bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
One-Pot Synthesis and Surfactant Removal from MCM-41 Using Microwave Irradiation
Authors: Oliveira Marília R. , Barboza Yasmin T. , Silva Thauane S. L. , Cecilia Juan A. , Rodríguez-Castellón Enrique , Egues Silvia M. , De Conto Juliana F.
Published: January 2024

This research pioneers the application of microwave irradiation as an innovative strategy for one-pot synthesis and surfactant elimination (cetyltrimethylammonium bromide—CTAB) from MCM-41, introducing a rapid and efficient methodology. MCM-41 silica is widely utilized in various applications due to its unique textural and structural properties. Nonetheless, the presence of residual surfactants after synthesis poses a challenge to its effective application. MCM-41 synthesis, conducted in a microwave reactor at 60 °C, provided a result within 0.5 to 1 h. Comprehensive analyses of structural, chemical, morphological, and surface characteristics were undertaken, with a focus on the impact of synthesis time on these properties. Surfactant extraction involved the use of ethanol as a solvent at 120 °C for 6 min within the microwave reactor. The acquired particles, coupled with the properties of textural and structural features, affirmed the efficacy of the synthesis process, resulting in the synthesis of MCM-41 within 36 min. This study presents the first instance of one-pot synthesis and surfactant removal from MCM-41 using a microwave reactor. The proposed method not only addresses the surfactant removal challenge, but also substantially accelerates the synthesis process, thereby enhancing the potential for MCM-41’s application in diverse fields.
Elimination of Pharmaceutical Compounds from Aqueous Solution through Novel Functionalized Pitch-Based Porous Adsorbents: Kinetic, Isotherm, Thermodynamic Studies and Mechanism Analysis
Authors: Yang Qilin , Zhao Hongwei , Peng Qi , Chen Guang , Liu Jiali , Cao Xinxiu , Xiong Shaohui , Li Gen , Liu Qingquan
Published: January 2024

The long-term presence of PPCPs in the aqueous environment poses a potentially significant threat to human life and physical health and the safety of the water environment. In our previous work, we investigated low-cost pitch-based HCP adsorbents with an excellent adsorption capacity and magnetic responsiveness through a simple one-step Friedel–Crafts reaction. In this work, we further investigated the adsorption behavior of the prepared pitch-based adsorbents onto three PPCP molecules (DFS, AMP, and antipyrine) in detail. The maximum adsorption capacity of P-MPHCP for DFS was 444.93 mg g−1. The adsorption equilibrium and kinetic processes were well described through the Langmuir model and the proposed secondary kinetic model. The negative changes in Gibbs free energy and enthalpy reflected that the adsorption of HCPs onto PPCPs was a spontaneous exothermic process. The recoverability results showed that the adsorption of MPHCP and P-MPHCP onto DFS remained above 95% after 10 adsorption–desorption cycles. The present work further demonstrates that these pitch-based adsorbents can be used for multiple applications, which have a very extensive practical application prospect.
Rational Photodeposition of Cobalt Phosphate on Flower-like ZnIn2S4 for Efficient Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution
Authors: Wu Yonghui , Wang Zhipeng , Yan Yuqing , Wei Yu , Wang Jun , Shen Yunsheng , Yang Kai , Weng Bo , Lu Kangqiang
Published: January 2024

The high electrons and holes recombination rate of ZnIn2S4 significantly limits its photocatalytic performance. Herein, a simple in situ photodeposition strategy is adopted to introduce the cocatalyst cobalt phosphate (Co-Pi) on ZnIn2S4, aiming at facilitating the separation of electron–hole by promoting the transfer of photogenerated holes of ZnIn2S4. The study reveals that the composite catalyst has superior photocatalytic performance than blank ZnIn2S4. In particular, ZnIn2S4 loaded with 5% Co-Pi (ZnIn2S4/5%Co-Pi) has the best photocatalytic activity, and the H2 production rate reaches 3593 μmol·g−1·h−1, approximately double that of ZnIn2S4 alone. Subsequent characterization data demonstrate that the introduction of the cocatalyst Co-Pi facilitates the transfer of ZnIn2S4 holes, thus improving the efficiency of photogenerated carrier separation. This investigation focuses on the rational utilization of high-content and rich cocatalysts on earth to design low-cost and efficient composite catalysts to achieve sustainable photocatalytic hydrogen evolution.
Rigid Rod-like Viscoelastic Behaviors of Methyl Cellulose Samples with a Wide Range of Molar Masses Dissolved in Aqueous Solutions
Authors: Nakagawa Daiki , Saiki Erika , Horikawa Yoshiki , Shikata Toshiyuki
Published: January 2024

The viscoelastic behaviors of aqueous solutions of commercially available methyl cellulose (MC) samples with a degree of substitution of 1.8 and a wide range of weight average molar masses (Mw) were investigated over a wide concentration (c) range at some temperatures from −10 to 25 °C. The viscoelastic parameters useful to discuss the structure and dynamics of MC-forming particles in aqueous solutions were precisely determined, such as the zero-shear viscosity (η0), the steady-state compliance (Je), the average relaxation time (τw), and the activation energy (E*) of τw. Because previously obtained scattering and intrinsic viscosity ([η]) data revealed that the MC samples possess a rigid rod-like structure in dilute aqueous solutions over the entire Mw range examined, the viscoelastic data obtained in this study were discussed in detail based on the concept of rigid rod particle suspension rheology. The obtained Je−1 was proportional to the number density of sample molecules (ν = cNAMw−1, where NA means the Avogadro’s constant) over the ν range examined irrespective of Mw. The reduced relaxation time (4NAτw(3νJe [η]ηmMw)−1), where ηm means the medium viscosity, was proportional to (νL3)2, L; the average particle length depending on Mw for each sample was determined in a previous study; and the reduced specific viscosity (ηspNAL3(Mw [η])−1), where ηsp means the specific viscosity, was proportional to (νL3)3 in a range of νL3 < 3 × 102. These findings were typical characteristics of the rigid rod suspension rheology. Therefore, the MC samples behave as entangling rigid rod particles in the νL3 range from rheological points of view. A stepwise increase in E* was clearly observed in a c range higher than the [η]−1 value irrespective of Mw. This observation proposes that contact or entanglement formation between particles formed by MC molecules results in an increase in E*.
Fine-Tuning Intrinsic and Doped Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon Thin-Film Anodes Deposited by PECVD to Enhance Capacity and Stability in Lithium-Ion Batteries
Authors: González Nieves , García Tomás , Morant Carmen , Barrio Rocío
Published: January 2024

