bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Contrast Enhanced Ultrasound Imaging with Nanobubbles: Unique Second-Wave Phenomenon
Authors: Chen Chuan , Perera Reshani , Kolios Michael C. , Wijkstra Hessel , Exner Agata A. , Mischi Massimo , Turco Simona
Published: January 2022

Investigation of nanobubble (NB) pharmacokinetics in contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) at the pixel level shows a unique phenomenon where the first pass of the contrast agent bolus is accompanied by a second wave. This effect has not been previously observed in CEUS with microbubbles. The objective of this study was to investigate this second-wave phenomenon and its potential clinical applications. Seven mice with a total of fourteen subcutaneously-implanted tumors were included in the experiments. After injecting a bolus of NBs, the NB-CEUS images were acquired to record the time-intensity curves (TICs) at each pixel. These TICs are fitted to a pharmacokinetic model which we designed to describe the observed second-wave phenomenon. The estimated model parameters are presented as parametric maps to visualize the characteristics of tumor lesions. Histological analysis was also conducted in one mouse to compare the molecular features of tumor tissue with the obtained parametric maps. The second-wave phenomenon is evidently shown in a series of pixel-based TICs extracted from either tumor or tissues. The value of two model parameters, the ratio of the peak intensities of the second over the first wave, and the decay rate of the wash-out process are significantly different between malignant and tissue (Kolmogorov–Smirnov statistic D > 0.25). The occurrence of a second wave is a unique phenomenon that we have observed in NB-CEUS imaging of both mouse tumor and tissue. As the characteristics of the second wave are different between tumor and tissue, this phenomenon has the potential to support the diagnosis of cancerous lesions.
WITHDRAWN: Artificial Intelligence-enabled English Translation System Using Unsupervised Learning for Wireless Network
Authors: Ali Shah Rukh
Published: January 2022

At present, high-quality English-Chinese parallel corpus is currently in a stage of scarcity. How to use existing monolingual corpus data for unsupervised training has become an important research direction of English-Chinese machine translation. This work proposes an unsupervised English neural machine translation system and deploys it in a wireless network to perform unsupervised English translation. The specific work content of this work is as follows: 1) To alleviate the issue of low accuracy for unsupervised English-Chinese dictionary induction methods, an unsupervised English-Chinese dictionary induction method based on translation model is proposed. First, an unsupervised English-Chinese statistical machine translation model is built, and with this model, a bilingual dictionary is summarized through statistical word alignment technology. After that, the bilingual dictionary summarized by the translation model is combined with the language model, unsupervised translation model is initialized, unsupervised English-Chinese neural machine translation model is optimized through the back translation method. 2) To alleviate the problem that the unsupervised translation model built based on the denoising autoencoder is not natural and accurate, this paper implements a pre-trained English-Chinese language model based on the masked sequence-to-sequence (MASS) method. First, use monolingual corpus combined with random masking, and train the Transformer together to obtain a language model.
Changing Characteristics and Influencing Factors of the Bacterial and Fungal Communities in the Litter of Casuarina Equisetifolia Forests of Different Ages in Hainan Island
Authors: Xu Zhixia , Zuo Linzhi , Zhang Yaqian , Huang Rui , Li Lei
Published: January 2022

Casuarina equisetifolia, an important pioneer tree with resistance to typhoon and stress tolerance, is mainly cultivated in the coastal areas of tropical and subtropical zones. Casuarina equisetifolia forests have high litter accumulation rates and slow litter decomposition rates. The accumulation of litter may affect the secondary regeneration of Casuarina equisetifolia, and the decomposition of litter is largely controlled by microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi. While the characteristics of the microbial diversity in the litter of Casuarina equisetifolia forests have not yet been resolved. In order to explore the microbial distribution characteristics and community dynamic changes in the litter of a Casuarina equisetifolia forest, we used Illumina Miseq high-throughput sequencing technology to analyze the endophytic and exophytic bacterial and fungal communities of Casuarina equisetifolia forests of three ages (young forest, half-mature forest, and mature forest). The results showed that the young and half-mature forests had the highest bacterial diversity, and the half-mature and mature forests had the highest fungal diversity. The community structure and endophytic and exophytic communities of different forest ages were also different. Exophytic bacteria of the phylum Proteobacteria had a gradually decreasing abundance with stand age, while endophytic bacteria of the phylum Actinomycetes had a gradually increasing abundance with stand age; in the half-mature forest, the abundance of nitrogen-fixing microorganisms, such as the genera Rhizobium, Bradyrhizobium, and Actinoplanes, were increased relative to all of the other forest age types. The fungal community structure was different than the bacterial structure. Specifically, the fungal communities of both the young and mature forests were dominated by the class Dothideomycetes of the phylum Ascomycota, while phylum Basidiomycota was dominant in the half-mature forest. The correlation with the physicochemical properties of the litter showed that exophytic bacteria were related to the organic carbon and water content of the litter, endophytic bacteria were related to litter pH and nitrogen content, and fungi were correlated tonitrogen and phosphorus contents. In summary, the community structures of bacteria and fungi in the half-mature forest were more uniform, which was beneficial to the growth of Casuarina equisetifolia plants, and the changes observed in the physical and chemical factors of litter were one of the key factors driving microbial community structure.
Impact of Temperature on Structural Changes in nsp2 and nsp3 of CHIKV: Molecular Dynamics Simulations
Authors: Kumar Durgesh , Meena Mahendra Kumar , Kumar Vinod , Singh Prashant , Bahadur Indra
Published: January 2022

