bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
On the Question of the Bäcklund Transformations and Jordan Generalizations of the Second Painlevé Equation
Authors: Yurov Artyom V. , Yurov Valerian A.
Published: November 2021

We demonstrate the way to derive the second Painlevé equation P2 and its Bäcklund transformations from the deformations of the Nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLS), all the while preserving the strict invariance with respect to the Schlesinger transformations. The proposed algorithm allows for a construction of Jordan algebra-based completely integrable multiple-field generalizations of P2 while also producing the corresponding Bäcklund transformations. We suggest calling such models the JP-systems. For example, a Jordan algebra JMat(N,N) with the Jordan product in the form of a semi-anticommutator is shown to generate an integrable matrix generalization of P2, whereas the VN algebra produces a different JP-system that serves as a generalization of the Sokolov’s form of a vectorial NLS.
Joint Dedusting and Enhancement of Top-Coal Caving Face via Single-Channel Retinex-Based Method with Frequency Domain Prior Information
Authors: Fu Chengcai , Lu Fengli , Zhang Xiaoxiao , Zhang Guoying
Published: November 2021

Affected by the uneven concentration of coal dust and low illumination, most of the images captured in the top-coal caving face have low definition, high haze and serious noise. In order to improve the visual effect of underground images captured in the top-coal caving face, a novel single-channel Retinex dedusting algorithm with frequency domain prior information is proposed to solve the problem that Retinex defogging algorithm cannot effectively defog and denoise, simultaneously, while preserving image details. Our work is inspired by the simple and intuitive observation that the low frequency component of dust-free image will be amplified in the symmetrical spectrum after adding dusts. A single-channel multiscale Retinex algorithm with color restoration (MSRCR) in YIQ space is proposed to restore the foggy approximate component in wavelet domain. After that the multiscale convolution enhancement and fast non-local means (FNLM) filter are used to minimize noise of detail components while retaining sufficient details. Finally, a dust-free image is reconstructed to the spatial domain and the color is restored by white balance. By comparing with the state-of-the-art image dedusting and defogging algorithms, the experimental results have shown that the proposed algorithm has higher contrast and visibility in both subjective and objective analysis while retaining sufficient details.
Analysis for Xgamma Parameters of Life under Type-II Adaptive Progressively Hybrid Censoring with Applications in Engineering and Chemistry
Authors: Elshahhat Ahmed , Elemary Berihan R.
Published: November 2021

Censoring mechanisms are widely used in various life tests, such as medicine, engineering, biology, etc., as they save (overall) test time and cost. In this context, we consider the problem of estimating the unknown xgamma parameter and some survival characteristics, such as reliability and failure rate functions in the presence of adaptive type-II progressive hybrid censored data. For this purpose, the maximum likelihood and Bayesian inferential approaches are used. Using the observed Fisher information under s-normal approximation, different asymptotic confidence intervals for any function of the unknown parameter were constructed. Using the gamma flexible prior, Bayes estimators against the squared-error loss were developed. Two procedures of Bayesian approximations—Lindley’s approximation and Metropolis–Hastings algorithm—were used to carry out the Bayes estimates and to construct the associated credible intervals. An extensive simulation study was implemented to compare the performance of the different methods. To validate the proposed methodologies of inference—two practical studies using datasets that form engineering and chemical fields are discussed.
Assessment of the Railroad Transport Impact on Physical and Chemical Soil Properties: The Case Study from Zduńska Wola Karsznice Railway Junction, Central Poland
Authors: Tomczyk-Wydrych Ilona , Świercz Anna , Przepióra Paweł
Published: November 2021

Contamination of the soil and water environment with harmful substances can be associated with many activities carried out on the railway. The problem is particularly relevant to liquid fuel loading and refueling facilities as well as to increased traffic at railway junctions. Studies were conducted in the area of railway junction Zduńska Wola Karsznice in central Poland (Łódź Voivodeship). Soil samples were collected from specific research points: from the inter-railway (A), 5 m from the main track (B), from the embankment—10 m from the main track (C), and from the side track (D), at the depth of 0–5 cm (1) and 20 cm (2). The following analyses were made: granulometric composition, pH in H2O, and percent content of carbonates (CaCO3). PHEs were determined in the fractions: 0.25 ≤ 0.5 mm, 0.1 ≤ 0.25 mm, and 0.05 ≤ 0.1 mm: Pb, Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, Ni, Zn, Sr by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry technique (ICP-MS/TOF OPTIMass 9500). The objectives of the study were (1) to assess PHEs (potentially harmful elements) contamination of the topsoil level of railway area, (2) to determine the correlation between the concentration of PHEs and the size of the fraction, and (3) to identify the areas (places) where the highest concentrations of PHEs were recorded. Based on the studied parameters, significant differentiation in soil properties of the areas in Zduńska Wola Karsznice was found. The analyses carried out showed that the accumulation of potentially harmful elements was as follows: Cu > Zn > Sr > Pb > Ni > Cr > Co > Cd. The average concentrations of Cu, Zn, Sr, Pb, Ni, Cr, Co and Cd were 216.0; 152.1; 97.8; 64.6; 15.2; 14.4; 3.1 and 0.2 mg·kg−1 d.w., respectively. These contaminations occur in the topsoil layer of the railway embankment, which suggests a railway transport origin. The highest concentrations of PHEs were recorded in samples collected from close to the rails (inter-railway, side track), and in the embankment (10 m from the track) in the very fine sand fraction (0.05 ≤ 0.1 mm). The high accumulation index of copper, cadmium and lead in the surface layer of soil indicate their anthropogenic origin. The results presented in the paper can be used in local planning and spatial development of this area, taking into account all future decisions about ensuring environmental protection, including groundwater and soils.
Multi-Component MHD Model of Hot Jupiter Envelopes
Authors: Zhilkin Andrey , Bisikalo Dmitri
Published: November 2021

