bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Preparation, Characterization, and Application of Novel Ternary PPS/PVA/Fe 3 O 4 Nanocomposite for Enhanced Visible Light Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue
Authors: Atashkadi Mojdeh , Mohadesi Alireza , Karimi Mohammad Ali , Mohammadi Seyed Zia , Aghaei Vida Haji
Published: June 2023

This study used a simple co-precipitation method to fabricate a novel polymer-based photocatalyst that displayed effective photocatalytic activity towards the degradation of methylene blue (MB) solution under visible light irradiation. Due to its excellent properties, intrinsic polarization, and asymmetric structure, polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) was utilized in the magnetic ternary PPS/PVA/Fe3O4 nanocomposite. The analytical techniques confirmed the desirable combination of the photo-initiated Fe3O4 nanoparticles as the strong oxidizers with the high adsorption capacity of PPS and the binding and conductive effects of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). Binary nanocomposites of PPS/Fe3O4 and PVA/Fe3O4 were also prepared to compare their photocatalytic activities with that of the PPS/PVA/Fe3O4 sample. The optimum degradation occurred in PPS/PVA/Fe3O4, reaching 83% after 120 minutes. Its superior activity was attributed to the synergistic interactions, such as broader absorption of visible light, suppression of electron-hole pair recombination, and increment in the surface area of the mesoporous catalyst. Based on the effects of scavengers, it was concluded that hydroxyl radicals had a vital role in the photodegradation of methylene blue. Kinetically, the photocatalytic activity of PPS/PVA/Fe3O4 followed the pseudo-first-order kinetic model, which was about 3.9 and 3.1 times greater than those of PPS and PPS/Fe3O4, respectively. More specifically, the superparamagnetic behavior of PPS/PVA/Fe3O4 helped to be recovered with an external magnetic field and showed good reusability and stability after four successive runs. The current work suggests that PPS-based photocatalysts can provide promising opportunities for the photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants and opens up a new perspective on water treatment.
PetBERT: Automated ICD-11 Syndromic Disease Coding for Outbreak Detection in First Opinion Veterinary Electronic Health Records
Authors: Farrell Sean , Appleton Charlotte , Noble Peter-John Mantyla , Moubayed Noura Al
Published: June 2023

Effective public health surveillance requires consistent monitoring of disease signals such that researchers and decision-makers can react dynamically to changes in disease occurrence. However, whilst surveillance initiatives exist in production animal veterinary medicine, comparable frameworks for companion animals are lacking. First-opinion veterinary electronic health records (EHRs) have the potential to reveal disease signals and often represent the initial reporting of clinical syndromes in animals presenting for medical attention, highlighting their possible significance in early disease detection. Yet despite their availability, there are limitations surrounding their free text-based nature, inhibiting the ability for national-level mortality and morbidity statistics to occur. This paper presents PetBERT, a large language model trained on over 500 million words from 5.1 million EHRs across the UK. PetBERT-ICD is the additional training of PetBERT as a multi-label classifier for the automated coding of veterinary clinical narratives with the \emph{International Classification of Disease 11} framework achieving F1 scores exceeding 83\% across 20 disease codings with minimal annotations. PetBERT-ICD effectively identifies disease outbreaks, outperforming current clinician-assigned point-of-care labelling strategies up to three weeks earlier. The potential for PetBERT-ICD to enhance disease surveillance in veterinary medicine represents a promising avenue for advancing animal health and improving public health outcomes.
Increased CpG methylation at the CDH1 locus in inflamed ileal mucosa of patients with Crohn disease
Authors: de Ponthaud Charles , Abdalla Solafah , Belot Marie-Pierre , Shao Xiaojian , Brouquet Antoine , Penna Christophe , Bougnères Pierre
Published: June 2023

Background
E-cadherin, a major actor of cell adhesion in the intestinal barrier, is encoded by the CDH1 gene and associated with susceptibility to Crohn's Disease (CD) and colorectal cancer. Since epigenetic mechanisms are suspected to contribute to the pathogenesis of CD, we studied the methylation of the CpG island (CGI) located in the CDH1 promoter and of 4 CpGs in the 7th enhancer in inflamed ileal mucosa and PBMC of CD patients operated on. Patients who underwent surgery for a non-inflammatory bowel disease provided a macroscopically normal ileal mucosa and PBMC for comparison.
Results
In ileal mucosa, 90% of the 21 studied CD patients had a methylated CDH1 CGI vs 50% of the 16 control patients (P < 0.01). In PBMC, percentage was comparable in CD (52%) and controls (44%). The methylation of the 4 CpGs in the 7th enhancer of CDH1 was also higher in the CD group for each individual CpG and for the average of the 4 CpGs (45 ± 17% in CD patients vs 36 ± 17% in controls, P < 0.001), while it was comparable in PBMC. The rs16260 SNP known to be associated with CD was not associated with studied CpG methylation.
Conclusion
Independently of the rs16260 genotype, the methylation of the promoter CGI and 4 enhancer CpGs at the CDH1 locus was increased in the inflamed ileal mucosa of a small cohort of CD patients. We speculate that these local methylation changes may decrease local expression of E-cadherin (not studied) and favor or aggravate ileal CD lesions. Whether CGI methylation could be used as a biomarker of colorectal cancer risk in ileal biopsies will have to be explored in further studies.
Home practice for robotic surgery: A randomized controlled trial of a low-cost simulation model
Authors: Wile Rachel , Brian Riley , Rodriguez Natalie , Chern Hueylan , Cruff Jason , O'Sullivan Patricia
Published: June 2023

