bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Fighting Terrorism in Diverse Communities: Collaborative Governance Approach with Civil Society at the Center
Authors: Garayev Vener
Published: February 2025

Crisis management and homeland security today has become a field very much dependent on collaborative practices. This is mostly due to the inability of single agencies to deal with complex social problems, one solution to which is to diversify resources, information, capital, and personnel. Such diversification is possible only to the extent the third parties are allowed to input and contribute. Counter-terrorism is one of the fields where input of third parties including respective communities is required for successful policies and strategies. The main claim of this paper is that counter-terrorism strategies and policies would be more effective when government plays a supplementary role, backing civil society that should stand at the main decision-maker and implementer of respective strategies and policies. Focusing on the case of Turkey and its approach to counter-terrorism in southeastern region of the country, this paper provides a “soft power” civil society perspective that envisions long-term strategies based on non-political tools for counter-terrorism in diverse communities.
A Review of Pain Management Techniques for Military Populations
Authors: Wiederhold Mark D.  , Wiederhold Brenda K.
Published: February 2025

Pain management issues in the military have grown exponentially over the last few decades, as more soldiers are surviving their injuries despite the fact that combat has increased in intensity. New patterns of injuries that are developing, on and off the battlefield, make pain management even more complex, with new and innovative methods of treatment are needed. Experience has shown that treating acute injuries early reduces the chance of developing chronic pain and also psychological comorbidities such as Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression and insomnia, among many others. While opioids, the traditional form of analgesia, are effective for reducing pain in some patients, due to high risk side-effects such as dependency, tolerance, and addiction, as well as respiratory and cardiovascular depression, they should not be the only method readily available to soldiers. Multimodal approaches such as pill packs, damage control plans that encompass a number of different techniques including tourniquets and transfusions, regional anesthesia, and distraction techniques like Virtual Reality (VR) and acupuncture, are all effective at reducing pain early on and can be used in conjunction with one another to treat pain as efficiently and effectively as possible.
Moving Beyond the Technology The Dispatcher, Responders and Informatics
Authors: Glascock Anthony P.
Published: February 2025

This chapter continues to trace the flow of information through the Five Zone Telehomecare model by considering Zone 3—the Dispatcher; Zone 4—the Responders; and Zone 5—the Informatics. Emphasis is placed on the need for each of these three Zones to have a company with a viable business plan and appropriate infrastructure in place in order to function properly and move the information to the next Zone. In addition, the vital role played by carefully crafted and continuously updated protocols is discussed, as well as the challenges facing the integration of all Five Zones and possible solutions to overcoming the challenges.
Surface-Enhanced Fluorescence and Raman Spectroscopy (SEF and SERS) of Anthraquinone Anti tumoral Drugs and their Complexes with Biomolecules on Ag Nanoparticles
Authors: Sevilla Paz  , Lajos Gejza  , de Llanos Raquel  , Sánchez-Cortés Santiago  , Jancura Daniel  , Miškovský Pavol  , García-Ramos José Vicente
Published: February 2025

Localized surface plasmon resonances supported on metal nanoparticles cause an enhancement of the Raman and fluorescence spectra. While SERS is principally due to the first layer of molecules deposited on the metal surface, SEF experiments need to be successful to establish a distance between fluorophore and nanoparticles. This distance can be fixed by placement of a new molecule named spacer or by aggregation of the fluorescent molecule. The anti tumoral drugs emodin and hypericin belong to the group of natural anthraquinones dyes and both present and acid-base equilibrium. At several pHs molecules aggregate making possible some molecules to be situated at a certain distance of the nanoparticles surface and so to obtain fluorescence enhancement. SEF and SERS experiments recorded simultaneously permit to obtain vibrational and electronic information at the same time. Thus the aggregation, ionization and molecular structure of emodin and hypericin can be investigated. The binding of the dyes to biomolecules can also be studied through these spectroscopic techniques enhanced by metal nanoparticles.
One Approach to Adaptive Control of Mobile Sensor System
Authors: Kervalishvili Paata  , Meparishvili Badri  , Janelidze Gulnara
Published: February 2025

