General Terms Research Articles

Insurance against Hate Speech

The article discusses a new and hitherto undescribed phenomenon on the commercial insurance market, i.e. insurance against hate speech. The purpose of this paper is to characterize insurance contracts against hate speech, based on the content of the general terms and conditions of insurance and the applicable provisions of Polish civil law. Particular attention was paid to such issues as: insurance addressees, the method of describing the insurance accident, the scope of benefits to which the insured person is entitled and the legal nature of the contract.

МЕТАФОРА ЯК ЧИННИК ДИСКУРСИВНОГО ТВОРЕННЯ (НА ПРИКЛАДІ ЛЕКСЕМИ ВКУСНЫЙ)

This article attempts a comprehensive discourse analysis of the metaphor using the lexeme “вкусный” (tasty) as an example. Considering that metaphor can be viewed from the perspective of its ability to create social reality, and that reality images are discursively conditioned, the authors explore metaphor as a discursive agent that implies information about the basic parameters of discursive instances: metasubject, metaobject, and meta-addressee. The tasks of discourse analysis of metaphor in the article include: 1) consecutive explication of metaphorically conditioned components of meaning; 2) reconstruction of the constitutive parameters of discursive instances of subject, object, and addressee, based on these components; 3) reconstruction of the worldview and articulatory possibilities of the speaker who occupies the position of discursive subject. The study was conducted on the material of the National Corpus of the Russian Language using descriptive, contextual, interpretative methods, and the method of component analysis. Discourse analysis of linguistic material allows for the reconstruction of two possible types of discursive subject. The first one (nominally designated as DS1) represents the subject as a prepared listener, viewer, appreciator, or expert. Its discursive orientation realizes such intentions as: recognition of the complexity and intrinsic value of objects in the surrounding world; readiness to expend one`s own resources to interact with them; existential needs to act as a subject of love, care, and knowledge; and transfer of the value center from one`s own “self” to the surrounding world. With such a focus, the source of positive emotions (“satisfaction”) becomes the discursive subject itself, which is characterized by the ability to valorize objects and endow them with meaning. These constitutive parameters of discursive subject DS1 are implicated in such metaphorical constructions as “tasty music”, “tasty picture”, “tasty space”, “tasty design solution”, “tasty movie”, “tasty goal”, “tasty opponent”, and so on. The second type of discursive subject (DS2) can be reconstructed based on metaphors like “tasty assets”, “tasty prices”, “tasty discounts”, “tasty offer”, “tasty text”, “tasty position”, “tasty option”, “tasty life”. Unlike DS1, its attitude towards things, phenomena, and events in the surrounding world is determined by the ratio of “resources spent – satisfaction received”, which characterizes the subject of this type as a consumer. The main intentional characteristics of DS2 are: a primary desire for satisfaction of their own needs and desires (receiving positive emotions, material benefits, achieving an attractive social status); the devaluation of the sovereign value of objects and the unwillingness to make an effort to interact with them; the devaluation of all qualities and properties inherent in an object, except for the consumer ones (capable of bringing satisfaction to the speaker); a fundamental unwillingness to expend their own resources, avoidance of novelty, and a desire to maintain the stability of their own internal and external space. These two configurations of discursive subject allow the speaker to articulate almost diametrically opposed attitudes towards the surrounding world. In general terms, they correspond to two worldviews: modernist and postmodernist.

A Landscape of Micronutrient Dietary Intake by 15- to 65-Years-Old Urban Population in 8 Latin American Countries: Results From the Latin American Study of Health and Nutrition.

