bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Learner analytics: Hindsight evaluation at course-level
Authors: Bassett-Dubsky Rachel Cliodhna
Published: September 2023

The concept of student engagement is a contentious construct. The task of learner analytics (LA) to meaningfully measure student engagement is therefore complicated both by a lack of agreement over what is being measured and a discomfort or lack of confidence around what collated data might believably indicate. This challenge is made harder by availability, accuracy and reliability of data feeds. The aim of LA would be to collate and share early measures of engagement that can be used predictively to support learners’ experience and outcomes. However, most HEI LA are descriptive and therefore of limited utility. Where the LA available are descriptive, this paper explores how credible such LA might be when used at course level.   This study supports an analysis of comprehensive data gathered within and beyond LA for a level 4 cohort in one programme across the 2019-20 academic year. It also draws on data relating to study completion, with the benefit of hindsight giving further insights to the utility of LA data available earlier in students’ journeys. Given the actual outcomes for these 2019 starters, the study cohort’s understanding of ‘engagement’ is then applied to support insights to their own measurable indicators of interaction and actions that might best enable constructive engagement. Meaningful correlations were noted between use of E-resources and student outcomes and the most significant indicators of risk were found to be extensions, fails and non-submissions for assignments in the first semester of level 4 and average grades <39% by the end of level 4. Study recommendations include supporting better and more confident access to literature content and targeting timely interventions at students flagged by the most significant indicators of risk.
Reliability of SCADA systems in BIH substations
Authors: Savić Goran , Tadić Goran
Published: September 2023

This paper describes the concept of modern SCADA systems in general, as well as in BiH substations, and its connection to remote control centers, with a focus on redundancy, reliability and availability. Also, benefits from the usage of redundant protocols, RTU redundancy, usage of industrial equipment designed to work in substation environment and parameters needed for these systems are discussed in this paper. Besides local SCADA systems, telecommunication issues regarding connection to remote control centers are also considered.
XANTHAN PRODUCTION ON CRUDE GLYCEROL BY LAB-SCALE BIOREACTOR CULTIVATION OF LOCAL Xanthomonas ISOLATE
Authors: Zahović Ida , Dodić Jelena , Vučurović Damjan , Dodić Siniša , Bajić Bojana , Trivunović Zorana
Published: September 2023

Intensive development of the global biodiesel industry has led to the generation of a large excess of crude glycerol, which is impure, and its disposal into the environment is unacceptable without previous purification. Since purification costs are high, the application of crude glycerol in biotechnological production of valueadded products represents a promising solution for a sustainable utilization of this effluent. The aim of this study was to examine xanthan biosynthesis by the Xanthomonas PL 3 strain on a medium containing crude glycerol from biodiesel production in a laboratory-scale bioreactor in order to further scale up this bioprocess. Xanthan was produced by submerged cultivation in a crude glycerol-based medium (glycerol content of 20 g/L) in a 3 L lab-scale bioreactor (working volume of 2 L), under aerobic conditions for 168 h (0-48 h: 25°C, 1 vvm and 200 rpm; 48-168 h: 30 °C, 2 vvm, and agitation rate adjusted according to the dissolved oxygen concentration which was maintained at values higher than 30%). The bioprocess was monitored by the analysis of cultivation medium samples in predetermined time intervals, and its success was estimated based on the xanthan concentration in the medium, separated biopolymer average molecular weight and degree of nutrient conversion. In the applied experimental conditions, 11.10 g/L of xanthan with the average molecular weight of 2.85·105 g/moL was biosynthesized. At the end of this bioprocess, the degree of total glycerol, nitrogen and phosphorous conversion was 62.82%, 41.54% and 24.80%, respectively. Results obtained in this study suggest that the Xanthomonas PL 3 strain has the ability to produce xanthan of good quality on cultivation media containing crude glycerol from the biodiesel industry.
Research of the effect of cold atmospheric plasma on gluten proteins from gluten-free flour
Authors: Gojković Cvjetković Vesna , Marjanović-Balaban Željka , Vujadinović Dragan , Vukić Milan , Ivanović Marko
Published: September 2023

A gluten-free diet is the only available therapy for people with celiac disease (CD) and wheat allergy (WA). Given that this type of diet is difficult to implement because there is a possibility that gluten-free products could be contaminated with gluten, the aim of this paper was to examine the effect of cold plasma treatment on gluten proteins present in gluten-free flour. Samples were treated in a solid state (4 min) and as extracts (1 min). After treatment, proteins were separated on an HPLC apparatus. Then, the samples that were treated (in the solid form and as extracts) were compared to the untreated samples. Based on the obtained results, fewer proteins were isolated from the samples that were treated, compared to the untreated ones.
Comparative legal analysis of administrative responsibility in the field of customs in the Eurasian Economic Union
Authors: Kleimenova Anastasiia Nikolaevna
Published: September 2023

