bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The association between antigenemia, histology with immunohistochemistry, and mucosal PCR in the diagnosis of ulcerative colitis with concomitant human cytomegalovirus infection
Authors: Yamawaka Tsukasa , Kitamoto Hiroki , Nojima Masanori , Kazama Tomoe , Wagatsuma Kohei , Ishigami Keisuke , Yamamoto Shuji , Honzawa Yusuke , Matsuura Minoru , Seno Hiroshi , Nakase Hiroshi
Published: October 2022

Background

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) colitis can be involved in active ulcerative colitis (UC) in patients refractory to steroid and immunosuppressive drugs. Histological examination with colonic biopsy specimens and antigenemia assays are the standard tests for diagnosing HCMV enterocolitis, and we have previously reported the usefulness of mucosal polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods. However, the associations among histopathological tests, antigenemia assays, and mucosal PCR are unknown.

Methods

We retrospectively analyzed 82 UC patients who underwent mucosal biopsy from inflamed colonic tissues for histological evaluation and mucosal PCR to detect HCMV. We analyzed the relationships between the HCMV-DNA copy number in colonic mucosa and other HCMV tests.

Results

In total, 131 HCMV mucosal PCR tests from 82 UC patients were positive. The HCMV-DNA copy number was significantly higher in patients with positive immunohistochemistry (IHC) (p < 0.01) and was correlated with the number of positive cells for the antigenemia (C7-HRP, p < 0.01; C10/11, p < 0.01). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis confirmed 1300 copies/μg of HCMV-DNA as the best diagnostic cut-off value to predict positive results of antigenemia (area under the curve = 0.80, 95% CI 0.68–0.93). HCMV-DNA copy number also correlated with the total UCEIS score (p = 0.013) and the bleeding score (p = 0.014). For each individual patient, a positive correlation between the change in total UCEIS score and HCMV-DNA copy number was observed (p = 0.040).

Conclusion

The antigenemia assay and histopathological test with IHC were significantly associated with the HCMV-DNA copy number in colonic tissues. Moreover, endoscopic examination with the UCEIS can help diagnose the HCMV colitis in UC patients.
Evaluation of the remineralizing effect of biomimetic self-assembling peptides in post-orthodontic white spot lesions compared to fluoride-based delivery systems: randomized controlled trial
Authors: Gohar Raneen Ahmed Abou El Gheit , Ibrahim Shereen Hafez , Safwat Omaima Mohamed
Published: October 2022

Objectives

To evaluate the clinical performance of self-assembling peptides versus fluoride-based delivery systems in post-orthodontic white spot lesions.

Materials and methods

The participants were randomly assigned into two groups (n = 58) according to the remineralizing agent used, where (A) group represented participants receiving a varnish containing 22.600 fluoride ppm and tricalcium phosphate, while the second group (B) represented participants receiving self-assembling peptide. The remineralizing process of the white spot lesion was assessed using the DIAGNOdent pen and ICDAS scoring system according to the time when the remineralizing agent was used (T), where T0 represented the score taken at baseline. T1 represented the score taken after 3 months of follow-ups and T2 score represented the score taken after 6 months of follow-up. Data were collected and statistically analyzed. The parametric data: two-way ANOVA was used to test the effect of interaction among different variables. The non-parametric data: Mann–Whitney test was used. The significance level was set at p ≤ 0.05.

Results

There was a quantitative statistically significant difference via DIAGNOpen readings between Group A (fluoride material) and Group B (self-assembling peptides). The highest mean value of 10.51 was found in Group A, while the least mean value of 6.45 was found in Group B. Besides, there was a significant difference in each group concerning the time factors T0, T1, and T2 groups where (p < 0.001. As for the qualitative results concerning the ICDAS score, there was no significant difference between the two groups along with the follow-up periods T0, T1, and T2 where the p value is equal to 0.064, 0.087, and 0.277 respectively.

Conclusions

The visual assessment using ICDAS reveals that the biomimetic remineralization using self-assembling peptides and the fluoride-based varnish material showed a similar effect in masking post-orthodontic white spot lesions. However, the laser fluorescence using DIAGNOpen showed that the self-assembling peptides reveal higher performance in subsurface remineralization than the fluoride-based varnish material. Therefore, self-assembling peptides are considered a promising material for lesion regression in post-orthodontics white spot lesions.

Clinical relevance

Self-assembling peptide SAP-14 is a new approach to reverse and mask off post-orthodontics white spot lesions.
COVID-19-associated Guillain-Barré syndrome in the early pandemic experience in Lombardia (Italy)
Authors: Martinelli-Boneschi Filippo , Colombo Antonio , Bresolin Nereo , Sessa Maria , Bassi Pietro , Grampa Giampiero , Magni Eugenio , Versino Maurizio , Ferrarese Carlo , Zarcone Davide , Albanese Alberto , Micieli Giuseppe , Zanferrari Carla , Cagnana Antonio , Ferrante Claudio , Zilioli Angelo , Locatelli Davide , Calloni Maria Vittoria , Delodovici Maria Luisa , Pozzato Mattia , Patisso Valerio , Bortolan Francesco , Foresti Camillo , Frigeni Barbara , Canella Stefania , Xhani Rubjona , Crabbio Massimo , Clemenzi Alessandro , Mauri Marco , Beretta Simone , La Spina Isidoro , Bernasconi Simona , De Santis Tiziana , Cavallini Anna , Ranieri Michela , D’Adda Elisabetta , Fruguglietti Maria Elisa , Peverelli Lorenzo , Agosti Edoardo , Leoni Olivia , Rigamonti Andrea , Salmaggi Andrea
Published: October 2022

Objective

To estimate the incidence and describe clinical characteristics and outcome of GBS in COVID-19 patients (COVID19-GBS) in one of the most hit regions during the first pandemic wave, Lombardia.

