bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Measuring Magnetic Excitation Spectra Using Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering
Authors: KIM Bumjoon
Published: September 2022

The advent of modern synchrotron radiation facilities providing extremely intense x-rays has enabled measuring momentum-resolved spin excitation spectra of magnetic materials, which have long been exclusively accessible through inelastic neutron scattering. In this article, we briefly review the recent development of hard x-ray resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) and discuss few examples of RIXS measurements on iridium oxides.
El uso de la técnica del hormigón al vacío en los comienzos de la construcción industrializada en Colombia (1950-1955)
Authors: Galindo-Díaz Jorge , Escorcia-Oyola Olavo , Sumozas Rafael
Published: September 2022

En 1950, el arquitecto colombiano Álvaro Ortega, obtuvo la franquicia de la empresa Vacuum Concrete en Colombia con el fin de construir elementos prefabricados en su país y atender así la fuerte demanda de vivienda social, dando los primeros pasos hacia la industrialización de construcción en Colombia. Este artículo describe algunos de los proyectos más importantes en los que Ortega aplicó la técnica del hormigón al vacío, especialmente en la construcción de muros prefabricados y cubiertas de láminas delgadas de hormigón, utilizando maquinaria de elevación y posicionamiento. Las características operativas de este proceso, así como las dificultades técnicas y sociales que llevaron a la quiebra empresarial de Ortega al cabo de pocos años, se explican mediante el uso de fotografías de los sitios de construcción, con base en los registros del Centro Interamericano de la Vivienda, depositados en el Archivo Histórico de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia.
El proyecto de Luis Tolosa para Nueva Cerámica de Orio, una construcción racionalista
Authors: García Leticia , Roca Mireia , Meana Teresa
Published: September 2022

El proyecto de intervención para la Nueva Cerámica de Orio, redactado por Luis Tolosa en 1940, es una de las obras racionalistas más reconocidas de la arquitectura industrial guipuzcoana. Su icónica envolvente la ha convertido en referencia indiscutible del tipo de imagen de modernidad que los industriales guipuzcoanos buscaban para sus fábricas durante la posguerra. Sin embargo, el mérito principal de esta solución radica en cómo el proyecto define una respuesta única que engloba todos los elementos productivos preexistentes de la fábrica. El objetivo de este análisis es el de estudiar como Luis Tolosa integra cada una de estas construcciones preexistentes con las de nueva planta, en un edificio unitario moderno, gracias a la nueva técnica del hormigón armado. Una tecnología constructiva que, en su proyecto para la Nueva Cerámica de Orio, adquiere el protagonismo que requiere una verdadera arquitectura racionalista.
COVID-19 Pandemic, (Over)Tourism, and Urban Dynamics
Authors: Chamusca Pedro , Fernandes José A. Rio , Pinto Jorge
Published: September 2022

This chapter analyses the tourism and urban dynamics transformations of the two leading cities in Portugal – Lisbon and Porto. In a (neo)liberal context and within a process of financialization of the economy, the authors address the political vision of each city, the local stakeholders and residents' evaluation, and public policies analysis. This chapter concludes that the implications of recent transformations are numerous. The process of residential and functional gentrification, resulting mainly from the touristification of the city, and the concomitant growth of the floating population, was slowed down by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, housing and services prices are still high, and the unavailability of housing is indeed a problem. Thus, integrated, strategic, and collaborative planning for sustainable urban development is assumed as a crucial issue for the next decade.
Carbon Nanotubes in Water Treatment
Authors: Nyairo Wilfrida Nyanduko , Shikuku Victor Odhiambo , Sanou Yacouba
Published: September 2022

Access to safe drinking water is one of the most pressing challenges in the 21st century. New and better technologies for the treatment of wastewater are critically needed. Carbon nanotubes are emerging as effective and environmentally friendly alternative adsorbents for water purification due to their porous structure, relatively large specific surface areas, and strong hydrophobicity. Nevertheless, carbon nanotubes also suffer the inherent challenges of nanomaterials with potential health risks. This chapter presents a detailed review of the progress made in the utilization of carbon nanotubes and their composites in the sequestration of organic and inorganic pollutants from water. The factors affecting performance, the adsorption capacities, and mechanisms are concisely discussed. Additionally, the associated health risks of carbon nanotubes are highlighted, and risk assessment strategies are recommended. Overall, carbon nanotubes are shown to be suitable candidates for water treatment regimes.
Potential Applications of Carbon Nanotubes for Environmental Protection
Authors: Das Ratnesh , Mishra Pratibha , Mishra Arunesh K. , Bahe Anil K. , Roy Atish , Kumari Indu , Kashaw Sushil
Published: September 2022

