bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Combining Regional Habitat Selection Models for Large-Scale Prediction: Circumpolar Habitat Selection of Southern Ocean Humpback Whales
Authors: Reisinger Ryan R. , Friedlaender Ari S. , Zerbini Alexandre N. , Palacios Daniel M. , Andrews-Goff Virginia , Dalla Rosa Luciano , Double Mike , Findlay Ken , Garrigue Claire , How Jason , Jenner Curt , Jenner Micheline-Nicole , Mate Bruce , Rosenbaum Howard C. , Seakamela S. Mduduzi , Constantine Rochelle
Published: May 2021

Machine learning algorithms are often used to model and predict animal habitat selection—the relationships between animal occurrences and habitat characteristics. For broadly distributed species, habitat selection often varies among populations and regions; thus, it would seem preferable to fit region- or population-specific models of habitat selection for more accurate inference and prediction, rather than fitting large-scale models using pooled data. However, where the aim is to make range-wide predictions, including areas for which there are no existing data or models of habitat selection, how can regional models best be combined? We propose that ensemble approaches commonly used to combine different algorithms for a single region can be reframed, treating regional habitat selection models as the candidate models. By doing so, we can incorporate regional variation when fitting predictive models of animal habitat selection across large ranges. We test this approach using satellite telemetry data from 168 humpback whales across five geographic regions in the Southern Ocean. Using random forests, we fitted a large-scale model relating humpback whale locations, versus background locations, to 10 environmental covariates, and made a circumpolar prediction of humpback whale habitat selection. We also fitted five regional models, the predictions of which we used as input features for four ensemble approaches: an unweighted ensemble, an ensemble weighted by environmental similarity in each cell, stacked generalization, and a hybrid approach wherein the environmental covariates and regional predictions were used as input features in a new model. We tested the predictive performance of these approaches on an independent validation dataset of humpback whale sightings and whaling catches. These multiregional ensemble approaches resulted in models with higher predictive performance than the circumpolar naive model. These approaches can be used to incorporate regional variation in animal habitat selection when fitting range-wide predictive models using machine learning algorithms. This can yield more accurate predictions across regions or populations of animals that may show variation in habitat selection.
HISEA-1: The First C-Band SAR Miniaturized Satellite for Ocean and Coastal Observation
Authors: Xue Sihan , Geng Xupu , Meng Lingsheng , Xie Ting , Huang Lei , Yan Xiao-Hai
Published: May 2021

On 22 December 2020, HISEA-1, the first C-band SAR small satellite for ocean remote sensing, was launched from the coastal Wenchang launch site. Though small in weight, the images it produced have a high spatial resolution of 1 m and a large observation width of 100 km. The first batch of images obtained within the first week after the launch confirmed the rich information in the data, including sea ice, wind, wave, rip currents, vortexes, ships, and oil film on the sea, as well as landmark buildings. Furthermore, geometric characteristics of sea ice, wind vector, ocean wave parameter, 3D features of buildings, and some air-sea interface phenomena in dark spots could also be detected after relevant processing. All these indicate that HISEA-1 could be a reliable, remarkable, and powerful instrument for observing oceans and lands.
Road Extraction in SAR Images Using Ordinal Regression and Road-Topology Loss
Authors: Wei Xiaochen , Lv Xiaolei , Zhang Kaiyu
Published: May 2021

The road extraction task is mainly composed of two subtasks, namely, road detection and road centerline extraction. As the road detection task and road centerline extraction task are strongly correlated, in this paper, we introduce a multitask learning framework to detect roads and extract road centerlines simultaneously. For the road centerline extraction problem, existing works rely either on regression-based methods, or classification-based methods. The regression-based methods suffer from slow convergence and unsatisfactory local solutions. The classification-based methods ignore the fact that the closer the pixel is to the centerline, the higher our tolerance for its misclassification. To overcome these problems, we first convert the road centerline extraction problem into the problem of discrete normalized distance label prediction, which can be resolved by training an ordinal regressor. For the road extraction task, most of the previous studies apply pixel-wise loss function, for example, Cross-Entropy loss, which is not sufficient, as the road has special topology characteristics such as connectivity. Therefore, we propose a road-topology loss function to improve the connectivity and completeness of the extracted road. The road-topology loss function has two key characteristics: (i) The road-topology loss function combines road detection prediction and road centerline extraction prediction to promote the two subtasks to each other by using the correlation between the two subtasks; (ii) The road-topology loss can emphatically penalize gaps that often appear in road detection results and spurious segments that easily appear in centerline extraction results. In this paper, we select the AdamW optimizer to minimize the road-topology loss. Since there is no public dataset, we build a road extraction dataset to evaluate our method. State-of-the-art semantic segmentation networks (LinkNet34, DLinkNet34, DeeplabV3plus) are used as baseline methods to compare with two kinds of method. The first kind of method modifies the baseline method by adding the road centerline extraction task branch based on ordinal regression. The second kind of method uses the road topology loss and has the same network architecture as the first kind of method. For the road detection task, the two kinds of methods improve the baseline methods by up to 3.51% and 11.98% in IoU metric on our test dataset, respectively. For the road centerline extraction task, the two kinds of methods improve the baseline methods by up to 8.22% and 10.9% in the Quality metric on our test dataset.
Vertical Jumping for Legged Robot Based on Quadratic Programming
Authors: Tian Dingkui , Gao Junyao , Shi Xuanyang , Lu Yizhou , Liu Chuzhao
Published: May 2021