Authors have considered non-structural protease-2 (nsp2) and non-structural protease-3 (nsp3) of CHIKV for the investigation as they are involved in the replication of the virus and increases the infections in the human. CHIKV protease (nsp2), has a catalytic dyad (Cys1013/His1083) that processes viral polyproteins. Further, it has also been suggested that the catalytic dyad is interchangeable to a serine (proximal) and hence making called non-papain-like cysteine protease. Similarly, nsp3 plays important role during replication of CHIKV genome. In this work, we have investigated the effect of temperature on the structural stability of nsp2 and nsp3 of CHIKV. Although, we did not get any regular patter for change in the RMSD and RMSF for the nsp3 of CHIKV and observed that RMSD for nsp3 of CHIKV is acceptable at all the temperature (300, 325 and 350 K) but the minimum RMSD values are obtained at 325 K. Similarly, no regular pattern is observed for RMSF trajectories of nsp3 of CHIKV at different temperature and minimum fluctuations in the position of amino-acids at 325 K. Further, the RMSD and RMSF trajectories for nsp2 of CHIKV are investigated and observed a regular pattern in the RMSD and RMSF trajectories generated from MD simulations on increasing the temperature. In this, RMSD values are minimum at 300 K while the fluctuation in the position of amino-acids are maximum.
Anti-tumor Activity of Cetuximab Plus Avelumab in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients Involves Innate Immunity Activation: Findings from the CAVE-Lung Trial
Authors: Corte Carminia Maria Della , Fasano Morena , Ciaramella Vincenza , Cimmino Flora , Cardnell Robert , Gay Carl M. , Ramkumar Kavya , Diao Lixia , Liello Raimondo Di , Viscardi Giuseppe , Famiglietti Vincenzo , Ciardiello Davide , Martini Giulia , Napolitano Stefania , Tuccillo Concetta , Troiani Teresa , Martinelli Erika , Wang Jing , Byers Lauren , Morgillo Floriana , Ciardiello Fortunato
Published: January 2022

Background: We recently conducted Cetuximab-AVElumab-Lung (CAVE-Lung), a proof-of-concept, translational and clinical trial, to evaluate the combination of two IgG1 monoclonal antibodies (mAb): avelumab, an anti-PD-L1 drug, and cetuximab, an anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) drug, as second- or third-line treatment in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. We have reported clinically relevant anti-tumor activity in 6/16 patients. Clinical benefit was accompanied by Natural Killer (NK) cell-mediated antibody-dependent cell cytotoxicity (ADCC). Among the 6 responding patients, 3 had progressed after initial response to a previous treatment with single agent anti-PD-1, nivolumab or pembrolizumab. Methods: We report long-term clinical follow-up and additional findings on the anti-tumor activity and on the immune effects of cetuximab plus avelumab treatment for these 3 patients. Results: As of November 30, 2021, 2/3 patients were alive. One patient was still on treatment from 34 months, while the other two patients had progression free survival (PFS) of 15 and 19 months, respectively. Analysis of serially collected peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) revealed long-term activation of NK cell-mediated ADCC. Comprehensive genomic profile analysis found somatic mutations and germline rare variants in DNA damage response (DDR) genes. Furthermore, by transcriptomic analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset we found that DDR mutant NSCLC displayed high STING pathway gene expression. In NSCLC patient-derived three-dimensional in vitro spheroid cultures, cetuximab plus avelumab treatment induced additive cancer cell growth inhibition as compared to single agent treatment. This effect was partially blocked by treatment with an anti-CD16 mAb, suggesting a direct involvement of NK cell activation. Furthermore, cetuximab plus avelumab treatment induced 10-, 20-, and 20-fold increase, respectively, in the gene expression of CCL5 and CXCL10 , two STING downstream effector cytokines, and of interferon β , as compared to untreated control samples. Conclusions: DDR mutations may contribute to DDR-induced STING pathway with sustained innate immunity activation following cetuximab plus avelumab combination in previously treated, PD-1 inhibitor responsive NSCLC patients.
Syndesmosis Changes Before And After Syndesmotic Screw Removal: A Retrospective Radiographic Study
Authors: Huang Chien-Ting , Huang Peng-Ju , Lu Cheng-Chang , Shih Chia-Lung , Cheng Yuh-Min , Chen Shu-Jung
Published: January 2022