Silicon is a promising alternative to graphite as an anode material in lithium-ion batteries, thanks to its high theoretical lithium storage capacity. Despite these high expectations, silicon anodes still face significant challenges, such as premature battery failure caused by huge volume changes during charge–discharge processes. To solve this drawback, using amorphous silicon as a thin film offers several advantages: its amorphous nature allows for better stress mitigation and it can be directly grown on current collectors for material savings and improved Li-ion diffusion. Furthermore, its conductivity is easily increased through doping during its growth. In this work, we focused on a comprehensive study of the influence of both electrical and structural properties of intrinsic and doped hydrogenated amorphous silicon (aSi:H) thin-film anodes on the specific capacity and stability of lithium-ion batteries. This study allows us to establish that hydrogen distribution in the aSi:H material plays a pivotal role in enhancing battery capacity and longevity, possibly masking the significance of the conductivity in the case of doped electrodes. Our findings show that we were able to achieve high initial specific capacities (3070 mAhg-1 at the 10th cycle), which can be retained at values higher than those of graphite for a significant number of cycles (>120 cycles), depending on the structural properties of the aSi:H films. To our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive study of the influence of these properties of thin films with different doping levels and hydrogen distributions on their optimization and use as anodes in lithium-ion batteries.
Consumption Trends and Eating Context of Lentils and Dried Peas in the United States: A Nationally Representative Study
Authors: Sanjeevi Namrata , Monsivais Pablo
Published: January 2024

Background: Incorporation of lentils and dried peas could form the basis of a nutrient-rich diet; yet, they are among the least-consumed legumes in the United States (US). The objective of this study was to examine the prevalence of lentils/dried peas consumption in the US over time and across socio-demographic groups, as well as to examine the eating context of these foods. Methods: Analyses included adults (aged 18 years or older) and children (aged 3–17 years) participating in National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2003–2004 through 2017–2018. Participants consuming lentils/dried peas on one or both of the 24-h dietary recalls were categorized as consumers. Results: Although an increasing time trend in prevalence of consumption was observed over the study period, prevalence of lentils/dried peas consumption was less than 7% in NHANES 2017–2018 in adults and children. Demographic differences were observed, such that a greater proportion of non-Hispanic Asians were classified as consumers. Lentils/dried peas were primarily obtained from grocery stores and supermarkets. Conclusions: Although there are signs of rising acceptance of dried peas and lentils, the low prevalence of lentils/dried peas consumption suggests that understanding barriers to consumption of these foods could further identify opportunities to improve their consumption.
Photo-Aligned Ferroelectric Liquid Crystal Fork Grating-Mediated Fast Switchable Spiral Phase Contrast Imaging
Authors: Guo Qi , Zhong Zidi , Zhao Huijie , Wang Shijie , Yan Kexin
Published: January 2024

Extensive research has been devoted to spiral phase contrast imaging because of its notable capacity to enhance the edges of both phase and amplitude objects. We demonstrate a setup using ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) fork grating (FG) to enable switchable spiral phase contrast imaging within sub-milli-second responses. This system enables the electrical toggling between images featuring edge enhancement and those without it. The specially designed FLC FG generates a vortex beam while in a diffractive state and transmits a Gaussian beam when in a transmissive state. Using a two-step photo-alignment method, the produced FLC FG exhibits exceptional efficiency at approximately 35% and impressively rapid switching at around 307 μs. By introducing this method, we expand the potential applications of spiral phase contrast imaging, particularly in fields such as bio-sensing and photonics.
Polycaprolactone Nanofibers Functionalized by Fibronectin/Gentamicin and Implanted Silver for Enhanced Antibacterial Properties, Cell Adhesion, and Proliferation
Authors: Permyakova Elizaveta S. , Solovieva Anastasiya O. , Sitnikova Natalia , Kiryukhantsev-Korneev Philipp V. , Kutzhanov Magzhan K. , Sheveyko Alexander N. , Ignatov Sergey G. , Slukin Pavel V. , Shtansky Dmitry V. , Manakhov Anton M.
Published: January 2024

