bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Method for Calculating Transients in a Gas Pipeline
Authors: Fikov A. S.
Published: October 2021

Abstaract. An analytical solution of a system of partial differential equations describing the unsteady isothermal flow of real gases in gas pipelines is considered. Such a problem arises when 

studying the regularity of alterations in the instantaneous values of pressure and gas flow in main gas pipelines, for example, during startups and shutdowns of large gas consumers. Meanwhile, transients are not necessarily of a pronounced oscillatory nature, despite the fact that they are described by periodic functions. In the course of the research, the task was set to obtain a mathematical model of the process taking into account the inertial term of the equation of motion, the neglect of which is possible only if the friction losses are exceeded by 3.5–4 times over the shock pressure. An important feature of the solution that have been found is its universality, which makes it possible to significantly reduce labor costs when using it to find partial solutions to practical problems that differ in boundary conditions. The boundary conditions of the first kind are given as an arbitrary function of both the gas flow rate and its pressure. The solution is based on the widely used method of separation of Fourier variables. In order to simplify the calculations, the original differential equation is transformed in such a way that the boundary conditions acquire the property of homogeneity. It has been determined that the requirements that the boundary conditions are equal to zero at the initial moment of time introduced into the solution make it possible to obtain a concise record of the obtained analytical model, but do not limit the area of the use of the model with a surge change in the gas flow rate or pressure. The obtained analytical model of unsteady gas flow makes it possible, without using the Duhamel integral, to find analytical solutions under more complex boundary conditions than the flow rate jump. At the same time, the solutions found completely coincide with the solutions based on the Duhamel integral, but in the course of the solution that we have found it is possible to avoid integration, which has a positive effect on the applicability of this approach in the practice of engineering calculations.
To Solution of Contact Problem for Elastic Half-Strip
Authors: Bosakov S. V.
Published: October 2021

Contact problems for elastic stripes have been well studied and published in domestic scientific literature. This is partly due to the fact that normative documents on the foundation structure it is recommended to use this elastic foundation model for simulation of a “structure – foundation – soil foundation” system. Two variants of boundary conditions at the contact between a half-strip and a rigid non-deformable base are usually considered. The first boundary condition nullifies the vertical displacements and tangential stresses, the second one nullifies vertical and horizontal displacements. Contact problems for an elastic half-strip are much less investigated. The paper considers this contact problem when the first boundary condition for zeroing of vertical displacements and tangential stresses at the contact of a half-strip with a rigid, nondeformable base. When performing calculations in the traditional formulation without taking into account tangential stresses in the contact zone, the Zhemochkin method has been used, which reduces the solution of the contact problem of solid mechanics to the solution of a statically indeterminate problem by the mixed method of structural mechanics. Therefore, at first, we have found the displacements of the upper edge of the half-strip from the unit load uniformly distributed over the edge section. The resulting expression is used to compose a system of equations for the Zhemochkin method. The case of translational displacement of the die has been considered, and the graph of contact stress distribution under the die's sole has been given in the paper.
Basics of Calculation and Design of Two-Column Two-Filter Water Intake Wells
Authors: Ivashechkin V. V. , Medvedeva J. A. , Kondratovich A. N. , Satsuta E. S.
Published: October 2021

The paper provides an overview of the known designs of water wells. A new design of a two-column two-filter water intake well has been also proposed, in which the filters are arranged in two tiers. This will lead to an increase in water intake capacity and will reduce the filtration rate on the approach to the filters. This, in turn, will create conditions for reducing head losses and will make it possible to reduce drawdowns in the well, ensuring a reduction in the cost of produced water. This design combines both working and reserve wells located in one borehole, which increases its reliability, durability and uninterrupted water supply to the consumer. A method for calculating the hydraulic parameters of a two-column two-filter water intake well is presented in the paper. It is based on dependencies for calculating the main geometric dimensions for a given design flow rate and hydrogeological characteristics of an aquifer, as well as formulas for determining a decrease in a well for a given period of operation when one and two pumps operate simultaneously. The basics of designing a well of the proposed design are outlined in the paper. The paper considers an example of calculation for a new well design instead of an existing typical well that has reduced its specific flow rate.
On Issue of Permissible Content of Ammonium Ions in Chemical Additives for Concrete
Authors: Yukhnevskiy P. I.
Published: October 2021

