bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Is it possible to predict appendicitis caused by Enterobius vermicularis before surgery?
Authors: Sarmis Abdurrahman , Seneldir Hatice , Ihsan Anadolulu Ali 
Published: March 2024

Objectives: This study aimed to develop statistical models based on hemogram data to predict the presence of the nematode parasite Enterobius vermicularis (EV) in the appendix before surgery.
Patients and methods: The retrospective case-control study was generated from histopathological data of appendectomy 9,605 patients between January 1, 2007, and August 1, 2023. Enterobius vermicularis was detected in 32 patients (24 pediatric and 8 adult patients). Six patients were excluded due to missing hemograms, and 26 participants (pediatric patients: 10 males, 9 females; mean age: 11.1±4.4 years; range, 2 to 17 years & adult patients: 1 male, 6 females; mean age: 39.9±14.7 years; range, 22 to 68 years) were evaluated. The control (non-EV) group was composed of 99 randomly selected patients (42 males, 57 females; mean age: 18.3±13.5 years; range, 2 to 68 years) of nonparasitic acute appendicitis with available preoperative hemogram data. Univariate analysis was conducted on hemogram parameters to compare the groups, followed by predictive modeling using binomial logistic regression.
Results: Enterobius vermicularis was present in 0.33% of all appendicitis patients and in 0.54% of pediatric patients. Histopathological diagnosis of appendicitis was present in 46.8% of EV patients, with a higher rate among pediatric patients (50%) compared to adult patients (37.5%). Patients with EV exhibited significantly lower counts of neutrophils and white blood cells in comparison to the non-EV group (p-values 0.031 and 0.046, respectively). The most effective EV prediction model (area under the curve: 0.685 [0.528-0.770]) ultimately included platelet distribution width and neutrophil count after evaluating all parameters (with corresponding p-values of 0.022 and 0.042, respectively).
Conclusion: It is difficult to predict the presence of EV based on hemogram data prior to appendectomy. Studies that collect large amounts of data from multiple centers and different populations could provide better predictive models.
La Ciudad de México en el siglo XXI. Entre lo deseado y lo construido
Authors: Gallegos Navarrete Blanca Margarita 
Published: March 2024

La Ciudad de México ha transitado por diferentes transformaciones socio espaciales que no obedecen a un solo factor sino a la interacción de los diferentes sistemas que la componen, es decir, cada uno de sus componentes se entrelazan y se afectan mutuamente y a sí mismos; no son aislables, esto es porque corresponden a un sistema complejo, abierto y dinámico como lo es laciudad. Este artículo deriva de una investigación más amplia, donde se busca entender la situación actual mediante el análisis de su trayectoria a través del tiempo. En este caso, el estudio no se centra en personajes y hechos, sino que, basado en el pensamiento complejo y la teoría general de sistemas (específicamente desde el principio de la recursividad), se interpretan las interacciones entre los sistemas: político normativo, económico, social y demográfico y el espacial, así como la influencia del neoliberalismo y globalización. El presente artículo se centra en el siglo XXI y sus antecedentes.
Entrepreneurial Prospects of Animal Breeding and Genetics: The Perspectives of Undergraduates in Two Nigerian Universities
Authors: Tella Adetunmbi 
Published: March 2024

