bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Slasher Film
Authors: Turnock Bryan
Published: February 2021

This chapter argues that of all the horror genre's many strands and variations, the original 'slasher' cycle of the 1970s and early 1980s remains the most disreputable and critically vilified, yet its commercial popularity and lasting influence are unquestionable. Whilst rarely making out-and-out slashers themselves, major Hollywood studios cashed in by buying finished films from their independent producers, giving the makers an instant profit and the studios a cheap marketable film virtually guaranteed an audience of teenagers. The chapter examines a film frequently cited as a forerunner of the slasher, one heavily influenced by the Italian giallo genre of crime fiction. In diverging from the established conventions of the giallo, Mario Bava's Bay of Blood (1971) introduced a number of narrative and aesthetic features found in many of the slasher films that followed. The chapter then considers the influence of the video industry on the evolution of the horror genre (and vice versa), and looks at the issue of censorship as it assesses the British 'video nasties' scare of the early 1980s.
Modern-Day Vampires
Authors: Turnock Bryan
Published: February 2021

This chapter studies the vampire movie, which has undoubtedly been the most enduring sub-genre throughout the history of horror cinema. From the German Expressionism of Nosferatu, through the Universal and Hammer versions of Dracula, George A. Romero's modernist Martin, the genre-busting From Dusk 'Til Dawn, to the Twilight saga and beyond, they have remained popular with audiences the world over. Once confined to the cobweb-filled cellars of nineteenth-century European castles, since the 1970s the cinematic vampire is more likely to be found in contemporary suburbia. The chapter looks at the history of movie vampires and how they have evolved to their current form. It considers Tomas Alfredson's Låt den rätte komma in (Let the Right One In, 2008), a film that takes the conventions laid down across a century of vampire cinema to produce something that still appears fresh and exciting.
‘Mainstream’ Horror
Authors: Turnock Bryan
Published: February 2021

This chapter reflects on how the year 2017 saw a renaissance in horror cinema, the genre as a whole becoming 'mainstream'. It looks at the parameters of the term 'mainstream horror', and how it relates to the genre as it developed through the years. The chapter then considers a film that succeeded in capturing the imaginations, and box-office dollars, of traditional and non-traditional horror audiences around the world. Capitalising on renewed interest in the work of Stephen King, the 2017 adaptation of his epic novel IT quickly became the highest grossing R-rated horror film of all time. Encompassing many of the themes and ideas covered in the previous chapters, Andy Muschietti's It provides a fascinating barometer for the state of horror cinema as we approach the third decade of the twenty-first century.
The Short (and Bloody) History of EC
Authors: Brown Simon
Published: February 2021

This chapter traces the history of the EC comics that inspired George A. Romero's Creepshow (1982). The origins of EC can be traced to the beginnings of the American comic book at the start of the 1930s. For all the EC horror titles that ran for only four years from 1950 to 1954 before finally being quashed by the establishment, their legacy, and their importance to both comic book and horror history, is undeniable. Through their political and social messages and their uncompromising images, they were an important site for subversion for American youth in a period which stressed conformity. Some of those American youth, like Stephen King and Romero, would grow up to become significant figures in American horror films and literature, and bring the influence of EC into the genre.
The Reception of Creepshow
Authors: Brown Simon
Published: February 2021

This chapter analyses the reception of George A. Romero's Creepshow (1982). Creepshow, in spite of the involvement of Romero and Tom Savini, and also Stephen King's stated desire to make a film so scary that people would ‘literally crawl out of the theatre’, stands apart from the splatter/slash/body horror/gore traditions of early 1980s horror cinema. This did not however prevent the film from being criticised for its violence. Given the moderate levels of violence actually in the film, the fact that Creepshow was criticised for its violence was more likely to do with the reputation of its producer and director rather than its content. Creepshow was a milder form of the kind of horrors that Romero had explored in his previous work. It also lacked the overt, angry social commentary about militarism, racism, poverty, urban decline, and consumerism that had categorised his prior horror output. Although social commentary was present in the form of Romero and King's critique of wealth, greed, and consumption, like the violence, it appeared in Creepshow in a much subtler form.
The Legacy of Creepshow
Authors: Brown Simon
Published: February 2021

This concluding chapter looks at the legacy of George A. Romero's Creepshow (1982). It focuses on the sequels and on the Tales from the Darkside series and movie. The relative success of Romero and Stephen King's film was sufficient to lead Richard P. Rubenstein, along with United Film Distributors (UFD) and Warner Bros, to suggest a sequel. It was also good enough for Rubenstein, on behalf of Laurel Productions Inc., to plan a spin-off TV series, which in order to get around Warner Bros' part ownership of Creepshow was renamed Tales from the Darkside. The pilot episode, written by Romero and directed by Bob Balaban, first aired in the US in October of 1983 and the series was picked up by Paramount, beginning in earnest in September of 1984, and running for four seasons until July of 1988.
Horror and Fantasy in The Mummy
Authors: Sutherland Doris V.
Published: February 2021