PURPOSE
Pre-operative simulated practice allows trainees to learn robotic surgery outside the operating room without risking patient safety. While simulation practice has shown efficacy, simulators are expensive and frequently inaccessible. Cruff (2021) described a low-cost simulation model to learn hand movements for robotic surgery. Our study evaluates whether practice with low-cost home simulation models can improve trainee performance on robotic surgery simulators.
METHODS
Home simulation kits were adapted from those described by Cruff (2021). Hand controllers were modified to mimic the master tool manipulators (MTMs) on the da Vinci Skills Simulator (dVSS). Medical students completed two da Vinci exercises: Sea Spikes 1 (SS1) and Big Dipper Needle Driving (BDND). They were subsequently assigned to either receive a home simulation kit or not. Students returned two weeks later and repeated SS1 and BDND. Overall score, economy of motion, time to completion, and penalty subtotal were collected, and analyses of covariance were performed. Semi-structured interviews assessed student perceptions of the robotic simulation experience.
RESULTS
Thirty-three medical students entered the study. Twenty-nine completed both sessions. The difference in score improvement between the experimental and control groups was not significant. In interviews, students provided suggestions to increase fidelity and usefulness of low-cost robotic home simulation.
CONCLUSIONS
Low-cost home simulation models did not improve student performance on dVSS after two weeks of at-home practice. Interview data highlighted areas to focus future simulation efforts. Ongoing work is necessary to develop low-cost solutions to facilitate practice for robotic surgery and foster more inclusive and accessible surgical education.
Gut microbiota and intervertebral disc degeneration: A Bidirectional Two-Sample Mendelian Randomization Study
Authors: Geng Ziming , Wang Jian , Chen Guangdong , Liu Jianchao , Lan Jie , Zhang Zepei , Miao Jun.
Published: June 2023

BACKGROUND
Although previous studies have suggested a close association between gut microbiota(GM) and intervertebral disc degeneration(IVDD), the causal relationship between them remains unclear.Hence,we thoroughly investigate their causal relationship by means of a two-sample mendelian randomization (MR) study, aiming to determine the impact of gut microbiota on the risk of developing intervertebral disc degeneration.
METHODS
Summary data from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of GM (the MiBioGen) and IVDD (the FinnGen biobank) have been acquired.The inverse variance weighted (IVW) method was utilized as the primary MR analysis approach. Weighted median (WME), MR-Egger regression, weighted mode, and simple mode were used as supplements. The mendelian randomization pleiotropy residual sum and outlier (MR-PRESSO) and MR-Egger regression were performed to assess horizontal pleiotropy. Cochran's Q test evaluated heterogeneity.Leave-one-out sensitivity analysis was further conducted to determine the reliability of the causal relationship. A reverse MR analysis was conducted to assess potential reverse causation.
RESULTS
We identified nine gut microbial taxa that were causally associated with IVDD(P < 0.05).Following the Benjamini-Hochberg corrected test, the association between the phylum Bacteroidetes and a higher risk of IVDD remained significant(IVW FDR-corrected P = 0.0365). The results of the Cochrane Q test did not indicate heterogeneity (P > 0.05). Additionally, both the MR-Egger intercept test and the MR-PRESSO global test revealed that our results were not influenced by horizontal pleiotropy (P > 0.05). Furthermore, the leave-one-out analysis substantiated the reliability of the causal relationship.In the reverse analysis, no evidence was found to suggest that IVDD has an impact on the gut microbiota.
CONCLUSION
Our results validate the potential causal impact of particular GM taxa on IVDD, thus providing fresh insights into the gut microbiota-mediated mechanism of IVDD and laying the groundwork for further research into targeted preventive measures.
A mammary gland secretion function study based on a quantitative comparison between milk and serum
Authors: Wei Li-Long , Xiao Rui , Zhou Yun , Han Cheng-Wu , Cao Yong-Tong
Published: June 2023

The objective of this study was to study the secretory function of human mammary glands through a comparative analysis of common clinical indicators in serum and milk. Milk and serum samples were collected from lactating women simultaneously, and titers of common biochemical components were determined using an automated biochemical analyzer. The differences between the levels of serum and milk components were analyzed using statistical software. There were significant biochemical differences between the milk and serum samples. Among the 46 biochemical components in the quantitative comparison, the titers or activities of eight milk constituents were significantly higher than those in serum, while 32 milk components were significantly lower than those in serum. Overall, the individual differences in milk were significantly greater than those in serum. The differences between the levels of serum and milk components were assessed definitively, and some additional characteristic secretions from the human breast were also quantified, providing much more data for further research on the secretory function of the human breast.
Misdiagnosis and treatment of a case of malignant melanoma found in an axillary mass: case report and review
Authors: Wan Yu , Long Changhai , Liu Yun , Wang Jieqiong , Wang Shaohua
Published: June 2023

