bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Diversity of Sand Snakes (Psammophiidae, Psammophis) in the Horn of Africa, with the description of a new species from Somalia
Authors: Šmíd Jiří , Fernández Sergio Matilla , Elmi Hassan Sh Abdirahman , Mazuch Tomáš
Published: June 2023

The biological diversity of the Horn of Africa is one of the least studied in the world. Yet the Horn supports rich communities of species that are mostly endemic to the region. Here we study the diversity of Sand Snakes (Psammophis) in East Africa, their phylogeny and systematics. Previous studies have unveiled several cryptic and potentially undescribed species of Psammophis that occur in the Horn and their taxonomic status has remained unclear to this day. We used sequence data from two mitochondrial and one nuclear genes to reconstruct the phylogeny of the genus, in which we included newly obtained samples of six different Psammophis species from Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, and Egypt. Our aim was to assess the status of some of the undescribed species, examine the level of intraspecific genetic variation within individual species, improve our understanding of the species distributions, and contribute to the taxonomy of the genus. Our results confirm the existence of two undescribed species, one in eastern Somalia, which we formally describe as new, and one in southern Ethiopia that we refer to as Psammophis cf. sudanensis in accordance with previous studies. Further, we provide first genetic data for the nominotypical subspecies of P. punctulatus and confirm the species status for its subspecies P. trivirgatus. In addition, we provide new genetic data for P. tanganicus from Ethiopia and Somalia, and range extension records for P. rukwae from Eritrea and Ethiopia and for P. aegyptius from Somalia. Our findings contribute considerably to our understanding of the diversity and distribution of Psammophis in East Africa.
Entreprises métallurgiques et « économie circulaire » (Pyrénées, XIII e -XVI e siècles)
Authors: Téreygeol Florian , Verna Catherine
Published: June 2023

Pour les médiévistes qui abordent la question de l’économie circulaire, la difficulté réside dans la capacité à rassembler des sources, écrites comme matérielles, au niveau de l’entreprise. Les résultats présentés ici sont le fruit d’une recherche de longue haleine à partir de documents rares. Dans ce contexte, l’étude se concentre sur les Pyrénées centrales et orientales (du Couserans au Canigou), du XIII e au XVI e  siècle. Elle porte spécifiquement sur des entreprises métallurgiques. Des pratiques sont identifiées : le contrôle et l’optimisation de la production minière, la valorisation des déchets et celle des produits à faible valeur ajoutée, ainsi que le réemploi des matériaux.
Le marché des sous-produits urbains (France, fin XVIII e -début XX e siècles)
Authors: Barles Sabine
Published: June 2023

L’utilisation des sous-produits urbains est fréquente dans l’histoire urbaine européenne. Cependant elle connaît un essor sans précédent au XIX e  siècle et constitue l’un des marqueurs de l’industrialisation. Les besoins agricoles et industriels engendrent une activité intense de récupération, que ce soit au sein du secteur du chiffonnage (qui ne porte pas que sur les chiffons), de celui de la vidange (urine et excréments humains extraits des fosses d’aisance) ou enfin de celui des boues de rue. Ces secteurs concernent un grand nombre de travailleurs et voient la naissance et la croissance d’un grand nombre d’entreprises. Les brevets sont nombreux, les profits parfois considérables. C’est le propos de cet article que d’analyser ces activités de valorisation, qui ne sont pas sans faire écho aux débats actuels portant sur l’économie circulaire.
The timber procurement by the coal mining industry in modern Japan
Authors: Yamaguchi Asuka
Published: June 2023

La Hokkaidō Colliery & Railway Company (HCRC), rebaptisée Hokkaidō Colliery & Steamship Company (HCSC) en 1906, était une importante société d’exploitation du charbon au Japon. Cet article examine les changements intervenus dans l’approvisionnement en bois depuis la création de la société en 1898 jusqu’à la fin de la guerre du Pacifique en 1945, afin de mettre au jour les liens entre l’industrialisation, la déforestation et la conservation des forêts au niveau de l’entreprise. L’industrie minière utilisant généralement une grande quantité de bois pour soutenir les tunnels et les fronts de taille, certaines entreprises charbonnières étaient non seulement de grandes consommatrices de bois, mais encore d’importantes propriétaires et gestionnaires de forêts afin d’assurer leur approvisionnement en bois de mine. Après que le gouvernement a décidé de transférer les forêts domaniales aux entreprises privées pour promouvoir le développement de l’île d’Hokkaidō, HCSC a vu les forêts qu’elle détient s’étendre. Toutefois elle s’approvisionnait en bois de mine principalement sur le marché, et considérait donc ses forêts non comme un mode d’approvisionnement en bois, mais comme un tampon pendant les périodes de pénurie et d’augmentation des prix du marché. Occasionnellement, HCSC a utilisé du bois de mine provenant de ses propres forêts pour désinciter les marchands de bois à augmenter les prix du bois de mine. Ainsi, le comportement commercial de la HCSC étant rationalisé selon la situation du marché, elle a presque abandonné ses efforts de conservation des forêts durant les contrôles économiques du temps de guerre. Les résultats de cette étude de cas suggèrent que la priorité de la HCSC était de maintenir un approvisionnement durable en bois de mine sur le marché, puis de préserver ses ressources forestières.
Les entreprises de boissons et la consignation dans l’histoire : une comparaison européenne
Authors: Marty Nicolas
Published: June 2023

