bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Fuzzy Logic in Decision Support: Methods, Applications and Future Trends
Authors: Wu Hangyao , XU Zeshui
Published: March 2021

During the last decades, the art and science of fuzzy logic have witnessed significant developments and have found applications in many active areas, such as pattern recognition, classification, control systems, etc. A lot of research has demonstrated the ability of fuzzy logic in dealing with vague and uncertain linguistic information. For the purpose of representing human perception, fuzzy logic has been employed as an effective tool in intelligent decision making. Due to the emergence of various studies on fuzzy logic-based decision-making methods, it is necessary to make a comprehensive overview of published papers in this field and their applications. This paper covers a wide range of both theoretical and practical applications of fuzzy logic in decision making. It has been grouped into five parts: to explain the role of fuzzy logic in decision making, we first present some basic ideas underlying different types of fuzzy logic and the structure of the fuzzy logic system. Then, we make a review of evaluation methods, prediction methods, decision support algorithms, group decision-making methods based on fuzzy logic. Applications of these methods are further reviewed. Finally, some challenges and future trends are given from different perspectives. This paper illustrates that the combination of fuzzy logic and decision making method has an extensive research prospect. It can help researchers to identify the frontiers of fuzzy logic in the field of decision making.
Approximate Membership Function Shapes of Solutions to Intuitionistic Fuzzy Transportation Problems
Authors: Stanojevic Bogdana , Stanojević Milan
Published: March 2021

In this paper, proposing a mathematical model with disjunctive constraint system, and providing approximate membership function shapes to the optimal values of the decision variables, we improve the solution approach to transportation problems with trapezoidal fuzzy parameters. We further extend the approach to solving transportation problems with intuitionistic fuzzy parameters; and compare the membership function shapes of the fuzzy solutions obtained by our approach to the fuzzy solutions to full fuzzy transportation problems yielded by approaches found in the literature.
Noncommutative Logic Systems with Applications in Management and Engineering
Authors: Teodorescu Mike HM , Teodorescu Horia-Nicolai L.
Published: March 2021

Zadeh's (min-max, standard) fuzzy logic and various other logics are commutative, but natural language has nuances suggesting the premises are not equal, with premises contributing to the conclusion according to their prominency. Therefore, we suggest variants of salience-based, noncommutative and non-associative fuzzy logic (prominence logic) that may better model natural language and reasoning when using linguistic variables. Noncommutative fuzzy logics have several theoretical and applicative motivations to be used as models for human inference and decision making processes. Among others, asymmetric relations in economy and management, such as buyer-seller, provider-user, and employer-employee are noncommutative relations and induce noncommutative logic operations between premises or conclusions. A class of noncommutative fuzzy logic operators is introduced and fuzzy logic systems based on the corresponding noncommutative logics are described and analyzed. The prominence of the operators in the noncommutative operations is conventionally assumed to be determined by their precedence. Specific versions of noncommutative logics in the class of the salience-based, noncommutative logics are discussed. We show how fuzzy logic systems may be built based on these types of logics. Compared with classic fuzzy systems, the noncommutative fuzzy logic systems have improved performances in modeling problems, including the modeling of economic and social processes, and offer more flexibility in approximation and control. Applications discussed include management and engineering problems and issues in the field of firms’ ethics or ethics of AI algorithms.
From Classical Logic to Fuzzy Logic and Quantum Logic: A General View
Authors: Nadaban Sorin
Published: March 2021

The aim of this article is to offer a concise and unitary vision upon the algebraic connections between classical logic and its generalizations, such as fuzzy logic and quantum logic. The mathematical concept which governs any kind of logic is that of lattice. Therefore, the lattices are the basic tools in this presentation. The Hilbert spaces theory is important in the study of quantum logic and it has also been used in the present paper.
Soft Computing Techniques and Their Applications in Intel-ligent Industrial Control Systems: A Survey
Authors: Wu Zheng , Liao Huchang , Lu Keyu , Zavadskas Edmundas Kazimieras
Published: March 2021

Soft computing involves a series of methods that are compatible with imprecise information and complex human cognition. In the face of industrial control problems, soft computing techniques show strong intelligence, robustness and cost-effectiveness. This study dedicates to providing a survey on soft computing techniques and their applications in industrial control systems. The methodologies of soft computing are mainly classified in terms of fuzzy logic, neural computing, and genetic algorithms. The challenges surrounding modern industrial control systems are summarized based on the difficulties in information acquisition, the difficulties in modeling control rules, the difficulties in control system optimization, and the requirements for robustness. Then, this study reviews soft-computing-related achievements that have been developed to tackle these challenges. Afterwards, we present a retrospect of practical industrial control applications in the fields including transportation, intelligent machines, process industry as well as energy engineering. Finally, future research directions are discussed from different perspectives. This study demonstrates that soft computing methods can endow industry control processes with many merits, thus having great application potential. It is hoped that this survey can serve as a reference and provide convenience for scholars and practitioners in the fields of industrial control and computer science.
Semantics of Lungs Cancer - Then, Now, Tomorrow
Authors: Tarafdar Tirtha
Published: March 2021

