bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
PROPERTIES OF MORTARS CONTAINING TIRE RUBBER WASTE AND EXPANDED POLYSTYRENE (EPS)
Authors: Pczieczek Adriane , Schackow Adilson , Effting Carmeane , Gomes Itamar Ribeiro , Dias Talita Flores
Published: February 2023

This study aims to evaluate the application of discarded tire rubber waste and Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) in mortar. For mortars fine aggregate was replaced by 10%, 20% and 30% of rubber and, 7.5% and 15% of EPS. We have verified the consistency, density, amount of air and water retentitivity in fresh state. The compressive strength, water absorption, voids ratio and specific gravity have been also tested in hardened state. The application of rubber powder contributed to the increase in entrained air content and in reducing specific gravity, as well as reducing compressive strength at 28 days. The addition of EPS also contributed to the increase of workability, water absorption and voids ratio, and decreased density and compressive strength when compared to the reference mortar. The use of rubber waste and EPS in mortar made the material more lightweight and workable. The mortars mixtures containing 10% rubber and 7.5% EPS showed better results.
DETERMINATION OF DOWNSTREAM FLOOD FLOW CONSIDERING INPUTS FROM DIFFERENT UPSTREAM RIVERS USING ANN
Authors: Sil Briti Sundar , Das Bahnisikha
Published: February 2023

For estimating and forecasting of flood event, researchers and engineers mostly use the Muskingum flood routing method which is widely used throughout the world. The application of two parameter based Muskingum model is valid only for single inflow flood routing without any lateral inflow into the routing reach. However, normally a river is fed by a number of branch channels or rivulets at various upstream points. So, the single inflow-outflow Muskingum model cannot be applied in such situation. To overcome this problem, artificial Neural Network (ANN) has been applied in a river system considering inflow from various upstream rivers with a common outflow section. A simple static ANN model have been developed using concurrent discharge data. The model is applied in Mississippi River network starting from St. Louis, Montana to downstream section at Thebes, Illinois. In this reach, from St. Louis to Thebes, in the Mississippi river, a total of six lateral inflows confluence to the main river at different locations. Using ANN model, considering water discharge as input from all the upstream sections, water discharge at the most downstream section, Thebes is computed. Statistical performance analysis of the estimated data shows that ANN can be efficiently used for estimation of flood flow considering multiple inflows.
SCOPE OF GRANULATED BLAST FURNACE SLAG AS FINE AGGREGATE IN CONCRETE FOR NORMAL AND FIRE EXPOSURE
Authors: Sahani Ashok Kumar , Samanta Amiya K. , Singha Roy Dilip K.
Published: February 2023

Present work experimentally investigates the scope of utilizing granular blast furnace slag (GBFS) in concrete exposed to high temperature. Six series of concrete mixes of Grade M20 including control mix were prepared by replacing natural sand with GBFS in 10, 30, 50, 70 and 100% by weight. Sustainability of GBFS concrete for normal weather condition was ensured by preliminary investigation on mechanical strength for various GBFS concrete mixes at various ages. Later, fire durability of the concrete was evaluated by residual compressive strength, weight loss and surface observation of heat cured specimen through necked eye. Cube compressive strength improves by 2.15-6.31% while cylindrical compressive strength of concrete mix with 30% GBFS marginally improves at all ages. Split strength increases up to 2.9-8.07% up to 50% GBFS replacement while flexure strength increases by 0.81-7.0% at 30% with respect to all the age of curing at room temperature. Residual compressive strengths were 57.3, 55.89 and 54.46 % for 30, 50 and 70% GBFS concrete mixes at 600°C. Surface cracks in specimen were observed after 500°C which continued to grow with the increase in temperature. Furthermore, test results indicate the improvement in the properties of concrete with the incorporation of GBFS even though it exposes to high temperature.
ASSESSMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITION OF DHAKA SOUTH CITY CORPORATION (DSCC) USING MULTI-CRITERIA ANALYSIS
Authors: Islam Sumaia , Ahamed Zakaria, Sarwar Jahan Joy Deep Chakrabartty,
Published: February 2023

Dhaka is one of the rapid growing cities in the world with several environmental problems. For these problems, the city has been identified as one of the worst livable cities of the world. There are two city corporations in Dhaka: Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) and Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC). The environmental condition of DSCC is deteriorated because of dearth in open space, vegetation and water body as well as for inadequate service facilities like water supply and waste management. In this study, assessment of environmental condition of wards (administrative unit) of DSCC using Multi-criteria Analysis has helped to perceive the comparative environmental scenario of different wards. Environmental criteria are categorized into Primary Tier Criteria (PTC) and Secondary Tier Criteria (STC). The weightage of the selected criteria has been obtained using expert opinions and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). Ward basis data for selected criteria has been collected from different secondary sources. Using these data and weightage values of selected criteria, the score values for 54 wards of DSCC has been calculated. With this score value, we analyze inter-ward comparison and overall assessment of environmental condition of study area. We rank and classify the wards using these score values. From the analysis, we found that the environmental condition of most of the wards of DSCC is abject. Especially condition of wards is inferior considering natural aspect of environment since many wards do not have any open space, water body and vegetation area within their boundaries.
MULTIVARIATE STATISTICAL- AND GIS-BASED APPROACH DEVELOPED FOR INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS IN URBAN WATERSHED
Authors: Urban Rodrigo Custodio , Manfré Luiz Augusto , Da Silva Alexandre Marco
Published: February 2023

