bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Association of Bovine Leukemia Virus-Induced Lymphoma with BoLA-DRB3 Polymorphisms at DNA, Amino Acid, and Binding Pocket Property Levels
Authors: Lo Chieh-Wen , Takeshima Shin-nosuke , Okada Kosuke , Saitou Etsuko , Fujita Tatsuo , Matsumoto Yasunobu , Wada Satoshi , Inoko Hidetoshi , Aida Yoko
Published: April 2021

Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) causes enzootic bovine leucosis, a malignant B-cell lymphoma in cattle. The DNA sequence polymorphisms of bovine leukocyte antigen (BoLA)-DRB3 have exhibited a correlation with BLV-induced lymphoma in Holstein cows. However, the association may vary between different cattle breeds. Furthermore, little is known about the relationship between BLV-induced lymphoma and DRB3 at the amino acid and structural diversity levels. Here, we comprehensively analyzed the correlation between BLV-induced lymphoma and DRB3 at DNA, amino acid, and binding pocket property levels, using 106 BLV-infected asymptomatic and 227 BLV-induced lymphoma Japanese black cattle samples. DRB3*011:01 was identified as a resistance allele, whereas DRB3*005:02 and DRB3*016:01 were susceptibility alleles. Amino acid association studies showed that positions 9, 11, 13, 26, 30, 47, 57, 70, 71, 74, 78, and 86 were associated with lymphoma susceptibility. Structure and electrostatic charge modeling further indicated that binding pocket 9 of resistance DRB3 was positively charged. In contrast, alleles susceptible to lymphoma were neutrally charged. Altogether, this is the first association study of BoLA-DRB3 polymorphisms with BLV-induced lymphoma in Japanese black cattle. In addition, our results further contribute to understanding the mechanisms regarding how BoLA-DRB3 polymorphisms mediate susceptibility to BLV-induced lymphoma.
Host-Directed FDA-Approved Drugs with Antiviral Activity against SARS-CoV-2 Identified by Hierarchical In Silico/In Vitro Screening Methods
Authors: Ginex Tiziana , Garaigorta Urtzi , Ramírez David , Castro Victoria , Nozal Vanesa , Maestro Inés , García-Cárceles Javier , Campillo Nuria E. , Martinez Ana , Gastaminza Pablo , Gil Carmen
Published: April 2021

The unprecedent situation generated by the COVID-19 global emergency has prompted us to actively work to fight against this pandemic by searching for repurposable agents among FDA approved drugs to shed light into immediate opportunities for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. In the attempt to proceed toward a proper rationalization of the search for new antivirals among approved drugs, we carried out a hierarchical in silico/in vitro protocol which successfully combines virtual and biological screening to speed up the identification of host-directed therapies against COVID-19 in an effective way. To this end a multi-target virtual screening approach focused on host-based targets related to viral entry, followed by the experimental evaluation of the antiviral activity of selected compounds, has been carried out. As a result, five different potentially repurposable drugs interfering with viral entry—cepharantine, clofazimine, metergoline, imatinib and efloxate—have been identified.
Developing pH-Modulated Spray Dried Amorphous Solid Dispersion of Candesartan Cilexetil with Enhanced In Vitro and In Vivo Performance
Authors: Poudel Surendra , Kim Dong Wuk
Published: April 2021

Candesartan cilexetil (CC), a prodrug and highly effective antihypertensive agent, is a poorly soluble (BCS Class II) drug with limited bioavailability. Here, we attempted to improve CC’s bioavailability by formulating several CC-loaded amorphous solid dispersions with a hydrophilic carrier (PVPK30) and pH modifier (sodium carbonate) using the spray drying technique. Solubility, in vitro dissolution, and moisture content tests were used for screening the optimized formulation. We identified an optimized formulation of CC/PVPK30/SC, which at the ratio of 1:0.5:1 (w/w/w) exhibited a 30,000-fold increase in solubility and a more than 9-fold enhancement in dissolution compared to pure CC. Solid-state characterization revealed that in pH-modulated CC amorphous solid dispersion (CCSDpM), CC’s crystallinity was altered to an amorphous state with the absence of undesirable interactions. Stability studies also showed that the optimized formulation was stable with good drug content and drug release under accelerated conditions of up to 4 weeks and real-time stability conditions of up to 12 weeks. Furthermore, pharmacokinetic parameters, such as AUC and Cmax of candesartan, had a 4.45-fold and 7.42-fold improvement, respectively, in CCSDpM-treated rats compared to those in the CC-treated rats. Thus, these results suggest that CCSDpM is highly effective for increasing oral absorption. The application of these techniques can be a viable strategy to improve a drug’s bioavailability.
Performance Analysis of Hybrid Radio Frequency and Free Space Optical Communication Networks with Cooperative Spectrum Sharing
Authors: Qin Dong , Wang Yuhao , Zhou Tianqing
Published: April 2021

