bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Biocontrol Microneedle Patch: A Promising Agent for Protecting Citrus Fruits from Postharvest Infection
Authors: Jiang Ling , Huang Huan , Shi Xingyu , Wu Jian , Ye Juexian , Xu Qian , Fang Shaobin , Wu Chuanbin , Luo Rui , Lu Chao , Liu Daojun
Published: April 2023

With increasing human awareness of food safety, the replacement of highly toxic pesticides with biocompatible antimicrobials has become a trend. This study proposes a biocontrol microneedle (BMN) to expand the application of the food-grade preservative epsilon-poly-L-lysine (ε-PL) in fruit preservatives by utilizing a dissolving microneedle system. The macromolecular polymer ε-PL not only possesses broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity but also exhibits good mechanical properties. With the addition of a small amount of polyvinyl alcohol, the mechanical strength of the ε-PL-based microneedle patch could be further improved to achieve an enhanced failure force of needles at 1.6 N/needle and induce an approximately 96% insertion rate in citrus fruit pericarps. An ex vivo insertion test revealed that the microneedle tips could be effectively inserted into the citrus fruit pericarp, rapidly dissolve within 3 min, and produce inconspicuous needle holes. Moreover, the high drug loading capacity of BMN was observed to reach approximately 1890 μg/patch, which is essential for enhancing the concentration-dependent antifungal activity of ε-PL. The drug distribution study has confirmed the feasibility of mediating the local diffusion of EPL in the pericarp through BMN. Therefore, BMN has great potential to reduce the incidence of invasive fungal infections in local areas of citrus fruit pericarp.
Magnetic Field Effects on the Structure, Dielectric and Energy Storage Properties of High-Entropy Spinel Ferrite (La0.14Ce0.14Mn0.14Zr0.14Cu0.14Ca0.14Ni0.14)Fe2O4/PVDF Nanocomposites
Authors: Qiao Jiale , Mu Haiwei , Liu Chao , Liu Zhaoting
Published: April 2023

Energy depletion is one of the significant threats to global development. To increase the usability of clean energy, the energy storage performance of dielectric materials must be urgently enhanced. Semicrystalline ferroelectric polymer (PVDF) is the most promising candidate for the next generation of flexible dielectric materials thanks to its relatively high energy storage density. In this work, high-entropy spinel ferrite (La0.14Ce0.14Mn0.14Zr0.14Cu0.14Ca0.14Ni0.14Fe2O4) nanofibers (abbreviated 7FO NFs) were prepared by the sol-gel and electrostatic spinning methods, then blended with PVDF to prepare composite films using the coating method. A magnetic field was used to control the orientation distribution of the high-entropy spinel nanofibers in the PVDF matrix. We investigated the effects of the applied magnetic field and the content of high-entropy spinel ferrite on the structure, dielectric, and energy storage properties of the PVDF substrate films. The 3 vol% 7FO/PVDF film treated in a 0.8 T magnetic field for 3 min exhibited a good overall performance. The maximum discharge energy density was 6.23 J/cm3 at 275 kV/mm and the efficiency was 58% with 51% β-phase content. In addition, the dielectric constant and dielectric loss were 13.3 and 0.035, respectively, at a frequency of 1 kHz.
No-Cap Flowable Bulk-Fill Composite: Physico-Mechanical Assessment
Authors: Alshehri Abdullah , Alhalabi Feras , Robaian Ali , Abuelqomsan Mohammed A. S. , Alshabib Abdulrahman , Ismail Eman , Alzamil Faisal , Alotaibi Nawaf , Algamaiah Hamad
Published: April 2023

(1) Background: A newer class of flowable bulk-fill resin-based composite (BF–RBC) materials requires no capping layer (Palfique Bulk flow, PaBF, Tokuyama Dental, Tokyo, Japan). The objective of this study was to assess the flexural strength, microhardness, surface roughness, and color stability of PaBF compared to two BF-RBCs with different consistencies. (2) Methods: PaBF, SDR Flow composite (SDRf: Charlotte, NC, USA) and One Bulk fill (OneBF: 3M, St. Paul, MN, USA) were evaluated for flexural strength with a universal testing machine, surface microhardness using a pyramidal Vickers indenter, and surface roughness using a high-resolution three-dimensional non-contact optical profiler, a and clinical spectrophotometer to measure the color stability of each BF–RBC material. (3) Results: OneBF presented statistically higher flexural strength and microhardness than PaBF or SDRf. Both PaBF and SDRf presented significantly less surface roughness compared with OneBF. Water storage significantly reduced the flexural strength and increased the surface roughness of all tested materials. Only SDRf showed significant color change after water storage. (4) Conclusions: The physico-mechanical properties of PaBF do not support its use without a capping layer in the stress bearing areas. PaBF showed less flexural strength compared with OneBF. Therefore, its use should be limited to a small restoration with minimal occlusal stresses.
Unveiling the Hidden Properties of Tomato Peels: Cutin Ester Derivatives as Bio-Based Plasticizers for Polylactic Acid
Authors: Righetti Grazia Isa C. , Nasti Rita , Beretta Giangiacomo , Levi Marinella , Turri Stefano , Suriano Raffaella
Published: April 2023

