bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Utylitaryzm - doktrynalna analiza ewolucji nurtu
Authors: Górecki Olgierd
Published: February 2023

Utilitarianism as innovatory and original stream of ethical and political thought enrich philosophical discourse of last three centuries.
Utilitarian thinkers pointed out that maximization of pleasure correlated with minimization of pain is correct way to create objective catalog
of rules or behaviors which application resulted in formation of the highest utility, good for an individual and good for a society.
From methodological point of view there are differences between utilitarian philosophers thought, such as: happiness, pleasure or utility
guide to diametrical disaccord on ethical or institutional area.
The present scientific analyzes of utilitarian thought represent attractive differences in interpretation of this doctrine. Despite of this
utilitarianism does not include logical and intellectual strong arguments of protection individual man rights in the case of conflict
with interest people at large. Thus this doctrine in eighteen and nineteen centuries match to postulate political egalitarianism,
but in nowadays utilitarianism lost its strong ethical position. In the past utilitarianism was a political instrument attended to protect
a majority of society from arbitrary reigning of small elite group of people. Modernly this thought legitimize coercion a will of majority even
though other smaller group of citizens have different political point of view. This kind of thinking allow to objectify individual man
which is only identified with instrumentality to maximization of utility.
The author analyzed thought of Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill and Herbert Spencer. Afterwards he compared their doctrines with
science literature and presented a thesis that is basic and universal principles of utilitarianism and it could be actual rules of political ethics
under condition of limitation theory of utility by appending law of inviolability natural rights of man.
Zaufanie jako siła wspierająca działania na konkurencyjnym rynku
Authors: Olszewska Monika
Published: February 2023

The subject of the article is the trust as a specific soft value which could be considered as an important
aspect of the management process.
The article is an attempt of the theoretical analysis of notions such as ”trust” and provides characteristics of some management aspects,
especially the personnel policy in which trust is a basic value for building an employee’s engagement and interpersonal relations.
The article ends with conclusions in which the author tries to find the answer to following question: is it possible to build
the enterprise’s financial advantage basing on the trust.
Análisis de la ventaja comparativa en la producción mundial de biocombustibles
Authors: Pérez-Romero Miriam Edith , Azuara-Jiménez Jorge Alberto , Jiménez-Islas Donaji , Ventura-Cruz Ignacio , Flores-Romero Martha Beatriz
Published: February 2023

La necesidad de energía de la población ha originado con el paso de los años problemas de contaminación ambiental asociados al uso de combustibles de origen fósil. La bioenergía es una alternativa que diversos países han propuesto para disminuir el volumen de gases contaminantes a la atmósfera; el biodiésel y bioetanol son los que presentan mayores ventajas comerciales en el mundo, aparte de que son necesarios para el cumplimiento de acuerdos internacionales en materia ambiental. El presente trabajo se enfoca en analizar la ventaja comparativa en 56 países respecto a la producción de biodiésel y bioetanol, para lo cual se utilizó el índice de la ventaja comparativa revelada (VCR) y el índice de la ventaja comparativa revelada normalizada (VCRN). Los resultados muestran que para la producción de biodiésel los países con mayor ventaja son España, Argentina, Brasil, Indonesia y la Unión Europea (conjunto de 28 países), mientras que en la producción de bioetanol sobresalen Colombia, Estados Unidos, Argentina, Brasil y la Unión Europea.
Códigos JEL: Q24, E23
Recibido: 29/12/2021. Aceptado: 21/07/2022. Publicado: 01/12/2022.
Agricultura orgánica en Michoacán, México: evidencias de sostenibilidad
Authors: Ortega Gómez Priscila , Infante Jiménez Zoe Tamar , Lira Chávez Araceli
Published: February 2023

La agricultura orgánica está considerada una actividad que favorece al medio ambiente y al bienestar de los ecosistemas y la sociedad, así como también a la economía. La presente investigación tiene como objetivo identificar y analizar algunos aportes que la agricultura orgánica ha generado sobre la sostenibilidad. Para ello, se tomó como caso de estudio el sector frutícola en el estado de Michoacán, el cual es el que aporta en mayor medida a la agricultura orgánica a nivel nacional.  El método que se utilizó consistió en la revisión, descripción y el análisis de datos estadísticos en bases de datos nacionales especializados en agricultura orgánica, así como en la aplicación de entrevistas semiestructuradas a productores orgánicos del estado. De acuerdo con los resultados obtenidos, se puede señalar que, si bien la agricultura orgánica representa aún un pequeño porcentaje en relación con la agricultura convencional, es una actividad que hoy en día muestra una tendencia creciente en su producción, comercialización y demanda. Según las evidencias, este tipo de actividades favorecen las tres dimensiones de la sustentabilidad, en términos económicos, ambientales y sociales, por lo que se puede concluir que estas actividades contribuyen favorablemente a la sostenibilidad.
Códigos JEL: Q01, Q17, Q51, Q57
Recibido: 31/12/2021. Aceptado: 30/05/2022. Publicado: 01/12/2022.
Evaluación de la eficiencia del mezcal producida en las entidades federativas de México: un análisis de la envolvente de datos (DEA)
Authors: Rodríguez García Alejandro , Ortiz Zavala Alberto
Published: February 2023