This paper aims to assess the environmental quality of a small urban watershed, located at a sub-tropical region highly urbanized in Brazil, using water and soil quality, land cover and terrain characteristics. The proposed methodology was based in physical and chemical features of 40 soil sampling sites, land cover and slope. Principal Components Analysis (PCA) was used to define the best variables to the analysis. The soil quality, land cover and slope data was grouped and categorized in qualitative variables. Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) was applied to cluster the variables. Geographic Information System (GIS) tools were used to build the zoning map. During 12 months water was sampled in two sites in the same river at the watershed. PCA was used again to define water quality and differences between the two sampling sites. Porosity and carbon rate were the principal soil variables to distinguish three different soil zones 1, 2 and 3 represent 15,1%; 9,8% e 75,1% of the area, respectively. Zone 1 present condition that must be conserved to maintain environmental services as water retaining and carbon storage. Related to water quality, the PCA presented differences between dry and wet season. Besides, sampling site 1, located within a vegetation region presents better conditions than sampling site 2, located within urban land cover. The assessment method used multivariate statistics and GIS. The methodology is a useful tool to environmental planning. The replication of this methodology is encouraged, in order to assess its suitability in different conditions, i.e. climate and size.
PREDICTION OF PERFORMANCE FOR SAVONIUS-DARRIEUS WIND ROTOR BY HYBRID NEURO-FUZZY CONTROLLER
Authors: Biswas Agnimitra , Gupta Rajat
Published: February 2023

Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) is a viable proposition for small-scale uses like, rural electrification, pumping, desalinating, household applications etc in many developing countries including India. In this paper, a hybrid neuro-fuzzy controller has been developed using gradient-based training algorithm to evaluate the performance of a combined three-bladed Savonius-Darrieus rotor. The objective of the study is to design a controller that causes more uniform loading on the generator by minimizing fluctuations in output parameters with change of input and also that improves rotor performance. A two-input-single-output controller has been designed. The tip speed ratio and overlap have been taken as input parameters, and output parameters are power coefficients and torque coefficients. At the first step, the input data are fuzzified by assigning fuzzy levels to the input data sets, and then trained outputs are obtained by back propagation learning algorithm. The controller results are in good agreement with the experimental results both qualitatively and quantitatively. For power coefficient (Cp), the agreement is within 4.5%, and for torque coefficient (Ct) it is within 2%. Moreover, the performance of the hybrid neuro-fuzzy controller has also been compared with Fuzzy Logic Controller (FLC) & ANN controller. The present controller predicts smoother values of performance parameters compared with other controllers.
HYDRAULIC CHARACTERISTICS OF TAP VALVE WITH A FLAT CLOSURE MEMBER
Authors: Svintsov Alexander Petrovich , Konoplev Nikolay Alexandrovich
Published: February 2023

Valves with high regulating capacity can significantly reduce the loss of tap water. The hydraulic characteristics of liquid discharge through orifice in the form of a "curved drop" made in thin walls of tap valve closure member are determined by theoretical and experimental studies. The relationship of the change in water flow rate for tap valves with orifice in the form of a "curved drop" to varying pressure is established. The comparison of flow characteristics for tap valves with closure members having a different shape of through hole is made.
The obtained Hydraulic coefficients allow to design the valves with a high regulating capacity. The results of the study are of interest for theoretical and practical tasks of designing and manufacturing valves for water supply.
The use of closure members with a hole in the shape of a “curved drop” allows to reduce the loss of tap water of drinking quality.
The study is ongoing.
USE OF GEOSYNTHETIC CLAY LINER AS A WATERPROOFING BARRIER IN SANITARY LANDFILLS
Authors: Visentin Caroline , Zanella Pedro Nicola , Kronhardt Bruna Koppe , Trentin Adan William da Silva , Braun Adeli Beatriz , Thomé Antônio
Published: February 2023

One of the main sources of soil and water (superficial and subterranean) contamination is the inadequate solid waste disposal. In this sense, sanitary landfills have great importance for environmental protection, and in these systems, the geosynthetics materials, such as the Geosynthetic Clay Liner (GCL), are widely employed. However, for landfills with leachate recirculation, the application of GCL is vetoed by many government agencies. In view of this, this study sought to provide an analysis of recent advances in application of GCL in landfill sites. For this reason, the main configurations of landfills and characteristics of its leachate were presented, as well as of the GCL by means of case studies applied to the context. The results indicated that the most important parameter to be evaluated in GCL performance is its hydraulic conductivity, which can be influenced directly by leachate composition (conventional and recirculated) as to the presence of cations and anions. Thus, it is concluded that the evaluation of these characteristics is essential to ensure the proper performance of GCL in landfills.
IMPACT OF USING RECYCLED AGGREGATES ON COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH OF CONCRETE
Authors: Naouaoui Khaoula , Bouyahyaoui Azzeddine , Cherradi Toufik
Published: February 2023