Novel nanomaterials used for wound healing should have many beneficial properties, including high biological and antibacterial activity. Immobilization of proteins can stimulate cell migration and viability, and implanted Ag ions provide an antimicrobial effect. However, the ion implantation method, often used to introduce a bactericidal element into the surface, can lead to the degradation of vital proteins. To analyze the surface structure of nanofibers coated with a layer of plasma COOH polymer, fibronectin/gentamicin, and implanted with Ag ions, a new X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) fitting method is used for the first time, allowing for a quantitative assessment of surface biomolecules. The results demonstrated noticeable changes in the composition of fibronectin- and gentamicin-modified nanofibers upon the introduction of Ag ions. Approximately 60% of the surface chemistry has changed, mainly due to an increase in hydrocarbon content and the introduction of up to 0.3 at.% Ag. Despite the significant degradation of fibronectin molecules, the biological activity of Ag-implanted nanofibers remained high, which is explained by the positive effect of Ag ions inducing the generation of reactive oxygen species. The PCL nanofibers with immobilized gentamicin and implanted silver ions exhibited very significant antipathogen activity to a wide range of Gram-positive and Gram-negative strains. Thus, the results of this work not only make a significant contribution to the development of new hybrid fiber materials for wound dressings but also demonstrate the capabilities of a new XPS fitting methodology for quantitative analysis of surface-related proteins and antibiotics.
Ciprofloxacin Uptake from an Aqueous Solution via Adsorption with K2CO3-Activated Biochar Derived from Brewing Industry Bagasse
Authors: Meseguer Víctor Francisco , Ortuño Juan Francisco , Aguilar María Isabel , Lloréns Mercedes , Pérez-Marín Ana Belén , Fuentes Emmanuel
Published: January 2024

Ciprofloxacin (CPX), an antibiotic considered as an emerging contaminant, needs to be removed from aquatic environments. This work investigates the adsorption of CPX on K2CO3-activated biochar (AB). The biochar was obtained via the pyrolysis of barley bagasse from the brewing industry, and then it was activated with 2M of K2CO3. The activated biochar was characterised using FTIR spectroscopy and a pHPZC assay. Batch adsorption tests were performed to study the influence of pH and temperature on CPX sorption and to obtain kinetic and equilibrium data. The adsorption of CPX on AB was favoured by increasing the temperature from 10 °C to 55 °C, demonstrating the endothermic nature of the process. The level of CPX removal after 24 h of contact and at pH 3.5 was 82% of that obtained when equilibrium was reached. The kinetic study showed that the adsorption is well described by the Elovich and the Bangham kinetic models. The adsorption is favourable, and the best fits to the experimental equilibrium data were obtained with the Freundlich, Redlich–Peterson and Sips isotherms. In an acidic solution (pH = 3.5) and at 25 °C, the maximum CPX adsorption capacity of AB was ≈105 mg·g−1, comparable to that reported for other adsorbents.
Decolonising Translated Bibles: The Tragic Erasure of the Vhavenḓa’s Concepts of God through the 1936 and 1998 Tshivenḓa Bible Translations
Authors: Ramantswana Hulisani
Published: January 2024

The Bible translated into South Africa’s indigenous languages has a colonial history. For the Vhavenḓa people, the 1936 and 1998 Bible translations are revered as icons that hold a privileged position. However, this paper argues that these two translations should be seen as colonial language tools that do not serve the culture of the Vhavenḓa people. Instead, they can be viewed as weapons against them. These translations distorted the Tshivenḓa language by imposing distorted and foreign concepts of God, thereby rendering the Vhavenḓa people to have been without knowledge of God.
Development of a Smart Wireless Multisensor Platform for an Optogenetic Brain Implant
Authors: Cunha André B. , Schuelke Christin , Mesri Alireza , Ruud Simen K. , Aizenshtadt Aleksandra , Ferrari Giorgio , Heiskanen Arto , Asif Afia , Keller Stephan S. , Ramos-Moreno Tania , Kalvøy Håvard , Martínez-Serrano Alberto , Krauss Stefan , Emnéus Jenny , Sampietro Marco , Martinsen Ørjan G.
Published: January 2024

Implantable cell replacement therapies promise to completely restore the function of neural structures, possibly changing how we currently perceive the onset of neurodegenerative diseases. One of the major clinical hurdles for the routine implementation of stem cell therapies is poor cell retention and survival, demanding the need to better understand these mechanisms while providing precise and scalable approaches to monitor these cell-based therapies in both pre-clinical and clinical scenarios. This poses significant multidisciplinary challenges regarding planning, defining the methodology and requirements, prototyping and different stages of testing. Aiming toward an optogenetic neural stem cell implant controlled by a smart wireless electronic frontend, we show how an iterative development methodology coupled with a modular design philosophy can mitigate some of these challenges. In this study, we present a miniaturized, wireless-controlled, modular multisensor platform with fully interfaced electronics featuring three different modules: an impedance analyzer, a potentiostat and an optical stimulator. We show the application of the platform for electrical impedance spectroscopy-based cell monitoring, optical stimulation to induce dopamine release from optogenetically modified neurons and a potentiostat for cyclic voltammetry and amperometric detection of dopamine release. The multisensor platform is designed to be used as an opto-electric headstage for future in vivo animal experiments.
Wearable Sensors Assess the Effects of Human–Robot Collaboration in Simulated Pollination
Authors: Yerebakan Mustafa Ozkan , Hu Boyi
Published: January 2024

Pollination for indoor agriculture is hampered by environmental conditions, requiring farmers to pollinate manually. This increases the musculoskeletal illness risk of workers. A potential solution involves Human–Robot Collaboration (HRC) using wearable sensor-based human motion tracking. However, the physical and biomechanical aspects of human interaction with an advanced and intelligent collaborative robot (cobot) during pollination remain unknown. This study explores the impact of HRC on upper body joint angles during pollination tasks and plant height. HRC generally resulted in a significant reduction in joint angles with flexion decreasing by an average of 32.6 degrees (p ≤ 0.001) for both shoulders and 30.5 degrees (p ≤ 0.001) for the elbows. In addition, shoulder rotation decreased by an average of 19.1 (p ≤ 0.001) degrees. However, HRC increased the left elbow supination by 28.3 degrees (p ≤ 0.001). The positive effects of HRC were reversed when the robot was unreliable (i.e., missed its target), but this effect was not applicable for the left elbow. The effect of plant height was limited with higher plant height increasing right shoulder rotation but decreasing right elbow pronation. These findings aim to shed light on both the benefits and challenges of HRC in agriculture, providing valuable insights before deploying cobots in indoor agricultural settings.
IS-CAT: Intensity–Spatial Cross-Attention Transformer for LiDAR-Based Place Recognition
Authors: Joo Hyeong-Jun , Kim Jaeho
Published: January 2024

