bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Socio-Psychological Impact on Bangladeshi Students during Covid-19
Authors: Far Abid Hossain Syed , Nurunnabi Mohammad , Sundarasen Sheela , Chinna Karuthan , Kamaludin Kamilah , Baloch Gul Muhammad , Khoshaim Heba Bakr , Sukayt Areej 
Published: January 2021

Background The socio-psychological impact of COVID-19 has affected the whole world. Bangladesh, one of the most dangerous places as stated by WHO, was first infected at the beginning of March 2020, later than other countries. Bangladesh is now one of the 20 most affected countries in the world, but the psychological effects for university students during the epidemic period are not researched. Design and methods To address this gap, the present study attempts to discover the socio-psychological impact of COVID-19 on university students in Bangladesh. We conducted an online survey using a questionnaire with a simple random sampling technique and we received 474 responses. Results In this study, numerous psychological concerns were reported. The study is limited to university students, which may affect the generalizability of the research. Conclusions Our findings suggest a need to build awareness of the mental health implications of the pandemic for university students.
Pattern and prevalence of substance use and dependence in two districts of Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir
Authors: Rather Yasir Hassan , Bhat Fazle Roub , Malla Altaf Ahmad , Zahoor Marya , Ali Massodi Peerzada Ayash , Yousuf Saleem 
Published: January 2021

Background:
Kashmir has been at the centre of conflict between India and Pakistan after partition of erstwhile British India in 1947. While research suggests that conflict exposure may result in increased substance use, the prevalence of substance use disorders has remained an under-searched area in Kashmir.

Method:
We employed respondent-driven sampling (RDS) for recruiting substance users from two districts of Kashmir. Estimation of substance dependence was done using benchmarkmultiplier method.

Results:
Prevalence of any substance dependence was estimated to be 1.95% while as for any opioids, it was 1.80%. Heroin was the most common opioid with last year use by 84.33% respondents. Current prevalence of injection drug use was 0.95% and heroin was the most common opioid among Injection Drug User (IDU), being used by 91.12% IDUs followed by Pentazocine (5.92%).

Conclusion:
Our results indicate that RDS was a feasible and acceptable sampling method for recruiting 'difficult to reach 'participants like illicit substance users including IDUs. Our results further demonstrate that opioids are highly prevalent in Kashmir and heroin injection is not uncommon. All these findings call for attention from policy makers as opioids are one of the important contributors to mortality and morbidity related to substances.
Knowledge of standard precautions among healthcare professionals at a Teaching Hospital in Karachi, Pakistan
Authors: Dhedhi Naseem Amin , Ashraf Hiba , Jiwani Ahsun 
Published: January 2021

Background and Aim:
Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) are infections acquired by patients during their hospital stay which they did not have previously. This also includes infections acquired by healthcare professionals while managing infected patients. Since both healthcare professionals and patients can be a source of spreading infections across there is a need of practicing standard precautions religiously, to minimize this risk. This study aimed to assess the knowledge of healthcare professionals working at The Indus Hospital, a tertiary care hospital of Karachi, Pakistan.

Material and Methods:
This cross-sectional study was conducted between March 2017 and July 2018. 205 employees working at The Indus Hospital, Karachi were recruited in this study. A self-made questionnaire based on CDC guidelines was administered to the participants and their responses were recorded.

Results:
Among all participants, nearly two-thirds (70%) had a very good knowledge of the use of standard precautions, 19.5% had good knowledge, and 12.2% had average/below average knowledge. Of those having very good knowledge, most of them were doctors (60%). Older age groups had more knowledge than the younger age groups.