Methods

Adult patients admitted to 20 Neurological Units between 1/3–30/4/2020 with COVID19-GBS were included as part of a multi-center study organized by the Italian society of Hospital Neuroscience (SNO).

Results

Thirty-eight COVID19-GBS patients had a mean age of 60.7 years and male frequency of 86.8%. CSF albuminocytological dissociation was detected in 71.4%, and PCR for SARS-CoV-2 was negative in 19 tested patients. Based on neurophysiology, 81.8% of patients had a diagnosis of AIDP, 12.1% of AMSAN, and 6.1% of AMAN. The course was favorable in 76.3% of patients, stable in 10.5%, while 13.2% worsened, of which 3 died. The estimated occurrence rate in Lombardia ranges from 0.5 to 0.05 GBS cases per 1000 COVID-19 infections depending on whether you consider positive cases or estimated seropositive cases. When we compared GBS cases with the pre-pandemic period, we found a reduction of cases from 165 to 135 cases in the 2-month study period in Lombardia.

Conclusions

We detected an increased incidence of GBS in COVID-19 patients which can reflect a higher risk of GBS in COVID-19 patients and a reduction of GBS events during the pandemic period possibly due to a lower spread of more common respiratory infectious diseases determined by an increased use of preventive measures.
Submodular maximization of concave utility functions composed with a set-union operator with applications to maximal covering location problems
Authors: Coniglio Stefano , Furini Fabio , Ljubić Ivana
Published: October 2022

We study a family of discrete optimization problems asking for the maximization of the expected value of a concave, strictly increasing, and differentiable function composed with a set-union operator. The expected value is computed with respect to a set of coefficients taking values from a discrete set of scenarios. The function models the utility function of the decision maker, while the set-union operator models a covering relationship between two ground sets, a set of items and a set of metaitems. This problem generalizes the problem introduced by Ahmed S, Atamtürk A (Mathematical programming 128(1-2):149–169, 2011), and it can be modeled as a mixed integer nonlinear program involving binary decision variables associated with the items and metaitems. Its goal is to find a subset of metaitems that maximizes the total utility corresponding to the items it covers. It has applications to, among others, maximal covering location, and influence maximization problems. In the paper, we propose a double-hypograph decomposition which allows for projecting out the variables associated with the items by separately exploiting the structural properties of the utility function and of the set-union operator. Thanks to it, the utility function is linearized via an exact outer-approximation technique, whereas the set-union operator is linearized in two ways: either (i) via a reformulation based on submodular cuts, or (ii) via a Benders decomposition. We analyze from a theoretical perspective the strength of the inequalities of the resulting reformulations, and embed them into two branch-and-cut algorithms. We also show how to extend our reformulations to the case where the utility function is not necessarily increasing. We then experimentally compare our algorithms inter se, to a standard reformulation based on submodular cuts, to a state-of-the-art global-optimization solver, and to the greedy algorithm for the maximization of a submodular function. The results reveal that, on our testbed, the method based on combining an outer approximation with Benders cuts significantly outperforms the other ones.
Explainable AI for clinical and remote health applications: a survey on tabular and time series data
Authors: Di Martino Flavio , Delmastro Franca
Published: October 2022

Nowadays Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a fundamental component of healthcare applications, both clinical and remote, but the best performing AI systems are often too complex to be self-explaining. Explainable AI (XAI) techniques are defined to unveil the reasoning behind the system’s predictions and decisions, and they become even more critical when dealing with sensitive and personal health data. It is worth noting that XAI has not gathered the same attention across different research areas and data types, especially in healthcare. In particular, many clinical and remote health applications are based on tabular and time series data, respectively, and XAI is not commonly analysed on these data types, while computer vision and Natural Language Processing (NLP) are the reference applications. To provide an overview of XAI methods that are most suitable for tabular and time series data in the healthcare domain, this paper provides a review of the literature in the last 5 years, illustrating the type of generated explanations and the efforts provided to evaluate their relevance and quality. Specifically, we identify clinical validation, consistency assessment, objective and standardised quality evaluation, and human-centered quality assessment as key features to ensure effective explanations for the end users. Finally, we highlight the main research challenges in the field as well as the limitations of existing XAI methods.
Register identification from the unrestricted open Web using the Corpus of Online Registers of English
Authors: Laippala Veronika , Rönnqvist Samuel , Oinonen Miika , Kyröläinen Aki-Juhani , Salmela Anna , Biber Douglas , Egbert Jesse , Pyysalo Sampo
Published: October 2022