The subject of the study is the legislation of the EAEU member states on administrative offenses in the field of customs. A comparative analysis of the norms on administrative responsibility for non-declaration of goods operating in the Russian Federation, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic is carried out. The comparison of the list of administrative offenses in the field of customs affairs provided for by the national legislation of the Russian Federation and the Kyrgyz Republic was carried out. The relevance of the research topic is due to the fact that unified customs regulation is carried out on the territory of the EAEU, but administrative responsibility for violation of customs regulations is regulated by the national legislations of the EAEU members. At the same time, the sanctions and the list of compositions in each state differ significantly. The disproportionality of administrative penalties provided for by the administrative legislations of the EAEU member states has been established, and the need for unification of the composition of administrative offenses in the field of customs affairs, i.e. the establishment of a general list of articles providing for administrative liability for violation of customs rules, has also been identified. The importance of legal regulation of administrative responsibility in the field of customs in the EAEU states is underestimated, despite the fact that the institute of administrative responsibility is an effective tool for ensuring compliance with the customs legislation of the EAEU and national legislation on customs regulation. The directions of unification of legislation on administrative responsibility in the field of customs affairs in the EAEU states are formulated.
"Actual problems and the role of the Prosecutor's Office in the implementation of the human rights function related to the rights of minors to social security"
Authors: Shel'menkov Valentin Nikolaevich
Published: September 2023

In fulfillment of the State task, the protection of children is put first in the field of education, receiving free medical care, housing, etc. The task of protecting the rights of adolescents to social security is reflected in the guiding documents: the Declaration of the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, also in the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Difficulties in the process of protecting the rights of minors arise due to imperfections of legislation, gaps in law, contradictions of federal and regional legislation. In this regard, the processes of formation and development of the institute for the protection of children's rights in Russian law, the definition and expansion of opportunities for prosecutorial control over the performance of duties to protect the rights of adolescents are very important. These factors determined the choice of the topic and its relevance.The object of the study is the rights of minors to social security. The subject of the study is the role of the Prosecutor's Office in the implementation of the human rights function for the observance of the protection of the rights of minors. The purpose of the study is to study theoretical issues, as well as practical proposals for improving legislation, which are aimed at improving the work of the prosecutor's office to protect the rights of adolescents to social security. The methodological basis of the research is a set of general scientific and private scientific methods of knowledge, specifically: observation, comparison, study and synthesis, induction and deduction. The practical significance of the scientific work lies in the fact that the results of the study can be applied in the practice of prosecutors to protect the rights of adolescents, in law-making work to improve legislation that regulates the issues of prosecutorial control over the performance of duties to protect the rights of adolescents.
The Man of Action of French Romanticism. Aesthetic Views of Victor Hugo and their Embodiment in Poetry and Dramaturgy
Authors: Mankovskaya Nadezda Borisovna
Published: September 2023

The subject of the study is the fundamental philosophical and aesthetic problems in the romantic aesthetics of one of its leaders in France - Victor Hugo. The evolution of his aesthetic views is traced - from adherence to the aesthetics of classicism and royalist views to the established theory and artistic practice of romanticism, colored with democratic pathos. The core of Hugo's aesthetics is revealed - the original concept of the grotesque, which has found a convincing embodiment in his poetry, drama, historical novels. Such main themes as the correlation of the tragic and the comic, the beautiful and the ugly, the sublime and the base, content and form, freedom and order, historical truth and fiction in art, romantic symbolization in the context of the formation of the concept of the artistic essence of romanticism by Hugo are considered. The features of his artistic and aesthetic concept related to the national specifics of art, local color, the problems of artistic taste, inspiration, imagination, aesthetic pleasure, artistic style, genius, talent are analyzed. The main conclusion of the study is the conclusion that all these topics form the basis of Hugo's judgments about the nature of romantic drama as the pinnacle of 19th century poetry and its differences from classic tragedy. The multidimensional nature of this study predetermined the use of a number of methodological approaches: philosophical and aesthetic approach, art history analysis, comparative, interdisciplinary methods. The author's special contribution lies in the fact that the study of Hugo's aesthetic theory and artistic practice is based on original material. The article provides a comparative analysis of the embodiment of Hugo's aesthetic views in various types and genres of art. Such a study was undertaken for the first time in domestic science.
Semantics and Function of Stelae in the Ancient Architecture of the Near East in the Era from the Neolithic Man to the Epic Gilgamesh and the Biblical Jacob
Authors: Sorochinsky Gleb Romanovich
Published: September 2023

