bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Attitudes of smokers towards tobacco control policies: findings from the Studying Tobacco users of Pakistan (STOP) survey
Authors: Siddiqi Kamran , Siddiqui Faraz , Boeckmann Melanie , Islam Ziauddin , Khan Amina , Dobbie Fiona , Khan Zohaib , Kanaan Mona
Published: December 2020

Background

Public attitude is a political driver in successful implementation of tobacco control policies. We assessed support for a range of tobacco control policies among smokers in Pakistan.

Methods

We conducted a household survey among adult smokers in 10 cities of Pakistan, using a two-stage random sampling strategy to select households and Kish grid method to select one smoker per household. Attitudes were measured using a five-point ordinal scale on four policy statements: a complete ban on tobacco sale within 10 years; raising the legal age to buy tobacco from 18 to 21; increasing tobacco taxes to fund healthcare and a ban on smoking in cars with minors.

Results

6014 participants were interviewed between September 2019 and March 2020. Most participants demonstrated strong support for all policy statements: a ban on smoking in cars with minors (86.5%); a complete ban on tobacco sale within 10 years (82.1%); raising the legal age to buy tobacco (77.9%) and increasing tobacco taxes (68.1%). Smokers’ support for tobacco control policies increased with age but decreased with higher educational attainment and heaviness of smoking.

Conclusions

There is strong support among smokers in Pakistan to strengthen tobacco control. Given this, policy-makers should strongly consider strengthening existing national policies on tobacco control.
Revisiting the tax treatment of bidis in India
Authors: Goodchild Mark , Munish Vineet Gill , Sinha Praveen , Tullu Fikru Tesfaye , Paul Jeremias
Published: December 2020

Background

Bidi use remains an intractable public health problem for India. This is partly due to the informal nature of the bidi supply chain, including tax exemptions for small producers. The aim of this paper is to assess the impact of making all bidis subject to duty and Goods and Services Tax. Although this may require legislative changes and incur some extra administrative costs, the net benefits would include greater oversight of the supply chain as well as increased tax revenues and reduced consumption.

Methods

We use a form of gap analysis (the difference between duty paid and total bidi consumption) to estimate the number of tax-exempt bidis. We then use local evidence on the price elasticity of demand for bidis to assess the impact of eliminating these exemptions on the price and consumption of presently tax-exempt bidis.

Findings

Total bidi consumption is estimated at 400 billion sticks per annum, including 275 billion duty paid sticks and 125 billion duty exempt sticks. Removing the small producer exemptions would increase the price of currently exempt bidis by INR4.6/pack. Total bidi consumption would decrease by 6% and the number of smokers would decrease by 2.2 million adults. This would bring the rate of bidi smoking down from 7.7% to 7.5%, while generating INR14.8 billion in tax revenues.

Conclusions

Eliminating India’s tax exemptions for small bidis producers would make a significant contribution to tobacco control, both directly by reducing the number of smokers and indirectly by plugging a loophole in the supply chain.
Digital instruments as invention machines
Authors: Koutroumpis Pantelis , Leiponen Aija , Thomas Llewellyn D. W.
Published: December 2020

An analysis of patenting history from 1850 to 2010 to detect long-term patterns of knowledge spillovers via prior-art citations of patented inventions.
Secure multiparty computation
Authors: Lindell Yehuda
Published: December 2020

MPC has moved from theoretical study to real-world usage. How is it doing?
RTChain
Authors: Sun You , Xue Rui , Zhang Rui , Su Qianqian , Gao Sheng
Published: December 2020

Blockchain technology, whose most successful application is Bitcoin, enables non-repudiation and non-tamperable online transactions without the participation of a trusted central party. As a global ledger, the blockchain achieves the consistency of replica stored on each node through a consensus mechanism. A well-designed consensus mechanism, on one hand, needs to be efficient to meet the high frequency of online transactions. For example, the existing electronic payment systems can handle over 50,000 transactions per second (TPS), while Bitcoin can only handle an average of about 3TPS. On the other hand, it needs to have good security and high fault tolerance; that is, in the case when some nodes are captured by adversaries, the network can still operate normally. In this article, we establish a reputation system, called RTChain, to be integrated into the e-commerce blockchain to achieve a distributed consensus and transaction incentives. The proposed scheme has the following advantages. First, an incentive mechanism is used to influence the consensus behavior of nodes and the transaction behavior of users, which in turn influence the reputation scores of both nodes and users. That is, when a node correctly processes a transaction, it will receive the corresponding reputation value as a reward, and the reputation value will be reduced as punishment not only when the node is dishonest and violates the consensus agreement but also the transaction is not completed as required. Just like electronic transactions in the real world, the higher the reputation of the user, the more likely it is to be selected as the transaction partner. A user with a low reputation will be gradually eliminated in our system because it is difficult to complete the transaction. Second, RTChain uses a verifiable random function to generate the leader in each round, which guarantees fairness for all participants and, unlike PoW, does not consume a large amount of computing resources. Then our consensus mechanism selects the nodes with high reputation scores to reduce the number of nodes participating in the consensus, thus improving the consensus efficiency, so that RTChain’s throughput can reach 4,000TPS. Third, we built a reputation chain to implement the distributed storage and management of reputation. Finally, our consensus mechanism is secure against existing attacks, such as flash attacks, selfish mining attacks, eclipse attacks, and double spending attacks, and allows nodes that participate in the consensus to fail, as long as the reputation of the failure node does not exceed one-third of the total reputation. We build a prototype of RTChain, and the experimental results show that RTChain is promising and deployable for e-commerce blockchains.
'Anti-blackness is no glitch'
Authors: Jones Stephanie T. , Melo Natalie
Published: December 2020

