bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The comparison of the genetic profile of ACTN3 single-nucleotide polymorphism in elite weightlifters and non-athletes
Authors: Taji Hamidreza , Batavani Mohammadreza , Ghofrani Mohsen , Mohammaddoost Omid
Published: November 2023

Background and aims: The α-actinin-3 (ACTN3) gene plays a key role in muscle signaling pathways and sarcomere contraction. Iranian weightlifters are among the most successful world and Olympic champions. Therefore, the present study was performed to compare the genetic profile of the single-nucleotide polymorphism of the ACTN3 gene in elite Iranian male weightlifters vs. non-athletes. Methods: This cross-sectional study was of a qualitative-quantitative type. Subjects included 30 volunteer elite male weightlifters, including all of Iran’s premier league, members of the national team, Olympic, world, and Asian champions of Isfahan province, with a mean age of 21.77±7.11, the height of 179.87±6.98, and the weight of 96.87±22.73 (Mean±SD) versus 30 volunteers available healthy non-athletes who were the same in age, height, and weight as weightlifters. After completing the consent form and physical health measurement questionnaire, participants’ saliva samples were collected, and DNA was extracted accordingly. Genotypes were determined after performing the polymerase chain reaction via the Tetra-Arms method and electrophoresis. Data were analyzed by SPSS (version 20) and the chi-square test (P<0.05). Results: The prevalence of the RR genotype in selected weightlifters (56.7%) was significantly higher than that of other genotypes (χ2=13.40, P=0.03). There was a significant difference in ACTN3 R/X genotype distribution (P=0.039, χ2=6.48) between weightlifters and non-athletes. Conclusion: A higher prevalence of the RR genotype of the ACTN3 gene in selected elite male weightlifters versus non-athletes can be likely considered for selecting genetically predisposed individuals.
Comparison of inflammatory markers in type 2 diabetic patients treated with empagliflozin, metformin, and sulfonylurea
Authors: Mohaghegh Pegah , Rezvanfar Mohammad Reza , Jalali-Mashayekhi Farideh , Amerei Zahra , Hosseinzadeh Mohammad
Published: November 2023

Background and aims: The present study aimed to compare the levels of the inflammatory biomarkers of fibrinogen and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) among type 2 diabetic patients treated with empagliflozin and other hypoglycemic drugs. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 90 patients with type 2 diabetes (≥30 years) receiving empagliflozin, metformin, and sulfonylurea who were referred to the diabetes clinics affiliated with Arak University of Medical Sciences. After obtaining consent to participate in the study, the patients were categorized into the treatment groups of metformin, metformin+empagliflozin, or metformin+sulfonylurea, and their characteristics and hypoglycemic drugs were recorded in the information checklist. The data were analyzed in SPSS 16 statistical software. Results: The fibrinogen level was minimized in the metformin+empagliflozin group, although the three groups were not significantly different in this regard (P=0.382). Based on the results, the parameter was higher in the individuals with ischemic heart disease, while a lower level was found among those treated with a lipid-lowering agent. In terms of hs-CRP level, no statistically significant difference was observed among the three groups, although the metformin group had a lower level (P=0.522). Conclusion: The minimum fibrinogen and hs-CRP levels were related to the metformin+empagliflozin and metformin groups, respectively. Further, several factors such as comorbidities and other consumed drugs could affect the concentration of inflammatory factors. Thus, it is suggested that clinical trials should be conducted in this respect.
The Islamic Organizations in Indonesia ‘Muhammadiyah and NU’: Social Perspective Explanation
Authors: Al-Ansi Abdullah M. , Sulistyaningsih Tri , Wibowo Muhammad Agung , Garad Askar
Published: November 2023

Objectives: Islamic Organizations in Indonesia have created remarkable social change for almost a century. Since their establishment, Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) are the main pillars in enhancing Islamic thoughts and representatives of the majority Muslim in the country. The aim of this research is to analyze the social impact and approaches of these two organizations on the Indonesian society. 
Methods: By adopting qualitative method and using social definition approach, seven leaders and scholars of both organizations were selected purposively and interviewed. Narrative approach was used to extract this research based on Giorgi module. 
Results: The results of the research reveal that Muhammadiyah and NU are leading social change through conducting social Islamic occasions, education, religious and cultural events and economic empowerment of the society. Every social aspect was analyzed in details in both organizations separately to illustrate their engagement and interaction in Indonesian society.
Conclusions: Muhammadiyah and NU have significant impact in social life of Indonesian people and represent the Islamic culture of the country. Islamic organizations around the world are recommended to follow the same path of Muhammadiyah and NU to enhance society and support the country leadership based on the Islamic thoughts.
The Reason for Omission of the First Letter of Verb (mitāl alwaw ī)
Authors: Albtoush Mohammad AlHejoj , AlQaraleh Saher
Published: November 2023

Objectives: This study aims to examine the opinions of Arab grammarians from the Basra and Kufa linguistic schools regarding the phenomenon of the omission of the first letter of verb (mitāl alwawī)  in some patterns, and not deleting it in other patterns, and to interpret this variation by tracing such types of verbs in lingustiv dictionaries.

