bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Effect of ZnO, MgO, TiO2, and Na2O Modifiers on the Physical, Optical, and Radiation Shielding Properties of a TeTaNb Glass System
Authors: Hussein Khalid I. , Alqahtani Mohammed S. , Alzahrani Khloud J. , Alqahtani Fawaz F. , Zahran Heba Y. , Alshehri Ali M. , Yahia Ibrahim. S. , Reben Manuela. , Yousef El Sayed
Published: March 2022

Novel glass samples with the composition 75TeO2–5Ta2O5–15Nb2O5–5x (where x = ZnO, MgO, TiO2, or Na2O) in mole percent were prepared. The physical, optical, and gamma radiation shielding properties of the glass samples were studied over a wide energy spectrum ranging between 0.015 and 20 MeV. The glasses’ UV–vis spectra were utilized to evaluate the optical energy gap and refractive index. Glass samples had a refractive index ranging from 2.2005 to 2.0967. The results showed that the sample doped with zinc oxide (ZnO) recorded the highest density (ρglass), molar polarizability (αm), molar refraction (Rm), refractive index (n), and third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility (χ3) and the lowest optical energy gap (Eopt) among the samples under investigation. When comparing the current glass system with various standard glass shielding materials, the prepared glass system showed superior shielding performance at energies ranging between 40 and 85 keV. These findings indicate that the prepared glass systems can be used in diagnostic X-rays, especially in dental applications.
Reasoning, Representing, and Generalizing in Geometric Proof Problems among 8th Grade Talented Students
Authors: Ramírez-Uclés Rafael , Ruiz-Hidalgo Juan F.
Published: March 2022

Proof, a key topic in advanced mathematics, also forms an essential part of the formal learning experience at all levels of education. The reason is that the argumentation involved calls for pondering ideas in depth, organizing knowledge, and comparing different points of view. Geometry, characterized by the interaction between the visual appearance of geometric elements and the conceptual understanding of their meaning required to generate precise explanations, is one of the foremost areas for research on proof and argumentation. In this qualitative analysis of the arguments formulated by participants in an extracurricular mathematics stimulus program, we categorized students’ replies on the grounds of reasoning styles, representations used, and levels of generality. The problems were proposed in a lesson on a quotient set based on the similarity among triangles created with Geogebra and the responses were gathered through a Google form. By means a content analysis, the results inform about the reasoning style, the scope of the argumentation, and the representation used. The findings show that neither reasoning styles nor the representations used conditioned the level of generality, although higher levels of argumentation were favored by harmonic and analytical reasoning and the use of algebraic representations.
Effect of Minimally Invasive Spine Stabilization in Metastatic Spinal Tumors
Authors: Nakanishi Kazuo , Uchino Kazuya , Watanabe Seiya , Misaki Kosuke , Iba Hideaki
Published: March 2022

Background and Objectives: There have been numerous advances in spine surgery for metastatic spinal tumors, and minimally invasive spine stabilization (MISt) is becoming increasingly popular in Japan. MISt is a minimally invasive fixation procedure that temporarily stabilizes the spine, thereby reducing pain, preventing pathological fractures, and improving activities of daily living at an early stage. MISt may be useful given the recent shift toward outpatient cancer treatment. Materials and Methods: This study enrolled 51 patients with metastatic spinal tumors who underwent surgery using MISt between December 2013 and October 2020. The Spinal Instability Neoplastic Score, an assessment of spinal instability, was used to determine the indication for surgery, and the Epidural Spinal Cord Compression scale was used for additional decompression. Results: The patients comprised 34 men and 17 women, and the mean age at surgery was 68.9 years. The mean postoperative follow-up period was 20.8 months, and 35 of 51 patients (67%) had died by the last survey. The mean operative time was 159.8 min, mean blood loss was 115.7 mL, and mean time to ambulation was 3.2 days. No perioperative complications were observed, although two patients required refixation surgery. Preoperatively, 37 patients (72.5%) were classified as Frankel grade E. There were no cases of postoperative exacerbation, and six patients showed improvement of one or more Frankel grades after surgery. The median duration of patient survival was about 22.0 months. Patients with breast, prostate, renal, and thyroid cancers had a good prognosis, whereas those with gastrointestinal and head and neck cancers had a poor prognosis. Conclusions: MISt can benefit patients who are ineligible for conventional, highly invasive surgery and is also suitable because cancer treatment is increasingly performed on an outpatient basis. Furthermore, choosing the right surgery for the right patient at the right time can significantly affect life expectancy.
Weight-Biased Language across 30 Years of Australian News Reporting on Obesity: Associations with Public Health Policy
Authors: Grant Sharon , Soltani Panah Arezou , McCosker Anthony
Published: March 2022