Recycled aggregate concrete is considered the next generation in the field of construction: it respects the environment, solves the problem of debris management and is economically profitable. In order to better adapt its use, technical studies, experimental studies and simulations are carried out in all research centers around the world in order to define its field of application. Our study falls within this framework. It is concerned with the study of the mechanical characteristics of recycled aggregate concrete essentially the compression test for various percentages of replacement. The purpose of this study is to confirm the results of studies by other researchers and to find techniques that will maximize the replacement of natural aggregates with recycled aggregates. The concrete chosen for these tests is an old building in the region of Rabat, Morocco which has been built more than 40 years and demolished in the year of 2017. The tests carried out showed a decrease in the compressive resistance noted when the replacement rates exceed 50% rate. The first improvement methods were put in place and being tested: the partial replacement of cement with pozzolan (20% rate) known by his improving of the compressive strength for ordinary concrete, the partial replacement of the large proportion [12.5-31.5] only in recycled concrete and work with natural gravels. Other improvements will be proposed as the studies progress.
IMPROVING OF URBAN PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION QUALITY VIA OPERATOR SCHEDULE OPTIMIZATION
Authors: Galkin Andrii , Davidich Yurii , Kush Yevhen , Davidich Nataliia , Tkachenko Iryna
Published: February 2023

The functioning of passenger transport systems should provide necessary quality of passenger service. The results of this research have shown possibility to increase the quality of urban public transport via influence on the driver’s state due to the rational schedule planning. The state change patterns of drivers during the idle time on the final and intermediate bus stops were formalized, based on field observations. The following conclusion was made: decreasing of driver’s body stress takes place during the idle time on the route stops. The intensity of decreasing of driver’s body stress is inversely proportional to the meaning of activity index of driver’s regulatory systems before the start of standing time. Consequently, the duration of idle time must be differentiated depending on the value of the indicator of activity of driver’s regulatory systems before the start of standing time, which is influenced by the working conditions. ECG method was used for assessing driver’s fatigue in elements of transportation process. Comparative analysis of driver’s state changes during the different types of idle time shows the comparability of the results of the study. Transportation management experts can use the research results in urban transport schedule planning and monitoring.
A STUDY OF MRAS BASED SPEED ESTIMATION OF SENSORLESS INDUCTION MOTOR USING MATLAB AND SIMULINK MODELLING
Authors: Pattanayak Surya Prakash , Pattanayak Divya Prakash
Published: February 2023

Model reference adaptive system(MRAS) based techniques are one of the best method to estimate the rotor speed due to its performance and straight forward stability approach.These techniques use two different models which have made the speed estimation a reliable scheme especially when the variations.The scheme use the stator equation and rotor equation as the reference model and the adjustable model respectively.The output error from both models is tuned using a PI controller yielding the estimated rotor speed.It presents the identification and parameter estimation of an induction motor model with parameters varying as functions of the operating conditions. A Sensorless torque control system for induction motors is developed. The system allows for fast and precise torque tracking over a wide range of speed.The induction motor is controlled through field orientation techniques that require knowledge of the rotor speed.Since speed sensors decrease the reliability of a drive system (and increase its price), a common trend in motor control is to use an observer to estimate speed.
ASSESSING HUMAN AND CARBON FOOTPRINT OF RANCHI URBAN ENVIRONMENT USING REMOTE SENSING TECHNOLOGY
Authors: Kumar Amit , Kumar Ashwani
Published: February 2023

In the present study, the total carbon emission of rapidly growing Ranchi Urban Agglomeration (RUA) was estimated in geospatial environment considering certain factors. The carbon emission estimation is based on the increase in human as well as vehicular population and loss of vegetation cover employing standardized conversion factors. The rapid built-up expansion (180%) and human population growth (223%) during 1975-2010 led to innumerable socio-economic and environmental impacts including deterioration of urban ecosystem. The built-up expansion as observed through satellite images reflects degradation in the natural ecosystem primarily apparent on forest ecosystem in RUA. The study reveals that after reorganization of Ranchi as state capital (post 2000), the carbon emission was more prevalent as compared to the earlier periods. The estimates of carbon stock (terrestrial carbon) represents that the vegetation cover, attributed as the major source of carbon sink, was lost and leads to emission of total 2.44 metric tonnes of carbon during 1975-2010. The vehicular based carbon emission estimation exhibits high level of carbon emission in RUA (198,038,728 metric tonnes) during the year 2010. The population distribution pattern in wards of Ranchi Municipal Corporation revealed that the wards located in the selected city core northern, north-eastern, eastern and south-western parts emitted than the mean city carbon emission (>38,500 metric tonnes) as compared to the wards located in central, north-eastern, south-western and south-western parts (>60,000 metric tonnes). The study suggests towards urgent imposition of regulations for rapid land use transformation together with preservation and growth of carbon sink locations of RUA.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN URBAN ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND MENTAL HEALTH (DEPRESSION SCALE): EVIDENCE FROM IRAN
Authors: Azadeh Seyed Reza , Mohammadi Jamal , Doost Hamid Taher Neshat
Published: February 2023

