bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An overview of recent developments of carbon-based sensors for the analysis of drug molecules
Authors: Manjunatha Jamballi G. , Pushpanjali Pemmatte A. , Hareesha Nagarajappa
Published: July 2021

This review summarizes some recent developments in the fabrication of modified sensors and biosensors using carbon-based materials. The great potential of carbon-based electrodes as sensing platforms is exciting due to their unique electrical and chemical properties, high accessibility and high biocompatibility. Carbon-based materials are particularly interesting due to almost infinite possibility of their functionalization with a wide variety of organic molecules, biologically important compounds and pharmaceuticals. This review is specifically focused on recent developments in the utilization of various carbon-based electrodes in sensing devices for the electrochemical investigation of drug molecules. Various voltammetric techniques considered in this effort include linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), cyclic voltammetry (CV), differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), square wave voltammetry (SWV), and square wave adsorptive stripping voltammetry (SWAdSV). The carbon-based electrode materials considered in this review comprise carbon paste, carbon nanotubes, graphite, graphene, and glassy carbon. The analytes chosen are some routinely used drugs such as paracetamol (PC), diclofenac sodium (DCF), 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), cetirizine (CTZ) and salbutamol (SAL). All here reported sensing electrodes produced very good results in electrochemical investigations of these drug molecules.
Praktyczne aspekty realizacji prawa do jednorazowego odszkodowania z tytułu wypadku przy pracy
Authors: Jasińska Joanna , Fik Piotr
Published: July 2021

Niniejsze opracowanie stanowi analizę wybranych zagadnień instytucji jednorazowego odszkodowania z tytułu wypadku przy pracy. Rozważono regulacje prawne dotyczące zagadnień, stosowany tryb postępowania o wypłatę przedmiotowego świadczenia, wymogi formalne umożliwiające procedowanie oraz bariery utrudniające uzyskanie świadczenia. W artykule wskazano potrzebę wdrożenia zmian legislacyjnych mających na celu wzrost jakości przepisów prawa i uproszczenie procedury uzyskiwania świadczeń z tytułu wypadku przy pracy.
Perancangan Kampanye Sosial Perspective-taking Keluarga di Masa Pandemi Covid-19
Authors: Sharifa Fauzhyana
Published: July 2021

Resiko konflik keluarga di masa pandemi Covid-19 mengalami kenaikan dengan munculnya berbagai tekanan dari segi finansial, sosial, dan kesehatan. Masyarakat terpaksa terisolasi di rumah bersama keluarganya, sehingga dapat memicu konflik antaranggota. Dalam mengurangi konflik, diperlukan pemahaman perspektif setiap anggota keluarga. Perspective-taking merupakan kemampuan seseorang dalam melihat situasi melalui perspektif orang lain. Mengajak masyarakat menerapkan perspective-taking dalam keluarga memerlukan bentuk komunikasi terencana. Kampanye sosial menjadi media yang tepat, karena sifatnya persuasif. Berkampanye menggunakan film pendek sebagai media utama menyampaikan pesan tentang perspective- taking secara implisit dan menghibur. Konsep kampanye dirancang dengan menekankan kesan hangat, informal, dan nyaman dari keluarga. Luaran dari kampanye diharapkan dapat menumbuhkan rasa syukur serta sifat saling mengasihi antaranggota keluarga Indonesia.
Wenn der „schützende Staat“ nicht (immer) schützt
Authors: Schröter Eckhard
Published: July 2021

Wenn Lehren aus den Erfahrungen mit der Corona-Pandemie gezogen werden sollen, dann gerät häufig die schlichte Einsicht in Vergessenheit, dass es bei der Programmentwicklung, wenn überhaupt, nur zum Teil darum geht, problemgerechte Lösungen zu suchen, sondern vor allem darum, ausreichende politische Unterstützung für eine Reformpolitik zu finden. Daher rückt die hier gewählte Perspektive das Kräftespiel der politischen Interessen und ihrer Anreizstrukturen in den Mittelpunkt. Die daraus abzuleitenden Policy-Muster zeigen die Probleme auf, die sich systematisch für liberale Demokratien ergeben, wenn sie eine politisch und finanziell nachhaltige Pandemiepolitik entwickeln wollen. Strukturell sind Unterangebote bei restriktiven Maßnahmen der Infektionskontrolle, aber Überangebote bei Verteilungs- und Subventionsprogrammen zu erwarten. Ein „Gelegenheitsfenster“ besteht jedoch gerade für Akteure aus der Verwaltung, die neue Themenkonjunktur für den Ausbau von Zuständigkeiten und Ressourcen ihrer jeweiligen Institutionen zu nutzen.
Steuerung von öffentlichen Unternehmen in Zeiten gesellschaftlicher Disruption
Authors: Morner Michèle
Published: July 2021