Polylactic acid (PLA) is one of the most important biopolymers employed on the market due to its good mechanical strength and barrier properties. On the other hand, this material presents a rather low flexibility, limiting its employment. The valorization of bio-based agro-food waste for the modification of bioplastics is a highly appealing approach for the replacement of petrol-based materials. The aim of this work is to employ cutin fatty acids derived from a biopolymer (i.e., cutin), present in waste tomato peels and its bio-based derivatives as new plasticizers to enhance PLA flexibility. In particular, pure 10,16-dihydroxy hexadecanoic acid was extracted and isolated from tomato peels and then functionalized to give the desired compounds. All the molecules developed in this study were characterized by NMR and ESI-MS. Blends at different concentrations (10, 20, 30, and 40% w/w) the flexibility (Tg measurements with differential scanning calorimetry—DSC) of the final material. Furthermore, the physical behavior of two blends obtained by mechanical mixing of PLA and 16-methoxy,16-oxohexadecane-1,7-diyl diacetate was investigated through thermal and tensile tests. The data collected by DSC show a lowering in the Tg of all the blends of PLA with functionalized fatty acids, in comparison with pure PLA. Lastly, the tensile tests highlighted how PLA blended with 16-methoxy,16-oxohexadecane-1,7-diyl diacetate (20% w/w) can efficiently enhance its flexibility.
Lucretia as a Figure of Mary in Machiavelli’s Mandragola
Authors: Lettieri Gaetano
Published: April 2023

When studied in political and ideological contexts, the numerous references to the Virgin Mary in Machiavelli’s comedic masterpiece Mandragola enable us to see how the author not only parodies a sacred play, but also deftly repurposes Christological and Mariological symbolism to celebrate his work’s unnamed referent: the first Medici pope, Leo X.
Plasmasphere Refilling after the 1 June 2013 Geomagnetic Storm
Authors: Del Corpo Alfredo , Vellante Massimo
Published: April 2023

Plasma content and distribution are key parameters in the dynamics of the inner magnetosphere. The plasmasphere contributes, for the most part, to the plasma mass density, and its properties are very dependent on the history of the magnetosphere and geomagnetic activity. In this work, we investigated plasmasphere dynamics and plasmasphere–ionosphere coupling, focusing on the refilling process that followed the geomagnetic storm that occurred on 1 June 2013. The equatorial plasma mass density used to evaluate the refilling rates was remotely sensed by observation of the field line resonance (FLR) frequencies of the geomagnetic field, driven by ultra-low-frequency magnetic waves. The FLR frequencies were retrieved by performing an analysis of signals detected by several station pairs of the European quasi-Meridional Magnetometer Array. We estimated the rate at which the refilling process occurred, concentrating on both the diurnal and the day-to-day refilling rates. The estimated contraction rate during the main phase of the storm was higher than ∼3.5 REd−1, while the average expansion rate was ∼0.4 REd−1. We investigated the radial dependence of the refilling rates, using a novel approach based on fit plasma mass density profiles, and we related their variation to the plasmasphere boundary layer and the zero-energy Alfvén boundary. We found evidence supporting the idea that flux tubes mapping in the region between these two boundaries experience an enhanced refilling process.
Improvements of Fire Fuels Attributes Maps by Integrating Field Inventories, Low Density ALS, and Satellite Data in Complex Mediterranean Forests
Authors: Calvo Roberto Crespo , Varo Martínez Mª Ángeles , Ruiz Gómez Francisco , Ariza Salamanca Antonio Jesús , Navarro-Cerrillo Rafael M.
Published: April 2023

One of the most determining factors in forest fire behaviour is to characterize forest fuel attributes. We investigated a complex Mediterranean forest type—mountainous Abies pinsapo–Pinus–Quercus–Juniperus with distinct structures, such as broadleaf and needleleaf forests—to integrate field data, low density Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS), and multispectral satellite data for estimating forest fuel attributes. The three-step procedure consisted of: (i) estimating three key forest fuel attributes (biomass, structural complexity and hygroscopicity), (ii) proposing a synthetic index that encompasses the three attributes to quantify the potential capacity for fire propagation, and (iii) generating a cartograph of potential propagation capacity. Our main findings showed that Biomass–ALS calibration models performed well for Abies pinsapo (R2 = 0.69), Juniperus spp. (R2 = 0.70), Pinus halepensis (R2 = 0.59), Pinus spp. mixed (R2 = 0.80), and Pinus spp.–Juniperus spp. (R2 = 0.59) forests. The highest values of biomass were obtained for Pinus halepensis forests (190.43 Mg ha−1). The structural complexity of forest fuels was assessed by calculating the LiDAR Height Diversity Index (LHDI) with regard to the distribution and vertical diversity of the vegetation with the highest values of LHDI, which corresponded to Pinus spp.–evergreen (2.56), Quercus suber (2.54), and Pinus mixed (2.49) forests, with the minimum being obtained for Juniperus (1.37) and shrubs (1.11). High values of the Fuel Desiccation Index (IDM) were obtained for those areas dominated by shrubs (−396.71). Potential Behaviour Biomass Index (ICB) values were high or very high for 11.86% of the area and low or very low for 77.07%. The Potential Behaviour Structural Complexity Index (ICE) was high or very high for 37.23% of the area, and low or very low for 46.35%, and the Potential Behaviour Fuel Desiccation Index (ICD) was opposite to the ICB and ICE, with high or very high values for areas with low biomass and low structural complexity. Potential Fire Behaviour Index (ICP) values were high or very high for 38.25% of the area, and low or very low values for 45.96%. High or very high values of ICP were related to Pinus halepensis and Pinus pinaster forests. Remote sensing has been applied to improve fuel attribute characterisation and cartography, highlighting the utility of integrating multispectral and ALS data to estimate those attributes that are more closely related to the spatial organisation of vegetation.
Enhancing FAIR Data Services in Agricultural Disaster: A Review
Authors: Hu Lei , Zhang Chenxiao , Zhang Mingda , Shi Yuming , Lu Jiasheng , Fang Zhe
Published: April 2023