Cancer is a major problem in today’s world. Lung cancer is the most common type of cancer in the world (12.3% of all cancer types), with an estimated 1.2 million new cases in the year of 2000, recorded alone (D.M , 2001). Tobacco smokers are at a 20 to 30 fold higher risk of developing
Lung cancers. In 2000, it was found that lung cancer resulted in 1.1 million deaths worldwide, or 17.8% of all cancer deaths. However, only 11% of heavy cigarette smokers ultimately developed lung cancer, suggesting the prevalence, involvement of genetic factors (SM & MR, 2001). A brief
review of molecular aberrations, chromosomal changes, mutations, signalling patterns shall be briefly encountered in this review article. In this present article, major histologic types of lung cancer-squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, small cell carcinoma, and large cell carcinoma,
alongwith more specific subtypes such as lepidic predominant subtype of adenocarcinoma or the basaloid variant of large cell carcinoma shall be briefly encountered upon. The present Global statistics shall also be briefly portrayed herein.
Myogenic Tissue Regeneration: A New Insight
Authors: Chaudhuri Biswadeep
Published: March 2021

Till today, the conventional therapeutic techniques are used to cure many muscle tissue related diseases. With the advent of modern science and technology, Tissue Engineering (TE) has evolved as a novel means to repair and regenerate different tissues. Recently graphene and graphene based composites are emerging as better materials compared to the conventional biopolymers to fabricate scaffolds for skeletal muscle TE and other biomedical applications. Addition of graphene oxide (GO) nanoplatelets (GOnPs) in bioactive polymers was found to enhance enhanced conductivity (σ) as well as dielectric permittivity (ε) of the scaffolds, due to the presence of GO surface charge, which enhance biocompatibility of the scaffolds. In the thesis work, for the first time, human Umbilical Cord Blood (UBC) derived mesenchymal stem cells (CB-hMSCs) were reported to directly differentiate to skeletal muscle cells (hSkMCs) on spin coated thin GO sheets, composed of GOnPs, and on electrospun fibrous meshes of GO–polymer (poly-caprolactone, PCL and poly lactic co-glycolic acid, PLGA)) composite meshes. These substrates exhibited excellent myoblast differentiations and promoted self-aligned myotubes formation similar to natural orientation. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy, Raman, infrared (vibration spectroscopic) etc. studies were carried out for the characterizations of GO sheet and the composite scaffolds. Significantly enhanced values of both conductivity and dielectric constant of the GO–Polymer composites attributed to the GO surface charge which provided favorable cues for the formation of superior cellular interaction and formation of multinucleated myotubes on the electrospun meshes. The present results demonstrated that such novel GO based polymer composite substrates might be used as potential candidates for the myoblast differentiation and proliferation of CB-hMSCs for the next generation skeletal muscle tissue repair and regeneration.
A Mini Review on Graphene - A Wonder Material for New Industrial and Biomedical Applications
Authors: Santra Chita Ranjan
Published: March 2021

In this mini review we have demonstrated the enormous possibility of next generation electronic and biomedical applications of graphene and its derivatives (graphene oxides). Graphene and its derivatives (graphene oxide, GO, and reduced graphene oxide, rGO) are being evolved as “miracle
materials” with manifold applications in different sectors of science and technology (starting from electronics, computer chips energy storage , clean water to tissue engineering in biological science).
Lilotane: A Lifted SAT-based Approach to Hierarchical Planning
Authors: Schreiber Dominik
Published: March 2021

One of the oldest and most popular approaches to automated planning is to encode the problem at hand into a propositional formula and use a Satisfiability (SAT) solver to find a solution. In all established SAT-based approaches for Hierarchical Task Network (HTN) planning, grounding the problem is necessary and oftentimes introduces a combinatorial blowup in terms of the number of actions and reductions to encode. Our contribution named Lilotane (Lifted Logic for Task Networks) eliminates this issue for Totally Ordered HTN planning by directly encoding the lifted representation of the problem at hand. We lazily instantiate the problem hierarchy layer by layer and use a novel SAT encoding which allows us to defer decisions regarding method arguments to the stage of SAT solving. We show the correctness of our encoding and compare it to the best performing prior SAT encoding in a worst-case analysis. Empirical evaluations confirm that Lilotane outperforms established SAT-based approaches, often by orders of magnitude, produces much smaller formulae on average, and compares favorably to other state-of-the-art HTN planners regarding robustness and plan quality. In the International Planning Competition (IPC) 2020, a preliminary version of Lilotane scored the second place. We expect these considerable improvements to SAT-based HTN planning to open up new perspectives for SAT-based approaches in related problem classes.
Bus Based Mobile Virus Diagnostic Laboratory for COVID-19 Sample Collection and Testing in Remote Areas
Authors: YS Rao , SR Rao
Published: March 2021

