bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Assessing climate change impacts on pollinators
Authors:   Curtin University, Australia, Prendergast Kit
Published: January 2023

Anthropogenic climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing biodiversity presently and into the future. Climate change, through increasing temperatures, and extreme events including droughts and fires, can be predicted to impact pollinators through a number of mechanisms, including altered phenologies and distributions, which in turn may lead to altered plant-pollinator interactions. This chapter presents an overview of observed and predicted impacts of climate change on pollinators, as well as factors that may mediate species’ responses, including synergisms with other threatening processes, and identify topics for further research. Given the importance of pollinating organisms for biodiversity and ecosystem services, the chapter concludes by presenting a number of ways in which we can help pollinators face the challenge of climate change.
The role of habitat conservation and restoration in protecting pollinators in agricultural landscapes
Authors:   University of Arizona, USA, Buchmann Stephen
Published: January 2023

This chapter focuses on challenges and options in habitat restoration for solitary bees which account for 90% of bee species. As well as being important parts of local ecosystems, these species are pollinators of a wide range of crops such as alfalfa, tomato, eggplant and blueberries, cucurbit crops (such as pumpkin, squash and watermelon) as well as orchard crops such as almonds and cherries. The chapter looks at challenges facing habitat restoration and research on the effectiveness of existing restoration projects. The chapter also includes case studies on commercial management of Alkali bees, promoting stem or cavity-nesting bees and providing underground nesting boxes for bumblebees.
A Study on the Relationship between ESG Performance Information and Value-Relevance: Focusing on Travel & Tourism Industry in Korea
Authors:   IAGBT, Kwon Hyeok-Gi , Shin Heejeong
Published: January 2023

Purpose - This study investigates the value-relevance of ESG performance information in the Korean travel & tourism industry. ESG activities (environment, social, and governance) are critical factors for evaluating corporate value. However, when it comes to the travel and tourism section, whether the ESG performance information is incorporated in financial corporate value is questionable since the distinct guidelines on ESG performance does not exist.
Design/Methodology/Approach - This study hypothesizes that ESG performance information is not relevant to the corporate value in the travel and tourism industry. Using the KSE and KOSDAQ listed-firms in the travel & tourism industry for 2011-2020, this study conducts a univariate test as well as multiple regression analysis which estimates the relationship between stock price and ESG ratings. Ohlson (1995)’s model estimating value-relevance of accounting information is employed to test the hypothesis.
Findings - The analysis shows that both ESG reporting itself and ESG integration ratings are positively related to stock price as a proxy for corporate value. But the governance (G) factor only out of three- ESG individual components has a significantly positive relation with the corporate value. The findings hold after addressing a self-selection bias which is due to ESG reporting incentives.
Research Implications - In perspective of the usefulness of accounting information, this study extends the literature on value-relevance of ESG ratings as a nonfinancial accounting information. In addition, it adds the document on the effectiveness of ESG initiative by empirical results. Finally, it suggests the needs for guidelines which are appropriate for pricing the performance of social responsibilities (S) including sustainable environment € to be incorporated in corporate value.
The Effect of Self-Examination on Post-Traumatic Growth: Mediator Effect of “Meaning in Life”
Authors:   The Association of Korea Counseling Psychology Education Welfare, KIM Mi-Jeong , CHOI Bo-Young
Published: January 2023

This study aims to investigate the mediator effect of meaning in life while recognizing theeffect of self-examination on post-traumatic growth. To this end, a nationwide online surveywas conducted targeting 300 people who had undergone traumatic events. A correlation analysiswas conducted between the variables, and then, through a structural equation model analysis,the mediator effect of meaning in life was verified in the relationship between self-examinationand post-traumatic growth. The result of this research is as follows. First, a meaningful positivecorrelation is investigated between self-examination and meaning in life(r=.60), self-examinationand post-traumatic growth(r=.57), and meaning in life and post-traumatic growth((r=.72,). Second, in the relationship between self-examination and post-traumatic growth, meaning in lifefunctions as a full mediator. As an individual has a higher level of self-examination, one’spost-traumatic growth is expedited with noticeably vitalized meaning in life. Based on thisresult, the application and limitations of counseling intervention were discussed in this study.
The state of democracy in Africa
Authors: Shola Akinyetun Tope
Published: January 2023

Many African states experienced democratic transition following the third wave of democratization that spread across the region in the 1990s. Such democratic states became characterized by multiparty elections, tolerance for opposition tolerance, media freedom, protection of human rights and respect for the rule of law. However, recent trends show that democratic growth has stalled while its gains are short-lived in many states. This is evidenced in the rise in third termism, constitutional coups, military coups and digital authoritarianism that plagues the continent – suggesting a wave of democratic relapse and autocracy. One is therefore poised to ask what the state of democracy in Africa is and what trends and practices have led to a general decline in levels of democracy. To this end, this paper assesses the incidence of democratic recession in Africa by adopting a descriptive and analytical approach that relies on secondary data sourced from peer-reviewed journal articles, reports, briefs and internet sources. It was found that the decline in democratization, otherwise democratic relapse heralds an epoch of democratic instability and entrenched autocracy in the continent. This is not unconnected with the spate of bad governance, violent electoral contestation, digital repression and widespread violation of human rights that is prevalent on the continent. It was therefore recommended that priority be given to good governance, the strengthening of state institutions and tolerance for opposition.
Sex Differences in Exercise-Induced Effects on Immune Function
Authors: Rodriguez Bauza Daniel Enrique , Silveyra Patricia
Published: January 2023

