bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE INCULTURATION OF CHRISTIANITY FOR THE MISSIONARY ACTIVITY OF THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH, REVEALED IN THE EPISTLES OF THE ROMAN PONTIFFS OF THE POST-CONCILIAR PERIOD
Authors:   Nikolai V. Chirkov Institute of St. Thomas Aquinas (ITA), CHIRKOV NIKOLAI V.
Published: April 2021

The theme of the inculturation of Christianity is gaining increasing interest and relevance not only among church disciplines, but also a number of religious and social research areas. In particular, this topic is widely discussed in the field of interreligious and intercultural interaction. According to the position of the Roman Curia, expressed in the pontifical documents of the post-conciliar period, the task of inculturation is seen in the preaching of Christianity from the position of transformation and insight into existing cultures with the Gospel, taking into account the openness to one's own transformation. With the emergence of the concept of inculturation of Christianity in Catholic terminology, its aspects, methods and forms began to develop and received theological substantiation in the works of the pontiffs of the RCC. In the article, the author attempts to analyze the pontifical documents of Pope John Paul II, as well as those of his successors - the retired prelate Benedict XVI and now the head of the Holy See, Pope Francis.
THE INSTITUTION OF ZOROASTRIAN MARRIAGE XWēDōDAH: THE PROBLEMS OF GENESIS AND THE QUESTIONS OF TYPOLOGY
Authors:   PAVEL V. BASHARIN Russian State University for the Humanities, BASHARIN PAVEL V.
Published: April 2021

This paper deals with the famous Zoroastrian marriage xwēdōdah. This form of marriage refers to the conjugal union of father and daughter, mother and son, brother and sister. Zoroastrianism of the Sassanid era made this institution a key element of religion, along with offering meal (mēzd) and seasonal holidays (gāhānbār). The question of whether this institution is a part of ancient Iranian legacy or has emerged later, is still controversial among the scholars. Careful development of xwēdōdah in the late Pahlavi works after the Arab conquest in the 9th century could have been the propagation of the priesthood who tried to protect Zoroastrian society against infiltration and destruction or sticking to archaic norms in an effort to preserve their religion in the face of extinction. The paper gives an overview of the most relevant theories about xwēdōdah. The genesis of this institution probably traces to the pre-Indo-European cultural substrate. Some modern scholars, looking for an explanation, pay attention to the works of anthropologists. The rejection of incest in all societies with exogamic regulation led to a certain taboo. This taboo is often due to the birth defects of children born out of consanguineous marriages. In the author’s opinion, the hypothesis of “ritual value” by A.R. Radcliffe-Brown seems to be the most appropriate to this case.
ACTIVITIES OF THE ASSISTANCE COMMISSIONS FOR MONITORING COMPLIANCE WITH THE LEGISLATION ON RELIGIOUS CULTS IN THE MID-1970S AND EARLY 1980S IN KHAKASSIA (SOUTHERN SIBERIA)
Authors:   Petr K. Dashkovskiy  Altai State University, DASHKOVSKIY PETR K. , GONCHAROVA NATALIA S. ,   NATALIA S. GONCHAROVA Altai State University
Published: April 2021

The article studies the activities of the commissions of assistance to executive committees for monitoring compliance with the legislation on religious cults in the mid-1970s - early 1980s in Khakassia. On the basis of archival data, the duties of commission members and their methods of working with believers are shown. The commissions studied the religious situation, monitored compliance with the legislation on cults, attended meetings of religious communities, places of work and residence of believers, conducted conversations and lectures with them. Special attention is paid to the work of the commissions with schools and enterprises. The effectiveness and results of the activities of the members of the commissions, their impact on the registration process of religious communities and their role in the implementation of state policy on the ground are considered. The paper describes the issue of interaction of the commissions with the regional executive committee and the commissioner of the Council for Religious Affairs under the Council of Ministers of the USSR in the Krasnoyarsk territory, which included the Khakass Autonomous Region...
“MESSAGE” BY I. GERASIMOV: PEASANT APOLOGY OF SPASOVO DENOMINATION IN THE MIDDLE OF THE 19TH CENTURY
Authors:   ARTEM V. KRESTYANINOV Кazan Federal University, KRESTYANINOV ARTEM V. , MIKHAILOV ANDREY U. ,   ANDREY U. MIKHAILOV Кazan Federal University
Published: April 2021

The article presents a message of the Old Believers’ Spasovo denomination by a peasant Ivan Gerasimov from the Kazan Province. The document is introduced into scientific circulation for the first time. The approximate date of writing this text refers to the time interval between June 15, 1849 and June 10, 1850. The appearance of the “message” was caused by the reaction of I. Gerasimov to the initiation of an investigative case against him with apostasy of schism. Like most representatives of the Spasovo denomination (“glukhoy netovshchiny” or “starospasovtsev”), he was baptized in the Orthodox Church. However, like other old believers, I. Gerasimov denied the existence of the church, and thus did not perform the rites accepted in the Orthodox Church, which was a formal reason for accusing him of evading a split. It was in the process of investigation that he wrote this message, the recipient of which was the local Orthodox priesthood. The uniqueness of this source lies in the fact that the message is one of the rare written documents that emerged in the first half of the XIX century...
MIRACLE OF RENEWAL/MYRRH-STREAMING OF ICONS AS A SIGN OF THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR OR A MARK OF BAD/GOOD EVENTS ON THE TERRITORY OF BELARUS AND ITS BORDERS
Authors:   ILYA S. BUTOV  journal “Potato and Vegetables”, BUTOV ILYA S.
Published: April 2021

