Previous Trends Research Articles

Household Income Instability: Portuguese Welfare State Meets the Eurozone Crisis

This article approaches welfare state evolution in terms of protection against household income volatility. It maintains wage earner household income instability emerges from firm routines, household habits, and welfare state provisions. It considers the impact of austerity measures in the context of a longer trend of labor market institutional evolution. Prior to austerity-driven measures, labor market developments shifted risk from firms to state and households. Austerity measures amplified previous trends and left household incomes exceedingly exposed to effective demand risk.

Social workers’ engagement in social rights advocacy: individual capacities, organizational milieus, and associations with the working alliance

ABSTRACT The non-take-up of rights among social service-users is a well-known phenomenon, with grave implications. In response to it, social workers holding various roles are tasked with assisting service-users in obtaining their rights, in accordance with national policies and professional ethics. Despite its importance, research examining factors possibly connected to social workers’ engagement in social rights advocacy for/with service-users is very limited, and was mostly conducted several years ago. The purpose of the present study was to explore the role of three types of such factors – organizational milieus (supervisors’ support and the adequacy of the working environment); individual capacities (knowledge and skills held by social workers); and the relational aspect (the working alliance between social workers and their service-users). 247 Israeli social workers participated in the study, all employed in public social services. Data were collected using a quantitative approach via an online questionnaire. The results of the study underscore some potent correlates and predictors of social workers’ engagement in advocating for social rights, in themselves and especially in the interaction between factors. This is discussed with relation to previous research, policy trends, and contemporary theoretical approaches to social rights advocacy.

Spatial and temporal patterns of species replacement in the Middle Pleistocene: а case study of Мicrotus nivaloides Major, 1902 and morphologically related species of the Northern Black Sea and Azov areas

AbstractThe Middle Pleistocene replacement of the extinct Microtus nivaloides with its likely descendant field vole (M. agrestis Linnaeus, 1761) shows regional differences suggesting the climatic control of the process. Our aim was to test this hypothesis. We studied samples of M. nivaloides and morphologically related species, both recent and extinct, from the Northern Black Sea and Azov areas by means of geometric morphometry. There were measured pairwise Euclidian distances between each fossil specimen and centroids of the extant groups, and between centroids of all studied groups. When the studied samples were arranged in stratigraphic order, the decrease in these distances indicated the nearest approach to (i.e. the appearance of) M. agrestis within the considered area. Our results show that it was an expansion rather than a continuation of previous evolutionary trends. M. agrestis, the species of wet habitats, came to the Northern Black Sea area from the west during the warm and humid Holsteinian interglacial (MIS 11). The species was not widespread within the area and allopatrically coexisted with M. nivaloides. Besides, Holsteinian warming enhanced migration of other mesophilic vole species from adjacent areas. Our approach may be expanded to other extinct species with overlapping ranges of variation.

Influence of Food Products Sudden Inflation on Livelihoods of Daily Income Wagers of Pakistan

In this review article, all the factors associated with the inflation of food products in Pakistan have been discussed. Moreover, previous trends of inflation in food products followed in Pakistan during the recent years have been compared with current trends of inflation. This article contains the impacts and effects of inflation of food products on two societal extremes rich and poor in Pakistan. Inflation is inversely proportional to daily income wages. It affects the poor people of Pakistan in negative ways as they cannot afford good quality food products and hence remain malnourished and deprived of basic food necessities. The measures that can reduce the inflation of food prices include strong strategic planning, proper policy making, reforms in food security policies, increasing agricultural outputs, appropriate audit of food supplies, control of food products prices and analysis of demand to supply ratio of food commodities.

Aggravating circumstances? The COVID-19-related situational threats against the press in Portugal

This study aims to fill the gap of the practical impediments for journalists properly doing their work during the COVID-19 pandemic over a single country. It is achieved by mapping the situational threats faced by the press in Portugal, as one of the best countries that grant media a free environment to work, which illustrates the challenges faced by media in established democracies. Drawing on the analysis of 34 episodes reported by national and international monitoring bodies over twenty months since the onset of the coronavirus crisis in the country, it concludes that economic threats alongside limitations in accessing information prevailed to the detriment of verbal and physical attacks or smear campaigns and online harassment. Apart from the nuance of the far-right hostility towards the press due to the health restrictions during campaign reporting as a new type of threat manifestation, the remaining threats experienced by the Portuguese media accelerated or aggravated previous trends.