The study explored the entrepreneurial prospects of animal breeding and genetics from the viewpoints of undergraduates at two Nigerian institutions. The study looked at how undergraduates perceive the potential for entrepreneurship in the fields of animal breeding and genetics; it determined whether they intend to pursue entrepreneurship in any of the identified fields of the discipline; and examined the relevance of the curriculum to the entrepreneurship knowledge needed to succeed in the fields; and identified the difficulties that these undergraduates might face in their entrepreneurial intention endeavors. The study adopted a qualitative methodology to explore the entrepreneurial prospects of animal breeding and genetics from the viewpoints of undergraduates at two Nigerian institutions. 30 undergraduate students from two universities were taken to represent the sample for the study. An open-ended survey created on Google form was used for the collection of data. The link of the Google form was sent to the students’ platform in the Department of Animal Genetics in the two selected universities. The findings demonstrated that Animal Breeding and Genetics undergraduate students perceive the potential for entrepreneurship in animal breeding and genetics to be numerous including setting up animal clinic, animal breeding laboratory, establishing a poultry business, setting up a consultancy outlet on animal breeding and genetics, among others. Majority of the undergraduate students indicate their intention to pursue entrepreneurship in animal breeding and genetics instead of looking for the white-collar jobs. Furthermore, the current curriculum in Animal Breeding and Genetics in the two universities are very relevant to the fields and the knowledge they have gathered so far is enough to succeed if taking into entrepreneurship after the completion of the bachelor’s degree programme. The challenges envisaged by the respondents include lack of initial capital to setting up entrepreneurship business in Animal Breeding and Genetics, cooperation, understanding and support from parents and family members, government policy including registration of the business, among others. Data and information gathered through the administration of the open-ended survey was analysed thematically following the objectives of the study. The study drew it conclusion based on the findings from the study and also makes appropriate and relevant recommendations.
Can the puma Messi, the cheetah Gerda, the panther Luna, the wolf Kira be considered pets? (man in culture and the animal world)
Authors: Rozin Vadim Markovich 
Published: March 2024

The article discusses a new trend to have wild animals (big cats, foxes, ferrets, etc.) in some homes, and it turns out that since they have been raised since childhood, loved and cared for, they behave like pets (dogs and cats). The question is whether these animals can still be considered domestic or not. To solve this problem, characteristics are given that make it possible to distinguish between wild and domestic animals, and the question is raised whether they can be applied to this case. To understand this new class of animals, the concept of "anthropomorphic" is introduced and it is shown that their psyche differs from that of wild animals, it is closer to domestic ones. An explanation is offered for the experiments of geneticist Dmitry Belyaev on the domestication of silver foxes. The author argues that the evolution of foxes was influenced by two factors, not only genetic selection, as Belyaev believed, but also the impact of the environment created by man, an environment conducive to the formation of anthropoids. Attention is drawn to the fact that humans continue to crowd large wild animals. Humans increasingly need land for goats, cows, horses, pigs, poultry, and agricultural land. The paradox &#8210; our big cats of anthropoids are fed the meat of these pets. At the end of the article, Belyaev's hypothesis, according to which we are "self-domesticated" monkeys, whose innate psychological tendencies, behavior and social structure have radically changed under the influence of selection for reduced aggressiveness, is compared with the author's hypothesis about the role of signs in human origin. He shows that domestication occurred as a result of the transition of hominids to "paradoxical behavior", which required the creation of a sign based on a signaling system. The latter allowed the hominids to act contrary to biological evidence at the command of the leader. A necessary condition for this was the imagination conditioned by signs, which helped to invent the first tools.
On the issue of classification of legal research
Authors: Osipov Mikhail Yur'evich 
Published: March 2024

The purpose of the study is to determine the features and criteria for classifying legal studies in terms of their completeness and sufficiency of coverage of all possible varieties of legal research. In the framework of this study, issues related to the justification of the allocation of additional types of legal research are also considered: the division of all legal research into "positive" and "critical"; criteria for the relationship between these types of research are identified. Also, this article discusses possible errors in conducting "positive" and "critical" legal research, and gives their typology. The ways of preventing mistakes in conducting legal research are also determined. The research methods, the results of which are presented in this article, include general scientific methods: analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, abstraction, generalization, modeling. In addition to the criteria for classifying scientific legal research existing in legal science, it is proposed to distinguish "positive legal research" and "critical legal research" into independent types of scientific legal research. At the same time, legal reality always acts as the object of "positive research" in jurisprudence, in the form of interrelated and interacting phenomena of social reality, while the subject of positive research is always any patterns describing and explaining legal phenomena, or the legal side of certain social phenomena; the object of "critical" research in jurisprudence is supported by any legal theories, concepts and hypotheses. The subject of "critical legal research" is a critical analysis of a hypothesis, concept or theory in legal science. If the purpose of "positive legal research" is to discover new patterns of formation, development, functioning of legal phenomena, or to identify defects and develop scientifically sound proposals for improving the legal regulation of a particular sphere of society, then the purpose of "critical" research in legal science is to determine the validity of a particular scientific theory, hypothesis or concept.
Is the Availability of Personal Protective Equipment a Predictor of COVID-19 Prevalence among Healthcare Workers in Rivers State?
Authors: Amadi Christian Emeka , Diamond Tamunokuro 
Published: March 2024

