIAN NUMERIK FENOMENA UNDULAR TIDAL BORES DALAM MEMPENGARUHI PROSES EROSI PADA DAERAH ALIRAN SUNGAI (Numerical study of undular tidal bores phenomenon in influencing erosion processes of watersheds)
Authors:   Program Studi Geofisika, FMIPA, Universitas Tanjungpura, Satria Putra Yoga , Yuniar Mentari , Antasari Kushadiwijayanto Arie ,   Program Studi Ilmu Kelautan, FMIPA Universitas Tanjungpura
Published: June 2021

Riverbank erosion is one indication of watershed damage. One of the causes is the phenomenon of tidal bores waves that occur in a river channel.The strength of tidal bores wave's can be measured based on its shear force parameter and dissipation energy. Wave shear force and dissipation energy are the parameters that play a role in a riverbank erosion process. Both of them are characterized by the Froude number (Fr) which is a function of the upstream river flow velocity (V0), the tidal bores flow velocity from the estuary (Vb), the river depth (h1), and the gravity acceleration (g). A numerical study of the phenomenon of undular tidal bores has been carried out in this article. Five undular bores simulations have been built using the open-source Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software, OpenFOAM. This study aims to analyze the effect of the Froude number variations (Fr) on the magnitude of the wave shear coefficient (ϵ) and dissipation energy ( ) on undular bores cases. Five simulations of undular bores have been generated based on five Froude's numbers, Fr = 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, and 1.4. The validation has been performed by comparing the experimental and numerical results from the scientific literature. The analysis results show that the increase in Fr has a significant effect on the increase in the ϵ and .These results indicate that the Froude number variations have influenced the wave shear coefficient and dissipation energy on the undular bores cases. Increasing the Fr values have triggered an increase in the value of ϵ linearly and exponentially. Thus, the erosion that occurs on the riverbank in the undular tidal bores phenomenon could be determined based on Froude's number.
The CURAT Sonification Game: Gamification for Remote Sonification Evaluation
Authors: Ziemer Tim , Schultheis Holger
Published: June 2021

As sonification is supposed to communicate information to users, experimental evaluation of the subjective appropriateness and effectiveness of the sonification design is often desired and sometimes indispensable. Experiments in the laboratory are typically restricted to short-term usage by a small sample size under unnatural conditions. We introduce the multi-platform CURAT Sonification Game that allows us to evaluate our sonification design by a large population during long-term usage. Gamification is used to motivate users to interact with the sonification regularly and conscientiously over a long period of time. In this paper we present the sonification game and some initial analyses of the gathered data. Furthermore, we hope to reach more volunteers to play the CURAT Sonification Game and help us evaluate and optimize our psychoacoustic sonification design and give us valuable feedback on the game and recommendations for future developments.
Quanton Fields: Evolution and Degrees of Freedom
Authors: MOHAMMED AYMAN KASSEM
Published: June 2021

The concept of space time had been the subject of debate for so long, here another version will be discussed in the form of space and time fields where a new concept of energy constraining can explain the interactions between those fields. This model comes in three parts : energy constraining , where the evolution of the quanton and its different transitions are discussed, the second part , energy fields, their degrees of freedom and the third part electromagnetic waves as relativistic quantons and the generic form of Maxwell equations in terms of space and time fields. This work shows that the origin many of the physical phenomena can be traced back to the quanton based world .
Educating Αdults with an Augmented Reality Game: Α Content Analysis Approach
Authors: Sdravopoulou Konstantina , Muñoz González Juan Manuel , Hidalgo-Ariza3 María Dolores
Published: June 2021

A single paragraph of about 200 words maximum. For research articles, abstracts should give a pertinent overview of the work. We strongly encourage authors to use the following style of structured abstracts, but without headings: (1) Background: Place the question addressed in a broad context and highlight the purpose of the study; (2) Methods: briefly describe the main methods or treatments applied; (3) Results: summarize the article's main findings; (4) Conclu-sions: indicate the main conclusions or interpretations. The abstract should be an objective rep-resentation of the article and it must not contain results that are not presented and substantiated in the main text and should not exaggerate the main conclusions.
Historical Development: Thinking History for the 21st Century
Authors: LUSIANDARI RIA , Pandin Moses
Published: June 2021

