bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Infestation risk of the intermediate snail host of Schistosoma japonicum in the Yangtze River Basin: improved results by spatial reassessment and a random forest approach
Authors: Zheng Jin-Xin , Xia Shang , Lv Shan , Zhang Yi , Bergquist Robert , Zhou Xiao-Nong
Published: May 2021

Background

Oncomelania hupensis is only intermediate snail host of Schistosoma japonicum, and distribution of O. hupensis is an important indicator for the surveillance of schistosomiasis. This study explored the feasibility of a random forest algorithm weighted by spatial distance for risk prediction of schistosomiasis distribution in the Yangtze River Basin in China, with the aim to produce an improved precision reference for the national schistosomiasis control programme by reducing the number of snail survey sites without losing predictive accuracy.

Methods

The snail presence and absence records were collected from Anhui, Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi and Jiangsu provinces in 2018. A machine learning of random forest algorithm based on a set of environmental and climatic variables was developed to predict the breeding sites of the O. hupensis intermediated snail host of S. japonicum. Different spatial sizes of a hexagonal grid system were compared to estimate the need for required snail sampling sites. The predictive accuracy related to geographic distances between snail sampling sites was estimated by calculating Kappa and the area under the curve (AUC).

Results

The highest accuracy (AUC = 0.889 and Kappa = 0.618) was achieved at the 5 km distance weight. The five factors with the strongest correlation to O. hupensis infestation probability were: (1) distance to lake (48.9%), (2) distance to river (36.6%), (3) isothermality (29.5%), (4) mean daily difference in temperature (28.1%), and (5) altitude (26.0%). The risk map showed that areas characterized by snail infestation were mainly located along the Yangtze River, with the highest probability in the dividing, slow-flowing river arms in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River in Anhui, followed by areas near the shores of China’s two main lakes, the Dongting Lake in Hunan and Hubei and the Poyang Lake in Jiangxi.

Conclusions

Applying the machine learning of random forest algorithm made it feasible to precisely predict snail infestation probability, an approach that could improve the sensitivity of the Chinese schistosome surveillance system. Redesign of the snail surveillance system by spatial bias correction of O. hupensis infestation in the Yangtze River Basin to reduce the number of sites required to investigate from 2369 to 1747.

Graphical abstract
Autopia as new perceptual regime: mobilized gaze and architectural design
Authors: Charitonidou Marianna
Published: May 2021

The automobile has reshaped our conceptions of space and our modes of accessing and penetrating the urban and non-urban territory in multiple ways, revolutionizing how architects perceive the city and contributing significantly to the transformation of the relationship between architecture and the city. Despite the fact that many architects and architectural critics and theorists have been attracted to automobile vision, in the field of history and theory of architecture and urban design, many questions concerning the impact of the automobile on our perception of the city and its territory have not yet been explored in depth. This is surprising when one considers that no other single factor changed the city so drastically during the twentieth century as the pervasive presence of the automobile. The article examines three different cases of architects—John Lautner, Alison and Peter Smithson, and Aldo Rossi—who tried to construct new visual regimes in photography from the car. The main objective is to present how new visual regimes in photography from the car informed in various ways the visual attitudes in their designs of buildings. The interexchange between the ways of capturing the views from the car and the formation of new design methods can explain the necessity to establish a new theoretical framework offering the possibility to historians of architecture and urban design to address in a sharp and concrete way the reciprocal relation between automobile vision and design approaches.
Investigating rarity in web attacks with ensemble learners
Authors: Zuech Richard , Hancock John , Khoshgoftaar Taghi M.
Published: May 2021

Class rarity is a frequent challenge in cybersecurity. Rarity occurs when the positive (attack) class only has a small number of instances for machine learning classifiers to train upon, thus making it difficult for the classifiers to discriminate and learn from the positive class. To investigate rarity, we examine three individual web attacks in big data from the CSE-CIC-IDS2018 dataset: “Brute Force-Web”, “Brute Force-XSS”, and “SQL Injection”. These three individual web attacks are also severely imbalanced, and so we evaluate whether random undersampling (RUS) treatments can improve the classification performance for these three individual web attacks. The following eight different levels of RUS ratios are evaluated: no sampling, 999:1, 99:1, 95:5, 9:1, 3:1, 65:35, and 1:1. For measuring classification performance, Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (AUC) metrics are obtained for the following seven different classifiers: Random Forest (RF), CatBoost (CB), LightGBM (LGB), XGBoost (XGB), Decision Tree (DT), Naive Bayes (NB), and Logistic Regression (LR) (with the first four learners being ensemble learners and for comparison, the last three being single learners). We find that applying random undersampling does improve overall classification performance with the AUC metric in a statistically significant manner. Ensemble learners achieve the top AUC scores after massive undersampling is applied, but the ensemble learners break down and have poor performance (worse than NB and DT) when no sampling is applied to our unique and harsh experimental conditions of severe class imbalance and rarity.
Improvement of the thermal stability of dendritic silver-coated copper microparticles by surface modification based on molecular self-assembly
Authors: Kim Tae Hyeong , Kim Hyeji , Jang Hyo Jun , Lee Nara , Nam Kwang Hyun , Chung Dae-won , Lee Seunghyun
Published: May 2021