Background: The covid -19 pandemic had major disruptions on the health systems of several states in Nigeria. While PPEs have been shown to provide effective barrier against the spread of diseases among care providers, the concern raised by their widespread lack in health facilities heightened during the pandemic.
Aim: To evaluate the availability of personal protective equipment as a predictor of covid-19 prevalence among healthcare workers in Rivers state.
Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among healthcare workers in secondary and tertiary health facilities in Rivers state using a multi-stage sampling procedure between January 1, and July 31, 2021. A semi- structured questionnaire was used to collect information from the respondents after obtaining informed written consent. Data obtained included, availability of different PPE and occurrence of Covid-19. Data was analyzed with Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25. Descriptive statistics were presented in tables, means and figures. Chi-square and Logistic regression models were done where applicable. A p-value of ≥0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.
Results: A total of 383 respondents were recruited for this study. The findings showed that hand gloves were readily available but the availability of other PPE was rather low. There was however no significant relationship between availability of COVID-19 PPE and COVID-19 prevalence among healthcare workers [f(1,354) = 3.102, p>0.05]. The study also revealed that higher cadre health workers were more likely to have PPE [f(1,355) = 3.102, p<0.05].
Conclusion: PPE availability alone was not a significant predictor of COVID-19 prevalence as this may be influenced by other variables.
Microbial Contamination and Hygiene Risks in Street-Sold Bissap Juice: A Case Study in Daloa, Côte d'Ivoire
Authors: Christelle Kouame Aya Bah Marie-Ange , Clement Kouassi Kouassi , Athanase Kouassi Kra , Ibrahim Konate 
Published: March 2024

Ready-to-eat Bissap juice is often classified in the street food group. The unhygienic conditions in which Bissap juice is prepared pose risks, sometimes leading to microbial contamination. The general objective of this work is to evaluate the diversity of pathogenic microorganisms in Bissap juices sold in the city of Daloa. To achieve this objective, a consumption survey was carried out. Counts and isolations were carried out to assess the microbiological quality of juices sold in the streets. Physicochemical parameters were determined. These are Brix and pH. Salmonella was screened for in the juices sold using the NF-V08-52 standard. The survey revealed that women consume more Bissap juice sold in the streets than men with a rate of 52% respectively compared to a rate of 48%. The Mandé represent half of the consumers with 50%, followed by the Akan with a rate of 30%, the Krou with a rate of 14.70%. Young people aged between 20 and 30 consume more Bissap juice with a rate of 47.30%. Consumers of Bissap juice come from various professions. Consumers have experienced discomfort characterized by diarrhea, vomiting, fever and stomach bloating. Microbiological analysis revealed the presence of microbial flora of alteration and contamination. These are total flora, fungal flora and enterobacteria. There was also the presence of flora of fecal origin such as Thermotolerants coliforms. The Bissap juice samples analyzed does not contain potentially pathogenic bacterial species. The results regarding Mesophilic Aerobic Germs, fungal flora, enterobacteria, fecal coliforms are not satisfactory. The pH of the different juices is very acidic, ranging from 4.41 ± 0.18 to 2.18 ± 0.03. Also some of the juice samples analyzed have very high sugar levels (34.83 ± 0,28) Bissap juices sold in the streets represent a danger for the population of Daloa.
Modification and Performance Evaluation of an Existing Prototype Mechanical Rice De-stoner
Authors: O.O. Koyenikan, , A.O. Filani, 
Published: March 2024