The Great Patriotic War, like any major war before it, significantly changed the cultural landscape and was reflected in folklore - in particular, in narratives about miracles as harbingers of good or bad events. Despite the information that icon renewals took place in almost every diocese that suffered from the Nazi invasion, sufficient statistics on these events have not been accumulated yet and they are still not dated. In this regard, the work on fixing such stories and analyzing them is extremely relevant. For the study, we used the following methods: comparative, structural and typological ones, areal analysis and mapping. During the areal analysis and subsequent mapping, we also used the chronotope method, which allowed us to trace not only the territorial, but also the temporal and cyclical distribution of recorded narratives. The article provides stories and documentary evidence of pre-war cases of spontaneous renewal of icons and renewals of icons at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War...
Structure and properties of copper M0b after combined plastic deformation
Authors: Sennikova L. F. , Volkova G. K. , Tkachenko V. M. , Gangalo A. N.
Published: April 2021

The paper presents the results of studies of the structure and physical and mechanical properties of copper M0b after combined plastic deformation under different schemes of equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) and upsetting or ECAP and multi upsetting. Comparative characteristics of the structure, hardness and deformational decompaction of copper are given. Interesting to note that after ECAP and multi upsetting treatment, a deeper development of the structure has been observed.
Influence of sliding bearing design on efficiency of the fluoroplast macromodifier for antifriction carbon plastics
Authors: Lishevich I. V. , Anisimov A. V. , Nikolaev G. I. , Savelov A. S. , Sargsyan A. S.
Published: April 2021

The paper presents the results of laboratory and bench tests of UGET and FUT antifriction carbon plastics macro modified with PTFE. The efficiency (friction coefficient reduction) of this modification of carbon fiber reinforced plastics has been confirmed. The dependence of the method’s efficiency on the design of sliding friction units has been established. The plastic deformation of the fluoroplastic is the key factor that determines the effectiveness of the modifier when designing sliding bearings. The design of the friction unit should exclude the pressure gradient in the fluoroplastic protectors and prevent the possibility of an uncontrolled exit of the fluoroplastic from the friction zone.
Thermophysical and physical-mechanical properties of the modernized industrial PVC-plastic compound
Authors: Borukaev T. A. , Martazanova R. M.
Published: April 2021

Compounds based on PVC-plasticate of I40-13A grade, zinc borate, antimony and chalk oxide have been obtained. The thermal stability, thermophysical and operational properties of the obtained compounds have been investigated. It was found that the modernized compounds have high thermal stability values that meet the requirements for insulating materials. It is shown that the obtained compounds have low values of heat release, heat of combustion, smoke formation and release of hydrogen chloride. It was found that the operational characteristics of the modernized PVC cable compounds are improved.
the primary report on the Lebanese beaches pollution due to the oil spill from the occupied Plaestine (February 2021)
Authors:   National Council for Scientific Research in Lebanon, Hamze Mouin , Fakhri Milad ,   National Council for Marine Sciences in Lebanon, Abdallah Chadi ,   National Council for Remote Sencing in Lebanon, smeha Ziad ,   International Union for Conservation of Nature
Published: April 2021

تأثر الساحل اللبناني الواقع شرق البحر المتوسط بشكل مباشر بالتسرب النفطي الذي حصل قبالة السواحل الاسرائيلية والذي يرجح ان يكون مصدره احدى البواخر "المجهولة" حتى هذا التاريخ. تشير المعلومات إلى أن حادث التسرب وقع في الفترة ما بين 9 و 10 شباط 2021 ، حيث أدت التيارات والأمواج واتجاهات الرياح إلى دفع كميات من النفط العائم على شكل قطران نحو الساحل اللبناني، أدت الى انتشاركميات كبيرة وبنسب متفاوتة من كتل لزجة من القطران النفطي الأسود يتراوح قطرها بين 0.5 و 50 سم على مجمل الشواطئ الرملية والصخرية الممتدة من الناقورة جنوباً حتى بيروت شمالاً. بناءً على توجيهات السيد رئيس مجلس الوزراء للمجلس الوطني للبحوث العلمية حول التنسيق مع الادارات المعنية ومتابعة قضية التسرب النفطي من باخرة العدو الإسرائيلي الذي وصل الى الشواطئ اللبنانية في الجنوب ودراسة كيفية التعامل مع هذا التسرب وأضراره (295/ص و تاريخ 22/2/2021) قام باحثون من المجلس الوطني للبحوث العلمية وبالتنسيق مع الجهات ذات الصلة بمسح ميداني (ارضي و بحري وجوي) بالإضافة الى تحليل بعض المرئيات الفضائية وإعداد هذا التقرير الأولي. يهدف التقرير الأولي الذي أعده المجلس بالتنسيق مع الهيئات المحلية والناشطين البيئيين في المنطقة إلى عرض مشاهداته وتحديد مناطق التلوث واقتراح الإجراءات العاجلة الواجب إتخاذها لوقف الأثر السلبي على البيئة البحرية. كما أن المجلس سوف يتابع دراسة الأثر البيئي للتلوث على التنوع الحيوي واستدامة البيئة البحرية وإصدار تقارير دورية عن نتائج البحوث والدراسات الميدانية. كما يتضمن التقرير نتائج المسوحات الميدانية لكل موقع من الناقورة إلى صيدا والرملة البيضاء في بيروت، وتقريرا عن المسح الجوي بواسطة طائرة مسيرة، ونمذجة للبقعة النفطية أمام الساحل الإسرائيلي وبعض الصور المجمعة من المسوحات الميدانية والجوية.
A multiplex assay for the detection of antibodies to relevant swine pathogens in serum
Authors: Pino Cristina Aira , Penning Maren , Eiden Martin , Balkema-Buschmann Anne , Blome Sandra , Strutzberg-Minder Katrin , López Lissett , Rueda Paloma , Sastre Patricia
Published: April 2021

