bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Spiritual Intelligence as a Mediator between Personality and Emotional and Decisional Forgiveness in Polish Adults
Authors: Mróz Justyna , Kaleta Kinga , Skrzypińska Katarzyna
Published: April 2023

Forgiveness is a constructive method of dealing with interpersonal incidents. It is determined by many factors, including personality and spirituality. The purpose of the present study was to explore the relationships between the Big Five personality traits, spiritual intelligence, and emotional and decisional forgiveness in a real situation. The study involved 396 Polish participants aged from 18 to 79. Four tools were used: the Abridged Big Five-Dimensional Circumplex (AB5C), the Emotional Forgiveness Scale (EFS), the Decision to Forgive Scale (DTFS), and the Spiritual Intelligence Self-Report Inventory (SISRI-24). The results demonstrated that personality traits positively correlated with aspects of spiritual intelligence and two types of forgiveness. Personal meaning production (PMP) and transcendental awareness (TA) mediated the relationship between personality and forgiveness, especially when accompanied by taking the decision to forgive. The ability to find meaning and deeper insight into difficult interpersonal incidents was found to be a possible way of linking personality with the forgiveness of others.
High-Resolution and Efficient Neural Dual Contouring for Surface Reconstruction from Point Clouds
Authors: Liu Qi , Xiao Jun , Liu Lupeng , Wang Yunbiao , Wang Ying
Published: April 2023

The surface mesh reconstruction from point clouds has been a fundamental research topic in Computer Vision and Computer Graphics. Recently, the Neural Implicit Representation (NIR)-based reconstruction has revolutionized this research topic. This work summarizes and analyzes representative works on NIR-based reconstruction and highlights several important insights. However, one major problem with existing works is that they struggle to handle high-resolution meshes. To address this, this paper introduces HRE-NDC, a novel High-Resolution and Efficient Neural Dual Contouring approach for mesh reconstruction from point clouds, which takes the previous state-of-the-art as a baseline and adopts a coarse-to-fine network structure design, along with feature-preserving downsampling and other improvements. HRE-NDC significantly reduces training time and memory usage while achieving better surface reconstruction results. Experimental results demonstrate the superiority of our method in both visualization and quantitative results, and it shows excellent generalization performance on various data including large indoor scenes, real-scanned urban buildings, clothing, and human bodies.
Enhancing the Accuracy of Boresight Calibration with Coplanarity Constraint and Relative Height from DEM
Authors: Guo Ran , Wang Yueming
Published: April 2023

As the resolution of airborne hyperspectral imagers (AHIs) continues to improve, the demand for accurate boresight calibration also increases. However, the high cost of ground control points (GCPs) and the low horizontal resolution of open digital elevation model (DEM) datasets limit the accuracy of AHI’s boresight calibration. We propose a method to enhance the accuracy of DEM-based boresight calibration using coplanarity constraints to address this issue. Our approach utilizes the relative accuracy of DEM in low-resolution DEM datasets. To make better use of the DEM, we apply coplanarity constraints to identify image features that display similar displacement in overlapping areas, and extract their corresponding elevation values from the DEM. These features and their relative heights are then incorporated into an optimization problem for boresight calibration. In the case of low-resolution DEM datasets, our method fully utilizes the relative accuracy of the DEM to improve the boresight correction precision. We have proven that the relative accuracy of elevation is more reliable than absolute accuracy in this situation. Our approach has been tested on the dataset from AHI, and the results have shown that the proposed method has better accuracy on low-resolution DEM datasets. In summary, our method provides a novel approach to improving the accuracy of DEM-based boresight calibration for AHIs, which can benefit applications, such as remote sensing and environmental monitoring. This research highlights the importance of utilizing the relative accuracy of low-resolution DEM datasets for improving the accuracy of boresight calibration.
Exploring the Potential of UAV-Based Hyperspectral Imagery on Pine Wilt Disease Detection: Influence of Spatio-Temporal Scales
Authors: Pan Jie , Lin Jiayi , Xie Tianyi
Published: April 2023

Pine wilt disease (PWD), caused by pine wood nematode (PWN, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus), poses a serious threat to the coniferous forests in China. This study used unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based hyperspectral imaging conducted at different altitudes to investigate the impact of spatio-temporal scales on PWD detection in an monoculture Masson pine plantation. The influence of spatio-temporal scales on hyperspectral responses of pine trees infected with PWD and detection accuracies were evaluated by Jeffries–Matusita (J-M) distances and the random forest (RF) algorithm. The optimal vegetation indices (VIs) and spatial resolutions were identified by comparing feature importance and model accuracy. The main results showed that the VIs and J-M distances were greatly affected by spatio-temporal scales. In the early, mid-, and late infection stages, the RF-based PWD detection model had accuracies ranging between 72.05 and 79.48%, 83.71 and 89.59%, and 96.81 and 99.28%, peaking at the 10 cm, 8 cm, and 4 cm spatial resolutions, respectively. The green normalized difference vegetation index (GNDVI) and red edge position (REP) were the optimal VIs in early and mid-infection stages, respectively. This study can be important to improve the efficiency of PWD detection and reducing the loss of forests resources.
BFT-IoMT: A Blockchain-Based Trust Mechanism to Mitigate Sybil Attack Using Fuzzy Logic in the Internet of Medical Things
Authors: Ali Shayan E , Tariq Noshina , Khan Farrukh Aslam , Ashraf Muhammad , Abdul Wadood , Saleem Kashif
Published: April 2023