World Health Organization (WHO) declared Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 30 January, 2020 and named the outbreak caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus as COVID-19. This disease is spreading globally and it is very important to take necessary measures to contain it. The rapidly spreading, highly contagious and pathogenic Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is transmitted human-to-human, has continuously spread to over 200 countries. It is imperative to immediately build, expand, train and deploy health workers to find, test, isolate and treat every case and trace every contact.
Bayesian Model for Covid-19 to Achieve Immunity by Parsimony of Exponential Functions Minimizing the Inoculum
Authors: N Lamothe , M Lamothe , D Lamothe , C Sierra , CH Gonzalez- Tellez-Giron , VH Rodas , A Lamothe , J Sanchez-Montiel , C Lamothe , H Galicia , JL Perez-Avalos , O Rojas , Z Cazarin , AVDL Pena , A Diaz-del Bosque , PJ Lamothe
Published: March 2021

A ribonucleoside analog MK-4482/EIDD-2801 blocks SARS-CoV-2 transmission in ferrets and might be able to diminish transmission until vaccineinduced or naturally acquired protective herd immunity is reached [1]. As skinner pointed out, behavioral problems have to be solved through behavioral engineering [2]. Cybernetics has full application in the present condition. As in alcohol consumption, smoking, drugs, gun crimes, wars, and sexually acquired diseases, the teleological Aristotelian causes are not tobacco, drugs, and any other issue, but the aberrant behavior. The situation is not trivial and involves non-classic logic and other mathematical logics [3,4]. The neural topography corresponds to the nucleus accumbens. The latter is the battlefield, and the subject’s obsession is the rise of the neurotransmitter dopamine [3,4]. In general, people are very demanding from their governments; nevertheless, at the same time, they are deeply tolerant with their aberrant behavior promoting the dissemination of the SARSCoV-2 [4,5]. This paper examines how to deal with this problem from a scientific perspective, considering probability methods and classical and doxastic logic, using the Parsimony Principle aiming to reach immunity by minimizing the inoculum.
On Farm Reproductive Performance and Trait Preferences of Sheep and Goat in Pastoral and Agro-Pastoral Areas of Afar Regional State, Ethiopia
Authors: BK Amare , HB Abrha , H Birhane , GE Shishay
Published: March 2021

This study was conducted from March 2018 to January 2019 with the aim of assessing the reproductive performance and traits preferences of sheep and goats producers in pastoral and agro-pastoral area of Afar, Ethiopia. Semi-structured questionnaires and field observations were used to collect the required information from 136 from pastoral and 56 from agro-pastoral. Sheep and goats were kept for a variety of reasons including income generation, insurance (sale for cash to meet unexpected expenditures) and economic security (sale for cash to support foreseeable expenses), social/religious functions and prestige in ownership. In both production systems, next to camels, goats and sheep were ranked as the second and third most important livestock species in accordance to their relative importance. In the current study, there was a significance differences (P<0.05) in the reproductive performance of both sheep and goats between pastoral and agro-pastoral areas. Goats in agro-pastoral areas had noticeably higher average age at first kidding (12.33 ± 0.76 months), and kidding interval (8.76 ± 2.04 months) whereas they had lower age at first mating both for Doe and bucks (9.28 ± 1.85 and 7.98 ± 2.08 months, respectively). Similarly, sheep in the agro-pastoral areas had higher age at first lambing (12.30 ± 1.18 months) and lambing interval (9.16 ± 2.66 months) than sheep found in the pastoral areas. In both production systems twinning ability (0.46), fast growth (0.41) and trekking long distances were the main preferred sheep traits, whereas fast growth, milk yield and twining ability were the main goat preferred traits with an overall index value of 0.37, 0.32, and 0.32, respectively. Genetic improvement programs targeting pastoral and agro-pastoral production system need to be incorporated the traits of preference, multipurpose roles and the existing traditional herding and breeding practices.
The Triassic insects of Denmark Hill, Ipswich, Southeast Queensland: the creation, use and dispersal of a collection
Authors:   Queensland Museum, Rix Alan
Published: March 2021

