Current Ways Research Articles

Current Concept Review: Assessment and Management of Low Bone Mineral Density in Children with Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy (CP) is an impairment in motor function and coordination due to a nonprogressive brain injury that occurs pre-, peri-, or postnatally until 2 years of age with a prevalence of one to four per 1,000 live births. Along with impaired motor function, decreased bone mineral density (BMD) in children with CP is of concern for providers. An algorithm has been created to help identify patients at risk for decreased BMD who are seen by providers. Factors included in the algorithm are medication history, fracture history, ketogenic diet, ambulation status, history of an endocrinopathy, and pubertal stage.BMD levels are measured using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans. Once a patient is identified as having decreased BMD several treatment options are available. BMD can be increased through stander use, diet, and bisphosphonate treatment. This paper serves as a summary of the current ways in which children with CP are assessed at each visit, as well as how to treat low BMD once it has been identified.

MENTORING IN IMPROVING PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT EFFICIENCY OF HOSPITALITY ENTERPRISES

The scientific article examines current problems and ways to solve them in ways of improving the efficiency of hospitality enterprises, in particular, hotel and restaurant business organizations and tourism firms, through increasing the efficiency of personnel management of these enterprises. The essence and significance of mentoring, as a measure aimed at improving the qualifications of personnel of hospitality enterprises, is revealed. The developed process of mentoring at hospitality enterprises is appropriate for use in personnel management and general management of these enterprises, which includes the following stages: identifying the need for mentoring to improve the efficiency of hospitality enterprise personnel; selection of goals to be achieved as a result of the mentoring process; definition of mentoring tasks; highlighting the terms of the mentoring process and describing the conditions for its suspension or termination;establishment of motivation criteria for participants in the mentoring process; establishment of criteria for involvement of a mentor and intern in the mentoring process; determination of the mentor and intern evaluation indicator system; development of the program and documentation of the mentoring process; selection of mentors, their training and instruction, formation of necessary skills, definition and application of directions of motivation; selection of interns; carrying out a trial mentoring process; control of the effectiveness of trial mentoring, adjustment of the process; carrying out the main mentoring process; determining the effectiveness of the mentoring process in personnel management of a hospitality enterprise

Application of satellite imagery for vector-borne disease monitoring in sub-Saharan Africa: An overview

This work presents an overview of the application of satellite imagery or remote sensing (RS) data for vector-borne disease (VBD) monitoring in sub-Saharan Africa. We discussed the different vector-borne disease conditions that are prevalent and endemic in parts of sub-Saharan Africa and how satellite imagery (RS data) can be used in monitoring these conditions. Key disease conditions considered include malaria, human African trypanosomiasis, leishmaniasis, lymphatic filariasis, loa loa filariasis, rift valley fever, dengue, yellow fever, and rickettsioses. Furthermore, we explored some of the current ways remote sensing data and geographical information systems (GIS) are being applied to monitoring these diseases. We discuss the efficacy of using strong spatial modelling techniques combined with RS data to enhance our comprehension of the role that environmental conditions play in influencing VBD vectors and transmission alongside the utilization of GIS/RS technologies for vector-borne illness surveillance, prevention, and control. Finally, we discussed how drone technology and new remote sensing platforms can provide improved monitoring and the impact of such improvements from a population health standpoint.

Current state, internal reserves and ways to increase the competitiveness of livestock farming in the Republic of Kazakhstan

Relevance - the livestock industry occupies a strategic position in the economy of all countries because it supplies the population with affordable food products, thereby ensuring food security of states and regions. Purpose –livestock products market in Kazakhstan and its impact on the state of agro-industrial production are considered; monitoring of agricultural producers by the number of farm animals; analysis of volumes and comparative advantages of livestock products for various categories of farms; identifying the main problems and prospects for diversification industries. When conducting the research, methods of analysis and synthesis, graphical, economicstatistical, and systems approaches were used. The main sources of information when conducting the study include data from the Bureau of National Statistics of the Agency for Strategic Planning and Reforms of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2019-2023, and the works of scientists on the development of livestock segment. Results - the authors note that the greatest increase in the number of cattle is observed in personal subsidiary plots and peasant (private) farms, which are the main producers and suppliers of livestock products, providing the food market of the republic. The main problems that make it difficult to increase the volume of livestock products are identified: the predominance of small-scale farms; low level of breeding; undeveloped food supply; poor labor motivation among agricultural workers. Conclusions – the expansion of market niche of livestock products as one of the priority areas of agricultural sector of economy depends on the further expansion of the network of production cooperatives – the most acceptable and effective form of farming in rural areas; increasing productivity of farm animals; improvement of food supply; attracting domestic and foreign investments; in the future, the use of information systems for storing data on feed consumption and payment, the physiological state of animals, economic activities and development of livestock development plans.

