bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Seoul through the Eyes of Foreigners in the End of 19th - Beginning of 20th Centuries
Authors:   St. Petersburg State University, Finko Nina V.
Published: June 2022

The paper examines the change of turban space in Seoul at the turn of 20th Century. The period is rich in events that influenced the formation of the modern Korean state: ranging from the “opening of the ports” in 1876, to the proclamation of the Korean Empire in 1897. At the same time, the country began the process of modernizing urban planning legislation. Urbanprojects were carried out under the Hansung City Improvement Project (한성 도시 개조 사 업) adopted by Kojong and his government in 1896 and continued until 1905. However, in modern historiography, the project is rarely considered as an example of modern urban planning in Korea. In this paper the diary entries, collections of stories, and memoirs of foreign diplomats who lived in Korea in the end of the 19th century are analyzed, along with papers from journalists and missionaries who traveled around Korea. The results of the analysis show that qualitative changes in the urban space of Seoul took place from 1896 to 1905, within the framework of modernization reforms of the period. The Hansung City Improvement Project should be considered as an example of modern urban planning in Korea, as it was initiated and implemented by the national government within modern legal framework, and Seoul became modern city of the early XX Century. The findings of the study are important for understanding the nature of the changes that took place in Korea, starting with the “opening of the ports” in 1876.
Study on Korean Translation of Russian Idioms Related to Human Names
Authors:   Kim Il Sung University, Choe Yong-Gi , Pak Yong-Gum ,   Kim Il Sung University
Published: June 2022

This paper analyzes Russian idioms related to human names culturally and linguistically according to their origins and describes some methods for translating them into Korean. In any national language, idiom is one of linguistic means that enriches the vocabulary and is actively utilizedwith high expressiveness, brevity, and vividness in people’s everyday life. Such idioms often have unique national and cultural qualities because they have been created from the cultural background peculiar to the nation. Thus in teaching and learning foreign languages, it is important to have a correct understanding of the main meaning of the idioms as well as the nation’s inherent history, tradition, and culture and use them in conformity with the linguistic situation and occasions. The purpose of the paper is to classify Russian idioms related to human names according to their origins and to analyze them culturally and linguistically. Another goal is to study some suitable Korean translation methods for representing not only the meaning of the expressions, but also complementary national and cultural meanings contained in them. Idioms related to the human names have stronger national coloring than other phraseological units, and therefore we should apply certain techniques in translating them into other languages. If we translate literally, without taking into account additional national information which these idioms have, we can’t absolutely and perfectly convey the author’s or the speaker’s intention. This can result in misunderstanding of elementary meanings in translation. The conclusion is that when translating idioms related to human names, the translator must be adroit in using various translating methods according to certain meanings of their idiomatic units, complementary cultural information, the author’s intention, overall color of the context, and the readers’ cultural level.
“Confessionario em Lingua Mandarina” by Fr. Francisco Varo: An Unknown Manuscript of the Renowned Dominican
Authors:   Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Kozha Ksenia A.
Published: June 2022

The Oriental Department of the St Petersburg University’s library has a unique manuscript “Confessionario em Lingua Mandarina”, a handbook for confession, compiled by Dominican father Francisco Varo (1627-1687) for use in his (and his confrères) missionary work in earlier Qing China (sec. half of the 17th c.). The manuscript, seven folios altogether, bound into a dictionary (Dictionario Lusitanico Sinico Tartaro Historico Mathematico Latino for Congregação da Missão Portugueza), amidst its main body, is a precious gift to all researchers in the field, for it is, by all accounts, a unique exemplar of this kind of text by the famous missionary. Varo’s written legacy has received special attention from historians of Catholic missions in China and researchers on the Ming and Qing Chinese language. However a Confessionario is not traced in Varo’s bibliography. The undenied value of the text is its bilingual contents: the confessor’s questions in the Portuguese language translated into the earlier Qing Mandarin (southern guanhua). Documents, codifying the main Chinese dialect of the 17th c. are rather rare, although a number of elaborated descriptions of variant systems of guanhua romanization by Western missionaries provide us with all necessary instruments to analyse the transcription method, used by Varo in the Confessionario. The author of the article attempts to implement the existing methodology to identify the place of this piece of Varo’s work in the Chinese romanization mosaic. Being Portuguese-based, the transcription of the Confessionario differs significantly from Varo’s Spanish-oriented system in Vocabulario de la Lengua Mandarina (1670) and Arte de la Lengua Mandarina (1682-1703), naturally demonstrating more in common to the earlier systems by Ricci, Trigault and Martini. A few peculiarities of the romanization used in Confessionario are revealed in the article.
Artificial Intelligence Strategy and consequences of its implementation for labour law
Authors:   National Research Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod, Filipova Irina A.
Published: June 2022

