bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Jirga and Dispensation of Social Welfare Services: A Case Study of Mohmand Tribal District, Pakistan
Authors: Alam Fakhre , Ahmad Shakeel , Bano Abida 
Published: May 2021

This paper examines Jirga's role in providing social welfare to marginalized (poor and orphans) and persons with disabilities in Tribal Districts of Pakistan. In Pakistan's tribal districts, due to lack of written laws and deficiencies in formal social welfare structure, Jirga has also got a contour of informal welfare institutions for rendering services to society's downtrodden poor, orphans, and persons with disabilities. This research uses a case study approach and engages qualitative methods for data collection and data analysis. A total of 23 qualitative in-depth individual interviews and focused group discussions are used, while data is analysed thematically. The study investigates "whether Jirga provides social protection to the poor, orphans, and persons with disabilities in selected case study." The findings reveal that due to absence of efficient and responsive formal social welfare system, vulnerable segments of tribal districts mostly depend on Jirga's indigenous welfare practices for their social protection. Jirga is cost-effective, sympathetic, inclusive, and cares for the needs of vulnerable segments in the selected case. However, Jirga's benevolent role and its efficiency have been somewhat affected by colonial legacies, militancy, etc. The welfare being provided to poor, orphans, and persons with disabilities by Jirga has also been significantly reduced.
Great Water Wall in South China Sea: Maritime Designs of China under Mahan’s Theory of Sea Power
Authors: Sherazi Tatheer Zahra , Khan Arif , Khan Hashmat Ullah 
Published: May 2021

Seas play a vital role in shaping and reshaping the course of global politics, from developing empires to new global orders. Virtually 80 percent of China’s trade resources passes through the Seas and mostly by South China Sea, so it has initiated developments in South China Sea, from building artificial island, light houses to air strips to secure its trade routes. The aim of the study is to clarify the assumptions that China is building a ‘sand wall’ or ‘water wall’ like great wall to secure its maritime trade. Descriptive, analytical approach has been adopted to study the marvel; Mahan’s theory of Sea power has been applied to quantify the developments made by China. It concludes that China is striving for naval supremacy as per Mahan’s theory along with synthesis of Mao’s ‘Active Defence’. Hence Peaceful and integrated strategies are required to minimize the implications of disruption of seaborne trade.
Virtual Learning Strategies during Covid-19: A Case Study of The University of Lahore, Pakistan
Authors: Aslam Tehmina , Rizvi Syed Mubashar Ali Shah , Ahmad Jawad 
Published: May 2021

Due to COVID-19, the government of Pakistan had to take measures to bring about changes in almost all infrastructures, including that of education and decided to switch to a virtual learning environment and urged all educational institutes to adopt virtual learning strategies to facilitate student learning process. In an attempting to contain the virus instructed educational institutes to explore virtual space to continue learning process. The University of Lahore was one of the few universities in Pakistan that took the lead and decided to serve the learning purpose. However, due to cultural differences and dependency on traditional learning, most universities found it difficult to follow suit. The University of Lahore has crossed a milestone and emerged as a model for other universities across country. The virtual learning strategies that have been adopted by the University are no less than international standards and the administration have been working tirelessly to ensure the smooth running of this digital education system. Based on the student survey and faculty interviews, this study recommends regular virtual trainings by educational institutes and to overcome the issues of internet connectivity and electricity in the country as a whole to better deal with the challenges that lie ahead.
PENGGUNAAN MEDIA LAGU DALAM PEMBELAJARAN MUFRADAT DI TINGKAT MADRASAH ALIYAH
Authors: Ekasanti Noviya 
Published: May 2021