Background and purpose: In patients with ankle fractures complicated by syndesmotic injuries, no consensus has been reached on the best method of syndesmosis fixation using syndesmotic screws. One previous study revealed no difference in the tibiofibular overlap between two groups with or without syndesmotic screw removal. Other studies have indicated that distal tibiofibular diastasis exists after the removal of syndesmotic screws. In this study, we aimed to confirm the effect of syndesmotic screw removal on diastasis occurrence. We further analyzed the risk factors that may contribute to the widening of the tibiofibular syndesmosis.Patients and methods: This retrospective study involved a review of the records of 63 patients with ankle fractures accompanied by syndesmosis injuries that required syndesmotic screw fixation. Anteroposterior radiographs were analyzed for each patient at various time points, from syndesmotic screw fixation to outpatient department follow-ups after screw removal. The changes in tibia–fibula overlap (OL), tibia–fibula clear space (CS), and medial clear space (MCS) were analyzed. Further analysis was performed to reveal potential factors that may have contributed to radiographic differences.Results: Compared with the postoperation radiographs following syndesmotic screw fixation, OL decreased (2.006 mm) and CS increased (0.821 mm) in the anteroposterior radiographs from outpatient department follow-ups. No significant changes were noted in OL or CS after syndesmotic screw removal. However, OL decreased (1.782 mm) and CS increased (0.492mm) before syndesmotic screw removal. No significant change in MCS occurred during the whole observation period. Linear regression analysis did not reveal any significant correlations between potentially related factors and radiographic changes. Conclusion: Marked diastasis had occurred at final follow-up. Notably, the diastasis occurred before rather than after screw removal. This implies that screw removal does not significantly influence the radiographic outcomes of rotational ankle fractures.
Quantitative Analysis of Routine Chemical Constituents of Tobacco Based on Thermogravimetric Analysis
Authors: Peng Yuhan , Bi Yiming , Dai Lu , Li Haifeng , Cao Depo , Qi Qijie , Liao Fu , Shen Yudong , Du Fangqi , Wang Hui
Published: January 2022

Background

Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) is an important method to characterize the pyrolysis reaction characteristics of tobacco, reflecting the chemical composition of tobacco from the perspective of chemical reaction. However, quantitative analysis of tobacco chemical indexes based on TG curve has not yet been reported due to the complexity to the best of our knowledge.
Results

By the combination of TG curve and partial least squares (PLS) algorithm, we established quantitative analysis models of six routine chemical constituents in tobacco, including total sugar, reducing sugar, total nitrogen, total alkaloids, chlorine and potassium. We also performed an in-depth analysis of the chemical mechanism revealed by the result of the quantitative model, namely the regression coefficient which reflected the correlation degree between the six chemicals and different stages of tobacco thermal decomposition process.
Conclusions

The quantitative analysis model of chemical constituents in tobacco based on TG curve can be used for the rapid and accurate analysis of compound content. From the perspective of pyrolysis reaction mechanisms, the quantification of total sugar and reducing sugar mainly depended on the Maillard reaction in which carbohydrate compounds participate. The correlation of total nitrogen and total alkaloids with TG curves in the whole temperature range was affected by total sugar. Although chlorine was detrimental to Maillard reaction in general, it has different effects on the different elementary steps of the Maillard reaction. Potassium can promote the thermal decomposition of hemicellulose, pectin, and water-soluble carbohydrates such as glucose and fructose.
Formulation and evaluation of antibacterial gel containing ethanol extract of thorns of Bombax ceiba
Authors: chauahn prashant , Monika
Published: January 2022

Purpose

Formulation and evaluation of the herbal gel preparation from the thorn’s extract of Bombax ceiba to check its antibacterial activity against the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and Propionibacterium acnes
Methods

Agar well diffusion method were employed for the purpose.
Results

Gel formulation of different concentration of extract were formulated that is 2%, 4%, 6% and 8% respectively and antibacterial activity of the gels were measured against the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and Propionibacterium acnes. In this clindamycin gel was used as the standard for comparative analysis. From evaluation results it was concluded that formulation of 8% showed better antibacterial activity as compared to other formulated preparations. In addition to this, evaluation of gel formulations was performed considering various parameters which were pH, appearance, viscosity, spreadibility and homogeneity and the result were calculated.
Conclusion

The ethanol thorn’ extract of Bombax ceiba possess good antibacterial property against the Staphylococcus aureus and Propionibacterium acnes. It also contains various phytoconstituents which may be helpful in various health related problems.
Modeling of CO2 Emission Statistics in Turkey by Fuzzy Time Series Analysis
Authors: Cemrek Fatih
Published: January 2022

The process of determining the values which a time series will receive in the future is a very important concept. The fuzzy time series method has been widely used in recent years as it is more convenient to process data in small samples which are incomplete and/or ambiguous, and it does not contain any assumptions for time series. In this study, fuzzy time series analysis was used to predict CO2 emission values for Turkey. For this purpose, time series (annual) for total greenhouse gas emissions by sectors (CO2 equivalent) between 1990 and 2016 were analyzed. The main goal of this study is to model greenhouse gas emission statistics in Turkey with fuzzy time series analysis. The RMSE value was taken into consideration to determine the most suitable model among the analysis performed.
The neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio is positively correlated with aggression in schizophrenia
Authors: Tong Zhu , Zhu Jing , Wang Jiajia , Yang Yujing , Hu Wei
Published: January 2022