Type and additional fossil insects from the Late Triassic Denmark Hill locality in Southeast Queensland, Australia, are held in the collections of the Queensland Museum (Brisbane), the Australian Museum (Sydney) and the Natural History Museum of the United Kingdom (London). The history of these collections shows that they were the product of a concerted effort in the first two decades of the twentieth century to extract the fossils by Benjamin Dunstan, Queensland’s Chief Government Geologist, and to describe the fossils by Dunstan and Robin Tillyard, the foremost Australian entomologist of the time. They collaborated closely to document the late Triassic insects of Australia, at the same time as Dunstan carefully curated and organised both the official government collection of these insects for the Geological Survey of Queensland, and his own private collection. The death of the two men in the 1930s led to the sale by his widow of Dunstan’s private fossil collection (including type and type counterpart specimens) to the British Museum, and the donation of Tillyard’s by his widow to the same institution, in addition to some material that went to the Australian Museum. This paper documents the locations of all of the published specimens. The history of the Denmark Hill fossils (a site no longer accessible for collection) highlights the problems for researchers of the dispersal of holdings such as these, and in particular the separation of the part and counterpart of the same insect fossils. It also raises ethical questions arising from the ownership and disposal of private holdings of important fossil material collected in an official capacity.
Analysis of the Diffusion Effect of the MICE Industry and New Demand Forecasts -A Bass Diffusion Model Perspective-
Authors:   The Tourism Sciences Society Of Korea, Jo Seong-Chan , Ryu Ga-Yeon , Cha Jae-Bin
Published: March 2021

The MICE industry is a high value-added industry and is taking the lead in attracting activities and support at the national level to foster it as a national strategic industry around the world. Accordingly, rational demand forecasting and research on the trend of participants are essential for successful operation in relation to determining the appropriate size of MICE-related facilities and securing infrastructure. This study analyzed the diffusion effect of the MICE industry using Bass' diffusion model, and predicted the demand for new participants. The regional scope of the study was targeting six metropolitan cities including Seoul and Jeju. The analysis was conducted by subdividing the types of participants into Koreans and foreigners. As a result of the study, it was found that the meeting field has an innovation effect and an imitation effect, respectively, depending on the region. In the exhibition area, the innovation effect in all regions was low, and the imitation effect was high in some regions. In the convention field, the innovation effect in all regions was low, and most regions showed no imitation effect. The results of the diffusion effect by city and the demand forecast for new participants suggested in this study can be the basic data for establishing strategies suitable for the needs and types of participants, such as determining the size of MICE infrastructure and establishing marketing strategies. In addition, it is necessary to accurately identify the factors of diffusion of MICE participants in the future and establish customized investment and strategies accordingly. Furthermore, in the tourism field, new types of industries are continuously appearing through the organic combination of different industries to secure a competitive advantage. As such, it is of academic significance that this study suggested the possibility of applying the Bass diffusion model to the demand forecasting of industries appearing in a new form in the market such as the MICE industry.
A Phenomenological Study on the Experience Using of Restaurant Owners’ Mobile Delivery Application
Authors:   The Tourism Sciences Society Of Korea, Jo Mi-Na , Lee Jin-Hee
Published: March 2021

This study applied a phenomenological research method to understand the experience of restaurant owners' use of mobile delivery apps. Interviewees were recruited by requesting an open survey through an external survey firm. The in-depth interview was conducted between June 10 and 25, 2019. The researchers conducted in-depth one-on-one interviews with restaurant owners using delivery apps over mobile phones. A total of 12 interviews were conducted until data saturation. After consultation with three experts, the collected data was analyzed, and continued to exchange opinions with experts during the analysis. As a result of the analysis, 124 semantic units, 38 modified semantic units transformed into implicit terms, 14 sub-themes, and four major themes were derived. The four major themes were 'satisfaction with public relations effect and customer reviews', 'pressure arising from fees and self-pays', 'psychological stability and conflict arising from delivery', and 'satisfaction and regret about policies and systems'. These results mean that restaurant owners using mobile delivery apps feel efficient and depend on the delivery apps. However, at the same time, they were experiencing many problems with the delivery apps. Therefore, the government and delivery apps need to solve financial problems such as commissions and self-payments. It is also believed that it is necessary to bridge the event gap between franchises and non-franchises because many non-franchise shop owners expressed their dissatisfaction as the event was held mainly for franchises. The results are differentiated from previous studies conducted mostly on delivery app users. Also, by understanding the nature of the restaurant owners’ experience using the mobile delivery app and clarifying the meaning, it can be used as primary data for research related to restaurant owners and delivery apps. Our findings suggest the policy direction related to the delivery apps.
Authorities Digital Information Openness as a Tool for Overcoming Digital Divide in Russia
Authors: Vartanova Elena , Vikhrova Olga
Published: March 2021

In the context of Russia's digital transformation, the systemic digitalization of the dialogue between the public and the authorities is gaining particular relevance. The dialogue involves dealing with various problems of digital inequality, which include not only access to information and individual user skills but also ensuring simple process of getting the required amount of information about the local authorities’ activity. The role of the authorities here is providing the “digital information openness”, i.e. reporting to the local community about their work, receiving feedback from the residents and involving them in the informational dialogue. Authorities’ digital information openness will help to make them approachable for people and achieve “two-way” communication with the public. This will keep the government bodies well informed about the real socio-political situation in the region and guarantee the public’s involvement in the process of making decisions on development of the region and municipalities. The article analyzes web resources of government agencies and social network accounts of highest officials in eight RF constituent territories with various levels of economic development. The analysis shows that one of the key factors of supporting the dialogue between authorities and the public and developing digital information openness is federal and local legislative regulation.
The Role of Journalism in Mediatization of the World of Everyday Life
Authors: Smirnova Olga , Svitich Luisa , Shkondin Mikhail
Published: March 2021