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are a unique carbon material with physical, chemical, mechanical, optical, structural, and electrical characteristics researched and tested for a wide range of uses. The safeguards of environmental health have been identified as one of the most critical sustainability goals in recent decades. When it concerns identifying atmospheric toxins, carbon nanotube-based detectors offer great sensibility and precision, along with carbon nanotubes displaying the ability for adsorption to remove impurities with great rates and excellent amelioration competency. Carbon nanotubes have made essential contributions to a responsible future in wastewater treatment, air pollution management, biotechnologies, nano sensors, and sorbents. Carbon nanotubes are also utilized as a reinforcing material in green nanocomposites, which are essential for achieving desired characteristics and are ecologically benign. The utilisation of carbon nanotubes as hybrid filters, nano sensors, sorbents, and other materials is covered in this chapter, as well as its advantages for the environment.
The Public Relations of Inclusion
Authors: Nerren Jessica Block
Published: September 2022

Preliminary teachers call out for more preparation for autism inclusion in their credential programs. The purpose of this study is to explore the framing of autism inclusion by professors of multiple and single subject preliminary teacher candidates. Data were collected using a qualitative single embedded intrinsic case study design employing focus groups, document review, and external scoring to a frame scale. Themes that arose included human interest and proposed solutions, with increasing specificity to autism, and social construction following reframing. Practical implications from this study include meaningful understanding and support for professors who prepare preliminary teacher candidates.
Real-Time Pill Detection and Recognition Framework Based on a Deep Learning Algorithm
Authors: Prabu S.  , Joseph Abraham Sundar K.
Published: September 2022

One of the most common pharmaceutical dosage forms is oral pills, including tablets and capsules. Oral drugs are fairly stable and simple to deliver compared to other dose forms, such as syrups and injections. However, misidentifying medicines is not uncommon, whether inside healthcare institutions or after the pills have been delivered to patients. The authors propose a new framework for real-time pill detection and recognition using deep learning algorithms. The proposed framework comprises three main models: firstly, pill strip identification using the YOLOv5; secondly, the text detection model locates the text information in the pill strip image; and finally, the text recognition module recognizes the localized text. The recognition module greatly assists the proposed framework by identifying the text information such as pill name, expiring date, price, etc. This work's training and testing images are captured from various perspectives and varying illumination levels. Despite suboptimal image quality, the proposed framework obtained good recognition accuracy.
Implementation of Deep Learning Approaches for Early Detection of Parkinson's Disease From MRI Images
Authors: Francis Ambily , Rajan Vishnu , Pandian Immanuel Alex
Published: September 2022

Accurately detecting Parkinson's disease (PD) at an early stage is certainly indispensable for slowing down its progress and providing patients the possibility of accessing disease-modifying therapy. The premotor stage in PD should be prudently checked for the early detection of PD. An innovative deep-learning technique is introduced to quickly uncover whether an individual is in the mild motor impairment stage of Parkinson's disease. The mild motor impairment stage is the pre-motor stage of Parkinson's disease. The pre-motor stage of Parkinson's disease is detected by applying an end-to-end deep learning model. Implementing and optimizing the algorithm of an embedded platform is crucial. Literature shows that NVIDIA Jetson is an exemplar embedded system; many of the ideas and optimizations will apply just as well to existing and future embedded systems. It is widely believed that the ability to run AI algorithms on low-cost, low-power platforms will be crucial for achieving advances in biomedical engineering.
Content Marketing Framework for Building Brand Image
Authors: Saleem Muhammad , Khan Shad Ahmad , Magd Hesham
Published: September 2022

In an increasingly interconnected digital world, content marketing plays a pivotal role in building the brand image of contemporary organizations. For the current study, a leading international school in Oman is selected to study the effectiveness of their content marketing over the last two years and as a result to develop a framework, which can be followed by other organizations as well. The school's content marketing efforts and active social media presence consistently had a positive impact on their audiences resulting in high enrollments even during the unprecedented times under the COVID-19 scenario. This study utilizes the tools like netnography and thematic analysis of the qualitative data. Considering the dimensions of AIDA model, an analysis is done as to how effective content marketing can grab the attention of consumers through eye-catching images and videos, making them indulge and develop interest in the content's usefulness, followed by a strong desire to avail the organization's services, and finally opting for the action to use the services.
Educational Technology
Authors: Lindner Amanda L. , Webb C. Lorraine
Published: September 2022

The increasing prevalence of technology in PreK–12 classrooms requires teachers to understand the technologies available as well as how and when to implement them across content areas and grade levels. Practitioner-oriented journals are an effective resource that teachers use to learn what, and how, to implement in the classroom. As such, this systematic review of the literature examined practitioner-oriented journals sponsored by major education organizations for technology implementation across content areas to determine the nature of the activities suggested using the SAMR Model. Results show a need for more resources regarding implementing technology across content areas in general, particularly at the redefinition level of the SAMR model. These insights allow for suggestions and recommendations for educating preservice teachers in technology integration before they become classroom teachers.
A Pragmatic Approach to Technology Integration
Authors: Beal James Wade
Published: September 2022

