bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Map Symbols of Cultural-Historical Heritage
Authors: Ivanov Subin , Videv Krasimir , Kastreva Penka
Published: June 2023

Symbols have a great impact on humans, so the use of map symbols has its advantages in creating and using the map. They communicate between the map author and the reader by helping to read the map faster. There are many unified symbols in the tourist maps. However, they do not deplete the diversity of objects that represent our cultural and historical heritage (CHH). Mapping and researching of the cultural and historical heritage sites is one of the priority themes of the INSPIRE program which aims to locate them on the Earth's surface and to describe in detail their characteristics. There is no comprehensive information system in Bulgaria and a specialized map of the cultural heritage. This is yet to be done and is an urgent task. The aim of this study is to highlight the need to develop a universal symbol system covering cultural monuments of national significance. In the framework of this experiment a symbol system has been developed for the cultural and historical sites in the region of Shumen.
Night-time public transport: case study of Madrid, Spain
Authors: Koroutchev Rossen
Published: June 2023

This paper researches the Night-time public transport in Madrid, one of the most famous by its night-life European city. By explaining the history of its night-time transport since 1974, when 11 night urban lines have been created, an analysis of the current situation is presented, which concerns the night transport extension to the rest of the municipalities inside Madrid area. Based on official statistical data and surveys provided by the corresponding municipality authorities, the efficiency of two interurban night-time lines of interest is analyzed. The methodology uses demographic and network analysis based on the passenger patterns during 2017. Quantitative graph measures of the Madrid’s night transport such as diameter and clustering are also presented. Finally, some comments and recommendations for improving the current city´s night-time public transport, as well as some future extensions of the analysis are presented.
Microclimatic characteristic of the Chelevechnitsata cave in Western Rhodopes
Authors: Kyurkchiev Stoyan
Published: June 2023

Chelevchinitsa Cave is formed in the southwestern part of the Dobrostan karst region, Western Rhodopes. It has been subjected to microclimatic monitoring since April 2016. Air temperature, cave water and sediments are periodically measured at eight points, and thus the air humidity is determined. A micro-climatic zoning of the cave was being done on the basis of the analysis of the data on the temperature regimes for the period 2016–2018. A link has been sought between cave microclimate and global climate change using available data for the period 1979–2017 . The issue of the influence of the anthropogenic load on the speleomicroclimate as well as the impact of the cave enviorment on the health and safety of the tourists is also discussed. Particular attention is paid to the role of cave ventilation on the gas composition of the cave atmosphere, and especially on the regime of carbon dioxide (CO2 ) and radon (222Rn).
Specificity of the anthropogenic landscapes in part of the catchment area of Luda Yana River
Authors: Nam Kamen , Tamburadzhiev Ilia
Published: June 2023

The present research covers the lowland part of the catchment area of Luda Yana River. This is those part of the catchment area of the river, which is in the range of Pazardzhik-Plovdiv field. Object of research are the contemporary landscapes in the lowland part of the catchment area of Luda Yana River. Subject of research are the processes of differentiating and classifying the anthropogenic landscapes in the considered area and determining the degree of anthropogenization of the landscapes. The differentiation of the landscapes is carried out by the interaction between the landscape-forming factors – the natural components and the types of land use. The classification of the landscapes used in the present research is based on the information in the European Landscape Character Areas. There are differentiated 17 types of landscapes in the studied area. The determining of the degree of anthropogenization is realized by implementing the "Distance to Nature" compiled indicator, which is calculated by the combination of the individual indicators „Degree of Naturalness” and „Distance to Natural Habitat”. A map of the contemporary landscapes in the lowland part of the catchment area of Luda Yana River, representing the degree of naturalness of the types of landscapes, is generated in GIS.
The natural and the cultural landscapes of the Central Sredna gora as a center of affirmation of ethnic groups
Authors: Boyadzhiev Veselin , Veselinova Neli , Zarkov Vasil
Published: June 2023

The theme of the article is from the historical geography of Bulgaria. It reveals the complex interaction of human society in the past with the nature. The analysis is based on the relationship between natural and humanitarian geography. It helps to compare the past and the present day and, if it is necessary, conclusions to be used for the future. In this case, the mountain Sredna Gora is an environment for the creation and development of the ethnic diversity of the Bulgarian society. The article is oriented to the scientific researches, but also to the authors of textbooks, to the teachers and to all who love the bulgarian nature.
Origin, development and modern state of bulgarian ethnic minority in Albania
Authors: Dimitrova Teodora
Published: June 2023

Bulgarians and Albanians cohabitations together more then 13 centuries. From a historical point of view this is a period, that covers the domination of two empires – Byzantine and Ottoman. The subject of the Bulgarian ethnic minority has existed for years. This issue also arises with the creation and recognition of an independent Albanian state in 1912. But only in 2017, the Albanian parliament in Tirana approves of the Minority Protection Act, in which the Bulgarian-ethnic population officially obtains their minority status.
Prof. DSc Hernani Borisov Spiridonov (28 July 1935 – 21 June 2018). Рrominent Bulgarian Geomorphologist, Geotectonist and Specialist in Remote Sensing on the Earth
Authors: Zhelev Georgi , Gikov Alexander , Roumenina Eugenia
Published: June 2023