Numerous sensitive applications, such as healthcare and medical services, need reliable transmission as a prerequisite for the success of the new age of communications technology. Unfortunately, these systems are highly vulnerable to attacks like Sybil, where many false nodes are created and spread with deceitful intentions. Therefore, these false nodes must be instantly identified and isolated from the network due to security concerns and the sensitivity of data utilized in healthcare applications. Especially for life-threatening diseases like COVID-19, it is crucial to have devices connected to the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) that can be believed to respond with high reliability and accuracy. Thus, trust-based security offers a safe environment for IoMT applications. This study proposes a blockchain-based fuzzy trust management framework (BFT-IoMT) to detect and isolate Sybil nodes in IoMT networks. The results demonstrate that the proposed BFT-IoMT framework is 25.43% and 12.64%, 12.54% and 6.65%, 37.85% and 19.08%, 17.40% and 8.72%, and 13.04% and 5.05% more efficient and effective in terms of energy consumption, attack detection, trust computation reliability, packet delivery ratio, and throughput, respectively, as compared to the other state-of-the-art frameworks available in the literature.
Displacement Monitoring of a Bridge Based on BDS Measurement by CEEMDAN–Adaptive Threshold Wavelet Method
Authors: Mo Chunlan , Yang Huanyu , Xiang Guannan , Wang Guanjun , Wang Wei , Liu Xinghang , Zhou Zhi
Published: April 2023

From the viewpoint of BDS bridge displacement monitoring, which is easily affected by background noise and the calculation of a fixed threshold value in the wavelet filtering algorithm, which is often related to the data length. In this paper, a data processing method of Complete Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition with Adaptive Noise (CEEMDAN), combined with adaptive threshold wavelet de-noising is proposed. The adaptive threshold wavelet filtering method composed of the mean and variance of wavelet coefficients of each layer is used to de-noise the BDS displacement monitoring data. CEEMDAN was used to decompose the displacement response data of the bridge to obtain the intrinsic mode function (IMF). Correlation coefficients were used to distinguish the noisy component from the effective component, and the adaptive threshold wavelet de-noising occurred on the noisy component. Finally, all IMF were restructured. The simulation experiment and the BDS displacement monitoring data of Nanmao Bridge were verified. The results demonstrated that the proposed method could effectively suppress random noise and multipath noise, and effectively obtain the real response of bridge displacement.
A Mission-Oriented Flight Path and Charging Mechanism for Internet of Drones
Authors: Huang Chenn-Jung , Hu Kai-Wen , Cheng Hao-Wen , Sie Lin Yi-Sin
Published: April 2023

In addition to traditional battery exchange services and stationary charging stations, researchers have proposed wireless charging technology, such as decentralized laser charging or drone-to-drone charging in flight, to provide power to drones with insufficient battery electricity. However, the charging methods presented in the literature will inevitably cause drones to wait in line for charging during peak hours and disrupt their scheduled trips when the number of drones grows rapidly in the future. To the best of our knowledge, there have been no integrated solutions for drone flight path and charging planning to alleviate charging congestion, taking into account the different mission characteristics of drones and the charging cost considerations of drone operators. Accordingly, this paper provides adaptive charging options to help drone operators to solve the above-mentioned problems. Drones on ordinary missions can use conventional battery swap services, wired charging stations, or electromagnetic wireless charging stations to recharge their batteries as usual, whereas drones on time-critical missions can choose drone-to-drone wireless charging or decentralized laser charging deployed along the fight paths to charge the batteries of drones in flight. Notably, since fixed-wing drones have larger wing areas to install solar panels, they can also use solar energy to charge during flight if the weather is clear. The simulation results exhibited that the proposed work reduced the power load of the power grid during peak hours, met the charging needs of each individual drone during flight, and cut down the charging costs of drone operators. As a result, an all-win situation for drone operators, drone customers, and power grid operators was achieved.
Determining Real-Time Communication Feasibility in IoT Systems Supported by LoRaWAN
Authors: Micheletto Matias , Zabala Paula , Ochoa Sergio F. , Meseguer Roc , Santos Rodrigo
Published: April 2023

LoRaWAN is a long range and low power protocol devised for connecting devices under the Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm. This protocol was not conceived to support real-time message delivery; therefore, it is not always feasible using it to support IoT solutions involving large wireless sensors networks and time constraint messaging, e.g., in early warning systems for natural hazards, remote monitoring of industrial machinery or autonomous control of transportation systems. This paper presents a model that provides certainty, at the design time of IoT systems, about the real-time communication capability of their supporting network. It allows solution designers: (1) to decide if developing or not a real-time IoT solution based on the feasibility of its communication infrastructure, and (2) to improve the communication infrastructure to try making real-time communication feasible using LoRaWAN.
A Honeybee-Inspired Framework for a Smart City Free of Internet Scams
Authors: Ahmed Abdulghani Ali , Al-Bayatti Ali , Saif Mubarak , Jabbar Waheb A. , Rassem Taha H.
Published: April 2023