(1) Background: This study tracked the reporting of obesity in the Australian news media over three decades and how changing representations over time were linked to obesity-related public health policy developments. (2) Methods: Machine learning and computational language analysis techniques (word embedding, dichotomous bias mapping) were used to identify language biases associated with obesity in 157,237 relevant articles drawn from the Australian Dow Jones digital database of print news media articles from 1990 to 2019. (3) Results: Obesity-related terms were stigmatised on four key dimensions (gender, health, socioeconomic status, stereotypes), with language biased towards femininity and lower socioeconomic status in particular. Biases remained relatively steady from 2005 to 2019, despite recent policy initiatives directly seeking to address obesity stigma. To some degree, for each of the four dimensions, cosine values moved toward 0 over time (i.e., no association with one dimension poll or the other), but remained around 0.20. There was a strong relationship between news media and public health policy discourse over the 30-year study period. (4) Conclusions: With increasing recognition of the health consequences of weight stigma, policymakers and the media must work together to ensure public weight management narratives avoid discourse that may stigmatise heavier individuals, particularly women, and/or reinforce negative obesity stereotypes.
The Complex Metabolomics Crosstalk Triggered by Four Molecular Elicitors in Tomato
Authors: Iula Giusy , Miras-Moreno Begoña , Rouphael Youssef , Lucini Luigi , Trevisan Marco
Published: March 2022

The elicitation of plant secondary metabolism may offer interesting opportunities in the framework of sustainable approaches in plant science and in terms of their ability to prime resistance to biotic and abiotic stressors. The broad metabolic reprogramming triggered by different molecular elicitors, namely salicylate (SA), polyamines (PAs), and chitosan, was comprehensively investigated using a metabolomics approach and the tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) as the model crop. Six different treatments were compared: a negative control (no treatments), a second negative control treated with 1 M acetic acid (the reference for chitosan, since chitosan was solubilized in acetic acid), and four molecular elicitors, 1 mM 2,1,3-benzothiadiazole (BTH, a positive control), 10 mg/mL chitosan, 0.01 mM SA, and a 0.1 mM PA (putrescine, spermidine, and spermine). All treatments determined a slight increase in biomass, in particular following PA treatment. A broad reprogramming of secondary metabolism could be observed, including membrane lipid remodeling, phenylpropanoid antioxidants, and phytohormone crosstalk. Overall, our results suggest that PAs, SA, and BTH shared a systemic acquired resistance (SAR)-related response, whereas chitosan induced a more distinct induced systemic resistance (ISR)-like jasmonate-related response. These results pave the way towards the possible use of elicitors as a sustainable tool in plant science and agriculture by increasing crop resilience to biotic and abiotic stressors without detrimental effects on plant biomass.
A Longitudinal Study of Bacteriophages as Indicators of Norovirus Contamination of Mussels (Mytilus edulis) and Their Overlying Waters
Authors: da Silva Diogo Trajano Gomes , Ebdon James , Dancer Daniel , Baker-Austin Craig , Taylor Huw
Published: March 2022

Sewage pollution leads to the contamination of bivalve shellfish by pathogenic microorganisms. Bacterial indicators support the management of risks associated with the consumption of shellfish; however, they often fail to indicate adequately the potential hazard to human health posed by certain human enteric viruses. Bacteriophages have been proposed as alternative indicators that may more effectively predict the presence of enteric viral pathogens. This study explored the relationships between bacterial indicators (Escherichia coli (E. coli), faecal coliforms (FC) and intestinal enterococci (IE)), phages (somatic (SOMPH), F-specific RNA (F + PH) and human-specific Bacteroides GB-124 phages (GB124PH)) and Norovirus (NoV) (GI/GII) in mussels (Mytilus edulis) and their overlying waters. The bioaccumulation of these indicators and Norovirus in shellfish matrices (e.g., flesh, digestive gland) was investigated bimonthly over a 12-month period in an English estuary. The findings revealed a marked seasonality in the distribution of all organisms, with the highest levels occurring during the autumn/winter months. The levels of all phages in shellfish and their overlying waters correlated better with the levels of Norovirus than with those of bacterial indicators. Somatic coliphages were the indicator that exhibited the strongest correlations with NoV (rho = 0.929). This study suggests that relatively low-cost culture-based phage enumeration appears to offer a more accurate indication of the likely presence of Norovirus in mussels than traditional bacterial indicators.
The Structural Integrity and Fracture Behaviour of Teeth Restored with PEEK and Lithium-Disilicate Glass Ceramic Crowns
Authors: Aldhuwayhi Sami , Alauddin Muhammad Syafiq , Martin Nicolas
Published: March 2022

Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is a unique polymer material which has recently been introduced to dentistry. This study aimed to assess the structural integrity of PEEK as a posterior tooth crown and compared it with ceramic-based material. A total of 31 monolithic CAD-CAM PEEK (JuvoraTM, Strumann, Andover, MA, USA) crowns and 31 lithium disilicate (IPS e.max®CAD, Voclar Vivadent AG, Liechtenstein) crowns were created and cemented on dentin-like teeth (AlphaDie®MF, Schütz Dental GmbH, Rosbach, Germany) in a precise procedure mimicking the physical and mechanical properties of natural teeth and periodontal ligaments. A static compressive strength test using a universal testing machine and a dynamic fatigue test using a chewing simulator machine were used until crown failure to assess the fracture behaviour by mode of fracture (fractographic analysis) and 3D digital subtraction analysis. The results showed that PEEK has a greater fracture resistance than IPS e.max®CAD by 2060 N to 703 N. Additionally, in fatigue limit, IPS e.max®CAD showed a constant failure under 2.0 Kg (=320 N) before 5000 chewing cycles while PEEK survived at a significantly higher load > 11 Kg (930 N). Furthermore, PEEK showed a continued survival at >1,250,000 cycles while the mean fatigue life of IPS e.max®CAD was around 133,470 cycles. PEEK illustrated a significantly less catastrophic failure mode with some plastic deformation at the fractographic stereomicroscope and in the 3D digital subtraction analysis. Using PEEK for crowns looks very promising, however, further clinical studies are required to assure this study’s results.
Methods of Sandy Land Detection in a Sparse-Vegetation Scene Based on the Fusion of HJ-2A Hyperspectral and GF-3 SAR Data
Authors: Li Yi , Wu Junjun , Zhong Bo , Shi Xiaoliang , Xu Kunpeng , Ao Kai , Sun Bin , Ding Xiangyuan , Wang Xinshuang , Liu Qinhuo , Yang Aixia , Chen Fei , Shi Mengqi
Published: March 2022

