bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Foreign Experience of Regional Services Markets Establishing
Authors: Biryukova O.
Published: June 2021

Foreign experience (EU and NAFTA) in single services market formation is analyzed in the article, key elements which are practically important for national business and state structures in the CIS development context are revealed. An important feature of modern regionalism is the liberalization of service industry. This idea is not new for CIS countries as well  it was declared in its constituent documents. However, up to date there are no real results in this field. More close economic ties develop in the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC) framework. The creation of the Customs Union of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus in 2010 became an important landmark on the way to economic integration between them. In 2009–2011, the three countries consistently declared their ambition to create the Common Free Market Zone (CFMZ) in 2012, implicating the freedom of commodities, services, labor and capital movement. The freedom of commodities movement is already achieved within the Customs Union, with few exceptions. The liberalization of service markets will be one of the key elements of integration extension and transit to the common market. Moreover, the integration in this sphere will allow for a greater diversification of national economies, interstate trade structure, and will also lead to creation of new work positions.
A Review on Recyclable Printed Electronics: Fabrication Methods, Inks, Substrates, Applications and Environmental Impacts
Authors: Wiklund Jenny , Karakoc Alp , Palko Toni , Yigitler Huseyin , Ruttik Kalle , Jäntti Riku , Paltakari Jouni
Published: June 2021

Innovations in industrial automation, information and communication technology (ICT), renewable energy, monitoring and sensing fields have been paving the way for smart devices, which can acquire and convey information to the internet, in every aspect of our lives. Since there is ever-increasing demand for large yet affordable production volumes for such devices, printed electronics has been attracting great attention in both industrial and academic research. In order to understand the potential and future prospects of the printed electronics, the present paper summarizes the basic principles and conventional approaches while providing the recent progresses in the fabrication and material technologies, applications and environmental impacts.
The Practice of Online Differentiated Instruction and Its Impact on Motivation and Academic Performance in the Wake of Covid-19
Authors: Kamarulzaman Mohd Hasrul , Azman Hazita , Mohd Zahidi Azizah , Md Yunus Melor
Published: June 2021

Differentiated instruction has been implemented in classrooms where students who come from various backgrounds require appropriate lessons that are tailored to their varied learning preferences. As the spread of coronavirus 19 (Covid-19) is becoming more rampant, online learning has been lifted up as the main platform of teaching and learning, forcing the need to shift from the conventional face-to-face classroom to online, or virtual, mode of knowledge transfer. Having such global phenomenon affecting education, how does it affect the implementation of differentiated instruction that has been practised regularly by teachers before the wake of Covid-19? Previous studies have shown how it is done in the normal classroom setting, and that the practice of differentiated instruction contributes to students’ motivation as well as academic performance. However, there is a need to explore how do teachers go about with online differentiated instruction and how does it affect the students, since online learning poses various threads to both teachers and students; and thus, one might argue the effectiveness of not only the teaching approach but also the overall teaching and learning outcomes. Borg’s framework of teacher cognition, which has been extensively used in exploring how teachers teach, can be utilized to document the practice of online differentiated instruction. This study aimed to explore the practice of online differentiated instruction by teachers and examined its impact on students’ motivation and academic performance during the Covid-19 outbreak. The participants of this study consists of 247 gifted students from a public school in Malaysia. To meet these aims, this study employed a mixed method research design, utilizing the framework of teacher cognition to explore the teachers’ practice of online differentiated through interviews; and, utilizing a survey design using a questionnaire to determine the impact of online differentiated instruction towards students’ motivation and academic performance. The findings revealed that although online differentiated instruction is feasible, however, appropriate combination of differentiation constructs need to be applied in order to achieve higher motivation and better academic performance among the students.
Wearable Actuators: An Overview
Authors: Chen Yu , Yang Yiduo , Li Mengjiao , Chen Erdong , Mu Weilei , Yin Rong
Published: June 2021

The booming wearable market and recent advances in material science has led to the rapid development of the various wearable sensors, actuators, and devices that can be worn, embedded in fabric or accessories, or tattoos directly onto the skin. Wearable actuators, a subcategory of wearable technology, have attracted enormous interest from researchers in various disciplines and many wearable actuators and devices have been developed in the past few decades to assist and improve people's everyday lives. In this paper, we review the actuation mechanisms, structures, applications, and limitations of recently developed wearable actuators including pneumatic and hydraulic actuators, shape memory alloys and polymers, thermal and hygroscopic materials, dielectric elastomers, ionic and conducting polymers, piezoelectric actuators, electromagnetic actuators, liquid crystal elastomers, etc. Examples of the recent applications such as wearable soft robots, haptic devices, and personal thermal regulation textiles are highlighted. Finally, we point out the current bottleneck and suggest the prospective future research directions for wearable actuators.
Performance of Low-Cost Sensors for Air Pollution Measurements in Urban Environments. Accuracy Evaluation Applying the Air Quality Index (AQI)
Authors: Spyropoulos Georgios C. , Nastos Panagiotis T. , Moustris Konstantinos P.
Published: June 2021