Latin American countries have shifted from traditional diets rich in micronutrients to a Westernized diet rich in high energy-dense foods and low in micronutrients. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of adequate micronutrient intakes in urban populations of 8 Latin American countries. Micronutrient dietary intake data were collected from September 2014 to August 2015 from 9216 men and women aged 15.0 to 65.0 years living in urban populations of 8 Latin American countries. Dietary intake was collected using two 24-hour recalls on nonconsecutive days. Micronutrient adequacy of intake was calculated using the Estimated Average Requirement cut-off method. In general terms, the prevalence of inadequate intake of thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, folate, cobalamin, iron, phosphorus, copper, and selenium ranged from 0.4% to 9.9%. In contrast, the prevalence of inadequacy of pyridoxine, zinc, vitamin C, and vitamin A ranged from 15.7% to 51.5%. The nutrients with a critical prevalence of inadequacy were magnesium (80.5%), calcium (85.7%), and vitamin D (98.2%). The highest prevalence of inadequate intakes was observed in the low educational level, participants with overweight/obesity, in men, and varies according to socioeconomic status. There is an urgent need to define direct regional actions and strategies in Latin America aimed at improving micronutrient adequacy, either through staple food fortification programs, agronomic biofortification, or food policies that facilitate economic access to micronutrient-rich foods.

General Description Of The Role And Place Of The New Model Of Police Inquiry In The System Of Pre-Trial Proceedings

This article examined the general characteristics of the role and place of the new model of police inquiry in the system of pre-trial proceedings under the new Code of Criminal Procedure of the Republic of Armenia. When studying the chosen topic, the legislative features of a police investigation were analyzed. This article also presents the experience of pre-trial proceedings of foreign states of the Romano-Germanic and Anglo-Saxon legal families, and also, to a certain extent, carried out a comparative legal analysis of criminal procedural policy regarding the functioning and structure of the above institution. It should be noted that the new model of police inquiry, its significance in criminal procedural relations, as well as the reasons for the partial incorporation of covert investigative actions into criminal procedural legislation have been studied in general terms. The relevance of the chosen topic lies in the lack of a unified approach to understanding the new model of police investigation and the unexplored nature of the above-mentioned institution. The purpose of the study of this topic is to study the system and limits of police inquiry in criminal proceedings, and in particular, to study the general characteristics of the model of police inquiry, to reveal the concept and essence of “police inquiry”, to determine the bodies that are authorized to carry out police inquiry, to establish methods for conducting police inquiry in the process preliminary investigation, as well as identifying other auxiliary functions of the police. In this article, when studying the chosen topic, the comparative legal method, deductive and inductive methods, as well as analysis and abstraction are used. As a result of studying the topic, we can come to the conclusion that the police inquiry is no longer an independent form of preliminary investigation, but carries out an “auxiliary” function in the process of preliminary investigation, the content of which is disclosed in this article.

Margaret More Roper: A Survey of Her Writings

As a contribution to the forthcoming 500th anniversary of the publication of Margaret Roper (née More)’s A Devout Treatise (1524-2024), the purpose of this article is to make a survey of her written production (public and private), including those works that were preserved as well as those others that were written but have been lost. The trial and death of Thomas More necessarily resulted in the loss of documents and writings, not only by More but by his daughter too. Sixteenth-century biographies of Thomas More are the main source of information about his daughter Margaret (1505-1544) and her written production. These early biographers were clearly concerned with the promotion of the figure of More, but they did not let pass the opportunity to ponder and testify to the scholarly excellence of his eldest daughter. This is particularly the case of Nicholas Harpsfield (1557) and, more especially, Thomas Stapleton (1588). Cresacre More’s biography of More (Douai, 1631), even though in general terms it offers no original information, has also been used in this study. Another important corpus of information is the epistolary writings of Margaret and her father, as well as of Erasmus. Various other documents subject to recent literary criticism are also consulted.

Penetrating two stab to the throat, survival time and physical mobility: a suicide case and literature review

BackgroundIt is difficult to pinpoint the manner of death in cases of death due to sharp force injuries where injury patterns resemble one another. Other issues that might arise include physical mobility and survival time after injury. Within the scope of this case, a 53-year-old male suicide with findings suggestive of homicide is presented, along with research on the nature of sharp neck injuries, survival time, and movement after injury.Case presentationThanks to the surveillance camera video that captured a significant portion of the occurrence, it was determined that the incident in the case that was presented, which had two perforations of the larynx, was suicide. At first appearance, this case could be assumed to be homicidal. Due to the injury, the victim could only walk around 300–350 m. The victim had a 4-h average survival time.ConclusionsIn general terms, the survival time according to the injury sites in the neck can be listed for a person (if the wound sizes are close to each other) as follows: injury causing vagal stimulation < arterial injury with severe blood loss < venous injury with blood loss < airway injury causing aspiration and respiratory failure.