A numerical model description of a hot Jupiter extended envelope based on the approximation of multi-component magnetic hydrodynamics is presented. The main attention is focused on the problem of implementing the completed MHD stellar wind model. As a result, the numerical model becomes applicable for calculating the structure of the extended envelope of hot Jupiters not only in the super-Alfvén and sub-Alfvén regimes of the stellar wind flow around and in the trans-Alfvén regime. The multi-component MHD approximation allows the consideration of changes in the chemical composition of hydrogen–helium envelopes of hot Jupiters. The results of calculations show that, in the case of a super-Alfvén flow regime, all the previously discovered types of extended gas-dynamic envelopes are realized in the new numerical model. With an increase in magnitude of the wind magnetic field, the extended envelope tends to become more closed. Under the influence of a strong magnetic field of the stellar wind, the envelope matter does not move along the ballistic trajectory but along the magnetic field lines of the wind toward the host star. This corresponds to an additional (sub-Alfvénic) envelope type of hot Jupiters, which has specific observational features. In the transient (trans-Alfvén) mode, a bow shock wave has a fragmentary nature. In the fully sub-Alfvén regime, the bow shock wave is not formed, and the flow structure is shock-less.
Cross-Strain Neutralizing and Protective Monoclonal Antibodies against EEEV or WEEV
Authors: Phelps Amanda L. , O’Brien Lyn M. , Ulaeto David O. , Holtsberg Frederick W. , Liao Grant C. , Douglas Robin , Aman M. Javad , Glass Pamela J. , Moyer Crystal L. , Ennis Jane , Zeitlin Larry , Nagata Les P. , Hu Wei-Gang
Published: November 2021

The three encephalitic alphaviruses, namely, the Venezuelan, eastern, and western equine encephalitis viruses (VEEV, EEEV, and WEEV), are classified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as biothreat agents. Currently, no licensed medical countermeasures (MCMs) against these viruses are available for humans. Neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) are fast-acting and highly effective MCMs for use in both pre- and post-exposure settings against biothreat agents. While significant work has been done to identify anti-VEEV NAbs, less has been done to identify NAbs against EEEV and WEEV. In order to develop anti-EEEV or -WEEV NAbs, mice were immunized using complementary strategies with a variety of different EEEV or WEEV immunogens to maximize the generation of NAbs to each of these viruses. Of the hybridomas generated, three anti-EEEV and seven anti-WEEV monoclonal antibodies were identified with in vitro neutralization activity. The most potent neutralizers (two anti-EEEV NAbs and three anti-WEEV NAbs) were further evaluated for neutralization activity against additional strains of EEEV, a single strain of Madariaga virus (formerly South American EEEV), or WEEV. Of these, G1-2-H4 and G1-4-C3 neutralized all three EEEV strains and the Madariaga virus strain, whereas G8-2-H9 and 12 WA neutralized six out of eight WEEV strains. To determine the protective efficacy of these NAbs, the five most potent neutralizers were evaluated in respective mouse aerosol challenge models. All five NAbs demonstrated various levels of protection when administered at doses of 2.5 mg/kg or 10 mg/kg 24 h before the respective virus exposure via the aerosol route. Of these, anti-EEEV NAb G1-4-C3 and anti-WEEV NAb 8C2 provided 100% protection at both doses and all surviving mice were free of clinical signs throughout the study. Additionally, no virus was detected in the brain 14 days post virus exposure. Taken together, efficacious NAbs were developed that demonstrate the potential for the development of cross-strain antibody-based MCMs against EEEV and WEEV infections.
Human Papillomaviruses-Associated Cancers: An Update of Current Knowledge
Authors: Pešut Ena , Đukić Anamaria , Lulić Lucija , Skelin Josipa , Šimić Ivana , Milutin Gašperov Nina , Tomaić Vjekoslav , Sabol Ivan , Grce Magdalena
Published: November 2021