To find biomarkers to assess the risk of aggression, we looked at the association between aggression and levels of body inflammation in patients with schizophrenia. The Modified Overt Aggression Scale (MOAS) score was used to divide the aggressive (n=72) and non-aggressive (n=141) groups. The BPRS (Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale) is a tool for determining the severity of a patient's condition. After measuring the number of inflammatory cells in the peripheral blood, the platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and monocyte-lymphocyte ratio (MLR) were estimated. We investigated the relationship between aggressive behavior, bodily inflammation, and BPRS. Before therapy, the aggressive group's BPRS score, white blood cell(WBC) count, Neutrophils count, Monocyte count, NLR, and MLR were considerably more significant than the non-aggressive group's. After therapy, statistically significant variations in total BPRS score and Neutrophils count between the two groups. According to correlation analysis before and after treatment, aggressive behavior was positively connected with Neutrophils count, NLR, and BPRS score. The presence of aggressive behavior in schizophrenic patients indicates the severity of the disorder to some degree. NLR can be used as an objective biomarker to assess the risk of aggression in schizophrenic patients quickly.
Diagnosis of Neurosyphilis through Treponemal methods based on Hemagglutination in Cerebrospinal Fluid in PLWHIV and without HIV: Systematic review
Authors: Azevedo Beatriz
Published: January 2022

Neurosyphilis (NS) is the severe form of syphilis caused by the invasion of Treponema Pallidum subspecies pallidum in the Central Nervous System (CNS). The laboratory diagnosis is based on the analyses of Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) with the VDRL, considered “gold standard”, despite recent studies reporting low sensitivity (40-70%). The treponemal tests based on hemagglutination was performed for use in serum and plasma with great diagnostic accuracy. PURPOSE: This systematic review aims to analyze original studies with treponemal tests based hemagglutination on CSF in order to verify the diagnostic accuracy of these tests in the diagnosis of NS. METHODS: A search was performed in the electronic databases: EMBASE, Scielo, MEDLINE/PUBMED, LILACS, Cochrane Library, Trials and “grey literature” with the following DECS contained in the title or abstract, in English, Portuguese and Spanish: “Neurosyphilis” and "Cerebrospinal fluid" and "diagnosis" and "TPPA" or "TPHA" from 2010 to June 2021. RESULTS: 317 articles were identificated for reading the title and abstract and 27 articles were selected for full reading. Studies have shown that treponemal tests based on hemagglutination are useful when the CSF-VDRL is non-reactive and there are neurological symptoms. CONCLUSION:The sensitivity of CSF-TPPA or CSF-TPHA ranges from 75-85% and specificity ranges from 88.9% to 100% with titers ≥ 1:640 in TPPA and ≥ 1:80 in TPHA for the diagnosis of NS while when titers < 1:640 are used, the sensitivity and specificity tend to decrease. There was no difference in the accuracy of the tests between PLWHIV and without HIV.
IoT-Based Smart Irrigation System for Rice Fields
Authors: Taris Lu'mu , Cahyadi Ani , Nurmala Nurmala , Jaya Hendra , Shalihah Auladina
Published: January 2022

Rice farming in Indonesia requires effective irrigation channels. Traditional methods are still used for the care and regulation of rice field irrigation. Rice farmers have to come to the rice fields so that they can open/close irrigation channels, and rice field owners must take turns to flow water to the fields because they are used together. Internet of Things (IoT) information on water requirements in rice fields can be monitored at a distance, making it easier for farmers to care for their rice fields and reducing problems in the irrigation of rice fields. In this study, two products are developed for monitoring rice irrigation equipment: automatic rice field irrigation equipment and smartphone applications. In this test, success is proven through changes when pressing the button so that the tool can drain water to rice fields 1 and 2 and the humidity sensor works well. According to the test results for the functionality, namely in the form of IoT-based rice field irrigation tools and applications for monitoring that were tested, from the functionality test, 100% results must be obtained to ensure that the product can be used. By calculating the percentage of feasibility, it is found that the results of the feasibility test using the functionality test are obtained if the percentage is 100%; thus, it is declared feasible and the tool can work well.
Serjania marginata induced inhibition of mycobaterial growth, reduced cytokine and inflammatory parameters
Authors: Leitão Maicon Matos , Radai Joyce Alencar Santos , Macorini Luis Fernando Benitez , Fraga Thiago Leite , Vieira Silvia Cristina Heredia , Cardoso Claudia Andrea Lima , Arena Arielle Cristina , Kassuya Candida Aparecida Leite
Published: January 2022