Nitrogen-containing compounds that enter concrete together with raw materials, in particular with chemical modifiers of concrete mixture and concrete, as well as those present in Portland cement, are capable of forming ammonia as a result of decomposition. The processes of formation and emission of ammonia cause both a deterioration of the atmosphere of residential premises and are the reason for a decrease in the strength and operational safety indicators of reinforced concrete structures. These circumstances necessitate research and development of methods for determining the safe amount of ammoniumcontaining additives in concrete. Most often, nitrogen-containing compounds contain plasticizing additives, antifreeze and complex additives, as well as setting and hardening accelerators. According to Amendment No 2 STB (Standards of the Republic of Belarus) 1112–98 “Additives for Concrete. General Requirements”, the content of ammonium ions in additives should not exceed 100 mg/kg (except for antifreeze). At the same time, some additives, including plasticizers, which have been successfully used for more than one year without identified problems with ammonia emission, do not fit into the established norm. To determine the maximum permissible concentration (MPC) of ammonium salts in concrete, it is necessary to know the dependence of the emission of ammonia from concrete on various factors, in particular, on the mass content of salts in concrete, the surface area from which ammonia is emitted, the mass of concrete structures, temperature, humidity and air exchange rate in the room. To a lesser extent, the ammonia emission will be affected by the characteristics of the concrete and the reaction conditions for the hydrolysis of salts in the concrete. The paper provides formulas for calculating the emission of ammonia from concrete with the introduction of various ammonium-containing additives. It is shown that, in spite оf the above-standard content of ammonium ions in additives C-3, LST and UP-4, the emission of ammonia from concrete in some cases does not exceed the established maximum permissible concentration (MPC). The volume of ammonia emission from concrete is determined not only by the amount of ammonium ions in the additives, but also to a large extent by the structural and technological scheme of the building and the parameters of the concrete loading of the room. With the known MPC in the air of the room, the given parameters of loading the room with concrete, the formula allows you to calculate the maximum concentration of the additive in the concrete mixture, not exceeding which will ensure compliance with the MPC for ammonia in the air of the premises.
Automobile Absorption Conditioner
Authors: Ilyin A. P. , Terentiev A. N. , Arslanov F. R.
Published: October 2021

The purpose of this study is to develop a circuit for an automobile air conditioner, which will reduce the consumption of power developed by the engine. This paper proposes the design of an automobile absorption air conditioner. A description of the principle of operation of an automobile absorption air conditioner operating on a cycle of a one-stage absorption refrigeration machine has been given in the paper. It consists of a stripper (generator), a condenser, an absorber, an evaporator. Lithium bromide (LiBr) solution has been used as an absorbent, which has a low boiling point, is non-toxic and safe. 3D-models of the absorber and generator of an automobile absorption air conditioner has been developed in the course of the research. The absorber is designed to form a weak absorbent solution. This solution is supplied to the generator heat exchanger using a liquid pump. There it is heated by the exhaust gases to the boiling point. The solution evaporates and water vapor enters the condenser (evaporator). In the generator, the solution is concentrated from 52 to 60 %. After that, water vapor is supplied to the absorber from the condenser, and a concentrated absorbent solution is supplied from the generator. It should be noted that the generator is a key element of an automobile absorption air conditioning system. Inside it is a strong LiBr solution that feeds the absorber. The design of the air conditioning system does not provide for the use of a compressor and allows to reduce the power loss of the power plant to the drive of the liquid pump. According to calculations, the pump drive power was 0.17 kW. For comparison, the compressor of a modern car air conditioner consumes 7–11 kW. An absorption car air conditioner provides the following advantages: additional engine cooling, environmental friendliness, fuel economy, efficient use of the heat of vehicle exhaust gases. A distinctive feature of this design is that it is proposed to use the heat of the exhaust gases for the process of heating the absorbent. This design can fully compete with the existing modern car air conditioners.
Method for simulating processes of processing inhomogeneous data in buffer drives of routers
Authors: Chernyavski P. S.
Published: October 2021

The article proposes a method for modeling the processing of heterogeneous data in the buffer storage of routers. In contrast to the existing approaches, in the developed method, in the analytical description of the processes of functioning of buffer storage devices of routers under the influence of heterogeneous traffic of subscribers of a special-purpose communication network, the apparatus of the theory of cellular automata was used, which made it possible to take into account the probability of timely processing of data of all used priority levels of communication directions.

As a result of the experiment carried out on the basis of a real special communication network, it was found that the developed method of modeling the processes of processing inhomogeneous data of buffer storage devices of routers makes it possible to increase the accuracy of determining the probability of timely delivery of priority information to subscribers of a special purpose communication network, in comparison with the existing standardized methods.
Authenticated encryption mode with blocks skipping
Authors: Sokolov A. V. , Isakov D. A.
Published: October 2021

Block symmetric ciphers are one of the most important components of modern information security systems. At the same time, in addition to the structure of the applied block symmetric cipher, the cryptographic strength and performance of the information protection system is largely determined by the applied encryption mode. In addition to high performance and high-quality destruction of block statistics, modern encryption modes should also protect encrypted information from occurred or intentionally introduced errors. In this paper, we have developed an encryption mode with blocks skipping and using a pseudo-random key sequence generator, which allows checking the integrity of encrypted information with accurate detection of the place where an error was introduced. In this case, the error detection accuracy is determined by the adjustable parameter of the macroblock size and can be set depending on the level of importance of the protected information. The developed encryption mode is characterized by the following key advantages: reducing the number of required encryption operations by half, while providing a high level of cryptographic quality; more effective destruction of macroblock statistics due to the use of an additional generator of pseudo-random key sequences, the impossibility of propagation of the occurred (intentionally introduced) error outside the macroblock, as well as higher values of the number of protection levels due to the possibility of classifying the initial states of the applied generators of pseudo-random key sequences. As proposed in this paper, the mode of authenticated encryption with blocks skipping can be recommended for use on mobile platforms that are demanding both in terms of the quality and reliability of the protected information and are limited in terms of computing and power resources.
Optimized Protocol for Chelex-based Extraction of DNA from Historical Skeletal Remains and Forensic Trace Samples
Authors: Schmerer Wera M
Published: October 2021