Accurate identification of sandy land plays an important role in sandy land prevention and control. It is difficult to identify the nature of sandy land due to vegetation covering the soil in the sandy area. Therefore, HJ-2A hyperspectral data and GF-3 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data were used as the main data sources in this article. The advantages of the spectral characteristics of a hyperspectral image and the penetration characteristics of SAR data were used synthetically to carry out mixed-pixel decomposition in the “horizontal” direction and polarization decomposition in the “vertical” direction. The results showed that in the study area of the Otingdag Sandy Land, in China, the accuracy of sandy land detection based on feature-level fusion and single GF-3 data was verified to be 92% in both cases by field data; the accuracy of sandy land detection based on feature-level fusion was verified to be 88.74% by the data collected from Google high-resolution imagery, which was higher than that based on single HJ-2A (74.17%) and single GF-3 data (88.08%). To further verify the universality of the feature-level fusion method for sandy land detection, Alxa sandy land was also used as a verification area and the accuracy of sandy land detection was verified to be as high as 88.74%. The method proposed in this paper made full use of the horizontal and vertical structural information of remote sensing data. The problem of mixed pixels in sparse-vegetation scenes in the horizontal direction and the problem of vegetation covering sandy soil in the vertical direction were both well solved. Accurate identification of sandy land can be realized effectively, which can provide technical support for sandy land prevention and control.
Overview of the Special Issue on Applications of Remote Sensing Imagery for Urban Areas
Authors: Li Xinghua , Yu Yongtao , Guan Xiaobin , Feng Ruitao
Published: March 2022

Urban areas are the center of human settlement with intensive anthropic activities and dense built-up infrastructures, suffering significant evolution in population shift, land-use change, industrial production, and so on [...]
Airborne HySpex Hyperspectral Versus Multitemporal Sentinel-2 Images for Mountain Plant Communities Mapping
Authors: Kluczek Marcin , Zagajewski Bogdan , Kycko Marlena
Published: March 2022

Climate change and anthropopression significantly impact plant communities by leading to the spread of expansive and alien invasive plants, thus reducing their biodiversity. Due to significant elevation gradients, high-mountain plant communities in a small area allow for the monitoring of the most important environmental changes. Additionally, being a tourist attraction, they are exposed to direct human influence (e.g., trampling). Airborne hyperspectral remote sensing is one of the best data sources for vegetation mapping, but flight campaign costs limit the repeatability of surveys. A possible alternative approach is to use satellite data from the Copernicus Earth observation program. In our study, we compared multitemporal Sentinel-2 data with HySpex airborne hyperspectral images to map the plant communities on Tatra Mountains based on open-source R programing implementation of Random Forest and Support Vector Machine classifiers. As high-mountain ecosystems are adapted to topographic conditions, the input of Digital Elevation Model (DEM) derivatives on the classification accuracy was analyzed and the effect of the number of training pixels was tested to procure practical information for field campaign planning. For 13 classes (from rock scree communities and alpine grasslands to montane conifer and deciduous forests), we achieved results in the range of 76–90% F1-score depending on the data set. Topographic features: digital terrain model (DTM), normalized digital surface model (nDSM), and aspect and slope maps improved the accuracy of HySpex spectral images, transforming their minimum noise fraction (MNF) bands and Sentinel-2 data sets by 5–15% of the F1-score. Maps obtained on the basis of HySpex imagery (2 m; 430 bands) had a high similarity to maps obtained on the basis of multitemporal Sentinel-2 data (10 m; 132 bands; 11 acquisition dates), which was less than one percentage point for classifications based on 500–1000 pixels; for sets consisting of 50–100 pixels, Random Forest (RF) offered better accuracy.
A Novel Intelligent IoT System for Improving the Safety and Planning of Air Cargo Operations
Authors: Spandonidis Christos , Sedikos Elias , Giannopoulos Fotis , Petsa Areti , Theodoropoulos Panayiotis , Chatzis Kostas , Galiatsatos Nektarios
Published: March 2022