This paper presents the biography of the scientist Professor DSc Hernani Borisov Spiridonov. July 2020 marks the 85th anniversary of his birth. His scientific achievements are related to geomorphology, geotectonics and the development remote sensing methods, He is one of the founders of the scientific major Remote Sensing of the Earth from Space in Bulgaria.
Prof. Petar Penchev – A Distinguished Geographer, Founder of the Genetic Branch of the Hidrological Science in Bulgaria
Authors: Velchev Angel
Published: June 2023

This paper reviews the life and creativity of one of the most famous Bulgarian geographers of 20th century – Prof. Petar Penchev. He is the founder of the genetic branch of the Bulgarian Hydrology. His scientific works are related to the problems of the karst hydrology, genetic contents of water flow, methodology for mapping of hydrological objects. He creates the first hydrological regionalization of Bulgaria.
Associate Professor PhD Mimoza Konteva – A Life Dedicated to Landscape Science (1952-2018)
Authors: Cholakova Zornitza
Published: June 2023

The article is dedicated to a scientist who has contributed to the establishment and development of landscape science in Bulgaria. Associate Professor PhD Mimoza Konteva worked in the Department of Landscape Ecology and Environmental Protection at the Faculty of Geology and Geography at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” throughout her whole scientific and teaching experience. She created about 70 scientific papers, participated in numerous scientific and educational projects, successfully advised more than 30 graduates and 2 doctoral students, worked for the promotion of geographical science in higher and secondary education in Bulgaria. Leading lecturer in the courses “Physical Geography of Continents”, “Landscape Ecology”, “Physical Geography of the Balkan Peninsula” and others. A long-term member of the editorial board of the Sofia University Yearbook, Faculty of Geology and Geography, vol. 2 - Geography. She was a good leader and an active member of the geographic community at Sofia University and the Bulgarian Geographical Society.
Prof. Peter Nikolov Popov, DSc – One of the Innovators in the Post War Bulgarian Geography
Authors: Kolev Boris
Published: June 2023

Prof. Peter Nikolov Popov, DSc, is among the innovators in the post war Bulgarian geography. He is one of the geographers working in several geographical areas such as the territorial location of productive forces, regional development, economic regionalization of Bulgaria, the application of mathematical and statistical methods in economic geography, systems theory, environmental protection. His publications include a number of other innovations in the form of approaches, methods and models. Prof. Peter Popov, thanks to his high scientific and linguistic training and erudition, presents with dignity the Bulgarian geography at numerous international scientific forums in which he has participated. He was also a respected lecturer wherever he taught. He has held a number of scientific and organizational positions as deputy director and director of the Geographical Institute of BAS and others.
Prof. Ivan Batakliev – Builder of the Geographical Sciences in Bulgaria
Authors: Zhelezov Georgi
Published: June 2023

Prof. Ivan Batakliev (1891-1973) is one of main persons in the process of foundation and basic development of geographical sciences in Bulgaria. His general scientific works are related with political geography, geopolitics and antropogeography in Bulgaria. He is founder of these scientific subjects and directions in Bulgaria. The work of prof. Batakliev is also connected with important contributions in physical geography, geography of population and settlements, economic geography, methodology of geographical education and regional geography as first landscape regionalization of Bulgaria (1934), first climate regionalization of Bulgaria (1941) and fundamental works for Pazardzhik town and the region of Pazardzhik (1922, 1923, 1969).
Vladimir Popov – Life and Creativity
Authors: Nikolov Valentin
Published: June 2023

The article is dedicated to the creative path and the scientific heritage of Vladimir Popov – one of the remarkable scientists for the Bulgarian geography of the last century. The experience during the professional development from a research precision and focused interest in geomorphology, karstology and physical geography. In this respect, original are the researches on the contemporary relief genesis and evolution, karst region and caves in Bulgaria. The karst in Bulgaria occupies an area of 26 170 km2 or 22.7 % of the territory of the country (Popov 1970). It is distributed in carbonate bodies with a different structure, dynamics and spatial relationships. New zoning of karst is being carried out for the Bulgarian territory. It is divided into: plain; marine and transformed marine karst into plain and plain-marine karst; plateau-like karst; mountain and intermountain karst; karst wetlands and gravitation karst, provoked by catastrophic earthquakes. Karst in Bulgaria is characterized by great diversity due to the complex combination of the factors and conditions of its formation (geological, tectonic, geomorphologic, hydrological and hydrogeological, climatic, etc.) and to the geodynamic development. Regardless of the fact that karst is well studied, there are still fundamental problems in karstology that have not been solved as a whole. In 1970 and 1976yy Popov made the first zoning of surface and underground karst in Bulgaria according to the geological base.
Assoc. Prof. Martin Glovnia – A Favourite Pedagogue from the Second Half of XX Century
Authors: Velchev Angel
Published: June 2023