Environmental safety is the main point among the Human Rights, and health care is the first task for all mankind. Obviously, there are serious achievements in modern science and technology; however, some threats from the external environment, particularly from high risk industrial projects are still the world problem. Technological monitoring should be conditioned by the large scale spatially distributed homogeneous or heterogeneous environment with dynamic diffusion processes. Multi mobile sensor systems are reconfigurable wireless networks of distributed autonomous devices that can sense or monitor physical or environmental conditions cooperatively. Intelligent sensors and sensor networks have an important impact in meeting environmental challenges. Agents interact (communicate, coordinate, negotiate) with each other, and with their environment. Usually, in a multi-agent system, interaction dynamics between an agent and its environment lead to emergent structure or emergent functionality. To be effective, multi-agent systems must yield coordinated behavior from individually autonomous actions. This paper describes a new approach to providing smart sensor system capabilities in a monitoring and control within a studied area. The key technologies, which are based on the paradigm usually called Swarm Intelligence (SI), focus on mutual coordinated or collective behaviors and adaptive topological self-reconfiguration of swarm sensors. The SI paradigm is based on the observation of the complex behavior of many social-insects society (ants, bees, wasps, termites,...) in which the system properties emerge from local interactions between elementary actions of single agents. Control of reconfigurable sensor networks is fundamentally a difficult problem in which the system must balance issues of power usage, communication versus control, the effectiveness of adapting to the environment as well as to changing science requirements. Introducing the new concept of entropy as an unconformity between the landscape of measuring factors' frequency distribution and sensor swarm spatial distribution is a novel approach for sensory systems' management and control. In the given context, sensor networks' dynamic reconfiguration, and from a systemological viewpoint with the idea of fitness-function, the optimization problem of swarm shaping can be resolved by the criterion of entropy minimization.
Development of Environmental Methods Facilitating the Sustainable Development and By-product Synergy in Georgia and South Caucasian Countries
Authors: Chirakadze Archil  , Gigauri Rusudan  , Khomeriki Irina
Published: February 2025

Achieving Sustainable development is one of the most important problems of modern Society. Sustainable Development must balance the needs of society, the economy, and the environment. Therefore, it is important to be able to influence the factors that determine the current level of sustainable development. The main determining factors can be divided into three groups: economic, social and environmental. Environment attracts increasing attention of researchers. Today's understanding of SD recognizes it's environmental (ecological), economic and social underpinning (the so called “triangle” of SD), although previously the economic and social origins were thought to be dominant. This understanding corresponds to the concept of Synergy as one of the fundamental requirements for achieving SD. From this perspective, The Republic of Georgia is of particular interest since in a relatively small geographic area there are located more than 120 million tons of toxic waste. In this manuscript, we examined the action of microwave pretreatment on the bacterial and chemical leachability of arsenic and manganese containing waste and whether pretreatment increased the effectiveness of ‘soft remediation’ in areas contaminated with arsenic and manganese. Some important physical and chemical parameters of the microwave pretreatment were determined. Three different sources for microwave and conventional treatment were used. The average energy of the microwave oven was about nine times higher than that of the pulsed one (550 W versus 60 W). The Electric furnace had the same heating power, as the electric oven. The microwave heating was more efficient for all sampels. Taking in account the low average power of the pulsed generator it can be councluded that heating was more efficient in the pulsed generator than in the microwave oven. Environmental and economic impacts of the implementation of microwave pretreatment in remediation methods for industrial utilization of hazardous waste remediation in Georgia was estimated. Our study showed the possible advantages of the developed methods included: low costs of environmentally friendly methods of soft remediation; high economic efficiency of industrial utilization of hazardous waste; high effectivity of decontamination and remediation achievable by microvave enhanced methods.
Civil Disorder, Crisis Communication, and Effective Disorder Management
Authors: Mace Robyn R.
Published: February 2025

Civil disorder presents many challenges to maintaining social stability and legitimacy of governance, particularly when amplified by traditional and social media coverage. Preparation, communication, and strategy are essential to effectively managing social disorder and mitigating the severity of potential disruptions from social violence.
Geomorphological and Hydrological Aspects of Complex Solutions of Risk Reduction Related to Abrupt Change of Hydro-meteorological Conditions in Armenia
Authors: Stepanyan Vilen  , Avagyan Anna  , Avagyan Arman  , Khachatryan Dimitri
Published: February 2025

The results of studies on the problems and tendencies of the increasing frequency and scales of floods in vast areas of Armenia's northern and epicentral regions, related to the adverse impact of hydro-meteorological conditions caused by global warming, are considered.
MapReduce for Scientific Computing
Authors: Jakovits Pelle  , Srirama Satish Narayan  , Vainikko Eero
Published: February 2025

Scientific computing deals with large-scale scientific modelling and simulation in different domains like astrophysics, climate research, mechanical engineering and bio-informatics. Execution of large and accurate simulations in these domains requires significant computing resources. As such, scientific computing has always been closely connected to High Performance Computing (HPC) and Distributed Systems, utilising the computing resources of supercomputers, computer clusters and grids to perform the large scale calculations needed. Cloud is not different from it's predecessors as a resource for computing infrastructure, but provides even easier access to public resources with the increasing popularity of cloud computing and the success of many Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) cloud providers, who rent out virtual infrastructure as utility. Cloud computing frameworks like MapReduce provide tools for implementing algorithms and can automatically parallelise them, which can greatly simplify the work of researchers. But MapReduce is focused on huge data processing and is less suitable for complex algorithms of scientific computing. We studied using different frameworks based on the MapReduce model for scientific computing and compared them to other distributed computing frameworks. In the process we explain our motivation for designing a new distributed scientific computing framework and the considered preliminary design choices.
Egomotion compensation and moving objects detection algorithm on GPU
Authors: Gómez-Luna Juan  , Endt Holger  , Stechele Walter  , González-Linares José María  , Benavides José Ignacio  , Guil Nicolás
Published: February 2025