An existing mechanical rice de-stoner was modified for the purpose of improving its efficiency. Some challenges were discovered with the performance of the existing machine that did not make it to perform effectively. The spring, cushion rubber, coil, capacitor, cable and plug were incorporated to modify the existing mechanical rice de-stoner. After modification of the machine, performance evaluation was carried out. A total of 6 kg of threshed rice sample was mixed with stones sized 2.36mm and was divided into three parts of 1.5kg, 2.0kg and 2.5kg and labelled A, B and C respectively. Each part was fed at different times into the rice de-stoner and de-stoned. Also, 200g of the threshed rice were taken for hand-picked which served as the control for separating and other foreign materials from the rice. This was used to compare the result of the efficiency of the machine. The efficiency of the handpicked method was determined to be 80% while that of the modified de-stoner was determined to be 66.7%, 60% and 64% respectively. Thus the performance evaluation of the mechanical rice de-stoner was rated above average but not as effective as the hand-picked method. Also, the machine`s throughput capacity was 13.60 kg/hr, 15.38 kg/hr and 15.38 kg/hr for the feed rates of 1.5kg, 2.0kg and 2.5kg respectively.. Thus, the modified mechanical rice de-stoner machine was to be used as a template for other new rice de-stoner to be constructed.
A Comparison and Evaluation of Loop Diuretic Frusemide Generic vs Brand Tablets
Authors: T Tamilveeran , B Karthikeyan , K. Balamurugan 
Published: March 2024

Branded medications are the original products developed by pharmaceutical companies and generic drugs are copies of branded drugs whose patent has expired. The research work focused on comparisons and evaluations of generic VS brand of frusemide tablets. The study includes some of the specifications that should tested in the finished products in tablets such as appearance, thickness, diameter, weight variation, hardness, friability, disintegration time, dissolution, hardness and thickness as per pharmacopoeial & non pharmacopoeial tests were performed. The generic and brand frusemide tablets quality control results showed within the range as per IP. The in vitrodrug release of generic frusemide tablets was found to be 96.7 %in 45 min and branded tablets which showed drug release 98.3% in 45 min. Hence, it can be concluded that evaluation of loop diuretic frusemide tablets generic and brand frusemide tablets showed same deviations in the quality control results as per IP.
Reciprocal influences between maternal discipline techniques and aggression in children and adolescents
Authors: Sheehan Michael J. , Watson Malcolm W. 
Published: December 2007

AbstractMost studies assessing the link between parental discipline and child aggression have focused primarily on discipline as a cause and aggression as an outcome. In addition to the pathway from discipline to aggression, however, aggressive behavior on the part of the child may lead to future use of discipline by the parent. In this study, structural equation modeling was used to assess reciprocal influences over time between a mothers' use of discipline and aggression in children. Data were drawn from the Springfield Child Development Project, a longitudinal study of middle childhood and adolescence, focusing on antecedents of aggression. The original sample consisted of 440 mother–child dyads living in the city of Springfield, MA. Children in the sample were between 7 and 14 years of age at the first data collection period and between 12 and 19 years of age at the final data collection period. Four hypotheses were tested: (1) a mother's use of aggressive discipline predicts an increase in later child aggression, (2) child aggression predicts an increase in later use of aggressive discipline, (3) the use of reasoning predicts a decrease in later child aggression, and (4) child aggression predicts an increase in later use of reasoning. All hypotheses except number 3 were supported to some degree. Results suggest that children's early aggressive behavior leads to an increase in their mothers' use of both reasoning and aggressive discipline; in turn, increased use of aggressive discipline leads to an increase in aggression during both childhood and adolescence. Aggr. Behav. 34:245–255, 2008. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Variable neural adaptive robust controllers for uncertain systems
Authors: Lee Yonggon , Hui Stefen , Zivi Edwin , Żak Stanislaw H. 
Published: December 2007