Livestock industry supports the livelihood of around 1.3 billion people
in the world, with swine industry contributing with 30 % of total
livestock production worldwide. To maintain and guarantee this
production, a pivotal point according to the OIE is addressing potential
biohazards. To control them, permanent sero-surveillance is crucial to
achieve more focused veterinary public health intervention and
prevention strategies, to break the chains of transmission, and to
enable fast responses against outbreaks. Within this context, multiplex
assays are powerful tools with the potential to simplify surveillance
programs, since they reduce time, labour, and variability within
analysis. In the present work, we developed a multiplex bead-based assay
for the detection of specific antibodies to six relevant pathogens
affecting swine: ASFV, CSFV, PRRSV, SIV, TB, and HEV. The most
immunogenic target antigen of each pathogen was selected as the target
protein to coat different microsphere regions in order to develop this
multiplex assay. A total of 1544 serum samples from experimental
infections as well as field samples were included in the analysis. The
6plex assay exhibited credible diagnostic parameters with sensitivities
ranging from 87.0 % to 97.5 % and specificities ranging from 87.9 %
to 100.0 %, demonstrating it to be a potential high throughput tool for
surveillance of infectious diseases in swine.
Comprehensive Analysis of Antibiotic-induced Agranulocytosis Using the Japanese Adverse Drug Event Report Database
Authors: Asai Yuki , Yamamoto Takanori , Abe Yasuharu
Published: April 2021

Although infrequent, drug-induced agranulocytosis can be stimulated by
antibiotics. Here, we analyzed the Japanese Adverse Drug Event Report
database to identify profiles of antibiotic-induced agranulocytosis. Ten
of 60 antibiotics showed signals for agranulocytosis; the reporting odds
ratios (95% confidence intervals) for ampicillin/sulbactam, amikacin,
cefmetazole, cefozopran, clindamycin, ciprofloxacin,
imipenem/cilastatin, kanamycin, teicoplanin, and vancomycin were 2.65
(1.79–3.80), 2.49 (1.91–4.34), 4.48 (2.27–6.92), 2.77 (1.88–3.95),
1.64 (1.04–2.47), 2.01 (1.40–2.82), 2.78 (2.11–3.60), 6.05
(2.16–13.7), 2.05 (1.31–3.07), and 3.54 (2.73–4.54), respectively.
The median times-to-onset of agranulocytosis for ampicillin/sulbactam,
cefmetazole, cefozopran, clindamycin, imipenem/cilastatin, kanamycin,
teicoplanin, and vancomycin were 20, 6, 10, 16, 12, 3, 18, and 13 days,
respectively. The 95% confidence intervals of the Weibull shape
parameter β for these antibiotics were over and excluded 1, indicating
that the antibiotics were the wear out failure type. These findings
provided insights into the characteristics of antibiotic-induced
agranulocytosis.
Understudied, underrepresented, and unknown: methodological biases that limit detection of early diverging fungi from environmental samples
Authors: Reynolds Nicole , Jusino Michelle , Stajich Jason , Smith Matthew
Published: April 2021

Metabarcoding is an important tool for understanding fungal communities.
The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) rDNA is the accepted fungal
barcode but has known problems. The large subunit (LSU) rDNA has also
been used to investigate fungal communities but available LSU
metabarcoding primers were mostly designed to target Dikarya (Ascomycota
+ Basidiomycota) with little attention to early diverging fungi (EDF).
However, evidence from multiple studies suggests that EDF comprise a
large portion of unknown diversity in community sampling. Here we
investigate how DNA marker choice and methodological biases impact
recovery of EDF from environmental samples. We focused on one EDF
lineage, Zoopagomycota, as an example. We evaluated three primer sets
(ITS1F/ITS2, LROR/LR3, and LR3 paired with new primer LR22F) to amplify
and sequence a Zoopagomycota mock community and a set of 146
environmental samples with Illumina MiSeq. We compared two taxonomy
assignment methods and created an LSU reference database compatible with
AMPtk software. The two taxonomy assignment methods recovered strikingly
different communities of fungi and EDF. Target fragment length variation
exacerbated PCR amplification biases and influenced downstream taxonomic
assignments, but this effect was greater for EDF than Dikarya. To
improve identification of LSU amplicons we performed phylogenetic
reconstruction and illustrate the advantages of this critical tool for
investigating identified and unidentified sequences. Our results suggest
much of the EDF community may be missed or misidentified with
“standard” metabarcoding approaches and modified techniques are needed
to understand the role of these taxa in a broader ecological context.
LESSONS FOR COVID 19 ERA: IMPACT OF DELAYS IN SURGERY ON BIOCHEMICAL RECURRENCE-FREE SURVIVAL AND ADVERSE ONCOLOGICAL OUTCOMES IN PROSTATE CANCER PATIENTS
Authors: Sahin Bahadir , Bozkurt Ozan , Sözen Sinan , Ozen Haluk , Akdogan Bulent , Aslan Guven , Izol Volkan , Baltacı Sumer , Turkeri Levent , Çelik Serdar , Tinay Ilker
Published: April 2021

