bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Multi-model Meteorological and Aeolian Predictions for Mars 2020 and the Jezero Crater Region
Authors: Newman C. E. , de la Torre Juárez M. , Pla-García J. , Wilson R. J. , Lewis S. R. , Neary L. , Kahre M. A. , Forget F. , Spiga A. , Richardson M. I. , Daerden F. , Bertrand T. , Viúdez-Moreiras D. , Sullivan R. , Sánchez-Lavega A. , Chide B. , Rodriguez-Manfredi J. A.
Published: February 2021

Nine simulations are used to predict the meteorology and aeolian activity of the Mars 2020 landing site region. Predicted seasonal variations of pressure and surface and atmospheric temperature generally agree. Minimum and maximum pressure is predicted at$\text{Ls}\sim 145^{\circ}$Ls∼145∘and$250^{\circ}$250∘, respectively. Maximum and minimum surface and atmospheric temperature are predicted at$\text{Ls}\sim 180^{\circ}$Ls∼180∘and$270^{\circ}$270∘, respectively; i.e., are warmest at northern fall equinox not summer solstice. Daily pressure cycles vary more between simulations, possibly due to differences in atmospheric dust distributions. Jezero crater sits inside and close to the NW rim of the huge Isidis basin, whose daytime upslope (∼east-southeasterly) and nighttime downslope (∼northwesterly) winds are predicted to dominate except around summer solstice, when the global circulation produces more southerly wind directions. Wind predictions vary hugely, with annual maximum speeds varying from 11 to$19~\text{ms}^{-1}$19ms−1and daily mean wind speeds peaking in the first half of summer for most simulations but in the second half of the year for two. Most simulations predict net annual sand transport toward the WNW, which is generally consistent with aeolian observations, and peak sand fluxes in the first half of summer, with the weakest fluxes around winter solstice due to opposition between the global circulation and daytime upslope winds. However, one simulation predicts transport toward the NW, while another predicts fluxes peaking later and transport toward the WSW. Vortex activity is predicted to peak in summer and dip around winter solstice, and to be greater than at InSight and much greater than in Gale crater.
Lawful Humean explanations are not circular
Authors: Duguid Callum
Published: February 2021

A long-standing charge of circularity against regularity accounts of laws has recently seen a surge of renewed interest. The difficulty is that we appeal to laws to explain their worldly instances, but if these laws are descriptions of regularities in the instances then they are explained by those very instances. By the transitivity of explanation, we reach an absurd conclusion: instances of the laws explain themselves. While drawing a distinction between metaphysical and scientific explanations merely modifies the challenge rather than resolving it, I argue that it does point us towards an attractive solution. According to Humeanism, the most prominent form of the regularity view, laws capture information about important patterns in the phenomena. By invoking laws in scientific explanations, Humeans are showing how a given explanandum is subsumed into a more general pattern. Doing so both undermines a principle of transitivity that plays a crucial role in the circularity argument and draws out a central feature of the Humean approach to scientific explanation.
Towards objective measurement of reproductive performance of traditionally managed goat flocks in the drylands of Ethiopia
Authors: Alemayehu Gezahegn , Mamo Gezahegne , Alemu Biruk , Desta Hiwot , Wieland Barbara
Published: February 2021

Reproductive performance is a key determinant for the efficiency of goat production. Regular monitoring of reproductive efficiency is essential to assess management and to avoid financial losses due to poor performance. To allow more objective measurement and comparisons over time, we propose a novel quantitative approach for defining annual reproductive performance by combining common performance indicators into a goat flock index. Commonly used reproductive performance measures were collected from 242 goat flocks in four districts in dryland of Ethiopia between July 2018 and February 2019. Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed to identify biologically meaningful latent components that explain annual reproductive output (ARO) and annual reproductive wastage (ARW). Together with the remaining annual reproductive performance measures, the ARO and ARW components were included in a PCA to derive an algorithm for a goat annual reproductive performance index (G-ARPI). One component representing variation in kidding interval, PCARO1 and PCARW1 was extracted and normalized to a 10-scale value. The flocks were classified into good performing (15.63%) with index > 8.5, moderately performing (48.21%) with index values ranging from 6.5 to 8.5 and poor performing (36.16%) with index < 6.5. Good performing flocks have higher scores for reproductive output measures, lower scores for reproductive wastage and lower kidding interval. The proposed G-ARPI can be used as an objective tool to compare reproductive performance between management systems, evaluate the costs of poor reproductive management and will be useful for economic models that aim to identify the most cost-efficient intervention option and monitor the impact of interventions. We present here the index for goat production in dryland systems in Ethiopia; the approach can easily be adapted to other production systems elsewhere.
Science education against the rise of fascist and authoritarian movements: towards the development of a pedagogy for democracy
Authors: Galamba Arthur , Matthews Brian
Published: February 2021