Most people living in Europe's cities are still exposed to levels of air pollution deemed harmful by the World Health Organization. In the modern world, air pollution is the foremost concern because of its impact in human health and economy. This strong connection appears gaining a lot of concern, driven by new installed low-cost electrochemical sensors monitoring systems. Highly accuracy, real-time monitoring, daily and yearly statistics, data access from experts or simple users, low-cost equipment and forecasting needs, enforce the market to develop new air quality monitoring systems using advanced technologies and protocols. In this study, a comparison via low-cost electrochemical sensors and of static, fixed site measurement monitoring station, is taking place in Athens, Greece, along with the data quality and Air Quality Index (AQI) including data accuracy and quality of data concerning adverse health effects due to air pollution. The findings presented in this work, relate to different flexible and affordable alternatives adopted during the evaluation and calibration of low-cost gas sensors for the monitoring. The significance of the positive results is particularly useful, especially considering the founding for interference, environmental conditions affections and air quality information including indexes and health recommendations for a specific location.
Minocycline Derived Silver Nanoparticles for Assessment of Their Antidiabetic Potential against Alloxan induced Diabetic Mice
Authors: Kazmi Syed Akif Raza , Qureshi Muhammad Zahid , . Sadia , Alhewairini Saleh S , Ali Shaukat , Khurshid Shazia , Saeed Muhammad , Mumtaz Shumaila , Mughal Tafail Akbar
Published: June 2021

Diabetes is a life-threatening disease and chronic diabetes affects the parts of the body including the liver, kidney and pancreas. The root cause of diabetes is mainly associated with oxidative stress produced by reactive oxygen species. The minocycline is a polyphenolic drug with excellent antioxidant activities. The objective of the present study was to investigate the antidiabetic potential of minocycline modified silver nanoparticles (Mino/AgNPs) against alloxan-induced diabetic mice. The Mino/AgNPs were synthesized using minocycline as reducing and stabilizing agents. UV-vis, FTIR, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were applied for the characterization of Mino/AgNPs. The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging assay was conducted to determine the antioxidant potential of newly synthesized Mino/AgNPs. The results revealed that the Mino/AgNPs showed higher radical scavenging activity (IC50 = 19.7 µg/mL) as compared to the minocycline (IC50 = 26.0 µg/mL) and ascorbic acid (IC50 = 25.2 µg/mL). Further, the Mino/AgNPs were successfully employed to examine their antidiabetic potential against Alloxan-induced diabetic mice. Hematological results showed that the mice treated with Mino/AgNPs demonstrated a significant decrease in fasting blood glucose level and lipid profile as compared to the diabetic group. The histopathological examination confirmed that the diabetic mice treated with Mino/AgNPs showed significant recovery and revival of histo-morphology of kidney, central vein of liver and islet cells of the pancreas compared to the diabetic mice. Hence Mino/AgNPs have good antidiabetic potential and could be an appropriate nanomedicine to prevent the development of diabetes.
Peasant Agroecological Markets Network: Possible Platform for a Regional Eco-agri-food System
Authors: Aristizabal-Rodriguez Carlos Arturo , Angel-Sanchez Diego Ivan
Published: June 2021

The health emergency caused by Covid 19 highlighted the food dependency of many cities in the world and Cali and the cities of Valle del Cauca were no exception as they depended on food flows from other regions and countries, so these Entities are part of the corporate food system, to which their rulers delegated food security for their inhabitants. In the same territory and for the last nine years, a second-level organization has been consolidating that brings together 14 peasant agroecological markets and that despite strict confinement measures was able to continue supplying food to consumers in the municipalities of influence that have supported this initiative. The foregoing leads to think that said organization can become a platform for an agroecological food system of regional scope, for which the characteristics that said system should have according to a model based on the principles of agroecology were evaluated.
Understanding Corrosion Morphology of Duplex Stainless Steel Wire in Chloride Electrolyte
Authors: Örnek Cem , Davut Kemal , Kocabaş Mustafa , Bayatlı Aleyna , Ürgen Mustafa
Published: June 2021

The corrosion morphology in grade 2205 duplex stainless steel wire has been studied to understand the nature of pitting and the causes of the ferrite phase's selective corrosion in acidic NaCl solution. It is shown that the corrosion mechanism is always pitting, which either manifests lacy cover perforation or densely-arrayed selective cavities developing on the ferrite phase. Pits with a lacy metal cover form in concentrated chloride solutions, whereas the ferrite phase's selective corrosion develops in diluted electrolytes, showing dependency on the chloride-ion concentration. The pit perforation is probabilistic and occurs on both austenite and ferrite grains. The lacy metal covers collapse in concentrated solutions but remain intact in diluted electrolytes. The collapse of the lacy metal cover happens due to hydrogen embrittlement. Pit evolution is deterministic and occurs selectively in the ferrite phase in light chloride solutions.
Linear Conﬁnement of a Scalar Particle Under Linear Central Potential Induced by the Eﬀects of Violation of Lorentz Symmetry framework
Authors: Ahmed Faizuddin
Published: June 2021