This chapter explores the horror and fantasy in The Mummy (1932). Universal Pictures' treatments of the vampire and werewolf themes had specific bodies of folklore to draw upon for inspiration, but as The Mummy featured what was for all intents and purposes a new variety of monster, the studio had a blank slate. The film not only introduced audiences to the living mummy Imhotep but also transported them to an entire world of gods, magic, and curses. As well as taking inspiration from weird fiction and popular Egyptology, The Mummy frequently uses contemporary horror films as reference points, synthesising both old and new to create the latest movie monster. In doing so, it established most of the conventions that would be re-used in later mummy films.
The Legacy of The Mummy
Authors: Sutherland Doris V.
Published: February 2021

This chapter highlights the legacy of The Mummy (1932). Ever since the 1930s, the plot elements and iconography of the film have been re-used, re-interpreted, and re-worked in myriad forms. Universal Pictures' follow-ups to The Mummy began eight years after the original film came out, by which time the studio's horror output had lost some of its spark from the early half of the 1930s. First came The Mummy's Hand in 1940, then The Mummy's Tomb in 1942 and The Mummy's Ghost and The Mummy's Curse in 1944. Eventually, Britain's Hammer Films obtained full remake rights to the Universal horror filmography. The chapter then looks at other mummy films made outside Universal and Hammer. In the era of franchise blockbusters, The Mummy remains a viable cinematic brand. While the original Universal Mummy series ended in 1955 and the Hammer revival in 1971, the 1990s saw Universal attempt to recreate The Mummy for a new generation.
Second Reel
Authors: Aspell Luke
Published: February 2021

This chapter examines some of the themes of David Cronenberg's Shivers (1975). Cronenberg's impetus to make horror films had initially come from his recognition of mortality in the ageing process. His identity had been bound up with a youth-identified culture; on some level, losing youth meant a loss of identity. If the bourgeois stability of Starliner Tower was not appealing to him on some level, it would not be a tomb he could imagine being sealed up in — Shivers' fear of Starliner life is a kind of claustrophobia. Meanwhile, the film's later scenes of rape, paedophilia, and incest, however blackly comic, all evoke the audience's horror and acknowledge the taboos they transgress; Cronenberg's awareness of the gravity of his visions is not in doubt. The chapter then looks at the comedy of Shivers.
Third Reel
Authors: Aspell Luke
Published: February 2021

This chapter assesses how, in Shivers (1975), David Cronenberg uses image and sound as discrete channels to extend narrative space and alter the significance of the visual information with the context provided by the aural. By coupling visual pleasure to aural infodump, Cronenberg not only smooths the audience's experience of a passage of pure exposition, but also qualifies their enjoyment in a way that produces a comic shudder. The chapter then considers exploitation cinema and exploitation film spectatorship. The film's association of a desiring female subject with fear raises the question of whether one is watching a misogynist film. The chapter also reflects on Cronenberg's Canadian liberalism. Moreover, it looks at the most significant evaluations of Shivers.
Fourth Reel
Authors: Aspell Luke
Published: February 2021

This chapter describes David Cronenberg's use of step-printed slow motion in Shivers (1975). The process entails a loss in image quality — rephotographed by an optical printer, the frames gain grain — and results in a staccato motion quite different from the smooth progression achieved by shooting at high frame-rates. It is a technique which prevents viewer immersion; where conventional slow motion creates the feeling of a dream or altered consciousness, step printing foregrounds the mechanical nature of motion pictures, rupturing the illusions of continuous motion and transparency upon which the illusionist cinema depends. The chapter then studies how Cronenberg builds the eerie sense of emotional displacement in some of the film's scenes. It also considers the staging of rape scenes in Shivers.
Fifth Reel
Authors: Aspell Luke
Published: February 2021

This chapter reviews the final scenes of David Cronenberg's Shivers (1975). In a character's description of her ‘very disturbing’ dream where she found herself ‘making love to a strange man’, the original line was supposed to be ‘making love to Sigmund Freud’. Cronenberg made the last-minute decision to change ‘Sigmund Freud’ to ‘a strange man’ in post-production. To make Freud the speaker would have been too blatant an intellectual reference, and would have implied that the film's scenario is explicable in Freudian terms, reducing its power. Martin Scorsese's description of Cronenberg's films in terms of ‘Jungian culture shock’ is particularly apt in the case of Shivers; throughout the film one notices hints of something less rational, with less pretence to scientific thinking, than the ostensible cause-and-effect narrative has accounted for. Cronenberg is a modern, and modernist, filmmaker, and requires a solid empiricist runway for his flights of fancy, but he is a filmmaker of the irrational, of dreams that become nightmares. It is for this reason that his works of fantastique are closer to horror than to the science fiction they often resemble.
How to Search for Multiple Messengers—A General Framework Beyond Two Messengers
Authors: Veske Doğa , Márka Zsuzsa , Bartos Imre , Márka Szabolcs
Published: February 2021

Quantification of the significance of a candidate multi-messenger detection of cosmic events is an emerging need in the astrophysics and astronomy communities. In this paper we show that a model-independent optimal search does not exist, and we present a general Bayesian method for the optimal model-dependent search, which is scalable to any number and any kind of messengers, and applicable to any model. In the end, we demonstrate it through an example for a joint gravitational wave, high-energy neutrino, short gamma-ray burst event search; which has not been examined heretofore.
Can Galaxy Evolution Mimic Cosmic Reionization?
Authors: Hassan Sultan , Gronke Max
Published: February 2021