Tujuan Penelitian ini untuk mengetahui penerapan media Lagu dalam pembelajaran bahasa Arab, terlebih untuk menguasai kosakata bahasa Arab di Madrasah Aliyah (MA). Peneliti menggunakan Penelitian Tindakan Kelas (PTK) yang terdiri dari dua siklus yang masing-masing siklus meliputi 3 tahap, yaitu 1) perencanaan, 2) pelaksanaan dan observasi, dan 3) refleksi. Adapun Teknik pengumpulan data yaitu tes dan non tes. Sedangkan instrumen penelitian berupa pre-test , post-tes dan observasi. Teknik analisis deskriptif komparatif digunakan untuk membandingkan hasil belajar pra siklus, siklus I dan siklus II. Adapun hasil dari penelitian tersebut menjelaskan bahwa pembelajaran mufradat dengan menggunakan media lagu dapat digunakan sebagai media pembelajaran alternatif dan sangat efektif untuk meningkatkan hasil belajar peserta didik dengan bukti adanya peningkatan hasil belajar peserta didik mulai dari kondisi awal (pra siklus) sebesar 21,05% dari peserta didik yang nilainya sesuai dengan KKM, kemudian siklus pertama meningkat menjadi 28,95% dan akhirnya pada siklus kedua meningkat drastis menjadi 89,48%. Hal tersebut sesuai dengan indikator keberhasilan yaitu minimal 75% dari capaian belajar, dan pembelajaran ini dikatakan berhasil. The purpose of this study was to determine the application of the song media in learning Arabic, especially in vocabulary mastery of Madrasah Aliyah (MA) students. This research uses Classroom Action Research (PTK) which consists of two cycles, each of which includes 3 stages, namely 1) planning, 2) implementation and observation, and 3) reflection. The data collection techniques are test and non-test. While the research instruments were pre-test, post-test and observation. Researchers used a comparative descriptive analysis technique by comparing the learning outcomes of pre-cycle, cycle I and cycle II. The results showed that mufradat learning using song media can be used as an alternative learning media and is very effective for improving student learning outcomes with evidence of an increase in student learning outcomes starting from the initial conditions (pre-cycle) of 21.05% which is in accordance with the KKM, then the first cycle increased to 28.95% and finally in the second cycle increased dramatically to 89.48%. This is in accordance with the indicators of success, namely at least 75% of learning outcome, and this learning is successful.
تخمين اعمار الخزانات تحت تاثير المنتوجات النفطية المختلفة
Authors: حمد د. جمال محمد 
Published: May 2021

استخدمت في هذه الدراسة خمسة محاليل نفطية لقياس معدل تآكل معدن الخزان المخصص لخزن المنتجات النفطية والمصنوع من سبيكة فولاذ منخفض الكاربون . هذه المحاليل هي بنزين , ماء مرافق للبنزين , ماء مرافق لزيت الغاز ، ماء مرافق للنفط الخام . وتم اختبار ثلاث عينات في كل محلول واخذ معدل النتائج وذلك للحصول على نتائج اكثر دقة .

بينت الدراسة بأن الخطورة تقع في العمق السفلي للخزان بسبب وجود الماء حيث الوزن النوعي للماء اكبر من الوزن النوعي للبنزين وزيت الغاز , ولذلك لابد من التخلص من الماء المرافق حتى ولو كان على حساب خسارة جزء من المنتوج النفطي وذلك لديمومة عمل الخزان واطالة عمره
Emulsion Breaking of Used Cutting Fluid by Electrocoagulation Method to Decrease Water Pollution
Authors: Thuaban Laith Hamzah , Yas Hiba Mahmmuod , Ahmed Faris muoayad 
Published: May 2021

Cutting fluids are liquids having different compositions that are used in metal possessing operations. After being used, the fluids became less effective and need to be changed. In this research the treatment of petroleum oil emulsion type cutting fluid has been carried out using electrocoagulation technology to decrease its environmental impact on water resources. Cutting oil type 7201 produced in (Al-daura) refinery has been treated at different concentrations (1, 2, 3 and 4%) by weight to study the effect of the cutting fluid concentration on the time needed for emulsion breaking. The effect of other parameters such as electrical voltage (by using 40, 50 and 60 volt), aluminum metal electrodes' surface area (by using 4 and 6 cm²) and the effect of added NaCl salt concentrations (by using 0.2, 0.27 and 0.33% by weight) on the emulsion breaking time has been studied. It has been found that there is an optimum voltage for each emulsion concentration and the emulsion breaking time increase with the increase of the cutting fluid concentration and it decrease with the increase of the electrode surface area and the salt concentration.
Rehabilitating of used Generator Oil by Acid /Bentonite Treatment and Studying of its Performance Evalution
Authors: Khudhair Muna Mahmood , Abas Kafaa Fadhil , Hameed Taghreed Mahdi , Assad Awali , Nifal Wasan 
Published: May 2021

