bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Regional development: organizational and economic mechanism in the context of the fourth industrial revolution
Authors: Slonimska Marina , Dubko Nadezhda , Veretennikova Elena
Published: November 2021

Relevance of the research topic. The information and knowledge flow management is an important component for regional development in the context of the fourth industrial revolution. It allows taking advantage of the opportunities hidden in the digital transformation of the business community and providing the transformations necessary to reorient development towards inclusive and sustainable growth. Formulation of the problem. Managing the process of introducing Industry 4.0 technologies based on effective state and collective strategies opens up opportunities for regional development, but requires the development of special decision support tools, scientific substantiation of the model of systemic transformation of the region, identification of the main stakeholders and the mechanism of their interaction. Analysis of recent research and publications. The works of such researchers as Yasheva G. A. and Fateev V. S. (Belarus), Lenchuk E. B. (Russia), Götz M. and Jankowska B. (Poland), Ciffolilli A. and Muscio A. (Italy) and others are devoted to the issues of territorial and regional development in the context of the fourth industrial revolution. Selection of unexplored parts of the general problem. The mechanism of small businesses involving in the process of the necessary systemic transformation in the context of the fourth industrial revolution has not been sufficiently studied. Setting the task, the purpose of the study. The purpose of the study is to analyze the theories of regional development in the context of the fourth industrial revolution and to propose an organizational and economic mechanism for the digital transformation of the regional business community, including the SMEs’ sector. Method or methodology for conducting research. The research used the methods of analogies, analysis and synthesis, sociological survey. Presentation of the main material (results of work). The article analyzes the main concepts of regional development, concludes that it is necessary to consolidate regional actors according to the ‘Quadruple Helix’ model based on inter-organizational information systems in order to introduce Industry 4.0 technologies. An algorithm for the development of an electronic platform from a cluster site to an information system of integrated supply chains is proposed on the example of the Novopolotsk innovative and industrial petrochemical cluster. The field of application of results. The results of the research can be used by companies providing activity in regional development and small business support, in scientific and educational institutions, in public administration. Conclusions according to the article. Networked connections between regional actors, innovation networks based on the open innovation paradigm and integrated supply chains promote region development in the context of the fourth industrial revolution, this requires appropriate institutional conditions.
Prospective solvency in ensuring the financial stability of the enterprise
Authors: Vynogradnya Vita , Burdonos Lyudmila
Published: November 2021

Issues of ensuring the financial stability of enterprises are extremely important for the socio-economic development of Ukraine. Stable operation of the enterprise is possible only if the appropriate level of solvency of the enterprise. That is why the issues and problems related to ensuring solvency are given much attention in the scientific works of scientists from both foreign and domestic scientific schools. At the same time, insufficient attention is paid to long-term solvency as an important component of the system of ensuring the stable functioning and development of the enterprise in the future. The task of the study is to analyze the approaches of scientists to the interpretation of the essence of prospective solvency and its role in ensuring the stable operation of the enterprise, determining the characteristic causes of its decline in modern socio-economic development of Ukraine; development of a proposal to ensure the solvency of the enterprise in the future. In the process of research general and special methods were used: analysis and synthesis, method of comparison, generalization, statistical, etc. The article considers the essence of perspective solvency of the enterprise and its role in ensuring stable functioning of the enterprise. The factors that determine it are systematized. The conceptual model of providing perspective solvency of the enterprise for the purpose of stable functioning and development of the enterprise which provides: definition of system of the corresponding indicators of perspective solvency for their constant monitoring is offered; finding out the possible reasons, which may result in loss of prospective solvency; the sequence of implementation of the necessary measures for its restoration and provision in the future. The results of this study can be used in the process of enterprise management to determine the real state of its solvency and develop measures to ensure it in the medium and long term.
Ways of attracting foreign direct investment in the Ukrainian economy
Authors: Horodnichenko Yuliia
Published: November 2021

Subject of research is the directions and ways of attracting foreign direct investment in Ukraine. The purpose of the article is to study the essence and features of foreign direct investment and to study the foreign experience of ways to attract direct investment to Ukraine. Methods used in the research process: method of system-structural analysis and synthesis, method of comparative analysis, generalization, general scientific, special methods of scientific knowledge and other research methods. Study results. The importance of foreign investments in the activity and development of the state is described. The main measures that need to be implemented to attract foreign investment are identified. International investment cooperation, given the high level of its efficiency, provides the country and its businesses with a number of current and future benefits. Positive and negative factors influencing the attraction of foreign investments into the state economy are outlined. One of the most common ways to attract direct investment to Ukraine is to create joint ventures, which are manifested in the processes of cooperation, pooling of knowledge, efforts, resources and experience. Motivational levers of influence on direct investment partners are singled out. They can be divided into two large groups. In the first case, firms are mainly engaged in the sale of goods and services produced in other countries, in the second - invest in the creation of production facilities in this country in order to sell products in the local market or export it to markets in other countries. Application of results. The results of the study can be used in the activities of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the National Commission on Securities and Stock Market, as well as in higher education institutions in the teaching of economic disciplines. Conclusions. Foreign investment plays an important role in the development of the country's economy. Attracting funds from foreign investors contributes to the intensification of the investment process, the introduction of new technologies, the use of advanced foreign experience, the development of small and medium-sized businesses, the growth of investment potential of the territories.
Current realities and trends in the functioning of public finance in Ukraine
Authors: Malyshko Vitalina
Published: November 2021