Methods: The study employed an inductive approach in tracing the present tense verb with the ‘waw’ root consonant in linguistic dictionaries. In addation, a descriptive-analytical methodology was utilized to describe the forms of the mitāl verb, analyze them, and provide interpretations based on contemporary phonological principles.

Results:. The deletion of the ‘waw’ from the present tense verb form (يَفْعِلُ) is caused by the heavy phonological sequencing, characterized by the juxtaposition of semi-vowel (y) with the short vowel (ɑ) in the first syllable, alongside the semi-vowel (w) in the first segment and the short vowel (i) in the second segment.

Conclusions: The study concludes that grammarians' explanations for this issue are different, and that the rationale for the deletion of the ‘waw’ in certain patterns of the present tense (mitāl alwawī) verb is predominantly a phonological defect, stemming from the sonorous weight resulting from phonological sequences within the verb's segments.
Study of the Architectural Forms Composition of the Ottoman Minarets Mosques in Constantine City-Algeria
Authors: Sekhri Adel , Assassi Abdelhalim , Mebarki Ammar
Published: November 2023

Objectives: The minarets are one of the most important elements of Islamic architecture that deserve study and attention, as they are a wonderful record of all the phases that Islamic art went through around the world. Therefore, they were chosen as the subject of this research by studying the composition of the architectural forms of the Ottoman minarets in the mosques of the city of Constantine-Algeria. This paper aims to answer the questions related to the formation and development of Ottoman minarets, and to search for the reasons behind the formation of their architectural forms in the mosques of Constantine city.

Methods: The "Typomorphological approach" was chosen as a tool of the analytical method for studying the Ottoman minarets in the city.

Results: The results showed that the reasons contributing to the formation of the Ottoman minarets in the city’s mosques were as follows: The functional exploitation of the minarets, the transformation of the minaret, into an Islamic symbol, in addition to doctrinal, technical, and military factors.

Conclusions: Finally, it should be noted that the most important recommendation of the research is valuing this architectural heritage which represents the local identity of the city of Constantine, and opening a field of research aimed to study the architectural forms of Ottoman minarets in the mosques of the old city.
On Form, Cyclicity and Temporality in Leoš Janáček’s String Quartet No. 1
Authors: Mohammad Iyad A.
Published: November 2023

Objectives: The study aimed is to identify the underlying temporal structures, procedures and devices employed by Janáček in the composition of his First-String Quartet, by way of a thorough analysis of musical forms, relations and cyclicities of recurring themes and motifs, and an examination of referential semantic structures.

Methods: The study applied a descriptive-analytical method in the framework of a textual approach to the composition under consideration. This includes identifying procedures of contrast, juxtaposition, interpolation, temporal intercutting, and superimposition described by T. Clifton, often employed together with a montage-style technique.

Results: The results of the study of our analysis clearly show Janáčeck’s preference for the palindrome arch form and rondo-like forms, combined with features of ternarity. In their recurrences themes are mostly varied, occasionally transposed, and often curtailed, sometimes to the duration of a mere referential reminder. This form entails a specific temporality related in the palindrome form to a retrograde temporal directionality. The superimposition of themes and accompaniment textures also entails a superimposition of their temporal strata. Another poignant feature of this quartet’s temporality is the use of referential-semantic devices. This includes the multiplicity of inter-sectional and inter-movement citations of themes, motifs, and intonations.

Conclusions: In the light of the results, the study recommends further empirical experimental research of the perception of temporal categories outlined in this paper, and to explore the relation of semantic referential structures and elements of speech in the melodic of Janáček.
Wives’ Opinions on the Extent to which their Husbands Consider the Family Prophetic Communication Skills: A Field Study
Authors: Rababa’a Muhammad Ahmad , Al-Sharman Hadeel
Published: November 2023

Objectives: The study aimed to survey wives' opinion about the extent to which their husbands consider the skills of family prophetic communication in their married life.

Methods: The study followed the descriptive approach in a field survey style, through a questionnaire tool that was built based on extrapolation of family communication skills in the Prophetic Sunnah, and the conclusions of previous studies on these skills. The tool was applied to a sample of wives in Irbid governorate during the academic year 2020/2021, with a percentage of 5% of the study population.

Results: The results of the study showed that men employ verbal prophetic skills in family communication with their wives whenever the wife is younger. There is also a clear effect of the factor of the duration of marriage, and the relationship between them is inverse, the shorter the period of marriage, the higher the consideration for skills. The nature of the husband’s work is related to the extent to which the husbands take these skills into consideration, clearly and in a positive relationship. The results indicate that spouses who hold a scientific level (higher studies) are the most appreciative and consider the precautionary measures that prevent the occurrence of marital problems before they occur.

