bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Severity Classification of Diabetic Retinopathy Using an Ensemble Learning Algorithm through Analyzing Retinal Images
Authors: Sikder Niloy , Masud Mehedi , Bairagi Anupam Kumar , Arif Abu Shamim Mohammad , Nahid Abdullah-Al , Alhumyani Hesham A.
Published: April 2021

Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) refers to the damages endured by the retina as an effect of diabetes. DR has become a severe health concern worldwide, as the number of diabetes patients is soaring uncountably. Periodic eye examination allows doctors to detect DR in patients at an early stage to initiate proper treatments. Advancements in artificial intelligence and camera technology have allowed us to automate the diagnosis of DR, which can benefit millions of patients indeed. This paper inscribes a novel method for DR diagnosis based on the gray-level intensity and texture features extracted from fundus images using a decision tree-based ensemble learning technique. This study primarily works with the Asia Pacific Tele-Ophthalmology Society 2019 Blindness Detection (APTOS 2019 BD) dataset. We undertook several steps to curate its contents to make them more suitable for machine learning applications. Our approach incorporates several image processing techniques, two feature extraction techniques, and one feature selection technique, which results in a classification accuracy of 94.20% (margin of error: ±0.32%) and an F-measure of 93.51% (margin of error: ±0.5%). Several other parameters regarding the proposed method’s performance have been presented to manifest its robustness and reliability. Details on each employed technique have been included to make the provided results reproducible. This method can be a valuable tool for mass retinal screening to detect DR, thus drastically reducing the rate of vision loss attributed to it.
Surface Quality of Metal Parts Produced by Laser Powder Bed Fusion: Ion Polishing in Gas-Discharge Plasma Proposal
Authors: Metel Alexander S. , Grigoriev Sergey N. , Tarasova Tatiana V. , Melnik Yury A. , Volosova Marina A. , Okunkova Anna A. , Podrabinnik Pavel A. , Mustafaev Enver S.
Published: April 2021

Additive manufacturing has evolved over the past decades into a technology that provides freedom of design through the ability to produce complex-shaped solid structures, reducing the operational time and material volumes in manufacturing significantly. However, the surface of parts manufactured by the additive method remains now extremely rough. The current trend of expanding the industrial application of additive manufacturing is researching surface roughness and finishing. Moreover, the limited choice of materials suitable for additive manufacturing does not satisfy the diverse design requirements, necessitating additional coatings deposition. Requirements for surface treatment and coating deposition technology depend on the intended use of the parts, their material, and technology. In most cases, they cannot be determined based on existing knowledge and experience. It determines the scientific relevance of the analytical research and development of scientific and technological principles of finishing parts obtained by laser additive manufacturing and functional coating deposition. There is a scientific novelty of analytical research that proposes gas-discharge plasma processing for finishing laser additive manufactured parts and technological principles development including three processing stages—explosive ablation, polishing with a concentrated beam of fast neutral argon atoms, and coating deposition—for the first time.
Characterization of the Exo-Metabolome of the Emergent Phytopathogen Fusarium kuroshium sp. nov., a Causal Agent of Fusarium Dieback
Authors: Gutiérrez-Sánchez Angélica , Plasencia Javier , Monribot-Villanueva Juan L. , Rodríguez-Haas José B. , López-Buenfil Jose Abel , García-Ávila Clemente J. , Ruiz-May Eliel , Sánchez-Rangel Diana , Guerrero-Analco José A.
Published: April 2021

Fusarium kuroshium is the fungal symbiont associated with the ambrosia beetle Euwallacea kuroshio, a plague complex that attacks avocado, among other hosts, causing a disease named Fusarium dieback (FD). However, the contribution of F. kuroshium to the establishment of this disease remains unknown. To advance the understanding of F. kuroshium pathogenicity, we profiled its exo-metabolome through metabolomics tools based on accurate mass spectrometry. We found that F. kuroshium can produce several key metabolites with phytotoxicity properties and other compounds with unknown functions. Among the metabolites identified in the fungal exo-metabolome, fusaric acid (FA) was further studied due to its phytotoxicity and relevance as a virulence factor. We tested both FA and organic extracts from F. kuroshium at various dilutions in avocado foliar tissue and found that they caused necrosis and chlorosis, resembling symptoms similar to those observed in FD. This study reports for first-time insights regarding F. kuroshium associated with its virulence, which could lead to the potential development of diagnostic and management tools of FD disease and provides a basis for understanding the interaction of F. kuroshium with its host plants.
Effects of a Low Dose of T-2 Toxin on the Percentage of T and B Lymphocytes and Cytokine Secretion in the Porcine Ileal Wall
Authors: Wojtacha Paweł , Trybowski Wojciech , Podlasz Piotr , Żmigrodzka Magdalena , Tyburski Józef , Polak-Śliwińska Magdalena , Jakimiuk Ewa , Bakuła Tadeusz , Baranowski Mirosław , Żuk-Gołaszewska Krystyna , Zielonka Łukasz , Obremski Kazimierz
Published: April 2021