La presente investigación tiene como objetivo determinar cuáles son las entidades federativas más eficientes en México. La metodología utilizada para la evaluación de la eficiencia es con métodos no paramétricos; se emplea el método de análisis envolvente de datos, la metodología de matriz de eficiencia cruzada que robustece la metodología DEA y la metodología de operadores ponderados de Wang (OWA) (2011). Para realizar estas mediciones se utilizan los datos proporcionados por el Consejo Regulador del Mezcal (2017). Los resultados muestran que la entidad federativa más eficiente es Puebla y la menos eficiente es Oaxaca. Respecto a la eficiencia cruzada, se encuentra que la producción del agave como materia prima es altamente eficiente. Como conclusión, se observa que la eficiencia de las entidades federativas no depende del tamaño de las hectáreas cultivadas. En cuanto a la originalidad, esta evaluación de la eficiencia de la industria del mezcal a las entidades federativas mexicanas utiliza la metodología DEA, la metodología de matriz de eficiencia cruzada y los operadores ponderados de Wang (OWA) en un mismo estudio.
Códigos JEL: C14
Recibido: 15/01/2022. Aceptado: 03/05/2022. Publicado: 01/06/2022.
The Inscription in the Monastery Arxangel Mixail in Varoš (Prilep) and its Reading
Authors: Kempgen Sebastian
Published: February 2023

The presentation is dedicated to the Old Church Slavonic "Varoški nadpis" in today's Northern Macedonia. The author proposes a new reading of the year and gives a richly illustrated account of the history of the discovery of this inscription.
How to reconnect librarians and researchers : an insight look into a current challenge of Swedish libraries
Authors: Illig Steffen
Published: February 2023

An insight look into a current challenge of Swedish libraries
Zur Wahrnehmung von Online-Mentoring : Eine qualitative Studie zu den subjektiven Sichtweisen von Mentorinnen, Mentoren und Mentees
Authors: Baumann Nadine
Published: February 2023

Mit der Analyse der subjektiven Sichtweisen von Mentorinnen, Mentoren und Mentees, die vor der COVID-19 Pandemie Online-Mentoring durchführten oder an einem Online-Mentoring teilnahmen, konnte gezeigt werden, dass Offenheit gegenüber dem Online-Rahmen und Kompetenzen im Umgang mit technologisch unterstützten Kommunikationsmedien ebenso bedeutsam sind wie das Angebot einer Vielfalt an Mentoring-Formen wie Offline-Mentoring und Blended Mentoring neben Online-Mentoring. Aus den anhand eines qualitativen Forschungsdesigns erhobenen und ausgewerteten empirischen Daten konnten drei Typen der Wahrnehmung von Online-Mentoring herausgearbeitet werden, die sich der Wahrnehmung der Einstellung und Herangehensweise gegenüber Online-Mentoring, der Sichtweise bzgl. des Zugangs zu Online-Mentoring, der Perspektive auf die methodische Ausgestaltung von Online-Mentoring sowie hinsichtlich des Aspekts des Nutzen-Effekts für Mentorinnen und Mentoren unterscheiden und damit die Ergebnisse bisheriger Mentoring-Forschung weiter ausdifferenzieren. The analysis of subjective perceptions of mentors and mentees who conducted online-mentoring or participated in online mentoring prior to the COVID-19 pandemic shows, that openness towards the online framework and competencies in dealing with technologically supported communication media are as significant as offering a variety of mentoring forms, such as offline mentoring and blended mentoring alongside online mentoring. Empirical data was collected and evaluated using a qualitative research design. Results lead to three types of perception of online mentoring, which differ concerncing the perception of the attitude towards and the approach to online mentoring, the perspective on access to online mentoring, the view on the methodological design of online mentoring, and with regards to the aspect of a benefit for mentors. The identified types further differentiate the results of previous mentoring research.
On the Generator of Stable Cubical Multivariate Encryption Maps Over Boolean Rings for Protection of Large Information System
Authors: Ustimenko Vasyl , Klisowski Michal
Published: February 2023

Encryption based on Walks in Algebraic GRAphs (EWAGRA) is used for protection of authors' rights, access to electronic books or documents located at a certain knowledge base (Information Quality Assurance Support Systems of a university, digital library supporting distance education, various digital archives and etc). The method allows generating nonlinear stream ciphers, which have some similarities with a one-time pad: different keys produce distinct ciphertexts from the same plaintext. In contrast to the case of a one-time pad, the length of the key is flexible and the encryption map is a nonlinear poly- nomial map, which order is growing with the growth of the dimension n of the plaintext space. The encryption has good resistance to attacks of the adversary when he has no access to plaintext space or has a rather small number of intercepted plaintext- ciphertext pairs. It is known that encryption and decryption maps are cubical maps. So, interception of n3 + O(n) plaintext-ciphertext pairs allows conducting a plain linearization attack for finding the inverse map. We consider the idea of the modification of this encryption algorithm after sending each message without using key exchange protocols. So the new algorithm is resistant to plain linearization attacks.
Methods of counteraction of bypassing two-factor authentication using reverse proxy
Authors: Vlasenko Andrii , Stopochkina Iryna , Ilin Mykola
Published: February 2023