Subject of research is state finance. The aim of the study is analysis of modern realities and trends in public finance in Ukraine. The methods used during the study: generalization, method of comparative analysis, method of system-structural analysis and synthesis, statistical, general scientific, special methods of scientific knowledge and other research methods. The results of the work. The essence and main purpose of public finances are described. It is stated that it is a conceptual basis of the modern doctrine of public finance and a shortcoming of the current classification system of the public finance sector in Ukraine. The most acute problems concentrated in the sphere of public finances of Ukraine are noted; public finance management functions that are at the center of innovation processes. The scope of the results: Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, local self-government bodies, united territorial communities. Conclusions. The formation of a socially oriented market society in Ukraine and its integration into the world community lead to systematic modernization in all spheres of public life, including public finance management. All this is reflected in the change of the functional imperative of public finance management in Ukraine in the process of transition to an innovative model of development, determined by both social transformations of Ukrainian society and systemic civilizational processes of post-industrial nature. Today, most leading countries unanimously recognize the need to restart public finance systems on an innovative basis to ensure financial stability and prevent systemic financial crises. Ukraine has also chosen the path of innovative development and is moving in this direction.
Redevelopment of industrial territories as a way to create new means of tourist interest
Authors: Makarchuk Inna , Kolodich Julia , Shevchuk Ekaterina
Published: November 2021

In the scientific literature, the problem of reconstruction of urban industrial zones was considered by scientists mainly in terms of architecture and construction (Sedin V. L., Kravchunovskaya T. S., Kovalev V. V., Bronevitsky S. P. and others), the economic aspect - less attention was paid. Foreign scientists Pacer R., Aruninta A., Ha S., Dardya M., Davis T., Margolis K. studied the concept of "redevelopment" quite widely, both theoretically and on the basis of examples of specific cities.Over the last decade, the deindustrialization of large cities has become widely known. As a result of reduced production, large-scale degrading industrial areas with unused buildings, warehouses and related infrastructure. The spatial structure of such zones requires a consistent transformation based on multi-purpose analysis. In this regard, there is a need for work on the reconception of industrial zones, their adaptation to modern conditions of the city and sustainable development. Development is a good practice all over the world. Development has a multifaceted effect: improving the architectural and planning development of the city, the emergence of new land resources, real estate, jobs, transformation and development of the transport network, reducing pendulum migration, solving environmental problems and of course attracting large numbers of tourists.Relevance of research. The development of industrial territories is the re-profiling of obsolete industrial and administrative buildings in accordance with the needs of the modern market and social development. Since tourism is an industry that requires a strong material fund, it is obvious that the use of redevelopment of industrial areas is in order to develop tourist infrastructure.Field of application of results. The obtained results can be used in substantiation and implementation of redevelopment of industrial territories as a way to create new means of tourist interest.The aim of the study. The positive and negative aspects of redevelopment are analyzed, as well as the expediency of use and the need for optimization in the future are substantiated.The subject of the research is the consideration of problematic issues, obstacles and motivational levers in the implementation of redevelopment projects of industrial zones.Thus, the development of industrial zones can be a motivating incentive for investors only if the municipality is interested in this process. It is the redevelopment that offers a comprehensive solution to the issues related to the transformation of unclaimed industrial facilities or irrationally used areas into new, investment-attractive tourist facilities.
Case Report – Nasolabial Cyst
Authors: Zappelini Carlos
Published: November 2021

Injury excision in the operating room under general anestesia (figure 1). The anatomopathological examination showed a coated uniloculated cystic structure, sometimes by respiratory epithelium, sometimes by squamous epithelium. Surrounding connective tissue with a hyalinization band and scarce monomorphonuclear inflammatory infiltrate, corresponding to nasolabial cyst. The patient is undergoing postoperative follow-up, without recurrence
Using repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) Method in the Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)
Authors: Saberi Behzad
Published: November 2021

Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) as a noninvasive method of brain stimulation, has shown various diagnostic and therapeutic potentials in neurologic and psychiatric disorders. Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) as one of the global challenges in mental health disorders, requires new therapeutic strategies to be developed to be treated in addition to the usual therapeutic strategies. Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation or rTMS is one of the new treatment methods for the Major Depressive Disorder which is promising new developments in the treatment of MDD. rTMS is approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat resistant depression in 2008. According to the recent guidelines in the Europe and North America, rTMS can be considered the first line treatment strategy for the MDD. This is a brief review study on the effects of using repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder in clinical practice. It is important for the mental health care professionals who deal with the patients with the Major Depressive Disorder during clinical practice, to be aware of the repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation method as an option to treat MDD specifically in the cases who do not respond well to usual therapeutic strategies or whom encounter with unfavorable drug treatment side effects which need the treatment strategies to be changed.
The Biopsychosocial Model of Health and Disease
Authors: Bolton Derek
Published: November 2021

I respond to the 4 commentaries by Awais Aftab & Kristopher Nielsen (A&N), Hane Htut Maung (HHM), Diane O’Leary (DO’L) and Kathryn Tabb (KT) under 3 main headings: “What is the BPSM really?” & Why update it?; “Is our approach foundationally compromised?”, and finally, “Antagonists or fellow travellers?”.
La narrativa breve de Patricia Esteban Erlés desde el prisma del color
Authors: Gómez-Castellano Irene
Published: November 2021

Los cuentos de Patricia Esteban Erlés están saturados de color y son ejemplos de la constante experimentación con el lenguaje que es una de las marcas de estilo de su autora. El propósito de este artículo es analizar cómo Erlés usa el color en sus narraciones breves (“Verde arsénico”, Manderley en venta y Azul ruso) y proponer varios ejemplos distintos de su utilización. Veremos ejemplos de la imbricación entre color y tema, del uso del color como método de caracterización sintética, propondremos que Erlés usa el color como intertexto histórico para crear suspense o para comunicar sutilmente elementos tabú y completar así los finales abiertos que predominan en sus obras. Erlés también usa el procedimiento fotográfico del bokeh y muestra un conocimiento del funcionamiento físico de las ondas del color, y esto le permite que sus cuentos den más miedo y sean más verosímiles. Mediante un uso muy preciso de la tonalidad verbal, Erlés logra crear una atmósfera gótica pluridimensional y actualizar elementos decadentes en un contexto contemporáneo.
Vestir al sujeto femenino: la moda goticuqui en Casa de Muñecas (2012) de Patricia Esteban Erlés
Authors: García Gutiérrez Sandra
Published: November 2021

En este artículo se analiza la influencia de la moda y el gótico en la configuración del sujeto femenino dentro de la antología de microrrelatos Casa de muñecas (2012), de Patricia Esteban Erlés (Zaragoza, 1972). A través de una revisión de la teorización sobre las casas de muñecas, y el rol de las muñecas según la estética gótica, se aproximará a las ansiedades del sujeto femenino posmoderno español a través de la moda. El vestido goticuqui, que ciñe y coarta el cuerpo, articula la caracterización de las protagonistas. Estos seres femeninos se encuentran restringidas por los valores de una vida intrafamiliar tradicional y claustrofóbica. Las muñecas y sus dueñas se rebelan ante un papel de sumisión y la estética del gótico distorsiona sus comportamientos normativos.
The SAPEVO-M-NC Method
Authors: Maêda Sérgio Mitihiro do Nascimento , Basílio Marcio Pereira , Costa Igor Pinheiro de Araújo , Moreira Miguel Ângelo Lellis , dos Santos Marcos , Gomes Carlos Francisco Simões
Published: November 2021

This article aims to present with more details, the multicriteria decision aid SAPEVO-M-NC (Simple Aggregation of Preferences Expressed by Ordinal Vectors - Non-Compensatory - Multi Decision Makers). It is a new version of the SAPEVO-M method, of an ordinal, non-compensatory nature and with the possibility of acting by multiple decision makers. As a result, the method provides information on the partial weights, indicating the relative importance of the criteria for each of the decision makers, the relative dominance values and two evaluations on the performance of the alternatives: a partial one, which considers the absolute dominance indices, being used to assess existing dominance relationships; and a global one, which provides the performance rates of the alternatives, making it possible to order them as well as to carry out a sensitivity analysis on the observed performances, reflecting in greater transparency in the decision-making process.
Multicriteria Analysis in Additive Manufacturing: An ELECTRE-MOr Based Approach
Authors: Drumond Paula , Basílio Marcio Pereira , Costa Igor Pinheiro de Araújo , Pereira Daniel Augusto de Moura , Gomes Carlos Francisco Simões , dos Santos Marcos
Published: November 2021