In the study reported herein, silver-coated copper (Ag/Cu) powder was modified with alkanethiols featuring alkyl chains of different lengths, namely butyl, octyl, and dodecyl, to improve its thermal stability. The modification of the Ag/Cu powders with adsorbed alkanethiols was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. Each powder was combined with an epoxy resin to prepare an electrically conductive film. The results confirmed that the thermal stability of the films containing alkanethiol-modified Ag/Cu powders is superior to that of the film containing untreated Ag/Cu powder. The longer the alkyl group in the alkanethiol-modified Ag/Cu powder, the higher the initial resistance of the corresponding electrically conductive film and the lower the increase in resistance induced by heat treatment.
ISEE_Wave: interactive plasma wave analysis tool
Authors: Matsuda Shoya , Miyoshi Yoshizumi , Nakamura Satoko , Kitahara Masahiro , Shoji Masafumi , Hori Tomoaki , Imajo Shun , Jun Chae-Woo , Kurita Satoshi , Kasahara Yoshiya , Matsuoka Ayako , Shinohara Iku
Published: May 2021

We have developed ISEE_Wave (Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research, Nagoya University - Plasma Wave Analysis Tool), an interactive plasma wave analysis tool for electric and magnetic field waveforms observed by the plasma wave experiment aboard the Arase satellite. ISEE_Wave provides an integrated wave analysis environment on a graphical user interface, where users can visualize advanced wave properties, such as the electric and magnetic field wave power spectra, wave normal polar angle, polarization ellipse, planarity of polarization, and Poynting vector angle. Users can simply select a time interval for their analysis, and ISEE_Wave automatically downloads the waveform data, ambient magnetic field data, and spacecraft attitude data from the data archive repository of the ERG Science Center, and then performs necessary coordinate transformation and spectral matrix calculation. The singular value decomposition technique is used as the core technique for the wave property analysis of ISEE_Wave. On-demand analysis is possible by specifying the parameters of the wave property analysis as well as the plot styles using the graphical user interface of ISEE_Wave. The results can be saved as image files of plots and/or a tplot save file. ISEE_Wave aids in the identification of fine structures of observed plasma waves, wave mode identification, and wave propagation analysis. These properties can be used to understand plasma wave generation, propagation, and wave-particle interaction in the inner magnetosphere. ISEE_Wave can also be applied to general waveform data observed by other spacecraft by using the plug-in procedures to load the data.
Effectivity of homecare and professional biofilm removal procedures on initial supragingival biofilm on laser-microtextured implant surfaces in an ex vivo model
Authors: John Gordon , Schwarz Frank , Kravchenko Alexandra , Ommerborn Michelle Alicia , Becker Jürgen
Published: May 2021

Background

The aim of the current study was the evaluation of initial biofilm adhesion and development on laser-microtextured implant collar surfaces and the examination of effectivity of different biofilm management methods.

Methods

Initial biofilm formation was investigated on hydrophobic machined and laser-microtextured (Laser-Lok) titanium surfaces and hydrophobic machined and laser-microtextured (Laser-Lok) titanium aluminium vanadium surfaces and compared to hydrophobic smooth pickled titanium surfaces, hydrophilic smooth and acid etched titanium surfaces, hydrophobic sandblasted large grid and acid etched titanium surfaces (titanium Promote) via erythrosine staining and subsequent histomorphometrical analysis and scanning electron microscopic investigations. After decontamination procedures, performed via tooth brushing and glycine powder blasting, clean implant surface was detected via histomorphometrical analysis.

Results

After 24 h mean initial plaque area was detected in the following descending order: smooth pickled titanium > titanium Promote > hydrophilic smooth and acid etched titanium > Laser-Lok titanium > Laser-Lok titanium aluminium vanadium. The same order was determined after 48 h of biofilm formation. After glycine powder blasting all samples depicted almost 100% clean implant surface. After tooth brushing, Laser-Lok titanium (67.19%) and Laser-Lok titanium aluminium vanadium (69.80%) showed significantly more clean implant surface than the other structured surfaces, hydrophilic smooth and acid etched titanium (50.34%) and titanium Promote (33.89%). Smooth pickled titanium showed almost complete clean implant surface (98.84%) after tooth brushing.

Conclusions

Both Laser-Lok surfaces showed less initial biofilm formation after 24 and 48 h than the other implant surfaces. In combination with the significant higher clean implant surfaces after domestic decontamination procedure via tooth brushing, both Laser-Lok surfaces could be a candidate for modified implant and abutment designs, especially in transmucosal areas.
A rare cause of lower gastrointestinal bleeding treated with robotic colorectal surgery
Authors: Osofsky Robin , Kamya Cyril , Hanif Hamza , Phuoc Victor
Published: May 2021

Background

Metastatic melanoma to the colon is rarely diagnosed with an incidence of only 0.3% and more than 95% of cases identified post-mortem. Survival for patients with metastatic melanoma to the colon is poor, with 5-year survival rates of 26.5%. Nonetheless, surgical resection of the colonic metastatic melanoma lesions is recommended as it is associated with improved survival. Additionally, surgical resection is also indicated for palliative reasons, as symptom resolution is achieved in 90% of such patients. Use of the surgical robot has increased dramatically in the past decades, especially in the field of colorectal surgery. Furthermore, recent studies have demonstrated comparable outcomes between patients undergoing either laparoscopic or robotic-assisted colorectal surgery for cancer. Here, we describe the first case, to the authors knowledge, of a robot-assisted sigmoid colectomy for metastatic melanoma.