Conclusions: The study recommends the need to take care of the Prophet's skills in family communication, disseminate them by including them in the study curricula, mosque discourse, family reform institutions, and radio and television media programs, and others.
Neo-Zionism's Vision for the Issue of the Jewishness of the State in Israel
Authors: Eloxory Engy Waheed Fakhry
Published: November 2023

Objectives: The purpose of the present paper is to analyze Neo-Zionism’s vision for the issue of the Jewishness of the state in Israel by tracing the foundations of this trend, the factors that helped crystalizing it in Israeli state, and the impact of that on the state’s identity.
Methods: The paper is based on two approaches: the historical approach and the analytical approach, the first helps in tracing the intellectual roots of Neo-Zionism trend, while the second helps in dividing the phenomenon in question in order to identify its causes, analyze its vision's results, and explain its impact on the identity of the Israeli state.
Results: The Neo-Zionism trend presented a set of coherent values and ideas towards the issue of the Jewish state. In reality, Neo-Zionism was able to achieve the following: Firstly, the idolization of its visions. Secondly, the legitimization of its ideological visions. Thirdly, the legalization of its ideology and political approach. Although the trend presented a coherent intellectual perspective on the nature of the identity of the Israeli state, its religious vision led to a deepening of the identity crisis in Israeli society and created a new crisis between the nature of the identity of the state and the democratic system in Israel.
Conclusions: the study recommends more research on the opposing visions to values and ideas of Neo-Zionism trend (left and Arab parties), and the alliances they can achieve in the face of the expansion of the Neo-Zionism.
The Impact of the Practice of Strategic Adaptation on Security Crisis Management Strategies: An Applied Study in the Jordanian Public Security Directorate
Authors: Maaitah Abeidallah Abedrabbuh Abeidallah , Almahasneh Mohammad Abdalraheem
Published: November 2023

Objectives: This study aimed to analyze the impact of the practice of strategic adaptation on security crisis management strategies in the Jordanian public security directorate by identifying the level of application of strategic adaptation and identifying the level of application of crisis management strategies.

Methods: The study adopted the descriptive analytical approach. A questionnaire was developed as a tool for collecting primary data and distributed throughout the study population consisting of (329) individuals from the upper and middle administrations of the Jordanian Public Security Service. The number of valid questionnaires for statistical analysis was (284), and to answer the questions of the study and test its hypotheses, the structural modeling program (Smart.PLS4) was used.

Results: The results showed that the level of practicing strategic adaptation with its dimensions was high, and the arithmetic mean was (4.438). The level of crisis management strategies with its dimensions reached a high degree, and the arithmetic mean was (4.412). In the Jordanian public security apparatus, it was found that there is a statistically significant effect of the practice of strategic adaptation in the security crisis management strategies in the Jordanian public security apparatus.

Conclusions: The study recommended the need to continue to maintain the high level of application of the practice of strategic adaptation, and to deal with security crises efficiently and effectively
Mediasi Daya Inovasi dalam Hubungan antara Perencanaan Strategis dan Pembelajaran Organisasi terhadap Kinerja Organisasi
Authors: Hernawan Ito Septanto , Lukiastuti Fitri
Published: November 2023

power on organizational performance. Strategic planning, organizational learning on innovative power. Mediation of innovative power on the influence of planning strategy and organizational learning on organizational performance. The population in this study were all company managers, totaling 45 people, all of whom were used as samples. Data analysis in this study used Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The research results show that planning strategy, organizational learning and innovative power have a positive and significant effect on organizational performance, planning strategy, organizational learning have a positive and significant effect on innovative power. Innovation power is able to mediate the relationship between strategic planning and organizational learning on organizational performance with complementary characteristics
Exploring Filter Banks and Spike Interval Statistics of Level-Crossing ADCs for Fault Diagnosis of Rolling Element Bearings
Authors: Kumar Ashwani , Strömbergsson Daniel , Marklund Par , Sandin Fredrik
Published: November 2023