Organic Farming Systems and Rural Revitalization in Italy—Current Situation and Way Forward

Organic Farming Systems and Rural Revitalization in Italy—Current Situation and Way Forward

Beyond growth: The significance of non-growth anabolism for microbial carbon-use efficiency in the light of soil carbon stabilisation

Microbial carbon-use efficiency (CUE) in soils captures carbon (C) partitioning between anabolic biosynthesis of microbial metabolites and catabolic C emissions (i.e. respiratory C waste). The use of C for biosynthesis provides a potential for the accumulation of microbial metabolic residues in soil. Recognised as a crucial control in C cycling, microbial CUE is implemented in the majority of soil C models. Due to the models' high sensitivity to CUE, reliable soil C projections demand accurate CUE quantifications. Current measurements of CUE neglect microbial non-growth metabolites, such as extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) or exoenzymes, although they remain in soil and could be quantitatively important. Here, we highlight that disregarding non-growth anabolism can lead to severe underestimations of CUE. Based on two case studies, we demonstrate that neglecting exoenzyme and EPS production underestimates CUE by more than 100% and up to 30%, respectively. By incorporating these case-specific values in model simulations, we observed that the model projects up to 34% larger SOC stocks over a period of 64 years when non-growth metabolites are considered for estimating CUE, highlighting the crucial importance of accurate CUE quantification. Our considerations outlined here challenge the current ways how CUE is measured and we suggest improvements concerning the quantification of non-growth metabolites. Research efforts should focus on (i) advancing CUE estimations by capturing the multitude of microbial C uses, (ii) improving techniques to quantify non-growth metabolic products in soil, and (iii) providing an understanding of dynamic metabolic C uses under different environmental conditions and over time. In the light of current discussion on soil C stabilisation mechanisms, we call for efforts to open the ‘black box’ of microbial physiology in soil and to incorporate all quantitative important C uses in CUE measurements.

Konstytucyjny model pieczy nad zawodami zaufania publicznego

The article presents selected problems concerning custody for persons with professions of public trust. First, attention is drawn to the historical understanding of custody. In the past, custody was perceived as a manifestation of managing administration. The current way of thinking about custody results from the custody model contained in Art. 17 section 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland. Exercising custody is one of the forms of coercive professional self-governing body activity. Custody is exercised by an entity endowed with administrative power, which is a component of public authorities. The purpose of custody is to protect the public interest, understood primarily as building public trust. The basic factors that build public trust are high professionalism of services, the obligation to maintain professional secrecy, and providing citizens with full information about the service provided. Activities undertaken as part of the exercise of custody serve the purpose of enhancing and protecting public trust. Custody is exercised with regard to persons performing professions of public trust. Such persons remain outside the public administration and perform professional activities on their own account and in their own name. These are private individuals that render specialized services which are important from the point of view of the basic goods of an individual, such as health, property interests or personal rights. Administrative custody is exercised to ensure that the needs of citizens are properly met. The competent professional self-government bodies should ensure the conditions for providing citizens with the best quality services in the field of health care, legal protection, property protection and wherever public safety is concerned. Exercising custody by professional self-governments makes it possible to interfere with authority in socially important activities undertaken by persons outside the structures of public administration.

Editorial: Presentations at the 2022 MELiSSA conference—current and future ways to closed life support systems

Editorial: Presentations at the 2022 MELiSSA conference—current and future ways to closed life support systems