Objectives: This study investigated the antimycobacterial, anti-inflammatory and antihyperalgesic effects of hydroalcoholic extract from leaves of S. marginata (EESM) in in vitro and in vivo models. Methods and Results: EESM (0.98–1000 µg/ml) was evaluated in in vitro against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, M. bovis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus epidermidis. The EESM oral administration (p.o.) (30, 100 and 300 mg/kg) and dexamethasone subcutaneous injection (s.c.) (1 mg/kg) were tested against the carrageenan-induced inflammatory paw edema and pleurisy in Swiss mice. The EESM (30 and 100 mg/kg, p.o.) and dexamethasone (1 mg/kg, s.c.) were tested against the CFA-induced paw inflammation and M. bovis (bacillus Calmette-Guerin - BCG)-induced pleurisy in C57bL6 mice. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of EESM in the presence of M. tuberculosis was 62.4 µg/ml. The values of MIC of EESM in the presence S. epidermidis, K. pneumoniae were 1000 µg/mL while EESM did not interfere against P. aeruginosa growth. EESM significantly inhibited paw edema/mechanical hyperalgesia in carrageenan induced paw inflammation and leukocytes migration/proteins exudation in carrageenan-induced pleurisy model. In the BCG-induced pleurisy model, the daily treatment for 7 days, with EESM inhibited the levels of IL-1β in blood and in pleural exudate. The EESM did not alter the mycobacterial growth in the cell culture from pleural lavage, spleen and liver samples collected from BCG-treated animals. The EESM significantly inhibited the persistent edema and mechanical hyperalgesia induced by CFA. Conclusion: This study confirms the EESM anti-inflammatory property and showed that EESM has high potency in inducing inhibition of mycobaterial growth and low potency or no effects in relation to other microorganisms.
Novel AI to avert the mental health crisis in COVID-19: Novel application of GPT2 in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
Authors: ANONYMOUS
Published: January 2022

The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health is substantial. The World Health Organization has called for action to avert an impending mental health crisis. To respond to this call, this paper contributes a novel application of Deep Learning in Natural Language Generation (NLG) to seed healthy thoughts for mental health therapy. For the 1st time in literature, a transfer learning capable large neural network with more than 100 million parameters for a NLG based mental health therapy application is proposed & demonstrated. This AI is designed to address scalable impact for millions of families with a timely health intervention in a privacy-safe approach. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first research paper to apply GPT2 (Generative Pretrained Transformer) for Cognitive Behavior therapy (CBT). Further, the paper demonstrates the proposed neural network architecture with a lab prototype implementation with reproducible results. This paper demonstrates this AI’s ability to generate conditional synthetic human-like text intended to seed a healthy mental outlook. This is accomplished by fine tuning a pre-trained GPT2 language model. The source code and video demonstration is contributed at https://sites.google.com/view/ai-in-mental-health. Also, for the 1st time in literature, a novel idea of NLU (Natural Language Understanding) activated NLG therapy is demonstrated with reproducible results using a BERT based classifier to activate the GPT2 based therapy. Performance of GPT2 models of three different sizes (124, 355, 774 million parameters) was the same for a very small dataset, thus a small GPT2 model is suggested for on-device AI inference. This AI is a step forward in responding to WHO’s call for action to avert the crisis. Towards addressing all the three dimensions of the monumental challenge, the paper designed a novel AI architecture by taking advantage of both BERT & GPT2. It also demonstrated the feasibility of Transformers-based AI for developing a mental health therapy solution. Further, this paper contributed an open-source AI prototype to support research communities to transform global mental wellness.
Artificial Neural Network Model Using Immune-infiltration Modules for Endometrial Receptivity Assessment of Implantation Failure
Authors: Li Bohan , Duan Hua , Wang Sha , Wu Jiajing , Li Yazhu
Published: January 2022

Objectives: This study was anchored on the state of local immune-infiltration in the endometrium, which acts as critical factors affecting embryonic implantation, and aimed at establishing novel approaches to assess endometrial receptivity for patients with IVF failure.Methods: Immune-infiltration levels in the GSE58144 dataset (n=115) from GEO were analyzed by digital deconvolution and validated by immunofluorescence (n=30), illustrating that dysregulation of the ratio of Mf1 to Mf2 is an important factor contributing to implantation failure. Then, modules most associated with M1/M2 macrophages (Mfs) and their hub genes were then selected by weighted gene co-expression network and univariate analyses, then validated by GSE5099 macrophage dataset, qPCR analysis (n=16), and western blot. It revealed that closely related gene modules dominated three biological processes in macrophages: antigen presentation, interleukin−1−mediated signalling pathway, and phagosome acidification, respectively. Their hub genes were significantly altered in patients and related with ribosomal, lysosome, and proteasomal pathways. Finally, the artificial neural network (ANN) and nomogram models were established from hub genes, of which efficacy was compared and validated in the GSE165004 dataset (n=72). Models established by the selected hub genes exhibited excellent predictive values in both datasets, and ANN performed best with an accuracy of 98.3% and an AUC of 0.975 (95% CI 0.945-1). Conclusions: Macrophages, proven to be essential for endometrial receptivity, were regulated by gene modules dominating antigen presentation, interleukin−1−mediated signalling pathway, and phagosome acidification. Selected hub genes can effectively assess endometrial dysfunction receptivity for IVF outcomes by the ANN approach.
REA: Resource Exergy Analysis - A basic guideline for application focusing on energy systems evaluation
Authors: Jentsch Andrej
Published: January 2022