Nowadays, lots of data are generated in industries using vibration sensors to evaluate the equipment’s working condition and identify faults. A significant challenge is that only a small fraction of data can be transmitted for intelligent fault diagnosis and storage. The edge processing capacity is often insufficient for advanced analysis due to time and resource constraints. The neuromorphic signal encoding scheme efficiently reduces the data rate by encoding relevant signal changes into spike trains while discarding redundant information and noise, enabling energy-efficient neuromorphic processing. Due to the presence of dominant operational features and noise in the original measurements, signal pre-processing is required to extract the relevant features before spike coding and processing. The work investigates the effects of different filter banks (pre-processing methods) on the spike encodings for vibration measurements from bearings. This also includes bearing fault features diagnosis based on statistical analysis of generated spikes. The comparative analysis is made for benchmarking different signal pre-processing methods (e.g., envelope, empirical mode decomposition (EMD), and gammatone filter) on bearing vibration datasets. An event-triggered scheme, i.e., Level-crossing analog-to-digital converters (LC-ADCs) is applied to encode the vibration measurement to spikes. Inter-spike intervals (ISIs) statistics are analysed for fault diagnosis of bearings. The results obtained for CWRU bearing databases indicate a possible fault detection and diagnosis with significant data rate reduction and an opportunity for improved computational efficiency. With the developed approach, the envelope filter is found to be the most efficient of all. This work enables a new approach to improve the energy efficiency of condition monitoring systems and further sets a new course of research development in this area using neuromorphic technologies.
Adaptive Prognostics: A reliable RUL approach
Authors: Eleftheroglou Nick
Published: November 2023

Prognostic methodologies have found increasing use the last decade and provide a platform for remaining useful life (RUL) predictions of engineering systems utilizing condition monitoring data. Of particular interest is the reliable RUL prediction of engineering assets that either underperform or outperform due to unexpected phenomena that might occur during the operational life. These assets are often referred as outliers and the prediction of their RUL is a challenging task. The challenge is to accurately predict the RUL of an outlier without taking into account outlier’s condition monitoring data in the training process but just in the testing process. As a result, the lifetime of the testing asset is shorter (left outlier) or longer (right outlier) than the training process’ lifetimes.

This study addresses this challenge by proposing a new adaptive model; the Similarity Learning Hidden Semi Markov Model (SLHSMM), which is an extension of the Non-Homogenous Hidden Semi Markov Model (NHHSMM). The SLHSMM uses a similarity function, such as Minkowski distances, in order firstly to quantify the similarity between the testing asset and each training asset and secondly to adapt the trained parameters of the NHHSMM. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed adaptive methodology, composite structures have been used as a validation engineering asset. In particular, the training data set consists of strain data collected from open-hole carbon–epoxy specimens, which were subjected to fatigue loading only, while the testing data set consists of strain data collected from specimens that were subjected to fatigue and in-situ impact loading, which can be considered as an unexpected phenomenon and unseen event regarding the training process.

Utilizing the aforementioned strain data the SLHSMM RUL predictions and the NHHSMM RUL predictions were compared, so as to verify that the SLHSMM provides better prognostics than the NHHSMM. SLHSMM provides better predictions in comparison to the NHHSMM for all the test cases, demonstrating its capability to adapt to unexpected phenomena and integrate unforeseen data to the prognostics course.
Failure Mode Investigation to Enable LiDAR Health Monitoring for Automotive Application
Authors: Chang Fred , Jafarzadeh Ehsan , Del Gatto Jacqueline , Cran Graham , Sadjadi Hossein
Published: November 2023

Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) sensors are critical components of the perception system and play a significant role in enabling fully autonomous driving. Given that LiDARs have a higher failure rate than other sensors, such as camera and radar, it is crucial to monitor the health of this component to increasing the availability of autonomous driving features. Such a health monitoring system can additionally provide cost-effective maintenance for retail and fleet, improve the service experience of retail customers, and ensure the fidelity of the data produced by the LiDAR for engineering development. Since LiDAR is a relatively new technology, there is currently limited work in the area of LiDAR health monitoring. The failure modes and degradation behavior of these components have not been thoroughly studied in the literature for automotive applications. Therefore, this paper reviews LiDAR external and internal failure modes and their impacts on the perception performance. The external failure modes are categorized into multiple fault classes such as sensor blockage due to a layer of debris on the sensor, mechanical damage to the sensor cover, and mounting issues. The internal faults corresponding to LiDAR subcomponents such as transmitter, receiver or scanning mechanism, are explored for these LiDAR types: mechanical spinning, flash LiDAR, Micro-opto-electromechanical mirror LiDAR, and micromotion technology LiDAR. The failure modes of each subcomponent are also investigated to determine if they can be categorized as slow degradation or sudden failure. It is concluded that mechanical spinning LiDARs are expected to have higher failure rates than solid-state LiDARs. Both internal and external LiDAR failure modes can lead to reduced accuracy and reliability in detecting objects and obstacles, compromising the safety of autonomous driving systems, and increasing the possibility of collisions.
Underlying Probability Measure Approximated by Monte Carlo Simulations in Event Prognostics
Authors: Acuña-Ureta David , Orchard Marcos
Published: November 2023

