bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Analysis of streamflow and rainfall trends and variability over the Lake Kariba catchment, Upper Zambezi Basin
Authors: Mwangala Biemba Bob , Banda Kawawa , Chimuka Luke , Uchida Yoshi , Nyambe Imasiku 
Published: June 2024

ABSTRACT

Hydro-meteorological trend analysis is critical for assessing climate change and variability at basin and regional levels. This study examined the long- and short-term trends from stream discharge and rainfall data in the Lake Kariba catchment. A trend and change point analysis was carried out on the mean, minimum and maximum monthly average time series for 14 gauging stations that are located within the Kariba catchment. The Mann–Kendall and the Pettitt tests were used to determine the trend and any changes in the long-term average of the time series. The magnitude of the trend was determined by Sen's slope method. The results indicate that generally there has been a decreasing trend in river and rainfall long-term mean values across the catchment. A statistically significant trend (p ≤ 0.05) was observed at Zambezi River at Lukulu, Senanga and Victoria Falls, with a positive correlation in Pearsons's coefficient of water levels and rainfall at Lukulu (0.312) and Senanga (0.365). The decrease in the time series trend and the change point observed have been attributed to anthropogenic activities, climate change and variability impact on the catchment. The findings are critical for climate risk management and reduction decisions for near- and long-term timescales.
Climate-smart water management practices for sustainable agriculture in Uganda
Authors: Turyasingura Benson , Bekana Deribachew , Niwagaba Charles Buregeya , Dejene Sintayehu Workeneh , Ayiga Natal 
Published: June 2024

ABSTRACT

The aim of the study is to assess climate-smart water management practices for sustainable agriculture in the Lake Mutanda catchment area, Kisoro District, Uganda. The study was led by specific objectives, specifically: assessing the effects of flooding on agricultural productivity, and smallholder farmer's responses to rainfall variability for the past 20–30 years, investigating climate-smart water management practices for sustainable agriculture, and analyzing the seasonal variations of the physicochemical water quality parameters. The study used a mixed research design, which used mixed methodologies to collect and analyze data using both quantitative and qualitative approaches. A straightforward random sampling approach was used to determine the sample size. Three hundred and ninety-seven respondents participated in the study. Quantitative data was analyzed using the R programming language, and qualitative data was analyzed using ATLAS.ti. The study identified climate-smart water management practices like mulching, terracing, contour farming, conservation tillage, agroforestry, and fertilizer management. Most of the respondents (29.7%) cited a reduction in soil fertility, 57.9% of the total sampled respondents had noticed changes in rainfall variability, and 67.3% reported a decrease in rainfall. The majority (38% of the participants) use mulching to reduce running water into the catchment areas. Turbidity, temperature, and DO were beyond the WHO-permitted levels.
A graph-based method for identifying critical pipe failure combinations in water distribution networks
Authors: Satish Rahul , Hajibabaei Mohsen , Dastgir Aun , Oberascher Martin , Sitzenfrei Robert 
Published: June 2024

ABSTRACT
Water distribution networks (WDNs) are critical infrastructures prone to vulnerabilities which lead to failures. Identifying vulnerable components, especially multiple pipe failure combinations, is crucial for effective management and ensuring high reliability. Hydraulic simulations are commonly used for analysing the criticality of WDN, but are time-consuming and highly data-reliant, limiting the number of testable combinations. To address these limitations and constraints, a graph-based method is proposed to quantify the impact magnitude of multiple pipe failure scenarios on performance, enabling the identification of critical combinations. The proposed graph-based approach utilizes structural and topological characteristics of WDNs as well as spatial demand distribution to replicate hydraulic behaviour. The accuracy of the approach is assessed by testing it on three case studies with various pipe failure combinations, and the results are compared with hydraulic analyses. The results demonstrate a strong correlation (Spearman coefficient &gt; 0.75) between graph-based ranking and state-of-the-art hydraulic-based ranking. Additionally, the method exhibits a significant computational gain factor of greater than 30 compared with the hydraulic-based method, rendering it valuable for actively exploring a wide range of critical pipe failure combinations and devising countermeasures. Furthermore, a hybrid-based method that integrates both the graph and hydraulic-based methods is proposed for enhanced accuracy and robust assessments.
Origin of spring water chemistry and its appropriateness for drinking requirements in a semi-arid environment (Ain Larbi, Algeria)
Authors: Allouani Nora , Benrabah Samia , Bouguera Hamza , Halimi Fahima , Tachi Salah Eddine 
Published: June 2024