Assoc. Prof. Martin Glovnia works on the problems of the relief in high mountainous areas, especially the glaciation and periglacial zones with appearance of cryogen processes. He publishes many learning books for students in the universities and high schools.
Applicability of the Montessori Method in geography education
Authors: Misheva Stanislava
Published: June 2023

A current problem of the educational policy in the secondary school in Bulgaria is the introduction of innovative teaching methods, leading to new quality and efficiency. Efforts are aimed at finding new approaches in order to provoke the interests of students, stimulate their motivation to learn and expand activities in the process of learning geography in the context of sustainable development and environmental protection. In this sense, object of study are methodologies with such focus, offering real opportunities for application in practice. The issue is also addressed in the present study. The most general characteristic of Maria Montessori's methodology is offered, deriving specific possibilities for application in the practice of teaching geography.
Ethno-demographic situation and future of the Western Balkans
Authors: Burdarov Georgi , Dimitrova Teodora
Published: June 2023

The Western Balkans are one of the most vulnerable parts of the European continent. This clearly defined territory of the EU has its own geopolitical explanation for its condition. The abandonment of the Western Balkans to neighboring countries is easy to explain. As some countries took steps to build democratic governance and a functioning market economy, the countries of the Western Balkans fought. At present, countries in the process of transposing EU law into their national law or the so-called "Candidate countries" are albania, serbia, montenegro and northern macedonia. Potential candidate countries are Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo. The current situation of the countries in the region, in particular the status of Kosovo, the reforms in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the national question of Albania and its idea of a "Greater Albania" are, subject to in-depth analysis. In general, the Western Balkans have a complex ethnic composition, which is a prerequisite for future conflicts
Geoecological aspect of homeland science in non-formal education on environmental protection
Authors: Asenova Milka
Published: June 2023

In the present article, there are investigated, analyzed and interpreted opportunities for geoecological education activities in out-of-school environment. Didactic aspect is the principle of homeland studying, which allows realization of associative connections and consideration, evaluation and understanding of the student’s surroundings in order to form personal qualities as responsibility, environmentally friendly behaviour, care for nature and its resources. A generalized variant of geoecological homeland science in non-formal training on environmental protection has been developed as a version of pedagogical technology for formation of basic skills of the teacher for planning, organizing and conducting educational process in integrative environment.
Pre-Monitoring Biogeochemical Research of the landscapes in the Area of Ada Tepe Gold Mining Site (Eastern Rhodopes)
Authors: Penin Rumen , Zhelev Dimitar
Published: June 2023

The article depicts the biogeochemical properties of the landscapes in the area of the Ada Tepe gold mine (Krumovitsa River Catchment, Eastern Rhodopes) before its launching as an active ore-extraction site. The research is conducted by examination of heavy metals content in particular samples of representative native plant species in the local landscapes. The conducted research surveyed the content of 7 chemical elements (heavy metals) in the tissues of native plants from the landscapes in the Eastern Rhodopes. These microelements are generally prioritized in terms of environmental protection. The interpretation of the obtain results was made by applying the Coefficient of Biological Absorption (Ax). It is as a result of the proportions between the chemical content in the plant tissue (lx) and the chemical content in the local soil/bedrock (nx). By default, this coefficient represents the absorption (and accumulation) intensity of chemical elements in the plants.
Current State and Trends in Viticulture and Wine Production Development in Bulgaria
Authors: Stoyanova Milena
Published: June 2023

The wine sector is a traditional industry for Bulgaria, which is of particular importance in rural areas, as it creates employment, generates income for local people, solves some of the demographic problems, promotes sustainable agriculture, diversifies the local economy. Nationwide, the sector has huge export potential and expanding markets worldwide, increasing competitiveness and earnings in the overall economy, improve its image abroad, promotes the development of other economic sectors such as tourism and food industry. The aim of the paper is to make a general overview of wine production in the XXI century based on analyzes of statistical data on the wine industry in Bulgaria for the research period.
The role of nickel in forming a structure providing increased service properties of reactor structural materials
Authors: Kuleshova Evgenia A. , Fedotov Ivan V. , Maltsev Dmitry A. , Frolov Aleksey S. , Stepanov Nikita V. , Safonov Denis V.
Published: June 2023