[Possibilities and limitations of national guidelines based on the example of pediatric urology guidelines from the Pediatric Urology Working Group of the Austrian Society for Urology and Andrology (ÖGU)].

Medical guidelines are defined as practical orientation and decision-making aids; they are legally defined as noncommittal recommendations. International guidelines are written in very general terms, especially in the case of heterogeneous clinical pictures (e.g., vesicoureteral reflux). Could national guidelines based on international recommendations become authoritative as specific treatment recommendations for the various specialist groups? The value of international and national guidelines was assessed using the example case history of achild affected with vesicoureteral reflux. Due to the various therapeutic possibilities according to various guidelines, the child received unfavorable, incongruent, delayed, and repeated unsuccessful attempts with different treatment regimes CONCLUSION: Due to the nonbinding nature of general guidelines, there is arisk of suboptimal therapy. National guidelines aimed at individualized treatment recommendations should aim for higher medical and legal status.

Analysis of brand portfolios of automotive concerns using the BCG matrix

The purpose of this article is to attempt to answer the question of whether an extensive brand portfolio of an automotive concern allows it to gain an advantage and a larger market share compared to a competitor with a simpler brand portfolio. A research tool in the form of the Boston Consulting Group's BCG Matrix will be used as a research tool for the brand portfolios of the selected concerns and the determination of the companies' situation on the Polish market. On the basis of the data obtained, it can be seen that the two brands of the Toyota Motor Corporation exceed with their market share, by as much as 4%, all the brands of the Stellantis concern. It is noteworthy that Toyota alone has a market share of as much as 15 per cent, dominating all other brands participating in the study. In general terms, it can be seen that the extensive brand portfolio currently does not represent a construct that allows a competitive advantage. The performance of the two TMC brands clearly deviates from the indications for the entire Stellantis portfolio. The results presented have a practical dimension by indicating the strategic situation of individual brands as well as the portfolio of the concern as a whole. Visualisation using the BCG matrix allows deeper analysis and decision-making in relation to the group's brands. In the case of stakeholders, this analysis can be one of the determinants of purchasing or investment decisions.

Contrastive variational information bottleneck for aspect-based sentiment analysis

Deep learning techniques have dominated the literature on aspect-based sentiment analysis (ABSA), achieving state-of-the-art performance. However, deep models generally suffer from spurious correlations between input features and output labels, which significantly hurts the robustness and generalization capability. In this paper, we propose to reduce spurious correlations for ABSA, via a novel Contrastive Variational Information Bottleneck framework (called CVIB). The proposed CVIB framework is composed of an original network and a self-pruned network, and these two networks are optimized simultaneously via contrastive learning. Concretely, we employ the Variational Information Bottleneck (VIB) principle to learn an informative and compressed network (self-pruned network) from the original network, which discards the superfluous patterns or spurious correlations between input features and prediction labels. Then, self-pruning contrastive learning is devised to pull together semantically similar positive pairs and push away dissimilar pairs, where the representations of the anchor learned by the original and self-pruned networks respectively are regarded as a positive pair while the representations of two different sentences within a mini-batch are treated as a negative pair. To verify the effectiveness of our CVIB method, we conduct extensive experiments on five benchmark ABSA datasets. The experimental results show that our approach achieves better performance than the strong competitors in terms of overall prediction performance, robustness, and generalization.

Developing central diabetes insipidus following neurohypophysitis during the convalescent period after recovering from covid-19: presentation of a clinical case and literature review

Currently, there is a substantial body of research dedicated to exploring the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on the endocrine system. However, information regarding pathological changes in the hypothalamo-pituitary system in the context of COVID-19 remains limited. Hypophysitis is a general term encompassing various inflammatory conditions affecting the pituitary gland, leading to structural alterations in the hypothalamo-pituitary axis and various levels of hormonal deficiencies in the anterior and/or posterior pituitary.This paper presents a clinical case of central diabetes insipidus resulting from neurohypophysitis, manifested two months after recovering from the novel coronavirus infection SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19). Our study contributes to expanding knowledge about a rare but potentially consequential outcome of the novel coronavirus infection, which holds significance given the global prevalence of COVID-19. The unexpected consequences of SARS-CoV-2 infection contribute to maintaining caution among medical professionals and stimulate interest in scientific research.

