bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Solomon and Saturn I, 89 a, “prologa prim”: An Exercise in Monastic Reading Practice
Authors: Burns Rachel A.
Published: November 2020

This article reassesses the grammatically problematic half-lineprologa prima(l. 89a) in the Old English wisdom poemSolomon and Saturn I, and suggests that it ought to be emended to the grammatically viable reading of “prologa prim”. Line 89 a introduces a passage in which the words of the Pater Noster become anthropomorphised as warriors and attack the devil. I will argue that “prologa prim” is an exegetical exercise, informed by grammatical theory and liturgical practice, designed for an audience of monastic readers. This multivalent half-line offers different levels of meaning when read according to different permutations of language and metaphor, in a process analogous to the interpretation of scripture according to the influential model of fourfold exegesis. When read literally, as ‘the first of the initial letters’, “prologa prim” indicates the unfolding and time-bound process of reading. Previous scholars (Anlezark 2009; Anderson 1998) have noted the allusive references in line 89 a to Greeklogos(‘word’) and Old Englishprim(‘first hour’, ‘Prime office’), but not their full significance. Through these allusions, the reader shifts from a literal reading to a spiritual and metaphorical reading of the half-line, achieving a diachronic perspective of the Pater Noster’s recitation across time, and finally an atemporal perspective, reading in line 89 a a paraphrase of John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word”. In conjunction with the subsequent episode of the battle, line 89 a forms an exemplum of the monastic practice oflectio divina. This example of ‘monastic poetics’ (O’Camb 2014; Niles 2019) moves from grammatical analysis to a vision of the Word.
The Development of the Southeast Lower Town of Sirkeli Höyük
Authors: Sollee Alexander E. , Mönninghoff Hannah , Kozal Ekin , Karakaya Doğa , Heim Joëlle , Gür Selin
Published: November 2020

The site of Sirkeli Höyük in the province of Adana in modern Turkey is one of the largest settlement mounds in Plain Cilicia. In 2012, a geophysical survey revealed that the ancient settlement was not confined to thehöyük, but also encompassed an extensive lower town to the southeast of the main mound. To gain information on the dating and development of this part of the settlement, an excavation area (“Sector F”) was opened at a spot where the magnetometry survey suggested the presence of a city gate. Since then, archaeological work in this area has continuously produced new discoveries that help us understand how this residential area and its inhabitants developed throughout the periods of its occupation. Especially the Iron Age (Neo Cilician period) levels, which cover approximately the 11th–7thcenturies B.C., provide important information on how this urban center of the Neo Hittite kingdom Hiyawa/Que changed over time and to which extent historical events impacted the people living in one of its residential areas. This contribution discusses the stratigraphic sequence, the pottery, and the archaeobotanical remains discovered in Sector F during the 2013–2019 campaigns, and concludes with a synthesis of the development in this area from a historical perspective.
Development of HD-headlamps with high-performance projectors
Authors: Köhler Susanne , Kubitza Boris , Thoma Aniella
Published: November 2020

High-resolution headlamp concepts, such as the SSL|HD system from HELLA [1], induce completely new requirements for the evaluation of headlamp light distributions. The subjective perception of image quality is becoming increasingly important compared to the fulfilment of legal lighting values. High-performance projectors allow a good compromise between rapid but theoretical simulations and real but expensive prototypes. These projectors can display different static or dynamic simulations in a realistic way with regard to image quality and light values [2]. This article first introduces the high-performance projectors used for this purpose at HELLA. The projectors can be used to visualize the headlamp light distribution early in the development process, long before prototypes or overall systems are implemented in the vehicle. Following this, two exemplary research questions for static situations are presented, which were answered on the basis of investigations with the high-performance projectors. The requirements for dynamic simulations of real traffic situations, which are described by the interaction of the individual sensors installed in the vehicle (e.g. vehicle dynamics, level sensors, camera), are much more complex. In the paper, a development tool consisting of high-performance projectors and the HELLA simulation software ALiSiA is presented. The aim is a dynamic visualization of the entire system to optimize the development process.
A cognitive approach to the conceptual metaphors in Shi Jing (The Book of Poetry)
Authors: Lan Chun , Yin Zichong
Published: November 2020

This is a cognitive linguistic study of Shi Jing (The Book of Poetry), the first collection of poems in Chinese history dated from the 11th to the 6th century B.C. Adopting the framework of Conceptual Metaphor Theory, we carry out a comprehensive analysis of all the metaphorical expressions in the collection, with the aim of investigating the underlying conceptual metaphors and exploring the interrelationships between metaphor, cognition and culture. The main findings are: 1) Altogether 476 metaphorical expressions have been identified, not only in those poems traditionally associated with bĭ (comparison) or xìng (affective image), but also in those poems traditionally associated with fù (narration). 2) Most of the metaphorical expressions identified belong to the Great Chain of Being Metaphor and can be further divided into downward ones and upward ones, with the former outnumbering the latter. 3) From the underlying conceptual metaphors, it can be observed that the conceptualization pattern of the Zhou Dynasty is rather anthropocentric and anthropomorphic, with a certain tendency towards animism. It is also patriarchal in regarding men as aesthetic subject and women as aesthetic object. 4) The Zhou people also showed remarkable figurative creativity. All the four devices summarized by Lakoff and Turner (1989) for creating novel language from conventional materials (extending, elaborating, questioning and composing) have been skillfully employed by the Zhou people to sing for their love and lament the miseries of life.
Silencing the Present? Decolonization, Nationalization, and Natural Right(s) in Émeric Bergeaud’sStella(1859)
Authors: Kjærgård Jonas Ross
Published: November 2020