Moving objects detection algorithms need real-time processing for diverse applications such as rescue robots and driving assistance. Moreover, in these applications, they should deal with strong levels of egomotion, which limit the reliability of most of the existing techniques. These requirements make them very compute intensive and memory bound, what enforces the use of hardware acceleration, such as FPGA or GPU. In this work, a GPU implementation of an optical flow based moving objects detection algorithm is presented. This algorithm is applicable in scenarios with weak and strong egomotion, thanks to egomotion compensation and two alternative detection methods. Our implementation includes novel approaches on GPU to widely-used techniques as RANSAC and region growing. It also solves image processing parallelization problems, as divergent execution paths, by using compaction and sorting primitives, with a significant impact on performance. Finally, our implementation has been compared to a previous FPGA implementation. From the performance point of view, results on the newest GPUs clearly outperform the FPGA.
Performance Model for a Cellular Automata Implementation on a GPU Cluster
Authors: Albuquerque Paul  , Künzli Pierre  , Meyer Xavier
Published: February 2025

In the past few years, GPUs have gained a lot of popularity as they offer an opportunity to accelerate many algorithms. In this paper we present a mono, a multi-GPU and GPU cluster implementation, based on CUDA, of a cellular automata. We derive a performance model and establish its accurateness.
Towards an Application of High-Performance Computer Systems to 3D Simulations of High Energy Density Plasmas in Z-Pinches
Authors: Gasilov Vladimir  , Boldarev Alexey  , Dyachenko Sergey  , Olkhovskaya Olga  , Kartasheva Elena  , Bagdasarov Gennadiy  , Boldyrev Sergey  , Gasilova Irina  , Shmyrov Valeriy  , Tkachenko Svetlana  , Grunenwald Julien  , Maillard Thierry
Published: February 2025

The paper presents the new versatile code designed by our team for applications of supercomputer systems to large-scale 3D simulations of problems appearing in experimental Pulsed Power Energetic (PPE) and High Energy Density Plasmas (HEDP). Because of the diversity of physical processes which should be taken into account and because of high degrees of spatial and temporal scale non-uniformities, these problems on the whole are so intricate and computationally expensive, that may be comprehensively studied by use of distributed high-performance (multi-Tflops) computing only, especially in 3D case. The development of parallel codes for HEDP-“multiphysics” simulations which would be able to facilitate a design of future experiments and to predict final parameters of the pinch plasmas is a real challenge for specialists in applied mathematics. The developed code (referred to as MARPLE – Magnetically Accelerated Radiative Plasma Explorer, 3D-version) is based on magnetohydrodynamic model in accordance with modern knowledge about multicharged pinch plasmas. Essential elements of this model are wide-range semi-empirical equations of state, electron-ion energy relaxation, energy dissipation, and radiative transfer. This is an object-oriented, parallel code designed for scientific simulations at systems performing distributed computations.
Use of High Accuracy and Interval Arithmetic on Multicore Processors
Authors: Hölbig Carlos Amaral  , do Carmo Andriele Busatto  , Lara Viviane Linck  , Arendt Luis Paulo
Published: February 2025

In this paper we describe the integration and use of a high accuracy and interval arithmetic library (C–XSC) on multicore processors. With this integration we have a parallel environment supporting high accuracy and verified computing. The purpose of this work is to provide an environment where scientific computing problems can be solved with speed, accuracy and reliability, where the result verification may be carried out automatically by the computer. To validate the environment developed in this work some tests were done and their results will be discussed in this paper.
Parallelism on the Nonnegative Matrix Factorization
Authors: Mejía-Roa Edgardo  , García Carlos  , Gómez José-Ignacio  , Prieto Manuel  , Tenllado Christian  , Pascual-Montano Alberto  , Tirado Francisco
Published: February 2025

A great interest has been given to the Nonnegative Matrix Factorization (NMF) due to its ability of extracting highly-interpretable parts from data sets. Nonetheless, its usage is hindered by the computational complexity when processing large matrices. In this paper, we present three implementations of NMF to analyze the benefits that parallelism can provide to this method on data sets of different size. Our first implementation is based on Message Passing Interface (MPI). Input data is distributed among multiple processors. The second version uses CUDA in Graphics Processing Units (GPUs). Large data sets are blockwise transferred and processed. Finally, we combine both paradigms. Compared to the single-GPU version, it achieves super linear speedups when data portions assigned to each GPU fit into their memory and can be transferred only once.
Parareal Acceleration of Matrix Multiplication
Authors: Takami Toshiya  , Nishida Akira
Published: February 2025

