Present Form Research Articles

Behind Prep Decisions: Understanding User Patterns and Discontinuation Factors in Real-World.

This study aimed to characterize the epidemiological aspects of PrEP use and barriers to accessing this prophylaxis. This cross-sectional study was conducted between January 2021 and April 2022, encompassing 140 PrEP users treated at the Testing and Counseling Center (CTA) in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul. Data on sociodemographic characteristics and factors associated with PrEP discontinuation were obtained using a standardized questionnaire. Most PrEP users were cisgender men (92.00%), predominantly white (51.00%), over 30years of age (56.50%), homosexual-oriented (76.50%), and had a minimum of 12years of education (77.50%). Approximately 60.00% admitted to inconsistent condom use in recent sexual encounters, primarily involving anal intercourse. Approximately 88.00% perceived themselves as at risk of contracting STIs in the upcoming year. Regarding new presentation forms, 54.00% indicated a willingness to use "on-demand PrEP," and 92.00% expressed interest in using "injectable PrEP." After 6months of follow-up, 43.60% (95.00% CI: 35.50-52.00) discontinued PrEP use, primarily due to changes in sexual behavior (38.30%) and difficulties accessing healthcare services (21.28%). This study underscores the need to involve diverse key populations and highlights the significance of PrEP as an ongoing monitoring strategy for HIV/STI prevention in addition to the importance of incorporating new formulations such as daily oral PrEP into the Brazilian National Health System (SUS).

Amend the Mental Health Care Act 2017: A Survey of Indian Psychiatrists (Paper 1).

This paper highlights the difficulties and lacunae in the Mental Health Care Act 2017 that hinder its implementation and use for the care and treatment of persons with mental illness in India. An online nationwide survey, involving structured questions as well as open-ended questions, to elicit the level of implementation, experience in complying with the provisions of the Act, and level of satisfaction, of practicing psychiatrists was carried out. Responses were analyzed using appropriate statistics. 600 respondents answered the online questionnaire. A majority of psychiatrists were senior practitioners with over 10 years of experience. 92.5% respondents were dissatisfied with the MHCA, wherein 73.3% wanted it amended, and 19.2% asked for repeal. Procedural issues were deterrent for 66.5% from taking medically necessary or helpful decisions for patients. Non-implementation of the Act was a major finding. Major dissatisfaction was expressed regarding judicial over reach in admission and discharge procedures, inclusion of general hospital psychiatry units in the definition of mental health establishment, non-applicability of provisions like advance directive and nominated representative in Indian setting, and that all treatment should be covered under insurance. The Act in its present form defies the spirit of its own objectives and is unimplementable. It needs major revisions.

Gravitational-wave background in bouncing models from semi-classical, quantum and string gravity

We study the primordial spectra and the gravitational-wave background (GWB) of three models of semi-classical, quantum or string gravity where the big bang is replaced by a bounce and the primordial tensor spectrum is blue: ekpyrotic universe with fast-rolling Galileons, string-gas cosmology with Atick-Witten conjecture and pre-big-bang cosmology. We find that the ekpyrotic scenario with Galileons does not produce a GWB amplitude detectable by present or third-generation interferometers, while the Atick-Witten-based string-gas model is ruled out in its present form for violating the big-bang-nucleosynthesis bound, contrary to the original string-gas scenario. In contrast, the GWB of the pre-big-bang scenario falls within the sensitivity window of both LISA and Einstein Telescope, where it takes the form of a single or a broken power law depending on the choice of parameters. The latter will be tightly constrained by both detectors.

“Digital Personal Data Protection Act”—A Strudel Served Raw!