This article aims to examine the concept of historical thinking by looking at the development of historical learning from colonialism to reformation, as well as some examples of innovations in history learning through technology media. The development of history learning in Indonesia has a long story from the colonialism era to the reformation that changed from time to time. However, changes and reforms in the education system do not make students more interested in history. The 21st century, known as the digital century, makes students' attention more focused on the present and the development of the times. Therefore, there are many innovations that are in line with technological media to support and maintain history learning in this era. The question from this research is how is history learning not favored by students when technological innovations to support this learning have developed? By using the literature review method and a qualitative approach, this article provides a new perspective through existing data. Because innovation cannot run effectively before it is accompanied by historical thinking, so the results of the research are historical thinking must be instilled from the start to support innovations that develop and attract students' interest. Based on the study, it is recommended that have historical thinking to further optimize technology develops innovation more effectively and ask for more interest in history. Keywords: 21st Century, Historical Development, Paradigm
Dietary Flavonoids: Cardioprotective Potential with Antioxidant Effects and Their Pharmacokinetic, Toxicological and Therapeutic Concerns
Authors: Khan Johra , Deb Prashanta Kumar , Priya Somi , Medina Karla Damiàn , Devi Rajlakshmi , Walode Sanjay G. , Rudrapal Mithun
Published: June 2021

Flavonoids comprise a large group of structurally diverse polyphenolic compounds of plant origin and are abundantly found in human diet such as fruits, vegetables, grains, tea, dairy products, red wine and so on. Major classes of flavonoids include flavonols, flavones, flavanones, flavanols, anthocyanidins, isoflavones, and chalcones. Owing to their potential health benefits and medicinal significance, flavonoids are now considered as an indispensable component in a variety of medicinal, pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and cosmetic preparations. However, flavonoids play a significant role in preventing cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), which could be mainly due to their antioxidant, antiatherogenic, and antithrombotic effects. Epidemiological and in vitro/in vivo evidences of antioxidant effects support the cardioprotective function of dietary flavonoids. Further, the inhibition of LDL oxidation and platelet aggregation following regular consumption of food containing flavonoids and moderate consumption of red wine might protect against atherosclerosis and thrombosis. A study suggests that daily intake of 100 mg of flavonoids through diet may reduce the risk of developing morbidity and mortality due to coronary heart disease (CHD) by approximately 10%. This review summarizes dietary flavonoids with their sources and potential health implications in CVDs including various redox-active cardioprotective (molecular) mechanisms with antioxidant effects. Pharmacokinetic (oral bioavailability, drug metabolism), toxicological and therapeutic aspects of dietary flavonoids are also addressed herein with future directions for the discovery and development of useful drug candidates/ therapeutic molecules.
Structural Transphobia, Homophobia, and Biphobia in Public Health Practice: The Example of COVID-19 Surveillance
Authors: Sell Randall L. , Krims Elise I.
Published: June 2021

Public health surveillance can have profound impacts on the health of populations, with COVID-19 surveillance offering an illuminating example. Surveillance surrounding COVID-19 testing, confirmed cases, and deaths has provided essential information to public health professionals about how to minimize morbidity and mortality.

In the United States, surveillance has also pointed out how populations, on the basis of geography, age, and race and ethnicity, are being impacted disproportionately, allowing targeted intervention and evaluation. However, COVID-19 surveillance has also highlighted how the public health surveillance system fails some communities, including sexual and gender minorities. This failure has come about because of the haphazard and disorganized way disease reporting data are collected, analyzed, and reported in the United States, and the structural homophobia, transphobia, and biphobia acting within these systems.

We provide recommendations for addressing these concerns after examining experiences collecting race data in COVID-19 surveillance and attempts in Pennsylvania and California to incorporate sexual orientation and gender identity variables into their pandemic surveillance efforts.
Evaluation of Natural Radioactivity Levels and Potential Radiological Hazards of Common Building Materials Utilized in Mediterranean Region, Turkey
Authors: Turhan Şeref , Kurnaz Asli , Karataşlı Muhammet
Published: June 2021