This article examines the automatic identification of Web registers, that is, text varieties such as news articles and reviews. Most studies have focused on corpora restricted to include only preselected classes with well-defined characteristics. These corpora feature only a subset of documents found on the unrestricted open Web, for which register identification has been particularly difficult because the range of linguistic variation on the Web is known to be substantial. As part of this study, we present the first open release of the Corpus of Online Registers of English (CORE), which is drawn from the unrestricted open Web and, currently, is the largest collection of manually annotated Web registers. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the CORE registers can be automatically identified with competitive results, with the best performance being an F1-score of 68% with the deep learning model BERT. The best performance was achieved using two modeling strategies. The first one involved modeling the registers using propagated register labels, that is, repeating the main register label along with its corresponding subregister label in a multilabel model. In the second one, we explored how the length of the document affects model performance, discovering that the beginning provided superior classification accuracy. Overall, the current study presents a systematic approach for the automatic identification of a large number of Web registers from the unrestricted Web, hence providing new pathways for future studies.
Majorana algebra for the Hoffman–Singleton graph
Authors: Brouwer Andries E. , Ivanov Alexander A.
Published: October 2022

Majorana theory is an axiomatic tool for studying the Monster group M and its subgroups through the 196,884-dimensional Conway–Griess–Norton algebra. The theory was introduced by A. A. Ivanov in 2009 and since then it experienced a remarkable development including the classification of Majorana representations for small (and not so small) groups. The group $$U_3(5)$$

U
3

(
5
)

is (isomorphic to) the socle of the centralizer in M of a subgroup of order 25. The involutions of this $$U_3(5)$$

U
3

(
5
)

-subgroup are 2A-involutions in the Monster. Therefore, $$U_3(5)$$

U
3

(
5
)

possesses a Majorana representation (based on the embedding in the Monster). We prove that this is the unique Majorana representation of $$U_3(5)$$

U
3

(
5
)

, calculate its dimension, which is 798, and obtain a description in terms of the Hoffman–Singleton graph of which the automorphism group has $$U_3(5)$$

U
3

(
5
)

as an index 2 subgroup.
Probing the speed of gravity with LVK, LISA, and joint observations
Authors: Harry Ian , Noller Johannes
Published: October 2022

Theories of dark energy that affect the speed of gravitational waves $$c_{\textrm{GW}}$$

c
GW

on cosmological scales naturally lead to a frequency-dependent transition of that speed close to the LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA (LVK) band. While observations such as GW170817 assure us that $$c_{\textrm{GW}}$$

c
GW

is extremely close to the speed of light in the LVK band, a frequency-dependent transition below the LVK band is a smoking-gun signal for large classes of dynamical dark energy theories. Here we discuss (1) how the remnants of such a transition can be constrained with observations in the LVK band, (2) what signatures are associated with such a transition in the LISA band, and (3) how joint observations in the LVK and LISA bands allow us to place tight constraints on this transition and the underlying theories. We find that deviations of $$c_{\textrm{GW}}$$

c
GW

can be constrained down to a level of $$\sim 10^{-17}$$

∼

10

-
17

in the LVK and LISA bands even for mild frequency-dependence, much stronger than existing bounds for frequency-independent $$c_{\textrm{GW}}\ne c$$

c
GW

≠
c

. We use the strain data from GW170817 to bound the deviation of $$c_{\textrm{GW}}$$

c
GW

to be less than $$10^{-17}$$

10

-
17

at 100 Hz and less than $$10^{-18}$$

10

-
18

at 500 Hz. We also identify a particularly interesting type of transition in between the LVK and LISA bands and show how multi-band observations can constrain this further. Finally, we discuss what these current and forecasted constraints imply for the underlying dark energy theories.
Task consolidation based power consumption minimization in cloud computing environment
Authors: Badr Shaimaa , El Mahalawy Ahmed , Attiya Gamal , Nasr Aida A.
Published: October 2022

Cloud Computing is playing a huge role in future technology. Further, with the explosive growth of the Internet and cloud computing, several service providers, such as Amazon, Microsoft, IBM, and Google, have expanded their data centers and rapidly deployed data centers in different places around the world to deliver various cloud computing services. However, several challenges are raised with the wide spread use of cloud environment such as power consumption, load balance, reliability, scalability, and security. This paper tackles the power consumption problem and presents an efficient algorithm, called Task Consolidation based Power Minimization (TCPM), to efficiently schedule tasks onto available resources of the cloud environment so as to minimize power consumption. In proposed TCPM algorithm, several benefits of the existing algorithms are enhanced and incorporated into the TCPM algorithm, where the best-fit procedure is used to achieve the best possible resource utilization and avoid wasting energy. The results of the proposed TCPM algorithm are compared with other recent algorithms such as FCFS, WWO, and MCT algorithms using the CloudSim toolkit.
Linalyl Acetate Ameliorates Mechanical Hyperalgesia Through Suppressing Inflammation by TSLP/IL-33 Signaling
Authors: Lu Ying-Yi , Lu Chun-Ching , Huang Chao-Lan , Tsai Hung-Pei , Wang Wei-Ting , Zhang Zi-Hao , Wu Chieh-Hsin
Published: October 2022