This chapter is a pragmatic approach to utilizing and integrating educational technology. Widespread adoption of educational technology is changing the teacher's role. Proper utilization, adoption, and adaptation of existing technologies are important technology integration skills. This chapter will discuss how one can make the most of today's existing classroom technology and how to use existing structures to implement new educational technology initiatives. This work is based on the author's 29 years in education as a teacher and district technology director.
Videos or Zoom?
Authors: Hurlbut Amanda R.
Published: September 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic and the immediate shift to online learning for higher education and K-12 created an immediate need for conversations surrounding acceptable online pedagogy. This chapter focuses on how higher education instructors, specifically teacher educators, can use a flipped classroom approach to structure course content and prepare pre-service teachers to teach online using both synchronous and asynchronous virtual teaching strategies. Elements of the flipped classroom include creating engaging teaching content; assigning low-stakes, incentive viewing tasks; using formative assessment to clarify and provide feedback; and classroom application to make content meaningful. A vignette of a teacher education course redesign outlines how the model was used both to teach course content and prepare future teachers to implement the strategy in their own classrooms.
Can Technology Contribute to Physical Activity?
Authors: Gajkowski Crystal
Published: September 2022

Physical activity has been recognized for its relationship to positive fitness, improved cognitive functions, and higher academic outcomes. Since technology is the driving force behind innovation in the classroom, this chapter promotes technology as an effective standard practice to enhance physical education learning. The author offers a comprehensive compilation of current research to establish the relationship and the importance of technology-related learning outcomes and barriers that affect the use of technology in a physical education classroom. This chapter also serves as a foundational guide of best practices for technology-related pedagogy, fundamental knowledge, and skills for pre-service candidates and in-service health and physical education teachers to utilize technology as a tool to encourage students to enjoy physical activity for a lifetime.
The Relation Between Interest Rates and Stock Returns
Authors: Sahin Baki Cem
Published: September 2022

The relation between interest rate and stock return has attracted the attention of not only the investors but also the academicians. The mutual relation could be handled through the change in aggregate demand and the stock valuation. In this research, the relation between stock returns and interest rates will not be held in an asset pricing framework. This study aims to point out how the relation between stock return and interest rate changes according to the maturity structure of interest rates and sectoral differences and firm specifics. The results have implications for contagion and the benefits of diversification.
Impact Investing and the Roles of Family Offices
Authors: Yu Poshan , Jiang Zhongyue , Mandizvidza Kudzai , Chen Zuozhang
Published: September 2022

With the booming of the family offices, this chapter will discuss the differences of investors' preferences and financial regulation of family offices in Asia, EU, and North America. These two aspects will affect the behavior of family offices. While environmental, social, and governance (ESG) topics prevail all over the world, family offices are attracted by ESG and social impact investment. These investments allow wealthy families to establish a purposeful legacy that extends beyond lasting wealth. This chapter aims to study how the impact of investing can be shaped by sustainable and responsible investment (SRI) strategies and examines the roles of family offices in SRI. This chapter will attempt to explore whether and how sustainable and impact investing can become a major driving force in designing family office investment strategies.
Active Equity Investing
Authors: Yu Poshan , Tang Shuhan , Ahuja Aashrika , Chang Xiaochang
Published: September 2022

The purpose of this chapter is to study China's securities investment strategy through active equity investment especially in the period of COVID-19. This chapter will explore changes and trends in international and domestic investment and capital markets during this period. In addition, this chapter also examines how these changes will impact the equity investment strategy of the private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) industries. This chapter will conduct bibliometric analysis to compare the hot spots of portfolio investment strategies in SSCI and CSSCI databases so as to better analyze China's upcoming industries and determine the investment direction. Event-driven strategies will be used to analyze investment cases in China. Finally, this chapter puts forward suggestions for formulating investment strategies in the face of related crises such as COVID-19.
Economic Feasibility of Solar Power Plants in Turkey Based on the PV Module Using Simulation RETScreen Software
Authors: Akusta Emre , Cergibozan Raif
Published: September 2022

This chapter aims to analyze the renewable energy production and economic evaluation of five MW solar power plant installations in Turkey using the RETScreen program. For this purpose, all provinces of Turkey are analyzed first in terms of their global radiation values. Provinces with a global radiation value less than 1620 kWh / m2 per year have been eliminated, and the analysis proceeded with 45 provinces. The study includes three different scenarios. The first is based only on the government's guarantee of purchase. The second adds the greenhouse gas reduction incentive to the first scenario. The third scenario adds domestic production incentives to the first and second scenarios. According to the first scenario analysis, the payback period is 5.553 years for Muğla and 6.530 years for Antalya. According to the second scenario, the payback period is 5.230 years for Muğla and 6.184 years for Antalya. Finally, in terms of the third scenario, the payback period is 3.479 years for Muğla and 4.101 years for Antalya.
Education of Tourism and Hotel-and-Restaurant Specialists in Ukraine
Authors: Lebedeva Nadezhda Anatolievna
Published: September 2022