Supply Chain 4.0: what the supply chains of the future might look like

Abstract The article mainly aims to try and create a new concept for developing logistics and supply chains in the era of Industry 4.0. Analyses of development trends in logistics and production management were used to create the new logistics and supply chain concept. Conclusions were used from the analyses of how the modern concepts of Industry 4.0, Logistics 4.0, Supply Chain 4.0, and 5.0 work. Analyses of the benefits of applying modern management concepts in these areas were carried out and criticised because of their inadequacies, which became apparent during the recent crises in the world. Although the sources of the crises were different, they could be eliminated by reconfiguring logistics systems and supply chains. The results aim to answer three questions: (1) Has the time come to change the current way of looking at logistics and supply chains? (2) What could Supply Chain 4.0 look like using Industry 4.0 tools? (3) How should Supply Chain 4.0 address the logistics and supply chain challenges? The presented answers do not exhaust the topic but rather open up a discussion on logistics and supply chains of the future. The presented concept allows for a completely new global and local view of logistics chains. The structure of the presented model can be subjected to scenario analysis using agent-based simulation modelling due to the structure’s emergent nature. The new approach can significantly benefit the development of local production centres and global supply networks. The benefits mainly come from reducing the environmental impact of manufacturing and logistics processes from the moment the new product idea is conceived.

The Potential and Challenges of Genomics Informed Precision Care for Substance Use Disorders.

Substance use disorders (SUDs) are complex brain disorders with heritability rooted in the interplay of multiple genetic factors, alongside significant environmental influences. Gaining insights into the genetic mechanisms that heighten SUD risk can guide precision care, specifically in the development of targeted tools for prevention, early intervention, and the discovery of therapeutic targets. Nurses are ideally placed to advance genomics-informed precision care for individuals with SUDs. To fulfill this role, they must be adequately prepared to assess the value and utility of current genomics knowledge, its limitations, and ways to incorporate this understanding into clinical practice, education, research, and health care policy. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 62(3), 11-14.].

Authorized and Unauthorized Consumption of SVOD Content: Modeling Determinants of Demand and Measuring Effects of Enforcing Access Control

Consumers are attracted by the increasing number of available SVOD platforms, but it would be too expensive to pay the subscription fees for all of them. To reduce costs, consumers can combine the use of proprietary subscriptions, non-proprietary subscriptions, and illegal streaming sites. In turn, platforms could enforce access control, a decision that might produce the desired reduction in non-proprietary subscriptions but also an undesired reduction in proprietary subscriptions. The effects of this decision and the determinants of SVOD content demand remain largely unexplored. We propose a baseline model where the SVOD content demand is driven by variety seeking, household financial situation, ethical evaluation, and social norms, as well as a change model where the subscription variation is driven by users’ trait reactance and perceived fairness of the decision. We conducted a survey on the current ways SVOD content is consumed and responses to a hypothetical access control enforcement, with four randomized versions of the authentication mode. Results confirmed many of the proposed determinants and showed a noteworthy reduction in proprietary subscriptions due to the control enforcement but no effect due to the authentication modes. All these findings may help improve future models of SVOD content consumption and better address the difficult challenge of converting unauthorized users into authorized ones.

Human resource management using motivation and incentive tools

In business practice, it is impossible to reassess the role of the personnel motivation and incentive system in a company, since it allows you to smooth out the main conflicts between an employee and an employer, meeting the needs and interests of both sides as much as possible. The importance of this area of management is also due to its close relationship with other areas of work with human resources — adaptation, loyalty and engagement, etc. This article reflects the processes of human resource management in the organization through the use of motivation and incentive tools. The methodological characteristics of motivation and stimulation are given. The forms and means of encouraging employees have been defined. The current approaches and ways of stimulating employees are identified, which are used by modern organizations to increase the efficiency of using human resources and achieve the goals of the organization.The subject of the research in the article is the tools of human resource management in the organization. The research results are to identify modern ways of motivating and stimulating the work of employees to increase the competitiveness of the organization. The necessity of interconnection of these tools for the effective performance of labor functions by the organization’s personnel, as well as the possibilities and results of their use, is substantiated.

Reflecting on 50 years of theory in Human Communication Research: where do we go from here

Abstract This essay is an introduction to the special issue on “Rethinking and Expanding Communication Theories on HCR’s 50th Anniversary.” We begin by arguing that communication research has expanded substantially since Human Communication Research’s inaugural issue. However, in light of changes in communication technologies, political discourse, means of engaging in interpersonal communication, and awareness of the importance of diversity and inclusion, this special issue takes note of our current theorizing and ways to build as we look toward the future. The essays in this special issue, reviewed in this article, will undoubtedly prompt us to re-think, re-envision, and renew our commitment to the importance of communication theory, both in terms of where we have been and in terms of where we can progress.

