bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Environmental effects of the Beaufort Lens on underwater acoustic communications during Arctic operations
Authors:   , Goodwin Daniel W.
Published: August 2021

Operations in the Arctic Ocean are increasingly important due to the changing environment and the resulting global implications. These changes range from the availability of new global trade routes, accessibility of newly available resources in the area, and national security interests of the United States in the region. It’s necessary to build a greater understanding of the undersea environment and how it’s changing since these environmental changes have a direct impact on adjusting future operations in the region and looming global changes as less Arctic ice is present. The recent presence of the Beaufort Lens is changing the acoustic propagation paths throughout the Arctic region. Here a network of buoys were employed to communicate with an Autonomous Undersea Vehicle (AUV) while it operated under the ice throughout the Beaufort Lens with the goal of achieving near GPS quality navigation. The acoustic communications paths were compared using a vertical array throughout the Beaufort Lens. This beam forming was compared to the prediction from BELLHOP. As well, since acoustic communications are affected by multi-path, attenuation and interference from other sources it was interesting to note that bottom bounce was sometimes a reliable acoustic path.
Studi Pengaruh Fraksi Coated Fuel Particle pada Desain Pebble Bed Reactor 40 MWt Berbahan Bakar Uranium
Authors: Irwanto Dwi , Yuningsih Nining
Published: August 2021

Coated Fuel Particle (CFP) adalah tipe elemen bakar mikro berdiameter lebih kecil dari 1 mm, yang di dalamnya terdapat material fisil yang dilapisi oleh beberapa lapisan karbon. Pebble Bed Reactor (PBR) menggunakan konsep CFP untuk elemen bakarnya. CFP dimasukan ke dalam bola elemen bakar berukuran 6 cm dan disebar di dalam zona elemen bakar. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mempelajari pengaruh dari fraksi CFP terhadap beberapa parameter neutronik penting seperti faktor multiplikasi efektif, spektrum energi neutron, perubahan densitas material fisil dan fertil, serta tingkat utilisasi material fisil. Analisa dilakukan untuk pada sistem PBR berdaya 40 MWt dengan menggunakan kode Monte Carlo MVP/MVP-BURN, dengan fraksi CFP yang dianalisa berkisar antara 5-60%. Dari penelitian ini didapatkan bahwa fraksi CFP sebesar 10% memberikan nilai optimal untuk beberapa parameter neutronik terkait dan dapat dijadikan acuan untuk desain Pebble Bed Reactor berdaya 40 MWt dengan elemen bakar uranium.
An assessment of the regulatory legal and institutional framework of the mining industry in South Africa and Kenya for effective human rights protection: Lessons for other countries
Authors: Igbayiloye Oluwatosin B , Bradlow Danny
Published: August 2021

SUMMARY The priorities ofAfrican governments regarding the extractive industry tend to focus on economic interests leading them to provide a conducive environment for investments by private entities. Furthermore, reforms in the industry are inclined to promote these priorities with less consideration for adequate protection for affected people and their environment, including protection from resulting social and environmental impacts. The result in economies endowed with mineral resources is that resources are poorly managed and the outcomes of exploitation of mineral resources are environmental degradation, loss of lives, displacement, conflicts between companies and mining communities, protests against mining projects, and human rights violations. These problems in the long run slow down development and forestall its benefits because of poor regard for the concerns of affected people by the government and companies. Filling the gaps in extractive policies, particularly in the area of protection of communities and their environment affected by activities of the extractive industry, is essential to tackle the environmental and social outcomes of mining activities. In this article the legal and institutional framework regulating the mining industry in selected jurisdictions in Africa is examined to determine the extent to which they respond to the problems arising from the development of mineral resources, particularly the human rights violations caused by the adverse impacts of mining. Some lessons are drawn for the benefit of other countries. The article argues that some of these mining policies poorly encourage effective protection of affected communities, particularly human rights, in mining developments. The article proposes that mineral legal regimes need to be strengthened for the effective protection of affected people and their environment. Key words: mining industry; mineral resources; mining; mining policies; human rights
Ankilozan Spondilit Tanılı Hastalarda Uyku Kalitesinin Hastalık Parametreleri ile Olan İlişkisinin Değerlendirilmesi
Authors: ZONTUL Sezgin , ALTAY Zühal
Published: August 2021