PCR-based analysis of skeletonized human remains is a common aspect in both forensic human identification as well as Ancient DNA research. In this, both areas not merely utilize very similar methodology, but also share the same problems regarding quantity and quality of recovered DNA and presence of inhibitory substances in samples from excavated remains. To enable amplification based analysis of the remains, development of optimized DNA extraction procedures is thus a critical factor in both areas.The method paper here presents an optimized protocol for DNA extraction from ancient skeletonized remains using Chelex-100, with improved effectively in yielding amplifiable extracts from sample material excavated after centuries in a soil environment, which consequently have high inhibitor content and overall limited DNA preservation. Further studies showed that the optimized protocol can likewise be utilized for extraction of DNA from common and trace Forensic sample material.
Atmospheric Density Model Optimization and Spacecraft Orbit Prediction Improvements Based on Q-Sat Orbit Data
Authors: Bai Shunchenqiao , Wen Guangwei , Wang Zhaokui
Published: October 2021

Atmospheric drag calculation error greatly reduce the low-earth orbit spacecraft trajectory prediction fidelity. To solve the issue, the "correction - prediction" strategy is usually employed. In the method, one parameter is fixed and other parameters are revised by inverting spacecraft orbit data. However, based on a single spacecraft data, the strategy usually performs poorly as parameters in drag force calculation are coupled with each other, which result in convoluted errors. A gravity field recovery and atmospheric density detection satellite, Q-Sat, developed by xxxxx Lab at xxx University, is launched on August 6th, 2020. The satellite is designed to be spherical for a constant drag coefficient regardless of its attitude. An orbit prediction method for low-earth orbit spacecraft with employment of Q-Sat data is proposed in present paper for decoupling atmospheric density and drag coefficient identification process. For the first step, by using a dynamic approach-based inversion, several empirical atmospheric density models are revised based on Q-Sat orbit data. Depends on the performs, one of the revised atmospheric density model would be selected for the next step in which the same inversion is employed for drag coefficient identification for a low-earth orbit operating spacecraft whose orbit needs to be predicted. Finally, orbit forecast is conducted by extrapolation with the dynamic parameters in the previous steps. Tests are carried out for the proposed method by using a GOCE satellite 15-day continuous orbit data. Compared with legacy “correction - prediction” method in which only GOCE data is employed, the accuracy of the 24-hour orbit prediction is improved by about 171m the highest for the proposed method. 14-day averaged 24-hour prediction precision is elevated by approximately 70m.
Performance of Hypotension Prediction Index for Prevention of Hypotension and Results on Biomarkers of Organ Injury and Oxidative Stress During Elective Non-Cardiac Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Murabito Paolo , Astuto Marinella , Sanfilippo Filippo , Via Luigi La , Basile Francesco , Cappellani Alessandro , Longhitano Lucia , Distefano Alfio , Volti Giovanni Li , Vasile Francesco
Published: October 2021

Background: Intraoperative hypotension is associated with increased postoperative morbidity and mortality. We tested whether the clinical application of an early warning system (EWS) in combination with an algorithm for hemodynamic management reduces the occurrence of intraoperative hypotension as well as decrease the degree of organ injury and oxidative stress. Methods: We randomly assigned patients undergoing major general surgery EWS and hemodynamic algorithm (intervention group, n=20) or standard care (n=20). The primary outcome was the difference in hypotension (defined as mean arterial pressure<65mmHg) evaluated as episodes, time and time-weighted average of hypotension. As secondary outcome we assessed surrogate markers of organ injury (neuron specific enolase -NSE), S100B protein, high-sensitive troponin, neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin -NGAL) and oxidative stress (reduced glutathione). Results: The median number of hypotensive episodes was lower in the intervention group [-5.0 (95%CI:-9.0,-0.5);P<0.005], with lower time spent in hypotension [-12.8 minutes (95%CI:-38.0,-2.3 min);P<0.001], correspondent to -4.8% of total surgery time (95%CI: -12.7,0.01%; P<0.05). The median time-weighted average of hypotension was 0.12 mmHg (0.35) in the intervention group and 0.37 mmHg (1.11) in the control group, with a median difference of -0.25 mmHg (95%CI:-0.85, -0.01;P<0.05). NGAL was correlated with time-weighted average of hypotension (R=0.32;P<0.05) and S100B with all primary outcomes investigated (all P<0.001). The intervention group had lower NSE and higher reduced glutathione when compared to the control group. Conclusions: The use of an EWS coupled with an hemodynamic algorithm resulted in reduced intraoperative hypotension. This finding was coupled with a reduction of biomarkers of brain injury and oxidative stress.Trial Registration number and date: “Correlation Between Circulating Biomarkers of Organ Damage and Intraoperative Hypotension Management”, NCT03527758, registered on May 17, 2018.https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03527758?term=NCT03527758&draw=2&rank=1
The Relation Between Quality of Relationships and Quality of Life of Elderly Widows in Northeastern Iran
Authors: Pirzadeh Nasim , Nazari Mahin , Asadollahi Abdolrahim
Published: October 2021