The subject of the study is such a phenomenon in the cult architecture of the Near East region (Levant, Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Elam) as the erection of stelae. Special attention is paid to the semantics of stelae, which had a sacred meaning for ancient people. The purpose of the research is to identify the main functions and meanings characteristic of such a typological unit in the architecture of the Near East as the stela (stele). The relevance of the research is determined by the development of interdisciplinary discourse in this issue among domestic (N. Ya. Merpet, E. V. Antonova, A. B. Zubov, T. V. Kornienko, V. V. Emelianov) and foreign (J. Mellaart, K. Schmidt) scientists. The scientific research of the article is based on the architectural-ontological research method: analysis of architectural objects (Göbekli Tepe, Nevali Çori) with the identification of typological and compositional features, analysis of literary sources in the form of sacred texts (the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Bible) with the identification of the semantic field of meanings. The novelty of the study is determined by the identification of the architectural and ontological role of stelae in the ancient architecture of the region. As a result of the study, a number of basic semantic meanings and functions characteristic of such a typological unit in the architectural tradition of the Near East as the stela (stele) are given. These conclusions can be applied in such areas of the humanities as history, philosophy, cultural studies, religious studies, art history, architecture, archeology and other sciences.
The Vietnamese Dance Academy and its role in the formation of the national choreographic education system
Authors: Cao Thi Van Diem , Le Hai Minh
Published: September 2023

The article highlights the history of the formation and the main stages of the activity of the Vietnamese Dance Academy, which has secured the reputation of the leading national choreographic school of Vietnam. In the context of the historical and cultural process, it is shown how the tasks of the school's activities and its status changed over time and in accordance with changes in the priorities of the state cultural policy. There are three stages in the development of an educational institution. In accordance with the spirit of the times, the school underwent changes, was transformed into the Vietnamese College of Dance, then into the Vietnamese Academy of Dance. The initial period of the school's activity is associated with the process of professionalization of choreographic art and the institutionalization of the national ballet. The transitional stage was the transformation of the school into a Vietnamese dance College, when the potential was being built up, which later ensured the transition to an Academy engaged in training highly professional personnel at the level of secondary and higher education. The importance of the Soviet system of integrative choreographic education at the initial stage is shown. For the first time, the question of the personal contribution of Soviet teachers Y.E. Brunak and H.F. Mustaev to the formation of the Vietnamese system of professional choreographic education is highlighted. On the basis of a combination of general scientific and special methods, including chronological, typological, historiographical methods, methods of comparative and source analysis, new facts on the history of the formation and development of the choreographic education system of Vietnam are established and introduced into scientific circulation. The educational, methodological, scientific and international directions of the Academy's activities at the present stage are highlighted. The author deals with the problems of modern development and prospects for development in the near future. It is concluded that the Vietnamese Dance School is the first educational institution in the history of Vietnam that provides professional training for a previously non-existent type of ballet performing art in Vietnam.
Culturology of professional culture of information security
Authors: Bylevskiy Pavel Gennadievich
Published: September 2023

The purpose of the study is to study the potential of a culturological approach to the professional culture of information security in modern conditions. The subject of the study is the socio-cultural aspects of professional competencies in the context of the formation and development of the general civil culture of information security. The object of the study is the previous and ongoing evolution of the professional culture of information security in Russia. The materials used are scientific, research and scientific-practical publications on the research topic in the Russian journals of the list of the Higher Attestation Commission and in the international database Scopus (categories Q1 and Q2) for 2021-2023. The evolutionary and structural-functional methods are applied, the subject of the study is considered from the point of view of the cultural paradigm − the dynamic system model. The novelty of the research lies in the application of the conceptual apparatus and methods of cultural studies to study the professional culture of information security. Previously, the formation and development of an information security culture was considered within the framework of technical scientific disciplines, and then law, management, pedagogy, psychology and linguistics. The result of the study is the identification of socio-cultural factors as components inherent in the professional culture of information security at the present stage. These include traditional values, identity, resistance to manipulation of consciousness, as well as psychological and pedagogical competencies of training non-professionals in information security of employees of organizations and citizens, customers and users of services. The conclusion is made: the culturological approach is highly in demand in information security, which is due to its transformation into a general civil culture, which must include more and more significant socio-cultural aspects.
Forecasting the tax burden of agricultural enterprises by machine learning methods
Authors: Kharitonova Anna Evgen'evna
Published: September 2023