Trends in suicide attempts and suicide deaths before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in New Taipei City, Taiwan: an interrupted time-series analysis.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is an unprecedented global health crisis that may cause mental health problems and heighten suicide risk. We investigated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on trends in suicide attempts and suicide deaths in New Taipei City, Taiwan. The current study used the official daily data on suicide attempts and deaths in New Taipei City, Taiwan (4 million inhabitants) between 2015 and 2020 from the Taiwan National Suicide Prevention Reporting System. Interrupted time-series (ITS) analyses with parameters corrected by the estimated autocorrelations were applied on weekly aggregated data to examine whether the suicide trends during the early COVID-19 pandemic (late January to July 2020) deviated from previous trends (January 2015 to late January 2020). The impact due to the suicide prevention policy change was also examined (since August 2020). ITS analyses revealed no significant increases in both mean and trend on weekly suicide deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic and after the policy change. In contrast, there was a significant increasing trend in weekly suicide attempts since the COVID-19 outbreak at the rate of 1.54 attempts per week (95% confidence interval 0.49-2.60; p = 0.004). Sex difference analysis revealed that, however, this increasing trend was observed only in females not in males. The COVID-19 pandemic has different impacts on suicides attempts and deaths during the early pandemic in New Taipei City, Taiwan. The COVID-19 outbreak drastically increased the trend of suicide attempts. In contrast, the number of suicide deaths had remained constant in the investigated periods.

Contemporary Russian Literature in Latvia: Children’s Literature

Throughout the 20th century, Russian children’s literature in Latvia was a unique phenomenon. Against the background of the general trends of Soviet children’s literature, Latvian children’s literature (in both Latvian and Russian) developed in a space that was less constrained in respect of ideological censorship. 21st century children’s literature in Latvia is developing both taking into account the previous history and current trends. The article is devoted to the specific features of children’s literature in Russian, taking into account the general status of the Russian language as a foreign language and general trends in the socio-cultural space of Latvia. The study considers two main issues. First, it is a sociological analysis of the situation: an assortment of children’s books, the specifics of the school programme, awareness of contemporary Latvian and Russian children’s literature. On the other hand, the corpus of texts of contemporary children’s literature is studied, and an overview of the oeuvre of contemporary Latvian authors is presented. The material for literary analysis was the book by Vladimir Novikov, “The Mischief of the Obedient Martins”. In the course of the analysis, the specifics of the traditional children’s story, the cultural and historical context of the cross-border identity of the author and his potential readers, the specifics of the contemporary narrative, the identification of the concept “one’s own – other’s” were revealed.

PSV-16 Recent Mycotoxin Contamination Trends in 2021 United States Corn

Abstract Mycotoxins are harmful secondary fungal metabolites detrimental to animal health even at low levels. The study was conducted to compare mycotoxin contamination of initial samples of the 2021 corn crop with previous year trends. Samples were analyzed utilizing the liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for 6 major mycotoxin groups: aflatoxins (Afla), type A trichothecenes (A-Trich), type B trichothecenes (B-Trich), fumonisins (FUM), zearalenone (ZEN), and ochratoxin A (OTA). The 2021 corn crop year data were compared with the prior harvest years using GLIMMIX procedure of SAS with harvest year as fixed effect and sample as the experimental unit. A limited number of samples is available thus far (n = 44) as harvest is still progressing, therefore the risk profile of this crop year is likely to change as the sample pool expands. To date, 100% of the samples evaluated contained at least one mycotoxin, compared with 87% that was observed in 2020. The FUM is the most prevalent mycotoxin group (80% positive in 2021 vs. 49% in 2020) with average contamination level 5,883 ppb, which is significantly (P < 0.05) greater than the 2019 and 2020 harvested corn (3,348 ppb and 2,783 ppb, respectively). Contamination levels in corn for Afla, A-Trich, B-Trich, ZEN, and OTA have remained consistent over the survey period. The percentage of B-Trich and ZEN contaminated samples are numerically decreased in 2021 compared with 2020 (B-Trich: 59% vs. 50%; ZEN: 20% vs. 11%), whereas Alfa contaminated corn has increased numerically (5% vs. 23%). The preliminary results of the 2021 corn crop survey indicate mycotoxin occurrence and contamination levels are similar or greater (FUM) to the prior crop year and will continue to challenge animal health and performance as these ingredients are fed out.

Decrease in Tuberculosis Cases during COVID-19 Pandemic as Reflected by Outpatient Pharmacy Data, United States, 2020.

