bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Marine Polysaccharides for Wound Dressings Application: An Overview
Authors: Shen Shenghai , Chen Xiaowen , Shen Zhewen , Chen Hao
Published: October 2021

Wound dressings have become a crucial treatment for wound healing due to their convenience, low cost, and prolonged wound management. As cutting-edge biomaterials, marine polysaccharides are divided from most marine organisms. It possesses various bioactivities, which allowing them to be processed into various forms of wound dressings. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of the application of marine polysaccharides in wound dressings is particularly important for the studies of wound therapy. In this review, we first introduce the wound healing process and describe the characteristics of modern commonly used dressings. Then, the properties of various marine polysaccharides and their application in wound dressing development are outlined. Finally, strategies for developing and enhancing marine polysaccharide wound dressings are described, and an outlook of these dressings is given. The diverse bioactivities of marine polysaccharides including antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, haemostatic properties, etc., providing excellent wound management and accelerate wound healing. Meanwhile, these biomaterials have higher biocompatibility and biodegradability compared to synthetic ones. On the other hand, marine polysaccharides can be combined with copolymers and active substances to prepare various forms of dressings. Among them, emerging types of dressings such as nanofibers, smart hydrogels and injectable hydrogels are at the research frontier of their development. Therefore, marine polysaccharides are essential materials in wound dressings fabrication and have a promising future.
Excellent Thermally Conducting Ni Plating Graphite Nanoplatelets/Poly(phenylene sulfone) Composites for High-Performance Electromagnetic Interference Shielding Effectiveness
Authors: Chen Zhang , Yang Ting , Cheng Lin , Mu Jianxin
Published: October 2021

First, nickel particles were deposited on the surface of graphite nanoplatelets to fabricate highly conductive GnPs@Ni core-shell structure hybrid fillers via electroplating. The modified GnPs were blended with polyphenylene sulfone via the solution blending method, followed by the hot-pressing method to achieve high thermally conducting GnPs@Ni/PPSU composites for high performance electromagnetic interference effectiveness. The results showed that in-plane and through-plane thermal conductivity of the composite at the 40 wt% filler loading could reach 2.6 Wm−1K−1 and 3.7 Wm−1K−1, respectively, which were 9.4 and 20 times higher than that of pure PPSU resin. The orientation degree of fillers was discussed by XRD and SEM. Then, heat conduction data were fitted and analyzed by the Agari model, and the heat conduction mechanism was further explored. The testing results also demonstrated that the material exhibited good conductivity, electromagnetic shielding effectiveness and superior thermal stability. Overall, the GnPs@Ni/PPSU composites had high thermal conductivity and were effective electromagnetic shielding materials at high temperatures.
Hierarchical Porous MIL-101(Cr) Solid Acid-Catalyzed Production of Value-Added Acetals from Biomass-Derived Furfural
Authors: Liu Shengqi , Meng Ye , Li Hu , Yang Song
Published: October 2021

Considering economic and environmental impacts, catalytic biomass conversion to valuable compounds has attracted more and more attention. Of particular interest is furfural, a versatile biorefinery platform molecule used as a feedstock for the production of fuels and fine chemicals. In this study, the Cr-based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) MIL-101 were modified by chlorosulfonic acid, and MIL-101 was changed into a hierarchical MOF structure with smaller particles and lower particle crystallinity by CTAB, which significantly improved the acidic sites of the MOFs. The original and modified MIL-101(Cr) catalysts were characterized by XRD, N2 adsorption-desorption, SEM, TEM, and FT-IR. The effects of different catalysts, reaction temperature, catalyst amount, and alcohol type on the reaction were studied. Under the action of the MOFs catalyst, a new mild route for the condensation of furfural with various alkyl alcohols to the biofuel molecules (acetals) was proposed. The conversion route includes the conversion of furfural up to 91% yield of acetal could be obtained within 1 h solvent-free and in room-temperature reaction conditions. The sulfonic acid-functionalized MIL-101(Cr) is easy to recover and reuse, and can still maintain good catalytic activity after ten runs.
Pedalling Out of Sociocultural Precariousness: Religious Conversions amongst the Hindu Dalits to Christianity in Nepal
Authors: Pariyar Bishnu , Chhinal Sushma , Thapa Magar Shyamu , Bisunke Rozy
Published: October 2021

Christian conversion has become a major topic of discussion amongst academics, religious leaders, and policymakers alike in recent decades, especially in developing countries. Nepal has witnessed one of the highest rates of Hinduism to Christianity conversion in South Asia. Whilst there are no legal restrictions for religious conversion in Nepal, the conversion from Hinduism to Christianity appears to be disproportionately higher amongst Dalit communities in Nepal. However, religious conversion amongst Nepalese Dalits is yet to be fully understood. This research uses mixed methodologies of data collection and analysis to explore various issues related to religious conversion amongst Hindu Dalits into Christianity in Nepal. Results indicate whilst elderly and female Dalits tended to convert to Christianity, a range of factors specific to personal and communal biographies including social, cultural, emotional, and spiritual interplay together to shape the process of religious conversion amongst the Dalits. The paper concludes that the study of religious conversion should consider a range of sociocultural factors to fully understand the dynamics of religious conversion amongst Dalits.
And G-d Created Wife: How Did the Modern Other Emerge?
Authors: Dolgopolski Sergey
Published: October 2021