Plant materials used in the production of pig feed are frequently contaminated with mycotoxins. T-2 toxin is a secondary metabolite of selected Fusarium species, and it can exert a harmful influence on living organisms. Most mycotoxins enter the body via the gastrointestinal tract, and they can modulate the gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) function. However, little is known about the influence of low T-2 toxin doses on GALT. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of T-2 toxin administered at 50% of the lowest-observed-adverse-effect level (LOAEL) on the percentage of CD2+ T cells, CD4+ T helper cells, CD8+ cytotoxic T cells, CD4+CD8+ double-positive T cells, TCRγδ+ cells, CD5+CD8- B1 cells, and CD21+ B2 cells, and the secretion of proinflammatory (IFN-γ, IL-1β, IL-2, IL-12/23p40, IL-17A), anti-inflammatory, and regulatory (IL-4, IL-10, TGF-β) cytokines in the porcine ileal wall. The results of the study revealed that T-2 toxin disrupts the development of tolerance to food antigens by enhancing the secretion of proinflammatory and regulatory cytokines and decreasing the production of anti-inflammatory TGF-β. T-2 toxin triggered the cellular response, which was manifested by an increase in the percentage of CD8+ T cells and a decrease in the percentage of B2 and Tγδ lymphocytes.
Comparison of Throat Washings, Nasopharyngeal Swabs and Oropharyngeal Swabs for Detection of SARS-CoV-2
Authors: Hitzenbichler Florian , Bauernfeind Stilla , Salzberger Bernd , Schmidt Barbara , Wenzel Jürgen J.
Published: April 2021

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA is detected by reverse-transcription quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) from respiratory specimens. This study compares throat washings (TW), nasopharyngeal swabs (NS) and oropharyngeal swabs (OS). A total of 102 samples from 34 adult patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection were analysed by RT-qPCR with absolute quantification. The median concentrations and diagnostic sensitivities were 5.8×104 copies/mL, 85% (NS), 1.4×104, 79% (OS) and 4.3×103, 85% (TW). Concentration differences were significant between NS and TW (P = 0.019). Saliva (SA) was available from 21 patients (median 3.4×103). OS and TW can be considered for SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics, although with slightly lower concentrations.
A Productive Expression Platform Derived from Host-Restricted Eilat Virus: Its Extensive Validation and Novel Strategy
Authors: Tan Lu , Zhang Yiwen , Wang Xingxing , Kim Dal Young
Published: April 2021

Most alphaviruses are transmitted by mosquitoes and infect a wide range of insects and vertebrates. However, Eilat virus (EILV) is defective for infecting vertebrate cells at multiple levels of the viral life cycle. This host-restriction property renders EILV an attractive expression platform since it is not infectious for vertebrates and therefore provides a highly advantageous safety profile. Here, we investigated the feasibility of versatile EILV-based expression vectors. By replacing the structural genes of EILV with those of other alphaviruses, we generated seven different chimeras. These chimeras were readily rescued in the original mosquito cells and were able to reach high titers, suggesting that EILV is capable of packaging the structural proteins of different lineages. We also explored the ability of EILV to express authentic antigens via double subgenomic (SG) RNA vectors. Four foreign genetic materials of varied length were introduced into the EILV genome, and the expressed heterologous genetic materials were readily detected in the infected cells. By inserting an additional SG promoter into the chimera genome containing the structural genes of Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), we developed a bivalent vaccine candidate against CHIKV and Zika virus. These data demonstrate the outstanding compatibility of the EILV genome. The produced recombinants can be applied to vaccine and diagnostic tool development, but more investigations are required.
Top-Down and Bottom-Up Proteomics Methods to Study RNA Virus Biology
Authors: Simanjuntak Yogy , Schamoni-Kast Kira , Grün Alice , Uetrecht Charlotte , Scaturro Pietro
Published: April 2021

RNA viruses cause a wide range of human diseases that are associated with high mortality and morbidity. In the past decades, the rise of genetic-based screening methods and high-throughput sequencing approaches allowed the uncovering of unique and elusive aspects of RNA virus replication and pathogenesis at an unprecedented scale. However, viruses often hijack critical host functions or trigger pathological dysfunctions, perturbing cellular proteostasis, macromolecular complex organization or stoichiometry, and post-translational modifications. Such effects require the monitoring of proteins and proteoforms both on a global scale and at the structural level. Mass spectrometry (MS) has recently emerged as an important component of the RNA virus biology toolbox, with its potential to shed light on critical aspects of virus–host perturbations and streamline the identification of antiviral targets. Moreover, multiple novel MS tools are available to study the structure of large protein complexes, providing detailed information on the exact stoichiometry of cellular and viral protein complexes and critical mechanistic insights into their functions. Here, we review top-down and bottom-up mass spectrometry-based approaches in RNA virus biology with a special focus on the most recent developments in characterizing host responses, and their translational implications to identify novel tractable antiviral targets.
Updating Sacbrood Virus Quantification PCR Method Using a TaqMan-MGB Probe
Authors: Huang Wei-Fone , Zhang Yakun , Mehmood Shahid , Wang Zhengwei , Hou Chunsheng , Li Zhiguo
Published: April 2021