Radiometric measurement of building materials is very important to assess the internal and external exposure caused by the ionizing radiation emitted from terrestrial radionuclides in building materials. The activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K in fifty-eight samples of fifteen different structural and covering building materials commonly used in Osmaniye province located in the Mediterranean region of Turkey were measured by using gamma-ray spectroscopy. The activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K varied from 2.5 ± 0.1 (marble) to 145.7 ± 4.4 (clay brick), 1.3 ± 0.1 (marble) to 154.3 ± 4.1 (marble) and 8.6 ± 0.2 (sand) to 1044.1 ± 70.3 (granite), respectively. Radiological parameters (activity concentration index, alpha index, indoor absorbed gamma dose rate and the corresponding annual effective dose rate, and excess lifetime cancer risk) were estimated to evaluate the health hazards associated with these building materials. Since the estimated values of these parameters are within the recommended safety limits or criteria values, the use of the studied building materials in the construction of dwellings can be considered to be safe for the residents of the region.
Ecotoxicity of Binary Mixtures of ILs and Inorganic Salts of Electrochemical Interest
Authors: Parajó Juan José , Vallet Pablo , Varela Luis Miguel , Villanueva María , SALGADO Josefa
Published: June 2021

The applicability of ionic liquids (ILs) has been increased during the last years and even new opportunities are becoming a reality, i.e. mixtures of pure IL and inorganic salt as electrolytes for smart electrochemical devices, but the effects on environment are almost unknown. In this work, the ecotoxicity of two pure protic ILs (Ethylammonium nitrate and Ethylimidazolium nitrate) and two pure aprotic ILs (butylmethylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide and butyldimethylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide) and that of their binary mixtures with inorganic salts with common cation was tested towards changes on the bioluminescence of the bacteria Aliivibrio fischeri, using the Microtox® standard toxicity test. EC50 of these mixtures was determined over three standard periods of time and compared with the corresponding values to pure ILs. Results indicate that the aprotic ILs are more toxic than protic and that aromatic are more toxic than non-aromatic. The addition of inorganic mono (LiNO3), di (Ca(NO3)2·4H2O, Mg(NO3)2·6H2O) and trivalent (Al(NO3)3·9H2O) salts in binary mixtures with EAN was firstly analysed, obtaining that the latter induces an important increase on toxicity. Finally, mixtures of IL- inorganic lithium salt (LiNO3, for the protic ILs and LiTFSI for the aprotic ILs) toxicity was also studied, which resulted strongly dependent on the IL of the mixture.
Impact of COVID-19 on the health of the general and more vulnerable population and its determinants: Health care and social survey-ESSOC, study protocol
Authors: Sánchez-Cantalejo Carmen , Rueda Mª del Mar , Saez Marc , Enrique Iria , Ferri-García Ramón , Fuente Miguel De la , Villegas Román , Castro Luis , Barceló Maria Antònia , Daponte-Codina Antonio , Lorusso Nicola , Cabrera-León Andrés
Published: June 2021

This manuscript describes the rationale and protocol of a real-world data (RWD) study entitled Health Care and Social Survey (ESSOC, Encuesta Sanitaria y Social). The study’s objective is to determine the magnitude, characteristics, and evolution of the COVID-19 impact on overall health as well as the socioeconomic, psychosocial, behavioural, occupational, environmental, and clinical determinants of both the general and more vulnerable population. The study integrates observational data collected through a survey using a probabilistic, overlapping panel design, and data from clinical, epidemiological, demographic, and environmental registries. The data will be analysed using advanced statistical, sampling, and machine learning techniques. The study is based on several measurements obtained from three random samples of the Andalusian (Spain) population: general population aged 16 years and over, residents of disadvantaged areas, and people over the age of 55. Given the current characteristics of this pandemic and its future repercussions, this project will generate relevant information on a regular basis, commencing from the beginning of the State of Alarm. It will also establish institutional alliances of great social value, explore and apply powerful and novel methodologies, and produce large, integrated, high-quality and open-access databases. The information described here will be vital for health systems in order to design tailor-made interventions aimed at improving the health care, health, and quality of life of the populations most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Isolation and Characterization of Microsatellites Markers in Centaurium Grandiflorum ssp. Boissieri
Authors: Jiménez-Lobato Vania , Escudero Marcial , Lifante Zoila Díaz , Camacho Cristina Andrés , de Castro Alejandra , Arroyo Juan
Published: June 2021