The existing solutions for counteracting and preventing the interception of data and tokens of two-factor authentication are considered. Features that may indicate the presence of a silent reverse proxy server are chosen. It is proposed to analyze the information about additional time anomalies, which are usually created by the proxy server. The advantage of this approach is that the time characteristics information is generated on the client-side, and the malicious proxy server cannot modify it. Machine learning methods were used to detect implicit signs of the presence of a proxy server. A new method of detecting a silent reverse proxy server that satisfies the following conditions is proposed: 1) the human factor is minimized, 2) use by an individual user is possible, 3) the method has an acceptable impact on performance and can be used in real-time.
Counteracting destructive information influences based on the game approach
Authors: Tereshchenko Ivan , Myronets Alina
Published: February 2023

The problem of counteracting destructive influences on the example of ensuring information security of society during the rapid structural changes in the television industry is considered. To solve this problem we propose a nonlinear model that is based on multiple-choice in the context of information counteraction. Based on the study of the election campaign, the simulation of processes affecting security was conducted. A case in which, due to certain circumstances, some TV channels that political parties engage in for the purpose of agitation stop broadcasting has been investigated. The model considered the following objects: the first group of TV channels with common interests, the second group of TV channels - antagonists of the first, the third group - TV channels whose activities are insignificant in terms of impact on the first group, but in the simulation, they are considered to belong to the second group. The dependence of the efficiency of information influence on certain parameters of the model is shown. The conditions that ensure the preservation of the coalition in the conditions of information counteraction have been identified with the help of the game approach.
Stochastic Violator Model
Authors: Kaczynski Anatoliy , Kireienko Oleksandr , Kozlenko Oleh
Published: February 2023

This paper introduces a new type of violator model that is based on Markov chains. It can be used as a scenario model AS IS or as a mathematical model with quantitative estimates if additional information is presented. Our aim with this paper was to develop a model that will allow to restore missing data, using existing knowledge about violator. The results show that presented scenario for general cases cover the majority of attacks and can be applied to real-life scenarios too. Summing up the results, it can be concluded that additional improvement of the model should be focused on data gathering to ensure that existing data will be enough to recover the rest.
Software security risk management in DEVOPS methodology
Authors: Kolisnichenko Olga , Kolomytsev Mykhailo , Nosok Svitlana
Published: February 2023

It’s impossible to talk about cloud technologies, modern applications and, in general, digital transformation, and not to mention security. The same applies to software development, in particular the DevOps methodology. DevOps is a software development methodology that focuses on communication, integration, and collaboration between IT professionals ensuring rapid product deployment. DevOps practice reflects the idea of continuous improvement and automation. Many practices are designed for one or more stages of the development cycle. Three hundred hours spent on software development can be wasted in just 30 seconds, if only one defect during operation is detected. This, subsequently, can ruin reputation of the whole product, and as a result there will be no choice but to simply remove it from the market. And this establishes the importance and necessity of quality control [1].

To ensure quality of software products during development risk management should be used at every stage of the DevOps lifecycle. Implementing DevOps without paying attention to security will definitely increase risks of attacks. Risk is the occurrence of an uncertain event that positively or negatively affects measured criteria of project success. These can be events that have happened in the past or current events, or something that may happen in the future. These uncertain events can affect target, business, technical and qualitative objectives of the project [2].

Main stages of risk management include:

risk identification;

risk analysis and assessment;

risk response;

risk monitoring and control.

The purpose of the article is to choose the method of risk analysis and assessment in the DevOps methodology. When using risk management model in DevOps, it is important to choose risk assessment method that is optimal for the criteria relevant to DevOps. To such criteria authors attribute cost of resources, time spent, accuracy of evaluation. Therefore, the choice of risk assessment method is an important component of the process of creating secure software. Risk assessment methods such as PRisMA, PRAM, FMEA, DREAD and FTA were considered in this work.
Destruction of stego images formed by adaptive embedding methods with dictionary learning methods
Authors: Progonov Dmytro
Published: February 2023