Sacbrood virus (SBV) is a common honey bee virus disease. SBV variants and strains identified in Asian honey bees, Apis cerana, have created confusion in identifications. Although the regional names indicated the expansions of the virus in new regions, pathogenesis, and genomes of these variants are not distinct enough to be a separate virus species. However, current SBV qPCR methods may not detect newly identified A. cerana SBV variants (Ac SBV) according to the genome sequences. Since these Ac SBV can naturally infect A. mellifera and possibly other hymenopterans, ignorance of Ac SBV variants in detection methods is simply unwise. In this report, we updated the qPCR method based on Blanchard’s design that used conserved regions of VP1 to design a TaqMan method with an MGB (minor groove binder) probe. We tested the method in bees and hornets, including A. mellifera, A. cerana, and Vespa velutina. The updated primers and the probe can match published SBV and Ac SBV genomes in databases, and this updated method has reasonable sensitivity and flexibility to be applied as a detection and quantification method before the discovery of variants with more mutated VP1 gene.
The Different Spatial and Temporal Variability of Terrestrial Water Storage in Major Grain-Producing Regions of China
Authors: Chen Zheng , Wang Wenjie , Jiang Weiguo , Gao Mingliang , Zhao Beibei , Chen Yunwei
Published: April 2021

Irrigation is an important factor affecting the change of terrestrial water storage (TWS), especially in grain-producing areas. The Northeast China Plain (NECP), the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain (HHH) and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River Basin Plain (YRB) are major grain-producing regions of China, with particular climate conditions, crops and irrigation schemes. However, there are few papers focusing on the different variation pattern of water storage between NECP, HHH and YRB. In this paper, the characteristics of terrestrial water storage anomaly (TWSA) and groundwater storage in the three regions mentioned above from 2003 to 2014 were analyzed, and the main reasons for water storage variations in the three regions were also discussed. The result shows that although effective irrigated areas increased in all three regions, TWSA only decreased in HHH and TWSA in the other two regions have shown an increasing trend. Spatially, the water storage deficit was more serious in middle and south NECP and HHH. In the three regions, water storage variations were impacted by meteorological condition and anthropogenic stress (e.g., irrigation). However, irrigation water consumption has a greater impact on water storage deficit in HHH than the other two regions, and water storage variation in YRB was mainly impacted by meteorological conditions. In this case, we suggest that the structure of agricultural planting in HHH should be adjusted to reduce the water consumption for irrigation.
Forested Riparian Buffers Change the Taxonomic and Functional Composition of Stream Invertebrate Communities in Agricultural Catchments
Authors: Sargac Jasmina , Johnson Richard , Burdon Francis , Truchy Amélie , Rîşnoveanu Geta , Goethals Peter , McKie Brendan
Published: April 2021

Riparian zones form the interface between stream and terrestrial ecosystems and play a key role through their vegetation structure in determining stream biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and regulating human impacts, such as warming, nutrient enrichment and sedimentation. We assessed how differing riparian vegetation types influence the structural and functional composition (based on species traits) of stream invertebrate communities in agricultural catchments. We characterized riparian and stream habitat conditions and sampled stream invertebrate communities in 10 independent site pairs, each comprising one “unbuffered” reach lacking woody riparian vegetation and a second downstream reach with a woody riparian buffer. Forested riparian buffers were associated with greater shading, increased gravel content in stream substrates and faster flow velocities. We detected changes in invertebrate taxonomic composition in response to buffer presence, with an increase in sensitive Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera (EPT) taxa and increases in key invertebrate species traits, including species with preference for gravel substrates and aerial active dispersal as adults. Riparian vegetation independently explained most variation in taxa composition, whereas riparian and instream habitat together explained most variation in functional composition. Our results highlight how changes in stream invertebrate trait distributions may indirectly reflect differences in riparian habitat, with implications for stream health and cross-ecosystem connectivity.
FM-GRU: A Time Series Prediction Method for Water Quality Based on seq2seq Framework
Authors: Xu Jianlong , Wang Kun , Lin Che , Xiao Lianghong , Huang Xingshan , Zhang Yufeng
Published: April 2021

Water quality prediction plays a crucial role in both enterprise management and government environmental management. However, due to the variety in water quality data, inconsistent frequency of data acquisition, inconsistency in data organization, and volatility and sparsity of data, predicting water quality accurately and efficiently has become a key problem. This paper presents a recurrent neural network water quality prediction method based on a sequence-to-sequence (seq2seq) framework. The gate recurrent unit (GRU) model is used as an encoder and decoder, and a factorization machine (FM) is integrated into the model to solve the problem of high sparsity and high dimensional feature interaction in the data, which was not addressed by the water quality prediction models in prior research. Moreover, due to the long period and timespan of water quality data, we add a dual attention mechanism to the seq2seq framework to address memory failures in deep learning. We conducted a series of experiments, and the results show that our proposed method is more accurate than several typical water quality prediction methods.
PISCO_HyM_GR2M: A Model of Monthly Water Balance in Peru (1981–2020)
Authors: Llauca Harold , Lavado-Casimiro Waldo , Montesinos Cristian , Santini William , Rau Pedro
Published: April 2021