Background
Malignant melanoma (MM) is a highly dangerous, potentially fatal tumor originating from melanocytes in the neural crest. It most often occurs in the skin, and regional lymph nodes (inguinal, axillary, cervical, and others) can metastasize at an early stage. Malignant tumors not involving the hematopoietic system initially appear as axillary masses, constituting a unique clinical manifestation. Moreover, MM in an axillary mass is difficult to diagnose preoperatively and is easily misidentified.
Case presentation:
Here, we report on a 62-year-old woman with MM occurring within an axillary mass; it was initially misdiagnosed as synovial sarcoma and fibrosarcoma. Under general anesthesia, the patient underwent radical surgery of a right axillary lymph node; she then received six cycles of chemotherapy. About 14 months later, the lesion recurred and metastasized to the chest wall and breast skin. After biopsy of the skin nodules on the chest wall as well as examination by immunohistochemistry(IHC) and gene detection, the lesion was confirmed to be a MM. Finally, after two cycles of targeted drug treatment, the lesions in the armpit, chest wall, and breast skin disappeared.
Conclusion
MM is an often lethal, highly malignant, easily misdiagnosed form of cancer that requires careful study, following its clinical course, and scrutinizing the findings from imaging, pathology, immunohistochemistry, and gene detection.
Deep Custom Transfer Learning Models for Recognizing Human Activities via Video Surveillance
Authors: Gupta Saurabh , Mahapatra Rajendra Prasad
Published: June 2023

The use of video surveillance for human activity recognition (HAR) in inpatient rehabilitation, activity recognition, or mobile health monitoring has grown in popularity recently. Before using it on new users, a HAR classifier is often trained offline with known users. If the activity patterns of new users differ from those in the training data, the accuracy of this method for them can be subpar. Because of the high cost of computing and the lengthy training period for new users, it is impractical to start from scratch when building mobile applications. The 2DCNNLSTM, Transfer 2DCNNLSTM, LRCN, or Transfer LRCN were proposed in this paper as deep learning and transfer learning models for recognizing human activities via video surveillance. The Transfer LRCN scored 100 for Training Accuracy and 69.39 for Validation Accuracy, respectively. The lowest Validation Loss of 0.16 and the Lowest Training Loss of 0.001 was obtained by Transfer LRCN, respectively. The 2DCNNLSTM has a 98.34 lowest training accuracy and a 47.62 lowest validation accuracy.
Investigation of the evolution of overburden structure during the repeated mining of close-range coal seams
Authors: Li Lei , Xue Yonglin
Published: June 2023

To address the challenges presented by the repeated mining of short-distance coal seams in western China, this study used numerical calculation, theoretical analysis, and field investigation to analyze the damage to strata overlying the stope during the repeated mining of short-distance coal seams in the Longde coal mine. The mechanical behaviors of the strata overlying the stope were evaluated under repeated mining conditions to construct a mechanical model of strata failure and determine the instability criteria of the overlying rock. Based on the results, a strategy for stabilizing the strata overlying the stope was proposed for short-distance coal seams under repeated mining and tested in the field. The results indicate several key locations of failure and instability during the repeated mining of short-distance coal seams: the first mining face along the mining direction, the outer entity of the connecting face coal boundary, the front coal wall boundary, the rear incision boundary of the first face, and the continuation face along the direction of mining. According to the engineering conditions of short-distance coal seam mining in the Longde coal mine, the mining thickness of the 2–2 coal seam should be limited during repeated downward mining. On-site observations showed that at a mining thickness of 4.0 m, the height of the water-conducting fracture zone was 94.15 m; under these conditions, the height of the water-conducting fracture zone did not reach the lower boundary of the rock-bearing layer at the bottom of the overlying rock after repeated mining of the near coal seam. The findings provide important theoretical guidance for coal seam mining under similar conditions.
Rational Bézier curve with minimum strain energy
Authors: Hussain Maria , Arshad Nazish
Published: June 2023

In this research paper, a 𝐺 1 -rational cubic Bézier curve is presented in comparison of cubic splines. The rational cubic Bézier curve has enough number of degrees of freedoms. The 𝐺 1 - Hermite interpolation conditions are imposed at the end points of the curve to fix some of these degrees of freedom. The remaining degrees of freedom are optimized to generate fair curves by minimizing the strain energy of 𝐺 1 -rational cubic Bézier curve. Several comparative examples are provided to establish its effectiveness and usefulness for shape design.
AMS Subject Classification 2010: 68U05, 65D05, 65D07, 65D18
The impact of regulation on mobile phone call prices in Africa
Authors: LEKOULEMBISSA Fred Lionnel ABELOCKO , ELLA Philémon NSI , MENDY Pierre , YEBE Gabriel ZOMO
Published: June 2023