Case presentation

A 72-year-old male with a history of metastatic melanoma diagnosed in 2015 with a favorable response to immunotherapy presented to the emergency department with symptomatic lower gastrointestinal bleeding (LGIB). Endoscopy demonstrated a friable melanotic lesion of the sigmoid colon with biopsy demonstrating histopathologic evidence of metastatic melanoma. After further evaluation, the patient consented for an elective robot-assisted segmental colectomy for palliative intent. Diagnostic laparoscopy identified no evidence of further intra-abdominal metastatic disease. After identifying the metastatic lesion in the sigmoid colon, the mesentery of involved segment of sigmoid colon adjacent to the lesion was divided using the bipolar electrosurgical vessel sealer device. The colon was divided both proximal and distal to the lesion using a robotic stapler and a tension-free colo-colonic anastomosis was created intracorporeally. Postoperatively, the patient had an unremarkable course and was discharged home on post-operative day 3. On follow-up, the patient was doing well with resolution of preoperative LGIB.

Conclusion

 This case highlights a rare presentation of metastatic melanoma to the colon in a patient presenting with LGIB. Furthermore, this case demonstrates the feasibility of the minimally invasive robotic-assisted approach for an uncommon pathology.
Spatial distribution and determinant factors of anemia among adults aged 15–59 in Ethiopia; using mixed-effects ordinal logistic regression model
Authors: Tusa Biruk Shalmeno , Kebede Sewnet Adem , Weldesenbet Adisu Birhanu
Published: May 2021

Background

Anemia is a global public health problem, particularly in developing countries. Assessing the geographic distributions and determinant factors is a key and crucial step in designing targeted prevention and intervention programmes to address anemia. Thus, the current study is aimed to assess the spatial distribution and determinant factors of anemia in Ethiopia among adults aged 15–59.

Methods

A secondary data analysis was done based on 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Surveys (EDHS). Total weighted samples of 29,140 adults were included. Data processing and analysis were performed using STATA 14; ArcGIS 10.1 and SaTScan 9.6 software. Spatial autocorrelation was checked using Global Moran’s index (Moran’s I). Hotspot analysis was made using Gettis-OrdGi*statistics. Additionally, spatial scan statistics were applied to identify significant primary and secondary cluster of anemia. Mixed effect ordinal logistics were fitted to determine factors associated with the level of anemia.

Result

The spatial distribution of anemia in Ethiopia among adults age 15–59 was found to be clustered (Global Moran’s I = 0.81, p value <  0.0001). In the multivariable mixed-effectordinal regression analysis; Females [AOR = 1.53; 95% CI: 1.42, 1.66], Never married [AOR = 0.86; 95% CI: 0.77, 0.96], highly educated [AOR = 0.71; 95% CI: 0.60, 0.84], rural residents [AOR = 1.53; 95% CI: 1.23, 1.81], rich wealth status [AOR = 0.77; 95% CI: 0.69, 0.86] and underweight [AOR = 1.15; 1.06, 1.24] were significant predictors of anemia among adults.

Conclusions

A significant clustering of anemia among adults aged 15–59 were found in Ethiopia and the significant hotspot areas with high cluster anemia were identified in Somalia, Afar, Gambella, Dire Dewa and Harari regions. Besides, sex, marital status, educational level, place of residence, region, wealth index and BMI were significant predictors of anemia. Therefore, effective public health intervention and nutritional education should be designed for the identified hotspot areas and risk groups in order to decrease the incidence of anemia.
The disconnected: COVID-19 and disparities in access to quality broadband for higher education students
Authors: Cullinan John , Flannery Darragh , Harold Jason , Lyons Seán , Palcic Dónal
Published: May 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic forced many higher education institutions (HEIs) across the world to cancel face-to-face teaching, close campus facilities, and displace staff and students to work and learn from home. Given the persistent nature of the pandemic, many HEIs have continued to deliver courses online and/or use a blended learning approach. However, there are concerns around differences in student access to digital learning resources while at home, including high quality broadband connectivity. This is important, since variation in connectivity may impact the type of online/blended model that faculty can deliver or constrain student engagement with online content. In this context, this paper combines national data on the domiciles of students enrolled in Irish HEIs with detailed spatial data on broadband coverage to estimate the number of higher education students ‘at risk’ of poor access to high quality internet connectivity. Overall it finds that one-in-six students come from areas with poor broadband coverage, with large disparities by geography and by HEI. It also finds that students from the poorest broadband coverage areas are more likely to be socioeconomically disadvantaged. As a result, this paper recommends that HEIs use their detailed registration data to help identify and support at-risk students. In particular, the results suggest that some HEIs may need to prioritise access to campus facilities and services to less well-off students living in poor broadband coverage areas.
Review of a controversial treatment method in the fight against COVID-19 with the example of Algeria
Authors: Aouissi Hani Amir , Ababsa Mostefa , Gaagai Aissam
Published: May 2021

Background

As of April 23, 2021, more than 145 million cases and almost 3.07 million related deaths were noted because of the coronavirus (Covid-19) Pandemic. Considering the low rate vaccination, the alternative that divided opinions for a long time is an old medicine called hydroxychloroquine.