According to the recent studies, there are wide range of psychological disorders in developed and developing countries with different levels of economic conditions. One of the most important psychological disorders and pressures is depression. An issue that has been neglected so far is impact of urban environmental quality on psychological health. Housing in this physical environment plays a very important role in psychological health indexes such as depression. The main purpose of this research is to investigate the relationship between qualitative indexes of housing and depression with a case study of at MoftAbad and Mardavij neighborhoods in Isfahan. Pearson correlation coefficient and linear regression have been used for data analysis. Independent variables of study include qualitative variables of housing that have been studied in accordance with literature in both internal and external dimensions. Dependent variable of study is depression. Depression Inventory Questionnaire of Beck et al. (1996) with 21 questions, used to measure depression. Results showed that variables such as interior design, indoor greenbelt, natural received light, natural ventilation, and plant diversity, walking possibility, quality of public spaces, and environmental cleanliness and security have most impact on level of depression of residents in urban neighborhoods.
INNOVATIVE PROPOSITION AND PREDICTION OF URBAN WET WEATHER WASHOFF USING SIMULATED RAINFALL
Authors: Yakubu Mahadi Lawan
Published: February 2023

Washoff is an important process that describes the transportation of pollutants into water ways during the wet weather event. Washoff is a multifarious phenomenon that encapsulated other varied processes ranging from the pollutants deposition during the dry weather period (buildup), to the higher load transport at the beginning of the storm (first flush). Most of the washoff studies were localised to non-tropical regions, where the laxity to wait for dry weather period exist. However, in the tropical regions, the assurance for prolonged dry weather period is near absent, due to frequency of rainfall. This research experimented two new approaches to washoff sampling suitable for tropical regions, alongside with the traditional washoff sampling method. To obtain highly accurate data, the rainfall parameters were confined to selection by employing a very efficient rainfall simulator to gain the washoff data. The washoff of Total suspended solids (TSS) as an indicator of pollution under different simulated rainfalls was established. The result indicated higher mobilisation of the TSS in the first five minutes of rain, and disposes to a steady mobilisation rate after 40 minutes of simulated rain. The washoff percentages for the three road surfaces suggests that the rain intensity plays a more prominent role in washoff prior to the occurrence of first flush, while intense rain mobilises higher amount of TSS within shorter duration of rain. The first flush effect was quantified based on the common definitions of pollutants load-volume relationships of 20/80, 30/80, and 20/40. In all the road surfaces, at least 40% of the pollutants loads were transported in the first 20% of the runoff volumes.
GREY WATER FOOTPRINT OF POINT SOURCES OF POLLUTION: THE CZECH REPUBLIC STUDY
Authors: Ansorge Libor , Stejskalová Lada , Dlabal Jiří
Published: February 2023

Grey Water Footprint is an indicator of anthropogenic pollution load into the inland water. The indicator is used for quantification of water needed for pollutant dilution to such an extent that the quality of the ambient water remains above agreed water quality standards of pollution discharged from point sources in the Czech Republic. Grey Water Footprint was calculated for 6 382 point pollution sources, recorded in the national register of wastewater discharges, from period 2009–2018. The domestic, industry and agriculture sectors were analyzed separately in the assessment. The total Grey Water Footprint of point sources of pollution varied between 1.90 × 1010 and 2.46 × 1010 m³/year. The Grey Water Footprint of domestic pollution represented about ¾ of the total Grey Water Footprint. The Grey Water Footprint of industrial pollution represented about ¼ of the total Grey Water Footprint. The Grey Water Footprint of agricultural point sources of pollution can be neglected on the national level in the Czech Republic. In most cases, the Grey Water Footprint is determined by ammonium nitrogen (NH4-N).
FLOOD DAMAGE ANALYSIS: A BRAZILIAN CASE STUDY
Authors: Ribeiro Neto Alfredo , Batista Larissa , Quental Coutinho Roberto
Published: February 2023

Worldwide floods stand out as some of the most recurrent and potentially destructive phenomena. Risk reduction management must consider dynamics involving structural risk elements called indicators. The objective of this paper was to simulate an extreme flood event in the Pirapama river basin, Pernambuco State, Northeastern Brazil, and to analyze some risk components, focusing on the application of damage models in the Brazilian scenario. The hydrological model HEC-HMS (Hydrological Modeling System) was calibrated in order to generate streamflow for ungauged areas. The model was able to identify the highest flood peaks and the statistic criteria were consistent with daily simulation. The parameters calibrated for the HEC-HMS model allowed us to generate results used as input flow in HEC-RAS (River Analysis System). The hydrodynamic model HEC-RAS performed steady flow simulations for the peak flow that occurred in 2010. Remote sensing products with high spatial resolution were used successfully to identify and calculate dwellings surface in the municipality of Cabo de Santo Agostinho. Flood damage estimates were performed through transferred depth-damage curves which is a methodological option verified in the literature. The two main Brazilian studies on this field were selected. The difference between the functions is just over BRL$72 per square meter, and around BRL$85 million for the entire area in the 2010 event (BRL$234.58 and BRL$149.11 million). Those values were adjusted for inflation until 2019. A combination of different methodologies is a way to try to overcome the lack of information, but much remains to be done to validate damage analysis, especially in what concerns to prevention.
PREDICTION OF STABILITY OF THE CIRCULATING WATER
Authors: Galkina Olena Pavlivna
Published: February 2023