Nickel is an essential alloying element in steels used as structural materials in the most common nuclear power reactors of the VVER type. The paper considers reviews the results of structural studies of traditional and advanced materials of the vessels and internals of VVER-type reactors with high nickel contents in their compositions. It is shown that an increased nickel content (up to 5 wt.%) in the steels of VVER pressure vessels contributes to the formation of a more dispersed structure with a smaller size of substructural elements and an increased density of dislocations, as well as a higher volume density of carbide phases. The revealed features of the structure of the reactor pressure vessel steel with high nickel content have the prerequisites for improving the strength and viscoplastic properties due to the increased number of barriers both for the dislocation motion and brittle crack propagation. Using the example of materials for VVER internals, it is shown that the nickel content increased in them up to 25 wt.% contributes to an increase in the volume density of radiation defects (dislocation loops of various types) and radiation-induced phase precipitates (G-phase). As nickel increases from 10 to 25 wt.%, there is a tendency to reduce swelling, which contributes to less shape change of the components of the reactor vessel internals. At the same time, in the steel with the highest nickel content, the highest nickel content was found in the near-boundary regions of the matrix, which contributes to greater austenite stability and a lower probability of the formation of an embrittling α-phase. The data obtained in the work on the effect of nickel alloying on the steel structural phase state and service characteristics were used in the development of new materials for the vessels and internals of advanced reactors.
Hydrogen explosion safety for the Bilibino NPP EGP-6 reactor in conditions of a beyond design basis accident
Authors: Kazantsev Anatoly A. , Supotnitskaya Ol’ga V. , Ivanova Evgeniya A. , Moskovchenko Irina V. , Mukhamadeev Ruben I. , Timofeev Vladimir F. , Astakhova Nataliya E.
Published: June 2023

The paper presents the results of simulating a beyond design basis accident with regard to radiolytic hydrogen transport and analysis of hydrogen explosion safety in the reactor cavity and in the central reactor hall of the Bilibino NPP. The KUPOL-M code, version 1.10a, is used as the calculation tool for justifying hydrogen explosion safety. The accident under investigation is a beyond design basis accident, the initial event for which is spontaneous travel of two pairs of automatic control rods and a failure of the reactor scram system. The accident leads to the maximum possible release of positive reactivity, mass destruction of fuel elements, and escape of radiolytic hydrogen, as part of the gas mixture, into the reactor cavity and the central hall and further, through the broken windows, into the atmosphere. The calculation results show that no explosive concentrations of hydrogen are formed in the reactor cavity and in the central hall. Therefore, hydrogen explosion safety is ensured throughout the duration of the design basis accident for the Bilibino NPP unit with the EGP-6 reactor.
Energy saving potential diagnosis for Moroccan university campuses
Authors: Ouhammou Badr , Gargab Fatima Zohra , El idrissi kaitouni Samir , Smouh Slimane , El mrabet Rachid , Aggour Mohammed , Jamil Abdelmajid , Kousksou Tarik
Published: June 2023

Public buildings are energy-intensive users, especially when energy management is lacking. More than ever, the use of energy efficiency strategies and renewable energy sources (RES) in buildings are a national priority for Morocco in order to improve energy self-sufficiency, replace fossil fuel use and lower energy bills and greenhouse gas emissions. Relating to the exemplarity of the Moroccan government in terms of energy efficiency and sustainable development, the study support that aim and presents results of a deep energy performance analysis of more than 20 university campuses across Morocco, which has concluded that around 80% of the energy consumed in the university campuses is designated for lightning and hot water for sanitary use. Later, this study examined the potential for energy saving and the environmental benefits of implementing actions to reduce energy demand from the grid, considering the use of on-site solar energy. Thereafter, the study aimed to analyze the impact of RES integration in public university campuses, namely the photovoltaic (ESM1) for electricity output and solar thermal system for hot water use (ESM2), to assess the techno-economic-environmental performance on building energy consumption reduction. Hence, the paper reported a detailed energetic-economic and environmental (3E) analysis simulation for campuses by integration of the two Energy Saving Measurements (ESM). The results showed that the integration of ESM1 system can reduce the annual energy demand by 22% and the energy bill by 34%, whereas the integration of ESM2 achieved 67% in energy saving. According to the analysis of the results, the integration of ESM1 is expected to save 6044 MWh of electrical energy annually on the 30222 MWh for all campuses and 2559 MWh for ESM2 which is equivalent to 284 m3/yr of diesel. With the reduced energy consumption, it is possible to cut down fossil fuels for electricity production and offset greenhouse gas emissions by 672 tons of carbon dioxide annually. Besides, the evaluation of results showed that the energy performance indicator was reduced from 530 kWh/bed /yr to 248 kWh/bed/yr, which represents 56% of energy saving.
A comparative karyological study of Helianthemum (Cistaceae): karyotype size, karyotype symmetry and evolution of chromosome number
Authors: Martín Hernanz Sara , González Albaladejo Rafael , Rubio Pérez Encarnación , Volkova Polina , Miara Mohamed Djamel , Ulukuș Deniz , Sezgin Mehmet , Aparicio Martínez Abelardo
Published: June 2023