The relativistic quantum motion of a scalar particle under the effects of violation of the Lorentz symmetry in the presence of a linear conﬁning potential is investigated. We see that the solution of the bound state to the modiﬁed Klein-Gordon equation can be obtained and a quantum eﬀect characterized by the dependence of the magnetic ﬁeld on the quantum numbers of the system is observed
The Microglial Metamorphosis in Three-Dimensions in Virus Limbic Encephalitis: An Unbiased Pictorial Representation Based on Stereological Sampling Approach of Surveillant and Reactive Microglia
Authors: Creão Leonardo Sávio da Silva , Neto João Bento Torres , Lima Camila Mendes de , Reis Renata Rodrigues dos , Sousa Aline Andrade de , Santos Zaire Alves dos , Diniz José Antonio Picanço , Diniz Daniel Guerreiro , Diniz Cristovam Wanderley Picanço
Published: June 2021

All neurological diseases have their pathological progress influenced by microglial cells, which react to insults with multiple morphofunctional phenotypes. However, the complete morphological spectrum of the reactive microglia, revealed by the three-dimensional microscopic reconstruction, has not been explored in detail in virus limbic encephalitis. Here, we used anatomical series of brain sections from a previous study using Piry arbovirus encephalitis, expanding the original investigation to CA1/CA2. The morphological response of the homeostatic and reactive microglia was investigated 8 days after infection. The hierarchical cluster and linear discriminant function analysis of multimodal morphometric features allowed to distinguish between the microglial morphology of infected individuals and controls. In order to represent more broadly the morphological spectrum of the microglia of each cluster, representative cells of the homeostatic and reactive microglia were chosen, using the sum of the distances of each cell in relation to all the others. Overall, the multivariate statistical analysis showed that the reactive microglia of infected animals have more complex trees and thicker branches, that cover a larger volume of tissue than the microglia of control animals. With this approach a more reliable representation of the microglia dispersion in the Euclidean space, would be closer to the spectrum of morphotypes of the control and infected groups, and help to avoid hiding the morphological kaleidoscope of surveillant and reactive microglia. As form precedes function in nature, our findings are a good starting point for future research with integrative approaches to microglia form and function.
TSO-DSO Coordination Schemes to Facilitate Distributed Resources Integration
Authors: Najibi Fatemeh , Apostolopoulou Dimitra , Alonso Eduardo
Published: June 2021

The incorporation of renewable energy into power systems poses serious challenges to the transmission and distribution power system operators (TSOs and DSOs). To fully leverage these resources there is a need for a new market design with improved coordination between TSOs and DSOs. In this paper we propose two coordination schemes between TSOs and DSOs: one centralised and another decentralised that facilitate the integration of distributed based generation; minimise operational cost; relieve congestion; and promote a sustainable system. To this end, we approximate the power equations with linearised equations so that the resulting optimal power flows (OPFs) in both the TSO and DSO become convex optimisation problems. In the resulting decentralised scheme, the TSO and DSO collaborate to optimally allocate all resources in the system. In particular, we propose an iterative bi-level optimisation technique where the upper level is the TSO that solves its own OPF and determines the locational marginal prices at substations. We demonstrate numerically that the algorithm converges to a near optimal solution. We study the interaction of TSOs and DSOs and the existence of any conflicting objectives with the centralised scheme. More specifically, we approximate the Pareto front of the multi-objective optimal power flow problem where the entire system, i.e., transmission and distribution systems, is modelled. The proposed ideas are illustrated through a five bus transmission system connected with distribution systems, represented by the IEEE 33 and 69 bus feeders.
Use of the Lateral Flow Immunoassay to Characterize SARS-CoV-2 RBD-Specific Antibodies and Their Ability to React with the UK, SA and BR P.1 Variant RBDs
Authors: Tan Enqing , Frew Erica , Cooper Jeff , Humphrey John , Holden Matthew , Mand Amanda Restell , Li Jun , Anderson Shaya , Bi Ming , Hatler Julia , Person Anthony , Mortari Frank , Gould Kevin , Barry Shelly
Published: June 2021

Identifying anti-spike antibodies that exhibit strong neutralizing activity against current dominant circulating variants and antibodies that are escaped by these variants have important implications in the development of therapeutic and diagnostic solutions as well as in improving understanding of the humoral response to SARS-CoV-2 infection. We characterized seven anti-RBD monoclonal antibodies for their binding activity, pairing capability and neutralization activity to SARS-CoV-2 and three variant RBDs (UK, SA and BR P.1) via lateral flow immunoassays. The results allowed us to group these antibodies into three distinct epitope bins. Our studies showed that two antibodies had broadly potent neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2 and these variant RBDs and that one antibody did not neutralize the SA and BR P.1 RBDs. The antibody escaped by the SA and BR P.1 RBDs retained binding activity to SA and BR P.1 RBDs but was unable to induce neutralization. Further, we demonstrated that the lateral flow immunoassay can be a rapid and effective tool for antibody characterization, including epitope classification and antibody neutralization kinetics. From these studies, the potential contributions of the mutations (N501Y, E484K and K417N/T) contained in these variants’ RBDs on antibody pairing capability, neutralization activity and therapeutic antibody targeting strategy are discussed.
Ethylene Supplementation Combined with Split Application of Nitrogen and Sulfur Protects Salt-Inhibited Photosynthesis through Optimization of Proline Metabolism and Antioxidant System in Mustard (Brassica juncea L.)
Authors: Jahan Badar , Fatma Mehar , Sehar Zebus , Masood Asim , Sofo Adriano , D'Ippolito Ilaria , Khan Nafees A.
Published: June 2021