Asking the question of the emergence of the modern other, the paper explores the inversion of relationships between wife and woman, husband and man in an archeological analysis of a Talmudic reading by Emmanuel Levinas “And God Created Woman.” The theoretical framework of inquiry focuses on the development of relationships between the human on the one hand and the thinking and acting subject on the other. The guiding question is that of defining modern subjectivity by the disappearance of rabbinic discourse from its horizon.
UAV-Borne Hyperspectral Imaging Remote Sensing System Based on Acousto-Optic Tunable Filter for Water Quality Monitoring
Authors: Liu Hong , Yu Tao , Hu Bingliang , Hou Xingsong , Zhang Zhoufeng , Liu Xiao , Liu Jiacheng , Wang Xueji , Zhong Jingjing , Tan Zhengxuan , Xia Shaoxia , Qian Bao
Published: October 2021

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) hyperspectral remote sensing technologies have unique advantages in high-precision quantitative analysis of non-contact water surface source concentration. Improving the accuracy of non-point source detection is a difficult engineering problem. To facilitate water surface remote sensing, imaging, and spectral analysis activities, a UAV-based hyperspectral imaging remote sensing system was designed. Its prototype was built, and laboratory calibration and a joint air–ground water quality monitoring activity were performed. The hyperspectral imaging remote sensing system of UAV comprised a light and small UAV platform, spectral scanning hyperspectral imager, and data acquisition and control unit. The spectral principle of the hyperspectral imager is based on the new high-performance acousto-optic tunable (AOTF) technology. During laboratory calibration, the spectral calibration of the imaging spectrometer and image preprocessing in data acquisition were completed. In the UAV air–ground joint experiment, combined with the typical water bodies of the Yangtze River mainstream, the Three Gorges demonstration area, and the Poyang Lake demonstration area, the hyperspectral data cubes of the corresponding water areas were obtained, and geometric registration was completed. Thus, a large field-of-view mosaic and water radiation calibration were realized. A chlorophyl-a (Chl-a) sensor was used to test the actual water control points, and 11 traditional Chl-a sensitive spectrum selection algorithms were analyzed and compared. A random forest algorithm was used to establish a prediction model of water surface spectral reflectance and water quality parameter concentration. Compared with the back propagation neural network, partial least squares, and PSO-LSSVM algorithms, the accuracy of the RF algorithm in predicting Chl-a was significantly improved. The determination coefficient of the training samples was 0.84; root mean square error, 3.19 μg/L; and mean absolute percentage error, 5.46%. The established Chl-a inversion model was applied to UAV hyperspectral remote sensing images. The predicted Chl-a distribution agreed with the field observation results, indicating that the UAV-borne hyperspectral remote sensing water quality monitoring system based on AOTF is a promising remote sensing imaging spectral analysis tool for water.
Evaluation of Clumping Effects on the Estimation of Global Terrestrial Evapotranspiration
Authors: Chen Bin , Lu Xuehe , Wang Shaoqiang , Chen Jing M. , Liu Yang , Fang Hongliang , Liu Zhenhai , Jiang Fei , Arain Muhammad Altaf , Chen Jinghua , Wang Xiaobo
Published: October 2021

In terrestrial ecosystems, leaves are aggregated into different spatial structures and their spatial distribution is non-random. Clumping index (CI) is a key canopy structural parameter, characterizing the extent to which leaf deviates from the random distribution. To assess leaf clumping effects on global terrestrial ET, we used a global leaf area index (LAI) map and the latest version of global CI product derived from MODIS BRDF data as well as the Boreal Ecosystem Productivity Simulator (BEPS) to estimate global terrestrial ET. The results show that global terrestrial ET in 2015 was 511.9 ± 70.1 mm yr−1 for Case I, where the true LAI and CI are used. Compared to this baseline case, (1) global terrestrial ET is overestimated by 4.7% for Case II where true LAI is used ignoring clumping; (2) global terrestrial ET is underestimated by 13.0% for Case III where effective LAI is used ignoring clumping. Among all plant functional types (PFTs), evergreen needleleaf forests were most affected by foliage clumping for ET estimation in Case II, because they are most clumped with the lowest CI. Deciduous broadleaf forests are affected by leaf clumping most in Case III because they have both high LAI and low CI compared to other PFTs. The leaf clumping effects on ET estimation in both Case II and Case III is robust to the errors in major input parameters. Thus, it is necessary to consider clumping effects in the simulation of global terrestrial ET, which has considerable implications for global water cycle research.
Autonomous Surface and Underwater Vehicles as Effective Ecosystem Monitoring and Research Platforms in the Arctic—The Glider Project
Authors: Camus Lionel , Andrade Hector , Aniceto Ana , Aune Magnus , Bandara Kanchana , Basedow Sünnje , Christensen Kai , Cook Jeremy , Daase Malin , Dunlop Katherine , Falk-Petersen Stig , Fietzek Peer , Fonnes Gro , Ghaffari Peygham , Gramvik Geir , Graves Inger , Hayes Daniel , Langeland Tor , Lura Harald , Kristiansen Trond , Nøst Ole , Peddie David , Pederick Joel , Pedersen Geir , Sperrevik Ann , Sørensen Kai , Tassara Luca , Tjøstheim Sigurd , Tverberg Vigdis , Dahle Salve
Published: October 2021