We analyzed a pharmacy dataset to assess the 20% decline in tuberculosis (TB) cases reported to the US National Tuberculosis Surveillance System (NTSS) during the coronavirus disease pandemic in 2020 compared with the 2016–2019 average. We examined the correlation between TB medication dispensing data to TB case counts in NTSS and used a seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average model to predict expected 2020 counts. Trends in the TB medication data were correlated with trends in NTSS data during 2006–2019. There were fewer prescriptions and cases in 2020 than would be expected on the basis of previous trends. This decrease was particularly large during April–May 2020. These data are consistent with NTSS data, suggesting that underreporting is not occurring but not ruling out underdiagnosis or actual decline. Understanding the mechanisms behind the 2020 decline in reported TB cases will help TB programs better prepare for postpandemic cases.

COVID-19 and the Otolaryngology Match: An Increase in Applicants Remaining Close to Home.

Introduction: Otolaryngology residency remains one of the most competitive surgical subspecialties to apply for with a 63% match rate in 2021. This is a difficult and stressful process for applicants in any given year, and it was even further complicated by restrictions mandated by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) protections. Analyzing geographical trends in successfully matched applicants provides prospective applicants and programs with helpful information about how previous trends were affected by the pandemic as we look toward future match cycles.Methods: The medical schools of 1,587 successfully matched applicants from 2017-2021 were identified and compared to the 116 otolaryngology residency programs. Successful applicants’ medical school state and region were then compared to the location of their matched residency program state and region. From this, we evaluated the number of applicants matching at the residency program affiliated with their medical school or at a residency program within the same state or region as their home medical school.Results: A significant increase in the percentage of applicants matching at their home program and within their home state (p < 0.001) occurred in 2021 when compared to previous years. Applicants matching within their home region was not found to increase significantly (p = 0.43) in 2021 compared to previously. The regions with the greatest increase in the percentage of applicants matching to their home programs were the Northeast and Midwest (12% increase), while the Midwest had the largest increase in percentage of applicants matching within their home state (15%).Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected the otolaryngology match in 2021 with applicants and programs alike choosing to stay closer to home with their residency match selections. Overall, regional location remains a major determinant of future residency location for otolaryngology applicants, and this did not change significantly during 2021, but applicants matched more frequently at their home medical school program. It is anticipated that the match process will be similar in 2022 given the ongoing pandemic, so the importance of home program and region will likely be emphasized again.

Fluvial and coastal landform changes in the Aceh River delta (northern Sumatra) during the century leading to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami

AbstractRiver deltas are strongly affected by demographic growth and by the intensification of land use. The migration of deltaic coastlines is often rapid, threatening urban settlements, coastal farming, and coastal biotopes. Some deltas benefit from centuries of monitoring, such that the evolution of their coastline is well documented. For most deltas, however, such long records do not exist. The study of their geomorphological evolution can benefit from overlapping maps drafted over time, combined with aerial photographs and satellite images, to track the evolution of fluvial and coastal landforms. Both fluvial and coastal landforms are sensitive to variations in water and sediment supply, such that covariations in the evolution of these landforms, or the lack thereof, provide clues on the contribution of water and sediment supply to delta evolution. We document the evolution of river channels and coastlines in the delta of the Aceh River in northwest Sumatra, by overlying maps, ortho‐rectified aerial photographs, and satellite images covering the past 130 years. We assess the accuracy of the overlays, and then use multivariate statistics to analyze the co‐evolution of fluvial and coastal landforms. We propose that a progressive decrease in sediment supply spurred river channel lengthening and narrowing, landward migration of the shoreline, and narrowing of beach ridges. The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami generated an instantaneous retreat of the coastline that amounts to ∼53% of the coastal retreat from 1884 to 2019 ce. Post‐tsunami evolution is marked by an irreversible acceleration of previous trends. Beach ridges located up‐drift of rivers and tidal channel mouths are more sensitive to long‐term landward retreat and tsunamigenic erosion.

HUBUNGAN KONSELING BERLANDASKAN “PEUMULIA JAMEE” (KEARIFAN LOKAL ACEH)

“Peumulia Jamee” is one of an important elements in the foundation of the counseling relationship in Aceh. This article contains about the study of "Peumulia Jamee" in the context of Guidance and Counseling in the scope of education. As for this article aims to describe "Peumulia Jamee" about philosophical review and previous research trends comprehensively. The research method used is a qualitative research with a literature study research design. There is an integrated counseling relationship in "Peumulia Jamee" which can be used as the basis for Local Wisdom counseling. The results of this study are expected to contribute theoretically and practically in developing the expansion of the repertoire of scientific studies of guidance and counseling for Guidance and Counseling Teachers in Aceh

A Bid/Mark-Up Decision Support Model in Contractor’s Tender Strategy Development Phase Based on Project Complexity Measurement in the Downstream Sector of Petroleum Industry