Amaç: Bu çalışmanın amacı, ankilozan spondilit tanılı hastalarda uyku kalitesinin hastalık parametreleri ve uyku bozukluğu yapabilecek diğer bazı nedenler ile olan ilişkisini değerlendirmektir. Gereç ve yöntem: Çalışmaya takipleri devam eden 122 ankilozan spondilit hastası dahil edildi. Hastalar pittsburg uyku kalitesi indeksine göre uyku kalitesi iyi olanlar ve kötü olanlar olmak üzere 2 gruba ayrıldı. Hastalar yaş, cinsiyet, boy, kilo, medeni hal, eğitim durumu, tanı tarihi, tanı konulan merkez, bugüne kadar aldıkları medikal tedaviler, tedaviye bağlı yan etkiler, geçirdiği cerrahi operasyonlar ve başka bilinen kronik hastalık açısından sorgulandı. Ayrıca bu hastalardan alınan rutin kan tetkiklerinden CBC, AST, ALT, BUN, Kreatinin, sedimentasyon, CRP olgu rapor formuna kaydedildi. Hastalar VAS, short form-36 (SF-36), Uluslararası Huzursuz Bacak Sendromu Çalışma Grubu kriterleri anketi, beck depresyon, beck anksiyete, BASMI, BASFI, BASDAI ölçekleri ile değerlendirildi. Gruplar bu ölçeklerden elde edilen sonuçlar ile karşılaştırıldı. Bulgular: Hastalarda genel popülasyona göre daha yüksek oranda kötü uyku kalitesi ve huzursuz bacak sendromu saptandı. Gruplar arasında ağrı, yaşam kalitesi, depresyon, anksiyete, BASFİ ve BASDAİ açısından istatistiksel olarak anlamlı fark saptandı. BASMI ve huzursuz bacak sendromu açısından ise anlamlı fark saptanmadı. Sonuç: Bu bulgulardan yola çıkarak AS hastalarında uyku bozukluklarına sık rastlandığı ve bunun ağrı, hastalık aktivitesi, anksiyete, depresyon, kötü yaşam kalitesi ve fonksiyonel durum ile yakından ilişkili olduğu saptanmıştır. Ayrıca huzursuz bacak sendromunun AS hastalarında sık rastlanan bir durum olduğu sonucuna varılmıştır.
Temperature Phased Anaerobic Digestion at the Intermediate Zone of 45 °C: Performances, Stability and Pathogen Deactivation
Authors: Mohd Nuruol Syuhadaa , Li Baoqiang , Ibrahim Shaliza , Riffat Rumana
Published: August 2021

Temperature phased anaerobic digestion (TPAD) systems with conventional sequences (first stage of 55 ℃ and second stage of 35 ℃) have been widely studied. However, very limited studies were available on TPAD system with the first stage operated at the intermediate zone of 45 °C, mainly due to the notion that limited microbial activity occurs within this zone. The objective of this research was to evaluate the performance, stability and the capability of 45 °C TPAD in producing class A biosolids, in comparison to a conventional TPAD. Four combinations of TPAD systems were studied, 45 ℃ TPAD 2.5/10 (1st stage solids retention time (SRT) 2.5 days/2nd stage SRT 10 days), 45 ℃ TPAD 7.5/10, 55 ℃ TPAD 2.5/10 and 55 ℃ TPAD 7.5/10. Among all, 45 ℃ TPAD 7.5/10 was found to have the best performances, attributed to its high volatile solids (VS) destruction (58%), minimal acetate accumulation (127 mg/L), high methane yield (0.58 m3 CH4/kg VS removed), high COD destruction solid COD (sCOD; 74% and total COD (tCOD) 54%) and minimal free NH3 content (67.5 mg/L). As for stability, stable pH distribution, high alkalinity content and low VFA to alkalinity ratio, indicated a well-buffered system. Additionally, the system had also able to produce class A biosolids. Therefore, proved that TPAD system operated at the intermediate zone of 45 ℃ can perform better than the conventional TPAD, hence, highlighting its economic advantage.
Performances of Reduced Graphene Oxide/Iron (III) Oxide/Silica Dioxide (rGO/Fe3O4/SiO2) as a Potential Oxygen Reduction Electrocatalyst in Fuel Cell
Authors: Yusoff Farhanini , Suresh Karthi
Published: August 2021

Synthesis of the nanocomposite comprises reduced graphene oxide, iron (III) oxide and silica dioxide nanocomposites which were denoted as rGO/Fe3O4/SiO2. The acquired nanocomposite was determined to be a substitute for platinum electrode in oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) to catalyze reaction, as usage of platinum causes disadvantages in production. The nanocomposite was analyzed physically and electrochemically to ensure the quality of the synthesized compound. Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) shows the presences of functional groups such as O-H hydroxyl group, C=C, C=O and existence of silica peak in the spectra of rGO/Fe3O4/SiO2, where the data is also supported by SEM-EDS. Raman Spectrophotometer shows the structural change of three different graphene related materials as modification took place and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis confirms the reduction of GO into rGO, where the crystalline structure decreased significantly approximately about 10 nm. This data supported with Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis through surface area examination. The compound of rGO/Fe3O4/SiO2 was drop-casted onto glassy carbon electrode (GCE) for modification into rGO/Fe3O4/SiO2/GCE to carry out electrochemical analysis where Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) shows current response by modified electrode is greater than bare GCE while Electron Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) of same modified electrode affirms the sample underwent reversible process with stable and rapid electron transfers with minimal resistance charge transfer (RCT). The study of ORR was carried out and observed a good electrochemical response of the nanocomposite when purged with oxygen gas.
Composite Pareto Distributions for Modelling Household Income Distribution in Malaysia
Authors: Abdul Majid Muhammad Hilmi , Ibrahim Kamarulzaman
Published: August 2021

Composite Pareto distributions are flexible as the models allow for data to be described by two distributions: a Pareto distribution for the data above a threshold value and another separate distribution for data below the threshold value. It is noted in some previous literatures that the Paretian tail behaviour can be observed in the distribution of Malaysian household income. In this paper, the composite Pareto models are fitted to the Malaysian household income data of several years. These fitted composite Pareto models are then compared to several univariate models for describing income distribution using pseudo-likelihood based AIC, BIC and Kolmogorov-Smirnov goodness-of-fit test. It is found that the income distributions in Malaysia can be best described by the lognormal-Pareto (II) model as compared to other candidate models.
Camino hacia la inclusión educativa: 4 pasos para la construcción de sistemas de protección de trayectorias: Paso 1: Exclusión educativa en ALC: ¿cómo los sistemas de protección de trayectorias pueden ayudar?
Authors: Arias Ortiz Elena , Giambruno Cecilia , Muñoz Stuardo Gonzalo , Pérez Alfaro Marcelo
Published: August 2021