Émeric Bergeaud wroteStella(1859), his novelistic account of the Haitian revolution (1791–1804), at a most turbulent moment in Haitian history. Faustin Soulouque rose to power in the late 1840 s and soon began to pursue his political opponents with violent means. Coming from a “Boyerist” background, Bergeaud fled the country in 1848 and settled in St. Thomas where he worked on his novel while his health deteriorated. Despite his precarious life in exile, Bergeaud remained silent about Soulouque in his decisively political novelStella. As Michel-Rolph Trouillot, Madeleine Dobie, and others have shown, the history of slavery has often been silenced in literature and public debate, but what does it mean for Bergeaud to silence the present and focus on the past? I argue thatStellain fact makes a significant intervention in the debates about mid-19th-century Haiti. Instead of confronting Soulouque directly, however, Bergeaud addresses a pair of structural problems of which I consider Soulouque and his policy emblematic expressions: decolonization and nationalization. Most existing readings have emphasized Bergeaud’s reflections on history, but in this contextualized analysis, I show that Bergeaud looks not only to the past but also and importantly to nature and natural right(s) philosophy in his novelistic search for a way forward for Haiti.
Jaya Spider Monkey Optimization-driven Deep Convolutional LSTM for the prediction of COVID’19
Authors: Chander Satish , Padmanabha Vijaya , Mani Joseph
Published: November 2020

COVID’19 is an emerging disease and the precise epidemiological profile does not exist in the world. Hence, the COVID’19 outbreak is treated as a Public Health Emergency of the International Concern by the World Health Organization (WHO). Hence, an effective and optimal prediction of COVID’19 mechanism, named Jaya Spider Monkey Optimization-based Deep Convolutional long short-term classifier (JayaSMO-based Deep ConvLSTM) is proposed in this research to predict the rate of confirmed, death, and recovered cases from the time series data. The proposed COVID’19 prediction method uses the COVID’19 data, which is the trending domain of research at the current era of fighting the COVID’19 attacks thereby, to reduce the death toll. However, the proposed JayaSMO algorithm is designed by integrating the Spider Monkey Optimization (SMO) with the Jaya algorithm, respectively. The Deep ConvLSTM classifier facilitates to predict the COVID’19 from the time series data based on the fitness function. Besides, the technical indicators, such as Relative Strength Index (RSI), Rate of Change (ROCR), Exponential Moving Average (EMA), Williams %R, Double Exponential Moving Average (DEMA), and Stochastic %K, are extracted effectively for further processing. Thus, the resulted output of the proposed JayaSMO-based Deep ConvLSTM is employed for COVID’19 prediction. Moreover, the developed model obtained the better performance using the metrics, like Mean Square Error (MSE), and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) by considering confirmed, death, and the recovered cases of COVID’19 for China and Oman. Thus, the proposed JayaSMO-based Deep ConvLSTM showed improved results with a minimal MSE of 1.791, and the minimal RMSE of 1.338 based on confirmed cases in Oman. In addition, the developed model achieved the death cases with the values of 1.609, and 1.268 for MSE and RMSE, whereas the MSE and the RMSE value of 1.945, and 1.394 is achieved by the developed model using recovered cases in China.
A novel melanoma detection model: adapted K-means clustering-based segmentation process
Authors: Sukanya S. T. , Jerine
Published: November 2020

Objectives

The main intention of this paper is to propose a new Improved K-means clustering algorithm, by optimally tuning the centroids.

Methods

This paper introduces a new melanoma detection model that includes three major phase’s viz. segmentation, feature extraction and detection. For segmentation, this paper introduces a new Improved K-means clustering algorithm, where the initial centroids are optimally tuned by a new algorithm termed Lion Algorithm with New Mating Process (LANM), which is an improved version of standard LA. Moreover, the optimal selection is based on the consideration of multi-objective including intensity diverse centroid, spatial map, and frequency of occurrence, respectively. The subsequent phase is feature extraction, where the proposed Local Vector Pattern (LVP) and Grey-Level Co-Occurrence Matrix (GLCM)-based features are extracted. Further, these extracted features are fed as input to Deep Convolution Neural Network (DCNN) for melanoma detection.

Results

Finally, the performance of the proposed model is evaluated over other conventional models by determining both the positive as well as negative measures. From the analysis, it is observed that for the normal skin image, the accuracy of the presented work is 0.86379, which is 47.83% and 0.245% better than the traditional works like Conventional K-means and PA-MSA, respectively.