This paper investigates the impact of cooperative spectrum sharing policy on the performance of hybrid radio frequency and free space optical wireless communication networks, where primary users and secondary users develop a band of the same spectrum resource. The radio frequency links obey Nakagami-m distribution with arbitrary fading parameter m, while the free space optical link follows gamma-gamma distributed atmospheric turbulence with nonzero pointing error. Because the secondary users access the spectrum band without payment, their behavior needs to be restricted. Specifically, the power of the secondary users is dominated by the tolerable threshold of the primary users. Considering both heterodyne and intensity modulation/direct detection strategies in optical receiver, the performance of optical relaying networks is completely different from that of traditional networks. With the help of bivariable Fox’s H function, new expressions for cumulative distribution function of equivalent signal to noise ratio at destination, probability density function, outage probability, ergodic capacity and symbol error probability are built in closed forms.
Response of Wheat Storage Proteins and Breadmaking Quality to Dimethylpyrazole-Based Nitrification Inhibitors under Different Nitrogen Fertilization Splitting Strategies
Authors: Huérfano Ximena , Estavillo José-María , Duñabeitia Miren K. , González-Moro María-Begoña , González-Murua Carmen , Fuertes-Mendizábal Teresa
Published: April 2021

Improving fertilizer nitrogen (N) use efficiency is essential to increase crop productivity and avoid environmental damage. This study was conducted during four crop cycles of winter wheat under humid Mediterranean conditions (Araba, northern Spain). The effects of N-fertilization splitting and the application of the nitrification inhibitors (NIs) 3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP) and 2-(3,4-dimethyl-1H-pyrazol-1-yl) succinic acid isomeric mixture (DMPSA) as strategies to improve grain quality were examined. The hypothesis of this study was to test if the partial ammonium nutrition and the reduction of fertilizer losses presumably induced by the application of NIs can modify the grain gliadin and glutenin protein contents and the breadmaking quality (dough rheological properties). Among both NIs assayed, only DMPP showed a slight effect of decreasing the omega gliadin fraction, following splitting either two or three times, although this effect was dependent on the year and was not reflected in terms of dough extensibility. The slight decreases observed in grain quality in terms of dough strength and glutenin content induced by DMPP suggest that DMPSA is more promising in terms of maintaining grain quality. Nonetheless, these poor effects exerted by NI application on grain quality parameters did not lead to changes in the quality parameters defining the flour aptitudes for breadmaking.
Functionalization of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes with End-Capped Polystyrene via a Single-Step Diels–Alder Cycloaddition
Authors: Stathouraki Maria-Malvina , Pantazidis Christos , Mygiakis Emmanouil , Avgeropoulos Apostolos , Sakellariou Georgios
Published: April 2021

A facile, single-step, [4+2] Diels–Alder cycloaddition reaction for the surface functionalization of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) with end-capped polystyrene chains is presented. The thermal cycloaddition reaction took place at high temperature (~230 °C) without any catalyst between the sp2 network of carbon nanotubes, which acted as dienophile, and the diphenylethylene cyclobutene (DPE-CB) terminal group of the polystyrene chain. Anionic polymerization was employed for the synthesis of the polystyrene macromolecule, and successful and quantitative end-capping reaction with the DPE-CB molecule was confirmed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectroscopy. Thermogravimetric analysis revealed the wt % of the grafted macromolecule on the CNT surface as well as the grafting density of the polymer chains on the SWNTs (0.027 chains nm−2). Direct evidence for the surface functionalization and the presence of thin polystyrene film was obtained by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and by atomic force microscopy (AFM).
Recent Advances in Fluidized Bed Hydrodynamics and Transport Phenomena—Progress and Understanding
Authors: Di Renzo Alberto , Scala Fabrizio , Heinrich Stefan
Published: April 2021

Fluidization technology has found widespread applications for a variety of chemical and physical transformations since its introduction in the first half of the 1900s [...]
Moderating Effects on Residents’ Willingness in Waste Sorting to Improve Waste Handling in Dammam City, Saudi Arabia
Authors: Labib Ossama , Manaf Latifah , Sharaai Amir Hamzah , Zaid Siti Sarah Mohamad
Published: April 2021

While the total amount of municipal solid waste (MSW) in Dammam city was about 13 million tons in 2013, it is expected to reach about 18.4 million tons in 2025. Although the main problem in Dammam city is an increase in solid waste production without any formal treatment except landfilling, the lack of waste segregation greatly affects the residents’ handling practices of solid waste due to incorrect disposing practices. The objective of this study explored the possibility of Dammam residents’ participation in sorting and recycling to improve MSW handling and to measure the influence of psychological factors which affecting residents’ willingness to participate in waste handling regarding socioeconomic levels and moderating effects. This study also examined various respondents’ perspectives on sorting and recycling sustainable waste and the handling of waste generation. This study covered most Dammam communities, with a gender distribution of 56% males and 44% females and the monthly income ranging from SR700 to SR12,000. The descriptive analysis showed that of the 450 participants, 170 (37.8%) were in the middle-income levels, 199 (44.2%) were in the high-income levels and 81 (18%) were in the low-income levels. The moderating effect of income was observed between attitude and willingness to sort and recycle waste in the low-income levels and high-income levels groups. Additionally, an association was found between market incentives and willingness to sort and recycle waste in the low-income levels and high-income levels groups. The gender status of the participants had a moderating effect on the relationship between market incentives and willingness to sort and recycle waste in males and females. Additionally, the moderating effect of social influence on households’ willingness to sort and recycle waste was moderated by gender in males and females.
The Outlines of a Possible Pension System Funded with Human Capital
Authors: Banyár József
Published: April 2021