Internet scams are fraudulent attempts aim to lure computer users to reveal their credentials or redirect their connections to spoofed webpages rather than the actual ones. Users’ confidential information, such as usernames, passwords, and financial account numbers, is the main target of these fraudulent attempts. Internet scammers often use phishing attacks, which have no boundaries, since they could exceed hijacking conventional cyber ecosystems to hack intelligent systems, which emerged recently for the use within smart cities. This paper therefore develops a real-time framework inspired by the honeybee defense mechanism in nature for filtering phishing website attacks in smart cities. In particular, the proposed framework filters phishing websites through three main phases of investigation: PhishTank-Match (PM), Undesirable-Absent (UA), and Desirable-Present (DP) investigation phases. The PM phase is used at first in order to check whether the requested URL is listed in the blacklist of the PhishTank database. On the other hand, the UA phase is used for investigation and checking for the absence of undesirable symbols in uniform resource locators (URLs) of the requested website. Finally, the DP phase is used as another level of investigation in order to check for the presence of the requested URL in the desirable whitelist. The obtained results show that the proposed framework is deployable and capable of filtering various types of phishing website by maintaining a low rate of false alarms.
Enhance the Accuracy of Landslide Detection in UAV Images Using an Improved Mask R-CNN Model: A Case Study of Sanming, China
Authors: Yun Lu , Zhang Xinxin , Zheng Yuchao , Wang Dahan , Hua Lizhong
Published: April 2023

Extracting high-accuracy landslide areas using deep learning methods from high spatial resolution remote sensing images is a hot topic in current research. However, the existing deep learning algorithms are affected by background noise and landslide scale effects during the extraction process, leading to poor feature extraction effects. To address this issue, this paper proposes an improved mask regions-based convolutional neural network (Mask R-CNN) model to identify the landslide distribution in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) images. The improvement of the model mainly includes three aspects: (1) an attention mechanism of the convolutional block attention module (CBAM) is added to the backbone residual neural network (ResNet). (2) A bottom-up channel is added to the feature pyramidal network (FPN) module. (3) The region proposal network (RPN) is replaced by guided anchoring (GA-RPN). Sanming City, China was selected as the study area for the experiments. The experimental results show that the improved model has a recall of 91.4% and an accuracy of 92.6%, which is 12.9% and 10.9% higher than the original Mask R-CNN model, respectively, indicating that the improved model is more effective in landslide extraction.
Greenness Assessment of HPLC Analytical Methods with Common Detectors for Assay of Paracetamol and Related Materials in Drug Products and Biological Fluids
Authors: Naguib Ibrahim A. , Majed Meral , Albogami Maram , Alshehri Maram , Bukhari Aseel , Alshabani Hadeel , Alsalahat Izzeddin , Abd-ElSalam Heba-Alla H.
Published: April 2023

Paracetamol is one of the most widely consumed analgesic and antipyretic medications worldwide. It is frequently analyzed in many quality control (QC) laboratories in pharmaceutical companies, either in raw materials or drug products. It was reported that paracetamol self-toxicity often occurs, leading to the frequent analysis of paracetamol in toxicological centers in biological fluids. Green analytical chemistry (GAC) is growing to be a global philosophy; therefore, the high frequency of paracetamol analysis poses potential concerns. Chromatographic analytical methods used for the daily analysis of paracetamol could be a potential risk to the environment or the health of the analysts if not thoroughly considered. The presented study aims to establish greenness assessments of nine HPLC methods used to assay paracetamol in raw materials and drug products and twenty-one HPLC methods. The reason for selecting HPLC methods of analysis to be the core of the study is the known reproducibility, reliability and availability in most QC laboratories. The most commonly used metric systems for greenness evaluation are the Analytical GREEnness (AGREE), the eco-scale assessment (ESA) and the national environmental methods index (NEMI) which have been used in this comparative study. The greenest chromatographic method for the analysis of paracetamol in raw materials and drug products was introduced by Rao et al. (the obtained scores were ESA = 76 and AGREE = 0.62, while the greenest chromatographic method for the analysis of paracetamol in biological fluids was proposed by Modick et al.). The obtained scores were ESA = 85 and AGREE = 0.7. The NEMI tool proved to have limited performance compared to other metric systems, hence it could not be used alone. Accordingly, the collaboration of NEMI results with ESA and AGREE for greenness assessment is highly recommended to reach appropriate conclusions.
Explaining the Populist Right in the Neoliberal West
Authors: Joppke Christian
Published: April 2023

With the 2016 double shock of Brexit and Trump, the populist right has become a game-changing force on both sides of the North Atlantic. A proper explanation needs to combine political, economic, and cultural elements. Qua populism, the populist right addresses a political condition, which is neoliberalism’s endemic democracy deficit. However, the illiberal democracy that populists advocate is not a cure for it. Cleavage theory in the Lipset–Rokkan tradition sheds light on the rightist orientation and the nationalist content of this populism. The main explanatory challenge remains the combination of economic and cultural factors in the rise of populism. In economic respect, middle-class decline under a neoliberal order seems to be the root cause of populism. However, its agenda is culture-focused, amounting to a nationalist opposition to immigration and cosmopolitanism. This “cultural deflection” is a persistent puzzle. The minimum to conclude is that one-sided accounts of populism in exclusively economic or cultural terms are unconvincing.
Use of Phosphoric Acid and Rice Hulk Ash as Lateritic Soil Stabilizers for Paving Applications
Authors: Silva Angelo Magno dos Santos e , Pascoal Paula Taiane , Baroni Magnos , Vargas Alexandre Silva de , Budny Jaelson , Specht Luciano Pivoto
Published: April 2023