OBJECTIVE To assess the impact of the surgical delay for localized
prostate cancer (PCa) on adverse pathological features and oncological
outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS Patients who underwent surgery for
localized prostate cancer were included from the Turkish Urooncology
Association (TUA) Prostate Cancer database. A History of previous
treatment or active surveillance (AS) were considered as exclusion
criteria from the study. Patients were divided into two groups according
the time period between the diagnosis and surgery; less than or equal to
90 days (group 1) or longer than 90 days (group 2). Surgical pathology
results and oncological outcomes were compared between the two groups.
RESULTS A total of 2454 out of 3646 patients were assessed. Pathological
findings of the radical prostatectomy (RP) specimens were similar
between two groups. However, there was slightly more seminal vesicle
invasion in final surgical pathology in group 1 (12.9% vs. 9.3%,
respectively p=0.042). 5-year biochemical recurrence free survival times
were similar across all D’Amico risk categories between two groups. The
regression analysis demonstrated the seminal vesicle invasion as the
only factor affecting time to PSA progression in high-risk patients
(p<0.001 HR:2.51 CI: 1,58-4,45). CONCLUSION In conclusion, our
results in this large cohort suggest that surgical delay does not cause
a deterioration for prostate cancer surgical outcomes even in high-risk
group of patients. These findings may be helpful for planning the
limited healthcare resources especially in conditions like the Covid-19
pandemic where the availability and optimal use of healthcare system
resources is crucial.
Novel XLF/Cernunnos mutation linked to severe combined immunodeficiency, microcephaly and abnormal T and B cell receptor repertoires
Authors: Frizinsky Shirly , Rechavi Erez , Barel Ortal , Lee Yu-Nee , Simon Amos , Lev Atar , Stauber Tali , Somech Raz
Published: April 2021

Background: During the process of generating diverse T and B cell
receptor (TCR and BCR, respectively) repertoires, double strand DNA
breaks are produced. Subsequently, these breaks are corrected by a
complexed system led mainly by the non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ).
Mutations in proteins involved in this process, including the XLF/
Cernunnos gene, cause severe combined immunodeficiency syndrome (SCID)
along with neurodevelopmental disease and susseptability to inoizing
radiation. Objective: To provide new clinical and immunological insights
on XLF/Cernunnos deficiency, arising from a newly diagnosed patient with
severe immunodeficiency. Methods: A male infant, born to consanguineous
parents, suspected of having primary immunodeficiency underwent
immunological and genetic work up. This included a thorough assessment
of T cell phenotyping and lymphocyte activation by mitogen stimulation
tests, whole exome sequencing (WES), TCR repertoire Vβ repertoire via
flow cytometry analysis and TCR and BCR via next generation sequencing
(NGS). Results: Clinical findings included microcephaly, recurrent
bacterial viral pneumonia and failure to thrive. Immune workup revealed
lymphopenia, reduced T cell function and hypogammaglubolinemia. A skewed
TCR Vβ repertoire, TCR gamma (TRG) repertoire and BCR repertoire were
determined in the patient. Genetic analysis identified a novel autosomal
recessive homozygous missense mutation in XLF/Cernunnos c. A580Ins.T; p.
M194fs. The patient underwent a successful hematopoietic stem cell
transplantation (HSCT). Conclusions: A novel XLF/Cernunnos mutation is
reported in a patient presented with SCID phenotype that displayed
clonally expanded T and B cells. An adjusted HSCT was safe to ensure
full T cell immune reconstitution.
The suppression of Brd4 inhibits peripheral plasma cell differentiation and exhibits therapeutic potential for systemic lupus erythematosus
Authors: Zeng Shan , Qiu Qian , Zhou Yi , Xiao Youjun , Wang Jingnan , Li Ruiru , Xu Siqi , Shi Maohua , Wang Cuicui , Kuang Yu , Lao Minxi , Cai Xiaoyan , liang liuqin , Xu Hanshi
Published: April 2021

Background and purpose: To investigate the role of
bromodomain-containing protein 4 (Brd4) in regulating B cell
differentiation and its therapeutic potential for B cell-mediated
autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
Experimental Approach: Human and murine B cells were purified and
cultured with different stimuli. B cell surface markers, proliferation
and apoptosis were estimated by flow cytometry. Gene expression was
measured by quantitative real-time PCR. Brd4 binding sites were analysed
by the luciferase reporter assay and the chromatin immunoprecipitation
(ChIP) assay. PFI-1 or JQ1 was used to inhibit Brd4. Mice with B
cell-specific deletion of the Brd4 gene (Brd4flox/floxCD19-Cre+/-) and
MRL/lpr mice were used to perform the in vivo experiments. Key Results:
Brd4 inhibition suppressed plasmablast-mediated plasma cell
differentiation but did not influence proliferation or apoptosis in
healthy human and murine CD19+ B cells. PFI-1 treatment reduced the
secretion of IgG and IgM in the supernatants of costimulation-induced B
cells. Mechanistically, Brd4 regulates the terminal differentiation of B
cells into plasma cells by targeting BLIMP1 by directly binding and
activating the endogenous BLIMP1 promoter. Interestingly, PFI-1
treatment decreased the percentages of plasmablasts and plasma cells
from patients with SLE. PFI-1 administration reduced the percentages of
plasma cells, hypergammaglobulinemia and attenuated nephritis in MRL/lpr
mice. Pristane-injected Brd4flox/floxCD19-Cre+/- mice exhibited improved
nephritis and reduced percentages of plasma cells. Conclusions and
Implications: Brd4 is an essential factor in regulating plasma cell
differentiation. Brd4 inhibition may be a potential new strategy for the
treatment of B cell-associated autoimmune disorders, including SLE.
Revista GEON Vol 6 No 2 julio diciembre 2019
Authors: GEON Revista
Published: April 2021

