THE IMPACT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON EDUCATION IN THE ASPECT OF INCREASING INEQUALITY (AS EXAMPLE OF SCHOOL EDUCATION)

Social, political, and economical problems manifested during the pandemic are not so much a result of quarantine measures, but of the vulnerability of modern social institutions. A definite indicator of this vulnerability as well as the inadequacy of the mechanisms of (repeated) social production is the deepening of social inequality. In our opinion, the indicative statement of an international public figure and writer A. Roy who noticed that the Covid-19 «appears to be using x-rays to display the deep lines of discord on the social body» [1, р. 10] is a good description. Let us pay detailed attention to the consideration of these «lines of discord» which symbolize educational inequality.

Population Coverage to Reach Universal Health Coverage in Selected Nations: A Synthesis of Global Strategies

Background: This study aimed to provide tailored transferrable lessons for expanding population coverage through a descriptive lens by reviewing the population coverage policies, reforms and strategies in selected nations. Methods: In this comparative short communication, 14 countries with different status of population coverage and political economy that had successful experiences with coverage expansion were selected and categorized in four groups to study their approaches to reach Universal Health Coverage (UHC). Results: Although each country needs to tailor its policies and reforms based on its own contextual factors, the legal right of citizens to social security and health protection are enshrined in most countries' Constitution. Some countries adapted political and economic reforms to evolve their Social Health Insurance schemes. National laws to push governments to adapt UHC as a national strategy for ensuring that every resident is enrolled in health insurance schemes are key policies to reach UHC. Conclusion: A series of reforms are required to provide total population coverage through various approaches. To create an effective insurance coverage, physical merger of all insurance funds is not necessarily required. Further, the share of GDP for health is not a definite indicator to reach UHC. Finally, strong political commitment and citizens’ participation are the key issues in reaching UHC, while considering the poorest, remote and neglected population really matters.

Seismic and geologic controls on spatial clustering of landslides in three large earthquakes

The large, shallow earthquakes at Northridge, California (1994), Chi-Chi, Taiwan (1999), and Wenchuan, China (2008), each triggered thousands of landslides. We have determined the position of these landslides along hillslopes, normalizing for statistical bias. The landslide patterns have a co-seismic signature, with clustering at ridge crests and slope toes. A cross-check against rainfall-induced landslide inventories seems to confirm that crest clustering is specific to seismic triggering as observed in previous studies. In our three study areas, the seismic ground motion parameters and lithologic and topographic features used do not seem to exert a primary control on the observed patterns of landslide clustering. However, we show that at the scale of the epicentral area, crest and toe clustering occur in areas with specific geological features. Toe clustering of seismically induced landslides tends to occur along regional major faults. Crest clustering is concentrated at sites where the lithology along hillslopes is approximately uniform, or made of alternating soft and hard strata, and without strong overprint of geological structures. Although earthquake-induced landslides locate higher on hillslopes in a statistically significant way, geological features strongly modulate the landslide position along the hillslopes. As a result the observation of landslide clustering on topographic ridges cannot be used as a definite indicator of the topographic amplification of ground shaking.

COOPERATION WITH THE IMF: THE IMPACT ON THE ECONOMIC GROWTH OF THE COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD AND UKRAINE

The global economic system requires greater coordination and coherence in order not to provoke international financial and economic crises. Therefore, to minimize financial and economic crises, such a powerful center as the IMF functions. In general, the IMF is based on the neoliberal North Atlantic market values; it creates the conditions for cooperation between stakeholders and protects its legitimacy in the long term, increasing its effectiveness. Not all countries can cooperate productively with the IMF; there is sometimes a decline in the rate of economic growth and the intensification of crisis phenomena in their economies (Somalia – 1981; Kenya – 1990s; Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand – 1997 Argentina – 2001, and others). However, there are positive examples of world-wide cooperation with the IMF: Peru – 1956, Mexico – 1956, 1982 and 1994, Portugal – 2011–2014, Cambodia – 1992, Brazil – 2015–2016, Poland – 2009–2011, Greece and Cyprus – 2009–2010, etc. Cooperation with the IMF is always a definite indicator of the reforms and confidence of Western investors in countries with which the IMF cooperates. Cooperation with the IMF is always a definite indicator of reforms and confidence of Western investors in countries with which the IMF cooperates: if such values prevail in the country, and government institutions are formed fully and impartially (market environment, rule of law, antitrust constraints, infrastructure availability, etc.), then there is the possibility of mutually beneficial cooperation. Without this, cooperation will be ineffective and will not always lead to economic growth. Cooperation with the IMF for Ukraine as of 2015–2020 is important, given the need to ensure financial and economic stability. Such cooperation makes it possible to reduce the interest on servicing and the frequency of entering the international commercial loan markets. However, if cooperation with the IMF is not continued, then the risks of increasing debt burden on the budget, the destabilization of exchange rate policy and, as a consequence, crisis phenomena in Ukraine’s economy will increase. This leads to the intensification of systemic changes and reforms that will allow Ukraine to achieve successful results in cooperation with the IMF.