In the twenty-first century, the rise and support of fascism-related views threaten freedom of speech, freedom of sexual orientation, religious tolerance and progressive agendas that advocate equity. We argue that mainstream science education generally does not, but should, educate students against fascism-related views—such as racism, sexism, homophobia and religious intolerance—with a view to strengthening mutual respect and the common good. We argue some science teaching practices are found to be suitable to fascism-like ideologies (e.g. race in genetics teaching), and that the use of the concept of ‘scientific literacy’ has focused on neoliberal possessive individualism. As a consequence, mainstream science education overlooks the development of sympathy, altruism and interpersonal skills. We also discuss the activity of science education in authoritarian, undemocratic regimes in history, showing that fascist regimes have long used ‘apolitical’ scientists’ achievements to establish and expand regimes’ intolerant and violent ideologies. We use that historical relationship to argue fascism is science education’s business. Given the fear that current political discourses in many countries are again swinging towards fascism, we outline potential pathways for science education which focus on the social and emotional development of students. We argue that to develop a pedagogy for democracy, that attends to equity and social justice, it is imperative it enables pupils to develop at a psychological level with diverse others, including through their own agency. This pedagogy builds on critical pedagogies.
Pyrvinium pamoate inhibits cell proliferation through ROS-mediated AKT-dependent signaling pathway in colorectal cancer
Authors: Zheng Wenqian , Hu Jinhui , Lv Yiming , Bai Bingjun , Shan Lina , Chen Kangke , Dai Sheng , Zhu Hongbo
Published: February 2021

The use of the anthelmintic drug pyrvinium pamoate (PP) in cancer therapy has been extensively investigated in the last decade. PP has been shown to have an inhibitory effect in colorectal cancer (CRC), but the underlying mechanism remains elusive. We aimed to investigate the antitumor activity and mechanisms of PP in CRC. In the present study, we used CCK-8 assays, colony formation assays, and western blotting to reveal that PP effectively suppressed CRC cell proliferation and the AKT-dependent signaling pathway in a concentration-dependent and time-dependent manner. Flow cytometric analysis and fluorescence microscopy demonstrated that PP increased intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation. We found that the inhibitory effect of PP on cell proliferation and AKT protein expression induced by PP could be partially reversed by N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC), an ROS scavenger. In addition, the results also demonstrated that PP inhibited cell migration by modulating epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related proteins, including E-cadherin and vimentin. In conclusion, our data suggested that PP effectively inhibited cell proliferation through the ROS-mediated AKT-dependent signaling pathway in CRC, further providing evidence for the use of PP as an antitumor agent.
Sigma-Lognormal Modeling of Speech
Authors: Carmona-Duarte C. , Ferrer M. A. , Plamondon R. , Gómez-Rodellar A. , Gómez-Vilda P.
Published: February 2021

Human movement studies and analyses have been fundamental in many scientific domains, ranging from neuroscience to education, pattern recognition to robotics, health care to sports, and beyond. Previous speech motor models were proposed to understand how speech movement is produced and how the resulting speech varies when some parameters are changed. However, the inverse approach, in which the muscular response parameters and the subject’s age are derived from real continuous speech, is not possible with such models. Instead, in the handwriting field, the kinematic theory of rapid human movements and its associated Sigma-lognormal model have been applied successfully to obtain the muscular response parameters. This work presents a speech kinematics-based model that can be used to study, analyze, and reconstruct complex speech kinematics in a simplified manner. A method based on the kinematic theory of rapid human movements and its associated Sigma-lognormal model are applied to describe and to parameterize the asymptotic impulse response of the neuromuscular networks involved in speech as a response to a neuromotor command. The method used to carry out transformations from formants to a movement observation is also presented. Experiments carried out with the (English) VTR-TIMIT database and the (German) Saarbrucken Voice Database, including people of different ages, with and without laryngeal pathologies, corroborate the link between the extracted parameters and aging, on the one hand, and the proportion between the first and second formants required in applying the kinematic theory of rapid human movements, on the other. The results should drive innovative developments in the modeling and understanding of speech kinematics.
Evidence for divergence of DNA methylation maintenance and a conserved inhibitory mechanism from DNA demethylation in chickens and mammals
Authors: Tada Masako , Hayashi Ayaka , Asano Yumi , Kubiura-Ichimaru Musashi , Ito Takamasa , Yoshii Miho , Kimura Hiroshi , Matsuda Yoichi , Oshimura Mitsuo
Published: February 2021

Background

DNA methylation is a significant epigenetic modification that is evolutionarily conserved in various species and often serves as a repressive mark for transcription. DNA methylation levels and patterns are regulated by a balance of opposing enzyme functions, DNA methyltransferases, DNMT1/3A/3B and methylcytosine dioxygenases, TET1/2/3. In mice, the TET enzyme converts DNA cytosine methylation (5mC) to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) at the beginning of fertilisation and gastrulation and initiates a global loss of 5mC, while the 5mC level is increased on the onset of cell differentiation during early embryonic development.