Conclusion:
Our study concluded that among different healthcare workers, the nurses had less knowledge as compared to doctors. There was a significant association found between the age of the healthcare professionals and the information he/she has on the standard precautions. Improving the knowledge of doctors and nurses would help in breaking the chain of nosocomial infections and will decrease the burden of infectious diseases on our society.
Optimization of bioflocculant production by bacteria isolated from oil-polluted soil and fermented maize effluent
Authors: Ogunlaja A. , Ibidunni B.J. , Oyende K. , Ogunlaja O.O. 
Published: January 2021

This study involved isolation of bioflocculant producing bacteria from soil and waste water. The isolates were tested for flocculation activities and those deemed fit were identified and the optimal environmental conditions for bioflocculant production were also determined. Samples were collected from oil-contaminated soil in Redeemer's University and fermented maize waste water. Microbial isolation was done using standardmicrobiological methods and identification was done using morphology, biochemical and molecular method with universal primer for 16SrRNA gene. Environmental conditions (pH, Temperature and cations) and media composition (nitrogen and carbon sources) were altered to optimize bioflocculant production and activities. Percentage flocculating activities were determined and calculated using standard method. We also adjustedrevolution rate and standing time to determine the optimum conditions for flocculation activities. Two bioflocculant producing isolates (Bacillus cereus and Lysinibacillus fusiformis) from oil-polluted soil and two from fermented maize waste water (Bacillus thuringiensis and Bacillus tropicus) were obtained. Neutral pH, temperature o of 30 C and inclusion of CaCl were the best conditions for bioflocculant production in all isolates except for 2 Lysinibacillus fusiformis which was best with acidic pH condition. Maltose as the carbon source was the best for all isolates except Bacillus thuringiensis (fructose) and ammonium was the best nitrogen source for all isolates except Bacillus cereus (peptone). Although condition III showed optimum condition for flocculation activities, the percentage activities were generally lower than normal condition. The highest percentage flocculating activities o of 98% were by Bacillus cereus and Bacillus tropicus at 30 C, neutral pH and 1% (w/v) CaCl salt with soluble starch 2 and maltose as their carbon source respectively. These bacteria can be exploited for their use as flocculants in water treatment.
Keywords: Agro-residues; Bio-friendly; Bioflocculant; Contaminated soil; Optimization
Isolation and identification of phytochemical constituents from the roots of Calliandra portoricensis
Authors: Nvau J.B. , Saidu S.B. , Okonkwo F.O. , Gray A.I. , Igoli J.O. 
Published: January 2021

Calliandra portoricensis is a plant widely used in Nigerian ethnomedicine for the treatment of tuberculosis and other respiratory conditions. In view of its traditional use, the present study is aimed at the isolation and identification of bioactive components or secondary metabolites which may be responsible for its biological activity. The air dried roots was extracted with hexane, ethyl acetate and then methanol via maceration at roomtemperature. Repeated column chromatography of the ethyl acetate extract over silica gel yielded linalonic acid, spinasterone, lupeol, daucosterol and triacontanyl caffeate. The structures of these compounds were determined by NMR, mass spectrometry and comparison with literature. This is an initial report of these compounds from the plant material.
Key words: Linalonic acid, Triacontanyl caffeate, Daucosterol, Spinasterone, Nigeria
Two-sources randomness extractors in finite fields and in elliptic curves
Authors: Tchapgnouo Hortense Boudjou , Ciss Abdoul A. , Sow Djiby , Kolyang D.T. 
Published: January 2021

We propose two-sources randomness extractors over finite fields and on elliptic curves that can extract from two sources of information without consideration of other assumptions that the starting algorithmic assumptions with a competitive level of security. These functions have several applications. We propose here a description of a version of a Diffie-Hellman key exchange protocol and key extraction.
Nous proposons des extracteurs d'aléas 2-sources sur les corps finis et sur les courbes elliptiques capables d'extraire à partir de plusieurs sources d'informations sans considération d'autres hypothèses que les hypothèses algorithmiques de départ avec un niveau de sécurité compétitif. Ces fonctions possèdent plusieurs applications. Nous proposons ici une version du protocole d'échange de clé Diffie-Hellman incluant la phase d'extraction.
Efficient controller synthesis of multi-energy systems for autonomous domestic water supply
Authors: NZEBOP NDENOKA Gérard , Simeu Emmanuel , Alhakim Rshdee 
Published: January 2021