Objectivewidowhood is one of the inevitable challenges of aging, which may affect the quality of life. If the widow is in a good relationship with relatives and friends, the possibility of exposition to the damage caused by widowhood is decreased. Hence, the present study has been conducted to determine the relationship between quality of relationships and quality of life of elderly widows in northeastern Iran.Materials & Methodsthe descriptive-analytical study in kind of cross-sectional design was done on 1456 widows in northeastern ran in 2021. The sampling in this study was done using proportional stratified random sampling. The data collection instrument included three questionnaires of demographic information, Quality of Relationships Inventory (QRI), and Elderly Quality of Life (QoL) Questionnaire (LIPAD). Data analysis was done using SPSS-25, and Amos-21.Results75.9% of elderly widows were suffering from types of chronic diseases. 82.7% of widows were illiterate. The results of this study showed that the quality of relationships can have a significant effect on the quality of life of elderly widows (effect size≥0.30). Conclusionas it is proved that social support is an underlying indicator in health-related quality of life, the negative effects of widowhood on the quality of life can be reduced by making supporting family and social relationships.
Technical Feasibility of Biodiesel Production From Waste Cooking Oil: Comparison Between Electric Heating and Microwave Heating Process
Authors: Li Wenjing , Li Guangming , Wang Fan , Zhu Haochen , He Wenzhi , Huang Juwen
Published: October 2021

Base-catalyzed transesterification and conversion of waste cooking oil (WCO) into biodiesel is a renewable energy production technology with a wide range of applications. The most commonly used heating method is electric heating (EH). Microwave heating (MW) has the characteristics of high heat transfer efficiency and short preheating time, and has recently received attention in this field.This study compared effects of the alkali-catalyzed transesterification reaction of WCO under EH and MW processes. The maximum biodiesel yield of EH process appeared when the reaction temperature is 60 °C, the reaction time is 30 min, the molar ratio of alcohol to oil is 6:1, and the catalyst concentration is 1.0%, up to 93.4%. The maximum biodiesel yield obtained from MW technique is 80.66%, under the condition of 200W, 5min, 1wt. % KOH and the methanol/oil molar ratio of 9:1. The activation energy for CH and MW process are found to be 6 768 J·mol-1 and 503.4 J·mol-1, respectively. Microwave heating greatly reduced the activation energy of the reaction, as well as transesterification yield. Compared with other biodiesel producing process, EH process in this study has the advantages of high speed and low production cost, while biodiesel yield is slightly insufficient. This is likely due to the small amount of un-removed moisture contained in the WCO.
Molecular markers based genetic relatedness studies in tissue culture propagated Japanese plum cultivars Santa Rosa and Frontier
Authors: Thakur Manisha , Luharch Rakshandha , Sharma Vishal , Sharma Dharam Paul
Published: October 2021

Santa Rosa and Frontier are the major Japanese plum cultivars grown throughout the world. The present investigation was performed to understand the genetic relatedness among in vitro propagated plum cultivars Santa Rosa and Frontier using PCR based molecular markers. For the study, three arbitrary markers viz. RAPD (Random amplified Polymorphic DNA), ISSR (Inter-Simple Sequence Repeats) and SCoT (Start Codon Targeted) were used. In RAPD analysis, 18 primers out of 28 amplified and generated 33 scorable bands. The allelic variations when analysed, revealed 84 percent similarity between these two cultivars with highest polymorphic information content of 0.78. Similarly, 15 ISSR primers produced 73 amplicons with an average of 4.86 amplicon per primer and similarity coefficient ranging from 62 to 67 percent. Seven SCoT primers out of 26 resulted in a total of twenty- six scorable bands with 24 polymorphic bands. Cluster analysis from all the three markers used broadly divided plum cultivars santa rosa and frontier into two major clusters containing in vitro shoots, their progenies and mother trees of respective genotypes. The study concluded that these three marker systems were found to be effective in revealing genetic relationship of these two commercially important plum cultivars.
Health Care Consequences of Hospitalization with Clostrioides Difficile Infection: A Propensity Score Matching Study
Authors: Hirsch Bruce E. , Williams Myia S. , Lesser Martin L. , Pappas Karalyn , Stefanov Dimitre G. , Iglio Thomas , Gordon Craig , Pekmezaris Renee
Published: October 2021