Human papillomaviruses (HPVs), which are small, double-stranded, circular DNA viruses infecting human epithelial cells, are associated with various benign and malignant lesions of mucosa and skin. Intensive research on the oncogenic potential of HPVs started in the 1970s and spread across Europe, including Croatia, and worldwide. Nowadays, the causative role of a subset of oncogenic or high-risk (HR) HPV types, led by HPV-16 and HPV-18, of different anogenital and head and neck cancers is well accepted. Two major viral oncoproteins, E6 and E7, are directly involved in the development of HPV-related malignancies by targeting synergistically various cellular pathways involved in the regulation of cell cycle control, apoptosis, and cell polarity control networks as well as host immune response. This review is aimed at describing the key elements in HPV-related carcinogenesis and the advances in cancer prevention with reference to past and on-going research in Croatia.
COVID-19 Vaccination Behavior of People Living with HIV: The Mediating Role of Perceived Risk and Vaccination Intention
Authors: Qi Li , Yang Li , Ge Jie , Yu Lan , Li Xiaomei
Published: November 2021

The COVID-19 vaccination behavior of people living with HIV (PLWH) was examined via a cross-sectional web-based survey of PLWH aged 18 years and older. The survey was conducted from l May to 20 June 2021. The survey included social demographic information; vaccination behavior (B); and questions related to perceived usefulness (PU), perceived risk (PR), subjective norms (SNs), perceived behavior control (PBC), and behavior intention (BI). The associations between the questionnaire variables and COVID-19 vaccination behavior were assessed by calculating the descriptive data, correlation analysis, and structural equation modeling. In total, 43.71% of the 350 eligible respondents had received a COVID-19 vaccine. The differences in COVID-19 vaccination behavior according to age, gender, religious belief, marital status, income, education level, and occupation were not obvious (p > 0.05). PU had a significantly negative effect on PR (p < 0.05). PR had a significantly negative effect on BI (p < 0.05). SNs had a significantly positive effect on BI (p < 0.05). BI had a significantly positive effect on B (p < 0.05). PR fully mediated the effects of PU on BI, BI fully mediated the effects of PR on B, and BI fully mediated the effects of SNs on B (p < 0.05). Health policymakers and medical workers should provide more information about the risks of vaccine application to improve the vaccination behavior of PLWH.
Management of Invasive Infections due to a Rare Arthroconidial Yeast, Saprochaete capitata, in Two Patients with Acute Hematological Malignancies
Authors: Gurrieri Francesca , Corbellini Silvia , Piccinelli Giorgio , Turra Alessandro , Morello Enrico , Malagola Michele , Russo Domenico , Caruso Arnaldo , De Francesco Maria Antonia
Published: November 2021

Saprochaete capitata is an arthroconidial yeast, found principally in the environment, even if it belongs also to the normal microbial flora that colonize human subjects. This yeast is increasingly associated with invasive infections in hematological patients, in particular in those affected by acute leukemia. An important risk factor that predisposes to this infection is the profound neutropenia present in such immunocompromised patients. Saprochaete spp. were found resistant to both echinocandins and fluconazole so the treatment is often difficult. Here, we report two cases of sepsis in two patients with acute leukemia. All of them had fatal events, due to the worsening of their clinical condition. An early diagnosis and appropriate management of these pathogens is important in consideration of the poor prognosis associated to these fungal invasive infections.
A Fuzzy Logic Model for Early Warning of Algal Blooms in a Tidal-Influenced River
Authors: Yang Hanjie , Chen Zhaoting , Ye Yingxin , Chen Gang , Zeng Fantang , Zhao Changjin
Published: November 2021

Algal blooms are one of the most serious threats to water resources, and their early detection remains a challenge in eutrophication management worldwide. In recent years, with more widely available real-time auto-monitoring data and the advancement of computational capabilities, fuzzy logic has become a robust tool to establish early warning systems. In this study, a framework for an early warning system was constructed, aiming to accurately predict algae blooms in a river containing several water conservation areas and in which the operation of two tidal sluices has altered the tidal currents. Statistical analysis of sampled data was first conducted and suggested the utilization of dissolved oxygen, velocity, ammonia nitrogen, total phosphorus, and water temperature as inputs into the fuzzy logic model. The fuzzy logic model, which was driven by biochemical data sampled by two auto-monitoring sites and numerically simulated velocity, successfully reproduced algae bloom events over the past several years (i.e., 2011, 2012, 2013, 2017, and 2019). Considering the demands of management, several key parameters, such as onset threshold and prolongation time and subsequent threshold, were additionally applied in the warning system, which achieved a critical success index and positive hit rate values of 0.5 and 0.9, respectively. The differences in the early warning index between the two auto-monitoring sites were further illustrated in terms of tidal influence, sluice operation, and the influence of the contaminated water mass that returned from downstream during flood tides. It is highlighted that for typical tidal rivers in urban areas of South China with sufficient nutrient supply and warm temperature, dissolved oxygen and velocity are key factors for driving early warning systems. The study also suggests that some additional common pollutants should be sampled and utilized for further analysis of water mass extents and data quality control of auto-monitoring sampling.
Long-Term Assessment of Reference Baselines for the Determination of the Crop Water Stress Index in Maize under Mediterranean Conditions
Authors: Prior Alejandro , Apolo-Apolo Orly Enrique , Castro-Valdecantos Pedro , Pérez-Ruiz Manuel , Egea Gregorio
Published: November 2021

