bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A geophysics-informed pro-poor approach to earthquake risk management
Authors: Agrawal Himanshu , Wang Chenbo , Cremen Gemma , McCloskey John
Published: May 2024

Recent earthquake disasters have highlighted an urgent need for continuous advancements in approaches to reducing seismic risk. Decision-making on such strategies should consider subsurface geophysical information (e.g., seismic site response), given its direct link to seismic hazard. This is particularly important in regions where the poorest in society often reside in areas with softer soils that lead to higher ground-motion amplifications. In this context, we propose a framework to support decision-making on earthquake risk policies, which explicitly integrates information on the geophysics of an urban system as well as its physical and social environment. The framework is based on the Tomorrow’s Cities Decision Support Environment, which was designed to support urban planning with a focus on pro-poor disaster risk reduction in countries of the Global South. It is further underpinned by a cost-benefit analysis, which facilitates the assessment of potential policies in terms of both their ability to reduce earthquake risk as well as their value for (often limited) money. We illustrate the framework using a well-established virtual urban testbed based on Global South cities, which reveals that geophysics-informed policy making can successfully lead to pro-poor earthquake risk reduction.
Comparing Laboratory Toxicity of Selective Intraarterial Radionuclide Therapy for Primary and Metastatic Liver Tumors: Resin versus Glass Microspheres
Authors: Turan Başak Soydaş , Bozkurt M. Fani , Eldem Gonca , Peynircioglu Bora , Ugur Omer , Volkan-Salanci Bilge
Published: May 2024

Objective: To compare the acute (within 30 days of treatment) laboratory toxicities of Yttrium-90 (Y-90)resin and glass microspheres.
Methods: Selective intra-arterial radionuclide therapies (SIRTs) with Y-90 resin and glass microspheres were retrospectively reviewed. Liver-hematological data were collected at baseline and at one week and one month follow-up. The percentage change of laboratory data and the albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) score were calculated.
Results: A total of 219 SIRTs (n: 110 resin, n: 109 glass) from 177 patients were included. There was no difference in age, liver pathologies, extrahepatic disease, baseline liver function tests, and total blood counts between the two microsphere groups. Administered activity was higher in treatments with Y-90 glass microspheres (p<0.001). An increase in serum liver enzymes was observed after treatment with both microspheres. The difference between the treatment groups was the higher percentage increase of AST and ALT at the first week following Y-90 glass treatment (p<0.001). But, this situation was not observed after one month. No difference in the percentage change of other laboratory parameters was found between two groups. The number of patients with an increase (resin n: 24 (24.7%) vs glass n: 26 (27.1%), p: 0.711) and decrease (resin n: 13 (13.4%) vs glass n: 8 (8.3%), p: 0.258) in the ALBI grade after SIRT were similar among groups.
Conclusions: An increase in liver enzymes was observed in the early period after SIRT with both microspheres. No significant difference in liver and hematological data was detected during early follow-up between the two groups, except that the percentage increase of AST and ALT were higher at the first week in the Y-90 glass group.
Clinical Effectiveness of Guided Breathing Exercises in Reducing Anxiety, Stress, and Depression in COVID-19 Patients
Authors: Sheikh Sarah , Rostami Asma , Shahbazi Azam , Nezhad Fahime Abdollahi , Khazai Omonabi , Arbabisarjou Azizollah
Published: May 2024

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in the prevalence of anxiety, stress and depression among affected people. This study was conducted with the aim of investigating the clinical effectiveness of guided breathing exercises in reducing anxiety, stress and depression in patients with COVID-19. A quasi-experimental study design was used, involving a sample of COVID-19 patients who underwent guided breathing exercises as a complementary therapy. The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) questionnaire was administered before and after the intervention to evaluate changes in anxiety, stress, and depression levels. The results of this study demonstrated that clinically guided breathing exercises had a significant effect on reducing anxiety and stress in COVID-19 patients. The intervention significantly reduced anxiety and stress scores (p < 0.001). However, there was no significant reduction in depression scores among patients who participated in guided breathing exercises (p = 0.946). Guided breathing exercises are an effective complementary technique in reducing the level of anxiety and stress in COVID-19 patients. However, more research is needed to investigate alternative or complementary interventions for coping with depression in this population. Nevertheless, guided breathing exercises may provide a worthy non-pharmacological approach to managing psychological distress in COVID-19 patients.
Robust STBC scheme for IRS-assisted SWIPT systems
Authors: Xu Jianfeng , Shang Pingping
Published: May 2024

Herein, we propose a block-wise design scheme that involves combining a space--time block code (STBC) with an intelligent reflecting surface (IRS)-assisted synchronous wireless information and power transfer (STBC-BIRS-SWIPT) scheme. The proposed scheme increases the spectral efficiency and diversity of wireless communication systems while allowing synchronous energy and information transmission. By leveraging generalized spatial modulation, additional bits of information can be transmitted via the IRS. In particular, the IRS is divided into distinct blocks, each with unique group selection patterns that exhibit a specific mapping relation with information bits. The IRS has components that reflect source signals to information decoding and energy harvesting receivers. We established a lower bound for the mean symbol error rate (SER) and calculated the bit error rate using maximum-likelihood detection. The simulation results demonstrate the superior performance of the STBC-BIRS-SWIPT scheme over traditional power-splitting schemes and confirm the closeness of the SER lower bound to the exact SER.
Real-time visual SLAM based on semantic information and geometric information in dynamic environment
Authors: Zhang Huiqing , Sun Hongli , Fan Qingwu
Published: May 2024