The main aim of the chapter is to describe the professional training of future specialists in tourist and hotel and restaurant service in Ukraine. The object is the training of junior bachelors, bachelors, and masters of services. The subject of the chapter is the conditions of education of future specialists of tourist and hotel and restaurant service in Ukraine. A specialist in the tourism industry and hotel and restaurant business must provide services related to the activities of tourist complexes, restaurants, and hotels to carry out the primary level of management of structural units, operating systems, etc. The novelty of this chapter is to share experiences with colleagues from other countries. Activation of independent cognitive activity of future specialists with the help of project technologies, high level of competence of teachers of higher education institutions, their skill in the implementation of programs, and their harmonious combination in educational and extracurricular activities will contribute to the improvement of entrepreneurship in the field of tourism.
TVET System and Tourism in Oman
Authors: Kukreti Mohit , Obaid Mohammed Ali Ahmed
Published: September 2022

Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) is an important contributor to the sustainable economic development to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Oman Vision 2040. TVET is expected to facilitate the insertion of young people and adults into the labor market and their career progression. The tourism and hospitality sector is a priority sector for a country's Tanfeedh plan for economic diversification. This chapter highlights the historical and existing practices in the Oman's TVET system that can be considered as enterprise-based learning that includes apprenticeship, OJT for students and workers of different ages. This chapter focusses on the practical attempts to incorporate work-based learning leading to identification of the strengths, weakness, and opportunities for all the people concerned. It highlights the present situation and future outlook of technical and vocational education and training in the tourism and hospitality sector in Oman.
Digital Transformation in the Digital World the Metaverse
Authors: Diyadin Lenger Aslı
Published: September 2022

In this chapter, the author tries to explain the metaverse and identify factors affecting it. The factors were identified as business models, healthcare, leisure activities and social life, economy, ownership, education, freedom or ethic, and art. Each of these creations were affected by the metaverse, and they will be the backbone of building the metaverse. Metaverse is a new phenomenon which is changing the whole digital and physical environment in a very near time. With this respect, the author builds a frame of how the metaverse changes the world. The findings suggested that the economy, marketing, businesses model, and individuals' lives will change dramatically.
An Essay on Moligopoly Model
Authors: Roy Debasish
Published: September 2022

This chapter has attempted to provide a strong structural foundation of the newly emerged economic model of moligopoly in the era of growing digitization. The explosive nature of digitization since the beginning of the first decade of 21st century has posed some major problems for the existing textbook economic models since they have failed to explain the market forms within which the “Big Tech” firms are operating. Going by the standard norms of non-collusive oligopoly models, these technological behemoths do not form reaction functions – although they display all the natural ‘traits' of a monopolist. Thus, the new economic model of moligopoly may be defined as a hybridization of monopoly and oligopoly models, respectively. In this chapter, four major “Tech giants”; namely, Netflix, Microsoft, Facebook, and Google, are taken as sample firms for time series analysis to lay the foundation stone of moligopoly model and its related postulates.
The Impact of Disruptive Digital Technologies on Organizational Structures and Marketing Systems
Authors: Kelleci Alpaslan
Published: September 2022

Disruptive digital technologies, such as Web 3.0 and 3D printing, have been instigating new organizational structures and by extension new marketing systems given that they change and evolve in response to technological and social changes. By capitalizing upon institutional theory, this chapter delineates how Web 3.0 technologies enable social change via global collaborative commons, which have the potential to ascertain distributive justice for public at large. It also prognosticates how the marketing discipline in Era V (2020-?) will have to go through a sea change to reproduce and carry itself to a further level if it does not want to face the risk of extinction.
Citizen Participation in Law-Making in the European Union
Authors: Garcia Maria Jesus Garcia
Published: September 2022

A regulatory policy based on the idea of smart regulation takes the view that legislation and regulations serve the economy, and therefore, laws must be intended to create the conditions to improve national economies and economic growth, as laid down by the OECD and the European Union itself. Such a regulatory policy is informed by a set of principles which apply to both regulatory institutions and regulations, such as transparency, cooperation, accountability, efficiency, effectiveness, participation, and openness. This regulatory approach takes the view that regulations are of better quality when they have been influenced by citizens. As a consequence, smart regulation results in participatory democracy. Citizens collaborate with the government in the lawmaking process at an early stage and throughout the lifecycle of a legislative act by means of consultations. This chapter focuses on consultation as the principal mechanism for participatory democracy in the context of smart regulation law-making in the European Union.
A New Human Capital Development Framework in Logistics and Supply Chain Incorporating Industry 4.0
Authors: Rahman Noorul Shaiful Fitri Abdul , Hamid Abdelsalam Adam , Sahin Bekir , Wang Michael , Islam Samsul
Published: September 2022