In this study we assessed karyotype size and symmetry for a comprehensive taxonomic and geographic representation of Helianthemum and reconstructed chromosome number evolution in the genus. Using root tips, we photographed mitotic metaphase spreads to obtain chromosome number, total haploid (monoploid) length of the chromosome set (THL), karyotype formula, Stebbins’ classification of karyotype asymmetry, interchromosomal coefficient of variation of chromosome length (CVCL) and intrachromosomal mean centromeric asymmetry (MCA) using MATO (Measurement and Analysis Tools). We found that shifts in chromosome number are not a major driver in the evolution of Helianthemum, whose chromosome number evolved at a constant rate of single chromosome gain or loss. Karyotype asymmetry is very low and little variable in all taxonomic categories studied, with a predominance of metacentric and submetacentric small to medium-sized chromosomes about 3 μm at the genus level. However, total karyotype length varies from 16.91 μm to 47.84 μm at the species level, with a cytogenetic signature that is not conserved within subgenera and most sections. Overall, H. subg. Plectolobum shows both the longest and the most symmetrical karyotypes. We hypothesize that the variation in karyotype size in Helianthemum is likely a consequence of chromosome rearrangements that have occurred under selective pressures.
SESAM 2023 Workshop on "Open Access data sharing - How to make simulation-based training data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR)?"
Authors: Halfwerk Frank , Clare Connie , Öztürk Zafer
Published: June 2023

Open Access publishing is getting more and moreattention. Research is made available to the public and developing countries,giving more exposure. The underlying data, which can be qualitative (i.e.interview data) or quantitative (test scores, time to perform a task, simulatorparameters) are however often not shared. Publishing these data improvesreproducibility, accelerates innovation and allows for sharing of unique datanot available to everyone. We believe this is the next step forward inmaturation of the field of simulation applied to medicine and nursing. Thereare however perceived concerns regarding privacy and access under the EU generaldata protection regulation (GDPR). At the same time anonymization techniquesallow for data sharing and reuse under the GDPR.
LRAP: Layered Ring Based Adaptive and Personalized Usability Model for Mobile Commerce Apps
Authors: Ul Ain Qurat , Missen Malik Muhammad Saad , Prasath Surya
Published: June 2023

Usability is one of the most important characteristics of software applications, especially when it comes to mobile shopping applications. There is a great deal of shift from traditional shopping to online shopping because it benefits both parties i.e., customers as well as businessmen. In such a scenario, the usability factor can play a very vital role in the business industry. If a client stops using a mobile shopping app because it is not user-friendly, it can badly damage the annual revenues especially when hundreds of alternatives are available and there is tough competition. Therefore, to keep existing customers intact and to attract new customers, it is very important to provide a user-friendly mobile app to customers. In this paper, we consider a large variety of online customers with diverse requirements. background and constraints and evaluate the usability of existing mobile e-commerce apps to identify the actual problems people are facing with existing applications and do a systematic review of existing shopping apps. Then, we propose a personalized and adaptive usability model for mobile commerce apps considering the neglected user type i.e., illiterates and people with tactile disabilities. The proposed model LRAP is a layered approach from generalization to specification and it can be considered an extension of the famous PACMAD usability model. Besides this, we also suggest a combining score tool which will be helpful in measuring the usability of any app.
Enabling Deep Learning and Swarm Optimization Algorithm for Channel Estimation for Low Power RIS Assisted Wireless Communications
Authors: Jaafar Qassim  Kadhim  , Adheed H. Sallomi
Published: June 2023

In this study, convolutional neural networks (CNN) and particle swarm optimization are used to offer a channel estimate technique for low power reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) assisted wireless communications (PSO). The suggested approach makes use of the RIS channels' sparsity to lower the CNN model's training complexity and uses PSO to optimize the CNN model's hyperparameters. The proposed system has been trained using 70% of dataset, 25% of data was used for testing and remaining 5% was used for cross-validation. In comparison to previous methods, simulation results demonstrate that the proposed method delivers correct channel estimate with much less computing cost. The suggested technique also exceeds current techniques in terms of bit error rate (BER) and mean squared error (MSE) performance. The research found 96.47% and 90.96% of accuracy for CNN and PSO algorithm respectively. Moverover, the network was trained using a dataset mentioned in methodology section for channel realizations, and achieved a mean squared error (MSE) value of 0.012 using CNN algorithm. Also, the study reported the proposed technique outperformed other state-of-the-art techniques. The proposed technique of PSO to optimize the channel estimation, and achieved a mean squared error (MSE) value of 0.0075.
Hyperspectral prediction of pigment content in tomato leaves based on logistic-optimized sparrow search algorithm and back propagation neural network
Authors: Zhao Jiangui , Zhu Tingyu , Qiu Zhichao , Li Tao , Wang Guoliang , Li Zhiwei , Du Huiling
Published: June 2023