The good news is that personal data privacy law has become a reality in India. The bad news is 95% of the public is ignorant of the same, 3% do not know what it entails and the rest 2% are voraciously engaged in an intellectual feud. Privacy as a concomitant of natural or inalienable rights has been recognized in the western hemisphere since the 18th century. In India, the legislative history of the doctrine can be traced to the trilogy of cases during the 1950’s. It was only post 1978, that the apex court of the country passed a slew of judgements recognizing the right to privacy as an essential part of the right to “protection of life and personal liberty” embodied under the Indian Constitution and thereby bestowing the fundamental right status. On August 24, 2017, a nine-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court of India (Puttaswamy judgment) re-wrote history as it not only recognized and reconfirmed the fundamental right status of “ right to privacy” but also laid the foundation of data protection law in the country. August 11, 2023, marks a historic date in the legislative annals of digital India, as the country enacted the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (“DPDP Act” or “Act”) after more than half a decade of deliberations. At a time when technology has become the defining paradigm of every business, the DPDP Act seeks to lay the foundation for developing a strong data privacy regime in the country. The Act in its new avatar is quite different from its predecessors proposed earlier. Ironically, the regulations themselves have set ajar a host of challenges, issues and steeplechases, which can barely be fathomed at this moment. In addition, the DPDP Act is yet to be notified or implemented by the Central Government. The key question this paper discusses is whether this seemingly endless period of deliberations culminated into a robust and comprehensive law or is it simply a Strudel served raw! To answer this question, the paper first charts the history of the concept with a chronological approach on a global platform. The second part of the paper charts the pre-DPDP era in India. The third part recapitulates the DPDP Act (in the present form) in a nutshell, while the fourth part dissects the DPDP Act highlighting certain potentially problematic features of this law. Lastly, the paper will examine what can be done to influence the development of a robust and sustainable data protection regime in the country in the years to come. Keywords: Data Privacy, DPDP Act, Indian Privacy Law, Origin of Privacy Laws

PENGEMBANGAN MEDIA PEMBELAJARAN BERBASIS ISPRING SUITE PADA MATERI BANGUN RUANG SISI DATAR

This research aims to develop ispring suite-based learning media on flat side space building materials reviewed from the aspects of feasibility, practicality and effectiveness. The research uses the R&D method, namely (Research and Development), and uses the ADDIE learning design model (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation). The media developed uses ispring suite software, which is software used to create interactive learning media in the form of material presentations, material videos, practice questions, and quizzes. The test subjects in this study used individual and small group trials. The individual trial was 3 students of class VIII Madrasah Tsanawiyah and for the small group trial, namely 13 students of class VIII Madrasah Tsanawiyah. The results of this study, according to the assessment of media experts and material experts, show that ispring suite-based learning media obtained criteria suitable for use with an average score of 4.1. The results of the trials conducted on individual trials and small group trials showed that the ispring suite-based learning media obtained very practical criteria with an average score of 4.3. The ispring suite-based learning media also obtained very effective criteria with an average N-gain score of 0.87 based on the results of individual trial tests and small group trial test results.

Popular Recommendation Bibliographic Resources for Adult Readers on Children’s Library Websites

Popularization of books and reading, as one of the important tasks of modern children’s library activity, determines the relevance of studying the means of attracting potential readers to reading. The aim of the article is to review the websites of children’s libraries to identify popular recommended bibliographic resources intended for adult readers. The review of sites of 79 regional, regional and republican children’s libraries of the Russian Federation is presented. It analyses the content and forms of presentation of bibliographic resources for adult readers: parents, teachers, librarians. The review allowed to identify the potential of children’s libraries in expanding the reading circle of users of different age groups.

Pemimpin yang Baik Dalam Organisasi : Pelatihan Kepemimpinan (LDKM 2023) Dari Psychological View

This article was prepared to share insights, perspectives and knowledge through lectures and training for prospective young leaders in organizations, within the framework of Basic Student Leadership Training (LKDM) activities. In the 2023 LDKM setting, students consist of various study programs who will be appointed as candidates to become administrators of HIMA Study Programs and Faculties at Ma'soem University. The material is given in the form of presentations with tutorials to discussions and implementation in cases of leadership within campus organizations. As a result of this service, participants from LDKM 2023 activities gain new insight and knowledge so that in the process they will personalize this in organizational activities and even in their daily lives.

Analyzing competencies in creating and using educational videos in students of different educational programs

In modern science, it is generally accepted that the video format is more effective than other forms of presentation. Video content for educational purposes corresponds to human physiology, is on­trend and pedagogically proven. The authors analyze the scientific literature and personal professional experience of teachers and educational resources developers, and conclude that it is necessary to form competencies in the sphere of video content creation and application in university students of different educational programs, and present a model of these competencies. To obtain a comprehensive and up­to­date point of view regarding the formation of university students’ competencies in the sphere of application and creation of educational video content and their experience in developing educational videos, a project was initiated in which students created an educational video and then filled out a questionnaire where they evaluated not only the features of video content in education but also their personal experience of video creation and their competencies. The students’ questionnaires provide a rich material for quantitative and qualitative analysis of the formation of competencies that are necessary for creation of educational videos. The presented results may be of practical interest to teachers of educational organizations planning to create video content and apply it to improve the efficiency and quality of education, as well as to implement the formation of relevant competencies in students.