Carotid Artery Stenting Versus Carotid Artery Endarterectomy in Asymptomatic Severe Carotid Stenosis: An Updated Meta-Analysis.

Carotid artery stenting (CAS) and carotid artery endarterectomy (CEA) are revascularization options for the management of severe carotid disease in asymptomatic patients. We aimed to compare the peri-procedural outcomes of the two modalities. A systematic review of the databases PUBMED, EBSCO, and Cochrane Library was performed. All the studies that reported periprocedural outcomes (within 30 days) in asymptomatic carotid stenosis patients were included in the meta-analysis. Random effects models with inverse-variance weighting were used to estimate pooled risk ratios (RRs) to compare the outcomes. Fifteen studies (including seven randomized controlled trials) met the inclusion criteria. A total of 15251 patients were included, out of which 6419 (42%) underwent CAS and 8832 (57.9%) underwent CEA. There was no statistical difference in the primary composite outcome of death/stroke/myocardial infarction (MI) (RR 1.02, 95% CI [0.69-1.51], p 0.93). No difference was found in the secondary outcome of all-cause mortality. CAS was associated with a slightly lower risk of MI and cranial nerve palsy. CAS was associated with a slightly higher risk of stroke with no difference in the occurrence of disabling stroke or ipsilateral stroke. In general terms, the study confirms equipoise in the two treatment strategies with a higher risk of MI and cranial nerve palsy with CEA and a higher risk of non-disabling stroke with CAS.

The role of response efficacy and self-efficacy in disaster preparedness actions for vulnerable households

Abstract. The effects of response efficacy and self-efficacy on disaster preparedness have been widely reported. However, most studies only prove their relationship to disaster preparedness in general terms without ascertaining whether they also variously impact the disaster preparedness of diverse vulnerable families (i.e., caring for older and/or disabled adults (COD), caring for a child (CC), and low capacity (LC)). In this study, disaster preparedness is divided into two dependent variables: adequate and minimal preparedness. A quantitative analysis was conducted using 4559 samples drawn from the 2021 National Household Survey to investigate the relationship between response efficacy and self-efficacy with preparedness measures adopted by vulnerable households. Binary logistic regression results indicated that households with vulnerable groups are generally more likely to report lower disaster preparedness. Response efficacy is more critical to LC and COD families, while self-efficacy is more important to LC and CC families. Based on these findings, interventions can be tailored to suit different family types and help vulnerable families better prepare for disasters.

Conventional metaphors in English as a lingua franca

Abstract In the present article, I study the language used in three English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) digital marketing seminars, in which the tutor and other participants gave feedback about the ‘pitches’, (i.e., short marketing speeches), presented by students in the same session. As this activity involved making reference to what students said in their ‘pitches’, the seminars provide ample evidence for the metaphorical construction of speech activity by the participants in the seminars. The analysis shows that these ELF speakers mostly adopted pre-existing and conventionalised metaphorical models used in English and that they do not attempt to incorporate other source domains, except for one, which I have labelled storytelling, as it associates pitch delivery with telling a story. However, at the level of linguistic metaphors used, greater use of unconventional metaphors can be found, although mostly adapted to and consistent with the conceptual models identified. In general terms, metaphor innovation in this English as a Lingua Franca context seems to be ‘norm following’ rather than ‘norm transcending’.