When Industry 4.0 technologies are utilized in logistics practices, they create a Logistics 4.0 environment, and the key to successfully implementing Logistics 4.0 practices is the human capital of the logistics industry. The human capital of the logistics industry was found to be classified into four major categories, namely operative, supervisor, management, and government. This study aims to develop a new human capital framework that guides the logistics industry towards successfully implementing and managing Logistics 4.0 practices. The significance of this study is to utilize a new framework to shorten the gap between current basic logistics practices into Industry 4.0 practices. An integrative literature review technique was used thoroughly and reviewed and analyzed in order to create the Logistics 4.0 human capital development framework in a manner that satisfies the categories of logistics human capital. A combination of the business logistics management (BLM) framework and Industry 4.0 elements creates a new human capital development (HCD) framework in logistics and supply chains.
An Efficient Message Authentication Code Based on Modified MD5-384 Bits Hash Function and Quasigroup
Authors: Kumar Umesh , Venkaiah V. Ch.
Published: September 2022

Cryptographic hash functions and HMACs are used to achieve various security goals such as message integrity, message authentication, digital signatures, and entity authentication. This article proposes (1) a new hash function (QGMD5-384) and (2) an efficient message authentication code (QGMAC-384) based on a quasigroup. A quasigroup is a non-associative algebraic structure and its number grows exponentially with its order. Note that the existing hash functions and HMACs that use quasigroups are vulnerable to prefix and suffix attacks. The security of the proposed hash function is analyzed by comparing it with the MD5 and SHA-384. It is found that the proposed QGMD5-384 is more secure. Also, QGMAC-384 is analyzed against brute force and forgery attacks and it is found to be resistant to these attacks. The performance of the new schemes is compared with their counterparts, such as SHA-384 and HMAC-SHA-384. It is observed that QGMD5-384 and QGMAC-384 are slightly slower than MD5 and HMAC-MD5, respectively, but faster than both the SHA-384 and the HMAC-SHA-384.
Diversity and Variation in China's Yao Ancient Wood Frame Structures Through Genetic Algorithms
Authors: Afonso Filipe , Jedenov Kirill , Januário Pedro Gomes , Almeida Paulo
Published: September 2022

This study, focusing on the China's Yao minority community, investigates the feasibility to create a generative computational method to replicate the diversity of the existing Yao traditional wood buildings, addressing the critical issues currently facing computational design methods, in the attempt to adapt genetic-generative algorithms to the study of local ancient architecture. The project develops a computational tool to generate a network of three-dimensional prototypes, or building structures, derived from traditional wood frame village houses. It studies possible housing structures that illustrate some of the key working methods available in digital systems such as ‘generating' and ‘compositing' taking as a starting point computational strategies oriented towards geometry and where a set of local variables play a decisive role: available local technologies, use of raw materials, and the dimensioning of timber components based on data collected from Yao architecture.
Serious Games and Growth Mindsets
Authors: Adame Elissa Arterburn , Posteher Karlee A. , Hansom Alaina M. , Wilson Scott N. , Cecena Francisco J. E. , Thompson William M. , Ralston Ryan L. , Thomas David M.
Published: September 2022

This study applies implicit person theory (IPT) to serious gaming. IPT scholars argue that individuals hold one of two views regarding perceptions of ability: growth mindset (abilities are malleable) or fixed mindset (abilities are unchanging). Extant literature demonstrates the many educational benefits afforded to learners who hold a growth mindset. As such, a serious training game was designed to move players' beliefs about their abilities toward growth. To test the efficacy of the serious game on shifting mindsets, researchers ran an experiment in which college freshmen (N = 95) either played the game or participated in mindset activities other than a game. Results demonstrate that students who played the game reported higher levels of growth mindset immediately following and six weeks after playing the game than students who did not play the game. Suggestions for game development for the purpose of fostering a growth mindset are discussed.
The Impact of Gender in Learning With Games
Authors: Nguyen Huy Anh , Hou Xinying , Richey J. Elizabeth , McLaren Bruce M.
Published: September 2022

There is an established gender gap in middle school math education, where female students report higher anxiety and lower engagement, which negatively impact their performance and even long-term career choices. This work investigates the role of digital learning games in addressing this issue by studying Decimal Point, a math game that teaches decimal numbers and operations to 5th and 6th graders. Through data from four published studies of Decimal Point, involving 624 students in total, the authors identified a consistent gender difference that was replicated across all studies – male students tended to do better at pretest, while female students tended to learn more from the game. In addition, female students were more careful in answering self-explanation questions, which significantly mediated the relationship between gender and learning gains in two out of four studies. These findings show that learning games can be an effective tool for bridging the gender gap in middle school math education, which in turn contributes to the development of more personalized and inclusive learning platforms.
Intelligent Recommendation Method of Mobile Wireless Communication Information Based on Speech Recognition Technology Under Strong Multipath Interference
Authors: Wei Hong , Li Zhiyong
Published: September 2022