Neuropathic pain is a debilitating chronic disorder, significantly causing personal and social burdens, in which activated neuroinflammation is one major contributor. Thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) and interleukin (IL)-33 is important for chronic inflammation. Linalyl acetate (LA) is main component of lavender oil with an anti-inflammatory property through TSLP signaling. The aim of the study is to investigate how LA regulates mechanical hyperalgesia after sciatic nerve injury (SNI). Adult Sprague-Dawley male rats were separated into 3 groups: control group, SNI group and SNI with LA group. LA was administrated intraperitoneally one day before SNI. Pain behavior test was evaluated through calibration forceps testing. Ipsilateral sciatic nerves (SNs), dorsal root ganglions (DRGs) and spinal cord were collected for immunofluorescence staining and Western blotting analyses. SNI rats were more sensitive to hyperalgesia response to mechanical stimulus since operation, which was accompanied by spinal cord glial cells reactions and DRG neuro-glial interaction. LA could relieve the pain sensation, proinflammatory cytokines and decrease the expression of TSLP/TSLPR complex. Also, LA could reduce inflammation through reducing IL-33 signaling. This study is the first to indicate that LA can modulate pain through TSLP/TSLPR and IL-33 signaling after nerve injury.
Linkages between regional characteristics and small businesses viability
Authors: Casey Colleen , Bates Timothy , Farhat Joseph
Published: October 2022

Our study identifies regional traits associated with small business viability, paying particular attention to bank lending to minority-owned firms. Although creditworthy minority business enterprises (MBEs) have less access to bank financing than similar White-owned firms, they have increased their nationwide employee numbers substantially since 2002, more so indeed than White-owned firms. The discouraged borrower incidence among creditworthy MBEs, nonetheless, is quite high. Given their limited access to financing, the dynamism displayed by these firms is surprising. To link regional characteristics to bank lending policies, local economic well-being measures and racial intolerance levels are used to identify areas where banks participate in Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) agreements, a proxy for their willingness to disregard owner race and firm geographic location when financing firms. We find that regional prosperity is positively linked to CRA agreement presence, while a legacy of institutionalized racism is negatively linked. We next explore whether the presence of local CRA agreements is linked to relatively fewer discouraged small business borrowers. The incidence of creditworthy borrowers discouraged from seeking bank financing drops significantly when CRA agreements are present locally.
Human uniqueness in using tools and artifacts: flexibility, variety, complexity
Authors: Heersmink Richard
Published: October 2022

The main goal of this paper is to investigate whether (and how) humans are unique in using tools and artifacts. Non-human animals exhibit some impressive instances of tool and artifact-use. Chimpanzees use sticks to get termites out of a mound, beavers build dams, birds make nests, spiders create webs, bowerbirds make bowers to impress potential mates, etc. There is no doubt that some animals modify and use objects in clever and sophisticated ways. But how does this relate to the way in which humans make and use objects to achieve their goals? To answer this question, this paper first presents a taxonomy of artifacts, identifying four overlapping categories, namely embodied, perceptual, cognitive, and affective artifacts. It then discusses definitions of animal tool-use, arguing that we need a more liberal approach, one that goes beyond the use of tools that are embedded in occurrent perception-action cycles. This paper ends by analysing how instances of animal tool and artifact-use can be classified according to the four identified categories, concluding that some animals use embodied, perceptual, cognitive, and affective artifacts. In this sense, humans are thus not unique in the kinds of tools and artifacts we use. What is unique, however, is our unprecedented flexibility and openness to deeply incorporate a large variety of complex tools and artifacts into our embodied, perceptual, cognitive, and affective systems.
Estimating the carbon footprint of household activities in Japan from the time-use perspective
Authors: Jiang Yida , Motose Ryoko , Ihara Tomohiko
Published: October 2022

The household sector is a major driver of energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, most existing studies have only estimated households’ carbon footprint from their expenditures. Households’ daily activity time, a scarce resource that limits and determines their consumption behavior, has rarely been integrated into the estimation. Incorporating the daily time-use patterns should thus provide a more practical perspective for mitigation policies aiming at promoting sustainable household lifestyles. In this study, by linking household time-use data and expenditure data of Japan, the carbon footprint and the GHG intensity of time of 85 daily household activities constituting the 24 hours in a day are estimated. Compared to the maximal 20-activity disaggregation in existing studies, our detailed 85-category disaggregation of daily time enables unprecedented details on the discrepancies between the carbon footprint from daily activities, many of which have previous been treated as one activity. Results indicate significant carbon mitigation potential in activities with a high GHG intensity of time, such as cooking, bathing, and mobility-related and activities. Average daily GHG emissions were also found to be higher on weekends as time-use patterns shift from paid work to free-time activities, highlighting the need for mitigation strategies on a weekly scale.
Easy-handling semi-floating TiO2-based aerogel for solar photocatalytic water depollution
Authors: Nouacer Sana , Djellabi Ridha
Published: October 2022