The agriculture sector is highly vulnerable to natural disasters and climate change, leading to severe impacts on food security, economic stability, and rural livelihoods. The use of geospatial information and technology has been recognized as a valuable tool to help farmers reduce the adverse impacts of natural disasters on agriculture. Remote sensing and GIS are gaining traction as ways to improve agricultural disaster response due to recent advancements in spatial resolution, accessibility, and affordability. This paper presents a comprehensive overview of the FAIR agricultural disaster services. It holistically introduces the current status, case studies, technologies, and challenges, and it provides a big picture of exploring geospatial applications for agricultural disaster “from farm to space”. The review begins with an overview of the governments and organizations worldwide. We present the major international and national initiatives relevant to the agricultural disaster context. The second part of this review illustrates recent research on remote sensing-based agricultural disaster monitoring, with a special focus on drought and flood events. Traditional, integrative, and machine learning-based methods are highlighted in this section. We then examine the role of spatial data infrastructure and research on agricultural disaster services and systems. The generic lifecycle of agricultural disasters is briefly introduced. Eventually, we discuss the grand challenges and emerging opportunities that range from analysis-ready data to decision-ready services, providing guidance on the foreseeable future.
Identification of Black Reef Shipwreck Sites Using AI and Satellite Multispectral Imagery
Authors: Karamitrou Alexandra , Sturt Fraser , Bogiatzis Petros
Published: April 2023

UNESCO estimates that our planet’s oceans and lakes are home to more than three million shipwrecks. Of these three million, the locations of only 10% are currently known. Apart from the historical and archaeological interest in finding wrecks, there are other reasons why we need to know their precise locations. While a shipwreck can provide an excellent habitat for marine life, acting as an artificial reef, shipwrecks are also potential sources of pollution, leaking fuel and corroding heavy metals. When a vessel runs aground on an iron-free environment, changes in the chemistry of the surrounding environment can occur, creating a discoloration called black reef. In this work, we examine the use of supervised deep learning methods for the detection of shipwrecks on coral reefs through the presence of this discoloration using satellite images. One of the main challenges is the limited number of known locations of black reefs, and therefore, the limited training dataset. Our results show that even with relatively limited data, the simple eight-layer, fully convolutional network has been trained efficiently using minimal computational resources and has identified and classified all investigated black reefs and consequently the presence of shipwrecks. Furthermore, it has proven to be a useful tool for monitoring the extent of discoloration and consequently the ecological impact on the reef by using time series imagery.
The Movement of GPS Positioning Discrepancy Clouds at a Mid-Latitude Region in March 2015
Authors: Balodis Janis , Normand Madara , Zarins Ansis
Published: April 2023

The geomagnetic storm on 17 March 2015 had a strong impact on the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) positioning results in many GNSS Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS) in Europe. The analysis of global positioning system (GPS) observations in Latvian CORS stations discovered a strong impact of this space weather event over the whole country. The impact appeared as a moving cloud of positioning discrepancies across the country. However, the analysis of the days before 17 March revealed other smaller duration ionospheric scintillation events. The objective was to analyze the GPS positioning discrepancy cloud movement, total electron content (TEC), and rate of change of the TEC index (ROTI) relationships, as well as discrepancy statistics. The area of analysis on 16–18 March was increased by including the EGNOS ground-based Ranging and Integrity Monitoring Stations (RIMS): GVLA and GVLB, LAPA and LAPB, and WRSA and WRSB. The conclusion of the study is that each “shot” after 90 s gives a completely new cloud with a new impacted station subset, its configuration, and completely irregular discrepancy values.
Development of a Rapid Measurement Method for Analysis of the NOx Conversion Process Based on Quantum Cascade Laser Absorption Spectroscopy
Authors: Yang Xi , Zhang Zhirong , Yang Shuang , Sun Pengshuai , Wu Bian , Xia Hua , Yu Runqing
Published: April 2023