Phosphoric acid (H3PO4) is a product that can be used as a stabilizing additive for tropical soils in an exploratory manner by the construction industry. For the drying process of this grain, its husks are used as fuel for ovens, generating rice husk ash (RHA), which is considered an environmental liability if not reused. In this sense, this paper aimed to evaluate the resilient behavior and the simple compressive strength, at different curing ages, of the use of rice husk ash and phosphoric acid in a simple and combined mixture for the stabilization of lateritic soil. The lateritic soil was mixed with different contents of RHA, H3PO4, and water and compacted in intermediate and modified Proctor energies. Fractured soil samples in the mechanical compressive strength tests were analysed by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The results show the potential for stabilization of the lateritic soil in question in terms of resilience and simple compressive strength through the addition of RHA and H3PO4 at different curing ages. The insertion of only H3PO4 produced the most satisfying resilient behavior. By adding RHA, the strength properties were improved, and good mixtures were obtained for use in paving.
The Use of Field Olfactometry in the Odor Assessment of a Selected Mechanical–Biological Municipal Waste Treatment Plant within the Boundaries of the Selected Facility—A Case Study
Authors: Pawnuk Marcin , Sówka Izabela , Naddeo Vincenzo
Published: April 2023

Odor management plans indicate the need to identify odor sources in waste management facilities. Finding the right tool for this type of task is a key element. This article covers a new approach for odor quantification and source identification at a selected waste management facility by coupling field olfactometry and the spatial interpolation method, such as inverse weighted distance. As the results show, this approach works only partially. Field olfactometry seems to be a suitable tool for odor identification that could be an instrument incorporated into odor management plans as it allowed for recognition of most odor-generating places at the selected facility, i.e., waste stabilization area, green waste storage area, and bioreactors. However, spatial distributions obtained by the selected interpolation method are characterized by high errors during cross-validation, and they tend to overestimate odor concentrations. The substantial weakness of the selected interpolation method is that it cannot handle points where the odor concentration is below the detection threshold. Therefore, the usefulness of such a method is questionable when it comes to odor management plans. Since field olfactometry is a reliable tool for odor measurements, further research into computational methods is needed, including advanced interpolation methods or dispersion modeling based on field olfactometry data.
Study on Sustainable Development Oriented Community Public Hospital in China Based on Optimal Decision Making Model for Environment Renovation
Authors: Zhu Yunhui , Zhou Ying
Published: April 2023

Community public hospital provides public health and basic medical services, and their construction environment has an important impact on the health and well-being of the residents. Due to the long construction period of most community hospitals, the population expansion and the change in age structure have led to a mismatch between the needs of patients and the current situation, which is in urgent need of renovation. This paper aims to support the government and hospitals in making decisions by eliminating the blind spots in capital investment and benefit evaluation. In this study, environmental modification design variables are first established, and on this basis, the fuzzy Delphi method is used to understand the willingness for renovation on the part of patients, accompanying personnel, staff, healthcare workers as well as hospital administrators. Besides, the I-S model is used to identify the renovation projects that would maximize user satisfaction. Furthermore, the differences between patients and medical staff are compared. The ODM (Optimal Decision-making) model is used to evaluate the cost investment and benefits, which provides support for the decision-making of government and hospitals. The results clarify the key renovation design variables that can significantly improve user satisfaction and extend them into renovation strategies that can be landed, and identify renovation strategies with larger improvement scores and the range of renovation funds that maximize benefits to promote the sustainable development of community public hospitals. It can be seen that the ODM model can also be well applied to the renovation of community healthcare services. In addition, the reference classification and design variables should be adjusted according to the characteristics of China, taking into consideration the specificity of individual hospitals.
Quantitative Evaluation of China’s CSR Policies Based on the PMC-Index Model
Authors: Zhang Yukuo , Wang Teng , Wang Chunbao , Cheng Changgao
Published: April 2023

Along with the deep comprehension and accumulated practice of corporate social responsibility (CSR), people are increasingly aware of the positive role of the government in the development of CSR. Chinese governments at all levels have issued many policies to guide and regulate CSR behavior in Chinese enterprises. However, there has been little research on the evaluation of CSR policy’s effectiveness. In this paper, we conducted a text analysis of 76 corporate social responsibility policies (CSRPs) and statistics of high-frequency words. Based on the existing policy evaluation index system, combined with the characteristics of CSRPs, we constructed a CSRPs content evaluation index system based on the policy modeling consistency index (PMC-index) model. Additionally, we conducted content analysis and quantitative evaluation of six CSRPs selected from different levels and regions of government agencies. The results show that the evaluation levels of the six policies were all good, which could play a positive role in the CSR development of their policy objectives. However, policies in different regions show obvious differences in the design of implementation suggestions and incentive and constraint measures, and there is a large space for further optimization. This study not only provides specific policy optimization suggestions for the government and enterprises based on case studies but also provides methods for evaluating the content of CSRPs, filling the research gap in this field.
Immune Responses and Pathogenesis following Experimental SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Domestic Cats
Authors: Vreman Sandra , van der Heijden Elisabeth M. D. L. , Ravesloot Lars , Ludwig Irene S. , van den Brand Judith M. A. , Harders Frank , Kampfraath Andries A. , Egberink Herman F. , Gonzales Jose L. , Oreshkova Nadia , Broere Femke , van der Poel Wim H. M. , Gerhards Nora M.
Published: April 2023