Being the main pillar in the context of Industry 4.0, the Internet of Things (IoT) leads evolution towards a smarter and safer planet. Being human-centered, rather than machine-centered, as was the case of wireless sensor networks used in the industry for decades, the IoT may enhance human intelligence with situational awareness, early warning, and decision support tools. Focusing on air cargo transportation, the “INTELLICONT” project presented a novel solution capable of improving critical air cargo challenges such as the reduction of total aircraft weight, detection and suppression of smoke and/or fire in a container, elimination of permanent moving and locking hardware, loading and unloading logistics enhancement and maintenance. In the present work, the IoT-based monitoring and control system for intelligent aircraft cargo containers is presented from a hardware perspective. The system is based on low-cost, low-energy sensors that are integrated into the container, can track its status, and detect critical events, such as fire/smoke, impact, and accidental misuse. The focus has been given to the design and development of a system capable of providing better and safer control of the aircraft cargo during the loading/unloading operations and the flight. It is shown that the system could provide a breakthrough in the state of the art of current cargo container technology and aircraft cargo operations.
Overview of Standards Related to the Occupational Risk and Safety of Nanotechnologies
Authors: Ramos Delfina , Almeida Luis
Published: March 2022

Nanomaterials offer new technical and commercial opportunities but, due to their low particle size, raise occupational health and safety concerns and may also pose risks to the consumers and the environment. In the last 15 years, many standards have been developed in the area of nanotechnologies, taking into account, namely, occupational risk and safety. This paper presents an overview of the standards in this area, with special emphasis at the ISO level, but also at European level, where standards are considered as an important support for legislation. A brief presentation of five relevant ISO standards is included. Relevant European Standards are also mentioned. The control banding approach for occupational risk management applied to engineered nanomaterials, according to ISO/TS 12901-2:2014, is presented. Standards are essential for society and should, in fact, be considered an important tool for companies to support sustainable products and process innovation.
Decentralized Processing Performance of Fruit and Vegetable Waste Discarded from Retail, Using an Automated Thermophilic Composting Technology
Authors: Nenciu Florin , Stanciulescu Iustina , Vlad Horia , Gabur Andrei , Turcu Ovidiu Leonard , Apostol Tiberiu , Vladut Valentin Nicolae , Cocarta Diana Mariana , Stan Constantin
Published: March 2022

Food waste generation is increasing at an exponential rate, affecting the environment, food security, and causing major economic issues worldwide. The main aim of the current research is to investigate a novel composting technology that is still in its early stages of development. The proposed composting technology combining thermophilic composting with the use of advanced automated processing reactors. Starting from a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the waste generated at retail-stores, the most significant difficulties associated to waste management as well as the main characteristics of the discarded waste were identified. The findings allowed to design and evaluate the real operating performance of an automated thermophilic composting prototype (working in a decentralized regime), with the goal of delivering a faster processing system, improving operational efficiency, reducing expenses, and lowering environmental impacts. The proposed operating technique showed a high capacity for pathogens and seeds removal, the waste input mass reduction of 88%, and efficiency in food processing (2235 kg of fruits and vegetables in a 14-days timeframe).
Assessing the Effect of Irrigation with Reclaimed Water Using Different Irrigation Techniques on Tomatoes Quality Parameters
Authors: Hashem Mahmoud S. , Guo Wei , Qi Xuebin , Li Ping
Published: March 2022

As the most important resource for life, water has been a central issue in the international agenda for several decades. Yet, the world’s clean freshwater supply is steadily decreasing due to climate change and extensive agricultural water demand for irrigated lands. Therefore, in addition to rational water use, we should use non-traditional water resources like Reclaimed Wastewater (RW). The present experiment was carried out in China over three years (2017, 2018, and 2019) to study the effects of two types of water qualities (reclaimed wastewater (RW) and clean water (CW)), two types of irrigation methods (Full irrigation (FI) and alternate partial root-zone irrigation (APRI)), and two types of irrigation techniques (Furrow irrigation (FUI) and subsurface drip irrigation (SDI)) on the main tomato fruit quality parameters. The APRI treatments obtained 70% of the FI irrigation water volume. The irrigation treatments of this study were: (1) SDI with APRI; (2) SDI with FI; (3) FUI with APRI; and (4) FUI with FI. These treatments were under RW and CW. Thus, the experiment consisted of eight treatments. The tomato fruit quality parameters studied were vitamin C (VC), total acidity (TA), protein content (PC), and total soluble sugar content (TSS). The results reveal that many measurements under reclaimed water (RW) had the highest values compared with clean water (CW), except in protein content (PC). The vast majority of values measured for PC under CW were slightly greater than the values under RW. Moreover, the results reveal that tomato quality in many measurements under APRI treatments increased compared with FUI. The statistical analysis generally shows that the fruit quality parameters were not significantly (p > 0.05) affected by the interaction between the irrigation treatments. In conclusion, the treatment SDI-APRI under RW can be an efficient irrigation method to reduce the consumption of clean water. Additionally, SDI-APRI offers a safe option because the physical contact between the wastewater, crops, and the farmers is minimized compare with the FUI treatment.
Study on the Skid Resistance Deterioration Behavior of the SMA Pavement
Authors: Wei Jincheng , Zhang Zhengchao , He Yulin , Tan Qianwen , Yang Xiangpeng , Wang Dawei , Oeser Markus
Published: March 2022