Background: Clostridiodies difficile infection (CDI) has been characterized by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as an urgent public health threat and a major concern in hospital, outpatient and extended-care facilities worldwide.Methods: A retrospective cohort study of patients aged ≥18 hospitalized with CDI in New York State (NYS) between January 1, 2014-December 31, 2016. Data were extracted from NY Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative (SPARCS) and propensity score matching was performed to achieve comparability of the CDI (case) and non-CDI (control) groups. Of the 3,714,486 hospitalizations, 28,874 incidence CDI cases were successfully matched to 28,874 controls.Results: The matched pairs comparison demonstrated that CDI cases were more likely to be readmitted to the hospital at 30 (28.2625.53% vs. 19.4618.55%), 60 (37.65% 34.01% vs. 26.0225.18%), 90 (42.9338.79% vs. 30.4329.70%) and 120 days (46.47%41.99% vs. 33.7432.93%), had greater mortality rates at 7 (3.68 11.18% vs. 2.015.15%) and 180 days (20.5426.56% vs. 11.9614.82%), with significant increases in length of stay and total hospital charges (p<0.001, respectively). Conclusions: CDI is associated with a large burden on patients and health care systems, significantly increasing hospital utilization, costs and mortality.
Biochar enhanced the nitrogen removal performance of heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification strain pseudomonas fluorescent sp. Z03 for insufficient carbon source wastewater under low temperature
Authors: Jiang Jie , XiaoyanXu  , Guo Zhina , Sun Lianglun , Tang Meizhen
Published: October 2021

In this study, biochar BC400 and BC700 were prepared, characterized and coupled with heterotrophic nitrification-aerobic denitrification (HNAD) strain Z03 for nitrogen removal experiments. The characterization results showed that BC700 has a higher specific surface area and a more complex multilayered pore structure, with increased aromatic condensation and higher crystallinity. BC400 and BC700 both have good redox activity, while BC400 has stronger electron donor capacities and BC700 owns better electron transfer properties. In addition, both BC400 and BC700 contain relatively high levels of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), reaching at 62.95 and 51.617mg/g respectively. BC400/BC700 coupled with strain Z03 can significantly improve the NH4+-N removal performance of low-temperature and low C/N wastewater compared with the control group. At a dosage of 4.0 g/L, the removal rate of NH4+-N reached to 95.16% (BC400 + Z03) and 84.37% (BC700 + Z03) within 72h, respectively. Higher than the sum of adsorption by BC400/BC700 (16.19%/18.85%) and microbial degradation (41.03%). Besides, the BC400 + BC700 + Z03 NH4+-N removal systems provide higher nitrogen removal efficiencies than BC400/BC700 + Z03 nitrogen removal systems. When the dosage (BC400 + BC700, mass ratio 5:1) reaches 3.0g/L, it can achieve more than 90% NH4+-N removal rate within 48h. The reasons for the promotion of biochar on microbial denitrification were analyzed as follows: 1) DOC can provide an additional carbon source for microorganisms; 2) biochar, as a pH buffer, can neutralize the acidity due to nitrification; 3) BC400 and BC700, as materials with good redox activity, may play a role in promoting the activity of electron transfer system and enzyme activity.
Multi-modal Landslide Monitoring Data Fusion Algorithm Based on Resistivity Imaging
Authors: Xu Haning , Deng Juzhi , Xu Xiaoqing , Zhang Jian , Li Gang , Liu Qi , Xiao Hui
Published: October 2021

In the process of landslide deformation monitoring, the indicators of monitoring system based on surface displacement cannot accurately reflect the deformation evolution law of deep geotechnical body. Although the joint time curve of deep displacement monitoring of borehole and related monitoring data can reflect the deformation characteristics inside the slope body, it cannot spatially describe and explain the overall deformation process of geotechnical body completely due to the limitation of technical conditions such as borehole. In this paper, using the characteristics of resistivity imaging technology with fast and accurate collection of electrical information of subsurface medium and multi-dimensional imaging, we take resistivity imaging data as complete modal data and fuse deep displacement and groundwater level and other modal data. Through joint depth matrix decomposition and optimization, layer-by-layer modal semantic matching and updating, the distribution and representation differences of modal data are compensated, and the analysis tasks such as classification and clustering of incomplete multimodal data are completed, and the inversion results of resistivity data are updated according to the output modal shared eigenvalues to realize effective multidimensional imaging monitoring of the internal deformation process of landslide geological bodies.
Detection and Classification of COVID-19 Using Machine Learning
Authors: Shahin Osama R. , Alshammari Hamoud H. , Taloba Ahmed I. , El-Aziz Rasha M. Abd
Published: October 2021