Objective

Global loss and gain of DNA methylation may be differently regulated in diverged species.

Methods

Chicken B-cell lymphoma DT40 cells were used as an avian model to compare differences in the overall regulation of DNA modification with mammals.

Results

We found that DNA methylation is maintained at high levels in DT40 cells through compact chromatin formation, which inhibits TET-mediated demethylation. Human and mouse chromosomes introduced into DT40 cells by cell fusion lost the majority of 5mC, except for human subtelomeric repeats.

Conclusion

Our attempt to elucidate the differences in the epigenetic regulatory mechanisms between birds and mammals explored the evidence that they share a common chromatin-based regulation of TET–DNA access, while chicken DNMT1 is involved in different target sequence recognition systems, suggesting that factors inducing DNMT–DNA association have already diverged.
Loads analysis and structural optimization of a high aspect ratio, composite wing aircraft
Authors: Sinha Kautuk , Klimmek Thomas , Schulze Matthias , Handojo Vega
Published: February 2021

Composite structures have shown a prominent impact in the aircraft structural design. With an increasing shift towards incorporating more composite materials in the primary aircraft structure it is imperative to have corresponding design tools to simplify the design process. In the present work, a simplified implementation for composite optimization has been developed within the DLR-AE (German Aerospace Centre, Institute of Aeroelasticity) automated aeroelastic structural design framework cpacs-MONA. This paper presents the results of structural optimization of a high aspect ratio composite wing aircraft model developed in the DLR project ATLAs. The generation of almost all involved simulation models for this study is done using the in-house DLR tool ModGen. An aeroelastic trim analysis is conducted for various manoeuvre and gust conditions. A load selection process is used to determine the most relevant sizing load cases. A comparison is made between the optimization results of a composite wing and an aluminium wing to demonstrate the more favourable strength to weight ratio of the composite wing. A manoeuvre load alleviation procedure has been introduced in the load calculation process. The results show further weight savings in the design process when load alleviation is utilized due to reduction in the span wise bending moment.
Multi-stage timetable rescheduling for high-speed railways: a dynamic programming approach with adaptive state generation
Authors: Feng Guoqi , Xu Peng , Cui Dongliang , Dai Xuewu , Liu Hui , Zhang Qi
Published: February 2021

A dynamic programming (DP) approach with adaptive state generation and conflicts resolution is developed to address the timetable-rescheduling problem (TRP) at relatively lower computation costs. A multi-stage decision-making model is first developed to represent the timetable-rescheduling procedure in high-speed railways. Then, an adaptive state generation method by reordering the trains at each station is proposed to dynamically create the possible states according to the states of previous stages, such that the infeasible states can be removed and the search space is reduced. Then, conflicts are resolved by retiming the arrival and/or departure times of trains. Furthermore, the state transfer equation is built and Bellman equation is developed to derive the solution to minimize the total delay time (TT). A series of simulation experiments and a real-world case study are used to evaluate the performance of the proposed method. The simulation experiments indicate that the proposed method is able to find the optimal timetable with appropriate overtaking at right stations and reduce the total delay by 62.7% and 41.5% with respect to the First-Come-First-Serve (FCFS) and First-Schedule-First-Serve (FSFS) strategy that are widely used in practice. Comparing to the intelligent scheduling method (e.g., Ant Colony Optimization and Particle Swarm Optimization), similar objective performance can be achieved at a much lower cost of computation time, which make the proposed method more applicable to the TRP in daily operation of high-speed railway.
Improved bag-of-features using grey relational analysis for classification of histology images
Authors: Pal Raju , Saraswat Mukesh , Mittal Himanshu
Published: February 2021

An efficient classification method to categorize histopathological images is a challenging research problem. In this paper, an improved bag-of-features approach is presented as an efficient image classification method. In bag-of-features, a large number of keypoints are extracted from histopathological images that increases the computational cost of the codebook construction step. Therefore, to select the a relevant subset of keypoints, a new keypoints selection method is introduced in the bag-of-features method. To validate the performance of the proposed method, an extensive experimental analysis is conducted on two standard histopathological image datasets, namely ADL and Blue histology datasets. The proposed keypoint selection method reduces the extracted high dimensional features by 95% and 68% from the ADL and Blue histology datasets respectively with less computational time. Moreover, the enhanced bag-of-features method increases classification accuracy by from other considered classification methods.
A bi-stage surrogate-assisted hybrid algorithm for expensive optimization problems
Authors: Ren Zhihai , Sun Chaoli , Tan Ying , Zhang Guochen , Qin Shufen
Published: February 2021