Conclusions

From the overall analysis it can be observed that the proposed model is more robust in melanoma prediction, when compared over the state-of-art models.
Development of a solventless stir bar sorptive extraction/thermal desorption large volume injection capillary gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric method for ultra-trace determination of pyrethroids pesticides in river and tap water samples
Authors: Sargazi Mona , Bücking Mark , Kaykhaii Massoud
Published: November 2020

Stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) has been developed in 1999 to efficiently extract and preconcentrate volatile compounds, and many applications have been found after that. This technique conforms to the principles of green chemistry. Here, we used an autosampler with an online thermal desorption unit connected to CGC-MS to analyze pesticides. This study describes the development of a highly sensitive extraction method based on SBSE for simultaneous determination of ultra-trace amounts of four pesticides λ-cyhalothrin, α-cypermethrin, tefluthrin, and dimefluthrin in environmental water samples. This method was compared to the standard liquid–liquid extraction. In this study, a totally solventless SBSE was applied to river and tap water samples for the extraction and preconcentration of four pesticides. PDMS-coated SBSEs of 10 mm × 1 mm thickness were used for this purpose, and SBSEs were directly placed into a large-volume injector of a CGC-MS for thermal desorption of the analytes. In all extractions, deltamethrin was used as an internal standard. This method showed linearity in the range of 1.0–200.0 ng L−1 for cyhalothrin, tefluthrin, and dimefluthrin and 10.0–800 ng L−1 for cypermethrin. Preconcentration factors of 179, 7, 162, and 166 were obtained with very low limits of detection of 0.32, 3.41, 0.36m and 0.69 ng L−1 for cyhalothrin, cypermethrin, tefluthrinm and dimefluthrin, respectively. These detection limits are thousands of times lower than that of the standard method of liquid–liquid extraction. Reproducibility of the method, based on the relative standard deviation, was better than 7.5% and recoveries for spiked tap and river water samples was within the range of 87.83–114.45%. The application of PDMS-coated SBSE coupled with CGC-MS equipped with a large volume injector thermal desorption unit can be used for ultra-trace analysis of environmental water samples. Solventless SBSE offers several advantages over conventional traditional liquid–liquid extraction such as being very fast and economical and provides better extraction without requiring any solvents; so it can be considered as a green method for the analysis of pesticides.
(F)utility of urine Bence Jones proteins for “routine” screening for plasma cell dyscrasia
Authors: Parmar Malvinder S.
Published: November 2020

Testing urine for Bence Jones Protein (BJP) had been a time old procedure used for screening and monitoring of monoclonal disorders since its description. However, has poor sensitivity and despite advances in diagnostic methods of monoclonal disorders it is being continued to be requested in individuals for evaluation of myeloma or plasma cell disorders. Effective utilization and minimizing untimely or unnecessary investigations is important in the evaluation and management of any medical condition. Though, we are hard-wired during our education with some “trigger” or “peculiar” words that make us jump to actions too quickly, without comprehending the actual problem. Supporting evidence is presented to avoid reflexive use of multiple tests and utilize tests that improve utilization, reduce waste, and uphold the Choosing Wisely principles in providing optimal care to the patients.
Redox initiation in semicontinuous polymerization to search for specific mechanical properties of copolymers
Authors: Sandoval-Díaz José Manuel , Rivera-Gálvez Francisco Javier , Fernández-García Marta , Jasso-Gastinel Carlos Federico
Published: November 2020

In this work, for a semicontinuous emulsion polymerization reaction, it is shown that using a redox initiation system at 40°C, substantial modifications in copolymer chain composition with conversion can be easily obtained. To test controllable trajectories for comonomer feeding, linear and parabolic profiles were chosen to get different types of chain composition variations for the 50/50 w/w styrene/n-butyl acrylate system. For the “forced composition copolymers,” the molecular weight averages and distribution were obtained by size exclusion chromatography. The composition along conversion was followed by proton nuclear magnetic resonance to determine the weight composition distribution (WCD) of the copolymer chains. Mechanodynamic (dynamic-mechanical analysis), tensile, and hardness tests exhibited consistent results depending on the WCD that outcomes from the respective feeding profile. The results confirm that this methodology is of great potential for industrial applications when looking for synergy in copolymer properties, and low-cost processes.
Polar migration behavior of phosphonate groups in phosphonate esterified acrylic grafted epoxy ester composites and their role in substrate protection
Authors: Chen Xuyong , Li Xiaorui , Yang Kai , Zhang Qian , Zhu Hui , Li Kaibin
Published: November 2020

Epoxy resin is widely used in metal surface protection, because of corrosion resistance and adhesion. However, it’s water solubility, oxygen, and water impermeability are not enough. In this paper, linoleic acid (LOFA) and epoxy resin (E20) were used to synthesize epoxy ester (EL) and grafted with phosphonate esterified acrylic resin (AR-P) to prepare acrylic grafted epoxy ester (EL@AR-P). After modification, water solubility and film-forming property were improved, and the oxygen transmission rate (OTR) and water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) decreased. At the addition of PM-2 at 2%, the OTR, WVTR, and water-uptake rate decreased by 12.9%, 25.0%, and 12.1%, respectively. Subsequently, the modified material was subjected to electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The low-frequency impedance of EL@AR-P2 is three times higher than EL@AR-P0. After 16 days of immersion, the low-frequency impedance of EL@AR-P2 is 20 times higher than EL@AR-P. Energy dispersive spectrometer and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results showed that the P elements were concentrated on the substrate surface and found the presence of P–O–Fe bonds, demonstrating that the phosphonate groups were migrated to the substrate surface to form a chelate layer with the substrate and enhancing the coating adhesion and corrosion resistance. This paper modifies the molecular structure of epoxy resin, which is expected to be an excellent material for anti-corrosion coatings.
Are the Liabilities of Newness and Smallness the Same for Male and Female Informal Entrepreneurs? Evidence from Brazil
Authors: Wolfe Marcus , Richter Jack I. , Patel Pankaj C. , Williams Colin
Published: November 2020