In the present study, the potential of ethylene as ethephon (an ethylene source) was investigated individually or with a combination of the split dosage of nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) soil treatments for the removal of damaging effects of salt stress (100 mM NaCl) in mustard (Brassica juncea L.). Plants were grown with 50 mg N plus 50 mg S kg−1 soil at sowing time and an equivalent dosage at 20 days after sowing ([N50 + S50]0d + [N50 + S50]20d). Ethephon at 200 μL L‒1 was applied to combined split dosage of N and S with or without NaCl. Plants subjected to NaCl showed a deceased in growth and photosynthetic characteristics as well as N and S assimilation, though, proline metabolism and antioxidants increased. The application of ethephon to plants grown with split N and S dosages significantly enhanced the photosynthetic efficiency by increasing the assimilation of N and S, improving the content of proline and induction of the antioxidant system with or without NaCl. The regulation of ethylene and/or split form N and S application may be the potential tools for overcoming salt stress effects in this species and in related Brassicaceae.
Tully - Fisher Relations and Retardation Theory for Galaxies
Authors: Yahalom Asher
Published: June 2021

Galaxies are huge physical systems having dimensions of many tens of thousands of light years. Thus any change at the galactic center will be noticed at the rim only tens of thousands of years later. Those retardation effects seems to be neglected in present day galactic modelling used to calculate rotational velocities of matter in the rims of the galaxy. The significant differences between the predictions of Newtonian theory and observed velocities are usually explained by either assuming dark matter or by modifying the laws of gravity (MOND). In this essay we will show that taking retardation effects into account one can explain the azimuthal velocities of galactic matter and the well known Tully-Fisher relations of galaxies.
Eﬀects of Linear Central Potential Induced by Lorentz Symmetry Violation framework and Cornell-type Non-electromagnetic Potential on Spin-0 Scalar Particles
Authors: Ahmed Faizuddin
Published: June 2021

The relativistic quantum dynamics of a spin-0 scalar particle under the eﬀects of the violation of Lorentz symmetry in the presence of a non-electromagnetic potential is analyzed. The central potential induced by the Lorentz symmetry violation is a linear electric and constant magnetic ﬁeld and, analyze the eﬀects on the eigenvalues and the wave function. We see there is a dependence of the linear charge density on the quantum numbers of the system
Attracting and Retaining School Leaders: A Case Study of Two Municipalities in Sweden.
Authors: Biamba Cresantus , Olsson Signhild
Published: June 2021

This article reports on the findings of a research project examining how to create a profession that is attractive and fulfilling for new and existing school leaders in two different municipalities in Sweden. The project set out to explore how work environments, career structures, salaries, and working conditions can contribute to attracting, retaining, and motivating school leaders to stay longer in the profession. To realise this objective, the study adopted a qualitative research design. Data was collected by carrying out semi-structured interviews with a sample of five school leaders in two different municipalities to investigate their experiences and views of the profession. The findings demonstrate that school leaders’ working conditions play a more critical role in their decisions to stay or leave the profession than financial compensation. The study also shows an unequal allocation of resources, both in terms of support functions and the limited time available for in-service education.
Transcriptome-wide Association Study of Blood Cell Traits in African Ancestry and Hispanic/Latino Populations
Authors: Wen Jia , Xie Munan , Rowland Bryce , Rosen Jonathan D. , Sun Quan , Tapia Amanda L. , Qian Huijun , Kowalski Madeline H. , Shan Yue , Young Kristin L. , Graff Marielisa , Argos Maria , Avery Christy L. , Bien Stephanie A. , Buyske Steve , Yin Jie , Choquet Hélène , Fornage Myriam , Hodonsky Chani J. , Jorgenson Eric , Kooperberg Charles , Loos Ruth J.F. , Liu Yongmei , Moon Jee-Young , North Kari E. , Rich Stephen S. , Rotter Jerome I. , Smith Jennifer A. , Zhao Wei , Shang Lulu , Wang Tao , Zhou Xiang , Reiner Alexander P. , Raffield Laura M. , Li Yun
Published: June 2021