Surrogate-assisted meta-heuristic algorithms have shown good performance to solve the computationally expensive problems within a limited computational resource. Compared to the method that only one surrogate model is utilized, the surrogate ensembles have shown more efficiency to get a good optimal solution. In this paper, we propose a bi-stage surrogate-assisted hybrid algorithm to solve the expensive optimization problems. The framework of the proposed method is composed of two stages. In the first stage, a number of global searches will be conducted in sequence to explore different sub-spaces of the decision space, and the solution with the maximum uncertainty in the final generation of each global search will be evaluated using the exact expensive problems to improve the accuracy of the approximation on corresponding sub-space. In the second stage, the local search is added to exploit the sub-space, where the best position found so far locates, to find a better solution for real expensive evaluation. Furthermore, the local and global searches in the second stage take turns to be conducted to balance the trade-off of the exploration and exploitation. Two different meta-heuristic algorithms are, respectively, utilized for the global and local search. To evaluate the performance of our proposed method, we conduct the experiments on seven benchmark problems, the Lennard–Jones potential problem and a constrained test problem, respectively, and compare with five state-of-the-art methods proposed for solving expensive problems. The experimental results show that our proposed method can obtain better results, especially on high-dimensional problems.
Coal petrology analysis and implications in depositional environments from upper Cretaceous to Miocene: a study case in the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia
Authors: Guatame Clara , Rincón Marco
Published: February 2021

The Piedemonte Llanero Basin is located on the eastern side of the Eastern Cordillera of the Colombian Andes. It has been the subject of numerous geological studies carried out for the oil sector, mainly. This study presents the coal-petrographical features of 15 coal seams of four geological formations from Late Cretaceous to Middle Miocene (Chipaque formation, Palmichal group, Arcillas del Limbo formation, and San Fernando formation). Analysis of 33 samples indicates enrichment in vitrinite, while liptinite and inertinite concentrations vary according to the stratigraphic position. Reflectance indicates that the coal range gradually decreases from highly volatile bituminous C (Chipaque formation) to subbituminous C (San Fernando formation). The microlithotypes with the highest concentrations are clarite and vitrinertoliptite. Maceral composition and coal facies indicate changes in the depositional conditions of the sequence. The precursor peat from Late Cretaceous to Late Paleocene accumulated under limnic conditions followed by telmatic in Late Eocene–Early Miocene. The coal facies indices show wet conditions in forest swamps with variations in the flooding surface, influxes of brackish water and good tissue preservation. The tectonic conditions along the Piedemonte Llanero basin is evident, from post-rift to foreland basin, evidenced by oxic and anoxic periods reflected in the maceral composition and its morphology. The coal environment corresponds to an estuarine system started in the Chipaque formation evolving to the lacustrine conditions in the San Fernando formation.
Influence of coal properties on coal conversion processes-coal carbonization, carbon fiber production, gasification and liquefaction technologies: a review
Authors: Keboletse K. P. , Ntuli F. , Oladijo O. P.
Published: February 2021

Coal due to its relatively large quantities and wide distribution worldwide has generated renewed interest in research and development with the aim of establishing coal conversion technologies that are technically reliable, environmentally and economically feasible. It has proved to be a prominent energy source in emerging markets with increasing energy demand by accounting for the largest increase in the demand of energy amongst all other energy sources. Furthermore, with its higher mesophase content, coal tar is an appropriate raw material for precursors in the production of carbon fiber. However, whenever a material is put to use, it is important to be able to associate its properties to the behavioral characteristics during a conversion process so as to have a basis for opting for the material in a given process or adjusting the operating conditions in order to optimize the material utilization. Therefore, as with any other material, it is important to be able to relate the properties of coal to its utilization. A review was carried out on the influence of coal properties on four main utilization technologies: gasification, carbonization, liquefaction and carbon fibre production. Among several properties rank, type, mineral matter content, distribution of trace elements, structural composition and pore structure were found to be most influential on the behavior of coal during conversion processes.
Firm strategies and distributional dynamics: labour share in Italian medium-large firms
Authors: Bloise Francesco , Brunetti Irene , Cirillo Valeria
Published: February 2021

Using an original database on medium and large Italian firms built by merging theRilevazione Imprese e Lavororun by INAPP in 2010 and 2015 with the AIDA archive by Bureau Van Dijk, we show that the trend of the labour share differs along the labour share distribution. We carry out Unconditional Quantile Regression decompositions to explore the main drivers behind this heterogeneity. Thus, we contribute to the literature on the dynamics of the labour share since we investigate phenomena which cannot be observed through a macro perspective or by looking at a single parameter of the labour share distribution. After including in our specifications several firm-level characteristics and considering composition effects, we find that outsourcing is the main factor which plays a role in reducing the labour share along the distribution. Further different mechanisms act in the various parts of the distribution: unionization contributes to increase the labour share at the top of the labour share distribution, while the introduction of some forms of product (process) innovations is associated with a negative (positive) change in the labour share for those firms at the bottom of the labour share distribution.
Does Taking a Short Break from Social Media Have a Positive Effect on Well-being? Evidence from Three Preregistered Field Experiments
Authors: Przybylski Andrew K. , Nguyen Thuy-vy T. , Law Wilbert , Weinstein Netta
Published: February 2021