Though challenges to female entrepreneurship are widely acknowledged in the settings of developed countries or the context of formal firms, the challenges faced by female informal entrepreneurs in developing markets are less explored. Based on the liabilities of newness and smallness framework in organizational ecology, we draw on a sample of 2562 Brazilian informal firms, to examine the unique differences in the experience of newness and smallness between male and female informal entrepreneurs. With increasing firm age, female informal entrepreneurs realized lower firm revenues (inverted-U), however, the firm age and firm revenue association are linear for males. Informal firm performance did not vary by size between male and female informal entrepreneurs. The distinctive differences in firm revenues for male and female entrepreneurs have implications for informal entrepreneurship.
Natural Interest Rate and Money Interest Rates
Authors: van Suntum Ulrich
Published: November 2020

The long lasting period of declining interest rates raises the question, whether the latter result from a savings glut, from a money glut, or from both. Moreover, it renewed the old question how the natural interest rate should be sensibly defined, and if it could ever fall below the growth rate, thereby causing dynamic inefficiency. The present article contributes to this debate on a pure theoretical base, leaving the empirical issue for other research. In particular, I briefly discuss Böhm-Bawerk’s three causes for the existence of an interest rate in a private barter economy. I argue that the natural interest rate remains a meaningful concept even in an economy with both a public sector and money. From a welfare economic view, it is also preferable above the so-called golden rule, provided the interest rate does not fall below the growth rate. Although the natural interest rate could well get negative by excess saving in principle, this is normally prevented when durable goods like land or precious metals are available for storing private wealth. On the other hand, issuing credit money tends to push the interest rate below its natural level, even in the long run. In order to prevent this, one could either replace it by neutral helicopter money or return to a gold currency.
Highly efficient artificial magnetic conductor enabled CPW fed compact antenna for BAN wearable applications
Authors: Alam Maksud , Khan Amber , Mainuddin  , Kanaujia Binod Kumar , Beg Mirza Tariq
Published: November 2020

In this paper a coplanar waveguide feed (CPW) monopole antenna backed with artificial magnetic conductor (AMC) structure for efficient radiation has been presented for off-body wearable applications. A split ring resonator (SRR) having thiner and longer lines to produce higher inductance and six splits with smaller gaps for high capacitance have been placed underneath CPW fed monopole to achieve resonance mode at a lower frequency. Higher values of inductance and capacitance produce resonant modes at relatively lower frequencies resulting in highly miniaturized antenna. The desired −10dB S11 bandwidth has been optimized firstly, by tuning/optimizing flow of surface currents with the help of several slots/slits and later by realizing AMC reflector with the help of full ground backed foam. The proposed antenna covers 2.45 GHz industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) band body area network (BAN) application and posses good front to back ratio (FBR) and thereby low and acceptable values of specific absorption rate (SAR). The proposed antenna has been designed and simulated using Ansys high frequency structured simulator and tested using vector network analyzer and anechoic chamber. The simulated and measured results well agree with each other.
Spatiotemporal variation and climatic response of water level of major lakes in China, Mongolia, and Russia
Authors: Tan Qinghua , Liu Yujie
Published: November 2020

Lakes are important indicators of climate change. The change in lake water level objectively reflects the availability of regional water resources. Analyzing the changes in water level and climate response of major lakes in countries along the “Belt and Road” is essential for sustainable water use and ecological protection. Based on the water level datasets of 39 large lakes (>400 km2) in China, Mongolia, and Russia (CMR) from 2002 to 2016, this study analyzed the spatiotemporal characteristics of water levels in major lakes of CMR, and their responses to climatic factors containing temperature, precipitation, and evapotranspiration. The results showed that (1) the water level of main lakes in CMR slightly increased with change rates ranged from −0.36 to 0.48 m/a, and the trends varied in lakes, (2) the water level of most lakes was sensitive to temperature with sensitivity value ranged from −2.14 m/°C to 5.59 m/°C, (3) changes of annual cumulative precipitation and evapotranspiration contributed most to the change of lake water level, but key factors affecting water level varied in lakes. Human activity is an important driving factor for the change in water levels and its impacts need further study.
Petrography and geochemistry of clastic sedimentary rocks as evidence for the provenance of the Jurassic stratum in the Daqingshan area
Authors: Zhang Minjie , Yu Yanqiu , Choi Jinyong , Cai Kui , Shi Mingyuan
Published: November 2020