The parareal-in-time algorithm has been used in time-domain parallelism of scientific problems described by ordinary differential equations and partial differential equations. In this paper, applicability of this algorithm to simple linear transformations is studied through convergence and speedup ratio. These properties are analyzed, in particular, for calculations of series of vectors defined by matrix multiplications. The actual speedup ratio is measured in a distributed parallel machine and compared to theoretical prediction. Finally, appropriate problem sizes for this scheme is presented based on these results.
Integrated Simulation Workflows in Computer Aided Engineering on HPC Resources
Authors: Niebling Florian  , Kopecki Andreas  , Aumüller Martin
Published: February 2025

With the availability and easy accessibility of high performance computing resources, product development in engineering application shifted from experiments and model tests to computer simulations almost exclusively. Even after the initial construction of a satisfying design in the rapid prototyping phase, usually much potential for optimizations remains. To achieve an optimal design requires the execution of multiple simulation workflows with different parameters, concerning optimal operation at different operating points.
Diagnosis of Bone and Cartilage Diseases
Authors: Garip Sebnem  , Boskey Adele L.
Published: February 2025

The aim of this chapter is to review the application of vibrational spectroscopy and microspectroscopy, namely FTIR and Raman spectroscopy and microspectroscopy in the diagnosis of drug- or disease-induced bone and cartilage disorders. The first section gives an introduction on the structure and composition as well as diseases of bone and cartilage and summarizes diagnostic techniques used to quantify and qualify these changes. This section also mentions the advantages and disadvantages of currently used diagnostic techniques and vibrational spectroscopy and microspectroscopy. The second and third sections describe protocols for tissue preparation, data processing and analysis for FTIR and Raman spectroscopy and microspectroscopy. The last section presents the application of these vibrational techniques for detailed molecular investigation of the disorders in bone and cartilage. Specific examples are provided to illustrate the application of cluster analysis, analysis of secondary structure, etc.
Object Manipulation based on Tactile Information of Multi-Fingered Robot Hand
Authors: Fukui Wataru  , Kobayashi Futoshi  , Nakamoto Hiroyuki  , Kojima Fumio
Published: February 2025

Many multi-fingered robot hands have been developed so far. However, there are no multi-fingered robot hands for actual use. One of the reasons is that the conventional control methods are not used for multi-fingered robot hands. A human manipulates an object by using tactile information (contact points, direction and severity of reaction force). In this paper, the tactile based control method for multi-fingered robot hands is proposed like a human manipulation. In the proposed method, 3 fingers are used for the object manipulation. By using this method, object grasping and manipulating is achieved. The proposed method is implemented in Universal Robot Hand II, and the effectiveness is verified.
Displacement and Force Measurement, Vibration Detection by Magnetic Type Tactile Sensor
Authors: Nakamoto Hiroyuki  , Takenawa Satoru
Published: February 2025

We propose a tactile sensor that uses variation of magnetic field. The sensor has a simple structure of two layers, an elastic layer and a substrate layer. The elastic layer is made of an elastic material and houses a cylindrical permanent magnet inside. When an object touches the surface of the elastic layer, the layer deforms. The deformation displaces the magnet and the magnetic field for the substrate layer changes. The substrate layer is a glass epoxy board, and has four giant magneto resistance (GMR) elements and four inductors. These elements detect changes of magnetic field strength from the magnet. It is possible to calculate three-axis displacement and force and detect slips from outputs of the elements. In this paper, we describe a structure of the sensor. Then, we confirm a fundamental performance of the sensor and show response character of the elements.
A new approach of using null space of Jacobian matrix in simulation of multibody dynamics
Authors: Dinh Van Phong  , Nguyen Hai Nguyen
Published: February 2025

Simulation of multibody systems is associated with deriving equations of motion and finding numerical solution of the equation. The combination of the differential equations and constraints yields index-3 differential-algebraic equations (DAE's) that are not, in general, easily solvable by standard integration schemes. Moreover at singular configurations, some methods can fail. This paper focuses on the discussion of two problems: determining the singular configurations and their neighborhood and overcoming the singularity smoothly. Overcoming the singularity is discussed with using the Principle of Compatibility, so far not well-known. In this principle the equations of motion are rewritten in the form which can be solved by numerical techniques smoothly, even over singular configurations without detector. The idea of this approach is introducing so-called generalized reaction forces which appear in the equations of motion system for the dynamical in comparison with the system without constraints. The formulation is proven to be more stable and accurate under repetitive meeting singular configurations. These generalized reaction forces can be determined by using the ideality condition of constraints which employs the null space of constraints imposed to the system. Some numerical experiments are carried out to verify the efficiency and speed of the approach.
Main Factors in Preventing Radicalization of Religion in Kazakhstan
Authors: Onuchko Marina  , Nechaeva Elena
Published: February 2025