Concerns about the consequences of social media use on well-being has led to the practice of taking a brief hiatus from social media platforms, a practice known as “digital detoxing.” These brief “digital detoxes” are becoming increasingly popular in the hope that the newly found time, previously spent on social media, would be used for other, theoretically more rewarding, activities. In this paper, we test this proposition. Participants in three preregistered field experiments (ntot = 600) were randomly assigned to receiving each of two conditions on each of two different days: a normal-use day or an abstinence day. Outcomes (social relatedness, positive and negative affect, day satisfaction) were measured on each of the two evenings of the study. Results did not show that abstaining from social media has positive effects on daily well-being (in terms of social relatedness, positive and negative affect, day satisfaction) as suggested by the extant literature. Participants reported similar well-being on days when they used social media and days when they did not. Evidence indicated that abstinence from social media had no measurable positive effect on well-being, and some models showed significant deficits in social relatedness and satisfaction with one’s day. We discuss implications of the study of social media hiatus and the value of programmatic research grounded in preregistered experimental designs.
Distinguishing Perceived Hope and Dispositional Optimism: Theoretical Foundations and Empirical Findings beyond Future Expectancies and Cognition
Authors: Krafft Andreas M. , Guse Tharina , Maree David
Published: February 2021

At first glance, hope and optimism appear to be two almost identical concepts. The predominant cognitive theories maintain that both are based on positive future expectancies regarding goal attainment. However, other approaches recommend distinguishing between hope and future expectancies and sustain that the differences between hope and optimism are of a more substantial nature. The present study investigates the distinction between a new short instrument to measure hope as perceived by the general public, and dispositional optimism as measured by the revised Life Orientation Test (LOT-R) in a South African sample. After comparing both instruments using confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory structural equation modelling in Mplus, a number of encouraging results emanated from the data. First, the Perceived Hope Scale (PHS) is a unitary and coherent measure of perceived hope. Second, perceived hope, as measured by the PHS, and optimism and pessimism as measured by the LOT-R, are psychometrically distinguished latent dimensions, optimally specified by their indicator variables. Furthermore, perceived hope represents a fundamental construct in the prediction of health outcomes and well-being and is an important antecedent to optimism and dispositional hope. Perceived hope is thus an important additional facet to consider in investigating well-being.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy at the Crossroads
Authors: Blackwell Simon E. , Heidenreich Thomas
Published: February 2021

The early development of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) can be characterized by the coming together of behavioral and cognitive traditions. However, the past decades have arguably seen more divergences than convergences within the field. The 9th World Congress of Behavioural and Cognitive Therapies was held in Berlin in July 2019 with the congress theme “CBT at the Crossroads.” This title reflected in part the coming together of people from all over the world, but also the fact that recent developments raise important questions about the future of CBT, including whether we can in fact treat it as a unified field. In this paper, we briefly trace the history of CBT, then introduce a special issue featuring a series of articles exploring different aspects of the past, present, and future of CBT. Finally, we reflect on the possible routes ahead.
Inline monitoring of high ammonia concentrations in methanol with a customized 3D printed flow cell
Authors: Maierhofer Maximilian , Maier Manuel C. , Gruber-Woelfler Heidrun , Mayr Torsten
Published: February 2021

A novel system for inline monitoring of ammonia (NH3) suitable for methanol is presented. An optical ammonia sensor with a response time t90 of 33 s was combined with a tailor-made, 3D printed flow cell and allowed efficient measurements under continuous flow. The optical sensor includes a fluorescent indicator dye that is physically immobilized into a polyurethane hydrogel. A protective layer made of hydrophobic polyether sulfone (PES) shields the ammonia sensitive material against interfering substances and guarantees long-term stability in methanol. The sensor can be read out via a compact phase fluorimeter. Measurements in continuous flow are enabled by a flow cell manufactured via selective laser melting (SLM) of stainless steel. Stainless steel was chosen for the flow cell due to its good heat transfer properties and relatively good chemical resistance of NH3 in methanol. The measurements were successfully carried out with ammonia concentrations between 0.3 and 5.6 mol L− 1 NH3 in methanol at 25 °C up to 80 °C. Additionally, different flow-rates (0.5–2.0 mL min− 1), varying internal pressure (0.5–2.0 bar) as well as reversibility of the measurements at 25 and 60 °C were studied in detail. The sensor did not degrade indicated by sufficient signal and low drift over a period of two weeks, thus indicating the high potential of the novel set-up for real-time measurements in continuous flow applications.