One of the capital issues of photocatalytic technology is how to use photocatalytic materials in real world conditions. Suspension photocatalysts are the most effective, while the handling and recovery of nanoparticles are very challenging and costly. Herein, we report the design of semi-floating aerogel TiO2-based photocatalyst for the oxidation of dyes and photoreduction of Cr(VI). TiO2 aerogel-based photocatalyst was fabricated through in situ polymerization using borax, poly(vinyl alcohol) and polyvinylidene in the presence of H2O2 as a catalyst. Cubic TiO2 aerogel of few centimetres was designed for the photocatalytic tests under solar light irradiation. TiO2 aerogel showed a good photoactivity against the oxidation of three types of dyes and Cr(VI) photoreduction. In terms of dyes, the kinetics of methylene blue oxidation was the fastest as compared to rhodamine B and methyl red, while, a total reduction of Cr(VI) at 10 ppm was obtained within 30 min after the addition of tartaric acid as hole scavenger. TiO2 aerogel can be easily recovered, washed and recycled. TiO2 aerogel can move freely from the top to the deep solution. The semi-floating property could be an advantage to enhance the mass transfer along with bulk solution, as compared to totally floating-based photocatalysts.
Environmental life cycle assessment of rice production in northern Italy: a case study from Vercelli
Authors: Giuliana Vinci , Lucia Maddaloni , Marco Ruggeri , Simone Vieri
Published: October 2022

Purpose

The study’s objective is to assess the environmental performance of rice production in Northern Italy, in particular in Piedmont, the first Italian and European district for the rice-growing area, and thus identify the most critical hotspots and agricultural processes. In particular, as a case study, a farm located in Vercelli (VC) has been chosen. Subsequently, the study results were compared with other different cultivation practices to evaluate the most sustainable choice.

Methods

The application of the LCA has been performed, highlighting the phases of rice production that have the most significant impact. Then, uncertainty and sensitivity analyses have been made to estimate the robustness of the results and assess the influence of changing some input variables on emission reduction. Finally, multivariate statistical, specifically a principal component analysis (PCA), was conducted to aid the interpretation of the output dataset of this case study. LCA, uncertainty analysis, and sensitivity analysis were performed with SimaPro 9.2.0, using ReCiPe 2016 Midpoint (H) methodology, and PCA with R software.

Results and discussions

The hotspot with the highest environmental load is irrigation, which compared to the other phases impacts more in 15 out of 18 categories, including 12 with impacts greater than + 75%. This is because irrigation causes direct impacts, related to the methanogenesis in rice fields, but also indirect impacts related mainly to the production of the energy mix required to move the large masses of irrigation water. Therefore, different water management systems were compared and results show that the irrigation systems based on intermittent paddy submergence (DSI) could result in − 40% lower impacts, resulting to be the preferable technique over the other irrigation systems analyzed, including the traditional one used in this study.

Conclusions

In order to reduce the environmental impacts related to the irrigation process, a water management system characterized by intermittent flooding of the paddy field (DSI) could be used as it reduces the environmental impacts the most (− 40%), while the least suitable system is one characterized by continuous flooding without drought periods, as it causes the highest impacts.
Recycling of bottom sediment to agriculture: effects on plant growth and soil properties
Authors: Szara-Bąk Magdalena , Baran Agnieszka , Klimkowicz-Pawlas Agnieszka
Published: October 2022

Purpose

The use of bottom sediments in agriculture reduces the storage of excavated material and allows the nutrients it contains to be applied for soil fertilisation and improvement. However, the direct application of sediments to soil may cause numerous problems. Therefore, the addition of other waste materials may be a promising and useful method in the production of bottom-sediment-based growing media. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of growing media prepared on the basis of bottom sediments and various waste materials on the properties of soil as well as on the yield and chemical composition of courgette biomass.

Methods

The growing media were prepared with substrates in the form of mixtures with bottom sediments taken from the Rożnów reservoir. The effect of mixtures on plant growth was determined in a laboratory pot experiment. Air-dry mixtures (M1—bottom sediment with water treatment sludge (BS + SW); M2—bottom sediment with biomass ash (BS + BA); M3—bottom sediment with coffee hulls (BS + CH)) were mixed with soil (S) in the following proportions: combination I—25%, combination II—50%, combination III—75%, and combination IV—100% mixture.

Results

The media did not have harmful effects on the plant or the soil environment. They had deacidifying properties; high contents of calcium, magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus; low total trace element content; and posed little risk of metal mobility. Heterocypris incongruens was the organism most sensitive to the substances contained in the studied media. The use of bottom-sediment-based media reduced the biomass of the test plant and, at the same time, limited the accumulation of trace elements in its aboveground parts.