Background: Thousands of genetic variants have been associated with hematological traits, though target genes remain unknown at most loci. Also, limited analyses have been conducted in African ancestry and Hispanic/Latino populations; hematological trait associated variants more common in these populations have likely been missed. Methods: To derive gene expression prediction models, we used ancestry-stratified datasets from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA, including N=229 African American and N=381 Hispanic/Latino participants, monocytes) and the Depression Genes and Networks study (DGN, N = 922 European ancestry participants, whole blood). We then performed a transcriptome-wide association study (TWAS) for platelet count, hemoglobin, hematocrit, and white blood cell count in African (N = 27,955) and Hispanic/Latino (N = 28,324) ancestry participants. Results: Our results revealed 24 suggestive signals (p < 1×10^(-4)) that were conditionally distinct from known GWAS identified variants and successfully replicated these signals in European ancestry subjects from UK Biobank. We found modestly improved correlation of predicted and measured gene expression in an independent African American cohort (the Genetic Epidemiology Network of Arteriopathy (GENOA) study (N=802), lymphoblastoid cell lines) using the larger DGN reference panel; however, some genes were well predicted using MESA but not DGN. Conclusions: These analyses demonstrate the importance of performing TWAS and other genetic analyses across diverse populations and of balancing sample size and ancestry background matching when selecting a TWAS reference panel.
Determinants Information Disclosure And Responsibility of Financial Statements to Consistency Muzakki
Authors: Arwani Agus , Islam Muhammad Azizul
Published: June 2021

The purpose of the research was to decide the impact of data revelation and money-related articulation responsibility on the consistency of paying zakat, infaq, and sadaqah on LAZ in Pekalongan city. This study uses a quantitative approach that utilizes a questionnaire distributed to s 117respondent. The comes about of the think about appearing that data divergence had a critical impact on the consistency of paying zakat, infaq and sadaqah in Pekalongan city as prove by the calculated t esteem more noteworthy than the t table esteem and the noteworthiness esteem underneath 0.05 so that the first hypothesis Ha1 was accepted. Likewise, the accountability variable financial statements also affect the consistency of paying zakat partially tested to receive Ha2. The simultaneous testing that the effect of information disclosure and financial accountability on the consistency of muzakki also influences simultaneously, which is indicated by the F value greater than the F table. The research finding is that information disclosure, and accountability of financial statements have a partial and simultaneous effect on the consistency of paying for ZIS in the usual city of Pekalongan. The originality of research can be seen from the disclosure of information and the responsibility of financial statements to create consistent muzakki paying zakat, which is different from previous research. The practical implication of this research is that amil zakat institutions can use the importance of disclosing information and accountability of financial statements to be more consistent in entrusting their zakat.
Production, Properties and Swelling of Composite Pectic-Gel Particles in an Artificial Gastric Environment
Authors: Shubakov Anatoly , Mikhailova Elena
Published: June 2021

The purpose of the present work was to obtain and study the properties of composite calcium-pectic gel particles (CaPGPs) obtained from aqueous solutions of apple pectin (AP) in the concentration of 2% and pectin heracleuman (HS) in the concentration of 3% in the presence of Ca2+ ions (0.34 M). The swelling of the obtained CaPGPs in an artificial gastric environment was also investigated. Methods and Results: We used commercial AP AU701 (AP, Herbstreith & Fox KG, Germany) and HP isolated from the aerial part of the Sosnovskyi hogweed Heracleum sosnowskyi Manden. Composite CaPGPs were obtained from aqueous solutions of AP (2%) and HS (3%) in the presence of Ca2+ ions (0.34 M) by the method of ionotropic gelation. The diameter and density of CaPGPs were determined. Dry gel particles from 2% AP were larger (1.18±0.19 mm) than dry gel particles from 3% HS (1.04±0.07 mm) and dry composite gel particles (1.01±0.06 mm). However, dry composite gel particles and dry gel particles from HS were approximately 3 times denser than dry gel particles from AP. Composite CaPGPs swelled by 74.2% in simulated gastric fluid (SGF). The degree of swelling in SGF of CaPGPs formed from HS was 15.6% lower, and CaPGPs formed from AP –52.2%.
Morphological and Prognostic Characteristics of Breast Cancer in Women Living in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia)
Authors: Kirillina Maria , Kononova Irina , Sofronova Sargylana , Ivanov Petr , Golderova Aytalina
Published: June 2021

Background: This article presents the results of the analysis of the clinical and morphological examination of breast cancer (BC) in women of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) (RS(Y)). Methods and Results: The object of the study was fragments of breast tissue from 294 women who underwent surgical treatment and/or needle biopsy. By ethnicity, there were 118(40.1%) women of indigenous nationalities and 176(59.9%) women of non–indigenous nationalities. The greatest number of cases of BC was registered in the age group of 50-59 (32.6%). The age group of 40-49 was in second place (20.4%). Among the indigenous population, women in the age groups of 40-49 years (23.7%) and 50-59 years (26.3%) predominated. The age groups of 50-59 years (36.9%) and 60-69 years (22.2%) predominated among the non-indigenous women. Tumors with a size of 2 cm to 5 cm prevailed; they were detected in 185(62.9%) women. Tumors with a spread to the chest wall and skin develop more often in women of non-indigenous nationalities (15.9% of cases), than in women of indigenous nationality (6.8% of cases). Regardless of ethnicity, the most common histological form of BC in women of the RS(Y) was infiltrative ductal cancer (65.3%). Cancer staging according to the TNM staging system showed that n the age group of women under 39 years, Stage IIIB+IIIC (43.2%) was most often registered (p=0.01), while in other age groups, Stage IIA (32.4%) was more often noted. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that further investigation of the peculiarities of the course of BC in the female population of Yakutia would lead to much improved methods of diagnosis and treatment.
The Use of the Hemostatic Agent Zhelplastan in Combination with a Granulated Sorbent in the Treatment of Patients with Mallory-Weiss Syndrome
Authors: Cherednikov Evgeniy , Yuzefovich Igor , Maleev Yuri , Barannikov Sergey V. Barannikov , Litovkina Tatyana , Polubkova Galina , Ovsyannikov Evgeniy
Published: June 2021