The rapid development of artificial intelligence in recent years has necessitated the legal regulation of new phenomena related to the introduction of artificial intelligence in practice. Scientists and politicians raised questions about the development of artificial intelligence, and about the formulation of principles and basic conditions for minimizing risks of developing artificial intelligence in the future. This discussion led to the adoption of Artificial Intelligence Strategies in countries that are leaders in economic development and countries seeking leadership, including in Russia. The Russian Artificial Intelligence Strategy for the period up to 2030 indicates development goals and the need to carry out a set of coordinated actions, including in the field of legal regulations. This Strategy involves major changes that will affect the production and services sectors, which will inevitably affect the organization of wage labor. This article presents an analysis of the provisions of this Strategy and similar foreign acts, which allows identification of key factors that can affect the transformation of the world of work and compel changes in legal regulation. This study was carried out using the following methods: formal-logical, comparative-legal methods of analysis and synthesis, methods of legal modelling and legal forecasting. The results of the study provide insights into the increasing impact of artificial intelligence technologies on the work environment, on the content of labor relations, and about the need to revise some norms of labor law to adapt it to changing reality.
Criminal liability for organizing a stable group of persons aimed at committing crimes in the field of computer information
Authors:   Vyatka State University, Mosechkin Ilya N.
Published: June 2022

The article analyzes legal problems arising in connection with the establishment of criminal liability for organizing a stable group of persons for committing crimes in the field of computer information. The urgency of this topic is due to the negative dynamics of crimes associated with computer technology and committed by criminal communities or organizations as well as the constant growth of damage from them. The author evaluates the current criminal law measures to counter organized cybercrime, identifying their shortcomings. The provisions of domestic and foreign criminal legislation were analyzed, which made it possible to identify some legal gaps and identify ways to overcome them. The article proves that the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation does not fully cover cases of the creation of organized criminal groups aimed at committing illegal activities in the field of computer information. In particular, responsibility is not differentiated between a group of persons by prior conspiracy and an organized group; the category of crimes and the absence of the purpose of making profit do not allow qualifying the act as committed by a criminal community or a criminal organization. It is advisable to recognize the very fact of the creation of illegal organized formations as a separate tort, as is done in the legislation of individual countries of the “common law” legal family, as well as in domestic norms regulating countering terrorism and extremism. It is proposed to include in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation a norm providing for responsibility for organizing a stable group of persons aimed at committing crimes in the field of computer information. The wording of the corresponding article has been formulated, which can be used as a recommendation when improving legislation.
Methodological basis for criminal procedure researches
Authors:   Nizhniy Novgorod Academy of the Ministry of the Interior of the Russian Federation, Afanasyev Alexey Yu. ,   Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod
Published: June 2022

Modern criminal procedure science contains many outstanding issues, both theoretical and methodological. To date, the methodology of criminal procedure research, and in general the whole of criminal procedure science, remains unrecognized. Most procedural scientists have little focus in research, both in the object and subject of the study, and in the methodological basis. The main difficulties are caused by incorrect understanding of the methodology of the study. The existing in the field work of criminal procedure confirms not only the narrow approach in the understanding of methodology, but also the error in the interpretation and application of scientific knowledge methods. This situation is mainly based on the lack of formalization of methods of criminal procedure science and limited intra-scientific reflection. In this regard, it is necessary to reassess established methodological values and traditions and to offer a reasoned view of the methodology of criminal procedure science. The article provides an idea of the methodology of science and undertakes a critical analysis of the methodological basis of research in criminal procedure science. As a result of the audit, the author’s proposals are formulated on the universal scheme of methodology and system of methods of criminal procedure study, as well as the logical stages of criminal procedure study. The author concludes that it is necessary to understand methodology as a way to obtain scientific knowledge, as a result of intrascientific reflection on the organization of their own scientific activities, the universality of popular and private scientific methods of research and their replenishment by criminal procedure science. In addition, the conclusion is made on the scientific nature of the criminal procedure field of knowledge. The proposals in the article may form the basis of further developments in the field of criminal proceedings and may also serve as recommendations in the formulation of the methodological basis for research.
Trends in the use of tactical techniques in the preliminary investigation
Authors:   St. Petersburg State University, Nizamov Viacheslav U. , Egerev Ivan M. ,   Law Office Egerev I. M.
Published: June 2022