Quantification of the surface water offer is crucial for its management. In Peru, the low spatial density of hydrometric stations makes this task challenging. This work aims to evaluate the hydrological performance of a monthly water balance model in Peru using precipitation and evapotranspiration data from the high-resolution meteorological PISCO dataset, which has been developed by the National Service of Meteorology and Hydrology of Peru (SENAMHI). A regionalization approach based on Fourier Amplitude Sensitivity Testing (FAST) of the rainfall-runoff (RR) and runoff variability (RV) indices defined 14 calibration regions nationwide. Next, the GR2M model was used at a semi-distributed scale in 3594 sub-basins and river streams to simulate monthly discharges from January 1981 to March 2020. Model performance was evaluated using the Kling–Gupta efficiency (KGE), square root transferred Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSEsqrt), and water balance error (WBE) metrics. The results show a very well representation of monthly discharges for a large portion of Peruvian sub-basins (KGE ≥ 0.75, NSEsqrt ≥ 0.65, and −0.29 < WBE < 0.23). Finally, this study introduces a product of continuous monthly discharge rates in Peru, named PISCO_HyM_GR2M, to understand surface water balance in data-scarce sub-basins.
Extraction of Organic Volatile Pollutants in Over-Saturated Water by Pervaporation Technique Using a Poly (Dimethylsiloxane)-Based Sealer as a Membrane
Authors: Alharbi Wafa Nazzal , Saeed Waseem Sharaf , Alwarthan Abdulrahman A. , Badjah-Hadj-Ahmed Ahmed Yacine , Aouak Taieb
Published: April 2021

SILICONE1200 is an inexpensive domestic poly (dimethylsiloxane)-based sealer that was used in this study to remove volatile organic compounds from over-saturated water using the pervaporation technique. A series of volatile organic liquid compounds representing an important part of polluting organic products released every day in water were chosen for this study. These products were alkyl halides (chloroform), aromatics (toluene), aliphatic hydrocarbons (heptanes), ketones and aldehydes (butanone), and organosulfides (thiophene). The mass transfer of these compounds and their mixtures through the SILICONE1200 membrane was assessed to predict the results of the separation process. The results indicate that the mechanism of diffusion obeyed a Fickian model. Different parameters affecting the pervaporation results, such as the membrane thickness, stirring rate, and temperature, were examined to determine the optimal conditions in terms of the total flux and selectivity. The optimized parameters were then applied to the separation of an organic mixture from polluted water using the dynamic pervaporation process with promising results.
Hydraulic Characteristics of Emerged Rigid and Submerged Flexible Vegetations in the Riparian Zone
Authors: Meng Xin , Zhou Yubao , Sun Zhilin , Ding Kaixuan , Chong Lin
Published: April 2021

Flow resistance, velocity distribution, and turbulence intensity are significantly influenced by aquatic vegetations (AV) in riparian zones. Understanding the hydraulics of flow with planted floodplains is of great significance for determining the velocity distribution profile and supporting the fluvial processes management. However, the traditional flume experiment method is inefficient. Therefore, the multigroup simultaneous flume test method was carried out to describe the flow patterns affected by emerged rigid (reed and wooden stick) and submerged flexible vegetations (grass and chlorella). The Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter (ADV) was utilized to measure the velocity at one point for different experimental conditions. The results showed that hydraulic features were influenced by different types of vegetation. Furthermore, the relative depth (z/h) was a determining factor of those variations. In addition, the time-averaged velocity distributions of planted floodplains are not logarithmic. Instead, they represented “s-shape” profiles. In detail, for the vegetated floodplains, reed and wood followed an s-shape profile, but for grass and chlorella, they followed reverse s-shape profile. For all cases, turbulence is not isotropic and the change law of turbulence intensity is different in different sections. The flow resistance, turbulence intensities, and Reynold stresses influenced by different types of vegetation were also analyzed.
Determination of Unsaturated Hydraulic Properties of Seepage Flow Process in Municipal Solid Waste
Authors: Zhang Chai , Liang Bing , Liu Lei , Wan Yong , Zhu Qichen
Published: April 2021