Since the beginning of the 2000s, Africa has been experiencing a veritable revolution in the mobile telephony sector. Despite this revolution, mobile service prices remain exceptionally high relative to household purchasing power. This article analyses the impact of regulation on the pricing process for mobile calls in Africa, using panel data from 32 African countries over the period 2008–2020. The main results show that the simultaneous implementation of regulatory policies promotes lower prices for mobile calls in Africa. However, we get mixed results when we disaggregate regulation into these different components in the regression. The Autonomy of regulation and Regulatory regime components are detrimental to the variation in mobile call prices, while the Regulatory mandate and Competition framework components have a positive effect on prices. Consequently, the effectiveness of regulatory policy implies a coordinated and joint implementation of the different regulatory components.
JEL Classification: C33; E31; L96 ; M38.
Advancing Human Activity Recognition: Locality Constrained Linear Coding and Machine Learning Approaches
Authors: Khan Muhammad Hassan , Shabbir Maryam , Li Jianqiang , Naseem Shahid , Mahmood Tariq , Ahmad Fahad
Published: June 2023

Background: The new improvements in hardware and machines showing shrewd qualities includes various procedures comprising software and hardware architectural improvements. A wide range of wearable-sensors, hardware equipment, machine and deep-learning models are being applied in Human Activity Recognition (HAR) oriented systems and applications lately. Whereas, to foster best models for accurate classification of human actions is of critical significance.
Results: For the accomplishment of this objective this study utilizes sensor’s data from two less-expensive sensors, accelerometer, and gyroscope alongside the execution of reconstruction based feature encoding approach i.e. Locality-constrained Linear Coding (LLC) for human activity recognition. This research is intended to perform human action classification where LLC is used in this research for encoding the discriminative data of human body movements (acquired through sensors) while performing a specific action. For encoding the hand crafted features the utilization of LLC is legitimized by exhibiting its prevalence over other different approaches e.g. Sparse-Coding etc.
Conclusions:Using LLC encoding approach, final classification of the feature vector is performed using different machine learning approaches i.e. Naive Bayes, K-Nearest Neighbors, Logistic Regression, and Support Vector Machine (SVM). The results for activity classification are evaluated in terms of precision, recall, F1-Score against each activity.
Determination of the relationship between individuals’ fear of COVID-19 and their participation in cancer screenings
Authors: Bal Sevgi , Baysal Hasret Yalcinoz
Published: June 2023

Purpose
The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between individuals' fear of COVID-19 and their participation in cancer screenings.
Methods
The study utilized a descriptive and relational-screening design. Data were collected through an online survey administered to the participants who lived in Erzurum, were aged between 50 and 70 years, and agreed to participate in the study between April 2021 and April 2022. The population of the study consisted of individuals living in Erzurum and aged between 50 and 70 years. The sample size was calculated using the formula with a known target population, which was determined to be a minimum of 384 individuals. The study was completed with 393 participants. Data were collected through the Patient Characteristics Form and the Fear of COVID-19 Scale.
Results
The participants’ Fear of COVID-19 Scale mean score was found 19.59±6.98, indicating an above-average fear of COVID-19 considering the 7 to 35 score range. It was found that the fear of COVID-19 increased the rate of not having screening behaviors by 0.923 times during the pandemic process.
Conclusions
The fear of COVID-19 was also found to increase the level of refraining from going to a health institution due to the fear of catching the virus during the pandemic process and not thinking about having cancer screenings in case of the continuation of the pandemic by 0.954 times (p=0.000).
PENGATURAN ANGGARAN PENDAPATAN DAN BELANJA NEGARA MELALUI PERATURAN PEMERINTAH PENGGANTI UNDANG-UNDANG
Authors: Rizaldi Moh
Published: June 2023

It is still a matter of debate whether the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget can be regulated by government regulation in lieu of law. For the pros, this arrangement can be done because it is based on the suitability of types, hierarchies and content material. Meanwhile, for those who are contra, this arrangement violates the principle of people"s sovereignty and checks and balances. Not taking part in the debate, President Jokowidodo actually changed the State Budget Law through a Presidential Regulation. This paper criticizes the President"s actions as well as provides a solution to it by offering ideas in the form of amendments to the State Budget Law through government regulation in lieu of law. The problems raised in this research are, first, what limitations should be made to overcome the open-ended nature of Article 22 of the 1945 Amendment so that the President does not take excessive action? Second, is it necessary to amend the state budget Law through government regulation in lieu of law? This is doctrinal research. Through a statutory approach and conceptual approach, this paper concludes that first, limitation can be done by limiting the scope of the meaning of urgency that forces it and the material is limited to state administration only. Second, in an emergency situation, the existence of government regulations in lieu of law is needed to amend the state budget Law.
New records of lichens and lichenicolous fungi from Kenya and Tanzania (East Africa)
Authors: Farkas Edit , Lőkös László , Muhoro Arthur M. , Varga Nóra
Published: June 2023

Hungarian collections of lichen-forming and lichenicolous fungi from Kenya and Tanzania were studied analysing morphological and anatomical characters, as well as secondary chemistry by chromatography (HPTLC). Altogether 39 species of lichen-forming fungi and three species of lichenicolous fungi have been recognized and deposited in VBI. The lichens Bulbothrix kenyana, Chrysothrix xanthina, Lobaria discolor, Parm otrem a durum ae and P. taitae were discovered as new for Tanzania; Usnea abissinica and U. sanguinea are new for Kenya. The first records of the lichenicolous fungi Didymocyrtis cf. melanelixiae, Lichenoconium erodens and Spirographa lichenicola are presented from East Africa.
Overview of the research history of the higher flora of Vas County (Western Hungary)
Authors: Balogh Lajos
Published: June 2023