With the rapid development of the Internet, it is more and more difficult to get interested information from the mass of information. In order to alleviate the problem of data sparsity, this paper proposes an intelligent recommender of mobile wireless communication information based on speech recognition technology under strong multipath interference with the help of speech recognition technology. According to different types of mobile wireless communication information, the recommended path is selected, and the information is denoised to reduce the interference value of mobile wireless communication information intelligent recommendation and ensure the recommendation effect. Finally, the experimental results show that the proposed intelligent recommendation method of mobile wireless communication information based on speech recognition technology under strong multipath interference has high prediction accuracy and resource diversity, strong excavation ability, and good recommendation effect.
Does sending honey bee, Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae), colonies to lowbush blueberry, Vaccinium angustifolium (Ericaceae), for pollination increase Nosema spp. (Nosematidae) spore loads?
Authors: Shaw J. , Cutler G.C. , Manning P. , McCallum R.S. , Astatkie T.
Published: September 2022

In the Canadian Maritimes, many beekeepers rent honey bee, Apis mellifera Linnaeus (Hymenoptera: Apidae), hives to growers of lowbush blueberry, Vaccinium angustifolium (Ericaceae), for pollination services. Anecdotally, hives have less vigour following pollination, potentially due to higher Nosema spp. (Nosematidae) spore loads, the microsporidian causing nosemosis. We undertook a study to determine whether sending honey bee hives to lowbush blueberry fields for pollination (blueberry hives) results in higher Nosema spp. spore loads relative to hives remaining in apiaries (home hives). Nosema spp. spore loads were quantified using light microscopy. Nosema apis and Nosema ceranae were differentiated using polymerase chain reaction and sequencing. Nosema spp. spore loads were greatest in April and May and declined to low levels from June to September. Ninety-eight per cent of Nosema detections were positive for N. ceranae. In April, blueberry hives had a lower spore load than home hives did; however, in June, spore loads were significantly higher in blueberry hives. No other differences in Nosema spp. spore loads were observed between hive types. We conclude that Nosema ceranae is the dominant Nosema species in the Canadian Maritimes and that using hives for lowbush blueberry pollination does not appear to influence long-term Nosema spp. spore loads.
Report 2021 on plant biodiversity in Italy: native and alien vascular flora
Authors: Bartolucci Fabrizio , Galasso Gabriele , Peruzzi Lorenzo , Conti Fabio
Published: September 2022

This paper provides an updated overview, based on nomenclatural, taxonomical and distribution data published in 2021, on the native and alien vascular flora of Italy. The details on the occurrence at national and regional level and the lists of taxa occurring in Italy described in 2021 are provided.
Constrained control of gene-flow models
Authors: Zuazua Enrique , Ruiz-Balet Domènec , Mazari Idriss
Published: September 2022

In ecology and population dynamics, gene flow refers to the transfer of a trait (e.g. genetic material) from one population to another. This phenomenon is of great relevance in studying the spread of diseases or the evolution of social features, such as languages. From the mathematical point of view, gene flow is modeled using bistable reaction–diffusion equations. The unknown is the proportion

p

of the population that possesses a certain trait, within an overall population

N

. In such models, gene flow is taken into account by assuming that the population density

N

depends either on

p

(if the trait corresponds to fitter individuals) or on the location

x

(if some zones in the domain can carry more individuals). Recent applications stemming from mosquito-borne-disease control problems or from the study of bilingualism have called for the investigation of the controllability properties of these models. At the mathematical level, this corresponds to boundary control problems and, since we are working with proportions, the control

u

has to satisfy the constraint

0\leq u \leq 1

. In this article, we provide a thorough analysis of the influence of the gene-flow effect on boundary controllability properties. We prove that, when the population density

N

only depends on the trait proportion

p

, the geometry of the domain is the only criterion that has to be considered. We then tackle the case of population densities

N

varying in

x

. We first prove that, when

N

varies slowly in

x

and when the domain is narrow enough, controllability always holds. This result is proved using a robust domain perturbation method. We then consider the case of sharp fluctuations in

N

: we first give examples that prove that controllability may fail. Conversely, we give examples of heterogeneities

N

such that controllability will always be guaranteed: in other words the controllability properties of the equation are very strongly influenced by the variations of

N

. All negative controllability results are proved by showing the existence of nontrivial stationary states, which act as barriers. The existence of such solutions and the methods of proof are of independent interest. Our article is completed by several numerical experiments that confirm our analysis.
Energy and Fuel Consumption Minimization for a Plug-In Fuel Cell Electric Cargo Handling Vehicle
Authors: Lombardi Simone , Tribioli Laura , Di Ilio Giovanni , Di Giorgio Paolo , Jannelli Elio
Published: September 2022

The port-logistic sector has a crucial role in goods transport, as the 85-90% of international trade is achieved by means of maritime routes. The latest reports from the International Maritime Organization show that the port-logistic related activities are an important source of air pollution, both for the use of large auxiliary power systems on ships, which operate during port stays, as well as for the employment of fossil fueled road vehicles for on-site operations. As a matter of fact, the most important maritime facilities are located nearby urban areas and therefore reduction of the environmental impact in ports becomes of primary importance. Thus, in the pursuit of a greener in-port mobility, a progressive replacement of fossil fuels with cleaner alternatives must be promoted.