This article deals with the implementation of achievements of criminalistic tactics in investigative activities, which find their expression in the developed tactical techniques for the production of certain investigative actions. Tactical techniques have been the subject of research for a long time yet while there is still no single approach to this category. In particular, there is no uniformity in proposed definitions of this concept, criteria for its admissibility, etc. It is noted that in forensic science, a fairly large number of different grounds for classifying tactical techniques have been proposed. One of the most common grounds for dividing tactical techniques is such a feature as the applied type of special sciences that were used in their development. In the classification according to the specified criterion, special attention is paid to tactical and psychological techniques, that is, based on provisions of psychology. Taking into account the fact that a number of tactical and psychological techniques are enshrined in the current criminal procedure legislation, it becomes necessary to develop recommendations that take into account their psychological content. Only if this condition is met will the established goals of criminal proceedings be attainable. The features of the use of tactical and psychological techniques during interrogation, face-to-face confrontation, and presentation for identification are considered. Such features, among other things, are due to the need to ensure the protection of the rights and freedoms of participants in criminal proceedings. Deviations from forensic recommendations are indicated, when the available tactical and psychological techniques remain unrealized due to the applied formal approach.
Good faith performance of contractual obligations under Russian law
Authors:   Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO University), Alyakin Dmitry S.
Published: June 2022

The paper examines the implementation of the good faith performance of contractual obligations under Russian law, and identifies requirements addressed to parties in this area. The relevance of the paper stems from the increasing Russian legislator’s attention to extending the application of good faith in civil circulation, including the performance of obligations. The research aim is to examine the nature of good faith performance of obligations. The research material was the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, Russian jurisprudence, and domestic authors’ studies in the field of civil law. The methodological basis consisted of general scientific (analysis, synthesis, analogy) and special legal methods (comparative-legal, formal-logical, systemic, structural-functional methods, and a method of interpretation). It is justified that the principle of good faith, being a general principle of the Russian Civil Law, is implemented, in particular, in the field of performance of obligations. The implementation of this principle regulated by legal norms ensures a balance between the interests of a creditor and debtor, allows achieving the result implied and pursued by the law, and maintains the stability of civil circulation. It seems appropriate to consider good faith in doing business, cooperation between parties, and cost-effective performance as requirements contributing to the understanding and achieving goals and objectives of the principle of good faith in relation to the performance of obligations. It is important to continue working on the formation of a uniform approach to the implementation of the listed requirements in the mentioned field by improving the existing legal regulation. The effectiveness of this process will contribute to increasing the level of judicial discretion within the established limits and will allow to guide parties in patterns of conduct aimed at achieving objectives of obligations, in other words, their due performance.
Rights of convicted person in forced feeding: national and international approaches
Authors:   The Academy of Law and Management of the Federal Penal Service of Russia, Davydova Irina A. , Korobova Irina N. ,   The Academy of Law and Management of the Federal Penal Service of Russia, Siryakov Alexey N. ,   The Academy of Law and Management of the Federal Penal Service of Russia
Published: June 2022

A common form of prison protests is the hunger strike. There is often a conflict between the rights of the person who refuses to eat and the obligation of the penal system to ensure the health and life of the convicted person by artificial feeding in such situations. International legal standards require medical professionals to respect the patient’s autonomy. Informed consent to medical care must be obtained prior to medical intervention. In emergency circumstances, when a person’s life or health is threatened, the doctor must act in accordance with his understanding of the patient’s interests. Artificial feeding should be carried out by appropriate means, as provided for in the General rules on medical care, and should never cause harm or humiliation. There are no detailed rules on artificial feeding in Russian legislation. In order to improve the procedure for applying forced nutrition to convicts, it is advisable to divide it into four stages, each of which has its own borders and a certain area of legal relations: making a decision to transfer the convict to a separate room; conducting basic verification actions; force-feeding the convict; taking measures for refusing to eat and committing other violations. The example of Spain clearly demonstrates how the lack of clear legal regulations led to the resolution of the issue of artificial feeding at the level of the constitutional court. The court noted that convicts who refuse to eat do not have the right to die, and not the prison administration imposed a duty to preserve health and life. At the same time, artificial feeding cannot be considered as a violation of physical and moral integrity, much less as torture, inhuman or degrading treatment.
Regulation of the use of big data in the Republic of Korea and Russia
Authors:   Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University), Dolzhikova Anna E. , Sembekova Bakitkul R. ,   Eurasian National University named after L. N. Gumilyov, Yasin Melikşah ,   Istanbul University
Published: June 2022

Modern innovations driven by big data processing technologies are increasingly in conflict with international principles for protecting personal information and call into question the effectiveness and adequacy of existing legal mechanisms for protecting confidentiality of personal information. The relevance of the problem under study is due to the insufficient development of theoretical and methodological aspects of legal regulation of big data in the Russian Federation and the need to implement positive foreign experiences for building a mechanism for legal regulation of this institution. The purpose of the essay is to study the positive experience of legal regulation of the use of big data in the Republic of Korea for its implementation in Russian legislation. The leading method for studying this problem is a comparative legal one, which allows the authors to formulate proposals for improving domestic legislation. The study led to the following conclusion. The main area for improvement the legal regulation of the processes of using big data are: the right of users to access their data and check the activities of companies with them, the right to stop using and further delete data, the right to change data, the right to data portability. The study revealed that the Korean experience shows the need to expand the processing and use of personal data, which in turn contributes to the wider use of big data. The study will allow, based on foreign experience, to create an effective Russian system of legal regulation of big data. The novelty and originality of the study lies in the fact that it was the first to study the experience of the legislator of the Republic of Korea in this area.
Characteristics and problems of the termination of the employment relationship with the teaching staff for committing immoral act or harassment
Authors:   St. Petersburg State University, Zavgorodniy Alexander V. , Akhmatshina Enesh K. ,   St. Petersburg State University
Published: June 2022