The article analyzes the data of a set of agricultural enterprises and builds machine learning models to predict the tax burden. The subject of this study is a system of statistical indicators of agricultural enterprises that characterize the level of tax burden. The purpose of the study is to predict the tax burden using machine learning methods. The introduction of modern artificial intelligence tools is an integral and inevitable process in all spheres, including in the tax environment. Machine learning methods were used to build models: regression analysis, decision tree, random forest, gradient boosting. Models of forecasting the tax burden depending on a set of factors were built. The high quality of tax burden forecasting models will make it possible to more accurately assess the financial condition of enterprises, calculate profitability, predict profitability and make informed investment management decisions. As a result of forecasting the tax burden, the gradient boosting machine learning model turned out to have the best quality. In general, the model allows you to predict the tax burden better than traditional econometric models and make high-quality forecasts. The introduction of modern forecasting tools based on artificial intelligence methods will allow obtaining highly accurate forecasts with minimal time, which will increase the efficiency of enterprises and the level of production.
Improvement of Digitalization Support Institutions as a Strategic Direction for Improving the Technological level of the Russian Manufacturing Industry
Authors: Bogachev Yurii Sergeevich , Bekulova Suzanna Robertinovna
Published: September 2023

The digital transformation of industry is one of the priorities of the development of the economy of the Russian Federation, as the introduction of modern technologies in production has a positive impact on the development of other industries. The basis for the introduction of digital technologies in industry is the desire for a comprehensive increase in efficiency and the creation of conditions for the successful operation of industries. Increasing the effectiveness of institutional support for the digitalization of Russian industry is especially relevant in the context of increasing geopolitical tensions. In this regard, the authors conducted a study aimed at analyzing the organizational structure of tools to support digitalization of the manufacturing industry and developing recommendations for its improvement. The authors analyzed the structure of the institutions of digitalization of the Russian industry, which includes six main institutions. Priority technologies and directions for the development of digitalization of industry corresponding to global trends are highlighted. According to the authors, in order to create a single digital space, a single platform can be created on which institutions can be located and interaction between them can be organized through the allocated priority technologies. Based on the results of the analysis of the organizational structure of tools to support the digitalization of the manufacturing industry, proposals have been developed to create a system of digitalization of the Russian industry that meets the level of threats to the Russian economy from the alliance of countries led by the United States.
The use of firearms by employees of security and convoy units of the police
Authors: Sinitsyn Evgeniy Igorevich
Published: September 2023

When developing standards and special shooting exercises for employees of security and convoy police units, it is necessary to take into account the modern practice of using firearms, the specifics and conditions of service by employees of this category. The conditions and circumstances of the use of firearms by police officers are described in detail in the materials of official inspections. Due to the fact that these materials relate to information of limited distribution, it is not possible to analyze them. To determine the probable conditions for the use of firearms by employees of security and convoy police units, we used general scientific research methods: analysis, synthesis, comparison, induction. Empirical methods: pedagogical forecasting (questionnaires); mathematical statistics (mathematical and statistical data processing). The problem of the study is determined by the contradiction between the need to study modern conditions for the use of firearms by employees of security and convoy police units to develop practice-oriented standards and special shooting exercises, and the lack of publicly available necessary information about the practice of using firearms by employees of this category. Object of research: professional activity of employees of security and convoy police units related to the use of firearms. Subject of the study: conditions for the use of firearms by employees of security and convoy units of the police. The results of this study will allow us to determine the characteristic technical and technical-tactical actions with firearms necessary for the development of practice-oriented standards and special shooting exercises for employees of security and convoy police units.
Modernization of the image of the Huli Jing and the transformational nature of Reality in V. O. Pelevin's novel «The Sacred Book of the Werewolf»
Authors: Dubakov Leonid , Guo Wenjing
Published: September 2023

The article analyzes the image of the Chinese werewolf fox, or Huli jing (Chinese: 狐狸精), in Victor Pelevin's novel «The Sacred Book of the Werewolf». The comparison of the main character of Pelevin's work with the images of Huli jing in classical Chinese texts is made. In the center of consideration is the nomination of the heroine, her appearance, habitat, the ability to turn around and impose a hassle, the nature of sexuality, lifestyle. It is established that the image of the werewolf fox in Pelevin is a synthetic image created on the basis of mainly two cultures – Chinese and Russian. At the same time, she was influenced by mystical, religious, cultural and literary Chinese traditions. The writer relies on the components of the image of the Huli jing, borrowed from Chinese books, but offers an expanded and reinterpreted version of them. Pelevin is primarily interested in the desire of the werewolf fox not for bodily, but for spiritual transformation, on the way to which his heroine, relying on eastern philosophy, studies the principles of her mind. The Huli jing of the «Sacred Book of the Werewolf» and the confusion that it induces act as a metaphor for reality as a whole (man, time, space, language, the outside world, etc.). The nature of reality, according to Pelevin's novel, is transformational at its core, and this feature of it is due to its illusory nature. The relevance of the article is determined by the high interest of domestic and foreign literary criticism in the work of Viktor Pelevin and comparative studies (in this case, affecting Russian and Chinese cultures). The novelty of the work is due to the expansion of the concept of werewolf in Pelevin's novel – from the bodily inversivity of the main character to the characteristics of various aspects of reality.
Dialect and colloquial elements in English fiction
Authors: Anikina Tatiana Vyacheslavovna
Published: September 2023