Counteraction to sensitive information leakage that processed by state and private organizations is topical task today. Of special interest are methods for prevention data leakage by usage of hidden (steganographic) communication channels by attackers. Despite wide range of proposed steganalysis methods for detection of embedded messages, theirs performance highly depends on prior information about used embedding methods. As an example, we may mention modern stegdetectors for digital images, which are based on cover rich models and deep convolutional neural networks. Therefore, the stego image destruction methods are widely applied as preventive action.Modern methods for stego image destruction are based on widespread image denoising methods, like median filter and lossy compression. The limitation of such methods is significant changes of image's statistical features that may disclosure the steganalysis process to attacker. Therefore, development of stego images processing methods that provide reliable destruction of embedded data, and preserving cover image statistical features is needed. The paper is aimed at performance evaluation of applying the novel methods of spectral analysis, namely dictionary learning, for solving this tasks. The obtained results showed limitation of state-of-the-art methods for destruction of stego image formed by adaptive embedding methods, namely considerable changes of image's statistical parameters. The proposed method allows preserving both minimal changes of a \ac{ci} parameters, and ratio of survived bits of embedded message (less than $7\%$). This makes proposed solution an attractive candidate for reliable destruction of stego images formed by novel embedding methods. However, practical usage of proposed solution requires further improvement of dictionary learning methods, namely decreasing of computation complexity of dictionary forming procedure.
Compartment model of informational and suggestive influence
Authors: Nakonechna Yuliia
Published: February 2023

Mathematical modeling use in information operations research makes it possible to qualitatively and quantitatively predict information attack object behavior, as well as to determine and implement effective countermeasures. According to the chosen methodology, a compartmental approach based informational and suggestive influence mathematical model was proposed. The model makes it possible to assess information, communication network participant state and estimate suggestive influence in the moment.
Systems of Linear Restrictions Over a Finite Field
Authors: Kurinnyi Oleh
Published: February 2023

This paper considers the problem of recovering an unknown vector based on partial information presented in the form of certain linear dependencies. Such problem is an alternative to the standard one of solving a system of polynomial equations over a finite field, which arises in the context of algebraic cryptanalysis of stream ciphers, and it models a situation when it’s not possible to formulate specific equations with an unknown vector, but certain restrictions on linear dependencies with this vector. To formalize such linear dependencies, the notation of the system of linear restrictions over a finite field is introduced, and the problem of recovering the unknown vector is replaced by the problem of solving the system of linear restrictions over a finite field. In this paper, we researched some properties of this problem using its equivalent forms and important partial cases.
Comparison of Tools for Web-Application Brute Forcing
Authors: Chalyi Oleksii , Kolomytsev Myhailo
Published: February 2023

For a long time, threat of web-application authentication break remained a problem not only for users but also for business. This threat still exists, since broken authentication provides a blackhat with full access to accounts of users and business data. This article analyzes software tools for breaking authentication as well as it defines time required for breaking-in depending on different conditions. Based on the results of the analysis, the fastest tool was determined. In order to complete this analysis and determine the fastest tool, own web-application was created.
Formation Networks of Terms for Identifying Semantic Similarity or Difference Degree of Texts in Cybersecurity
Authors: Dmytrenko Oleh
Published: February 2023

This paper devoted the problem of identifying a semantic similarity degree or difference of text in cybersecurity field. The paper presents a method for comparing text documents based on the formation and comparison of the corresponding semantic networks. The directed weighted network of terms, where the nodes of such networks are key terms of the text, and edges are semantic relationships between these terms in the text are considered as a semantic network. The algorithm for formation semantic networks as one of the types of ontologies is also presented. Formation of network of term includes pre-processing of text data, extraction of key terms, construction of undirected network of terms (using the algorithm of horizontal visibility graph), determining undirected connections between terms, and further determining the directions of connections and their weight values. The Frobenius norm of the difference of matrices corresponding to the semantic networks is considered to compare the semantic networks. An identifying the critically different texts that can have similar keywords but different semantic between them is important to ensure cybersecurity. Also, the proposed approach can be helpful while solving the problem of accumulating text data semantically similar in content. In general, this approach can also be used in systems of automatic information retrieval to determine the degree of similarity or difference in the structure and semantics of texts and identify the sources of information that have a destructive impact on the information space.
The analysis of cybersecurity subject area terms based on the information diffusion model
Authors: Lande Dmytro , Novikov Olexiy , Manko Dmytro
Published: February 2023

This research describes a comparison of the information diffusion model, built on the basis of cellular automata with the real statistics the dynamics of the use of terms from the field of cybersecurity in the information flows of the Internet. The information diffusion model is used with different parameters of the intensity of the information propagation. The cross-correlation of dynamics of the dissemination of new information in the model with the dynamics of the occurrence of concepts of the real subject area has been calculated. A high correlation dynamic of the terms occurrence with the dynamics given by the model at the selected parameters is shown. The research results allow fixing the model parameters that can further perform forecasting. The advantage of the information diffusion model based on cellular automata is the simplicity and clarity of a small number of parameters, and the ability to change them in accordance with the data on the actual occurrence of special terminology in information flows. The dynamics of the information diffusion model under various parameters allows us to determine centroids for the subsequent clustering of domain terms.
Peculiarities of phishing threats and preventive measures in the conditions of war in Ukraine
Authors: Shevchenko Hryhorii , Stopochkina Iryna , Babenko Ivan
Published: February 2023