The broadly used pay-as-you-go (PAYG) pension system is intrinsically wrong. The essence of the problem is that the PAYG system distributes the yield of raising children, i.e., of human capital investment (which is essentially the pension contribution), in such a way that it disregards the extent to which individuals have contributed to this, and even whether it has occurred at all. This error can be corrected if we take the pension contribution to be the yield on an investment of human capital, and as such use this to pay back the costs and expenses of the raising of the contribution payer—overall to those who paid these costs and expenses at the time. Accordingly, the central question of my study is whether it is possible to construct a consistent pension system based on the above foundations, and how my ideas may be inserted into the Diamond–Samuelson model. The method of the study was logical analysis and the construction of a theoretical mathematical model. The results of the study show that it is possible to construct a public pension system that operates according to a different logic than today’s system, a system which is free from the effects of demographic fluctuations, which does not motivate the refusal to have children, and which will remain self-sufficient under all circumstances. The study achieves this by presenting a possible pension system of this kind in detail. Via the suitable modification of the Diamond–Samuelson model, I have succeeded in showing that the pension system I am proposing increases the willingness to have children up to the social optimum, in contrast to the fully (but traditionally) funded and PAYG systems. This system currently only exists in theory and may be regarded as a major theoretical innovation, which naturally has certain (although not particularly extensive) antecedents. Its introduction could enable the resolution of the contradictions of existing pension systems and could also provide a solution to the as yet unsolved problem of the increasingly expensive regeneration of human capital, and as such, its potential practical implications are immeasurable.
Matrix-Tilted Archimedean Copulas
Authors: Hofert Marius , Ziegel Johanna F.
Published: April 2021

The new class of matrix-tilted Archimedean copulas is introduced. It combines properties of Archimedean and elliptical copulas by introducing a tilting matrix in the stochastic representation of Archimedean copulas, similar to the Cholesky factor for elliptical copulas. Basic properties of this copula construction are discussed and a further extension outlined.
An 18.8–33.9 GHz, 2.26 mW Current-Reuse Injection-Locked Frequency Divider for Radar Sensor Applications
Authors: Oh Kwang-Il , Ko Goo-Han , Kim Jeong-Geun , Baek Donghyun
Published: April 2021

An 18.8–33.9 GHz, 2.26 mW current-reuse (CR) injection-locked frequency divider (ILFD) for radar sensor applications is presented in this paper. A fourth-order resonator is designed using a transformer with a distributed inductor for wideband operating of the ILFD. The CR core is employed to reduce the power consumption compared to conventional cross-coupled pair ILFDs. The targeted input center frequency is 24 GHz for radar application. The self-oscillated frequency of the proposed CR-ILFD is 14.08 GHz. The input frequency locking range is from 18.8 to 33.8 GHz (57%) at an injection power of 0 dBm without a capacitor bank or varactors. The proposed CR-ILFD consumes 2.26 mW of power from a 1 V supply voltage. The entire die size is 0.75 mm × 0.45 mm. This CR-ILFD is implemented in a 65 nm complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology.
Find Outliers of Image Edge Consistency by Weighted Local Linear Regression with Equality Constraints
Authors: Zhu Mingzhu , Hu Yaoqing , Yu Junzhi , He Bingwei , Liu Jiantao
Published: April 2021

In this paper, we propose a general method to detect outliers from contaminated estimates of various image estimation applications. The method does not require any prior knowledge about the purpose, theory or hardware of the application but simply relies on the law of edge consistency between sources and estimates. The method is termed as ALRe (anchored linear residual) because it is based on the residual of weighted local linear regression with an equality constraint exerted on the measured pixel. Given a pair of source and contaminated estimate, ALRe offers per-pixel outlier likelihoods, which can be used to compose the data weights of post-refinement algorithms, improving the quality of refined estimate. ALRe has the features of asymmetry, no false positive and linear complexity. Its effectiveness is verified on four applications, four post-refinement algorithms and three datasets. It demonstrates that, with the help of ALRe, refined estimates are better in the aspects of both quality and edge consistency. The results are even comparable to model-based and hardware-based methods. Accuracy comparison on synthetic images shows that ALRe could detect outliers reliably. It is as effective as the mainstream weighted median filter at spike detection and is significantly better at bad region detection.
Low Field Optimization of a Non-Contacting High-Sensitivity GMR-Based DC/AC Current Sensor
Authors: Mușuroi Cristian , Oproiu Mihai , Volmer Marius , Neamtu Jenica , Avram Marioara , Helerea Elena
Published: April 2021