The article deals with the study of dialect and colloquial elements in English fiction. The main aim of the study is to identify, analyze and characterize the significance of dialect and colloquial elements in modern fiction. The author studies the following terms “dialect”, “dialect words”, “colloquial words”. In the article dialect-colloquial elements are defined as speech units that characterize a certain dialect and are accompanied by some colloquial elements. The examples of dialect-colloquial elements are taken from the following works: “The Secret Garden” by Frances Hodgson Burnett (1911), “When Marnie Was There” by Joan G. Robinson (1967), “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” by J. K. Rowling (1999). The analysis of the works demonstrates that the functioning of dialect-colloquial elements is observed at different language levels: phonetic, grammatical and lexical. Reduction of sounds, devoicing or voicing of sounds, incorrect reading of the ending ‘ing’ are used at the phonetic level. The lexical level is characterized by the usage of obsolete forms of parts of speech and colloquial words. On the grammatical level a violation of the traditional grammar norms (no ending in the plural, the use of double negation, etc.) is found. The research proves that dialect-colloquial elements help to depict the characters vividly, convey the individuality of their speech, and sometimes serve as a means of satire.
High-order harmonic platform extension and cluster expansion of H ion cluster
Authors: Zhang Chun-Yan ,   College of Physics and Information Technology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710119, China,   School of Intelligence Science and Engineering, Hubei Minzu University, Enshi 445000, China
Published: September 2023

By solving the time-dependent Schrödinger equation for the interaction of the intense laser field with the two-dimensional model of H ion cluster, it is found that the high-order harmonic plateau produced by H ion cluster is wider than that generated by a single H atom. The interaction between intense laser field and cluster is decomposed into three processes: internal ionization, classical motion under the action of external field and Coulomb field of the cluster ions, and recombination. After internal ionization, the particle is deemed classical and its motion follows Newton’s equation of motion. By studying the classical trajectory of electron and the variation of kinetic and potential energy with time, it is observed that during the electron’s returning, the additional kinetic energy is required as a result of the reduction in potential energy. Furthermore, the correlation between return energy and return time obtained from the classical model is in good agreement with that obtained from time-dependent Schrödinger equation. In this study, the cutoff energy of high-order harmonic generated by clusters is compared with that of a single atom, indicating that the extension of the platform of high-order harmonic by clusters is primarily caused by the Coulomb effect of other ions surrounding the parent nucleus. Additionally, the influence of ion spacing on the cutoff energy of high-order harmonic is also investigated, and a possible relationship between the cut-off energy of high harmonic and the cluster expansion is established.
Rate optimization of atomic layer etching process of silicon
Authors: Bai Sheng-Bo , Chen Zhi-Hua , Zhang Huan-Hao , Chen Gao-Jie , Cao Shi-Cheng , Zhang Sheng-Bo ,   Key Laboratory of Transient Physics, Nanjing University of Science & Technology, Nanjing 210094, China
Published: September 2023

With the shrink of critical dimensions of semiconductor devices to a few nanometers, atomic layer etching (ALE) has become an important technique to achieve single-atom resolution. The ALE can divide plasma etching into two self-limiting reaction processes: passivation process and etching process, allowing for the sequential removal of material atomic layer by layer. Therefore, it encounters the problem of low etch rate. In this work, the variation in surface substance coverage during the passivation process and the etching process are investigated numerically to optimize both the passivation duration and the etching duration. A coupled model integrating a two-dimensional inductively coupled plasma discharge chamber model, a one-dimensional sheath model, and a three-dimensional etching trench model is developed and used to investigate the optimal time for one single cycle ALE of silicon through the use of Ar/Cl2 gases under the condition of Ar inductively coupled plasma discharge. The results indicate that during the passivation stage, the surface coverage of SiCl and SiCl2 initially increase with time going by and then decrease, while the surface coverage of SiCl3 continuously increases, and eventually, the surface coverage of these three species stabilize. When the surface is predominantly covered by SiCl2, it is the optimal time to trigger the etching process, which induces a relatively favorable surface state and a relatively short etching time. Comparing with typical ALE etching techniques, the time of our optimal ALE single cycle is shortened by about 33.89%. The ALE cycle time (etching rate) exhibits a linear relationship with the aspect ratio. Additionally, the duration of the passivation process and etching process increase linearly with the aspect ratio or etch depth increasing. Moreover, as the etch depth increases, the effect of the passivation process on the ALE rate becomes more significant than that of the etching process.
Computer simulation and machine learning of polymer collapse and critical adsorption phase transitions
Authors: Luo Qi-Rui , Shen Yi-Fan , Luo Meng-Bo ,   NFTGo, Hangzhou 310013, China,   School of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
Published: September 2023