Lyα emitting galaxies are powerful tools to probe the late stages of cosmic reionization. The observed sudden drop in Lyα fraction at z > 6 is often interpreted as a sign of reionization, since the intergalactic medium (IGM) is more neutral and opaque to Lyα photons. Crucially, this interpretation of the observations is only valid under the assumption that galaxies themselves experience a minimal evolution at these epochs. By modeling Lyα radiative transfer effects in and around galaxies, we examine whether a change in the galactic properties can reproduce the observed drop in the Lyα fraction. We find that an increase in the galactic neutral hydrogen content or a reduction in the outflow velocity toward higher redshift both lead to a lower Lyα escape fraction, and can thus mimic an increasing neutral fraction of the IGM. We furthermore find that this change in galactic properties leads to systematically different Lyα spectra which can be used to differentiate the two competing effects. Using the CANDELSz7 survey measurements which indicate slightly broader lines at z ∼ 6, we find that the scenario of a mere increase in the galactic column density toward higher z is highly unlikely. We also show that a decrease in outflow velocity is not ruled out by existing data but leads to more prominent blue peaks at z > 6. Our results caution using Lyα observations to estimate the IGM neutral fraction without accounting for the potential change in the galactic properties, e.g., by mapping out the evolution of Lyα spectral characteristics.
Mass Segregation as a New Indicator of Binary, IMBH, and Stellar-mass Black Hole Systems in Globular Clusters
Authors: Wu Wenbo , Zhao Gang
Published: February 2021

This study presents the mass segregation of 35 Galactic globular clusters (GCs) through the radial profile of the mean mass of main-sequence stars. Most of them are found to be mass segregated due to two-body relaxation effects. The GCs with a larger core to half-mass–radius ratio tend to be less mass segregated. Recent simulations show that energy sources can quench mass segregation in relaxed GCs. Combining mass segregation and core binary fractions (f

c
), we find a moderate anticorrelation between them when f

c
is below 0.15. Four GCs that have a small amount of mass segregation are selected as possible intermediate-mass black hole holders. However, none of them are strong candidates considering their half-mass relaxation times.
Very-high-energy Emission and Cascade Radiation of Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows: Homogeneous versus Wind External Media
Authors: Huang Xiao-Li , Wang Ze-Rui , Liu Ruo-Yu , Wang Xiang-Yu , Liang En-Wei
Published: February 2021

Recent detection of sub-TeV emission from gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) represents a breakthrough in the GRB study. The multiwavelength data of the afterglows of GRB 190114C support the synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) origin for its sub-TeV emission. We present a comparative analysis on the SSC emission of GRB afterglows in the homogeneous and wind environments in the framework of the forward shock model. The γ
γ absorption of very-high-energy photons due to pair production within the source and the Klein–Nishina effect on the inverse Compton scattering are considered. Generally a higher SSC flux is expected for a larger circum-burst density due to a larger Compton parameter, but meanwhile the internal γ
γ absorption is more severe for sub-TeV emission. The flux ratio between the SSC component and the synchrotron component decreases more quickly with time in the wind medium case than in the homogeneous density medium case. The light curves of the SSC emission are also different for the two types of media. We also calculate the cascade emission resulting from the absorbed high-energy photons. In the ISM environment with n ≳ 1 cm−3, the cascade synchrotron emission could be comparable to the synchrotron emission of the primary electrons in the optical band, which may flatten the optical afterglow light curve at an early time (t < 1 hr). In the wind medium with A
* ≳ 0.1, the cascade emission in the eV–GeV band is comparable or even larger than the emission of the primary electrons at the early time.
SITELLE Hα Imaging Spectroscopy of z ∼ 0.25 Clusters: Emission-line Galaxy Detection and Ionized Gas Offset in Abell 2390 and Abell 2465
Authors: Liu Qing , Yee H. K. C. , Drissen Laurent , Sivanandam Suresh , Pintos-Castro Irene , Alcorn Leo Y. , Hsieh Bau-Ching , Lin Lihwai , Lin Yen-Ting , Muzzin Adam , Noble Allison , Old Lyndsay
Published: February 2021

Environmental effects are crucial to the understanding of the evolution of galaxies in dense environments, such as galaxy clusters. Using the large field of view of SITELLE, the unique imaging Fourier transform spectrograph at the Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope, we are able to obtain 2D spectral information for a large and complete sample of cluster galaxies out to the infall region. We describe a pipeline developed to identify emission-line galaxies (ELGs) from the datacube using cross-correlation techniques. We present results based on the spatial offsets between the emission-line regions and stellar continua in ELGs from two z ∼ 0.25 galaxy clusters, Abell 2390 and A2465. We find a preference for the offsets to be pointed away from the cluster center. Combining the two clusters, there is a 3σ excess for high-velocity galaxies within the virial radius to have the offsets pointed away from the cluster center. Assuming the offset is a proxy for the velocity vector of a galaxy, as expected from ram pressure stripping, this excess indicates that ram pressure stripping occurs most effectively during the first passage of an infalling galaxy, leading to the quenching of its star formation. We also find that, outside the virial region, the continuum-normalized Hα line flux for infalling galaxies with large offsets is on average lower than those with small or no measurable offset, further supporting ram pressure as a dominant quenching mechanism during the initial infall stages.
Comparative ecology of two specialist bees: Dasypoda visnaga Rossi, 1790 and Dasypoda maura Pérez, 1895 (Hymenoptera, Melittidae)
Authors: El Abdouni Insafe , Lhomme Patrick , Hamroud Laila , Wood Thomas , Christmann Stefanie , Rasmont Pierre , Michez Denis
Published: February 2021