The paper is devoted to the study of the peculiarities of phishing attacks on the personnel of enterprises and institutions of Ukraine during the war period (from February 2022- till now). The life cycle of the most popular attacks is analyzed. The focus is made on email phishing, which is the most popular for attacks on enterprises. A list of typical topics of phishing emails, psychological vectors of phishing influence, typical for attacks on Ukrainian users, additional factors that contribute to the success of attacks have been revealed. A countermeasures for phishing attacks prevention have been recommended. A list of phishing keywords was collected and templates were developed, a software solution based on artificial intelligence approaches was proposed to automate the generation of phishing letters in Ukrainian that can be used during "false alarms" and staff training in large enterprises.
The Economic Impact of a Pilot Digital Day-Case Pathway for Knee Arthroplasty in a U.K. Setting
Authors: Cooper D.M. , Bhuskute N. , Hepworth C. , Walsh G.
Published: February 2023

Background:

Knee replacements are an increasingly common procedure in the U.K. National Health Service (NHS). Importantly, the pathway for such procedures represents a prime opportunity to leverage digital technology, modernize and streamline the approach to care, and free up resources.

Methods:

In this 21-patient pilot study, we assessed the impact of implementing a digital day-case pathway for knee replacement surgery at the Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation trust.

Results:

Fourteen (67%) of the 21 eligible patients were treated as day cases, with an average length of stay of 8.8 hours. The pilot data were utilized to model the potential impact of implementing a digital day-case program more widely across the trust. This model showed increased efficiency over the entire episode of care, with reductions in physiotherapy appointments, preoperative visits, hospital days, and face-to-face consultations. Not only would these improvements free up capacity, but they would also result in an estimated saving of £240,540 to the trust while reducing the CO2 footprint of knee replacements by 119,381 kg CO2 emitted. A sensitivity analysis revealed that, even with substantial variation of several key variables within the pathway, a trust-wide digital day-case program would still be a cost-saving measure.

Conclusions:

Overall, the present study supports the growing notion that digital technology can facilitate the transformation of care pathways, resulting in greater efficiency and financial savings for health-care providers while reducing the time patients spend in the hospital.

Level of Evidence:

Therapeutic Level II. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Optimizing the performance of a server-based classification for a large business document flow
Authors: Slavin O. A.
Published: February 2023

The document categorization problem in the case of a large business document flow is considered. Textual and visual embeddings were employed for classification. Textual embeddings were extracted via OCR Tesseract. The Viola and Jones method was applied to generate visual embeddings. This paper describes the performance optimization technology for the implemented classification algorithm. Servers with Intel CPUs were used for the algorithm execution. For single-threaded implementation, high-level and low-level optimizations were performed. High-level optimization was based on the parametrization of the recognition algorithms and the employment of intermediate data. Low-level optimization was carried out via compiler tools allowing for an extended set of SIMD instructions. The implementation of parallelization with several multithreaded applications on multiple servers was also described. The proposed solution was tested using own test data sets of business documents. The proposed method can be applied in modern information systems to analyze the content of a large flow of digital document images.
Registration of dermatoscopic images of skin neoplasms and detection of structural differences
Authors: Smalyuk A. Ф. , Zhukovets A. G. , Trizna M. D.
Published: February 2023

The paper considers the application of an algorithm based on a morphological projector for determining structural differences for comparing dermoscopic images. This will allow to identify changes that have occurred in skin lesions over time, for a more accurate diagnosis of their malignancy. The proposed algorithm makes it possible to detect differences in images even if there is a significant difference in the brightness and color levels of the compared images, and also ignores small insignificant details, such as noise, dermatoscope optics marks, hair, etc. A method for correcting the desynchronization of images using the structural similarity index as a similarity metric, and the sinecosine algorithm as an optimization algorithm is proposed. The proposed algorithms were tested on dermatoscopic images and the possibility of their application was demonstrated.
Designing of High Gain U-Shaped Monopole Antenna using Uniplanar FSS layer for Ultra-Wideband Applications
Authors: DEB PARTHA Kumar , Moyra Tamasi , Bhattacharyya Bidyut Kumar , Devarapalli Ananda Babu
Published: February 2023

In this manuscript, a novel high gain Microstrip Patch Antenna (MPA) is proposed using frequency selective surface (FSS) dedicated to operate at ultra-wideband (UWB) frequency domain between 3.1 to 10.6 GHz. The patch has been modified to a semi-circular shape and a partial ground technique is incorporated that also comprises a truncated semi-circular metallic plate to achieve desired high bandwidth. The FSS layer beneath the antenna has successfully augmented the gain of the antenna prototype by about 5–6 dBi. This FSS layer comprises of a 4×4 array of uniquely designed unit cells that satisfy the UWB specification and each cell size is 12×12 mm2. The integrated design provides an impedance bandwidth (IB) from 3.14 to 12.6 GHz. The proposed model finds application in the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) band, the C and X-band for satellite applications and in Wireless Local Area Network. The antenna is printed on a double-sided FR4 glass epoxy of 1.6mm thickness. A parametric investigation is conducted both for the FSS unit cell and the integrated design to optimize the antenna parameters to be suitable for the UWB frequency range. The optimized antenna size is 26×30 mm2 and the integrated antenna size is 51×51 mm2. The antenna prototype has provided well similarity between simulated and measured results.
Probability analysis and near-optimal control for a stochastic epidemic treatment model with relapse
Authors: Bouggar Driss , Fatini Mohamed EL , Nasri Bouchra R. , Sekkak Idriss
Published: February 2023