Der Beitrag beschreibt die Corona-Pandemie als disruptive „turbulente Herausforderung“ und erweitert als Lösungsansatz das Konzept der Resilienz um die Robustheit sozialer Systeme. Robuste Organisationen versuchen nicht, in ihr Gleichgewicht zurückzukommen, sondern bauen ein neues auf, das den geänderten Gegebenheiten gerecht wird. Um diesem Ideal näher zu kommen, müssen öffentliche Unternehmen neue Formen der (Selbst-) Steuerung und der Führung implementieren. Die öffentlichen Unternehmen, denen es gelingt, diese neuen Steuerungs- und Führungsformen zu implementieren, sind besser gewappnet - nicht nur für den Umgang mit der Corona-Pandemie, sondern auch bei zukünftig zu erwartenden anderen turbulenten Herausforderungen.
Pay-to-Play
Authors: Kraski Ryan
Published: July 2021

Pay-to-Play provides an accessible approach toward understanding two systems for knowledge creation and dissemination that are embedded in the US legal system, namely private, nonprofit universities and copyright law. Pay-to-Play identifies the harsh reality that an expansive body of academic works remains locked away behind for-profit paywalls. Accessing these works for individuals is prohibitively expensive and is usually only made possible through even more expensive institutional memberships. As a result, most people are unnecessarily excluded from the innovation process, which lies at the very core of the Constitution’s Copyright Clause.

Attorney Ryan Kraski, Esq. is a former lecturer and research fellow at the University of Cologne, Germany and is currently in-house counsel to a large automotive company .
Spread Option Pricing on Single-Core and Parallel Computing Architectures
Authors: Kannan Shiam , Alfeus Mesias
Published: July 2021

This paper introduces parallel computation for spread options using two-dimensional Fourier transform. Spread options are multi-asset options whose payoffs depend on the difference of two underlying financial securities. Pricing these securities, however, cannot be done using closed-form methods; as such, we propose an algorithm which employs the fast Fourier Transform (FFT) method to numerically solve spread option prices in a reasonable amount of short time while preserving the pricing accuracy. Our results indicate a significant increase in computational performance when the algorithm is performed on multiple CPU cores and GPU. Moreover, the literature on spread option pricing using FFT methods documents that the pricing accuracy increases with FFT grid size while the computational speed has opposite effect. By using the multi-core/GPU implementation, the trade-off between pricing accuracy and speed is taken into account effectively.
The Paradigm of Complex Probability and Thomas Bayes’ Theorem
Authors: Abou Jaoudé Abdo
Published: July 2021

The mathematical probability concept was set forth by Andrey Nikolaevich Kolmogorov in 1933 by laying down a five-axioms system. This scheme can be improved to embody the set of imaginary numbers after adding three new axioms. Accordingly, any stochastic phenomenon can be performed in the set C of complex probabilities which is the summation of the set R of real probabilities and the set M of imaginary probabilities. Our objective now is to encompass complementary imaginary dimensions to the stochastic phenomenon taking place in the “real” laboratory in R and as a consequence to gauge in the sets R, M, and C all the corresponding probabilities. Hence, the probability in the entire set C = R + M is incessantly equal to one independently of all the probabilities of the input stochastic variable distribution in R, and subsequently the output of the random phenomenon in R can be evaluated totally in C. This is due to the fact that the probability in C is calculated after the elimination and subtraction of the chaotic factor from the degree of our knowledge of the nondeterministic phenomenon. We will apply this novel paradigm to the classical Bayes’ theorem in probability theory.
Application of Titanium Dioxide in the Synthesis of Mesoporous Activated Carbon Derived from Agricultural Waste
Authors: Kumar Ashok , Singh Kaman , Ahamad Bhat Rayees
Published: July 2021

Adsorption is an important technique that significances the characteristics of porous solid materials and fine powders. The importance of porous solid materials and fine powders has been recognized when porous coal used for various applications such as catalysis, separation, isolation, sensors, chromatography, etc. Herein, the synthesis of mesoporous activated carbon derived from agricultural waste using TiO2. The TiO2-modified carbon was characterized employing scanning electron microscope (SEM), attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction (pXRD), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area analyzer and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The obtained results suggested that the TiO2-modified carbon could be a potential material for various application like dye removal, metal removal and allied areas. This book chapter describes the commonly used classifications of porous bulk materials and also reported here the characterization of porous solid materials and fine powders with special reference to the evaluation of the surface area, pore size distribution and thermodynamic parameters of the different mesoporous material, at various scales of resolution using relevant techniques. These materials comprise several levels of structures that of the mesopores, micropores as well as macropores. The apparent topography analysis of these materials, of various pore diameters, synthesized in our laboratory has been determined at various scales with the help of various characterization techniques.
Parasitic Plants in Agriculture and Management
Authors: Erdogan Pervin
Published: July 2021

Parasitic plants are among the most problematic pests of agricultural crops worldwide. They are found worldwide in all plant communities except aquatic. Parasitic plants are the organisms that settle in the host plant by means of the special organs they have developed and penetrate the vascular tissues of the hosts and meet their nutritional, water and mineral needs from the host plant. This particular body they have is called a haustorium. The discovery and investigation of the haustorium structures led to the evaluation of many heterotrophic plant species previously defined as parasitic plants in different groups. Host organisms are very important in completing the life cycle of parasitic plants. In general, the parasite weakens the host, so it produces fewer flowers and viable seeds or the value of the timber is reduced. However, some parasites, mostly annual root parasites belonging to the Orobanchaceae, can kill the host and cause significant economic damage while attacking monocultures in agriculture, and much effort is put into controlling these harmful parasites. Parasitic weeds are difficult to control because there are few resources for crop resistance and it is difficult to apply sufficiently selective control methods to kill weeds without physically and biochemically damaging the crop to which they are attached.
Improvement of Student Attention Monitoring Supported by Precision Sensing in Learning Management Systems
Authors: Filipa Valada Pereira Artífice Andreia , Sarraipa João , Jardim-Goncalves Ricardo
Published: July 2021