Estimation of outcrossing/selfing rates and characterization of genetic diversity with microsatellite markers are crucial to understand the evolution of mating system in plant species. We developed, optimized and characterized eight new primers pairs for Centaurium grandiflorum ssp. boissieri and transferred them to three subspecies of Centaurium quadrifolium. Two SSR loci were transferred from Sabatia campestris to the four mentioned taxa of Centaurium. Polymorphisms, He, Ho and H-W deviations were estimated in two populations of C. grandiflorum ssp. boissieri, and in seven individuals of C. quadrifolium ssp. barrelieri, C. quadrifolium ssp. parviflorum and C. quadrifolium ssp. quadrifolium. A total of 80 individuals were used in these experiments. The number of polymorphic loci varied among species from one to ten. A total number of 127 alleles were scored. The average number of alleles per locus was 12.7. He was higher than Ho in all sampled populations. Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was found for some loci in different species. This is the first report of microsatellites successfully amplified in the whole Centaurium genus. They will be valuable for estimation of mating system parameters, genetic diversity and explore its relationship with the wide flower morphology, especially anther-stigma separation, found along the genus.
Circulating Transthyretin is a Systems Biomarker: Retrospective Clinical Evaluations in 48 Types of Human Diseases
Authors: Wang Zhiliang , Zhang Meng , Zhang Yiran , He Yixiong , Qu Fengxiang , Bai Cui , Zhang Lijuan , Guo Yachong , Chang Hong
Published: June 2021

Background: Most human diseases are systems diseases, and systems biomarkers will be powerful tools in facilitating the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment effect monitoring of systems diseases. Circulating transthyretin (TTR) or prealbumin, one of the commonly ordered blood tests, has been indicated as a biomarker for cancers and non-cancer diseases. To test if TTR were a systems biomarker and the mechanisms of its regulation, TTR concentrations in 48 different types of human diseases and healthy controls were systematically analyzed in the current study.Methods: Serum TTR concentration was determined by the standard "Immune turbidimetric method" in the clinical laboratory of our hospital. TTR data from 137,305 independent tests of patients with 48 clinically defined diseases and 3,387 tests from healthy individuals who came to the hospital for physical examination during the past five years were retrieved. All data were statistically analyzed with SPSS v26, RStudio V.1.3.1073, and python libraries 3.8.Results: The mean and median values of serum TTR concentrations were significantly decreased (p<0.001) in 47 out of 48 diseases. However, the dynamic TTR concentration ranges were far exceeded that in healthy controls, including patients suffering uremia, the only disease that had significantly increased (p<0.001) TTR mean and median values. ROC analyses showed that TTR was a decent biomarker (AUC > 0.6) for 40 out of 48 diseases, and the highest AUCs were observed in sepsis (AUC 0.97), cirrhosis (AUC 0.97), and pancreatitis (AUC 0.94). Remarkably, the eight diseases with AUC < 0.6 were mainly kidney- and blood-related diseases with unconventional ROC curves and broad TTR concentration ranges. Furthermore, similar TTR concentration distributing patterns were present in the same category of diseases, such as different types of cancers, liver-related diseases, blood-related cancers and diseases, vascular diseases, autoimmune diseases, and kidney diseases.Conclusions: Significantly decreased TTR mean and median values were common in 47 out of 48 human diseases. The liver, kidney, blood, and pancreas were the major organs involved in regulating TTR concentrations. Systems swings between catabolic and anabolic phases explained the different dynamic TTR concentration ranges in different diseases. Overall facts plus ROC analysis indicated that TTR was a systems biomarker instead of a prognosis or malnutrition indicator used clinically during the past.
Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Assemblages in Rivers Under the Influence of Mining Activities
Authors: Rico-Sánchez Axel Eduardo , Rodríguez-Romero Alexis Joseph , Sedeño-Díaz Jacinto Elías , López-López Eugenia , Sundermann Andrea
Published: June 2021

