bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Diversity and Distribution Patterns of Tick Fauna in Bannu and Lakki Marwat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Authors: Din Siraj U , Majid Abdul , Rehman Hamood U , Awais Sheikh Muhammad 
Published: February 2024

Aims: This paper presents a comprehensive investigation into the tick fauna of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, conducted across two districts. The study aimed to assess the diversity, relative abundance, and distribution of collected specimens to understand their patterns within the study area.
Location and Duration of Study: Tick specimens were Collected from the Bannu and Lakki Marwat districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, spanning from August 2021 to June 2022.
Methodology: Visual encounter surveys were conducted, involving both daytime and nighttime observations, to collect specimens from diverse host animals, totaling 106, including cows, buffalo, goats, and dogs. Following the collection phase, a total of 312 specimens were carefully gathered and transported to the laboratory for further analysis. Upon arrival in the laboratory, the collected specimens were carefully arranged and preserved in Eppendorf tubes filled with a 70% ethanol solution. The preservation process aimed to maintain the integrity of the specimens for subsequent examination. The identification process involved a thorough morphological analysis, where authentic literature, updated taxonomic keys, and observation of morphological parameters were utilized.
Results: The specimens subjected to examination and identification belonged to the Ixodidae family of hard ticks, encompassing two genera: Hyalomma and Rhipicephalus. Within these genera, eight distinct species were recognized in the current study in which a higher prevalence of female ticks across various species were observed. From the Hyalomma genus, the identified species were H. asiaticum, H. anatolicum, H. detritum, and H. impeltatum. The Rhipicephalus genus included R. haemaphysaloides, R. microplus, R. sanguineus, and R. turanicus. R. microplus emerged as the most dominant species, with a count of 126 individuals (SOR=100% and AQ=40.38%). Conversely, H. detritum, H. impeltatum, R. sanguineus and R. turanicus were identified as satellite species. Additionally, H. anatolicum, R. haemaphysaloides, and nymphs were categorized as co-dominant. Moreover, this study reports the first-ever occurrences of H. asiaticum and H. detritum in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, specifically in the Lakki Marwat district. Furthermore, R. haemaphysaloides is possibly reported for the first time in both the Bannu and Lakki Marwat districts.
Conclusion: This research presents preliminary findings on the diverse tick population in regions where animal husbandry plays a crucial role in the local economy. The Lakki Marwat district exhibited the highest diversity indices compared to Bannu. The observed prevalence of ticks in the studied areas emphasizes their significant impact on domesticated animals. Cattle exhibit the highest infestation rates, followed by buffalo and goats. The current taxonomic work may require improvement.
Type A Aortic Dissection: A Call for Vigilance in Chest Pain Diagnosis
Authors: Zahri S  , Khaldi M  , El Jaouhari Z  , Zeroual MA  , Bouziane M  , Haboub M  , Arous S  , Bennouna G  , Drighil A  , Azzouzi L  , Habbal R  
Published: February 2024

Introduction: Acute aortic dissection (AD) is a rare and life-threatening condition associated with high mortality rates in the absence of prompt intervention. This article provides an in-depth examination of the clinical presentation, diagnostic approach, and management of Stanford type A AD in a 62-year-old hypertensive female patient with atypical symptoms.
Case Report: The patient presented with retrosternal chest pain and rapidly worsening dyspnea, demonstrating a 3/6 diastolic murmur over the aortic area. Diagnostic findings included negative T-waves on ECG, significant mediastinal widening on chest X-ray, and transthoracic echocardiography revealing an intimal flap, ascending aorta dilation, and acute aortic insufficiency. Computed tomography confirmed a Stanford type A aortic dissection.
Discussion: Acute AD poses a diagnostic challenge, as atypical presentations can lead to misdiagnoses. The case emphasizes the importance of considering AD in the differential diagnosis of chest pain and conducting thorough investigations, especially when faced with unusual symptoms. Management strategies, encompassing both pharmacological and surgical interventions, are crucial for addressing AD promptly.
Conclusion: This case underscores the significance of recognizing both typical and atypical presentations of AD to ensure timely intervention and avoid potentially catastrophic outcomes. A comprehensive understanding of diagnostic approaches and management protocols is essential in the emergency setting. Overall, this article contributes to the growing body of knowledge surrounding acute aortic dissection and emphasizes the critical need for awareness and rapid intervention in clinical practice.
Standardization of Formulation and Application Approaches for Field Implementation of EPNs
Authors: Kumari Babita , Kumar Anil , Sujata  , Mourya Deepak 
Published: February 2024

Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) live parasitically inside the infected insect host, and so they are termed as endoparasitic. They infect different types of insect living in the soil like the larval forms of moths, butterflies and beetles as well as adult forms of beetles, grasshoppers and crickets. The present experiment was conducted under both laboratory and field conditions at CCS Haryana Agriculture University, Hisar. Two most virulent strains of EPNs, Metarhabditis amsactae strain HAR-St-II and HAR-Ht-III were taken and their formulations were standardized using six different media i.e. cadaver based formulation, water, alginate gel, foam chips, clay chips and water dispersible granules. Among these formulations, cadaver based formulation was found to be best. Maximum numbers of active IJs after 90 days were obtained from this formulation were 3370 and 2728 /Petri plate in strain HAR-St-II and HAR- Ht-III of M. amsactae, respectively. Further this, experiment was conducted at field level for EPNs suspension was standardized using different size of nozzle opening i.e. 25 µm, 50 µm, 75 µm and 100 µm on knapsack sprayer. Spodoptera litura was selected as a test insect in okra crop for foliar application of EPNs and results revealed that 100 µm nozzle opening size gave maximum larval mortality of S. litura. Per cent mortality of S. litura was increased with increase in size of nozzle and period of observation
Tradition and Modernism between Continuity and Discontinuity: Possible Models and Historical Options
Authors: Hanafi Hassan 
Published: December 2005

AbstractThis article discusses three models of continuity and discontinuity as the subjects of an intercultural philosophy based on the historical experiences of peoples and cultures, instead of on hypothetical and purely theoretical reflections. There are three main models, each of them dominating a specific cultural area: the Western model of discontinuity between tradition and modernity, the Eastern model of juxtaposing the old and the new, and the Islamic model of change through continuity as it exists, for instance, in Southeast Asia. Each model represents a specific way of negotiating tradition and modernity. Each of them has developed particular tools for modernization and is characterized by specific tensions and challenges as well as by struggling with setbacks and imbalances.
Islam and Modernity: Nurcholish Madjid's Interpretation of Civil Society, Pluralism, Secularization, and Democracy
Authors: Bakti Andi Faisal 
Published: December 2005

AbstractDebates on the applicability of the "modern" Western concepts of civil society, pluralism, secularization and democracy, together with Islam, significantly developed since the 1970s in Indonesia, in particular since the emergence of Nurcholish Madjid (hereafter Madjid). By the end of the 1980s, the Paramadina Foundation, which was established in 1986 by Madjid, among others, increasingly attracted higher middle-class individuals who claimed to adopt a progressive and open approach to Islam. Through Paramadina, Madjid, among others, developed his own idea of civil society. He is one of the most obvious champions of "neo-modernism" in Indonesia, as these ideas of both "modernism" and "traditionalism" are combined when they are relevant and suitable for society. The question addressed here is how Madjid interprets the concepts of civil society, pluralism, secularization and democracy as his main discourses? In other words, how does Madjid define and pave the way for Islamic development in Indonesia? What approaches does he use? While the concepts developed in Paramadina are basically inclusivism, pluralism, integralism, tolerance and democracy, on the way to achieving masyarakat madani (the Indonesian translation of civil society as adopted by Madjid), it seems that Madjid falls short of promoting local and global human values, international relations and communication. In fact, he adopts a cultural and nationalistic approach within the framework of Indonesian nationalism, which could lead to cultural crystallisation, particularism, localism and, eventually, atavism. These factors, however, if given a humanistic and global flavour — as set forward by the communication approach to human development — could indeed contribute to the emancipation of local citizens, from a parochial and centralized nationalism adhered to today by many Indonesian leaders. Thus, thinking globally and acting locally could be a liberating force for all.
The Problems of Religious Modernity
Authors: Tezcan Levent 
Published: December 2005

AbstractThis paper discusses the problems of the Islamization of modernity that are mostly ignored in the social sciences on the topic of Islam. The case study deals with a transnationalized Turkish-Islamic group of the followers of the populist theologian Said Nursi in Germany. The author presents an outline of the community character and interprets also the reactions of the community in the cross-cultural field in the aftermath of September 11, with regard to this specific culture of the group. In conclusion, he draws attention to the question of how the Islamic reformists imagine the host societies in Europe and of which symbolic repertoire has been used to connect on the current integration discourse.
Chaos and Globalization in the Middle East
Authors: LeVine Mark 
Published: December 2005