In the process of carrying out their professional activities, pedagogical workers are assigned special responsibility for the spiritual, moral, and patriotic education of students The Federal Law “On Education in the Russian Federation” defines “upbringing” as an activity aimed at personal development, creating conditions for self-determination, and socialization of a student on the basis of socio-cultural, spiritual, and moral values and socially accepted rules and norms of behavior in the interests of the person, family, society, and the state. This article summarizes basic requirements and restrictions on persons applying for teaching posts. The circle of persons who can be dismissed for committing immoral misconduct is determined. Issues related to the definition of immoral misconduct and harassment are considered. Peculiarities and problems of the termination of labor relations with a pedagogical worker for committing immoral misconduct incompatible with the continuation of pedagogical work (paragraph 8 of part 1 of Article 81 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation) are considered. Attention is also drawn to peculiarities of dismissing a teacher for his application, including one-time, of the method of education associated with physical and (or) psychological violence against the student’s personality (Clause 2 of Article 336 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). The relevance of the topic raised by the author, on the one hand, is determined by considerable scholarly interest, and on the other hand, is of great practical importance in determining the procedure for terminating labor relations with teachers for committing an immoral misconduct. However, a comprehensive study on this topic by legal scholars in recent years has practically not been conducted.
Resiliência: uma competência da Enfermagem
Authors: Cunha Isabel Cristina Kowal Olm
Published: June 2022

Certamente para todos, este ano de 2020 está sendo um dos mais difíceis de nossas vidas. Reagirmos para sobreviver ao novo normal tem sido um desafio diário, em todas as áreas de atuação.É, contudo, no contexto de desafios que desenvolvemos novas competências e adquirimos forças para continuar e reagir.  Muitas pessoas absorvem os problemas, tragédias e dificuldades com mais facilidade do que outras e conseguem em pouco tempo “dar a volta por cima”, não se deixando abater.  Os neurocientistas chamam esta característica de resiliência.O dicionário nos ensina que resiliência é, na física, a propriedade dos corpos de voltarem à sua forma original depois de terem sofrido deformação ou choque1. O termo tem sido usado para caracterizar a capacidade que se tem de se adaptar às intempéries, às alterações ou aos infortúnios. Pode-se dizer de forma simplista que é tendência natural que algumas pessoas tem para se recuperar ou superar com facilidade os problemas que aparecem2,3.Existem estudos que mostram diferentes abordagens da resiliência dos profissionais de enfermagem, com e sem a aplicação de questionários4,5. Resultados permitem entender porque mesmo depois de imensas dificuldades como condições adversas de trabalho tanto na jornada excessiva como na falta de materiais e equipamentos, o lidar com a morte constantemente e com o medo de contaminar-se, a Enfermagem volta e continua seu trabalho, mesmo à beira da exaustão. Todavia todos alertam para os efeitos perversos das dificuldades e adversidades constantes e em longos períodos para o burnout, e a queda na saúde mental, apesar da resiliência. Ou seja, resiliência tem limite!Nesta pandemia de Covid-19, ao acompanharmos as imensas dificuldades e desafios pelas quais passam os enfermeiros, técnicos e auxiliares de enfermagem, e mesmo assim, conseguido se superar, dar o melhor de si na linha de frente e sendo responsáveis diretos pela assistência à beira do leito, feita muitas vezes de forma apaixonada, com inovação e superação, podemos afirmar que uma das competências mais desenvolvidas está sendo a resiliência.  Todavia, a catástrofe mundial que estamos atravessando, pela sua extensão não somente em todos os países, mas em diferentes segmentos da população, pela sua alta capacidade de infecção, letalidade e sequelas, exige dos profissionais, muito mais do que resiliência.É urgente que estes sejam respeitados, com adequadas condições e jornadas de trabalho, proteção com equipamentos seguros e remuneração condizente com as responsabilidades assumidas na pandemia. Reconhecimento e homenagens com músicas, lives, poesias, é bom, aquecem o coração, mas o que se quer é valorização destes profissionais antes, durante e após esta pandemia, para que com a resiliência que já tem, possam continuar atuando como os verdadeiros heróis do cuidado.
Utility of Indian Fruits in Cancer Prevention and Treatment: Time to Undertake Translational and Bedside Studies
Authors: Prabhakar Pankaj , Pavankumar Giriyapura Srikantachar , Raghu Shamprasad Varija , Rao Suresh , Prasad Krishna , George Thomas , Baliga Manjeshwar Shrinath
Published: June 2022