Mining is one of the main pollution issues worldwide, causing the greatest disturbances to the environment. Industrial and artisanal mining activities are widespread in Mexico, being a major global producer of various metals. This study aimed to assess the ecological impairments resulting from mining activities using the aquatic macroinvertebrates assemblages (MA). A multiple co-inertia analysis (MCOA) was applied to determine the relationships between environmental factors, habitat quality, heavy metals, and aquatic macroinvertebrates in two rivers of the Central Plateau, Mexico. The results revealed three contrasting environmental conditions and different MA. High concentrations of heavy metals, nutrients, and salinity limit the presence of various families of seemingly sensitive macroinvertebrates, these factors were identified as the drivers of structural changes in the MA, showing that not only mining activities, but also agriculture, and villages in the basin, exert negative effects to the macroinvertebrate communities. Diversity indices showed that the lowest diversity matched with both, the most polluted and the most saline rivers. The rivers studied displayed a high alkalinity and hardness, which can lead to the formation of metal precipitates and thus acting as a protection to aquatic biota. Aquatic biomonitoring in rivers, impacted by mining and other human activities, is critical for detecting the effect of metals and other pollutants to improve management and conservation strategies. This study supports the design of cost-effective and accurate water quality biomonitoring protocols in developing countries.
Foot Care Practice and Associated Factors among Patients with Lymphoedema in Boreda District, Gamo Zone, SNNPR, Ethiopia, 2020. Implications for Elimination of Podoconiosis and Lymphatic Filariasis
Authors: Churko Chuchu , Yohanes Tsegaye , Kassahun Alemayehu Bekele , Desalign Nathan , Endashaw Gisila , Asfaw Mekuria Asnakew
Published: June 2021

Background: Lymphatic filariasis is ranked as the second leading cause of disability world-wide. The current global programme to eliminate lymphatic filariasis is based on the interruption of transmission and the alleviation of disability and suffering. Objective: to assess foot care practice and associated factors among lymphoedema patients in Boreda district, Gamo zone Southern Ethiopia.Methods: a community based cross sectional study was employed from December 2020 to June 2021 in Boreda district. Simple random sampling technique was used for selecting participants. Pretested structured interviewer administered questionnaire was prepared in English and translated to local language. Findings: a total of 280 lymphedema patients were involved in this study. More than half 153 (54.6%) had poor practice towards foot care practice with 95% CI (48.7%, 60.4%). Patients who fetched 50 litres or below and wore shoes at the age above 20 years were negatively associated with foot care practice, (AOR=0.383, 95%CI: 0.155, 0.945) and (AOR=0.261, 95%CI: 0.107, 0.63), respectively. Patients who owned only one pair and two pairs were negatively associated with foot care practice (AOR=0.04, 95%CI: 0.009, 0.182) and (AOR=0.27, 95%CI: 0.087, 0.85), respectively. On the other hand, attending LMMDP service and frequency of adenolymphangitis once and twice or more per month were positively associated with foot care practice (AOR= 3.339, 95%CI: 1.53, 7.285) and (AOR=8.15, 95% CI: 3.157, 21.058) and (AOR=9.35, 95% CI: 3.118, 28.059), respectively.Conclusion: this study indicated foot care practice among lymphedema patients in Boreda district was poor. Number of litre of water fetched per day, age at which shoes first worn, number of shoes owned, attending LMMDP and frequency of adenolymphangitis were significantly associated with foot care practice. Standard foot care practice should be emphasized to control progression of lymphedema.
Cross-neutralizing antibodies bind a SARS-CoV-2 cryptic site and resist to circulating variants
Authors: Li Tingting , Xue Wenhui , Zheng Qingbing , Song Shuo , Yang Chuanlai , Xiong Hua-Long , Zhang Sibo , Hong Minqing , Zhang Ya-Li , Yu Hai , Zhang Yuyun , Sun Hui , Huang Yang , Deng Tingting , Chi Xin , Li Jinjin , Wang Shaojuan , Zhou Lizhi , Chen Tingting , Wang Yingbin , Cheng Tong , Zhang Tian-Ying , Yuan Quan , Zhao Qinjian , Zhang Jun , McLellan Jason , Zhou Z. Hong , Zhang Zheng , Gu Ying , Li Shaowei , Xia Ningshao
Published: June 2021

The emergence of numerous variants of SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19, has presented new challenges to the global efforts to control the still ravaging COVID-19 pandemic. Here, we obtain two cross-neutralizing antibodies (7D6 and 6D6) that target Sarbecoviruses’ receptor binding domain (RBD) with sub-picomolar affinities and potently neutralize authentic SARS-CoV-2. Crystal structures show that both antibodies bind a cryptic site different from that recognized by existing antibodies and highly conserved across Sarbecovirus isolates. Binding of these two antibodies to the RBD clashes with the adjacent N-terminal domain and disrupts the viral spike. Significantly, both antibodies confer good mutation resistance to the currently circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants. Thus, our results have direct relevance to public health as options for passive antibody therapeutics and even active prophylactics, and can also inform the design of pan-sarbecovirus vaccines.
A Novel Long-Range Deletion Spanning CDC73 and Upper-Stream Genes Discovered in a Kindred of Familial Primary Hyperparathyroidism
Authors: Yang Yi , Song An , Nie Min , Jiang Yan , Li Mei , Xia Weibo , Xing Xiaoping , Wang Ou , Hu Ya
Published: June 2021