The Daqingshan area is located in the Khondalite belt in the northern margin of the North China Craton. It has the best-preserved Mesozoic basin and is an ideal area for research on Jurassic strata. Sandstones mainly contain quartz and feldspar, with significantly less debris content. In addition, petrography and geochemical classifications have revealed the presence of arkose and wacke. Chondrite-normalized rare earth element patterns of samples are characterized by the enrichment of light rare elements and the flat trend toward heavy rare earth elements. Petrography and source rock discrimination diagrams of geochemical data suggest the presence of felsic rock and Precambrian basement in the northern and southern parts of the basin, which are crucial source areas; however, few mafic materials occur in the Wudanggou Formation. Tectonic discrimination diagrams of geochemical data show that the source materials were deposited on an active continental margin and/or continental island arc. Petrological and geochemical data from the Wudanggou Formation and Changhangou Formation samples suggest that the Yanshan movement influenced the formation of the Changhangou Formation.
Effect of phenol-formaldehyde (PF) resin oligomer size on the decay resistance of beech wood
Authors: Biziks Vladimirs , Bicke Sascha , Koch Gerald , Militz Holger
Published: November 2020

Treating wood with water-soluble resins is a well-known and effective method to improve the durability of wood. However, there has been no systematic work to date related to the influence of average molecular size of phenol-formaldehyde (PF) resin on the decay resistance of wood, especially of hardwoods. Therefore, the goal of this study was to investigate the effect of average molecular size of PF resin treatment on the resistance of beech wood against brown- and white-rot fungi. Four different average molecular weights (M
w) of resol type resin oligomers (297, 421, 655 and 854 g/mol) were examined. Different weight percent gains (WPGs) in European beech (Fagus sylvatica) wood blocks (15 × 20 × 50 mm3) were attained through vacuum impregnation using various concentrations of aqueous-PF solutions. Afterwards treated wood blocks passed the leaching and were exposed to brown-rot fungi (Gloeophyllum trabeum; Coniophora puteana) and white-rot fungi (Trametes versicolor) for 16 weeks. No effect of oligomer size on the resistance against G. trabeum decay of wood blocks was observed, resulting in resin loadings of 7–8%. The required WPG for resistance to brown-rot decay by C. puteana increased slightly with increasing oligomer molecular size: 6, 7, 10 and 11% for wood treated with 297, 421, 655 and 854 g/mol, respectively. The extent of white-rot fungal decay resistance of treated wood was affected by the molecular size of oligomers. Resin loadings of 8% and of 17% against T. versicolor were required to attain similar durability levels for beech wood treated with M
w = 297 and 854 g/mol, respectively.
Computational study for suppression of CD25/IL-2 interaction
Authors: Dehbashi Moein , Hojati Zohreh , Motovali-bashi Majid , Ganjalikhani-Hakemi Mazdak , Shimosaka Akihiro , Cho William C.
Published: November 2020

Cancer recurrence presents a huge challenge in cancer patient management. Immune escape is a key mechanism of cancer progression and metastatic dissemination. CD25 is expressed in regulatory T (Treg) cells including tumor-infiltrating Treg cells (TI-Tregs). These cells specially activate and reinforce immune escape mechanism of cancers. The suppression of CD25/IL-2 interaction would be useful against Treg cells activation and ultimately immune escape of cancer. Here, software, web servers and databases were used, at which in silico designed small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), de novo designed peptides and virtual screened small molecules against CD25 were introduced for the prospect of eliminating cancer immune escape and obtaining successful treatment. We obtained siRNAs with low off-target effects. Further, small molecules based on the binding homology search in ligand and receptor similarity were introduced. Finally, the critical amino acids on CD25 were targeted by a de novo designed peptide with disulfide bond. Hence we introduced computational-based antagonists to lay a foundation for further in vitro and in vivo studies.
Effects of covariates on alternating recurrent events in accelerated failure time models
Authors: Chatterjee Moumita , Sen Roy Sugata
Published: November 2020

In this article, we model alternately occurring recurrent events and study the effects of covariates on each of the survival times. This is done through the accelerated failure time models, where we use lagged event times to capture the dependence over both the cycles and the two events. However, since the errors of the two regression models are likely to be correlated, we assume a bivariate error distribution. Since most event time distributions do not readily extend to bivariate forms, we take recourse to copula functions to build up the bivariate distributions from the marginals. The model parameters are then estimated using the maximum likelihood method and the properties of the estimators studied. A data on respiratory disease is used to illustrate the technique. A simulation study is also conducted to check for consistency.
Drive-train selection criteria for n-dof manipulators: basis for modular serial robots library
Authors: Singla Ekta , Singh Satwinder , Singla Ashish
Published: November 2020

Towards planning a modular library for customized designs of serial manipulators, a trade-off is required between minimum modules inventory and maximum robotic applications to be handled. This paper focusses at the types of modules which are majorly based upon optimized payload capacity of the modular links. To find minimum types of modules in the modular library, an exercise has been performed on a large variety of robotic manipulators, with variations in degrees-of-freedom (dof) between 3 and 9 in number and that in payload capacity between 0 and 5 in kgs. Observing the pattern of the maximum-torque based drive-train selections for all the manipulators in consideration, three types of actuators are selected from a set of Maxon motor-gear assemblies. Subsequently, three types of modules are planned—Heavy (H), Medium (M) and Light (L). Challenge involved is the maximum load estimations for each joint involving variations due to large number of dof, various possible configurations and realistic weight estimation. This paper provides a general recursive framework for optimized drive-train, with one step as determination of maximum load estimation at a joint, and the second step as the selection of appropriate motor-gear assembly for the joint—providing an appropriate weight estimation for critical-configuration evaluation of the next link. The methodology is utilized for planning optimized number of modular divisions, for evaluating payload capacity of each division and possible modular combinations for given number of degrees-of-freedom.
Systematic formulation of a general numerical framework for solving the two-dimensional convection–diffusion–reaction system
Authors: V. Sugathan Aswin , Awasthi Ashish
Published: November 2020