Conclusion

Most of the analysed media were low-toxic to the test organisms and can potentially be used in agriculture, horticulture, or the reclamation of degraded land.
Waiqi white collars als obsolete Avantgarde. Einheimische Angestellte ausländischer Unternehmen im chinesischen Modernisierungsdiskurs
Authors: Yan Junchen
Published: October 2022

Die vorliegende Forschungsnotiz entwickelt eine kritische Lesart chinesischer Medienberichte zu einheimischen Angestellten von in China tätigen multinationalen Unternehmen, auch „waiqi white collars“ genannt. Mit Rückgriff auf den hegemonietheoretischen Diskursansatz von Laclau und Mouffe sowie die von Martin Nonhoff entwickelte funktionale Analyse politischer Diskurse untersucht der Artikel die Operationslogik der Berichte im Rahmen des chinesischen Identitäts- und Modernisierungsdiskurses. Insbesondere wird gefragt, wie sich trotz individueller Unterschiede in der medialen Darstellung ein einheitliches Image der waiqi white collars herauskristallisieren konnte. Es zeigt sich, dass die Identitäten der waiqi white collars in jeweils kontextspezifische Artikulationen eingebunden sind, welche sich zentral auf die Frage beziehen, wie China in der globalen Weltordnung positioniert ist und in welcher Beziehung es zum sogenannten „Westen“ steht. Wie der Artikel darlegt, hat in dieser Hinsicht in der jüngeren Vergangenheit ein manifester Wandel im chinesischen Modernisierungsdiskurs stattgefunden. In der Konsequenz wird der Beschäftigungsgruppe der waiqi white collars heute ein prekäres Image zugeschrieben, im Gegensatz zu ihrem früheren Status als Avantgarde der Modernisierung.
The state of mountain research in Canada
Authors: McDowell Graham , Hanly Katherine
Published: October 2022

Nearly a quarter of Canada’s landmass is covered by mountainous terrain, making mountains an important aspect of the physical and human geography of the country. Mountain areas in Canada have motivated a great deal of research activity, yet the state of mountain research in the country has never been systematically characterized, precluding a detailed understanding of what is being studied, when, where, how, and by whom. In response, we conducted a systematic scoping review to rigorously identify, collate, and critically examine existing peer-reviewed articles related to mountains in Canada. 2,888 articles were included in our review, which reveals strong biases towards work in the natural sciences and in the mountain west, with little work to date in the social and health sciences or in other mountainous regions of the country. Our results demonstrate that Canada is among the most productive contributors to mountain research globally, but that topical and geographical biases in existing research effort leave important gaps that must be addressed to successfully navigate challenges and opportunities facing mountain areas in Canada. We provide a roadmap to guide future mountain-focused research activities in the country.
Advanced Signal Processing Methods for Condition Monitoring
Authors: Jaros Rene , Byrtus Radek , Dohnal Jakub , Danys Lukas , Baros Jan , Koziorek Jiri , Zmij Petr , Martinek Radek
Published: October 2022

Condition monitoring of induction motors (IM) among with the predictive maintenance concept are currently among the most promising research topics of manufacturing industry. Production efficiency is an important parameter of every manufacturing plant since it directly influences the final price of products. This research article presents a comprehensive overview of conditional monitoring techniques, along with classification techniques and advanced signal processing techniques. Compared methods are either based on measurement of electrical quantities or nonelectrical quantities that are processed by advanced signal processing techniques. This article briefly compares individual techniques and summarize results achieved by different research teams. Our own testbed is briefly introduced in the discussion section along with plans for future dataset creation. According to the comparison, Wavelet Transform (WT) along with Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD), Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Park’s Vector Approach (PVA) provides the most interesting results for real deployment and could be used for future experiments.
The Influence of Interview Style on SIOs’ Responsiveness to the Suspect’s Alibi
Authors: van Beek Martijn , Bull Ray , Chen Melissa , Fahsing Ivar , Milne Rebecca
Published: October 2022

In criminal investigations, it may happen that the police will collect and use information that is actually incorrect. Making sure that such error is detected and corrected is part of the legal and operational burden placed on any investigating officer, but especially on the Senior Investigative Officer (SIO). This present study explored to what degree different interview styles will affect SIO decision-making, since interviewing witnesses and suspects is an important source of information for the police. A sample of 115 Dutch and Norwegian SIOs therefore performed an online vignette task. They read about a fictitious, but realistic case and received a report of an interview with the suspect. In this interview, the suspect had provided an alibi for one of the pieces of information that were disclosed to her and that actually was an incorrect piece of information. In the report the SIOs received, the interviewer either picked up the alibi (adaptive style), reacted indifferently to it (neutral) or discredited it right away (maladaptive). A significant effect was found for interview style being associated with SIOs’ responsiveness: the SIOs who read the adaptive or neutral interview report were significantly more responsive to the alibi than those who read the maladaptive report. The implications of this finding are discussed.
Effect of Extrusion on the Functional, Textural and Colour Characteristics of Texturized Hempseed Protein
Authors: Rajendra Amrut , Ying Danyang , Warner Robyn Dorothy , Ha Minh , Fang Zhongxiang
Published: October 2022

The search for allergy friendly texturized vegetable proteins (TVP) has prompted the use of novel protein sources over conventional wheat and soy proteins. Hempseed protein (HP) offers promising nutritional characteristics. This work assessed the effect of feed moisture content (FMC) and screw rotation speed (SRS) on the textural, functional and colour characteristics of texturized HP. The HP was extruded using a co-rotation twin screw extruder at 30–60% FMC and 200–400 rpm SRS. Results showed that significant differences were observed from FMC, SRS and the interaction of FMC and SRS on the product expansion index, integrity index, water and oil absorption capacity (WAC and OAC), some texture profile parameters and colour characteristics. Decreasing FMC and increasing SRS tended to increase the texturization index, expansion index, WAC, OAC, integrity index and texture profile characteristics but decrease density, L* and b* values. These results contribute to our understanding of the properties of texturized HP which are important for application in food industry.
Ecocentrism and Biosphere Life Extension
Authors: Jebari Karim , Sandberg Anders
Published: October 2022