The role of journalism and the media in forming the world of everyday life has been viewed as a key one for quite a long period of human history. Moreover, in the context of digitalization and mediatization of every social reality, it is becoming even more important. The integrative nature of the modern media provides for an environment where interaction between journalism, the media and their audiences has a crucial impact on all social phenomena, on the life of every person and of the society in general. The article states that, in the context of media digitalization, the world of everyday life is intensively mediatized and undergoes radical changes, which makes it a relevant object of media studies. The authors emphasize the great significance of the media in social construction processes that are based on fast information exchange and the synchronous dynamics of events in the world of everyday life. They also underline the relevance of studying both journalism and media processes as integral parts the world of everyday life, which features continuous variability of social realities and their newsworthiness. In today’s society, contradictions between the opportunities offered by digitalization and mediatization of social realities on the one hand, and the limited practical usage of these opportunities on the other, are aggravating. Therefore, it is necessary to reassess the functions of journalism in optimizing the world of everyday life, and correlate the renewed understanding of these functions to that of journalists as key agents that provide informational support and coverage of all social processes.
Emergence and Development of Kalmykias Press in the Information Landscape of the Russian South in 1917-1943
Authors: Ochirova Nina , Dyakieva Baldzhya , Evgeny Evgeny
Published: March 2021

The Russian South hosts over a hundred peoples whose cultures and confessions representing all the three world religions successfully co-exist and interact, which makes the region unique. One of the ethnies is the Kalmyks, who belong to Mongolian language group and cultural community. The local journalism has been one of the key socio-cultural factors that brings together all the multidimensional values of the various ethnic groups, including the Kalmyks. All this explains the relevance of the research. The article deals with the retrospective of the studies of Kalmykia’s printed press, determines the key stages in historiography on this field, and analyzes the extent of its scientific coverage. Studies on the history of the local press and the content of the publications, which is large empirical data, provide for an objective evaluation of the events in particular historical contexts. Viewing the history of the ethnos, its education, culture, literature, ethnography, and socio-political realias of the period under consideration adds to the topicality of the research. The authors track the Kalmykia theme in the press of the Russian South, study the emergence and development of the local mass media and journalism, which has adopted the best practices of the neighboring region’s mass media. The article also point out the big role of Nomto Ochirov, a scientist and socio-political figure, in the establishment of Kalmyk national press.
Russian Media as Actor of Informational Counter-Terrorism Who Forms Antiterrorist Consciousness
Authors: Ponomarev Vladimir
Published: March 2021

The article deals with the problems of terrorist acts coverage by the Russian media, informational counter-terrorism and formation of anti-terrorist consciousness. The relevance of the study is explained by the fact that terrorism, being a socially dangerous phenomenon that openly demonstrates violence and intimidation towards the public, aims at producing a certain informational effect, which terrorists consider necessary. Therefore, improving the mechanisms of counter-terrorism, including informing the public, is of vital importance. In this relation, mass media should be viewed as both a means of influencing collective consciousness and a tool of information transfer via verbal communication. The article describes the role of mass media in the tragical events of the early XX century in Russia, as well as their missteps and mistakes. The author also analyzes social realia of the present and notes that the contemporary terrorists thrive on publicity. Therefore, those terrorists who do not have access to broadcasting will not get coverage of their actions, which will lead to a considerable decrease in the number of attacks. The author states the necessity of coordinated actions of the authorities, the public and the media aimed at developing a single policy to prevent terrorists from using mass media. Meanwhile, the constitutional principle of freedom of speech should be a priority. The article proposes recommendations on how to increase the efficiency of the media in the sphere of counter-terrorism, and emphasizes their role in forming anti-terrorist consciousness.
The Catalans National Identity Through the Prism of Science-Based Journalism: a Bibliography Study
Authors: Pruttskov Grigory , Govriakov Igor
Published: March 2021

In the context of the recent years’ events, the problem of Catalonia’s national identity is relevant not only for Spain but for Europe in general. The long-lasting academic debate between supporters of Catalonia’s independence and those who advocate its integration with the titular people of Spain has led to emergence of a large number of researches and journalistic works that analyze nationalism, inter-ethnic cooperation, public relations, features of propaganda and crowd manipulation, and other important issues. The article describes and analyzes the various approaches to studying the problem of the Catalans’ national identity, the dynamic of the thought and its national features in Spanish academic discourse in the period from early 2000s to the present. In that period, Spanish academic community formed several schools of thought focusing on the problem of national identity of particular regions. Although the schools have opposing views on the problem, they all take into account political, economic, social, cultural and linguistic factors that are able to generate scenarios of the nation’s development and face modern challenges. What makes the approaches different is interpretation of the ways and models of people unification, and analysis of the centuries-old traditions. The division of the research works on Catalan’s nationalism by the language criteria into Spanish-written and Catalan-written ones is almost equal. However, there is a stable trend to political or ideological biasing of academic texts, which results in them acquiring elements of journalistic style.
Values and Regulations of Journalism as Viewed by Crimean Media Workers
Authors: Zharovskiy Egor
Published: March 2021