Main body

The aim of this review was to synthesize the different highlights of the most important studies published since the beginning of the epidemic crisis. After a precise study of the available bibliography dealing with this subject and the addition of an adapted example, which is the current situation of Algeria, the results showed the effectiveness of the Algerian method as well as the impact that this treatment had.

Conclusion

We concluded that in brief, given the inexistence of a better solution, we ultimately recommend that patients with severe COVID-19 to be treated for the moment with Hydroxychloroquine combined with Azithromycin in view of its effectiveness, while waiting for another solution.
Are fire temperatures and residence times good predictors of survival and regrowth for resprouters in Florida, USA, scrub?
Authors: Menges Eric S. , Smith Stacy A. , Clarke Gretel L. , Koontz Stephanie M.
Published: May 2021

Background

Fire is a dominant ecological disturbance in many ecosystems. Post-fire resprouting is a widespread response to fire, but resprouting vigor varies with many components of the fire regime, including fire intensity. We measured responses in 46 species of resprouting plants of Florida, USA, scrub and related habitats, marking and measuring individual plants before fires. We then measured fire temperatures and residence times (time above 60 °C) during 13 fires, at the base of each plant. We measured post-fire plant sizes for up to six years. We hypothesized that high temperatures and long residence times would reduce survival and growth, and that these vital rates would vary by burn season, habitat type, and species group.

Results

Fires had variable intensities with maximum temperatures ranging from 47 to 890 °C (mean temperature = 549 °C) and residence times ranging from 0 to 83 minutes (mean time = 10 minutes). Consumed plants experienced higher fire intensity than scorched plants, and residence times were higher during the wet season (July through October), than the dry season (November through April), and fire season (May to June) and with drier conditions. Across all species affected by fire, 86% of plants survived and resprouted post fire. First year survival was unrelated to fire variables, with high survival across all maximum temperatures and residence times. Burn season, habitat, and species group did not significantly affect survival. On average across all species, post-fire growth recovered to pre-fire heights within four years. Growth was not significantly affected by species group or burn season.

Conclusion

Resprouting perennial plants that dominate Florida scrub and surrounding habitats appear resilient to a wide range of fire intensities, as measured by maximum temperatures and residence times. Post-fire growth was rapid, with recovery of pre-fire heights in four years. Species groups varied in post-fire recovery rates. In these habitats, fire is critical to maintain the habitat structure for many animals and plants, including many rare species. The slower recovery of biomass for resprouting shrubs results in the longer availability of gaps for rare herbaceous species. In addition, variability in post-fire survival and growth among species groups likely contributes to the persistence of species diversity and complexity across habitats. However, variation in fire intensity appears to have little effect on resprouting species or subsequent habitat structure. A range of fire regimes can be used in prescribed fire management without having major impacts on resprouting plants in Florida scrub and related vegetation.
Pro-Neurotensin/Neuromedin N and Risk of Incident Metabolic Syndrome and Diabetes Mellitus in the REGARDS Cohort
Authors: Nicoli Charles D , Carson April P , Plante Timothy B , Leann Long D , McClure Leslie A , Schulte Janin , Cushman Mary
Published: May 2021

Context

The peptide neurotensin is implicated in insulin resistance, diabetes mellitus (DM), and cardiovascular disease.

Objective

We studied the association of neurotensin’s stable precursor, pro-neurotensin/neuromedin N (pro-NT/NMN) with incident metabolic syndrome (MetS) and DM.

Methods

We included 3772 participants from the REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study who completed the baseline exam (2003-2007), the follow-up exam (2013-2016), and had pro-NT/NMN measured by immunoassay. Weighted logistic regression models were fitted to incident DM, incident MetS, and each MetS component, separately, incorporating demographics, metabolic risk factors, homeostasis model of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and diet scores. Incident MetS was defined by 3 or more harmonized criteria at follow-up in those with fewer than 3 at baseline. Incident DM was defined by use of hypoglycemic drugs/insulin, fasting glucose 126 mg/dL or greater, or random glucose 200 mg/dL or greater in those without these at baseline.