Canopy temperature has been proposed as a relevant variable for crop water stress monitoring. Since crop temperature is highly influenced by the prevailing climatic conditions, it is usually normalized with indices such as the crop water stress index (CWSI). The index requires the use of two baselines that relate canopy temperature under maximum stress and non-water stress conditions with vapor pressure deficit (VPD). These reference baselines are specific to each crop and climatic region. In maize, they have been extensively studied for certain climatic regions but very little is known on their suitability to be used under Mediterranean-type conditions nor their temporal stability, both diurnally and between seasons. Thus, the objective of this work was to determine the reference baselines for maize grown under Mediterranean conditions, as well as its diurnal and long-term stability. An experiment was conducted for 3 years in a maize breeding field, under well-watered and water-stressed irrigation treatments. The determined reference baselines for computing CWSI in maize have shown to be stable in the long term but markedly influenced by the meteorological variations between 10–17 h UTC (Coordinated Universal Time). These results indicate that several reference baselines should be used for CWSI computing throughout the abovementioned time interval. The CWSI values calculated for well-watered and water-stressed maize breeding plots using the reference baselines derived in this study were successfully correlated with other physiological indicators of plant water stress.
The Reactivity of Polyethylene Microplastics in Water under Low Oxygen Conditions Using Radiation Chemistry
Authors: Peller Julie R. , Mezyk Stephen P. , Shidler Sarah , Castleman Joe , Kaiser Scott , Horne Gregory P.
Published: November 2021

Polyethylene (PE) is an intensely utilized polymer, which has consequently led to it becoming a common environmental contaminant. PE and other plastic waste are known to be highly persistent in surface waters; however, chemical and physical changes do take place over time, dependent mostly on highly variable natural conditions, such as oxygen (O2) availability. Gamma radiation was used to generate reactive oxygen species, namely hydroxyl radicals, in initially aerated aqueous solutions to simulate the natural weathering of microplastics in waters where there are fluctuations and often depletions in dissolved O2. The headspace of the irradiated PE-containing solutions was probed for the formation of degradation products using solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fibers in combination with gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS). The major species detected were n-dodecane, with trace levels of tridecane, 2-dodecanone, and hexadecane, which were believed to be predominately adsorbed in the PE microplastics in excess of their aqueous solubility limits. Surface characterization by Raman spectroscopy and light and dark field microscopy indicated no change in the chemical composition of the irradiated PE microplastics under low O2 to anaerobic conditions. However, morphological changes were observed, indicating radical combination reactions.
Evaluation of Paired Watershed Runoff Relationships since Recovery from a Major Hurricane on a Coastal Forest—A Basis for Examining Effects of Pinus palustris Restoration on Water Yield
Authors: Amatya Devendra M. , Herbert Ssegane , Trettin Carl C. , Hamidi Mohammad Daud
Published: November 2021

The objective of this study was to test pre-treatment hydrologic calibration relationships between paired headwater watersheds (WS77 (treatment) and WS80 (control)) and explain the difference in flow, compared to earlier published data, using daily rainfall, runoff, and a water table measured during 2011–2019 in the Santee Experimental Forest in coastal South Carolina, USA. Mean monthly runoff difference between WS80 and WS77 of −6.80 mm for 2011–2019, excluding October 2015 with an extreme flow event, did not differ significantly from −8.57 mm (p = 0.27) for the 1969–1978 period or from −3.89 mm for 2004–2011, the post-Hurricane Hugo (1989) recovery period. Both the mean annual runoff coefficient and monthly runoff were non-significantly higher for WS77 than for WS80. The insignificant higher runoff by chance was attributed to WS77’s three times smaller surface storage and higher hypsometrical integral than those of WS80, but not to rainfall. The 2011–2019 geometric mean regression-based monthly runoff calibration relationship, excluding the October 2015 runoff, did not differ from the relationship for the post-Hugo recovery period, indicating complete recovery of the forest stand by 2011. The 2011–2019 pre-treatment regression relationship, which was not affected by periodic prescribed burning on WS77, was significant and predictable, providing a basis for quantifying longleaf pine restoration effects on runoff later in the future. However, the relationship will have to be used cautiously when extrapolating for extremely large flow events that exceed its flow bounds.
Water Resource Management through Understanding of the Water Balance Components: A Case Study of a Sub-Alpine Shallow Lake
Authors: Ciampittiello Marzia , Dresti Claudia , Saidi Helmi
Published: November 2021