Crimean journalists’ professional community has been working in a specific context during the recent six years. The journalists have had to adapt to the new political, legal and socio-cultural realia. Besides, they have had to work under the international sanctions imposed on the Crimea. Due to the increased attention of Russian society to the region, the community of Crimean journalists has successfully assimilated into Russian media landscape. However, its problems and characteristics, particularly, their vision of professional values and legal regulations, still remain unstudied. The purpose of the article is to study Crimean media workers’ perception of social functions of journalism, its ethical norms and legal regulations, and freedom as a basic category and value. The study required conducting a survey that involved 95 journalists from 56 editorial offices in 20 locations in the Crimea. The respondents demonstrate a clear understanding of values and regulations of their profession and view informing the public about the events in the Crimean region as the key journalists’ role. They are convinced, in this relation, that the most important ethical principle is their audience’s right for true information. The respondents also consider Russian legal regulations a key pre-requisite for their professional freedom – free search for and distribution of information. The author infers that Crimean journalists have enough freedom to perform their professional functions.
Evolution of Information Systems Starting from Bloomberg and Dow Jones
Authors: Pomerantseva Nadezhda
Published: March 2021

This article aims to give an overview and describe a new structure in the media system, namely, closed information systems (CIS). These include various data bases used for performing professional tasks in relation to media and information in business and public administration. CISs may be categorized as new media and hypermedia. Since CISs can aggregate information and media messages, they work simultaneously in both media and information markets. The key task of the study is to analyze the history and prerequisites of CIS emergence, starting from the first one, that of news agency Reuters. We made a systemic analysis of the content terminal Bloomberg of Bloomberg news agency, and the multimedia library Factiva of Dow Jones, which helped to identify their key typological features and target audience. One of their functions is being a blueprint of a professional eco-system. Other information systems with similar functions are studied and analyzed, namely, LexisNexis, a multimedia library of legal papers and mass media archives, and a business directory Dun&Bradstreet, as well as their functions, content, and professional utilization. The article also describes the work of data base publishers and brokers in the market. The author contrasts professional information systems called CIS with the open-access system Internet by their common functions, and points out some key differences in selecting, classifying and verifying content.
It Can’t Be Taught Online: Applied Sciences during the Pandemic
Authors: Zakharova Ulyana , Vilkova Ksenia , Egorov Gennadiy
Published: March 2021

Transition to distance learning during the COVID‑19 lockdown in spring 2020 was a challenge to the education system in general and higher education in particular. Applied Sciences were unanimously recognized as the most affected due to their focuson practical skills, being closely tied to the institutional infrastructure, and a moderate curriculum digitalization. This article describes student experiences during the spring semester of academic year 2019/20, using data obtained from 30 interviews with students in Engineering, Technology & Applied Sciences, Health & Medical Sciences, and Arts & Culture degrees. Delivery of lectures and practical classes, placements, dissertations, and faculty–student interactions are analyzed. Findings are consistent with the widely discussed perception of education during the pandemic not as distance learning but rather as emergency remote teaching that requires supportive measures to compensate for time loss in learning as well as solutions to technical and methodological issues.
The Pandemic as a Challenge to the Development of University Networks in Russia: Differentiation or Collaboration?
Authors: Koksharov Viktor , Sandler Daniil , Kuznetsov Pavel , Klyagin Aleksandr , Leshukov Oleg
Published: March 2021

As an inevitable result of Russia’s higher education policies of the past two decades, new university leaders in and outside of Moscow and St. Petersburg have emerged, and vertical differentiation has increased. Inequality of educational potential has a strong regional dimension, exerting a considerable delayed impact on regional socioeconomic development. Differences in universities’ resources affected their ability to adapt their instructional, research, and administrative processes to change during the pandemic, thus broadening the education and research quality gap in higher education. Some regions may face an increased outflow of youth talent to leading universities or just any colleges based in Moscow and St. Petersburg, which will certainly weaken the socioeconomic growth prospects of Russia’s regions.The pandemic accelerated the debate over this problem and demonstrated readiness of universities for joint efforts. Groundwork was laid for deploying a policy to create a cooperative network of universities and their stakeholders so as to reduce institutional differentiation and promote exchange of experience and competence among universities.This paper investigates into the main characteristics of vertical differentiation in Russian higher education that had been in place when the pandemic broke out and determined whether universities succeeded or failed in switching to distance learning. Furthermore, lockdown measures and their economic impact on different types of universities are analyzed. Finally, we discuss possible avenues and specific considerations for expanding cross-institutional collaboration and engaging stakeholders inuniversity development.
Lessons Learned from the Coronavirus Pandemic and Possible Changes to Funding Mechanisms in Higher Education
Authors: Klyachko Tatyana , Novoseltsev Alexey , Odoevskaya Elena , Sinelnikov-Murylev Sergey
Published: March 2021