The prognostic of events, and particularly of failures, is a key step towards allowing preventive decision-making, as in the case of predictive maintenance in Industry 4.0, for example. However, the occurrence time of a future event is subject to uncertainty, so it is natural to think of it as a random variable. In this regard, the default procedure (benchmark) to compute its probability distribution is empirical, through Monte Carlo simulations. Nonetheless, the analytic expression for the probability distribution of the occurrence time of any future event was presented and demonstrated in a recent publication. In this article it is established a direct relationship between these empirical and analytical procedures. It is shown that Monte Carlo simulations numerically approximate the analytically known probability measure when the future event is triggered by the crossing of a threshold.
A Fine-grained Semi-supervised Anomaly Detection Framework for Predictive Maintenance of Industrial Assets
Authors: Tong Xiaorui , Jung Wee Quan , Banning Jeremy Frimpong
Published: November 2023

Reliable operation of industrial assets is of high priority for businesses where productivity determines the ability to deliver safety-critical products of high quality in a timely manner. The aerospace industry leads the demand for predictive maintenance (PdM). In the manufacturing space, unscheduled down time causes production delay and increases operational costs while introducing potential risks in product quality and on-time delivery. In field application of these products, unexpected breakdown of critical components can result in safety-critical events. Failure events are, therefore, extremely rare in industrial settings. Diverse operating conditions in the manufacturing environment and field applications contribute to the heterogeneous nature of data collected from these assets. This work presents an anomaly detection framework for PdM of industrial assets to address the practical challenges of scarce failure data sources and heterogeneous data across assets. We introduce a fine-grained modeling approach that efficiently accounts for individual asset differences in a semi-supervised fashion which requires only normal operation data for model training. The framework is demonstrated with an industrial 4.0 use case. Vibration sensor data from pumps in one of our manufacturing facilities is ingested to enable PdM with 2 weeks lead time using the proposed framework. This transforms unexpected breakdown time to scheduled maintenance, thereby reducing cost of delays and operation interruptions. The systematic implementation of the framework in the case study covers the practical production aspects including data quality evaluation, model training, optimization and daily serving of predictions. Furthermore, implementation challenges and recommendations are discussed based on the end-to-end solution implementation experiences.
Joint feedback control and fault diagnosis disambiguation
Authors: Matei Ion , Zhenirovsky Maksym , De Kleer Johan , Goebel Kai
Published: November 2023

This paper proposes a model-based diagnosis approach to detect and isolate intermittent faults in complex systems that operate under feedback control. The feedback control attempts to compensate for model uncertainties and deviations from nominal behavior, but these uncertainties are crucial for accurate fault diagnosis. We focus on faults that are observable only in a particular region of the state space, which is rarely reached in nominal behavior. To address this, we present an approach that considers both control requirements and diagnosis uncertainty in an optimization problem similar to model-predictive control. We compute perturbations on control signals that forces the system to reach states where faults are detectable. We apply our approach to a quadrotor system under motion feedback control, demonstrating the effectiveness of our method. Our approach has the potential to improve the resilience of complex systems by quickly detecting and recovering from disruptive events.
System-based Monitoring of Muscular Fatigue in Lower-Extremity Movement
Authors: Bertelson Samuel , Molina Lindsey , Neptune Richard , Djurdjanovic Dragan
Published: November 2023

Physical fatigue accounts for many injuries in the workplace, sports arena, or battlefield. The traditional approaches to monitor fatigue rely on detecting and measuring shifts in the person’s muscular surface electromyography (sEMG) signals. However, assessing neuromuscular fatigue based purely on sEMG signals fails to account for the changing muscle dynamics during long dynamic physical tasks. To combat this dilemma, a system-based methodology has been recently developed and applied to several upper-extremity tasks. In this paper, we validate the efficacy of this novel methodology on the lower extremities during a dynamic activity. Specifically, the system-based monitoring methodology was applied to a cycling endurance task. It was statistically demonstrated that the system-based methodology resulted in a more-sensitive and less noisy metric, in comparison with an EMG-based methodology. The efficacy of the methodology was further illustrated by analyzing the inter-segmental recovering and fatiguing trends, which aligned with each muscle’s expected inter-muscle synergistic relationship.
Few-shot Learning for Plastic Bearing Fault Diagnosis – An Integrated Image Processing and NLP Approach
Authors: He David , He Miao
Published: November 2023

Plastic bearings have a wide range of industrial applications due to their many desirable properties such as lightweight, low friction coefficient, chemical resistance, and ability to operate without lubrication. Timely bearing fault diagnosis can prevent equipment failure and costly downtime.  In recent years, developing machine learning based bearing fault diagnosis with few labelled data has attracted a lot of attentions as datasets with fault labels are rare in many industrial applications.  One effective approach to meet the challenge is few-shot learning.  Among many approaches, utilizing a good pre-trained deep learning model to achieve few-shot learning is an effective and efficient alternative.  In this paper, a pre-trained deep learning model called CLIP that combines image processing and natural language processing (NLP) is adopted to few-shot learning for plastic bearing fault diagnosis.  We explore the feasibility of leveraging CLIP model in the realm of bearing fault diagnosis via few-shot learning. Specifically, we tackle the challenges posed by CLIP's creation of requisite text prompt embeddings for the diagnosis of mechanical faults, within a few-shot learning framework. Our investigation illuminates the remarkable capability of CLIP to adapt to new tasks with minimal examples, a feature we exploit to devise a solution for plastic bearing fault diagnosis. The effectiveness of the few-shot learning method with CLIP is demonstrated using vibration data collected from plastic bearing seeded fault tests in the laboratory.
Predicting pitting severity in gearboxes under unseen operating conditions and fault severities using convolutional neural networks with power spectral density inputs
Authors: Marx Douw
Published: November 2023