The highly dynamic legged jumping motion is a challenging research topic because of the lack of established control schemes that handle over-constrained control objectives well in the stance phase, which are coupled and affect each other, and control robot’s posture in the flight phase, in which the robot is underactuated owing to the foot leaving the ground. This paper introduces an approach of realizing the cyclic vertical jumping motion of a planar simplified legged robot that formulates the jump problem within a quadratic-programming (QP)-based framework. Unlike prior works, which have added different weights in front of control tasks to express the relative hierarchy of tasks, in our framework, the hierarchical quadratic programming (HQP) control strategy is used to guarantee the strict prioritization of the center of mass (CoM) in the stance phase while split dynamic equations are incorporated into the unified quadratic-programming framework to restrict the robot’s posture to be near a desired constant value in the flight phase. The controller is tested in two simulation environments with and without the flight phase controller, the results validate the flight phase controller, with the HQP controller having a maximum error of the CoM in the x direction and y direction of 0.47 and 0.82 cm and thus enabling the strict prioritization of the CoM.
Has Land Finance Increased Local Financial Risks in China?
Authors: Hu Meiting , Liu Xiaoting , Guo Ruibin , Li Xiuting
Published: May 2021

Whether land finance has increased local financial risks has always been a hot topic in society and in the academic circle. This article firstly describes the overall characteristics of the development of local finance in China. By establishing a matrix containing 16 indicators for local financial risks, it has analyzed the characteristics and overall development trend of financial risks at the provincial level in China as a whole. Furthermore, it explores the casual effect of land finance on local financial risks by ordinary least squares (OLS) and two-stage least squares (2SLS) models on the basis of panel data covering 178 prefecture-level cities from 2009 to 2017. The results show that from 2017 to 2019, there still existed great risks in local finance in all provinces and cities across the country, and the local financial risks of all provinces and cities showed an upward trend and were mostly related to the high dependence on land finance. By analyzing the data of the last decade, we can find that the government’s dependence on land finance had increased, along with the increasing financial risks which it faced. In particular, they exerted a more prominent impact on the eastern regions and other regions with a low urbanization rate in China.
Functional Differences Found in the Elderly Living in the Community
Authors: Calatayud Estela , Rodríguez-Roca Beatriz , Aresté Javier , Marcén-Román Yolanda , Salavera Carlos , Gómez-Soria Isabel
Published: May 2021

Introduction: Successful aging lies in cognitive and functional maintenance, and in the optimal performance of daily tasks that keep the elderly free of disability and dependence. However, there is little evidence for functional differences for gender and age, and how cognitive and physical demands in past working lives can affect them, to design more personalized occupational therapy interventions to prevent functional and cognitive impairment. Method: This observational descriptive study evaluated 367 older adults living in a community with subjective memory complaints and scored between 24 and 35 with the Spanish version of the “Mini-Mental State Examination (MEC-35)”. Basic activities of daily living (BADL) were studied with the Barthel Index, while instrumental ADL (IADL) were examined with the Lawton–Brody scale. Functional differences for gender, age, and physico-mental occupation were examined. Results: The significant differences found for gender indicated that men did better in BADL (p = 0.026) and women better performed IADL (p < 0.001). Differences between age groups suggest that the younger group (aged 64–75) obtained better results for BADL (p = 0.001) and IADL (p < 0.001). For physico-mental occupation, statistically significant differences were found only in IADL for mental (p = 0.034) and physical occupation (p = 0.005). Conclusions: Gender, age, and the cognitive and physical demands of occupational stages, can be important predictors of cognitive and functional impairment. These results can be generalized to other health centers in the province and to other Spanish Autonomous Communities because their socio-demographic variables are similar. It would be interesting to carry out multimodal personalized interventions that consider the factors that might affect functional impairment to preserve personal autonomy.
The Effect of COVID-19 on the Efficiency of Intercity Bus Operation: The Case of Chungnam
Authors: Kim Wonchul , Hong Sung Hyo
Published: May 2021

This paper estimates the efficiency of operating intercity bus lines in Chungnam province over the period 2017–2020, and then empirically analyzes the determinants of the efficiency. In particular, it evaluates to what extent the efficiency in 2020 decreased due to COVID-19 and which characteristics of lines (length of a line, frequency of operation, whether a line operates via highways and includes the capital region or not) affected the efficiency during the pandemic through a tobit model. The empirical results show that the efficiency in the operation of intercity bus lines in Chungnam was higher in 2018 and 2019 compared to 2017, but dropped in 2020 by 15.8%. It appears that the efficiency is higher when a line operates more frequently and covers a longer distance, but the efficiency increases at a decreasing rate as the operating distance becomes longer. In addition, the difference in the efficiency according to operating distance due to COVID-19 seems to be statistically significant. Given that intercity bus lines are heavily dependent upon a (local) government’s financial support and the amount of this support needs to reflect the degree to which the efficiency has decreased due to COVID-19 as an external shock, it is important to precisely estimate the magnitude of the efficiency reduction from both a policy and academic standpoint.
Enhancements in Cognitive Performance and Academic Achievement in Adolescents through the Hybridization of an Instructional Model with Gamification in Physical Education
Authors: Melero-Cañas David , Morales-Baños Vicente , Ardoy Daniel N. , Manzano-Sánchez David , Valero-Valenzuela Alfonso
Published: May 2021