LiDAR place recognition is a crucial component of autonomous navigation, essential for loop closure in simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) systems. Notably, while camera-based methods struggle in fluctuating environments, such as weather or light, LiDAR demonstrates robustness against such challenges. This study introduces the intensity and spatial cross-attention transformer, which is a novel approach that utilizes LiDAR to generate global descriptors by fusing spatial and intensity data for enhanced place recognition. The proposed model leveraged a cross attention to a concatenation mechanism to process and integrate multi-layered LiDAR projections. Consequently, the previously unexplored synergy between spatial and intensity data was addressed. We demonstrated the performance of IS-CAT through extensive validation on the NCLT dataset. Additionally, we performed indoor evaluations on our Sejong indoor-5F dataset and demonstrated successful application to a 3D LiDAR SLAM system. Our findings highlight descriptors that demonstrate superior performance in various environments. This performance enhancement is evident in both indoor and outdoor settings, underscoring the practical effectiveness and advancements of our approach.
Classification and Recognition Method of Non-Cooperative Objects Based on Deep Learning
Authors: Wang Zhengjia , Han Yi , Zhang Yiwei , Hao Junhua , Zhang Yong
Published: January 2024

Accurately classifying and identifying non-cooperative targets is paramount for modern space missions. This paper proposes an efficient method for classifying and recognizing non-cooperative targets using deep learning, based on the principles of the micro-Doppler effect and laser coherence detection. The theoretical simulations and experimental verification demonstrate that the accuracy of target classification for different targets can reach 100% after just one round of training. Furthermore, after 10 rounds of training, the accuracy of target recognition for different attitude angles can stabilize at 100%.
Electric Transmission and Distribution Network Air Pollution
Authors: De Vito Saverio , Del Giudice Antonio , Di Francia Girolamo
Published: January 2024

There is a consensus within the scientific community regarding the effects on the environment, health, and climate of the use of renewable energy sources, which is characterized by a rate of harmful polluting emissions that is significantly lower than that typical of fossil fuels. On the other hand, this transition towards the use of more sustainable energy sources will also be characterized by an increasingly widespread electrification rate. In this work, we want to discuss whether electricity distribution and transmission networks and their main components are characterized by emissions that are potentially harmful to the environment and human health during their operational life. We will see that the scientific literature on this issue is rather limited, at least until now. However, conditions are reported in which the network directly causes or at least promotes the emissions of polluting substances into the environment. For the most part, the emissions recorded, rather than their environmental or human health impacts, are studied as part of the implementation of techniques for the early determination of faults in the network. It is probable that with the increasing electrification of energy consumption, the problem reported here will become increasingly relevant.
Security at the Edge for Resource-Limited IoT Devices
Authors: Canavese Daniele , Mannella Luca , Regano Leonardo , Basile Cataldo
Published: January 2024

The Internet of Things (IoT) is rapidly growing, with an estimated 14.4 billion active endpoints in 2022 and a forecast of approximately 30 billion connected devices by 2027. This proliferation of IoT devices has come with significant security challenges, including intrinsic security vulnerabilities, limited computing power, and the absence of timely security updates. Attacks leveraging such shortcomings could lead to severe consequences, including data breaches and potential disruptions to critical infrastructures. In response to these challenges, this research paper presents the IoT Proxy, a modular component designed to create a more resilient and secure IoT environment, especially in resource-limited scenarios. The core idea behind the IoT Proxy is to externalize security-related aspects of IoT devices by channeling their traffic through a secure network gateway equipped with different Virtual Network Security Functions (VNSFs). Our solution includes a Virtual Private Network (VPN) terminator and an Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) that uses a machine learning-based technique called oblivious authentication to identify connected devices. The IoT Proxy’s modular, scalable, and externalized security approach creates a more resilient and secure IoT environment, especially for resource-limited IoT devices. The promising experimental results from laboratory testing demonstrate the suitability of IoT Proxy to secure real-world IoT ecosystems.
Detection of Degraded Star Observation Using Singular Values for Improved Attitude Determination
Authors: Kim Kiduck
Published: January 2024

This study introduces an innovative approach aimed at enhancing the accuracy of attitude determination through the computation of star observation quality. The proposed algorithm stems from the inherent invariance of singular values under attitude transformations, leveraging the concept of assessing error magnitude through the deviation of singular values. Quantization becomes imperative to employ this error magnitude as a weighting factor within the attitude determination process. To fulfill this purpose, this study applies p-value hypothesis testing to calculate quantized error levels. Simulation results validate that the calculated weights derived from the proposed algorithm lead to a discernible enhancement in attitude determination performance.
Comparative Sensing and Judgment Control System for Temperature Maintenance for Optimal Treatment in Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy Surgery
Authors: Lee Tae-Hyeon , Yoon Kicheol , Lee Sangyun , Choi Woong Rak , Kim Kwang Gi
Published: January 2024