Effective ocean management requires integrated and sustainable ocean observing systems enabling us to map and understand ecosystem properties and the effects of human activities. Autonomous subsurface and surface vehicles, here collectively referred to as “gliders”, are part of such ocean observing systems providing high spatiotemporal resolution. In this paper, we present some of the results achieved through the project “Unmanned ocean vehicles, a flexible and cost-efficient offshore monitoring and data management approach—GLIDER”. In this project, three autonomous surface and underwater vehicles were deployed along the Lofoten–Vesterålen (LoVe) shelf-slope-oceanic system, in Arctic Norway. The aim of this effort was to test whether gliders equipped with novel sensors could effectively perform ecosystem surveys by recording physical, biogeochemical, and biological data simultaneously. From March to September 2018, a period of high biological activity in the area, the gliders were able to record a set of environmental parameters, including temperature, salinity, and oxygen, map the spatiotemporal distribution of zooplankton, and record cetacean vocalizations and anthropogenic noise. A subset of these parameters was effectively employed in near-real-time data assimilative ocean circulation models, improving their local predictive skills. The results presented here demonstrate that autonomous gliders can be effective long-term, remote, noninvasive ecosystem monitoring and research platforms capable of operating in high-latitude marine ecosystems. Accordingly, these platforms can record high-quality baseline environmental data in areas where extractive activities are planned and provide much-needed information for operational and management purposes.
Analysis of Factors Influencing Vibration Suppression of Spray Boom-Air Suspension for Medium and Small-Scale High-Clearance Sprayers
Authors: Qiu Wei , Yao Xinyue , Zhu Yue , Sun Hao , Zhou Liangfu , Xiao Maohua
Published: October 2021

Medium and small-scale high-clearance sprayers are widely applied in medium and small-scale farms. Owing to power and load limitations, it is difficult to manage the complex system for suppressing spray boom vibration. This study was conducted to design a spray boom-air suspension system suitable for medium and small-size high-clearance sprayers by combining spray boom vibration suppression and the characteristics of air spring charging/discharging. Thus, this study aims to address the non-homogeneous distribution of spray triggered by the spray boom vibrations in medium and small high-clearance sprayers. The effects of different elastic elements on the vibration suppression effect of the spray boom were compared. According to the bench test, the dynamic response results of the spray boom under transient and sinusoidal excitations indicate that air spring is more conducive to vibration suppression than coil spring. The results obtained from the field experiments indicate that under the low solid soil condition, the spray boom air suspension should match a small additional air chamber with a volume of approximately 0.6 L, and the damping coefficient of the damper should be approximately 1792 N·s/m. In the case of the high firm soil, the spray boom air suspension should match a large additional air chamber with a volume of approximately 3.6 L, while the damping coefficient of the damper should be set to approximately 1316 N·s/m. The soil with low moisture content and high firmness are unfavorable to the vibration suppression of the spray boom. This study provides a reference for enhancing the vibration suppression of the spray boom-air suspension and improving the spray uniformity of the sprayer.
A Novel Intelligent Fault Diagnosis Method for Rolling Bearings Based on Wasserstein Generative Adversarial Network and Convolutional Neural Network under Unbalanced Dataset
Authors: Tang Hongtao , Gao Shengbo , Wang Lei , Li Xixing , Li Bing , Pang Shibao
Published: October 2021

Rolling bearings are widely used in industrial manufacturing, and ensuring their stable and effective fault detection is a core requirement in the manufacturing process. However, it is a great challenge to achieve a highly accurate rolling bearing fault diagnosis because of the severe imbalance and distribution differences in fault data due to weak early fault features and interference from environmental noise. An intelligent fault diagnosis strategy for rolling bearings based on grayscale image transformation, a generative adversative network, and a convolutional neural network was proposed to solve this problem. First, the original vibration signal is converted into a grayscale image. Then more training samples are generated using GANs to solve severe imbalance and distribution differences in fault data. Finally, the rolling bearing condition detection and fault identification are carried out by using SECNN. The availability of the method is substantiated by experiments on datasets with different data imbalance ratios. In addition, the superiority of this diagnosis strategy is verified by comparing it with other mainstream intelligent diagnosis techniques. The experimental result demonstrates that this strategy can reach more than 99.6% recognition accuracy even under substantial environmental noise interference or changing working conditions and has good stability in the presence of a severe imbalance in fault data.
Experimentally Verified Analytical Models of Piezoelectric Cantilevers in Different Design Configurations
Authors: Machu Zdenek , Rubes Ondrej , Sevecek Oldrich , Hadas Zdenek
Published: October 2021