The PHM North America 2023 Data Challenge tasked participants to diagnose the pitting fault severity of a gearbox from a three-channel vibration signal.This work summarizes the authors' proposed diagnostics solution which consists of a convolutional neural network with an ordinal loss criterion, trained on the power spectral density of the signal. This method is selected based on a rigorous evaluation using three dedicated validation sets, designed to evaluate the model's ability to generalize to unseen operation conditions and fault severities. Ultimately, the proposed approach achieved a competition validation score of $282.2$ and a test score of $213.3$.
A Physics-informed, Transfer Learning Approach to Structural Health Monitoring
Authors: Furlong Trent , Reichard Karl
Published: November 2023

One of the main challenges for structural health monitoring (SHM) is a lack of failure data to make accurate health predictions. Obtaining desirable failure data is generally very expensive, given the required testing needed to measure all types of system failures, which may be unfeasible in many health monitoring applications. Machine learning has helped to improve health monitoring performance but is still limited by the availability, relevance, and quality of the training data. This data dependence impedes data-driven models from generalizing to unseen data, which is problematic for datasets lacking failure data. Physics-driven models, like finite-element models, are powerful tools for predicting structural responses when the governing physics are not clearly defined. These models can generate simulated fault data to address the data limitation without having to physically damage a structure, but are computationally expensive and susceptible to modeling errors that can prevent the data from being statistically comparable to experimental data.

A new trend has been to develop physics-guided machine learning models (PGML), a hybridization of the two aforementioned models that have been shown to improve generalization of, and even outperform, pure data-driven models while using less training data. These PGML models can take many forms, but generally embed some form of physics into a data-driven model as physically relevant constraints. Our research plan is to utilize PGML to improve neural network capabilities to predict structural damage. The proposed PGML model will follow a neural network architecture found in related literature consisting of feature extraction, physics-informed, and label prediction layers. The physics-informed layer will consist of an aggregate of sub-networks trained from simplified structure models which have known governing equations and can be used to generate simulated training data. The full PGML model will use transfer learning to bridge the connections between the untrained layers to the physics-informed layer using experimental data from more complex structures. We will verify our model using publically available SHM datasets used in a variety of past literature experiments.
Information Fusion and Data Augmentation for Risk-based Maintenance Optimization of Hydrogen Gas Pipelines
Authors: Kethamukkala Kaushik , Liu Yongming
Published: November 2023

Demand for energy is increasing every year and hydrogen is being seen as a good alternative to conventional natural gas. The current focus is on the use of existing pipeline infrastructure for the transport of hydrogen gas, and it is necessary for us to ensure the safe and efficient operation of the pipeline infrastructure given the risks posed by hydrogen. Pipeline integrity management is critical for hydrogen transport and there are knowledge gaps for the impact of hydrogen on the pipeline integrity and operational considerations, thus hindering the pipeline operators from adopting hydrogen into their networks. To realize the concept of transporting hydrogen through existing pipeline systems, it is necessary to have reliable risk assessment and maintenance optimization frameworks in place. A Bayesian network methodology is proposed to fuse information from multiple sources obtained by multimodality diagnosis of pipe materials and Bayesian updating will be incorporated to reduce the uncertainty arising from different random variables. Risk assessment of the pipeline systems will be carried out based on the posterior distributions of the random variables. Given the predicted risk level, we then propose a risk-based maintenance optimization framework to minimize the maintenance costs while ensuring the safe operation of the pipeline systems.
Pengaruh Komunikasi Efektif terhadap Kemampuan Bahasa Anak Usia 4-5 Tahun di RA Al Falah Simpang Kabupaten Tasikmalaya
Authors: Nuraeni Fitri , Khomaeny Elfan Fanhas , Nugraha Fajar
Published: November 2023