The paper reviews the research history of the higher flora of Vas County (Western Hungary) from the mid-16th century to recent times. We refer to the most important or topic-specific publications of the individual researchers in the text, while the literature sources mentioned in places, preferably more recent, regarding the work of people from Vas County in particular, are included in footnotes. In the case of deceased persons, biographical data are also given. - The Hungarian version of this study (Balogh 2022) was published as a chapter of the volume Protected plants of Vas County (Kulcsár et al. 2022), the foreword of which was written by academician Tamás Pócs, the greatest scientist alive today in researching the flora and vegetation of Vas County. With the English version of the study, the author - also on behalf of the author community of the included volume - greets Professor Pócs on the occasion of his 90th birthday.
Alleniella aegaea Blockeel & Hugonnot (Neckeraceae), a new moss species from the Aegean islands of Greece
Authors: Blockeel Tom L. , Hugonnot Vincent , Enroth Johannes , Ignatov Michael S. , Kuznetsova Oxana I.
Published: June 2023

A new moss species, Alleniella aegaea (Neckeraceae) is described and illustrated from the Greek islands of Crete, Samos and Evvia based on morphological and molecular evidence. According to phylogenetic analysis of nuclear ITS and plastid trnS-F sequences it is sister to A. com planata, which it also morphologically resembles, but it differs from that species e.g. in its distinctly flattened habit, lack of caducous branchlets, more rounded leaf apices, and shorter median laminal cells. Alleniella aegaea is dioicous and the sporophytes remain unknown
Two new occurrences of Hilpertia velenovskyi (Schiffn.) Zander in Hungary
Authors: Németh Csaba
Published: June 2023

Two small populations of the continental xerophytic moss species Hilpertia velenovskyi were discovered in the Vértes Mts and Mezőföld region (near Csákberény and Lovasberény, respectively) growing on vertical loess cliffs. Both populations are rather small and are restricted just to a small surface of the cliffs, covering only a few square decimeters. At both new sites the species occurs together with Tortula brevissima and Pterygoneurum lam ellatum, two species also protected by law in Hungary.
Bryophytes of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea (West Central Africa) VII. New records and range extensions of liverworts from Río Muni
Authors: Sánchez Marta Infante , Pérez Patxi Heras
Published: June 2023

Río Muni (Muni region) is the continental and largest part of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, extending over 26000 of its 28000 km2, placed between Cameroon and Gabon. The territory is quite homogeneous from a vegetation point of view: 99% of the area is covered by forest, around 20% of which is still primary. The lowland rainforest is most typical; only on the most mountainous areas is a less dense submontane forest developed. The current knowledge of the Río Muni bryoflora is still poor: 181 taxa (107 liverworts and 74 mosses) have been recorded so far. Data on 19 liverwort species in the families Cephaloziellaceae, Frullaniaceae, Lejeuneaceae, Lepidoziaceae, Metzgeriaceae and Porellaceae are offered. Six of them are new additions for the country of Equatorial Guinea, and seven are new for the Muni region (Río Muni). For each species, geographical distribution, altitudinal range, ecological information and accompanying bryophyte species are given.
Studi Komparasi Performa NGINX dan HAPROXY Sebagai Load Balancer di Cloud Menggunakan Teknologi Kontainer
Authors: Mulyana Joshua Gibeon , Raharjo Willy Sudiarto , Indriyanta Gani
Published: June 2023

High availability and scalability is a must have feature for server that owned by industrial sector. One concept that used by technology practitioner ishorizontal scaling. Horizontal scaling can be achieved by using load balancer. Even though those technology practitioner started to adopt containerization technology, those technology practitioner still using load balancer. The purpose of this research is to compare NGINX and HAPROXY performance as load balancer based on response time and error rate. Both NGINX and HAPROXY will run on docker that installed on various virtual machine type in both AWS and GCP. The result shows that based on writer’s configuration, NGINX could handle medium and heavy load better than HAPROXY. Another result shows that AWS could handle medium and heavy load better than GCP.
The stability of differential-difference systems with linearly increasing delay. II. Systems with additive right side
Authors:   St. Petersburg State University, Ekimov Alexander V. , Zhabko Aleksei P. ,   St. Petersburg State University, Yakovlev Pavel V. ,   St. Petersburg State University
Published: June 2023

The article considers an uncontrolled system of differential-difference equations with a homogeneous additive right side and linearly increasing delay. Sufficient conditions for asymptotic stability are known for a number of special cases of such systems. Razumikhin's theorem on the asymptotic stability of homogeneous systems with proportional delay is formulated. Sufficient conditions for asymptotic stability are obtained basing on the asymptotic stability of the initial system without delay and constructing the Lyapunov function.
Dynamic network model of production and investment
Authors:   St. Petersburg State University, Kochevadov Vitaly A. , Sedakov Artem A. ,   St. Petersburg State University
Published: June 2023