Graphical abstract
Evaluation of groundwater potential in part of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Northwest Nigeria
Authors: Ifeanyi Obihan , Aduojo Ameloko Anthony , Olaide Kalejaiye F. , Stephen Ngozi-Chika C. , John Rotimi Oluwatosin
Published: February 2021

The need to address the acute water shortage problem within the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria Campus in Samaru necessitated this groundwater exploration project. 2D geoelectric imaging and vertical electrical sounding (VES) surveys were carried out to investigate the groundwater potential of the study area. The 2D geoelectric models and sounding curves obtained were correlated with existing borehole logs obtained from the area, hence validating the results from the 2D resistivity survey. Results from the surveys showed three-layer lithologies with varying thicknesses and resistivity values. The topsoil showed resistivity values of between 4 and 170 Ωm, characteristic of clayey sand and sandy materials. The second layer is characterized by resistivity values ranging between < 4 and 90.6 Ωm, coinciding with zones of the weathered basement. The third layer which has resistivity values ranging between 90 and 550 Ωm constitutes the basement rocks. The thicknesses of the weathered regoliths favourable for groundwater exploration vary from 13.4 m around the Amina Hall, 16.7 m northeast-southwest of Akenzua Hall, 21.2 m northwest-southeast of Akenzua Hall, 24.3 m around Alex Hall and 25.3 m around the Suleiman Hall. These very important parameters reveal the groundwater potential of the study area and therefore suggest that groundwater can be developed and harnessed for use by the University but with a greater yield around the Alex and Suleiman Halls. VES survey was integrated with the 2D resistivity survey to provide information that compliment results from the 2D resistivity survey. The sounding curves were A-Type and H-type curves exhibiting low resistivity values (5–24 Ωm) within the second layer.
Robust adaptive control for a class of nonlinear switched systems using state-dependent switching
Authors: Noghredani Naeimadeen , Pariz Naser
Published: February 2021

This paper presents a novel adaptive control for a class of nonlinear switched systems by introducing a sufficient condition for stabilization. Based on the possible instability of all sub-systems, a variable structure (VS) switching rule with an adaptive approach and sliding sector was offered. Moreover, the stability condition of the system can be determined by solving linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) to ensure asymptotic stability. The application of H∞ analysis of nonlinear switched systems was also investigated through the design of the mentioned adaptive control system and defining a VS switching rule. Finally, simulation results were presented to validate the novelty of the proposed method.
Adaptive process control for achieving consistent particles' states in atmospheric plasma spray process
Authors: Guduri B. , Cybulsky M. , Pickrell G. R. , Batra R. C.
Published: February 2021

The coatings produced by an atmospheric plasma spray process (APSP) must be of uniform quality. However, the complexity of the process and the random introduction of noise variables such as fluctuations in the powder injection rate and the arc voltage make it difficult to control the coating quality that has been shown to depend upon mean values of powder particles’ temperature and speed, collectively called mean particles’ states (MPSs), just before they impact the substrate. Here, we use a science-based methodology to develop a stable and adaptive controller for achieving consistent MPSs and thereby decrease the manufacturing cost. We first identify inputs into the APSP that significantly affect the MPSs and then formulate a relationship between these two quantities. When the MPSs deviate from their desired values, the adaptive controller is shown to successfully adjust the input parameters to correct them. The performance of the controller is tested via numerical experiments using the software, LAVA-P, that has been shown to well simulate the APSP.
Phytoremediation: a sustainable environmental technology for heavy metals decontamination
Authors: Nedjimi Bouzid
Published: February 2021

Toxic metal contamination of soil is a major environmental hazard. Chemical methods for heavy metal's (HMs) decontamination such as heat treatment, electroremediation, soil replacement, precipitation and chemical leaching are generally very costly and not be applicable to agricultural lands. However, many strategies are being used to restore polluted environments. Among these, phytoremediation is a promising method based on the use of hyper-accumulator plant species that can tolerate high amounts of toxic HMs present in the environment/soil. Such a strategy uses green plants to remove, degrade, or detoxify toxic metals. Five types of phytoremediation technologies have often been employed for soil decontamination: phytostabilization, phytodegradation, rhizofiltration, phytoextraction and phytovolatilization. Traditional phytoremediation method presents some limitations regarding their applications at large scale, so the application of genetic engineering approaches such as transgenic transformation, nanoparticles addition and phytoremediation assisted with phytohormones, plant growth-promoting bacteria and AMF inoculation has been applied to ameliorate the efficacy of plants as candidates for HMs decontamination. In this review, aspects of HMs toxicity and their depollution procedures with focus on phytoremediation are discussed. Last, some recent innovative technologies for improving phytoremediation are highlighted.
AI auditing and impact assessment: according to the UK information commissioner’s office
Authors: Kazim Emre , Denny Danielle Mendes Thame , Koshiyama Adriano
Published: February 2021

As the use of data and artificial intelligence systems becomes crucial to core services and business, it increasingly demands a multi-stakeholder and complex governance approach. The Information Commissioner's Office’s ‘Guidance on the AI auditing framework: Draft guidance for consultation’ is a move forward in AI governance. The aim of this initiative is toward producing guidance that encompasses both technical (e.g. system impact assessments) and non-engineering (e.g. human oversight) components to governance and represents a significant milestone in the movement towards standardising AI governance. This paper will summarise and critically evaluate the ICO effort and try to anticipate future debates and present some general recommendations.
Elite Participation in the Third Crusade
Authors: Bennett Stephen
Published: February 2021