For tumors wherein cancer cells remain in the tissue after colorectal cancer surgery, a hyperthermic anticancer agent is injected into the abdominal cavity to necrotize the remaining cancer cells with heat using a hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy system. However, during circulation, the processing temperature is out of range and the processing result is deteriorated. This paper proposes a look-up table (LUT) module design method that can stably maintain the processing temperature range during circulation via feedback. If the temperature decreases or increases, the LUT transmits a command signal to the heat exchanger to reduce or increase heat input, thereby maintaining the treatment temperature range. The command signal for increasing and decreasing heat input is Tp and Ta, respectively. The command signal for the treatment temperature range is Ts. If drug temperatures below 41 and above 43 °C are input to the LUT, it sends a Tp or Ta signal to the heat exchanger to increase or decrease the input heat, respectively. If the drug’s temperature is 41–43 °C, the LUT generates a Ts signal and proceeds with the treatment. The proposed system can automatically control drug temperature using temperature feedback to ensure rapid, accurate, and safe treatment.
A Survey of Vehicular VLC Methodologies
Authors: Al Hasnawi Rasha , Marghescu Ion
Published: January 2024

Visible Light Communication (VLC) has recently emerged as an alternative to RF-based wireless communications. VLC for vehicles has demonstrated its potential for Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITSs) to exchange information between vehicles and infrastructure to achieve ITS core goals, such as improving road safety, passenger comfort, and traffic flow. This paper seeks to provide a detailed survey of vehicular VLC systems. This paper presents an overview of current developments in vehicular VLC systems and their benefits and limitations for experienced researchers and newcomers.
Ceramic Stress Sensor Based on Thick Film Piezo-Resistive Ink for Structural Applications
Authors: Bertagnoli Gabriele , Abbasi Gavarti Mohammad , Ferrara Mario
Published: January 2024

This paper presents a ceramic stress sensor with the dimension of a coin, able to measure the compressive force (stress) applied to its two round faces. The sensor is designed and engineered to be embedded inside concrete or masonry structures, like bridges or buildings. It provides good accuracy, robustness, and simplicity of use at potentially low cost for large-scale applications in civil structures. Moreover, it can be calibrated temperature compensated, and it is inherently hermetic, ensuring the protection of sensitive elements from the external environment. It is, therefore, suitable for operating in harsh and dirty environments like civil constructions. The sensor directly measures the internal stress of the structure, exploiting the piezo resistivity of thick film ink based on ruthenium oxide. It is insensitive with respect to the stiffness of the embedding material and the variation of the surrounding material properties like concrete hardening, shrinkage, and creep as it decouples the two components of stress.
Can the Process of Evaluation and Recognition Effectively Promote Water Conservation in Cities? Evidence from China
Authors: Nie Yongyou , Man Yuanhao
Published: January 2024

Water-saving construction is a crucial technique for China to address water resource scarcity and tackle the water-use issues. Can evaluation and recognition result in urban water-saving construction, and can it produce a more effective water-saving effect with the help of smart city construction? Based on the unbalanced panel data of prefecture-level cities in China from 2006 to 2019, this paper empirically discusses the impact of China’s National Water-saving City Selection on urban water conservation by using the multi-time point difference-in-differences method, and on this basis, it includes the consideration of smart city construction, so as to investigate the strengthening role of urban digital management in urban water-saving construction. The findings show the following: (1) the National Water-saving City Selection has significantly improved water conservation in the evaluated cities, and it has contributed to the positive effect via direct and indirect channels. (2) The water-saving effect generated by the policy varies with the total urban water supply or the number of people with a higher education in the city. (3) The implementation of the smart city pilot policy has significantly strengthened the city’s existing water-saving construction, and a further mechanism analysis shows that it not only strengthens the existing direct impact channels but also compensates for past construction shortcomings.
Scaling Behaviour of dN/dy in High-Energy Collisions
Authors: Kasza Gábor , Csörgő Tamás
Published: January 2024

From a recently found family of analytic, finite and accelerating 1+1-dimensional solutions to perfect fluid relativistic hydrodynamics, we derive simple and powerful formulae to describe the rapidity and pseudorapidity density distributions. By introducing a new scaling function, we notice that the rapidity distribution data of the different experiments all collapse into a single curve. This data-collapsing (or -scaling) behaviour in the rapidity distributions suggests that high-energy p+p collisions may be described as collective systems.
Structural and Functional Disparities within the Human Gut Virome in Terms of Genome Topology and Representative Genome Selection
Authors: Veldsman Werner P. , Yang Chao , Zhang Zhenmiao , Huang Yufen , Chowdhury Debajyoti , Zhang Lu
Published: January 2024

Circularity confers protection to viral genomes where linearity falls short, thereby fulfilling the form follows function aphorism. However, a shift away from morphology-based classification toward the molecular and ecological classification of viruses is currently underway within the field of virology. Recent years have seen drastic changes in the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses’ operational definitions of viruses, particularly for the tailed phages that inhabit the human gut. After the abolition of the order Caudovirales, these tailed phages are best defined as members of the class Caudoviricetes. To determine the epistemological value of genome topology in the context of the human gut virome, we designed a set of seven experiments to assay the impact of genome topology and representative viral selection on biological interpretation. Using Oxford Nanopore long reads for viral genome assembly coupled with Illumina short-read polishing, we showed that circular and linear virus genomes differ remarkably in terms of genome quality, GC skew, transfer RNA gene frequency, structural variant frequency, cross-reference functional annotation (COG, KEGG, Pfam, and TIGRfam), state-of-the-art marker-based classification, and phage–host interaction. Furthermore, the disparity profile changes during dereplication. In particular, our phage–host interaction results demonstrated that proportional abundances cannot be meaningfully compared without due regard for genome topology and dereplication threshold, which necessitates the need for standardized reporting. As a best practice guideline, we recommend that comparative studies of the human gut virome always report the ratio of circular to linear viral genomes along with the dereplication threshold so that structural and functional metrics can be placed into context when assessing biologically relevant metagenomic properties such as proportional abundance.
Harnessing Pentameric Scaffold of Cholera Toxin B (CTB) for Design of Subvirion Recombinant Dengue Virus Vaccine
Authors: Sung Jemin , Cheong Yucheol , Kim Young-Seok , Ahn Jina , Sohn Myung Hyun , Byun Sanguine , Seong Baik-Lin
Published: January 2024