This paper deals with analytical modelling of piezoelectric energy harvesting systems for generating useful electricity from ambient vibrations and comparing the usefulness of materials commonly used in designing such harvesters for energy harvesting applications. The kinetic energy harvesters have the potential to be used as an autonomous source of energy for wireless applications. Here in this paper, the considered energy harvesting device is designed as a piezoelectric cantilever beam with different piezoelectric materials in both bimorph and unimorph configurations. For both these configurations a single degree-of-freedom model of a kinematically excited cantilever with a full and partial electrode length respecting the dimensions of added tip mass is derived. The analytical model is based on Euler-Bernoulli beam theory and its output is successfully verified with available experimental results of piezoelectric energy harvesters in three different configurations. The electrical output of the derived model for the three different materials (PZT-5A, PZZN-PLZT and PVDF) and design configurations is in accordance with lab measurements which are presented in the paper. Therefore, this model can be used for predicting the amount of harvested power in a particular vibratory environment. Finally, the derived analytical model was used to compare the energy harvesting effectiveness of the three considered materials for both simple harmonic excitation and random vibrations of the corresponding harvesters. The comparison revealed that both PZT-5A and PZZN-PLZT are an excellent choice for energy harvesting purposes thanks to high electrical power output, whereas PVDF should be used only for sensing applications due to low harvested electrical power output.
A Deep-Learning Based Visual Sensing Concept for a Robust Classification of Document Images under Real-World Hard Conditions
Authors: Mohsenzadegan Kabeh , Tavakkoli Vahid , Kyamakya Kyandoghere
Published: October 2021

This paper’s core objective is to develop and validate a new neurocomputing model to classify document images in particularly demanding hard conditions such as image distortions, image size variance and scale, a huge number of classes, etc. Document classification is a special machine vision task in which document images are categorized according to their likelihood. Document classification is by itself an important topic for the digital office and it has several usages. Additionally, different methods for solving this problem have been presented in various studies; their respectively reached performance is however not yet good enough. This task is very tough and challenging. Thus, a novel, more accurate and precise model is needed. Although the related works do reach acceptable accuracy values for less hard conditions, they generally fully fail in the face of those above-mentioned hard, real-world conditions, including, amongst others, distortions such as noise, blur, low contrast, and shadows. In this paper, a novel deep CNN model is developed, validated and benchmarked with a selection of the most relevant recent document classification models. Additionally, the model’s sensitivity was significantly improved by injecting different artifacts during the training process. In the benchmarking, it does clearly outperform all others by at least 4%, thus reaching more than 96% accuracy.
A Fast Storage Method for Drone-Borne Passive Microwave Radiation Measurement
Authors: Wan Xiangkun , Li Xiaofeng , Jiang Tao , Zheng Xingming , Li Xiaojie , Li Lei
Published: October 2021

A drone-borne microwave radiometer requires a high sampling frequency and a continuous acquisition capability to detect and mitigate radio frequency interference (RFI), but existing methods cannot store such a large amount of data. In this paper, the dual polling write method (DPSM) for secure digital cards triggered by a timer under a multitask framework based on STM32 MCU is proposed to meet the requirements of continuous data storage. The card programming step was changed from a query waiting structure to a polling query flag bit structure, and time-sharing processing and parallel processing were used to simulate multithreading. The experimental results were as follows: (1) the time consumption of the whole storage procedure was reduced from 4000 microseconds to 200–400 microseconds; (2) the time consumption of the card programming step was reduced from 3000 microseconds in the first block and 1000 microseconds in the second and subsequent blocks to 17–174 microseconds and 18–71 microseconds, respectively, compared with the existing method; (3) the delay in the whole sampling cycle was reduced from 3942 microseconds to 0 microseconds. The results of this paper can meet the data storage requirements of a drone-borne microwave radiometer and be applied to the high-speed storage of other devices.
Smart Wearables with Sensor Fusion for Fall Detection in Firefighting
Authors: Chai Xiaoqing , Wu Renjie , Pike Matthew , Jin Hangchao , Chung Wan-Young , Lee Boon-Giin
Published: October 2021

During the past decade, falling has been one of the top three causes of death amongst firefighters in China. Even though there are many studies on fall-detection systems (FDSs), the majority use a single motion sensor. Furthermore, few existing studies have considered the impact sensor placement and positioning have on fall-detection performance; most are targeted toward fall detection of the elderly. Unfortunately, floor cracks and unstable building structures in the fireground increase the difficulty of detecting the fall of a firefighter. In particular, the movement activities of firefighters are more varied; hence, distinguishing fall-like activities from actual falls is a significant challenge. This study proposed a smart wearable FDS for firefighter fall detection by integrating motion sensors into the firefighter’s personal protective clothing on the chest, elbows, wrists, thighs, and ankles. The firefighter’s fall activities are detected by the proposed multisensory recurrent neural network, and the performances of different combinations of inertial measurement units (IMUs) on different body parts were also investigated. The results indicated that the sensor fusion of IMUs from all five proposed body parts achieved performances of 94.10%, 92.25%, and 94.59% in accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity, respectively.
Remaining Useful Life Prediction from 3D Scan Data with Genetically Optimized Convolutional Neural Networks
Authors: Diraco Giovanni , Siciliano Pietro , Leone Alessandro
Published: October 2021