The conversation around and application of computer science often reinforces neoliberal ideals of what pathways students should take. Computer science education is said to be the great equalizer for marginalized youth. We grapple with how this can never be true in an educational system grounded in anti-Blackness.
How data can support equity in computing education
Authors: Xie Benjamin
Published: December 2020

Data has historically been a tool of oppression. But if we consider how its interpretations and uses affect minoritized groups, data-driven tools could support diversity, equity, and inclusion in computing education and beyond.
How machine learning can help tackle climate change
Authors: Donti Priya
Published: December 2020

Climate change poses a major threat to society, requiring rapid action from all corners. Machine learning can be a potentially useful tool for addressing climate change, when applied in coordination with policy, engineering, and other areas of action.
SkyCore
Authors: Moradi Mehrdad , Sundaresan Karthikeyan , Chai Eugene , Rangarajan Sampath , Mao Z. Morley
Published: December 2020

The advances in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology have empowered mobile operators to deploy LTE (long-term evolution) base stations (BSs) on UAVs and provide on-demand, adaptive connectivity to hotspot venues as well as emergency scenarios. However, today's evolved packet core (EPC) that orchestrates LTE's radio access network (RAN) faces fundamental limitations in catering to such a challenging, wireless, and mobile UAV environment, particularly in the presence of multiple BSs (UAVs). In this work, we argue for and propose an alternate, radical
edge
EPC design, called SkyCore that pushes the EPC functionality to the extreme edge of the core network---collapses the EPC into a single, lightweight, self-contained entity that is colocated with each of the UAV BS. SkyCore incorporates elements that are designed to address the unique challenges facing such a distributed design in the UAV environment, namely the resource constraints of UAV platforms, and the distributed management of pronounced UAV and UE mobility. We build and deploy a fully functional version of SkyCore on a two-UAV LTE network and showcase its (i) ability to interoperate with commercial LTE BSs as well as smartphones, (ii) support for both hotspot and stand-alone multi-UAV deployments, and (iii) superior control and data plane performance compared to other EPC variants in this environment.
Constant overhead quantum fault tolerance with quantum expander codes
Authors: Fawzi Omar , Grospellier Antoine , Leverrier Anthony
Published: December 2020

The
threshold theorem
is a seminal result in the field of quantum computing asserting that arbitrarily long quantum computations can be performed on a
faulty
quantum computer provided that the noise level is below some constant threshold. This remarkable result comes at the price of increasing the number of qubits (quantum bits) by a large factor that scales polylogarithmically with the size of the quantum computation we wish to realize. Minimizing the space overhead for fault-tolerant quantum computation is a pressing challenge that is crucial to benefit from the computational potential of quantum devices.

In this paper, we study the asymptotic scaling of the space overhead needed for fault-tolerant quantum computation. We show that the polylogarithmic factor in the standard threshold theorem is in fact not needed and that there is a fault-tolerant construction that uses a number of qubits that is only a constant factor more than the number of qubits of the ideal computation. This result was conjectured by Gottesman who suggested to replace the concatenated codes from the standard threshold theorem by quantum error-correcting codes with a constant encoding rate. The main challenge was then to find an appropriate family of quantum codes together with an efficient classical decoding algorithm working even with a noisy syndrome. The efficiency constraint is crucial here: bear in mind that qubits are inherently noisy and that faults keep accumulating during the decoding process. The role of the decoder is therefore to keep the number of errors under control during the whole computation.

On a technical level, our main contribution is the analysis of the SMALL-SET-FLIP decoding algorithm applied to the family of
quantum expander codes
. We show that it can be parallelized to run in constant time while correcting sufficiently many errors on both the qubits and the syndrome to keep the error under control. These tools can be seen as a quantum generalization of the BIT-FLIP algorithm applied to the (classical) expander codes of Sipser and Spielman.
Battery-free subsea internet of things
Authors: Afzal Sayed Saad
Published: December 2020

How a scalable underwater sensor network, which is entirely battery-free, has the potential to monitor the world's oceans.
Facile Electrochemical Deposition of Porous NiCo2S4 on FeCo2O4 Array as a Positive Material for Battery-Supercapacitor Hybrid Device
Authors: Yang Ping , Wang Shaohua , Hu Jun , Sun Xiangfei , Shi Jianjun , Xing Honglong
Published: December 2020