The motivations behind those who went on the Third Crusade examined through close investigation of their social networks.
Impact of Hurricanes on Children With Asthma: A Systematic Literature Review
Authors: Cowan Kristen N. , Pennington Audrey F. , Gregory Tchernavia , Hsu Joy
Published: February 2021

Following hurricanes, there can be increases in exacerbations of chronic diseases, such as asthma. Asthma is common among children, and many asthma exacerbations can be prevented. This systematic literature review assessed literature describing the impact of hurricanes on children with asthma in the United States. Medline, Embase, Global Health, PubMed, and Scopus databases were searched for peer-reviewed, English-language articles published January 1990 to June 2019 that described the effect of a hurricane on children with asthma. This search identified 212 articles; 8 met inclusion criteria. All 8 were related to Hurricane Katrina, but research questions and study design varied. Articles included information on asthma after hurricanes from cross-sectional surveys, retrospective chart review, and objective clinical testing. Four articles described discontinuity in health insurance, asthma-related health care, or asthma medication use; and 3 articles examined the relationship between mold exposure and asthma symptoms and reported varying results. The eighth study quantified the burden of asthma among people visiting mobile medical units but did not describe factors associated with asthma symptoms. These results highlight opportunities for future research (eg, on more recent hurricanes) and disaster preparedness planning (eg, strategies to prevent health-care discontinuity among children with asthma).
Behavioral impairment and cognition in Thai adolescents affected by HIV
Authors: Patel Payal B. , Belden Andrew , Handoko Ryan , Puthanakit Thanyawee , Kerr Stephen , Kosalaraksa Pope , Ounchanum Pradthana , Kanjanavanit Suparat , Aurpibul Linda , Ngampiyasakul Chaiwat , Luesomboon Wicharn , Mellins Claude A. , Malee Kathleen , Ananworanich Jintanat , Paul Robert
Published: February 2021

Background

Cognitive and behavioral impairment are common in children living with perinatally acquired HIV (pHIV) and children exposed to HIV in utero but uninfected (HEU).

Methods

We sought to determine the prevalence of adverse behavioral symptomatology using a Thai-translated and validated version of the SNAP-IV questionnaire and assess cognitive function utilizing the Children's Color Trails Test, Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System, and the Wechsler Intelligence Scales, in our cohort of Thai adolescents (10–20 years old) with well-controlled pHIV compared to HEU and HIV-unexposed, uninfected youth. We then evaluated the interaction between HIV status, behavioral impairment, and executive function outcomes independent of demographic variables.

Results

After controlling for demographic factors of age and household income, adolescents with pHIV had higher inattentive symptomatology and poorer neuropsychological test scores compared to uninfected controls. Significant interactions were found between inattention and executive function across multiple neurocognitive tests.

Conclusions

Behavioral impairment and poor executive functioning are present in adolescents with well-controlled pHIV compared to HIV-uninfected matched peers. The SNAP-IV questionnaire may be a useful tool to identify those with attentional impairment who may benefit from further cognitive testing in resource-limited settings.
Digital Authoritarianism and the Future of Human Rights
Authors: Dragu Tiberiu , Lupu Yonatan
Published: February 2021

How will advances in digital technology affect the future of human rights and authoritarian rule? Media figures, public intellectuals, and scholars have debated this relationship for decades, with some arguing that new technologies facilitate mobilization against the state and others countering that the same technologies allow authoritarians to strengthen their grip on power. We address this issue by analyzing the first game-theoretic model that accounts for the dual effects of technology within the strategic context of preventive repression. Our game-theoretical analysis suggests that technological developments may not be detrimental to authoritarian control and may, in fact, strengthen authoritarian control by facilitating a wide range of human rights abuses. We show that technological innovation leads to greater levels of abuses to prevent opposition groups from mobilizing and increases the likelihood that authoritarians will succeed in preventing such mobilization. These results have broad implications for the human rights regime, democratization efforts, and the interpretation of recent declines in violent human rights abuses.
Communicative functions of parents’ child-directed speech across dyadic and triadic contexts
Authors: NANDY Angana , NIXON Elizabeth , QUIGLEY Jean
Published: February 2021

This study examined the roles of parental gender and context in the communicative functions of parents’ child-directed speech. Seventy three families with toddlers participated in the study. Dyadic and triadic parent-toddler interactions were videotaped during structured play activities. Results indicated context-dependent variability in parents’ facilitative speech and gentle guidance. Parental gender effects were observed in parents’ directive speech but no gender or contextual effects were observed in parents’ referential speech. Results suggest the need for a closer examination of parental gender and contextual factors related to parents’ speech functions.
A Brief Summary of Kuiper Belt Research
Authors: Malhotra R.
Published: February 2021