Many wild bee species are declining globally. To design efficient mitigation strategies to slow down or reverse these trends, we urgently need to better understand their basic ecological requirements. In this context, we studied two specialist species for which ecological data are scarce:Dasypoda visnagaandDasypoda maura. We provide for the first-time detailed information on their phenologies, morphological traits, floral preferences, and nesting behaviours based on historical data and new samples from Morocco. The flight season of both species extends from late spring to late summer butD. mauraemerges earlier thanD. visnaga. Though the two species show different morphological traits, palynological analyses show thatD. visnagaandD. maurafemales collect almost exclusively pollen fromScolymussp. (Asteraceae). Concerning their nesting behaviour,D. visnagaseems to be more gregarious thanD. maura. Both species build nests in sandy soil that can reach a depth of 80 cm. These ecological observations show that the differences betweenD. visnagaandD. mauraare minor with regards to habitat requirements.
A bilateral gynandromorph of Discoelius dufourii (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Zethinae): morphology and mating behaviour
Authors: Budrienė Anna , Budrys Eduardas , Orlovskytė Svetlana
Published: February 2021

A gynandromorph is an organism combining both female- and male-type tissues. While the vast majority of studies have described the morphology of gynandromorphs, their sexual behaviours remain under-explored. We studied a predominantly bilateral gynandromorph specimen of the predatory wasp Discoelius dufourii (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Zethinae) reared from a trap-nest. In addition to describing the morphology, we explored the gynandromorph’s response to a conspecific female, comparing it with the behavioural interactions between normal males and females of D. dufourii and the phylogenetically related D. zonalis. For most specific behavioural elements, males of both Discoelius species exhibited a greater frequency and a higher probability of occurrences of the behaviour than did females. However, aggression and plopping behaviours were prevalent in females. The gynandromorphic specimen demonstrated behavioural activities similar to those of a male, including a relatively frequent mate body antennation and an attempt to mount a female. However, it approached the female less frequently in comparison to conspecific normal males, and it did not demonstrate substrate antennation and jumping, typical of Discoelius male mating behaviour. Based on the parameters of the nest cell, the probability of the development of the gynandromorphic specimen from an unfertilized (male) egg was higher than the probability of development from a fertilized (female) egg.
Foreword – The importance of a healthy microbiota in the era of COVID-19
Authors: Venema Koen
Published: February 2021

At the start of 2020 we were thrilled to have reached 10 years of Beneficial Microbes! Little did we know that soon after Europe and the rest of the world (with Asia already earlier) would be in lock-down due to COVID-19. It has been a strange year. And now, at the start of 2021, the excitement of having a vaccine is tempered by the fact that everywhere mutants of the virus pop up. Although this was likely to occur, as also the influenza virus keeps mutating, it means that at the moment it is unclear as to whether the current situation of lock-downs and social distancing will remain for a longer period than we had anticipated and hoped for at the end of 2020 when it became clear that several vaccines were efficacious. Some studies have shown a role of the gut microbiota composition in disease severity, together with vitamin D, cholesterol and other factors. It was a hype to write a ‘review’ on gut microbiota and the effect on COVID-19, and also the board of Beneficial Microbes has received several submissions of so-called reviews on the topic. However, all of them were rejected, as they were mere speculations about how the gut microbiota might affect virus infection and disease severity, without any data whatsoever. However, there are some good studies out there that have shown that a proper gut microbiota may indeed influence disease severity, such as recently reviewed by Kim (2021). All in all, this may not be too surprising for the knowledgeable reader, as they would know that the microbiota plays a role in everything that can be wrong with us!
Modern Nanomaterials Extraction and Characterization Techniques Using Plant Samples and Their Biomedical Potential
Authors: Patra Biswajit , R. Paulraj , Saravanan Muthupandian , Meena Ramovatar , Pradhan Surya Narayan
Published: February 2021

Nanotechnology has explored tremendous development during the last decade because of its specific properties. Nanotechnology offers generous prospects in the improvement of agriculture, water treatment, and food industry. In this study, modern extraction techniques of agricultural and plant samples with advanced characterization methods were discussed. Additionally, various factors affecting during synthesis of NPs are also briefly described. The assessments of NPs in these samples are very complex and various techniques are to be used to get essential data. The outcomes estimated by these various techniques and methodologies are not constantly identical because of different samples different standardization methodology. A new challenge emerges when testing samples with low concentration. For this situation, expository techniques with high affectability are wanted to gauge low convergences of NPs. A perfect analytical technique should be able to detect plant-NP association, for example, structure, morphology, natural speciation, size, mass concentration, etc.
Emerging Nano-Based Drug Delivery Approach for Cancer Therapeutics
Authors: Saravanan Muthupandian , Poornima S. , Karthik V. , Vigneshwaran A. , Manikandan S. , Ramasamy Subbaiya , Balachandar R. , Prakash P. , Mahendhran Karthikeyan , Ramanathan Murugappan
Published: February 2021