Results

Median (IQR) plasma pro-NT/NMN was 160 pmol/L (118-218 pmol/L). A total of 564 (of 2770 without baseline MetS) participants developed MetS, and 407 (of 3030 without baseline DM) developed DM. Per SD higher log-pro-NT/NMN, the demographic-adjusted odds ratio (OR) and 95% CI of incident MetS was 1.22 (1.11-1.35), 1.16 (1.00-1.35) for incident low high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and 1.25 (1.11-1.40) for incident dysglycemia. The association of pro-NT/NMN with MetS was attenuated in the model adding HOMA-IR (OR per SD log-pro-NT/NMN 1.14; 95% CI, 1.00-1.30). There was no association with incident DM (OR per SD log-pro-NT/NMN 1.06; 95% CI, 0.94-1.19).

Conclusion

Pro-NT/NMN was associated with MetS and 2 components, dysglycemia and low HDL, likely explained by insulin resistance.
Growing Methods
Authors: Elton Sarah
Published: May 2021

A methodology for plant qualitative research is at an early stage of development. While conducting a multispecies ethnography of gardeners and the plants they grow for food in a neighborhood in transition from social housing to a mixed-income community in Toronto, the author wondered, How to account for plants and their agency? What is evidence of vegetal politics? What is a multispecies ethnographer doing when decentering the human in relation to garden plants, beyond what is un-done ontologically? This article situates itself in the plant turn and proposes a methodology to account for plant agency in gardens and to identify vegetal politics. The author builds on the methodological work of other scholars of human-plant relations and posthumanist notions of relational agency to develop a three-step method: (1) recognize plant time, (2) participate with plants, and (3) scale up. Central to the methodology—and a key contribution the author puts forward—is a shift away from the researcher considering plants as individuals and instead understanding plant communities as the unit of analysis. This shift in scale, while recognizing plant time and the relational agency of plants, permits the identification of vegetal politics and has allowed the author to theorize plants as political actors in cities that support health.
In the “Fissures of Infrastructure”
Authors: Hood Kate Lewis
Published: May 2021

This article offers an account of “toxic infrastructures” as mutually material and discursive arrangements operating in the postwar, postcrash, and settler colonial landscapes of the United States. It specifically responds to Jennifer Scappettone’s multimodal poetic work The Republic of Exit 43, developed after the author’s discovery that the industrial landfill site she grew up alongside in New York had been classified by the US Environmental Protection Agency as requiring federal intervention. Tracing Scappettone’s poetic geographies from the “corporate dump” of Syosset Landfill to the more (in)famous waste site Fresh Kills, the article argues that Scappettone exposes the ways that certain bodies and ecologies are rendered physically and conceptually toxic and implicates readers in the uneven social, embodied, and ecological conditions of composition and response. It suggests that Scappettone’s practices of collage, salvage, and collaborative performance destabilize lyric subjectivity to address a “garbage arcadia” compounding the material accumulations of US consumerism and neoliberal financialization with longer processes of dispossession and displacement. Reading this text with feminist materialisms and Julian Talamantez Brolaski’s queer Indigenous poetry, the article considers how poetics might reckon with the material conditions and residues of uneven wasting and generate situated, critical, and relational approaches to toxic infrastructures.
RPA facilitates rescue of keratinocytes from UVB radiation damage through insulin-like growth factor-I signalling
Authors: Andrade Melisa J. , Van Lonkhuyzen Derek R. , Upton Zee , Satyamoorthy Kapaettu
Published: May 2021

UVBR-induced photolesions in genomic DNA of keratinocytes impair cellular functions and potentially determine the cell fate post-irradiation. The ability of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) to rescue epidermal keratinocytes after photodamage via apoptosis prevention and photolesion removal was recently demonstrated using in vitro two-dimensional and three-dimensional skin models. Given the limited knowledge of specific signalling cascades contributing to post-UVBR IGF-I effects, we used inhibitors to investigate the impact of blockade of various signalling mediators on IGF-I photoprotection. IGF-I treatment, in the presence of signalling inhibitors, particularly TDRL-505, which targets replication protein A (RPA), impaired activation of IGF-1R downstream signalling, diminished cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer removal, arrested growth, reduced cell survival and increased apoptosis. Further, the transient partial knockdown of RPA was found to abrogate IGF-I-mediated responses in keratinocytes, ultimately affecting photoprotection and, thereby, establishing that RPA is required for IGF-I function. Our findings thus elucidate the importance of RPA in linking the damage response activation, cell cycle regulation, repair and survival pathways, separately initiated by IGF-I upon UVBR-induced damage. This information is potentially imperative for the development of effective sunburn and photodamage repair strategies.

This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.
Does high COVID-19 spread impact neighbouring countries? Evidence from Ireland
Authors: Ahmed Rakesh , May Peter
Published: May 2021

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has necessitated public health responses on an unprecedented scale. Controlling infectious diseases requires understanding of the conditions that increase spread. Prior studies have identified sociodemographic, epidemiological and geographic associations. Ireland offers an unusual opportunity to quantify how high infection rates in one country impacted cases in a neighbouring country.

Methods: We analysed official statistics on confirmed COVID-19 cases on the island of Ireland for 52 weeks from March 2020. Our main research question was: Did higher cases in Northern Ireland (NI) impact the number of cases in the Republic of Ireland (ROI)? We used least squares regression to compare confirmed cases in ROI counties that border NI with the rest of the state. We included in our model sociodemographic, epidemiological and geographic factors. We employed the latitude of each county town as an instrumental variable to isolate a quasi-experimental estimate of the cross-border spread.