El presente documento constituye la primera de cuatro publicaciones de la serie Camino hacia la inclusión educativa: 4 pasos para la construcción de sistemas de protección de trayectorias. El objetivo de esta serie es constituirse en una guía para ministerios y secretarías de Educación de la región interesadas en el diseño y la implementación de sistemas de protección de trayectorias. La serie consolida el conocimiento existente sobre la protección de las trayectorias educativas de los estudiantes, en un contexto en el que el desafío de la exclusión en América Latina y el Caribe (ALC) es cada vez más extenso. Esta primera publicación tiene por objetivo introducir los sistemas de protección de trayectorias, con una exposición que abarca desde su conceptualización y sus objetivos hasta sus dos principales componentes: detección e intervención. Además, presenta un breve panorama de la exclusión educativa en ALC, junto con una revisión de la literatura sobre los principales factores que inciden en la desvinculación de los estudiantes. Por último, detalla lecciones aprendidas y recomendaciones para poner en marcha sistemas de protección de trayectorias educativas.
Las razones para redefinir la muerte y su crítica
Authors: Mayorga Madrigal Alberto Cuauthémoc , Ayala Castillo Dalila
Published: August 2021

A más de cincuenta años del Informe de Harvard, la redefinición propuesta para la muerte continúa siendo problemática y no goza de un consenso internacional. La posibilidad de trasplantar órganos vitales y el avance de los soportes artificiales para el mantenimiento de algunas funciones sustantivas impulsó la necesidad de redefinir la noción de muerte. Al proponer nuevas definiciones surge también un conjunto de interrogantes éticos y técnicos. En este texto exponemos algunas de las principales razones y críticas a la pretensión de definir la muerte encefálica como muerte. Para dicho propósito, realizamos un análisis de las críticas que, sobre este punto, hizo Hans Jonas, así como las refutaciones a su posición. Por otra parte, presentamos algunos de los criterios en que se fundamentan las pruebas diagnósticas y la escasez del consenso en este sentido. De esta manera pretendemos mostrar que los diferentes puntos de vista para definir la muerte, a pesar de no lograr acuerdos entre las diferentes comunidades, requieren un análisis y debate continuos con el fin de dar atención sustentada a los factores que motivaron la redefinición de la muerte.
Jahi McMath, a New Disorder of Consciousness
Authors: Machado Calixto
Published: August 2021

In this paper, I review the case of Jahi McMath, who was diagnosed with brain death (BD). Nonetheless, ancillary tests performed nine months after the initial brain insult showed conservation of intracranial structures, EEG activity, and autonomic reactivity to the “Mother Talks” stimulus. She was clinically in an unarousable and unresponsive state, without evidence of self-awareness or awareness of the environment. However, the total absence of brainstem reflexes and partial responsiveness rejected the possibility of a coma. Jahi did not have uws because she was not in a wakefulness state and showed partial responsiveness. She could not be classified as a LIS patient either because LIS patients are wakeful and aware, and although quadriplegic, they fully or partially preserve brainstem reflexes, vertical eye movements or blinking, and respire on their own. She was not in an MCS because she did not preserve arousal and preserved awareness only partially. The CRS-R resulted in a very low score, incompatible with MCS patients. mcs patients fully or partially preserve brainstem reflexes and usually breathe on their own. MCS has always been described as a transitional state between a coma and UWS but never reported in a patient with all clinical BD findings. This case does not contradict the concept of BD but brings again the need to use ancillary tests in BD up for discussion. I concluded that Jahi represented a new disorder of consciousness, non-previously described, which I have termed “reponsive unawakefulness syndrome” (RUS).
Representaciones sociales sobre corrección y castigo en madres estudiantes universitarias
Authors: Bedoya Gallego Diana Marcela , Jiménez Pérez Laura Carolina , Careth Henao Jhon Anthony , González Gaviria Maira Alejandra , Correa Cano Disney Tatiana , Valencia Arboleda León Darío
Published: August 2021

La investigación tuvo por objetivo conocer las representaciones sociales que sobre corrección y castigo tienen las estudiantes madres de una institución de educación superior. Una revisión de antecedentes sobre maltrato infantil permitió identificar que algunos casos asociados a dicho evento quedan subsumidos bajo la premisa de acciones correctivas y de castigo, ubicando a la madre como la principal presunta agresora, aspecto que exige considerar las diferentes condiciones en las que se ejerce la maternidad. Metodológicamente se recurrió al estudio estructural de las representaciones sociales, propuesto por J.C. Abric. Los hallazgos sugieren que, si bien existe una diferencia semántica entre los términos corrección y castigo, a estos subyacen como elemento común referencias relacionadas con maltrato, aspecto que se constituye en un elemento de carácter cultural y que, en asocio con diferentes factores de riesgo, entre ellos, la simultaneidad de roles, potencian el riesgo de prácticas parentales negativas.
Dinámica de las relaciones amorosas en WhatsApp. Un análisis desde la semiótica
Authors: Gallo Carvajal Natalia Adelaida , Rojas Rojas Lizeth Rocío
Published: August 2021