Cancer remains the important cause for the mortality worldwide. In recent days, different biomedical strategies are in the limelight for the control of mortality due to cancer. As a promising strategy in cancer treatment, nano-formulations with advantages in drug delivery, health, and pharmacy are booming. The conventional nanocarrier continues, however, to suffer from low drug load efficiency, possible toxicity, unknown metabolism, and other uncertainties. To overcome these problems, carrier-free nanodrugs with desirable bioactivity were developed quickly and attracted considerable attention. In the meantime, the nanoarchitecture developed by a simple “natural” method with a multifunctional self-life has major advantages in multi-drug resistant synergistic cancer therapies and inhibition. Until now, the carrier-free nanoparticles for tumour therapy, phototherapy, chemotherapy, diagnostics, and synergistic therapy have made significant progress. In this review, the authors provide an integrated and detailed review of recent literature on nanodrug delivery systems composed of several active agents.
Copper Nanoparticles
Authors: Rasool Ubaid , Ali Davoodbasha Mubarak , S. Hemalatha
Published: February 2021

Nanoparticles are also proving a great alternative to antibiotics in combating the deadly bacterial infections. Copper nanoparticles, in particular, are being utilized as antimicrobial agents as well as their interaction with other particles helps to improve the antimicrobial efficacy. Compared to other metallic nanoparticles, copper nanoparticles are highly reactive, and their small size allows them to be used in different areas. When exposed to air, copper nanoparticles form copper oxide, and to prevent this oxidation, silica and carbon are utilized to coat copper nanoparticles. Metallic copper nanoparticles have been used in place of silver nanoparticles and other noble metals as anti-infective agents and also utilized in in water purification.
The Language of Cinema Fosters the Development of Soft Skills for Inclusion and Interdisciplinary Learning
Authors: Poli Annamaria , Tamburini Daniela
Published: February 2021

This chapter presents research on an Italian education project implemented with immigrant students attending C.P.I.A. courses in Bergamo (Centro Provinciale Istruzione Adulti – Provincial Adult Education Center). This contribution proposes an educational experience characterized by an interactive approach among different disciplines. The title of the project was Cinema as a resource for enhancing interdisciplinary teaching and learning by harnessing knowledge and skills from across different subject areas: from Italian language to geography and history, and from science and maths to the visual arts. Over the four years of the project, film was used in multiple ways as a tool/resource for teaching-learning focused on developing school inclusion. The overall aims of the project were to incorporate the cinema into the construction of an interdisciplinary teaching/learning path, while seeking to integrate theory and praxis within a collaborative professional development and research model. The project activities were designed in keeping with EU recommendations on core competences for ongoing learning. From 2006 to 2018, the European Parliament and Council approved a set of “Recommendations on Key Competences for Lifelong Learning,” that is to say, knowledge, skills, and attitudes that will help learners find personal fulfilment and, later in life, find work and take part in society. The project was also informed by recent Italian legislation encouraging the use of cinema in education, particularly Law 14 November 2016, No. 220, containing “Discipline of Cinema and Audiovisual” and the Law 13 July 2015, No. 107, the school reform framework “La BuonaScuola.”
The Effect of High-Intensity Intermittent Training on the Acute Gait Plantar Pressure in Healthy Young Adults
Authors: Jiang Xin Yan , Li Shu Dong , Teo Ee Chon , Zhou Zhe Xiao
Published: February 2021

High-intensity intermittent training (HIIT) has been successfully applied in various sports activities, as HIIT was considered as one of the most efficient training methods of exercise for improving physical performance and reducing the weight of overweight individuals. However, its acute effects of HIIT on gait and balance performance were not addressed. Thus, in this study we examined the acute effects of HIIT on dynamic postural control compared with steady-state training (SST) by analyzing plantar pressure parameters. In this study, sixteen healthy male adults were examined in 3 days. After exhaustive ramp-like cycle ergometer testing, the maximal heart rate (HRmax) of each participant was determined on the first day, then either a 20 minutes HIIT at 80–90% of HRmax or a 20 minutes SST at 60% of HRmax was randomly performed on the second and third day, respectively. Plantar pressure parameters were collected at comfortable walking velocity immediately after HIIT and SST respectively, and compared with the baseline data of plantar pressure gathered before maximal ramp test on the first day. The results showed significant differences in the plantar pressure in these three conditions of gait. Compared to pre-intervention and pre-SST, peak pressure and maximum force in the middle and lateral metatarsal increased significantly in post-HIIT. Meanwhile, the foot balance data indicate that post-HIIT exhibits more foot pronation than baseline. The center of pressure (COP) trajectory was medially shifted during the stance phase in post-SST, and noticeably in post-HIIT. The displacement and velocity of medial-lateral COP in the initial contact phase were greater in post-HIIT; while during the forefoot contact phase, post-HIIT showed fewer time percentages and greater velocity of medial-lateral COP. In conclusion, a single high-intensity intermittent training session adversely affected the acute dynamic postural control than steady-state training in healthy male adults.
A Novel Nucleus Detection on Pap Smear Image Using Mathematical Morphology Approach
Authors: Nahrawi Nadzirah , Mustafa Wan Azani , Kanafiah Siti Nurul Aqmariah Mohd , Ahmad Wan Khairunizam Wan , Rohani Mohamad Nur Khairul Hafizi , Rahim Hasliza A
Published: February 2021