Alhalalalai as a form of cultural memory of the Itelmens

The article examines the most significant folk holiday of the Itelmen, Alhalalalai, in the context of the cultural memory of this indigenous small people living in Kamchatka. The object of the study was the cultural memory of the Itelmens, and its subject was the culture of the Alhalalalai holiday, the beliefs, rituals, traditions and customs associated with it. It is noted that Alhalalalai is of great importance in the Itelmen culture, representing a traditional autumn celebration dedicated to the completion of household work, giving thanks to the forces of Nature, unity with nature, cleansing from evil spirits, expelling failures, troubles, fears and diseases before a new cycle. Since ancient times, the main goal of Alhalalalai was to prepare for the new annual cycle and ensure its success with the help of carnival events. The research is carried out on the basis of a systematic approach using theoretical-analytical, descriptive-analytical, typological, historical-genetic, semiotic, axiological and other methods. The article pays attention to the issue of the admissibility of the reconstruction method in relation to ancient forms of cultural memory; It is noted that reconstruction is one of the current ways to revive elements of cultural memory that have temporarily, for objective historical reasons, lost their significance. Attention is focused on the fact that culture cannot and cannot be static and stop developing; it combines traditional and innovative components, and therefore changes in the celebration of Alhalalalai, its “modernization” are quite natural. A conclusion is drawn about the exceptional role of the Itelmen celebration Alhalalalai in preserving the cultural identity of the Kamchatka people, about its significance in the context of the revival of ancient elements of cultural memory at a new historical stage in the existence of the people.

Accuracy of the Wound Healing Questionnaire in the diagnosis of surgical-site infection after abdominal surgery in low- and middle-income countries

Abstract Introduction Telemedicine is being adopted for postoperative surveillance but requires evaluation for efficacy. This study tested a telephone Wound Healing Questionnaire (WHQ) to diagnose surgical site infection (SSI) after abdominal surgery in low- and middle-income countries. Method A multi-centre, international, prospective study was embedded in the FALCON trial; a factorial RCT testing measures to reduce SSI in seven low- and middle-income countries (NCT03700749). It was conducted according to a pre-registered protocol (SWAT126) and reported according to STARD guidelines. The reference test was in-person review by a trained clinician at 30 postoperative days according to US Centres for Disease Control criteria. The index test was telephone administration of an adapted WHQ at 27 to 30 postoperative days by a researcher blinded to the outcome of in-person review. The sum of item response scores generated an overall score between 0 and 29. The primary outcome was the diagnostic accuracy of the WHQ, defined as the proportion of SSI correctly identified by the telephone WHQ, and summarized using the area under the receiving operator characteristic curve (AUROC) and diagnostic test accuracy statistics. Results Patients were included from three upper-middle income (396 patients, 13 hospitals), three lower-middle income (746 patients, 19 hospitals), and one low-income country (54 patients, 4 hospitals). 90.3% (1088 of 1196) patients were successfully contacted. Those with non-midline incisions (adjusted odds ratio: 0.36, 95% c.i. 0.17 to 0.73, P=0.005) or a confirmed diagnosis of SSI on in-person assessment (odds ratio: 0.42, 95% c.i. 0.20 to 0.92, P=0.006) were harder to reach. The questionnaire correctly discriminated between most patients with and without SSI (AUROC 0.869, 95% c.i. 0.824 to 0.914), which was consistent across subgroups. A representative cut-off score of ≥4 displayed a sensitivity of 0.701 (0.610-0.792), specificity of 0.911 (0.878-0.943), positive predictive value of 0.723 (0.633-0.814) and negative predictive value of 0.901 (0.867-0.935). Conclusion SSI can be diagnosed using a telephone questionnaire (obviating in-person assessment) in low resource settings.