L’objectif de cet article est de reconstituer la trajectoire de la consignation des emballages des boissons industrielles et d’interroger son intégration dans l’économie circulaire depuis la création des marchés des boissons industrielles à la fin du XIX e  siècle jusqu’à aujourd’hui. L’article prend pour terrain privilégié la France, en la comparant à plusieurs autres pays industrialisés. Pour répondre à cet objectif, il analyse les enjeux pour les différentes entreprises engagées dans ces marchés, depuis les producteurs jusqu’aux détaillants en passant par les grossistes et les fabricants d’emballages. Trois périodes sont distinguées. La première, entre les années 1880 et les années 1930, est caractérisée par le fait que la consignation apparaît comme le principal dispositif, parmi d’autres, permettant le réemploi des bouteilles, dans une importante circularité initiale. Entre la fin des années 1930 et la fin des années 1940, les États interviennent, dans le cadre de l’économie dirigée et faisant face à diverses pénuries, pour diffuser encore plus largement ce dispositif. Après la Seconde Guerre mondiale, la consignation est marginalisée en France par la diffusion des emballages à usage unique, dans une sorte de triomphe de l’économie linéaire. Le passage à la consommation de masse conduit alors les producteurs à chercher à responsabiliser les consommateurs du fait de la diffusion des déchets. Ceux-ci sont tenus de participer à leur gestion dans une prise de conscience du gaspillage généralisé que suscite l’emballage perdu. Les éco-organismes promeuvent alors une circularité faible en favorisant le recyclage plutôt que le réemploi. Le renouveau actuel de la consignation pourrait permettre pourtant d’envisager une circularité forte. La consignation diffère selon les pays et les branches, ce que permet de souligner l’approche comparatiste. L’étude des rapports de forces entre différents types d’entreprises impliquées dans ces marchés est ainsi fondamentale pour en comprendre l’histoire.
La place du patient dans l’environnement numérique : l’exemple de l’implication des patients partenaires avec le Centre d’Innovation du Partenariat de Soin avec les Patients et le Public (CI3P)
Authors: Flora Luigi
Published: June 2023

Si la place des patients dans un environnement numérique prend chaque jour un peu plus de place dans les systèmes de santé, un environnement accéléré ces trois dernières années par l’impact de la pandémie mondiale de la Covid-19, diverses questions se posent tant au sujet des services proposés et de leur accessibilité qu’en terme d’acceptabilité sociale. Leur participation dans l’élaboration des moyens et services à mettre en œuvre à l’orée de la révolution des patients demandée il y a quelques années par le British Medical Journal , revue phare des revues de médecine basées sur les preuves ( Evidence Based medicine ) (Richards et al, 2013) 1 serait-elle une des réponses possibles ? C’est cette question qu’aborde cet article à travers l’exemple de ce que fédère le Centre d’Innovation du Partenariat avec les Patients et le Public (CI3P) de la faculté de médecine d’Université Côte d’Azur.
Normal forms, invariant manifolds and Lyapunov theorems
Authors: Żołądek Henryk
Published: June 2023

We present an approach to Lyapunov theorems about a center for germs of analytic vector fields based on the Poincaré–Dulac and Birkhoff normal forms. Besides new proofs of three Lyapunov theorems, we prove their generalization: if the Poincaré–Dulac normal form indicates the existence of a family of periodic solutions, then such a family really exists. We also present new proofs of Weinstein and Moser theorems about lower bounds for the number of families of periodic solutions; here, besides the normal forms, some topological tools are used, i.e., the Poincaré–Hopf formula and the Lusternik–Schnirelmann category on weighted projective spaces.
Enhancing technology leaders' instructional leadership through a project-based learning online course
Authors: Wu Min Lun , Li Lan , Zhou Yuchun
Published: June 2023

This study detailed the course design principles and implementation of project-based learning (PBL) in a technology-themed graduate-level online course. Students were trained to develop knowledge and skills in instructional leadership, such as the capability to design, deliver, and evaluate educational technology professional development programs. Pre- and post- survey data were collected to examine any change in students' knowledge and skills in instructional leadership by completing this course (N = 18). Quantitative findings revealed positive learning outcomes, and there was statistical significance regarding student improvement in knowledge and skills of instructional leadership, rendering the PBL approach viable.
KARAKTERISTIKE OBITELJSKOG OKRUŽENJA I ZADOVOLJSTVO OBITELJSKIM ŽIVOTOM IZ PERSPEKTIVE ADOLESCENATA
Authors: Ferić Martina , Mihić Josipa , Novak Miranda , Kranželić Valentina
Published: June 2023