Leaf pigment content can reflect the nutrient elements content of the cultivation medium indirectly. To rapidly and accurately predict the pigment content of tomato leaves, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, chlorophyll and carotenoid were extracted from leaves of tomato seedlings cultured at different nitrogen concentrations. The visible/near-infrared(VIS/NIR) hyperspectral imaging (HSI) non-destructive measurement technology, 430-900 nm and 950-1650 nm, with total variables of 794, was used to obtain the reflection spectra of leaves. An improved strategy of the sparrow search algorithm (SSA) based on Logistic chaotic mapping was proposed and optimized the back propagation (BP) neural network to predict the pigment content of leaves. Different pretreatment methods were used to effectively improve the prediction accuracy of the model. The results showed that when the nitrogen concentration in the nutrient solution was 302.84 mg·L-1, the pigment content of leaves reached the maximum. Meanwhile, the inhibition effect of high concentration was much stronger than that of low concentration. To address the problem that the SSA is prone to get in premature convergence due to the reduction of population diversity at the end of the iteration, the initialization of the SSA population by Logistic chaotic mapping improves the initial solution quality, convergence speed and search capacity. The root mean squared error (RMSE), coefficient of determination (R2) and relative percent deviation (RPD) of chlorophyll a were 0.77, 0.77 and 2.08, respectively. The RMSE, R2 and RPD of chlorophyll b were 0.30, 0.66 and 1.71, respectively. The RMSE, R2 and RPD of chlorophyll were 0.88, 0.81 and 2.28, respectively. The RMSE, R2 and RPD of carotenoid were 0.14, 0.75 and 2.00, respectively. The HSI technology combined with machine learning algorithms can achieve rapid and accurate prediction of crop physiological information, providing data support for the precise management of fertilization in facility agriculture, which is conducive to improving the quality and output of tomatoes.
Support vector machine with optimized parameters for the classification of patients with COVID-19
Authors: Andrade-Girón Daniel , Carreño-Cisneros Edgardo , Mejía-Dominguez Cecilia , Velásquez-Gamarra Julia , Marín-Rodriguez William , Villarreal-Torres Henry , Meleán-Romero Rosana
Published: June 2023

Introduction. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact worldwide, especially in health, where it is crucial to identify patients at high risk of clinical deterioration early. Objective. This study aimed to design a model based on the support vector machine (SVM) algorithm, optimizing its parameters to classify patients with suspected COVID-19. Methodology. One thousand patient records from two health establishments in Peru were used. After applying data preprocessing and variable engineering, the sample was reduced to 700 records. The construction of the model followed a machine learning methodology, using the linear, polynomial, sigmoid, and radial kernel functions, along with their estimated optimal parameters, to ensure the best performance. Results. The results revealed that the SVM model with the linear and sigmoid kernels presented an accuracy of 95%, surpassing the polynomial kernel with 94% and the radial kernel (RBF) with 94%. In addition, a value of 0.92 was obtained for Cohen's kappa, which measures the degree of agreement between the predictions of the machine learning model and the actual results, which indicates an excellent deal for the linear and sigmoid kernel. Conclusions. In conclusion, the SVM model with linear and sigmoid kernels could be a valuable tool for identifying patients at high risk of clinical deterioration in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Diarrhea Prevalence and Associated Factors among Children in Azezo Sub-City, Northwest Ethiopia: A Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study
Authors: Bitew Bikes Destaw , Getachew Atalay , Azanaw Jember
Published: June 2023

Globally, diarrheal disease continues to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality among children under 5 years of age, especially in low-income countries such as Ethiopia. However, there is still limited evidence in the study area quantifying the burden of diarrheal disease among children under 5 years. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in April 2019 to estimate the prevalence of childhood diarrhea and to identify its associated factors in Azezo sub-city, northwest Ethiopia. A simple random sampling technique was applied to recruit the eligible cluster villages with children under 5 years. Data were collected by interviewing mothers or guardians using structured questionnaires. The completed data were entered into EpiInfo version 7 and exported to SPSS version 20 for analysis. Binary logistic regression model was used to identify factors associated with diarrheal disease. Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% CI was used to measure the strength of association between the dependent and independent variable. The period prevalence of diarrheal disease among children under 5 years was 24.9% (95% CI: 20.4–29.7%). Age group between 1 and 12 months [AOR: 9.22, 95% CI: (2.93–29.04)] and 13 and 24 months [AOR: 4.44, 95% CI: (1.87–10.56)], as well as low monthly income (AOR: 3.68, 95% CI: (1.81–7.51)] and poor handwashing practice [AOR: 8.37, 95% CI: (3.12–22.52), were significantly associated with high risk of childhood diarrhea. In contrast, small family size [AOR: 0.32, 95% CI: (0.16–0.65)], and immediate consumption of prepared meals [AOR: 0.39, 95% CI: (0.19–0.81)] were significantly associated with low risk of childhood diarrhea. Diarrheal diseases were a common health problem among children under 5 years of age in Azezo sub-city. Therefore, an appropriate hygiene intervention program through health education is recommended with a focus on identified risk factors to reduce the burden of diarrheal diseases.
Mortality by Admission Diagnosis in Children 1–60 Months of Age Admitted to a Tertiary Care Government Hospital in Malawi
Authors: Choi Jason H. , Tanner Thomas E. , Eckerle Michelle D. , Chen Jane S. , Ciccone Emily J. , Bell Griffin J. , Ngulinga Flexon F. , Nkosi Elizabeth , Bensman Rachel S. , Crouse Heather L. , Robison Jeff A. , Chiume Msandeni , Fitzgerald Elizabeth , _ _
Published: June 2023