The unsaturated hydraulic characteristics of waste soil are an essential basis for predicting and evaluating leachate migration and distribution in landfills. The saturated water content and permeability coefficient were measured, and a multi-step drainage monitoring experiment was conducted indoors at different dry densities, particle sizes, and degradation ages. Single and dual permeability models were adopted to determine the unsaturated hydraulic characteristic parameters of waste. Results show that dry density and particle size are the key factors affecting the saturated water content and permeability of waste. A single degradation age has little effect on it. Respectively, the saturated water content has a linear relationship with dry density, and permeability has an exponential relationship with dry density under limited experimental data. The overflow numerical inversion method can accurately obtain the unsaturated hydraulic characteristic parameters of wastes and summarizes the values of the unsaturated hydraulic characteristic parameters of wastes with different attributes in the literature and the results of this study. The dual-permeability model performed significantly better than the single-permeability model for water movement, suggesting that a dual-domain description is required for water flow in landfills.
Rainfall Threshold for Flash Flood Warning Based on Model Output of Soil Moisture: Case Study Wernersbach, Germany
Authors: Luong Thanh Thi , Pöschmann Judith , Kronenberg Rico , Bernhofer Christian
Published: April 2021

Convective rainfall can cause dangerous flash floods within less than six hours. Thus, simple approaches are required for issuing quick warnings. The flash flood guidance (FFG) approach pre-calculates rainfall levels (thresholds) potentially causing critical water levels for a specific catchment. Afterwards, only rainfall and soil moisture information are required to issue warnings. This study applied the principle of FFG to the Wernersbach Catchment (Germany) with excellent data coverage using the BROOK90 water budget model. The rainfall thresholds were determined for durations of 1 to 24 h, by running BROOK90 in “inverse” mode, identifying rainfall values for each duration that led to exceedance of critical discharge (fixed value). After calibrating the model based on its runoff, we ran it in hourly mode with four precipitation types and various levels of initial soil moisture for the period 1996–2010. The rainfall threshold curves showed a very high probability of detection (POD) of 91% for the 40 extracted flash flood events in the study period, however, the false alarm rate (FAR) of 56% and the critical success index (CSI) of 42% should be improved in further studies. The proposed adjusted FFG approach has the potential to provide reliable support in flash flood forecasting.
Who’s Next? Non-Indigenous Cnidarian and Ctenophoran Species Approaching to the Italian Waters
Authors: Gravili Cinzia , Rossi Sergio
Published: April 2021

The aims of the present paper were to review the knowledge about the Mediterranean non-indigenous species of the taxa Cnidaria and Ctenophora (CC NIS), to screen the risk of 98 species for their potential invasiveness in the Mediterranean Sea and their approach to the Italian waters. Of these, 38% are well established in the basin, 4% are known for their invasiveness, 44% are casual, 11% have a taxonomic status unresolved, and 3% are included in the category ”cryptogenic”. The biodiversity CC NIS of the Mediterranean Sea has changed considerably in the last two decades and 27 out of 98 Mediterranean CC NIS are present in the Italian waters. Fifteen CC NIS, some equipped with high invasive potential, should be regarded as good candidates to become future immigrants of the Italian waters. Anticipatory NIS forecast based on biogeographical and ecological analyses may provide a useful tool for targeted management of the CC NIS issue and for the assessment of the second descriptor of Good Environmental Status. On the other hand, conservation and management of marine ecosystem should be based on the conservation of the essential environmental conditions for the functioning of these ecosystems instead of the contamination or eradication of alien species.
Evidence of Phosphate Mining and Agriculture Influence on Concentrations, Forms, and Ratios of Nitrogen and Phosphorus in a Florida River
Authors: Duan Shuiwang , Banger Kamaljit , Toor Gurpal
Published: April 2021

Florida has a long history of phosphate-mining, but less is known about how mining affects nutrient exports to coastal waters. Here, we investigated the transport of inorganic and organic forms of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) over 23 sampling events during a wet season (June–September) in primary tributaries and mainstem of Alafia River that drains into the Tampa Bay Estuary. Results showed that a tributary draining the largest phosphate-mining area (South Prong) had less flashy peaks, and nutrients were more evenly exported relative to an adjacent tributary (North Prong), highlighting the effectiveness of the mining reclamation on stream hydrology. Tributaries draining > 10% phosphate-mining area had significantly higher specific conductance (SC), pH, dissolved reactive P (DRP), and total P (TP) than tributaries without phosphate-mining. Further, mean SC, pH, and particulate reactive P were positively correlated with the percent phosphate-mining area. As phosphate-mining occurred in the upper part of the watershed, the SC, pH, DRP, and TP concentrations increased downstream along the mainstem. For example, the upper watershed contributed 91% of TP compared to 59% water discharge to the Alafia River. In contrast to P, the highest concentrations of total N (TN), especially nitrate + nitrite (NOx–N) occurred in agricultural tributaries, where the mean NOx–N was positively correlated with the percent agricultural land. Dissolved organic N was dominant in all streamwaters and showed minor variability across sites. As a result of N depletion and P enrichment, the phosphate-mining tributaries had significantly lower molar ratios of TN:TP and NOx–N:DRP than other tributaries. Bi-weekly monitoring data showed consistent increases in SC and DRP and a decrease in NOx–N at the South Prong tributary (highest phosphate-mining area) throughout the wet season, and different responses of dissolved inorganic nutrients (negative) and particulate nutrients (positive) to water discharge. We conclude that (1) watersheds with active and reclaimed phosphate-mining and agriculture lands are important sources of streamwater P and N, respectively, and (2) elevated P inputs from the phosphate-mining areas altered the N:P ratios in streamwaters of the Alafia River.
Risk and Impact Assessment of Dams in the Contiguous United States Using the 2018 National Inventory of Dams Database
Authors: Song Junho , Sciubba Madden , Kam Jonghun
Published: April 2021