An educational physical education (PE) hybridization program based on the personal and social responsibility model and gamification strategies was used in order to explore the effect on cognitive performance and academic achievement. A 9-month group-randomized controlled trial was conducted, with 150 participants (age: 14.63 ± 1.38) allocated into the control group (CG, n = 37) and experimental group (EG, n = 113). Inhibition, verbal fluency, planning, and academic achievement were assessed. Significant differences were observed in the post-test for cognitive inhibition, verbal fluency (named animals), and the mean of both verbal fluency tasks in favor of the EG. With regard to the intervention, verbal fluency (named animals), verbal fluency (named vegetables), the mean of both verbal fluency tasks, cognitive inhibition, language, the average of all subjects, the average of all subjects except PE, and the average from the core subjects increased significantly in the EG. Values for the last five variables (academic variables and cognitive inhibition) in addition to mathematics also increased in the CG. This study contributes to the current knowledge by suggesting that both methodologies produced improvements in the measured variables, but the use of the hybridization resulted in improvements in cognitive performance, specifically with regard to cognitive inhibition and verbal fluency.
Design of a Unified Algorithm to Ensure the Sustainable Use of Air Transport during a Pandemic
Authors: Szabo Stanislav , Makó Sebastián , Kešeľová Michaela , Szabo Stanislav
Published: May 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on air transport in various parts of the world. The impact of the pandemic has been and still is significant within the Member States of the European Union. The introduction focused on identifying and monitoring the pandemic spread in the individual Member States. The research focused on two periods that were compared with each other based on key indicators, i.e., reproduction rate, hospitalized patients, or ICU patients. Identification and monitoring of the above-mentioned periods were performed by an observational study of collected data mentioned below. Subsequently, an algorithm was proposed, which was to determine an index number of a given country based on key indicators mentioned earlier. The index number is an assessment of the pandemic situation in a given country. The index number calculation in the monitored periods divided the countries into two groups: countries with the index number higher than one and countries with the index number lower than one. The latter can continue using air transport by pandemic situation assessment conducted by the algorithm. The air transport utilization rate depends on the second part of the algorithm, where the allowed number of routes is calculated for individual airlines. The use of an algorithm for calculating the index number of individual countries and at the same time monitoring the development of key indicators every 14 days is a suitable method for ensuring the sustainable use of air transport to minimize financial losses.
Molecular Characterization of Seasonal Influenza A and B from Hospitalized Patients in Thailand in 2018–2019
Authors: Boonnak Kobporn , Mansanguan Chayasin , Schuerch Dennis , Boonyuen Usa , Lerdsamran Hatairat , Jiamsomboon Kultida , Sae Wang Fanny , Huntrup Arun , Prasertsopon Jarunee , Kosoltanapiwat Nathamon , Puthavathana Pilaipan
Published: May 2021

Influenza viruses continue to be a major public health threat due to the possible emergence of more virulent influenza virus strains resulting from dynamic changes in virus adaptability, consequent of functional mutations and antigenic drift in surface proteins, especially hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). In this study, we describe the genetic and evolutionary characteristics of H1N1, H3N2, and influenza B strains detected in severe cases of seasonal influenza in Thailand from 2018 to 2019. We genetically characterized seven A/H1N1 isolates, seven A/H3N2 isolates, and six influenza B isolates. Five of the seven A/H1N1 viruses were found to belong to clade 6B.1 and were antigenically similar to A/Switzerland/3330/2017 (H1N1), whereas two isolates belonged to clade 6B.1A1 and clustered with A/Brisbane/02/2018 (H1N1). Interestingly, we observed additional mutations at antigenic sites (S91R, S181T, T202I) as well as a unique mutation at a receptor binding site (S200P). Three-dimensional (3D) protein structure analysis of hemagglutinin protein reveals that this unique mutation may lead to the altered binding of the HA protein to a sialic acid receptor. A/H3N2 isolates were found to belong to clade 3C.2a2 and 3C.2a1b, clustering with A/Switzerland/8060/2017 (H3N2) and A/South Australia/34/2019 (H3N2), respectively. Amino acid sequence analysis revealed 10 mutations at antigenic sites including T144A/I, T151K, Q213R, S214P, T176K, D69N, Q277R, N137K, N187K, and E78K/G. All influenza B isolates in this study belong to the Victoria lineage. Five out of six isolates belong to clade 1A3-DEL, which relate closely to B/Washington/02/2009, with one isolate lacking the three amino acid deletion on the HA segment at position K162, N163, and D164. In comparison to the B/Colorado/06/2017, which is the representative of influenza B Victoria lineage vaccine strain, these substitutions include G129D, G133R, K136E, and V180R for HA protein. Importantly, the susceptibility to oseltamivir of influenza B isolates, but not A/H1N1 and A/H3N2 isolates, were reduced as assessed by the phenotypic assay. This study demonstrates the importance of monitoring genetic variation in influenza viruses regarding how acquired mutations could be associated with an improved adaptability for efficient transmission.
Analysis of the Spatiotemporal Annual Rainfall Variability in the Wadi Cheliff Basin (Algeria) over the Period 1970 to 2018
Authors: Achite Mohammed , Caloiero Tommaso , Wałęga Andrzej , Krakauer Nir , Hartani Tarek
Published: May 2021