In this study, a method for double-beam quantum cascade laser absorption spectroscopy (DB-QCLAS) was developed. Two mid-infrared distributed feedback quantum cascade laser beams were coupled in an optical cavity for the monitoring of NO and NO2 (NO at 5.26 μm; NO2 at 6.13 μm). Appropriate lines in the absorption spectra were selected, and the influence of common gases in the atmosphere, such as H2O and CO2, was avoided. By analyzing the spectral lines under different pressure conditions, the appropriate measurement pressure of 111 mbar was selected. Under this pressure, the interference between adjacent spectral lines could be effectively distinguished. The experimental results show that the standard deviations for NO and NO2 were 1.57 ppm and 2.67 ppm, respectively. Moreover, in order to improve the feasibility of this technology for detecting chemical reactions between NO and O2, the standard gases of NO and O2 were used to fill the cavity. A chemical reaction instantaneously began, and the concentrations of the two gases were immediately changed. Through this experiment, we hope to develop new ideas for the accurate and rapid analysis of the process of NOx conversion and to lay a foundation for a deeper understanding of the chemical changes in atmospheric environments.
EEG Signal Complexity Measurements to Enhance BCI-Based Stroke Patients’ Rehabilitation
Authors: Al-Qazzaz Noor Kamal , Aldoori Alaa A. , Ali Sawal Hamid Bin Mohd , Ahmad Siti Anom , Mohammed Ahmed Kazem , Mohyee Mustafa Ibrahim
Published: April 2023

The second leading cause of death and one of the most common causes of disability in the world is stroke. Researchers have found that brain–computer interface (BCI) techniques can result in better stroke patient rehabilitation. This study used the proposed motor imagery (MI) framework to analyze the electroencephalogram (EEG) dataset from eight subjects in order to enhance the MI-based BCI systems for stroke patients. The preprocessing portion of the framework comprises the use of conventional filters and the independent component analysis (ICA) denoising approach. Fractal dimension (FD) and Hurst exponent (Hur) were then calculated as complexity features, and Tsallis entropy (TsEn) and dispersion entropy (DispEn) were assessed as irregularity parameters. The MI-based BCI features were then statistically retrieved from each participant using two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) to demonstrate the individuals’ performances from four classes (left hand, right hand, foot, and tongue). The dimensionality reduction algorithm, Laplacian Eigenmap (LE), was used to enhance the MI-based BCI classification performance. Utilizing k-nearest neighbors (KNN), support vector machine (SVM), and random forest (RF) classifiers, the groups of post-stroke patients were ultimately determined. The findings show that LE with RF and KNN obtained 74.48% and 73.20% accuracy, respectively; therefore, the integrated set of the proposed features along with ICA denoising technique can exactly describe the proposed MI framework, which may be used to explore the four classes of MI-based BCI rehabilitation. This study will help clinicians, doctors, and technicians make a good rehabilitation program for people who have had a stroke.
A Bulk Acoustic Wave Strain Sensor for Near-Field Passive Wireless Sensing
Authors: Zou Xiyue , Wen Li , Hu Bin
Published: April 2023

Near-field passive wireless sensors can realize non-contact strain measurement, so these sensors have extensive applications in structural health monitoring. However, these sensors suffer from low stability and short wireless sensing distance. This paper presents a bulk acoustic wave (BAW) passive wireless strain sensor, which consists of two coils and a BAW sensor. The force-sensitive element is a quartz wafer with a high quality factor, which is embedded into the sensor housing, so the sensor can convert the strain of the measured surface into the shift of resonant frequency. A double-mass-spring-damper model is developed to analyze the interaction between the quartz and the sensor housing. A lumped parameter model is established to investigate the influence of the contact force on the sensor signal. Experiments show that a prototype BAW passive wireless sensor has a sensitivity of 4 Hz/με when the wireless sensing distance is 10 cm. The resonant frequency of the sensor is almost independent of the coupling coefficient, which indicates that the sensor can reduce the measurement error caused by misalignment or relative movement between coils. Thanks to the high stability and modest sensing distance, this sensor may be compatible with a UAV-based monitoring platform for the strain monitoring of large buildings.
DCFF-MTAD: A Multivariate Time-Series Anomaly Detection Model Based on Dual-Channel Feature Fusion
Authors: Xu Zheng , Yang Yumeng , Gao Xinwen , Hu Min
Published: April 2023

The detection of anomalies in multivariate time-series data is becoming increasingly important in the automated and continuous monitoring of complex systems and devices due to the rapid increase in data volume and dimension. To address this challenge, we present a multivariate time-series anomaly detection model based on a dual-channel feature extraction module. The module focuses on the spatial and time features of the multivariate data using spatial short-time Fourier transform (STFT) and a graph attention network, respectively. The two features are then fused to significantly improve the model’s anomaly detection performance. In addition, the model incorporates the Huber loss function to enhance its robustness. A comparative study of the proposed model with existing state-of-the-art ones was presented to prove the effectiveness of the proposed model on three public datasets. Furthermore, by using in shield tunneling applications, we verify the effectiveness and practicality of the model.
An “Interactive Learning Model” to Enhance EFL Students’ Lexical Knowledge and Reading Comprehension
Authors: Yang Lei
Published: April 2023