This paper explores the organizational and economic response of higher education to the coronavirus pandemic and the emergency transition to distance learning. We analyze the situation across different categories of universities as well as how they respond to campus closures and to the urgent transition to remote student-faculty interactions in learning. We also assess the education system’s need for additional public funding to promote digital learning environments, foster professional development of faculty members, and create job opportunities for students who have lost their jobs that paid their education and/or accommodation. Improvement scenarios are proposed for the funding mechanisms underlying the fulfillment of government contract for education and science, which have been applied since 2013.
Characteristics of Teacher Stress during Distance Learning Imposed by the COVID‑19 Pandemic
Authors: Petrakova Anastasia , Kanonire Tatjana , Kulikova Alena , Orel Ekaterina
Published: March 2021

Recent studies show that stress levels are higher among teachers than in many other occupational groups. Semi-structured interviews with 14 teachers from various regions of Russia were conducted to investigate the characteristics of psychological stress and coping strategies in the context of the abrupt transition to distance learning imposed by the COVID‑19 pandemic. In remote schooling, teachers have to implement education programs despite their own pandemic anxiety, provide emotional support to students, and stimulate their motivation for learning. It appears from the interview data that teacher stress is elevated by the absence or lack of support from school administrators and a substantial increase in teacher workload, caused by the need to search for new techniques of teaching and preparing for classes from a distance, intensified communication with students and their parents, and the growing amount of homework assignments to review. The stress factors specific to the pandemic include the new work-from-home setup and changes in the work-life balance. The most common strategies of coping with stress and reducing its consequences include an effort to search for the silver lining and/or new opportunities, seeking social and emotional support, physical exercise, and hobby activities.
Denaturing RNA electrophoresis in urea polyacrylamide gels (Urea-PAGE) and semi-dry Northern Blot transfer v1
Authors: Pawlowski Alice
Published: March 2021

RNA is denatured in 8 M Urea and separated in a polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) based on its molecular weight. Using this method, fragments between 2 to 500 nucleotids can be separated. The migration of the RNA depends on the concentration of PAA: the higher the PAA percentage, the better the resolution of low molecular weight fragments and vice versa. We used 10 % PAA to separate fragments between 50 - 200 nucleotides in 10 ml mini-gels (10.5 x 10 cm) using the Hoefer SE260 Mighty Small system. Subsequently, RNA is transfered from the gel to a nylon membrane (Northern blotting) by using aTrans-Blot SD Semi-Dry Electrophoretic Transfer Cell (BioRad).
HTAPP - Multi-assay sectioning of OCT-embedded samples for spatial profiling v1
Authors: Segerstolpe Asa , Rozenblatt-Rosen Orit , Regev Aviv
Published: March 2021

This protocol describes the steps required for i) slide preparation, ii) cryostat sectioning and iii) post-slide treatment to successfully generate consecutive 10uM thick sections of an OCT-frozen tissue sample for the following downstream spatial methods: Hematoxylin & Eosin staining (H&E) Slide-seq (v2) CODEX Multiplexed Error-Robust Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (MERFISH) Expansion Sequencing (ExSeq) This multi-assay sectioning design allows for a comprehensive biological and spatial characterization of a tissue sample by profiling it with multiple spatial methods. For the Human Tumor Atlas Pilot Project, this protocol was used on 13 metastatic breast cancer biopsies and 10 neuroblastoma resections.
General Field Plot Sampling Protocol for DNA-based analyses (2018-2020) v1
Authors: Phillips Lori
Published: March 2021

General field plot sampling protocol for DNA-based analyses (2018-2020)
The golden standard of the nation: the significance of personifications in the design of national currencies in Eastern Europe
Authors:   European Humanities University, Vilnius, Lithuania, Shtalenkova K. I.
Published: March 2021