Epidemiology is a field for evaluating the sources of illness and clinical effects in communities. Therefore, individuals are viewed globally in order to investigate the dynamics and the control of an infectious disease. However, any governmental spending on a pharmaceutical control policy in times of epidemics can lead to a state budget imbalance. For this matter, we study in this paper stochastic stability and optimization for a treatment strategy, where the infectious disease is characterized by the relapse aspect. We provided a stochastic threshold for extinction and persistence in mean. Then, we established a priori estimates of the optimal control, where we obtained sufficient and necessary conditions for the considered treatment problem of the stochastic epidemic model by applying the maximum condition on the Hamiltonian function and the Ekeland principle. We provide a characterization of stochastic optimal control and sensitivity analysis to discuss its impact on the basic reproduction number with numerical illustrations for the system to carry out our theoretical investigations.
Highly-conserved regulatory activity of the ANR family in the virulence of diarrheagenic bacteria through interaction with Master and Global regulators
Authors: Rodriguez-Valverde Diana , Giron Jorge A. , Nataro James P. , Ruiz-Perez Fernando , Santiago Araceli E , Hu Yang
Published: February 2023

ANR (AraC negative regulators) are a novel class of small regulatory proteins commonly found in enteric pathogens. Aar (AggR-activated regulator), the best-characterized member of the ANR family, regulates the master transcriptional regulator of virulence AggR and the global regulator HNS in enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC) by protein-protein interactions. On the other hand, Rnr (RegA-negative regulator) is an ANR homolog identified in attaching and effacing (AE) pathogens, including C. rodentium and enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), sharing only 25% identity with Aar. We previously found that C. rodentium lacking Rnr exhibits prolonged shedding and increased gut colonization in mice compared to the parental strain. To gain mechanistic insights into this phenomenon, we characterized the regulatory role of Rnr in the virulence of prototype EPEC strain E2348-69 by genetic, biochemical, and human organoid-based approaches. Accordingly, RNA-seq analysis revealed more than 500 genes differentially regulated by Rnr, including the type-3 secretion system (T3SS). The abundance of EspA and EspB in whole cells and bacterial supernatants confirmed the negative regulatory activity of Rnr on T3SS effectors. We found that besides HNS and Ler, twenty-six other transcriptional regulators were also under Rnr control. Most importantly, the deletion of aar in EAEC or rnr in EPEC increases the adherence of these pathogens to human intestinal organoids. In contrast, the overexpression of ANR drastically reduces bacterial adherence and the formation of AE lesions in the intestine. Our study suggests a conserved regulatory mechanism and a central role of ANR in modulating intestinal colonization by these enteropathogens despite the fact that EAEC and EPEC evolved with utterly different virulence programs.
Mechanism Analysis of Zulongding Landslide on Piedmont Slope: a Creeping Landslide Triggered by Rainfall
Authors: Yu Liangchen , Yan Changhong , Guo Shulan , Li Hui , Tan Jinzhong , Liu Gang , Xu Chenghua , Liu Yang
Published: February 2023

Due to increasing extreme heavy rainfall events, landslides have increased significantly on Piedmont slopes in Jiangsu Province, China, in recent years. The Zulongding landslide is a creeping landslide at the northeastern toe of Fangshan Hill, Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province, representing a typical slide on Piedmont slope. In July 2016, tension cracks appeared on roads near Zulongding due to rainfall, posing potential safety risks to the scenic area. Although the road cracks were sealed and repaired in time, the Zulongding area has experienced slow sliding, and the cracks are expanding slowly. On October 25, 2016, Zulongding experienced a large-scale, rapid slide caused by continuous heavy rainfall for 16-day as a result of the 2015–2016 EI Nino event. Field investigations, drilling holes, groundwater level monitoring, surface displacement monitoring, and numerical simulation were carried out to determine the geological features, deformation characteristics, sliding mechanism, and failure mode. An analysis of the monitoring data and the simulation results indicated the main reason for the landslide was a rise in pore pressure in the stratigraphic structure. As a result, the uplift pressure increased due to the confined water, decreasing the strength in the silty clay layer above the gravel layer and causing a slide. The deformation consisted of initial deformation, isokinetic deformation, and accelerated deformation. The seepage deformation and pressure balance theories are used to discuss the failure mode of the landslide. The results of this study contribute to safety evaluations and the prevention of similar landslide geological hazards.
A Fast Methodology for Generating Skeletal FEM with Detailed Human Geometric Features based on CPD and RBF Algorithms
Authors: Yuan Qiuqi , Jiang Binhui , Zhu Xiaoming , Hu Jingzhou , Wang Yulong , Chou Clifford C. , Xu Shiwei
Published: February 2023