(1) Background: The ability to read successfully in the context of college English as a foreign language contributes to sustainable language acquisition and academic development. (2) Research problems: To enhance the sustainability of reading, the article proposed the new teaching model-interactive learning model. What is the impact of the “interactive learning approach” on EFL learners’ content and vocabulary learning? (3) Methods: “Learning Model” via the experiment class and the control class in two posttests: immediate posttest and three-week posttest. In the experiment class, students were taught with the “Interactive Learning Model” and students in the control class were instructed with a traditional approach without student interaction. (4) Results: The results of the statistical analyses indicate that the interactive learning class and the control class performed similarly on both the content and vocabulary tests in immediately posttest; but in the delayed posttests, the interactive learning class obviously outperformed the traditional class, that is, the students in the experiment class forget less vocabulary and content learning through intra/inter group discussion. (5) Significance: The significance of the research demonstrates the “Interactive Learning Model” improves students’ language learning motivation and offers the benefit of processing the foreign language more deeply and internalizing their knowledge through implicit learning.
Internet of Things Energy Consumption Optimization in Buildings: A Step toward Sustainability
Authors: Wang Wen-Cheng , Dwijendra Ngakan Ketut Acwin , Sayed Biju Theruvil , Alvarez José Ricardo Nuñez , Al-Bahrani Mohammed , Alviz-Meza Aníbal , Cárdenas-Escrocia Yulineth
Published: April 2023

The internal components of a smart building interact through a compatible fabric and logic. A smart building integrates systems, structure, services, management, and their interrelationships to create a dynamic and cost-efficient environment. Smart buildings reduce the amount of cooling and heating load required to cool and heat spaces, thereby lowering operating costs and energy consumption without sacrificing occupant comfort. Smart structures are an Internet of Things (IoT) concern. The Internet of Things is a global network that virtualizes commonplace objects. The Internet of Things infuses non-technical objects with technology. IoT development has led to the creation of new protocols based on architectures for wireless sensor networks. Energy conservation extends the life and improves the performance of these networks, while overcoming the limitations of IoT node batteries. This research seeks to develop a data transmission model for routing IoT data in smart buildings. Utilization of intelligent object clustering and particle swarm optimization (PSO), chaotic particle swarm optimization (CPSO), and fractional chaotic order particle swarm optimization (FCPSO) optimization methods. Using the proposed algorithm to minimize energy consumption in the IoT is possible due to the algorithm’s ability to mitigate the problem by considering the number of parameters that can have a significant impact on performance, which is the goal of many optimization approaches.
Blogged into the System: A Systematic Review of the Gamification in e-Learning before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Burlacu Mihai , Coman Claudiu , Bularca Maria Cristina
Published: April 2023

Gamification is becoming more relevant, especially after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine. The purpose of our paper is to analyse the changes which occurred in the effects of gamification on e-learning as a result of the COVID-19 quarantine emergence in the spring of 2020. This paper describes the scientific contributions about the game elements most frequently implemented and their effects on those that use e-learning platforms, as well as the factors that contribute to the development of effective gamification in e-learning before and during the pandemic. Drawing upon the PRISMA framework, a number of 103 articles were identified in two databases: the Web of Science and Scopus. This paper discusses the previous works associated with the corpus of knowledge built around gamification in the past decade. This research shows that before the COVID-19 pandemic, even though many papers were written on gamification in education prior to 2019, there is a trend regarding the multiple mentions of using storylines, challenges, or badges in order to create and maintain competition among users, which in turn may influence and increase the level of social interactions and the coalescence of communities.
Sustainable Social Development through the Use of Artificial Intelligence and Data Science in Education during the COVID Emergency: A Systematic Review Using PRISMA
Authors: Aguilar-Esteva Verónica , Acosta-Banda Adán , Carreño Aguilera Ricardo , Patiño Ortiz Miguel
Published: April 2023

In this paper, we aimed to investigate how sustainable development can be involved in educational contexts that use new trends in technology such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Data Science (DS). To achieve this goal, we conducted a documentary Systematic Review using PRISMA research to find and analyze applications of sustainable development in these aforementioned contexts. In the results, we explain how some applications of both AI and DS, including Big Data and Learning Analytics among others, offer alternatives to substantially improve the educational process by allowing either education to be personalized, learning to be predicted, or even possible school dropouts to be predicted. We found that the COVID emergency sped up the introduction of these technologies in educational environments. Nevertheless, the inclusion of new technologies to develop better processes in education is still in progress and will continue to grow. In conclusion, we identified and analyzed some of the main applications found in the literature regarding new computing technologies. AI and DS have introduced new learning and teaching methods to solve different context problems that promote sustainable development while making educational environments more dynamic. On the other hand, we observed that the divide in many countries will continue due to their economic and technological situations. We describe some of the challenges that the incorporation of these technologies will bring in the near future.
Vertical Transportation Diversity of Petroleum Pollutants under Groundwater Fluctuations and the Instructions for Remediation Strategy
Authors: Cao Zhendong , Yang Mingxing , Tan Tingjing , Song Xiaoqing
Published: April 2023