The fourth most common form of cancer among women is cervical cancer with 569,847new cases and 311,365 reported deaths worldwide in 2018. Cervical cancer is classified as the third leading cause of cancer among women in Malaysia, with approximately 1,682 new cervical cases and about 944 deaths occurred in 2018. Cervical cancer can be detected early by cervical cancer screening. Papanicolaou test, also known as Pap smear test is conducted to detect cancer or precancer in the cervix. The disadvantage of this conventional method is that the sample of microscopic images will risk blurring effects, noise, shadow, lighting and artefact problems. The diagnostic microscopic observation performed by a microbiologist is normally time-consuming and may produce inaccurate results even by experienced hands. Thus, correct diagnosis information is essential to assist physicians to analyze the condition of the patients. In this study, an automatedsegmentation system is proposed to be used as it is more accurate and faster compared to the conventional technique. Using the proposed method in this paper, the image was enhanced by applying a median filter and Partial Contrast Stretching. A segmentation method based on mathematical morphology was performed to segment the nucleus in the Pap smear images. Image Quality Assessment (IQA) which measures the accuracy, sensitivity and specificity were used to prove the effectiveness of the proposed method. The results of the numerical simulation indicate that the proposed method shows a higher percentage of accuracy and specificity with 93.66% and 95.54% respectively compared to Otsu, Niblack and Wolf methods. As a conclusion, the percentage of sensitivity is slightly lower, with 89.20% compared to Otsu and Wolf methods. The results presented here may facilitate improvements in the detection performance in comparison to the existing methods.
Electrospun Biomaterials’ Applications and Processing
Authors: Depeigne Lucie , Zdraveva Emilija
Published: February 2021

One of the largest fields of application of electrospun materials is the biomedical field, including development of scaffolds for tissue engineering, drug delivery and wound healing. Electrospinning appears as a promising technique in terms of scaffolds composition and architecture, which is the main aspect of this review paper, with a special attention to natural polymers including collagen, fibrinogen, silk fibroin, chitosan, chitin etc. Thanks to the adaptability of the electrospinning process, versatile hybrid, custom tailored structure scaffolds have been reported. The same is achieved due to the vast biomaterials’ processability as well as modifications of the basic electrospinning set-up and its combination with other techniques, simultaneously or by post-processing.
Effects of Thickness and Preheated Temperature on Grains Orientation of 2D-ZnO Nanostructure and their Photocatalytic Activity
Authors: Toubane Mahdia , Azizi Assia , Houanoh D. , Tala-Ighil R. , Bensouici F. , Chebout K. , lamrani S. , Bououdina Mohamed
Published: February 2021

The effects of pre-heating temperature and thickness of layers on (002) preferred orientation of ZnO thin films and their photocatalytic activity are reported. All films crystallize into a Zincite-type structure. With increasing pre-heating temperature, the evolution from (002) to (101) diffraction peaks indicates change in growth mode of ZnO films. Pre-heating at 100°C is the most favourable for highly oriented ZnO thin ﬁlms along (002) plane whereas all films deposited with different number of layers are oriented along (101) plane. The crystallite size is found to be in the range 20 - 32 nm. The observed average optical transmittance for these films is higher than 90% in the visible range. The energy band gap decreases with increasing number of layers but increases with increasing pre-heating temperatures. Wettability tests of ZnO thin films surface show a hydrophobic aspect for all films. The film pre-heated at 400°C with 223nm of thickness exhibits the highest degradation of methyl blue dye of 94% with high levels of photostability over five cycles.
Synthesis and Biological Characterization of Silver Nanoparticles Biosynthesized by Semenovia suffruticosa
Authors: Soltanian Sara , Mahboubeh Sheikhbahaei , Fatemeh Sharifi , Mohamadi Neda
Published: February 2021