Results: In the quasi-experimental framework, and controlling for population density, age distribution and circulatory disease prevalence, border counties had an extra 21.0 (95%CI: 8.4-33.6) confirmed COVID-19 cases per 1000 people. This equates to an estimated 9,611 additional cases in ROI, or 4% of the national total in the first year of the pandemic. Our results were substantively similar in non-experimental frameworks, with alternative additional predictors, and in sensitivity analyses. Additionally, population density in ROI counties was positively associated with confirmed cases and higher proportions of residents in the professional classes was negatively associated.

Conclusion: On the island of Ireland during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, high infection rates in NI increased cases in the neighbouring ROI. Maximising co-ordination of pandemic responses among neighbouring countries is essential to minimising disease spread, and its associated disruptions to society and the economy. Socioeconomic disadvantage appeared to confer significant additional risk of spread.
Economic Potential of Oil Palm Plantation Using Remote Sensing-Based Technology in Indonesia
Authors:   Center for Aerospace Policy Studies, National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN), Indonesia, Diana Shinta Rahma , Farida Farida ,   Faculty of Economics and Bussiness, UPI, YAI, Indonesia
Published: May 2021

Abstract. The productivity of Indonesia's palm oil was considered low when referring to the 14.6 million ha land area in 2019, with the production of national palm oil only reaching 3.2 tons of CPO/ha/year. The uses of remote sensing technology as a means of monitoring and supervising, were expected to increase oil palm production in line with productivity. The purpose of this study was to determine the economic potential based on oil palm plantation productivity, with and without using remote sensing-based technology, as well as other variables likely to affect productivity. Primary and secondary data collection methods were also used in this research. There were three quantitative methods being used in this study, namely (i) Multiple regression model with panel data, (ii) Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) tool, and (iii) Multinomial logistic regression technique. The results showed that the generated economic potential from the utilization of the remote sensing model, had efficient opportunity value of 10.48, which was higher than the non-usage of the technology. Therefore, the main variables that affected productivity in this study, were fertilizer and labour. Keywords: Efficiency, oil-palm, remote sensing (spot 6), policy, binomial logistic
The Learning Evaluation of Business Incubator's Role in Developing Technology-Based Startups at Technology Business Incubator
Authors:   Faculty of Economics and Business, Telkom University, Bandung, Indonesia, Ghina Astri , Sinaryanti Ina
Published: May 2021

Abstract. Technology-based startup plays a vital role in improving the Indonesian economy. There are thousands of units of technology-based startups, though most of them are not adequately sustainable. The inadequacy is attributed to the fact that the products or services created are not in line with market needs and do not help understand business processes. Universities play an essential role in developing startups through business incubators to compete in the digital age. There is no conducive learning environment for business incubators in Indonesia, though the national standards are used. This research evaluates the learning process in a Technology Business Incubator in Bandung University using case study methods. Data is collected by performing in-depth interviews with three incubator managers and seven startup founders or tenants who have completed the incubation process. The business industry consists of education, design, printing, and fishery, while thehe interviews cover the process before, during, and after incubation, including the tenant's selection criteria and stages, learning processes in incubators and facilities, after graduation programs, and measurement of the impacts. The results show that the practices fit the ideal conditions, including training-focused and knowledge sharing session programs or skills, knowledge provisions, and expertise improvement programs for tenants, rental system facilities for graduates, and commercialization support. Furthermore, there are opportunities to improve several aspects, including developing tenant admission selection criteria, effective learning approaches, coaching, networking, and broader funding, graduation criteria, monitoring for graduates, and a more comprehensive range of impact measurement. This research helps guide business incubators to prioritize developing aspects of services. Moreover, evaluation using the mixed method is open for further investigation. Keywords: Business incubator, pre-incubation, main incubation, post-incubation, startup, learning evaluation
The Effect of Related Party Transactions on the Performance of Indonesian Listed Companies
Authors:   School of Business and Economics, Universitas Prasetiya Mulya, Indonesia, Angelica Brigitta , Gunawan Desya , Christella Jessy , Chandera Yane , Rachman Rathria Arrina
Published: May 2021

Abstract. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of related party transactions (RPTs) on company performance using a panel data regression on 388 non-financial companies listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange during the 2015-2018 period. RPT variables used in this study are divided into several categories, namely transactions with related parties in the operational field (operational RPTs), financial field (financial RPTs), other fields (other RPTs), and total RPTs (sum of the three previous types). The study finds a significant negative relationship between financial RPTs and other RPTs on company performance. This finding is consistent with the precedent research that non-operational RPTs (i.e., financial RPTs and other RPTs) are commonly used by controlling shareholders as tunneling channels to expropriate minority shareholders. The results suggest policymakers to monitor more closely RPTs, particularly financial and other RPTs, that are more likely to be used as tunneling activities that are detrimental to firm performance. The results of this study are robust to various proxies of firm performance, providing additional empirical studies on RPTs in emerging countries with concentrated ownership structure, and shedding direct light on which type of RPTs that is mainly used as tunneling channel. Keywords: Efficient transaction hypothesis, firm performance, Indonesia, related party transactions, type II agency problem
STUDY OF HERMETIC ABILITY OF A COMBINED FERROFLUIDIC SEALED OF BEARING ASSEMBLIES
Authors: Terentyev Vladimir , Bausov Aleksei , Toropov Mihail
Published: May 2021