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FAMILY AND ADOLESCENTS’ FAMILY LIFE SATISFACTION ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is to determine adolescents’ family life satisfaction and to investigate whether there are differences in adolescents’ family life satisfaction depending on the personal characteristics of the study participants (gender, age) and family characteristics (family structure, education and employment of parents). The study involved 10,138 students from all grades of high schools from five major Croatian cities: Zagreb, Osijek, Split, Pula, and Varaždin. The quota sample was stratified with respect to three Croatian secondary school programs, three- and four-year vocational schools and grammar schools, and individual orientations within each of the schools. In the total sample, 47.5% were young men (N = 4,595) and the mean age was Mage = 16.2 (SDage = 1.16). Of the total number of participants, 4.5% (N = 456) did not report their gender. The results show that there are differences in adolescents’ family life satisfaction in terms of gender, age, living with both parents or one parent, and parents’ educational and work status. The results point to the need for a timely implementation of effective parenting skills programs and preventive interventions aimed at the family or parents, considering the gender of adolescents. Low levels of parental education and unemployment are associated with lower levels of adolescents’ satisfaction with their family life. Systematic investments through national policies and programs that increase opportunities for (lifelong) education and employment for parents seem to be important for investing in the quality of the family environment. Key words: adolescents; family life satisfaction; family environment
KVALITETA ŽIVOTA ODRASLIH OSOBA S INTELEKTUALNIM TEŠKOĆAMA I NJIHOVIH RODITELJA: SPOZNAJE I SPECIFIČNOSTI
Authors: Buljevac Marko , Liber Petra , Previšić Antonela
Published: June 2023

Marko Buljevac Petra Liber Antonela Previšić QUALITY OF LIFE OF ADULTS WITH INTELLECTUAL DIFFICULTIES AND THEIR PARENTS: INSIGHTS AND SPECIFICITIES ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is to summarize and explore certain specificities of individual domains of the quality of life of adults with intellectual difficulties and their parents. The paper presents, describes and discusses insights into and specificities of personal development, self-determination, interpersonal relations, social inclusion, rights, emotional well-being, physical well-being and material well-being of adults with intellectual difficulties, as well as physical health, psychological health, social relations and environment of the parents of adults with intellectual difficulties. The aforementioned domains with related indicators show the quality of life of the families of persons with intellectual difficulties who are frequent users of the formal support system. The quality of life of adults with intellectual difficulties and their parents is determined through different subjective and objective indicators, and it is affected by variousfactors,such assupport,social networks, formalsupportsystem, but also by certain characteristics of individuals. Persons with intellectual difficulties influence the quality of life of their parents, and the parents affect the quality of life of their adult children with intellectual difficulties. The quality of life represents an important concept in work with families of persons with intellectual difficulties and it should be determined in order to gain an insight into the lives of adults with intellectual difficulties and their parents, but also as a feedback about the support provided within the formal support system. Keywords: quality of life; quality of life domains; quality of life of adults with intellectual difficulties; quality of life of the parents of adults with intellectual difficulties
A Context-Aware Framework to Manage the Priority of Injured Persons Arriving at Emergencies
Authors: Ouakasse Fathia , Stitini Oumaima , Rakrak Said
Published: June 2023

The integration of Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) in Hospital system has modified the traditional medical service as a reactive system based on hospitalization and diseases to a preventive and interoperable system based mainly on the interactive data flow between patient and health professionals. Using medical connected objects (MCOs), medical data is collected and processed. According to gathered data, the new medical system should be able to sort patient states based on urgent and critical vital signs, and consequently priorities are defined. In this paper, we direct our attention to manage priority in hospital emergencies in order to adapt dynamically operations and interactions with different stakeholders according to the changes in their execution context. Indeed, based on data sensed from MCOs implemented in ambulances, emergency rooms might be prepared to receive injured persons like victims of road accidents or other incidents. Therefore, we design a context-aware monitoring framework for injured people based on gathered medical data to manage priorities.
Design of an Adaptive State Anesthesia Feedback Controller
Authors: Imad Ali Faten , Al-Saffar Mais , Ali Sadek Noor
Published: June 2023

Anesthesia is critical in medical procedures to ensure the patient's body remains stable and unresponsive during surgery. However, administering the correct dose can be challenging, particularly in prolonged surgeries. An auto-controlled system that incorporates vital sensors and a microprocessor controller has been proposed to address this issue. This system uses an infusion pump to provide the correct amount of anesthetic based on the patient's vital signs. The microprocessor takes control of the system once initiated and signals the motor driver to start injecting the required amount of anesthesia while monitoring vital signs such as temperature, heartbeat, and Spo2. The system alerts the doctor if any abnormality is detected, and the supply of anesthetic is stopped until everything returns to normal. This system ensures accurate anesthetic dosage, minimizing the risk of complications and ensuring a safe surgical procedure.
Clinical and Diagnostic Presentation on Myocardial Biology
Authors: Chakrabarty Susmita , Mishra Monali Priyadarsini , Giri Nimay Chandra
Published: June 2023