Used generator lubricant oils are considered hazardous wastes because of their high content of pollutants (thermal degradation products from the base oil and combustion products from fuel and lubricant and external pollutants). Thus, this research aimed to refining the waste oils for economic and environmental purpose.
In this study, it was applied acid / bentonite treatment which include treatment with commercial sulphuric acid followed by adsorption on Iraqi bentonite and study the effect of treated used genarator oil and regards to enhancing their performance in service. The quality checked by evaluation of some important properties i.e. specific gravity, viscosity, flash point, pour point, ash content, and total acid number. The results of treated used oil showed that, specific gravity decreased from 0.898 to 0.894, viscosity increased from 95 cst to 136 cst. ,flash point increased from 179 oC to 200 oC, pour point increased from -13 oC to -16 oC, ash content decreased from 1.174 %to, 1.0775% and total acid number decreased from 2.983mg KOH/g to1.0775mg KOH/g.
The results of evaluation of performance of fresh and treated generator oil studied by comparison of some properties such as specific gravity, viscosity, flash point pour point, ash content, and total acid number to the oils in use.
Petroleum Investment Patterns in Iraq The Transition Period (2003-2012)
Authors: Shaalan Hisham Yas 
Published: May 2021

Iraq has huge oil and gas resources in terms of hydrocarbon reserves and high levels of expected production and export capabilities. Since 2003, dramatic political and economic changes have occurred, and these changes have affected the nature of, and trends within the Iraqi economy, mainly the petroleum industry which is the backbone of the Iraqi economy. There has been a radical shift in economic philosophy, to encourage new petroleum investment trends whereby the role of government is reduced and that of International Companies is enhanced, with the adoption of new investment patterns in upstream and downstream activities. These changes have occurred over a transition period for the institutional legal framework after 2003, and have introduced unprecedented patterns in most Iraqi petroleum activities. The subject of this paper is the fundamental changes in investment in relation to the Iraqi petroleum industry. The purpose of this paper is to examine the current and expected patterns of petroleum investment in Iraq into upstream and downstream activities during the period of 2003 2012.
Note: Public Private Partnership (PPP), Build (B), Operate (O), Owned (O), Transfer (T).
Some new integral representations of generalized Mathieu series and alternating Mathieu series
Authors: Tomovski Zivorad 
Published: May 2021

The main purpose of this paper is to present a number of new integral representations for the familiar Mathieu series $S_\mu^{(\alpha,\beta )}(r;\{a_k\}_{k=1}^\infty)(r\in R$, $\alpha$, $\beta$, $\mu$, $\{a_k\}_{k=1}^\infty\in R^+)$ [12] as well as for its alternating version [8,16] when $a_k=\{k^p\}_{k=1}^\infty$, $a_k=\{(k!)^p\}_{k=1}^\infty$, $a_k=\{(\ln k!)^p\}_{k=1}^\infty$ with $p=\gamma$, $\gamma(\mu\alpha-\beta)>1$ and $p=\frac q\alpha$, $\mu -\frac \beta\alpha>q^{-1}$, $q\in N$.
Pseudo Vaginoscopy: A Modified Vaginoscopy Technique for Outpatient Hysteroscopy in Cases with Difficult Access
Authors: Memon Fouzia Rasool , Pathan Nusrat Fozia , Naz Asma , Lakhan Hazooran , Baloch Shahida , Memon Umer Farooque , Ahmer Arslan 
Published: May 2021

Background: Outpatient hysteroscopy is a safe, reliable and cost-effective alternative to hysteroscopy under a general anaesthetic for the diagnosis of abnormal uterine bleeding. Objectives: The objective of this study was to introduce new technique of pseudo-vaginoscopy for better movement of hysteroscope and less procedural pain. Also to assess acceptability of patients for outpatient hysteroscopy when appropriate analgesia was given prior to the procedure. Methodology: A prospective study was conducted of 74 women attending for outpatient hysteroscopy at the West Cumberland Hospital over a period of one year. Selection criteria include very narrow and atrophic vagina and failed speculum examination in gynaecology outpatient clinics. Results: Of the women studied, 95.5% stated that they would recommend the procedure to friends in future, whilst 5.8% would not want to go through it again. The type of anaesthetic administered during the procedure seem to influence whether women would attend for outpatient hysteroscopy in future.
Conclusion: Our pseudo-vaginoscopic approach allows more freedom for the scope movements not limited by the speculum with the advantage of prior cervical preparation. It was certainly at value for operative outpatient hysteroscopy in patients with very high BMI where access was difficult owing to depth.
Assessment of β-Aescin Effect in Streptozotocin Induced Diabetic Model: Diabetic Hepatotoxicity Study
Authors: Gupta Saumya , Tiwari Megha , Dubey Vishal 
Published: May 2021