This paper presents the analysis of the performance of a hydrogenfueled plug-in fuel cell/battery hybrid vehicle for cargo-handling in roll-on and roll-off port operations. The powertrain of the proposed vehicle has been designed by the authors in a previous work, based on experimental data acquired during in-port operations for the fossil fuel powered counterpart. An optimized energy management strategy, based on the application of the Pontryagin’s Minimum Principle, is used to assess the maximum energy and hydrogen savings that can be attained with such a powertrain. Results are obtained over different mission profiles, in terms of driving and duty cycles, in order to represent typical port operations and ensure the accomplishment of the defined target missions. Outputs from this study set the basis for the design of an optimization-based real time energy management strategy, to maximize the potential of such vehicles in the view of the replacement of the conventional vehicles for in-port operations.
Current state and prospects of forensic-medical diagnosis of drowning: A review of the literature
Authors: Voloshynovych Volodymyr M. , Kozan Natalia M. , Voloshynovych Viktoriia M. , Kotsyubynska Julia Z. , Voloshynovych Marian S. , Zelenchuk Galina M. , Chadiuk Valeriia O.
Published: September 2022

The article describes the current possibilities of forensic medicine in the diagnosis of death by drowning, as well as reflects the different views of the authors and the evolution of approaches to this issue. Despite the constant interest of scientists in the topic of drowning and extensive research on this issue, there are still many white spots. Researchers are trying to identify more specific changes characteristic of drowning and possible methods to detect them.

The main evidence based method of diagnosing drowning at present is the detection of diatomic plankton in the tissues of isolated kidneys by light optical microscopy. However, microscopic examination and identification of diatomic plankton require a lot of time and accurate taxonomic examination. Also, a disadvantage of this method is that the methods of processing the material sent for research, as a result of the use of concentrated acids for the destruction of organs, greatly complicates and sometimes eliminates the possibility of detection of diatomic plankton. In some cases, the presence of diatoms during drowning is so small that it is impossible to detect them by microscopy. In such cases, the presence of phytoplankton DNA detected by PCR in tissues during drowning is almost the only method for diagnosing drowning. Nowadays there has been a lack of research in the field of forensic medicine related to the use of evidence-based medicine, especially in the field of drowning.
Opiniowanie sądowo-lekarskie we Francji w XVII stuleciu
Authors: Dębicka Malwina K.
Published: September 2022

Artykuł ten jest syntezą historii opiniowania sądowo-lekarskiego we Francji w XVII wieku. W pracy zastosowano głównie dwie metody badawcze – metodę historyczną i metodę opisową. Artykuł ma na celu przedstawienie wiedzy o francuskiej medycynie sądowej w kontekście historycznym i prawnym. Pokazuje pionierskie badania medyków i chirurgów, przedstawia ówczesne regulacje prawne oraz podkreśla wysoki poziom francuskiej medycyny sądowej na tle innych krajów europejskich. Od najdawniejszych czasów problematyka oceny zdrowia i życia była przypisywana ekspertom medycyny – jurorom (edykt z 1603 roku médecins jurés et chirurgiens jurés). W XVII w. badania sądowo- -lekarskie stały się obowiązkiem. Ludzie zainteresowali się np. zdrowiem psychicznym oskarżonych czy oględzinami narządów rodnych w przypadku rozwodu. Na historię opinii sądowo-lekarskich na ziemiach francuskich ogromny wpływ miała chirurgia włoska. Co ciekawe, Francja była pierwszym krajem, który oddzielił kwestie sądowe i medyczne od zadań związanych z policją medyczną.

Medicolegal opinions in France in XVII Century

This article is a synthesis of the history of medicolegal opinions in France in the 17th century. Mainly two research methods were used in the work – the historical method and the descriptive method. The article aims to present the knowledge of French forensic medicine in a historical and legal context. It shows the pioneering research of medics and surgeons, presents the legal regulations of that time, and emphasizes the high level of French science compared to other European countries. It is worth adding that from the earliest times the issues with the assessment of health and life were assigned to medical experts – jurors (the edict of 1603 médecins jurés et chirurgiens jurés). During this period, forensic and medical examinations became a duty. People became interested in the mental health of the accused, as well as in the inspection of the reproductive organs in the event of a divorce. Italian surgery had a huge impact on the history of medicolegal opinions in the French territories. Interestingly, France was the first country to separate judicial and medical issues from tasks related to the medical police.
Historia idei Kazimierza Jankowskiego i zespołu „Synapsis”
Authors: Praszkier Ryszard
Published: September 2022

Artykuł jest prezentacją historii idei i praktyki doc. dr hab. n. med. Kazimierza Jankowskiego w 50-lecie utworzenia przez Niego ośrodka, znanego pod nazwą „Synapsis”. Przedstawione są kolejne zmiany i poszerzenia metod pracy z pacjentami, badanie skuteczności tych metod oraz rozwój towarzyszącej im idei. Ukazana jest droga od stosowania metod psychokorekcyjnych skoncentrowanych na jednostce do rozszerzenia na rodzinę, a następnie na środowisko. Zaprezentowany jest – nowatorski w latach 70. XX wieku – model psychoprofilaktyki środowiskowej. Równolegle dokumentowana jest przechodzeniem od pracy na oddziale zamkniętym do leczenia w trybie otwartym, a w następnym kroku – do psychiatrii środowiskowej.