Dengue virus is an enveloped virus with an icosahedral assembly of envelope proteins (E). The E proteins are arranged as a head-to-tail homodimer, and domain III (EDIII) is placed at the edge of the dimer, converging to a pentamer interface. For a structure-based approach, cholera toxin B (CTB) was harnessed as a structural scaffold for the five-fold symmetry of EDIII. Pivoted by an RNA-mediated chaperone for the protein folding and assembly, CTB-EDIII of dengue serotype 1 (DV1) was successfully produced as soluble pentamers in an E. coli host with a high yield of about 28 mg/L. Immunization of mice with CTB-DV1EDIII elicited increased levels of neutralizing antibodies against infectious viruses compared to the control group immunized with DV1EDIII without CTB fusion. IgG isotype switching into a balanced Th1/Th2 response was also observed, probably triggered by the intrinsic adjuvant activity of CTB. Confirming the immune-enhancing potential of CTB in stabilizing the pentamer assembly of EDIII, this study introduces a low-cost bacterial production platform designed to augment the soluble production of subunit vaccine candidates, particularly those targeting flaviviruses.
La construction démocratique d'un peuple et la proposition de statut politique de la Communauté du Pays Basque (La légitimité démocratique prétendue et non atteinte du plan Ibarretxe)
Authors: Pérez Calvo Alberto
Published: January 2024

L'article aborde , en premier lieu, la voie démocratique utilisée pour construire les différents concepts juridique qui encadrent la base social de l'Etat lui-même ou des Communautés autonomes. Le résultat a été le peuple espagnol, la nation espagnole, les nationalités et régions concernant certaines Communautés autonomes et «les peuples d'Espagne » par rapport à toutes ces Communautés. Dans tous ces cas l'initiative et la décision ont correspondu toujours, d'une façon directe ou indirecte par l'intermédiaire de représentants, aux «éléments personnels dispersés » qui se sont finalement constitués comme peuple, nation, nationalités, régions et peuple d'une Communauté autonome.

Face à cette pratique démocratique, le plan Ibarretxe, tel qu'il est appelé couramment, en accord avec l'idéologie traditionnelle du nationalisme basque sur ce point, part d'un concept aprioriste et antidémocratique du concept de peuple ou de nation. De cette façon, le peuple de la Communauté forale de Navarre ou les citoyens du Pays Basque français, qui un jour ont décidé de se constituer comme peuple de Navarre ou comme citoyens français, se voient intégrés dans le peuple basque, sans même dire un mot sur ce sujet.
La problemática del derecho de autodeterminación en el contexto de la realidad política y constitucional española
Authors: Ruipérez Alamillo Javier
Published: January 2024

Cet article essaie de placer dans le contexte politique espagnol le problème juridique du droit à l'autodétermination, car c'est celui-ci qui est au cœur de l'initiative étudiée par ce numéro spécial de Civitas Europa. Le droit à l'autodétermination s'identifie avec la souveraineté populaire, i.e., avec la reconnaissance juridique de l'attribution à une communauté du pouvoir de s'organiser du point de vue politique. Une affaire qui concerne directement le droit constitutionnel. Cette affirmation ne nie pas la distinction traditionnelle entre l'aspect interne et international du droit à l'autodétermination, celui-ci n'étant que la projection inter-étatique du pouvoir constituant du peuple. L'action de ce dernier se manifeste dans un pacte social, où l'on certifie la volonté de constituer la communauté politique nouvelle ou bien , plus souvent, de modifier les bases sur lesquelles une communauté déjà existante veut se réorganiser ou, finalement, la dissolution de la communauté politique existante. Depuis 1978, dans le contexte espagnol, le droit à l'autodétermination a été exercé à deux reprises, d'abord avec l'approbation de la Constitution. Cette dernière établissait, à son tour, la répétition du processus aux territoires qui se sont constitués en Communautés Autonomes. De toute façon, le constituant a exclu que l'autodétermination puisse se matérialiser dans la sécession de territoires ou dans le passage à un statut de «libre association ». A cet égard, les interrogations qu'il faut éclaircir sont les suivantes : est-il possible d'introduire cette option par la voie de l'interprétation (mutation constitutionnelle) ou par la voie du changement formel de la Constitution (réforme constitutionnelle) ; enfin le processus d'une autre nature est-il nécessaire.
La indefensión jurisdiccional del poder constituyente
Authors: Ruiz Miguel Carlos
Published: January 2024

La distinction entre pouvoir constituant et pouvoirs constitués est fondamentale dans la théorie de la constitution. Le droit constitutionnel, pourtant, a étudié d'avantage les pouvoirs constitués que le constituant, étant donné que tandis que les premiers sont toujours agissants, le deuxième est normalement latent. Le pouvoir constituant a une nature révolutionnaire, ce qui explique que les moyens habituels de sa propre défense consistent dans l'utilisation de la force. Cependant la Constitution espagnole envisage aussi un moyen juridictionnel pour faire face aux attaques contre les pouvoir constituant. L'auteur de cet article maintient que le «plan Ibarreche » est un acte de nature constituant et que le recours contre cet acte déposé par le gouvernement de la nation a été fondé. Par conséquent il critique l'acte de procédure du Tribunal constitutionnel qui n'a pas admis le recours du gouvernement de la nation. L'argumentation du Tribunal n'est pas seulement contradictoire, mais elle cache le noyau fondamental du débat : le pouvoir constituant. Ce n'est pas pour rien que les fondements juridiques de cet acte de procédure du Tribunal constitutionnel ne se posent à aucun moment la question de savoir si le «plan Ibarreche » a un caractère constituant, ni même si la question a été soulevée par l'Avocat de l'Etat.
Consideraciones de seguridad para el comercio electrónico en dispositivos móviles inteligentes
Authors: Ponce Diego , Cedeño Ritha
Published: January 2024