In the work, on the basis of the data of the analysis of theoretical works and the laboratory studies carried out, the prediction of the values of corrosion rates in the circulating systems of coke plants was carried out using the Langelier and Ryznar stability indixes. The laws governing changes in the thermal stability of water as a function of temperature and water quality indicators (pH, alkalinity, total salinity, calcium ion content) have been established. Analysis of the obtained data showed that there is a clear dependence of the scale-corrosion properties of water on temperature and its chemical composition. A stable and effective supplying water composition for the circulating water supply system of the Kharkiv Coke Plant has been established.
DRYWELLS DIMENSIONING: ANALOGY BETWEEN WATER FLOW IN SOIL AND HEAT FLUX IN MEDIA SOLIDS
Authors: Ferreira Armando , S. de O. Ilha Marina
Published: February 2023

The drywell is an on-lot drainage system, which is composed by an excavation in the soil lined with a perforated piped and gravel at the bottom and sides. There are many models for on lot systems dimensioning, which were initially developed for agriculture areas or for simulation of water percolation in porous media, thus, they are not fully optimized for small areas like urban lots. This article proposes a model for dimensioning drywells, which is based on physical and hydrological characteristics of the installation site. It was developed using the analogy between water flow in soil and the heat flux in media solids. Results obtained with the proposed model were statistically similar (p>0,05) to those obtained with experimental data.
On homogeneity of Cantor cubes
Authors: Shchepin E. , Valov V.
Published: February 2023

We discuss the question of extending homeomorphisms between closed subsets of the Cantor cube
$D^{\tau }$
. It is established that any homeomorphism between two closed negligible subsets of
$D^{\tau }$
can be extended to an autohomeomorphism of
$D^{\tau }$
.
Предельное совместное распределение статистик критериев пакета NIST «Monobit Test», «Frequency Test within a Block» и обобщения критерия «Serial Test»
Authors: Savelov M P
Published: February 2023

Найдено предельное совместное распределение статистик $T_1$, $T_2$, $T_3$ следующих критериев пакета НИСТ: «Monobit Test», «Frequency Test within a Block» и обобщения критерия «Serial Test» в ситуации, когда исследуемая последовательность состоит из независимых случайных величин, имеющих распределение Бернулли с параметром $p = \frac12$. Доказано, что $T_1$ и $(T_2, T_3)$ асимптотически некоррелированы, а $T_2$ и $T_3$ асимптотически положительно коррелированы, причем $T_1$, $T_2$, $T_3$ попарно асимптотически зависимы. Доказано, что ковариационная матрица $C$ предельного распределения вектора $(T_1, T_2, T_3)$ удовлетворяет соотношениям $C_{12}=C_{21}=C_{13}=C_{31}=0$, $C_{23}=C_{32} > 0$. В случае $p \ne \frac12$ описано предельное поведение вектора $(T_1, T_2, T_3)$.
Решение сильно выпукло-вогнутых композитных седловых задач с небольшой размерностью одной из групп переменных
Authors: Alkousa Mohammad Soud , Gasnikov Alexander Vladimirovich , Gladin Egor Leonidovich , Kuruzov Ilya Alekseevich , Pasechnyuk Dmitry Arkad'evich , Stonyakin Fedor Sergeevich
Published: February 2023

Разработаны алгоритмические методы, гарантирующие эффективные оценки сложности для сильно выпукло-вогнутых седловых задач в случае, когда одна из групп переменных имеет большую размерность, а другая - достаточно малую (до сотни). Предлагаемая методика основана на сведении задач такого типа к задаче минимизации выпуклого (максимизации вогнутого) функционала по одной из переменных, для которого можно найти приближенное значение градиента в произвольной точке с необходимой точностью с помощью вспомогательной оптимизационной подзадачи по другой переменной. При этом для маломерных задач предлагается использовать методы эллипсоидов и Вайды, а для многомерных - ускоренные градиентные методы с неточной информацией о градиенте или субградиенте. Для случая очень малой размерности задачи одной из групп переменных (до 5) на гиперкубе достаточно эффективным будет иной предлагаемый подход к сильно выпукло-вогнутым седловым задачам на базе нового варианта многомерного аналога метода Ю. Е. Нестерова на квадрате (метод многомерной дихотомии) с возможностью использования неточных значений градиента целевого функционала. Библиография: 28 названий.
Extracorporeal circulation models in small animals: beyond the limits of preclinical research
Authors: Kayumov Mukhammad , Habimana Reverien , Kim Dowan , Obiweluozor Francis O , Jeong In Seok , Cho Hwa Jin
Published: February 2023