Based on the information from an actual petroleum-contaminated site, a one-dimensional soil column was used to examine the vertical transportation diversities of different petroleum components under the influence of water table fluctuations, and the results revealed the following: (1) There were two obvious pollution accumulation zones under the condition of water table fluctuations: (i) The pollution infiltration zone dominated by the residual phase was formed at the leakage position, and (ii) the floating zone dominated by the free phase was formed near the water table. Combined with the viscosity of the organic components, the concentrations of the residual phase were octanoic acid > hexadecane > cyclohexane > toluene. Compared to coarse sand, clay can adsorb more components. (2) Different fluctuation frequencies had a great influence on the migration process of components. The free phase can transfer into the residual phase during the low groundwater table fluctuation. In the case of high-frequency groundwater fluctuations, there were more free phase components that can be carried by the water flow. However, due to the continuous flushing by the water, pollutants were finally spread to the whole underground system. (3) A cost-effectiveness remediation strategy is based on the difference in pollutant transportation. Therefore, the conclusions in this paper are fully applied in the actual contaminated sites. Specifically, the air-sparing (AS) and soil vapor extraction (SVE) devices were installed in the vadose zone to remove volatile substances (such as toluene). The permeable reactive barriers (PRBs) were set in the groundwater fluctuation zone to repair the residual pollutants (alkanes, cyclane, and asphaltenes hydrocarbons) that are continuously converted from the residual phase to the dissolved phase and free phase due to water level fluctuations. Hence, the results of this study provided a specific, targeted, and comprehensive strategy for petroleum pollution treatment.
Inflammation and Epstein–Barr Virus at the Crossroads of Multiple Sclerosis and Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID-19 Infection
Authors: Rousseau Beth A. , Bhaduri-McIntosh Sumita
Published: April 2023

Recent studies have strengthened the evidence for Epstein–Barr Virus (EBV) as an important contributing factor in the development of multiple sclerosis (MS). Chronic inflammation is a key feature of MS. EBV+ B cells can express cytokines and exosomes that promote inflammation, and EBV is known to be reactivated through the upregulation of cellular inflammasomes. Inflammation is a possible cause of the breakdown of the blood–brain barrier (BBB), which allows the infiltration of lymphocytes into the central nervous system. Once resident, EBV+ or EBV-specific B cells could both plausibly exacerbate MS plaques through continued inflammatory processes, EBV reactivation, T cell exhaustion, and/or molecular mimicry. Another virus, SARS-CoV-2, the cause of COVID-19, is known to elicit a strong inflammatory response in infected and immune cells. COVID-19 is also associated with EBV reactivation, particularly in severely ill patients. Following viral clearance, continued inflammation may be a contributor to post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 infection (PASC). Evidence of aberrant cytokine activation in patients with PASC supports this hypothesis. If unaddressed, long-term inflammation could put patients at risk for reactivation of EBV. Determining mechanisms by which viruses can cause inflammation and finding treatments for reducing that inflammation may help reduce the disease burden for patients suffering from PASC, MS, and EBV diseases.
Separation Zone Required to Buffer Hazardous Waste Landfills Impact on Scattered Water Supply Sources: From a Whole Lifespan Perspective
Authors: Qiu Panpan , Yan Jianzhuo , Xu Ya , Yao Guangyuan , Liu Yuqiang , Huang Qifei , Li Xingrong
Published: April 2023

Threats from landfill leachate leakage to groundwater quality in remote areas is a major concern globally. Buffering distance (BFD) maintained between landfill site and groundwater supply wells is important to prevent drinking water from contamination of hazardous pollutant. Ignoring the leakage increase in the end of landfill life leads to an underestimate of BFD demand, posing potential threat to drinking safety. This paper constructs a framework for BFD prediction with the consideration of landfill performance degradation by coupling landfill performance evaluation model with the aging and defect evolution model of landfill engineering materials, and carries out model application and verification in a coastal hazardous waste landfill. The results show that during the life cycle of a landfill, its BFD experienced a 1.5-time increase from the start of its operation to its life end and reached 3000 m. Under the condition of landfill performance degradation, the BFDs required to attenuate heavy metals experience more increase than those of organic pollutants; BFD required for zinc (Zn), for example, increases 720 m over the no-degradation condition, while 2,4-dichlorophenol(2,4-D) increases by only 288 m. Considering the uncertainty sourced from model parameter and structure, the BFD should be more than 4050 m to ensure long-term safe drinking under unfavorable conditions such as large amount of leachate, weak degradation and fast diffusion of pollutant in vadose and aquifer. If the BFD cannot meet the demand at the end of the landfill life, the leaching behavior of solid waste can be controlled to reduce it depending on BFD. For example, when the leaching concentration of Cd in the waste is reduced from 0.6 mg/L to 0.17 mg/L, the buffering distance is be reduced from 3000 m to 500 m.
The Middle East and the modern World order
Authors:   National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations named after E. M. Primakov of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Ivanov S. M.
Published: April 2023