3D printing technologies define the essence of Additive Manufacturing and make possible the agile production of customized parts from different materials, with lower unit cost and waste generation. Currently, one of the most widespread 3D printer technologies is the Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) type, which is the object of this paper. The choice of 3D printing equipment depends on the alignment of the purpose of use and technical knowledge to consider certain requirements. Therefore, this choice can be time-consuming and/or imprecise. In this sense, this work aimed to classify FDM-type 3D printer models by applying the ELECTRE-MOr method, a Multi-criteria Decision Aiding (MCDA) method. As a result, based on a categorization between classes, the FABER 10 alternative was the only one that presented class A performance in all evaluated scenarios, based on criteria defined by the experts consulted in this study.
Comprehending the Pricing Decision of Online Car-Hailing Services in China: Price Regulation Vs Entry Limitation
Authors: Yang Jie , Zhao Daozhi , Wang Zeyu , Jiang Wanying
Published: November 2021

Online car-hailing service has had an exponential growth in recent years, and poses a substantial threat to taxi service. Yet how to regulate online car-hailing service has not been adequately studied. Based on the regulation of tradition taxi service, price regulation and entry limitation are used to regulate online car-hailing service in this paper. Moreover, we consider two types of online car-hailing service, i.e., high-end service(e.g. UberBlack) and low-end service (e.g., UberX), according to the perceived service level. Then, the optimal platform’s price is formulated. The result shows that the price regulation are likely to increase the optimal platform price, depending on the service type and the taxi price. When the platform offers low-end service and the taxi price is low, the optimal platform price does not change. In contrast, the entry limitation reduces the optimal platform’s price when it achieves the regulation target.
Management Competency Model: Predictive Neural Network Approach for Empirical Components of Construction Project Proficiency
Authors: Silva Dante L. , De Jesus Kevin Lawrence M. , Villaverde Bernard S. , Adina Edgar M.
Published: November 2021

Management competencies are skills that incorporate the understanding, proficiencies and qualities essential for successful performance. Individuals in the top of the organizational hierarchy presents himself being an effective leader by immersing to a readily difficult activity in the project. Molding the important management competencies was found to be hard since the efficacy of a competent construction manager is dependent on countless administrative aspects. The current study intended to offer a construction management competency for human resource development in construction companies. Utilizing this competency model, the company could increase its performance capacity and productivity. This study developed a competency theory and a hybrid predictive model with specific foci on construction managers. The Management Competency Framework Assessment Instrument was developed, following an approach through factor-item analytic mode. Furthermore, this research constructs a predictive performance model using Artificial Neural Network through the factors associated to successful management performance. A sensitivity analysis was also implemented to assess the relative importance of individual factors to the effective construction performance.
Calculation and Analysis of Carbon Emissions for Green Buildings During Operation Period in Beijing
Authors: Wang Guojian
Published: November 2021

This study analyzed the carbon emissions for two-star green residential buildings in Beijing. During operation period, the carbon emissions were calculated for air-conditioning, heating, lighting, elevator, and domestic hot water systems. Furthermore, the carbon emissions for full life cycle are also given in this paper based on the statistical method of big data. The results show that the carbon emissions during operation and full life cycle periods were 17∼21 and 21∼27 kgCO2e/(m2·a), respectively. During operation period, the air-conditioning and heating systems accounted for 60%∼70% of the total carbon emissions, 26%∼30% and 4%∼9% for lighting and elevator systems, and the carbon emissions were lowest for domestic hot water systems.
Game Analysis on Profits of Water Diversion Project Supply Chain Under the Overall Loss of Supply Chain in Undeveloped Areas
Authors: Luo Jinren , Li Jiayin , Fu Qinyao , Zhao Yihu , Liu Shan
Published: November 2021

This paper compares and analyzes the effects of different amounts of government subsidies and subsidy patterns on water supply, pricing, and profit distribution, and takes water diversion project supply chain composed of water transfer company and the water work as the study object, using financial accounting method innovatively, establishing non-cooperative and cooperative game models of two under government subsidies. The results show that as the number of subsidies increased, the optimal amount of water supply and the profits increased, but the price of water work decreased. When the amount of subsidy stays same, the price of water plant also stays same. However, the price of the water transfer company is constantly changing, the higher the proportion of subsidies it received, the lower the price. In terms of data, the authors take a practical example – the Tao River Water Diversion Project to analyze. This paper’s limitation is that the conclusion is based on a single water transfer company and a single water plant as the research object. However, the actual situation of the water transfer project is that a water transfer company faces a complex supply chain network formed by many water plants and farmers’ water users’ associations.
Application of Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Simple Additive Weighting (SAW) Methods in Mapping Flood-Prone Areas
Authors: Chen Yu
Published: November 2021

The first step of formulating flood risk management strategies is to identify the flood at-hazard areas. This study aims to map flood-prone areas with different hazard levels in the Dadu River basin, using simple additive weighting (SAW) and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) methods and the geographic information systems (GIS) tool. The grid map of selected criteria, rainfall, topography, drainage, and the usage of land were processed and applied to estimate the flood hazard index (FHI) values in the basin in the GIS environment. The resultant map illustrates the spatial distribution of basin-scale flood at-hazard areas, can be used as powerful guidance of implementing preventing and alleviating flood risk for decision-makers and managers, and extended application in other basins or disaster fields.
Domain Adaptation for Document Image Binarization via Domain Classification
Authors: Garrido-Munoz Carlos , Sánchez-Hernández Adrián , Castellanos Francisco J. , Calvo-Zaragoza Jorge
Published: November 2021