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) use has remarkably increased in recent years. Although ECMO has become essential for patients with refractory cardiac and respiratory failure, extracorporeal circulation (ECC) is associated with significant complications. Small-animal models of ECC have been developed and widely used to better understand ECC-induced pathophysiology. This review article summarizes the development of small-animal ECC models, including the animal species, circuit configuration, priming, perioperative procedures, cannulation, and future perspectives of small-animal ECMO models.
Comte, Isidore-Auguste-Marie-François-Xavier (1798–1857)
Authors: Pickering Mary
Published: February 2023

Auguste Comte was one of the most important French philosophers of the nineteenth century. He founded positivism, sociology, the history of science, and the Religion of Humanity. Born during the French Revolution, which upset monarchical and religious authorities, he committed himself to using science to solve the social and political problems it left behind, especially as institutional and governmental reforms seemed to him ineffective. He sought to bring people together by means of an intellectual and affective consensus. Ideas as well as feelings had to be reordered to restore social and political stability. His major work, the Cours de philosophie positive (Course of Positive Philosophy) (1830–42) outlined the main tenets of his scientific system of philosophy called positivism. It considered as valid only knowledge based on the observations of phenomena; such factual observation should result in scientific laws that explained how, not why, phenomena operated. Positivism was meant to counter religious and metaphysical ways of thinking and subject all fields of thought to scientific rigour. After reviewing the history of the sciences, the Cours explained that it was time to apply the scientific method to social phenomena. Comte coined the term ‘sociology’ to refer to this new social science, which made society part of nature. Knowing the scientific laws of society, he believed, would facilitate its reform. To shape people’s emotions, his second main work, the Système de politique positive (System of Positive Politics) (1851–4) introduced his secular religion, the Religion of Humanity, and a new science of morality, based on love. People should not only study Humanity but love it and act to improve it. To him, an intellectual revolution would lead to a moral regeneration, which in turn would result in a final social and political restructuring – a restructuring that would decrease class conflict, ensure social justice, and end war. He hoped his approach would satisfy the Left’s call for progress and the Right’s insistence on order. Comte’s ideas influenced the scholarly world and political systems in Europe, the United States, and Latin America. They also left their mark on modern consciousness.
Dilthey, Wilhelm (1833–1911)
Authors: Makkreel Rudolf A.
Published: February 2023

Wilhelm Dilthey saw his work as contributing to a ‘Critique of Historical Reason’, which would expand the scope of Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason by offering philosophical guidelines for the human sciences as well as the natural sciences. Both kinds of science take their departure from how we experience reality, but whereas the natural sciences seek to focus on the way things behave independently of our human involvement, the human sciences take account of this very involvement. The natural sciences use external observation and measurement to construct an objective domain of nature that is abstracted from the fullness of lived experience. Dilthey’s human sciences (Geisteswissenchaften), which include the humanities and social sciences, aim to make sense of the historical world and its cultural achievements. By examining inner as well as outer experience and rooting them in lived experience, the human sciences preserve a more direct link with our original sense of life than do the natural sciences. Whereas the natural sciences seek explanations of nature, connecting the discrete representations of outer experience through hypothetical generalisations and causal laws, the human sciences aim at a more comprehensive understanding that articulates the fundamental structures of historical life given in lived experience. Finding lived experience to be inherently connected and meaningful, Dilthey opposed traditional atomistic and associationist psychologies and developed a descriptive psychology that has been recognised as anticipating phenomenology.

Dilthey first thought that this descriptive psychology could provide a neutral foundation for the other human sciences, but in his later hermeneutical writings he rejected the idea of a foundational discipline or method. Thus, he ends by claiming that all the human sciences are interpretive and mutually dependent. Hermeneutically conceived, understanding is a process of interpreting the ‘objectifications of life’, which include what humans produce, how they express their emotions and thoughts, and how they manifest their will in deeds and historical events. Interpersonal understanding is attained by analysing these objectifications and not just directly through feelings like empathy, as some have thought. Moreover, to fully understand ourselves we must analyse our own expressions in the same way that we analyse the expressions of others.

Not every aspect of life can be captured within the respective limits of the natural and the human sciences. Dilthey’s philosophy of life also leaves room for a kind of anthropological reflection whereby we attempt to do justice to the ultimate riddles of life and death. Such reflection receives its fullest expression in worldviews, which are overall perspectives on life encompassing the way we perceive and conceive the world, evaluate it aesthetically and respond to it in action. Dilthey discerned many typical worldviews in art and religion, but in Western philosophy he distinguished three recurrent types: the worldviews of naturalism, the idealism of freedom, and objective idealism.
Engineering and ethics
Authors: Davis Michael
Published: February 2023