Electrode design is of significant importance in the construction of enhanced electrochemical performance, and nanoarray is an attractive architecture for energy storage devices with a large specific surface area. Herein, we report the development of binary FeCo2O4@NiCo2S4 array tubes on Ni foam (Ni@FeCo2O4@NiCo2S4) as an efficient non-noble-metal electrode material for battery-supercapacitor hybrid device in alkaline electrolytes. Meanwhile, the unique 3D structure provides a desirable large electroactive area and rapid electron conductivity, resulting in remarkable electrochemical behavior in terms of high specific capacity (5.99 W cm−2 with a 260 mWh cm−2 of energy density for Ni@FeCo2O4@NiCo2S4). The long-term cycling stability of 76.9% capacity retention after 5000 cycles at 50 mA cm−2 for Ni@FeCo2O4@NiCo2S4 could be obtained. These results demonstrate that the fabricated high-performance electrode materials can be a promising candidate for battery-supercapacitor hybrid devices.
Synthesis of CsPbBr3 and CsPbBrXI(3−X) Films by Spray-Coating Technique
Authors: Wang Fengchao , Peng Xiaogai , Wang Chenfei , Dong Hengxing , Sun Yu , Kong Jinfang , Zhang Canyun , Chen Jin , Li Lan , Xu Jiayue
Published: December 2020

Inorganic CsPbBr3 and CsPbBrxI(3−x) films were prepared by spray-coating on the glass. The crystalline structure and optical properties were investigated for these perovskites films. The results show that the samples at 180 °C have pure monoclinic perovskite phase and exhibit strong single photoluminescence (PL). The surface morphology and optical features of the perovskites films could be remarkably changed by doping different halogen ions. A white light-emitting diode (WLED) was assembled based on the obtained CsPbBr3 films, and the CIE color of WLED is (0.33, 0.34), showing the application potentiality of the perovskites films synthesized by spray-coating in light-emitting and display devices.
Investigation of Luminescence Characteristics of SrLaGa3O7:Dy3+ Phosphors
Authors: Yang Yu-Guo , Li Zhi-Jian , Zuo Xiang-Gang , Zhang Rui , Wang Xu-Ping , Li Qing-Gang , Liu Bing , Lv Xian-Shun , Wei Lei , Zhang Yuan-Yuan
Published: December 2020

We synthesized Dy3+ doped SrLaGa3O7 phosphors via a sintering process at 1350 °C under atmosphere. The X-ray diffraction data demonstrate that they have the pure tetragonal phase, meaning the successful substitution of Dy3+ in SrLaGa3O7 host. Monitoring at 572 nm, Dy3+ doped SrLaGa3O7 phosphors show a series of excitation bands within 275–475 nm. Exciting at 342 nm, Dy3+ doped SrLaGa3O7 phosphors show emission bands in the range of 450–700 nm. The emission bands respectively locate in blue, yellow and right light regions, which respectively correspond to 4F9/2 → 6H15/2, 4F9/2 → 6H13/2 and 4F9/2 → 6H11/2 transitions of Dy3+. The concentration quenching is induced by dipole-dipole interactions among neighboring Dy3+ ions. There is only one peak in the thermoluminescence glow curves of Dy3+ doped SrLaGa3O7 phosphors, indicating that there is only one type of trap center in these phosphors. The trap depth is calculated to be 0.754 eV.
Comparison of Ga2O3 Films Grown on m- and r-plane Sapphire Substrates by MOCVD
Authors: Zhang Tao , Hu Zhiguo , Li Yifan , Zhang Yachao , Feng Qian , Ning Jing , Zhang Chunfu , Zhang Jincheng , Hao Yue
Published: December 2020

Ga2O3 films were respectively deposited on m- and r-plane sapphire substrates by LP-MOCVD. The growth pressure greatly influenced the surface morphology and the grain shape, and the grain size obviously decreased with the increasing growth pressure. XRD results indicated that a higher growth pressure helped to suppress the polycrystalline orientation of β-Ga2O3 films grown on m-plane sapphire substrates, but was not conducive to the formation of α-Ga2O3. Ellipsometer measurement shows that the higher growth pressure will slow down the growth rate, and the deposition rate on the r-plane was significantly faster than the m-plane under the lower growth pressure. The bandgap obtained by fitting the optical absorption spectrum was also consistent with the previous reports.
Exploring the Role of C-C Motif Chemokine Ligand-2 Single Nucleotide Polymorphism in Pulmonary Tuberculosis: A Genetic Association Study from North India
Authors: Biswas Sanjay K. , Mittal Mayank , Sinha Ekata , Singh Vandana , Arela Nidhi , Bajaj Bharat , Tiwari Pramod K. , Katoch Vishwa M. , Mohanty Keshar K.
Published: December 2020

The C-C motif chemokine ligand-2 (CCL2) was evidenced to be associated with tuberculosis susceptibility in some ethnic groups. In the present study, effort was made to find out the association of CCL2-2518 A>G and -362 G>C variants with susceptibility to TB in a population from North India. The genotyping was carried out in 373 participants with pulmonary TB (PTB) and 248 healthy controls (HCs) for CCL2-2518 A>G and -362 G>C polymorphisms by PCR-RFLP and by melting curve analysis using fluorescence-labeled hybridization fluorescent resonance energy transfer (FRET) probes, respectively, followed by DNA sequencing in a few representative samples. Genotype and allele frequencies were compared by the chi-squared test and crude and Mantel-Haenszel (M-H) odds ratio (OR). OR was calculated using STATA/MP16.1 software. Further, CCL2, IL-12p70, IFN-γ, TNF-α, and TGF-β levels were measured in serum samples of these participants using commercially available kits. Our analysis indicated that the homozygous mutant in both -2518 GG (