The skid resistance of asphalt pavement is of great importance to the driving safety, but deterioration of pavement skid resistance is inevitable owing to the coupling effect of traffic loading and climate conditions. The existing prediction models of skid resistance were mainly established based on the laboratory accelerated polishing tests (for instance Polished Stone Value, PSV), and these models can only consider the influence of a single factor; they fail to reflect the coupling effect of different factors under the real service condition. For the purpose of investigating the influences of seasonal variation, and aggregate type on the skid resistance of asphalt pavement, the skid resistance of three test tracks were continuously measured for 48 months through five different test methods. The results show that different test methods exhibit significant inconsistency. The aggregate type is the internal factor that determines the long-term skid resistance performance of pavement. The skid resistances of the selected test tracks were ranked as greywacke pavement > diabase pavement > rhyolite pavement. This is in well agreement with the ranking of aggregate polishing resistance obtained from the laboratory Wehner/Schulze (W/S) test. This indicates that the W/S test is effective in distinguishing the aggregates that used in pavement construction. It is also found that the skid resistance of asphalt pavement shows significant fluctuation with respect to seasonal variation. The skid resistance is generally high in autumn and low in summer. Therefore, it is suggested to use the low measurement value of skid resistance in summer as the lower limit for the evaluation and prediction of the skid resistance performance of asphalt pavement.
Decreasing the Battery Recharge Time if Using a Fuzzy Based Power Management Loop for an Isolated Micro-Grid Farm
Authors: Kraiem Habib , Flah Aymen , Mohamed Naoui , Messaoud Mohamed H. B. , Al-Ammar Essam A. , Althobaiti Ahmed , Alotaibi Abdullah Alhumaidi , Jasiński Michał , Suresh Vishnu , Leonowicz Zbigniew , Jasińska Elżbieta
Published: March 2022

An isolated micro-grid has different requirements from the traditional power grids. Several energy sources may be linked for the purpose of sharing load demand without being linked to the grid. The isolated micro-grid is made up of at least one energy generator, an energy storage system, and a load portion. Because there are several energy sources and a range of models, the power flow must be managed to ensure the safety of all hardware. Monitoring the flow of power from multiple energy sources necessitates adherence to many parameters and other requirements. As a result, the goal of this work is to identify a worthwhile solution for providing the appropriate portions with the necessary power while also obtaining the necessary energy from other sources. The approach is based on the fuzzy logic controller, which is an intelligent technology. This regulator is used in an efficient process that tries to control all of the equipment in the isolated micro-grid under investigation. The MATLAB/Simulink platform is employed for simulating this proposed system, and then, the depicted results were discussed and compared. Showing the traditional relay control, the standard PI regulator, and a neural control combination process, the achieved results prove that it is possible to reduce the battery recharge time to half; if the proposed fuzzy controller is used. Then, the established controller specifications have been used for evaluating the energy performances of the hybrid energy system under a real case situation in a specific location in the world. Consequently, the obtained results prove that this proposal power management system will be largely beneficial for such energy storage applications and an energy yield can be assured during all climatic conditions and specifications.
Development of a Multicriteria Scheme for the Identification of Strategic Areas for SUDS Implementation: A Case Study from Gijón, Spain
Authors: Suárez-Inclán Antonio Menéndez , Allende-Prieto Cristina , Roces-García Jorge , Rodríguez-Sánchez Juan P. , Sañudo-Fontaneda Luis A. , Rey-Mahía Carlos , Álvarez-Rabanal Felipe P.
Published: March 2022

Spain has been pinpointed as one of the European countries at major risk of extreme urban events. Thus, Spanish cities pursue new urban plans to increase their resilience. In this scenario, experiences in the implementation of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) have increased substantially. Nevertheless, few cities have developed a global urban strategy for SUDS, lacking, in many cases, a method to identify strategic areas to maximize their synergetic benefits. Furthermore, there is still a need for a holistic Multicriteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) framework that considers the four pillars of SUDS design. The city of Gijón, NW Spain, has been selected as a case study due to its environmental and climatic stresses. This research presents the methodology developed for this city, which aims to analyze the need for SUDS implementation throughout the identification of strategic areas. With this aim, a combination of Geographic Information System (GIS) software and the MCDA Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) were proposed. The results show the potential for SUDS’ implementation, according to nine criteria related to the SUDS’ design pillars. We found that the areas where the implementation of SUDS would bring the greatest functional, environmental and social benefits are mainly located in consolidated urban areas.
How to Assess Sustainable Planning Processes of Buildings? A Maturity Assessment Model Approach for Designers
Authors: Scherz Marco , Zunk Bernd Markus , Steinmann Christian , Kreiner Helmuth
Published: March 2022

Over the past decades, it has become apparent that increasing demands in the construction industry have repeatedly led to project delays and increased project costs in practice. These demands have increased as a result of international and national action plans that have been developed to achieve the climate target paths and, therefore, the necessary reduction of CO2 emissions in the construction industry. We address this problem by developing a sustainable construction maturity model (SCOMM) to answer the following research question: “What is a holistic quality assurance tool for the early design phase of buildings to monitor (sustainable) planning practices in order to achieve better certification results?”. The model includes a self-assessment procedure for the building design process, based on Software Process Improvement and Capability dEtermination (SPiCE) and the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB) building certification system. The results show that systemic interactions between sustainability criteria can be identified in the early design phase, allowing the quality of planning practices to be evaluated and early project management to be implemented to achieve the best certification results. Our findings will enable clients and users of the construction industry to better manage the complexity of the sustainable design process and avoid undesirable developments in building projects.
A Search for Cosmic Ray Bursts at 0.1 PeV with a Small Air Shower Array
Authors: Clay Roger , Singh Jassimar , Homola Piotr , Bar Olaf , Beznosko Dmitry , Bhatt Apoorva , Bhatta Gopal , Bibrzycki Łukasz , Budnev Nikolay , Alvarez-Castillo David E. , Dhital Niraj , Duffy Alan R. , Frontczak Michał , Góra Dariusz , Gupta Alok C. , Łozowski Bartosz , Medvedev Mikhail V. , Mędrala Justyna , Miszczyk Justyna , Niedźwiecki Michał , Piekarczyk Marcin , Rzecki Krzysztof , Zamora-Saa Jilberto , Smelcerz Katarzyna , Smolek Karel , Sośnicki Tomasz , Stasielak Jaroslaw , Stuglik Sławomir , Sushchov Oleksandr , Tursunov Arman , Wibig Tadeusz
Published: March 2022