As people all over the world are vulnerable to be affected by the COVID-19 virus, the automatic detection of such a virus is an important concern. The paper aims to detect and classify coronavirus using machine learning. To spot and identify coronavirus in CT-Lung screening and Computer-Aided diagnosis (CAD) system is projected to distinguish and classifies the COVID-19. By utilizing the clinical specimens obtained from the corona-infected patients with the help of some machine learning techniques like Decision Tree, Support Vector Machine, K-means clustering, and Radial Basis Function. While some specialists believe that the RT-PCR test is the best option for diagnosing Covid-19 patients, others believe that CT scans of the lungs can be more accurate in diagnosing coronavirus infection, as well as being less expensive than the PCR test. The clinical specimens include serum specimens, respiratory secretions, and whole blood specimens. Overall, 15 factors are measured from these specimens as the result of the previous clinical examinations. The proposed CAD system consists of four phases starting with the CT lungs screening collection, followed by a pre-processing stage to enhance the appearance of the ground glass opacities (GGOs) nodules as they originally lock hazy with fainting contrast. A modified K-means algorithm will be used to detect and segment these regions. Finally, we will use the detected, infected areas that obtained in the detection phase with a scale of 50x50 and we will crop the solid false positives that seem to be GGOs as inputs and targets for the machine learning classifiers, here we will use a support vector machine (SVM) and Radial basis function (RBF). Moreover, a GUI application is developed which avoids the confusion of the doctors for getting the exact results by giving the 15 input factors obtained from the clinical specimens.
Evaluating the Feasibility of the Community Score Card and Subsequent Contraceptive Behavior in Kisumu, Kenya
Authors: Onyango Dickens , Tumlinson Katherine , Chung Stephanie , Bullington Brooke , Gakii Catherine , Senderowicz Leigh
Published: October 2021

Background: Women seeking family planning services from public-sector facilities in low- and middle-income countries sometimes face provider-imposed barriers to care. Social accountability is an approach that could address provider-imposed barriers by empowering communities to hold their service providers to account for service quality. Yet little is known about the feasibility and potential impact of such efforts in the context of contraceptive care. We piloted a social accountability intervention - the Community Score Card (CSC) - in three public healthcare facilities in western Kenya and use a mix of quantitative and qualitative methodologies to describe the feasibility and impact on family planning service provision. Methods: We implemented and evaluated the CSC in a convenience sample of three public-sector facility-community dyads in Kisumu County, Kenya. Within each dyad, communities met to identify and prioritize needs, develop corresponding indicators, and used a score card to rate the quality of family planning service provision and monitor improvement. To ensure young, unmarried people had a voice in identifying the unique challenges they face, youth working groups (YWG) led all CSC activities. The feasibility and impact of CSC activities were evaluated using mystery client visits, unannounced visits, focus group discussions with YWG members and providers, repeated assessment of score card indicators, and service delivery statistics. Results: The involvement of community health volunteers and supportive community members – as well as the willingness of some providers to consider changes to their own behaviors - were key score card facilitators. Conversely, community bias against family planning was a barrier to wider participation in score card activities and the intractability of some provider behaviors led to only small shifts in quality improvement. Service statistics did not reveal an increase in the percent of women receiving family planning services. Conclusion: Successful and impactful implementation of the CSC in the Kenyan context requires intensive community and provider sensitization, and pandemic conditions may have muted the impact on contraceptive uptake in this small pilot effort. Further investigation is needed to understand whether the CSC – or other social accountability efforts – can result in improved contraceptive access.
Exercise prescription for non-communicable diseases: Knowledge and practice among healthcare providers
Authors: Endalew Dessalew , Teferi Getu
Published: October 2021

Background: Exercise prescription (EP) use as medicine is an effective. It is the cornerstone to prevent and manage NCDs. The main aim of the study was to investigate the knowledge and confidence, practice of HCPs towards NCDs pertaining to EP in West Gojjam Zone hospitals, Amhara region, Ethiopia.Methods: The target population was 487 HCPs (medical doctors, nurses and midwiferies).Cross sectional research design was carried out in hospital setting from HCPs to collect data, Self-administered questionnaires were used from 7 governmental hospitals and 353 HCPs (Medical doctors=107, 30.3%, Nurses=157, 44.5% and Midwiferies=89, 25.2%) was selected through whole, strata and random sampling methods. The data was collected and analyzed from March, 2021- June, 2012. It was analyzed through descriptive (mean, frequency, percentage, cross tabulation and standard deviation) and inferential statics(chi-square, Kruskal-Wallis test of analysis, Mann-Whitney U test to examine difference and spearman’s rank to examine correlation). All assumptions for conducting non-parametric tests were used before decided to use the type of statistical data.Results: The HCPs reported that; majority of 80.6% respondents had poor EPP regarding to written prescription for their patients. 62.5% of HCPs were agreed they had not knowledge on WHO and ACSM recommendations to prescribe exercise for NCD patents. Male HCPs were had better exercise prescription practice ( x2 = 228.756, df = 15, p =0.000 ). HCPs knowledge and confidence was had a significance difference regarding to profession (Medical doctors: Mean rank =198.71, Nurses: Mean rank =171.96 and Midwifery: Mean rank =159.78, x2 = 7.773, df = 2, p =0.021). Exercise prescription practice (EPP) was significantly and positively correlated with Knowledge and Confidence (rho=0.292, p= 0.000). EPP was had a positive and significant correlation with all main variables of the study.Conclusion: Exercise prescriptions practice, knowledge and confidence of majority of HCPs regarding to prescribe exercise for NCDs were poor. The HCPs educational curriculums should include sufficiently about physical exercise as a strategy how to prevent and manage NCDs. Exercise is medicine Ethiopia (EIME) initiative should established and Exercise Prescription (EP) also established in organizational structure as a unit in healthcare setting. There should be a standardized recommendation guidelines, prepared at a national level to prescribe exercise used as a bench mark for healthcare providers for every healthcare settings. There will be also design a continuous training program for HCPs to be a role model or how to prescribe physical activity or exercise to prevent and manage NCD from their patients.
Inequality in energy transitions: Subnational air pollution disparities resulting from national decarbonization strategies
Authors: Goforth Teagan , Nock Destenie
Published: October 2021