Engineering ethics is a form of applied or professional ethics concerned with the conduct of engineers strictly speaking. ‘Engineer’ is has a number of uses not relevant here, for example, for train driver. Though engineers do many different things, they typically share a common history. That history includes codes of ethics, that is, special standards of conduct (both written and unwritten). Most codes today explicitly declare the public health, safety, and welfare ‘paramount’. Many questions of engineering ethics concern interpreting the terms ‘public’, ‘safety’, and ‘paramount’. Engineers also have important obligations to client and employer, including confidentiality, proper response to conflict of interest, stewardship of resources, and honesty (not only avoiding false statements but also volunteering certain information). Each engineer also has ethical obligations to other engineers and to the profession as a whole.
Cloning
Authors: Giordano Simona
Published: February 2023

‘Cloning’ is the popular name given to Cell Nuclear Replacement (CNR) (also sometimes referred to as Cell Nuclear Transfer (CNT)).

CNR involves a recipient cell, generally an egg (oocyte), and a donor cell. The nucleus of the donor cell is introduced into the oocyte. With appropriate stimulation the oocyte is induced to develop.

Once the embryo is created, stem cells can be harvested from it for research purposes or for cell therapy (therapeutic cloning). The embryo might also be implanted into a viable womb and developed to term (reproductive cloning). The first mammal to be born by CNR was Dolly the sheep (1996–2003).

CNR may have various potential applications ranging from reproduction to treatment of diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, and spinal cord injuries.

Although research on CNR is still relatively in its infancy, CNR (cloning) has attracted people’s attention in a way that few other advances in biomedical research do. To date, human reproductive cloning of an entire genome, as in the case of Dolly, has either been banned or has not been voluntarily undertaken anywhere in the world, so there is no reliable data on safety or efficacy of human reproductive cloning.

However, public debate on whether or not human reproductive cloning would be ethical in principle has unfortunately been influenced more by fiction than science. The horrendous or absurd scenarios pictured in novels and films are sometimes mistakenly believed to be possible, or even likely, outcomes of cloning. Immediately after news of the birth of Dolly, the international community imposed restrictions particularly to human reproductive cloning, which is now virtually everywhere prohibited. Reproductive cloning is considered offensive to human dignity and a threat to the well-being of the child. Against therapeutic cloning objections are also raised. The strongest are that CNR involves the creation and destruction of embryos.

The debate on the moral status of the embryo is ongoing, in bioethics, philosophy, and theology. However, if arguments against the killing of the embryo were to be accepted, then the current legal and social context of most European countries would have to be revised, and abortion and in vitro fertilisation (IVF) made criminal offences. Those who believe that abortion, even just in its therapeutic form, and IVF are acceptable, admit that it may be ethical to destroy an embryo either to save a life or to treat infertility. If this is accepted, it is unclear why it is unacceptable that embryos or embryonic material be used to treat serious and lethal diseases.
Cryonics
Authors: Minerva Francesca
Published: February 2023

Cryonics is the preservation of deceased individuals in liquid nitrogen (at −196 °C) in the hope that future technologies will succeed in reviving them, thus extending their life-span. In order for cryonics to be successful, future technology must be able not only to reanimate a body that has been cryopreserved for several years or even centuries, but also to bring back a significant portion of a person’s mental states, memories, and psychological characteristics. Cryonics is also part of a more ambitious project aimed at achieving indefinite life extension: reviving the cryopreserved at a time when ‘rejuvenating’ biotechnologies are available could make them virtually immortal.

Although revival after cryonics and rejuvenation are not yet technically feasible (and might never be), the possibility of ‘cheating death’ raises new ethical questions. For instance, should we consider cryonics a luxury good (and one we might never be able to enjoy)? Or should we consider it as the most cost-effective life-saving treatment that could possibly be developed? How we answer this kind of questions will determine whether it’s morally permissible, or perhaps even mandatory, to spend private money or public money on cryonics.

Another ethical question that needs to be addressed is whether cryonics could be a bad investment even if it turned out to be technically feasible. For example, future human beings may have no interest in reviving cryopreserved people with whom they have no meaningful connection, or from whom they differ very profoundly. Under such circumstances, the cryopreserved would remain such even if, technically, there was no obstacle to reviving them. Alternatively, life in the distant future could prove to be unbearable for someone who was born and had lived in the remote past, say because they lacked the cognitive or biological tools developed by future humans to adapt to a very different environment. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, the prospect of immortality presents us with difficult philosophical questions about what makes our life worth living, and whether living is always a better alternative to non-existence.
Big data in healthcare
Authors: Schaefer G. Owen
Published: February 2023

The current era of ‘big data’ in healthcare is a direct result of the gradual culmination across decades of accumulation of large volumes of data, along with substantial advances in tools capable of analysing that data. Potential applications cut across almost all aspects of healthcare, including improving the efficiency of health systems, evaluating the efficacy of treatments using volumes of real-world data, and tailoring treatments to individual patient profiles through ‘precision medicine’. These prospects must be tempered, however, not only against the practical reality of what is possible through big data, but also how big data can be responsibly and ethically managed.