In the current industrial landscape, increasingly pervaded by technological innovations, the adoption of optimized strategies for asset management is becoming a critical key success factor. Among the various strategies available, the “Prognostics and Health Management” strategy is able to support maintenance management decisions more accurately, through continuous monitoring of equipment health and “Remaining Useful Life” forecasting. In the present study, convolutional neural network-based deep neural network techniques are investigated for the remaining useful life prediction of a punch tool, whose degradation is caused by working surface deformations during the machining process. Surface deformation is determined using a 3D scanning sensor capable of returning point clouds with micrometric accuracy during the operation of the punching machine, avoiding both downtime and human intervention. The 3D point clouds thus obtained are transformed into bidimensional image-type maps, i.e., maps of depths and normal vectors, to fully exploit the potential of convolutional neural networks for extracting features. Such maps are then processed by comparing 15 genetically optimized architectures with the transfer learning of 19 pretrained models, using a classic machine learning approach, i.e., support vector regression, as a benchmark. The achieved results clearly show that, in this specific case, optimized architectures provide performance far superior (MAPE = 0.058) to that of transfer learning, which, instead, remains at a lower or slightly higher level (MAPE = 0.416) than support vector regression (MAPE = 0.857).
Multi-View Data Analysis Techniques for Monitoring Smart Building Systems
Authors: Devagiri Vishnu Manasa , Boeva Veselka , Abghari Shahrooz , Basiri Farhad , Lavesson Niklas
Published: October 2021

In smart buildings, many different systems work in coordination to accomplish their tasks. In this process, the sensors associated with these systems collect large amounts of data generated in a streaming fashion, which is prone to concept drift. Such data are heterogeneous due to the wide range of sensors collecting information about different characteristics of the monitored systems. All these make the monitoring task very challenging. Traditional clustering algorithms are not well equipped to address the mentioned challenges. In this work, we study the use of MV Multi-Instance Clustering algorithm for multi-view analysis and mining of smart building systems’ sensor data. It is demonstrated how this algorithm can be used to perform contextual as well as integrated analysis of the systems. Various scenarios in which the algorithm can be used to analyze the data generated by the systems of a smart building are examined and discussed in this study. In addition, it is also shown how the extracted knowledge can be visualized to detect trends in the systems’ behavior and how it can aid domain experts in the systems’ maintenance. In the experiments conducted, the proposed approach was able to successfully detect the deviating behaviors known to have previously occurred and was also able to identify some new deviations during the monitored period. Based on the results obtained from the experiments, it can be concluded that the proposed algorithm has the ability to be used for monitoring, analysis, and detecting deviating behaviors of the systems in a smart building domain.
Adaptive Strategy to Change Firing Phases of Collided Nodes in Extended-Desync TDMA-Based MANETs
Authors: Lee Cheol-Woong , Lee Gyu-Min , Roh Byeong-Hee
Published: October 2021

As a multi-hop extension of the desynchronization-based TDMA (Desync-TDMA), the extended Desync-TDMA (Ext-Desync) with self-adapting property is proposed to overcome the limitations of existing CSMA/CA and dynamic TDMA-based schemes for Mobile Ad-hoc Networks (MANETs). However, existing studies overlooked the potential problem of firing message collisions caused by node movements, leading to the severe degradation of MANET networking performance. In this paper, we derive a mathematical model to evaluate the problem due to collisions of firing messages for moving nodes. With the derived model, we propose a method for a collided node to determine whether it changes its firing phase or not, adaptively in a distributed manner, by considering both the collision situation and the slot utilization. The comparative analysis between the proposed method and existing representative ones is also presented for various networking features. The performances of the proposed method are compared with CSMA/CA as well as other existing Ext-Desync-based schemes. The numerical results show that the proposed method achieved much faster resolution and higher slot utilization in collision situations than other Ext-Desync-based schemes. In addition, we also show that the proposed method outperformed the comparable methods, including CSMA/CA, in terms of packet delivery ratios and end-to-end delays.
A Usability Study of Classical Mechanics Education Based on Hybrid Modeling: Implications for Sustainability in Learning
Authors: Guadagno Rosanna E. , Gonzenbach Virgilio , Puddy Haley , Fishwick Paul , Kitagawa Midori , Urquhart Mary , Kesden Michael , Suura Ken , Hale Baily , Koknar Cenk , Tran Ngoc , Jin Rong , Raj Aniket
Published: October 2021

A usability study evaluated the ease with which users interacted with an author-designed modeling and simulation program called STEPP (Scaffolded Training Environment for Physics Programming). STEPP is a series of educational modules for introductory algebra-based physics classes that allow students to model the motion of an object using Finite State Machines (FSMs). STEPP was designed to teach students to decompose physical systems into a few key variables such as time, position, and velocity and then encourages them to use these variables to define states (such as running a marathon) and transitions between these states (such as crossing the finish line). We report the results of a usability study on high school physics teachers that was part of a summer training institute. To examine this, 8 high school physics teachers (6 women, 2 men) were taught how to use our simulation software. Data from qualitative and quantitative measures revealed that our tool generally exceeded teacher’s expectations across questions assessing: (1) User Experience, (2) STEM-C Relevance, and (3) Classroom Applicability. Implications of this research for STEM education and the use of modeling and simulation to enhance sustainability in learning will be discussed.
Identifying Institutional Barriers and Enablers for Sustainable Urban Planning from a Municipal Perspective
Authors: Rincón Camilo A. Ramírez , Santos João , Volker Leentje , Rouwenhorst Robert
Published: October 2021