Binarization represents a key role in many document image analysis workflows. The current state of the art considers the use of supervised learning, and specifically deep neural networks. However, it is very difficult for the same model to work successfully in a number of document styles, since the set of potential domains is very heterogeneous. We study a multi-source domain adaptation strategy for binarization. Within this scenario, we look into a novel hypothesis where a specialized binarization model must be selected to be used over a target domain, instead of a single model that tries to generalize across multiple domains. The problem then boils down to, given several specialized models and a new target set, deciding which model to use. We propose here a simple way to address this question by using a domain classifier, that estimates which of the source models must be considered to binarize the new target domain. Our experiments on several datasets, including different text styles and music scores, show that our initial hypothesis is quite promising, yet the way to deal with the decision of which model to use still shows great room for improvement.
Control the Information of the Image with Anisotropic Diffusion and Isotropic Diffusion for the Image Classification
Authors: Choi Hyun-Tae , Lee Nahyun , No Jewon , Han Sangil , Tak Jaeho , Kim Hwijin , Lee Haegang , Ham Seonghoon , Hong Byung-Woo
Published: November 2021

Humans can recognize objects well even if they only show the shape of objects or an object is composed of several components. But, most of the classifiers in the deep learning framework are trained through original images without removing complex elements inside the object. And also, they do not remove things other than the object to be classified. So the classifiers are not as effective as the human classification of objects because they are trained with the original image which has many objects that the classifier does not want to classify. In this respect, we found out which pre-processing can improve the performance of the classifier the most by comparing the results of using data through other pre-processing. In this paper, we try to limit the amount of information in the object to a minimum. To restrict the information, we use anisotropic diffusion and isotropic diffusion, which are used for removing the noise in the images. By using the anisotropic diffusion and the isotropic diffusion for the pre-processing, only shapes of objects were passed to the classifier. With these diffusion processes, we can get similar classification accuracy compared to when using the original image, and we found out that although the original images are diffused too much, the classifier can classify the objects centered on discriminative parts of the objects.
Studies on the Decrease Mechanisms of Typical Complex Networks
Authors: Qiu Yuhu , Lyu Tianyang , Zhang Xizhe , Wang Ruozhou
Published: November 2021

Network decrease caused by the removal of nodes is an important evolution process that is paralleled with network growth. However, many complex network models usually lacked a sound decrease mechanism. Thus, they failed to capture how to cope with decreases in real life. The paper proposed decrease mechanisms for three typical types of networks, including the ER networks, the WS small-world networks and the BA scale-free networks. The proposed mechanisms maintained their key features in continuous and independent decrease processes, such as the random connections of ER networks, the long-range connections based on nearest-coupled network of WS networks and the tendency connections and the scale-free feature of BA networks. Experimental results showed that these mechanisms also maintained other topology characteristics including the degree distribution, clustering coefficient, average length of shortest-paths and diameter during decreases. Our studies also showed that it was quite difficult to find an efficient decrease mechanism for BA networks to withstand the continuous attacks at the high-degree nodes, because of the unequal status of nodes.
L1-Norm Distance Discriminant Analysis with Multiple Adaptive Graphs and Sample Reconstruction
Authors: Shao Guowan , Peng Chunjiang , Ou Wenchu , Duan Kai
Published: November 2021

Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) is sensitive to noise and its performance may decline greatly. Recursive discriminative subspace learning method with an L1-norm distance constraint (RDSL) formulates LDA with the maximum margin criterion and becomes robust to noise by applying L1-norm and slack variables. However, the method only considers inter-class separation and intra-class compactness and ignores the intra-class manifold structure and the global structure of data. In this paper, we present L1-norm distance discriminant analysis with multiple adaptive graphs and sample reconstruction (L1-DDA) to deal with the problem. We use multiple adaptive graphs to preserve intra-class manifold structure and simultaneously apply the sample reconstruction technique to preserve the global structure of data. Moreover, we use an alternating iterative technique to obtain projection vectors. Experimental results on three real databases demonstrate that our method obtains better classification performance than RDSL.
Dist Frequent Next Neighbours: A Distributed Galois Lattice Algorithm for Frequent Closed Itemsets Extraction
Authors: Noumi Sandji Naomie Sandra , Seck Djamal Abdoul Nasser
Published: November 2021