Background: Mallory-Weiss syndrome (MWS) is one of the common causes of acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding. The aim of our research was to develop a method for the treatment of MWS, which would improve the efficiency of local hemostasis, reduce the risk of re-bleeding and shorten the treatment time. Methods and Results: The study involved 102 patients with MWS. All patients were divided by random sampling into two groups: the main group (MG) and control group (CG). Patients of both groups were comparable in age, gender, concomitant diseases, type of bleeding, size of bleeding defect, and duration of observations. The MG included 52 patients, who were given the developed method of MWS treatment. Patients with ongoing bleeding were treated with a combined method of endoscopic hemostasis: active bleeding was initially stopped by infiltration or coagulation (argon-plasma coagulation was preferred), and then to increase the reliability of hemostasis and prevent the resumption of bleeding, powdered Zhelplastan 0.2g was applied to the rupture area with an insufflator, followed by Sephadex G-25 0.3g (Patent RF №2633925). In patients with signs of unstable hemostasis, the developed method of cytoprotective action on a clot or thrombosed vessel was used by applying a local hemostatic, Zhelplastan 0.2g, to the defect area in combination with a granular sorbent, Sephadex G-25 0.3g, during therapeutic endoscopy to prevent the resumption of bleeding. In patients with stable stopped bleeding, a hemostatic powdered Zhelplastan was applied to the defect area using an endoscope in combination with Sephadex G-25, according to the developed method. In the CG (n=50), well-known methods of arresting endoscopic bleeding (pricking with aminocaproic acid, vasoconstrictors, argon-plasma coagulation, etc.) were used without local hemostatics and granular sorbents. Summing up the results of patients with Mallory-Weiss syndrome in the compared groups, in the MG final hemostasis was performed in 51(98.1%) patients. In the MG, bleeding resumed in 1(1.9%) patient. There were no emergency operations or deaths. In the CG, the bleeding was finally stopped in 43(86%) patients, and it resumed in 7(14%) patients. Emergency surgery was required for 1(2%) patient. In the CG, the mortality rate was 4%. Conclusion: In MWS, the use of the developed method of endoscopic treatment, including pneumoinsufflation of a powdered hemostatic agent in combination with a granular sorbent, against the background of conservative therapy, improved the results of treatment, increased the reliability of local hemostasis, reduced the number of recurrent bleedings, and excluded emergency operations.
Cement-Based Materials Modified with Nanoscale Additives
Authors: Polonina E. N. , Leonovich S. N. , Khroustalev B. M. , Sadovskaya E. A. , Budrevich N. A.
Published: June 2021

The most common and reliable material without which modern construction is indispensable is concrete. The development of construction production is pushing for new solutions to improve the quality of concrete mix and concrete. The most demanded and significant indicators of a concrete mixture are the compressive strength and mobility of the concrete mixture. Every year, the volume of research on nanomaterials as modifying components of concrete is significantly increasing, and the results indicate the prospects for their use. Nanoparticles with a large specific surface are distinguished by chemical activity, can accelerate hydration and increase strength characteristics due to nucleation and subsequent formation of C–S–H and compaction of the material microstructure. Sol of nanosilica, which can be used instead of microsilica from industrial enterprises, and carbon nanomaterial have a wide reproduction base. This paper presents studies of these types of nanomaterials and the results of their application in cement concrete. Studies have shown that the effect is also observed with the introduction of an additive containing only one type of nanoparticles. The dependence of the obtained characteristics of cement concretes on the content of these nanomaterials has been established. It has been found that the best results were obtained with an additive in which the above-mentioned nanomaterials were used together. Compressive strength of  heavy concrete samples, improved by the complex nanodispersed system, was 78.7 MPa, which exceeds the strength of the sample containing the CNT additive in a pair with a super-plasticizer by 37 %.  The paper proposes the mechanism for  action of the presented complex additive.
The Staple-Shape Plate Springs Engineering Calculation Method
Authors: Sukach M. K.
Published: June 2021