Las redes sociales constituyen un aspecto fundamental en la vida de los jóvenes debido a que las relaciones interpersonales se establecen bajo parámetros distintos a épocas pasadas; por convención social se estereotipan y determinan las formas de sentir y pensar, abarcando áreas complejas como la de los sentimientos, donde el amor hoy por hoy es un término complicado de puntualizar. Por consiguiente, la presente comunicación determinó como finalidad analizar elementos lingüísticos y visuales que reúne la aplicación WhatsApp en un caso particular de interacción, desde una mirada teórica y metodológica propia de los estudios de la semiótica parisina. Dentro de los principales hallazgos se encuentra la pertinencia de las dinámicas de significación que, sujetas a componentes multimodales, influyen como una de las principales causas de las alteraciones comportamentales en una relación de pareja.
Responses of Rice Farmers Engaged in Vegetable Production: Implications of the Collapse of Vegetable Prices in the Fogera Plain
Authors: Alemu Dawit , Kinfe Tirhas
Published: August 2021

Since the early 1980s, the Fogera Plain has been one of Ethiopia's major rice production areas. The introduction of rice, its commercialisation and the subsequent increased surplus production has led to the ability of smallholder rice farmers to intensify their production through diverse investments, mainly in supplementary irrigation. This has also enabled rice farmers to diversify crop production, mainly during the off-season, through the production of high-value crops like vegetables. Despite this expansion, a recent visit to the Fogera Plain by the authors revealed that most smallholder rice farmers were not able to sell their onions due to the collapse of local markets. To investigate this collapse further, this paper follows the authors' investigation of farmer investments in producing onion, their responses to the collapse of the onion market, and the implications for rural livelihood improvement within the Fogera Plain.
HISTOPATHOLOGICAL CHANGES OF KIDNEY OF BROILER CHICKEN EXPOSED TO CHRONIC HEAT STRESS
Authors: Xin Irene Teh Kai , Plumeriastuti Hani , Anwar Chairul , Rachmawati Kadek , Utama Suzanita , Legowo Djoko
Published: August 2021

The aim of this research was to know histopathological changes of kidney of broiler chicken exposed to chronic heat stress. Twenty broilers were divided randomly into 2 groups, 10 broilers each are being exposed to chronic heat stress for 21 days. The first 21 days were the adaptation period in a chamber with temperature 24-28o C and humidity 40-55%. After 21 days, continue with exposure to heat stress in a chamber with temperature 36-40o C and humidity 50-65% in 8 hours per day. After exposed to chronic heat stress, kidney tissues were processed, and kidney tissue histopathological changes were evaluated by using the Klopfleisch modified scoring method. The data was analyzed by Mann – Whitney Test. The result of this research showed that chronic heat stress exposure causing the presence of degeneration of tubular epithelial cell, necrosis of tubular epithelial cell, necrosis of glomerular and interstitial infiltration. From the analysis data the overviewof multiparametric showed that when control group compared with the treatment group showed significantly difference (p<0.05).
KEMAMPUAN MALARISIDAL NANOPARTIKEL EKSTRAK DAUN JUWET (Syzygium cumini) SEBAGAI TERAPI AJUVAN PADA HISTOPATOLOGI HATI MENCIT (Mus musculus) PENDERITA MALARIA
Authors: Pujiyanto Mahendra , Maslachah Lilik , Triakoso Nusdianto , Lazuardi Mochamad , Anwar Chairul , Legowo Djoko
Published: August 2021

The aimed of this study is to know malaricidal ability of nanoparticle juwet (Syzygium cumini) leaf extract as adjuvant therapy on liver histopathological of mice (Mus musculus) which infected by Plasmodium berghei. This research uses 30 mice which are divided into six treatment groups namely K0 (not infected without treated), K+ (infected without treated), K1 (infected and treated with chloroquin), K2 (infected and treated with juwet leaf extract), P1 (infected and treated with juwet leaf extract nanoparticle) and P2 (infected and combination treated with chloroquine and juwet leaf extract nanoparticle) which infected by 1x105 in 0.2 ml of Plasmodium berghei. The data were analyzed by Kruskal Wallis using SPSS and followed with Mann-Whitney test. This research result showed there was significant difference (p < 0.05) between K1 and P2, but did not showed significant difference (p > 0.05) with K+, K2 and P1. Based on this research, it could be concluded that nanoparticle juwet (Syzygium cumini) leaf extract as adjuvant therapy estimated can increase malaricidal ability in degeneration, necrosis, portal inflammation, Kupffer cell hyperplasia, sinusoidal congestion, and hemosiderosis in mice liver which infected by Plasmodium berghei.
Relationship between Information Skills and Antiretroviral Adherence in People Living With HIV/AIDS
Authors: Lailiah Novianti , Nursalam Nursalam , Kurniawati Ninuk Dian
Published: August 2021