The general purpose of this paper is to propose a distributed version of frequent closed itemsets extraction in the context of big data. The goal is to have good performances of frequent closed itemsets extraction as frequent closed item-sets are bases for frequent itemsets. To achieve this goal, we have extended the Galois lattice technique (or concept lattice) in this context. Indeed, Galois lattices are an efficient alternative for extracting closed itemsets which are interesting approaches for generating frequent itemsets. Thus we proposed Dist Frequent Next Neighbour which is a distributed version of the Frequent Next Neighbour concept lattice construction algorithm, which considerably reduces the extraction time by parallelizing the computation of frequent concepts (closed itemsets).
Does Certainty of Genuine Treatment Increase the Drug Response in Alzheimer’s Disease Patients: A Meta-Analysis and Critical Discussion1
Authors: Matthiesen Susan Tomczak , Rosenkjær Sophie , Pontén Moa , Jensen Karin B. , Gottrup Hanne , Vase Lene
Published: November 2021

Background: Non-specific treatment effects, such as expectations, contribute to the effectiveness of pharmacological treatments across diseases. However, the contribution of expectancy, i.e., certainty of receiving treatment, in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is unknown. Objective: The aim is to investigate whether certainty of receiving a genuine treatment influences the response to active treatment in AD patients. Methods: The efficacy of active treatments in open-label trials, where patients are certain of receiving treatment (100%certainty), was compared to the same active treatments in randomized controlled trials (RCT), where patients are uncertain of receiving treatment or placebo (50%certainty). Results: In the seven open-label trials, there was no significant difference between post- and pre-treatment scores (difference in means = 0.14, 95%CI [–0.51; 0.81], p = 0.66). In the eight RCT trials, there was a significant difference between post- and pre-treatment (difference in means = –0.91, 95%CI [–1.43; –0.41], p < 0.001). There was a statistically significant difference between open-label and RCT trials (difference = 1.06, 95%CI [0.23; 1.90], p = 0.001). Conclusion: Patients with AD did not benefit from certainty of receiving genuine treatment. This could be due to the nature/progression of the disease, but it could also be related to an order effect in the practice of running AD trials, where RCTs are conducted prior to open label. These findings have implications for the understanding of non-specific treatment effects in AD patients as well as for the design of clinical trials that test pharmacological treatments in AD.
Oleamide, a Sleep-Inducing Supplement, Upregulates Doublecortin in Hippocampal Progenitor Cells via PPARα
Authors: Roy Avik , Kundu Madhuchhanda , Chakrabarti Sudipta , Patel Dhruv R. , Pahan Kalipada
Published: November 2021

Background: Doublecortin (DCX), a microtubule associated protein, has emerged as a central biomarker of hippocampal neurogenesis. However, molecular mechanisms by which DCX is regulated are poorly understood. Objective: Since sleep is involved with the acquisition of memory and oleamide or 9-Octadecenamide (OCT) is a sleep-inducing supplement in human, we examined whether OCT could upregulate DCX in hippocampal progenitor cells (HPCs). Methods: We employed real-time PCR, western blot, immunostaining, chromatin immunoprecipitation, lentiviral transduction in HPCs, and the calcium influx assay. Results: OCT directly upregulated the transcription of Dcx in HPCs via activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα), a lipid-lowering transcription factor. We observed that, HPCs of Ppara-null mice displayed significant impairment in DCX expression and neuronal differentiation as compared to that of wild-type mice. Interestingly, treatment with OCT stimulated the differentiation process of HPCs in wild-type, but not Ppara-null mice. Reconstruction of PPARα in mouse Ppara-null HPCs restored the expression of DCX, which was further stimulated with OCT treatment. In contrast, a dominant-negative mutant of PPARα significantly attenuated the stimulatory effect of OCT on DCX expression and suppressed neuronal differentiation of human neural progenitor cells. Furthermore, RNA microarray, STRING, chromatin immunoprecipitation, site-directed mutagenesis, and promoter reporter assay have identified DCX as a new target of PPARα. Conclusion: These results indicate that OCT, a sleep supplement, directly controls the expression of DCX and suggest that OCT may be repurposed for stimulating the hippocampal neurogenesis.
How to promote COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control: A game theory analysis
Authors: Yan Jin
Published: November 2021

The outbreak of the COVID-19 (Corona Virus Disease 2019) has been becoming the most serious public health event in the world, threatening the health of hundreds of millions of people. The anti-pandemic policies mostly aim to prevent the spread at domestic and the import from abroad. In this paper, we discuss the issue of individual protection measures and customs quarantine strategy based on game theory. First, we develop a 2*2 Bayesian model and show that individual protection decisions depend on the size of excess payoff of taking protective measures (EPP). EPP is affected by the protection cost, the protective efficiency, the risk exposure and the information disclosure in this model. Then, we describe a repeated game between customs and airlines, and discuss the ideal strategy for customs to prevent the virus input. It comes out that a punishment mechanism for an airline is meaningful to prevent the import of the virus only if the discount rate of the airline is greater than the threshold. The threshold is positively correlated with the detection cost, and it is negatively correlated with the revenue of the airline and the testing reliability. We can also benefit from establishing a credit mechanism to give airlines that deviate from cooperation an opportunity to re-cooperate, especially for those in low risk areas. This study provides theoretical support for some government policies to prevent COVID-19, and underscores the significance of considering individual and organizational decision-making in health policy making.
Design of wireless audio transmission system for college English language teaching
Authors: Li Huaqiang
Published: November 2021