The new types of elastic devices – staple-shape plate spring and leaf spring - have been developed at the Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture. The staple-shape plate spring is an elastic plate where the ends are deflected from its middle part in the same direction and are made in the form of consoles equipped with hinge attachments. The middle part of the plate as a parallel to the line of the load action is designed with variable length section. In each section, the axis, relative to which the moment of the section inertia is a maximum, is perpendicular to the spring bending plane, designed as the equal resistance beam. This article substantiates the feasibility of using a staple-shape plate spring to improve the elastic suspension of truck cabs. The recommendations for choosing the most promising mass production directions, as well as the engineering calculation methods of such springs, have been developed. Objects of the study are devices intended for machines and their components dynamic loads shock absorption, differing in having a bracket shape and being a subject to  bending in the plane of the highest rigidity of their cross sections, as well as shock absorbers using these springs, in particular KamAZ cabs suspension. This research implementation allows significantly reducing the metal consumption and elastic devices manufacture complexity, as well as can be useful in the design and operation of elastic car suspensions.Keywords: elastic device, staple-shaped plate spring, leaf spring, elastic suspension
Fast Urbanization Causes Overestimate on Global Warming Trends
Authors: Li Na , Gao Ying , Gu Rong , Li Fei-Teng , Ren Guo-Peng , Xiao Wen
Published: June 2021

Fast urbanization may caused overestimation on global warming tendency, whereas the contribution of urbanization on global warming tendency has not been evaluated accurately. Compared with current methods, we hold the opinion that comparing the temperature records of relocated new meteorological stations with old ones is a better way to evaluate the urbanization contribution. So we searched literature about relocation stations on Web of Science and China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and studies contained temperature record of paired relocated old and new meteorological stations were selected. Consequently, we collected temperature records on 57 paired stations and found that the temperature of old stations was higher than new ones by 0.66℃ ( -0.90 to 1.63℃). The urbanization process could contribute more than 60% to the temperature increasing tendency; there are strong coincidences between the periods of temperature increasing and regional fast urbanization over the worldwide. In conclusion, the assessment of global warming by IPCC could be revised based on paired urban and rural temperature data sets of global relocated meteorological stations in the next report.
Association Between Modified Nordic Diet With Sleep Quality and Circadian Rhythm in Overweight and Obese Woman: A Cross Sectional Study
Authors: mousavi ahmad , Mirzababaei Atieh , Shiraseb Farideh , Mirzaei Khadijeh
Published: June 2021

ObjectivePrevious studies have shown the association between diet quality and sleep quality. the objective of this study was to observe the association between modified Nordic diet with sleep quality and circadian rhythm in overweight and obese woman.MethodsWe enrolled 399 overweight and obese women (body mass index (BMI): 25-40 kg/m2) aged 18-48 years in cross-sectional study. For each participant anthropometric measurements, biochemical test and food intake were evaluated. Sleep quality and circadian rhythm was measured by Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Morning Evening Questionnaire (MEQ) questionnaire. Modified Nordic diet score was measured using a validated 147-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ).ResultsAmong all participants, Overall, 51.7% of the subjects were good sleepers (the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) < 5) while 48.3% were poor sleepers (PSQI ≥ 5). Moreover, participants were divided into 5 groups of MEQ namely, completely morning 8(2.4%), rarely morning 82(24.8%), normal 196(59.2%), rarely evening 43(13%), completely evening 2(0.6%). After controlling for confounder there was a significant association between the poor sleep quality and modified Nordic diet (OR=0.80, %95 CI=0.66-0.98, P=0.01). Moreover, a significant positive association was observed between the completely morning and modified Nordic diet (OR=1.80, %95 CI=0.54-6.00, P=0.03) and also a significant reverse association was observed between completely evening type and modified Nordic diet (OR=0.16, %95 CI=0.002-5.41, P=0.02).ConclusionsThe present study indicate that higher adherence to a modified Nordic diet decreases poor sleep quality. Also, the completely morning type associated with higher adherence to a modified Nordic diet and completely evening type associated with lower adherence to a modified Nordic diet.Levels of Evidence﻿Level IV, evidence obtained from with multiple time series analysis.
Identifying Critical Isolation Valves in a Water Distribution Network: A Socio-Technical Approach
Authors: Abdel-Mottaleb Noha , Saghand Payman Ghasemi , Wakhungu Mathews , Charkhgard Hadi , Wells E. Christian , Zhang Qiong
Published: June 2021

Isolation valves are critical for reliable functioning of water distribution networks (WDNs). However, it is challenging for utilities to prioritize valve rehabilitation and replacement given it is often unclear if certain valves are operable in a given WDN. This study uses the Gomory-hu tree of the segment-valve representation (or dual representation) of WDNs to obtain logical implications of inoperable valves (i.e., which segments would be isolated and merged unnecessarily due to valve inoperability). Multi-objective optimization is then used to identify the critical valves based on selected attributes (e.g., social vulnerability, flow volume) of segments that would be unnecessarily isolated as a result. This study developed three multi-objective formulations: first, deterministic; second, accounting for uncertainty; and third, accounting or both uncertainty and likelihood of failure of pipes within segments. Identified critical valves are compared between the three developed formulations and a method considering only a single objective. Results demonstrated that the multi-objective optimization provided additional information that can be used to discern valve importance for utilities in comparison with using a single objective. Further, though there was overlap between the results from the three formulations, the third formulation provided the most insight without overwhelming decision-makers with a large number of identified valves.
Fumigation Activity of Essential Oil of Cinnamonum Loureirii Against Red Imported Fire Ant (Solenopsis Invicta) Workers
Authors: Xing Huanling , Hu Yingqi , Yang Liupeng , Lin Jianhao , Bai Haiyi , Li Yanqun , Bai Mei , Zhang Zhixiang , Xu Hanhong , Wu Hong
Published: June 2021