OR
=
2.07

,

p
=
0.02

) and -362 CC (

OR
=
1.92

,

p
=
0.03

) genotypes was associated with susceptibility to pulmonary TB. Further, heterozygous genotypes -2518AG (

OR
=
0.60

,

p
=
0.003

) and -362GC (

OR
=
0.64

,

p
=
0.013

) provide resistance from PTB disease. Haplotype analysis revealed AC haplotype (

p
=
0.006

) to be a risk factor associated with PTB susceptibility. The serum CCL2 level was significantly elevated among participants with -2518 AA genotype compared to -2518 GG genotype. CCL2 level was observed to be positively correlated with IL12p70, IFN-γ and TNF-α, thus suggesting the immunological regulatory role of CCL2 against pulmonary tuberculosis. CCL2-2518 GG and -362 CC genotypes were found to be associated with susceptibility to pulmonary tuberculosis and CCL2-2518AG and CCL2-362GC with resistance from PTB. AC haplotype was found to be a risk factor for PTB in the present study. It may be hypothesized from the findings that -2518G allele could be responsible for lower production of CCL2 which leads to defective Th1 response and makes a host susceptible for pulmonary tuberculosis.
Evaluation of Mechanical and Water Absorption Properties of Alkaline-Treated Sawdust-Reinforced Polypropylene Composite
Authors: Ferede Eyasu
Published: December 2020

Sawdust is a natural composite obtained from natural resources such as shrubs and trees and in a large amount from the wood industry as a waste. This study aimed to evaluate the mechanical and water absorption properties of alkaline-treated wood sawdust-reinforced polypropylene composite. The composites were manufactured by the melt-mixing method followed by compression molding with amounts of wood sawdust ranging from 10, 20, 30, and 40 to 50 wt. % by volume. The produced composites were characterized for their mechanical and water absorption characteristics. The results indicated that increasing the amount of wood sawdust content up to 40% improves the tensile, flexural, impact, and compressive strength of the composites but after the wood sawdust contents reach 40%, the mechanical properties of the composite were decreased. Water absorption rate has increased with an increase in the wood sawdust proportion; this is due to the presence of –OH groups on the surface of wood particles. From the result of this study, it can be also concluded that the optimal mechanical and water absorption properties were attained at 40% wood sawdust content. Therefore, sawdust can be used as filler and reinforcement in the PP matrix, which will reduce cost and give environmental benefits.
The Use of Sage Oil Macerates (Salvia officinalis L.) for Oxidative Stabilization of Cod Liver Oil in Bulk Oil Systems
Authors: Hrebień-Filisińska Agnieszka M. , Bartkowiak Artur
Published: December 2020

The aim of the study was to investigate the antioxidant properties of sage oil macerates (M) in cod liver oil (CLO) during process oxidation catalyzed by UV radiation. CLO was not only subject to oxidative stabilization but also used as a solvent for active ingredients of sage. Macerates were obtained by combining the sage with CLO, homogenization, maceration, and filtration. The effect of different maceration times (0, 3, 6, 8, 10, 13, and 15 days) and different concentrations of macerate addition (5%, 10%, 25%, and 50%) on the CLO oxidation degree, which was determined by peroxide value (PV), anisidine value (AV), and Totox index, was evaluated. Additionally, the total content of polyphenols in macerates by the Folin-Ciocalteu method, antioxidant activity DPPH, and color was determined. The macerates showed antioxidant properties in CLO. The best effect was shown by the initial macerate (maceration time 0, M0), which in 25% concentration significantly inhibited oxidative processes in CLO. It was also characterized by high content of polyphenols and antioxidant activity of DPPH. Sage macerates can effectively inhibit oxidation of fish oils and prolong their durability.
Inherited Cardiac Arrhythmia Syndromes: Focus on Molecular Mechanisms Underlying TRPM4 Channelopathies
Authors: Amarouch Mohamed-Yassine , El Hilaly Jaouad
Published: December 2020

The Transient Receptor Potential Melastatin 4 (TRPM4) is a transmembrane N-glycosylated ion channel that belongs to the large family of TRP proteins. It has an equal permeability to Na+ and K+ and is activated via an increase of the intracellular calcium concentration and membrane depolarization. Due to its wide distribution, TRPM4 dysfunction has been linked with several pathophysiological processes, including inherited cardiac arrhythmias. Many pathogenic variants of the TRPM4 gene have been identified in patients with different forms of cardiac disorders such as conduction defects, Brugada syndrome, and congenital long QT syndrome. At the cellular level, these variants induce either gain- or loss-of-function of TRPM4 channels for similar clinical phenotypes. However, the molecular mechanisms associating these functional alterations to the clinical phenotypes remain poorly understood. The main objective of this article is to review the major cardiac TRPM4 channelopathies and recent advances regarding their genetic background and the underlying molecular mechanisms.
The Inhibition of Group II Innate Lymphoid Cell Response by IL-27 in Allergic Rhinitis
Authors: Luo Xi , Zeng Qingxiang , Li Yan , Tang Yiquan , Liu Wenlong , Luo Renzhong
Published: December 2020