Diagnosis-specific mortality is a measure of pediatric healthcare quality that has been incompletely studied in sub-Saharan African hospitals. Identifying the mortality rates of multiple conditions at the same hospital may allow leaders to better target areas for intervention. In this secondary analysis of routinely collected data, we investigated hospital mortality by admission diagnosis in children aged 1–60 months admitted to a tertiary care government referral hospital in Malawi between October 2017 and June 2020. The mortality rate by diagnosis was calculated as the number of deaths among children admitted with a diagnosis divided by the number of children admitted with the same diagnosis. There were 24,452 admitted children eligible for analysis. Discharge disposition was recorded in 94.2% of patients, and 4.0% (N = 977) died in the hospital. The most frequent diagnoses among admissions and deaths were pneumonia/bronchiolitis, malaria, and sepsis. The highest mortality rates by diagnosis were found in surgical conditions (16.1%; 95% CI: 12.0–20.3), malnutrition (15.8%; 95% CI: 13.6–18.0), and congenital heart disease (14.5%; 95% CI: 9.9–19.2). Diagnoses with the highest mortality rates were alike in their need for significant human and material resources for medical care. Improving mortality in this population will require sustained capacity building in conjunction with targeted quality improvement initiatives against both common and deadly diseases.
Health, Economic, and Social Impacts of Substandard and Falsified Medicines in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review of Methodological Approaches
Authors: Salami Raimat Korede , Valente de Almeida Sara , Gheorghe Adrian , Njenga Sarah , Silva Wnurinham , Hauck Katharina
Published: June 2023

Little is known about the adverse health, economic, and social impacts of substandard and falsified medicines (SFMs). This systematic review aimed to identify the methods used in studies to measure the impact of SFMs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), summarize their findings, and identify gaps in the reviewed literature. A search of eight databases for published papers, and a manual search of references in the relevant literature were conducted using synonyms of SFMs and LMICs. Studies in the English language that estimated the health, social, or economic impacts of SFMs in LMICs published before June 17, 2022 were considered eligible. Search results generated 1,078 articles, and 11 studies were included after screening and quality assessment. All included studies focused on countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Six studies used the Substandard and Falsified Antimalarials Research Impact model to estimate the impact of SFMs. This model is an important contribution. However, it is technically challenging and data demanding, which poses challenges to its adoption by national academics and policymakers alike. The included studies estimate that substandard and falsified antimalarial medicines can account from 10% to ∼40% of total annual malaria costs, and SFMs affect rural and poor populations disproportionately. Evidence on the impact of SFMs is limited in general and nonexistent regarding social outcomes. Further research needs to focus on practical methods that can serve local authorities without major investments in terms of technical capacity and data collection.
Dietary Patterns and Anti-Flavivirus IgG Seroconversion in Colombian Children
Authors: Arjomand Tina , Herrán Oscar F. , Mantilla Laura C. , Estupiñán María Isabel , Lozano-Parra Anyela , Gelvez Rosa Margarita , Herrera Víctor M. , Villar Luis A. , Villamor Eduardo
Published: June 2023

The burden of flaviviral infections, especially dengue and Zika, is high in the Americas. Malnutrition affects the risk and response to infections, but the role of diet on flaviviral infection risk is uncertain. The objective of this study was to investigate the relations between dietary patterns adherence and anti-flavivirus IgG seroconversion in children during a Zika epidemic in a dengue-endemic area of Colombia. In 2015–2016, we followed 424 anti-flavivirus IgG seronegative children aged 2 to 12 years for 1 year. Baseline data included children’s sociodemographic, anthropometric, and dietary information collected through a 38-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). IgG testing was repeated at the end of follow-up. The primary exposure was adherence to each of four dietary patterns (animal foods, traditional, ultraprocessed foods, and prudent) that were identified from the FFQ through principal component analysis. Secondary exposures were intake frequencies of foods contributing to relevant patterns. We estimated risk of seroconversion by quartiles of adherence scores and compared them using relative risks (RR) and 95% CI from Poisson regression adjusted for sex, age, and socioeconomic status indicators. Seroconversion risk was 32.1%. Adherence to the traditional pattern was positively related to seroconversion. RR comparing fourth versus first quartiles of adherence was 1.52 (95% CI: 1.04–2.21; P trend = 0.02). Of the most representative foods in this pattern, potato and sugarcane water intake frequencies were related to increased seroconversion risk. In conclusion, adherence to a traditional foods pattern, including potatoes and sugarcane water, was positively associated with anti-flavivirus IgG seroconversion.
Detection of Substandard and Falsified Antibiotics Sold in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Using Validated HPLC and UV-Visible Spectrophotometric Methods
Authors: Tshilumba Pierrot Mwamba , Ilangala Ange B. , Mbinze Kindenge Jeremie , Kasongo Isaac Mutshitshi , Kikunda Guelord , Rongorongo Elie , Impele Alex Bokanya , Marini Djang’eing’a Roland , Ndoumba Jean-Baptiste Kalonji
Published: June 2023