INVESTIGATION OF HEAVY METAL CONTAMINATION IN THE ROADSIDE SOIL AT MORENA DISTRICT IN INDIA

Pollution of natural environment due to release of heavy metals from various sources is a widespread problem throughout the world. This study explains the effect of heavy metal contaminants in Roadside soil of Morena district. Twelve air dried surface soil samples were collected from 50cm – 1m (point A) and twelve from 30m (point B) away from the roadside along a road with a distance of 50 km. Heavy metals were found in both points with highest concentration at 50cm – 1m (point A). Roadside soil is a definite indicator of vehicular pollution from where the high degree of contamination, is expected. The presence of heavy metals like Cu, Cr, Fe, Pb, Zn and Mn in the roadside soil was also considerable.

To analyze and use the parameters in post-operative unstable intertrochanteric fractures treated using dynamic hip screw fixation as guidelines for re-operation

<p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> <span lang="EN-IN">The treatment of unstable intertrochanteric fractures is challenging due to the difficulty in obtaining anatomical reduction. The purpose of this study was to analyse and use the parameters (lateral femoral wall integrity and tip-apex distance) in post-operative unstable intertrochanteric fractures treated using dynamic hip screw (DHS) fixation as guidelines for re-operation.</span></p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> This was a prospective study and included 40 patients with unstable intertrochanteric fractures treated using DHS fixation from December 2014 to September 2016. The AO/OTA classification was used to classify each of the patients and their lateral femoral wall integrity and tip-apex distance was assessed in the post-operative radiographs.<strong></strong></p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results:</strong> In this study, 3 patients out of 40 (7.5%) had screw pull out within 5 months of surgery. 2 pull outs occurred when the screw was in the antero-superior zone and 1 when it was in the centre to centre zone. Thus, the rate of screw pull out was higher in the antero-superior zone. The 3 patients with screw pull out had a mean tip-apex distance (TAD) of 36.01 mm as compared to 32.96 mm of those who did not have screw pull out. We further found that pre-operatively 6 patients out of 40 (15%) had lost lateral femoral wall integrity whereas post-operatively 26 patients out of 40 (65%) had lost it. In summary, there is a 5 times higher risk of losing lateral femoral wall integrity if DHS is the implant of choice<span lang="EN-IN">. </span></p><p class="abstract"><strong>Conclusions:</strong> On conclusion, unacceptable TAD limit with loss of lateral femoral wall integrity was found to be a definite indicator of DHS implant pull out. And also found that by using the DHS as an implant of choice, there is a 5 times higher risk of losing lateral femoral wall integrity intra-operatively and that its use for the treatment of unstable intertrochanteric fractures must be guarded<span lang="EN-IN">.</span></p>

Vallecular cyst: report of four cases - one with co-existing laryngomalacia

Congenital vallecular cysts are rare. In this report, four infants having vallecular cysts encountered over a six-year period from 1992 to 1997 were reviewed. All of them presented with upper aerodigestive tract symptoms. Marsupialization was performed in three of them and CO2 laser excision was performed in the fourth patient. There was no recurrence of the cyst in any patient. One of them also had co-existing laryngomalacia. The degree of airway collapse caused by laryngomalacia improved after cyst removal. The laryngomalacia resolved spontaneously. Cyst fluid culture was performed in one of the patients and yielded Staphylococcus aureus but there was no other definite indicator of infection. Staphylococcus aureus could also be isolated in the respiratory tract from two of the other patients.

Temporal variation of seismicity and spectrum of small earthquakes preceding the 1952 Kern County, California, earthquake

abstract The spatio-temporal variation of seismicity in the epicentral area of the 1952 Kern County California, earthquake (Ms = 7.7, 34°58.6′N; 119°02′W) was examined for the period prior to the main shock. Most of the events that occurred in the epicentral area were relocated by using the main shock as a master event. A large part of the fault plane of the Kern County earthquake had been seismically quiet for nearly 15 yr before the main shock. However, the activity in the immediate vicinity of the epicenter had been very high during the same period. The temporal variation of the activity in the vicinity of the epicentral area exhibits a pattern very similar to that found for the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. During the 112 yr period immediately before the main shock, tight clustering of activity around the main-shock epicenter occurred. This clustering may be considered to be foreshock activity. This period of increased activity was preceded by a quiet period for 2 yr from 1949 to 1950; no event was located on the fault plane of the Kern County earthquake during this period. This pattern, quiescence followed by clustering, seems to have repeated several times prior to 1949. Thus, this pattern alone cannot be used as a definite indicator of a large earthquake, but in terms of a fault model with asperities, it can be a manifestation of progressive stress concentration toward the eventual hypocenter. Spectral analyses of the Pasadena Wood-Anderson seismograms of the events that occurred near the epicentral area showed that the frequency of the spectral peak is systematically higher for the foreshocks than the events prior to 1949. A similar trend was found for the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. These results are consistent with the model of stress concentration around the eventual hypocenter.