Many applications require galvanic isolation between the circuit where the current is flowing and the measurement device. While for AC, the current transformer is the method of choice, in DC and, especially for low currents, other sensing methods must be used. This paper aims to provide a practical method of improving the sensitivity and linearity of a giant magnetoresistance (GMR)-based current sensor by adapting a set of design rules and methods easy to be implemented. Our approach utilizes a multi-trace current trace and a double differential GMR based detection system. This essentially constitutes a planar coil which would effectively increase the usable magnetic field detected by the GMR sensor. An analytical model is developed for calculating the magnetic field generated by the current in the GMR sensing area which showed a significant increase in sensitivity up to 13 times compared with a single biased sensor. The experimental setup can measure both DC and AC currents between 2–300 mA, with a sensitivity between 15.62 to 23.19 mV/mA, for biasing fields between 4 to 8 Oe with a detection limit of 100 μA in DC and 100 to 300 μA in AC from 10 Hz to 50 kHz. Because of the double differential setup, the detection system has a high immunity to external magnetic fields and a temperature drift of the offset of about −2.59 × 10−4 A/°C. Finally, this setup was adapted for detection of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) which can be used to label biomolecules in lab-on-a-chip applications and preliminary results are reported.
Citizenship Educational Policy: A Case of Russophone Minority in Estonia
Authors: Kunitsõn Nikolai , Kalev Leif
Published: April 2021

In the contemporary era, societies are divided, and political polarization is increasing. One of the most powerful instruments the government can use is general standard education, specifically citizenship education. We will look at the case of Estonia, because Estonia’s main political cleavage is the ethnic cleavage between the Estonian and the Russophone community. Our main research question is as follows: How would it be possible to use democratic citizenship education to decrease in the future the socio-economic inequality between different communities in Estonia? We will outline the context of ethnic socio-economic inequality in Estonia and show how these differences have been at least partially influenced by the current education system in Estonia and how citizenship education can be used to reduce these inequalities in the future. We will conduct an empirical analysis of the curriculum, and this will be followed by semi-structured qualitative interviews. In the discussion, we will make suggestions to the current Estonian citizenship education policy and offer various insights into tackling this issue.
Reframing a Novel Decentralized Knowledge Management Concept as a Desirable Vision: As We May Realize the Memex
Authors: Schmitt Ulrich
Published: April 2021

Proposing a major (though envisaged synergetic) shift in the knowledge management (KM) paradigm needs to convince a skeptical audience. This article attempts such a feat and motivates its conceptual considerations by fusing a wide scope of theoretical KM-related foundations in response to current KM unsustainabilities and emerging enabling technologies. The envisioned workflows, infrastructure, affordances, and impact resulting from the progressing design science research and prototyping efforts are consolidated and reframed, guided by a five-step visioneering process and twelve triple-criteria-clusters combining innovative, technological, and vision-related qualities. Inspired by Bush’s “Memex”, a desirable vision never realized since its suggestion three quarters of a century ago, the novel KM system (KMS) pursues the scenario of a mutually beneficial co-evolution between individual and institutional KM activities. This article follows up on the unsatisfactory and unsustainable state of current KM affairs suffering from accelerating information abundance, invisible work, structural interdisciplinary holes, lacking personal tools, and widening opportunity divides. By portraying a potentially transformative and game-changing technology, the crafting and drafting of a desirable, sustainable, and viable KMS vision assures transparency and can be more easily shared with a critical mass of stakeholders as a prerequisite for creating the respective future KM reality. The drafting of the “Desirable Sustainability Vision” is envisaged to assist a currently accepted KMS start-up project and investment.
Environmental Education: Ecological Wisdom of Indigenous Peoples in Western Siberia
Authors: Zakharova Olga V. , Suvorova Lyudmila G. , Bogdanova Mariya V. , Zakharov Anton Viktorovich , Permyakov Anton , Malykh Irina Yuryevna
Published: April 2021

The goal of environmental education is to form a respectful attitude towards nature in the interests of sustainable development. This paper describes the environmental education program at an ethnic camp, which enables visitors to become familiar with the ecological wisdom of the indigenous peoples of Western Siberia, Russia. This program illustrates how indigenous communities can participate in the global agenda as actors suggesting their responses to global environmental challenges. This paper aims to assess the content, form, and effectiveness of the environmental education program at the ethnic camp. The content and form were assessed in compliance with the elements of modern environmental education. To measure the effectiveness of the education program, the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) was used to study the students’ intentions to engage in sustainable behavior after visiting the ethnic camp. The research participants were 210 university students. This program is rich in content and form, including traditional activities and the ecological wisdom of the indigenous peoples. However, the findings demonstrated that the program had little effect on their sustainable environmental behavior. No significant differences were found between the results of the experimental and control groups. The study suggests ways to improve the education program.
Evaluating Cultural Impact in Discursive Space through Digital Footprints
Authors: López Baeza Jesús , Bley Jens , Hartkopf Kay , Niggemann Martin , Arias James , Wiedenhöfer Anais
Published: April 2021