The World Health Organization predicts a 70% increase in cancer incidents in developing nations over the next decade, and it will be the second leading cause of death worldwide. Traditional plant-based medicine systems play an important role against various diseases and provide health care to a large section of the population in developing countries. Indigenous fruits and their bioactive compounds with beneficial effects like antioxidant, antiproliferative, and immunomodulatory are shown to be useful in preventing the incidence of cancer. India is one of the biodiversity regions and is native to numerous flora and fauna in the world. Of the many fruiting trees indigenous to India, Mango (Mangifera indica), Black plum (Eugenia jambolana or Syzygium jambolana), Indian gooseberry (Emblica officinalis or Phyllanthus emblica), kokum (Garcinia indica or Brindonia indica), stone apple or bael (Aegle marmelos), Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus), Karaunda (Carissa carandas) and Phalsa (Grewia asiatica), Monkey Jackfruit (Artocarpus lakoocha) and Elephant apple (Dillenia indica) have been shown to be beneficial in preventing cancer and in the treatment of cancer in validated preclinical models of study. In this review, efforts are also made to collate the fruits' anticancer effects and the important phytochemicals. Efforts are also made to address the underlying mechanism/s responsible for the beneficial effects of these fruits in cancer prevention and treatment. These fruits have been a part of the diet, are non-toxic, and easily acceptable for human application. The plants and some of their phytochemicals possess diverse medicinal properties. The authors propose that future studies should be directed at detailed studies with various preclinical models of study with both composite fruit extract/juice and the individual phytochemicals. Additionally, translational studies should be planned with the highly beneficial, well-investigated and pharmacologically multifactorial amla to understand its usefulness as a cancer preventive in the high-risk population and as a supportive agent in cancer survivors. The outcome of both preclinical and clinical studies will be useful for patients, the healthcare fraternity, pharmaceutical, and agro-based sectors.
An Intervention to Connect Patients With Psychosis and Volunteers via Smartphone (the Phone Pal): Development Study
Authors: Pinto da Costa Mariana ,   Phone Pal Advisory Groups
Published: June 2022

Background

Intervention development is a critical stage. However, evidence indicates that the substandard reporting of intervention details is widespread.

Objective

This study aimed to provide an overview of the guiding frameworks, methodology, and stages for the design and construction of a new complex intervention—the Phone Pal.

Methods

The intervention development process followed the Medical Research Council framework for developing complex interventions as well as the person-based approach. The intervention was developed following the evidence synthesis of a literature review, a focus group study, and a survey after consultation and input from advisory groups with a range of stakeholders, including patients, volunteers, clinicians, and academics.

Results

The developed logic model outlines the contextual factors, intervention, mechanisms of change, and short- and long-term outcomes. The operationalized intervention required matching 1 patient with 1 volunteer to communicate with each other through a smartphone via SMS text messages, WhatsApp messages or email, and audio or video calls. Each participant was encouraged to communicate with their match at least once per week for a 12-week period using informal conversation.

Conclusions

The systematic process and theoretically sound strategy through which this intervention was developed can provide insights to future researchers on the reality of developing and preparing the operationalization of a digital intervention using multiple components.
User Engagement within the Online Peer Support Community ‘Depression Connect’ and Recovery-related Changes in Empowerment: a Longitudinal User Survey (Preprint)
Authors: Smit Dorien , Vrijsen Janna N , Broekman Theo , Groeneweg Bart , Spijker Jan
Published: June 2022

BACKGROUND

The chronic nature of depression and limited availability of evidence-based treatments emphasize the need for complementary recovery-oriented services, such as peer support interventions (PSIs). Peer support is associated with positive effects on clinical and personal recovery from mental illness, but little is known about the processes of engagement that foster change.

OBJECTIVE

This study assesses whether the level of user engagement in an online peer support community for individuals with depression promotes empowerment and the use of self-management strategies, and reduces symptom severity, and disability.

METHODS

In a longitudinal survey conducted from June 2019 to September 2020 we analyzed the data of users of Depression Connect, an online peer support community hosted by the Dutch Patient Association for Depression and the Pro Persona Mental Health Care institute on measures of empowerment (Netherlands Empowerment List, NEL), self-management (Dutch Assessment of Self-management in Anxiety and Depression questionnaire, ASAD), depression (Beck Depression Inventory-II, BDI-II-NL), and disability (World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule, WHODAS 2.0). Of the 301 respondents, 49 completed the survey again after three months and 74 after six months. Analysis of three parameters (ie, total time spend on the platform, number of page views, and number of posts) derived from their data logs yielded four engagement profiles. Linear mixed models were fitted to determine whether outcomes had significantly changed over time and significantly differed for the various profiles.