The article analyzes the role and importance of the countries of the Middle East in the modern world, mentions the historical past of the region as the cradle of several ancient civilizations and three world religions, one of the most important political, economic, religious and cultural centers of our planet. The author notes that for millennia there was a fi erce struggle of the so-called pretenders to world domination for infl uence in the Middle East. External forces in the form of various empires and states failed to subjugate the countries of the Middle East or make them their instruments in foreign policy. In the post-Cold War era, the US has attempted to dominate the Middle East under its concept of a unipolar world. However, the vast majority of countries in the region, primarily the Arab states, preferred to maintain relations with the Russian Federation, began to develop their relations with China, India, and other world and regional powers. Even Washington's allies in the Middle East, represented by Israel and Turkey, retained their sovereignty in foreign policy. Almost all the countries of the region adhere to the line of diversifying their external relations, showing interest in participating in the work of new authoritative independent international organizations such as the SCO and BRICS. The visit of Chinese leader Xi Jinping to Saudi Arabia in December 2022 and his participation in two summits of the Arab states demonstrated the mutual interest of the countries of the region and China in the accelerated development of the entire range of their bilateral and multilateral relations. The author highlights the contrast in the reception of a Chinese guest in Riyadh compared to Joe Biden's rather vague summer 2022 visit to the KSA capital. Washington clearly failed to draw the Arab countries into its foreign policy games. All countries in the region, including Israel and Turkey, chose to take a neutral position with respect to the Ukrainian crisis, and the hydrocarbon exporting countries did not increase their oil and gas production and exports to the world market, despite persistent requests and pressure from Washington. The article concludes that the Middle East prefers to adhere to the model of a polycentric world, where all countries and regions have equal rights and opportunities, including the right to pursue an independent foreign policy.
About the key regional priority of Russia's foreign policy
Authors:   Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Aff airs of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Klepatsky L. N.
Published: April 2023

The state structures of the country are developing a new concept of the state's foreign policy. The geopolitical situation has changed dramatically and the previous concept no longer refl ects the new reality. The concept will determine the main priorities of the country, including regional ones. In previous documents, the European one occupied the priority place among them. Due to the increased dynamics of political and economic processes in Asia, an increase in its share in the global economy, an increase in the potential for conflict in this region and, consequently, the need to solve regional security problems, Russia should set the Asian direction as its key regional priority. This is an objective necessity. The article examines the factors contributing to the preference of this priority, among them the policy of the European Union, which was created by Western European elites to form a "united Europe" under the auspices of the EU. The aim was to reduce Russia's infl uence on pan-European processes, pushing it into the Asian part of the Eurasian space. Eurasia should take its proper place in the new concept of Russia's foreign policy. In addition to developing relations with the leading Asian countries, with ASEAN, fi lling these relations with appropriate content, the bet should be placed on the development of integration within the EU, which does not remain a loose integration. In addition, Western countries have increased pressure on the Central Asian states with the aim of tearing their economy away from the Russian economy. Strengthening the EAEU meets the interests not only of our country, but also of the Central Asian states, since it is difficult for them individually to resist the larger players in Asia. The combined potential of the EAEU countries, taking into account Uzbekistan's cooperation with them, is a market of 23 million people. This is a fairly self-suffi cient market with large resources. Therefore, the development of the potential of the EAEU, strengthening its position as an integration association should take a key place in the regional priorities of our country's foreign policy.
"Hybrid diplomacy": on the production of personnel in the field of countering foreign information and hybrid wars
Authors:   Moscow State Institute of International Relations (University) of the Ministry of Foreign Aff airs of the Russian Federation (MGIMO (U) of the Ministry of Foreign Aff airs of Russia), Moscow, Manoilo A. V.
Published: April 2023

This article is devoted to the issues of personnel training to counter the infected and hybrid free war against the Russian Federation in connection with the start of the Special Military Operation in Ukraine. It is noted that programs such as "Information and hybrid wars" are a structure for the formation in the Russian Federation of a nationwide system to counter information and hybrid war. In modern programs for training specialists in countering information and hybrid wars of great importance for international and analytical work, the main justifications and methods are disclosed in the courses "Analytical support for special military and police operations" and "Information support for special military and police operations in the media and New York". media". The data on the results are read taking into account the experience gained during the fi rst trade operation in Ukraine, with the involvement of specialists from the Russian Ministry of Defense and military journalists. Given the specific indicators, much attention is paid to special intelligence and military companies. To this end, the curriculum includes a course on Competitive Intelligence and Private Intelligence Companies, as well as special courses such as Competitive Intelligence Methods and Private Medical Companies in Special Military, Police and Peacekeeping Operations. Thus, the formation of a system for training specialists to counter hybrid wars is really beginning in Russia. The emergence of such programs as "Information and hybrid wars" is one of the signs of the creation of such a system. We have good chances on this plane, but they were also seen in this country of the West Country.
Future of the European Union: challenges and prospects
Authors:   Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Moscow, Mozel K. N.
Published: April 2023

The article covers the pressing issues that Brussels is challenged with, key points of its current foreign policy and a possible role of the European Union in the international arena in the near future. As the system of international relations has been transforming increasingly following the start of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine, the present-day capacities of the Union are signifi cantly aff ected by several matters. Elaborating on them, the author focuses on the vulnerability caused by the weakened European security architecture, pivotal peculiarities of the EU engagement with Russia, its dialog across the Atlantic and with the countries in Asia, especially China, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, as well as mounting unsolved questions within the EU itself. At the same time the future of the EU disposition on the global stage is likely to be modifi ed by a multipolar world order which is taking shape right now. In this context, further collaboration across the Eurasian mainland may be formed within the so-called `Big Eurasia` format proposed by Russia.
Riesgos para los hijos de personas adictas a drogas o alcohol
Authors: Vinces Mera Gema Estefania , Restrepo Echavarría Ricardo
Published: April 2023