Water availability is a crucial factor for the hydrological balance of sub-alpine shallow lakes and for their ecosystems. This is the first study on water balance and water management of Lake Candia, a small sub-alpine, shallow morainic lake. The aims of this paper are to better understand the link between surface water and groundwater. The analyses carried out included: (i) evaluation of water balance, (ii) identification of trends for each component of water balance, (iii) detection of the presence of a break point or change in the behavior of each component, and (iv) regression analyses of the terms of hydrological balance and their relative importance. The analyses revealed a high variability mainly regarding the groundwater component, and very good correlation between rainfall and volume variation, between rainfall and the water inflow, and between groundwater source and outflow. Volume variation is linked with rainfall, outflow, groundwater source, and surface water inflow. Despite the fact that the groundwater component does not seem to have a great importance relative to direct rainfall on the lake, it is necessary to study the component with careful resource management policies that point toward the protection of the water resource, sustainable uses, and protection of the Lake Candia ecosystem.
Experimental and simulation study of PEMFC based on ammonia decomposition gas as fuel
Authors: Zhao J.F. , Liang Q.C. , Liang Y.F. , Li M.J. , Hu J.Y.
Published: November 2021

Compared with hydrogen, ammonia has the advantages of high gravimetric hydrogen densities (17.8 wt.%), ease of storage and transportation as a chemical hydrogen storage medium, while its application in small-scale on-site hydrogen production scenarios is limited by the need for complex separation equipment during high purity hydrogen production. Therefore, the study of PEMFC, which can directly utilize ammonia decomposition gas, can greatly expand the application of fuel cells. In this paper, the output characteristics, fuel efficiency and the variation trend of hydrogen concentration and local current density in the anode channel of fuel cell with the output voltage of PEMFC fueled by ammonia decomposition gas were studied by experiment and simulation. The results indicate that the maximum output power of the hybrid fuel decreases by 9.6% compared with that of the pure hydrogen fuel at the same inlet hydrogen equivalent. When the molar concentration of hydrogen in the anode channel is less than 0.12, the output characteristics of PEMFC will be seriously affected. Employing ammonia decomposition gas as fuel, the efficiency corresponding to the maximum output power of PEMFC is approximately 47%, which is 10% lower than the maximum efficiency of pure hydrogen.
Pendampingan Kajian Revisi Peraturan Menteri Komunikasi Dan Informatika Nomor 22 Tahun 2013
Authors: Anggadini Sri Dewi , Haeriyah Tenri , Silvia Mega
Published: November 2021

The purpose of this community service activity is to assist in the study of the revision of the text of the Minister of Communication and Informatics Regulation regarding the implementation of Universal Postal Services in accordance with the Act. In addition to these objectives, it also includes a draft regulatory text that includes the following criteria: mechanism, program planning, monitoring, supervision, verification and evaluation so as to create an accountable LPU implementation. The method of community service activities is carried out descriptively with a survey approach to several locations for the Universal Postal Service, through several stages including: preparation, collection of related data and information, data processing and analysis, preparation of technical recommendations as well as discussions, socialization and recommendations. In the implementation process, activities are carried out starting from collecting field verification data and documents, data processing and analysis, as well as compiling PM LPU revisions. The PKM activities carried out provide benefits in the form of producing a text of the Minister of Communication and Informatics Regulation on the implementation of Universal Postal Services that is in line with the Law. Through the implementation of PKM, it is hoped that the postal administration is in accordance with the expectations and needs of the community, the Government needs to take concrete and quite populist steps to support the postal administration to be carried out properly, effectively, efficiently and accountably, including the need to provide guidance and protection for postal operators, determine requirements strict rules for the feasibility of postal operators, guarantees for the reliability of products and types of postal services, preventing monopolistic practices in postal administration and community participation in postal operations.
Development and Conformity Assessment of ECG-Photometric Complex Software
Authors: Budnyk Vitalii , Ryzhenko Tetiana , Budnyk Mykola
Published: November 2021