The practice of physical activity is an effective non-pharmacological strategy for preventing and treating chronic diseases. A large body of evidence has contributed to establishing a positive correlation between a physically active lifestyle and health benefits, including enhanced vaccination responses, lower numbers of senescent T-cells, increased T-cell proliferative capacity, lower levels of inflammatory cytokines, and improved neutrophil and macrophage function. While females are generally thought to exert more robust immune responses than males in response to a variety of challenges, and both male and female sex hormones have been suggested as mediators of immune function, research on this topic has not always been designed with a sex-specific lens. The goal of this review is to summarize the available experimental and clinical evidence linking exercise and immune function in male and female subjects, with an emphasis on sex differences and sex-specific mechanisms. Overall, the available evidence indicates that moderate exercise and physical activity improves immune function in both sexes, whereas prolonged and high-intensity exercise temporarily impairs immune responses at a higher degree in females. A role of male and female sex hormones in these sex-specific effects is also discussed.
Microbiome Responses to Fecal Microbiota Transplantation in Cats with Chronic Digestive Issues
Authors: Rojas Connie , Entrolezo Zhandra , Jarett Jessica K. , Jospin Guillaume , Kingsbury Dawn , Martin Alex , Eisen Jonathan A. , Ganz Holly H
Published: January 2023

There is growing interest in the application of fecal microbiota transplants (FMTs) in small animal medicine, but there are few published studies that have tested their effectiveness in the domestic cat (Felis catus). Here we use 16S rRNA gene sequencing to examine fecal microbiome changes in 68 domestic cats with chronic digestive issues that underwent FMT treatment using lyophilized stool that was delivered in oral capsules. Fecal samples were collected from FMT recipients before and two weeks after treatment, as well as from their stool donors, and healthy animals. We found that according to their owners, 77% of cats were reported to show improvement in their clinical signs (termed ‘Responders’), and 23% were reported to exhibit no change or a worsening of their clinical signs (termed ‘Non-Responders’). Variation in the fecal microbiomes of FMT recipients most strongly correlated with host clinical signs, diet, and IBD diagnosis. The relative abundances of Collinsella, Negativibacillus, Parabacteroides, and Peptoclostridium changed differentially in FMT recipients. Overall, on average 13% of the bacterial amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) were shared between stool donors and FMT recipients (excluding ASVs already present in FMT recipients prior to treatment). The most commonly shared ASVs were classified as Prevotella 9, Peptoclostridium, Bacteroides, Collinsella and unclassified Lachnospiraceae. Lastly, FMT recipients that had recently taken antibiotics exhibited increases in microbiome similarity to an age-matched healthy reference set compared to other cats. Cats that had diarrhea or diarrhea with vomiting became more similar to healthy cats than did cats exhibiting other clinical signs. Overall, our results suggest that oral capsule FMT treatment was effective in this group of cats and microbiome responses may be modulated by the FMT recipient’s initial presenting clinical signs, prior IBD diagnosis, recent antibiotic use, and their diet.
Evaluation of Fibrosis Markers as a Potential Method for Diagnosing Non-Obstructive Coronary Artery Disease in Patients with Stable Coronary Artery Disease
Authors: Pakhtusov N. N. , Yusupova A. O. , Zhbanov K. A. , Shchedrygina A. A. , Privalova E. V. , Belenkov Yu. N.
Published: January 2023

Aim. To study the levels of fibrosis markers in patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD) and various types of coronary artery (CA) lesions (obstructive and non-obstructive), to identify possible differences for diagnosing the types of coronary obstruction.

Material and methods. The observational study included three groups of patients: with non-obstructive (main group, coronary artery stenosis <50%; n=20) and obstructive (comparison group, hemodynamically significant coronary artery stenosis according to the results of coronary angiography; n=20) CAD and healthy volunteers (control group; n=40). Transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1) and matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) levels were measured in plasma by enzyme immunoassay. According to the results of echocardiography, all patients included in the study were divided into four groups depending on the type of myocardial remodeling.

Results. TGF-β1 levels were significantly higher in patients with obstructive CAD (p=0.008) than in patients with non-obstructive CAD and healthy volunteers (p <0.001). There were no significant differences between the main and control groups (p>0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in TGF-β1 levels depending on the type of left ventricular remodeling (p=0.139). The maximum level of MMP-9 was in the group with obstructive coronary disease and significantly differed from the main group (p <0.001) and the control group (p=0.04).