In the past, the use of wireless microphone was affected by overload noise, resulting in incomplete transmission of teaching content. In order to solve this problem, a wireless audio transmission system design for College English language teaching is proposed. The overall architecture of SEP6010 wireless voice system is designed, which is output by PWM channel to complete voice playback. UDA1341TS low-power stereo analog-to-digital converter is used to control audio transmission. The voice circuit is designed by adding clock signal or internal programmable clock. The A/D conversion module is used to amplify the collected signal, and the original voice signal is restored through the audio playback module. MATLAB is used to simulate the process of encoding, decoding and filtering. According to CVSD quantization integral coding algorithm, the quantization noise is reduced to a given allowable value. Start Audacity software to complete wireless audio transmission. The experimental results show that the highest transmission teaching content integrity of the system under single frequency input is 98%, and the highest transmission teaching content integrity under mixing input is 93%.
A reliable estimation method for mining lithium-ion battery
Authors: Huang Kaifeng , Feng Juqiang , Liu Zegong , Wu Long , Zhang Xing
Published: November 2021

Power battery SOC (state of charge, SOC) is one of the important decision-making factors of energy management. Accurate estimation plays an important role in optimizing vehicle energy management and improving the utilization of power battery energy. The key to accurate estimation of SOC is to determine circuit model parameters and estimation methods. The research object of this article is lithium manganese oxide battery for mining (LiMn2O4). The experiments of multiplying power, temperature and HPPC (hybrid pulse power characteristic, HPPC) are carried out. A self-tuning calculation method of dynamic system is proposed, and the dynamic self-tuning model based on second-order RC is established. At the same time, in view of the shortcoming that the UKF (Unscented Kalman Filter, UKF) algorithm cannot estimate the noise in real time, In order to improve the accuracy of battery SOC estimation, an adaptive square root unscented Kalman filter (ASR-UKF) algorithm is proposed, which can make the noise statistical characteristics follow the estimation results for adaptive adjustment. Finally, the constant current and dynamic conditions are tested. The results show that the maximum change rate of model parameters with magnification is 76%, and the maximum change rate with temperature is 73.7%. The analysis of dynamic characteristics is a key factor to improve the accuracy of SOC estimation; ASR-UKF Compared with the UKF algorithm, the error is reduced by 78% under constant current conditions and 85.7% under dynamic conditions. The reliability and real-time performance of the algorithm can be obtained by comparing the simulation data with the actual data. The conclusions of this paper can be used as a theoretical basis, which can be used for model analysis of lithium batteries for mining and estimation of internal state variables.
Polynomial approximation to manifold learning
Authors: Niu Guo , Ma Zhengming , Chen Haoqing , Su Xue
Published: November 2021

Manifold learning plays an important role in nonlinear dimensionality reduction. But many manifold learning algorithms cannot offer an explicit expression for dealing with the problem of out-of-sample (or new data). In recent, many improved algorithms introduce a fixed function to the object function of manifold learning for learning this expression. In manifold learning, the relationship between the high-dimensional data and its low-dimensional representation is a local homeomorphic mapping. Therefore, these improved algorithms actually change or damage the intrinsic structure of manifold learning, as well as not manifold learning. In this paper, a novel manifold learning based on polynomial approximation (PAML) is proposed, which learns the polynomial approximation of manifold learning by using the dimensionality reduction results of manifold learning and the original high-dimensional data. In particular, we establish a polynomial representation of high-dimensional data with Kronecker product, and learns an optimal transformation matrix with this polynomial representation. This matrix gives an explicit and optimal nonlinear mapping between the high-dimensional data and its low-dimensional representation, and can be directly used for solving the problem of new data. Compare with using the fixed linear or nonlinear relationship instead of the manifold relationship, our proposed method actually learns the polynomial optimal approximation of manifold learning, without changing the object function of manifold learning (i.e., keeping the intrinsic structure of manifold learning). We implement experiments over eight data sets with the advanced algorithms published in recent years to demonstrate the benefits of our algorithm.
Age discrimination at work against health-related professionals in Portugal
Authors: Prazeres Filipe , Passos Lígia
Published: November 2021