Estrategia de compensaciones como herramienta de satisfacción laboral; Normatividad de la Ley de patentes y marcas: una perspectiva mexicana; La atención al cliente, el servicio, el producto y el precio como variables determinantes de la satisfacción del cliente en una pyme de servicios; Estudio de Mobbing en una institución de educación superior en Hidalgo; Propuestas para fortalecer la cultura emprendedora en los municipios de Puebla y Tlaxcala;  Estudio de caso para el desarrollo e implementación de un sistema de la gestión ambiental; Categorización de los establecimientos según los valores agregados percibidos por el consumidor en niveles socioeconómicos 3 y 4 en Bogotá, Colombia; Un análisis de la brecha salarial por género: caso aplicado a una empresa de manufactura en Escobedo, México; La Gestion de los observatorios en la internacionalización de la Educacion Superior en America Latina; ¿Es la lectura un componente importante de la cultura organizacional en las empresas?
Effect of Niobium and Titanium Addition on Formation of Second Phase Particles in CHQ Steel Using Transmission Electron Microscope
Authors: Abro Shahid Hussain
Published: April 2021

It is common practice that formation of second phase particles such as nitrides or carbides in the steel matrix has significant role to control the grain size of steel. An attempt is made in the present research work to find out the role of nitrogen to form the nitride particles either with Al, Ti, B, Cr or Si. Two steel samples Steel-A and Steel-B with same titanium and aluminum weight percent in the chemical composition were obtained in hot rolled conditions from international market with only the difference of presence of Niobium in Steel-A. Solution heat treatment was performed at 1350°C with 60 minutes holding time in protherm heat treatment furnace available locally was used to dissolve the particles and then steel samples were reheat treated at 800°C with holding time of 60 minutes and water quenched and microstructure was revealed. Transmission electron microscope connected with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) was used to reveal the morphology of second phase particles. Both samples for a high resolution power Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) (Jeol JEM 3010) analysis were prepared by using carbon extraction replica method in 5% Nital solution as an etching technique. Both samples were then caught in copper grid of 3mm for using TEM analysis. TEM micrographs clearly revealed the second phase particles in the matrix of steel. The EDS peaks were studied and it was found that the peaks showed the titanium peaks in both the samples A and B and surprisingly there was no any peak found for aluminum. Stoichiometric calculations were carried out and it was found that weight percent nitrogen required for forming TiN is 0.0073, however the total nitrogen present in both the steels A and B is 0.0058 and 0.0061 respectively. That means that all the nitrogen present in the steel matrix was consumed by titanium to form the Titanium Nitride (TiN) so there was no nitrogen remain to fulfil the requirement of aluminum to form the Aluminum Nitride (AlN) particles.
Zernike Moments Based Handwritten Pashto Character Recognition Using Linear Discriminant Analysis
Authors: Jehangir Sardar , Khan Sohail , Khan Sulaiman , Nazir Shah , Hussain Anwar
Published: April 2021

This paper presents an efficient Optical Character Recognition (OCR) system for offline isolated Pashto characters recognition. Developing an OCR system for handwritten character recognition is a challenging task because of the handwritten characters vary both in shape and in style and most of the time the handwritten characters also vary among the individuals. The identification of the inscribed Pashto letters becomes even palling due to the unavailability of a standard handwritten Pashto characters database. For experimental and simulation purposes a handwritten Pashto characters database is developed by collecting handwritten samples from the students of the university on A4 sized page. These collected samples are then scanned, stemmed and preprocessed to form a medium sized database that encompasses 14784 handwritten Pashto character images (336 distinguishing handwritten samples for each 44 characters in Pashto script). Furthermore, the Zernike moments are considered as a feature extractor tool for the proposed OCR system to extract features of each individual character. Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) is followed as a recognition tool for the proposed recognition system based on the calculated features map using Zernike moments. Applicability of the proposed system is tested by validating it with 10-fold cross-validation method and an overall accuracy of 63.71% is obtained for the handwritten Pashto isolated characters using the proposed OCR system.
Power Loss Reduction via Distributed Generation System Injected in a Radial Feeder
Authors: Hussain Irshad , Khan Faizullah , Ahmad Ishtiaq , Khan Surat , Saeed Muhammad
Published: April 2021