Simultaneous Localization and Mapping is the core technology for mobile robots to autonomously explore and perceive the environment. However, dynamic objects in the scene significantly impact the accuracy and robustness of the visual SLAM system, limiting its applicability in real-world scenarios. To address this problem, this paper proposes a real-time RGB-D visual SLAM algorithm designed for indoor dynamic scenes. In this paper, a parallel lightweight object detection thread is designed to detect potential moving objects and generate 2D semantic information based on the YOLOv7-tiny network. Then, a new dynamic feature removal strategy is proposed in the tracking thread, which tightly integrates semantic information, geometric constraints, and feature point depth-based RANSAC to effectively reduce the impact of dynamic feature. To evaluate the effectiveness of the algorithms discussed in this paper, we conducted comparative experiments using other state-of-the-art algorithms on the TUM RGB-D dataset and Bonn RGB-D dataset, as well as in real-world dynamic scenes. The results demonstrate that the algorithm maintains excellent accuracy and robustness in dynamic environments, while also exhibiting impressive real-time performance.
Expression of toll-like receptors in cartilage endplates cells: a role of toll-like receptor 2 in pro-inflammatory and -catabolic gene expression
Authors: Mengis Tamara , Bernhard Laura , Herger Nick , Heggli Irina , Devan Jan , Marcus Roy , Laux Christoph , Brunner Florian , Farshad Mazda , Distler Oliver , Dudli Stefan
Published: May 2024

Introduction
The vertebral cartilage endplate (CEP), essential for intervertebral disc health, is susceptible to degeneration, which can be associated with chronic low back pain, disc degeneration, and Modic changes. Although it has been established that intervertebral disc cells express toll-like receptors (TLRs), which can recognize diverse pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) and danger-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), triggering an immune response, it is unknown whether CEP cells (CEPC) share this trait. The CEP exhibits a significantly higher cell density compared to the disc, potentially heightening the relevance of CEPC in this context. This study aimed to identify TLRs on CEPC and explore their role in activating pro-inflammatory and catabolic gene expression.
Methods
Gene expression of TLR1-10 was measured with quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction in human CEPs and expanded CEPC. Additionally, CEPC were stimulated with tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin 1 beta, specific TLR2/6, TLR2/1 and TLR4 agonist (Pam2csk4, Pam3csk4 and lipopolysaccharide) and with the 30 kDa N-terminal fibronectin fragment, a representative DAMP. TLR2 signaling was inhibited with TL2-C29. TLR2 protein expression was measured with flow cytometry.
Results
An ex-vivo analysis of CEP tissue found all 10 TLRs expressed while cultured CEPC lost TLR7 and TLR8 expression. TLR2 was the only TLR whose expression significantly increased after pro-inflammatory stimulation. Stimulation of the TLR2/6 heterodimer with Pam2csk4 upregulated TLR2 protein expression. After 48 hours of stimulation, all applied ligands upregulated expression of pro-inflammatory genes and the matrix metalloproteases 1 (MMP1), MMP3, and MMP13. TLR2 inhibition was able to specifically inhibit the upregulated genes.
Conclusion
The expression of TLR1-10 in CEPC indicates that the CEP is susceptible to PAMP and DAMP stimulation. TLR2 expression in CEPC is enhanced under inflammatory conditions and its stimulation has pro-inflammatory and pro-catabolic consequences. Therefore, TLR2 signaling in CEPC might play an important role in disc degeneration and Modic changes.
Satellites reveal recent increases in global land surface albedo that moderates global warming
Authors: Zhang Liqiang , Hou Zhengyang , Peng Jingjing , Forzieri Giovanni , Jia Aolin , Xiao Zhiqiang , Qu Ying , Lin Jintai , Ji Duoying , Zhu Zidong , Yao Xin , Peng Shuwen , Zhao Lanpu , Fan Wenjie , Wu Zhaocong , Geng Hao , Wang Qihao , Liu Suhong , Zhang Liangpei
Published: May 2024

Surface albedo greatly impacts how much energy the Earth absorbs. Intense human activities and rapid climate change have caused notable changes in surface albedo. Yet, how land use/land cover (LULC) and snow dynamics drive the global land surface mean albedo (GLMA) change is lack of comprehensive assessments to date. Thus, the GLMA dynamics over the last decades and their corresponding radiative forcing to the climate system remains poorly understood. Here, we construct a satellite-based, seamless monthly dataset of global land surface albedo and LULC look-up maps from 2001 to 2020. We then quantify the individual and combined effects of snow cover dynamics, LULC conversions and LULC non-conversion regions on albedo variations and their induced radiative forcing. From 2001 to 2020, GLMA increased by 0.6%, and the induced global radiative forcing was -0.0768±0.0253 W/m2. During the recent two decades, albedo over snow-free regions significantly increased by 2.28% with radiative forcing of -0.1257±0.0025 W/m2. This forcing was 2.5 times more than that induced by snow dynamics, and was equivalent in magnitude to 45.89% of that caused by CO2 emissions and 37.41% of that caused by the total greenhouse gas emissions from 2011 to 2019 estimated in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Sixth Assessment Report. The global radiative forcing owing to LULC conversions was less than one-sixth of the forcing arising from the LULC non-conversion regions. The radiative forcing induced by albedo change highlights the important role of land surface dynamics in modulating global warming.
Controls of low injectivity caused by interaction of reservoir and clogging processes in a sedimentary geothermal aquifer (Mezőberény, Hungary)
Authors: Markó Ábel Szabolcs , Brehme Maren , Pedretti Daniele , Zimmermann Günter , Huenges Ernst
Published: May 2024