The paper studies a dynamic network game that models the competitive behavior of firms in a market. It is assumed that firms, under the condition of simultaneous and independent choice of their actions, implement the behavior that determines their production and investment behavior in each period. The production behavior of the firm reflects the ongoing quantities that it should produce and supply to the market. The investment behavior specifies the ongoing amounts of investment that the firm allocates to the modernization of its production technology in order to prevent it from becoming obsolete. Next, the unit cost is assumed to depend on the firm's investment and the investment of its competitors, which are determined by an exogenous network. Two types of Nash equilibria are characterized: open-loop and feedback. Finally, we analyze the impact of the network and related model parameters on firms' behavior, profits, and competitive advantage.
Blade-like field cathode with a dielectric coating mathematical modeling
Authors:   St. Petersburg State University, Egorov Nickolay V. , Vinogradova Ekaterina M. ,   St. Petersburg State University, Doronin Grigoriy G. ,   St. Petersburg State University
Published: June 2023

In this paper the results of a two-dimensional diode emission system based on a blade-like field cathode in a polar coordinate system modeling is presented. The top of the emitter is a circle with a dielectric coating. The anode is a circle coaxial to the top of the emitter. The boundary condition of the first kind is set on the cathode, and the first and second kind on the anode. The problem of calculating the electrostatic potential distribution is reduced to solving a system of linear algebraic equations with constant coefficients. All the geometric dimensions of the system and the values of the potentials on the electrodes are the parameters of the problem.
Structural organization of epidermis in leaves of extant species of Gnetum L. (Gnetales) and Middle Jurassic Bennettitales
Authors: Bogdanova Ianina , Kartseva Lyudmila
Published: June 2023

An attempt to assess the identification and evaluation of correlations between the epidermal characters of leaves in Bennettitales and the comparison of the results with the structural organization of leaves of extant plants has been carried out. Epidermis of four species of Gnetum L. and four species of Jurassic Bennettitales (Nilssoniopteris Nathorst and Ptilophyllum Morris) was studied. The coefficients of variation for epidermal characters Gnetum range from 6.4 to 24.0 %, Ptilophyllum — 15.7–63.5 % and Nilssoniopteris — 18.0–39.9 %. In both groups of plants, the sinuosity of the tangential cell walls of the epidermal cells in the upper and lower epidermis is a stable character (Cv ≤ 18.0 %). In the Ptilophyllum and Gnetum, the length of stomata demonstrates a low level of variability (Cv ≤ 16.8 %). A significant range of the coefficients of variation in both Gnetum and Bennettitales show the number of epidermal cells per 1 mm2 of the upper and lower epidermis (17.5 % ≤ Сv ≤ 31.9 %), the area of the epidermal cells in the upper and lower epidermis (21.2 % ≤ Сv ≤ 63.5 %) and the number of stomata per 1 mm2 of epidermis (29.3 % ≤ Сv ≤ 39.9 %). Similarities in the correlation structure of the epidermal characters are revealed in correlations between sinuosity of the tangential cell walls of the epidermis, the number of stomata per 1 mm2 and their size; the length of stomata and the number of epidermal cells; stomatal index and the number of epidermal cells of the epidermis. In Gnetum, the number of differentiated stomata correlates with the number of aborted stomata. In N. angustifolia and P. caucasicum, the number of stomata correlates with the number of papillae per 1 mm2. Similarities in correlational structure of epidermis in Nilssoniopteris, Ptilophyllum, and Gnetum could be ecological adaptations or ontogenetic characters, such as the development of stomata that has been described by other researchers.
Arguments vs emotions: Argumentative models as a tool of ideological confrontation in the mass media
Authors:   Perm State University, Danilevskaya Natalia V.
Published: June 2023

The article analyzes the texts covering the special military operation (SVO) of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine in the modern media discourse. The question of language strategies and tactics used in media texts belonging to authors professing different ideological positions is considered. By means of linguistic-stylistic, functional-grammatical and comparative analyses, it is concluded that in the texts, on the one hand, pro-Russian-minded, and on the other — liberal-minded journalists and bloggers, different argumentation methods are chosen as language strategies. As a result of the study of texts devoted to the topic of SVO, the author of the article comes to the conclusion about the predominantly reasoned nature of the speech of pro-Russian authors and, conversely, about the predominantly evaluative and hypothetical, i. e., in general, the emotional type of speech in the texts of liberal-minded authors. It is argued that the main method of argumentation of “pro-Russian texts” is the factual method, whereas the main methods of argumentation in “liberal texts” are evaluative and hypothetical methods. Special attention is paid to the question of the place and role of argumentation in texts representing new knowledge. In this regard, the problem of logical and cognitive actions relevant to substantiating truth in scientific communication is considered. Based on a comparative analysis of the logic of argumentation in journalistic and scientific communication, a conclusion is made about the similarity of communicative and cognitive strategies of science and quality journalism. The description of argumentative actions representing the position of journalists and bloggers belonging to the liberal wing of the media sphere allows the author to speak about the low-quality nature of liberal journalism.
Essential Herbal Plants for the Clinical Management of Polycystic Ovary
Syndrome and Patents for the Same
Authors: Rao Komal , Bansal Nidhi , Yadav Nikita , Minocha Neha
Published: June 2023