Objectives. Interleukin-27 (IL-27) has been reported to inhibit type 2 T helper cell (Th2) response in allergic rhinitis (AR). However, its effects on group II innate lymphoid cells (ILC2) in AR are not fully understood. Methods. Nineteen patients with AR and nineteen controls were enrolled in this study. The effects of IL-27 on ILC2 differentiation and function as well as the regulation of the IL-27 receptor (IL-27R) were analyzed by tritiated thymidine incorporation, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), respectively. AR mice were used to confirm the role of IL-27 in vivo. Results. The serum IL-27 protein expression in AR patients was significantly lower compared with controls. IL-27 decreased the ILC2 proliferation and type II cytokine secretion through the interaction with IL-27R. IL-27 also inhibited systemic and nasal ILC2 response of AR mice. Conclusion. IL-27 inhibited the proliferation and function of ILC2 in AR, implying that IL-27 may be used as new treatment target in AR.
Development of a UPLC-MS/MS Method for the Quantification of VS-5584 and Its Application in Pharmacokinetic Studies in Rats
Authors: Zhou Chunling , Li Xiaoxin , He Aiping , Liu Tianzhu , Tian Jinmiao , Jiang Meihua , Fang Lina
Published: December 2020

VS-5584 is a small-molecular compound that showed equivalent activity against mTOR and all class I PI3K isoforms and demonstrated preclinical activity in diverse cancer cell lines and xenograft tumor model, and rational combination of VS-5584 and other target therapies achieved promising outcomes in oncology. In the present study, we established and validated a simple and sensitive UPLC-MS/MS method for the determination of VS-5584 in plasma samples. VS-5584 was separated via an Acquity UPLC BEH C18 column, with a mobile phase composed of acetonitrile and 0.2% formic acid in water (40 : 60). The calibration curve displayed a good linearity in the range of 1.0–1000 ng/mL, with satisfactory accuracy (−13.6% < RE% < 8.8%) and precision (CV%, less than 9.2%). The validated method was then applied to a pharmacokinetic study in rats. After administration of 10 mg/kg, VS-5584 was absorbed quickly and reached a peak concentration of 473.2 ± 72.0 ng/mL after 20 min. The established method allows for the quantification of VS-5584 in rat plasma in detail and can be utilized to successfully describe the pharmacokinetic profile of VS-5584.
Study on the Microscale Tensile Properties of Lower Cambrian Niutitang Formation Shale Based on Digital Images
Authors: Song Huailei , Wu Zhonghu , Wang Anli , Sun Wenjibin , Liu Hao , Lou Yili , Zuo Yujun
Published: December 2020

Tensile strength is an important parameter that affects the initiation and propagation of shale reservoir fractures during hydraulic fracturing. Shale is often filled with minerals such as calcite. To explore the effect of calcite minerals on the tensile strength and failure mode of shale, in this paper, lower Cambrian shale cores were observed by microslice observations and core X-ray whole-rock mineral diffraction analysis, and 7 groups of numerical direct tensile tests were performed on simulated shale samples with different azimuth angles. The test results show that as the azimuth angle α increases, the tensile strength of the samples gradually decreases, and the fracture rate also shows a decreasing trend. The failure modes can be summarized as root-shaped (0° and 15°), step-shaped (30 and 45°), fishbone-shaped (60°), and river-shaped (75° and 90°) fracturing. The smaller the azimuth angle α, the easier it is for hydraulic fractures to propagate along the direction of the calcite veins and inhibit the formation of fracture networks in the shale matrix. Considering the correlation between the acoustic emission characteristics and failure mode, the fractal dimension is used to reflect the microscopic failure mode of shale. The larger the fractal dimension, the higher the fracture rate is, the more microcracks exist at the edge of the main crack, the more severe the internal damage is, and the more complex the failure mode of the sample is. As the azimuth angle α increases, the fractal dimension shows a decreasing trend, and the crack becomes smoother. This research has important reference value for the study of hydraulic fracture initiation mechanisms and natural fracture propagation.
A Novel Shearer Cutting State Recognition Method Based on Improved Variational Mode Decomposition and LSSVM with Acoustic Signals
Authors: Wang Zhongbin , Liang Bin , Si Lei , Tong Kuangwei , Tan Chao
Published: December 2020

The recognition of shearer cutting state is the key technology to realize the intelligent control of the shearer, which has become a highly difficult subject concerned by the world. This paper takes the sound signal as analytic objects and proposes a novel recognition method based on the combination of variational mode decomposition (VMD), principal component analysis method (PCA), and least square support vector machine (LSSVM). VMD can decompose a signal into various modes by using calculus of variation and effectively avoid the false component and mode mixing problems. On this basis, an improved gravitational search algorithm (IGSA) is designed by using the position update mechanism of Levy flight strategy to find the optimal parameter combination of VMD. Then, the feature extraction is achieved by calculating the envelope entropy and kurtosis of the decomposed intrinsic mode functions (IMFs). To avoid dimensional disasters and reinforce the classification performance, PCA is introduced to choose useful features, and the LSSVM-based classifier is reasonably constructed. Finally, the experimental results indicate that the proposed method is more feasible and superior in the recognition of shearer cutting states.
The Measurement of Green Finance Development Index and Its Poverty Reduction Effect: Dynamic Panel Analysis Based on Improved Entropy Method
Authors: Jiang Lili , Wang Hui , Tong Aihua , Hu Zhifei , Duan Hongjun , Zhang Xiaolei , Wang Yifeng
Published: December 2020