Studies in tense, aspect and augment use: An unrecognized (?) timeless injunctive in Early Epic Greek. Part 2: Actual analysis

Since West’s seminal 1898 article, it has been assumed that there were (only) four instances in epic Greek (Homer, Hesiod and the Homeric Hymns) in which the injunctive (often called an unaugmented indicative in the commentaries) could be interpreted as having a timeless (or omnitemporal) meaning. In the second part of the article, I will argue and show that there could be more of these injunctive forms than West originally argued for. I will also analyze several other instances in which an injunctive has been transmitted, instances in which it refers to a background action or an event in a remote past, and argue that some injunctive forms indeed describe the timeless habits of the gods, while others are not timeless, but refer to actions in a remote or even mythical past, or describe background actions; moreover, even some indicative present forms could conceal older timeless injunctive forms (without arguing that the indicative forms should be altered, however). In all these instances I will also investigate and describe the aspectual stems, as well as show that their use can be explained by the distinction perfective – imperfective, which agrees with what we would find in Attic Greek and is not controlled by the metre.

Effect of La on the Microstructures and Mechanical Properties of Al-5.4Cu-0.7Mg-0.6Ag Alloys.

The effects of the rare earth element La on the microstructure and mechanical properties of cast Al-5.4Cu-0.7Mg-0.6Ag alloys have been investigated through metallographic observation, scanning electron microscopy analysis, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and tensile testing. The present form and action mechanism of La have been analyzed. The findings indicate that the inclusion of trace amounts of La markedly diminishes the grain size in the Al-Cu-Mg-Ag alloy. Furthermore, as the La content increases, the alloy's strength is significantly improved. When the La concentration reaches 0.4 wt.%, the mechanical properties of the alloy, both at room temperature and at 350 °C, surpass those of the alloy lacking rare earth elements. When the added rare earth La content exceeds 0.2 wt.%, the emergence of the Al6Cu6La phase causes the alloy structure to exhibit a skeletal morphology, altering the morphology and distribution of excess second phases along grain boundaries, thereby impacting the alloy's overall performance. Incorporating La leads to a reduction in the size of the strengthening precipitate phase Ω while also enhancing its precipitation density, but an excess of La leads to the emergence of Al6Cu6La, depleting the available Cu and suppressing the precipitation of the Ω phase, ultimately affecting the mechanical properties of the alloy.

Large models of what? Mistaking engineering achievements for human linguistic agency

In this paper we argue that key, often sensational and misleading, claims regarding linguistic capabilities of Large Language Models (LLMs) are based on at least two unfounded assumptions: the assumption of language completeness and the assumption of data completeness. Language completeness assumes that a distinct and complete thing such as “a natural language” exists, the essential characteristics of which can be effectively and comprehensively modelled by an LLM. The assumption of data completeness relies on the belief that a language can be quantified and wholly captured by data. Work within the enactive approach to cognitive science makes clear that, rather than a distinct and complete thing, language is a means or way of acting. Languaging is not the kind of thing that can admit of a complete or comprehensive modelling. From an enactive perspective we identify three key characteristics of enacted language; embodiment, participation, and precariousness, that are absent in LLMs, and likely incompatible in principle with current architectures. We argue that these absences imply that LLMs are not now and cannot in their present form be linguistic agents the way humans are. We illustrate the point in particular through the phenomenon of “algospeak”, a recently described pattern of high-stakes human language activity in heavily controlled online environments. On the basis of these points, we conclude that sensational and misleading claims about LLM agency and capabilities emerge from a deep misconception of both what human language is and what LLMs are.

Sharp metastability transition for two-dimensional bootstrap percolation with symmetric isotropic threshold rules

We study two-dimensional critical bootstrap percolation models. We establish that a class of these models including all isotropic threshold rules with a convex symmetric neighbourhood, undergoes a sharp metastability transition. This extends previous instances proved for several specific rules. The paper supersedes a draft by Alexander Holroyd and the first author from 2012. While it served a role in the subsequent development of bootstrap percolation universality, we have chosen to adopt a more contemporary viewpoint in its present form.