Preserving privacy, one of the central values in data ethics, has become increasingly complex in the big data era. Privacy can be understood in at least two distinct senses – either in terms of control over information about ourselves, or in terms of limitations on the access others have to that information. Traditionally, anonymisation and consent have been deployed to protect these aspects of privacy. Consent puts control over data in the hands of the data subject, while anonymisation limits the extent to which those using data can discern meaningful information about particular, identifiable individuals.

The paradigms of consent and anonymisation, however, are somewhat limited when it comes to big data. The massive scope of potential big data applications makes obtaining consent for particular uses, or even categories of uses, oftentimes impracticable. Anonymisation, meanwhile, is more difficult to guarantee as big data contains ever more fine-grained bits of information that could potentially be used to re-identify individuals.

Robust governance, then, takes on an outsize role for big data. Three key aspects of good data governance include: accountability, transparency, and engagement. These governance characteristics promote both the inherent legitimacy of big data uses, as well as the possibility of achieving a social license for big data uses – that is to say, the degree to which the public finds a particular use of big data acceptable. Conversely, failure to obtain a social licence (informal though it may be) can scuttle even well-intentioned, socially valuable big data applications.

Data ethics is of necessity an evolving and adaptive field. Attention to these complications for the application of big data analytics into the healthcare sector is needed in order to ensure responsible and publicly defensible use of that data.
Knowing how to
Authors: Navarro Jesús
Published: February 2023

Knowledge attributions of the form ‘knowledge-how to’ (or ‘know-how’ for short) seem to relate agents to action types, in contrast to ‘knowledge-that’ attributions, which relate them to true propositions. Given the connection of know-how with representation and truth is not evident, many have assumed that it is not an object of genuine epistemic concern. There are two ways to overcome this impasse and envisage an epistemology of know-how. The first one is intellectualism, and it holds that know-how is propositional knowledge after all. The second one is anti-intellectualism, and it holds that knowledge, as such, is not always oriented towards forming true representations. The topic of know-how is associated with Gilbert Ryle (1945 – 46, 1949), champion of anti-intellectualism, but what sparked the contemporary debate on the topic was Jason Stanley and Timothy Williamson’s (2001) intellectualists account. Highly contested for methodological and exegetical reasons, that proposal was followed by a number of theoretical alternatives on both the intellectualist and the anti-intellectualist side. Besides this debate, the issue of know-how challenges us with two distinct and hardly reconcilable desiderata: one related to skill and the other to rationality.
Management of Secondary Osteoarthritis with Proximal Femoral Deformity due to Previous Coxitis Hip – A case report
Authors: Renaldi Rizal , Afrian Jifaldi , Chilmi Mohammad Zaim
Published: February 2023

IntroductionMost proximal femoral deformities encountered during hip arthroplasty are secondary to degenerative processes, previous osteotomy, or fracture and could be a challenged for surgeons. Femoral deformity may be angular, rotational, or one of bone diameter or length. Fully understanding the anatomy of the deformity is the first element in deciding how to best treat the deformity during Total Hip Arthroplasty (THA). Presentation of CaseFemale 31 years old complaint of pain on her left hip with restricted motion, with a leg length discrepancy (LLD) of 2 cm and a history of operation due to left hip infection when she was a baby. THA was performed with carefully evaluating the abductor muscle to maintain hip stability. Postoperatively the patient has an equal leg length, with less pain on the hip, a good ROM, and able to walk dependently using a cane. Slight tightness on the abductor and adductor muscle was noted postoperatively and the patient undergone physiotherapy. DiscussionMultiple important factor must be considered before considering THA in patients with proximal femoral deformity, including abductor function, osseous anatomy, hip stability and LLD. One must be careful of correction of LLD greater than 3 cm because possible effect on abductor strength, hip stability and sciatic nerve function. In this case, we demonstrated that a successful THA can be achieved despite altered anatomy due to secondary developmental changes. ConclusionIn the setting of sufficient abductor strength and bony stock amenable to implant fixation, THA is a viable option for management and careful preoperative planning helps predict prosthesis requirements and technical challenges. KeywordsOsteoarthritis, Proximal Femoral Deformities, Total Hip Arthroplasty, Abductor Muscle
Digital Marketing Security: Risks and Mitigation Strategies
Authors: Gupta Preeti , Tiwari Shivam , Saubhya Sonal
Published: February 2023

The field of digital marketing has seen rapid growth in recent years, but with this growth comes new security challenges. This review paper examines the current state of digital marketing and the various security risks associated with it. Firstly, it explores the concept of digital marketing and its various components, including search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing (SMM), and email marketing. Secondly, it delves into the security challenges faced by digital marketers, including data breaches, hacking, and phishing attacks. Additionally, the paper discusses the importance of implementing strong security measures to protect sensitive customer data. This includes the use of encryption, secure socket layer (SSL) certificates, and firewalls. The review also touches on the role of government and other regulatory bodies in ensuring the security of digital marketing practices. The paper concludes by emphasizing the need for continued education and awareness on the topic of digital marketing security. Marketers must stay up-to-date with the latest threats and implement best practices to secure their campaigns and protect their customers ’ information.