Introduction. The article is devoted to the software "PulseWave", which is used as part of the ECG-photometric complex for research in medical institutions. For further implementation of the complex in medical practice, it is necessary to assess the compliance of this software in accordance with the requirements of the technical regulations for medical devices. There are two ways to perform software conformity assessment: as part of the ECG photometric complex or separately from it (stand alone). In this paper, the option of conducting a stand alone conformity assessment was chosen, i.e. as a separate product. This approach is the most promising, given the development of "cloud" storage and data processing environments and the need to introduce into medical practice of treatment and prevention facilities in Ukraine. The purpose of the article is to develop software and prepare it for conformity assessment in accordance with the requirements of the technical regulations for medical devices. Results. The authors consider the structure and principle of operation of the software "PulseWave" ECG-photometric complex. The main stages of the life cycle of this software according to international standards are given. A risk assessment report has been developed, which shows and evaluates the main errors that may occur in the work of the software; and ways to eliminate them. Conclusions. The software development, development of its life cycle and risk analysis provide an opportunity to start the procedure of assessing its compliance with the requirements of the technical regulations for medical devices in accordance with international standards. Keywords: software, conformity assessment, life cycle, application risks.
Covid-19 Lockdown: A Study on the Effect of the Pandemic on Engineering Researchers in Kerala
Authors:   Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Sree Narayana Gurukulam College of Engineering, Kerala, India, C.M Meera , C.M Lakshmi ,   Assistant Professor, Department of English, Vimala College, Kerala, India
Published: November 2021

The motivation for the work is to assess the current scenario of research works after the effect of the pandemic. The article presents the state of functioning of research scholars coming under the engineering fraternity in Kerala. The study focused on analysing the effect of lockdown on the progress of research works of the researchers, the disruptions caused to the researchers reflecting on their research works, researchers’ concern on the future of their research and job, the factors that affected their research during this lockdown period, and their expectation to work after the lockdown period. The study focused on contextualizing the work status of the researchers in the situation of catastrophe.
Learning Frontiers: Concourse for Ideas
Authors:   RMIT University, Macasaet Patrick
Published: November 2021

Design studios are concourses for ideas. They are spatial arenas for learning and discovery that assemble and allow the formation of new knowledge and transcend existing comprehension. To enable it, students should be encouraged to constantly experiment, speculate, reimagine, critique and contribute within the agendas of the design studio whilst consistently engaged with the wider world of ideas, issues and concerns beyond studio walls. As educators and practitioner- academics, how can we curate learning environments that perform as design studio ‘think-tanks’ that simultaneously addresses the speculative ambitions of the studio (and studio leader) whilst engaging with the practicalities of the real-world brief of the client and as well as the aspirations of various partners, collaborators and stakeholders? The ‘Learning Frontiers: RMIT Urban High School’ project is a series of research-led industry partnered studios – is used here as a point of reflection to unpack specific design studio pedagogical attributes and behaviours that developed whilst leading the project. The studios simultaneously explored two primary threads of investigations; ‘typological procedural experiments’ as a design practice and experimental propositions for high school learning environments.
Digital Instruction and the Pedagogy of Hesitation
Authors:   University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Rutenberg Micah , Wall Scott ,   University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Published: November 2021

The reconfiguration of the world of embodied existence into a digital one over the past two decades has been a transition full of potential and possibility, but also one of pedagogical concern and uncertainty. Faculty in every school of architecture are still grappling with the challenges of building curricula that introduce digital modes of architectural production at the onset of design education while simultaneously maintaining a balanced emphasis on developing the student’s spatial and experiential imagination, along with its direct translation into architectural space.The generation of students entering architecture and design schools today are the first to be fully native to digital culture with computation, virtual existence, and access to information streams as equally relevant interfaces with the world as are the direct physical stimuli of lived experience. However, their fluency with computation does not at first appear to facilitate an innate ability to use digital tools to develop the spatial imagination or to create new synaptic connections between the spatial imagination and physical form. In fact, we often see the opposite. Rather than adding spatial depth, digital tools–everything from modes of production like laser cutters and 3D printers, to visualization tools such as Rhino, V-Ray, or Grasshopper–seem to flatten space.
Figuring in Friction: A Pedagogical Framework for Foundational Studios
Authors:   Tulane University, Modesitt Adam
Published: November 2021