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is a hormonal disorder in females with excessive hormonal
levels, but a reasonable cause is unknown. For PCOS, various pharmaceutical therapies have been
offered, like oral contraceptive pills (which balance hormonal imbalances). PCOS is commonly used as
an alternative to PCOD (Polycystic Ovary Disease). Although a part of the implicated mechanism in the
occurrence of PCOS has been discovered, the specific etiology and pathophysiology are still unknown.
Many types of complementary medicines are used to treat PCOD, and herbal medicines are one of them.
Medical herbs have long been utilized to manage PCOS in women's gynecological and reproductive issues.
This review article discusses the importance of herbal medicines and lifestyle modifications for
PCOD patients. Many clinical studies proved that herbs like liquorice, cinnamon, Unkei-to, and fenugreek
are helpful in PCOD management by improving hormone levels, ovulatory dysfunctions, obesity,
and insulin resistance in the body. This review explores the natural plants that can be used to treat the
disease naturally. The herbs can be used either alone or in combination.
Water Mediated Green Method Synthesis of Bioactive Heterocyclic
Reported Between 2012-2021 Accelerated by Microwave Irradiation: A
Decennary Update
Authors: Kamanna Kantharaju , Amaregouda Yamanappagouda
Published: June 2023

The diverse field of chemistry demands various greener pathways in our quest to maintain sustainability. The utilization of energy inputs (mechanochemistry, ultrasound, or microwave irradiation), photochemistry, and greener reaction media being applied to organic synthesis are the key trends in the greener and sustainable process development in the current synthetic chemistry. These strategic methods aim to address the majority of the green chemistry principles, developing functional chemicals with less amount of waste production. In the synthesis of biologically potential heterocyclic molecules, green chemistry is a topic of great interest. It encompasses all branches of chemistry and is found in the notion of conducting chemical reactions while also conserving the environment through pollution-free chemical synthesis. Water as a solvent media is an excellent choice of solvent in organic synthesis development in the present day, as it is highly abundant, nontoxic, and non-combustible. Medicinal chemists have recently focused their attention on environmentally friendly procedures that use greener solvent media. Using water as a solvent, several studies on the process of optimization and selectivity have been reported, and the combination with microwave irradiation has emerged as a green chemistry protocol to produce high atom economy and yields. In this review, we have compiled microwave-assisted organic synthesis in aqueous media, including examples of the most cutting-edge methodologies employed for the heterocyclic scaffolds used in medicinal chemistry. It covers the most valuable advanced synthetics taking place in the area of heterocyclic molecule synthesis, between the decennary period of 2012 to 2021. The reported work discusses both synthetic and pharmacological applications.
Nuclear Astrophysics
Authors: Kohale Ritesh , Dhoble Sanjay J. , Chopra Vibha
Published: June 2023

Nuclear Astrophysics is a field at the joining of nuclear physics and astrophysics that try to find and recognize how nuclear processes shape the universe. In essence, we look in the present chapter for the connection between the properties of atomic nuclei and the properties of planets, stars, and galaxies. The present chapter encloses astrophysics of the universe, theories on the creation of the universe, formation of a star, thermonuclear reactions in stars, nucleosynthesis, a process for the production of elements, death of a star and the age of our Galaxy.
Anti-inflammatory Activity Methods
Authors: Enrico Lombardo Giovanni , Maugeri Alessandro , Russo Caterina , Musumeci Laura , Cirmi Santa , Navarra Michele
Published: June 2023

The inflammatory process can be unleashed by a wide variety of biological,
chemical, and physical factors, and arises to counteract these dangerous enemies. In
case of failure by the organism to defeat these exogenous stimuli, a chronic
inflammatory status occurs, hence potentially leading to several diseases. Therefore,
anti-inflammatory drugs, from both synthetic and natural sources, represent valuable
allies to fight the phlogistic process. The search for novel candidate drugs is never
ceasing, also from the plant kingdom, known to provide products with generally lesser
or more tolerable side effects than synthetic drugs. Researchers can take advantage of a
wide plethora of in vitro and in vivo methods in order to investigate the anti-inflammatory potential of unknown natural products. Cell cultures (i.e., stimulated
macrophages) offer a fast and highly reproducible first-line screening, while animal
models, thanks to their complexity, grant to achieve a broader and multifactorial view
of the inflammatory process. The underlying mechanism of action of candidate drugs
can also be explored by several cell-free assays, which are crucial to assess the activity
of key enzymes involved in the inflammatory cascade. Here, we report the most widely
employed models for the assessment of the anti-inflammatory potential of natural
products, discussing the overall procedure, and also providing examples of plant drug
screening. Together, these approaches represent the basis for a thorough and proper
investigation of the anti-inflammatory activity of novel candidates.
Antimicrobial Activity Methods
Authors: Gervasi Teresa , Mandalari Giuseppina
Published: June 2023

Plant extracts are widely utilized for their antimicrobial effect, alone or in
combination with traditional drugs. However, the current global lack of harmonization
on the assays used to investigate their biological effect makes the result comparison
very challenging. In the present chapter, we highlight the variables used for the
antimicrobial testing, which may affect the end result. The in vitro antimicrobial
methods, including diffusion methods, dilution methods and thin-layer
chromatography-bioautography are reported, together with a range of assays aimed at
evaluating the mechanisms of action of the extract. Furthermore, in vivo test procedures
are evaluated, with a focus on the impact of the differences in the testing animal and
the procedure used.
Activity Methods for Endometriosis
Authors: Ayse Demirel Murside , Süntar Ipek
Published: June 2023