Myocardial infarction (MI) is known as a critical medical emergency that necessitates urgent medical intervention due to its life-threatening nature. Traditional treatment methods, such as medication, surgery, and cardiac rehabilitation, have significantly improved patient outcomes. Understanding the intricate biology of the myocardium is crucial for accurately diagnosing and effectively managing various cardiac conditions. Here the abstract highlights the key aspects of clinical and diagnostic presentation pertaining to myocardial biology. However, emerging technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT) present novel opportunities to enhance diagnosis and treatment approaches for MI. This research proposal aims to investigate the potential benefits of IoT-based diagnosis & treatment for myocardial infection and its impact on patient outcomes. Additionally, it explores the clinical manifestations and diagnostic approaches employed to assess myocardial function and identify pathological conditions.
A Deep Learning-Based Vector Autoregressive-Gated Recurrent Unit Hybrid Model for Long-Term Forecasting of Weather Parameters for Smart Farms
Authors: Sabat Naba Krushna , Nayak Rashmiranjan , Pati Umesh Chandra , Das Santos Kumar
Published: June 2023

Agriculture is inextricably linked to the environment. Climate change has an effect directly on agricultural activities. India gets severely impacted if there is a loss of yields, which affects human lives. Hence, monitoring climate and its impact on the agricultural field is essential for a country like India. This chapter proposes a novel deep learning-based hybrid vector autoregressive–gated recurrent unit model (VAR-GRU model) for weather forecasting involving the four important weather parameters such as temperature, pressure, humidity, and wind speed for the cities of Bengaluru and temperature, pressure, dew point, and wind speed for the cities of Dongsi. The effectiveness of the proposed VAR-GRU model is proven by comparing its performance metrics (MAE, MSE, RMSE, and R2 Score) with that of other baseline models such as LSTM, VAR, GRU, and another hybrid VAR-LSTM model. The outcomes of this research work can help in increasing crop yields by utilizing the weather forecasting results in smart farming applications.
AI-Enabled Crop Recommendation System Based on Soil and Weather Patterns
Authors: Sharma Priyanka , Dadheech Pankaj , Senthil Kumar Senthil A. V.
Published: June 2023

Agriculture is the foremost factor which is important for the survival of human beings. Farming contributes to a very big part of GDP; still, several areas exist where improvements are required. One of those is crop recommendation. Crop productivity is boosted as a result of accurate crop prediction. As crop production has already started to suffer from climate change, improving crop output is consequently desirable because agronomists are impotent to select the appropriate crop(s) depending on environmental and soil parameters, and the mechanism of forecasting the selection of the appropriate crops manually has failed. Factors like soil characteristics, soil types, climate characteristics, temperature, rainfall, area, humidity, geographic location etc. affect crop forecast. This chapter focuses mainly on building a recommendation system, i.e., suggesting the kind of the crop by applying various machine learning and deep learning techniques depending upon several parameters. The system would help the farmers for the appropriate decision to be taken regarding the crop type.
Context Good Practices in Energy Matrix Focused Towards a Hydrogen Economy
Authors: Ocampo Pablo Cesar , León Jeffrey , Blekhman David
Published: June 2023

This chapter of the book consists of documenting the different practices in relation to the energy matrix through a systematic analysis of deductive literature in which hydrogen fuel is a fundamental element in the energy transition in a hydrogen economy in Colombia. During the investigation it was observed that Colombia is becoming one of the countries that is betting on the leadership of energy transformation in Latin America, followed by Chile, Brazil, Uruguay, and Mexico. Colombia hopes to become the colossus of the hydrogen economy and sustainability in the region.
Inching Towards Sustainability in Developing Countries
Authors: Sawhney Anahita , Mehra Pooja
Published: June 2023

Sustainable development stands on three core elements: environment, economy, and social equity. The environment is under constant pressure from a long list of hazards. Even though there have been various innovations and developments of new practices to reduce the pressure and tackle the negative externalities, there still seems to be a long way to go. This chapter lays its entire focus on the sustainable consumption and production patterns of the food industry in the developing countries, while paying special attention to India and the impacts it has on the human habitat. The current state of the environment calls for the innovation of methods which lead to an efficient future. To understand more of this, a study was run on the people of Delhi, NCR so as to understand their current degree of awareness about sustainability, their consumption behaviours, and the importance laid on sustainability. The impact of factors like price, nutrition, taste, availability, convenience, sustainability, brand reputation, and packaging were also highlighted.
Promoting Document Relevance Using Query Term Proximity for Exploratory Search
Authors: Singh Vikram
Published: June 2023

In the information retrieval system, relevance manifestation is pivotal and regularly based on document-term statistics, i.e., term frequency (tf), inverse document frequency (idf), etc. Query term proximity (QTP) within matched documents is mostly under-explored. In this article, a novel information retrieval framework is proposed to promote the documents among all relevant retrieved ones. The relevance estimation is a weighted combination of document statistics and query term statistics, and term-term proximity is simply aggregates of diverse user preferences aspects in query formation, thus adapted into the framework with conventional relevance measures. Intuitively, QTP is exploited to promote the documents for balanced exploitation-exploration, and eventually navigate a search towards goals. The evaluation asserts the usability of QTP measures to balance several seeking tradeoffs, e.g., relevance, novelty, result diversification (coverage, topicality), and overall retrieval. The assessment of user search trails indicates significant growth in a learning outcome (due to novelty).
Identification and Tracking of Groups of People using Object Detection and Object Tracking
Authors: Sandeepanie Tharuja , Fernando Subha
Published: June 2023