Several reports demonstrated the susceptibility of domestic cats to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Here, we describe a thorough investigation of the immune responses in cats after experimental SARS-CoV-2 inoculation, along with the characterization of infection kinetics and pathological lesions. Specific pathogen-free domestic cats (n = 12) were intranasally inoculated with SARS-CoV-2 and subsequently sacrificed on DPI (days post-inoculation) 2, 4, 7 and 14. None of the infected cats developed clinical signs. Only mild histopathologic lung changes associated with virus antigen expression were observed mainly on DPI 4 and 7. Viral RNA was present until DPI 7, predominantly in nasal and throat swabs. The infectious virus could be isolated from the nose, trachea and lungs until DPI 7. In the swab samples, no biologically relevant SARS-CoV-2 mutations were observed over time. From DPI 7 onwards, all cats developed a humoral immune response. The cellular immune responses were limited to DPI 7. Cats showed an increase in CD8+ cells, and the subsequent RNA sequence analysis of CD4+ and CD8+ subsets revealed a prominent upregulation of antiviral and inflammatory genes on DPI 2. In conclusion, infected domestic cats developed a strong antiviral response and cleared the virus within the first week after infection without overt clinical signs and relevant virus mutations.
Anti-Schmallenberg Virus Activities of Type I/III Interferons-Induced Mx1 GTPases from Different Mammalian Species
Authors: Bayrou Calixte , Van Laere Anne-Sophie , Dam Van Phai , Moula Nassim , Garigliany Mutien-Marie , Desmecht Daniel
Published: April 2023

Mx proteins are key factors of the innate intracellular defense mechanisms that act against viruses induced by type I/III interferons. The family Peribunyaviridae includes many viruses of veterinary importance, either because infection results in clinical disease or because animals serve as reservoirs for arthropod vectors. According to the evolutionary arms race hypothesis, evolutionary pressures should have led to the selection of the most appropriate Mx1 antiviral isoforms to resist these infections. Although human, mouse, bat, rat, and cotton rat Mx isoforms have been shown to inhibit different members of the Peribunyaviridae, the possible antiviral function of the Mx isoforms from domestic animals against bunyaviral infections has, to our knowledge, never been studied. Herein, we investigated the anti-Schmallenberg virus activity of bovine, canine, equine, and porcine Mx1 proteins. We concluded that Mx1 has a strong, dose-dependent anti-Schmallenberg activity in these four mammalian species.
Hydroacoustics in Marine, Transitional and Freshwaters
Authors: Godlewska Małgorzata , Ye Shaowen
Published: April 2023

This Special Issue highlights the diverse applications and potential of hydroacoustic techniques in aquatic research and management.[...]
Competitive Removal of Antimony and Humic Acid by Ferric Chloride: Optimization of Coagulation Process Using Response Surface Methodology
Authors: Inam Muhammad Ali , Khan Rizwan , Lee Kang Hoon , Babar Zaeem Bin , Yeom Ick Tae
Published: April 2023

The co-contamination of aquatic systems with antimony (Sb) and humic acid (HA) is a global concern due to their potential risks to human health and environment. In this research, three-level-three-variable Box–Behnken design (BBD) was investigated for simultaneous Sb(III) and total organic carbon (TOC) removal responses from groundwater by use of ferric chloride (FC) as a coagulant. This study focuses on three operating variables, including initial Sb(III) concentration (100, 550, and 1000 μg/L), HA concentration (2, 6, and 10 mgC/L) and FC dosages (20, 60, and 100 mg/L). The proposed quadratic model presented good correlation with experimental values having R2 and adjusted R2 values of response variables (Sb(III): 0.9981 and 0.9956) and (TOC: 0.9935 and 0.9851), respectively. The most pronounced influence of FC dosage was observed in the removal responses of TOC and Sb(III). Interestingly, the model revealed that a high level of FC dosage had the same TOC removal potential regardless of increasing HA concentration. The statistical model for both Sb(III) and TOC responses was used to optimize the experimental conditions. Moreover, the experimental results were successfully validated with predicted values having high accuracy. The sludge volume produced for studied variables followed the decreasing order as FC dosage > HA concentration > Sb(III) concentration. Under optimum conditions, 0.45 mL/L sludge volume was produced in the treatment of ground water in Nawabshah. In general, the results of the current study may provide some insights into the predictability of simultaneous removal performance of Sb species and organic substances from groundwater.
Aqueous Phase from Hydrothermal Liquefaction: Composition and Toxicity Assessment
Authors: Kulikova Yuliya , Klementev Sviatoslav , Sirotkin Alexander , Mokrushin Ivan , Bassyouni Mohamed , Elhenawy Yasser , El-Hadek Medhat A. , Babich Olga
Published: April 2023