In this study, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized using methanol extract of Semenovia. suffruticosa. The prepared AgNPs (SS-AgNPs) were examined by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-raydiffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Afterward, biological activities including cytotoxicity, ability to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), antileishmanial and antibacterial effects were investigated. According to the UV-Vis spectroscopy, absorption peak at 430 nm indicates the synthesis of AgNPs. TEM and SEM image of AgNPs shows spherical shape with size range of 20–70 nm. FTIR analysis displayed the involvement of phytochemical constituents in synthesized nanoparticles. The X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the synthesis of highly pure AgNPs with high crystallinity and Cubic shape with crystalline size of 21.4 nm. SS-AgNPs were cytotoxic on cell lines with IC50 values of 15, 20, 20 and 26 µg/mL in HEK 293, Caco-2, SH-SY5Y and MDA-MD-231 cells, respectively. DCFH-DA assay showed that 24 h exposure to 25, 50, 100, 200 µg/mL concentrations of SS-AgNPs significantly increased production of ROS in cells that indicate oxidative stress induction by SS-AgNPs. Annexin V-PE/7-AAD staining analysis revealed a combination of apoptosis and necrosis following the exposure of Ag NPs to cells. SS-AgNPs displayed a notable bactericidal activity against Gram-negative bacterial strains. SS-AgNPs revealed remarkable antileishmanial activity against the promastigote and amastigote stages of Leishmania. major. IC50 values of SS-AgNPs were 16.17 and 6.35 using promastigote and amastigotes assay respectively. Conclusively, phytosynthesized AgNPs is effective in antileishmanial, antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities.
Effect of Antimony Trioxide and Carbon Black on the Mechanical Properties and Ablation Properties of Liner Insulation in Rocket Motors
Authors: Kitinirunkul Thirapat , Kitchaiya Prakob , Kiriratnikom Chesda , Boonyarat Paisarn , Nuanklai Suchuchchai
Published: February 2021

This study focused on the mechanical properties and ablation properties of liner insulation in rocket motors for improving rocket performance by means of tensile strength, elongation, ablation rate and density. The following parameters were varied: amount of zinc oxide, antimony trioxide and carbon black (N550). It was found that the insulation of the rocket motors with antimony trioxide and carbon black provided higher the elongation and ablation rate. Thus, it was able to endure more heat from hot gas in combustion chamber. The result suggests that use of antimony trioxide and carbon black as filler in liner insulation can improve the thermal insulators and case-bonded in rocket motor between the solid propellant and the rocket motor tube.
Low-Cycle-Fatigue Properties of a 17-4 PH Stainless Steel Manufactured via Selective Laser Melting
Authors: Maccioni Lorenzo , Rampazzo Eleonora , Nalli Filippo , Borgianni Yuri , Concli Franco
Published: February 2021

In this paper, the static and low-cycle-fatigue (LCF) behavior of wrought samples of 17-4 PH stainless steel (SS) manufactured via Selective Laser Melting (SLM) are presented. On the one hand, several scholars have studied SLM materials and literature reports a huge amount of data as for the high-cycle-fatigue (HCF) behavior. On the other hand, few are the data available on the LCF behavior of those materials. The aim of the present research is to provide reliable data for an as-build 17-4 PH steel manufactured via SLM techniques. Only with quantitative data, indeed, it is possible to exploit all the advantages that this technology can offer. In this regard, both quasi-static (QS) and low-cycle-fatigue tests were performed on Additive Manufacturing (AM) cylindrical samples. Through QS tests, the constitutive low has been defined. Strain-controlled fatigue tests on an electromechanical machine were performed on 12 samples designed according to the ASTM standard. Tests were continued also after the stabilization was reached (needed for the cyclic curve described with the Ramberg-Osgood equation) to obtain also the fatigue (ε-N) curve. Results show that the material has a softening behavior. The Basquin-Coffin-Manson (BCM) parameters were tuned on the basis of the ε-N combinations after rupture.
Application of MIG Welding Process of Mild Steel Wire in Additive Manufacturing
Authors: Poolperm Pattarawadee , Nakkiew Wasawat , Naksuk Nirut
Published: February 2021

The purpose of this study is to investigate the forming characteristics of single-pass Metal Inert Gas (MIG) welding wire for multi-layer additive manufacturing parts. Influences of arc current, arc voltage, arc distances, welding speed, wire feed speed, temperatures and heat input on layer formation were analyzed. The deposition of material by MIG process is controlled by a robot (ABB) controller for constructing walls of rectangular box shape. The samples were measured with a microhardness testing and tensile testing onto the welded bead created by the additive manufacturing technique. It was found that the mechanical properties of microhardness values are between 151.70 to 155.80 HV and the tensile strength values are between 472.71 to 491.12 MPa according to transverse and longitudinal sections of the specimens.
Different diagnostic strategies for different settings
Authors: Petrazzuoli Ferdinando
Published: February 2021

Diagnostic strategies should always take into consideration the setting in which they are administered. The predictive value, positive or negative of a clinical sign or diagnostic test has a different weight in family medicine than in the hospital setting. Many tests have not been formally evaluated in primary care; unfortunately, very often low prevalence settings are used to conduct screening in these populations, and often result in unrealistically high prevalence estimates for chronic disease and these results are then used to conclude that General Practitioners are not good at detecting diseases. In primary care, the prevalence and incidence of disease differs from what appears in the hospital setting, and severe disease occurs less frequently in general practice than in hospital because there is no preventive selection. This requires a specific probability-based decision-making process, based by the knowledge of patients and the community. In primary care, the diagnostic strategy should begin with complaints and symptoms and address uncertainty and complexity, using step-by-step strategies, including watchful waiting, presumptive symptomatic treatment, and focusing on low-tech strategies.
Editorial
Authors: Mosti Giovanni
Published: February 2021