This article investigates the significance of personifications depicted on national currencies of Eastern Europe in the 19th – 21st cent. Eastern Europe is considered as a region of high research potential due to its status of borderland space with active symbolic struggle on political, socioeconomic and cultural levels. Currency design is an ideological tool that defines collective cultural tradition and historical memory, while national narratives vary in their response to the conditions of their formation. Basing on the visual analysis of money that circulated on the territories of Belarus, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and the Ukraine, the author outlines main categories of human depictions used in the currency design of the states that emerged in the region during the mentioned period. In the 19th cent., most widespread were money of the Russian Empire featuring the emperors and state representation Mother Russia. After the October Revolution in 1917, new states emerged in the region, but no personifications were used in their currency design. Human depictions of that time featured either ordinary people correlating with socialist movements or notable persons denoting political and cultural authenticity of certain state. Another category of human depictions was allegorical feminine figures representing patriarchal values and reproductive resources. Most remarkable examples of this type are Polish coins depicting state representation Polonia (or queen Jadwiga) as well as Polish banknotes with Mother Poland and national heroine Emilia Plater, both issued during the dictatorship of Jósef Piłsudski. Contemporary issues of money use no state representations, preferring instead either notable people, mostly men among them, or introducing other means of cultural representations not related to human depictions. Thus state representations used in the designs of national currencies become less popular in the 21st cent. due to globalisation and de-materialisation of money.
Artificial intelligence and the problem of redundant people
Authors:   Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine, Zuiev A. M.
Published: March 2021

Last five-ten years was very productive in development of machine learning creating some kind of artificial intelligence in the foreseen future starts looking realistic. And creating and development of artificial intelligence will raise a lot of ethical questions as well.
Self-driving car dilemmas. what ethical problems can you find in self-driving car prospects?
Authors:   Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine, Korovai K. O.
Published: March 2021

Self-driving cars are a completely new way forward in mobility.
Doğu Karadeniz Şehirlerine Yönelik Marka Şehir Tutumları Üzerine Bir Araştırma
Authors: ASLAN Emre Ş. , TAŞDEMİR Erdem , YARAR Ali Erkam
Published: March 2021

Şehirler, bir yerleşim yeri olmakla birlikte aynı zamanda sosyal, kültürel ve ekonomik etkileşim merkezleridir. Şehirlerin en önemli görevlerinden biri vatandaşlarının huzurunu ve refahını artırmaktır. Şehirlerin bu görevlerini yerine getirebilmeleri için somut değerlerin yanında soyut değerler de üretmeleri gerekmektedir. Bu soyut değerlerin başında marka yer almaktadır. Şehirlerin markalaşma yolu ile soyut değerlere sahip olması, bir ürünün ulaşamayacağı derecede yüksek gelire ulaşması anlamına gelmektedir. Bu yüksek gelire ulaşmak isteyen şehirlerin son yıllarda markalaşma çalışmalarına önem verdikleri görülmektedir. Markalaşma çalışmaları çoğunlukla dış hedef kitleye yönelik yapılmaktadır. Ancak, iç hedef kitlede markalaşmayan hiçbir ürün, hizmet veya değer, gerçekten markalaşmış olmaz. Markanın en önemli temsilcilerinden olan iç hedef kitle, aynı zamanda markanın bir taşıyıcısı ve inşa edicisi konumundadır. İç hedef kitleye diğer bir ifadeyle o şehirde ikamet eden bireylere odaklanan bu araştırma, bireylerin kendi şehirleriyle ilgili marka tutumlarını ölçmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Doğu Karadeniz Bölgesi’nde yer alan yedi şehir üzerinde gerçekleştirilen bu araştırmada, her bir şehirde yaşayan şehir sakinlerine kendi şehirleri ile ilgili marka tutumları sorulmuş ve elde edilen cevaplar analiz edilmiştir. İstatistik paket programı yardımıyla analiz edilen sonuçlar, temelde iki farklı boyutta incelenmiştir. İlk boyut tüm şehirlerden toplanan verilerle bölge şehirlerinin geneline yönelik tutumları içerirken, ikinci boyutta ise her bir şehir ayrı ayrı analiz edilmektedir. Frekans, güvenilirlik ve faktör analizlerinden yararlanılan bu araştırma, 1315 kişi üzerinde uygulanmış ve 1221 anket araştırmaya dahil edilmiştir. Bu çalışmada bölge şehirlerine yönelik genel marka tutumlarının beş faktör çerçevesinde kavramsallaştırılabildiği görülmektedir. Bunlar; aidiyet, özdeğer, farkındalık, kalite ve çekiciliktir.
Characterizations of Some Probability Distributions with Completely Monotonic Density Functions
Authors: Shakil Mohammad , Dr. Mohammad Ahsanullah  , Kibria Dr. B. M. G. Kibria
Published: March 2021

For a non-negative continuous random variable , Chaudhry and Zubair (2002, p. 19) introduced a probability distribution with a completely monotonic probability density function based on the generalized gamma function, and called it the Macdonald probability function. In this paper, we establish various basic distributional properties of Chaudhry and Zubair’s Macdonald probability distribution. Since the percentage points of a given distribution are important for any statistical applications, we have also computed the percentage points for different values of the parameter involved. Based on these properties, we establish some new characterization results of Chaudhry and Zubair’s Macdonald probability distribution by the left and right truncated moments, order statistics and record values. Characterizations of certain other continuous probability distributions with completely monotonic probability density functions such as Mckay, Pareto and exponential distributions are also discussed by the proposed characterization techniques.