Communication skills are a form of language development possessed by early childhood. Through communication, children can express their feelings and opinions. The language skills of early childhood communication at RA Al Falah Simpang have only reached 20% based on developmental achievements in STPPA so it is necessary to provide direction and habituation to using effective communication that is directed and consistent. This study aims to determine the effect of effective communication on the language development of children aged 4-5 years at RA Al Falah Simpang. The research method used is the experimental method using two groups, namely the experimental class and the control class. Treatment using effective communication was carried out to the experimental class in 12 meetings while the control class used conventional learning as usual. The findings obtained during the 12 meetings based on posttest data from the experimental class and the control class showed a significance value of 0.000 <0.05 that there was a significant difference between the two groups. The results of the comparison of the average values of the experimental class and the control class show that the value of the experimental class is greater than the control class, where the experimental class has an average value of 55.17 while the control class is 34.50. So it can be concluded that effective communication has a positive effect on the language skills of children aged 4-5 years at RA Al Falah Simpang.
Penggunaan Canva sebagai Media Pembelajaran Keterampilan Membaca Bahasa Arab Siswa Kelas X di MAN Kota Batu
Authors: Rahmayanti Indah , Anshory Abdul Muntaqim Al , Taufiqurrochman R , Muhamad Sahrul
Published: November 2023

In the digital era, learning activities must be adapted to developments in technology and information. Teachers are required to develop learning media creatively and innovatively. This study aims to determine the use of Canva as a medium for learning Arabic reading skills for class X students at MAN Batu City, student responses to the media and evaluate the use of the advantages and disadvantages. This research approach combines both qualitative and quantitative methods, employing data gathering techniques such as observation, interviews, and questionnaires. The research data respondents were 33 class X MAN Batu City students. The questionnaire instrument uses 13 statements with a Likert scale rating of 1-5 related to the use of Canva as a medium for learning Arabic reading skills for class X IPS 1 MAN Batu City. The results of the study show that using Canva as a media for reading skills is easy to use in learning, both in class and for independent study at home. Student response in using this media is also good. This can be seen from the results of the Pearson correlations for each item above 0.2826. So that the results of the questionnaire from students are valid. The 2-tailed significance of 0.000 <0.05 means that each item is correlated. So it can be concluded that student responses are acceptable. The advantages of using Canva are being able to make learning materials that are visually interesting and the drawbacks are requiring a stable internet network.
Model Language Tests for the Writing Skill of the Beginner Level Based on CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference)
Authors: Mahmudi Ihwan , Nisa Shofiyyatun , Maha Marheni Br , Hasna Larasati
Published: November 2023

The Common European Framework of Reference for Language (CEFR), is a method and tool for measuring a person's language skills by using tests according to special procedures for classifying beginner, intermediate, and advanced-level abilities. Therefore, this measurement tool is one of the researchers' goals: to provide examples of various language tests of beginner's writing skills that are classified according to the CEFR measures at levels A1 and A2. This research will analyze examples of writing skill tests for beginners based on the CEFR method. This research was carried out using a desk study design with reading and writing data sources related to language testing forms based on the CEFR method and scoring techniques using desk research methods. The results of this research indicate that the CEFR method is effective for measuring students' abilities and that the writing skill test models can be classified for beginners.
Improving Students’ Reading Comprehension Improving the Students’ Writing Recount Text Ability by Using Think Talk Write and Self-Regulated Strategy Development
Authors: Zebua Tasvil Kristin Yavernidar , Sipayung Kammer Tuahman , Sinambela Erika
Published: November 2023

Based on research conducted at SMA Negeri 2 Alasa, researchers found that there were several problems in learning to write English faced by students at SMA Negeri 2 Alasa. Students often have difficulty composing a paragraph by writing down their own ideas. Therefore, researchers conducted research entitled "Improving the students' writing recount text ability by using Think Talk Write and Self-Regulated Strategy Development at the eleventh grade of SMA Negeri 2 Alasa North Nias". This research aims to observe the improvement of students' writing skills using Think Talk Write and Self-Regulated Strategy Development, whether there was an improvement in learning outcomes and what strategies were more effectively used between the two strategies. In this research, researcher used classroom action research which is applies treatments to improve learning outcomes that are better than before. From this research, the average pre-test score for class XI-IPS was 52.14% and class XI-IPA was 42.86%. After being given Think Talk Write strategy treatment in class XI-IPS, the average post-test score was 72.35% and in class XI-IPA using Self-Regulated Strategy Development with an average score of 73.57%. From these score, it can be seen that there has been a significant improvement in students' writing abilities, namely 20.21% in class XI-IPS and class XI-IPA 30.71%. Thus, it is concluded that using Think Talk Write and Self-Regulated Strategy Development can improve students' ability in writing recount texts and in this research Self-Regulated Strategy Development is more effective than Think Talk Write strategy.
Internal Security Operations and Human Rights Abuses in Nigeria: Issues and Challenges
Authors: Johnson Idowu
Published: November 2023