In the context of climate variability and hydrological extremes, especially in arid and semi-arid zones, the issue of natural risks and more particularly the risks related to rainfall is a topical subject in Algeria and worldwide. In this direction, the spatiotemporal variability of precipitation in the Wadi Cheliff basin (Algeria) has been evaluated by means of annual time series of precipitation observed on 150 rain gauges in the period 1970–2018. First, in order to identify the natural year-to-year variability of precipitation, for each series, the coefficient of variation (CV) has been evaluated and spatially distributed. Then, the precipitation trend at annual scale has been analyzed using two nonparametric tests. Finally, the presence of possible change points in the data has been investigated. The results showed an inverse spatial pattern between CV and the annual rainfall, with a spatial gradient between the southern and the northern sides of the basin. Results of the trend analysis evidenced a marked negative trend of the annual rainfall (22% of the rain gauges for a significant level equal to 95%) involving mainly the northern and the western-central area of the basin. Finally, possible change points have been identified between 1980 and 1985.
Antimicrobial Effect of Plasma-Activated Tap Water on Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans
Authors: Chiappim William , Sampaio Aline da Graça , Miranda Felipe , Fraga Mariana , Petraconi Gilberto , da Silva Sobrinho Argemiro , Kostov Konstantin , Koga-Ito Cristiane , Pessoa Rodrigo
Published: May 2021

In this study, the potential antimicrobial activity of plasma-activated tap water (PAW) was evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans. For this, PAW was prepared in a gliding arc plasma system using two treatment conditions: stagnant water and water stirring by a magnetic stirrer, called moving water. Subsequently, their oxidation-reduction potential (ORP), pH, electrical conductivity (σ), and total dissolved solids (TDS) were monitored in different areas of the sample divided according to the depth of the beaker. It was observed that PAW obtained in dynamic conditions showed a more uniform acidity among the evaluated areas with pH 3.53 and ORP of 215 mV. Finally, standardized suspensions of Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 6538), Escherichia coli (ATCC 10799), and Candida albicans (SC 5314) were treated with PAW, and the reduction of viable cells determined the antimicrobial effect. Our results indicate that the tap water, activated by plasma treatment using gliding arc, is an excellent inactivation agent in the case of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. On the other hand, no significant antimicrobial activity was achieved for Candida albicans.
Hydrological Functioning of Maize Crops in Southwest France Using Eddy Covariance Measurements and a Land Surface Model
Authors: Dare-Idowu Oluwakemi , Jarlan Lionel , Le-Dantec Valerie , Rivalland Vincent , Ceschia Eric , Boone Aaron , Brut Aurore
Published: May 2021

The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the representation of the energy budget for irrigated maize crops in soil–vegetation–atmosphere transfer (SVAT) models. To this end, a comparison between the original version of the interactions between the soil–biosphere–atmosphere (ISBA) model based on a single-surface energy balance and the new ISBA-multi-energy balance (ISBA-MEB) option was carried out. The second objective is to analyze the intra- and inter-seasonal variability of the crop water budget by implementing ISBA and ISBA-MEB over six irrigated maize seasons between 2008 and 2019 in Lamasquère, southwest France. Seasonal dynamics of the convective fluxes were properly reproduced by both models with R2 ranging between 0.66 and 0.80 (RMSE less than 59 W m−2) for the sensible heat flux and between 0.77 and 0.88 (RMSE less than 59 W m−2) for the latent heat flux. Statistical metrics also showed that over the six crop seasons, for the turbulent fluxes, ISBA-MEB was consistently in better agreement with the in situ measurements with RMSE 8–30% lower than ISBA, particularly when the canopy was heterogeneous. The ability of both models to partition the evapotranspiration (ET) term between soil evaporation and plant transpiration was also acceptable as transpiration predictions compared very well with the available sap flow measurements during the summer of 2015; (ISBA-MEB had slightly better statistics than ISBA with R2 of 0.91 and a RMSE value of 0.07 mm h−1). Finally, the results from the analysis of the inter-annual variability of the crop water budget can be summarized as follows: (1) The partitioning of the ET revealed a strong year-to-year variability with transpiration ranging between 40% and 67% of total ET, while soil evaporation was dominant in 2008 and 2010 due to the late and poor canopy development; (2) drainage losses are close to null because of an impervious layer at 60 cm depth; and (3) this very specific condition limited the inter-annual variability of irrigation scheduling as crops can always extract water that is stored in the root zone.
75th anniversary of S.P. Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia
Authors: SOLOVIEV Vladimir A. , RESHETNIKOV Mikhail N RESHETNIKOV Mikhail N. , SINYAVSKIY Viktor V. , SHACHNEV Sergey Yu.
Published: May 2021