This article is a research into the factors reducing and preventing radicalization of religion and is based on sociological research - population poll. It contains conclusions and recommendations based on the conducted research findings.
1. Introduction and Context
Authors: Turner Kenneth J.
Published: February 2025

In response to the world-wide ageing population, telehealth and telecare have been introduced to support remote delivery of care to the home. Standards for both are gradually emerging, but are relatively immature in the case of telecare. Home care systems are computer-based solutions to support home care delivery. MATCH (Mobilising Advanced Technologies for Care at Home) was a large-scale project that researched and developed flexible home care solutions. The objectives and achievements of MATCH are discussed. MATCH components and services for home care are presented. The chapter concludes with a summary of the MATCH context and a brief overview of the remainder of the book.
Prevention and Liquidation of Emergency Situations of Man-made Character
Authors: Akimov Valery A.  , Kachanov Sergey A.
Published: February 2025

The developed technology allows to prevent or considerably reduce consequences of man-made emergency situations, including those caused by acts of terrorism: fires, explosions, increase of the level of chemically dangerous substances; increase of the level of radiation or biologically dangerous substances, sudden collapse of framework constructions. In Russia prevention of ES, caused by the accidents on PDO is one of the elements of the mechanism of legal regulation of man-made character ES and rather actual problem of the legislation. Partly, the problem of creation of such situations prevention mechanism in the legislation is solved.
Antiterrorism Protection and Protective Engineering Design
Authors: Zineddin M.
Published: February 2025

The fundamental goal of protective construction is to improve the probability of survival of people and other contents in a given facility for a given threat. It is important to realize that the protective building is the last layer of defense against a threat and that all other protective measures (intelligence, law enforcement, surveillance, barriers, etc.) have failed if the threat can be projected onto a facility. This implies that a designer must “know” the threat before conceptualizing the design and this may not be possible in many cases. Attackers can use various weapon systems in different combinations and such events cannot be predicted. However, using reliable information and objective threat and risk assessment can produce effective estimates of such incidents. Usually, a facility design is based on a standard threat (for example, a specific bomb at a given stand-off distance). In other cases, a statistical approach, requiring that a specific percentage of facilities and contents will survive if a site is attacked, may be employed. Physical security can be achieved by a variety of means and devices with a wide range of capabilities. These capabilities can be used to enable detection, deterrence, delay, and prevention of hostile activities. Structural hardening is a passive defense capability; it is only one aspect of these considerations and should be addressed in the broader context of physical security. As with any other fortification technology, passive defense alone cannot be used to protect against mobile and constantly varying threats. A structure must be designed to prevent catastrophic failure and to protect its contents (personnel and equipment) from the effects of an explosion. Such effects may include nuclear and thermal radiation, electromagnetic pulse (EMP), air blast, ground shock, debris, fragments, and dust (protection from chemical and biological (CB) threats should be considered, as appropriate). In order for a military facility to survive, the continuation of its operational mission must be ensured. For civilian facilities, however, the main concern is protecting people and/or critical assets. Therefore, survivability requirements (criteria) vary from one type of facility to another.
Information Sharing in Practice and for Practice: Mass-Casualty Cases
Authors: Hrečkovski Boris  , Loades Mark  , Dobson Bob
Published: February 2025

We live in a time when the “need to share” principle is acting in many parts of our lives and information is decentralized and distributed. To know where the information is and who has it is the first step of information sharing. How to use it and distribute it properly is another step. Finally, how to use information for urgent decision making in real situations such as major incidents is something for which we need education and training.
GSK3 and Tau: Two Convergence Points in Alzheimer's Disease
Authors: Hernandez Felix  , Lucas Jose J.  , Avila Jesus
Published: February 2025

Glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) is a ubiquitously expressed serine/threonine kinase that plays a key role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). GSK3 phosphorylates tau in most serine and threonine residues hyperphosphorylated in paired helical filaments, and GSK3 activity contributes both to amyloid-β production and amyloid-β-mediated neuronal death. Thus, mice generated in our laboratory with conditional overexpression of GSK3 in forebrain neurons (Tet/GSK3β mice) recapitulate aspects of AD neuropathology such as tau hyperphosphorylation, apoptotic neuronal death, and reactive astrocytosis, as well as spatial learning deficit. In this review, we describe recent contributions of our group showing that transgene shutdown in that animal model leads to normal GSK3 activity, normal phospho-tau levels, diminished neuronal death, and suppression of the cognitive deficit, thus further supporting the potential of GSK3 inhibitors for AD therapeutics. In addition, we have combined transgenic mice overexpressing the enzyme GSK3β with transgenic mice expressing tau with a triple FTDP-17 mutation that develop prefibrillar tau-aggregates. Our data suggest that progression of the tauopathy can be prevented by administration of lithium when the first signs of neuropathology appear. Further, it is possible to partially reverse tau pathology in advanced stages of the disease, although the presence of already assembled neurofibrillary tangle-like structures cannot be reversed.
Alzheimer's Disease: Recent Advances and Future Perspectives
Authors: Ubhi Kiren  , Masliah Eliezer
Published: February 2025