Conclusio. The maximum levels of TGF-β1 and MMP-9 were found in the group with obstructive coronary artery disease. The levels of these biomarkers in the main group were statistically different from the values obtained in the control group. Thus, considering the pathogenesis of the development of non-obstructive CAD, the use of fibrosis markers TGF-β1 and MMP-9 may be promising for diagnosing the severity of CA obstruction.
The Pathogenetic Basis of the Action of Bempedoic Acid
Authors: Petrosyan A. S. , Rud' R. S. , Polyakov P. P. , Kade A. Kh. , Zanin S. A.
Published: January 2023

The modern cardiology has a wide range of medications which affect various pathogenetic links of atherosclerosis, but even the best of them still obtain disadvantages causing intolerance and medicine discontinuation. The development of new hypolipidemic medications will allow not only to introduce alternative therapies into the cardiology practice, but also to completely execute the strategy of residual risk reduction by utilizing rational combinations of medications. One of such alternatives could be bempedoic acid, which can have a positive effect on a number of endpoints as the results of third phase trials have shown. These effects are also confirmed in Mendelian randomization studies. The mechanism of action of bempedoic acid is presumably associated with inhibition of the activity of ATP citrate lyase – the enzyme responsible for the breakdown of citrate into acetyl-CoA and oxaloacetate. Acetyl-CoA, in turn, is used by the cell to synthesize cholesterol and fatty acids. Thus, bempedoic acid affects in the same metabolic pathway as statins, but at an earlier stage. According to this, it is possible that medications of these classes will have similar side effects and pleiotropic effects associated with modulation of the mevalonic pathway, such as prenylation regulatory proteins (small GTPases) or reduction of coenzyme Q synthesis. However, there are also some specific features of the pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of bempedoic acid to be considered. In particular, once entered the body, it must be activated via esterification by very long-chain acyl-CoA synthetase-1. The enzyme isoform required for this process is expressed in a tissue-specific manner and, for example, is absent in skeletal myocytes. In addition, citrate, oxaloacetate, and acetyl-CoA are important regulators of many intracellular processes: metabolism, growth and proliferation, mechanotransduction, posttranslational modifications of histones and other proteins. The levels of all three substances are altered by bempedoic acid, although no firm conclusions about the effects of these changes can be drawn at this time. The mentioned features probably have a significant impact on the clinical profile of bempedoic acid and underlie the differences from statins already observed in third phase trials, including, for example, a reduced risk of the onset or worsening of diabetes mellitus while taking bempedoic acid.
Perioperative Management of Patients Receiving Antithrombotic Therapy in Schemes and Algorithms
Authors: Dzhioeva O. N. , Rogozhkina E. A. , Drapkina O. M.
Published: January 2023

Currently, antithrombotic therapy is the basis of the pathogenetic treatment of many cardiovascular diseases, such as coronary heart disease, stroke, peripheral vascular disease, as well as mechanical heart valves, heart rhythm disturbances, venous thromboembolism. At the same time, chronic use of antiplatelet and/or anticoagulant drugs is a complicating factor in invasive and surgical procedures, as it increases the risk of bleeding. In this regard, a fundamentally important and complex question arises: how to minimize the risk of periprocedural bleeding without exposing the patient to an increased risk of ischemic and thromboembolic complications? Perioperative management of patients who take antithrombotic drugs for a long time is a complex problem that depends on many factors - the risk of surgery, anesthesia, cardiovascular risks, and the urgency of surgery. Each clinical situation should be assessed individually, collegially, with the participation of surgeons, anesthesiologists, and therapists. The introduction of a checklist into clinical practice for each planned surgical patient will allow us to calculate the individual risk of bleeding and thromboembolic complications, and provide an optimal preventive strategy for perioperative management of the patient. The algorithms and schemes presented in the article for the perioperative management of patients with non-cardiac interventions are aimed at standardizing the management of patients before non-cardiac surgical interventions, which will reduce hemorrhagic risks in the presence of the necessary antithrombotic therapy.
Inflammation of Bone in Patients with Periprosthetic Joint Infections of the Knee
Authors: Biedermann Lara , Bandick Evgeniya , Ren Yi , Tsitsilonis Serafeim , Donner Stefanie , Müller Michael , Duda Georg , Perka Carsten , Kienzle Arne
Published: January 2023

Background:

Despite the general success of total knee arthroplasty (TKA), addressing periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) and the resulting long-term complications is a growing medical need given the aging population and the increasing demand for arthroplasty. A larger proportion of patients face revision surgery because of the long-term complication of aseptic loosening despite clearance of the infection. The pathomechanisms leading to prosthetic loosening are not understood as it has been widely assumed that the bone stock recovers after explantation revision surgery. While clinical observations suggest a reduced osteogenic potential in patients with PJI, knowledge regarding the relevant biology is sparse. In the present study, we investigated the inflammatory impact of PJI on the bone and bone marrow in the vicinity of the joint. Additionally, we evaluated changes in the local inflammatory environment in a 2-stage exchange at both explantation and reimplantation.