Not required.
Ensemble Feature Selection for Breast Cancer Classification using Microarray Data
Authors: Hengpraprohm Supoj , Jungjit Suwimol
Published: February 2021

For breast cancer data classification, we propose an ensemble filter feature selection approach named ‘EnSNR’. Entropy and SNR evaluation functions are used to find the features (genes) for the EnSNR subset. A Genetic Algorithm (GA) generates the classification ‘model’. The efficiency of the ‘model’ is validated using 10-Fold Cross-Validation re-sampling. The Microarray dataset used in our experiments contains 50,739 genes for each of 32 patients. When our proposed ‘EnSNR’ subset of features is used; as well as giving an enhanced degree of prediction accuracy and reducing the number of irrelevant features (genes), there is also a small saving of computer processing time.
Design an efficient disease monitoring system for paddy leaves based on big data mining
Authors: K Suresh , S Karthik , M Hanumanthappa
Published: February 2021

With the progressions in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), the innumerable electronic devices (like smart sensors) and several software applications can proffer notable contributions to the challenges that are existent in monitoring plants. In the prevailing work, the segmentation accuracy and classification accuracy of the Disease Monitoring System (DMS), is low. So, the system doesn't properly monitor the plant diseases. To overcome such drawbacks, this paper proposed an efficient monitoring system for paddy leaves based on big data mining. The proposed model comprises 5 phases: 1) Image acquisition, 2) segmentation, 3) Feature extraction, 4) Feature Selection along with 5) Classification Validation. Primarily, consider the paddy leaf image which is taken as of the dataset as the input. Then, execute image acquisition phase where 3 steps like, i) transmute RGB image to grey scale image, ii) Normalization for high intensity, and iii) preprocessing utilizing Alpha-trimmed mean filter (ATMF) through which the noises are eradicated and its nature is the hybrid of the mean as well as median filters, are performed. Next, segment the resulting image using Fuzzy C-Means (i.e. FCM) Clustering Algorithm. FCM segments the diseased portion in the paddy leaves. In the next phase, features are extorted, and then the resulted features are chosen by utilizing Multi-Verse Optimization (MVO) algorithm. After completing feature selection, the chosen features are classified utilizing ANFIS (Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System). Experiential results contrasted with the former SVM classifier (Support Vector Machine) and the prevailing methods in respect of precision, recall, F-measure,sensitivity accuracy, and specificity. In accuracy level, the proposed one has 97.28% but the prevailing techniques only offer 91.2% for SVM classifier, 85.3% for KNN and 88.78% for ANN. Hence, this proposed DMS has more accurate detection and classification process than the other methods. The proposed DMS evinces better accuracy when contrasting with the prevailing methods.
Свойства последовательностей, вырабатываемых комбинирующими генераторами над конечными полями
Authors: Kamlovskii Oleg Vital'evich , Mizerov V V
Published: February 2021

Изучаются частотные характеристики и периодические свойства выходных последовательностей комбинирующих генераторов над произвольными конечными полями. Указывается строение графа автоматной модели комбинирующего генератора.
Предельные теоремы о нормальном распределении для числа решений нелинейных включений
Authors: Kopyttsev Viktor Alekseevich
Published: February 2021

При заданном множестве $B$ векторного пространства $K^T$ размерности $T$ над полем $K=GF(2)$ изучается распределение числа $\xi$ решений системы включений $A_1x+A_2f(x)\in B $, $ x\in K^n\backslash \{0^n\}$, где $A_1 $ и $A_2 $ - случайные матрицы над полем $K$ размерностей $T\times n$ и $T\times m$ с независимыми элементами, а $f(x)=$ $(f_1 (x),...,f_m (x)):K^n\to K^m$ - заданное нелинейное отображение. Указаны условия сходимости распределения случайной величины $\xi$ к стандартному нормальному распределению.
Неабелевость группы наложения ключа и свойство $\otimes _{\mathbf{W}}$-марковости алгоритмов блочного шифрования
Authors: Pogorelov Boris Aleksandrovich , Pudovkina Marina Aleksandrovna
Published: February 2021

Для абелевой группы наложения ключа $( {X, \otimes } )$ и разбиения ${\bf{W}} = \{ {W_0},\ldots ,{W_{r - 1}}\} $ множества $X$ авторами рассматривались ${ \otimes _{\bf{W}}}$-марковские преобразования и ${ \otimes _{\bf{W}}}$-марковские алгоритмы. Свойство ${ \otimes _{\bf{W}}}$-марковости связано с различными обобщениями разностного метода. В данной работе описываются свойства ${ \otimes _{\bf{W}}}$-марковских алгоритмов и преобразований для неабелевой группы $( {X, \otimes } )$. Получены ограничения на строение групп $(X, \otimes )$, $\langle {{g_k}|k \in X} \rangle $, а также на блоки ${W_0},\ldots ,{W_{r - 1}}$, вытекающие из условия сохранения частичной раундовой функцией ${g_k}:X \to X$ нетривиального разбиения ${\bf{W}}$ для $k \in X$. Для всех неабелевых групп порядка ${2^m}$, обладающих циклической подгруппой индекса два, описаны классы ${ \otimes _{\bf{W}}}$-марковских подстановок.