The tender process is an inseparable step of the contract award process in the public sector, and from the other point of view, it is one of the crucial elements of the core business of construction contractors. Reviewing previous research reveals a gap in the application of a project’s detailed features and historical data to support the bid/no-bid decision and to determine the cost and time contract mark-ups. In this study, a prescriptive project complexity-based model is proposed to support the bid decision in the tender strategy development phase of a contractor for the downstream sector of the petroleum industry in Iran. For this purpose, regression analysis of historical data is adopted to configure the model and to infer from previous actual trends by exploring relationships between the contractor’s bid decision and proposed mark-ups with the project’s inherent and surrounding complexity factors. Hence, using experts’ opinions and historical data from 139 previous contracts as training and test data, a model was developed to make a decision on a bid and mark-up problem. The results of the model validation show that the credibility of the model is 74.67% and 75.36% for time and cost, respectively, and the reliability of model outputs is approximately 90% overall in predicting the bid mark-ups in accordance with the project complexity index (PCI). The main contribution of this research to current knowledge has two aspects: utilizing the complexity concept for the tender problem in the form of a project complexity index (PCI) and considering both time and cost mark-ups (TMU–CMU) in the contractor’s bid simultaneously. In addition, the results show that the more complex the project is, the higher the bid rate is.

Aperture-corrected spectroscopic type Ia supernova host galaxy properties

We use type Ia supernova (SN Ia) data obtained by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II Supernova Survey (SDSS-II SNS) in combination with the publicly available SDSS DR16 fiber spectroscopy of supernova (SN) host galaxies to correlate SN Ia light-curve parameters and Hubble residuals with several host galaxy properties. Fixed-aperture fiber spectroscopy suffers from aperture effects: the fraction of the galaxy covered by the fiber varies depending on its projected size on the sky, and thus measured properties are not representative of the whole galaxy. The advent of integral field spectroscopy has provided a way to correct the missing light, by studying how these galaxy parameters change with the aperture size. Here we study how the standard SN host galaxy relations change once global host galaxy parameters are corrected for aperture effects. We recover previous trends on SN Hubble residuals with host galaxy properties, but we find that discarding objects with poor fiber coverage instead of correcting for aperture loss introduces biases into the sample that affect SN host galaxy relations. The net effect of applying the commonly used g-band fraction criterion is that intrinsically faint SNe Ia in high-mass galaxies are discarded, thus artificially increasing the height of the mass step by 0.02 mag and its significance. Current and next-generation fixed-aperture fiber-spectroscopy surveys, such as OzDES, DESI, or TiDES with 4MOST, that aim to study SN and galaxy correlations must consider, and correct for, these effects.

빅데이터를 활용한 태권도학 연구동향 분석 : 2010년~2020년까지의 학술지를 중심으로

In this study, the necessity and purpose of the study is to conduct big data analysis on 11 years of Taekwondo research papers from 2010 to 2020 and to understand the flow of Taekwondo research through comparison with other previous research trends. In order to achieve the purpose of the study, data were collected from papers published on the site or candidate site from 2010 to 2020 by limiting the keyword to Taekwondo using Riss, and CONCOR analysis was conducted using text mining and Ucinet6, and the following results were compared and analyzed from 1974. First, the highest frequency in frequency analysis was Taekwondo, influence, relationship, Taekwondo player, Taekwondo leader, university Taekwondo player, influence, relationship, analysis, exploration, structural relationship, and self-management. As a result of semantic network analysis, clusters of psychology, research, analysis, game psychology, Taekwondo school, trainees, training, and others were named.

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles: Synthesis, functionalization, drug loading and release - A review

&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; A brief survey on the synthesis of several types of mesoporous silica nanoparticles and their uses as drug delivery nanocarriers is presented in this study. Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) have a small pore size, resulting in a large surface area and porosity. These characteristics are easily adjustable, conferring on MSNs advantages over other nanoparticles for use in medicine and pharmacy. Previous and latest trends in the technology of this type of nanoparticles, and the possibilities for their application in drug loading are considered, as well as methods for increasing drug loading capacity, functionalization and release of bioactive substances. It has been found that the method used for the synthesis of some types of MSNs results in better drug loading. The functionalization of nanoparticles not only allows for more successful loading of bioactive substances in its pores, it also successfully controls drug release. Moreover, these versatile nanoparticles enhance the solubility of poorly-soluble drugs, thereby overcoming one of the biggest problems in the absorption of these drugs.&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D;

Análisis de la realización de espectáculos televisivos en directo: Italia en Eurovisión 2021

This paper aims to study the production of live television at the Eurovision Song Contest, a contest characterized by the use of avant-garde and experimental technologies and staging. The filming and production of the winning performance in 2021, «Zitti e buoni», by the Italian group Måneskin, is selected as a case study, as it breaks with previous trends. The main objectives of this research are to analyze the selected performance from a discursive and formal perspective and to identify the visual references on which the production is based. We apply a formal audiovisual analysis while considering intertextual practices and the intention to appropriate pop culture references. The formal audiovisual analysis highlights the respect for a functional and classic audiovisual grammar that tries to make itself invisible to highlight the members of the band with their charisma. Faced with previous practices trying to break spatial and temporal continuity, the performance claims a classical audiovisual grammar and an apparently simple staging based on nostalgia.