ABSTRACTA comparative assessment of water quality for drinking purposes was conducted in Ain Larbi area using the Weighted Arithmetic Water Quality Index (WA-WQI). The origin of minerals is assessed by a saturation index approach and the Gibbs diagram. Also, mineral correlation process and ion exchange mechanism are detected by the Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The PCA results indicate that the groundwater quality in the Ain Larbi study area primarily results from weathering and geochemical alteration of rock. The saturation index and Gibbs diagram support these findings. The WA-WQI was calculated for each station based on physicochemical parameters. During the wet season, three out of five classes of WQI were observed in the present study, including excellent (25%), good (70%), and poor (5%). In the dry season, the classes excellent (25%), good (30%), and poor (45%) were represented. The present situation demonstrates how hydrogeological regimes and water–rock interactions affect groundwater ion concentrations. Our results contribute to identifying drinking water requirements in the Ain Larbi region, promoting sustainable water management.
Method development and validation of a new stability indicating HPLC and LC-ESI-MS/MS methods for the determination of Tavaborole
Authors: Kulkarni Dipak Chandrakant , Dadhich Anima Sunil , Annapurna Mukthinuthalapati Mathrusri 
Published: June 2024

Tavaborole, a topical antifungal agent containing Boron is used for the treatment of onychomycosis, an infection of the nail and nail bed caused by Trichophyton rubrum or Trichophyton mentagrophytes infection. Tavaborole is chemically known as 5 - Fluoro -1,3 - dihydro -2,1-benzoxaborol -1-ol. It acts by inhibiting Leucyl-tRNA synthetase an essential fungal enzyme required for protein synthesis. AB SCIEX Instruments LC-ESI-MS/MS (Model no. 5068379-Y) QTRAP Enabled Triple Quad 5500+ with Agilent Zorbox C18 (150 mm x 4.6 mm x 3 µm) column and PDA detector was employed for the present study. The total run time was 10 mins and the detection wavelength was 254 nm. A mixture of 5 mM Ammonium formate: Methanol (30: 70) was used as mobile phase on isocratic mode with 1 ml/min as flow rate. Tavaborole has shown linearity over the concentration range 0.5-100 μg/ml and the proposed method was validated as per ICH guidelines. The proposed method is found to be simple, precise, accurate and suitable for the quantification of the marketed formulations of Tavaborole. Stress degradation studies were performed and the method is found to be selective and specific.
Keywords: Tavaborole, Stability indicating, LC-ESI-MS/MS, Validation.
Impact of COVID-19 and Non-COVID-19 Hospitalized Pneumonia on Longer-Term Cardiovascular Mortality in People With Type 2 Diabetes: A Nationwide Prospective Cohort Study From Scotland
Authors: McGurnaghan Stuart J. , McKeigue Paul M. , Blackbourn Luke A.K. , Mellor Joseph , Caparrotta Thomas M. , Sattar Naveed , Kennon Brian , McAllister David , Wild Sarah H. , Colhoun Helen M. ,   Scottish Diabetes Research Network Epidemiology Group
Published: June 2024

OBJECTIVE
In this study we examine whether hospitalized coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia increases long-term cardiovascular mortality more than other hospitalized pneumonias in people with type 2 diabetes and aim to quantify the relative cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality risks associated with COVID-19 versus non-COVID-19 pneumonia.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
With use of the SCI-Diabetes register, two cohorts were identified: individuals with type 2 diabetes in 2016 and at the 2020 pandemic onset. Hospital and death records were linked for determination of pneumonia exposure and CVD deaths. Poisson regression estimated rate ratios (RRs) for CVD death associated with both pneumonia types, with adjustment for confounders. Median follow-up durations were 1,461 days (2016 cohort) and 700 days (2020 cohort).