The main obstacle to the widespread use of hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) for waste and wet biomass recycling is the formation of a significant amount of highly polluted wastewaters. This paper presents an analysis of the chemical composition and toxicity of aqueous phase from the HTL (HTL-AP) of primary and secondary sludge. It was shown that HTL-AP has a high level of organic pollution (total organic carbon (TOC) = 4.2–9.6 g/dm3, chemical oxygen demand (COD) = 7.9–14.0 g/dm3, BOD5 = 6.0–8.1 g/dm3) and high biological toxicity for traditional test organisms (so that dilution ratio, ensuring the death of no more than 50% of organisms (DR50), varied within 64.7–142.2 and 44.9–81.7 for Artemia salina and Paramecium caudatum, respectively). An analysis of HTL-AP composition with NMR-spectroscopy method allowed us to establish that the share of carbon in aliphatic chains was 34.05–41.82% and the content of carbon in carboxyl groups and aromatic rings was 26.42–34.44%. As a result, we can conclude that the main HTL-AP components are fatty carboxylic acids and their derivatives, aromatic carboxylic acids. The content of aldehydes, ketones, and lignin is less than 8%. Biological treatment of HTL-AP in a lab-scale aerobic reactor turned out to be successful, so average COD reduction was 67–95%. Sludge from an industrial waste water treatment plant (petrochemical sector) with a microorganism concentration of 2.7 g/dm3 was used as inoculum. HTP-AP was diluted 1:10 with tap water. The duration of the process was 18 h.
Characteristics of Sedimentary Organic Matter in Tidal Estuaries: A Case Study from the Minjiang River Estuary
Authors: Wu Shuilan , Tao Shuqin , Ye Xiang , Wang Aijun , Liu Zitong , Ran Chang , Liang Haoshen , Li Haiqi , Yang Yuxin , Zhang Wangze , Liu James T.
Published: April 2023

As one of the main interfaces of the Earth system, estuaries show the strongest land–sea interaction in the carbon cycle, which links terrestrial ecosystems to the marginal sea. Furthermore, estuaries are considered as one of the most active intermediate reservoirs for both terrestrial and marine matter due to complex hydrodynamic processes regulated by the river runoff, wave and tide. Processing of organic matter (OM) in tidal estuaries modifies its transfer and transformation from the river to the sea, so studies of on the source and distributions of estuarine OM can help us understand the behavior of production, exchange, transport and burial of diverse OM within this transition zone before entering the marginal sea. In this paper, we took the Minjiang River Estuary (MRE) as a typical system in which there is strong influence of the tide. The source, composition and spatial distribution of OM in surface sediments of MRE were deciphered based on multiple organic geochemical properties for source-specific biomarkers (n-alkanes, n-alkanols, sterols) and bulk OM. Results show that sedimentary organic components were negatively correlated with sediment grain size, which indicates fine particles such as silt and clay are the major carriers of the OM signals in tidal estuaries. Source-specific biomarker proxies indicate that in terms of source diversity the sedimentary OM in the MRE shows mixed signals of terrestrial and marine sources, and the proportion of terrestrial OM decreases with the increase in distance from the land. The fractional contributions of OM from the riverine (i.e., terrestrial), marine and deltaic sources were quantitatively estimated using a Monte Carlo (MC) three-end-member mixing model based on C/N and δ13C values, and the average contributions of the three sources are 40 ± 10%, 48 ± 10% and 12 ± 4%, respectively, with little contribution from deltaic sources. The dispersion of sedimentary OM from different sources in the MRE is primarily controlled by the depositional environment determined by dynamic conditions and tidal processes play a significant role in the redistribution of sedimentary OM dispersion patterns. Compared with other large estuaries in southeast China, the OM accumulation contribution in the tide dominated small and medium-sized estuaries such as the MRE which is largely dependent on riverine and marine deliveries. The MRE has a high potential for both terrestrial and marine organic carbon (OC) burial, with an accumulation rate of 3.39 ± 1.83 mg cm−2 yr−1 for terrestrial OC, and an accumulation rate of 3.18 ± 0.68 mg cm−2 yr−1 for marine OC in muddy sediment, making it an important contributor to the sedimentary carbon sink of the marginal sea.
Right to unilaterally refuse to perform the contract and change unilaterally the terms of the obligation to provide hotel services
Authors:   Saratov Regional Public Organization ", Kuskov A. S. ,   Center for Legal Protection of Consumers", Sirik N. V. ,   Smolensk Branch of the International Law Institute of the Saratov State Law Academy
Published: April 2023

The work on the basis of the analysis of legislation, materials of judicial practice, legal doctrine and taking into account the modern realities of the hotel business reveals the peculiarities of the realization by consumers (customers) and hotel organizations of the right to declare a unilateral refusal to fulfill the contract and unilaterally changing the conditions of the obligation to provide hotel services. Questions about the legal consequences of exercising the right to unilateral refusal or unilateral change in the terms of the obligation are formulated and resolved — the legality of the penalty, the retention of actual expenses incurred, the refusal of the hotel organization to provide services due to the peculiarities of the consumer’s identity, the presence of force majeure and security threats, the lack of opportunities for providing services due to overbooking, etc.
Symptoms of liver pathology in geriatric practice
Authors:   Khabarovsk Regional Clinical Hospital, Pilipenko M. V.
Published: April 2023

Worldwide, liver disease occupies a significant place among the causes of disability and mortality. Liver pathology is quite common in the work of a general practitioner. The variety and nonspecificity of clinical manifestations dictates the need for knowledge and strict adherence to diagnostic algorithms for a timely and complete diagnosis.
Focal liver lesion in tuberculosis
Authors:   Private Medical Center ", Kirichenko I. B. ,   Antey",   , Moscow
Published: April 2023