The biosphere represents the global sum of all ecosystems. According to a prominent view in environmental ethics, ecocentrism, these ecosystems matter for their own sake, and not only because they contribute to human ends. As such, some ecocentrists are critical of the modern industrial civilization, and a few even argue that an irreversible collapse of the modern industrial civilization would be a good thing. However, taking a longer view and considering the eventual destruction of the biosphere by astronomical processes, we argue that humans, a species with considerable technological know-how and industrial capacity could intervene to extend the lifespan of Earth’s biosphere, perhaps by several billion years. We argue that human civilization, despite its flaws and harmful impacts on many ecosystems, is the biosphere’s best hope of avoiding premature destruction. We argue that proponents of ecocentrism, even those who wholly disregard anthropocentric values, have a strong moral reason preserve the modern industrial civilization, for as long as needed to ensure biosphere survival.
Perceptions of Pharmacy Graduate Students Toward Research Ethics Education: A Cross-Sectional Study from a Developing Country
Authors: Ahmed Wesam S. , Ahmed Amgad , Alzoubi Karem H. , Nebeker Camille
Published: October 2022

Despite the potential value of graduate-level research ethics training, most Middle East countries, including Jordan, do not routinely offer formal research ethics training. In students enrolled in Jordanian master’s level graduate program in pharmacy, the current study assessed: 1- differences in pre- and post-enrollment exposure to research ethics core themes, 2- whether this exposure was through a formal course or in an informal setting, and 3- student attitudes towards research ethics education and the need for integrating a dedicated research ethics course into pharmacy graduate programs. A 12-item on-line survey was developed by the authors and disseminated to a convenience sample of current and former master-level pharmacy students in Jordan. A total of 61 eligible respondents completed the survey. A minority of respondents (38%) acknowledged receiving research ethics training prior to enrollment into a postgraduate pharmacy program with nearly half (16%) describing this training as informal. In comparison, a larger percentage of the total respondents (56%) had received research ethics training during their postgraduate program enrollment, with nearly half of those (25%) indicating that this training was informal. A majority of respondents reported a strong need for integrating a formal research ethics course into postgraduate pharmacy curriculum (90%) to support their research training and thesis writing (89%). Overall, the study revealed a notable lack of research ethics education for graduate-level pharmacy students in Jordan.
The Right to be Forgotten: an Islamic Perspective
Authors: Osman Amr
Published: October 2022

In a landmark 1994 case, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that individuals had the right to ask for Internet links that contained certain information about them to be delisted by search engines. This came to be known as the “right to be forgotten.” This paper discusses the extent to which this right is consistent with the Islamic tradition. Following an overview of some aspects of the right to be forgotten and why it is endorsed in the European Union with its emphasis on privacy but not in the USA with its exaltation of free speech, the paper discusses two related issues: (1) elements in the Islamic tradition potentially conducive to endorsing a particular understanding of the right to be forgotten and (2) some possible obstacles from that tradition that could challenge the recognition of this right from an Islamic perspective. The paper concludes that despite some challenges, including Qur’anic verses and certain views, activities, and institutions, the right to be forgotten is defendable from within the Islamic tradition by reference to the principle of satr, which breaches that one should not seek to publicize personal information that causes harm to other people or even to oneself. The paper seeks to contribute to discussions on this new right by showing what a religious tradition such as Islam can offer to them.
Explainable artificial intelligence for cybersecurity: a literature survey
Authors: Charmet Fabien , Tanuwidjaja Harry Chandra , Ayoubi Solayman , Gimenez Pierre-François , Han Yufei , Jmila Houda , Blanc Gregory , Takahashi Takeshi , Zhang Zonghua
Published: October 2022

With the extensive application of deep learning (DL) algorithms in recent years, e.g., for detecting Android malware or vulnerable source code, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are increasingly becoming essential in the development of cybersecurity solutions. However, sharing the same fundamental limitation with other DL application domains, such as computer vision (CV) and natural language processing (NLP), AI-based cybersecurity solutions are incapable of justifying the results (ranging from detection and prediction to reasoning and decision-making) and making them understandable to humans. Consequently, explainable AI (XAI) has emerged as a paramount topic addressing the related challenges of making AI models explainable or interpretable to human users. It is particularly relevant in cybersecurity domain, in that XAI may allow security operators, who are overwhelmed with tens of thousands of security alerts per day (most of which are false positives), to better assess the potential threats and reduce alert fatigue. We conduct an extensive literature review on the intersection between XAI and cybersecurity. Particularly, we investigate the existing literature from two perspectives: the applications of XAI to cybersecurity (e.g., intrusion detection, malware classification), and the security of XAI (e.g., attacks on XAI pipelines, potential countermeasures). We characterize the security of XAI with several security properties that have been discussed in the literature. We also formulate open questions that are either unanswered or insufficiently addressed in the literature, and discuss future directions of research.
Normalized solutions to fractional mass supercritical NLS systems with Sobolev critical nonlinearities
Authors: Zuo Jiabin , Rădulescu Vicenţiu D.
Published: October 2022