It is a truism, perhaps, that architectural education should not merely teach tools, vocationally. Architectural education should prioritize conceptual development, interpretive skills, and critical thinking alongside calisthenic exercises in precision, craft, and rigor. The field of architecture however, continues to adopt an expanding array new mediums, predominantly computational and digital, of increasing complexity. Moreover, facility with new digital tools increasingly serves as a perquisite for entry contemporary architectural practice, presenting urgent questions and challenges for foundational architectural education. Architectural education, especially foundational pedagogy, must impart the fundamentals and simultaneously prepare students for the onset professional practice in which they will face an expanding, fragmented landscape of new architectural tools and mediums.Critical questions for foundational pedagogy include the degree to which tool instruction and shoptalk is positioned within the studio environment. Is pedagogy strengthened by the integration of tool instruction within the studio, or should it be siloed outside in dedicated courses? Among new mediums, which best serve as vehicles for imparting design principles? Which modes of production, historically established or new and experimental, best prepare students for professional practice? Does a focused, targeted adoption of specific tools foster conceptual development, or should a wide-range of tools be sampled? Lastly, amid these questions, where can students find space to experiment, assume risk, and begin to establish their own positions?This paper proposes a pedagogical framework for situating these questions within a foundational architecture studio and presents results from a new core curriculum at the Tulane School of Architecture, in New Orleans. A seminal foundational studio pedagogy developed a decade ago at the school is revisited and reappraised in the context of the revised curriculum. Current and past curricula-la share common roots and goals, but diverge in technique, meth-od, and process. Lesson structures similar to the past curricula were adopted in the current pedagogy to facilitate systematic comparisons between approaches and make legible new outcomes. Development of core studio foundational pedagogy necessitates a clear stance on the role of tool instruction within the studio, a pressing challenge in the context of an increasingly fragmented landscape of tools, techniques, and mediums. The new pedagogy at the Tulane School of Architecture embraces this context, and positions the friction generated amidst the application of multiple tools and mediums as a primary site for architectural invention and critical development.
”Angelus Novus” On the Utility of Applied History of Contemporary Architecture in Architectural Design
Authors:   Arizona State University, Rocchi Elena
Published: November 2021

“I must reflect on the circumstances — on the mystery of circumstances which leads the man into paths which he could never anticipate before they happen. This certainly happened to me because I was to be a painter — without questions about it — until my last year in high school when a course given on architecture just hit me so strongly as something that I wanted to be associated with.” Louis Kahn (1)While immersed in an increasingly pluralistic environment, students’ imaginary follows different tracks than the ones of an academic culture taught by teachers in classrooms. How can teachers enter the complex life cycle of students’ cultural growth? Explicitly, how can theyteach the history of contemporary architecture to a generation immersed in the debris of excessive information, with roots in motion over the wreckage of a globalized context?The course “APH 405 — Applied History of Contemporary Architecture” experiments on new ways to teach Millennials history of contemporary architecture expanding on their “experiences” of his-tory. By completing assignments as design actions instead of taking quizzes, students build awareness on the reasons why design cannot disregard its relationship with history. Most architecture students are alienated from the experience of designing architecture: seeing ways architects composed buildings in the past makes history relevant by fostering personal connections. The course’s purpose is to show how to design architecture learning from the past; the goal, to develop divergent thinking necessary in design as the ability to process ideas; and the objective, to avoid the multiple-choice quiz in favor of “designing” answers as drawings and movies.
From Critical to Transformative Pedagogy in Architectural Education
Authors:   Illinois Institute of Technology, Jones Kristin
Published: November 2021

Transformative pedagogy is a contemporary educational ideal intended to actively promote the transformation of the life and inner perception of the learner and his/her community. It emerged at the dawn of the 21st century from a line of counter-hegemonic thought that has been called emancipatory, liberal, radical or critical in the effort to chart a new direction for post-industrial education. This paper addresses the struggle of architectural education to maintain its aim as an emancipatory practice within an ever-evolving disciplinary culture.
Expansive Learning and Change Laboratory Model in Architectural Education: A Mexican Approach
Authors:   Universidad de las Américas Puebla, Kurjenoja Anne K. , Schumacher Melissa ,   Universidad de las Américas Puebla, Gozález-Meza Edwin ,   Universidad de las Américas Puebla, Gutiérrez-Juárez Eduardo ,   Universidad de las Américas Puebla
Published: November 2021

Latin American architecture and with it, architectural education frequently celebrates the insertion of local projects in the international design stardom as vanguard symbols of development, quality of life and local capacity for innovation. The material environment follows the logics in which the urban image and architectural objects are non-textual elements in a political, economic and social discourse.Thus, the 21th century architectural and urban re-invention is easily focused on the transformation of the material world to images of glamorous architectural objects and urban landscapes, de-territorialized from their local contexts, their people and the local narratives of place. How could Mexican architectural education respond to local, spatial, socio-cultural, territorial, environmental, economic and political demands to favorable impact the construction of material environment struggling under the clash between globalization, its neo-liberal architectural language, and the local emerging needs? Could it develop different and challenging focus areas, to seek new approaches to local problematics? How should critical architectural education trigger locally-based development innovation with potential to face global challenges of the professional world? In this context, Universidad de las Americas Puebla’s (UDLAP) researchers’ initial question was, how should critical architectural education trigger locally based development innovation with potential to face global challenges of the professional world?The exploration of a new and locally viable architectural approach to sensible Mexican urban territories was triggered by a project seeking strategies to respond the collision between the traditional community of Cholula, Puebla, and the recent urban development around it informed by global economy and its architectural aesthetics. In a design workshop, socially responsible professional practices and sustainable environmental transformations were promoted in a context in which global forces are influencing local urban planning policies. Thus, this paper exposes Expansive Learning1 educational approaches experimented to trigger strategies for collaborative community development. These strategies were based on Social Urbanism, socially responsible New Localism2 and Regenerative Development Design3 through bottom-up collaborative design and co-configuration work in which the architect adopts the role of a social and environmental mediator within the framework of Critical Realism (CR)4.
How Do We Work? Metacognition in Creative and Collaborative Practices
Authors:   Temple University, Wolfe Byron , Erdoǧan Ford Seher ,   Temple University
Published: November 2021