The research presented in this paper describes an evaluation of the impact of spatial interventions in public spaces, measured by social media data. This contribution aims at observing the way a spatial intervention in an urban location can affect what people talk about on social media. The test site for our research is Domplatz in the center of Hamburg, Germany. In recent years, several actions have taken place there, intending to attract social activity and spotlight the square as a landmark of cultural discourse in the city of Hamburg. To evaluate the impact of this strategy, textual data from the social networks Twitter and Instagram (i.e., tweets and image captions) are collected and analyzed using Natural Language Processing intelligence. These analyses identify and track the cultural topic or “people talking about culture” in the city of Hamburg. We observe the evolution of the cultural topic, and its potential correspondence in levels of activity, with certain intervention actions carried out in Domplatz. Two analytic methods of topic clustering and tracking are tested. The results show a successful topic identification and tracking with both methods, the second one being more accurate. This means that it is possible to isolate and observe the evolution of the city’s cultural discourse using NLP. However, it is shown that the effects of spatial interventions in our small test square have a limited local scale, rather than a city-wide relevance.
Modifying Tradition: Understanding Organizational Change in Chinese Elite Sport Training at the Grassroots Level
Authors: Ma Yang , Kurscheidt Markus
Published: April 2021

This research examines the organizational change in Chinese elite sport training at the grassroots level, which is perceived as foundational to and crucial for the development of sustainable competitive advantage at the Olympics. Predicted on an in-depth single case study design linked to qualitative research, this study pursued a “thick description” of the process of change in Shanghai elite sport training by identifying the impetus for change and factors moderating the change process. All qualitative data were sourced from semi-structured interviews and official and semi-official documents. Participants included current sport leaders; officials/administrators; senior, including head and non-head, coaches; and renowned Chinese social science scholars who either specialize in or are familiar with the elite sport training scene in general and the landscape at the grassroots level. The key findings, on the basis of organizational change theory, were that the internal and external political pressures are strongly linked to the growing concern about athlete performance management, the alignment of elite sport training with the sport service industry, and limited financial resources; the functional pressures emerge from the broadening of the talent pool of money-consuming sports and newly added Olympic sports; and other fields’ successful practices, the unlimited registration rule, and a virtuous cycle of training contribute to organizational change.
Sustainable Stories: Managing Climate Change with Literature
Authors: Mackenthun Gesa
Published: April 2021

Literary and cultural texts are essential in shaping emotional and intellectual dispositions toward the human potential for a sustainable transformation of society. Due to its appeal to the human imagination and human empathy, literature can enable readers for sophisticated understandings of social and ecological justice. An overabundance of catastrophic near future scenarios largely prevents imagining the necessary transition toward a socially responsible and ecologically mindful future as a non-violent and non-disastrous process. The paper argues that transition stories that narrate the rebuilding of the world in the midst of crisis are much better instruments in bringing about a human “mindshift” (Göpel) than disaster stories. Transition stories, among them the Parable novels by Octavia Butler and Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Ministry for the Future (2020), offer feasible ideas about how to orchestrate economic and social change. The analysis of recent American, Canadian, British, and German near future novels—both adult and young adult fictions—sheds light on those aspects best suited for effecting behavioral change in recipients’ minds: exemplary ecologically sustainable characters and actions, companion quests, cooperative communities, sources of epistemological innovation and spiritual resilience, and an ethics and aesthetics of repair.
Urban Creative Sustainability: The Case of Lublin
Authors: Betlej Alina , Kačerauskas Tomas
Published: April 2021

The proposed research aims to investigate the concept of creative urban sustainability. We asked, what are the factors conditioning creativity in spaces where cultures meet in cities and how do they stimulate urban sustainable development. The empirical material analysed are the results of interviews conducted with cultural managers. We introduce philosophical and sociological approaches based mainly on criticism of writing and the analytical and synthetic method. In the framework of the creative city we illustrate Lublin’s model of spatial innovations, in which culture and creativity have convergence with economic development. We conclude with a conceptual discussion of the creative urban sustainability problems. In particular, we reveal how these issues could help in shaping a theoretic consensus about the function of spaces planning in sustainable development strategies emphasising the importance of creativity as a social resource and also as an agent of social and economic change.
Combined Citric Acid and Glutathione Augments Lead (Pb) Stress Tolerance and Phytoremediation of Castorbean through Antioxidant Machinery and Pb Uptake
Authors: Zeng Fanrong , Mallhi Zahid Imran , Khan Naeem , Rizwan Muhammad , Ali Shafaqat , Ahmad Awais , Hussain Afzal , Alsahli Abdulaziz Abdullah , Alyemeni Mohammed Nasser
Published: April 2021