PurposeTo confirm the exact break-point of a novel long-range deletion discovered in one female parathyroid carcinoma (PC) patient who has a strong family history suggesting familial hyperparathyroidism, and to investigate the expression of parafibromin in the patient’s affected lesion.MethodsClinical information of one female patient as well as five of her relatives were collected. Their genomic DNA extracted from peripheral blood went through Sanger sequencing and multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA). After completing whole genome sequencing (WGS), clone sequencing was also performed, whose result was aligned with standard human genome database after Sanger sequencing.ResultsThe medical history of recurrent hypercalcemia after parathyroidectomy and histopathological investigation confirmed that the female patient with the diagnosis of PC. WGS displayed a novel 130kb long-range deletion spanning UCHL5 to CDC73 which was later confirmed by clone sequencing. MLPA showed similar results in four of her five relatives, suggesting these people to be carriers of the same long-range deletion, and three among them had a history of primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) ahead of the proband’s first visit.Conclusion﻿We discovered a novel 130kb long-range deletion spanning CDC73 in a family of five-person, and the existence of the deletion was related to PHPT and PC. Our discovery validated the role of CDC73 mutation in the occurrence of PHPT and PC, which provided new information to the genetic studies of PC.
Nursing Managers’ Perspectives on Facilitators of and Barriers to Evidence-based Practice: A Cross-sectional Study
Authors: Hosseini-Moghaddam Fatemeh , Mohamadpour Ali , Bahri Narges , Mojalli Mohamad
Published: June 2021

Background: Evidence-based practice (EBP) is one of the most important ways to empower nursing. The perspective of nursing managers about EBP plays an important role in the process of accepting the use of EBP by nurses. On the other hand, identifying facilitator of and barriers to EBP is necessary to improve its implementation. This study aimed to determine the facilitators of and barriers to EBP from the perspective of Iranian nursing managers.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 335 top nursing managers, who were selected by stratified random sampling from Iranian universities of medical sciences, was studied. The research instruments included three electronic questionnaires for demographics, barriers and facilitators of EBP. Data were analyzed in SPSS software using descriptive statistics and appropriate analytical tests.Results: A total of 277 individuals participated in the study (response rate of 80%), 51.6% of them were female (n=143) with an average age of 43/6±7 years. Iranian nursing managers believed that organizational factors were the most important domain for both EBP facilitators (34.7± 9.2) and barriers (28.37±6.2). Furthermore, the most important facilitator of EBP was manager’s increased support and encouragement (4.23±1.19) and the most important barrier was physicians’ not cooperating with nurses in applying research results (3.80±1.29).Conclusion: The findings of this study revealed the most important facilitator of and barriers to EBP, and especially emphasized the key role of organizational factors in the implementation of EBP. Identifying facilitator and barriers and creating an organizational culture supporting evidence-based practice are effective interventions that result in improving the quality of nursing care.
Electroacupuncture inhibits hippocampal neuronal apoptosis and improves cognitive dysfunction in mice with vascular dementia via modulating JNK signaling pathway
Authors: Liu Yaru , Li Chunyan , Yan Zhenyang , Ren Yafei , Wang Woyu , Ke Yinze , Wang Yifan , Qi Rongming
Published: June 2021

Background: Nerve cell apoptosis is an important pathological mechanism of vascular dementia (VaD). There are evidences that Electroacupuncture (EA) can reduce cognitive impairment in VaD patients and protect nerve cells. However, the mechanism remains unknown. JNK signaling pathway play an important role in apoptosis. And JNK induces cell apoptosis in two main ways, namely JNK transcription-dependent pathway and JNK transcription-independent route. We focus on whether EA can inhibit apoptosis and alleviate cognitive impairment by regulating JNK signaling pathway.Method: In this study, Bilateral common carotid artery clipping (BCCAo) was used as a method to establish VaD mouse model. Longa scoring method and Morris water maze were used to evaluate whether EA could improve the behavioral score of VaD mice. The neuroprotective effects of EA were evaluated by the Hematoxylin and Eosin (HE) staining, TUNEL and Flow Cytometry (FCM). Western blot and real-time PCR were used to detect the expression of JNK-3, AP-1, P53, Bcl -2, Bax, and Caspase-3.Results: Our findings indicated that EA could improve the behavioral scores of VaD mice. VaD mice treated with EA reduced hippocampal neuronal apoptosis. In addition, EA could reduce the expression of JNK-3, AP-1, P53, Bax and Caspase-3 proteins and mRNA in the hippocampus of VaD mice, and increase the expression of Bcl-2.Conclusion: Our findings suggested that the mechanism of action of EA to treat VaD may be related to its regulation of JNK transcription-dependent pathway and JNK transcription-independent route.
Geospatial applications to landslide riskscape development: a modeling approach to quantify landslide riskscapes in the Colorado Front Range, USA
Authors: Hicks Heather Brainerd , Laituri Melinda
Published: June 2021