A general numerical framework is designed for the two-dimensional convection–diffusion–reaction (CDR) system. The compatibility of differential quadrature and finite difference methods (FDM) are utilized for the formulation. The idea is to switch one numerical scheme to another numerical scheme without changing the formulation. The only requirement is to input the weighting coefficients associated with the derivative discretizations to the general algorithm. Three numerical schemes comprising combinations of differential quadrature and FDMs are studied using the general algorithm. Properties of numerical schemes and the algorithm are analyzed by using the simulations of two-dimensional linear CDR system, Burgers’ equation, and Brusselator model.
Numerical solution for the fractional-order one-dimensional telegraph equation via wavelet technique
Authors: Srinivasa Kumbinarasaiah , Rezazadeh Hadi
Published: November 2020

In this article, we proposed an efficient numerical technique for the solution of fractional-order (1 + 1) dimensional telegraph equation using the Laguerre wavelet collocation method. Some examples are illustrated to inspect the efficiency of the proposed technique and convergence analysis is discussed in terms of a theorem. Here, the fractional-order telegraph equation is converted into a system of algebraic equations using the properties of the Laguerre wavelet, and solutions obtained by the proposed scheme are more accurate and they are compared with the analytical solution and other method existed in the literature.
Positive periodic solution for inertial neural networks with time-varying delays
Authors: Duan Feng , Du Bo
Published: November 2020

In this paper the problems of the existence and stability of positive periodic solutions of inertial neural networks with time-varying delays are discussed by the use of Mawhin’s continuation theorem and Lyapunov functional method. Some sufficient conditions are obtained for guaranteeing the existence and stability of positive periodic solutions of the considered system. Finally, a numerical example is given to illustrate the effectiveness of the obtained results.
Communicating the intention of an automated vehicle to pedestrians: The contributions of eHMI and vehicle behavior
Authors: Dey Debargha , Matviienko Andrii , Berger Melanie , Pfleging Bastian , Martens Marieke , Terken Jacques
Published: November 2020

External Human-Machine Interfaces (eHMIs) are expected to bridge the communication gap between an automated vehicle (AV) and pedestrians to replace the missing driver-pedestrian interaction. However, the relative impact of movement-based implicit communication and explicit communication with the aid of eHMIs on pedestrians has not been studied and empirically evaluated. In this study, we pit messages from an eHMI against different driving behaviors of an AV that yields to a pedestrian to understand whether pedestrians tend to pay more attention to the motion dynamics of the car or the eHMI in making road-crossing decisions. Our contributions are twofold: we investigate (1) whether the presence of eHMIs has any objective effect on pedestrians’ understanding of the vehicle’s intent, and (2) how the movement dynamics of the vehicle affect the perception of the vehicle intent and interact with the impact of an eHMI. Results show that (1) eHMIs help in convincing pedestrians of the vehicle’s yielding intention, particularly when the speed of the vehicle is slow enough to not be an obvious threat, but still fast enough to raise a doubt about a vehicle’s stopping intention, and (2) pedestrians do not blindly trust the eHMI: when the eHMI message and the vehicle’s movement pattern contradict, pedestrians fall back to movement-based cues. Our results imply that when explicit communication (eHMI) and implicit communication (motion-dynamics and kinematics) are in alignment and work in tandem, communication of the AV’s yielding intention can be facilitated most effectively. This insight can be useful in designing the optimal interaction between AVs and pedestrians from a user-centered design perspective when driver-centric communication is not available.
Ramipril blunts glycerol-induced acute renal failure in rats through its antiapoptosis, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and renin-inhibiting properties
Authors: Adedapo Adeolu Alex , Osaretin Ehizogie Ruth , Falayi Olufunke Olubunmi , Oyagbemi Ademola Adetokunbo , Ogunpolu Blessing Seun , Omobowale Temidayo Olutayo , Oguntibeju Oluwafemi Omoniyi , Yakubu Momoh Audu
Published: November 2020

Objectives

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a malady with a sudden onset resulting in buildup of waste matters in the body, but a specific cure hasn’t been found as a lasting solution to AKI. In this study, ramipril was evaluated for its potential therapy in glycerol-induced AKI in rats.

Methods

Twenty animals were divided into four groups of five animals each. Group I was the control while group II was given glycerol on day 8 only, groups III and IV were administered with pioglitazone (reference drug) and ramipril for seven days respectively and on day 8 received glycerol. On the ninth day, blood and tissue samples were taken to assay for serum indicators of oxidative damage, enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidants, and creatinine and blood urea nitrogen. Animals were sacrificed thereafter; kidney was harvested for histological and immunohistochemical analysis. Expressions of caspase 3, renin receptor, NK-KB, and KIM-1 were carried out.