In search of a non-anthropocentric middle-range theory of the firm: On how the Patagonia Purpose Trust granted a controlling stake to nature

Patagonia, an outdoor clothing company thrust into the limelight by a New York Times full-page ad that in 2001 invited customers not to buy its own gear, has recently responded to the inherently low capacity of firms to supply ecosystem services. Since the firm is a generic term encompassing many different bundles of property rights, the specific mechanism of the Patagonia Purpose Trust is researched to find whether it has plausibly locked the company in on preserving ecosystems through its environmentally driven community investment, product re-design, and supply chain overhaul. A mechanism-based methodology is employed, organizing the units of observation in keeping with a formal ontology and benchmarking Patagonia's mechanism against the generic templates of a corporation and a charitable Trust to highlight what is distinct about Patagonia. The findings are that, in a nutshell, Patagonia's mechanism consists of: 1) increasing the opportunity cost of not redressing a breach of purpose by designating an ascertained beneficiary with an unequivocal interest in Nature's preservation; 2) offsetting fiduciaries' influence on asset management with a countervailing mechanism; and 3) designing a procedure centered on the renewal of credible co-trustees to keep checking on fiduciaries in the long run.

Resveratrol alleviates imidacloprid-induced mitochondrial apoptosis, necroptosis, and immune dysfunction in chicken lymphocyte lines by inhibiting the ROS/MAPK signaling pathway.

Imidacloprid (IMI) is a neonicotinoid insecticide with the highest global market share, and IMI exposure in the environment can negatively affect many nontarget organisms (a general term for organisms affected by drugs other than target organisms). Resveratrol (RSV), a non-flavonoid polyphenolic organic compound derived from peanuts, grapes, and other plants, has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. It is currently unclear how RSV protects against cell damage caused by IMI. Therefore, we established an experimental model of chicken lymphocyte lines exposed to 110 μg/mL IMI and/or 0.5 μM RSV for 24 h. According to the experimental results, IMI markedly raised intracellular reactive oxygen species levels and diminished the activity of the cellular antioxidant enzymes (CAT, SOD, and GPx), leading to MDA accumulation and decreased T-AOC. JNK, ERK, and P38, the essential components of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway, were also expressed more when IMI was present. Additionally, IMI resulted in upregulation of mitochondrial apoptosis (Caspase 3, Caspase 9, Bax, and Cyt-c) and necroptosis (Caspase 8, RIPK1, RIPK3, and MLKL) related factors expression, downregulation of Bcl-2 expression, induction of upregulation of cytokine IL-6 and TNF-α expression, and downregulation of IFN-γ expression. The combined treatment of RSV and IMI significantly reduced cellular oxidative stress levels, inhibited the MAPK signaling pathway, and alleviated IMI-induced mitochondrial apoptosis, necroptosis, and immune dysfunction. To summarize, RSV antagonized IMI-induced mitochondrial apoptosis, necroptosis, and immune dysfunction in chicken lymphocyte lines by inhibiting the ROS/MAPK signaling pathway.

Awareness of infection care terms among outpatients and carers in a public health facility: a cross-sectional survey

Background As victims of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and healthcare recipients, patients and their carers can be engaged in infection prevention and control (IPC) and antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) initiatives to manage AMR. To effectively participate in these initiatives, patients and carers need to understand general terms used in infection care. We explored awareness of commonly used infection-related terms among patients and carers in the surgical out-patient of a tertiary academic hospital. Methods Self-administered paper survey distributed among out-patients from August to September 2022. Categorical variables were analysed using Chi squared test. Significance was set as p-value of &lt; 0.05. Content analysis identified terms commonly used by patients when talking about infections. Results Overall, 896 out of 1,269 respondents (response rate 70.6%), with a 1:3 male to female ratio were included. Most respondents were patients (75%), with a minimum of high school education (91.2%) and a surgical history (60.3%). Surgical wound infection was the most familiar term to participants. While many respondents had not heard of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) (92.3%, n=754) or antimicrobial resistance (92.8%, n=755), significantly more were aware of the descriptions provided for these terms (13.7% and 33.0%, respectively; p&lt;0.001). Participants considered antibiotic resistance to be a condition in which the body rejects, resists, or does not respond to antibiotics. Conclusions Findings show dissonance between patients’ awareness of and healthcare workers’ use of infection-care terms, highlighting the need for relatable and accessible terms in infection-care engagement initiatives. More than half of respondents acknowledged that patient engagement responsibility is everyone’s, underscoring the need for contextually fit and relevant communication strategies to advance patient engagement and infection awareness.