Steering towards a path of sustainability and resilience in urban environments depends greatly on effective institutions, governance and strategic planning. National governments are increasingly expanding municipal institutions’ mandates by delegating decision making on land-use planning and urban development to local and regional levels. This trend poses municipalities with a complex challenge of setting clear sustainability targets and lifting the institutional barriers inside and outside of their organisation. Based on the business motivation model (BMM), this study presents the results of a thematic analysis identifying barriers and enablers characterizing the institutional capacity base of a municipal organisation in the context of sustainability at an urban level. The results show that the most relevant barrier is the lack of standardisation in sustainability-related working practices, whereas the main institutional enablers relate to flexible working directives that promote the development of innovative projects. This points towards a strong need for a more integrated, dynamic and powerful development approach for sustainable urban areas on a local level.
Evaluation of Species Invasiveness: A Case Study with Acacia dealbata Link. on the Slopes of Cabeça (Seia-Portugal)
Authors: Raposo Mauro A. M. , Pinto Gomes Carlos J. , Nunes Leonel J. R.
Published: October 2021

One of the main causes of biodiversity loss in the world is the uncontrolled expansion of invasive plants. According to the edaphoclimatic conditions of each region, plants acquire different invasion behaviors. Thus, to better understand the expansion of invasive plants with radial growth, it is proposed to use two equations, the Annual Linear Increment (ALI) and the Annual Invasiveness Rate (AIR). These equations are applied using spatiotemporal data obtained from the analysis of orthophotomaps referring populations of Acacia dealbata Link. in areas located in Serra da Estrela, Portugal. As a result, the area occupied by this species in the parish of Cabeça was evaluated and a 20-year projection was carried out. The data produced by these equations contributed to improving the knowledge about the invasion behavior of exotic species in a rigorous and detailed way according to local ecological conditions. This study may serve as the basis for the application of other similar situations concerning invasive species in other territories, to improve the efficiency of future projections for these species. Local technical and scientific knowledge will contribute to improving spatial and management planning, enabling a better adequacy and effectiveness of the control measures to be adopted.
Characterization of Properties of Soil–Rock Mixture Prepared by the Laboratory Vibration Compaction Method
Authors: Ji Xiaoping , Lu Honglei , Dai Cong , Ye Yonggen , Cui Zhifei , Xiong Yue
Published: October 2021

This paper presents a study of the properties of soil–rock mixtures (SRM) prepared by the vibration compaction method. First, the results of laboratory experiments and field tests are compared to determine the reasonable parameters of the vibration compaction method (VCM) for soil–rock mixtures. The compaction characteristics, CBR, and resilient modulus of the laboratory-prepared soil–rock mixtures by the static pressure compaction method (SPCM) and vibration compaction method are compared. The effects of the soil to rock ratio and the maximum particle size and gradation on the compaction characteristic, resilient modulus and CBR of soil–rock mixtures prepared by the vibration compaction method are investigated. Finally, field measurements are subsequently conducted to validate the laboratory investigations. The results show that the reasonable vibration frequency, exciting force, and static surface pressure of the vibration compactor for soil–rock mixtures are recommended as 25 Hz, 5.3 kN, and 154.0~163.2 kPa, respectively. Soil–rock mixtures prepared by vibration compaction method has smaller optimum water content and gradation variation and larger density than specimens prepared by the static pressure compaction method, and the CBR and resilient modulus are 1.46 ± 0.02 and 1.16 ± 0.03 times those of specimens prepared by the static pressure compaction method, respectively. The ratio of soil to rock, followed by the maximum particle size, lead obvious influences on the properties of soil–rock mixtures. Moreover, the results show that the CBR and resilient modulus of soil–rock mixtures prepared by vibration compaction method have a correlation of 86.9% and 89.1% with the field tests, respectively, which is higher than the static pressure compaction method.
Transurethral electrosurgery in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia
Authors: Prokopiev Yaroslav Valerievich , Perchatkin Vladimir Aleksandrovich , Andreev Aleksey Petrovich
Published: October 2021

The scientific article is devoted to the study of indicators of the cardiovascular system in students under examination stress. As a result of our research, we recorded that before the start of the exam and after its completion the students experienced severe stress, which negatively affected the results of the study of hemodynamic parameters that showed high values indicating an overstrain of the adaptive mechanisms.
Modern approach to the treatment of arterial hypertension
Authors: Kovalev Dmitriy Sergeevich
Published: October 2021

Arterial hypertension (AH) refers to an increase in blood pressure above the level of 140/90 mm Hg; the risk of cardiovascular complications increases significantly with this pathological condition. Thus, arterial hypertension is an independent risk factor for the development of prediabetes / type 2 diabetes mellitus, heart failure, coronary heart disease, chronic kidney damage, and multifocal atherosclerosis. The frequency of arterial hypertension occurrence varies in different countries: in particular, it is from 23 to 36% for the European population, according to various literary sources. The main goal of treatment is to minimize the overall risk of developing cardiovascular complications. This involves the impact on all identified reversible risk factors, such as smoking and high cholesterol levels, and most importantly, appropriate treatment of concomitant diseases (diabetes mellitus, thyroid gland pathology, kidney disease, etc.), as well as the correction of high blood pressure.
Modern physiotherapy technologies in medical rehabilitation of children with megaureter with concomitant neurogenic bladder dysfunction
Authors: Pogonchenkova I. V. , Novikova E. V. , Khan M. A. , Turova E. A. , Menovshchikova L. B.
Published: October 2021