Riskscapes are interdisciplinary concepts that integrate multiple facets of physical, environmental, and social components in a spatial and temporal context. While the notion of risk is well documented for landslides, riskscapes are a novel approach in the natural hazard and spatial assessment studies. This term, ‘riskscape’, is described in terms of parameters required and quantification methodological approaches. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) or geospatial methods are an appropriate tool to define the development of these riskscape quantification methods. A weighted sum overlay model for a riskscape is developed with three weighted approaches using GIS to measure the strength of spatial relationships across a regional landscape in Colorado, focused on landslide susceptibility modeling in the riskscape context. Binary riskscapes resulted in a limited understanding of the impact of features related to landslide riskscapes, but both ranked and human-factor weighted riskscape models provided more details to inform policy and plan for response to landslide events. Clustering measures using spatial-autocorrelation tools revealed that riskscape outputs are clustered and can further be used to identify areas of increased risk due to landslides in emerging population-growth areas. In conclusion, ranked and human-factor riskscape models are developed and can support decision-making and prioritization for response deployment based on landslide susceptibility criteria to focus resources on areas of interaction between landslide risk and social factors.
Simple Multiplication in the Brain: A MEG Study Comparing Fast and Slow Responses
Authors: G. Arcara , R. Pezzetta , S. Benavides-Varela , G. Rizzi , S. Formica , C. Turco , F. Piccione , C. Semenza
Published: June 2021

Despite decades of studies, it is still an open question on how and where simple multiplication is solved by the brain. This fragmented picture is mostly related to the different tasks employed. Although in neuropsychological studies patients are asked to perform and report simple oral calculations, neuroimaging and neurophysiological studies often use verification tasks, in which the result is shown, and the participant must verify the correctness. This MEG study aims to unify the sources of evidence, investigating how brain activation unfolds in time using a single-digit multiplication production task. We compared the participants’ brain activity – focusing on the parietal lobes - based on response efficiency, dividing their responses in fast and slow. Results showed a higher activation for fast, as compared to slow, responses in the left angular gyrus starting after the first operand, and in the right supramarginal gyrus only after the second operand. A whole-brain analysis showed that fast responses had higher activation in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. We show a timing difference of both hemispheres during simple multiplications. Results suggest that while the left parietal lobe may allow an initial retrieval of several possible solutions, the right one may be engaged later, helping to identify the solution based on magnitude checking.
Persistent Effect of Temperature on GDP Identified from Lower Frequency Temperature Variability
Authors: Bastien-Olvera Bernardo , Moore Frances
Published: June 2021

It is well established that temperature variability affects a range of outcomes relevant to human welfare, including health (Gasparrini et al., 2017) emotion and mood (Baylis et al., 2018), and productivity across a number of economic sectors (Carleton & Hsiang, 2016; Dell et al., 2014). However, a critical and still unresolved empirical question is whether temperature variation has a long-lasting effect on economic productivity and, therefore, whether damages compound over time in response to long-lived changes in temperature expected with climate change. Several studies have identified a relationship between temperature and GDP (Burke et al., 2015; Dell et al., 2012; Kalkuhl & Wenz, 2020), but empirical evidence as to the persistence of these effects is still weak. This paper presents a novel approach to isolate the persistent component of temperature effects on output using lower frequency temperature variation. Using three different datasets we find that longer temperature anomalies affect GDP growth as much or more than short-lived anomalies, implying persistent and therefore cumulative effects of climate change on economic output. The population-weighted global effect of -0.8 pp per degree is sufficient to reduce per-capita income in 2100 by 44% under RCP6, approximately an order of magnitude larger than damages currently represented in cost-benefit integrated assessment models (Diaz & Moore, 2017).
Prion-like Conformational Editing of SMN2 Proteins Rescues Spinal Muscular Atrophy
Authors: Wang I-Fan , Ting Chen-Hung , Tsai Li-Kai , Chang Hsiang-Yu , Lai Hsing-Jung , Chen Chien-Lin
Published: June 2021