Methods:

In this study, we analyzed 75 human bone and bone-marrow specimens (obtained from 65 patients undergoing revision arthroplasty with cement for the treatment of PJI) for markers of inflammation. Samples were analyzed using hematoxylin and eosin overview staining, fluorescent immunohistochemical staining, flow cytometry, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

Results:

Leukocyte prevalence was significantly elevated at explantation (femur, +218.9%; tibia, +134.2%). While leukocyte prevalence decreased at reimplantation (femur, −49.5%; tibia, −34.2%), the number of cells remained significantly higher compared with the control group (femur, +61.2%; tibia, +54.2%). Expression of inflammatory markers interleukin (IL)-1α (femur, +2,748.7%; tibia, +1,605.9%), IL-6 (femur, +2,062.5%; tibia, +2,385.7%), IL-10 (femur, +913.7%; tibia, +897.5%), IL-12 (femur, +386.1%; tibia, +52.5%), IL-18 (femur, +805.3%; tibia, +547.7%), and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α (femur, +296.9%; tibia, +220.9%) was significantly elevated at prosthesis explantation in both femoral and tibial specimens. Expression remained significantly elevated at reimplantation for all inflammatory markers except IL-12 compared with the control group. Conversely, there were only limited inflammatory changes in the bone marrow environment.

Conclusions:

The present study demonstrated a strong and lasting upregulation of the proinflammatory environment in the joint-surrounding osseous scaffold in patients with PJI. Our data suggest that modulating the inflammatory environment has substantial potential to improve the clinical outcome in affected patients.
The Effect of Organizational Justice and Job Involvement on Turnover Intention with Job Satisfaction as an Intervening Variable
Authors: Anggela Deby Ayu , Andriani Dewi
Published: January 2023

This study aims to determine the effect of organizational justice and job involvement on turnover intent with job satisfaction as an intervening variable at PT Aggiomultimex International Group Sidoarjo. This research uses quantitative research with hypothesis testing. The sample used in this study were 118 employees at PT Aggiomultimex International Group Sidoarjo. The analytical tool used in this study uses statistical software. This study aims to determine the effect of organizational justice, job involvement version 2.5.0. The main data in this study came from a questionnaire. The results of this study prove that (1) organizational justice has a significant effect on turnover intention (2) job involvement has a significant effect on turnover intention (3) Organizational justice variable has no effect on turnover intention (4) Job involvement variable has a significant effect on turnover intention (5 ) Job satisfaction variable has a significant effect on turnover intention (6) Organizational justice variable has no effect on turnover intention through job satisfaction (7) Job involvement variable has a significant effect on turnover intention through job satisfaction
Research on Water-Conducting Fractured Zone Height under the Condition of Large Mining Height in Yushen Mining Area, China
Authors: Feng Dong , Hou Enke , Xie Xiaoshen , Hou Pengfei
Published: January 2023

Accurately predicting the development height of the water-conducting fracture zone (HW) is imperative for safe mining in coal mines, in addition to the protection of water resources and the environment. At present, there are relatively few fine-scale zoning studies that specifically focus on predicting the HW under high-intensity mining conditions in western China. In view of this, this paper takes the Yushen mining area as an example, studies the relationship between the water-conducting fissure zone and coal seam mining height, coal seam mining depth, hard rock scale factor, and working face slope length, finally proposing a method to determine the development height of the HW based on multiple nonlinear regression models optimized using the entropy weight method (EWM-MNR). To compare the reliability of this model, random forest regression (RFR) and support vector machine regression (SVR) models were constructed for prediction. The findings of this study showed that the results of the EWM-MNR model were in better agreement with the measured values. Finally, the model was used to accurately predict the development height of the hydraulic conductivity fracture zone in the 112201 working face of the Xiaobaodang coal mine. The research results provide a theoretical reference for water damage control and mine ecological protection in the Yushen mine and other similar high-intensity mining areas.
History-Matching and Forecasting Production Rate and Bottomhole Pressure Data Using an Enhanced Physics-Based Data-Driven Simulator
Authors: Li Ying , Alpak Faruk Omer , Jain Vivek , Lu Ranran , Onur Mustafa
Published: January 2023