RESULTS
The adjusted RR for CVD death following non-COVID-19 pneumonia was 5.51 (95% CI 5.31–5.71) prepandemic and 7.3 (6.86–7.76) during the pandemic. For COVID-19 pneumonia, the RR was 9.13 (8.55–9.75). Beyond 30 days post pneumonia, the RRs converged, to 4.24 (3.90–4.60) for non-COVID-19 and 3.35 (3.00–3.74) for COVID-19 pneumonia, consistent even with exclusion of prior CVD cases.

CONCLUSIONS
Hospitalized pneumonia, irrespective of causal agent, marks an increased risk for CVD death immediately and over the long-term. COVID-19 pneumonia poses a higher CVD death risk than other pneumonias in the short-term, but this distinction diminishes over time. These insights underscore the need for including pneumonia in CVD risk assessments, with particular attention to the acute impact of COVID-19 pneumonia.
Antimicrobial treatment preferences among veterinarians for Golden Retrievers in the United States
Authors: Jauch Linzy , Labadie Julia , Swafford Brenna , Rao Sangeeta 
Published: June 2024

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
To identify the preferred choices of antimicrobials by veterinarians for addressing infectious diseases in Golden Retrievers across the US.

ANIMALS
3,044 Golden Retrievers enrolled in the Golden Retriever Lifetime Study.

METHODS
Demographic and veterinary visit data were retrieved from the Morris Animal Foundation Golden Retriever Lifetime Study, following 3,044 Golden Retrievers spanning from 2012 to 2020 collected through questionnaires. The R Studio program was used to clean and analyze the data in which the most common diagnoses were evaluated along with the most frequently used antimicrobials stratified by geographical region within the US.

RESULTS
The most common diagnoses reported and treated with antimicrobials were otitis externa, diarrhea/gastritis, hot spots, and bladder infections. Otitis externa was the most frequently reported medical diagnosis as well as prescribed with antibiotics. The Southern region reported the most antimicrobial use, followed by the Midwest and Northeast. Of the total reported antibiotics prescribed for infectious disease, aminoglycosides were the most frequent (370/1,874 [19.74%]) followed by first-generation cephalosporins, nitroimidazoles, and penicillins.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE
More effort in the prevention of otitis externa in Golden Retrievers may reduce overall antimicrobial usage and promote effective antimicrobial stewardship to combat further antimicrobial resistance.
الخصائص السيكومترية لمقياس المبادأة الاجتماعية للأطفال ذوى اضطراب طيف التوحد
Authors: على سيروان ولي , فاروق اسامة مصطفى , المفتي بيريفان عبدالله 
Published: June 2024

يهدف البحث الى التحقق من الخصائص السيكومترية لمقياس المبادأة الاجتماعية لدى الأطفال ذوى اضطراب طيف التوحد، ولتحقيق ذلك تم اختيار عينة عشوائية من الاطفال ذوى اضطراب طيف التوحد والمكونة من (80) طفلاً وطفلة بمدينة اربيل بالعراق، ويشمل المقياس ثلاثة ابعاد وقد بلغت نسبة صدق المحتوي للمقياس (93.76%) وهى نسبة مرتفعة، وقد تم حساب دلالات مؤشرات الاتساق الداخلى عن طريق حساب معاملات الارتباط بين درجات كل عبارة للمقياس والدرجة الكلية للبعد الذى تنتمى اليه، وبين الابعاد كذلك والمقياس ككل ومستوى دلالالتها وقد كانت معاملات الارتباط مرتفعة (0.794-0.921) ودالة احصائياً عند مستوى (0.01)، كما تم حساب دلالات صدق تفسيرات الدرجات من خلال التحليل العاملى التوكيدي، وقد تشبع بعد المبادأة مع الآقران فى السياق الاجتماعي بـ (3.301) على العامل العام، بينما تشبع مكون الاستجابة للمبادأة مع الآخرين بـ (1.804) ، فى حين تشبع مكون آداب المحادثة بـ(2.608 ، كما تم استخدام دلالات الصدق باستخدام المحك (الدوسرى، 2010)، وكانت معاملات الارتباط مرتفعة ودالة احصائاً عند مستوى (0.01) بين مكونات كلتا المقياسين، وتم حساب دلالات مؤشرات ثبات المقياس بطريقة ألفا كرونباخ (0.856) و معامل جتمان ((λ2 (0.864) ومعامل جتمان (λ6) (0.922)، وماكدونالد (0.859)، وتوصلت النتائج الى توافر خصائص سيكومترية لمقياس المبادأة الاجتماعية بدرجة جيدة، وصلاحية للتطبيق على هذه الفئة.
DESINING AN ESP SYLLABUS FOR ART EDUCATION UNIVERISTY STUDENTS
Authors: Sahab Marwan Mizher , Majeed Nahida Taha 
Published: June 2024