The Cosmic Ray Extremely Distributed Observatory (CREDO) pursues a global research strategy dedicated to the search for correlated cosmic rays, so-called Cosmic Ray Ensembles (CRE). Its general approach to CRE detection does not involve any a priori considerations, and its search strategy encompasses both spatial and temporal correlations, on different scales. Here we search for time clustering of the cosmic ray events collected with a small sea-level extensive air shower array at the University of Adelaide. The array consists of seven one-square-metre scintillators enclosing an area of 10 m × 19 m. It has a threshold energy ~0.1 PeV, and records cosmic ray showers at a rate of ~6 mHz. We have examined event arrival times over a period of over 2.5 years in two equipment configurations (without and with GPS timing), recording ~300 k events and ~100 k events. We determined the event time spacing distributions between individual events and the distributions of time periods which contained specific numbers of multiple events. We find that the overall time distributions are as expected for random events. The distribution which was chosen a priori for particular study was for time periods covering five events (four spacings). Overall, these distributions fit closely with expectation, but there are two outliers of short burst periods in data for each configuration. One of these outliers contains eight events within 48 s. The physical characteristics of the array will be discussed together with the analysis procedure, including a comparison between the observed time distributions and expectation based on randomly arriving events.
Coincidence Points for Mappings in Metric Spaces Satisfying Weak Commuting Conditions
Authors: Sessa Salvatore , Akkouchi Mohamed
Published: March 2022

In this note, we prove some results of elementary fixed point theory for mappings defined in metric spaces satisfying conditions of weak commutativity. Suitable examples are proven as well.
Ipsilateral Recurrence of DCIS in Relation to Radiomics Features on Contrast Enhanced Breast MRI
Authors: Park Ga Eun , Kim Sung Hun , Lee Eun Byul , Nam Yoonho , Sung Wonmo
Published: March 2022

The purpose of this retrospective study was to investigate the association between ipsilateral recurrence of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and radiomics features from DCIS and contralateral normal breast on contrast enhanced breast MR imaging. A total of 163 patients with DCIS who underwent preoperative MR imaging between January 2010 and December 2014 were included (training cohort; n = 117, validation cohort; n = 46). Radiomics features were extracted from whole tumor volume of DCIS on early dynamic T1-subtraction images and from the contralateral normal breast on precontrast T1 and early dynamic T1-subtraction images. After feature selection, a Rad-score was established by LASSO Cox regression model. Performance of Rad-score was evaluated by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and Kaplan Meier curve with log rank test. The Rad-score was significantly associated with ipsilateral recurrence free survival (RFS). The low-risk group with a low Rad-score showed higher ipsilateral RFS than the high-risk group with a high Rad-score in both training and validation cohorts (p < 0.01). The Rad-score based on radiomics features from DCIS and contralateral normal breast on breast MR imaging showed the potential for prediction of ipsilateral RFS of DCIS.
Assessment and Management of Pain in Patients Sustaining Burns at Emergency Department Kenyatta National Hospital, Kenya: A Descriptive Study
Authors: Kotecha Vihar R. , Opot Nyaim E. , Nangole Ferdinand
Published: March 2022

Background: Poorly managed burn pain affects the victim by delayed healing, psychological disturbances, and chronic pain. Burn injuries are the fourth leading cause of injuries worldwide. The incidence of thermal burns in Kenya is 3%. Pain assessment and control are integral parts of management that a burn victim should be offered. We lack data on pain management in burn patients during setup. Methods: A descriptive study was carried out at the emergency department (ED) of Kenyatta National Hospital. We enrolled patients who sustained thermal burns until a sample 138 patients was reached. Enrollment of patients was done from February to August 2015. The pain level was assessed using a visual analogue scale, and the Lund and Browder chart was used to record the depth and extent of the burn. Data on the type of analgesia prescribed and its route of administration was collected. Data was analyzed using STATA v.11. Results: The median age of the sample was 28 years with a male to female ratio 1.8:1. The majority of the victims (38%) sustained flame burns. The median total body surface area was 19.5%. Pain assessment was done in 2% with a visual analogue scale and face pain recognition scale. Mean Visual Analogue score was 7. Analgesia was offered to 96% of participants, and it was unimodal in the majority, 76.7%, and the preferred drug of choice was morphine. The majority of all burn patients had sustained moderate to major burns. The tools used to assess pain in this hospital were Face Pain Recognition Scale and Visual Analogue Scale; however, pain assessment was done on a meagre 2% of the sample. Conclusions: A minority of the patients had any sort of pain assessment done at the emergency department. As a result, burn pain was inappropriately managed. There is a need to improve the assessment of burn pain and improve its management by encouraging training of ED burn care providers by burn surgeons and pain therapists.
AI-system and multifactor correlation-regression model for forecasting RF GDP in the Colab and XL
Authors:   Volgograd State Technical University, Lomakin Nikolai Ivanovich , Peskova Olyga Sergeevna ,   Volgograd State Technical University, Mershieva Galina Aleksandrovna ,   Volgograd State Technical University, Zarudneva Anna Yuryevna ,   Volgograd State Technical University, Kosobokova Ekaterina Viacheslavovna ,   Volgograd Branch of Russian University of Economics name G. V. Plekhanov, Maksimova Olyga Nikolaevna ,   Volzhsky Polytechnic Institute (branch) of VolgGTU, Golodova Olyga Aleksandrovna ,   Volgograd State University, Tarasova Natalia Konstantinovna ,   Federal State Unitary Enterprise "Guard" of the National Guard of Russia in Moscow
Published: March 2022