A Learning Management Systems (LMS) can benefit from the inclusion Computer-Mediated-Communications (CMC) software for delivering materials. Incorporating CMC tools in virtual classrooms or implementing educational blogs, can be very effective in e-learning platforms. In such student-centered interaction scenarios, it is important to monitor and manage student attention in a precise way to enhance student performance. Sensing with precision through 6G/7G technology allows to include electronic and software devices to produce such monitoring. This chapter contextualizes and describes an abstraction application scenario of sensing and monitoring student attention with high precision in Learning Management System with new communication systems. In that context, technology (e.g. sensors), is used to perform automatic attention monitoring, helping to manage students in e-Learning. Additionally, the document presents a possible scenario which supports intelligent services to the monitoring of student attention during e-learning activities in the context of Smart HEI (Higher Education Institutes).
Molecular Host-Nematode Interactions and Tuber Development
Authors: Bozbuga Refik , Uluisik Selman
Published: July 2021

Potato, Solanum tuberosum, the most important non-grain food crop and essential crop globally, has been widely cultivated around the world for centuries. The significance of this plant is increasing due to high nutritional value of the tubers combined with the simplicity of its propagation. As a plant organ, tuber of potato, is mainly edible part of it and popular as nutrient for almost all nations. Tuberization in potato is a very complex biological occurrence affected by numerous ecological signals, genetics, plant nutrition and several different hormones. Many pests including nematodes limit potato tuber development that plant hormones play roles in nematode feeding cell formation. Parasitic nematodes, important pests which cause damage to plants, tubers, suck up nutrients from plants and weaken plant development and yield losses. Many genes involve in tuber development and plant response nematodes. The aim of this chapter is to demonstrate the new advances in the field of molecular host-nematode interactions and tuber development.
Přehled aktuální judikatury I/2021
Authors: Bartoš Vojtěch , Kasl František , Klodwig Jakub , Kudláčková Ivana , Loutocký Pavel , Míšek Jakub , Vostoupal Jakub
Published: July 2021

Krátké anotace aktuálních rozhodnutí v oblasti práva ICT.
Promoting urban water bodies as a potential strategy to improve urban thermal environment
Authors: Syafii Nedyomukti
Published: July 2021

Cities are found warmer than in nearby surrounding rural areas due to change in surface properties and lack of evaporation, indicated as urban heat island (UHI). On the other hand, bodies of water have been known to generate a positive impact on the urban microclimate by maintaining a cooler thermal environment. Although researchers have been conducted many experiments and measurements to illustrate its potential benefits, most of them are studied in terms of its capacity to ameliorate the air temperature. In this paper, the benefits of urban water bodies are evaluated regarding their radiation properties. With the main objectives to find a novel approach to take advantage of urban water bodies' abilities to improve the urban thermal environment, a series of field measurements have been conducted inside an urban scale model. Generally, the measured long-wave and short-wave radiation within the urban canyon shows that bodies of water tend to absorb and store more heat, which in turn generate lower surface temperature as compared to those flat concrete surface.
Measuring neighbourhood hardships and neighbourhood change between 2010-2015 in suburban neighbourhoods of Buffalo Metropolitan Area, New York
Authors: Saleh Ilhamdaniah
Published: July 2021

Neighbourhoods in urban and suburban areas experienced changes in terms of physical, social, economic, and demographics. Neighbourhood Hardship Index (NHI) had been used to measure neighbourhood socio-economic condition, using various census variables. Suburban neighbourhoods which underwent a change lead to stratification into striving outer suburbs and declining inner suburbs. The context of this study was suburban neighbourhoods in Buffalo Metropolitan Area (BMA), New York. This paper aimed at highlighting spatial variability of neighbourhood change in innerand outer-suburban neighbourhoods of BMA between 2010-2015. This study examined factors that significantly contribute to neighbourhood change. Also, this study examined whether there a difference in the change of neighbourhood hardship index between innerand outer-suburban neighbourhoods. Composite NHI was developed from economic, demographic, and housing variables. Neighbourhood change was measured by comparing the composite NHI 2010 with that of 2015. The findings depicted a variation of change in hardships index across suburban neighbourhoods. Neighbourhoods with higher hardship index were primarily located in inner suburbs. Policy implications call for concerted efforts to tackle the decline in the economy, education, demography to promote equity across neighbourhoods in suburban areas.
Construction and communication of Falchera: An INA-Casa neighborhood in Turin by Giovanni Astengo
Authors: Sala Giorgia , Moucheront Nicolas
Published: July 2021