The present study aims at designing ESP syllabus for teaching English to the second-year students, at the Department of Art Education, College of Education for Humanities/ University of Tikrit. The designed ESP syllabus is designed to improve the level of the students in English by supporting many practice opportunities such as, gaining basic Art vocabulary, using language functions, motivating the students to express their points of view, giving the students opportunities to do many tasks, and encouraging them to engage in pair and group discussions. The designed ESP syllabus is built in terms of Nunan Model (1988) procedures, which includes: identification of students’ needs, selection of the syllabus content, deriving the objectives of the proposed syllabus, sequencing and grading of syllabus items and evaluating the proposed syllabus The sample of the present study includes forty second-year university students from the Department of Art Education, College of Education for Humanities / University of Tikrit for the academic year 2021-2022. The involved sample represents 20 % of its original population. The One-group Pretest-Posttest Design is adopted in the current study. In order to measure the effectiveness of the designed ESP syllabus, three basic tools are used. First, pre and posttests are utilized to measure the students' achievement in English. Second, a questionnaire is constructed to check the students’ views and reflections towards the designed ESP syllabus. Third, a questionnaire is administrated to estimate the lecturers’ and specialists’ points of view about the efficiency of the designed ESP syllabus. Results indicate that there is a significant difference between the students’ achievement in the pretest and the posttest, and in favour of the posttest. That is because the students have received art content-based lessons in which they have obtained art knowledge and a lot of basic art expressions , and became able to construct and use English properly especially in art situations. Results of the questionnaire also indicate that students’ points of view are in favour of the designed ESP syllabus. In addition, it seems that lecturers’ and specialists’ points of views are in favour of the items, objectives, and the content of the designed ESP syllabus. Finally, the study ends with some conclusions and recommendations.
European security and Finland’s policy during the Russian aggression against Ukraine
Authors: Khudoliy Anatoliy 
Published: June 2024

The purpose of this article is to analyze the influence of Finland on regional policy of NATO and the Russo-Ukrainian war. The article explores political, economic and military aspects of Finland and Ukraine in the light of the Russian aggression while considering their relationships and foreign policy goals on a regional level. The author draws attention to various aspects of Helsinki domestic and foreign policy that is directed to set a balance in the region and, at the same time, to support Kyiv militarily and economically in confrontation with Moscow. Finland’s active policy of promoting stability can be described as a two-track policy, whereby EU membership and intensified military cooperation with Western partners provide a basis for the maintenance and development of relations with Russia. The author focused on energy resources and its importance for Finland that has a long history of energy trade with Russia. The trade is practically one-directional, as Finland lacks domestic fossil fuel reserves in comparison with its substantial demand for energy, whereas Russia has significant export volumes. Along with the above-mentioned issues, the author is observing aggressive Russian military activities in the Baltic Sea region. Despite peaceful relationships with Finland, Moscow does not mind to remind neighboring countries who calls the tune in the region. Pursuing this purpose, Russia increases military activity in the Baltic Sea region with relatively frequent airspace and territorial water violations. As a result, there is a risk that collisions or provocations might lead to a rapid and uncontrolled escalation. So, Finland finds its important to keep open channels for political dialogue and to seek ways to re-activate existing confidence-building measures. Finland-NATO relationships are taken into consideration as well. The author described the process of Finland’s accession to the alliance. After almost 30 years of close partnership with NATO, Finland joined the Alliance on April 4, 2023. Its partnership with NATO was historically based on its policy of military non-alignment, which changed following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Following Russia’s aggression, Ukraine has requested materiel assistance from the EU and NATO member countries. To date, Finland has donated 23 defence materiel packages to Ukraine. The combined value of all defence materiel packages submitted so far is now over EUR 2 billion.
ОЦІНЮВАННЯ ЕФЕКТИВНОСТІ БЮДЖЕТІВ МАРКЕТИНГУ НА РИНКУ В2С E-COMMERCE
Authors: Назарук Андрій 
Published: June 2024