Exploring the Impact of Educational Informatization on Sustainable Development in Global Education Systems

Education informatization uses intelligent algorithms and information technology to develop educational resources, optimize the educational process, and establish a modern education concept. The global education system is the general term for the education system of different countries and regions. There are internal connections but also significant differences. Education informatization can reuse the educational resources of developed countries, improve the education level of developing countries, and realize the undifferentiated development of global education. The research on education informatization mainly stays at the theoretical level and lacks the optimization technology of the educational process, which limits the sustainable development of the global education system. Therefore, this paper proposes a global education system optimization method based on information technology, which classifies educational resources, concepts and processes in different regions and countries. Then, the system education is built through the B/S framework, and the educational resources of different B/S layers are transmitted through the wireless transmission protocol to complete the construction of the global education system. Finally, the global education system is evaluated. The results show that the global education system optimization method proposed in this paper can improve the sustainability of educational resources, the optimization rate of educational resources is greater than 80%, the optimization accuracy of the educational process is greater than 90%, and the improvement rate of educational philosophy is greater than 80%., significantly higher than the previous network information platform. Therefore, this paper proposes that the wireless transmission protocol can support education informatization, promote the sustainable development of the global education system, promote the balance of educational resources in different countries and regions, and enhance the modern education concept.

Subject Cataloging by Norwegian Cataloging Agencies

This article reviews the practices of subject assignment by the two main Norwegian cataloging agencies serving the public library domain, Biblioteksentralen and Bokbasen, analyzing 47,235 records representing media cataloged by both agencies, published between 2012 and 2019. In addition to descriptive statistics representing these practices, we apply the Panofsky/Shatford model, previously used in the analysis of artworks and images, to distinguish aspects of these practices associated with levels of meaning. We find that Biblioteksentralen tends to use more abstract terms in their descriptions, while Bokbasen tends to use more general terms.

Competency Development in Industrial Engineering and Related Academic Programs Regarding the Optimization of Production and Logistics Processes: The Case of Medellín

This study examines the correlation between the skills and competencies developed in engineering programs and those required by the most representative economic sectors in Medellín for optimizing their production and logistics processes. In general terms, this paper aims to contribute to the research on higher education institutions and the alignment of their programs with the expectations of businesses in emerging countries. Thus, the proposed research question is as follows: What is the systemic relationship between academia and businesses in Colombia regarding the development of skills and competencies related to the optimization of production and logistics processes? To address this question, the study methodology starts by defining the target population (Industrial Engineering and related academic programs) and the dialogue methods adopted. Subsequently, a morphological space is created to establish systemic interconnections among the study variables and factors. Finally, patterns and qualitative/quantitative relationships are identified and grouped into two drivers that support the optimization of production and logistics processes. These drivers, in turn, consist of five key driving variables: quality defects, work environment, information and communication technology usage, operation traceability, and logistics and planning. The results indicate a correlation of 60% between courses and job competencies, 85.71% between academic skills and job competencies, and 71.88% between courses and academic skills. These findings provide insights to enhance cooperation between the academic and business sectors and foster the development of new local competitive capacities.

Esotericism between Europe and East Asia: How the “Esoteric Distinction” Became a Structure in Cross-Cultural Interpretation

Abstract Different understandings of “esoteric” are the main subject and the demarcation line of several fields of study. However, the history of this term is either neglected or distorted by specific historiographical paradigms. Tracing European writings on China and Japan from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries, this article demonstrates that “esoteric” language was central to scholarship on Asia, shaping common terms that remain in use today. By showing how the emergence and development of an “esoteric distinction” between teachings and practices was linked to cross-cultural interpretation and translingual practices, the article argues that this distinction was not a mere projection of European concepts, but rather the result of cultural exchanges that need to be carefully studied on a case-by-case basis within their concrete historical contexts. To better understand the negotiations of what many today would call “esotericism,” a decentered historiography is needed that considers the global history of general terms.