This publication provides a basic guideline to the application of Resource Exergy Analysis (REA) with a focus on energy systems evaluation. REA is a proven application of exergy analysis to the field of technology comparison.REA aims to help decision makers to obtain an indicator in addition to GHG emissions, that is grounded in science, namely Resource Consumption.Even if an energy system uses GHG-free energy increased Resource Consumption likely increases the need for fossil fuels and thus GHG emissions of the global economy. Resource Consumption can replace the less comprehensive Primary Energy Consumption as an indictor and reduce the risk of suboptimal decisions.Evaluating energy systems using REA is key to ensure that climate targets are reached in time.
Hybrid Management Methodology for Transport Projects Related to Rolling Stock
Authors: Lasinska N.
Published: January 2022

Dynamic economic development and the fast implementation pace of innovative, economical solutions force companies to continue finding methods of increasing the efficiency of their operations. One of the ways to increase the effectiveness of activities is to use a project approach that allows achieving all the set goals efficiently. The project approach is gaining popularity due to its high efficiency. Also, it is treated as a separate trend called as “projectification” and “project orientation”. The article defines what a project and project management methodology are. The specificity of railway transport projects concerning rolling stock was characterized. The elements of traditional and agile project management methodologies were described, indicating their differences. Project areas were selected in which the implementation of the elements of agile project management methodologies is the easiest and fastest to carry out.
Dimet Laval Nozzle Expansion Section Analysis and Optimization
Authors: Kun T. , Jie H.W. , Markovych S. , Wang Y.
Published: January 2022

The cold spray technology mainly accelerates the powder in the Laval nozzle by gas, ensuring that the powder has a greater velocity at the exit of the Laval nozzle, and achieving high-efficiency deposition on the substrate, thereby obtaining a better performance of the deposition coating. The article uses numerical simulation to study the influence of the length of the expansion section of the Dimet Laval nozzle on the acceleration effect of Al powder. The results show that the length of the expansion section of the nozzle is an essential factor affecting the velocity of the Al powder at the nozzle outlet. Through analysis, it can be known that the pressure inlet range of the Dimet Laval nozzle is 1.0 MPa, and the length of the expansion section is about 210 mm, which can ensure that the Al powder has a better acceleration effect in the nozzle and has a better velocity at the nozzle outlet. It is recommended that the joints between the small sections of the nozzle expansion section should be kept as smooth as possible so that the accelerating effect of the accelerating gas on the Al powder is more uniform and stable.
Challenges of Fuel Cell Technologies for the Needs of the Energy Transition to a Zero-carbon Technology
Authors: Ostroverkh A.S. , Solonin Yu.M. , Bezdorozhev O.V. , Ostroverkh Y.M. , Shcherbatiuk O.M. , Dubau M. , Kovalenko L.L.
Published: January 2022

The study focuses on the challenges of implementing fuel cell technologies and materials to achieve efficient use of green hydrogen and zero CO2 emissions. It is shown that only identifying the optimal parameters for each fuel cell component and technology and testing the system will help achieve the planned output-specific power. The thorough structure optimization of the membrane-electrode complex and testing in actual operating conditions will accelerate the implementation of fuel cell technologies. An example of structural optimization and improvement of catalytic activity of electrodes and electrolytes is shown. The current density of 0.36 μA/cm2 was obtained at a voltage of 0.6 V and a temperature of 500 °C for the fuel cell with 75–80 μm thick ZnO electrolyte and without membrane electrode assembly optimization. It is shown that the fuel cell electrodes’ catalytic activity depends on the modeling profile and structure of the catalytic layer, which was verified by testing in real fuel cell operating conditions.
Formalization of the Task of Creating a Mathematical Model of Combined Wastewater Treatment Processes
Authors: Alekseevsky D.G. , Chernysh Ye.Yu. , Shtepa V.N.
Published: January 2022