Collapse and critical adsorption of polymers are two crucial phase transitions in polymer science, both are accompanied by significant changes in polymer conformation. In this paper, Langevin dynamics and dynamic Monte Carlo methods are used to simulate the collapse and critical adsorption of polymer, respectively, and corresponding phase transition temperatures are estimated. Meanwhile, a large number of polymer conformations at different temperatures are obtained. In the machine learning method, a large number of extended random coil and collapsed spherical, desorption and adsorption conformations are used to train the neural network, so that the neural network can learn the characteristics of different states of the polymer, and it can quickly and accurately analyze the polymer conformations at different temperatures and obtain the corresponding collapse phase transition temperature and critical adsorption temperature. The results demonstrate that machine learning can correctly calculate the phase transition temperature of polymer system, which provides new ideas and methods for machine learning technology in the study of polymer phase transitions.
Deep learning methods of predicting RNA torsion angle
Authors: Ou Xiu-Juan , Xiao Yi ,   School of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
Published: September 2023

Modeling of RNA tertiary structure is one of the basic problems in molecular biophysics, and it is very important in understanding the biological function of RNA and designing new structures. RNA tertiary structure is mainly determined by seven torsions of main-chain and side-chain backbone, the accurate prediction of these torsion angles is the basis of modeling RNA tertiary structure. At present, there are only a few methods of using deep learning to predict RNA torsion angles, and the prediction accuracy needs further improving if it is used to model RNA tertiary structure. In this study, we also develop a deep learning method, 1dRNA, to predict RNA backbone torsions and pseudotorsion angles, including two different deep learning models, the convolution model (DRCNN) that considers the features of adjacent nucleotides and the Hyper-long-short-term memory model (DHLSTM) that considers the features of all the nucleotides. We then empirically show that DRCNN and DHLSTM outperform existing state-of-the-art methods under the same datasets, the prediction accuracy of DRCNN model is improved by 5% to 28% for β, δ, ζ, χ, η, and θ angle, and the prediction accuracy of DHLSTM model is improved by 6% to 15% for β, δ, ζ, χ, η, θ angle. The DRCNN model predicts better results than the DHLSTM model and the existing models in the δ, ζ, χ, η, θ angle, and the DHLSTM model predicts better results than the DRCNN model and the existing model in the β and ε angles, and the existing models predicted better results than the DRCNN model and DHLSTM model in the α and γ angles. The DRCNN model and the existing models predict a richer distribution of angles than the DHLSTM model. In terms of model stability, the DHLSTM model is much more stable than the DRCNN model and the existing models, with fewer outliers. The results also show that the α angle and γ angle are the most difficult to predict, the angles of the ring region is more difficult to predict than the angles of the helix region, the model is also not sensitive to the change of the target sequence length, and the deviation of the model prediction angle from the decoys can also be used to evaluate the RNA tertiary structures quality.
Preparation and electrical transport properties of TiO thin films
Authors: Cai Wen-Bo , Yang Yang , Li Zhi-Qing ,   Tianjin Key Laboratory of Low Dimensional Materials Physics and Preparing Technology, School of Science, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China
Published: September 2023

Titanium monoxide has attracted great attention due to its unique superconducting characteristics and potential applications in microelectronics. In this work, a series of TiO thin films are prepared at room temperature by using the radio frequency magnetron sputtering method through changing the oxygen partial pressures. The crystal structures, valences of the elements, and electrical transport properties of the films are investigated systematically. X-ray diffraction results indicate that the films are epitaxially grown on MgO single crystal substrates along the [001] direction. After the surface of the TiO film is treated by ion etching, it is found that the Ti element mainly exists in a divalent form. For all films, the temperature coefficients of resistance are negative above superconducting transition temperature Tc. The films prepared under high oxygen partial pressures reveal insulator characteristics, and the temperature dependence of resistivity obeys the Mott-type variable-range-hopping law in low temperature regime. The films prepared under low oxygen partial pressures exhibit metallic properties, and enter into a superconducting state at low temperature. The superconducting transition temperature Tc in our film can be as high as 3.05 K. The carrier concentrations of the films are in the vicinity of ~2.0×1022 cm–3, which is comparable to those for the typical metals. Interestingly, it is found that the main species of the charge carriers in the films transforms from electrons to holes with the oxygen partial pressure decreasing. The crossover of the species of the charge carriers could related to the changing of energy-band structure with the oxygen content in TiO film.
The positioning mechanics of microtubule asters in Drosophila embryo explants
Authors: de-Carvalho Jorge , Tlili Sham , Saunders Timothy E. , Telley Ivo A.
Published: September 2023