Introduction: Adherence in ARV therapy is an important mechanism in preventing drug resistance. The level of adherence is influenced by several factors, one of which is the information skills factor. This study aims to analyze the relationship between information skills and ARV adherence in People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA).Method: This was a cross-sectional approach with a sample size of 100 respondents who were selected through simple random sampling technique. The inclusion criteria for respondents were PLWHA who were undergoing ARV therapy, cooperative, aged 20-60 years. The instrument used was information skills questionnaire and Medical Adherence Rating Scale (MARS). The data were analyzed using descriptive analysis and logistic regression test with p value ≤ 0.05.Results: Information skills were  associated with ARV adherence (p = 0.01). Information skills consisting of knowledge about HIV/AIDS and ARV therapy can increase ARV adherence in PLWHA with indicators taking drugs regularly and have medical control on schedule.Conclusions: The information skills factor has an effect on ARV adherence. Increasing information skills can be done through educational activities or peer-group support aimed at gaining insight into disease and treatment, especially for newly diagnosed PLWHA.
Pengaruh Laserpunktur dan Penambahan Probiotik dalam Laju Pertumbuhan Sapi Bali (Bos sondaicus) Jantan
Authors: Prakoso Febriyono Anggela , Adikara Raden Tatang Santanu , Kusnoto Kusnoto , Hidanah Sri , Dhamayanti Yeni , Warsito Sunaryo Hadi
Published: August 2021

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of laserpuncture shoot towards the growth rate of male Bali cattle. This reasearch was done in July until August 2018 in Cendono Village, Pasuruan. This research uses 18 samples with completely randomized design as a research methods. This research used 18 male Bali cattle aged 2 – 2.5 year. This research divided by 3 groups are the control group (P0, which is without laserpuncture shooting) and two treatment groups (P1, which is laserpuncture shooting with 0.5 joule of doses and P2, which is laserpuncture shooting with 0.5 joule of doses and bioplus probiotic). Laserpuncture shooting already done for 6 weeks with 6 days of interval. The result is weight of cuttle is increasing and it is known from digital weight scales. The data is analyzed by using ANOVA test and followed by Duncan. The result is laserpuncture shooting at the growth point can be increasing the weight of male Bali cattle. Stastical comparison amon P0, P1 and P2 showed there were significant difference on growth rate (p<0.05). The result showed that induction of laserpuncture and bioplus probiotic has effect for growth gain rate of male Bali cattle. The optimal rate of weight gain occured in the second week with laserpuncture induction at dose of 0.5 joule and the six week with laserpuncture induction at dose of 0.5 joule and bioplus probiotic.
Design and Applications of Multi-Frequency Holographic Subsurface Radar: Review and Case Histories
Authors: Ivashov Sergey I. , Capineri Lorenzo , Bechtel Tim , Inagaki Masaharu , Razevig Vladimir , Gueorguiev Nikolay , Kizilay Ahmet
Published: August 2021

Holographic subsurface radar (HSR) is not currently not in widespread usage. This is
due to an historical perspective in the ground penetrating radar (GPR) community that the high
attenuation of electromagnetic waves in most media of interest, and the inability to apply timevarying
gain to the continuous wave (CW) HSR signal precludes sufficient effective penetration
depth. While it is true that the fundamental physics of HSR, with its use of a CW signal, does not
allow amplification of later (i.e. deeper) arrivals in lossy media (as is possible with impulse
subsurface radar — ISR), HSR has distinct advantages. The most important of these is the ability
to do shallow subsurface imaging with a resolution that is not possible with ISR. In addition, the
design of an HSR system is simpler than for ISR due to the relatively low-tech transmitting and
receiving antennae. This paper provides a review of the main principles of HSR through an
optical analogy and describes possible algorithms for radar hologram reconstruction. We also
present a review of the history of development of systems and applications for HSR of the
“RASCAN” type which is possibly the only commercially available holographic subsurface
radars. Among the subsurface imaging and remote sensing applications considered are
humanitarian demining, construction inspection, nondestructive testing of dielectric aerospace
materials, surveys of historic architecture and artworks, paleontology, and security screening.
Each application is illustrated with relevant data acquired in laboratory and/or field experiments.
WikiServe: Using Wikipedia to Match IoT based Services for Situation Response
Authors: Khan Sazid Zaman , Colman Alan , Sarker Iqbal H.
Published: August 2021

A large number of smart devices (things) are being deployed with the swift development of Internet of Things (IOT). These devices, owned by different organizations, have a wide variety of services to offer over the web. During a natural disaster or emergency (i.e., a situation), for example, relevant IOT services can be found and put to use. However, appropriate service matching methods are required to find the relevant services. Organizations that manage situation responses and organizations that provide IOT services are likely to be independent of each other, and therefore it is difficult for them to adopt a common ontological model to facilitate the service matching. Moreover, there exists a large conceptual gap between the domain of discourse for situations and the domain of discourse for services, which cannot be adequately bridged by existing techniques. In this paper, we address these issues and propose a new method, WikiServe, to identify IOT services that are functionally relevant to a given situation. Using concepts (terms) from situation and service descriptions, WikiServe employs Wikipedia as a knowledge source to bridge the conceptual gap between situation and service descriptions and match functionally relevant IOT services for a situation. It uses situation terms to retrieve situation related articles from Wikipedia. Then it creates a ranked list of services for the situation using the weighted occurrences of service terms in weighted situation articles. WikiServe performs better than a commonly used baseline method in terms of Precision, Recall and F measure for service matching.
Improvements in Modern Weapons Systems: The Use of Dielectric Materials for the Development of Advanced Models of Electric Weapons Powered by Brushless Homopolar Generator
Authors: Golea Daniela Georgiana , Cozma Lucian Stefan
Published: August 2021