This paper focuses on the formation approach to formalize the mathematical modeling of wastewater treatment processes for further forming decision support systems for wastewater treatment facilities management on such a theoretical basis. To create an experimental model of formalization of modeling problems, research was conducted on activated sludge from municipal sewage treatment facilities by introducing an oxidant (H2O2) during standard operation of wastewater treatment facilities and introducing a toxicant (sulfur compounds). It was determined that under conditionally standard conditions, the influence of the oxidant is negative: exceeding technological standards of the concentration of dissolved oxygen in water solutions (3.0–13,7 mg/l), low water column transparency (1.4–1.6 cm), higher concentrations of ammonia nitrogen and phosphorus. With the appearance of a toxicant in the form of reduced sulfur compounds (sulfide ions and hydrogen sulfide 1.4–2.8 mg/l), on the contrary, the positive effect of H2O2 on biological water treatment processes was determined: the concentration of dissolved oxygen increases to 3.4 mg/l and the swelling of activated sludge stops. In this case, using a simplified scheme of expert evaluation as a global quality criterion of the biological stage management process of water treatment for rapid assessment of the vitality of activated sludge is justified. As parameters available for direct automatic measurement, it was proposed to use ORP and pH approximated by the regression equation. Also, a conditional scheme of the decision support system for water treatment management was proposed, which will provide two-level hierarchical control: situational and operational in real-time with a preventive response to emergencies; tactical with daily, at least daily, forecasting of the treatment plants.
Application of Technological Solutions for Bioremediation of Soils Contaminated with Heavy Metals
Authors: Chernysh Y. , Plyatsuk L. , Roubik H. , Yakhnenko O. , Skvortsova P. , Bataltsev Y.
Published: January 2022

This article focuses on studying biotechnologies for remediation of soils contaminated with heavy metals to determine further the most effective methods for cleaning soils from the action of toxicants with their subsequent implementation in practice. The soil restoration methods were analyzed, their advantages and disadvantages were identified, making it possible to establish that biological methods are the safest and most environmentally friendly. The expediency of using biological methods lies in the possibility of breeding strains of microorganisms that destroy soil toxicants. However, the efficiency of microbial cultures is not equally high due to a narrow range of favorable conditions for functioning, the risk of manifestation of the phenomenon of degeneration of microorganisms until the required level of soil purification is achieved. This confirms the prospects for the further development of this direction and the search for ways to eliminate certain disadvantages of biological methods. For an integrated biotechnological solution to soil remediation, a scheme of aerobic plants was developed, which is characterized by two stages: aerobic soil cultivation with biocomposite and a phytoremediation stage for additional purification and control of the content of toxicants in the soil.
Digital marketing, competitive advantage, marketing communication, social media, consumers
Authors: Nadanyiova Margareta , Majerova Jana , Gajanova Lubica
Published: January 2022

Nowadays, marketing in the digital environment is very important for every company. The reason is that internet use has more than doubled in the last decade, and this shift has significantly affected the way customers buy products and communicate with companies. Digital marketing is like any other type of marketing - it is a way to connect with current customers and influence potential customers. It is very important, especially when there are already many products and services on the market with really high competition. The main difference between online and traditional marketing is that the company can better connect with customers and influence them online. Based on the above mentioned, the paper's main aim is to analyze the application of digital marketing in the selected Slovak brand and its perception by Slovak consumers, propose recommendations for a more effective application of digital marketing in this company. It includes providing the theoretical background and analysis of digital marketing from the viewpoint of Slovak and foreign authors. The important secondary data source was scientific research, annual company reports, statistical databases, and published professional publications. To find out the perception of digital marketing from the perspective of Slovak consumers, a questionnaire survey was conducted. The questionnaire survey aimed to find out the opinions, attitudes, and satisfaction of consumers with the selected Slovak brand. To determine the sample size, the base file representing a number of people older than 18 was obtained from the demographic statistics of the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic. General scientific methods (i.e., excerption, description, comparative analysis, deduction, and induction) were used for data processing and mathematical and statistical methods to evaluate data from the survey using IBM SPSS Statistics software. To achieve the main goal of the paper, based on the theoretical background and survey results, research hypotheses were formulated and subsequently verified. Finally, based on the analysis and results of the questionnaire survey, benefits of digital marketing are highlighted, such as gaining a competitive advantage, increasing customer loyalty, and overall increasing brand awareness.
Cosmetology advertising perspectives: application of ethical theories during COVID-19 crisis
Authors: Vasudevan Hemaloshinee , Aslan Imran
Published: January 2022

In a pandemic, there are no egalitarians because all citizens cannot treat equally, and a failure to consider ethical concerns before taking action led to a massive and preventable loss of life. As a result of the pandemic, there is a strong ethical or moral imperative to consider how to help the most generous people usage healthy products. Utilitarianism and Kantian have become popular ethical theories that state the right actions that layout clear and actionable principles. This paper reviews (1) how Utilitarianism and Kantianism theories could produce benefit arguments on ethical purchases of cosmetic products from an advertising context, (2) how these theories contributed in the context of COVID-19 to help reduce any harmful health issues via advertising, and (3) Utilitarianism and Kantian theories have proven useful during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to case studies of cosmetics products and advertising in Western and Asian contexts. In addition to these two ethical theories, this paper discussed other issues. The purpose is not to argue which theory is the only relevant ethical theory but to contend with pure utilitarianism. Kantian's finding was similar to the topic argument in other ways. However, both theories reviewed as the most effective way to help societies identify and perceive the necessary costs of goods values. Before adopting utilitarian or Kantian theories, the community must clearly understand these two theories' merit values in product advertising. In such a crisis, ethical theories practices should implement in all areas because ethical challenges would determine whether or not advertisers around the world adhered to ethical standards in devising new and innovative marketing strategies, practices, or tactics for the transition to this new norm.
Engagement Strategies for E-commerce Businesses in the Modern Online World
Authors: Phomkamin Jenjira , Pumpuang Chalita , Potijak Pattarawan , Sangngam Supaporn , Ketprasit Issariya , Mujtaba Bahaudin G.
Published: January 2022