The article briefly discusses the key achievements of the enterprise over 75 years from the formation of OKB-1 headed by S.P. Korolev for producing intercontinental range missiles to the current status of RSC Energia being the country’s and world leader in manned space flight. The developed intercontinental missiles R-7 and a closed-loop oxygen-hydrocarbon liquid-propellant rocket engine provided the basis for developing integrated launch vehicles which were used to launch the world's first Earth satellite, the first cosmonaut on the Earth, automatic interplanetary stations to the Moon, Venus, Mars.
The diversification of the enterprise impeded S.P. Korolev to concentrate on manned space flights, and he initiated the transfer of development and manufacture of combat missiles to Makeyev DB, integrated launch vehicles to TsSKB Progress, communication and other satellites to M.F. Reshetnev ISS, lunar and interplanetary stations to S.A.Lavochkin NPO. In the 1980s under the guidance of V.P. Glushko the Energia super-heavy launch vehicle and Energia-Buran system in unmanned configuration were developed and successfully launched on the first try.
The Salyut manned single-module orbital stations, Mir multifunctional multi-module space laboratory and successfully operating upgraded manned transportation (Soyuz) and logistics (Progress) spacecraft were developed. In the hard times of 1990s, RSC Energia under the guidance of Yu.P. Semenov saved the national cosmonautics through commercial research performed on the Mir station. At present, by launching three additional modules RSC Energia is completing assembly and integration of the Russian Segment into the International Space Station.

Keywords. ОKB-1, S.P.Korolev RSC Energia, V.P. Glushko, Yu.S. Semenov, integrated launch vehicle, orbital station, crew transportation spacecraft, logistics transportation spacecraft, International Space Station.
O USO DE PROXIES DE CONTROLE GERENCIAL EM MICRO E PEQUENAS EMPRESAS GERENCIADAS POR MULHERES / THE USE OF MANAGEMENT CONTROL PROXIES IN MICRO AND SMALL ENTERPRISES MANAGED BY WOMEN
Authors: Leite Helena de Oliveira , Espejo Márcia Maria dos Santos Bortolocci , Daciê Franciele do Prado
Published: May 2021

A figura das micro e pequenas empresas (MPE) assumem representativo papel no desenvolvimento econômico e social do país, assumindo seu dirigente a tarefa principal de superar os desafios impostos pelo mercado em busca da sobrevivência. Diante desse cenário, observa-se que a participação das mulheres na economia cresce significativamente. Elas assumem papeis até então considerados masculinos, revelando uma tendência de equilíbrio entre gêneros no ambiente empresarial, inclusive nas pequenas empresas. Quanto a forma de gestão, a literatura existente sugere que mulheres possuem formas particulares ao empreender, traçar estratégias e liderar. Objetiva-se, desse modo, verificar se existem diferenças quanto ao uso de proxies de controle gerencial em relação ao gênero do empreendedor-gestor. O estudo foi realizado por meio de um survey com 196 MPEs localizadas na região noroeste do Paraná e participantes do Programa Bom Negócio Paraná. A análise de agrupamentos entre gêneros viabilizou-se por meio da Análise de Correspondência Múltipla (ACM), sendo levantadas quatro dimensões relacionadas a controles internos, o planejamento, a área financeira e de contabilidade, os aspectos mercadológicos e o controle de pessoal. Os achados apurados nessa pesquisa evidenciaram que os homens mostram-se mais propensos a utilizar em seu empreendimento práticas gerenciais como suporte ao processo decisorial se comparados as mulheres. Observa-se também que, embora ainda seja grande a frequência de MPEs que não fazem uso desses instrumentos de auxílio à tomada de decisão, entende-se que os resultados encontrados ratificam a ideia de que as mulheres tendem a ser motivadas em suas decisões pelas relações pessoais enquanto os homens guiam-se por evidências racionais.
Autofreies Skifahren – Sind die Wintersportorte in den Alpen für eine Anreise mit dem ÖV und sanfte Mobilität vor Ort geeignet?
Authors: Hellmund Marius
Published: May 2021

Um die Attraktivität der Alpenregionen zu bewahren und eine Überlastung des Verkehrssystems zu verhindern, ist die Förderung der sanften Mobilität im Wintersporttourismus unumgänglich. Dazu wurden über 400 Wintersportorte der Alpen auf ihr autofreies Erreichbarkeitspotential und ihre Angebote zur sanften Mobilität vor Ort untersucht. Etwa zwei Drittel der Orte sind bereits grundsätzlich für einen autofreien Tourismus geeignet. Für einige Schwächen des ÖV wurden schon Lösungen erprobt, es fehlt allerdings noch die alpenweite Ausbreitung.
Ein emissionsfreier Multimodaler Digitaler Netzverkehr bis 2050 – Strategische Option für kurze Bahntransportstrecken?
Authors: Unseld Hans G. , Kotzab Herbert , Gerken Paul
Published: May 2021

Selbst bei aktuellen ökologischen Verkehrsartenvergleichen hat der Eisenbahngüterverkehr keine große Perspektive. Das Bildändert sich allerdings, wenn langfristige klimarelevante Daten und erkenntniswissenschaftliche Kriterien einbezogen werden.Die Möglichkeiten durch Digitalisierung und die Anforderungen beim Klimaschutz eröffnen dem System Güterverkehr auf derBahn neue Optionen und Potenziale. Dieser Artikel stellt das Konzept eines emissionsfreien Netzverkehrs für ein – auch aufKurzstrecken – wettbewerbsfähiges logistisches Angebot mit einer Plankapazität für 340 Mrd. tkm im Jahr 2050 im deutschenBahnnetz zur Diskussion.
Innovation and development of self-sustained wooden residues blocks "Madeblock" for homes and buildings
Authors: Delgado-Martínez Martha Lilia , Aguirre-Orozco Mario Abelardo , Márquez-Monárrez / Olivia , Ochoa-Terrazas Raúl Eduardo
Published: May 2021