Lead (Pb) is one of the most toxic elements on earth. The main origins of Pb pollution are automobiles, paint and electroplating industries. Pb-induced stress has very toxic effects on plant growth and biomass. The concentration of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in plant cells significantly increases under Pb stress, which interrupts the biochemical cycles in cells and leads to cell death. Therefore, it is essential to clean up the Pb-polluted soils. Among all techniques that are used to clean soil that is metal-contaminated, the best technique is phytoremediation. The present study intends to determine the role of citric acid (CA) and glutathione (GSH) in the phytoremediation of Pb by using castor bean plants. Plant biomass was significantly reduced due to Pb stress. Lead toxicity was also harmful to the photosynthetic pigments and antioxidant enzymes activities. In reverse, the content of malondialdehyde (MDA), H2O2 concentration and electrolyte leakage (EL) were increased under Pb stress. The combined application of GSH and CA enhanced photosynthetic pigments, antioxidant enzyme activities and plant biomass and minimized MDA, H2O2 and EL under Pb stress. The amount of Pb in roots and leaves remarkably increased by the joint application of CA and GSH. The combined application of CA and GSH (5 mM + 25 mM, respectively) was proven to be beneficial compared to the control. From the present results, we can conclude that the combined application of CA and GSH promoted the phytoremediation of Pb and helped the host plant to combat Pb toxicity.
A New Insight on Physical Phenomenology: A Review
Authors: Bellucci Stefano , Cardone Fabio , Pistella Fabio
Published: April 2021

After a brief digression on the current landscape of theoretical physics and on some open questions pertaining to coherence with experimental results, still to be settled, it is shown that the properties of the deformed Minkowski space lead to a plurality of potential physical phenomena that should occur, provided that the resulting formalisms can be considered as useful models for the description of some aspects of physical reality. A list is given of available experimental evidence not easy to be interpreted, at present, by means of the more established models, such as the standard model with its variants aimed at overcoming its descriptive limits; this evidence could be useful to verify the predictions stemming from the properties of the deformed Minkowski space. The list includes anomalies in the double-slit-like experiments, nuclear metamorphosis, torsional antennas, as well as the physical effect of the “geometric vacuum” (as defined in analogy with quantum vacuum), in the absence of external electromagnetic field, when crossing critical thresholds of energy parameter values, energy density in space and energy density in time. Concrete opportunities are suggested for an experimental exploration of phenomena, either already performed but still lacking a widely accepted explanation, or conceivable in the application of the approach here presented, but not tackled until now. A tentative list is given with reference to experimental infrastructures already in operation, the performances of which can be expanded with limited additional resources.
On the Analytic Hierarchy Process Structure in Group Decision-Making Using Incomplete Fuzzy Information with Applications
Authors: Rehman Atiq ur , Shekhovtsov Andrii , Rehman Nighat , Faizi Shahzad , Sałabun Wojciech
Published: April 2021

The multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problem has a solution whose quality can be affected by the experts’ inclinations. Under essential conditions, the fuzzy MCDM method can provide more acceptable and efficient outcomes to select the best alternatives. This work consists of a consensus-based technique for selecting and evaluating suppliers in an incomplete fuzzy preference relations (IFPRs) environment utilizing TL-transitivity (Lukasiewicz transitivity). The suggested method is developed based on the criteria of the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) Fframework, and the decision matrix is construtced using consistent fuzzy preference relations (FPRs). We use the symmetrical decisional matrix approach. A variety of numerical explanations and an analysis of quantitative results illustrate the suggested methodology’s logic and effectiveness.
Some Fundamental Principles of Living Systems’ Functioning and Their Impact on Human Psychological Systems
Authors: Brazhnikov Pavel
Published: April 2021

This theoretical article provides a brief description of the model of living systems’ functioning by defining them as self-reproducing information or as self-reproduction of resource flows patterns. It reviews the living systems growth limitation between their development cycles by the Fibonacci sequence. Besides, there are presented systems resource base criteria, necessary for accumulating the resources and their investment. The article also considers the conditions for the formation of various systems strategies. Then we reviewed the principles of elemental analysis of information by a person as a living system according to the considered model. The study also shows the possibility of forming priorities in analyzing information for 16 combinations as maximum. At that, it remains crucial to divide a human’s information analysis between the two hemispheres of the brain. The described combinations of priorities in a person’s information analysis are compared with the existing differential personality models, such as the big five personality traits, the Myers–Briggs type indicator, temperaments model and Honey and Mumford Learning styles.
Differentiation of Capripox Viruses by Nanopore Sequencing
Authors: Eltom Kamal H. , Althoff Anna Christina , Hansen Sören , Böhlken-Fascher Susanne , Yousif Ausama , El-Sheikh Hussein A. , ElWakeel Ahmed A. , Elgamal Mahmoud A. , Mossa Hadeer M. , Aboul-Soud Emad A. , Wolff Janika , Korthase Christian , Hoffmann Bernd , Adam Nabawia M. , Abdelaziz Sanaa A. , Shalaby Mohamed A. , Abd El Wahed Ahmed
Published: April 2021