AbstractThis paper examines the role of economic and cultural globalization in the interaction between Muslim and European public spheres. Focusing on the dynamics of globalization at three levels — broadly, in the Muslim world and in Europe — I argue that globalization today is both more complicated and less broad than most of its proponents or critics assume. While most commentators assume that it is a primarily economic phenomenon (and so focus on the impact of supposedly increased global economic integration or technological innovation), these phenomena are concentrated largely within the mature G-8 economies and the most successful recent industrializers (such as the "Asian tigers"), leaving much of the developing world marginalized from the emerging "globalized" economy as defined in the mainstream literature. In this context it is culture that is the most powerful driver of contemporary globalization as it is experienced in the Muslims' majority world and in Muslim communities in Europe. This dynamic, in turn, has a powerful impact on how Muslim public spheres are shaped across Eurasia, particularly in the context of a transformation in the nature of globalization in the wake of September 11 towards a more militarized form of global economic interaction. An exploration of the dynamics of chaos as a defining feature of this emerging global system in the Middle East and North Africa, and Europe as well, along with a discussion of the role of anti-Semitism in contemporary discourses of globalization in the MENA and Europe, reveal the challenges to building more positive "Euro-Islamic" public spheres.
Chemical speciation terminology: chromium chemistry and cancer
Authors: Duffus J. H. 
Published: December 2005

AbstractIn classical toxicology, speciation of carbon is taken for granted and the carbon compounds responsible for toxicity are always described with the appropriate chemical nomenclature. By contrast, speciation of other elements is largely ignored and elements other than carbon are often condemned as toxic because of evidence relating toxicity to only a few of the chemical species in which they occur. In some cases, such as chromium, the distinction between oxidation states (chromium III and chromium VI) may be recognized as important. The fact that chromium VI may only be a toxicological problem in certain well defined forms, such as specific chromate salts that may cause nasal and lung cancer, and then only by the respiratory route of exposure, is largely ignored. Failure to consider properly chemical speciation of elements other than carbon can lead to poor use of our resources. Laws and regulations based on simple elemental analysis may wrongly condemn environmental media or products as toxic and prevent the use of important resources.
Time-dependent surface reactivity of Cd sorbed on calcite, hydroxylapatite and humic acid
Authors: Bailey E. H. , Mosselmans J. F. W. , Young S. D. 
Published: December 2005

AbstractChanges in the lability and local environment of Cd sorbed onto calcite, hydroxylapatite and humic acid have been investigated as a function of time (30 min–9 months) using a combination of X-ray adsorption spectroscopy (XAS) and isotopic dilution techniques with Cd concentrations between 1 and 1000 mmol kg –1. Enhanced X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) shows that precipitation of Cd carbonate was initially observed on calcite. Ageing of a 10 mmol kg–1 sample showed replacement of Cd in the fourth shell with Ca, indicating diffusion between the two phases had occurred. This diffusion appeared to be ongoing for a 10 mmol kg–1 sample even after 9 months of reaction. Only 20% of the Cd in a sample with 10 mmol kg–1 Cd remained labile after 6 months of reaction, suggesting a high degree of incorporation into the solid phase, in agreement with the XAS results. The XAS results for hydroxylapatite indicated that Cd is not fixed in the mineral lattice and Cd lability in a sample loaded with 10 mmol kg–1 Cd was ∼55% after 6 months of reaction. This indicates that a relatively high proportion of the Cd sorbed to hydroxylapatite remained as kinetically active surface species. Little change was observed in the local environment of Cd adsorbed on flocculated Ca-humate samples as a function of time and ∼75% of the Cd remained radio-labile after 6 months of reaction regardless of initial Cd loading. High lability is expected because incorporation into a solid matrix or surface precipitation of a Cd phase is less likely than with the mineral phases.
Acidic demineralization of apatites studied by scanning X-ray microradiography and microtomography
Authors: Elliott J. C. , Bollet-Quivogne F. R. G. , Anderson P. , Dowker S. E. P. , Wilson R. M. , Davis G. R. 
Published: December 2005

AbstractThe mineral in bones and teeth is an impure form of hydroxylapatite (HAP), the principal impurity being 2—5 wt.% carbonate. This mineral dissolves during remodelling of bone and also in dental caries as a result of the action of acids produced by osteoclasts and by bacteria, respectively. In enamel, demineralization proceeds with preferential loss of carbonate relative to phosphate. Surprisingly, in the early stages, the demineralization is subsurface. In order to facilitate the understanding of physical chemical aspects of these processes, we have undertaken studies of demineralization in model systems. We give three examples here. The first two used scanning microradiography in which the specimen is stepped across a 10—30 μm diameter X-ray beam. Intensity measurements allow calculation of the mineral mass per unit area in the X-ray path through the specimen. In the first experiment, porous HAP sections were separated from a reservoir of acidic buffer by a column initially filled with water (the diffusion length) and scanned with the X-ray beam perpendicular to the axis of the diffusion length. The rate of total loss of mineral along each profile was calculated from the scans. The rate of demineralization fell as the diffusion length increased. We believe the explanation is that the rate-controlling step is the diffusion of dissolved HAP away from the solid to the buffer reservoir. In the second experiment, demineralizing solution and water were pumped alternately, for equal lengths of time, past blocks of porous HAP or enamel. The X-ray beam was perpendicular to the exposed surface. As the rate of switching between solutions decreased, the mean rate of demineralization also fell. We propose that this effect is due to retention of acid in the pores of the HAP during the time when water flows, allowing further demineralization to take place during this time. The third study used X-ray microtomography, a form of 3D microscopy, to study the loss of mineral in compacted carbonate apatite powders. The powders were packed in six 10 mm internal diameter acrylic cylinders to a depth of 4 mm (after pressing). One end was covered with a porous polyethylene disc and each tube placed in acidic buffer for 70 days. Periodic examination by microtomography showed the development of subsurface demineralization. Infrared spectroscopy of the dissected-out surface layers showed preferential loss of carbonate over phosphate by comparison with deeper layers. Rietveld analysis of X-ray powder diffraction data showed changes in the crystallographic structures of the apatites between the initial and dissected-out apatite.
Analyses of patterns of copper and lead mineralization in human skeletons excavated from an ancient mining and smelting centre in the Jordanian desert: a reconnaissance study
Authors: Grattan J. , Abu Karaki L. , Hine D. , Toland H. , Gilbertson D. , Al-Saad Z. , Pyatt B. 
Published: December 2005