In this study, we present a novel application of our newly developed physics-based data-driven interwell numerical simulator (INSIM) referred to as INSIM-BHP to history match highly variable real-life (oscillatory) oil rate and bottomhole pressure (BHP) data acquired daily in multiperforated wells produced from an oil reservoir with bottomwater drive mechanism. INSIM-BHP provides rapid and accurate computation of well rates and BHPs for history matching, forecasting, and production optimization purposes. It delivers precise BHP calculations under the influence of a limited aquifer drive mechanism. Our new version represents the physics of two-phase oil-water flow more authentically by incorporating a harmonic-mean transmissibility computation protocol and including an arithmetic-mean gravity term in the pressure equation. As the specific data set considered in this study contains a sequence of highly variable oil rate and BHP data, the data density requires INSIM-BHP to take smaller than usual timesteps and places a strain on the ensemble-smoother multiple data assimilation (ES-MDA) history-matching algorithm, which utilizes INSIM-BHP as the forward model. Another new feature of our simulator is the use of time-variant well indices and skin factors within the simulator’s well model to account for the effects of well events on reservoir responses such as scaling, sand production, and matrix acidizing. Another novel modification has been made to the wellhead term calculation to better mimic the physics of flow in the wellbore when the production rate is low, or the well(s) is(are) shut in. We compare the accuracy of the history-matched oil rate and BHP data and forecasted results as well as computational efficiency for history matching and future prediction by INSIM-BHP with those from a high-fidelity commercial reservoir simulator. Results show that INSIM-BHP yields accurate forecasting of wells' oil rates and BHPs on a daily level even under the influence of oscillatory rate schedules and changing operational conditions reflected as skin effects at the wells. Besides, it can help diagnose abnormal BHP measurements within simulation runs. Computational costs incurred by INSIM-BHP and a high-fidelity commercial simulator are evaluated for the real data set investigated in this paper. It has been observed that our physics-based, data-driven simulator is about two orders of magnitude faster than a conventional high-fidelity reservoir simulator for a single forward simulation. The specific field application results demonstrate that INSIM-BHP has great potential to be a rapid approximate capability for history matching and forecasting workflow in the investigated limited-volume aquifer-driven development.
Engineering Charts Development for Poroelastic Stress Analysis of Horizontal/Inclined Borehole and Its Application for Breakdown Pressure Prediction
Authors: Chen S. L. , Han Y. H. , Abousleiman Y. N.
Published: January 2023

This paper develops a set of engineering charts for the time-dependent stress and pore pressure responses at the wellbore surface under ramp-type, finite-length fluid-injection conditions, based on a semianalytical approach with the use of Laplace-Fourier integral transform technique, to facilitate the prediction of borehole breakdown pressure (BDP) for hydraulic fracturing operating practice. The charts are presented in a nondimensionalized form to cover a wide range of borehole/rock parameters, which, in combination with the approximate solution for the impermeable borehole drilling problem for small and large times, can be conveniently utilized to gain a rapid estimation of the lower and upper bounds for the desired BDP. It is found that the generated charts can be significantly affected by both the ramp time and the fluid discharge length but only slightly influenced by the poromechanics parameters of the rock formation. The potential applications of the produced engineering charts in the hydraulic fracturing breakdown analysis are shown in clear detail through an example demonstration. The new BDP model is deemed to be advantageous over the previous models, given that it can more realistically reflect the time-dependent nature of the pore pressure at the borehole surface during fluid injection and also that it has the capability of predicting the essential breakdown time. Comparisons have also been conducted for the BDP between the presently proposed chart-based analytical approach and the available experimental data from the laboratory studies of hydraulic fracturing by fluid injection, and the two results show an overall satisfactory agreement.
Tuned Low-Salinity Waterflooding in Carbonate Reservoirs: Impact of Cr2O72-, C6H5COO-, and SO42-
Authors: Ghalamizade Elyaderani Seyed Masoud , Saeedi Dehaghani Amir Hossein , Razavinezhad Javad
Published: January 2023

Recent studies have revealed that tuning SO42− concentration can significantly boost low-salinity waterflooding (LSWF) in carbonate reservoirs. In this study, for the first time, Cr2O72− and C6H5COO− were added to low-salinity water (LSW), and their effect on enhanced oil recovery (EOR) was investigated and compared with SO42−. This study aimed to primarily determine whether adding anions other than SO42− to LSW could further reduce interfacial tension (IFT) and make the carbonate surface water-wet thereby improve oil recovery. To this end, we added Cr2O72−, C6H5COO−, and SO42− to LSW at different concentrations and performed IFT, contact angle, and zeta potential experiments. Then, the flooding test was carried out in a calcite-coated micromodel for each anion at the optimal concentration. The results showed that the carbonate surface became water-wet and intermediate-wet as the concentrations of Cr2O72− and SO42− increased, respectively. However, the presence of C6H5COO− did not alter the carbonate surface wettability (i.e., it remained oil-wet). The calcite dissolution, ion pair formation, and salting-in effect mechanisms might alter the carbonate surface wettability. Also, IFT declined with increasing each anion concentration in LSW (with the highest reduction associated with Cr2O72−), but this reduction was not significant. Several mechanisms might lead to the IFT reduction, including the salting-in effect, H+ effect, and surface excess concentration. Regarding zeta potential tests, although raising the concentrations of Cr2O72− and SO42− could make the charge of the carbonate surface more negative, increasing the concentration of C6H5COO− had little effect on altering this charge. Additionally, Cr2O72− made the oil/brine zeta potential positive, although the oil/brine surface charge became negative in the presence of C6H5COO− and SO42−. As for anions’ affinity, Cr2O72− and C6H5COO− had the highest and the lowest affinity for the interface, respectively. Besides, the amount of oil recovery for LSW was 18.7±1.6%. Compared with LSW, LSW2S and LSW1Cr raised oil recovery by 3.6 and 14.3%, respectively. The results of this study support that Cr2O72− can be used in LSWF. Indeed, this anion (compared with SO42−) helps produce more oil from carbonate reservoirs by improving the parameters that are effective in EOR.
Energy-aware Scheduling Protocol based Hybrid Metaheuristic technique to optimize the lifespan in WSNs
Authors: Hameed Mazin Kadhum , IDREES Ali
Published: January 2023