Finance contributes to poverty alleviation through economic growth, and the development of green finance is related to the sustainable development of the world economy and environment. Green finance not only helps promote sustainable economic development but also helps reduce poverty. Based on the analysis of related theories about green finance and poverty alleviation, this paper selects 18 indicators from three dimensions of economic development, financial development, and social environmental development and uses the improved entropy method to measure the green finance development index of China’s 25 provinces and municipalities from 2004 to 2017. The results show that the development level of green finance in China’s 25 provinces and municipalities is quite different. On the basis of the above analysis, make an empirical analysis of the impact of the green finance development index on poverty alleviation using multiple regression analysis and static panel and dynamic panel estimation methods. The research results show that there is a significant positive correlation between green finance and poverty alleviation; the higher the level of green finance development, the more conducive the poverty alleviation. So, this paper suggests that poverty can be better alleviated by improving the level of green finance development, financial asset level, and economic development level.
Numerical Approximation of Fractional-Order Volterra Integrodifferential Equation
Authors: Qiang Xiaoli , Kamran  , Mahboob Abid , Chu Yu-Ming
Published: December 2020

Laplace transform is a powerful tool for solving differential and integrodifferential equations in engineering sciences. The use of Laplace transform for the solution of differential or integrodifferential equations sometimes leads to the solutions in the Laplace domain that cannot be inverted to the real domain by analytic methods. Therefore, we need numerical methods to invert the solution to the real domain. In this work, we construct numerical schemes based on Laplace transform for the solution of fractional-order Volterra integrodifferential equations in the sense of the Atangana-Baleanu Caputo derivative. We propose two numerical methods for approximating the solution of fractional-order linear and nonlinear Volterra integrodifferential equations. In our scheme, the inverse Laplace transform is approximated using a contour integration method and Stehfest method. Some numerical experiments are performed to check the accuracy and efficiency of the methods. The results obtained using these methods are compared.
Predicting the Compressive Strength of Desert Sand Concrete Using ANN: PSO and Its Application in Tunnel
Authors: Cai He , Liao Taichang , Ren Shaoqiang , Li Shuguang , Huo Runke , Yuan Jie , Yang Wencui
Published: December 2020

Desert sand is one of the current research hotspots in alternative materials for concrete aggregates. In the process of practical application, compressive strength is an essential prerequisite for studying other properties. Based on the current research situation, a prediction technology of compressive strength of desert sand concrete (DSC) is proposed based on an artificial neural network (ANN) and a particle swarm optimization (PSO). The technology is a prediction model that adjusts the network architecture by using the PSO method based on the ANN optimization model. Water‐binder ratio, sand ratio, replacement rate of desert sand, desert sand type, fly ash content, silica fume content, air content, and slump were selected as the neural network’s inputs. The compressive strength data of 118 different combinations of influencing variables were tested to establish the dataset. The results show that the PSO method is efficient for the ANN in DSC compressive strength research. Furthermore, referring to this method, DSC is applied to the shotcrete of tunnels in construction engineering successfully, and the dust particle content during construction is evaluated.
Instrumental Techniques for Characterization of Molybdenum Disulphide Nanostructures
Authors: Ramohlola Kabelo E. , Iwuoha Emmanuel I. , Hato Mpitloane J. , Modibane Kwena D.
Published: December 2020

The excellent chemical and physical properties of materials (nanomaterials) with dimensions of less than 100 nm (nanometers) resulted in researchers and industrialists to have great interest in their discovery and applications in various systems/applications. As their sizes are reduced to nanoscale, these nanomaterials tend to possess exceptional properties differing from those of their bulk counterparts; hence, they have found applications in electronics and medicines. In order to apply them in those applications, there is a need to synthesise these nanomaterials and study their structural, optical, and electrochemical properties. Among several nanomaterials, molybdenum disulphide (MoS2) has received a great interest in energy applications due to its exceptional properties such as stability, conductivity, and catalytic activities. Hence, the great challenge lies in finding the state-of-the-art characterization techniques to reveal the different properties of MoS2 nanostructures with great accuracy. In this regard, there is a need to study and employ several techniques to accurately study the surface chemistry and physics of the MoS2 nanostructures. Hence, this review will comprehensively discuss a detailed literature survey on analytical techniques that can be used to study the chemical, physical, and surface properties of MoS2 nanostructures, namely, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-vis), photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy (TOF-SIMS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning and transmission electron microscopies (SEM and TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS/X), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and electroanalytical methods which include linear sweep (LSV) and cyclic (CV) voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS).
Postoperative Ultrasound as a Predictor of Newborn Function and Ambulation after Open Fetal Myelomeningocele Repair
Authors: Buskmiller Cara , Pribble Chase , Buchanan Christopher Quinn , Fisher Allan
Published: December 2020