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an age-related neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive memory deficits and other cognitive disturbances. Neuropathologically, AD is characterized by the progressive loss of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons that innervate the hippocampus and cortex and the abnormal extracellular accumulation of amyloid-β and intracellular tau protein. Current research on AD is focused on the mechanisms underlying the abnormal oligomerization, fibrillation, and accumulation of the amyloid-β and tau proteins, mechanisms that may alter the dynamics of this accumulation and on experimental therapeutics approaches aimed at the clearance of the abnormally folded proteins and other potentially neuroprotective interventions. This review will summarize the main areas of investigation in AD and present ways forward for future work.
Elucidating the Triggers, Progression, and Effects of Alzheimer's Disease
Authors: Medeiros Rodrigo  , Chabrier Meredith A.  , LaFerla Frank M.
Published: February 2025

As the number of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) continues to rise, the need for efficacious therapeutics is becoming more and more urgent. Understanding the molecular relationship and interactions between Aβ and tau and their contribution to cognitive decline remain one of the most fundamental and unresolved questions in the AD field. Likewise, elucidating the initial triggers of disease pathology, as well as the impact of various factors such as stress and inflammation on disease progression, are equally important to fully understand this devastating disorder. Here we discuss recent studies that have illuminated the importance of key facilitators of disease progression using the 3xTg-AD and CaM/Tet-DTA mouse models, and suggest viable targets for ameliorating both molecular pathology and cognitive decline.
The NeuroImmune System in Alzheimer's Disease: The Glass is Half Full
Authors: Hickman Suzanne E.  , El Khoury Joseph
Published: February 2025

It is well established that microglia, the neuroimmune cells of the brain, are associated with amyloid-β (Aβ) deposits in Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the roles of these cells and other mononuclear phagocytes such as monocytes and macrophages in AD pathogenesis and progression have been elusive. Clues to mononuclear phagocyte involvement came with the demonstration that Aβ directly activates microglia and monocytes to produce neurotoxins, signifying that a receptor mediated interaction of Aβ with these cells may be critical for neurodegeneration seen in AD. Also, in AD brain, mononuclear phagocyte distribution changes from a uniform pattern that covers the brain parenchyma to distinct clusters intimately associated with areas of Aβ deposition, but the driving force behind this choreography was unclear. Here, we review our recent work identifying mononuclear phagocyte receptors for Aβ and unraveling mechanisms of recruitment of these cells to areas of Aβ deposition. While our findings and those of others have added significantly to our understanding of the role of the neuroimmune system in AD, the glass remains half full (or half empty) and a lot remains to be uncovered.
Recent Advances in Imaging Alzheimer's Disease
Authors: Braskie Meredith N.  , Toga Arthur W.  , Thompson Paul M.
Published: February 2025

Advances in brain imaging technology in the past five years have contributed greatly to the understanding of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Here, we review recent research related to amyloid imaging, new methods for magnetic resonance imaging analyses, and statistical methods. We also review research that evaluates AD risk factors and brain imaging, in the context of AD prediction and progression. We selected a variety of illustrative studies, describing how they advanced the field and are leading AD research in promising new directions.
TARDBP Mutation Analysis in TDP-43 Proteinopathies and Deciphering the Toxicity of Mutant TDP-43
Authors: Gendron Tania F.  , Rademakers Rosa  , Petrucelli Leonard
Published: February 2025

The identification of TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43) as the major disease protein in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration with ubiquitin inclusions has defined a new class of neurodegenerative conditions: the TDP-43 proteinopathies. This breakthrough was quickly followed by mutation analysis of TARDBP, the gene encoding TDP-43. Herein, we provide a review of our previously published efforts that led to the identification of 3 TARDBP mutations (p.M337V, p.N345K, and p.I383V) in familial ALS patients, two of which were novel. With over 40 TARDBP mutations now discovered, there exists conclusive evidence that TDP-43 plays a direct role in neurodegeneration. The onus is now on researchers to elucidate the mechanisms by which mutant TDP-43 confers toxicity, and to exploit these findings to gain a better understanding of how TDP-43 contributes to the pathogenesis of disease. Our biochemical analysis of TDP-43 in ALS patient lymphoblastoid cell lines revealed a substantial increase in TDP-43 truncation products, including a ~25 kDa fragment, compared to control lymphoblastoid cell lines. We discuss the putative harmful consequence of abnormal TDP-43 fragmentation, as well as highlight additional mechanisms of toxicity associated with mutant TDP-43.
Molecular Mechanisms of Amyloid Oligomers Toxicity
Authors: Kayed Rakez  , Lasagna-Reeves Cristian A.
Published: February 2025