RESULTS

Baseline engagement was ‘very low’ (177/301, 59%) or ‘low’ (87/301, 29%) for the majority of the participants, with few showing ‘medium’ (30/301, 10%) or ‘high’ engagement patterns (7/301, 2%), while user profiles did not differ regarding demographic and clinical characteristics. All outcomes improved over time but none were associated with the intensity or nature of user engagement.

CONCLUSIONS

Improvements in empowerment, self-management, depressive symptoms, and disability were not related to the intensity or nature of user engagement. With the great majority of Depression Connect members showing very-low-to-low engagement and only few being identified as high-frequency, active users, it is likely that this flexibility in use is what provides value to online PSI users, where they can adapt the intensity and nature of their engagement to their current needs on their personal road to recovery. Future studies should explore the content and quality of the interactions in online PSIs to identify optimal user engagement as a function of current, self-reported clinical parameters and reasons to engage in the PSI.
Classifying Autism Spectrum Disorder Using Emotion Features From Video Recordings (Preprint)
Authors: Sleiman Essam , Mutlu Onur Cezmi , Surabhi Saimourya , Husic Arman , Kline Aaron , Washington Peter , Wall Dennis P.
Published: June 2022

BACKGROUND

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder encountered by 1 in 44 children in the United States of America. Autism patients face difficulty effectively communicating with peers, articulating feelings and emotions, and controlling behaviors. Rapid and early diagnosis leads to improved treatment outcomes, however current medical techniques often take years. Difficult, time-consuming diagnoses accompanied by the recent advances in computer vision have led to a surge of interest from researchers in developing models to streamline the autism diagnosis process.

OBJECTIVE

We aim to assess the viability of at-home autism diagnosis by leveraging video data collected from a mobile game app to train a computer vision model utilizing insights extracted from the change in emotion expression features over time.

METHODS

With our GuessWhat game-based mobile app, we collect a video dataset of 74 ASD and NT children actively playing in a natural home environment. To investigate and quantify the significance of facial emotion features for ASD detection, we develop a deep learning-based autism classifier with two components: a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) attached to a Long Short Term Memory (LSTM). We pre-train our CNN backbone in two fashions: (1) on ImageNet or (2) on a compilation of Facial Expression Recognition (FER) datasets to analyze autism detection performance improvements utilizing emotion features. The output of each CNN is fed into an LSTM model to diagnose ASD from video data.

RESULTS

Our top-performing architecture utilizing a CNN backbone pre-trained on ImageNet obtained an accuracy of 45.8% and an F1 score of 62.8% while our corresponding top architecture employing a CNN backbone trained on the FER datasets achieved top accuracy of 91.2% and an F1 score of 90.6%.

CONCLUSIONS

We discovered the change in an individual's facial expression features over time as a relevant marker for autism detection. Extracting emotional features from each frame resulted in a 27.8% F1 score improvement when compared to non-emotion weights. Our study demonstrates the capability of mobile applications to collect a natural, diverse dataset for an improved autism diagnosis. These results demonstrate Deep Learning and Computer Vision based methods are instrumental for automated autism diagnosis from at-home recorded videos using unspecialized equipment.
Screening for Generalized Anxiety Disorder from Acoustic and Linguistic Features of Impromptu Speech: Prediction Model Evaluation Study (Preprint)
Authors: Teferra Bazen Gashaw , Borwein Sophie , DeSouza Danielle D. , Rose Jonathan
Published: June 2022

BACKGROUND

Frequent interaction with mental health professionals is required to screen, diagnose, and track mental health disorders. However, high costs and insufficient access can make frequent interaction difficult. The ability to assess a mental health disorder passively and at frequent intervals could be a useful complement to conventional treatment. It may be possible to passively assess clinical symptoms with high frequency by characterizing speech alterations collected through personal smartphones or other wearable devices. The association between speech features and mental health disorders could be leveraged as an objective screening tool.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the performance of a model that predicts the presence of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) from acoustic and linguistic features of impromptu speech.

METHODS

N = 2,000 participants were recruited and participated in a single online session. They completed the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 item scale (GAD-7) assessment and provided an impromptu speech sample in response to a modified version of the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). We use linguistic and acoustic features found to be associated with anxiety disorders in previous studies, along with demographic information, to predict if participants fall above or below the screening threshold for GAD based on the GAD-7 scale threshold of 10. Separate models for each sex were also evaluated. We report the mean area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) from a repeated 5-fold cross-validation to evaluate the performance of the models.