Objective - Diabetic hepatotoxicity involves complex events which include kupffer cell activation, formation of reactive oxygen species, cytokines release (TNF-α, IL-1β), and finally leads to hepatocyte death. “β- Aescin showed anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, gastroprotective and anti-oedema properties. The present study investigated the protective effect of β- Aescin in streptozotocin induced diabetic hepatotoxicity.
Method - Female mice were divided into six groups, the first group served as the control, the second to sixth group received single i.p. dose of 90 mg/kg of STZ, the second group served as the untreated diabetic group, the third, fourth and fifth group received β- aescin intra-peritoneally at the dose of 0.9 mg/kg, 1.8 mg/kg and 3.6 mg/kg body weight respectively. The last sixth group was treated with 10 mg/kg glibenclamide i.p. for 14 days. A significant decrease in the blood glucose level was showed in β-aescin group as compared to the control group.
Result - A significant increase of blood glucose level was observed in high and mid dose of β- aescin (3.6 mg/kg and 1.8 mg/kg respectively), standard drug (glibenclamide 10 mg/kg) groups as compared to control group. ROS generation was evaluated by using DCF-DA estimation method for the acute toxicity in liver tissue. Streptozotocin group showed more ROS generation in comparison to β- aescin group (3.6 mg/kg). Serum biochemical markers showed a significant decrease in β- aescin treated diabetic mice compared to untreated diabetic mice. Histopathological evaluation showed severe changes in untreated diabetic liver tissue marked by large number of inflammatory cells such as lymphocytes along with hepatic sinusoidal inflammation and hepatocyte necrosis whereas treated diabetic mice with β- aescin showed reduction in hepatotoxicity marked by regeneration changes of hepatocytes and mildly hepatocyte degeneration.
Conclusion - In the study, β- aescin showed beneficial effects on the efficient properties of the liver and microscopic improvements in diabetic hepatotoxicity.
Sphingomyelinases in a journey to combat arthropod‐borne pathogen transmission
Authors: Rajendran Kundave V. , Neelakanta Girish , Sultana Hameeda 
Published: May 2021

Ixodes scapularis ticks feed on humans and other vertebrate hosts and transmit several pathogens of public health concern. Tick saliva is a complex mixture of bioactive proteins, lipids and immunomodulators, such as I. scapularis sphingomyelinase (IsSMase)‐like protein, an ortholog of dermonecrotoxin SMase D found in the venom of Loxosceles spp. of spiders. IsSMase modulates the host immune response towards Th2, which suppresses Th1‐mediated cytokines to facilitate pathogen transmission. Arboviruses utilize exosomes for their transmission from tick to the vertebrate host, and exosomes derived from tick saliva/salivary glands suppress C‐X‐C motif chemokine ligand 12 and interleukin‐8 immune response(s) in human skin to delay wound healing and repair processes. IsSMase affects also viral replication and exosome biogenesis, thereby inhibiting tick‐to‐vertebrate host transmission of pathogenic exosomes. In this review, we elaborate on exosomes and their biogenesis as potential candidates for developing novel control measure(s) to combat tick‐borne diseases. Such targets could help with the development of an efficient anti‐tick vaccine for preventing the transmission of tick‐borne pathogens.
Predictive mapping to identify refuges for plant communities threatened by earthworm invasion
Authors: Fleri Jesse R. , Arcese Peter 
Published: May 2021