Objective: Function of the lower extremities after prenatal myelomeningocele (MMC) repair is best assessed with ambulatory function at 30–36 months of age, but parents often ask about function before this milestone. Lower extremity movement can be assessed by ultrasound (US) and at the newborn exam (NE), but correlation between US, NE, and ambulation is not firmly established. Methods: This was a retrospective correlation study of fetuses that underwent open prenatal MMC repair at SSM Cardinal Glennon Fetal Care Institute, St. Louis, MO, between January 2011 and June 2017. Movement at the ankles, knees, and hips was assessed by US after open repair on postoperative days (PODs) 0–5 and at 32 weeks gestation. NE was performed by physical therapy or neurosurgery within the first month of life, and pediatric follow-up between 30 and 36 months of age was obtained to document ambulation. Results: Forty-two fetuses were included. Joint movement seen on US varied by POD: it was present on POD 1 in 7% of fetuses and 62% by POD 5. Degree of ventriculomegaly, lesion level, and lesion length did not have a significant effect on US, NE, or ambulation. Knee movement on POD 3 correlated with knee movement at NE (k = 0.58, p < 0.01), but only later knee movement correlated with ambulation (k = 0.28–0.46, p = 0.01). Hip movement at 32 weeks was the only single joint assessment that correlated with NE and ambulation (k = 0.45 and 0.46, p = 0.03 and 0.01, respectively). Conclusion: Lower extremity movement increases between POD 1 and POD 5 in fetuses after open fetal MMC repair. Knee and hip movement on US at 32 weeks correlates with ambulation at 30–36 months. These data may inform counseling, and direct therapy and spark prospective investigations.
EDUCATORS AND PSYCHOLOGISTS IN JUVENILE CORRECTION SETTINGS AS “SIGNIFICANT OTHERS” IN THE PROCESS OF REHABILITATION AND RE-SOCIALIZATION OF CONVICTS
Authors: Ushkov Fedor I. , Shaigerova Lilia A. , Dolgikh Aleksandra G. , Almazova Olga V.
Published: December 2020

Relevance. In the correctional facilities the staff plays a special role in the life of juvenile offenders serving sentences and isolated from the society. It is not only the rehabilitation process in the juvenile correctional facility but also the success of resocialization after serving the sentence that is determined by their actions and the attitude towards the juvenile convicts. Objective. The aim of the study was to study exactly which indicators of mental health and emotional state of juvenile convicts are associated with perceived and received socio-psychological support from psychologists and caregivers of the juvenile correctional facility in comparison with support from other sources. Methods and participants. The study involved 657 adolescents serving sentences in nine juvenile correctional facilities, aged 14 to 19 years (564 boys and 93 girls).The study used the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), an item specifically developed for identifying the frequency of seeking help from various categories of people present in respondents’ lives; the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales - DASS-21); the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS); and the Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (SPANE). Results. Differences were identified in the relationship between perceived social support from different sources and the frequency of seeking help for different categories with indicators of mental health and emotional state of young convicts. The study also identified the impact of different support sources on anxiety, stress, and the strength of positive and negative emotions. The study emphasizes the special role of caregivers and psychologists compared to other categories of stuff in predicting the levels of depression. Conclusions. The perceived social support from the staff and the frequency of juvenile convicts asking psychologists and caregivers for help have a significant impact on mental health indicators and the emotional state of juvenile offenders. Peers and friends have the least impact on the mental health and emotional state of incarcerated youth, as opposed to free adolescents. On the contrary, “significant adults” represented by staff of correctional camps (educators and psychologists) make a significant contribution to reducing mental health disorders and improving the emotional state of offenders. Perceived social support from “significant others” helps reduce stress. Asking educators for help can be considered a predictor of lower levels of depression, anxiety, and stress in juvenile convicts. In turn, the level of positive emotions is mostly determined by seeking help from a psychologist.
ACCURACY OF EXPERT FRAUD DETECTION TECHNOLOGY IN REMOTE TEST EXAMS (PROCTORING)
Authors: Shmelev Alexander G.
Published: December 2020

The purpose (objective) of the empirical study is the measurement of the accuracy of expert-proctors in detecting cheating in online testing. Sample of the study. 35 test takers passed an online test of general knowledge on the basis of 30 multiple choice questions. Half of the subjects (18 persons) were “artificial cheaters” — they used cheat sheets with correct answers. Methods. The video recording of the testing process included a “screen capture” so that expert-proctors could observe all cursor movements, see a recording of the subject’s facial expressions and a visual focus of attention in a separate window (recording from the front camera), and could listen to the subject pronouncing the task conditions and answers (“oral decision”). 14 experts took part in rating of video recordings, of which 8 experts showed satisfactory results in terms of the level of accuracy in detecting cheating (their accuracy that was measured using the Kappa coefficient was higher than 0.5). Conclusions. A high asymmetric validity of expert assessments is revealed. More accurate experts allowed a negligible (about 5 percent) number of errors of the “false alarm” type, but a relatively large number of errors of the “skip” type. Recommendations are made for the practical use of the expert assessment method in combination with automatic chronometric analysis of the degree of atypical protocols and subsequent control of face-to-face offline testing of all suspected subjects (examinees).
INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTIC ASPECTS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL CULTURE OF STUDENTS OF DISTANCE AND FULL-TIME FORM OF LEARNING
Authors: Volodarskaya Elena A. , Anton F. Gasimov Anton F. Gasimov
Published: December 2020