The energy demand all over the world is increasing rapidly day by day. In traditional power systems, power plants are located far away from the consumer’s premises. This in turn causes a substantial amount of power loss both in transmission and distribution. In general, distribution system has more losses than the losses occurred on the transmission side. It employs that there will be a significant difference between the generated power and the energy consumers that are (physically) far away from the generating stations. Therefore, the electric utilities always remain under stress due to such non negligible amount of losses which has a direct impact on financial management and efficiency of the power system as well. To address this issue different technique have been introduced to reduce line losses and to improve the efficiency. The best among these techniques is line loss reduction through Distributed Generation (DG) which is more effective than the other techniques. In this paper we have taken three 11kV feeders (located at Bannu) as a case study and for the prescribed technique an attempt has been made to increase the efficiency of a system by integrating different capacity of DG into a radial distribution feeder. The results have been analyzed mathematically, however Electrical Transient Analyzer Program (ETAP) simulator is used as a test bed. Finally, the obtained results are presented in tabular and graphical form in terms of clearly defined parameters.
Detection of Malicious Servers for Preventing Client-Side Attacks
Authors: Bux Khuda , Yousaf Muhammad , Jalbani Akhtar Hussain , Batool Komal
Published: April 2021

The number of client-side attacks is increasing day-by-day. These attacks are launched by using various methods like phishing, drive-by downloads, click-frauds, social engineering, scareware, and ransomware. To get more advantage with less exertion and time, the attackers are focus on the clients, rather than servers which are more secured as compared to the clients. This makes clients as an easy target for the attackers on the Internet. A number of systems/tools have been created by the security community with various functions for detection of client-side attacks. The discovery of malicious servers that launch the client side attacks can be characterized in two types. First to detect malicious servers with passive detection which is often signature based. Second to detect the malicious servers with active detection often with dynamic malware analysis. Current systems or tools have more focus on identifying malicious servers rather than preventing the clients from those malicious servers. In this paper, we have proposed a solution for the detection and prevention of malicious servers that use the Bro Intrusion Detection System (IDS) and VirusTotal API 2.0. The detected malicious link is then blocked at the gateway.
Dynamic fractional chaotic biometric isomorphic elliptic curve for partial image encryption
Authors: Kamal Ahmed , Hagras Esam , El-Kamchochi H.A.
Published: April 2021

In this paper, a Modular Fractional Chaotic Sine Map (MFC-SM) has been introduced to achieve high Lyapunov exponent values and completely chaotic behavior of the bifurcation diagram for high level security. The proposed MFC-SM is compared with the conventional non MFC-SM and it has an excellent chaotic analysis. In addition, the randomness test results indicate that the proposed MFC-SM shows better performance and satisfy all randomness tests. Due to the excellent chaotic properties and good randomization results for the proposed MFC-SM, it is used to be cooperated with the biometric digital identity to achieve dynamic chaotic biometric digital identity. Also, for real time image encryption, both Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT)partial image encryption and Isomorphic Elliptic Curve (IEC)key exchange are used. In addition, the biometric digital identity is extracted from the user fingerprint image as fingerprint minutia data incorporated with the proposed MFC-SM and hence, a new Dynamic Fractional Chaotic Biometric Digital IdentityIEC (DFC-BID-IEC) has been introduced. Dynamic Fractional Chaotic Key Generator (DFC-KG) is used to control the key schedule for all encryption and decryption processing. The encryption process consists of the confusion and diffusion steps. In the confusion step, the 2D Arnold Cat Map (ACM) is used with secret parameters taken from DFC-KG. Also, the diffusion step is based on the dynamic chaotic self-invertible secret key matrix which can be generated from the proposed MFC-SM. The IEC key exchange secret parameters are generated based on Elliptic Curve Diffie?Hellman(ECDH) key exchange and the isomorphism parametre. Statistical analysis, differential analysis and key sensitivity tests are performed to estimate the security strengths of the proposed DFC-BID-IEC system. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm is robust against common signal processing attacks and provides a high security level and high speed for image encryption application.
Cooperation and sharing of caught prey in competitive continuous coevolution using the predator-prey domain
Authors: Varga Krisztián , Kiss Attila
Published: April 2021

Competition is one of the main driving factors of evolution and can be observed in nature as well as in simulations. Competition can occur between predators and preys causing an arms race, but it can also happen between individuals of the same species. Our simulation uses the predator-prey domain (with carnivores, herbivores and plants,) and continuous (not generation based) neuro-evolution to create a complex environment where both forms of competition arise. The characteristics of the simulation make it hard for a predator to catch prey alone, this creates a dependence on cooperation. The predators can share the caught prey with nearby members, in order to help them work together. We explore how sharing affects the cooperation of the hunters, and compare the effectiveness of one and two predator populations.
Do Job Candidates' Effort Promises Matter When the Labor Market is Competitive? Experimental Evidence
Authors: Arnold Markus C. , Grasser Robert
Published: April 2021

Using an experiment, we investigate whether job candidates' noncontractible effort promises increase their actual effort in the work relationship when the labor market is competitive. Due to promise-keeping preferences, individuals tend to keep promises even if doing so is costly. However, when promises can be made strategically to influence hiring decisions, it is unclear whether workers are less likely to keep their promises. We develop theory to predict that making effort promises matters even more when labor markets are competitive. We find workers promise higher effort levels when competing for jobs than when they do not, but do not keep promises to a lesser extent although the costs of promise-keeping increase with the promise size, thereby increasing the total effort provided. The results enhance our understanding of the effects of worker-employer communication during hiring, particularly in a competitive setting in which such communication is most likely to occur.
Net Operating Loss Carryforwards and Corporate Savings Policies
Authors: Heitzman Shane , Lester Rebecca
Published: April 2021