Although the idea of making electric weapons has emerged since the beginning of the 20th Century, the great number of technological problems made that such technology was not developed. During the Cold War, the US strategic programme Space Defensive Initiative paid a special attention to this category of weapons, but the experiments have demonstrated that the prototypes are too big, very heavy, and involve a very high energy consumption and low reliability. Under these circumstances, the authors have noticed the trend to design new types of electric weapons starting from the hybridization of some technologies: the compressed flux weapons, the plasma electromagnetic cannon, the electromagnetic weapons as the coil-gun and rail-gun.
Hashimoto's Thyroiditis Autoimmune Disease: Background and Current Status, Update Overview of Biotechnological and Biomedical Fields and Future Trends for 3D Models
Authors: Capuzzo Arnaud Martino
Published: August 2021

Hashimoto thyroiditis, also known as chronic autoimmune thyroiditis or chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis, is an autoimmune illness in which thyroid cells are damaged by immunological mechanisms involving cells and antibodies. Thyroid peroxidase and/or thyroglobulin autoantibodies in the serum are biochemical indicators of the condition, with females having a higher incidence than males and increasing with age. It's the leading cause of hypothyroidism in affluent countries. Inadequate dietary iodine intake, on the other hand, is the most common cause of hypothyroidism worldwide. The development of antithyroid antibodies that target the thyroid tissue, causing gradual fibrosis, is the pathogenesis of Hashimoto thyroiditis. The diagnosis can be difficult, and as a result, the problem is frequently not detected until late in the disease process. The most prevalent laboratory findings are raised TSH and low thyroxine (T4) levels, as well as enhanced antithyroid peroxidase (anti-TPO) antibodies. The pathogenesis, diagnosis, and management of Hashimoto thyroiditis are discussed in this article.
Accuracy and Repeatability Tests on HoloLens 2 and HTC Vive
Authors: Soares Inês , Sousa Ricardo , Petry Marcelo , Moreira António
Published: August 2021

Augmented and Virtual Reality have been experiencing a rapidly growth in recent years, but there is not still a deep knowledge on their capabilities and where they could be explored. In that sense, this paper presents a study on the accuracy and repeatability of the Microsoft's HoloLens 2 (Augmented Reality device) and HTC Vive (Virtual Reality device) using an OptiTrack system as ground truth. For the HoloLens 2, the method used was hand tracking, while in HTC Vive, the object tracked was the system's hand controller. A series of tests in different scenarios and situations were performed to explore what could influence the measures. The HTC Vive obtained results in the millimetre scale, while the HoloLens 2 revealed not so accurate measures (around 2 centimetres). Although the difference can seem to be considerable, the fact that HoloLens 2 was tracking the user's hand and not an inherit controller made a huge impact. The results were considered a significant step for the on going project of developing a human-robot interface to program by demonstration an industrial robot using Extended Reality, which shows great potential to succeed based on this data.
Alleviating oxidative damage-induced telomere attrition: a potential mechanism for inhibition by folic acid of apoptosis in neural stem cells
Authors: Li Zhenshu , Li Wen , Zhou Dezheng , Zhao Jing , Ma Yue , Huang Ling , Dong Cuixia , Wilson John X. , Huang Guowei
Published: August 2021

DNA oxidative damage can cause telomere attrition or dysfunction that triggers cell senescence and apoptosis. The hypothesis of this study is that folic acid decreases apoptosis in neural stem cells (NSCs) by preventing oxidative stress-induced telomere attrition. Primary cultures of NSCs were incubated for 9 days with various concentrations of folic acid (0 - 40 µM ) and then incubated for 24 h with a combination of folic acid and an oxidant (100 µM hydrogen peroxide, H 2 O 2 ), antioxidant (10 mM N-acetyl-L-cysteine, NAC) or vehicle. Intracellular folate concentration, apoptosis rate, cell proliferative capacity, telomere length, telomeric DNA oxidative damage, telomerase activity, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, cellular oxidative damage, and intracellular antioxidant enzyme activities were determined. The results showed that folic acid deficiency in NSCs decreased intracellular folate concentration, cell proliferation, telomere length and telomerase activity, but increased apoptosis, telomeric DNA oxidative damage and intracellular ROS levels. In contrast, folic acid supplementation dose-dependently increased intracellular folate concentration, cell proliferative capacity, telomere length and telomerase activity but decreased apoptosis, telomeric DNA oxidative damage and intracellular ROS levels. Exposure to H 2 O 2 aggravated telomere attrition and oxidative damage whereas NAC alleviated the latter. High doses of folic acid prevented telomere attrition and telomeric DNA oxidative damage by H 2 O 2 . In conclusion, inhibition of telomeric DNA oxidative damage and telomere attrition in NSCs maybe potential mechanisms of inhibiting NSCs apoptosis by folic acid.
A Game Theoretic Model For Cellular Network Operators’ Cooperation Under Government Intervention
Authors: Fander Atieh , Yaghoubi Saeed , Tajik Javad
Published: August 2021