Low injectivity is often experienced in geothermal doublets installed in sandstone reservoirs. This even led to a shut-down of the Mezőberény (Hungary) geothermal site. An on-site campaign was carried out in January 2021 to prepare a stimulation aiming to enhance the transmissivity of the sedimentary reservoir and the near well-bore zone of this site. Previous studies have concluded that insufficient injectivity may be linked to a high skin effect in the near well-bore zone and pore clogging in combination with the low net sandstone content of the fluvio-deltaic reservoir. A chemical soft stimulation based on the injection of hydrochloric acid (HCl) was successfully used to unclog and recover the well injectivity. Despite of such empirical evidence, the geochemical mechanisms leading to both, detrimental formation of clogging and the HCl-driven transmissivity restoration, have not been elucidated yet. This work presents the results of a novel analysis aiming at (a) predicting the dominant type of clogging forming in the near well bore zone, (b) quantifying the drop in hydraulic conductivity as clogging occurs and (c) support the optimization of the HCl dosage during the chemical soft stimulation. The study is supported by new experimental datasets never presented before from the Mezőberény site and a geochemical model simulating the main mechanisms involved in the clogging and unclogging processes. It is concluded that the biofilm formation was the dominant, while the precipitation of calcite and amorphous ferrihydrite – later reduced to magnetite by microbes – was the secondary clogging mechanism: In the long-term (yearly scale) simulating the hydraulic conductivity showed a decline with forming scales, therefore biofilm was presumably responsible for the experienced rapid (one month) clogging. When modelling the chemical stimulation, the estimated amount of precipitated minerals (Case 1) was dissolved already with 2.5 moles of HCl per liter water (~ 10 m/m%). Therefore, the chosen 20 m/m% of HCl might had a beneficial effect dissolving the potentially higher amount of scaling (Case 2) and/or the carbonate minerals of the matrix near the well-bore. Overall, it is concluded that the chemical and the microbial analysis together with the geochemical model was critical to tailor the remediation attempts and to propose further development or reconstruction of the surface system before going into operation to prevent recurrent impairments.
A novel hybrid 8-node plate element for capturing the nonlocal effect based on the Hellinger-Reissner variational principle
Authors: Li Haonan , Yao Linquan , Li Cheng , Guo Limin
Published: May 2024

The Hellinger-Reissner variational principle based hybrid finite element method (FEM) is developed and applied to study the nonlocal mechanics of plates and beams at a micro/nano-scale. For this purpose, a plane 8-node plate element termed as MHAS-24β with 24 independent internal force parameters is proposed to modelling the mechanical behaviors including static bending, free vibration and buckling. The Mindlin plate theory allows the use of generalized displacement to satisfy \({\text{C}}^{\text{0}}\) continuity requirements, making it applicable to plates with different thicknesses. To overcome shear locking, the assumed strain method (ASM) is adopted to modify original strains. The polynomials for internal forces are assumed to be related to the highest-order derivatives of variables, making them complete and capable of avoiding the zero-energy mode. The posterior error estimation indicates that the convergence order is not affected by the nonlocal parameter, plate thickness or element shape. The MHAS-24β element effectively captures the nonlocal effect and outperforms the displacement-type FEM and the low-order hybrid FEM described in previous literature.
Exploring sustainable construction through experimental analysis and AI predictive modelling of ceramic waste powder concrete
Authors: Kashyap Rishabh , Saxena Mukul , Gautam Arstu , Kushwaha Anuj , Priyanka Km. , Patel Anubhav , Maurya Rajneesh Kumar
Published: May 2024

This research tackles the one of the major environmental issues raised by the ceramic industry’s production of ceramic waste powder (CWP) during the cutting and polishing stages, Which requires a different strategy to reduce pollution and cut landfill usage.The main goal of this study is to make use of AI model for CWP concrete by applying Machine Learning (ML) techniques to effectively estimate the mechanical property of the concrete. A thorough investigation is carried out on 54 different concrete mixes, using CWP in place of cement in percentages of 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, and 50%. The baseline is the compressive strength of plain concrete. A supervised machine learning (ML) techniques such as gradient boosting, Random forest and Regeration analysis are used to predict the compressive strength of CWP concrete (CWPC). Important metrics including R2, Mean Absolute Error (MAE), and Mean Square Error (MSE) are used to assess the performance of the model. The results show that Random forest performs better than the other models (R2 = 0.95, MSE = 5.25 KN/mm2, MAE = 1.05 KN/mm2). The study emphasizes how using CWPC as a building material might help reduce water pollution and land degradation. It also emphasizes the efficiency advantages that may be attained by using ML approaches for concrete characteristic estimate, which will ultimately result in time and resource savings for researchers in the construction industry.
WITHDRAWN: Stock price prediction based on generative adversarial network
Authors: Zhou Yan , Lin Yuhao , Hu Zongliang , Song Bo , Tang Jianliang
Published: May 2024