Ideas about the contents of the Solar System beyond Neptune and Pluto can be traced back to at least Edgeworth (1943, 1949) and Kuiper (1951), who speculated on the existence of pre-planetary small bodies in the outer Solar System beyond the orbit of Neptune - remnants of the accretion process in the primordial Solar Nebula. The basis for the speculation was primarily the argument that the Solar Nebula was unlikely to have been abruptly truncated at the orbit of Neptune, and that in the trans-Neptunian accretion timescales were too long for bodies larger than about ˜ 1000 km in radius to have formed in the 4.5 billion year age of the Solar System. Another important theoretical argument relevant to this region of the Solar System is related to the origin of short period comets. Fernández (1980) suggested that the short period comets may have an origin in a disk of small bodies beyond Neptune, rather than being “captured” from the population of long period comets originating in the Oort Cloud, the latter scenario having considerable difficulty reconciling the observed flux of short period comets with the exceedingly low efficiency of transfer of long period comet orbits to short period ones by means of the gravitational perturbations of the giant planets. The new scenario received further strength in the numerical work of Duncan et al. (1988) and Quinn et al. (1990) which showed that the relatively small orbital inclinations of the Jupiter-family short period comets were not consistent with a source in the isotropic Oort Cloud of comets but could be reproduced with a source in a low-inclination reservoir beyond Neptune’s orbit. Duncan et al. named this hypothetical source the Kuiper Belt, and the name has come into common use in the last decade (although other names are also in use, e.g. Edgeworth-Kuiper Belt, and trans-Neptunian objects). A recent theoretical milestone was the work by Holman and Wisdom (1993) and Levison and Duncan (1993) on the long term stability of test particle orbits in the trans-Neptunian Solar System. This work showed that low-eccentricity, low-inclination orbits with semimajor axes in excess of about 43 AU are stable on billion year timescales, but that in the region between 35 AU and 43 AU orbital stability times range from 107 yr to more than 109 yr [see, for example, figure 1 in Holman (1995)]. Orbital instability in this intermediate region typically leads to a close encounter with Neptune which causes dramatic orbital changes, with the potential for subsequent transfer to the inner Solar System. Thus, this region could in principle serve as the reservoir of short period comets at the present epoch. However, the idea of a kinematically cold — i.e. low-eccentricity, low-inclination — population in this region is at odds with recent observations, and the question of the origin of short period comets remains unsettled at the present time.
Self-Reported Symptoms of COVID-19, Including Symptoms Most Predictive of SARS-CoV-2 Infection, Are Heritable
Authors: Williams Frances M. K. , Freidin Maxim B. , Mangino Massimo , Couvreur Simon , Visconti Alessia , Bowyer Ruth C. E. , Le Roy Caroline I. , Falchi Mario , Mompeó Olatz , Sudre Carole , Davies Richard , Hammond Christopher , Menni Cristina , Steves Claire J. , Spector Tim D.
Published: February 2021

Susceptibility to infection such as SARS-CoV-2 may be influenced by host genotype. TwinsUK volunteers (n = 3261) completing the C-19 COVID-19 symptom tracker app allowed classical twin studies of COVID-19 symptoms, including predicted COVID-19, a symptom-based algorithm to predict true infection, derived from app users tested for SARS-CoV-2. We found heritability of 49% (32−64%) for delirium; 34% (20−47%) for diarrhea; 31% (8−52%) for fatigue; 19% (0−38%) for anosmia; 46% (31−60%) for skipped meals and 31% (11−48%) for predicted COVID-19. Heritability estimates were not affected by cohabiting or by social deprivation. The results suggest the importance of host genetics in the risk of clinical manifestations of COVID-19 and provide grounds for planning genome-wide association studies to establish specific genes involved in viral infectivity and the host immune response.
A Review on Different Techniques of Mutual Coupling Reduction Between Elements of Any MIMO Antenna. Part 2: Metamaterials and Many More
Authors: Kumar Amit , Ansari Abdul Quaiyum , Kanaujia Binod Kumar , Kishor Jugul , Matekovits Ladislau
Published: February 2021

This two‐part article presents a review of different techniques of mutual coupling (MC) reduction. MC reduction is a primary concern while designing a compact multiple‐input‐multiple‐output (MIMO) antenna where the separation between the antennas is less than λ0/2, that is, half of the free‐space wavelength. The negative permittivity and permeability of artificially created materials/structures (Metamaterials) significantly help reduce MC among narrow‐band compact MIMO antenna design elements. In this part two of the review paper, we will discuss techniques: Metamaterials; Split‐Ring‐Resonator; Complementary‐Split‐Ring‐Resonator; Frequency Selective Surface, Metasurface, Electromagnetic Band Gap structure, Decoupling and Matching network, Neutralization line, Cloaking Structures, Shorting vias and pins and few more.