The south-central region of Chihuahua State has 150 transformation industries of timber forest resources, these industries dedicate to produce different types of timber furniture, which generates a huge amount of organic scraps that are deposited mostly in the intermunicipal landfill that covers 5 municipalities. Within the field research, it was detected that only one of all companies produces 20 tons of scrap per week. Hence, it is considered ground-breaking developing a model to produce sawdust blocks destined to build sustainable houses and buildings. In order to frame this research, it was also analyzed the problem of September 19th, 2017 earthquakes, presented in the following states of the Mexican Republic, Oaxaca, Chiapas, Puebla, Morelos and Mexico City, where 111,668 houses and buildings had a partial damage and 60,302 had a total damage, in other words, there were 171,990 affected houses and buildings. The prototype’s construction was developed by performing destructives and mechanical resistance tests, inside the testing laboratory of a social enterprise, La Cosa in Delicias City, a town of Chihuahua State, which is accredited by the EMA (Entidad Mexicana de Acreditación).
Instruments to identify psychosocial risk factors at work: a systematic review
Authors: Suárez-Reyes Susana , Aguilar-Morales Norma , Magaña-Medina Deneb Elí
Published: May 2021

The human factor within organizations is exposed to different types of risks, especially those that cause damage to their physical and psychological health, which if not identified and treated in time can generate irreversible damage to them. In recent years, investigations have been carried out that address the subject, in which different instruments have been implemented to identify and evaluate this phenomenon, so the purpose of this systematic review article was to analyze the instruments that allow identifying the factors of Psychosocial risks at work (FPR) in Latin America. The information search included databases on the web, such as Redalyc, Dialnet, Scielo and ProQuest. Three people independently selected the articles for review, in a period from 2015 to 2020, where the methodological quality of each of them was evaluated, as well as the inclusion and exclusion criteria considered for the research. It was observed that in recent years different methods and instruments have been implemented to evaluate this phenomenon from different areas, so it is important to determine which are the optimal instruments to identify FPR in workers.
Knowledge friction in universities, approach from game theory
Authors: Talavera-Ruz Marianela , Lara- Gómez Graciela , Valdez-Reséndiz Macario
Published: May 2021

In today's market economies, organizations see knowledge as one of their most valuable and strategic resources and seek to properly manage it so that it becomes a competitive advantage (Teece, 1988; Hamel and Prahalad, 1990, Drucker, 1994; Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995; Boisot, 1998; Spender, 1996; Senge, 1990). Although many organizations make significant investments in technology and tools to promote knowledge sharing, cultural, behavioral, and structural aspects are the main determinants of success (Sharma and Bhattacharya, 2013). Organizational knowledge processes are, by their nature, generally social and complex. The behaviors related to sharing knowledge of organizational agents are full of situations of conflict of interest or dilemmas in which they receive different payments based on their strategic decisions. Such situations can be modeled as games. This article presents the approach to a particular dilemma, that of the knowledge friction in an Institution of Higher Education through Game Theory, describing a non-cooperative game model that allows showing the scope of said situation according to the decisions considered to be done by employees and employer and their related payments, exploring different decision-making scenarios.
Implementación de herramientas de manufactura esbelta en una empresa de mantenimiento y servicio de locomotoras
Authors: Félix-Jácquez Rosa Hilda , Cruz-Rentería María Merced , Delgado-Celis Ma. Dolores
Published: May 2021

Continuous improvement is a key element for the competitiveness of companies seeking to increase the quality of a process, product, or service. This project aims to apply continuous improvement in a locomotive service and maintenance process, which works for the railway industry in the country. Low efficiency and productivity were identified in the remanufacturing of axles and wheels in the Combos area, where the improvement project was carried out. The Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control (DMAIC) methodology was used through the application of lean manufacturing tools to eliminate or reduce activities that do not add value. As a result, reduced transport times, standardization of operations, and improved staff safety were achieved. The above together significantly impacted the time cycle of processes, managing to increase efficiency by 7.52%.
Assessment of Salinity Tolerance of 4 Chili Pepper Genotypes in Vietnam
Authors: Ai Trinh Ngoc , Tran Thi Ngoc Bich , Lam Nguyen Hoang , Nguyen Minh Hiep , Phan Chi Hieu
Published: May 2021