The continuous development of ICT facilitates the emergence and rapid proliferation of a wide variety of low-cost processors for the execution of programs in complex embedded applications. In this paper, the study explores the possibility to benefit from this wealth of computing capacity at a reasonable cost to solve concrete problems encountered in implementation of sustainable development processes, particularly in water and energy supply . . . We are focusing autonomous water supply in buildings of several floors using several tanks supplied by several sources of water and pumping energy, based on a multilevel hierarchical priority access to water. The first problem is to propose pumping devices and a switching process between power sources, associated to an architectural structure guaranteeing significant reduction of pumping energy. The second problem is the system controller realization. For this, we have proposed a generic architecture justified by gains in potential energy. We also propose an automatic generation tool of control programs for different microprocessor targets taken from the functional design specification of the system given in a Grafcet form. To put them in evidence, we describe at the end a case study.
Le développement vertigineux des TIC favorise l’émergence et la prolifération rapide d’une grande variété de processeurs à bas coût destinés à l’exécution de programmes embarqués dans des applications complexes. Dans ce papier, l’étude explore la possibilité de tirer profit de cette profusion de capacité de calcul à coût raisonnable pour résoudre des problèmes concrets que l’on rencontre dans la mise en place de processus de développement durable, notamment ceux liés à l’approvisionnement en eau et en énergie . . . Nous visons l’étude d’approvisionnement en eau autonome des bâtiments à plusieurs étages, en utilisant plusieurs citernes de stockage approvisionnées par plusieurs sources d’eau et d’énergie de pompage, basée sur plusieurs niveaux hiérarchisés de priorité d’accès à l’eau. Le premier problème est de proposer des dispositifs de pompage et un processus de commutation entre les sources d’énergie, associé à une structure architecturale garantissant une réduction significative de l’énergie de pompage. Le second problème est la réalisation du contrôleur. Pour cela, nous proposons une architecture générique justifiée par des gains d’énergie potentielle. Nous proposons aussi un outil de génération automatique de programmes de contrôle pour différentes cibles à microprocesseur à partir d’une spécification fonctionnelle sous la forme d’un Grafcet. Pour les mettre en évidence, nous décrivons à la fin un cas d’étude.
A self-stabilizing algorithm for a hierarchical middleware self-adaptive deployment : specification, proof, simulations
Authors: Faye Maurice-Djibril , Caron Eddy , Thiare Ousmane 
Published: January 2021

ABSTRACT. An effective solution to deal with this dynamic nature of distributed systems is to implement a self-adaptive mechanism to sustain the distributed architecture. Self-adaptive systems can autonomously modify their behavior at run-timein response to changes in their environment. Our paper describes the self-adaptive algorithm that we developed for an existing middleware. Once the middleware is deployed, it can detects a set of events which indicate an unstable deployment state. When an event is detected, some instructions are executed to handle the event. We have proposed a sketch proof of the self-stabilizing property of the algorithm. We have designed a simulator to have a deeper insights of our proposed self-adaptive algorithm. Results of our simulated experiments validate the safe convergence of the algorithm.
RÉSUMÉ.Dans cet article, nous nous intéressons aux moyens de rendre le déploiement d’un intergiciel auto-adaptatif. Le type d’intergiciel que nous avons considéré ici est hiérarchique (structure de graphe) et distribué. Les infrastructures de grilles/cloud étant dynamiques (perte et ajout de nœuds),un déploiement statique n’est pas la solution idéale car en cas de panne, il est souvent nécessaire de reprendre tout le processus de déploiement; or cette opération est très coûteuse. Nous avons donc proposé un algorithme auto-stabilisant pour que l’intergiciel puisse retrouver un état stable sans intervention extérieure, au bout d’un temps fini, lorsqu’il est confronté à des pannes transitoires. Pouravoir une idée plus précise des caractéristiques de l’algorithme, nous avons conçu un simulateur. Lesrésultats des simulations montrent qu’un déploiement, sujet à des pannes transitoires, s’auto-adapte.
Classification by split and merge technique for the detection of vascular retinopathies
Authors: Assogba Kokou , Bouaoune Yasmina , Bunel Philippe 
Published: January 2021