Aging water infrastructure in the United States (U.S.) is a growing concern. In the U.S., over 90,000 dams were registered in the 2018 National Inventory of Dams (NID) database, and their average age was 57 years old. Here, we aim to assess spatiotemporal patterns of the growth of artificial water storage of the existing dams and their hazard potential and potential economic benefit. In this study, we use more than 70,000 NID-registered dams to assess the cumulative hazard potential of dam failure in terms of the total number and the cumulative maximum storage of dams over the 12 National Weather Service River Forecast Center (RFC) regions. In addition, we also estimate potential economic benefits of the existing dams based on their cumulative storage capacity. Results show that the ratios of the cumulative storage capacity to the long-term averaged precipitation range from 8% (Mid-Atlantic) to 50% (Colorado), indicating the significant anthropogenic contribution to the land surface water budget. We also find that the cumulative storage capacity of the dams with high (probable loss of human life is if the dam fails) and significant (potential economic loss and environmental damage with no probable casualty) hazard potential ranges from 50% (North Central) to 98% (Missouri and Colorado) of the total storage capacity within the corresponding region. Surprisingly, 43% of the dams with either high or significant potential hazards have no Emergency Action Plan. Potential economic benefits from the existing dams range from $0.7 billion (Mid Atlantic) to $15.4 billion (West Gulf). Spatiotemporal patterns of hazard potential and economic benefits from the NID-registered dams indicate a need for the development of region-specific preparation, emergency, and recovery plans for dam failure. This study provides an insight about how big data, such as the NID database, can provide actionable information for community resilience toward a safer and more sustainable environment.
Changes of Streamflow Caused by Early Start of Growing Season in Nevada, United States
Authors: Fang Hong , Zhu Jianting , Saydi Muattar , Chen Xiaohua
Published: April 2021

The fluctuation of streamflow in snowmelt-dominated watersheds may be an indicator of climate change. However, the relationship between the start of growing season (SOS) and the streamflow in snowmelt-dominated watersheds is not clear. In this study, we update the Coupled Hydro-Ecological Simulation System (CHESS) model by incorporating the Growing Season Index (GSI) module to estimate the start of the growing season. The updated CHESS model is then used to calculate the streamflow in the Cleve Creek, Incline Creek and Twin River watersheds located in Nevada in the United States from 1981 to 2017. This updated CHESS can be applied in any regions that are suitable for deciduous vegetation. The streamflow in the static and dynamic scheme in the three watersheds have been simulated between 1981 and 2017 with the NS of 0.52 and 0.80 in the Cleve Creek, 0.46 and 0.75 in the Incline Creek, and 0.42 and 0.70 in the Twin River watersheds, respectively. The results illustrate that the SOS have come around 3–5 weeks earlier during the last 37 years. The results illustrate a high correlation between the temperature and the timing of the SOS. Early SOS leads to a substantial increase in total annual transpiration. An increase in annual transpiration can reduce aquifer recharge and increase cumulative growing season soil moisture deficit. Comparing to the streamflow without vegetation, the streamflow with vegetation is smaller due to transpiration. As the SOS comes earlier, the peaks of the streamflow with vegetation also come earlier. If the shifts in SOS continue, the effects on annual rates of transpiration can be significant, which may reduce the risk of flooding during snowmelt. On the other hand, earlier SOS may cause soil moisture to decline during summer, which would increase the drought stress in trees and the risk of wildfires and insect infestation.
Roman Aqueducts in Crete, Greece: Learning from the Past
Authors: Angelakis Andreas , Christodoulakos Yannis , Tzanakakis Vasileios
Published: April 2021

The Romans were well aware of the strategic importance of Crete and tried, by any means possible, its final conquest. The island was under Roman rule over four centuries (ca 67 BC–330 AD). Under Roman rule, Crete witnessed a growth of its population and prosperity and an increase in its connectivity with other parts of the Empire. In addition, Gortys, Chersonisos, Elyros, Lyttos, Kissamos and other cities flourished under their rule. At that prosperous time, several luxurious infrastructures, such as hydraulic works, were developed. In this paper, we wish to examine the principles and the technical characteristics of major aqueducts built at that time. They constructed impressive hydro-works, such as aqueducts, by using the knowledge gained from earlier Greek civilizations in Minoan and Classical and Hellenistic times. However, they mainly increased the scale of applied technologies to support the increased population water demand. Water is a common need of humankind and several ancient civilizations developed simple but practical techniques, such as the aqueduct, especially during Roman times. We can gain from their experience and knowledge to develop a sustainable water supply, presently and in the future, both in developed and developing countries.
USE OF MOBILE APPLICATIONS IN THE LEARNING PROCESS
Authors: BLAZHKO L. , RASSOKHA I. , RENDIUK S.
Published: April 2021

Nowadays the interest in integrating mobile applications into the learning process is increasing rapidly, so we need such teaching methods that will facilitate and accelerate the transmission of knowledge to students, intensify the process of learning, teach them techniques for independent work with material, increase productivity of learning and teacher's work. Such teaching methods can be implemented through the use of mobile information technology in education.  Mobile technology can make the learning process more interesting, meeting today's requirements, providing the right information at the right time.