Topology control is a significant research problem when it comes to designing energy-efficient Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). It is a metric for evaluating network service quality. To ensure the quality of network services, it is critical to provide energy-efficient sensor node scheduling in order to extend the network's lifespan. In this paper, we propose an Energy-aware Scheduling Protocol (ESP) based Hybrid Metaheuristic technique for minimizing the amount of energy consumption and ensuring sufficient coverage for the monitored area while maximizing the network lifespan for WSNs. The ESP consists of two phases: distributed clustering and sensor node scheduling. The clustering phase implements the DBSCAN clustering algorithm with slide modification to cluster the sensor nodes in the area of interest into clusters of nodes, and the cluster head will be elected every new period. This clustering is only performed at the beginning to group the nodes into clusters. Then, only the cluster head will be elected dynamically every period. In the scheduling phase, we model the scheduling optimization problem using three objectives: reducing the number of uncovered zones, minimizing the number of active sensors, and selecting the active sensor nodes with the maximum remaining energy. This scheduling optimization model is solved using a hybrid metaheuristic algorithm. The equilibration of exploration and exploitation abilities was further enhanced by incorporating the operators of the genetic algorithm into the regular Cuckoo algorithm, and greater search space was observed during the algorithms' performance. Extensive simulation experiments were conducted using the OMNeT++ network simulator. The results show that the proposed ESP protocol introduces better performance in terms of coverage ratio, active sensor ratio, energy consumption, network lifespan, and execution time compared to other existing techniques.
Evaluation of Automatic Single Cough Segmentations
Authors: Atmaja Bagus Tris , Sasou Akira
Published: January 2023

Research on diagnosing diseases based on voice signals currently are rapidly increasing, including cough-related diseases. When training the cough sound signals into deep learning models, it is necessary to have a standard input by segmenting several cough signals into individual cough signals. Previous research has been developed to segment cough signals from non-cough signals. This research evaluates the segmentation methods of several cough signals from a single audio file into several audio files containing a single file in each. We evaluate three different methods employing manual segmentation as a baseline and automatic segmentations. The results by two automatic segmentation methods obtained precisions of 73% and 70% compared to 49% by manual segmentation. The agreements of listening tests to count the number of correct singlecough segmentations show fair and moderate correlations for automatic segmentation methods and are comparable with manual segmentation.
Updated Seismic Hazard Curves, Maps, and Spectra for the Northern Dominican Republic using a Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Analysis
Authors: Erazo Kalil
Published: January 2023

This article presents updated seismic hazard curves, maps, and spectra of ground motion intensity parameters for the northern region of the Dominican Republic (DR) obtained using a probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA). The analysis uses as input data an earthquake recurrence model based on fault slip rates derived from GPS measurements published in the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti Earthquake. The seismicity rate data are used to calibrate a composite characteristic earthquake model, which is combined with a Poisson process to provide a temporal characterization of earthquake occurrence. The PSHA accounts for uncertainties in the analysis by modeling magnitude and site-to-rupture distance as random variables, considering the aleatory uncertainty associated to the ground motion prediction equations (GMPE) used for spatial characterization of earthquake-induced ground motions. The seismic hazard curves and maps include (horizontal) peak ground acceleration and pseudo-spectral response accelerations at 0.2s and 1.0s periods for 5% damping and firm rock sites. The results show that the ground motion parameters with a 2% probability of exceedance (PE) in 50 years determined in this study are up to 46% larger than the corresponding parameters specified in the current DR building code for the northern DR. Moreover, the design response spectra for a site in the city of Santiago specified in the code is significantly lower than the 2% PE in 50 years uniform hazard spectra determined in this study for periods smaller than 0.5s, a range that includes the majority of the structures that define the built environment of the DR.
Rapid partial nitrification reactor start-up and its feasibility as an anammox preprocess
Authors: Jin Yue , Zhang Xuli , Li Haixiang , Wu Zhicheng , Zhang Wenjie
Published: January 2023