Falchera is a social housing estate in the periphery of Turin designed by Giovanni Astengo and a group of architects in the fifties, in the context of the INA-Casa program. Imagined as an ideal organic neighbourhood, it was representative of an aspiration to a community life in peri-urban areas developed within the Comunità movement lead by Adriano Olivetti. Architecture was one of the media used to communicate an ideal of life. The design process followed by Astengo and the architects of Falchera thus had to adapt to communication strategies. The concept of organic neighbourhood was developed down to the scale of architectural detail through the use of an hexagonal pattern which created many difficulties on the building site as attested by archive documents conserved in Venice and in Turin. The civic centre concentrates the complexity of the whole project in one element, a mushroom-form column used to characterized the main square. In spite of problems with realisation and maintenance, this place still contributes to the identification of the inhabitants of Falchera with their neighbourhood.
Variability of potassium content in the needles of Douglas-fir provenances of Canadian origin
Authors: Jovanović Filip , Lavadinović Vera , Rakonjac Ljubinko , Stajić Snežana , Miletić Zoran
Published: July 2021

The provenance test model is based on the analysis of growth, anatomical, physiological, chemical, mechanical, and other properties of an allochthonous species to justify its transfer from the place of origin to new ecosystems. Douglas-fir is one of the most common allochthonous conifer species in the forest plantations of Europe. Given that the analysis of different physiological properties of trees is important for the introduction of specified provenances into new habitats, this paper presents the results of an investigation of the variability of potassium content in young Douglas-fir needles of 14 Canadian provenances raised on two experimental sites in Belgrade. Potassium is an essential element involved in a number of biochemical and physiological processes and plays a significant role in the adaptation of plants on biotic and abiotic stress factors. Determination of the deviation of potassium content in the needles of each Douglas-fir provenance studied was performed using the Z-test.
Forest ecosystems vitality monitoring (ICP forests, Level I) with special emphasis to the affected part of the sample trees in the Republic of Serbia
Authors: Gagić-Serdar Renata , Stefanović Tomislav , Đorđević Ilija , Češljar Goran , Marković Miroslava , Momirović Natalija
Published: July 2021

Trees condition on the sample plots of the ICP forests, Level I, is especially considered and monitored by the typically damaged and affected part of the tree on which it occurs. Due to the need to enter unique data for the measured parameters (visible damages), their codes are assigned for each damage. These are the results from Sample plots, Level I, based on the ICP methodology. The results are entered into a single database for all participating countries. Infested assimilation organs - leaves or needles are direct indicators of the condition of the trees. The most common damage to leaves is caused by miners, gnats, beetles, and insects that totally bite the leaves so parts of the leaves are completely missing (Lymantria dispar L.). The leaves are mined by Stigmellidae, Gracillariidae, Cynipidae forming galls; there are also damages from the early oak defoliators Geometridae and Tortricidae. Apart from defoliators, the most common are xylophagous insects (for example, bark beetles) as well as root pests. The fungi that most commonly occur on the leaves are oak powdery mildew (Erysiphe alphitoides) and Rhytisma acerinum (which attacks species of the genus Acer). Other damages that occur are verticillium wilt (diseases of the conducting vessels), beech bark disease, then rot of the appendix, trunk, and branches. The paper presents the observed damage and diseases on the experimental plots of the ICP forests, Level I, in Serbia, according to the parts of the tree where they were discovered.
The value of biomass energy: The case study of "Crni Vrh-Deževski" in the Gornjeibarsko forest area
Authors: Hadrović Sabahudin , Rakonjac Ljubinko , Ćirković-Mitrović Tatjana , Marković Miroslava , Jović Đorđe
Published: July 2021

Of all terrestrial ecosystems, forests are the most important carbon reservoirs. Therefore they deserve special care and protection. They are also an irreplaceable source of biomass for energy. Forest biomass has been used as a fuel since the earliest times, and since the late twentieth century, there has been a renewed interest in its use for the production of heat and electricity. Forest biomass has become interesting as a source of energy due to some of its characteristics, above all its availability and uniformity around the world, which implies that both developing and less developed countries can use biomass as a renewable source of energy. Furthermore, biomass fuel is considered to be CO2 neutral. However, its use is not risk-free. The risks are mainly related to the sustainability of forest systems and their productivity. Therefore, the forestry profession must be extremely cautious in using forest biomass and follow the prescribed allowable cut. This paper deals with the current state of biomass for energy, its estimates and properties as fuel. It studies the sustainability of biomass through the preservation of forest ecosystems and all multipurpose benefits of forests.
Tracking the Fossil Footprints and Letters of Science from Doctor E. F. Harding in Windsor, Nova Scotia: 1842-1855
Authors: Fedak Tim
Published: July 2021

Three hand-written letters from Dr. Ebenezer Fitch Harding to J. W. Dawson between 1845 and 1855 provide an example of the “collective” aspect of early geology. Dr. Harding was a community physician in Windsor, Nova Scotia, when he accompanied Charles Lyell during Lyell’s visit to the geology sites and mud flats of the Minas Basin, Bay of Fundy in the summer of 1842. The three letters span the period at the dawn of Nova Scotia geology and give insight into Dr. Harding’s personal interest, contributions to science, and relationship with Dawson in Pictou, Nova Scotia. Examination of the transcribed letters document this important period in Nova Scotia geology, demonstrate linkages between Nova Scotia and Edinburgh, and suggest future work to consider the development of the visual language of geology in Nova Scotia. The history and status of a fossil trackway named by Dawson as Hylopus hardingi provides further insights into the nature of collections and collaborations between Harding and Dawson.
The diamod tip.
Authors: Baeza Noci Jose
Published: July 2021

This issue 5 is devoted to spine diseases that can be treated or improved by using medical ozone. Dr. Alberto Alexandre compiled during 2015 and 2016 a number of papers from experienced authors in order to prepare a monographic issue but found a lot of difficulty in publishing it. I offered him our Journal to publish these scientific works and he agreed.