Object detection is one of the most important areas in the fields of Data Science and Computer Vision. In this paper, we present a novel approach to identifying and tracking groups of people, couples, and individuals in videos by using deep learning-based object detection and object tracking techniques along with a proposed grouping algorithm. In this approach, transfer learning is applied on YOLO v3 model for the detection of people in video frames, and Deep SORT is applied for tracking each detected person throughout the video. Results obtained from person detection and person tracking were used by the proposed grouping algorithm to identify and track groups, couples, and individuals who are appearing in input videos. Our proposed grouping algorithm is based on the proximity between each individual and the time duration that proximity is maintained for. It also considers how to identify and track groups, when people are moving within the groups. This approach was evaluated using CCTV videos captured from the restaurant domain and it was able to perform the group detection and tracking tasks successfully with a precision of 0.7083, recall of 0.7906 and F1 score of 0.7471.
Psychiatry for all: enhancing medical practice and patient outcomes through psychiatric education for all doctors
Authors: Hanwella R.
Published: June 2023

This article emphasizes the importance of studying psychiatry for all medical professionals. Psychiatry deals with mental, emotional, and behavioural disorders, and a strong understanding of the field leads to more holistic, effective, and empathetic patient care. Key reasons for doctors to study psychiatry include adapting a biopsychosocial model of care, early identification and intervention for psychiatric disorders, improved health outcomes, better communication skills, combating stigma surrounding mental health, multidisciplinary collaboration, personal growth and self-care, and a more comprehensive approach to chronic illness management. Integrating psychiatry into medical education prepares doctors for the challenges they will face in their careers, ultimately improving the quality of patient care. The practice of offering internships in psychiatry, as seen in countries like UK and Australia, should be encouraged globally to create a cohort of doctors knowledgeable in the basics of psychiatry, ultimately reducing the impact of a shortage of psychiatrists and improving overall healthcare.
Aetiology, classification, and treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder: an update
Authors: Hewagama M. , Wickramasinghe A.
Published: June 2023

No abstract available
A SW V&V Practitioner's Perspective on EASA's Guidance for ML Applications
Authors:   Genuen LLC, Barbour Daniel , Mulryan Robert , Altoe Filipe
Published: June 2023

The development of autonomous electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft to serve the commercial market for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) is expected to accelerate the introduction of Machine Learning (ML) based systems into the national and international airspace. Facing this prospect, aerospace advisory groups, the European Organisation for Civil Aviation Equipment (EUROCAE) and SAE International, established working groups in 2019 to begin studying the challenges associated with certifying the use of these new technologies. In 2021, leveraging off these studies, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) published 'EASA Concept Paper: First usable guidance for Level 1 machine learning applications.' Previously, Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics' (RTCA) document DO-178C and EUROCAE's ED-12C (Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification) standards have been the true north for serious practitioners of Software Verification and Validation (V&V) activities performed for the aerospace industry. This whitepaper presents a commentary on initial concerns expressed by the community on how the implementation of ML solutions could affect overall verification and validation of aerospace applications. It focuses the evaluation on the initial recommendations presented in section 3 of the concept paper, titled 'Learning Assurance'.
Army Aviation Reusable Operating Environment Component Certification
Authors:   Parry Labs, Walsh Dave ,   Collins Aerospace, Brown Mark ,   Lynx, Keegan Will ,   US Army AvMC, Dennis Scott ,   JHNA, Hammond Alan ,   RTI, Downing Chip , Adams Tony , Carter Glenn
Published: June 2023

The Program Executive Office (PEO) Aviation (AVN) Enterprise has identified a Major System Component (MSC) titled, 'Aviation Mission Computing Environment' (AMCE) and is developing its Component Specification Model (CSM). The AMCE CSM consists of configurable processing, Software Operating Environment (SOE), and software loading requirements. The PEO AVN Enterprise has determined that the resulting MSC developed by a supplier meeting the AMCE CSM shall 'acilitate incremental deployment of capabilities'. This paper first intends to draw attention to specific MOSA related benefits we hope to achieve in our industry and call out the key impediments to productivity in our standards and software development tools. We then propose definitions of software modules, operating system properties and key interface standards for two distinct SOEs for the AMCE CSM: a mission system SOE, and a safety critical SOE intended to address the Army Aviation Airworthiness Release (AWR) viewpoint and associated software levels of reuse.
Leveraging Advanced Engineering Visualization for Human Factors Analysis on Future Vertical Lift Development Programs
Authors:   The Boeing Company, Fischer Douglas , Layman Kirk , Tamasi George
Published: June 2023