BACKGROUND: Age discrimination affects older and younger workers, and prevents equal access to opportunities. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to characterize age discrimination at work in health-related professionals, and to explore its association to demographic variables. METHODS: Exploratory cross-sectional, web-based questionnaire survey, including the Workplace Age Discrimination Scale (WADS), performed amongst 369 Portuguese health-related professionals. Participants were classified into two groups: physicians (medical doctors) and non-physicians (all other health-related professions). RESULTS: 82%of the professionals experienced age discrimination at work, non-physicians being the ones who most often experienced it (WADS 20.1 vs. 17.6). They have been more frequently passed over for a work role, evaluated less favourably and blamed for failures or problems due to their age. CONCLUSION: Non-physicians, with less experience in the profession, and with lower quality of life may experience age discrimination more frequently. They need to be closely monitored for discrimination. A key policy priority should be to plan for age diversity teams where older and younger professionals may work together and where older can teach/mentor younger colleagues.
Productivity potential of the Melba apple variety on rootstocks of different growth strengths
Authors: Ivanenko E. N. , Menshutina T. V. , Kostenko M. G.
Published: November 2021

The article presents the results of a five-year study of the yield of the Melba apple variety on dwarf, semi-dwarf and medium-sized rootstocks selected by the North Caucasus Federal Scientific Center for Horticulture, Viticulture, and Winemaking (SKFNCSVV). The aim of the research is to study the influence of rootstocks of different growth strengths on the productivity potential of the Melba apple variety in the natural and climatic conditions of the Astrakhan region. The research revealed the influence of the rootstock genotype on the main productivity indicators: perishability, yield, frequency of fruiting, stability of productivity, marketable qualities of fruits. The early fruitfulness of the variety was most affected by the dwarf subspecies SK 3, SK 7 and semi-dwarf SK 2, on which 60–100% of the trees bloomed in the first year of growth in the garden. Among the studied combinations, the highest rates of crop growth in the Melba variety were noted on the dwarf rootstock SK 3 and semi-dwarf SK 2, in combination with which the variety was characterized by maximum values of average (19.4–16.3 t/ha) and total yield (97.2–81.6 t/ha), with the values of these indicators on the control variants 16.0–10.6 t/ha and 80.2–53.1 t/ha respectively. Low indicators of the periodicity index were noted on the dwarf rootstock SK 3 (15.6) and semi-dwarf rootstock: control M 26 (23.0), SK 2 (20.0), SK 5 (27.5), high index of productivity stability (0.75–0.86) – on rootstocks SK 3, SK 2 and SK 5. In the arid conditions of the Astrakhan region, the zoned variety Melba is recommended to be grown in an intensive garden on rootstocks SK 3 and SK 2, which ensure regular and stable yields.
Comparative evaluation of methods for studying the degree of assimilation of feed by animals
Authors: Belyakova Yu. G. , Usha B. V.
Published: November 2021

Relevance. The activity of the digestive organs is largely determined by the feeding regime, in particular, the frequency, timeliness, and the order of feeding the feed. The digestibility of nutrients is influenced by the preparation of feed for feeding, which facilitates mechanical processing in the digestive tract and the action of digestive enzymes. Against the background of a decrease in the natural resistance of the animal body, an important aspect is the use of mineral supplements and the enrichment of diets with biologically active substances that increase the nutritional value and the degree of assimilation of feed by animals. The aim of the work was a comparative assessment of methods for studying the degree of assimilation of feed by animals.Methods. To determine the degree of food assimilation, 2 drops of isotonic (0.9%) sodium chloride solution and a small amount of intestinal contents were applied to a glass slide, a thin smear was prepared, dried in air for 30 min, and large particles were removed. The preparations were fixed for 15 min with 96% ethyl alcohol, then 3–5 drops of a 1.0% aqueous solution of methylene blue, Lugol, Sudan III were applied. Along with the indicated conventional methods, we tested a method for preparing preparations using fixation in vapors of a 25.0% solution of glutaraldehyde for 30–40 minutes, in vapors of a 1.0% aqueous solution of osmium tetroxide.Results. The kinetics of the formation of intestinal microbiocenoses is characterized by a decrease in the number of lactobacilli and an increase in the number of pathogenic and opportunistic bacteria. In a comparative assessment of the preparation methods, the advantage of microscopic research methods is the possibility of a detailed study of the contents, the degree of assimilation of feed components in the gastrointestinal tract, and a visual assessment of the state of the intestinal microflora. The advantage of the method for preparing preparations with the use of vapor fixation of a 25.0% solution of glutaraldehyde and osmium tetroxide is the possibility of visualizing the formation of monospecific and polyspecies biofilms by optical and scanning electron microscopy. The preparations were sufficiently contrasting, there were no artifacts, bacteria and fungi stained brown, which made it possible to count even pinpoint colonies using a magnifying glass or an optical microscope. The easily digestible feed results in a low fecal yield and a stable consistency. The use of functional food “Pristine Gold Vet” in the nutrition of dogs and fur-bearing animals made it possible to increase the absorption of nutrients by 18,1% and 15,3%.