This article discusses the issues of medical rehabilitation of children with megaureter with concomitant neurogenic bladder dysfunction. Objective of the study: scientific substantiation of the use of selective chromotherapy in medical rehabilitation of children with megaureter with concomitant neurogenic bladder dysfunction. Materials and research methods: clinical observations and special studies were carried out in dynamics in 40 children, aged 1 to 7, with megaureter after ureteral surgery. Of these, 20 children made up the main group (received selective chromotherapy, blue spectrum); 20 children — the control group (without physiotherapy). Based on the studies carried out, a beneficial effect of medical rehabilitation with the inclusion of selective chromotherapy in children with megaureter and concomitant neurogenic bladder dysfunction was revealed. The inclusion of selective chromotherapy in the program of medical rehabilitation of children with megaureter contributed to a decrease in the activity of inflammation in the renal parenchyma (decrease in proteinuria, leukocyturia). Selective chromotherapy had a positive effect on the urodynamics of the lower urinary tract (reduction in the number of urgent urges and episodes of urinary incontinence, decreased frequency of urination, improved uroflowmetry indicators). The effectiveness of medical rehabilitation with the inclusion of selective chromotherapy was 80.0 %, while in the control group — 40.0 %.
Organization of inventory accounting in budgetary institution
Authors: Kalutskaya Natalia Alekseevna , Kovalenko S.N.
Published: October 2021

The accounting of inventories in budgetary institutions is still an important element in the efficient business activities of any institution. This accounting of such resources is separately devoted to the Federal Accounting Standard for the public sector organization “Reserves”, which allows unmistakably to form information about the organization’s available material reserves. The article discusses important issues on the accounting of material reserves in the budget organization. The author provided a conclusion on the done analysis of the SGS “Reserves”, justified the economic essence of accounting for material reserves, defined their main objectives, and showed the impact of this accounting on the activities of the budget organization.
Excessive polypharmacy and potentially inappropriate prescribing in 147 care homes: a cross-sectional study
Authors: MacRae Clare , Henderson David AG , Mercer Stewart W , Burton Jenni , De Souza Nicosha , Grill Paula , Marwick Charis , Guthrie Bruce
Published: October 2021

Background

Care home residents often have multiple cognitive and physical impairments, and are at high risk of adverse drug events (ADEs).

Aim

To describe excessive polypharmacy and potentially inappropriate prescribing predisposing care home residents to ADEs.

Design & setting

A cross-sectional analysis of all dispensed prescriptions for 147 care home residents in Tayside and Fife, Scotland.

Method

Prevalence of excessive polypharmacy was examined using multilevel logistic regression, by modelling associations between individual and care home predictors with excessive polypharmacy (≥10 drugs). Prescribing of drugs known to increase the risk of eight clinically important ADE categories was examined. Drugs prescribed within each ADE category, for each resident, were counted.

Results

In total, 32.3% (n = 1444/4468) of residents had excessive polypharmacy, which was more common in residents aged 70–74 years (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.86, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.04 to 3.34) and 80–84 years (aOR 1.75, 95% CI = 1.01 to 3.02), living in a residential care home (aOR 1.50, 95% CI = 1.19 to 1.88), and located in Fife (aOR 1.37, 95% CI = 1.09 to 1.71). Excessive polypharmacy was less common in residents with dementia (aOR 0.73, 95% CI = 0.64 to 0.84), and 8.9% (95% CI = 5.9% to 11.6%) of the variation was attributable to care home predictors. Potentially inappropriate prescribing of ≥2 drugs was seen across all ADE categories, with highest prevalence seen in drugs predisposing to constipation (35.8%), sedation (27.7%), and renal injury (18.0%).

Conclusion

Excessive polypharmacy is common in care home residents and is associated with both individual and care home predictors. Potentially inappropriate prescribing of drugs that predisposed residents to all included ADE categories is common. Research is needed to support and evaluate safe care home prescribing practices.
Etude de la collection de serpents de Cochinchine du Docteur Morice, déposée en 1873 et 1874 au Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle de Lyon
Authors: Saint Girons Hubert
Published: October 2021

L'étude de 191 spécimens de la collection Morice, déposée au Muséum de Lyon, a permis de vérifier les déterminations de cet auteur et la nomenclature utilisée dans son article, fort important mais difficile à interpréter, paru en 1875. Sur 46 espèces capturées par Morice et citées comme telles, 7 doivent être mises en synonymie. Inversement, 2 espèces, l'une qui ne figure pas sur la liste (Dryocalamus davisonii), l'autre qui n'est citée que d'après des sources bibliographiques (Oligodon cinereus), ont été trouvées dans les collections. Oligodon ocellatus (Morice, 1875) doit remplacer Oligodon brevicauda (Seindachner, 1867), homonyme secondaire de Oligodon brevicauda Gunther, 1862.
Bryozoaires cheilostomes du Pliocène d'Aguilas (Espagne méridionale)
Authors: Pouyet Simone
Published: October 2021