Dans cet article, nous proposons une nouvelle approche d'analyse de forme pour la détection des rétinopathies vasculaires. La méthode procède à la classification des vaisseaux et quantifie la modification de leur tortuosité sur les images d'angiographie rétinienne en fluorescence. La classification est basée sur une technique de division/fusion. Deux classes sont définies: artère/veine et artériole/veinule. Dans une séquence d'images, les vaisseaux classifiés sont mis en correspondance. La quantification consiste à comparer la tortuosité des vaisseaux classifiés correspondants. La tortuosité est définie par la valeur de l'excentricité déterminée avec les moments invariants 2D d'ordre 2. La méthode est appliquée aux images d'angiographie rétinienne en fluorescence de patients diabétiques et drépanocytaires.
In this paper, we present a novel approach of quantification of retinal vascular shape changes for detecting vascular retinopathies. The method classifies vessels and quantifies their tortuosity changes in fluorescein angiographic images. The classification approach is based on a split and merge technique. Two classes of vessel are defined: artery/vein and arteriole/veinlet. In a sequence of images, we form correspondence of classified vessels. Quantifying classified vessels consists of comparing the correspondent tortuosity. We use eccentricity to define tortuosity. Eccentricity computation is based on 2D moment invariant techniques. The method is applied to images of patients suffering of diabetes and sickle cell hemoglobin C disease.
Extraction of Association Rules for the Prediction of Missing Values
Authors: Jami Sylvie , Jen Tao-Yan , Laurent Dominique , Loizou Georges , Sy Oumar 
Published: January 2021

Missing values in databases have motivated many researches in the field of KDD, specially concerning prediction. However, to the best of our knowledge, few appraoches based on association rules have been proposed so far. In this paper, we show how to adapt the levelwise algorithm for the mining of association rules in order to mine frequent rules with a confidence equal to 1 from a relational table. In our approach, the consequents of extracted rules are either an interval or a set of values, according to whether the domain of the predicted attribute is continuous or discrete.
La présence de valeurs manquantes ou valeurs nulles dans les bases de donnnées a suscité de nombreuses recherches dans le domaine de la découverte des connaissances, notamment en ce qui concerne la prédiction. Cependant, à notre connaissance, peu de telles approches utilisent les règles d'association pour la prédiction des valeurs manquantes. Dans cet article, il est montré comment adapter les différents concepts et algorithmes par niveau liés aux règles d'association, afin d'obtenir des règles fréquentes et de confiance 1, permettant la prédiction de valeurs manquantes dans une table relationnelle. La particularité des règles extraites dans notre approche est que leurs conséquents se présentent sous la forme d'intervalles ou d'ensembles de valeurs, selon que le domaine de l'attribut sur lequel les valeurs sont prédites est soit continu soit discret.
A Water Supply Optimization Problem for Plant Growth Based on GreenLab Model
Authors: Wu Lin , De Reffye Philippe , Hu Bao-Gang , Le Dimet François-Xavier , Cournède Paul-Henry 
Published: January 2021

GreenLab is a structural-functional model for plant growth based on multidisciplinary knowledge. Its mathematical formalism allows dynamic simulation of plant growth and model analysis. A simplified soil water balance equation is introduced to illustrate the interactions and feedbacks between the plant functioning and water resources. A water supply optimization problem is then described and solved: the sunflower fruit weight is optimized with respect to different water supply strategies in a theoretical case. Intuitive searching method and genetic algorithms are used to solve this mixed integer nonlinear problem. The optimization results are analyzed and reveal possible agronomic applications.
GreenLab est un modèle structure-fonction de croissance des plantes. Son formalisme mathématique permet la simulation dynamique de la croissance et l'analyse du modèle. Dans cet article est introduit une équation bilan de l'eau dans le sol afin de décrire les interactions entre la croissance de la plante et les ressources en eau disponibles. Un problème d'optimisation des apports d'eau au cours de la croissance est présenté et résolu par la méthode de recherche intuitive et par les algorithmes génétiques: le poids du fruit de tournesol est maximisé en fonction dedifférentes stratégies d'apports d'eau, pour une quantité d'eau totale identique. Le formalisme présenté est intéressant en ce qu'il ouvre la voieà d'importantes applications en agronomie.
Mise en oeuvre de tests unitaires dans un contexte de programmation eXtrème répartie
Authors: Lokpo Ibrahim , Babri Michel , Padiou Gérard 
Published: January 2021