El consumo de sustancias psicoactivas es considerado un problema a nivel mundial. El presente artículo de revisión tiene como objetivo identificar los principales problemas asociados a tener padres alcohólicos o drogadictos, considerando que no solo afecta la esfera personal sino también familiar y social del individuo. La metodología aplicada fue la analítica-descriptiva, el tipo de enfoque es cualitativo, se realizó una revisión bibliográfica sistematizada en Google Académico de 30 artículos sobre los estudios que están relacionados con los problemas relacionados a tener padres alcohólicos o drogadictos. La imitación de la conducta adictiva y dinámica familiar escasa son problemas con alta frecuencia entre los hijos de padres consumidores de sustancias psicoactivas, al igual que agresividad, baja atención y rendimiento escolar. De esta manera, se logró concluir que estar dentro de un ambiente familiar donde uno de los padres o ambos tengan dependencia de sustancias psicoactivas genera problemas en el desenvolvimiento y funcionalidad del hijo o hija en el entorno en que se encuentre.
SIGNIFICACIÓN E IMPLICACIONES POLÍTICAS DEL CONVENIO DE BUENOS AIRES DE RECONOCIMIENTO DE CUALIFICACIONES DE EDUCACIÓN SUPERIOR EN AMÉRICA LATINA Y EL CARIBE
Authors: Pedró Francesc
Published: April 2023

La UNESCO ha venido promoviendo acuerdos regionales y mundiales para el reconocimiento de las cualificaciones obtenidas en el extranjero con el fin de facilitar la cooperación internacional en la educación superior y reducir los obstáculos a la movilidad académica. El Convenio de Buenos Aires (2019), específicamente dedicado a la región de América Latina y el Caribe, tiene como objetivo promover la movilidad académica y el acceso a la educación como un derecho humano y un bien público que los Estados tienen la obligación de garantizar, al tiempo que fomenta las prácticas éticas y la integridad en el reconocimiento de cualificaciones. Para su éxito, el Convenio exige que los países basen sus actuaciones en la transparencia y la confianza mutua, así como que lleven a cabo evaluaciones de buena fe de las cualificaciones.
Exploring the Performance of Farasa and CAMeL Taggers for Arabic Dialect Tweets
Authors: Alshutayri Areej , Alfaidi Aseel , Alwadei Hajer , Alahda Shahd
Published: April 2023

In Natural Language Processing (NLP), Part Of Speech (POS) tagging is an important step; it is a fundamental requirement for many applications, such as information extraction, machine translation, and grammar checking. Successful POS taggers have been developed for many languages, including Arabic. Currently, the spread of social media has increased the diversity of dialects as people use them in their online communications. Therefore, it has become more difficult for researchers to classify some words that are understood by humans but not computers. In addition, most Arabic POS research focuses on Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), while Dialect Arabic (DA) receives less attention. This paper aims to evaluate the performance of two Arabic taggers when used on dialect Arabic tweets and determine which tagger is the appropriate one, which will accordingly help to improve the existent taggers for dialect Arabic tweets. We used the Farasa and CAMeL taggers, which are commonly used to analyze Arabic texts and are considered the best taggers for Arabic. The results indicate that CAMeL tagger performed better than Farasa tagger, with accuracies of 92% and 83% respectively. In other words, a hybrid POS tagger trained with MSA and DA returns better results than the one trained on MSA.
Chronostructure and circadian rhythms of the parameters of the coagulation system and neurohumoral regulatory systems determining diurnal profile of blood pressure
Authors: Ostapenko A. O. , Klitsunova Yu. O. , Kulbachuk A. S. , Vorontsova L. L.
Published: April 2023

The article is devoted to circadian rhythms of parameters of the hemostatic systems and humoral vasoactive factors determining diurnal profile of blood pressure. Researches indicate the presence of circadian rhythms of activity of autonomic nervous system and renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system in healthy human. Plasma catecholamines maximal activity is observed during the daytime, minimal one at night. Plasma renin activity and aldosterone concentration gradually decreases during the day, reaching its minimum at 4 p.m., followed by increase overnight to a peak at 8 a.m. Angiotensin-converting enzyme diurnal pattern is characterized by monophasic curve with maximal activity in the evening and minimum at night. Physiological features of hemostasis chronobiological characteristics in patients with coronary heart disease are present. All indexes of progressing coagulation and anticoagulation blood system has shown pronounced expressive shift of hypercoagulations in patients in the evening and at night. Fluctuations of insulin and glucose levels during 24 hours are also subject to circadian rhythm, i.e. maximal concentration is observed during the daytime, minimal one at night. Such diurnal rhythms are characteristic for patients without complicated arterial hypertension. However, circadian rhythms disturbances of humoral factors may further violate the circadian profile of blood pressure. It is pointed out that chronotherapy promote further development of the principle of individual treating approach.