The article discusses the theoretical foundations for forecasting the gross domestic product (GDP) and the sustainability of the development of the Russian economy. The forecast values of GDP were calculated by two methods: based on the use of the AI-system and a multivariate correlationregression model for the purpose of subsequent comparison. The novelty of the study lies in the fact that a comparative assessment of the accuracy of the generated forecasted values of the RF GDP by different methods was carried out: using the AI system and a multivariate correlation-regression model in XLtables using the Microsoft Correlation and Regression packages. Some of the calculations were carried out in the Colab cloud environment using the Python programming language. The initial data for the AI-system and the correlation-regression model are statistical data — chain indices of the development of the main industries taken for the period 2000–2020. Studies have shown that the average forecast error calculated using a linear six-factor regression model between factorial features and the effective one was 0.153553 %, while the average forecast error calculated using the AI system was 0.010082 %. The forecasting accuracy using artificial intelligence algorithms is an order of magnitude higher than the traditional one — using a multivariate regression model. Based on the initial data, a dataset was collected, on which, using the Deductor analytical platform, an AI system was formed in order to obtain the forecast value of the RF GDP for the next calendar year. Using the capabilities of the Colab cloud service, in the Python language, the pairwise correlation coefficients between the factors were calculated, the results of which are presented in a heat matrix. Formed a correlation-regression model in XL-tables using the packages "Correlation" and "Regression" Microsoft. Also, the quality of the regression model, reflecting the dependence of the effective indicator "GDP" on the main factorial indicators, was assessed using the Student’s t-test, F-statistics and others.
Research on digital etiquette in business communications
Authors:   Kostroma State University, Charushina Elena Ivanovna , Gerasimova Olga Ivanovna ,   Perm State Humanitarian Pedagogical University
Published: March 2022

The formation of a new social order also presupposes the formation of a new social culture — digital culture as a semantic and regulatory component of a network society. But so far there are no clearly formulated requirements for human behavior in the virtual space.In this connection, ambiguous situations arise between employers and subordinates. The study of the attitude to the norms of etiquette, which determines the value attitudes and standards for participants in network communications at all levels of interaction. The purpose of the work is to investigate the formation of ideas about the norms of business etiquette in a virtual environment in the process of business communications. The research was carried out by the method of a questionnaire survey on the territory of Kostroma, Perm and St. Petersburg. The study involved employees of companies representing various sectors of the economy and students of various fields of study studying the disciplines "Business etiquette" and "Business communications". The following was established: in general, everyone observes etiquette, including in the digital environment; many have a feeling of lack of confidence in the knowledge of the norms of digital etiquette; active use of social networks for business communications; company management should not monitor the behavior of their employees in the digital environment. The results of the study make it possible to understand the peculiarities of observance of etiquette in a digital environment, identify problems that arise during business communications in a virtual environment, and can also serve to develop psychological recommendations for the formation of effective methods.
Molecular Characterisation and Reporter Gene Assay ofthe Three GnRH Isoforms and Two GnRH Receptors of a Clupeiform Fish, Japanese Sardine, Sardinops sagax melanostictus (Temminck & Schlegel, 1846)
Authors:   Laboratory of Marine Biology, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan, LUMAYNO SANNY DAVID PACHECO , OHTA KOHEI , YAMAGUCHI AKIHIKO , MATSUYAMA MICHIYA
Published: March 2022

The gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is an important gene involved in fish reproduction and its action is mediated by GnRH receptor (GnRHR). Numerous GnRH-GnRHR studies have already been published in many teleost orders but information on reproduction-related genes for Clupeiformes is limited. To acquire a better understanding on the reproduction of Clupeiform fish species, GnRH isoforms and GnRHR paralogues of Japanese sardine, Sardinops sagax melanostictus (Temminck & Schlegel, 1846) were sequenced. Three GnRH isoforms (named as jsGnRH1, jsGnRH2, and jsGnRH3) and two GnRHR paralogues (named as jsGnRHR1 and jsGnRHR2) were isolated in the brain and pituitary of Japanese sardine. Based on phylogenetic analysis, jsGnRH1, jsGnRH2, and jsGnRH3 grouped into GnRH1, GnRH2, and GnRH3 forms, respectively, while jsGnRHR1 and jsGnRHR2 clustered into Type 2b and Type 1c receptors, correspondingly. The reporter gene assay showed high binding affinity of jsGnRHR1 to all three GnRH synthetic decapeptides, whereas jsGnRHR2 responded best to jsGnRH2 only. Clustering of jsGnRH1and jsGnRHR1 to other teleost GnRH1 and GnRHR2b, respectively, and activating the calcineurin/NFAT signalling pathway, suggests that these two genes are likely involved in fish reproduction.
Proteksi Kebocoran Gas LPG Rumah Tangga Berbasis Mikrokontroler
Authors: Khakim Lukmanul , Afriliana Ida , Nurohim Nurohim , Rakhman Arif
Published: March 2022