The purpose of the research is to increase the efficiency of hermetic ability of bearing assemblies by using com-bined ferrofluidic sealed. The research objective is theoretic justification of the maximum concentration of ferro-magnetic particles in fluid, investigation of hermatic ability of a combined ferrofluidic seal under conditions of tem-perature changing and speed of a shaft rotation of packing bearing assembly. The study of hermetic ability of lip and ferro-fluidic sealed was carried out on a test bench, allowing to determine the packing ability of seals both in static and dynamic mode. On the basis of theoretical data, formulas were determined to find the maximum concen-tration of hard and magnetic phases in a ferrofluid, and its composition based on a polyethylsiloxane liquid PES-5 with a 40 kA/m saturation magnetization and a 1.2 Pas dynamic viscosity coefficient was developed. A mixture of magnetite with powdered iron was used as the ferromagnetic phase. Oleic acid was used as a surfactant. Studies to determine hermetic capacity have shown a higher efficiency of the combined ferrofluidic seal compared to the lip one. During static test within the temperature range between 20 to 600C, the critical pressure difference of the com-bined seal was
4-16% higher than that of the lip seal. Temperature increase of the bearing assembly from 20 to 1200C causes a decrease in critical pressure difference of up to 50%. This is due to a decrease in the sedimentative stability of the magnetic fluid as a result of an increase in temperature. Studies show that the combined ferrofluidic seal has a higher hermetic tightness at the starting torque than the standard lip seal. In contrast to the lip seal (which tends to lose its tightness at the starting torque), no leakage of pressure fluid from the sealed unit was observed of the com-bined ferrofluidic one with a pressure drop of 0.094 MPa. The results obtained allow reasonably select the concen-tration of magnetic particles in the ferrofluid, and also prove the prospects of replacing standard lip seals with com-bined ferrofluidic ones.
DESPEJAR LA ARQUITECTURA, LIBERAR EL ESPACIO Y AMPLIAR CONCEPTOS
Authors: Añón Abajas Rosa María
Published: May 2021

Evitar la infelicidad, rehabilitar con responsabilidad, ampliar sin consumir nuevos recursos ni producir más deshe-chos, solo transformando, reciclando lo construido, reduciendo la densidad excesiva de las grandes ciudades, fomentando un espacio abierto y verde. Este es el reto al que tiene que responder la arquitectura desde siempre. Los artículos reunidos en este número de PpA exponen diversas maneras de construir en lo construido en diversos tiempos, manteniendo el hilo conductor de la actitud investigadora del proyecto arquitectónico, y demuestran que con cada idea de concurso o con cada obra es posible ensayar reformas que amplifican la calidad de nuestra arquitectura y las experiencias que amplían el conocimiento necesario para generar una nueva luz, que invita a revisar todas las aportaciones precedentes que, igualmente, buscaron explorar o producir ejemplos para hacer crecer la arquitectura.
The Dead of the Irish Revolution
Authors: O'Halpin Eunan , O Corrain Daithi
Published: May 2021

This book covers the turbulent period from the 1916 Rising to the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921 — a period which saw the achievement of independence for most of nationalist Ireland and the establishment of Northern Ireland as a self-governing province of the United Kingdom. Separatists fought for independence against government forces and, in North East Ulster, armed loyalists. Civilians suffered violence from all combatants, sometimes as collateral damage, often as targets. This book catalogues and analyzes the deaths of all men, women, and children who died during the revolutionary years. The book provides a unique and comprehensive picture of everyone who died: in what manner, by whose hands, and why. Through their stories the reader obtains original insight into the Irish revolution itself.
1916
Authors: O’Halpin Eunan , Ó Corráin Daithí
Published: May 2021

This chapter details the deaths of the people who died in Ireland in 1916. These include the deaths of wireless operator Cornelius Keating, mechanic Charles Monaghan, and bookkeeper Daniel Sheehan, who planned to set up a radio transmitter at Ballyard, Tralee, using equipment stolen from the Atlantic College. The intention apparently was to contact the German arms ship Aud, although in fact it did not have a radio. Alternatively, the plan may have been to radio the German submarine U-19. Keating, Monaghan, and Sheehan drowned when their car drove straight off the Ballykissane Pier, overturning in the water. Another death is that of Constable James O'Brien; unarmed, he was on duty at the Cork Hill entrance to the upper yard of Dublin Castle. On April 24, 1916, the castle was attacked by the Irish Citizen Army, under the command of Seán Connolly. Hit in the head, O'Brien was the first fatality shot in the 1916 Rising.
1919
Authors: O’Halpin Eunan , Ó Corráin Daithí
Published: May 2021