The engagement of customers on websites should be at the heart of e-commerce because driving traffic to a website or platform enhances the opportunity for better branding and growth in revenues. Through a review of literature and practical observations of various websites, this paper explains engagement for e-commerce to increase traffic on websites and its benefits to companies. For this reason, we have summarized several important factors of success in e-commerce and the trends of consumer behavior in visiting websites. The results of this research are the accumulation of fundamental strategies and recommendations to enhance e-commerce business in the modern workplace. Electronic commerce (e-commerce) is a growing business that will most certainly continue to grow in the future. We are amid the continued growth of e-commerce, which indicates that the e-commerce business has become more competitive. It is mandatory to expand engagement for companies to attract customers, to retain them, and to increase sales as much as possible in an ethical and sustainable manner. A website or platform with more traffic means more opportunities to sell products or services accordingly. Due to the current economy being hurt by the Covid-19 coronavirus infection and quarantine restrictions, and the daily use of social media, consumers are changing their behavior to access more information in the online world, particularly through engaging and attractive websites. As such, relevant suggestions and recommendations are offered throughout this paper to create awareness regarding the importance of customer engagement in c-commerce.
Economic Crises And Entrepreneurship: A Comparison Of Developed And Less Developed Countries
Authors: Dincer Kaya Halil
Published: January 2022

This paper examines the change in entrepreneurial activity in developed and less developed countries during the period surrounding the 2008-2009 Global Crisis. The paper also examines how several entrepreneurship-related factors including costs, taxes, number of procedures, legal rights and credit coverage had changed for the two groups of countries after the Global Crisis. For the developed nations, we find that most factors had not significantly changed from the pre-crisis period to the post-crisis period. Out of the eighteen factors that are examined, only three had significantly changed. The cost to export had worsened (i.e. increased), while the number of tax payments and the time required to start a business had improved (i.e. declined). When we look at new business formation, we find that for the developed nations, there was no significant change in new business density and new business registrations. For the less developed nations, we find that most factors had significantly changed from the pre-crisis period to the post-crisis period. Out of the eighteen factors that are examined, fifteen had significantly changed (i.e. two of them worsened and thirteen of them improved). The “cost to export” and the “cost to import” both worsened (i.e. increased). On the other hand, the cost of business start-up procedures, the number of tax payments, the total tax rate, the legal rights, the number of procedures to register property, to start a business, the time required to build a warehouse, to register property, to start a business, to prepare and pay taxes, the credit depth, the private credit bureau coverage, and the public credit registry coverage all improved. For the less developed nations, similar to the developed nations, we find that there was no significant change in new business density and new business registrations. We conclude that, in terms of the entrepreneurial environment, the Global Crisis had a more negative impact on less developed nations when compared to developed nations. While entrepreneurial activity had not significantly changed in both groups, the less developed countries achieved this by improving several different aspects of the entrepreneurial environment. In order to protect their entrepreneurs, they had to be more proactive when compared to the developed nations.
Evaluation Of The Decentralization Experience In Jordan By Local Stakeholders
Authors: Jameel Prof. Dr. Aljaloudi , Mohammad Prof. Dr. Abu Zaid , Moath Mr. Alfauri
Published: January 2022

The study aims to evaluate Jordan’s experience in decentralization at the regional and local levels by heads and members of provincial councils, municipal councils and opinion leaders. This evaluation includes the three dimensions of decentralization (political, financial and administrative). For evaluation purposes, two questionnaires were designed. The first one for the governorates and the second one for the municipalities. The questionnaires were judged by academic experts and verified for credibility. The sample size was (578) and distributed as follows (141) at the governorate level, (370) at the municipality level, and the rest belong to opinion leaders in the communities. The statistical program SPSS was used to enter and analyze the data. The descriptive statistical method was used, represented by the arithmetic mean and standard deviation. The t-test was used to test the validity of the null hypotheses at a level of significance (0.05). The finding indicates that there is a moderate extent of the implementation of political, fiscal, and decentralization in Jordan at regional with a mean variable (3.13), (2.70), and (3.10), and with the estimated standard division was (1.10), (1.08), and (0.98) respectively. It indicates also a moderate extent of decentralization in all dimensions (political, fiscal, and administrative) at Municipality level with a mean variable (2.62), (2.98), and (2.84), and with the estimated standard division was (1.20), (1.026), and (1.037 ) respectively . The statistical tests for all the main and sub-hypotheses confirmed the acceptance of the null hypothesis, which means that the degree of decentralization in all its three dimensions (political, financial and administrative) is low in Jordan. The study recommended that decision-makers should review the experience and amend the laws governing decentralization in order to ensure more decentralization in its political, financial and administrative dimension.