ABSTRAK –Penggunaan bahan bakar gas seperti LPG umum digunakan untuk kebutuhan rumah tangga. Jenis LPG mudah terbakar, maka perlu hati-hati dalam instalasi dan penggunaannya. Seiring perkembangan teknologi dan untuk meminimalisir terjadinya kebocoran LPG, maka diperlukan alat yang mampu memproteksi kebocoran gas sebagai pememicu kebakaran yang bekerja otomatis. Alat proteksi dibangun menggunakan mikrokontroler berbasis arduino, sensor utama MQ2. Cara kerjanya sensor MQ2 akan mendeteksi LPG jika terjadi kebocoran, selanjutnya sensor mengirimkan sinyal ke mikrokontroler, dan mikrokontroler akan memberikan intruksi ke relay, di mana relay sebagai saklar otomatis untuk mengaktifkan sensor selenoid valve sehingga menutup aliran LPG, dengan demikian aliran LPG terhenti untuk memproteksi terjadinya kebakaran, disamping itu buzzer berbunyi sebagai notifikasi adanya kebocoran LPG. Dari hasil penelitian ini, MQ2 mendeteksi LPG dengan kadar 0 ppm sampai 1280 ppm dan LPG masih tersuplai, ketika kadar LPG terdeteksi antara 5240 ppm sampai 26464 ppm, suplai LPG terhenti karena selenoid valve menghambat aliran LPG tersebut.
Pengenalan Gestur Angka Pada Tangan Menggunakan Arsitektur AlexNet Dan LeNet Pada Metode Convolutional Neural Network
Authors: Al Rivan Muhammad Ezar , Setiawan Alvin
Published: March 2022

Gestur merupakan salah satu jenis komunikasi dengan membentuk suatu objek seperti huruf atau angka pada tangan untuk menyampaikan pesan ataupun sebuah informasi, salah satunya gestur angka pada tangan yang memiliki banyak jenisnya dengan pola yang berbeda untuk setiap pergerakan angka yang terbentuk. Salah satu solusi yang dapat dilakukan untuk melakukan pengenalan gestur angka pada tangan kepada komputer adalah menggunakan metode Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) dengan arsitektur AlexNet maupun LeNet. Penelitian ini menggunakan dataset citra gestur angka yang sebelumnya dilakukan tahap pre-processing yang terdiri dari threshold dan resize. Penelitian dilakukan menggunakan 2 pooling layer, yaitu Average Pooling dan Max Pooling kemudian menggunakan optimizer, yaitu SGD, RMSprop, dan Adam. Berdasarkan hasil pengujian yang didapatkan pada penelitian ini, yaitu penggunaan arsitektur AlexNet dengan Average Pooling dan optimizer RMSprop menghasilkan akuras dan f1-score keseluruhan 99,45% serta penggunaan arsitektur LeNet dengan Average Pooling dan optimizer RMSprop menghasilkan akurasi dan f1-score keseluruhan 99,49%. Secara keseluruhan penggunaan Average Pooling dengan optimizer RMSprop mendapatkan tingkat akurasi yang paling baik dibandingkan dengan pengujian yang lainnya.
Analisis Pengamanan Jaringan Menggunakan Router Mikrotik dari Serangan DoS dan Pengaruhnya Terhadap Performansi
Authors: Haris Arief Indriarto , Riyanto Budhi , Surachman Farry , Ramadhan Ardito Adi
Published: March 2022

Denial of Service (DoS) menjadi ancaman siber serius dan berdampak destruktif karena dapat melumpuhkan target dengan membanjiri traffic dalam jumlah besar. Router sebagai gateway memegang peranan vital dalam jaringan, jika fungsinya terganggu maka akan berdampak langsung terhadap performa jaringan keseluruhan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis pengamanan jaringan dari DoS menggunakan router mikrotik dengan memanfaatkan fitur-fitur keamanan bawaan dan menilai tingkat keefektifannya. Dengan menggunakan metodologi PPDIOO, terdapat enam kondisi router yang diujikan terhadap DoS dengan lima indikator yang diukur. Hasil yang diperoleh bahwa pengamanan dengan firewall raw pada kondisi 6 menjadi yang paling efektif dan efisien dibandingkan kondisi lainnya. Konsumsi CPU berhasil diturunkan hingga 20% dan ping response time kembali ke kondisi normal, serta proses deteksi dan blokir sudah terotomatisasi. Namun, seluruh pengamanan dengan fitur-fitur keamanan bawaan dinilai tidak efektif dalam menghadapi DoS, karena terbukti konsumsi CPU masih tinggi, traffic DoS juga tidak dapat dinihilkan, hanya latensi yang dapat dinormalkan.