Investors can reduce the investment risk of stock investors and improve the investment return by accurately predicting stock price trends. It is difficult to predict the trend of stock prices due to high noise, nonlinearity and high volatility of stock data. In this paper, we propose a novel Wasserstein generative adversarial network with the temporal convolution module and the self-attention mechanism (TA-WGAN), which is based on the generative adversarial network (GAN), to predict the stock closing price of the next day. The key components of TA-WGAN are the generator and the discriminator, where the generator predicts the closing price of the stock and the discriminator evaluates the performance of the generator. The generator includes a temporal convolutional network and self-attention mechanism, and the discriminator is composed of a bidirectional long short-term memory network and temporal convolutional network. In the training process, TA-WGAN combines adversarial loss and square loss to improve its prediction performance by adversarial training of the generator and the discriminator. To demonstrate the effectiveness of TA-WGAN, we compare it with existing methods for two datasets: the CSI 300 Index and the Ping An Bank stock. The results demonstrate that TA-WGAN outperforms single-stage models, such as Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (BiLSTM) and Temporal Convolutional Network (TCN).
Short-term outcomes of delta-shaped anastomosis versus functional end-to-end anastomosis using linear staplers for colon cancer
Authors: Ono Rika , Tominaga Tetsuro , Ishii Mitsutoshi , Hisanaga Makoto , Araki Masato , Sumida Yorihisa , Nonaka Takashi , Hashimoto Shintaro , Shiraishi Toshio , Noda Keisuke , Takeshita Hiroaki , Fukuoka Hidetoshi , Oyama Shosaburo , Ishimaru Kazuhide , Sawai Terumitsu , Matsumoto Keitaro
Published: May 2024

Background
Several methods are used for reconstruction in colon cancer surgery, including hand-sewn or stapled anastomosis. However, few reports have compared short-term outcomes among reconstruction methods. This study compared short-term outcomes between delta-shaped anastomosis (Delta) and functional end-to-end anastomosis (FEEA).
Methods
We retrospectively reviewed 1314 consecutive patients who underwent colorectal surgery with FEEA or Delta reconstruction between January 2016 and December 2023. Patients were divided into two groups according to reconstruction by FEEA (F group; n = 1242) or Delta (D group; n = 72). Propensity score matching was applied to minimize the possibility of selection bias and to balance covariates that could affect postoperative complications. Short-term outcomes were compared between groups.
Results
Postoperative complications occurred in 215 patients (17.3%) in F group and 8 patients (11.1%) in D group. Before matching, transverse colon cancer was more frequent (p = 0.002), clinical N-positive status was less frequent (44.1% vs 16.7%, p < 0.001), distant metastasis was less frequent (11.7% vs 1.4%, p = 0.003), and laparoscopic approach was more frequent (87.8% vs 100%, p < 0.001) in D group. After matching, no differences in any clinical factor were evident between groups. Blood loss was lower (28 mL vs 10 mL, p = 0.002) in D group. However, operation time and postoperative complication rates were similar between groups.
Conclusions
Delta and FEEA were both considered safe as reconstruction methods. Delta anastomosis may be more useful for patients with transverse colon cancer for whom transfusion should be minimized.
Factors Predicting Completion of Four or More Antenatal Care Visits in Sarlahi District, Nepal
Authors: Yue Yiwei , Hazel Elizabeth A. , Subedi Seema , Zeger Scott , Mohan Diwakar , Mullany Luke C , Tielsch James M , Khatry Subarna K , LeClerq Steven C. , Katz Joanne
Published: May 2024

Background: A significant number of women die from pregnancy and childbirth complications globally, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Receiving at least four antenatal care (ANC) visits may be important in reducing maternal and perinatal deaths. This study investigates factors associated with attending ≥ 4 ANC visits in Sarlahi district of southern Nepal.
Methods: A secondary analysis was conducted on data from the Nepal Oil Massage Study (NOMS), a cluster-randomized, community-based longitudinal pregnancy cohort study encompassing 34 Village Development Committees. We quantified the association between receipt/attendance of ≥ 4 ANC visits and socioeconomic, demographic, morbidity, and pregnancy history factors using logistic regression; Generalized Estimating Equations were used to account for multiple pregnancies per woman.
Results: All pregnancies resulting in a live birth (n=31,867) were included in the model and 31.4% of those pregnancies received 4+ ANC visits. Significant positive associations include socioeconomic factors such as participation in non-farming occupations for women (OR=1.52, 95% CI: 1.19, 1.93), higher education (OR=1.79, 95% CI: 1.66, 1.93) and wealth quintile OR=1.44, 95% CI: 1.31, 1.59), nutritional status such as non-short stature (OR=1.17, 95% CI: 1.07, 1.27), obstetric history such as adequate interpregnancy interval (OR=1.31, 95% CI: 1.19, 1.45) and prior pregnancy but no live birth (OR=2.14, 95% CI: 1.57, 2.92), symptoms such as vaginal bleeding (OR=1.35, 95% CI:1.11, 1.65) and awareness of the government's conditional cash transfer ANC program (OR=2.26, 95% CI: 2.01, 2.54). Conversely, belonging to the lower Shudra caste (OR=0.56, 95% CI: 0.47, 0.67), maternal age below 18 or above 35 (OR=0.81, 95% CI:0.74, 0.88; OR=0.77, 95% CI: 0.62, 0.96)), preterm birth (OR=0.41, 95% CI: 0.35, 0.49), parity ≥ 1 (OR=0.66, 95% CI: 0.61, 0.72), and the presence of hypertension during pregnancy (OR=0.79, 95% CI: 0.69, 0.90) were associated with decreased likelihood of attending ≥ 4 ANC visits.
Conclusions: These findings underscore the importance of continuing and promoting the government's program and increasing awareness among women. Moreover, understanding these factors can guide interventions aimed at encouraging ANC uptake in the most vulnerable groups, subsequently reducing maternal-related adverse outcomes in LMICs.
Trial registration: The clinicaltrial.gov trial registration number for NOMS was #NCT01177111. Registration date was August 6th, 2010.
ECG-Based Cardiac Disease Detection in Time-Frequency Domain using Grid Search Optimized Wavelet Transforms
Authors: Diwakar  , Deepa Prof.
Published: May 2024