El comercio electrónico en entornos móviles tiene más de tres décadas de investigación y desarrollo. Sin embargo, los cambios tecnológicos hacia redes de telecomunicaciones de 5G y las plataformas de computación en la nube plantean nuevos retos y oportunidades. Este artículo aborda desde una perspectiva histórica los principios de diseño más relevantes, las vulnerabilidades, riesgos, amenazas y las oportunidades, así también los criterios para la implementación cuidadosa de aplicaciones seguras y robustas, al final del artículo se presenta una propuesta de seguridad en este entorno.
Fabricación del hormigón estructural resiliente (hormigón auto-reparable) con la adición de encapsulado químico
Authors: Cantos Nelson Antonio Cabezas , Morales Luis Wladimir , Valarezo Richard Nixon
Published: January 2024

Uno de los objetivos de la ONU es lograr que las ciudades y los asentamientos humanos sean inclusivos, seguros, resilientes y sostenibles. En este propósito, el diseño de las estructuras debe garantizar que estas puedan resistir lo suficiente para asegurar la protección y la posterior evacuación de sus habitantes, como también reducir el impacto económico que puedan ocasionar. En nuestro país, las ciudades son vulnerables a los desastres naturales como: la acción de sismos frecuentes en estructuras de hormigón que reducen la capacidad resistente y de deformación como consecuencia de la fisuración del material, afectando especialmente a poblaciones urbanas, debido a su elevada concentración de personas, por lo que reforzar la resiliencia urbana mediante la innovación de nuevos materiales es crucial para evitar pérdidas humanas, sociales y económicas. Para lograr este propósito y la reducción de la vulnerabilidad de las estructuras, especialmente las de hormigón, se planteó como objetivo principal crear un hormigón estructural resiliente (hormigón auto-reparable) que permita desarrollar a través del uso de este material: edificaciones y comunidades seguras.  Es por ello, con la ayuda de la ciencia e innovación del hormigón, se fabricó un hormigón capaz de recuperar su resistencia, rigidez y energía de deformación, mediante la inclusión de un encapsulado químico en la matriz de hormigón para auto sellar las fisuras. El método utilizado para generar las microcápsulas es la polimerización y los agentes curadores son: el silicato de sodio y de carbonato de calcio. Además, se estudió la forma en cómo estos agentes curadores reparan las fisuras inducidas a elementos de concreto, mediante ensayos de compresión simple, tracción, flexión y el análisis del módulo de elasticidad dinámico y estático, a fin validar la calidad del hormigón. Finalmente, se puedo evidenciar mediante ensayos de laboratorio y con fotografías realizadas a los microscopios ópticos de alta resolución que el auto - reparado de las fisuras se logra mediante la rotura de la microcápsula y la liberación del agente curador ocasionando el sellado de estas, a más de mejorar las propiedades mecánicas del hormigón, evitando que existan patologías que reduzcan la calidad y la vida útil de este material.
GIẢI PHÁP PHÁT HIỆN TẤN CÔNG DDoS TRONG MẠNG ĐỊNH NGHĨA MỀM
Authors: Ngà Trần Thị , Giang Bùi Thu
Published: January 2024

Mạng định nghĩa mềm (SDN) đang là xu hướng công nghệ mà các ông lớn như Google, Facebook và Amazon ứng dụng và triển khai trong các trung tâm dữ liệu để thực hiện quản lý dữ liệu tập trung và dễ dàng mở rộng mạng. Tuy nhiên, công nghệ này cũng tiềm ẩn nhiều rủi ro và thách thức dẫn đến việc thất thoát dữ liệu và làm gián đoạn khả năng truyền tải cung cấp các dịch vụ cho người dùng. Một trong những thách thức lớn nhất là các cuộc tấn công từ chối dịch vụ phân tán (DDoS) vì đây là những cuộc tấn công có ảnh hưởng nghiêm trọng đến tính sẵn sàng và tính tin cậy của hệ thống. Nhiều nghiên cứu gần đây đã được đưa ra để phát hiện tấn công DDoS, tuy nhiên các phương pháp này đều chỉ tập trung ở lớp điều khiển của SDN. Bài báo này với mục tiêu là phát hiện tấn công DDoS ở lớp dữ liệu của SDN bằng cách sử dụng công cụ hping3 và snort được mô phỏng trên mininet. Kết quả thử nghiệm đã chứng minh các cuộc tấn công DDoS đã được khởi tạo thành công và sau đó được phát hiện bởi snort để cảnh báo tới người quản trị về tình trạng kết nối mạng.
AN EFFICIENT ALGORITHM FOR SORTING A SET OF ELEMENTS WITH PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIPS
Authors: Việt Phạm Văn
Published: January 2024