COVID-19 pandemic has produce a huge increase in publishing time for all journals but we finally have been able to produce this issue. Due to the delay in its publication, some papers have been published by their authors in other journals.

We are hardly working in issue 6 that will be opened for different topics and we are preparing issue 7 that we expect to be a monographic on dental applications.

All papers are welcomed!
De Tristitia Christi, Los trabajos de Persiles y Sigismunda y Luis Vives
Authors: Calero Francisco
Published: July 2021

En este trabajo, partiendo de un texto de Séneca en Naturales Quaestiones se establece una estrecha relación entre De tristitia Christi, Los trabajos de Persiles y Sigismunda y las obras de Luis Vives, especialmente De anima et vita. Por estar presente el pasaje de Séneca también en Guzmán de Alfarache, la conexión se amplía a esta obra. Esas conexiones dan pie para estudiar algunos textos de Vida de San Antonio de Padua y de Orthografía castellana de Mateo Alemán.
[Italian National Plan for Recovery and Resilience, water resources, groundwater, hydrogeology]
Authors: Cerutti Paolo
Published: July 2021

Not available
Etnografías: procesos, experiencias y resistencias sociales
Authors: Aguilar Rodríguez Fredy
Published: July 2021

Etnografías. Procesos experiencias y resistencias sociales es el resultado de la investigación realizada a partir del trabajo etnográfico y de la observación participante. Áreas marginales de Colombia y Ecuador en donde la vida cotidiana es compleja debido a las condiciones históricas, socioculturales, políticas y económicas, son centro de este estudio. Realidades ocultas -y comunes- en nuestros contextos latinoamericanos, salen a la luz en estas páginas. Sus actores, investigadores y etnógrafos, han logrado generar conocimientos situados “desde dentro” y desde el punto de vista del actor para comprender su cotidianidad, sus formas de pensar, sentir, actuar y creer. Este es un libro dónde la observación, la entrevista, los relatos de vida, el diario de campo. la conversación cotidiana, el dibujo y la pintura, han sido estrategias metodológicas que han permitido a los investigadores poder internarse e interiorizarse en la vida de los actores sociales. El tratamiento de problemas complejos no han sido un obstáculo: la ética, la sensibilidad y la serenidad metodológica han sido condiciones fundamentales para el desarrollo de los diferentes artículos de esta publicación.
SOX21 modulates SOX2-initiated differentiation of epithelial cells in the extrapulmonary airways
Authors: Eenjes Evelien , Buscop-van Kempen Marjon , Boerema-de Munck Anne , Edel Gabriela G , Benthem Floor , de Kreij-de Bruin Lisette , Schnater Marco , Tibboel Dick , Collins Jennifer , Rottier Robbert J
Published: July 2021

SOX2 expression levels are crucial for the balance between maintenance and differentiation of airway progenitor cells during development and regeneration. Here, we describe patterning of the mouse proximal airway epithelium by SOX21, which coincides with high levels of SOX2 during development. Airway progenitor cells in this SOX2+/SOX21+ zone show differentiation to basal cells, specifying cells for the extrapulmonary airways. Loss of SOX21 showed an increased differentiation of SOX2+ progenitor cells to basal and ciliated cells during mouse lung development. We propose a mechanism where SOX21 inhibits differentiation of airway progenitors by antagonizing SOX2-induced expression of specific genes involved in airway differentiation. Additionally, in the adult tracheal epithelium, SOX21 inhibits basal to ciliated cell differentiation. This suppressing function of SOX21 on differentiation contrasts SOX2, which mainly drives differentiation of epithelial cells during development and regeneration after injury. Furthermore, using human fetal lung organoids and adult bronchial epithelial cells, we show that SOX2+/SOX21+ regionalization is conserved. Lastly, we show that the interplay between SOX2 and SOX21 is context and concentration dependent leading to regulation of differentiation of the airway epithelium.
Gelotophobia, attitudes to illness and self-stigmatisation in patients with non-psychotic mental disorders and brain injuries
Authors: Shunenkov Denis , Vorontsova Victoria , Ivanova Alyona
Published: July 2021