The article considers the concept of "mobile learning", analyzes the features and directions of its use in modern education. It is noted that the use of mobile electronic devices and applications in higher mathematics allows you to check quickly the solution, to draw the chart in a few minutes as well as to apply them to distance learning, which greatly facilitates and accelerates knowledge, increases students' productivity and  independent work. It is also noted that despite the widespread use and availability of mobile phones among students, mobile learning is not widespread in native universities. The didactic principles to which mobile applications should correspond are defined, and also the attention to the basic advantages and disadvantages of the use of mobile applications in learning process of higher mathematics is paid.
PEDAGOGICAL ASPECTS OF USING EDUCATIONAL ANALYTICS AS A TOOL FOR SUCCESS AND QUALITY IMPROVEMENT MONITORING OF FUTURE PHYSICAL CULTURE TEACHERS’ PROFESSIONAL TRAINING IN CONDITIONS OF BLENDED LEARNING
Authors: DANYSKO O.
Published: April 2021

The article is devoted to defining the essence of the concept ‘educational analytics’ as an automated process of collecting, measuring, analyzing and visualizing data about the subjects of educational process in order to improve the educational environment. The algorithms of using educational analytics to control and evaluate the level of professional training of future physical culture teachers in conditions of blended learning as a tool of improvement the education quality are characterised.

It has been found that blended learning, based on the use of information and communication technologies, contains a significant amount of digital data of online learning systems and a wide range of intellectual analysis to improve the academic success of both the individual student and the educational process as a whole.

The study characterizes the types of combining full-time and e-learning education according to the level of process technologies.  Basic effective strategies of using educational analytics in blended courses for students’ profiling and their academic achievements tracking (timely detection of difficulties in mastering certain content; regulation and control of academic activity; development of an empirical framework for educational programme planning and individual academic and professional development strategies) are identified.  The key objects of educational analytics in blended learning are characterized (student activity in the form of number of course (Web site)visits; time, spent on tasks’ fulfilment; student productivity in forums and chats (number of reactions, argumentation); electronic testing data (number of attempts,  the number of points scored, typical mistakes); the quality of practical tasks’ fulfilment).

The author’s algorithm of using tools and strategies for organizing of blended learning and monitoring the level of educational achievements of future physical culture teachers while the course ‘Adaptive Physical Education’ is presented.  The results of empirical research show that blended educational environment provides new approaches and ways to aggregate a wide range of information about students, their academic activity and success, the effectiveness of educational activities in a particular course, the level of mastering the material.  It is emphasized that the use of educational analytics provides an opportunity to predict students’ success and determine the effectiveness of educational courses, and thus allows timely to choose strategies of students’ support and to correct the quality of educational content.
ORGANIZATIONAL AND DIDACTIC FEATURES OF SOCIAL REHABILITATION STUDENTS’ PROFESSIONAL TRAINING IN THE USA
Authors: DEMCHENKO J.
Published: April 2021

The article analyzes organizational and content features of social rehabilitation students’ professional training at higher education institutions in the United States. The two-year college programs for obtaining Associate’s degree, four-year Bachelor’s and interdisciplinary Master’s degree university programs for professional training in social rehabilitation have been characterized. The peculiar features of these programs for each academic degree have been determined. It has been identified that professional training is carried out on an interdisciplinary basis by integrating general scientific, professional and subject-specific knowledge, introducing wide range of elective courses. Three models for training social rehabilitation students have been defined: traditional didactic, problem-solving and facilitated.

Preference is given to the facilitated model, the conceptual idea of which is the idea of an integral professional and personal development of a social rehabilitation student as a subject of educational process throughout the study period and further professional activities. According to these models, the key teaching technologies have been divided into three groups: traditional didactic (demonstration, asking and answering questions), problem-solving (discussions, problem-based situations, conversations) and facilitated (interactive technologies such as round-table discussions, brainstorming activities, case study etc.).

It has been found out that American college and university teachers prefer interactive (group learning, gaming, reflective, combined, integrated, project-based, information and communication) technologies, the essential features of which are the problem-based nature of co-operative learning, partnership and dialogue. Effective use of interactive technologies helps to involve students in the process of cognition, develops students’ critical thinking, encourages them to participate in learning activities, become independent, develop their professional outlook, reflect upon their own educational and cognitive activities by promptly defining their learning outcomes, modeling real life situations, creating the atmosphere of community and co-operation.