AbstractA class of variable neural adaptive robust controllers is proposed. Essential components of the proposed controllers are raised‐cosine radial basis function (RCRBF) neural networks that can vary their structures dynamically by adding or removing RBFs online. The compact support of the RCRBFs alleviate the problem of determining the parameters of the RBFs and can, together with a simple adding and removing algorithm, significantly reduce the computational effort in the training process of the network. The stability of the overall closed‐loop system is analyzed using the Lypaunov type of arguments. It is guaranteed that the tracking error of the closed‐loop systems driven by the proposed controller is uniformly ultimately bounded. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Robust multiple‐fault detection and isolation: A gradient flow approach
Authors: Casavola Alessandro , Famularo Domenico , Franzè Giuseppe 
Published: December 2007

AbstractThis paper presents a novel solution to the fault detection and isolation observer design problem for linear time‐invariant systems. A gradient flow approach is proposed for synthesizing a residual generator under optimal eigenstructure assignment. This is achieved by minimizing the spectral condition number of the observer eigenvector matrix. The properties of convergence of the gradient flow solution are proved and its efficiency demonstratedviaa numerical example. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
No association between prostate apoptosis response 4 gene (PAWR) in schizophrenia and mood disorders in a japanese population
Authors: Kishi Taro , Ikeda Masashi , Kitajima Tsuyoshi , Suzuki Tatsuyo , Yamanouchi Yoshio , Kinoshita Yoko , Kawashima Kunihiro , Ozaki Norio , Iwata Nakao 
Published: December 2007

AbstractAltered dopamine D2 receptor (D2R) is hypothesized to be a susceptibility factor for major psychosis. Recent studies showed that a new intracellular protein, prostate apoptosis response 4 (Par‐4), plays a critical role in D2R signaling. We conducted a genetic association analysis between Par‐4 gene (PAWR) and schizophrenia and mood disorders in a Japanese population (schizophrenia: 556 cases, bipolar disorder (BP): 150 cases, major depressive disorder (MDD): 312 cases and 466 controls). Applying the recommended ‘gene‐based’ association analysis, we selected five tagging SNPs in PAWR from the HapMap database. No significant association was obtained found with schizophrenia or MDD or BP. We found a significant association of one tagging SNP with BP in a genotype‐wise analysis (P = 0.0396); however, this might be resulted from type I error due to multiple testing (P = 0.158 after SNPSpD correction). Considering the size of our sample and strategy, our results suggest that the PAWR does not play a major role in schizophrenia or mood disorders in the Japanese population. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Effects of three crosslinkers on colored pH‐responsive core–shell latexes
Authors: Yuan Bing , States Jeremy , Sahagun Chris , Wicks Douglas 
Published: December 2007

AbstractEnvironmentally responsive hydrogels have become attractive research subjects for many applications. In this work, a series of pH‐sensitive and color‐changing nanoparticles (nanogels) with core–shell structures were synthesized. The cores were blue latex particles synthesized by a miniemulsion technique with styrene and methacrylic acid as monomers and Neozapon Blue 807 as a dye. The shell was a pH‐sensitive polymer that was precipitation‐polymerized onto the core from 2‐(diethylamino) ethyl methacrylate with N,N′‐methylenebisacrylamide, poly(propylene glycol) diacrylate, and divinylbenzene as crosslinking agents. In the resultant latexes, the color was observed to change from deep blue to pale blue as the pH of the system was changed from a high of 10 to a low of 3. The synthesized latexes and particles (gels) were then characterized with an ultraviolet–visible spectrometer, dynamic light scattering, Fourier transform infrared, and nuclear magnetic resonance. Atomic force microscopy was also used to investigate the different morphologies of the particles after the synthesized latexes were dried at different pH values. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008