RESULTS

A logistic regression model using only acoustic and linguistic speech features achieved a significantly greater prediction accuracy than a random model (mean AUROC = 0.57, SD = 0.03, P < .001). When separately assessing female samples, a mean AUROC of 0.55 (SD = 0.05, P = .01) was observed. The model constructed on the male samples achieved a mean AUROC of 0.57 (SD = 0.07, P = .002). The mean AUROC increased to 0.62 (SD = 0.03, P < .001) on the all-sample dataset when demographic information (age, sex, and income) was included indicating the importance of demographics when screening for anxiety disorders. The performance also increased for the female dataset to 0.62 (SD = 0.04, P < .001) when using demographic info (age and income). In both cases, age had the highest impact on the prediction performance gain. An increase in performance was not observed when adding demographic information for the model constructed on the male samples.

CONCLUSIONS

Acoustic and linguistic speech features can achieve above-random prediction accuracy for predicting GAD. Importantly, the addition of basic demographic variables further improves model performance, suggesting a role for speech and demographic information to be used as automated, objective screeners of GAD.
Structure and tree diversity of an inland Atlantic Forest–A case study of Ponte Branca Forest Remnant, Brazil
Authors: Martins-Neto Rorai , Tommaselli Antonio , Imai Nilton , Berveglieri Adilson , Thomaz Mariana , Miyoshi Gabriela , Casagrande Baltazar , Guimarães Raul , Ribeiro Eduardo , Honkavaara Eija , Campos Mariana , De Oliveira Raquel , David Hassan
Published: June 2022

The Atlantic Forest is the most fragmented and threatened domain in Brazil. The main remnants are in the coastal regions. This paper describes a study performed at a protected federal reserve in Brazil located in western of São Paulo state, which is a transition with the Savannah. A forestry survey was made for understanding the forest structure, diversity, and floristic composition of an inland Atlantic Forest area. A total of 3,181 individuals with a Diameter at Breast Height over 3.5 cm were sampled. The data sample was composed of 29 families and 64 species from 15 plots. Forty-seven percent of the species were classified as a pioneer, 42% as secondary, and 11% as climax. The species Eugenia uniflora presented the highest importance value index. The values of Shannon-Weaver diversity and Pielou equitability index indicate the area has less diversity than others in the same phytophysiognomy and was dominated by a few species with many individuals. Several anthropogenic disturbances altered the forest cover of the Ponte Branca Forest remnant, which is in the process of secondary succession.
Livelihood of Independent Waste Pickers (Tokai) at Dhaka City in Bangladesh: Does it Incidental Choice of them?
Authors: Malak Md. Abdul , Prema Sumaiya Fahim , Sajib Abdul Majed , Hossain Nahrin Jannat
Published: June 2022

The study reveals the status of waste pickers, their livelihood asset profile and the vulnerability due to climatic and anthropogenic factors. It considered the independent waste pickers of Dhaka City, known as Tokai, who collect waste, especially recyclable and reusable materials. Using semi-structured interviews and personal histories, two groups of participants were explored qualitatively: independent waste pickers and other stakeholders. Waste-picking is sometimes the first source of income for persons displaced to Dhaka as a result of human and non-human changes. While most were homeless sheltering anywhere they could, they made a valuable contribution to the recycling industry and to improving environment and ensuring others' well-being, filling a gap left by councils failing to collect the waste produced daily by residents and industry. However, their efforts are largely unrecognized, and their labour stigmatized. Consequently, they have far less access to health, education, credit and utilities. Moreover, poverty and lack of family guidance may make them vulnerable to pursuing involvement in ill-advised political activism. The study concludes that the government and others need to shape a policy that takes into account the livelihood and survival needs of waste pickers and strive to ensure the provision of decent work within this sector and recognition of their societal contribution.
Impacts of Climatic Variation on Water Balance and Yield of Watershed (Insights from The Kaduna Watershed, North Central Nigeria)
Authors: Daramola Japheth , Ekhwan Toriman Mohd , Choy Lam Kuok , Mokhtar Jaafar , Alakeji Adeyemi Jibrin
Published: June 2022

Many authors have identified climate variation impacts in Nigeria. However, the effects on water balance and water yield have not been thoroughly considered. Good knowledge of water balances is vital for sustainable water resource management in northern Nigeria due to high water stress and increased evapotranspiration compared to another part of the country. Hence, the study presents the first detailed climatic variation impacts on watershed water balance and water yield in north-central Nigeria. Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was applied to predict the hydrological procedures. The Kaduna watershed (32,124 km2) calibrated and validated streamflow results were run independently using three land cover maps of 1975, 2000, and 2013. The model performance evaluation was statically attained using the coefficient of determination (r2), Nash-Sutcliffe (NS), besides the percentage of observed data (p-factor). The model evaluation result of r2 (0.80), NS (0.71), and p-factors of 0.86 indicated the model satisfactory performance evaluation of streamflow predictions. The streamflow estimation revealed Threshold depth of water (GWQMN.gw) as the most sensitive parameter. The findings discovered declined between 1975 and 2013 in precipitation, water yield, surface runoff (SURQ_mm), lateral flow (LAT_Qmm), deep aquifer (Deep_mm) by 4.2%, 37.3%, 56%, 15%, and 100% respectively, while shallow groundwater aquifer (GW_Qmm) experienced 10% decrease between 1975 and 2000 and appreciated by 6% between 2000 and 2013, evapotranspiration (ET_mm) increase by about 22.2% between 1975 and 2013. These results suggest considerable effects of climate variation in the watershed and call for further investigation to mitigate climate change influence.
Modifikasi Convolutional Neural Network Arsitektur GoogLeNet dengan Dull Razor Filtering untuk Klasifikasi Kanker Kulit
Authors: Sofia Saidah  , Suparta I Putu Yowan Nugraha , Suhartono Efri
Published: June 2022