The genus capripoxvirus (CaPV), family Poxviridae, includes three virus species: goatpox virus (GPV), sheeppox virus (SPV) and lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV). CaPV causes disease outbreaks with consequent economic losses in Africa and the Middle East. LSDV has recently spread to Southeast Europe. As CaPVs share 96–97% genetic similarity along the length of the entire genome and are difficult to distinguish using serological assays, simple, reliable and fast methods for diagnosis and species differentiation are crucial in cases of disease outbreak. The present study aimed to develop a field-applicable CaPV differentiation method. Nanopore technology was used for whole genome sequencing. A local database of complete CaPV genomes and partial sequences of three genes (RPO30, P32 and GPCR) was established for offline Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST). Specificities of 98.04% in whole genome and 97.86% in RPO30 gene runs were obtained among the three virus species, while other databases were less specific. The total run time was shortened to approximately 2 h. Functionality of the developed procedure was proved by samples with high host background sequences. Reliable differentiation options for the quality and capacity of hardware, and sample quality of suspected cases, were derived from these findings. The whole workflow can be performed rapidly with a mobile suitcase laboratory and mini-computer, allowing application at the point-of-need with limited resource settings.
Rastos narrativos de Andronico y Atanasia (BHG 123 j)
Authors: Cavallero Pablo
Published: April 2021

Se hace un estudio narratológico de la versión 123j contenida en el ms. Matritensis BNE 4787 (con testimonio parcial del Sinaiticus 530 y del Marcianus II 151), señalando aspectos vinculados con la estructura narrativa, los actantes/oponentes/ayudantes, el tiempo, el espacio, el narrador y narratario. Con estos elementos estructurales, de actores, de acontecimientos, de tiempo y de espacio, el narrador construye una fábula en la que la historia de Andronico y Atanasia parte de una ‘posibilidad’ (qué camino de santidad seguir), desarrolla su ‘realización’ (la vida eremítica) y llega a un ‘resultado’ (concreción del proceso de santificación), evidenciado por los milagros y reconocimientos logrados ya en vida. El texto resultante se yergue como objeto de entretenimiento y, a la vez, de edificación moral y espiritual, y además como una velada ‘propaganda’ de los lugares taumatúrgicos, para lo cual los rasgos narrativos son esenciales.
Vida de Juan el Limosnero de Leoncio de Neápolis: héroe hagiográfico y recepción
Authors: Fuentes Pablo Ezequiel
Published: April 2021

La Vida de Juan el Limosnero, escrita por Leoncio de Neápolis a mediados del siglo VII, narra la vida y acciones del Patriarca de Alejandría (610-619). El objetivo del presente trabajo es analizar una selección específica de episodios transmitidos en un manuscrito de los siglos XI-XII. Nos enfocaremos en sus características narrativas con la hipótesis de que tienen el fin de llegar con mayor potencia a un público medio, convocándolo a través de su progresiva incorporación en la serie de relatos, algunas veces incluso como protagonista. Esperamos concluir que en el desarrollo de la serie se opera un deslizamiento de las características del héroe hagiográfico hacia el ‘hombre común’ con eje en la virtud de la caridad, y que la estructura narrativa simple y episódica coadyuva al fin edificante.
Do the electricity price shocks influence the Sectoral Production and KSE100 Index in Pakistan? An ARDL structural breaks approach
Authors: Khan Abbas , Khan Muhammad Yar , Khan Abdul Qayyum
Published: April 2021

This research investigates the long-term cointegration of electricity price with sectoral production and equity market in Pakistan. Fourteen major industrial sectors and the KSE100 index is taken into consideration to determine the relationship. Literature in this regard is available but this research is distinct from previous literature for it tests the sectoral production and equity market relationship with electricity price change in Pakistan. Monthly data from 1st Jan 2011 till 31st Dec 2019 is taken for fourteen sectors from the sources of Quantum Index Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) and for KSE100 index from (www.investing.com). An Auto Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model and bound test for multiple structural breaks has been applied. It is found that almost the production of all industrial sectors and KSE100 index stock prices are adversely affected by the electricity price shocks both in long-term and short-term. The study suggests that management should implement a moderate monitory policy that is neither more expansionary nor contractionary. The government should provide incentives to those who successfully control energy wastage. A mixed kind of energy policy is recommended with higher weightage to the development of renewable energies to reduce foreign exchange outflow with imported furnace oil. This study is limited to the sectoral production and equity market of Pakistan. A cross-sectional research is encouraged to compare the connection between major energy costs and macroeconomic variables in different countries.
Aplicación móvil para la optimización de procesos de consumo de energía en sector hotelero
Authors: Rojas-Nando Julio Cesar , Reyes-Luna Nayely
Published: April 2021