We examine the relation between corporate cash holdings and tax net operating loss carryforwards (NOLs). The literature demonstrates that firms should distribute cash to shareholders rather than retain it and generate passive investment income taxed at both corporate and investor levels. However, if the firm's tax rate on passive income is lower than shareholders'—as when the firm has NOLs—theory also shows that the firm should retain cash and invest on the shareholders' behalf. Consistent with this, we find that NOLs are associated with higher levels of savings; firms save an additional $0.12 to $0.17 per dollar of tax-effected NOL benefit. Furthermore, investors place a higher value on corporate cash in tax loss firms, consistent with NOLs increasing the after-tax returns on passive investments. The paper adds to the literature studying corporate financial policy responses to taxation and quantifies the role of NOLs in corporate savings decisions.
Solving Stefan's linear problem for drying cylindrical timber under quasi-averaged formulation
Authors:   Centre of Mathematical Modelling, IAPMM of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Gayvas B. I. , Dmytruk V. A. ,   Lviv Polytechnic National University; Centre of Mathematical Modelling, IAPMM of Ukrainian National Academy of Sciences, Semerak M. M. ,   Lviv Polytechnic National University, Rymar T. I. ,   Lviv Polytechnic National University
Published: April 2021

The plain problem of drying of a cylindrical timber beam in average statement is considered. The thermal diffusivity coefficients are expressed in terms of the porosity of the timber, the density of the components of vapour, air, and timber skeleton. The problem of mutual phase distribution during drying of timber has been solved using the energy balance equation. The indicators of the drying process of the material depend on the correct choice and observance of the parameters of the drying medium.
Fuzzy controller, designed by reinforcement learning, for vehicle traction system application
Authors:   Lviv Polytechnic National University, Demkiv L. I. , Lozynskyy A. O. ,   Lviv Polytechnic National University, Vantsevich V. V. ,   University of Alabama at Birmingham, Gorsich D. J. ,   US Army CCDC Ground Vehicle Systems Center, Warren, MI, Lytvyn V. V. ,   Lviv Polytechnic National University, Klos S. R. ,   Lviv Polytechnic National University, Letherwood M. D. ,   Alion Science and Technilogy, Ground Vehicle Systems Center
Published: April 2021

In this article, a fuzzy controller tuned by reinforcement learning is proposed. The developed algorithm utilizes a fuzzy logic theory and a reinforcement learning for fine-tuning parameters of the membership function for the fuzzy controller. Apart from the fuzzy controller developed, a fuzzy corrector of reference input (set-point) signal to the controller is applied. The fuzzy corrector changes the input (reference) signal of the system and takes into account an original reference input and type of external disturbances. Thus, the designed fuzzy control that is tuned by reinforcement learning is capable to ensure the stable, optimal, and safe performance of the system and takes into account external disturbances. To verify the performance of the proposed controller, the adaptive fuzzy controller tuned by reinforcement learning is applied to the mathematical model of a wheel locomotion module of an electric vehicle to advance a traction control system. Therefore, the effectiveness of the proposed adaptive fuzzy controller is proven through the simulation results.
DEVELOPMENT OF THE BASIC CAPACITIVE ACCELEROMETERS MODELS BASED ON THE VHDL-AMS LANGUAGE FOR THE CIRCUIT LEVEL OF COMPUTER-AIDED DESIGN
Authors:   Lviv Polytechnic National University, Teslyuk V. M. , Denysyuk P. Yu. ,   Lviv Polytechnic National University, Teslyuk T. V. ,   Lviv Polytechnic National University
Published: April 2021

In the article, the basic VHDL-AMS models of MEMS-based capacitive accelerometers were developed. The models were designed for two basic types of capacitive accelerometers, namely lamellar and counter-pivotal. The developed models allow us to determine the source of electrical capacitive accelerometers depending on the incoming mechanical and structural parameters and were constructed for MEMS CAD at the circuit level. The circuit level of MEMS development requires an analysis of the total integrated device electric circuits. For this purpose, all the MEMS components should be written in the specific software systems, which would be understandable for the software system. Taking into account that MEMS devices operate on different physical principles, certain difficulties may arise during the electrical analysis, that is, the work of mechanical or other devices need to be described with the help of electric parameters. In the general case, the method for building the VHDL-AMS model of the MEMS-based capacitive accelerometer is needed construction of the simplified mechanical model, and then a simplified electrical model. On the basis of the simplified models, the VHDL-AMS model of electromechanical MEMS devices has been developed. In the article, the method of automated synthesis and mathematical models using the VHDL-AMS language, which is based on the method of electrical analogies were described. They use systems of ordinary differential equations and partial differential equations to determine the relationships between input and output parameters. The sequence and quantity of used differential equations are determined by the physical principles of operation of the MEMS element and the number of energy transformations, which allows increasing the level of automation of synthesis operations compared to existing methods. The results of the basic lamellar and counter-pivotal capacitive accelerometers are also shown. This enables to conduct research and analysis of its parameters and investigate the output electric parameters dependence on the input mechanical ones.
OVERVIEW OF PRACTICAL IMPLEMENTATION OF MECHANISMS OF USER ACCESS TO UNIVERSITY OF THE UNIVERSITY
Authors:   Lviv Polytechnic National University, Fomenko A. V. , Tarasov D. O. ,   Lviv Polytechnic National University
Published: April 2021