In the digital world today, cellular networks and their operators play a competitive and important role in communications. The basis of the competition of operators, the quality of provided services, and the coverage level of their antennas, thereby attract customers. This paper studies cellular networks with two old and new operators and under the influence of government intervention in one area. Due to the high cost of building an antenna, the new operator participates in the cost of the infrastructure of the old operator to use the services of these antennas for their customers. On the other hand, the government considers incentive schemes to support mobile operators. The government plan is that he takes part in the infrastructure cost of the old operator and will receive it an income tax; to support the new operator declare it exempt from tax. The government subsidy contract with the old operator is based on the coverage level of the antenna and supports the operator to increase the coverage level. Some numerical examples for Iranian telecommunication companies are applied to examine the applicability of the proposed models. Finally, sensitivity analysis on the main parameters is analyzed in-depth to extract some managerial implications.
Identifying and Correcting Biases in Localized Downscaling Estimates of Daily Precipitation Return Values
Authors: Risser Mark , Feldman Daniel , Wehner Michael , Pierce David , Arnold Jeff
Published: August 2021

Extreme precipitation events are a major cause of economic damage and disruption, and need to be addressed for increasing resilience to a changing climate, particularly at the local scale. Practitioners typically want to understand local changes at spatial scales much smaller than the native resolution of most Global Climate Models, for which down scaling techniques are used to translate planetary-to-regional scale change information to local scales. However, users of statistically downscaled outputs should be aware that how the observational data used to train the statistical models is constructed determines key properties of the downscaled solutions. Specifically for one such downscaling approach, when considering seasonal return values of extreme daily precipitation, we find that the Localized Constructed Analogs (LOCA) method produces a significant low bias in return values due to choices made in building the observational data set used to train LOCA. The LOCA low biases in daily extremes are consistent across event extremity, but do not degrade the over all performance of LOCA-derived changes in extreme daily precipitation. We show that the low bias in daily extremes is a function of a time-of-day adjustment applied to the training data and the manner of gridding daily precipitation data. The effects of these choices are likely to affect other downscaling methods trained with observations made in the same way. The results developed here show that efforts to improve resilience at the local level using extreme precipitation projections can benefit from using products specifically created to properly capture the statistics of extreme daily precipitation events.
Short-Term Impact of Ambient Temperature on the Incidence of Influenza in Wuhan, China
Authors: Li Yanbing , Wu Jingtao , Hao Jiayuan , Dou Qiujun , Xiang Hao , Liu Suyang
Published: August 2021

Few studies have estimated the nonlinear association of ambient temperature with the risk of influenza. We therefore applied a time-series analysis to explore the short-term effect of ambient temperature on the incidence of influenza in Wuhan, China. Daily influenza cases were collected from Hubei Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Hubei CDC) from January 1st, 2014 to December 31st, 2017. The meteorological and daily pollutant data was obtained from the Hubei Meteorological Service Center and National Air Quality Monitoring Stations, respectively. We used a generalized additive model (GAM) coupled with the distributed lag nonlinear model (DLNM) to explore the exposure-lag-response relationship between the short-term risk of influenza and daily average ambient temperature. Analyses were also performed to assess the extreme cold and hot temperature effects. We observed that the ambient temperature was statistically significant, and the exposure-response curve is approximately S-shaped, with a peak observed at 23.57℃. The single-day lag curve showed that extreme hot and cold temperatures were both significantly associated with influenza. The extreme hot temperature has an acute effect on influenza, with the most significant effect observed at lag 0-1. The extreme cold temperature has a relatively smaller effect but lasts longer, with the effect exerted continuously during a lag of 2-4 days. Our study found significant nonlinear and delayed associations between ambient temperature and the incidence of influenza. Our finding contributes to the establishment of an early warning system for airborne infectious diseases.
Effects of COVID-19 Lockdown And Unlock On Health of Tropical Large River With Associated Human Health Risk
Authors: Chakraborty Baisakhi , Bera Biswajit , Adhikary Partha Pratim , Bhattacharjee Sumana , Roy Sambhunath , Saha Soumik , Sengupta Debashish , Shit Pravat K
Published: August 2021

From the last month of 2020, sudden outbreak of novel corona virus caused socio-economic lockdown in many countries. Many studies proved that temporary shutdown of economic sectors helped to recover river water quality. Perhaps, for the first time, this present study is conducted in an industrially and agriculturally influenced catchment of river Damodar, India. This research was fixed some relevant objectives like (i) to evaluate the changes of heavy metals (Zn, Cd, Pb, Ni, Cr and Fe) and microbial contamination (TVC, TC and FC) of river water (ii) to identify the magnitude of human health hazard during lockdown compared to pre lockdown and unlock phase. Total 33 water samples were collected in three periods. During lockdown, TVC, TC and FC showed the gradual decreasing trend in this stretch. All samples exceed the concentration of microbes compared to recommended standard in three periods. Among all heavy metals, Zinc, iron, chromium found their abandoned presence in the river water. Heavy Metal Pollution Index (HPI) showed 100% sample water of highly polluted (HPI > 150) type for drinking and other purpose. During lockdown, HPI showed around 54.54% sample changed to lower pollution and 45.45% changed to medium pollution level. During unlock phase, 45.45% samples again changed to high pollution. Pearson’s correlation coefficient and hierarchical cluster analysis indicated strong relation among heavy metals with fecal coliform in this river. This suggests high possibilities of common source of contamination (wastes of iron and steel plant, chemical plant, cement factories, agricultural runoff, municipal sewages etc) in river bed. No carcinogenic Hazard Index (HI) values of ingestion by children indicated higher potentiality to health risk (HI > 1) in all samples of three periods and during lockdown, 36.36% samples showed no possible health risk for adults (HI < 1). HI of dermal contact showed no possible health risk for children and adults in three periods. This assessment strongly recommended scientific and cheep management techniques to control water pollution and related health hazard in the study area.
Individual Exposure to Ambient PM2.5 and Hospital Admissions for COPD in 110 Hospitals: A Case-Crossover Study in Guangzhou, China
Authors: Jin Jie-Qi , Han Dong , Tian Qi , Chen Zhao-Yue , Ye Yun-Shao , Lin Qiao-Xuan , Ou Chun-Quan , Li Li
Published: August 2021