Introduction. In the conditions of the rapid development of e-commerce in the B2C market, it is important to ensure the effective use of marketing budgets to achieve competitive advantages. Evaluating the effectiveness of marketing spend allows businesses to optimize resources, increase return on investment, and reach a larger target audience. This requires the formation of methodological approaches for evaluating and improving the effectiveness of marketing budgets in this area.
The purpose of the article. The purpose of the study is to study approaches to evaluating the effectiveness of marketing budgets in the B2C e-commerce market in order to determine the principles of increasing the effectiveness of their use.
Methods. The research methodology includes a comprehensive approach combining quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis. In particular, for the in-depth study of specific examples of successful marketing strategies, such methods as economic modeling, the method of analysis and synthesis, and comparison were used.
Results. The article examines approaches to evaluating the effectiveness of marketing costs in the B2C e-commerce sector, focusing on different channels, strategies and the corresponding profitability of marketing costs. The current market trends of the functioning of e-commerce platforms were analyzed and the main factors affecting the effectiveness of the use of marketing budgets of business entities were identified. The trends of the global growth of digital commerce volumes in the context of B2C sales and its functional specificity are clarified. It was determined that personalization, segmentation of customers and integration of multi-channel strategies significantly increase the efficiency of using marketing budgets. The principles of optimization of marketing costs based on the implementation of automated systems for data analysis and forecasting of consumer behavior were studied. The influence of the latest technologies, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, on the effectiveness of using marketing budgets is considered.
Conclusions. It has been proven that a reliable assessment of the effectiveness of marketing budgets in the B2C market determines a number of key aspects that ensure the maximum return on marketing investments of a business entity. At the same time, the concept of effectiveness of marketing budgets consists in a targeted approach implemented on the basis of personalization, segmentation and multi-channel integration.
Attenuation of the seismic dispersion associated to foothills topography: application to real data
Authors: Montes Luis , Quintana Robinson , Céspedes Sandra , Espíndola Nancy , Salinas Trino , Pérez Gabriel 
Published: June 2024

Land seismic data is contaminated commonly with coherent and high amplitude back-scattered noise generated from roughness in the surface topography; these events make generally the key information on deeper layers unclear. In Colombian foothill areas with rough topography and high lateral velocity variation, this noise has been difficult to attenuate. Conventional methods aimed at this purpose usually yield unsatisfactory results. We present a strategy based in prediction and subtraction of the unwanted waves. Assuming knowledge of the source wavelet and the shallow velocity model we use a finite-element solution of the acoustic wave equation to model the back-scattered noise; this modeled response is then subtracted from the prestack data, resulting in a noticeable attenuation of noise in field seismograms. The method was applied to prestack real data from colombian foothills in order to observe the enhancement in seismic records, planning in a close future to show results on stacked data.
Genetic algorithms for the optimization of pipeline systems for liquid transportation (1)
Authors: Galeano Haiver , César Narváez Paulo 
Published: June 2024

This is the first of two articles in which a Genetic Algorithm (GA) is presented to obtain an optimal design of a pipeline system for liquid transportation, from an economical and operational point of view. This GA is based on criteria such as compliance with the laws of matter and energy conservation; flow requirements in consumption points where pressure is known; restrictions to the pressure value in system points where pressure is unknown, and to the velocity, which must be lower than the erosion limit velocity. This article combines traditional techniques for the design of GA in this type of problems with some ideas that had never been applied before in this field. The proposed GA allows sizing of the liquid distribution systems, including pipelines, consumption and supply nodes, tanks, pumping equipment, nozzles, control valves, and accessories. This article includes different formulations found in literature on network design through optimization techniques and carries out the mathematical formulation of the optimization issue. In the second article the characteristics of the designed Genetic Algorithm (GA) are specified and further applied to the issues presented by Alperovits and Shamir (1977), and Fujiwara and Khang (1990), addressing the water distribution network at Hanoi, in Vietnam . Finally, the GA is applied to a fire protection network, allowing for the testing of some of the model’s characteristics which are not reported in the pertinent literature, such as the possibility to include pumping equipment, aspersion nozzles, and accessories.