Kulit merupakan organ luar terluas yang menutupi tubuh manusia. Akibat intensitas tinggi paparan lingkungan luar, kulit dapat mengalami berbagai masalah kesehatan, salah satunya adalah kanker kulit. Deteksi dini dibutuhkan agar penanganan lebih lanjut kepada pasien dapat segera dilakukan. Pemanfaatan artificial intelligence (AI)-based solution pada pengolahan citra kanker kulit dapat digunakan untuk mendeteksi adanya potensi kanker kulit. Pada makalah ini, dilakukan klasifikasi jenis kanker kulit jinak dan ganas dengan memanfaatkan metode convolutional neural network (CNN) arsitektur GoogLeNet. Arsitektur GoogLeNet memiliki keunggulan dengan adanya inception module yang memungkinkan proses konvolusi dan pooling berjalan secara paralel, yang dapat memperpendek waktu komputasi, sehingga mempercepat proses klasifikasi tanpa mengurangi akurasi sistem. Penelitian ini terdiri atas beberapa tahapan, dimulai dengan akusisi data sejumlah enam ratus data citra kanker kulit yang diperoleh dari situs Kaggle.com, kemudian dilakukan penyeragaman ukuran masukan serta pemanfaatan dull razor filtering untuk mengurangi derau citra masukan akibat rambut-rambut halus yang tumbuh di sepanjang epidermis kulit. Setelah proses preprocessing selesai dilakukan, arsitektur GoogLeNet memproses masukan citra, lalu mengklasifikasikan masukan ke dalam kategori kanker kulit jinak (benign) atau kanker kulit ganas (malignant). Kinerja sistem kemudian diuji dengan parameter kinerja, seperti presisi, recall, dan f-1 score, serta dibandingkan dengan metode serupa. Sistem berhasil memperoleh hasil yang memuaskan, di antaranya adalah akurasi 97,73% dan loss 1,7063. Sementara itu, untuk parameter presisi, recall, dan f-1 score, masing-masing diperoleh nilai rata-rata 0,98. Kinerja sistem yang diusulkan berhasil mendapatkan akurasi yang lebih baik dibandingkan dengan penelitian terdahulu dengan penggunaan dataset yang jauh lebih sedikit. Hasil pengujian ini menunjukkan bahwa metode CNN mampu melakukan deteksi dan klasifikasi pada kanker kulit secara akurat, sehingga diharapkan metode ini dapat membantu pekerja medis dalam melakukan diagnosis kepada masyarakat luas.
The Synergy between John Dewey’s Educational Democracy and Levant’s Lebanon Educational Reforms
Authors: Ed.D. Linda Crismon, , Ph.D. Mary Helou, , Crismon Christopher
Published: June 2022

This study examines the impact of John Dewey’s democratic educational principles on the reforms of the Lebanese educational system using data collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews, with open-ended questions, as part of case studies designed for this purpose. The participants in this study are all academics, facilitators, intellectuals and scholars of a Lebanese decent (n=30), undertaking full-time and part-time academic posts, involving learning and teaching activities at universities and other higher educational institutions/providers in Lebanon and in the diaspora (United States of America and Australia). As part of the case studies, the individual, personal, and professional teaching and learning journeys of the educators are sketched in details in relation to John Dewey’s four (4) key democratic educational reformative principles. Moreover, the current research study finally concludes by providing a realistic response to the following question that currently lingers in every academic Lebanese mind and on every Lebanese, scholar’s lips, namely, given Lebanon’s current liberal and relatively democratic educational system, are the Lebanese intellectual reformers truly given the opportunity to create a positive and constructive future vision for Lebanon through its educational system. The current chapter further provides a realistic and clear-cut description of the hurdles facing the current Lebanese educational system, including the scholars, intellectuals, and academics, residing in both Lebanon and in the diaspora. The current study further provides an elaboration on how such hurdles to actual and realistic reforms in Lebanon are impacting on the country’s brain drain phenomenon, as witnessed during the unfortunate latest Lebanese crisis (1975-1991), and post-crisis (1992-present) periods, which, in itself, act as a vicious circle, heavily contributing to the continuously deteriorating state of the current public Lebanese educational system.