An Analysis of How the Literary Features of The Teahouse Reflect the Tragic Core of the Play

The Teahouse is a play written by Lao She in 1956, included in the magazine Harvest in July 1957 by Bakin and published in June 1958 by the China Drama Publishing House. The play presents three chaotic historical periods in modern China: the Hundred Days' Reform, the Warlords' War, and the eve of the founding of New China. The play has a high literary status and high literary attainments, and it has become a classic work of contemporary Chinese theatre mainly because of its characteristic dialect language features and special artistic presentation form. The use of language in the original play reflects the regional characteristics, and the portrayal of the characters suggests the tragedy of the historical destiny of the time from the side. The main body of the play, "Yutai Teahouse", serves as a clue to expose how the modern Chinese society is a dark and corrupt world that eats away at all human beings. Moreover, his literary works with its unique style of writing reflects the tragic colour of drama literature, with the tragic fate of the nobody suggesting the tragic colour of the whole era.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Related Measures on the Sports Industry in Slovakia

Stopping competitions and the training process was a shock that sports organizations had to deal with. Financial problems forced them to rethink the situation. In Slovakia, this became critical. This is why we started to research this issue to provide an answer to the research question: What are the actual consequences of government measures on the sports industry? A survey was conducted including two questionnaires made available between the pandemic waves. The first questionnaire was designed for athletes and sports professionals (N = 1040). The second addressed sports organizations (N = 626). Questionnaires were accessible via sports organizations’ portals. The ban on organizing mass sports events affected this industry. More than 80% of respondents had an experience of having to cancel a competition or training activity. This had an impact on their income as well as their future activities. We cooperate with government institutions and sports associations in Slovakia, so the results were provided to government officials. However, due to political changes accompanied by changes in the ministries responsible for the sports industry in Slovakia, it is relevant to summarize the research results in their present form. In this way they can serve as background for future sports policies.

Tinjauan Kedwibahasaan Buku Cerita Anak ‘The Foos’ dari Pandangan Metode Penerjemahan

Bilingual children's story books in Indonesian and English are now being published in Indonesia, providing them as reading options for mothers, caregivers, storytellers, and the children themselves. This study aims to analyze, identify, describe, and classify the forms of translation methods found in a bilingual children's storybook entitled 'The Foos' by Arleen Amidjaja, as well as to analyze the translation methods applied to determine the success in achieving equivalence of meaning in the target language (TL). This study uses a qualitative descriptive method and a documentation method. Employing text analysis, careful reading, and note taking techniques for research constitutes the stages of data collection. Text analysis uses Newmark's translation method theory with data sources from English texts as the source language text (SL) and Indonesian as the TL from the storybook 'The Foos.' The results of the analysis are presented in the form of a comparison of the two languages ​​, along with the results of identifying SL and TL text translation techniques. The interpretation of the identification results is then presented in the form of a descriptive presentation by considering the translation techniques of the identification results. The results of this study indicate that 12 translation method data are oriented to the SL, and eight are oriented to the TL. The translation techniques that are often used are semantic and communicative translation techniques. There are no faithful, adaptation, or idiomatic translation techniques because the children's storybook 'The Foos' does not have proverbial sentences or other foreign language terms. The SL uses simple sentence structures and vocabulary. The translation method that is oriented to the SL with semantic and communicative translation techniques is effective for translating children's storybooks, ensuring that readers understand the content of the stories.

Analisis Kesantunan Berbahasa dalam Acara Talkshow “Talkpod”

This research aims to describe; (1) forms of compliance with the principles of language politeness on the "Talkpod" talkshow, (2) forms of violation of the principles of language politeness on the "Talkpod" talkshow. This research takes data in the form of speech from hosts and guest stars which contain forms of compliance and violations of language politeness in the "Talkpod" program. This research data collection technique uses listening, note-taking and documentation techniques. The data analysis technique for this research uses techniques expressed by Sugiyono (2018) in the form of data reduction, data presentation and verification stages. The results of this research found forms of compliance and violations of language politeness in the "Talkpod" talkshow. There were 21 data on language politeness compliance in the talkshow, consisting of 5 data on compliance with the maxim of wisdom, 1 data on compliance with the maxim of generosity, 6 data on compliance with the maxim of praise, 3 data on compliance with the maxim of humility, 3 data on compliance with the maxim of agreement, and 3 data on compliance with the maxim of sympathy. There were 17 data on violations of language politeness, consisting of 1 data on violations of the maxim of wisdom, 1 data on violations of the maxim of generosity, 5 data on violations of the maxim of praise, 3 data on violations of the maxim of humility, 4 data on violations of the maxim of agreement, and 3 data on violations of the maxim of sympathy.