This paper will discuss a Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) approach that leverages virtual reality, and augmented reality to shape and optimize design for cockpit, cabin, and maintenance interfaces during the initial design development. The Boeing Company is leveraging these new technologies to improve system design, usability, production performance, training, and safety. Use of this method in the design lifecycle ensures compliance with operational requirements, creates an accurate and detailed maintenance plan and influences engineering to optimize usability and deliver a maintainable product. This technique allows engineers to identify non-compliances promptly in the design process and iterate the design in real-time with user participation to satisfy the customer and operator requirements. This improves initial quality, eliminates production rework and prevents downstream program costs and delays by revealing design deficiencies earlier than previously achievable
Aeromechanical and Aeroelastic Effects of the Blade Structural Design of a Coaxial Rotor by the Physically Coupled Mid-Fidelity Aerodynamics
Authors:   Seoul National University, Im Byeonguk , Lee Hyunjae , Kong Kunhyuk , Ko Gwangian , Shin SangJoon
Published: June 2023

A physically coupled mid-fidelity aeromechanical and aeroelastic analysis is used to investigate the effects for a compound coaxial rotorcraft rigid blade structural design in terms of the dimensionless parameter such as Lock number, advance ratio, and lift-offset. A rigid compound coaxial rotorcraft X2 technology demonstrator is represented by the comprehensive rotorcraft analysis CAMRAD II, where the physical components of the main rotor, pusher propeller, fuselage and empennage are analyzed using the generalized free wake and vortex theory. The aerodynamic coefficients are computed by MSES and DATCOM+, and rotor cross-section properties are designed using VABS. Three blade design candidates are created for different Lock number, and systematic trim analyses are conducted by the different lift-offset and advance ratio sweep. Results are presented on how each component load affects the vehicle trim state, and an investigation of the new design bounds for Lock number to define a rigid coaxial rotor.
Aeroservoelastic Flight Dynamics and Control of Lift Plus Cruise Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing Vehicle in Forward Flight
Authors:   NASA Ames Research Center, Nguyen Nhan ,   KBR Wyle Services LLC, Xiong Junato , Webb Benjamin
Published: June 2023

This paper presents an aeroservoelastic modeling approach for NASA Lift+Cruise electric vertical take-off and land- ing (eVTOL) aircraft in forward flight. A trim analysis for forward flight is performed in CHARM. A mode shape extraction is performed to construct the mode shapes and elastic axes from a NASTRAN model of the Lift+Cruise vehicle. An aeroelastic model is developed using Theodorsen's theory to capture unsteady aerodynamics. The aeroelastic model is coupled to a rigid-body flight dynamic model of the Lift+Cruise vehicle. A closed-loop servo-actuator model is developed for each of the control surfaces and collective pitch of the push fan. A linearized aeroservoelastic state-space model is formulated by coupling the aeroelastic model, flight dynamic model, and servo-actuator models together. An altitude command longitudinal flight controller and a stabilizing lateral-directional flight controller to stabilize the unstable spiral mode are designed using the LQR method.
Fundamental Understanding of Hybrid-Electric Power
Authors:   University of Maryland, Arace Matt , Datta Anubhav
Published: June 2023

A 3.43 kW 4-stroke piston engine is coupled to a generator and a rectifier to acquire basic data on power generation for hybrid-electric aircraft. Isolated engine, generator, and coupled engine-generator efficiencies are characterized. A semi-empirical 4-stroke engine model is developed. The model is calibrated with the test data. It is found that steady-state performance of a 4-stroke engine can be well predicted. The pumping power required for intake and exhaust of each cycle is a key factor that separates 4-stroke from 2-stroke engines but it can be accurately modeled. The key conclusions are that the specific fuel consumption is a strong function of output current and voltage separately, not power alone, and isolated engine specific fuel consumption and generator efficiency are not adequate metrics on their own. The designer must understand and model the integrated system. The semi-empirical model developed here for fuel consumption may be used to guide the design of future small hybrid-electric VTOL uncrewed aerial vehicles.
Time and Frequency Analysis of a Speed-Controlled Rotor in Hover
Authors:   The University of Texas at Austin, Asper Matthew , Sirohi Jayant
Published: June 2023

As electric propulsion technologies advance, rotor speed control is becoming viable for manned VTOL aircraft primary propulsion. These control methodologies are an area that still needs to be explored, especially for high Reynolds number conditions. For this reason, a 2 meter diameter, speed-controlled rotor system was tested in hover. The rotor was driven by an electric motor, and step and sine inputs of 3% of the nominal speed were commanded at blade loadings up to CT /σ = 0.11 to determine the time and frequency response of rotor thrust and torque. Sine inputs were tested at frequencies up to 25% of the rotor speed. The data was used to validate an integrated aerodynamic and powertrain model of a speed-controlled rotor. A dynamic inflow model with blade element momentum theory predicted the aerodynamic loads, and an electromechanical model was used to account for the motor and control dynamics. Findings showed that there was good agreement between measured and predicted motor speed, thrust, and torque time response. Experimental results showed a faster response in the measured thrust and a lower peak torque versus the model. The model was able to capture the correct trends in magnitude and phase for motor speed, thrust and torque for all conditions tested. Inertial torque dominated the peak torque response, resulting in a linear increase with frequency of the input speed variation, whereas aerodynamic torque added damping and resulted in a negative offset in phase. Discrepancies between the model and the experiment may be due to the algorithms programmed into the motor controller, which were not modeled. The results of this study will be useful for informing engineers looking to design for rotor speed control.
Piloted Simulation Evaluation of Maneuver Optimization Control for a Coaxial
Authors:   The Pennsylvania State University, Horn Joseph ,   Piasecki Aircraft Corporation, Bridges Derek ,   US Army CCDC AvMC, Berger Tom , Perry Ryan , Kuhn Nicholas , Jr. Grey , Gong Anthony
Published: June 2023