Amyloid oligomers have emerged as the most toxic species of amyloid-β (Aβ). This hypothesis might explain the lack of correlation between amyloid plaques and memory impairment or cellular dysfunction. However, despite the numerous published research articles supporting the critical role Aβ oligomers in synaptic dysfunction and cell death, the exact definition and mechanism of amyloid oligomers formation and toxicity still elusive. Here we review the evidence supporting the many molecular mechanisms proposed for amyloid oligomers toxicity and suggest that the complexity and dynamic nature of amyloid oligomers may be responsible for the discrepancy among these mechanisms and the proposed cellular targets for amyloid oligomers.
Terrorism and Human Rights
Authors: White Larry D.
Published: February 2025

The fight against terrorism must rest on law. Although most actions can be prosecuted under national law, these are often based on principles of international law. Not only are formal multilateral agreements (treaties) important, but so are regional and bilateral ones. However, these lead to challenges and issues in fighting terrorism. The lack of a comprehensive mechanism is just but one. However, by focusing on the basics, counterterrorism forces can be successful and while conforming to the rule of law.
Internet-Based Intelligence: Prediction or Foreknowledge?
Authors: Bonfanti Matteo E.  , Rebera Andrew P.
Published: February 2025

“Intelligence” results from the evaluation and analysis of collected information. Pragmatically it represents informed, targeted and actionable knowledge, capable of grounding prediction of a probable future. Intelligence can also be described – in ideal terms – as capable of grounding “foreknowledge”. In this latter guise it is less a ground of prediction than of precognition. The present chapter examines these notions of intelligence and proposes two explanatory models: the “Laplacian” model and the “Practical Wisdom” model. Using these models, the chapter analyses “Internet-based intelligence”, which is attaining an increasingly high profile among producers and consumers of intelligence. The variety and volume of Internet-based and open-source information, coupled with increasingly powerful automated analysis techniques, could seem to suggest the possibility that we are moving towards the Laplacian model of intelligence as a ground of foreknowledge. This chapter demonstrates that this cannot be the case – for both practical and theoretical reasons.
Prospects for the Cooperation Between the CSTO and NATO after the End of the ‘War on Terror’ in Afghanistan
Authors: Fenenko Alexey
Published: February 2025

Over the past ten years, the leaders of the CSTO and the NATO stated that these organizations have two areas of cooperation: the fight against transnational terrorism in Afghanistan and the maintenance of stability in Central Asia. The dangers of ‘Taliban’ and ‘Al Qaeda’ have prompted Russia to accept NATO's military presence in Central Asia. The security situation has changed in the region since 2009. NATO fears that Russia uses the CSTO mechanisms for the extrusion of the alliance from Central Asia. Moscow fears that NATO is not trying to stop the opium production in Afghanistan, but to establish a military and political dialogue with the Central Asian countries bypassing Russia. These trends have worsened after the NATO's Lisbon summit in 2010, which adopted the decision to withdraw the alliance forces from Afghanistan. Nevertheless, both the CSTO and NATO need to create new institutional mechanisms for enhancing their dialogue, and perhaps co-operation, on a wide range of regional issues.
Securitization Prospects of Illicit Drug Trafficking in Central Asia
Authors: Abdullayev Akmaljon
Published: February 2025

Security of five post-Soviet Central Asian states cannot be studied without taking into consideration of developments in neighboring Afghanistan and illicit drugs trafficking from this country. Some experts argue that illicit drug trafficking has been threatening the political, military, economic and societal sectors of security of newly independent states in Central Asia. This article, however, analyzes the issue from securitization perspective; and argues that illicit drug trafficking has not become security issue in the region yet. It analyzes the actions of the Central Asian governments against illicit drugs trafficking, including the speeches of their leaders who often acknowledge the threat of illicit drugs trafficking. As this study points out, however, there is no discursive consensus around the securitization of this issue. Having examined the policies of Uzbekistan against extremism, the strategies of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan against separatism as well as Tajikistan's measures of protecting the transit and transport corridors, the article demonstrates that the Central Asian countries have not utilized their capabilities and securitization experiences in fighting narcotics trafficking. The article discusses the reasons that lead the regional governments to undertake extraordinary measures. It also analyzes the chances and drawbacks concerning the securitization of illicit drugs trafficking in Central Asia. The article suggests that the improvement of the status quo with more effective anti-corruption mechanisms could be the key to success as the attempts at the securitization of this issue in Central Asia had significant drawbacks.
The application of biophysical techniques to study antimicrobial peptides
Authors: Torcato Inês M.  , Castanho Miguel A.R.B.  , Henriques Sónia T.
Published: February 2025