AbstractIn this reconnaissance study, skeletal materials from people, dating from ∼1500 B.P., who lived by or worked at the ancient copper mines and furnaces of the Wadi Faynan in southern Jordan, were analysed using atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS) to determine the intensities of accumulation of copper and lead in their bones. Many of the bones analysed contained concentrations of these metals which are comparable to those of modern individuals who are heavily exposed to metals through contemporary industrial processes.Patterns of partitioning throughout the skeleton of a number of individuals were also studied. These AAS data suggest that within the human organism there may be some ability to influence the patterns of accumulation of copper within the skeleton. The humerus was frequently found to contain more copper than other bones studied. Within the humerus itself, the medial epicondyle frequently contained the highest concentrations, which may indicate a significant degree of organization or control of the process. These metal concentration data together with their toxicological consequences suggest that the health of the ancient human populations must have been adversely affected by exposure during life to copper in the environment. They also point to the need for further detailed studies of metal partitioning within the bones of the human skeleton.
Fe isotope fractionation during the precipitation of ferrihydrite and transformation of ferrihydrite to goethite
Authors: Clayton R. E. , Hudson-Edwards K. A. , Malinovsky D. , Andersson P. 
Published: December 2005

AbstractFerrihydrite and goethite are amongst the most important substrates for the sorption of contaminants in soil and other environmental media. Isotopic studies of the transition elements, particularly those that exhibit more than one oxidation state and show pH- and/or redox-sensitive behaviour at low temperatures, have been shown to be potentially useful present-day and past proxies for redox (or palaeoredox) conditions. We have made preliminary investigations of Fe isotope fractionation that take place during the formation of FeIII (oxy)hydroxides (FeIIIox) from an aqueous FeIII(NO3)3 solution (FeIIIaq) under laboratory conditions. We have attempted to keep the chemical system simple by excluding 'vital effects' and major changes in redox through the maintenance of abiotic conditions and use of FeIIIaq. Isotopic measurements (56Fe/54Fe, 57Fe/54Fe) of the FeIII(NO3)3 stock solution, the original ferrihydrite and the mixed ferrihydrite/goethite-supernatant FeIIIaq 'pairs' were carried out using a double focusing multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer. The results reveal an apparent systematic variation indicating larger ΔFeIIIaq—FeIIIox with decrease in the ferrihydrite:goethite ratio, which reflects the time allowed for isotopic exchange. These values range from virtually zero (0.03%) after 24 h to 0.30% after 70 h. In each FeIIIox-FeIIIaq 'pair' the lighter Fe isotope is partitioned into the FeIIIox, leaving the FeIIIaq isotopically heavier. The observed fractionation reflects isotopic exchange of Fe between the FeIIIox and FeIIIaq upon at least a two step transition of ferrihydrite to goethite.
Spatial relationship between arsenic in drinking water and Mycobacterium ulcerans infection in the Amansie West district, Ghana
Authors: Duker A. A. , Carranza E. J. M. , Hale M. 
Published: December 2005

AbstractThis paper hypothesizes that arsenic in drinking water indirectly contributes to Buruli ulcer (BU), a skin disease caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans (MU) infection. Samples of groundwater and surface water used as drinking water by the population in Ghana's Amansie West district (part of which has a high prevalence of BU), were collected near rural settlements and analysed for arsenic. Arsenic concentration levels per settlement were compared with BU prevalence. A positive exposure-response relationship was obtained between arsenic in surface water and BU (r2 = 0.82). However, there is no significant exposure-response relation between groundwater and BU.