In this paper, we investigate the following fractional Sobolev critical Nonlinear Schrödinger coupled systems:$$\begin{aligned} \left\{ \begin{array}{lll} (-\Delta )^{s} u=\mu _{1} u+|u|^{2^{*}_{s}-2}u+\eta _{1}|u|^{p-2}u+\gamma \alpha |u|^{\alpha -2}u|v|^{\beta } ~ \text {in}~ {\mathbb {R}}^{N},\\ (-\Delta )^{s} v=\mu _{2} v+|v|^{2^{*}_{s}-2}v+\eta _{2}|v|^{q-2}v+\gamma \beta |u|^{\alpha }|v|^{\beta -2}v ~~\text {in}~ {\mathbb {R}}^{N},\\ \Vert u\Vert ^{2}_{L^{2}}=m_{1}^{2} ~\text {and}~ \Vert v\Vert ^{2}_{L^{2}}=m_{2}^{2}, \end{array}\right. \end{aligned}$$(-Δ)su=μ1u+|u|2s∗-2u+η1|u|p-2u+γα|u|α-2u|v|βinRN,(-Δ)sv=μ2v+|v|2s∗-2v+η2|v|q-2v+γβ|u|α|v|β-2vinRN,‖u‖L22=m12and‖v‖L22=m22,where$$(-\Delta )^{s}$$(-Δ)sis the fractional Laplacian,$$N>2s$$N>2s,$$s\in (0,1)$$s∈(0,1),$$\mu _{1}, \mu _{2}\in {\mathbb {R}}$$μ1,μ2∈Rare unknown constants, which will appear as Lagrange multipliers,$$2^{*}_{s}$$2s∗is the fractional Sobolev critical index,$$\eta _{1}, \eta _{2}, \gamma , m_{1}, m_{2}>0$$η1,η2,γ,m1,m2>0,$$\alpha>1, \beta >1$$α>1,β>1,$$p, q, \alpha +\beta \in (2+4s/N,2^{*}_{s}]$$p,q,α+β∈(2+4s/N,2s∗]. Firstly, if$$p, q, \alpha +\beta <2^{*}_{s}$$p,q,α+β<2s∗, we obtain the existence of positive normalized solution when$$\gamma $$γis big enough. Secondly, if$$p=q=\alpha +\beta =2^{*}_{s}$$p=q=α+β=2s∗, we show that nonexistence of positive normalized solution. The main ideas and methods of this paper are scaling transformation, classification discussion and concentration-compactness principle.
Isometries on almost Ricci–Yamabe solitons
Authors: Khatri Mohan , Zosangzuala C. , Singh Jay Prakash
Published: October 2022

The purpose of the present paper is to examine the isometries of almost Ricci–Yamabe solitons. Firstly, the conditions under which a compact gradient almost Ricci–Yamabe soliton is isometric to Euclidean sphere $$S^n(r)$$

S
n

(
r
)

are obtained. Moreover, we have shown that the potential f of a compact gradient almost Ricci–Yamabe soliton agrees with the Hodge–de Rham potential h. Next, we studied complete gradient almost Ricci–Yamabe soliton with $$\alpha \ne 0$$

α
≠
0

and non-trivial conformal vector field with non-negative scalar curvature and proved that it is either isometric to Euclidean space $$E^n$$

E
n

or Euclidean sphere $$S^n.$$

S
n

.

Also, solenoidal and torse-forming vector fields are considered. Lastly, some non-trivial examples are constructed to verify the obtained results.
On some curves in three-dimensional $$\beta $$-Kenmotsu manifolds
Authors: Bozdağ Şerife Nur , Perktaş Selcen Yüksel , Erdoğan Feyza Esra
Published: October 2022

This paper is devoted to examine necessary and sufficient conditions for a Frenet curve to be f-harmonic, f-biharmonic, bi-f-harmonic and f-biminimal in three-dimensional $$\beta $$
β
-Kenmotsu manifolds. In addition, such conditions are investigated for slant curves.
Sintering and mechanical properties of carbon bulks from ordered mesoporous carbon and nano diamond
Authors: Miao Bowen , Wang Junzhuo , Li Jianlin , Gu Shijia , Wang Lianjun , Jiang Wan
Published: October 2022

Powder metallurgy is important in material preparation. Due to the inertness of carbon materials, however, sintering powdered carbon into physically coherent bulks has been a great challenge even at a high temperature (2000 °C). Improving the sintering activity of carbon powders is the key to the success of the consolidation of the carbon powders. Here ordered mesoporous carbon (OMC) is used as the starting material to produce highly homogeneous novel carbon bulks. During sintering at 1800 °C, the huge specific surface area of the OMC greatly promotes the migration of carbon atoms and thus the sintering of the OMC by surface diffusion mechanism. When nanodiamond (ND) is added, the volume expansion associated with the phase transformation of diamond to graphite facilitates the densification of the powder compacts. The strong connection between the OMC and the graphite onions derived from the ND bestows the as-prepared carbon bulks with excellent mechanical properties. The current research pioneers a novel way to prepare high-strength carbon materials at relatively low temperatures.