constitute best practices for initiatingand maintaining sustainable collaborations?These questions arise regularly within the context of our institution, Tyler School of Art and Architecture, which is part of TempleUniversity in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The school includes the departments of Architecture and Environmental Design, Art Education and Community Arts Practices, Art History, Studio Art, and Graphic and Interactive Design. It recently updated its structure and adopted a name that captures its breadth of programs to support cross-disciplinary study and reflect current understanding of creative practice and research.One of us being a professor in Studio Art with a background in Photography and the other in Architecture and EnvironmentalDesign, our collective experience and shared interests in interdisciplinary engagements motivated us to design and co-teach a new, graduate-level course focusing on collaboration and the creative process. Following preparations and planning for about a year, we taught the course titled “ Collaboration and Creativity” three times since its first iteration in the fall of 2017. Each semester varied widely in terms of the number of students enrolled, background and expectations both on the part of the students as well as us, as instructors. So far the cohort has included students from architecture, photography, ceramics, glass, painting, printmaking, sculpture and film and media programs.To facilitate research-based collaborative work, we considered place-based topics, allowing for various modes of research, which would generate connections with the local environment. Since students from diverse disciplinary backgrounds and with different skill-sets enroll in the course, we deliberately selected a neutral topic of study, a locally sourced stone, in order to encourage a shared experience of discovery. Taking its name from the creek that defines the northwestern arm of the city of Philadelphia, the Wissahickon schist stone—a metamorphic rock—is widely used in historical construction in the area and well-recognized for its distinct specks of shiny mica and multi-toned layers of gray, blue, brown, and black. We decided to work with this stone as a departure point for diverse lines of inquiry into physical, historical, cultural, and social domains.
Design-Build Studio Outcomes: Researching Potential vs Practice
Authors:   Tulane School of Architecture, Taylor Welty Emile , Yoachim Ann ,   Tulane School of Architecture, Hogans Austin ,   Tulane School of Architecture
Published: November 2021

Academic design-build programs offer a method of teaching that outperforms conventional architecture pedagogy. Design build learning outcomes including those focused on complexity and collaborative problem solving offer transferable lessons that young designers can take with them into the profession. This is a baseline assumption our university’s community design center has operated under for fourteen years, an assumption based on academic writings, antidote, and personal experience. With hundreds of alumni now in practice, we used a web-based survey instrument to test these assumptions and assess the outcomes of the design-build mode of education.
Critical Reflection and the Role of the Architectural Educator in the Design Studio
Authors:   University of Memphis, Barker Jennifer
Published: November 2021

This paper describes a narrative inquiry into the role of the architectural educator, seeking to understand in what ways architectural educators practice critical reflection within the context of architectural education. This work is part of my greater doctoral research that considers both critical reflection and authenticity in the role of the architecture educator. The site for the research is my own department: I asked my colleagues to share their stories in order that we might collectively come to understand our teaching practice and our departmental ethos, and how we can learn from one another to advance our individual and collective teaching.4
Deep Convolutional Neural Network Feed Forward and Back Prop a gation (DCNN F BP) Algorithm f or Predicting Heart Disease u sing Internet o f Things
Authors:   Research Scholar, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Mepco Schlenk Engineering College, Sivakasi, Tamilnadu, India., N Saranya , S Kavi Priya ,   Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Mepco Schlenk Engineering College, Sivakasi, Tamilnadu, India.
Published: November 2021

In recent years, due to the increasing amounts of data gathered from the medical area, the Internet of Things are majorly developed. But the data gathered are of high volume, velocity, and variety. In the proposed work the heart disease is predicted using wearable devices. To analyze the data efficiently and effectively, Deep Canonical Neural Network Feed-Forward and Back Propagation (DCNN-FBP) algorithm is used. The data are gathered from wearable gadgets and preprocessed by employing normalization. The processed features are analyzed using a deep convolutional neural network. The DCNN-FBP algorithm is exercised by applying forward and backward propagation algorithm. Batch size, epochs, learning rate, activation function, and optimizer are the parameters used in DCNN-FBP. The datasets are taken from the UCI machine learning repository. The performance measures such as accuracy, specificity, sensitivity, and precision are used to validate the performance. From the results, the model attains 89% accuracy. Finally, the outcomes are juxtaposed with the traditional machine learning algorithms to illustrate that the DCNN-FBP model attained higher accuracy.