Dans trois gisements du Pliocène d'Aguilas, 62 espèces de Cheilostomes sont décrites dont trois nouvelles. Une comparaison avec les faunes de Tunisie et d'Italie du Sud est esquissée. Les conditions paléoécologiques sont celles qui accompagnent normalement les faunes euryhalines coralligènes de type méditerranéen.
Un squelette complet de renne, Rangifer tarandus (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) dans le Pléistocène supérieur du remplissage karstique de l'Aven des Planes (Monieux, Vaucluse France)
Authors: Aujard-catot Roland , Crégut-Bonnoure Evelyne , Gagnière Sylvain , Gruneisen Alain , Mourer-Chauviré Cécile
Published: October 2021

La faune de l'Aven des Planes, que l'on peut dater d'une phase froide de la fin du Würm à une période récente du Post-Glaciaire, renferme le squelette à peu près complet d'un renne. L'étude de son crâne, le quatrième décrit en France jusqu'à ce jour, indique qu'il s'agit d'un représentant de l'espèce de toundra : Rangifer tarandus tarandus.
Le gisement pléistocène supérieur de la grotte de Jaurens, à Nespouls, Corrèze, France. Les Carnivores (Mammalia, Carnivora). II. Felidae
Authors: Ballesio Roland
Published: October 2021

Les Félidés du gisement de Jaurens comprennent Panthera (Leo) spelaea, Panthera pardus et Félis silvestris. Les restes de P. spelaea se séparent en deux morphotypes ; l'un comparable par sa grande taille aux spécimens du locus typicus de Gailenreuth mais en différant par une quatrième prémolaire inférieure plus longue et plus étroite ; l'autre plus petit, de la taille d'un robuste lion actuel. F. silvestris est représenté aussi par deux morphotypes différant par leurs dimensions comme le sont aujourd'hui les deux sous-espèces tartessia et silvestris. P. pardus de Jaurens offre, par la morphologie de sa carnassière inférieure, une ressemblance étroite avec celles de Mosbach et de Taubach ; ceci confirme l'idée de relations biogéographiques entre l'Europe centrale et l'Europe méridionale.
Les échinides miocènes du bassin du Rhône : révision systématique. Première partie
Authors: Philippe Michel
Published: October 2021

En dépit de nombreuses publications concernant les échinides des terrains miocènes du bassin du Rhône, aucune révision systématique exhaustive n'avait été entreprise depuis les années 1910-1915.

Après un bref historique, l'ensemble de l'échinofaune miocène du bassin du Rhône est passé en revue. La validité de chaque espèce ou sous-espèce est discutée et la révision systématique se fonde sur l'examen d'un important matériel paléontologique : collections anciennes et, en particulier, les spécimens types ou figurés de la quasi totalité des espèces étudiées ainsi que plusieurs milliers de nouveaux échantillons provenant de tous les secteurs paléogéographiques concernés.

Jusqu'à ce jour, 38 espèces ou sous-espèces de Cidaroïdes et d'oursins réguliers et 112 espèces ou sous-espèces d' irréguliers avaient été signalées dans les terrains miocènes du bassin du Rhône. La révision systématique valide 24 espèces ou sous-espèces de Cidaroïdes et de

réguliers et 51 d' irréguliers, les autres étant soit des synonymes soit des morphotypes ou des stades ontogéniques.

Un nouveau taxon est introduit : Cyathocidaris avenio-nensis nerthensis nov. subsp., parmi les Cidaroïdes. Une nouvelle forme (morphotype) de scutelles est également proposée : Parascutella paulensis forme reillannensis. Une dizaine d'espèces changent d'attribution générique.

Cinq espèces sont mentionnées pour la première fois dans les terrains du bassin du Rhône et quatre autres l'ont été à l'occasion de notes préliminaires à la présente révision systématique.

Enfin, deux espèces déjà connues dans le Miocène du bassin du Rhône sous des noms erronés entrent dans la synonymie de deux espèces qui n'y étaient pas encore signalées.
Sur l'âge relatif des différents dépôts karstiques miocènes de La Grive-Saint-Alban (Isère)
Authors: Mein Pierre , Ginsburg Léonard
Published: October 2021

The different fissure-fillings of La Grive-Saint-Alban belong to different ages. We study here, every fissure-fillings faunas to determine their relative ages. We can consider two main ages : the fissures Peyre et Beau, J. Milliat, CD 24, L7 are from MN7 age ; the other ones (Peyre et Beau A, L3, L5) are from MN8.
Conceptions de l'innovation et formations de l'ingénieur
Authors: Chouteau Marianne , Forest Joëlle , Thévenard-Nguyen Céline
Published: October 2021

As time went by, the curricula of French engineering schools have evolved. The topic of this contribution is to show how taking the key role of conception in innovation into account has led to a change of paradigm -innovation can no longer be considered as an application of sciences -thus leading to reconsidering the education model of engineers. In doing so, we shall have to assess the consequences it had on the teaching of human and social sciences during that education.