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), including abnormal arrhythmias and congestive heart failure, are a leading cause of mortality worldwide, with electrocardiogram (ECG) signals serving as a critical diagnostic tool. This study introduces a novel approach for classifying diseases in ECG signals into three categories: normal sinus rhythm (NSR), abnormal arrhythmia (ARR), and congestive heart failure (CHF). The classification is based on a combination of features extracted from both the time domain (mean and standard deviation) and the frequency domain (power spectral density and spectral centroid) of the ECG signals. Additionally, energy values from selected frequency bands are utilized. To enhance the model's robustness, incorporate data augmentation techniques, including time-shifting and flipping of the signals. These augmented datasets are then employed with various classifiers, and an optimization process using grid search is applied to enhance the classification performance. This methodology presents a promising framework for automated ECG signal analysis, The results of the proposed work have been exceptionally promising, showcasing a remarkable specificity rate of 99.7% and achieving an accuracy level of 99.58%. These findings hold significant promise for advancing early detection methods and enhancing patient outcomes in the realm of CVDs.
Path-MGCN: a pathway activity based multi-view graph convolutional network for determining spatial domains with attention mechanism
Authors: Zhou Qirui , Li Chaowen , Chen Chao , Li Mingyue , Liu Jiabei , Sun Weijun , Zhang Zongmeng , Gu Songqing , Cai Yishan , Huang Yonghui , Liu Hongtao , Yang Chao , Chen Xin
Published: May 2024

Gene functional relationships are always ignored in spatial-domain recognition based on spatial transcriptomics (ST). We develop Path-MGCN, a multi-view graph convolutional network (MGCN) with attention mechanism that embeds pathway information. We generate a pathway activity profile with spot-specific pathway enrichment. Unique and shared embeddings from pathway and spatial graphs are extracted by a MGCN encoder, dynamically optimized by attention mechanism, followed by a decoder to retain the original pathway information. Path-MGCN outperforms state-of-the-art spatial clustering methods. Moreover, Path-MGCN could identify spatial domain-specific pathways for further mechanism study in the context of microenvironment, enabling the precision medicine of complex diseases.
Awareness of Discourse Features in Teaching Writing Skills
Authors:   Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology (ISM) Dhanbad, Dhanbad-826004, Jharkhand, India, Zaheer Shafaque , Rahman Md Mojibur ,   Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology (ISM) Dhanbad, Dhanbad-826004, Jharkhand, India, Sharma Asmita ,   Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology (ISM) Dhanbad, Dhanbad-826004, Jharkhand, India
Published: May 2024

Cohesion is deemed an indispensable component of writing, contributing to both the organisation of texts as well as the reader’s comprehension of the content. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the utilisation of discourse features in the academic writing of students. It specifically focuses on the cohesive devices employed by students and their level of awareness regarding cohesion and coherence. The research was conducted in the Dhanbad district, with a particular emphasis on technical students studying English for specific purposes. To gain a comprehensive understanding of the topic, this study also reviewed and analysed previous research that explored the usage of cohesive devices and the relationship between cohesion frequency and high-quality writing. This background research provided valuable insights into the existing body of knowledge and helped establish a foundation for the present study. The data analysis demonstrates that students possess the ability to incorporate various cohesive devices into their writing, indicating their awareness of discourse features. However, their usage is somewhat limited due to a restricted repertoire of discourse markers, which affected the range and diversity of cohesive devices employed in their writing. Overall, the paper sheds light on the significance of cohesion in academic writing, emphasising its role in organising texts and facilitating reader comprehension. It highlights the current state of students’ awareness and usage of cohesive devices in their writing, providing valuable insights for educators and curriculum developers to enhance students’ proficiency in this area.
Exploring Ecological Crisis: A Study of Climate Change in Uzma Aslam Khan’s Thinner Than Skin
Authors:   Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Uttarakhand, India, Rabani Ghulam , Mishra Binod ,   Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Uttarakhand, India
Published: May 2024

This article investigates Uzma Aslam Khan’s Thinner Than Skin (2012), through the critical lens of ecocritical perspectives. It shows engagement with ecological ideologies that have informed our understanding of climate change. Khan’s novel enlists the devastating consequences of environmental and ecosystem degeneration and their cumulative effects on humanity, and the non-human world. Indeed, ecological degradation has become a global issue, where desertification and deforestation are significant environmental concerns worldwide. This study probes the portrayal of the indigenous people of Pakistan’s Kaghan Valley, their land, history and culture by underscoring the hazards of growing capitalism and increasing urbanisation. Khan examines the issues of endangering biodiversity and laments the materialistic forces depleting the planet’s natural resources. By doing so, she exhorts practical consideration of possible defences against ecocide. This research demonstrates the issues of ecological crisis and its devastating impact on northern Pakistan’s natural environment and people.
Philosophy and the Challenge of the Environmental Crisis
Authors:   Department of Philosophy, De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines, Mabaquiao Napoleon Jr. Mahinay
Published: May 2024