Due to the significant effects of the human anatomical characteristics on the injury mechanism of passenger in traffic accidents, it is necessary to develop human body FEM (Finite Element Model) with detailed anatomical characteristics. However, traditional development of a human body FEM is an extremely complicated process. In particular, the meshing of human body is a huge and time-consuming project. In this paper, a new fast methodology based on CPD (Coherent Point Drift) and RBF (Radial Basis Function) was proposed to achieve the rapid developing the FEM of human bone with detailed anatomical characteristics. In this methodology, the mesh morphing technology based the RBF was used to generate FEM mesh in the geometry extracted from the target CT (Computed Tomography) data. In order to further improve the accuracy and speed of mesh morphing, the target geometric feature points required in the mesh morphing process were realized via the rapid and automatic generation based on the point-cloud registration technology of the CPD algorithm. Finally, this new methodology was used to generate a 3-year-old ribcage FEM consisting of a total of 27728 elements with mesh size 3–5 mm based on the THUMS (Total Human Model for Safety) adult model. In the entire process of generating this new ribcage model, it only took about 2.7 seconds. The average error between the new FEM and target geometries was only about 2.7 mm. This indicated that the new FEM well described the detailed anatomical characteristics of target geometry, thus importantly revealing that the mesh quality of the new FEM was basically similar to that of source model.
Adenine model of chronic renal failure in rats to determine whether MCC950, an NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitor, is a renopreventive
Authors: Sabra Mahmoud S. , Hemida Fahmy K. , Allam Essmat A.H.
Published: February 2023

Background: Chronic renal failure (CRF) is defined by a significant decline in renal function that results in decreased salt filtration and inhibition of tubular reabsorption, which ultimately causes volume enlargement. This study evaluated the potential renopreventive effects of the NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitor MCC950 in adenine-induced CRF in rats due to conflicting evidence on the effects of MCC950 on the kidney.
Methods: Since the majority of the kidney tubular abnormalities identified in people with chronic renal disease are comparable to those caused by adding 0.75 percent of adenine powder to a rat's diet each day for four weeks, this method has received broad approval as a model for evaluating kidney damage. Throughout the test, blood pressure was checked weekly and at the beginning. Additionally, oxidative stress factors, urine sample examination, histological modifications, and immunohistochemical adjustments of caspase-3 and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1) levels in renal tissues were carried out.
Results: Results revealed that MCC950, an inhibitor of the NLRP3 inflammasome, had a renopreventive effect, which was demonstrated by a reduction in blood pressure readings and an improvement in urine, serum, and renal tissue indicators that indicate organ damage. This was also demonstrated by the decrease in neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin tubular expression (NGAL).
The NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitor MCC950 was found to significantly alleviate the worsening renal cellular alterations evidenced by increased expression of caspase-3 and IL-1, according to immunohistochemical tests.
Conclusion: The NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitor MCC950 demonstrated renopreventive effects in the CRF rat model, suggesting that it might be used as a treatment strategy to stop the progression of CRF.
Emotional Reactivity and Prosocial Behaviour in Response to Witnessing Social Exclusion in Adolescents with Eating Disorders and Healthy Controls
Authors: Rowlands Katie , Simic Mima , Treasure Janet , Cardi Valentina
Published: February 2023

Background
Prosocial behaviour can promote positive social interactions and it is a key skill in adolescence. People with emotional problems or psychiatric disorders, such as people with eating disorders might have impairments in prosocial behaviour, due to broader documented difficulties in underlying processes (e.g., mentalizing).
Method
The aim of this study was to examine prosocial behaviour in adolescents with eating disorders compared to healthy controls, using a behavioural task. Adolescents with eating disorders (N = 74) and healthy adolescents (N = 65) played a four-player virtual Prosocial Cyberball Game with three pre-programmed avatars. During the task the participant witnessed the exclusion of one of the players, and subsequently had the opportunity to compensate for this by throwing the ball more often to the excluded player. Throughout the game, participants rated the level of negative affect in themselves and in the excluded player.
Results
Both patients and healthy controls made significantly more ball-tosses to the excluded player after witnessing the exclusion, however patients made fewer compared to healthy controls (large effect size). Patients also reported a smaller increase in negative affect after witnessing virtual exclusion (large effect size) and a smaller decrease in negative affect following the compensation round (large effect size). Patients estimated a smaller decrease in negative affect in the excluded player following the compensation round (medium effect size). There were no associations between these outcomes and eating disorder psychopathology in the patient group.
Conclusions
Compared to healthy adolescents, adolescent patients with eating disorders demonstrate less prosocial compensatory behaviour towards a victim of virtual exclusion. In addition, they report flatter negative affect in themselves in response to witnessing and compensating for virtual exclusion, and in the excluded player in response to compensation. If these findings are replicated, interventions to target these difficulties might contribute to improve social functioning in this patient group.
Association between HIV serostatus and premalignant cervical lesions among women attending a cervical cancer screening clinic at a tertiary care facility in southwestern Uganda: a comparative cross-sectional study
Authors: Kirabira Justus , Kayondo Musa , Bawakanya Stephen Mayanja , Nsubuga Edirisa Juniour , Yarine Fajardo , Namuli Alexcer , Namugumya Rita , Natulinda Hilda , Atwine Raymond , Birungi Abraham , Lugobe Henry Mark , Tibaijuka Leevan , Kisombo Dean , Jjuuko Mark , Agaba David Collins , Saturday Pascal , Atupele Subira Mlangwa , Tumusiime Matthew , Migisha Richard , Kajabwangu Rogers
Published: February 2023