In the clinical practice of a general practitioner, there are many difficulties in diagnosing certain nosological forms, even despite various diagnostic studies. This is often due to the fact that the methods used, especially ultrasound, as well as the results of many biochemical studies, in most cases make it possible to suspect a pathology or identify its indirect signs while methods of accurate diagnostics, such as laparoscopy, biopsy, targeted biopsy, computed tomography, and colonoscopy, are rarely used. The clinical case presented below is one of the confirmations of the above.
General practice experiences for parents of children with intellectual disability: a systematic review
Authors: Thomas Nicky , Atherton Helen , Dale Jeremy , Smith Kayla , Crawford Hayley
Published: April 2023

Background

Parents of children diagnosed with intellectual disability are at increased risk of mental and physical health difficulties compared with other parents. They are likely to regularly seek medical treatment for their health concerns from general practice as well as on behalf of their child with intellectual disability, yet there is limited evaluation of the role general practice plays for this patient group.

Aim

To explore parents’ experiences of general practice support when caring for a child with intellectual disability.

Design & setting

Systematic review of studies reporting experiences of general practice as described by parents who care for children with intellectual disability.

Method

Databases were searched using a pre-defined search strategy. Studies were included based on detailed inclusion criteria, title, abstract, and full-text screening. Quality assessment was conducted using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT). A narrative synthesis was conducted.

Results

A total of nine studies were identified. There was a clear absence of data on parents' own health experience and consultation in general practice. Findings related to navigating general practice on behalf of their child’s health including accessibility of general practice and positive and negative experiences of GPs.

Conclusion

Findings from this review highlight priority areas for research, including further exploration of parents’ perspectives on seeking support specifically for their own health concerns, while caring for a child with intellectual disability, to bring more awareness and understanding of the role general practice plays in supporting the health of this carer group. This review also considers implications for clinical services, including tailoring appointments for this patient group as a priority for continuity of care, which may result in improved experiences of general practice and encourage better communication.
An ethnographic look into conjugal abuse in Ethiopia: a study from the Orthodox Täwahәdo community of Aksum through the local religio-cultural framework
Authors: Istratii Romina
Published: April 2023

Ces dernières années, les études sur la violence entre partenaires intimes en Éthiopie se sont multipliées. Les dernières enquêtes éthiopiennes sur la démographie et la santé ont établi que la violence conjugale affectant principalement les femmes est courante et largement légitimée dans toute l’Éthiopie. Étonnamment, très peu de recherches ont été menées sur les réalités plus ethnographiques de la violence conjugale et en particulier sur les connexions entre l’attitude des gens face à la question et leurs croyances religieuses et systèmes culturels. Parallèlement au champ plus large de la violence liée au genre dans le développement de l’Afrique, de nombreuses études disponibles présupposent des explications féministes, associant la violence conjugale à des inégalités de genre favorisées par des paramètres culturels ou religieux, sans fournir de preuves empiriques rigoureuses pour démontrer ce lien. Cet article présente une enquête anthropologique originale, fondée sur la théologie, sur les réalités et les attitudes des individus face aux abus conjugaux chez les chrétiens orthodoxes Täwah e do d’Aksum, dans le nord de l’Éthiopie. Cette étude a adopté une approche conceptuelle et méthodologique décoloniale et a combiné un cadre analytique sensible au genre théorisé de «l’intérieur » avec une étude approfondie de la tradition religieuse locale. L’étude fournit un premier aperçu de certains des mécanismes qui ont contribué à la perpétuation de violences conjugales et à la tolérance envers celles-ci dans les communautés urbaines et rurales d’Aksoum, ajoutant une complexité considérable à l’interprétation des attitudes face à la violence conjugale qui ne sont actuellement pas prises en compte dans les enquêtes démographiques et autres études produites en Éthiopie.
Peride Celal'in Kurgusal Yenilikleriyle Öne Çıkan Polisiye Romanı: "Sahildeki Ceset"
Authors: ULUSOY TUNÇEL Ayşe
Published: April 2023