It has been found out that the system of professional training provides conditions for professional self-determination, self-development and self-improvement.
EXPENDITURE OF APPLYING THE FUNDAMENTALS OF SELF-MANAGEMENT IN THE PRACTICAL ACTIVITY OF A YOUNG TEACHER
Authors: ISCHENKO V.
Published: April 2021

This article reveals the role of self-management in the professional activity of a young teacher, which really appears as a set of managerial influences aimed at himself as an active subject in order to bring his personality to the appropriate state necessary for successful implementation of their activities. It is established that the main goal of self-management is the maximum use of one's own capabilities, conscious self-management throughout life (self-determination) and overcoming external circumstances both at work and in one's own life.

It is noted that instead of changing the circumstances, which we are not able to change anyway, we need to change our attitude to them. Therefore, a number of practical recommendations are given for those who want to improve their direct performance of professional functions.

It is determined that the process of self-management in terms of the sequence of specific functions covers six phases, which are in a certain interdependence and, as a rule, are carried out in a certain sequence.

It is substantiated that self-management in the form of various acts of self-research (self-observation, self-concentration, self-report, self-analysis, self-assessment) is a process of purposeful obtaining by the teacher of information on development of qualities necessary for his effective entering the pedagogical profession.

It is established that the need to use management, including self-management, in pedagogy is due to the fact that the entire management system is considered at the level of creating such organizational and psychological and pedagogical conditions that allow for effective development of the educational institution. However, the use of the basics of management was important not only at the level of functioning of the educational institution, but also during the professional activity of the teacher. And so it is emphasized that even a well-structured and well-prepared modern lesson will not be successful if the teacher does not have the skills to manage the class.

 Thus, it is noted that the essence of pedagogical activity as a specific form of social management is the use of self-management, which is objectively inherent in each of the participants in the educational process as a sphere of their joint work.
HRYHORIY LEVCHENKO’S SCIENTIFIC AND CREATIVE WORKS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE ARTISTIC LOCAL LORE DEVELOPMENT IN POLTAVA REGION
Authors: KOMYSHAN Y.
Published: April 2021

In the context of Ukraine's integration into the European space, more and more Ukrainian scholars pay attention in their scientific research to the local lore component of the study of various spheres of Ukrainian culture, more often raise issues of national culture and people's attitude to their historical heritage. The artistic life of a particular region, which has its peculiarities and traditions, becomes of interest not only as a component of the general culture of Ukraine but also as a part of European culture.

We believe that the high value of contemporary artists’ contribution to the development of the artistic culture of Poltava region is one of the most pressing issues today.

Among the outstanding names in Poltava, one of the honorary places is occupied by Hryhoriy Semenovych Levchenko, who is the Ukrainian choral conductor, a composer, a music teacher, a professor, Honored Worker of Culture of Ukraine, Honored Artist of Ukraine, a founder and an artistic director of the Ukrainian Folk Choir "Kalyna" of Poltava V.G. Korolenko National Pedagogical University.

The article considers the path of Hryhoriy Levchenko’s personal and professional development. It is determined that an important factor in shaping his personality was the national-aesthetic environment of his homeland, along with an early acquaintance with music culture, education in various educational institutions (including music ones), the influence of his teachers, educators, and persistent systematic work.

It is proved that H. Levchenko combines high professionalism, active civil position, bright national self-identification, incredible diligence, a wide range of moral qualities, spirituality in his artistic and professional activity, which is an indisputable example for a great number of students and followers.

It is determined that the scientific-creative and pedagogical-educational components of Hryhoriy Levchenko’s artistic and pedagogical activity are aimed at training future teachers not only in the field of art but also at forming future specialists in the field of natural sciences, etc. In their pedagogical practice, they will contribute to a better understanding of the Ukrainian cultural heritage and the development of cultural cooperation with other countries; preserving and increasing of our region traditions; will be capable of national self-awareness, moral and patriotic upbringing of the young generation, which is an important basis for the formation of a highly spiritual pedagogical elite of Poltava region.
RESOURCE-BASED LEARNING OF THE DISCIPLINE "HIGHER SCHOOL PEDAGOGY" IN THE CONDITIONS OF DISTANCE EDUCATION
Authors: KONONETS N. , NOVOPISMENNY S.
Published: April 2021

The article on the basis of the analysis of theoretical literature and own practical experience of teaching the discipline "Higher School Pedagogy" characterizes the essence and features of network technologies as a pedagogical technology of resource-based learning of students. An example of the implementation of resource-based learning of students in the study of the discipline "Higher School Pedagogy" using network technologies, which made it possible to create a distance course using the online platform Moodle. It was found that the development of a distance course using various activities and resources of the Moodle platform, its further implementation in the distance learning process makes it interactive, activates students through the use of network projects as one of the priority practice-oriented tasks in these realities, provides effective distance communication, objective control of students' knowledge.