Microtubule asters are essential in localizing the action of microtubules in processes including mitosis and organelle positioning. In large cells, such as the one-cell sea urchin embryo, aster dynamics are dominated by hydrodynamic pulling forces. However, in systems with more densely positioned nuclei such as the early
Drosophila
embryo, which packs around 6000 nuclei within the syncytium in a crystalline-like order, it is unclear what processes dominate aster dynamics. Here, we take advantage of a cell cycle regulation
Drosophila
mutant to generate embryos with multiple asters, independent from nuclei. We use an
ex vivo
assay to further simplify this biological system to explore the forces generated by and between asters. Through live imaging, drug and optical perturbations, and theoretical modelling, we demonstrate that these asters likely generate an effective pushing force over short distances.Using cytosolic explants from
Drosophila
syncytial embryos combined with quantitative microscopy and perturbations, de-Carvalho
et al
., reveal the mechanical forces separating
Drosophila
microtubule asters. Aster separation drives precise nuclear positioning in multinucleated embryo cells, a vital process for tissue formation and gene expression during subsequent embryo development.
Random pruning: channel sparsity by expectation scaling factor
Authors: Sun Chuanmeng , Chen Jiaxin , Li Yong , Wang Wenbo , Ma Tiehua
Published: September 2023

Pruning is an efficient method for deep neural network model compression and acceleration. However, existing pruning strategies, both at the filter level and at the channel level, often introduce a large amount of computation and adopt complex methods for finding sub-networks. It is found that there is a linear relationship between the sum of matrix elements of the channels in convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and the expectation scaling ratio of the image pixel distribution, which is reflects the relationship between the expectation change of the pixel distribution between the feature mapping and the input data. This implies that channels with similar expectation scaling factors ($\delta _{E}$) cause similar expectation changes to the input data, thus producing redundant feature mappings. Thus, this article proposes a new structured pruning method called EXP. In the proposed method, the channels with similar $\delta _{E}$ are randomly removed in each convolutional layer, and thus the whole network achieves random sparsity to obtain non-redundant and non-unique sub-networks. Experiments on pruning various networks show that EXP can achieve a significant reduction of FLOPs. For example, on the CIFAR-10 dataset, EXP reduces the FLOPs of the ResNet-56 model by 71.9% with a 0.23% loss in Top-1 accuracy. On ILSVRC-2012, it reduces the FLOPs of the ResNet-50 model by 60.0% with a 1.13% loss of Top-1 accuracy. Our code is available at: https://github.com/EXP-Pruning/EXP_Pruning and DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.8141065.
A Study on Numerical Model Uncertainty of Smoke Concentration in Fire Simulation
Authors: Han Ho-Sik , Jang Hyo-Yeon , Hwang Cheol-Hong
Published: September 2023

The prediction accuracy of smoke concentration related to visibility in fire hazard assessment using fire simulation contains a significant error compared to gas temperature and toxic gas concentration. However, the results are limited because the prediction uncertainty of smoke concentration was reviewed through specific fuels and experimental conditions. This study conducted experiments and simulations to evaluate the prediction uncertainty of smoke concentration in the numerical model using various fire conditions. Consequently, as various fuel and experimental conditions were applied, the predicted smoke concentration using fire simulation was confirmed to have a relative error from –45% to 520% based on the measurement data. Moreover, it was also confirm that the dependence on fuel types was significant.
Socio-economic Impact of Farm Mechanization on the Regional Economy of South India: Case of Paddy Farmers of Trichy, Tamil Nadu
Authors: Kamali S. P. , Jegadeesan M. , Velusamy R. , Ramakrishnan K. , Prabakaran K.
Published: September 2023

Farm mechanisation has a potential to improve the efficiency, productivity and cost-effective paddy cultivation while reducing the labour-intensive traditional methods which hinders timely farm operations. This study aims to analyse effect of farm mechanization on socio-economic condition of the farmers of Cauvery Delta Zone in Trichy district of Tamil Nadu. Based on the access to canal water, urbanisation and availability of non-farm opportunity, four blocks in Trichy district were selected. Two villages from each block were randomly selected. Fifty respondents from two villages and fifty-five respondents from two villages (total 210) randomly selected and data collected through personal interviews. Results revealed that majority of the paddy farmers (67%) with medium usage of machinery followed by (18%) of high level of utilization and (15%) with low level of utilization of machineries. In addition, the impact of mechanization studied under four components namely, crop specific, labour, social and economic impact and the results have clearly exhibited significant positive impact on paddy cultivators.
Influence of Social Media on Reading Culture among Nigerian Polytechnic Students
Authors: Anyira Isaac E.
Published: September 2023