The most outstanding challenge to the Nigerian state since the beginning of the twenty first century is probably the proliferation of internal conflicts. This is primarily because they impede the growth of democracy and threaten national security. In order to maintain peace and security, the military is given a constitutional role in managing internal conflicts through internal security operations when the police is overwhelmed. However, the military at times misuse the constitutional powers by violating the rights of the civilian population. This paper examines the connection between internal security operations and human rights abuses in Nigeria. The major direction is to provide a deeper understanding of the constitutional role of the military in the management of internal conflicts, while also looking at the challenges and the prospects for non violation of human rights of civilian population. The paper concludes with some recommendations on how the military can be involved ill internal security operations without violating citizens’ human rights.
Breast Cancer Screening Among. Women in Northern Nigeria: What We Know and What We Do
Authors: Evans JustinaAbba , Fayehun Olufunke , Ukoji Vitalis
Published: November 2023

Breast cancer is the most common cancer which occurs rapidly among women in the developing countries that previously enjoyed low incidence of the disease. Nigerian women experience advanced stages of breast cancer when little or no benefit can be derived from any form of therapy. This study, therefore, examined what women know and do on breast cancer screening in Kaduna state of Northern Nigeria. Four hundred (400) women between ages 20-60 years with no diagnosis of breast cancel; from five selected ward clusters around Sabon Gari Local Government Area in Kaduna were recruited for the study. Using questionnaires, complemented with 10 in-depth interviews, the study obtained information on knowledge and practices of breast cancer and screening. The study respondents are aware of breast cancer and major source of information is media and the Internet. However; 40% of the respondents had poor knowledge of signs and symptoms, risk factors and treatment options of breast cancer Practice of Breast Self Examination (BSE) Has high bur only 34.3% admitted to carrying out the procedure monthly. Twenty four percent of the respondents had Clinical Breast Examination (CBE) while 9% had done mammography. There is a positive significant relationship (p<0.001) between what women know and do about breast cancer screening. indicating poor knowledge of breast cancer resulting to low practice of the screening among the respondents. There is the need to introduce strategies by the government and policy makers to improve healthcare services that call enable women access the health facilities for breast cancer screening. Male role should also be incorporated into the mainstream of cancer awareness campaigns especially in Northern Nigeria
Integrating Health Services into Microfinance Operations for Sustainable Poverty Alleviation: The Case of Female Clients in Edo State
Authors: Taiwo Patricia A. , Owumi B.E
Published: November 2023

Microfinance role in women empowerment and poverty alleviation has received a lot of focus with negligible attention on health implications. This paper focuses on microfinance and health integration services as pathway for sustainable poverty alleviation, using cross-sectional survey of 750 purposively selected respondents (400 from microfinance banks (MB.~)with integrated health-related services (IHS) and 350 from MBs without IHS in Benin, Ugbowo, Iruekpen, Auchi, Jattu and Ekpoma. Fourteen In-depth interviews and 20 Key Informant Interviews were conducted Respondents (60. 3%) from MBs with IHS, who attached high importance to their health, doubled those from MBs without IHS (30.3%). IHS enabled clients practice preventive health behaviour and payment for health services. IHS helps women value their health and reduces health-risks. MSs should be encouraged and funded to integrate health-related services in their operations.
Toward Consolidating Democracy in Nigeria: Is All Progressive Congress A Credible Opposition Party?
Authors: Ojukwu Chris C.
Published: November 2023

The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) since the beginning of the Fourth Republic on May 29, 1999, has been severally criticized for its failure to give focus to attempts to correct perceived structural deformities and to lay an institutional foundation for a just and equitable sharing of the political space by ethnic nationalities that comprised the federal polity. The country has, as a result of this, continuously and consistently degenerated to a level of being perceived as a failed or ‘collapsed’ state. Some scholars have even referred it to as a one-party state despite the avalanche of registered political parties in the state. It is therefore, against this backdrop that the paper examines the potency of the fused opposition party- ‘The All Progressive Congress’ (APC) that was formed essentially to challenge the ruling party- PDP The paper questions the credibility of the APC in the context of having what it takes to consolidate democratic governance in Nigeria.
External Debt Accumulation and Economic Growth: Evidence from West African
Authors: Lawanson Akanni O.
Published: November 2023

This paper investigates how indebtedness has affected the growth of 14 West African countries directly, and via investment and fiscal balance mechanisms, using data from 1970 to 2012. This task was approached through a standard growth framework through which debt indicators were incorporated. Two econometric specifications (linear and non-linear) were used, and evaluated with the fixed effects and GMM estimation techniques on the relationship between debt and growth. The hypothesis that external debt affects growth is well-supported by the results. All debt variables have the expected signs and were statistically significant. The results reveal that debt appears to have a non-linear effect on growth. The debt overhang hypothesis is affirmed, given the existence of a threshold beyond which debt negatively contributed to growth. The average impact of debt on per capita growth becomes negative for debt levels above 60% to 74% of GDP Thus, increasing debt beyond this threshold yields a negative marginal contribution to growth. There is a pressing need to take measures to not only stabilize external debts, but to place them on a downward trajectory in the future.