Memory In the “Magic City”

Abstract This article explores the naturalisation of memories of racial violence at heritage sites in and around Birmingham, Alabama. Birmingham’s cityscape has been forged from systemic processes of racial capitalism that have led to ongoing forms of environmental racism. Against this backdrop, prominent tourist attractions prioritise the celebration of industrial heritage above acknowledging past and present forms of racialised injustice – from slavery to convict leasing, segregation to redlining. These sites present a sanitised account of the city’s iron and steel industry, resulting in a selective transmission and production of memories of industrial progress which obscures the operations of racial capitalism and the environmental racism it produces. This heritage, we suggest, cannot reconcile the brutality of inequitable labour systems, such as convict leasing, and the environmental violence of industrial production with the celebration of capitalist progress that positions Birmingham as the “Magic City” of industrial miracles.

Transcutaneous sentinel lymph node detection in skin melanoma with near-infrared fluorescence imaging using indocyanine green.

The aim of the study is to assess whether indocyanine green (ICG) fluorescence can replace technetium in the preoperative detection of sentinel lymph nodes (SLN) from cutaneous melanoma. The current golden standard for SLN detection is the radioisotope technetium. A promising alternative is fluorescence imaging (FLI) using ICG. In this study, we enrolled patients undergoing sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) for skin melanoma at the Erasmus Medical Center between November 2022 and July 2023. The SLNB procedure was performed as a standard of care. After general anesthesia, ICG was injected intradermally around the primary tumor site. Both the patient and the surgeon were not blinded for the location of the SLN. FLI was performed before incision, in vivo after incision, and ex vivo. Fluorescent SLNs were confirmed using the gamma probe in all cases. Thirty-two patients were included in this study, and a total of 39 SLNs were harvested. The transcutaneous detection rate of ICG was 21.9%. The combined ex vivo ICG fluorescence and technetium uptake was 94.9%. One SLN contained only ICG (2.6%) and one SLN contained only technetium-uptake (2.6%). FLI using ICG resulted in a relatively low transcutaneous detection, which means that exclusive use of this technique in its present form is not feasible. However, we did find a high accumulation of ICG in the SLN, indicating the potential of ICG in combination with other imaging techniques.

Infection preventionists’ current and preferred training strategies and tools

Educating healthcare staff on infection prevention and control (IPC) is an essential role of infection preventionists (IPs), but the COVID-19 pandemic diverted resources away from IPC education. Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology members were invited to complete an online survey from spring 2023 to assess current and preferred approaches and tools for training healthcare personnel on IPC. Vendors, retirees, APIC staff, or those not working in healthcare or public health were excluded. In all, 2,432 IPs participated. IPs were more likely to report engaging in impromptu healthcare worker training (ie, just-in-time teaching and team huddles) versus planned educational activities (ie, learning modules, formal presentations, train-the-trainer, or simulation; Kruskal-Wallis=288, P<.001). IPs' top preferred teaching methodologies included simulation or interactive activity, and their lowest preferred approach was independent learning modules. IPC training apps were frequently requested technology. IPs ranked simulation as their top preferred teaching method; however, simulation was one of the least frequently used approaches. IP education should include strategies for delivering effective impromptu training and how to develop and implement interactive simulation-based education. The expressed needs and preferences of IPs should be considered when developing IPC-related teaching and training tools.

Web-CONEXS: an inroad to theoretical X-ray absorption spectroscopy.

Accurate analysis of the rich information contained within X-ray spectra usually calls for detailed electronic structure theory simulations. However, density functional theory (DFT), time-dependent DFT and many-body perturbation theory calculations increasingly require the use of advanced codes running on high-performance computing (HPC) facilities. Consequently, many researchers who would like to augment their experimental work with such simulations are hampered by the compounding of nontrivial knowledge requirements, specialist training and significant time investment. To this end, we present Web-CONEXS, an intuitive graphical web application for democratizing electronic structure theory simulations. Web-CONEXS generates and submits simulation workflows for theoretical X-ray absorption and X-ray emission spectroscopy to a remote computing cluster. In the present form, Web-CONEXS interfaces with three software packages: ORCA, FDMNES and Quantum ESPRESSO, and an extensive materials database courtesy of the Materials Project API. These software packages have been selected to model diverse materials and properties. Web-CONEXS has been conceived with the novice user in mind; job submission is limited to a subset of simulation parameters. This ensures that much of the simulation complexity is lifted and preliminary theoretical results are generated faster. Web-CONEXS can be leveraged to support beam time proposals and serve as a platform for preliminary analysis of experimental data.