The environmental crisis is an extremely complex problem for its causes are many and diverse. An effective solution to this crisis will require a concerted effort among various academic disciplines and socio-economic institutions. This kind of undertaking, however, is immensely challenging given the lack of a unifying framework that is acceptable to everyone. One preliminary step is to have a clear conception of the kinds of causes that have brought about the crisis to determine the roles the various academic disciplines and socio-economic institutions can play in the management and eventually the resolution of the crisis. This article provides one conception of how this preliminary step can be done but with a special focus on the role of philosophy. The main objective is to clarify the aspect in the management of the crisis in which philosophy can make a substantial contribution.
Silat Warriors as Malay Cultural Heroes
Authors:   Faculty of Social Science and Liberal Arts, UCSI University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Bailey Richard Peter
Published: May 2024

The unprecedented success of the film Mat Kilau: Kebangkitan Pahlawan and ongoing discussions about the cultural significance of Hang Tuah and Hang Jebat suggest that Malay Silat warriors continue to be seen as heroic figures among many Malaysians. This article examines this idea by considering the phenomenon of warrior heroes, in general, and the Tuah/Jebat story, in particular. The perennial question of which of the Melakan warriors who fought to the death was right is discussed, concluding that the answer is much more ambiguous than traditionally presented. The whole notion of cultural heroes raises questions about the context in which they emerged, the values with which they have been identified and the aspects of their lives and actions that are selectively constructed. This is true for Hang Jebat, whose celebrity seems to stand in stark contrast to his reported behaviour, and Hang Tuah, for whom popular recreations of his adventures typically omit large and significant parts of his epic journeys. Stories of heroes, I suggest, serve multiple functions, and to an interesting and, to significant extent, these stories can hold somewhat tenuous ties to the heroes themselves.
Modelagem do crescimento inicial de clones de eucalipto
Authors: Falcão Karina dos Santos , Cacau Filipe Valadão do Prado , Urbano Edilson , Oliveira Isabeli Moraes de
Published: May 2024

Este estudo avaliou o crescimento dos clones de eucalipto I-144 (Eucalyptus urophylla x Eucalyptus grandis) e 1277 (Eucalyptus camaldulensis x Eucalyptus sp.) no arranjo espacial de 3,0 x 1,8 (linhas triplas) + 9 m. A altura total (Ht), diâmetro a altura do peito (DAP) e volume por planta (v planta-1) foram avaliados dos 6 aos 20 meses de idade bimestralmente. O delineamento foi inteiramente casualizado, com dois tratamentos e três repetições. O v planta-1 foi estimado a partir da equação de Schumacher e Hall LnV = β0 + β1lnDAP + β2lnHt + e, ajustado para cada clone. Os modelos de crescimento ajustados foram disponibilizados pelo software Curve Expert 1.4. A avaliação do crescimento até os 20 meses de idade demonstrou não haver diferença de crescimento entre os clones I-144 e 1277 sugerindo a possibilidade de uso dos materiais genéticos indistintamente. O maior grau de ajustamento para variável DAP ocorreu para o clone 1277, selecionado o modelo MMF, com coeficiente de correlação (rŷy) e erro-padrão dos resíduos (Syx) de 0,958 e 0,581. Para a variável Ht, o clone I-144 apresentou o melhor grau de ajustamento para o modelo MMF com valores de (rŷy) 0,969 e (Syx) 0,828. Para a variável v planta-¹, o clone I-144 apresentou melhores resultados através do modelo Gompertz, com (rŷy) de 0,947 e (Syx) de 0,0059. O clone 1277 apresentou valores semelhantes para o modelo quadrático, com (rŷy) de 0,946 e (Syx) de 0,0056. Independente do clone avaliado, o modelo quadrático foi o que apresentou os melhores resultados de ajuste para a variável v ha-¹, entretanto o melhor grau de ajustamento ocorreu para o clone 1277, com valores calculados para (rŷy) e (Syx), de respectivamente 0,994 e 2,246.
Dos cadernos de formação às vozes das professoras alfabetizadoras: os impactos da política do PNAIC sobre o trabalho docente
Authors: Ferreira Caroline Foggiato , Aita Ivo Andressa , Sales Jacques Juliana
Published: May 2024