Interpersonal Competences and Attitude to Online Collaborative Learning (OCL) among Future Pedagogues and Educators—A Polish and Portuguese Perspective

Interpersonal competences in relationship building, collaboration and teamwork are essential both in F2F education and in distance or hybrid styles of education. In the face of the COVID-19 crisis, as well as previous trends, some or all of the higher education didactics were transferred to the online environment. In this context, the Online Collaborative Learning (OCL) model, now known as collaborativism, is gaining importance. This research aims to diagnose and compare the level of interpersonal competences and attitude in the OCL model among students preparing for the profession of an educator, pedagogue or teacher in the autonomous region of Madeira and in Poland. Quantitative studies were conducted using the Interpersonal Competence Questionnaire by D. Buhrmester, W. Furman, M.T. Wittenberg and H.T. Reis—as adapted by Poland and Portugal. In addition, the respondents expressed their views on OCL in the self-written questionnaire. According to the research findings, the highest level of competence in the Portuguese group was achieved by the respondents in terms of: Emotional Support (EW), Conflict Management and Resolution (RK) and Negative Assertion—Asserting Influence (AO). In the Polish group, EW was the lowest. The highest level of interpersonal competences was observed for Conflict Management and Resolution (RK), Disclosure (US) and Initiation (IR). The largest group of the surveyed students in both countries expressed a positive attitude towards implementing OCL in their courses of study and declared their willingness to be a member of a group that learns online together.

The Young were not Spared: What Death Certificates Reveal about Non-Covid Excess Deaths.

From April 2020 through at least the end of 2021, Americans died from non-Covid causes at an average annual rate of 97 000 in excess of previous trends. Hypertension and heart disease deaths combined were elevated 32 000. Diabetes or obesity, drug-induced causes, and alcohol-induced causes were each elevated 12 000 to 15 000 above previous (upward) trends. Drug deaths especially followed an alarming trend, only to significantly exceed it during the pandemic to reach 108 000 for calendar year 2021. Homicide and motor-vehicle fatalities combined were elevated almost 10 000. Various other causes combined to add 18 000. While Covid deaths overwhelmingly afflict senior citizens, absolute numbers of non-Covid excess deaths are similar for each of the 18 to 44, 45 to 64, and over-65 age groups, with essentially no aggregate excess deaths of children. Mortality from all causes during the pandemic was elevated 26% for working-age adults (18-64), as compared to 18% for the elderly. Other data on drug addictions, non-fatal shootings, weight gain, and cancer screenings point to a historic, yet largely unacknowledged, health emergency.

Bangla Natural Language Processing: A Comprehensive Analysis of Classical, Machine Learning, and Deep Learning-Based Methods

The Bangla language is the seventh most spoken language, with 265 million native and non-native speakers worldwide. However, English is the predominant language for online resources and technical knowledge, journals, and documentation. Consequently, many Bangla-speaking people, who have limited command of English, face hurdles to utilize English resources. To bridge the gap between limited support and increasing demand, researchers conducted many experiments and developed valuable tools and techniques to create and process Bangla language materials. Many efforts are also ongoing to make it easy to use the Bangla language in the online and technical domains. There are some review papers to understand the past, previous, and future Bangla Natural Language Processing (BNLP) trends. The studies are mainly concentrated on the specific domains of BNLP, such as sentiment analysis, speech recognition, optical character recognition, and text summarization. There is an apparent scarcity of resources that contain a comprehensive review of the recent BNLP tools and methods. Therefore, in this paper, we present a thorough analysis of 75 BNLP research papers and categorize them into 11 categories, namely Information Extraction, Machine Translation, Named Entity Recognition, Parsing, Parts of Speech Tagging, Question Answering System, Sentiment Analysis, Spam and Fake Detection, Text Summarization, Word Sense Disambiguation, and Speech Processing and Recognition. We study articles published between 1999 to 2021, and 50% of the papers were published after 2015. Furthermore, we discuss Classical, Machine Learning and Deep Learning approaches with different datasets while addressing the limitations and current and future trends of the BNLP.