Few studies have evaluated the short-term association between hospital admissions and individual exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM2.5). Particularly, no studies focused on hospital admissions for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) at individual level. We assessed the short-term effects of PM2.5 on hospitalization admissions for COPD in Guangzhou, China, during 2014–2015, based on satellite-derived estimates of ambient PM2.5 concentrations at 1-km resolution near the residential address as individual-level exposure for each patient. 40,002 patients with COPD admitted to 110 hospitals were included in this study. A time-stratified case-crossover design with conditional logistic regression models was applied to assess the effects of PM2.5 based on 1-km grid data of aerosol optical depth provided by National Aeronautics and Space Administration on hospital admissions for COPD. Further, we performed stratified analyses by individual demographic characteristics and season of hospital admission. 10 µg/m3 increase in individual-level PM2.5 was associated with an increase of 1.6% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.6%, 2.7%) in hospitalization for COPD at lag of 0–5 days. The impact of PM2.5 on hospitalization for COPD was greater significantly in male and patients admitted in summer and accordingly the impacts may be exacerbated in the context of global warming. Our study strengthened the evidence for the adverse effect of PM2.5 based on satellite-based individual-level exposure data.
Molecular Docking Studies on the Anti-viral Activity of Cellulose Acetate Phthalate (CAP) Against SARS-CoV-2 by Protease Mpro
Authors: Sharma Akhil , Sharma Shaweta , Guglani Pulkit , Alam Aftab , Gupta Utsav
Published: August 2021

Even after a year, the COVID-19 pandemic produced by the SARS-CoV-2 remains a major source of concerns for scientists. Surprisingly, the primary protease is a key target because of its role in viral propagation. As a result, no significant study in the field of adjuvant has been done too far. CAP stands for “Cellulose Acetate Phthalate”, an industrial polymer utilized in the enteric coating of tablets and capsules. CAP has been shown in certain trials to have anti-HIV properties by using the co-receptor location. Thus, CAP was tested against SAR-primary CoV-2's protease Mpro using in silico methods in the present study. Auto Dock was used to evaluate selected CAP molecules against SAR-CoV-2, and Discovery studio visualizer was used to create 3D and 2D interaction photos. CAP's binding energies were -3.05kcal/mol, -3.78kcal/mol, and -3.01kcal/mol during blind docking, site specific docking, and docking with a N3 inhibitor, respectively. Additionally, the discovery studio visualizer was utilized to look at interacting amino acids and 3D structures. Interestingly, the data from the discovery studio visualizer showed that it established H-bonds with Mpro residues, TYR37, TYR101, and LYS100 during blind docking and LYS88, TYR101, and LYS100 during site specific docking. The findings indicated that CAP binds non-competitively to co-receptor sites and that it may have synergistic effects with other medicines or medications. As a result, it's a good candidate for further testing in the lab and in the clinic.
Transcriptome-Based Identification and Expression Profiling of AP2/ERF Members in Caragana Intermedia and Functional Analysis of CiDREB3
Authors: Liu Kun , Yang Qi , Yang Tianrui , Yang Feiyun , Wang Ruigang , Cong Jingyu , Li Guojing
Published: August 2021

Caragana. intermedia Kuang et H.C.Fu., a xerophytic deciduous shrub that widely distributed in arid and semi-arid desert areas of North-west China, is highly tolerant to cold, drought, salt-alkali and barren. In this study, the transcriptome C. intermedia under drought treatment was screened for the genes encoding the AP2/ERF family of transcription factors. As a result, 22 sequences with complete open reading frames (ORFs) were obtained. All sequences were divided into 13 groups, including the DREB A1 to A6, ERF B1 to B6, and RAV groups. The results of multiple sequence alignment (MSA) analysis, domain distribution analysis, conservative motif analysis and tertiary structure prediction showed that all the AP2/ERF transcription factors contained the AP2 domain. The AP2 domain contained the YRG and RAYD elements. In addition, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was employed to analyze the expression patterns of the 22 AP2/ERF transcription factors in C. intermedia. Most of the transcription factors exhibited tissue-specific expression. The expression of most transcription factors was induced to varying degrees by cold, heat, salt and mannitol stress. Furthermore, Heterologous expression of CiDREB3 in transgenic Arabidopsis L. Heynh decreased root length and fresh weight, decreased rosette leaf diameter and number of leaf, and improved drought tolerance during seedlings development. Taken together, the results of the present study help to better understand the functions of the AP2/ERF family of transcription factors in plant responses to multiple abiotic stresses and deeply insight the roles of CiDREB3 in Arabidopsis morphology and conferring abiotic stress tolerance.