One of the hallmarks of the learning process is its manageability, which provides for the possibility of planning and designing the educational process. The article deals with practical issues related to the administration of the University Virtual Learning Environment in terms of organization and differentiation of access rights of different categories of users. The authors discuss the principles of administering a virtual learning environment in terms of distinguishing levels of access to individual elements of the system for different roles of different categories of users. In LMS Moodle, the list of hierarchical contexts is as follows: System (no parent context); Website – homepage (parent context – system); Course category (parent context – system); Course (parental context – course category or system); Course element (parent context – course); Block (parent context – system or course); User (parent context – system). In the Lviv Polytechnic University, only Super Administrator, Global Group Management, Methodist, and Library have global roles. Role assignments are performed to determine the role in context. The site (homepage) and course are examples of two different contexts. While the role assignment process is the same for different contexts, the path to the assignment page may be different. The article gives examples of how to organize a system of administration with a description of the processes of creating different types of roles and the logic of implementation of each role and the need for certain approaches. There are five types of roles in the article, namely: managerial, supervisory, training, informational, temporary, providing justification and practical advice on setting up each role for each type. The article describes a common responsibility matrix for each user role. The roles of management roles are different aspects of course administration at the level of course categories of different types of nesting. This type includes administrators. The role of the controlling role is, by name, to investigate the various aspects of educational and training activities within the VNS system. The objectives of the learning roles are to ensure and carry out the learning process itself. These roles include, first of all, the system role by default – the student, the main participant in the process of acquiring knowledge, passing checkpoints and other components of the educational process. The tasks of information roles are to create information messages for both students and teachers at different levels of the information system. Temporary role tasks are to involve third parties in the system. Of course, the guest is first and foremost, but in our case guest entry is forbidden, so the roles of Conference Participant and Olympiad Participant were created to provide access to individual system resources. The article describes a common responsibility matrix for each user role.
PRESENTATION OF RESULTS OF RESEARCH ACTIVITIES OF CHILDREN IN REMOTE (DIGITAL) FORMAT
Authors: Семёнова Наталия Альбертовна
Published: April 2021

Рассмотрены изменения подходов к организации мероприятий по представлению результатов исследовательских работ детей в условиях перехода на вынужденное удаленное обучение в 2020 г. Описан опыт разных вариантов решения проблемы смены привычных форматов детских конкурсов и конференций в Томском государственном педагогическом университете и гимназии № 29 г. Томска. При этом учитывается количественный состав участников и их география, возможность обсуждения прослушанных докладов другими участниками, возможность наглядного сопровождения доклада демонстрацией и др. Подробно описано проведение детских конкурсов в формате видео конференций и видеозаписей публичных выступлений. Данная форма может стать эффективной поддержкой исследовательского интереса и познавательной активности обучающихся в условиях, когда живое общение невозможно. Представлен анализ достоинств и недостатков очного, дистанционного и смешанного форматов образовательных событий по представлению обучающимися своих исследований.

In 2020, educational organizations switched to a forced remote format and the learning process changed. The author described the changes in approaches to the organization of events for the presentation of the results of children’s research work. In this article, the researcher showed different options for organizing contests and conferences for children remotely. A description of the experience of the children’s research competition at the Tomsk State Pedagogical University is presented, where the participants sent video recordings of their reports. The experience of holding a children’s conference in the gymnasium No. 29 in Tomsk is described. When analyzing the author took into account: how many participants, the ability to remotely attend participants from other places, the possibility of discussing reports, the possibility of using visual material, demonstrations. Conducting contests in the format of videoconferences and video recordings of children’s public speeches is a new effective format for presenting the results of children’s research. This form can help motivate children, increase their research interest and cognitive activity. This is important in an environment where live communication is impossible. The author presented the advantages and disadvantages of face-to-face, distance, and mixed formats of educational events as presented in children’s research.
The Effect of Proactive Classroom Management Training Program on Off-Task Behaviors of Students in Inclusive Classrooms
Authors: GÜNER YILDIZ Nevin , BAHÇALI Turgut , AKIN Esra , OKATAN İsmail
Published: April 2021

This study investigated the effect of classroom management training provided to teachers employed in inclusive primary school classrooms on students’ off-task behaviors. Study participants were composed of 18 teachers who taught special needs students in a primary school in the city center of Eskişehir and their students. One-group pretest-posttest design was used in the study. Study data were collected with the Student Off-Task Behavior Observation Form developed by Güner-Yıldız and Elmas (2019) and the Classroom Management Knowledge Test developed by Güner (2010). Participating teachers were trained with the Proactive Classroom Management Training Program (PCMTP) followed by feedback on their classroom management practices based on observations regarding the implementation of the information provided during the PCMTP in their classrooms. The findings revealed that classroom management training with PCMTP and feedback on teachers’ classroom management skills increased their knowledge of effective classroom management strategies and reduced the off-task behaviors of students in their classrooms.
Blockchain technology in the banking sector
Authors: Skiba Olga A.
Published: April 2021

The newly invented blockchain technology is beginning to show its capabilities and occupy many sectors of the economy. One of these is the banking sector. Considering the opportunities, development prospects, and challenges of introducing blockchain technology into the economy, will blockchain technology be able to meet its expectations? And how blockchain technology finds its application in the Russian economy.