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) causes the loss of motor neurons and progressive muscle weakness. In 95% of patients with SMA, both alleles of the survival motor neuron 1 (SMN1­) gene are deleted or the gene contains missense mutations. A nearly identical copy of SMN1, SMN2, is normally expressed but is unable to compensate for the loss of SMN1 due to the deletion of exon 7. Here, we demonstrated that conformational editing of the SMN2 protein triggers effective phase separation of SMN2 proteins and rescues SMA. We found that SMN1 contains a prion-like LC domain at exons 6-7, which drives liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) and further discovered an LLPS activator of gems, baicalein. Using baicalein, we reinvented SMN2 proteins into a competent prion-like conformation to restore the prion-like functions of SMN1 and effectively rescue SMA mice. Our study suggests that the impaired prion-like activity of SMN1 is the root cause of SMA and provides a drug candidate for SMA and phase separation-deficient diseases.
Microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of nano-ATZ ceramics by solid solution precipitation
Authors: Yu Yongdong , Liu Xudong , Yuan Yuchen , Yu Wanjun , Yin Hang , Yin Zhao , Zheng Y.T. , He Xiaodong
Published: June 2021

Alumina toughened zirconia (ATZ) nanoceramics with high-strength, high-toughness and high-hardness were prepared by in-situ nanoprecipitation from solid solution micro-powders. The submicron Al2O3 (~ 450 nm) and ZrO2 (~ 350 nm) grains contained low-density precipitated nano-ZrO2 (~ 40 nm) and nano-Y4Al2O9 (YAM, ~ 90 nm) particles, respectively, making high-performance nano-ATZ ceramics with ultrafine intracrystalline nanostructure yet achieved. There was a parallel or eutectic lattice orientation relationship between the submicrocrystals and its internal nanoparticles of their crystal planes, which is very conducive to the improvement of the mechanical properties of nano-ATZ ceramics. The fracture toughness and hardness of 30wt%Al2O3/70wt%ZrO2(3mol%Y2O3) can be as high as 5.68 ± 0.17 MPa·m1/2 (single-edge V-notched beam method, SEVNB) and 16.32 ± 0.45 GPa, respectively, which are improved by ~ 25 % and ~ 20 % compared with those of 3Y-TZP ceramics. Therefore, this method can be used to prepare nano-ATZ ceramics contained ultrafine nanoparticles and uniform distribution of Al2O3 phases.
Preparation of Al2TiO5 ceramic fibers and thermal expansion, insulation, and strength of ZrO2-Al2TiO5 fiberboards
Authors: Liu Wei , Xie Yongshuai , Deng Zhezhe , Peng Ying , Dong Jianhong , Zhu Ze , Ma Dehua , Zhu Luyi , Zhang Guanghui , Wang Xinqiang
Published: June 2021

In the field of thermal insulation, Zirconia (ZrO2) fiber and its products have high thermal expansion coefficients and poor thermal shock resistance, which leads to great challenges in the industry. In this work, aluminum titanate (Al2TiO5) single-phase ceramic fibers were prepared by a sol-gel method, using polyacetylacetone titanium-aluminum (PAAT) as the precursors with electrospinning technology. The single-phase Al2TiO5 fibers exhibited excellent high-temperature resistance, and maintained fibers morphology at a high temperature of 1500 ºC. Next, ZrO2-Al2TiO5 (ZAT) fiberboards were prepared by mixing ZrO2 fibers and Al2TiO5 fibers. The mixture was heat-treated to 1500 ºC to prepare the ZAT fiberboards. Characterization results indicated that the contents of Al2TiO5 fibers have obvious effects on the performance of thermal insulation, strength, thermal expansion, and thermal shock resistance. Particularly, the thermal expansion coefficient of ZAT-8 fiberboards was about 20% lower than that of ZAT-0 fiberboards. These attractive characteristics might give ZAT fiberboards enormous potential in the field of high-temperature insulation.