The Adaptive Digital Automated Pilotage Technology (ADAPT™) flight control software package aims to take advantage of redundant controls to improve safety, survivability, and performance for advanced rotorcraft. Vehicle Maneuver Optimization (VMO) is one component of the ADAPT™ architecture, VMO uses feedforward control to increase aircraft maneuverability. The VMO algorithm takes advantage of the control null space of over-actuated aircraft to optimize their quasi-steady trim. In this study, the system is applied to a coaxial compound helicopter and evaluated in piloted simulations at the NASA Ames Vertical Motion Simulator and at the Penn State Rotorcraft Simulator. Handling Qualities Ratings indicated that VMO enhanced handling qualities in aggressive MTEs involving turns, as seen in a Break Turn MTE and a customized Maximum Performance Turn MTE. Simulation results also showed that VMO achieved significant power reductions in these maneuvers. VMO was found to degrade handling qualities for some other MTEs, notably in some of the precision tracking MTEs and the High Speed Accel / Decel MTE. While VMO is not intended for use in precision tracking tasks, some improvements are warranted so that VMO can be used to maximize performance in accelerations without degradation in handling qualities. The benefits of VMO in turn maneuvers, both in terms of performance and handling qualities, are achievable in conjunction with both the inner- and outer-loop control laws of the coaxial compound helicopter.
Asthma exacerbations and body mass index in children and adolescents: experience from a tertiary care center
Authors: Aziz Danish Abdul , Bajwa Rameen Ata , Viquar Werdah , Siddiqui Fatima , Abbas Aiza
Published: June 2023

The prevalence and incidence of asthma continue to rise globally. Obesity has been identified as a potential risk factor for asthma exacerbations. The association between body mass index (BMI) and asthma is not well studied in some regions. This study aims to investigate the impact of BMI in pediatric asthmatic patients. This retrospective study was conducted at the Aga Khan University Hospital from 2019 to 2022. Children and adolescents with asthma exacerbation were included. The patients were classified into four groups based on their BMI: underweight, healthy weight, overweight, and obese. The demographic characteristics, medications used, predicted FEV1 measurements, asthma exacerbations per year, length of stay per admission, and the number of patients requiring High Dependency Unit (HDU) care were recorded and analyzed. Our results demonstrated that patients in the healthy weight category had the highest percentage of FEV1 (91.46±8.58) and FEV1/FVC (85.75±9.23) (p<0.001). The study found a significant difference in the average number of asthma exacerbations per year between the four groups. Obese patients had the highest number of episodes (3.22±0.94), followed by the underweight group (2.42±0.59) (p<0.01). The length of stay per admission was significantly shorter for patients with a healthy weight (2.0±0.81), and there was a statistically significant difference observed in the number of patients requiring HDU care among the four groups, as well as in the average length of stay at the HDU (p<0.001). Elevated BMI is related to an increased number of annual asthma exacerbations, a low FEV1 and FEV1/FVC, increased length of stay at admission, and increased stay in the HDU.
Physicochemical characterization of exopolysaccharides conjugated to phenolic compounds
Authors: Moselhy Mohamed A. , Mohamed Dalia M. , Abdelzaher F. , Mahmoud Abeer E. , Abd El-Maksoud H. K. , Rashad Ferial M.
Published: June 2023

Background

Polysaccharides that are derived from different sources, in particular those from microorganisms, constitute a hot topic in contemporary research thanks to their high-value applications in different biotechnological sectors.

Objective

Considering limited existing studies concerning yeasts, the current study was designed to search for promising exopolysaccharide (EPS)-producing yeasts from samples obtained from different biological sources, adopting the strategies of isolation and screening.

Materials and methods

The present study focused on isolation and screening of EPS-producing yeasts from samples obtained from different biological sources, namely, soil rhizosphere, rotten fruits, local beverages, dairy products, and mixture pickles; identification of the selected promising yeast isolates phenotypically and genetically; extraction and chemical composition of crude exopolysaccharides (C-EPSs) in terms of their contents of carbohydrate, protein, and phenolics; and physicochemical characterization of the partially purified exopolysaccharides (PP-EPSs) by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), Fourier transformation infrared, proton nuclear magnetic resonance, thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis.