This original research paper investigated the influence of social media on reading culture among polytechnic students in Nigeria. The study was aimed at examining the reading habits of polytechnic students in order to discover the benefits of reading, hinderances to reading, social media habits and extent of social media influence on reading culture. The study is a descriptive survey research which investigated polytechnic students at the National Diploma and the Higher National Diploma levels in all Federal and State Government owned Polytechnics in Edo and Delta States namely, Auchi Polytechnic (350) National Institute of Construction Technology and Management Uromi (50), Edo State Polytechnic Usen (250), Delta State Polytechnic Ogwashi-Uku (300), Delta State Polytechnic Otefe-Oghara (300), Delta State Polytechnic Ozoro (250). The structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Research assistants were recruited to assist in the administration of questionnaires on respondents and retrieval of same from them. 1460 completed questionnaires were returned representing 97.3%. Data analysis was done using graphical charts. The findings indicate that majority of the students don’t frequently read as it takes them between 2-6 days before they read at all and the students spend an hour or less each time they read. The greatest benefit they derive from reading is confidence in examinations and improved academic performance. The social media is the major hindrance to reading, as majority of the students use the social media daily and some of them to as much as 7 hours every day. Majority of the students prefer using social media to reading. It was therefore recommended that social media should be integrated into lecture delivery platforms, while the education and ICT policies should be reviewed. While Librarians and Civil Societies to engage in advocacy campaigns, Librarians need to develop their skills sets for improved service delivery.
Bioactive and Sensory Properties of Sweet Italian (Capsicum annuum) and Habanero (Capsicum chinense) Pepper Commonly Consumed in Benue State of Nigeria
Authors: Igbakaa Dorcas Ngunengen , Girgih Abraham Tartenger , Ahure Dinnah , Ejoha Pius Oteikwu
Published: September 2023

This study investigated the bioactive and sensory properties of Sweet Italian (Capsicum annum) and Habanero (Capsicum chinese) pepper varieties, which are the common varieties of pepper consumed in Benue State, Nigeria. The two varieties of pepper were harvested fresh and dried using local drying equipment and milled into powder using a laboratory blender. The bioactive, phytochemical and sensory properties of the two pepper varieties were evaluated using standard methods. Results showed that the bioactive components of Habanero (HNP) and Sweet Italian (SIP) pepper varieties were vitamin C (60.32 and 51.50), lycopene (142.00mg/g and 118.00mg/g) and carotene (52mg/g and 40.10mg/g) for HNP and SIP respectively. The phytochemical content include total phenolic content (136.0±0.98 and 173.0±1.4 mg GAE/g), total flavanoid content (78.6±1.1 and 62.7±0.1.37 mg RUTIN/g), Tannin (1.53±0.16 and 1.55±0.09 mg/g), Saponin (0.13±0.02 and 0.15±0.05 mg/g), Steroids (0.91±0.04 and 0.89±0.09 mg/g) and Alkaloids (6.75±0.53 and 7.00±0.35 mg/g). The values for sensory properties of the pepper samples ranged between (6.25 ˗ 8.40) for appearance, (5.95 ˗ 7.85) for aroma, (5.55 ˗ 7.5) for taste, (5.20 ˗ 7.90) for mouth feel and (5.75 ˗ 7.90) for overall acceptability. The Suya from HNP peppers was most preferred for all the sensory attributes measured except for appearance the Suya prepared from SIP and HNP exhibited more acceptable sensorial attributes than the commercial suya, The results thus suggest that these peppers have bioactive properties that could be utilized in the prevention and management of degenerative chronic diseases such as oxidative stress and diabesity in our communities.
Effect of TBHQ Concentration on Sensory Quality of Banana Peel based ‘sev’ in Package Materials
Authors: M. Gohil Mehul , Raj Dev , Mayani J. M. , Pandey A. K.
Published: September 2023

Present investigation was aimed to evaluate sensory quality of banana peel based ‘sev’ (snake food) during storage. An experiment was set up with ten treatment combinations consisting of five different TBHQ concentrations and two different packing materials for the preparing of banana peel-based ‘sev.’ The prepared ‘sev’ was kept for five months in order to analyze the sensory characteristics every month. The findings showed that banana peel-based 'sev' that was frying in oil containing 150 ppm TBHQ and packaged in laminated aluminum bags showed little loss in color, taste, texture, flavor and overall acceptability. Overall research findings showed that banana peel-based ‘sev’ with improved sensory qualities could be made by frying ‘sev’ in sunflower oil containing 150 ppm TBHQ, then packing in laminated aluminum bags. The banana peel based ‘sev’ can be successfully stored for a period of 5 months with minimum changes in sensory quality.