AbstractBiological invasions by cryptic ecosystem engineers can alter the ecological and socio‐economic values of ecosystems in ways that may take decades to detect. The invasion of North American glacial refuges by non‐native earthworms offers a prominent but understudied example of a cryptic invasion. Non‐native earthworms are known to alter carbon sequestration, disrupt mycorrhizal networks and homogenize plant communities, but natural resource managers still lack robust protocols to identify and safeguard high conservation value communities (HCVCs) from such invasions. In the absence of such protocols, or reliable methods to eradicate non‐native earthworm populations once established, there is an urgent need for methods to identify HCVCs at risk of or potentially shielded from earthworm invasion by the existence of abiotic barriers to their dispersal or persistence in such sites.We developed species distribution models (SDMs) using in situ field surveys and remotely sensed data to (1) identify factors limiting the occurrence of non‐nativeLumbricusearthworms in imperilled coastal Douglas‐fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) forest and Garry oak (Quercus garryana) and maritime meadow ecosystems endemic to glacial refugia of the Pacific Northwest of North America and to (2) evaluate their influence on plant species diversity and identify abiotic factors capable of preventing their dispersal or persistence at a site.As predicted, shallow, drier soils and steeper terrain limited earthworm occurrence and abundance in our highly heterogeneous study area, and earthworm presence appeared to reduce plant species richness. Our results indicated that HCVCs endemic to shallow‐soil (< 12 ± 3 cm) sites that experience regular summer drought appear to act as refuges from invasion by non‐native earthworms. Our results also elevate concerns for the conservation of deep‐soil habitats not isolated from earthworm invasions by shallow soil, saltwater or other barriers to earthworm dispersal.The SDMs developed here offer guidance to the identification of potential refuges for the conservation of imperilled native species and communities from the detrimental effects non‐native earthworms in glacial refugia of western North America and should thereby facilitate proactive planning by conservation practitioners.
On a hybrid lossless compression technique for three‐dimensional medical images
Authors: Subramanian Boopathiraja , Palanisamy Kalavathi , Prasath V. B. Surya 
Published: May 2021

AbstractIn the last two decades, incredible progress in various medical imaging modalities and sensing techniques have been made, leading to the proliferation of three‐dimensional (3D) imagery. Byproduct of such great progress is the production of huge volume of medical images and this big data place a burden on automatic image processing methods for diagnostic assistance processes. Moreover, large amount of medical imaging data needs to be transmitted with no loss of information for the purpose of telemedicine, remote diagnosis etc. In this work, we consider a hybrid lossless compression technique with object‐based features for three‐dimensional (3D) medical images. Our approach utilizes two phases as follows: first we determine the volume of interest (VOI) for a given 3D medical imagery using selective bounding volume (SBV) method, and second the obtained VOI is encoded using a hybrid lossless algorithm using Lembel‐Ziv‐Welch Coding (LZW) followed by arithmetic coding (L to A). Experimental results show that our proposed 3D medical image compression method is comparable with other existing standard lossless encoding methods such as Huffman Coding, Run Length Coding, LZW, and Arithmetic Coding and obtains superior results overall.
Efficient optimization of R50% when planning multiple cranial metastases simultaneously in single isocenter SRS/SRT
Authors: Desai Dharmin D. , Cordrey Ivan L. , Johnson E.L. 
Published: May 2021

AbstractSimultaneous optimization of multiple Planning Target Volumes (PTVs) of varying size and location in the cranium is a non‐trivial task. The rate of dose falloff around PTV structures is variable and depends on PTV characteristics such as the volume. The metric R50% is one parameter that can be used to quantify dose falloff achieved in a given treatment plan. An important treatment planning question is how to construct optimization conditions that result in the efficient production of acceptable plan outcomes considering metrics such as R50%. Guidance provided in literature suggests generating multiple shell control structures around each PTV. The constraints applied to these shells can vary significantly depending on PTV volume. Additionally, there is no clear guidance on how to prospectively determine objective constraints for the optimization shells to achieve a specified goal of R50%. Based on physical principles and empirical evidence, we provide clear quantitative guidance on how to translate the desired R50% outcome into appropriately sized optimization structures around PTVs via an equation that depends on a desired goal for R50% and the volume of PTV. Optimization schema are also provided that allow the goal R50% to be approached or achieved for all PTVs individually. We demonstrate the application of the methodology using commercially available treatment planning software and radiotherapy treatment equipment.