In this study, a laboratory-scale partial nitrification reactor (PNR) was used to treat high-ammonia-nitrogen wastewater, with changing the influent NH4+-N load rate (INLR) as the main operating strategy, to investigate the upper limit of its NH4+-N load rate (NLR) and explore its use as an anammox pre-process. During the experiment, PNR was successfully activated in only ten days. The PNR reached the highest NLR value of approximately 9.79 kg N/(m3·d) when the INLR was 16.29 kg N/(m3·d), and the NH4+-N conversion rate (NCR) was 59.61% at this time. The value of [NO2--N]Eff/[NH4+-N]Eff was approximately 1.37. It is proved that it is feasible to use this PNR as a pre-process of anammox. The PCR-DGGE results showed that the dominant phylum and genus in the reactor during the INLR experiment were Proteobacteria and Nitrosomonas, respectively. With the increase in the INLR, the relative concentration of Nitrosomonas sp. G1 increased from 15–40%. This indicates that its abundance is directly correlated with the increase in the INLR. High-throughput sequencing showed that reducing the INLR of the PNR greatly reduced the diversity and abundance of the system microbial community structure and changed the dominant phylum and genus; however, the stability of the system was not disrupted. We hypothesize that the stability of the PNR mainly depended on the growth and changes of the functional bacteria in the reactor, and had little relationship with the diversity and abundance of the microbial community in the system.
A Novel Prognostic Risk Model for Necroptosis-associated Genes in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
Authors: Liu Yueyao , Gou Lin , Ma Zhi-gui
Published: January 2023

Background
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a hematological malignancy with high heterogeneity that develops in both children and adults. Necroptosis is a newly recognized form of cell death. Nevertheless, the prognostic significance and functions of necroptosis-related genes (NRGs) in ALL have not received sufficient attention. This study aimed to evaluate the association between NRGs levels and ALL prognosis using publicly available datasets.
Methods
RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) data and clinical information for ALL patients were obtained from the Therapeutically Applicable Research to Generate Effective Treatments (TARGET) database. Univariate Cox and LASSO regression analyses were applied to select prognosis-related genes for the construction of a prognostic risk-scoring model. Internal and external validation proved the model efficient. Furthermore, we explored the correlation of the prognostic risk model with immune infiltration and drug resistance.
Results
A total of 7 necroptosis-related genes (NRGs), namely BIRC2, PKP3, MERTK, KL, ESR2, TLE6, and TET2, were used to construct a survival prognostic model. The model exhibited excellent performance in the TARGET cohort and validation group and had good prediction accuracy in screening out high-risk ALL patients. Functional analysis showed that tumor immune microenvironment and drug resistance differed between high- and low-risk groups.
Conclusion
Our NRGs risk score model is a promising strategy for the prediction of ALL patients’ prognosis.
Is it possible to derive a mathematical physical form for Euler’s formula in the reality of complex harmonic oscillator?
Authors: Sanduk Mohammed
Published: January 2023

Euler’s formula is a pure mathematical formula. In spite of its nonphysical nature, the form of this formula has a genuine fundamental role in quantum mechanics, but with no physical reason for this role. Philosophically, Heisenberg has proposed Kantian ideas in physics like “nature in itself”, unobservable nature, and “nature as appears”. He proposed a possibility of mathematical formulation for a system in nature in itself. In the present work, a mathematical model of rolling circles in real space has been proposed as a model for a system in nature in itself. Observation process acts as a transformation of the system to a model in observable nature. Partial observation transforms the real position vector of a point in that system to a form similar to the Euler’s formula. That causes the appearance of the imaginary unit. Interestingly, the transformed real kinematical forms exhibit similarity with the forms of relativistic quantum mechanics.
The impact of renewable energy consumption and technology progress on CO2 emissions in the long run: Evidence from Turkey
Authors: Mukhtarov Shahriyar
Published: January 2023

This paper analyzes the impact of renewable energy consumption, TFP as proxy of technology progress, income, imports and exports on consumption-based CO2 emissions for the Turkey from 1990 to 2019, utilizing the ARDL method. The findings indicated that use of renewable energy, TFP and exports have a negative influence on CO2 emissions. On the other hand, the positive impact of income and import on CO2 emissions were found. The negative impact of renewable energy consumption and TFP highlights the importance of implementing environmentally friendly measures in both the energy sector (in particular, raising the proportion of renewable energy in overall energy consumption) and technology innovation.
Management of Potato Brown Rot Disease by Chemically and Eco-Friendly Produced CuO-NPs, MgO-NPs
Authors: Rabea Amira , Naeem E. , Balabel Naglaa M. , Daigham Ghadir
Published: January 2023