Results and conclusion

The most potent isolates that provided the highest yields (2.5 and 2.25 g/l) were identified phenotypically and genetically as Rhodotorula
mucilaginosa A1 and Rhodotorula
taiwanensis G1. The chemical compositions of C-EPSs of both strains differed in terms of their contents of carbohydrate, protein, and phenolic components. HPLC analysis of the phenolic compounds of C-EPSA1 revealed the presence of eight different constituents, of which quercetin followed by kaempferol, hesperetin, and gallic acid represented 99.81%. However, C-EPSG1 contained only seven, in a much smaller quantity. HPLC analysis demonstrated that both PP-EPSs were acidic heteropolysaccharides; PP-EPSA1 consisted mainly of 69.52% fructose and 30.48% uronic acids. PP-EPSG1 is probably unique; it showed remarkable differences as it contained tartaric acid (1.22%) besides glucose (50.04%), fructose (39.65%), and uronic acid (9.09%). Spectral analyses of both PP-EPSs confirmed their polysaccharide nature through the presence of characteristic functional groups and glycosidic linkage regions. PP-EPSs were semicrystalline in nature, similar in porosity and surface smoothness, and showed resistance to high temperatures. Elemental analysis indicated the participation of both PP-EPSs in five elements (O, C, N, S, and P) in close proportions; PP-EPSA1 contained Ca as an additional element.
Induction of genetic variability with gamma radiation and detection of DNA polymorphisms among radiomutants using sequence-related amplified polymorphism markers in Gaillardia pulchella Foug. plants
Authors: El-Khateeb Mohamed A. , Ashour Hossam A. , Eid Rawia A. , Mahfouze Heba A. , Abd Elaziz Nahed G. , Radwan Ragab M.S.
Published: June 2023

Background

Developing novel ornamental varieties with improved floral characterization is the main aim of floriculture. Biotechnological techniques linked to classical breeding methods have been applied for modifying flower color.

Objective

This investigation was carried out in the nursery of the Ornamental Horticulture Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Egypt, during two successive generations, 2019/2020 and 2020/2021, to assess the effects of gamma irradiation (γ) on vegetative growth, flowering parameters, abnormalities, and induced changes at the DNA level between two mutative generations (MG1 and MG2) of Gaillardia pulchella Foug. plants.

Materials and methods

Seeds of G. pulchella (local red) were irradiated at Atomic Energy Commission-united irradiation-Gamma, The Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority (EAEA), Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt, by six doses of γ-irradiation (10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 Gy), using Gamma-1 type cobalt60, at a dose rate of 1.107 KGy/h.

Results and conclusion

The results revealed that low gamma doses (10 and 20 Gy) had significant effects on vegetative growth, that is, plant height and the number of branches, as compared with the control, giving the tallest plants with the highest number of branches. The high doses (50 and 60 Gy) delayed flowering compared with untreated plants and other gamma doses. In contrast, low doses induced early flowering and increased the number of flowers. All doses of gamma rays induced mutants in leaf morphology, inflorescence color, shape, and deformation; the largest number of these mutants was obtained from a high dose of 60 Gy. On the contrary, sequence-related amplified polymorphism analysis produced 32 loci, of which 12 (37.50%) were polymorphic. Jaccard’s coefficients of dissimilarity ranged from 0.69 to 0.96. In a dendrogram constructed depending on genetic identity coefficients, the mutants were classified into three major groups: the first group (I) was composed of 10-, 20-, 30-, and 40-Gy mutants. The second group (II) included 50- and 60-Gy mutants. The third group (III) contained only the control. Therefore, it was concluded that treatment of G. pulchella seeds with gamma rays led to the induction of a sufficient number of mutations. In addition, the sequence-related amplified polymorphism marker is considered to be an important tool in the identification of mutants. Consequently, these mutants can be used in breeding programs to improve G. pulchella plants.
The pharmacological impact of Astragalus membranaceus against coccidial and bacterial infection in vitro
Authors: Ramadan Reem M. , Youssef Fady S. , Fouad Ehab A. , Orabi Ahmed , Khalifa Marwa M.
Published: June 2023

Background

Astragalus polysaccharides (APS) are a novel macromolecule extracted from the herbal plant Astragali radix with potential biological activity such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, anticancer, and immunomodulatory properties.

Objectives

The present research emphasizes on some of the biological characteristics of this product including its phytochemical screening, its effective LD50, its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticoccidial, and antimicrobial activities in vitro.

Materials and methods

Phytochemical screening of the tested extract proved that it contained alkaloids, flavonoids, and glycoside components. Testing its efficacy as bactericidal versus Escherichia coli, Salmonella
typhimurium, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pasteurella multocida and Staphylococcus aureus its value as a coccidiocidal drug against five chicken Eimeria species oocysts and its effect on the level of DNA genotoxic damage using comet assay proved high significant efficacy (P≤0.05) in the form of marked inhibition zone of bacteria, considerable sporulation inhibition percentage in oocysts as well as high genotoxic damages in the DNA.

Result and conclusion

The study proved the presence of a direct relationship between the increase in APS concentrations and exposure time and the rate of sporulation inhibition and DNA damage in oocysts subjected to various doses of APS. This DNA damage was determined by marked variations in tail’s length (µm), the percentage of DNA in the tail segment, and tail’s moment were used to demonstrate this relationship (µm). In conclusion, APS proved to be a potential herbal to have anticoccidial and antibacterial attributes in controlling both infections in chickens.