Relevance of the work is determined by the need to study the personality and psychological characteristics of students choosing full-time and distance learning to understand the general laws of the formation of the psychological culture of a graduate in the context of the active development of electronic educational space. The purpose of the study is to compare the individual characterological elements of the psychological culture of students choosing full-time and distance learning in the development of engineering specialties. Methods and sampling. The sample consisted of 84 respondents aged 18 to 22 years studying in the field of information technology. They were divided into two groups depending on the preferred form of education: distance learning (40 students) and full-time (44 students). The following tools were used: five-factor personality questionnaire by H. Tsuyi in the adaptation of A.B. Khromov; B. Bass technique for diagnosing the personality orientation, Yu.M. Orlov technique for identifying communication needs; viability test by S. Muddy; self-attitude test questionnaire (CCA) by V.V. Stolin and S.R. Pantileeva. Results. Distinctions in the reflexive-evaluative component, communicative features are highlighted. Students of distance learning have a lower level of the need for communication, lower levels of self-regulation and a more pronounced psychological distance in communication, associated with lower rates of self-acceptance, compared with full-time students. The choice of the method of organizing interpersonal interaction in the educational situation is affected by the psychological distance of the person in communication. In case of distance-learning students, the factor of “attachment-remoteness” appeared to be more significant compared to full-time students, who were characterized by a higher indicator of the need for other people to evaluate them. Conclusions. The active development of e-education requires to take into account the specifics of the personal characteristics of students and should not be limited only to the expansion of user competencies. This is determined by the distinguished differences in the characteristics of self-acceptance, the severity of the need for communication, as well as the psychological distance of the person in communication between students who prefer distance or full-time educational formats.
SOCIAL REPRESENTATIONS ABOUT HOMOSEXUALITY AMONG DIFFERENT GENERATIONS OF MODERN RUSSIANS
Authors: Rikel Alexander M.
Published: December 2020

Relevance. The problem of homosexuality is constantly in the spotlight of the mass media, social media and politicians. Psychological studies of this phenomenon are easier to find in foreign rather than in Russian research. At the same time the cultural and national specificity of attitudes towards the phenomenon of homosexuality seems obvious as well as a significant polarization of opinions within society itself. This polarization can be gender, urban, class, and intergenerational, as evidenced by numerous sociological polls. With significant attention to this issue at the level of social strata, there are not many attempts to analyze the concept of homosexuality in line with the socio-psychological tradition. In a number of previous studies it was revealed that the modern Z Gen is distinguished by greater tolerance and freedom of views in terms of attitude towards traditionally segregated social groups. The purpose of this study was to identify perceptions of homosexuality among different generations of modern Russians. Homosexuality has been singled out among other sexual orientations (LGBT) as the most discussed in public discourse. The subject of the research is social perceptions of homosexuality, particularly among representatives of different generations. Methods. The methodological basis of the research was the study of the structure of social perceptions (metho P. Vergesse method). The research methods were the author’s questionnaire aimed at identifying perceptions of homosexuality as well as a modified version of the RAHI questionnaire (Gulevich et al., 2016). The study sample consisted of 444 people (residents of the Russian Federation,16 to 65 years old). Results and Conclusions. The hypotheses of the study were confirmed: an inverse relationship between age (belonging to a generational cohort) and perceptions of homosexuality as normative was revealed. A significant difference was shown in the Z Gen perceptions in terms of tolerance of homosexuality. The so-called double standards were identified in terms of attitudes towards male and female homosexuality. The rooted concept of homosexuality as a relationship based on a sexual rather than a romantic-spiritual level, was stated.
Children’s Ethno-National Flag Categories in Three Divided Societies
Authors: Dautel Jocelyn B. , Maloku Edona , Tomovska Misoska Ana , Taylor Laura K.
Published: December 2020

Flags are conceptual representations that can prime nationalism and allegiance to one’s group. Investigating children’s understanding of conflict-related ethno-national flags in divided societies sheds light on the development of national categories. We explored the development of children’s awareness of, and preferences for, ethno-national flags in Northern Ireland, Kosovo, and the Republic of North Macedonia. Children displayed early categorization of, and ingroup preferences for, ethno-national flags. By middle-childhood, children’s conflict-related social categories shaped systematic predictions about other’s group-based preferences for flags. Children of minority-status groups demonstrated more accurate flag categorization and were more likely to accurately infer others’ flag preferences. While most Balkan children preferred divided versus integrated ethno-national symbols, children in the Albanian majority group in Kosovo demonstrated preferences for the new supra-ethnic national flag. We discuss the implications of children’s ethno-national flag categories on developing conceptualizations of nationality and the potential for shared national symbols to promote peace.