eXtreme Programming (XP) is a methodology based on principles and practices for quickly developing software. However this approach requires the programmers to be co-located. Many research projects investigate how to extend XP to a distributed environment. However the challenge is to carry out the XP approach without conflicting with the distributed constraints. Our work takes place in this way. More precisely, we propose an extension based on assistance for supporting distributed unit testing, one of the key principles of XP methodology.
La programmation eXtrème dite XP (eXtreme Programming) est une méthodologie efficace de développement rapide de logiciels qui exige que les membres d'une équipe de développeurs soient physiquement proches les uns des autres. Des travaux de recherche tentent d'étendre les principes de cette méthodologie à un contexte réparti. Le défi est alors de préserver les qualités fondamentales de l'approche tout en s'affranchissant de la contrainte de proximité physique des développeurs. Notre travail s'inscrit dans cette logique. De façon plus précise, nous proposons de fonder cette extension de XP à un environnement réparti sur l'assistance à la réalisation des tests unitaires, pierre angulaire de la méthodologie XP.
Suite d’ensembles partiellement ordonnés
Authors: Sadi Bachir 
Published: January 2021

This work is to study an order D(P) on maximal antichains of a given order. D(P) is an order included in the order which defines the Lattice of maximal antichains AM(P), introduced by R.P. Dilworth, in 1960. In [3], T.Y. Kong and P. Ribenboim have proved that there exists an integer i such that Di(P) is a chain, where Di(P)=D(D(…D(P))), i times. We find the smallest i, noted cdev(P) such that Di(P) is a chain for some particular classes of orders and we approximate this parameter in the general case of order.
Ce travail porte sur le développement d’un ordre D(P) sur les antichaînes maximales d’un ordre donné. L’ordre développé D(P) est inclus dans le Treillis des antichaînes maximales AM(P), introduit par R.P. Dilworth, en 1960. Dans [3], T.Y. Kong et P. Ribenboim ont montré qu’il existe un entier naturel i tel que Di(P) est une chaîne, où Di(P)=D(D(…D(P))), i fois. On note cdev(P) le plus petit i tel que Di(P) est une chaîne. Nous trouvons cdev(P) pour quelques classes particulières d’ordres et nous faisons une approche de ce paramètre dans le cas d’un ordre quelconque.
SenPeer : un système pair-à-pair de médiation de données
Authors: Faye David C. , Nachouki Gilles , Valduriez Patrick 
Published: January 2021

In this article we present SenPeer, a new Peer-to-Peer data management system allowing data sharing among experts working on the development of the Senegal river in a decentralized and lexible fashion. SenPeer has a Super-Peer network topology based on an organization of peers in semantic domains and in which peers can contribute XML documents, relational or object databases. Each peer exports its data in a common formalism which has a graph structure semantically enriched with a set of keywords in order to guide mappings discovery. Mappings discovery relies on a set of fuzzy similarity measures. Moreover they allow the establishement of a semantic topology that is independent of the underlying network topology which is the basis for intelligent query routing.
Dans cet article nous présentons SenPeer, un nouveau système pair-à-pair de gestion de données distribuées permettant le partage décentralisé et flexible de données relatives la mise en valeur du fleuve Sénégal. SenPeer est un réseau de type Super-Pair reposant sur une organisation des pairs en domaines sémantiques et dans lequel les pairs peuvent publier des bases de données relationnelles ou objets ou des documents XML. Chaque pair exporte ses données dans un formalisme pivot commun qui a une structure de graphe enrichi sémantiquement avec des mots-clés destinés à guider la découverte des correspondances entre les éléments des schémas. Ces correspondances sont découvertes grace à un ensemble de mesures de similarités floues. De plus elles permettent l'établissement d'un réseau sémantique à coté de la typologie physique. pouvant servir de support un à routage intelligent des requêtes.