Results

Ramipril significantly inhibited indicators of oxidative damage while also significantly increasing levels of enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidant markers. These drugs also significantly lowered the levels of creatinine and blood urea nitrogen. Histology also indicated that while there were massive infiltration of leucocytes and congestion of the kidney in toxicant group, the ramipril-treated group showed a milder condition. In immunohistochemistry, the two drugs significantly inhibited the expressions of the four proteins, which were highly expressed in the toxicant group.

Conclusions

The study showed that ramipril and pioglitazone have nephroprotective effect and thus have the ability to blunt AKI through their anti-inflammatory, antiapoptosis, antirenin, and antioxidant properties.
Quotient-transitivity and cyclic subgroup-transitivity
Authors: Goldsmith Brendan , Gong Ketao
Published: November 2020

We introduce two new notions of transitivity for Abelian p-groups based on isomorphism of quotients rather than the classical use of equality of height sequences associated with Abelian p-group theory.
Unlike the classical theory where “most” groups are transitive, these new notions lead to much smaller classes, but even these classes are sufficiently large to be interesting.
The subnormal structure of classical-like groups over commutative rings
Authors: Preusser Raimund
Published: November 2020

Let 𝑛 be an integer greater than or equal to 3, and let

(
R
,
Δ
)

(R,\Delta)

be a Hermitian form ring, where 𝑅 is commutative.
We prove that if 𝐻 is a subgroup of the odd-dimensional unitary group

U

2
⁢
n

+
1

⁡

(
R
,
Δ
)

\operatorname{U}_{2n+1}(R,\Delta)

normalised by a relative elementary subgroup

EU

2
⁢
n

+
1

⁡

(

(
R
,
Δ
)

,

(
I
,
Ω
)

)

\operatorname{EU}_{2n+1}((R,\Delta),(I,\Omega))

, then there is an odd form ideal

(
J
,
Σ
)

(J,\Sigma)

such that

EU

2
⁢
n

+
1

⁡

(

(
R
,
Δ
)

,

(

J
⁢

I
k

,

Ω
min

J
⁢

I
k

∔

Σ
∘

I
k

)

)

≤
H
≤

CU

2
⁢
n

+
1

⁡

(

(
R
,
Δ
)

,

(
J
,
Σ
)

)

,

\operatorname{EU}_{2n+1}((R,\Delta),(JI^{k},\Omega_{\mathrm{min}}^{JI^{k}}\dotplus\Sigma\circ I^{k}))\leq H\leq\operatorname{CU}_{2n+1}((R,\Delta),(J,\Sigma)),

where

k
=
12

k=12

if

n
=
3

n=3

respectively

k
=
10

k=10

if

n
≥
4

n\geq 4

.
As a consequence of this result, we obtain a sandwich theorem for subnormal subgroups of odd-dimensional unitary groups.
Media, Disaster Response, Ebola: What Local Government Needs to Understand About Media Influence of Response Operations When the Improbable Becomes Reality
Authors: Don Williams Brian , Nelson James P.
Published: November 2020

Research has shown that mass media can influence response operations by influencing the way that information is disseminated to the public before, during, and after disaster. After the 2014 Ebola event, the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) conducted an After Action Review that proposes the need for government to ensure that the media does not control the narrative of response. The goal of this study is to understand if and how the media did attempt to control the narrative of response. To achieve this goal, we conduct a content analysis of three major newspapers, from July 26, 2014 to November 1, 2014, that focuses on Adaptive Governance in response to Ebola’s debut in the United States shortly after September 20, 2014. The results indicate that articles are more likely to focus on federal agencies and response efforts that follow established federal guidelines. However, the mention of local government, the boots on the ground first responders, is not significant to the mention of Adaptive Governance. This suggests that print media is controlling the narrative of the response and local government needs to provide the print media more access to emergency management professionals for more effective dissemination of effective local response.
Mathematical modelling of plasmonic strain sensors
Authors: Ammari Habib , Millien Pierre , Vanel Alice L.
Published: November 2020

We provide a mathematical analysis for a metasurface constructed of plasmonic nanoparticles mounted periodically on the surface of a microcapsule. We derive an effective transmission condition, which exhibits resonances depending on the inter-particle distance. When the microcapsule is deformed, the resonances are shifted.
We fully characterize the dependence of these resonances on the deformation of the microcapsule, enabling the detection of strains at the microscale level.
We present numerical simulations to validate our results.
On local and global structures of transmission eigenfunctions and beyond
Authors: Liu Hongyu
Published: November 2020