Energy transitions and decarbonization require rapid changes to a nation’s generation mix. There are a host of possible decarbonization pathways, yet there is vast uncertainty about how different decarbonization pathways will advance or derail the nation’s energy equality goals. We present a framework for investigating how decarbonization pathways, driven by a least cost paradigm, will lead to air pollution inequality across different vulnerabilities (e.g., low-income, energy poverty). If an equitable energy transition is the goal (i.e., one that reaches total equality), using least cost optimization capacity expansion models without strict renewable energy technology mandates will not accomplish this. Thus, it is imperative that decisions regarding national regarding national decarbonization pathways have strict mandates for equality outcomes or be driven by an equality focused paradigm.
SEEDING to enable sensitive electrochemical detection of biomarkers in undiluted biological samples
Authors: Río Jonathan Sabaté del , Woo Hyun-Kyung , Park Juhee , Ha Hong Koo , Kim Jae-Ryong , Cho Yoon-Kyoung
Published: October 2021

The interface between an electrode and a liquid plays a critical role in the overall performance of electrochemical biosensors. Surface morphology and roughness affect key parameters, such as the active area, diffusion profiles, and apparent electron transfer kinetics, whereas porosity may hinder the diffusion of fouling proteins. However, there is no simple and rapid method compatible with photolithographic electrodes to generate both nanostructured and porous surfaces. Herein, we demonstrate the interplay between the preferential etching of chloride and surfactant-assisted anisotropic gold reduction to create homogeneous, nanostructured, and nanoporous substrates on photolithographic gold electrodes within a minute and without using templates. We coined this process, SEEDING, that is, Surfactant-based Electrochemical Etch-Deposit Interplay for Nanostructure/Nanopore Growth. SEEDING on electrodes enhanced the sensitivity and anti-biofouling capabilities, enabling direct analysis of small molecules, proteins, and cancer-derived extracellular vesicles in complex biological fluids such as undiluted plasma and urine samples.
Relationship and Clinical Significance of ALDH1A1 and CD133 Cancer Stem Cell Markers and Mutant p53 in Lung Adenocarcinoma
Authors: Yamashita Naoki , So Tetsuya , Miyata Takeaki , Yoshimatsu Takashi , Nakano Ryuji , Oyama Tsunehiro , Matsunaga Wataru , Gotoh Akinobu
Published: October 2021

Background

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are major contributors to the malignant transformation of cells because of their capacity for self-renewal. Although several CSC markers have been identified in various tumor types, they are primarily used as cancer-prediction markers and for the isolation of CSC populations. Aldehyde dehydrogenase1A1 (ALDH1A1) and CD133 are promising candidate of CSC markers in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Furthermore, TP53 is frequently mutated in lung cancer, and the loss of its function is associated with malignant characteristics. However, the relationship between CSCs and mutant p53 in lung adenocarcinoma is not well-established. We examined the expression of ALDH1A1, CD133, and mutant p53 in lung adenocarcinoma patients and conducted a clinicopathological study.
Methods

The subjects of the study were 194 patients who underwent surgery for lung adenocarcinoma. ALDH1A1, CD133, and mutant p53 were immunohistochemically stained in resected specimens from these patients.
Results

Triple-negative cases without ALDH1A1, CD133, and mutant p53 expression in lung adenocarcinoma were shown to have a much better prognosis than others.
Conclusions

Our present results suggest that detection of CSC markers and mutant p53 by immunohistochemical staining may be effective in therapeutic strategies for lung adenocarcinoma.
Transition from a Mixotroph/Heterotroph Protist Community During the Dark Winter to a Photoautotrophic Spring Community in Arctic Surface Waters
Authors: Bruhn Claudia Sabine , Lundholm Nina , Hansen Per Juel , Wohlrab Sylke , John Uwe
Published: October 2021

Unicellular plankton communities (protists) are the basis of the marine food web. The spring bloom is especially important, because of its high biomass. However, it is poorly described how the protist community structure in Arctic surface waters develops from winter to spring. We show that mixotrophy and parasitism are the prominent trophic modes in the dark winter period. The transition period was characterized by a high relative abundance of mixotrophic dinoflagellates, while centric diatoms and the haptophyte Phaeocystis pouchetii dominated the successive phototrophic spring bloom event. Our observations indicate the presence of a characteristic winter community and a community shift from winter to spring, and not just a dormant spring community waiting for better circumstances. The spring bloom initiation commenced while sea ice was still obstructing the light penetration into the water column. The initiation coincided with a change in day length and spectral composition of the light, rather than with an increased light intensity. The initial increase in fluorescence, and therefore photosynthetic activity, was detected relatively deep in the water column, at ~55 m depth. This suggests that water column stratification and a complex interplay of abiotic factors eventually promote the spring bloom initiation.
The Structural Relationship Among Perceived Positive and Negative Parenting Attitude, Life Skills, and Transfer of Chinese Student-Athletes
Authors: Wang Qi Yi , Lim Taehee , Bae Junsu
Published: October 2021