This article presents the history of Prof. Kazimierz (Kaz) Jankowski M.D., Ph.D. ideas and their implementation, on the 50th anniversary of him creating the “Synapsis Center.” Subsequent modifications, expansion of therapeutic methods and projects for measuring their effectiveness, as well as their conceptual development are presented. The path from the therapy focused on the individual through one expanding the focus to the family as well, and finally –to the environment is delineated. Moreover, the comprehensive environmental prevention system of Jankowski and the “Synapsis”team which was innovative in the 1970s is shown. Simultaneously, a way from in-patient to out-patient model of therapy is documented.
„Słowo, brzozowa koro” – czy [Psiej książce] Piotra Janickiego potrzebna jest ekokrytyka (i odwrotnie)?
Authors: Sawicka-Mierzyńska Katarzyna
Published: September 2022

“Word, birch bark”: Does Piotr Janicki’s [Dog’s Book] Need an Ecocriticism (and Vce Versa)? The article presents the work of Piotr Janicki, one of the most interesting Polish poets of the middle generation (born 1974). The author focuses primarily on the 2018 untitled volume of poems, referred to as [A Dog’s Book], in order to recreate the structure of the subject it contains, using the categories offered by the ecocritical discourse, represented by the works of Anna Ubertowska, Rosi Braidotti, Timothy Morton and other. In the course of the analysis, it turns out that an important assumption of Janicki’s poetry is the desire to break the anthropocentric perspective, which would place his work in the trend of “deeply ecological” literature, the task of which is, inter alia, to “infect” readers with new forms of sensitivity and imagination, breaking with the traditionally understood humanism, which places man above non-human beings, and not in a network of relationships with them, as it happens in [The Dog’s Book].
Gapienie się na niezwykłe ciała. O książkach Rosemarie Garland-Thomson Gapienie się i Niezwykłe ciała
Authors: Zdrodowska Magdalena
Published: September 2022

Staring at Extraordinary Bodies. On the Polish Translations of Rosemarie Garland-Thomson’s Books

Article reviews the Polish translation of two fundamental monographs in global disability studies scholarship: Extraordinary Bodies (1997) and Staring: How We Look (2009) by Rosemary Garland-Thomson. First, books are discussed in the context of global disability studies, with special attention paid to the influences of the theoretical and methodological frame of literary studies in the 1990s. Secondly, Polish translations are considered an important element of the current establishment of the field of disability studies in Polish academia.
SICAV in the Czech Republic – success story of continuing failure?
Authors: Horák Filip
Published: September 2022

This paper explores the introduction of SICAV in Czech law, its development and the related difficulties including the tax perspective. Although this legal form helped to boost the collective investment sector in the Czech Republic, in particular for qualified investors’ funds, it is under constant threat of law amendments, which have a negative impact on further progress in the popularity of SICAVs as well as other forms of investment funds. SICAV, as a legal form governed by both private (corporate) and public (regulatory) law, presents a good example of how the two sets of partly autonomous rules may clash and cause undesirable effects. The paper highlights the main inefficiencies and discrepancies, which lead to interpretation difficulties and legal uncertainty. The hypothesis of this paper lies in investigating how local factors in one country, such as the influence of other pieces of legislation and tax environment, negatively impact solutions and models which are standardised and successfully deployed across the EU. It is argued that not only legal and regulatory aspects determine the popularity of investment funds, but a wider landscape, including the activities and approach of the supervisory authority and network of professionals (legal and tax advisors or auditors), plays a crucial role in capital markets development
Efficient Capital Markets: A Review of Specialized Literature and Methodology on Nigerian Stock Market
Authors: Ajayi John Ayodele
Published: September 2022

The efficiency of securities market has generated a lot of controversy over four decades in finance and economic discussions leading to some people accepting or rejecting the efficient market hypothesis. Hence this paper examines the growing body of empirical research on efficient market hypothesis on the Nigerian capital market for the past twelve years (2010-2021). The paper particularly surveys empirical research and specialized literature as it relates to the Nigerian capital market. The paper is purely empirical research that have been published in various academic journals on the Nigerian capital market. Findings from the empirical research show that there has been no consensus on the efficiency of the Nigerian capital market. However, the market seems to be efficient in the weak-form. The conclusion of this paper is that there are inherent difficulties in testing for market efficiency in developing countries capital market due to certain market imperfections that could affect the informational efficiency of the market.