Background: Uganda has approximately 1.2 million people aged 15–64 years living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Previous studies have shown a higher prevalence of premalignant cervical lesions among HIV-positive women than among HIV-negative women. Additionally, HIV-infected womenare more likely to have their human papilloma virus (HPV) infection progress to cancer than non-HIV-infected women. We determined the prevalence of premalignant cervical lesions and their association with HIV infection among women attending a cervical cancer screening clinic at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital (MRRH) in southwestern Uganda.
Methods: We conducted a comparative cross-sectional study of 210 women aged 22–65 years living with HIV and 210 women not living with HIV who were systematically enrolled from March 2022 to May 2022. Participants were subjected to a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire to obtain their demographic and clinical data. Additionally, Papanicolaou smears were taken for microscopy to observe premalignant cervical lesions. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to determine theassociation between HIV status and premalignant cervical lesions.
Results: The overall prevalence of premalignant cervical lesions in the study population was 17% (n=72; 95% C.I: 14.1-21.4), with 23% (n=47; 95% C.I: 17.8-29.5) in women living with HIV and 12% (n=25; 95% C.I: 8.2-17.1) in women not living with HIV (p<0.003). The most common premalignant cervical lesions identified were low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL) in both women living with HIV (74.5%; n=35) and women not living with HIV (80%; n=20). HIV infection was significantly associated with premalignant lesions (aOR: 2.37, 95% CI: 1.27–4.42,p=0.007).
Conclusion: Premalignant cervical lesions, particularly LSILs, were more common in HIV-positive women than in HIV-negative women, highlighting the need to strengthen the integration of cervical cancer prevention strategies into HIV care programs.
Presenting a Model to Predict Cracking Rate in Geocomposite-Reinforced Asphalt Overlays Under Different Loading and Temperature Conditions
Authors: Asadi Saeid , Shafabakhsh Gholamali
Published: February 2023

Asphalt pavements are subjected to the superficial and deep deterioration under the traffic and environmental loadings. Annually, the governments spend huge amounts of money to pavement rehabilitation and maintenance. In this regard, the overlay is one of the facile solutions to improve these infrastructures. However, the deteriorated pavement affects the overlay functional performance by propagating the existed cracks upwards to the placed surface layer. This cracking is due to the stress and strain concentration induced by the loading and temperature variations in the cracked area.. Today, using the asphalt overlays reinforced with geosynthetic interlayers is one of the most effective ways to prevent reflective cracking in the overlays. Accordingly, this paper investigates the effects of the temperature, loading frequency, and geocomposite tensile strengths on the cracking rate of overlay. Afterward, the cracking process and propagation rate are analyzed using image processing technique and statistically. According to the prepared prediction models, the temperature had the greatest effect on the reflective cracking rate among the investigated parameters. Also, the obtained coefficients of determination (R²) and Adjusted R² are equal to 0.9936 and 0.9907, respectively, indicating the satisfactory prediction of the model compared to the real observations.
Low amylose starch from discarded jicama tubers (Pachyrhizus erosus (L.) Urb.) and its techno-functional characterization
Authors: Garcia-Rios Berenice A. , Morales-Contreras Blanca E. , Peña-Cháidez Joel E. , Fonseca-Florido Heidi A. , Morales-Castro Juliana , Wicker Louise , Rosas-Flores Walfred
Published: February 2023

Purpose. The conversion of waste such as discarded jicama (DJ) to value added starch, offers possibility of local economic development and sustainability.
Methods. To evaluate the feasibility of reduced food waste, starch from discarded jicama (DJS) and commercial jicama (CJS) were obtained by a conventional method to compare whether the fact that the discarded product is used influences the yield and characteristics of the starch obtained.
Results. Significant differences in extraction yield were obtained, both starches presented a granule size between 1 and 12 µm, a type C diffraction pattern, amylose content around 14%, a gelatinization temperature of 61 °C to DJS and CJS; however, properties such as water solubility index (WSI), swelling power (SP), and pasting did present some differences, WSI and SP are higher for CJS causing a faster gelatinization process than in DJS.
Conclusion. There are differences in the characteristics of DJS and CJS, particularly it is suggested that DJ does have a significant impact on the internal structure of the starch granule, on the amylopectin fraction mainly.