Một hệ thống trong thế giới thực có thể có một bảng cơ sở dữ liệu gồm các bản ghi có mối quan hệ cha-con. Các bản ghi có thể không được chèn vào bảng theo thứ tự cây gia đình. Bài báo này đề xuất một thuật toán hiệu quả để giải bài toán sắp xếp danh sách các phần tử có quan hệ cha-con tương ứng với tất cả các bản ghi trong bảng cơ sở dữ liệu. Giả sử rằng tất cả các bản ghi được tải vào bộ nhớ dưới dạng danh sách các phần tử. Đầu tiên, thuật toán tạo một danh sách S với phần tử đầu tiên lưu trữ các đại diện của các phần tử gốc và mỗi phần tử khác lưu trữ tập đại diện của các con của một phần tử trong danh sách đầu vào. Danh sách S tạo thành một tập các cây của các phần tử đầu vào. Sau đó, mỗi phần tử đầu vào được thêm vào danh sách được sắp xếp đầu ra bằng cách thực hiện tìm kiếm theo chiều sâu trên mỗi cây. Thuật toán cần thời gian O(nlog(n)) và không gian O(n) để giải bài toán trong đó n là số phần tử. Thuật toán mất khoảng 154 (giây) để sắp xếp 2.441.405 phần tử, sử dụng máy tính xách tay có bộ xử lý Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4510U CPU @ 2,00GHz 2,60 GHz và RAM 8 GB.
RESEARCH ON SOLUTIONS TO DETECT DISEASES ON ROSE LEAVES USING IMAGE PROCESSING TECHNIQUES
Authors: Thảo Nguyễn Thị Thanh , Dung Nguyễn Thị Mỹ
Published: January 2024

Ngày nay, kỹ thuật xử lý ảnh được vận dụng nhiều trong sản xuất nông nghiệp, đặc biệt là trên nông sản. Trong nghiên cứu này đề xuất giải pháp phát hiện bệnh trên lá hoa hồng bằng một giải thuật xử lý ảnh dựa trên đặc trưng của lá. Thuật toán này giúp phát hiện những vết bệnh trên lá của cây hoa hồng qua hình ảnh được thu thập từ vườn cây trồng. Phương pháp thực hiện theo các bước sau: thu thập ảnh mẫu, định dạng kích thước ảnh mẫu, tách vùng ảnh lá ra khỏi nền và sau đó chạy thuật toán SimpleBlobDector để phát hiện, khoanh vùng những ứng viên có khả năng là đốm bệnh. Thực nghiệm trên tập dữ liệu thu thập từ 500 hình ảnh cho thấy mô hình đạt độ chính xác 93,30%. Nghiên cứu này nhằm đưa ra một hướng đi mới trong việc phát hiện bệnh trên lá hoa hồng một cách tự động. Các ảnh nguồn và ảnh thu thập đã được chúng tôi thực hiện kiểm chứng với phương pháp đưa ra. Kết quả thu được chứng tỏ tính khả thi của phương pháp đề xuất.
TỰ ĐỘNG PHÂN LOẠI TÍN HIỆU ECG SỬ DỤNG MÔ HÌNH HỌC SÂU
Authors: Mạnh Hoàng Văn , Nam Đỗ , Thắng Phạm Mạnh
Published: January 2024

Phát hiện sớm các chứng bệnh liên quan tới tim mạch thông qua tín hiệu ECG đã và đang đóng một vai trò quan trọng trong quá trình điều trị cho người bệnh. Việc ứng dụng trí tuệ nhân tạo vào phát triển một phương pháp tự động phân loại tín hiệu ECG có độ chính xác và tin cậy cao giúp giảm thiểu thời gian chẩn đoán là yêu cầu tất yếu. Nghiên cứu này đề xuất một mô hình học sâu kết hợp giữa mạng tích chập dày đặc (DenseNet) với mạng bộ nhớ dài-ngắn song song (BiLSTM) có số lượng tham số nhỏ vào phân loại tín hiệu ECG. Mô hình đề xuất được kiểm thử trên cơ sở dữ liệu mở bao gồm 827 bản ghi ECG. Mặc dù nghiên cứu chỉ sử dụng số lượng nhỏ dữ liệu cho quá trình huấn luyện nhưng mô hình đề xuất vẫn cho kết quả tốt cùng điểm số F1 tương ứng với các loại bệnh block nhánh phải, block nhánh trái và hội chứng nhịp chậm xoang lần lượt là 0,831; 0,846 và 0,882. Kết quả đạt được có thể làm cơ sở có các nghiên cứu tiếp theo ứng dụng trên các thiết bị có nguồn tài nguyên hạn chế.
USING CONVOLUTIONAL NEURAL NETWORK (CNN) FOR COVID-19 CHEST X-RAY DIAGNOSIS
Authors: Như Lê Thuý Phương , Huy Nguyễn Thanh
Published: January 2024

Trí tuệ nhân tạo AI được dùng trong phân loại dữ liệu ảnh X-quang ngực nhằm cải thiện độ chính xác trong việc chẩn đoán và phát hiện kịp thời bệnh viêm phổi do COVID-19. Mục đích của nghiên cứu này là phát triển thị giác máy tính dựa trên các chương trình phát hiện các đặc điểm X-quang ngực giúp các bác sĩ đưa ra các biện pháp điều trị phù hợp để giảm tình trạng tử vong. Theo thời gian, mạng neural tích chập hoạt động tốt hơn các thuật toán phân loại hình ảnh khác. Do đó, ba kiến trúc mạng neural gồm VGG16, ResNet50 và ResNet101 được dùng để hỗ trợ chẩn đoán viêm phổi do COVID-19 dựa vào X-quang ngực. Trong số đó, hiệu suất phân loại tốt nhất là ResNet101 với độ chính xác Accuracy và tỷ lệ lỗi Loss thu được lần lượt là 95,42% và 0,1492. Ngoài ra, ResNet101 thể hiện tốt trong việc phân loại các trường hợp COVID-19 trong tập kiểm tra với Precision, Recall và F1-score lần lượt là 92,2%, 94,0% và 93,0%. Chính vì vậy, mô hình ResNet101 có thể hỗ trợ thực hành lâm sàng thông qua việc xây dựng trang web giúp các chuyên gia y tế tiết kiệm thời gian và giảm thiểu các lỗi thủ công trong quá trình chẩn đoán.