Gelotophobia, or the fear of being laughed at, has been described as an inability to enjoy humour and laughter in social interaction. A number of studies have shown its increased levels under various mental disorders. Gelotophobia in psychiatric patients may appear either as a primary syndrome, or as a secondary disorder connected to the patient’s reaction to their social position (self-stigmatization). In turn, self-stigmatization is closely related to the personality of the patient and, in particular, to their attitudes to illness. Since the fear of being laughed at has been studied within both the clinical concept and the continual model of individual differences, the question of differentiation between normal and pathological fear of being laughed at is topical, while borderline groups are of particular interest. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between gelotophobia, attitudes to illness, and self-stigmatization in patients with minor, non-psychotic mental disorders, as well as those with brain injuries, who also had mild mental disorders, without having the status of psychiatric patients. The sample consisted of 73 patients with non-psychotic mental disorders, and 30 patients with brain injuries. The methods used included PhoPhiKat-30, ISMI-9 (Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness Inventory), and TOBOL (Types of the Attitudes to Disease). The results revealed at least a slight level of gelotophobia in 31% patients with non-psychotic mental disorders, and 20% in those with brain injuries. Gelotophobia correlated with certain types of attitude to illness in each group. Subjects displaying high levels of gelotophobia were in general characterized by disadvantageous attitudes to illness. In the group of psychiatric patients, gelotophobia was associated with self-stigmatization, whereas in the group of neurological patients it was not. Thus, in this study gelotophobia was examined for the first time in patients with non-psychotic mental disorders, as well as in those with brain injuries. Different mechanisms of gelotophobia development were suggested for the two groups.
The semiology of humour
Authors: Borodenko Marina , Petrovsky Vadim
Published: July 2021

A semiology-based approach to understanding humour is being developed and an interpretation of humour as a “counter-sign,” a two-faced sign within the space of conventionality, is put forward. The range of core attributes to interpret the phenomenon of humour is determined. The concepts of the “frame of significance,” “conventionality,” and “meta-communicative marker of conventionality” are elaborated. The general definition of humour is being formulated as a “sign-based identification of non-identifiable signs within the space of conventionality.” An outline is put forward to enable the formal distinction between satire, humour, irony, and jokes. The following questions are addressed: “Why does that which is funny cease to be so if it is repeated many times?”, “Why can the terrifying become funny when recollected?” “Why is the state of bewilderment not always funny but returning to it in one’s thoughts triggers laughter?”
Advanced methods for missing values imputation based on similarity learning
Authors: Fouad Khaled M. , Ismail Mahmoud M. , Azar Ahmad Taher , Arafa Mona M.
Published: July 2021

The real-world data analysis and processing using data mining techniques often are facing observations that contain missing values. The main challenge of mining datasets is the existence of missing values. The missing values in a dataset should be imputed using the imputation method to improve the data mining methods’ accuracy and performance. There are existing techniques that use k-nearest neighbors algorithm for imputing the missing values but determining the appropriate k value can be a challenging task. There are other existing imputation techniques that are based on hard clustering algorithms. When records are not well-separated, as in the case of missing data, hard clustering provides a poor description tool in many cases. In general, the imputation depending on similar records is more accurate than the imputation depending on the entire dataset's records. Improving the similarity among records can result in improving the imputation performance. This paper proposes two numerical missing data imputation methods. A hybrid missing data imputation method is initially proposed, called KI, that incorporates k-nearest neighbors and iterative imputation algorithms. The best set of nearest neighbors for each missing record is discovered through the records similarity by using the k-nearest neighbors algorithm (kNN). To improve the similarity, a suitable k value is estimated automatically for the kNN. The iterative imputation method is then used to impute the missing values of the incomplete records by using the global correlation structure among the selected records. An enhanced hybrid missing data imputation method is then proposed, called FCKI, which is an extension of KI. It integrates fuzzy c-means, k-nearest neighbors, and iterative imputation algorithms to impute the missing data in a dataset. The fuzzy c-means algorithm is selected because the records can belong to multiple clusters at the same time. This can lead to further improvement for similarity. FCKI searches a cluster, instead of the whole dataset, to find the best k-nearest neighbors. It applies two levels of similarity to achieve a higher imputation accuracy. The performance of the proposed imputation techniques is assessed by using fifteen datasets with variant missing ratios for three types of missing data; MCAR, MAR, MNAR. These different missing data types are generated in this work. The datasets with different sizes are used in this paper to validate the model. Therefore, proposed imputation techniques are compared with other missing data imputation methods by means of three measures; the root mean square error (RMSE), the normalized root mean square error (NRMSE), and the mean absolute error (MAE). The results show that the proposed methods achieve better imputation accuracy and require significantly less time than other missing data imputation methods.
Spatial position constraint for unsupervised learning of speech representations
Authors: Humayun Mohammad Ali , Yassin Hayati , Abas Pg Emeroylariffion
Published: July 2021

The success of supervised learning techniques for automatic speech processing does not always extend to problems with limited annotated speech. Unsupervised representation learning aims at utilizing unlabelled data to learn a transformation that makes speech easily distinguishable for classification tasks, whereby deep auto-encoder variants have been most successful in finding such representations. This paper proposes a novel mechanism to incorporate geometric position of speech samples within the global structure of an unlabelled feature set. Regression to the geometric position is also added as an additional constraint for the representation learning auto-encoder. The representation learnt by the proposed model has been evaluated over a supervised classification task for limited vocabulary keyword spotting, with the proposed representation outperforming the commonly used cepstral features by about 9% in terms of classification accuracy, despite using a limited amount of labels during supervision. Furthermore, a small keyword dataset has been collected for Kadazan, an indigenous, low-resourced Southeast Asian language. Analysis for the Kadazan dataset also confirms the superiority of the proposed representation for limited annotation. The results are significant as they confirm that the proposed method can learn unsupervised speech representations effectively for classification tasks with scarce labelled data.
Morphological observation and protein expression of fertile and abortive ovules in Castanea mollissima
Authors: Du Bingshuai , Zhang Qing , Cao Qingqin , Xing Yu , Qin Ling , Fang Kefeng
Published: July 2021