The (interior) transmission eigenvalue problems are a type of non-elliptic, non-selfadjoint and nonlinear spectral problems that arise in the theory of wave scattering. They connect to the direct and inverse scattering problems in many aspects in a delicate way. The properties of the transmission eigenvalues have been extensively and intensively studied over the years, whereas the intrinsic properties of the transmission eigenfunctions are much less studied. Recently, in a series of papers, several intriguing local and global geometric structures of the transmission eigenfunctions are discovered. Moreover, those longly unveiled geometric properties produce some interesting applications of both theoretical and practical importance to direct and inverse scattering problems. This paper reviews those developments in the literature by summarizing the results obtained so far and discussing the rationales behind them. There are some side results of this paper including the general formulations of several types of transmission eigenvalue problems, some interesting observations on the connection between the transmission eigenvalue problems and several challenging inverse scattering problems, and several conjectures on the spectral properties of transmission eigenvalues and eigenfunctions, with most of them are new to the literature.
Effects of PETTLEP imagery technique on precision skills: a study on drag flick in Pakistan hockey
Authors: Hashmi Shamsa , Akhtar Tanveer , Hashmi Maniha
Published: November 2020

Present study was aimed at investigating the role of Physical, Environmental, Task, Timing, Learning, Emotion and Perspective (PETTLEP) Imagery technique in the improvement of skill precision level of hockey drag flickers. For this purpose, both male (83) and female (38) hockey drag flickers (n=121) of age ranged between 17 and 27 years were selected from different hockey teams belonging to clubs, colleges, universities, departments, regional and national academies of Pakistan. Participants were made to undergo a Pretest-Intervention-Posttest research design consisted of 20 drag flicks and filling of SIAQ questionnaire. Drag Flick Precision Measurement Test (DFPMT) along with Sports Imagery Ability Questionnaire (SIAQ) were used to measure their skill precision levels and their imagery ability. The participants were classified into three categories as per their skill precision levels (Point-based), ranging from 48 Novice (upto12 points), 42 Intermediate (13–18 points) and 31 Elite (19 points and above), and were randomly assigned to one of four intervention groups; Physical Practice (PP), PETTLEP Imagery Practice (IP), Physical Practice+PETTLEP Imagery Practice Combination (CP), and No Practice (NP) Control group. Each group performed their respective tasks for 10 weeks through specially designed physical training programs aided by Imagery scripts. Paired sample t test analysis showed that all groups improved significantly (p<0.05) from pre- to post-test, and the CP group improved more with average improvement value of 8.32 for DFPMT and 5.39 for SIAQ (p<0.05) than the IP, PP and NP groups. However, there was no significant difference found between the PP (Sig. 0.73) and NP (Sig. 0.44) groups in SIAQ. Result extend prior research findings and suggests that PETTLEP Imagery practice used in combination with Physical practice has substantial impact on improving performance of complex motor skills, Present findings showed that PETTLEP imagery model was found to improve player’s precision skill levels, especially when it was combined with physical practice. However, further studies in this connection are needed.
Examining the effectiveness of an imagery intervention in enhancing athletes’ eudaimonic well-being
Authors: Kouali Despina , Hall Craig , Deck Sarah
Published: November 2020

Objectives

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effectiveness of an imagery intervention on eudaimonic well-being (EWB) of soccer players using a single-subject multiple baseline design.

Methods

Five female varsity level soccer players (M

age
=19.80, SD=1.64) participated in the study. Each athlete engaged in eight individual imagery sessions (i.e., intervention phase) aimed at increasing EWB.

Results

Visual and statistical analyses demonstrated a small increase on EWB for two participants. However, post-intervention interviews revealed that all the players believed the intervention was beneficial and had a positive impact on their EWB.

Conclusions

The utility of employing imagery interventions for enhancing athletes’ EWB in various contexts within and outside sport was highlighted.
A novel proposal based on 2D linear resonant cavity photonic crystals for all-optical NOT, XOR and XNOR logic gates
Authors: Elhachemi Kouddad , Rafah Naoum
Published: November 2020

In this paper, we are going to propose a novel structure of all-optical NOT, XOR and XNOR logic gates are presented using a two-dimensional photonic crystal (2D-PhC). This structure is optimized by varying the radius of the cavity, to obtain a quality factor Q = 1192, and also has several ports of entry and one port of output. The size of each structure is equal to 85.8 μm2. The contrast ratios for the structures proposed all-optical NOT, XOR and XNOR logic gates between levels “0” and “1” are, respectively, 25.08, 25.03, and 14.47 dB. The response time for the three logical gates is 8.33 ps, and the bit rate is calculated at about 0.12 Tbit/s, all simulations are based on both numerical methods such as finite difference time domain (FDTD) and plane wave expansion (PWE). Designed logic gates are characterized by low power consumption, compactness and easy integration.
Physical layer analysis of optical wireless data centers
Authors: Dixit Anand Kumar , Srivastava Meenakshi , Srivastava Rajiv
Published: November 2020

As the time progresses, the demand for bandwidth increases due to the evolution of new technologies supporting video on demand, music, etc., the traditional data centers heavily rely on electronics and thus dissipated a large amount of heat. To reduce both cabling and heat dissipated, fiber optic communication was supposed to be the next technology to replace current electronic systems, but unfortunately, fiber optic technology is not matured enough to be implemented. Therefore, as an alternative optical wireless communication (OWC) can be used, where advantages of optical components are availed and transmission media is free space, thus reducing cabling. This paper aims to present the modeling of wireless optical data center networks and evaluate bit error rate (BER) performance at the physical layer. To the best of our knowledge, this analysis is presented first time in case of OWC-based data centers.