Endometriosis is an estrogen-dependent disease that causes pelvic pain and
reduces fertility by developing inflammatory lesions outside the uterine. Although
many studies have been performed to investigate the etiopathogenesis of endometriosis,
there is still no direct evidence. Endometriosis, a common gynecological disease, often
recurs even if treated. In vivo studies are used to investigate its etiopathogenesis and
potential treatment methods. Hormonal therapy is generally used for endometriosis
cases. This conventional therapy aims to lower estrogen levels in the body, however, it
can be inadequate for the treatment and has numerous negative effects. The urgency of
finding novel and cheap long-term safety therapies for endometriosis is highlighted by
the need to manage it as a chronic disease. Medicinal plants and natural plant-derived
compounds are interesting options for this purpose. Indeed, there is an increasing
interest in using herbal therapy to treat endometriosis. Several studies have been
conducted on natural products to find a drug candidate for the management of the
mentioned problem. Many of these drugs have a pleiotropic action profile, meaning
they block multiple processes involved in endometriosis pathogenesis, including
proliferation, inflammation, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and
angiogenesis. As a result, including them in multimodal treatment approaches may help
to improve therapeutic efficiency and reduce adverse effects in future endometriosis
treatments. Several methods have been described for the assessment of the potential
effectiveness of the bioactive agents against endometriosis. In the present chapter, we
aimed to give general information regarding endometriosis, the use of plant products in
the treatment of this disease, and the methods that have been used for the activity
investigation.
Microbial Enzymes in the Bioremediation of Pollutants
Authors: Magalhães Flávia F. , Bonifácio Maria I. , Ferreira Ana M. , Freire Mara G. , Tavares Ana P. M.
Published: June 2023

Environmental pollution has become a serious issue of concern across the
world. Intensive agriculture, industrialization, and consumerism have resulted in the
degradation of environmental quality. The presence of pollutants like fertilizers,
pesticides, persistent organic pollutants (PoPs), polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs),
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), heavy metals, synthetic dyes, etc. have not only
polluted soil, air, and water but also invaded the food-chain via bioaccumulation and
biomagnification, and have emerged as potential threats to various organisms including
humans. Several organisms, including plants, animals, and microbes, indicate the
presence of contaminants and environmental pollution. Among these, microbes have
emerged as one of the potential indicators of environmental pollution, as they are more
sensitive to trace levels of pollutants than plants/ animals/other organisms. The natural
abundance of these indicator microbes has given us an opportunity to monitor
environmental pollution before any major undesirable accidents occur. Based on these
microbial indicators, various easy and rapid biosensors have been developed to monitor
environmental pollution. Microbial indicators are the treasures of nature that have
immense potential to monitor and predict environmental quality for society's safe and
sustainable development.
Microbial Indicators for Environmental Pollution
Authors: Kumar Ghosh Rakesh , Saha Ajoy , Narayanan Neethu , Kumar Niranjan , Manjunatha B.S. , Prasad Ray Deb
Published: June 2023

Environmental pollution has become a serious issue of concern across the
world. Intensive agriculture, industrialization, and consumerism have resulted in the
degradation of environmental quality. The presence of pollutants like fertilizers,
pesticides, persistent organic pollutants (PoPs), polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs),
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), heavy metals, synthetic dyes, etc. have not only
polluted soil, air, and water but also invaded the food-chain via bioaccumulation and
biomagnification, and have emerged as potential threats to various organisms including
humans. Several organisms, including plants, animals, and microbes, indicate the
presence of contaminants and environmental pollution. Among these, microbes have
emerged as one of the potential indicators of environmental pollution, as they are more
sensitive to trace levels of pollutants than plants/ animals/other organisms. The natural
abundance of these indicator microbes has given us an opportunity to monitor
environmental pollution before any major undesirable accidents occur. Based on these
microbial indicators, various easy and rapid biosensors have been developed to monitor
environmental pollution. Microbial indicators are the treasures of nature that have
immense potential to monitor and predict environmental quality for society's safe and
sustainable development.
Microbial Degradation of Agricultural and Food Wastes into Value-Added Products
Authors: Aslam Awais Ali , Shamim Maria , Shahid Nazir Muhammad , Kokab Osama , Miran Maham , Akhtar Majid Niaz , Ali Zulfiqar , Tahir Zaman , Azmuddin Abdullah Mohd.
Published: June 2023

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), one-third of the
food produced globally for human consumption is lost within the food supply chain. In
many countries, food and agricultural wastes are dumped in landfills. Plastic wastes
from agriculture have become a major concern, especially with increasing pollution
associated with the microplastics and nanoplastics in the ocean and marine ecosystem.
Microbial biodegradation of the agricultural wastes and the conversion into value.added products could meet the economic and environmental demands to reduce land
pollution, whilst benefiting from the generated products. Furthermore, energy together
with other combustible municipal wastes can be recovered. Food wastes have attracted
much interest for conversion into bioenergy such as biogas, hydrogen, ethanol, and
biodiesel, and the residues are further used as animal feed or fertilizer. This review
highlights the use of plastics in agriculture, their disposal, and degradation. Factors
affecting biodegradation are also discussed. The production of bioenergy from agro.waste and food waste is elaborated.