Chinese chestnuts (Castanea mollissima Blume.) contain 12–18 ovules in one ovary, but only one ovule develops into a seed, indicating a high ovule abortion rate. In this study, the Chinese chestnut ‘Huaihuang’ was used to explore the possible mechanisms of ovule abortion with respect to morphology and proteomics. The morphology and microstructure of abortive ovules were found to be considerably different from those of fertile ovules at 20 days after anthesis (20 DAA). The fertile ovules had completely formed tissues, such as the embryo sac, embryo and endosperm. By contrast, in the abortive ovules, there were no embryo sacs, and wide spaces between the integuments were observed, with few nucelli. Fluorescence labelling of the nuclei and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations showed that cells of abortive ovules were abnormally shaped and had thickened cell walls, folded cell membranes, condensed cytoplasm, ruptured nuclear membranes, degraded nucleoli and reduced mitochondria. The iTRAQ (isobaric tag for relative and absolute quantitation) results showed that in the abortive ovules, low levels of soluble protein with small molecular weights were found, and most of differently expressed proteins (DEPs) were related to protein synthesis, accumulation of active oxygen free radical, energy synthesis and so on. These DEPs might be associated with abnormal ovules formation.
Leveraging the potential of nature to meet net zero greenhouse gas emissions in Washington State
Authors: Robertson James C. , Randrup Kristina V. , Howe Emily R. , Case Michael J. , Levin Phillip S.
Published: July 2021

The State of Washington, USA, has set a goal to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, the year around which the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recommended we must limit global warming to 1.5 °C above that of pre-industrial times or face catastrophic changes. We employed existing approaches to calculate the potential for a suite of Natural Climate Solution (NCS) pathways to reduce Washington’s net emissions under three implementation scenarios: Limited, Moderate, and Ambitious. We found that NCS could reduce emissions between 4.3 and 8.8 MMT CO2eyr−1 in thirty-one years, accounting for 4% to 9% of the State’s net zero goal. These potential reductions largely rely on changing forest management practices on portions of private and public timber lands. We also mapped the distribution of each pathway’s Ambitious potential emissions reductions by county, revealing spatial clustering of high potential reductions in three regions closely tied to major business sectors: private industrial forestry in southwestern coastal forests, cropland agriculture in the Columbia Basin, and urban and rural development in the Puget Trough. Overall, potential emissions reductions are provided largely by a single pathway, Extended Timber Harvest Rotations, which mostly clusters in southwestern counties. However, mapping distribution of each of the other pathways reveals wider distribution of each pathway’s unique geographic relevance to support fair, just, and efficient deployment. Although the relative potential for a single pathway to contribute to statewide emissions reductions may be small, they could provide co-benefits to people, communities, economies, and nature for adaptation and resiliency across the state.
Home infusions of natalizumab for people with multiple sclerosis: a pilot randomised crossover trial
Authors: Schultz Timothy J. , Thomas Anne , Georgiou Paul , Juaton Mahasen S. , Cusack Lynette , Simon Lorraine , Naidoo Kerisha , Webb Kevin , Karnon Jonathan , Ravindran Janakan
Published: July 2021

Objective

The delivery of healthcare at home has expanded to intravenous infusions of monoclonal antibodies. A recently developed model of care for home infusions of natalizumab for people with relapsing‐remitting multiple sclerosis was evaluated. This pilot study of home infusions of natalizumab and usual care (attendance in a hospital out‐patients’ clinic) compared safety, feasibility, patient satisfaction, effectiveness and costs.

Methods

In this randomised AB/BA crossover trial, 37 adults were randomised to usual care (n = 19) or home infusions (n = 18). After three infusions, patients crossed over to the alternate treatment for another three infusions. Patient safety outcomes and adherence, satisfaction, quality of life, disability and costs were compared.

Results

No adverse events were recorded from 207 infusions from 35 patients across both home and clinic infusions. There was no difference in adherence (p = 0.71) and infection rates (p = 0.84) between home and clinic settings. Satisfaction with “convenience” of home infusions was significantly greater (p = 0.008) but there were no differences in quality of life measures. Excluding pharmacy, costs were A$74 lower per infusion at home, including A$16 of patients” out‐of‐pocket costs.