The access to afford safe, effective, and genuine medications is a major challenge for people in low- to middle-income countries. This study aimed at developing and validating simple, accurate, and inexpensive analytical liquid chromatography and ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometric methods to ensure quality control of antibiotics sold in formal and informal pharmaceutical markets. It focused on four antibiotics (azithromycin [AZT], cefadroxil [CFD], cefixime [CFX], and erythromycin [ERH]) used to treat infectious diseases in the region of Haut-Katanga in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The total error strategy (accuracy profile) matching with the validation requirements of International Council on Harmonization was used for the validation. The validation results showed that three analytical methods of AZT, CFD, and ERH were validated according to the accuracy profile obtained, whereas the proposed method of CFX was not validated. Therefore, the United State Pharmacopoeia method permitted to quantify CFX samples. The dosage intervals ranged from 25 to 75 µg/mL for CFD, from 750 to 1,500 µg/mL for AZT, and from 500 to 750 µg/mL for ERH. The application of the validated method to samples collected (N = 95) allowed the detection of 25% substandard antibiotics with a rate of poor quality much higher in the informal circuit compared with the formal one (54% versus 11%; P < 0.05). The routine application of these methods will strengthen the quality control of drugs marketed in DRC. This study gives evidence for the availability of poor-quality antibiotics in the country, requiring the immediate attention of the national medicine regulatory authority.
La promesa. Notas para una elaboración teológica del deseo humano
Authors: Serrano Vega Carmen
Published: June 2023

¿Es posible proponer una teología que ignore el dinamis­mo del deseo humano? Lo que en otros tiempos pudo ser objeto de sos­pecha se presenta en este occidente hastiado de promesas  incumplidas como oportunidad para recordar al hombre la respuesta a la pregunta que él mismo es. El deseo remite a Dios, como veremos, pero el mismo Dios educa ese deseo humano desde la pedagogía de la promesa. Unapedagogía a la que no fue ajeno Jesús, que se ejemplifica en la vida deMaría y de la Iglesia, que la Iglesia actualiza en los sacramentos y quemodela la esperanza final.
Ministros ordenados al servicio de la comunidad. Los primeros siglos en la reflexión de los Santos Padres
Authors: Leal Lobón Manuel
Published: June 2023

Acercándonos a los Santos Padres y dejándonos llevar por ellos queremos en estas páginas reflexionar sobre el ministerio eclesiástico, atendiendo de manera sencilla al pensamiento y a las palabras de los Padres en tanto que recogen el pensar y sobre todo el sentir de las comunidades cristianas de su tiempo. En estas primeras iglesias el ministerio se comprende desde el servicio como entrega confiada y generosa al Padre, y entienden que en Cristo y sólo en Él este servicio alcanza su plenitud.
San Juan de Ávila, Audi, Filia. Sus fuentes
Authors: Granado Bellido Antonio
Published: June 2023

El objeto de este trabajo ha consistido en averiguar las fuentes no conocidas todavía que utilizó San Juan de Ávila en su obra «Audi, filia», aunque también se recogen en él las que ya se hallaban en las ediciones anteriores y que se encuentran oportunamente indicadas.
Understanding the Duplex and Its Security
Authors: Mennink Bart
Published: June 2023

At SAC 2011, Bertoni et al. introduced the keyed duplex construction as a tool to build permutation based authenticated encryption schemes. The construction was generalized to full-state absorption by Mennink et al. (ASIACRYPT 2015). Daemen et al. (ASIACRYPT 2017) generalized it further to cover much more use cases, and proved security of this general construction, and Dobraunig and Mennink (ASIACRYPT 2019) derived a leakage resilience security bound for this construction. Due to its generality, the full-state keyed duplex construction that we know today has plethora applications, but the flip side of the coin is that the general construction is hard to grasp and the corresponding security bounds are very complex. Consequently, the state-of-the-art results on the full-state keyed duplex construction are not used to the fullest. In this work, we revisit the history of the duplex construction, give a comprehensive discussion of its possibilities and limitations, and demonstrate how the two security bounds (of Daemen et al. and Dobraunig and Mennink) can be interpreted in particular applications of the duplex.
EliMAC: Speeding Up LightMAC by around 20%
Authors: Dobraunig Christoph , Mennink Bart , Neves Samuel
Published: June 2023

Universal hash functions play a prominent role in the design of message authentication codes and the like. Whereas it is known how to build highly efficient sequential universal hash functions, parallel non-algebraic universal hash function designs are always built on top of a PRP. In such case, one employs a relatively strong primitive to obtain a function with a relatively weak security model. In this work, we present EliHash, a construction of a parallel universal hash function from non-compressing universal hash functions, and we back it up with supporting security analysis. We use this construction to design EliMAC, a message authentication code similar to LightMAC. We consider a heuristic instantiation of EliMAC with roundreduced AES, and argue that this instantiation of EliMAC is much more efficient than LightMAC, it is around 21% faster, and additionally allows for precomputation of the keys, albeit with a stronger assumption on the AES primitive than in LightMAC. These observations are backed up with an implementation of our scheme.