A parenting attitude is regarded as a very important factor influencing the positive development of student-athletes. However, there are far fewer studies on parenting attitude in sport PYD area. This study aimed to understand the relationship among the positive/negative parenting attitudes, life skills, and transfer. Participants were 257 Chinese student-athletes (male=171, female=86, Mage=15.70) in track and field, basketball, soccer, and taekwondo. Date were analyzed by using descriptive statistic, correlation, and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). SEM analysis showed that parenting attitude was significantly related to life skills development and transfer. A positive parenting attitude had a positive effect on life skills and transfer, while a negative parenting attitude had a negative effect. Furthermore, positive and negative parenting attitudes indirectly affected life skills transfer by mediating life skills development. The findings of this study show that the role of parents determines the possibility of life skills development and transfer of Chinese student-athletes.
Interplay of Microstructural Parameters On β-Phase Distribution in Al 5xxx Alloys
Authors: Choundraj Jahnavi Desai , Kacher Josh
Published: October 2021

Al-Mg alloys undergo sensitization when exposed to elevated temperatures, making them susceptible to intergranular corrosion and stress corrosion cracking. Most of the existing research on microstructure effects on sensitization is centered on the effect of intrinsic grain boundary characteristics such as misorientation angle and coincident site lattice (CSL) values. Very few studies have systematically investigated the influence of extrinsic characteristics such as dislocation density. In this paper, the influence of local microstructure characteristics on the sensitization susceptibility of AA5456 was investigated using in situ optical microscopy corrosion experiments and electron back scattering diffraction (EBSD) analysis. The results show a clear trend between the local geometrically necessary dislocation (GND) density and β phase precipitation, with higher GND densities correlating with higher rates sensitized boundaries. This trend held true even for low angle grain boundaries. These results demonstrate the importance of considering factors beyond grain boundary characteristics in determining susceptibility to sensitization.
Towards Optimal Thermal Distribution in Magnetic Hyperthermia
Authors: Rytov R. A. , Bautin V. A. , Usov N. A.
Published: October 2021

A linear combination of spherically symmetric heat sources is shown to provide optimal stationary thermal distribution in magnetic hyperthermia. Furthermore, such spatial location of heat sources produces suitable temperature distribution in biological medium even for assemblies of magnetic nanoparticles with a moderate value of specific absorption rate (SAR), of the order of 100 - 150 W/g. We also demonstrate the advantage of using assemblies of magnetic nanocapsules consisting of metallic iron nanoparticles covered with non magnetic shells of sufficient thickness in magnetic hyperthermia. Based on numerical simulation we optimize the size and geometric structure of biocompatible capsules in order to minimize the influence of strong magneto-dipole interaction between closely spaced nanoparticles. It is shown that assembly of capsules can provide sufficiently high SAR values of the order of 250 - 400 W/g at moderate amplitudes H0·= 50 - 100 Oe and frequencies f = 100 - 200 kHz of alternating magnetic field, being appropriate for application in clinics.
An Assessment of Irrigated Rice Cultivation With Different Crop Establishment Practices in Vietnam
Authors: Nguyen Van Hung , Stuart Alex , Nguyen Thi My Phung , Pham Thi Minh Hieu , Nguyen Ngoc Phuong Thanh , Pame Anny Ruth , Sander Bjoern Ole , Gummert Martin , Singleton Grant Robert
Published: October 2021

Overuse of seed and chemical inputs is a major constraint for sustainable rice production in Vietnam. In this study, two seasons of field trials were conducted to compare different crop establishment practices for rice production in the Mekong River Delta using environmental and economic sustainability performance indicators. The indicators including energy efficiency, agronomic use efficiency, net income, and greenhouse gas emissions (GHGEs) were quantified based on four treatments including manual broadcast-seeding, blower seeding, drum seeding, and mechanized transplanting. Across the four treatments, yields ranged from 7.3–7.5 Mg ha−1 and 6.2–6.8 Mg ha−1 in the Winter-Spring (WS) and Summer-Autumn (SA) seasons, respectively. In comparison with direct seeding methods, mechanized transplanting decreased the seed rate by 40%. It also led to a 30–40% reduction in pesticide use during the main crop season (WS). Mechanized transplanting required higher inputs, including machine depreciation and fuel consumption, but its net energy balance, net income and GHGE were at a similar level as the other non-mechanized planting practices. Mechanized transplanting is a technology package that should be promoted to improve the economic and environmental sustainability of lowland rice cultivation in the Mekong River Delta of Vietnam.