Current state and ways to increase the dairy productivity of camels in the south-western region of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Abstract Increasing the dairy productivity of camels is an urgent task for many countries where these animals are of great importance as a source of dairy and meat. The purpose of the study was to evaluate and select heavy milk-producing camels for breeding by genotyping, studying the genealogical structure, and selecting related groups with high productivity. To achieve this goal, the number of camel herds in the south-western region of Kazakhstan was monitored during 2020–2022 to study their external characteristics, live weight dynamics, and milk productivity. As a result, it was found that in female camels for 12 months of lactation, the average daily milk yields of the Arvana breed were 7.4 kg, with milk yield for lactation of 2682.8 kg of milk, and in the Bactrian breed with average daily milk yields of 5.8 kg of milk, milk yield for lactation was 1186.3 kg. It was also revealed that the herds of Arvana camels have 15 breeders, and the herds of Bactrian camels have 14 breeders, which are characterised by a sufficient number of offspring for selection and breeding to improve the productive qualities of animals. In addition, it was found that in the herds of Arvana camels, the descendants of the breeders of “Tekele-lek”, “Kara-lek”, “Zhana-lek”, “Mayakum-lek”, “Yrys-lek” and “Shilikti-lek”, and in the herds of Bactrian camels, “Bal-bura”, “Kulsary-bura”, “Zhas-bura”, “Taushyk-II-bura”, “Sakon-bura”, “Konai-bura”, and “Kulandy-bura” noted high milk productivity. It was found that in the milk of camels of the Arvana breed, the content of nonfat milk solids was 8.3%, the density was 27.66 g/cm 3 , the acidity was 19 0 T, in the milk of the Bactrian breed, these indicators were, respectively: 8.23%, 27.81 g/cm, 3 and 19 0 T. The results obtained are of great practical importance, as they can be applied to create new methods and technologies for managing camel herds that will help increase their dairy productivity.

Curiosity Cartography: Way Finding System Design

This paper analyzes the background concept of Hong Kong M+ Museum, extracts the word "connection" as the main concept of the new way finding system, analyzes the shortcomings of the current way finding system, optimizes and innovates the current way finding system, and adds a Child-friendly design to prevent children from getting lost. Strengthen the location of the service desk and the easy-to-remember areas in the museum to help visitors establish a sense of space.

P098 The Endoscopic Severity Score Map (ESSM): An Artificial Intelligence scoring system providing accurate, objective and localised measurements of endoscopic disease severity in ulcerative colitis

Abstract Background Commonly used scoring schemes as the Mayo Endoscopic Subscore (MES) account for disease severity only at specific (i.e., the worst) segments and do not capture disease extent. However, for an accurate assessment of disease severity in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), the measure of the precise extent of disease activity is necessary. Alternative systems that include disease extent have been proposed (Balint 2018), but their implementation is prohibited by the time and cost constraints of comprehensively scoring each location along the entire colon. Here, we present the Endoscopic Severity Score Map (ESSM), a scoring system based on Artificial Intelligence, capable of providing an assessment of disease severity and extent in UC in a fully automated manner. Methods The ESSM consists of 3 main elements (Fig. 1): 1) a quality algorithm which selects readable frames from a colonoscopy video, 2) a scoring system which assigns an MES to each readable frame (Gutierrez Becker 2020) and 3) a camera localisation algorithm that assigns each frame to an anatomical location within the colon (Yao 2022). The ESSM was trained and tested using 4,306 sigmoidoscopy videos from phase III Etrolizumab clinical trials (Hickory NCT02100696, Laurel NCT02165215, Hibiscus I NCT02163759, Hibiscus II NCT02171429 and Gardenia NCT02136069). Results We evaluate the performance of the ESSM by first assessing the agreement of scoring as compared to centrally read MES. The agreement between central reading and the ESSM at the colon section level was high (quadratic-weighted kappa k=0.81; Tab. 1). This was comparable to the agreement between central and local reading (k=0.84), suggesting that the ESSM shows levels of inter-rater variability comparable to experienced readers. Finally, we found correlations between the average ESSM at all anatomical locations and other disease activity markers to be moderate to high: faecal calprotectin rs=0.24, CRP rs=0.29, stool frequency rs=0.49, rectal bleeding rs=0.43 and physician global assessment rs=0.47 (Tab. 1). Conclusion Here, we introduced the ESSM, a fully-automated AI-based scoring system that enables accurate, objective and localised assessment of disease severity in UC. In brief, we show that the ESSM compares well with central reading (at the colon section level) and has clinical relevance when compared to other markers of disease activity. This tentatively suggests that the ESSM has the potential to augment the current way of assessing disease severity, both in clinical trials and everyday clinical practice.

Therapeutic effect of goat milk and its value-addition: current status and way forward

Therapeutic effect of goat milk and its value-addition: current status and way forward

FOREIGN EXPERIENCE OF TAX RATE REGULATION

The article describes the current state of regulation of tax rates for current taxes and ways of applying foreign experience to the tax system of Uzbekistan. Also, at the end of the work, proposals were formulated for the modernization of tax relations