The increasing bacteria resistance to conventional antibiotics has led to the need for alternative therapies. Being part of the human innate defence system and with a broad spectrum of activity against bacteria, viruses, protozoa and cancer cells, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are a very promising alternative. The mechanism of action of AMPs seems to broadly correlate with their ability to target the bacterial cell membrane. To understand and improve their effect, it is of major importance to unravel their mechanism of action and in particular, to understand the peptide–membrane binding. Several biophysical techniques such as fluorescence spectroscopy, circular dichroism, zeta potential determination and atomic force microscopy can be used to achieve this goal. Characteristics of AMPs interactions and the use of these biophysical techniques will be discussed.
Thymoquinone β-cyclodextrin nanoparticles system: A preliminary study
Authors: Cardoso T.  , Galhano C.I.C.  , Ferreira Marques M.F.  , Moreira da Silva A.
Published: February 2025

Thymoquinone is a natural product, the main constituent of Nigella sativa seeds, which exhibits anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer activities. Among several existing molecules capable of forming an inclusion compound structure, cyclodextrins are applied in the pharmaceutical industry either to increase solubility of hydrophobic molecules or to protect molecules from inactivation or degradation. β-cyclodextrin is currently the most common cyclodextrin in pharmaceutical formulations and probably the best studied in humans. In order to study the properties of inclusion compounds based on cyclodextrins and thymoquinone Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), Utraviolet-Visible, Positron Annihilation Lifetime (PAL) spectroscopies and calorimetric studies by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) were used. The obtained results indicate the formation of a 1:1 inclusion compound between cyclodextrin and thymoquinone. PALS and DSC measurements also provided evidence of the inclusion compound's activity.
Protein–ligand interactions of the D-galactose/D-glucose-binding protein as a potential sensing probe of glucose biosensors
Authors: Stepanenko Olga V.  , Stepanenko Olesya V.  , Fonin Alexander V.  , Verkhusha Vladislav V.  , Kuznetsova Irina M.  , Turoverov Konstantin K.
Published: February 2025

In this work we have studied peculiarities of protein–ligand interaction under different conditions. We have shown that guanidine hydrochloride (GdnHCl) unfolding–refolding of GGBP in the presence of glucose (Glc) is reversible, but the equilibrium curves of complex refolding-unfolding have been attained only after 10 days incubation of GGBP/Glc in the presence of GdnHCl. This effect has not been revealed at heat-induced GGBP/Glc denaturation. Slow equilibration between the native protein in GGBP/Glc complex and the unfolded state of protein in the GdnHCl presence is connected with increased viscosity of solution at moderate and high GdnHCl concentrations which interferes with diffusion of glucose molecules. Thus, the limiting step of the unfolding–refolding process of the complex GGBP/Glc is the disruption/tuning of the configuration fit between the protein in the native state and the ligand.
The Competing Security Agendas and Security Identities in the Black Sea Region
Authors: Vorotnyuk Marina
Published: February 2025

The Black Sea region is a battleground between two competitive security visions, traditionally labeled as modernist and post-modernist. The main divergence in security visions is due to the security identities of the actors. Analysis of Ukrainian, Russian and Turkish security policies may bring us to the conclusion that these actors represent different security orders. So far, in lots of cases the security identities of parties are founded on mutually exclusive premises and provide for only a situational cooperation. It is quite unlikely that the gap between the different security orders will be bridged in the near future.
Context-based Resource Management for a Fusion Engine
Authors: Snidaro Lauro  , Visentini Ingrid
Published: February 2025

Building an effective situational picture requires the fusion of potentially heterogeneous information coming from multiple sources. In this work, we propose the architecture of a Resource Management Module (RMM) meant to refine and optimize the performance of a multi-sensor fusion engine. Specifically, the RMM is designed to improve performance of the tracking and classification tasks performed by the engine. Here, attention will be focused on assisting the tracking process, while taking into account the current state of things in the observed environment and the available contextual information.
Terrorism Overview
Authors: Çelik Özden
Published: February 2025

This article discusses the historical evolution and the causes of the terrorism as a form of political violence, by looking at the changing ideology, organization and structure, as well as motives and roots. First, the article examines the historical evolution of the terrorism, together with its goals and motivation. Second, it brings up the difficulties for defining terrorism by emphasizing historical and current challenges. In this part, the main pillars of the common definitions are also presented. Third, the last part of the article is dedicated to explain the main causes of the terrorism, with special attention to contextual, convictional, motivational and facilitating causes.
A DIY approach to the Internet of Things: A Smart Alarm Clock
Authors: Scott Gary  , Chin Jeannette
Published: February 2025

This paper explores how the recent development of low-cost System on a Chip (SoC) boards can be used by the Internet of Things (IoT) DIY community to assist the process of smart object innovation through the example of an intelligent alarm clock. The alarm clock will combine existing traffic and weather web services with local temperature sensor readings to provide a suitable alarm time for the user. Included is a brief review of currently available IoT components and state-of-the-art alarm clocks offering augmented features. Provided is a description and justification of both the hardware and software components of the alarm clock. CPU and memory resource testing demonstrate the computational suitability of the SoC device in the context of an intelligent alarm clock. User feedback regarding the features of the alarm clock provides suggestions for further development.