This chapter describes the deaths of the people who died in Ireland in 1919. For a while, postman Daniel Joseph McGandy had been helping Michael Sheerin, who had been pilfering a stock of grenade casings in Craig's engineering works, by carrying these off in his postman's bag. On January 19, 1919, McGandy failed to attend a rendezvous with Sheerin. Next day his coat, revolver, and post bag were found on the quay outside Craig's; a week later his body was recovered from the River Foyle. It was believed 'that he had lost his life on account of unofficial hostile action'. Meanwhile, farmer James McDonnel joined the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) on October 18, 1882, serving in Wexford, the RIC Reserve, and Wexford again before transfer to Tipperary town in 1891. He died during the Soloheadbeg ambush by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) party in 1919.
1921
Authors: O’Halpin Eunan , Ó Corráin Daithí
Published: May 2021

This chapter looks at the deaths of the people who died in Ireland in 1921. Ex-serviceman Martin Heavy was abducted along with his mother, sister, young niece, and nephew on the night of December 30, 1920, by masked members of the Curraghboy Company, 4th Battalion, South Roscommon Brigade. Held overnight in a cattle shed, the family were taken next evening by 'mule and trap' through Knockcroghery to 'a big house'. His family were expelled, while Heavy 'was left behind with his hands tied'. Thrown into the Shannon River, his body was never recovered. Ten Curraghboy Company Volunteers were arrested in January of 1921, each suffering 'a severe beating'. Meanwhile, Michael McGrath was one of about fifty of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) who mounted an ambush at Pickardstown. McGrath was killed on the Ballinattin road; he was the first Waterford city volunteer killed during the War of Independence.
‘He Comes from a Fighting Race’
Authors: Leopold Mark
Published: May 2021

This chapter examines Idi Amin's career in the British colonial army regiment called the King's African Rifles (KAR). It could be said, with only a small exaggeration, that the KAR made him the man he became. His military life certainly established many aspects of the mythical figure he turned into; his reputation for immense strength, his use of violence, apparent lack of intelligence, and buffoonish sense of humour all date from this period. It was here that he learned to succeed in the eyes of his British masters, and he also learned to kill. For this period of Amin's life, there are some witnesses among the officers he served with, who either published accounts of him or gave information to the British authorities later in his career, some of which has found its way into the archives. It should be noted, though, that these stories were mostly written many years after the events they describe and, crucially, after Amin's takeover of power in Uganda. It should also be noted that one major lack in the historical account is that of other Ugandan voices, those of the African soldiers he served with, rather than the white officers he served under.
A Resistible Rise? 1959–65
Authors: Leopold Mark
Published: May 2021

This chapter focuses on the first half of the 1960s, which was an eventful and pivotal time for Idi Amin. He began the decade as a colonial soldier, and Ugandan independence, which arrived on October 9, 1962, at first changed little in the military life. As the new East African nations gained their independence one by one, their King's African Rifles (KAR) battalions took on new, national names. The Ugandan 4th Battalion, as a new independent national army, reverted to its early colonial designation 'the Uganda Rifles', but it continued to be run by white British officers more or less as before, though there was, of course, an increased push towards 'Africanisation' of the senior ranks. Gradually, over the first half of the 1960s, Amin rose from being a very junior officer under British rule to become the powerful head of independent Uganda's armed forces. His role became increasingly political rather than military, as he was more and more embroiled in the lively and often acrimonious politics of post-independence Uganda.
The British Past in the Imperial Crisis
Authors: Hattem Michael D.
Published: May 2021

This chapter explores the use of the British past in the political writings of the imperial crisis. Primarily, it explores how colonists’ interpretations of the Glorious Revolution changed during the crisis and how their new understanding of that event helped shape patriot rhetoric after 1767. Having previously served as the foundation of their identities as British subjects, patriots came to understand the Glorious Revolution not as having restored the balance of the “ancient constitution” but as having given rise to the doctrine of “parliamentary supremacy,” which allowed Parliament, in colonists’ minds, to exert absolute authority over the colonies and act as arbitrarily as any seventeenth-century Stuart monarch. This fundamental shift in their historical understanding brought colonists’ cultural relationship to the Glorious Revolution, and hence the British past, into question and resulted in the turn toward more universal arguments based on natural law after 1773.
The Expansion of Early National History Culture
Authors: Hattem Michael D.
Published: May 2021

This chapter examines the rapid growth in the presence
and role of the past in the cultural production of the early republic. The first half of the chapter charts the vast increase in historical cultural production in a variety of print forms and literary genres. The second half of the chapter explores one of the processes behind this increase in production by uncovering an informal network—including historians, antiquarians, poets, essayists, painters, publishers, politicians, and others—that provided supportive relationships for those engaged in historical cultural production. Ultimately, that network, and the support it offered, provided the impetus and model for the institutionalization of history culture in this
period through the establishment of the nation’s first historical societies and museums.
Book One
Authors: Foley Michael P.
Published: May 2021

1. To pursue and grasp the order proper to each and every thing,1 and then indeed to see or explain the order of the whole by which this world is held together and ruled2—that, Zenobius, is extremely rare and difficult for men to do....