The article describes a new method to assess the response-ability of 4 chili pepper F1 species: Chanh Nong, Chanh Phong, Mui Ten Do, and EV258 based on the different concentrations of NaCl or CaCl2 (0, 50, 100, 200, and 300 mM). This experiment was conducted in invitro and greenhouse conditions within 12 weeks by investigated the growth and developmental parameters. Our experiment showed that salt stress caused a decrease in all indicators at higher salt concentrations. Typically, at 200 mM salt level, 100% Chanh Phong seeds germinated while less germination was found in Mui Ten Do genotype (89%), following EV258 genotype (72%) and Chanh Nong genotype (61%), respectively. While at 300 mM salt level, this rate significantly decreased the germination rate of Chanh Nong genotype (50%) and increased the period of germination from 6 to 9 days compared to the control treatment. Similarly, growth parameters such as plant height, number of leaves, number of branches, number of flowers, and leaf area also decrease as increasing salinity; however, total phenolic compound and antioxidant activity increased. New research results indicated that the Chanh Phong genotype is potentially considered a salt-tolerant stress plant and can be used for chili pepper cultivation under climate change conditions, especially on saline lands.
A RARE CASE OF EXTRAOCULAR ORBITAL LYMPHOMA IN A YOUNG PATIENT
Authors: Deori M. , Kuli J. J.
Published: May 2021

Orbital lymphoma refers to a lymphoma that commonly involves the conjunctiva, lacrimal gland, eyelid and ocular musculature. Primary non1 Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) of the orbit is a rare subset, representing only 1% of all NHL and 8-10% of extranodal NHL. We report a case of 24
year old female presented with redness, swelling, an intermittent pain and gradual protrusion of the right eye (RE) since 6 months. Her vision in RE
was 6/60 and in Left eye (LE) 6/6. Intraocular pressure (IOP) was 16 mmHg in Both Eye. On examination, RE was proptosed 30mm approximately.
Extraocular movement were restricted in all gazes, conjunctiva was chemosed and congested. LE was within normal limits. No lymph nodes were
palpable. Ultrasonography of the right orbit showed a mass in the lateral aspect in extraconal space extending to the superior, lateral and retrobulbar
region. CT scan of the right orbit showed a mass encasing the extraocular muscles and displacement of the optic nerve. FNAC reports were
suggestive of non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma of the right orbit. She was given 6 cycles of RCHOP regime which includes (rituximab,
cyclophosphamide, hydroxydaunorubicin, oncovin and prednisolone). Follow-up during each cycle of chemotherapy was done and showed good
response initially. Even though rare, primary orbital NHL should be kept in considerat Conclusion- ion in a young female patient with slow growing
unilateral Proptosis. After imaging & diagnostic biopsy, patient should be immediately staged & treated. Early diagnosis and treatment improves
survival.
SYNTHESIS, CHARACTERIZATION OF SOME SUBSTITUTED BIPHENYL-2- AMINOTHIAZOL DERIVATIVES
Authors: Hanumantappa Havale Shrikant , Kishore Dharma , Dwivedi Jaya , Singh Yadav Bhavani , Sirugubattula Venkat Rao
Published: May 2021

The synthesis explored to serve novel functional group extended Anti-microbial bio-active molecules of substituted Aminothiazoles. It reveals
from overall available up to date literature feedback of Aminothiazoles, it is difcult to synthesis of substituted biphenyl-2-aminothiazoles from
Suzuki coupling reaction of 5-(4-bromophenyl) thiazol-2-amine with substituted Boronic acids in presence of Palladium (II) acetate catalyst and in
5% aqueous Isopropyl alcohol used as a solvent. This is a shortest pathway to synthesis of biphenyl derivatives of Aminothaizoles by Suzuki
coupling method.
A HOSPITAL BASED STUDY OF INCIDENCE OF PEPTIC ULCER PERFORATION IN YOUNG ADULTS
Authors: Karan Ganesh Chandra , Rai Mridul , Jana Debarshi
Published: May 2021

Background: Peptic ulcer formation affects about 2-10% of world population every year with higher incidence in younger individuals. Being a
surgical emergency, it has higher mortality and morbidity. Thus, the aim of our study was to evaluate the incidence of peptic ulcer perforation based
on gender, age and also to study its associated risk factors, clinical presentations, site along with surgical management and complications.
Materials & Methods: 75 patients diagnosed with perforated peptic ulcer were included and this study was conducted in the Upgraded
Department of Surgery, Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital, Laheriasarai, Bihar. Structured performa was prepared to obtained details of
patients.
Results: 76% of patients in our study were males and 24% were females with male and female ratio 1:3.16. The prevalence of perforation was high
in age group 20-30 years (30.7%). 62.7% of cases had positive family history and the incidence was in the patients who consumed non-vegetarian
(84.8%), spicy (61.4%) and oily (69.5%) foods. Frequently observed clinical presentation were abdominal pain followed by tenderness and rigidity
and gas under diaphragm. The common site of perforation was duodenum (62.7%) and most of the cases were treated by closure with omental patch
(81.3%). The post-surgical complications frequently observed were wound infection (30.6%) and chest infection (28%).
Conclusion: Peptic ulcer perforation is common disorder of gastrointestinal tract, now affecting younger adults with male preponderance. It is
associated with unwanted health and economic issues. Therefore, earlier management is only the way to minimize complications and mortality
STUDY OF PREVALENCE OF LOWER URINARY TRACT SYMPTOMS IN PATIENTS UNDERGOING INGUINAL HERNIA REPAIR AT SKMCH, MUZAFFARPUR, BIHAR
Authors: Kumar Sanjay , Vikram Kumar , Kumar Manoj , Jana Debarshi
Published: May 2021