The high toxicity, long-lasting residues, and resistance to chemical pesticides and baits used in the control of red imported fire ants could possibly harm human health and ecological balance. Natural compounds would be an excellent source of pesticides because of their good repellency and insecticidal properties. In this study, the fumigation method was used to study the insecticidal effects of essential oils from the bark and leaves of Cinnamomum loureirii Nees on red imported fire ants at different concentrations and fumigation time. The fumigation time with C. loureirii essential oils was positively correlated with the knockdown ability and mortality in red imported fire ants and was negatively correlated with grasping ability. The insecticidal activity of the essential oil extracted from C. loureirii leaves was significantly higher than that of the essential oils extracted from bark at effective concentrations. Cinnamyl acetate, an abundant component in leaf essential oil, plays an important role in improving the insecticidal activity of trans-cinnamaldehyde. This study provides a theoretical basis for the development and utilization of cinnamon leaf oil as a new environmentally friendly insecticide resource for the control of red imported fire ants.
An Improved Preventive Maintenance Scheduling for a Photovoltaic Plant under Environmental Constraints
Authors: Sa'ad Aisha , Nyoungue Aime , Hajej Zied
Published: June 2021

To be able to supply PV power that satisfies customer demand at all times, there is need for the generating plant to be available at all time. However, with the increased age and usage of the components, the component’s reliability reduces resulting to failure. These failures were due to a range of causes such as degradation and electrical wiring aging and cuts leading to a reduced performance efficiency and reliability. Therefore, to ameliorate the reliability of the system, a combined selective and preventive maintenance actions were planned by determining the best combination (optimal preventive maintenance intervals, optimal replaced components). In this work, an optimal preventive maintenance strategy with minimal repair was developed using iterative numerical technique for a photovoltaic (PV) plant with and without considering the influence of environmental condition on the system. An algorithm was developed on MATLAB to determine the optimal number of preventive maintenance actions that yields maximum availability by selecting the components to be maintained based on the reliability threshold without considering the environmental impact on the components. The environmental elements’ criticality was introduced and the reliability reiterated based on the new technique. Finally, by maximizing the availability of the system, an optimal preventive maintenance for a finite horizon was established.
Optimized Hip-Knee-Ankle Exoskeleton Assistance Reduces the Metabolic Cost of Walking With Worn Loads
Authors: Bryan Gwendolyn M , Franks Patrick , Song Seungmoon , Reyes Ricardo , O’Donovan Meghan , Gregorczyk Karen , Collins Steven
Published: June 2021

BackgroundLoad carriage is a typical activity in a wide range of professions, but prolonged load carriage is associated with increased fatigue and overuse injuries. Exoskeletons could improve the quality of life of these professionals by reducing metabolic cost to combat fatigue and reducing muscle activity to prevent injuries. Current exoskeletons have reduced the metabolic cost of loaded walking by up to 23% when assisting one or two joints. Greater metabolic reductions may be possible with optimized assistance of the entire leg. MethodsWe used human-in the-loop optimization to optimize hip-knee-ankle exoskeleton assistance with no additional load, a light load (15% of body weight), and a heavy load (30% of body weight) for three participants. All loads were applied through a weight vest with an attached waist belt. We measured metabolic cost, exoskeleton assistance, kinematics, and muscle activity. We performed one-tailed paired t-tests to determine significant reductions for metabolic cost and muscle activity, and we performed an analysis of variance (ANOVA) to determine significant changes across load conditions for metabolic cost and applied power. ResultsExoskeleton assistance reduced the metabolic cost of walking relative to walking in the device without assistance for all tested conditions. Exoskeleton assistance reduced the metabolic cost of walking by 47% with no load (p = 0.02), 35% with the light load (p = 0.03), and 43% with the heavy load (p = 0.02). The smaller metabolic reduction with the light load may be due to insufficient participant training or lack of optimizer convergence. The total applied positive power was similar for all tested conditions, and the positive knee power decreased slightly as load increased. Optimized torque timing parameters were consistent across participants and load conditions while optimized magnitude parameters varied. ConclusionsWhole-leg exoskeleton assistance can reduce the metabolic cost of walking while carrying a range of loads. The consistent optimized timing parameters suggest that metabolic cost reductions are sensitive to torque timing. The variable torque magnitude parameters could imply that torque magnitude should be customized to the individual, or that there is a range of useful torque magnitudes. Future work should test whether applying the load to the exoskeleton rather than the person's torso results in larger benefits.