Engineering is the set of technological knowledge that helps in innovation, invention, development and improvement of techniques and tools that meet the needs and solve problems of companies and society in general, creating projects that facilitate the solution to any problem raised, not It matters what nature it is, always visualizing the benefit attached to a sustainability in general. Nowadays the biggest problem we have is the excessive consumption of natural resources, we need to give sound solutions that little by little will minimize this situation. In this project, a mobile application called Applight was visualized, which will help to reduce energy consumption in hotels, through an indicator that will let us know if any household appliance or lamps and lights were activated, thus having the opportunity to turn off and deactivate all those components that were left on when leaving. In this way, it will help to reduce energy consumption, in a large amount thus contributing to the care of the environment and the expenditure of energy payments in hotel companies.
Desarrollo en Blender del gemelo digital de una estación electro-neumática para su aplicación en laboratorios virtuales
Authors: Carmona-Martínez Luis Alberto , Gualito-Olvera Miguel Ángel , Gómez-Hernández Alejandro , Ortíz-Ortíz Tania Judith
Published: April 2021

This paper presents the development of the digital twin of an electro-pneumatic station composed with 3 pistons, to implement this station in virtual laboratories. The objective of this station is to have an economical alternative for the accomplishment of practices of automation that counts on the capacity to connect through Ethernet with PLCs of the mark of Allen Bradley and with all the PLCs that communicate under the protocol Modbus TCP. Later, in order to develop the digital twin presented in this paper, an electro-pneumatic physical station was taken from the Mechatronics laboratory at the Universidad Tecnológica de Queretaro, the development of this digital twin was done through the free software Blender, complementing it with programming in Python for the Ethernet TCP communication with the different programmable logic controllers. Finally, we carried out the validation of this project through the connection of both the digital twin and the physical station taken as a model, with a ControlLogix PLC. This work will allow the future to implement low-cost virtual laboratories in universities, training centers and interested institutions. The laboratories will have multiple practice scenarios that result in students better prepared in the programming of automated systems in the industry.
CAPABILITIES OF AN INFORMATION-ANALYTICAL SYSTEM FOR ASSESSING MOTOR ACTIVITY IN PARKINSON'S DISEASE DURING SLEEP
Authors: Gorbunov Alexey , Parshin Dmitry , Gromov Yuri , Neprokin Alexey , Dolgov Egor , Grechukha Darya
Published: April 2021

The research aimed to study motor activity in Parkinson's disease during sleep using a data analytical system developed by authors. The study included 8 patients (4 men and 4 women) diagnosed with Parkinson's disease at the age from 59 to 89 years. All patients were clinically evaluated for motor deficit (UPDRS Part III), motor fluctuations (UPDRS Part IV), functional activity (UPDRS Part I), non-motor symptoms (UPDRS Part II) and the clinical global impression. Using our information-analytical system we obtained data on motor activity during sleep and processed it on the following parameters: number of movements, maximum value of the jerk and motor activity coefficient. For the number of movements, the average value for men was 56.7, for women — 47.2. For the maximum value of the jerk, the average value for men was 22.1 g/s, for women — 16.7 g/s. For motor activity coefficient, the average value for men was 27.7%, for women — 22.3%. Thus, the feasibility of using the information analytical system for assessment of motor activity in Parkinson's disease during sleep and the necessity of studying hypokinetic tremors during sleep has been shown.
All Your Fake Detector Are Belong to Us: Evaluating Adversarial Robustness of Fake-news Detectors Under Black-Box Settings
Authors: Ali Hassan , Khan Muhammad Suleman , AlGhadhban Amer , Alazmi Meshari , Alzamil Ahmad , AlUtaibi Khaled , Qadir Junaid
Published: April 2021

Analyzing fake-news detectors under adversarial threat using the Text-Attack Library for a number of model hyper-parameters and attack settings.
A Roadmap to Nextgen Aircraft Control for Last Mile Delivery Drones
Authors: Marcondes Cesar Augusto , Loubach Denis , Sbruzzi Elton , Verri Filipe , Marques Johnny , Alves Pereira Jr Lourenço , Maximo Marcos , Curtis Vitor
Published: April 2021

According to recent studies, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) can play a game-changing part in terms of cost reduction and speed increase to address the last-mile delivery (LMD) problem and also to attend emergencies. Last-mile delivery services are getting more and more relevant, especially when in times where social distance is required. Given this scenario, our paper introduces a cyber-physical (CPS) system roadmap propose applicable for last-mile delivery drones. The proposed CPS guidelines are based on the concept of system of systems to enable an emerging behavior towards smart cities’ governance. In this paper, we also discuss topics from air space control and reservation throughout communication infrastructure and decentralized control supported on a blockchain.
Step size self-adaptation for SGD
Authors: Kulikovskikh Ilona , Legović Tarzan
Published: April 2021

Convergence and generalization are two crucial aspects of performance in neural networks. When analyzed separately, these properties may lead to contradictory results. Optimizing a convergence rate yields fast training, but does not guarantee the best generalization error. To avoid the conflict, recent studies suggest adopting a moderately large step size for optimizers, but the added value on the performance remains unclear. We propose the LIGHT function with the four configurations which regulate explicitly an improvement in convergence and generalization on testing. This contribution allows to: 1) improve both convergence and generalization of neural networks with no need to guarantee their stability; 2) build more reliable and explainable network architectures with no need for overparameterization. We refer to it as step size self-adaptation.