As políticas brasileiras de formação continuada de professores assumem, em discursividade e prática, um caráter gerencialista que age sobre o professorado, prescrevendo e regulando modos de gerir, ser e estar na escola. Nesse sentido, o objetivo deste artigo é analisar as repercussões da política de formação, materializada no Pacto Nacional pela Alfabetização na Idade Certa (PNAIC), sobre o trabalho docente das professoras alfabetizadoras, no contexto da Rede Municipal de Educação de Santa Maria, Rio Grande Sul, Brasil, lançando olhar específico para as reverberações que a política teve sobre o modo de ser e agir nas ações de ensinar e aprender. Na análise crítico-interpretativa dos Cadernos de Formação em interlocução com os discursos das professoras participantes do PNAIC, atentamos para o conjunto de políticas, de ordem discursiva e prática, operacionalizadas no contexto das formações continuadas, atuadas nas salas de aula e subjetivadas pelas professoras. Ainda que tais políticas configuram-se como mecanismos de responsabilização e prestação de contas emergentes no modelo neoliberal de Educação, concluímos que as mesmas também são espaços de luta e resistência, principalmente, quando promovem a defesa de uma formação emancipatória potencializadora da criação e do fortalecimento de uma cultura de autoria e coautoria docente.
A ordem do discurso em política e gestão educacional no Brasil
Authors: Zambão Abdian Graziela , Henrique Costa Nascimento Paulo
Published: May 2024

O objetivo é investigar os perigos da ordem do discurso em Política e Gestão educacional. Por meio da concepção de discurso adotada por Michel Foucault, analisamos o processo de institucionalização da área observando seu desenvolvimento e organização em disciplina e sua expansão ordenada com autores e comentadores, em seguida, analisamos os procedimentos externos que operam em sistemas de exclusão e, em articulação com os anteriores, estabelecem regras discursivas que proliferam sua formação. Quais são os perigos da ordem do discurso em Política e Gestão educacional? O principal perigo é não percebermos o quanto somos controlados e propagamos um discurso, excluindo outras e novas possibilidades metodológicas de pesquisa e concepções teóricas.
Limites e possibilidades da gestão democrática: uma análise a partir do Instituto Federal do Norte de Minas Gerais
Authors: Cardoso de Sá Josilene de Fátima , Pinheiro Daniel Calbino , Tomé Sabino Geruza
Published: May 2024

Buscou-se compreender, com base em Freire (1991; 1996; 2013), Paro (1986) e Souza (2009), os desafios para o avanço da gestão democrática no cotidiano dos Institutos Federais. Trata-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa, documental, bibliográfica, realizada a partir de entrevistas com os atores da comunidade acadêmica. Não obstante às conquistas legais na equidade dos conselhos, as participações ainda são marcadas por limitadas práticas substantivas. Por outro lado, apontam-se possíveis caminhos para a efetividade da gestão democrática, a partir de proposições dos próprios sujeitos envolvidos.
Competências na base nacional comum curricular e nos referenciais curriculares dos estados do Brasil: abordagem crítica do conceito
Authors: Vásquez Astudillo Mario , Ríos-Muñoz Daniel , Carneiro Sarturi Rosane
Published: May 2024

Analisa o uso do questionado conceito de competência na educação básica, formação profissional e trabalho. A metodologia é a revisão narrativa de documentos oficiais. Conclui-se que não precisamos silenciar sua polissemia, mas bem discutir criticamente suas perspectivas e contextos de uso.  A maioria dos estados brasileiros usa uma definição básica de competência, com um enfoque parcial ou reduzido sem discussão ou aprofundamentos teóricos epistemológicos, na perspectiva sistêmica e holística, para o desenvolvimento humano integral, na construção de uma sociedade justa, democrática e inclusiva.
SOLID-STATE SPECTROSCOPIC, THERMOKINETICS AND THERMAL ANALYSIS OF ACECLOFENAC COORDINATION COMPLEXES WITH LANTHANUM AND GADOLINIUM
Authors: Melo Laís , Carvalho Cláudio , Sánchez Jiménez Pedro Enrique , Sequinel Thiago , Perejón Antonio , Pérez Maqueda Luis Allan , Colman Tiago
Published: May 2024

In recent years, the field of coordination chemistry has experienced a surge in interest regarding the synthesis and characterization of coordination complexes for diverse applications. This study is dedicated to investigating coordination compounds resulting from the interaction of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) with metal ions. The study research places significant emphasis on understanding the stability and thermal behavior of these coordination compounds. The utilization of thermoanalytical techniques is crucial in achieving this goal. Thermal analysis and thermokinetics provide valuable insights into the underlying mechanisms, kinetics, and energetics of these reactions, thereby facilitating the optimization of synthesis procedures. The research employs concurrent techniques, namely thermogravimetric analysis (TG) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), to explore the thermal stability and decomposition pathways of these coordination compounds. Thermokinetic models and optimization methodologies are subsequently applied to identify key reaction parameters. The primary aim of this research is to unveil the thermal behavior, stability, and reaction kinetics of aceclofenac coordination compounds, thus contributing significantly to the understanding of thermokinetics and thermal analysis in the domain of coordination chemistry. Specifically, this study is focused on aceclofenac coordination complexes involving lanthanum and gadolinium, with the ultimate goal of advancing the field of coordination chemistry.
Evaluation of Nitrogen-Doped Adsorbents Based on Reduced Graphene Oxide as Platforms for CO2 Capture
Authors: Ribeiro Matheus , Bessa Isabela , da Silva Aline , Ligiero Carolina , Osta Leonardo , Silva Ludmila , Araujo Joyce , Archanjo Bráulio , Ronconi Célia , dos Santos Thiago
Published: May 2024