Background: Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) are frequently associated with inguinal hernias. It is important to recognise and treat bladder
outlet obstruction in patients before inguinal hernia repair to prevent recurrence of hernia. Methods: This prospective study was conducted at
Department of Surgery, Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital, Muzaffarpur, Bihar. Hundred patients who presented with inguinal hernia repair
were evaluated for LUTS using AUA scoring for urinary symptoms, uroowmetry (Qmax) and post voidal residual urine using ultrasonography
along with urine routine microscopic examination and urine culture and sensitivity. Results: Eleven patients out of 100 who came for hernia repair
had clinically signicant LUTS due to benign enlargement of prostate (BEP) and required treatment for BEP but none of these 11 patients had
urinary symptoms as primary complaint. Ten patients were found to have urinary tract infection without any urinary symptom. Three patients had
urethral stricture out of which 2 had Qmax of <10 ml/second. Conclusions: Signicant number of patients (14 percent) with inguinal hernia had
lower urinary tract symptoms. An effort should be made to identify LUTS in patients presenting with inguinal hernia before surgery and treat the
cause of LUTS. Ten percent of patients had asymptomatic UTI with AUA score less than 8 but Qmax on uroowmetry was in between 10-15
ml/second.
Prospective, observational, multicenter study on minimally invasive gastrectomy for gastric cancer: robotic, laparoscopic and open surgery compared on operative and follow-up outcomes - IMIGASTRIC II study protocol: IMIGASTRIC II
Authors: Jacopo Desiderio  , Jian-Xian Lin  , Enrique Norero  , Felice Borghi  , Alessandra Marano  , Fabio Cianchi  , Benedetta Badii  , Feng Qi  , Tong Liu  , Daniel Reim  , Alexander Novotny  , Andrea Coratti  , Francesco Guerra  , Ninh T Nguyen  , Orhan Alimoglu  , Ibrahim Ali Ozemir  , Steven Brower  , Francesca Bazzocchi  , Andrea Avanzolini  , Leonardo Solaini  , Orestis Ioannidis  , Christos Chatzakis  , Lydia Loutzidou  , Arda Isik  , Maurizio Cesari  , Graziano Pernazza  , Juan-Santiago Azagra  , Martine Goergen  , Yanbing Zhou  , Shougen Cao  , Johan Gagnière  , Denis Pezet  , Simone D'Imporzano  , Olivier Saint-Marc  , Rémy Sindayigaya  , Lu Zang  , Natalie G Coburn  , Cuneyt Kayaalp  , Giacomo Arcuri  , Francesco Giovanardi  , Stefano Trastulli  , Amilcare Parisi  , Chao-Hui Zheng  , Chang-Ming Huang
Published: May 2021

Background: Several meta-analyses have tried to defi ne the role of minimally invasive approaches. However, further evidence to get a wider spread of these methods is necessary. Current studies describe minimally invasive surgery as a possible alternative to open surgery but deserving further clarifi cation. However, despite the increasing interest, the difficulty of planning prospective studies of adequate size accounts for the low level of evidence, which is mostly based on retrospective experiences. A multi-institutional prospective study allows the collection of an impressive amount of data to investigate various aspects of minimally invasive procedures with the opportunity of developing several subgroup analyses. A prospective data collection with high methodological quality on minimally invasive and open gastrectomies can clarify the role of diff erent procedures with the aim to develop specifi c guidelines. Methods and analysis: a multi-institutional prospective database will be established including information on surgical, clinical and oncological features of patients treated for gastric cancer with robotic, laparoscopic or open approaches and subsequent follow-up. The study has been shared by the members of the International study group on Minimally Invasive surgery for GASTRIc Cancer (IMIGASTRIC) The database is designed to be an international electronic submission system and a HIPPA protected real time data repository from high volume gastric cancer centers. Ethics: This study is conducted in compliance with ethical principles originating from the Helsinki Declaration, within the guidelines of Good Clinical Practice and relevant laws/regulations. Trial registration number: NCT02751086
Sarcina ventriculi: A Rare Case of Life-Threatening Perforated Gastric Ulcer and Review of Literature
Authors: Qing Wei  , Sixto Leal  , Morad Qarmali  , Charles Mel Wilcox  , Chirag Patel  , Sameer Al Diffalha
Published: May 2021

Sarcina ventriculi is a gram-positive anaerobic bacterium reported rarely in patients with a history of gastrointestinal surgery and delayed gastric emptying. Sarcina has been implicated in the development of gastric ulcers, emphysematous gastritis, and gastric perforation. So far, less than 30 cases of Sarcina isolated from gastric specimens have been reported, including 3 cases associated with life-threatening illness: emphysematous gastritis and gastric perforation. Herein, we report a case of a 58-yearold woman with history of gastric surgery who presented for evaluation of persistent gastric pain and incurable ulcer. She underwent total gastrectomy, and the resected stomach demonstrated a perforated ulcer with the presence of Sarcina microorganisms. We also report a second case of a 56-year-old woman with history of NSAID use who presented with gastric outlet obstruction. The gastric biopsy identifi ed concurrent Helicobacter pylori and Sarcina. Given Sarcina‘s association with emphysematous gastritis and gastric perforation, its identifi cation on gastric biopsies should be clearly stated in pathology reports and, depending on the clinical scenario, prompt clinicians to add adjunctive antimicrobials to anti-ulcer therapeutic regimens.