Interpretation

There were no differences in safety and effectiveness between clinic and home infusions of natalizumab. The home infusions were shown to be feasible, more convenient and less expensive than usual care. Larger scale studies are required to verify these preliminary findings, particularly around safety and management of hypersensitivity adverse events in the home setting and for equivalence of clinical outcomes.
Surface Functionalization of Graphene‐Based Materials: Biological Behavior, Toxicology, and Safe‐By‐Design Aspects
Authors: Guo Zhiling , Chakraborty Swaroop , Monikh Fazel Abdolahpur , Varsou Dimitra‐Danai , Chetwynd Andrew J , Afantitis Antreas , Lynch Iseult , Zhang Peng
Published: July 2021

The increasing exploitation of graphene‐based materials (GBMs) is driven by their unique properties and structures, which ignite the imagination of scientists and engineers. At the same time, the very properties that make them so useful for applications lead to growing concerns regarding their potential impacts on human health and the environment. Since GBMs are inert to reaction, various attempts of surface functionalization are made to make them reactive. Herein, surface functionalization of GBMs, including those intentionally designed for specific applications, as well as those unintentionally acquired (e.g., protein corona formation) from the environment and biota, are reviewed through the lenses of nanotoxicity and design of safe materials (safe‐by‐design). Uptake and toxicity of functionalized GBMs and the underlying mechanisms are discussed and linked with the surface functionalization. Computational tools that can predict the interaction of GBMs behavior with their toxicity are discussed. A concise framing of current knowledge and key features of GBMs to be controlled for safe and sustainable applications are provided for the community.
Full‐Color Perovskite Quantum Dots/Cellulose Nanocrystals Enhancement Films with Excellent Stability
Authors: Li Kun-You , Singh Jitendra , Chiang Chih-Hao , Liu Yu-Lun , Chen Yi-Chen , Li Ting-You , Tsai Meng-Lin
Published: July 2021

All‐inorganic perovskite quantum dots (PQDs) have held significant promise for developing cadmium‐free light‐emitting devices due to their outstanding color purity and tunable bandgap throughout the visible spectrum. However, they are still limited in practical applications due to stability issues. Herein, a strategy is developed to replace traditional ligands such as oleylamine and oleic acid for improving the binding state between exposed Pb ions and ligands by sulfate‐functionalized cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) to synthesize red‐, green‐, and blue‐emitting PQD/CNC light enhancement films. To further increase the stability of red‐emitting films, Zn metal ions are introduced in the B‐cation site of CsPbI3. It is noticed that the relative photoluminescence emission intensity of the Zn‐alloyed CsPbI3 PQD/CNC film can be maintained at 93% under the ambient condition for 33 days, whereas that of both the unalloyed film and colloidal Zn‐alloyed CsPbI3 PQD dropped to ≈50% after 1 h. Thus, the developed PQD/CNC enhancement films can provide a new possibility for highly stable and full‐color applications in the next‐generation low‐cost, low‐power‐consumption, and efficient PQD‐based optoelectronic devices.
A New Approach for Manufacturing Stochastic Pure Magnesium Foam by Laser Powder Bed Fusion: Fabrication, Geometrical Characteristics, and Compressive Mechanical Properties
Authors: Hwang Yu-Jin , Kim Kyu-Sik , AlMangour Bandar , Grzesiak Dariusz , Lee Kee-Ahn
Published: July 2021

Herein, stochastic pure magnesium foam using laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is fabricated and its geometric characteristics and mechanical properties are investigated. As volumetric energy density (VED) increased from 20 to 40 J mm−3 by controlling process parameters, porosity changed to 42.7 and 40.5%, respectively. Furthermore, the average sizes of interior consolidated/pore areas were 154.6 μm/142.9 μm (20 J mm−3 VED) and 230.8 μm/182.2 μm (40 J mm−3 VED), respectively. Magnesium foam induces lack‐of‐fusion defects through variable control of the LPBF process, and as such defects are connected, open pore structures are suggested to be formed. Stochastic pure Mg foam is composed of a main α‐Mg phase and a small amount of MgO phases. Room temperature compression test results obtained compressive yield strengths of 37 MPa (20 J mm−3) and 46 MPa (40 J mm−3). Compared with conventional pure Mg foam with similar relative density, LPBF Mg foam had relatively greater mechanical properties. This is considered to be due to the fine twin‐like microstructure formed by rapid solidification during LPBF. In conclusion, with LPBF, a biocompatible Mg foam with an open pore structure and outstanding mechanical properties was manufactured efficiently.
Self‐Supporting Electrodes for Gas‐Involved Key Energy Reactions
Authors: Wang Jie , Zang Nan , Xuan Cuijuan , Jia Baohua , Jin Wei , Ma Tianyi
Published: July 2021

Self‐supporting materials are widely adopted in gas‐involved electrocatalysis during the past few decades because of their unique physical/electrochemical properties, especially the stabilized spatial framework and the large electrochemical interfaces. Reportedly, there is no clear definition to define “self‐supporting” materials, and also, no such comprehensive reviews have fully discussed the self‐supporting materials in gas‐involved electrochemical applications. Therefore, it is necessary to provide timely updates in this potential field. In this review, for the first time, a reasonable definition of self‐supporting materials and comprehensively review the recent research progress of related electrodes in gas‐involved electrocatalytic applications is given. Firstly, it is discussed their synthetic methodologies, including design principles, different types of substrates‐ and substrate‐free structures. Subsequently, the recent advances of self‐supporting electrodes for gas‐involved key energy related electrocatalysis (i.e., hydrogen evolution, oxygen reduction, oxygen evolution, nitrogen reduction, and carbon dioxide reduction reactions) and their practical applications in water‐splitting, fuel cells and metal‐air batteries are mainly presented. Finally, a summary of the progress of self‐supporting electrocatalysts, the remaining challenges, and the perspectives are given to instruct their future development. It is expected that this review will provide new research insights for the future development of renewable energy storage and conversion systems.