CO2 emissions into the atmosphere have been rapidly rising due to human activities, resulting in the escalation of global warming. To mitigate climate change, it is imperative to develop materials for CO2 capture with high CO2 capacity and low production costs. Herein, we developed a facile method to obtain adsorbents based on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) sheets, NrGO(1 - X)700, where X represents the mass of diethylenetriamine (DETA) (X = 1, 2 and 4 g) used in the preparation. The materials NrGO(1 - 1)700, NrGO (1 - 2)700, and NrGO(1 - 4)700 were obtained from graphene oxide dispersions, followed by DETA impregnation and chemical activation with K2CO3. N2 isotherms demonstrated that the materials simultaneously presented micro and mesopores with similar values of specific surface area (280.16 to 310.32 m2 g-1), pore volume (0.26 to 0.28 cm3 g-1) and pore size (3.78 to 3.80 nm). CO2 sorption experiments revealed that the material NrGO(1 - 4)700, containing the highest amount of pyridinic, graphitic, and amino nitrogen functionalities, showed the best CO2 adsorption capacity. Diffuse reflectance Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy experiments indicated stronger solid-gas interactions for NrGO(1 - 4)700 than for the other materials.
Unveiling the future of cardiac care: advances in mechanical circulatory support
Authors: Tarcan Bora
Published: May 2024

Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a multifaceted clinical syndrome characterized by the inability of the heart to pump blood effectively, leading to inadequate oxygen and nutrient delivery to the body tissues. Despite advancements in treatment strategies, including guideline-directed medical treatment (GDMT), end-stage CHF remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Heart transplantation is considered to be the gold standard treatment of end stage CHF but constrained by the lack of organ donors, lengthening waitlists, and the negative side effects of lifelong immunosuppressive medications. Mechanical circulatory support (MCS) has emerged as a pivotal intervention for patients with end-stage CHF, serving as a bridge to recovery, transplantation, or destination therapy. The aim of this narrative review is to highlight the historical development of MCS, to assess the recent status of MCS device technology and discuss current challenges associated with complications of MCS that need to be solved in the future by device development. The history of MCS dates back to pioneering efforts in the 1960s, with significant progress in device development and utilization over decades. MCS devices, including left ventricular assist devices (LVADs), extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), and artificial hearts, play a crucial role in providing circulatory support to patients with end-stage CHF. Recent advancements in MCS technology aim to decrease the device size, enhance blood compatibility, reduce thrombo-embolic complications, and prolong device durability and battery life and improve physiological performance of MCS. Continued research and innovation are essential to address these challenges and improve outcomes in patients with end-stage CHF. Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a valuable tool in cardiovascular medicine to facilitate risk prediction, patient selection, and treatment optimization for MCS and heart transplantation. Despite these advancements, challenges persist in MCS device selection, resource allocation, and integration of AI into clinical practice. Continued research and innovation are essential to address these challenges and improve outcomes in patients with advanced heart failure.
A genetic algorithm's novel rainfall distribution method for optimized hydrological modeling at basin scales
Authors: Skoulikaris Charalampos , Nagkoulis Nikolaos
Published: May 2024

Rainfall has a dominant role in rainfall-runoff models, with the rendering of these models depending on the data accuracy and on the way that rainfall is spatially allocated. The research proposes a methodological framework where a genetic algorithm (GA)-based method responsible for the spatial distribution of gauge observations at the basin scale is coupled with the HEC-HMS hydrological model to produce simulated discharges of high accuracy. The custom-developed GA is used to divide a 2D space, adhering to specific criteria, into polygonal geometries that represent gauge zones of influences, similar to the Thiessen polygon method concept. A collection of vectorial polygonal areas, equivalent in number to the employed monitoring stations, is produced with the areal weights to be used for distributing the rainfall across the case study basin and subsequently to force the hydrological simulations. The generated gauge weights are validated for a different temporal precipitation event. The final outputs expressed through a series of statistical measures, clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of the specific methodology (e.g. R2 and Nash–Sutcliffe are larger than 0.83 and 0.73). The methodology can foster accurate hydrological simulations, especially in cases where there is a limited number of rainfall stations and corresponding observations.
Accelerating regional-scale groundwater flow simulations with a hybrid deep neural network model incorporating mixed input types: A case study of the northeast Qatar aquifer
Authors: Al-Maktoumi Ali , Rajabi Mohammad Mahdi , Zekri Slim , Govindan Rajesh , Panjehfouladgaran Aref , Hajibagheri Zahra
Published: May 2024

This study presents the ‘Dual Path CNN-MLP’, a novel hybrid deep neural network (DNN) architecture that merges the strengths of convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and multilayer perceptrons (MLPs) for regional groundwater flow simulations. This model stands out from previous DNN approaches by managing mixed input types, including both imagery and numerical vectors. Such flexibility allows the diverse nature of groundwater data to be efficiently utilized without the need to convert it into a uniform format, which often leads to oversimplification or unnecessary expansion of the dataset. When applied to the northeast Qatar aquifer, the model demonstrates high accuracy in simulating transient groundwater flow fields, benchmarked against the well-established MODFLOW model. The model's efficacy is confirmed through k-fold cross-validation, showing an error margin of less than 12% across all examined locations. The study also examines the model's ability to perform uncertainty analysis using Monte Carlo simulations, finding that it achieves around 1% average absolute percentage error in estimating the mean hydraulic head. Errors are mostly found in areas with significant variations in the hydraulic head. Switching to this machine learning model from the conventional MODFLOW simulator boosts computational efficiency by about 99%, showcasing its advantage for tasks like uncertainty analysis in repetitive groundwater simulations.