Background: In terms of production and consumption, the potato crop is one of the major vegetables in Egypt. The brown rot disease causes enormous losses to the potato industry every year. To lower the risk of pesticide residues, this study focuses on the effective suppression of R. solanacearum, the agent responsible for brown rot disease in potatoes, both in vitro and in vivo with efficient, economical, and environmentally friendly medication CuO and MgO metal oxide nanoparticles.
Results: In the current study, CuO and MgO metal oxide nanoparticles were produced using a simple chemical process. Using UV-visible spectroscopy, TEM, the Zeta potential, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Infrared spectroscopy using Fourier transform (FTIR), the average particle size, the morphology, and the structure of nanoparticles were investigated. Antibacterial effects against R. solanacearum's growth were strongly suppressed by CuO-NPs and MgO-NPs at 3 mg/mL; ZOI measured 19.3 mm, and 17 mm, respectively. The (MIC) stands for minimum inhibitory concentration while (MBC) stands for minimum bactericidal concentration for CuO-NPs and MgO-NPs, respectively, they were measured to be 0.5, 0.6, and 0.6, 0.75 mg/mL. As-prepared CuO-NPs and MgO-NPs at MIC concentrations considerably reduced the disease occurrence to 71.2% and 69.4%, respectively, as opposed to 43.0% and 39.5% persisted in the bulk CuSO4 and bulk MgSO4, according to in-vivo application verified by seed dressing with tuber soaking application. As compared to infected plants, the yield, total chlorophyll content, and enzyme efficiency of potatoes all increased significantly. After interactions with CuO-NPs and MgO-NPs, lipid peroxidation and ultrastructural investigations using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) demonstrated that the cytomembrane of bacteria was severely harmed by nanomechanical forces.
Conclusion: The promising CuO-NPs and MgO-NPs for use as intelligent substances for agriculture management of the plant pathogen since it paves the way for future investigations on the use of metal oxide nanoparticles as risk-free options to treat plant diseases that are the biggest challenges. Consequently, the notable increase in the yield of the potato crop, photosynthetic pigments, enzymatic activity, and total phenol promote resistance to the Ralstonia solanacearum compared to the infected control.
High expression of CXCL9 gene promotes immune invasion and improves the prognosis of patients with endometrial cancer
Authors: Zhang Meng , Li Ruiping , Zhang Shan , Wang Yunyun , Zhang Jiaxi , Guo Yuzhen
Published: January 2023

Objective: CXCL9 plays a key role in immune cell chemotaxis and inhibition of tumor angiogenesis. The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic value of CXCL9 in endometrial cancer (EC) and the impact on the immune microenvironment.
Methods：RNA sequencing data for EC patients were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases, while clinicopathological information for EC patients was obtained from the TCGA database. Cox univariate and multivariate analyses were used, followed by the construction and validation of nomograms. CXCL9 expression and survival analysis, gene correlation and immune infiltration correlation analysis, and pathway enrichment analysis were performed using UALCAN, Kaplan-Meier, GeneMANIA, STRING, TIMER, cBioPortal, muTarget, CIBERSORT, TISIDB, GO, KEGG and GSEA tools.
Results：CXCL9 was significantly upregulated in EC. Cox univariate and multivariate analysis showed that CXCL9 was an independent predictor of overall survival (OS), disease specific survival (DSS) and progression free interval (PFI) (P<0.05). However, increased CXCL9 expression predicted prolonged OS, DSS and PFI (P<0.05). In addition, CXCL9 was positively correlated with immune cell infiltration and correlated with marker genes of multiple immune pathways as well as marker genes of immune checkpoints. GSEA enrichment analysis suggests that high CXCL9 expression plays an important role in immune cell migration, activation and other functions.
Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that high CXCL9 expression was a predictor of good prognosis in patients with EC and may be associated with the recruitment of immune cells to the tumor microenvironment in the tumor tissue to function as an anti-tumor immune response.
Criticality of isolation valves in water distribution networks with hydraulics and topology
Authors: Wéber Richárd , Huzsvár Tamás , Déllei Ákos , Hős Csaba
Published: January 2023

Purpose:Occasional, random pipe bursts are inevitable in water distribution networks; thus, the proper operation of isolation valves is critical. The damaged segment is segregated using the neighbouring valves during shutdown, causing the smallest isolation possible. This study analyses the importance of isolation valves individually from the perspective of the demand shortfall increment.Methods:An in-house, open-source software called STACI performs demand-driven simulations to solve the hydraulic equations with pressure-dependent demand determining the nodal pressures, the volumetric flow rates, and the consumption loss. The system has an additional consumption loss if an isolation valve cannot be closed. The criticality of an isolation valve is the increment in the relative demand shortfall caused by its malfunction. Moreover, centrality indices from complex network theory are applied to estimate the criticality without the need for computationally expensive hydraulic simulations.Results:The distribution of criticality values follows a power-law trend, i.e. some of the isolation valves have significantly higher importance during a shutdown. Moreover, Spearman's rank correlation coefficients between the centrality and criticality values indicate limited applicability.Conclusion:The criticality analysis can highlight which isolation valves have higher importance during reconstruction planning or maintenance. The Katz and the Degree centrality show a moderate positive correlation to the criticality, i.e., if numerous hydraulic simulations are not feasible, these quantities give an acceptable estimation.