Yazarlığa, kaleme aldığı popüler romanlarla (1938-1954) adım atan Peride Celal, 1950'li yıllardan itibaren 'kurgu'nun önem kazandığı daha gerçekçi romanlar yazarak, bu alandaki kariyerini geliştirmiştir. Peride Celal'in eserlerine bir bütün olarak baktığımızda, yazarın polisiye türüne ilgisinin bir merak ve düşkünlüğün çok ötesinde bir tutku boyutunda olduğunu fark ederiz. Polisiye kurgular, Peride Celal'in, büyük bir kısmı tefrika olan, ilk dönem eserlerinde amaçladığı gerilim duygusunu kuvvetlendirmeye katkı sağlarlar. Bu eserler arasında yer alan Kızıl Vazo (1941) ve aynı yıl basılan Ben Vurmadım, temelde ihtiraslı aşkı konu almalarına rağmen bir cinayet etrafında gelişen 'gizem' duygusunu içermeleri bakımından polisiye roman sınıfına dahil edilmişlerdir. Bir muamma üzerine kurulmuş Yıldız Tepe (1945) romanını da gotik edebiyata yakın duran yapısıyla bu eserler arasında düşünebiliriz. Yazarın ikici dönem romanlarında polisiye kurgular, yerini polisiye yazarlara ve eserlere bırakır. Peride Celal'in neredeyse her eserinde, polisiye romanlara düşkün roman kişileri karşımıza çıkar. Yazarın ilk dönem eserlerinden Sahildeki Ceset (1949) romanı ise yukarıda saydığımız eserlerde eksik olan 'dedektif' dahil, polisiye edebiyatın bütün unsurlarını barındıran bir eser olması yönüyle öne çıkar. Eser, "Aşk ve Macera Romanı" adı altında takdim edildiği ve kitap olarak basılmadığı için bugüne kadar ilgi görmemiştir. Klasik dedektif romanlarının "katil kim?" (whodunit) formatında yazılan Sahildeki Ceset, her romanında yeni bir kurgusal denemeye girişen Peride Celal'in, bu çabasının cevap bulduğu bir romandır. Peride Celal, Batı edebiyatında Agatha Christie'nin örneklerini verdiği 'katil anlatıcı' tekniğini bu romanında başarıyla uygular. Bir Ada polisiyesi olan Sahildeki Ceset, hem mekân hem kurgu bakımından A. Christie'nin Ölüm Oyunu (1941) adlı romanından geniş ölçüde etkilenmiştir. Gerçek ve kurgu arasındaki ilişkiyi Sahildeki Ceset romanında da sorgulamaya devam eden Peride Celal, bu romanıyla polisiye türde üstkurmaca tekniğinin de bir örneğini vermiştir.
Peyami Safa’nın Hikâyelerinde Çingeneler
Authors: KISA Berfin , KEKEÇ İsmail
Published: April 2023

Çingeneler tarih boyunca dikkatleri üzerine çekmişlerdir. Onların fiziksel görünümleri, farklı yaşam tarzları, dilleri, meslekleri, hayata bakışları ilgiyi üzerlerine toplamış, bu da Çingenelerin farklı disiplinler tarafından incelenmesine sebebiyet vermiştir. Bu ilgi edebi eserlere de yansımıştır. Kimi Türk yazarlar, Çingeneleri yaşantıları, meslekleri, dış görünüşleri ile edebiyat sahasına dahil etmişlerdir. Çingeneler birer parçası oldukları toplumlar tarafından ve yer aldıkları edebi eserlerde bazen kötü, çirkin, uğursuz gibi olumsuz sıfatlar ile anılırken bazen de maharetleri, güzel olmaları gibi olumlu nitelikleri ile anılmışlardır.
Adını edebiyat kamuoyuna hikâyeleri ile duyuran Peyami Safa için bu hikâyeleri romana geçişinde bir durak olması bakımından önemlidir. Peyami Safa, 1919’da ağabeyi İsmail Safa ile birlikte çıkardıkları Yirminci Asır Gazetesi’nde “Asrın Hikâyeleri” başlığı altında otuz kadar hikâyesini imzasız olarak yayımlar. Hatta bu hikâyelerinden bir kısmı da gazete ilavesi olarak verilir. Söz konusu hikâyelerinin çoğu içerik itibarıyla kadın-erkek ilişkilerine odaklanır. Yazar, “Asrın Hikâyeleri”nde yer alan “Çingeneler Cazibelidir” ve “Çirkin Aşk” isimli hikâyelerinde de kadın-erkek ilişkilerini ele almış, bunu da Çingeneleri kurgusunun merkezine yerleştirerek yapmıştır. Bu çalışmanın amacı da tarih boyunca farklı kültürlerde ve toplumlarda görünür olan Çingenelerin, adı anılan iki metinde – “Çingeneler Cazibelidir” ve “Çirkin Aşk” – nasıl ve hangi yönleriyle işlendiğini ortaya koymak olacaktır.
A realidade virtual como ferramenta pedagógica no ensino de física
Authors: De Souza Marcus Vinicius Ribeiro , Barros Luana Oliveira , Farias Francisco Otavio Miranda
Published: April 2023

Nos dias atuais, a presença das tecnologias de informação, comunicação e mídias eletrônicas é cada vez mais frequente em nossas vidas. Essas tecnologias transformaram a forma como vivemos em sociedade, e consequentemente, afetaram a educação. Hoje em dia, muitas escolas usam recursos tecnológicos para melhorar o processo de ensino-aprendizagem. No entanto, nem todas as escolas têm os recursos financeiros necessários para isso. Nesse sentido, o objetivo deste estudo foi apresentar uma estratégia de ensino-aprendizagem de baixo custo e avaliar a concepção de aprendizagem dos estudantes por meio do uso da realidade virtual nas aulas de Física. A metodologia proposta envolveu uma abordagem qualitativa e quantitativa, na qual dados foram coletados por meio de questionários. Durante as aulas, foram montados óculos de realidade virtual, permitindo que os estudantes experimentassem a educação imersiva. A experiência proposta pelo estudo proporcionou aos alunos uma nova perspectiva em relação à Física, permitindo mudar a dinâmica das aulas e torná-las mais interativas e diferenciadas. Analisando os resultados obtidos, foi possível observar que a realidade virtual pode ser considerada um instrumento pedagógico interessante e eficaz nas aulas de Física, devido ao envolvimento que ela gera. Sendo assim, a realidade virtual pode ser vista como uma ferramenta adicional para o processo de ensino-aprendizagem de Física.