bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Response Strategies of UK Construction Contractors to COVID-19 in the Consideration of New Projects
Authors: Rhodes Oliver , Rostami Ali , Khodadadyan Atousa , Dunne Sian
Published: July 2022

COVID-19 presented a catastrophic event, creating a unique environment and resulting in lasting repercussions globally. The construction industry has been one of the worst affected sectors relating to the public health pandemic. Challenges such as workplace closures and site cessations led to untold uncertainty, developing into contractual grievances and supply-chain disruption, amongst others. The focus of this study is to determine the response strategies of UK construction companies in the face of the COVID-19 global pandemic and the subsequent recession the UK fell into as a direct result. A literature review of previous recession responses was examined and four areas for further consideration were identified, which included contracting, risk management, cost control and finance. The study compared the previous response strategies to identify whether lessons had been learned from prior experience, or if new strategies had emerged due to the different economic and political circumstances. A qualitative methodology was adopted to provide the required depth of analysis for the research. Thirty-two participants from different size construction organisations were interviewed, which provided evidence of strategies across the four categories analysed. The results indicated that in the early stages, uncertainty around all aspects of the pandemic caused organisations to anticipate the worst financial consequences, as the scale or scope of government intervention was initially unknown. As a result, companies reacted by downsizing, halting expansion, introducing competitive pricing to ensure there were projects in the pipeline and diversification to ensure stability and survival of the company. Organisations used the pandemic as an opportunity to restructure and invested in new technology to remain competitive. Client relationships and supply-chain partnerships were deemed to be of upmost importance in resolving contracting challenges that the pandemic brought about.
Multi-Objective Optimization of Sustainable Concrete Containing Fly Ash Based on Environmental and Mechanical Considerations
Authors: Onyelowe Kennedy C. , Kontoni Denise-Penelope N. , Ebid Ahmed M. , Dabbaghi Farshad , Soleymani Atefeh , Jahangir Hashem , Nehdi Moncef L.
Published: July 2022

Infrastructure design, construction and development experts are making frantic efforts to overcome the overbearing effects of greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the continued dependence on the utilization of conventional cement as a construction material on our planet. The amount of CO2 emitted during cement production, transportation to construction sites, and handling during construction activities to produce concrete is alarming. The present research work is focused on proposing intelligent models for fly ash (FA)-based concrete comprising cement, fine and coarse aggregates (FAg and CAg), FA, and water as mix constituents based on environmental impact (P) considerations in an attempt to foster healthier and greener concrete production and aid the environment. FA as a construction material is discharged as a waste material from power plants in large amounts across the world. Its utilization as a supplementary cement ensures a sustainable waste management mechanism and is beneficial for the environment too; hence, this research work is a multi-objective exercise. Intelligent models are proposed for multiple concrete mixes utilizing FA as a replacement for cement to predict 28-day concrete compressive strength and life cycle assessment (LCA) for cement with FA. The data collected show that the concrete mixes with a higher amount of FA had a lesser impact on the environment, while the environmental impact was higher for those mixes with a higher amount of cement. The models which utilized the learning abilities of ANN (-BP, -GRG, and -GA), GP and EPR showed great speed and robustness with R2 performance indices (SSE) of 0.986 (5.1), 0.983 (5.8), 0.974 (7.0), 0.78 (19.1), and 0.957 (10.1) for Fc, respectively, and 0.994 (2.2), 0.999 (0.8), 0.999 (1.0), 0.999 (0.8), and 1.00 (0.4) for P, respectively. Overall, this shows that ANN-BP outclassed the rest in performance in predicting Fc, while EPR outclassed the others in predicting P. Relative importance analyses conducted on the constituent materials showed that FA had relatively good importance in the concrete mixes. However, closed-form model equations are proposed to optimize the amount of FA and cement that will provide the needed strength levels without jeopardizing the health of the environment.
An Energy Dissipating Seismic Connector for Precast Concrete Shear Walls
Authors: Aljuboori Mohammed , Tabatabai Habib
Published: July 2022

In this study, several steel connector shapes were analytically evaluated as potential new seismic energy dissipating devices between vertical precast concrete shear wall panels. Based on the results of analytical and experimental studies, a multiple yield zone (MYZ) connector is proposed due to its improved performance (in energy dissipation) when compared to the conventional U-shaped flexure plate (UFP) device. Unlike the UFP, the MYZ connector provides stiffness and energy dissipation in both horizontal and vertical directions. The response of a shear wall building system utilizing the MYZ or UFP connectors was evaluated using a simplified frame model. The MYZ connector performed better than the UFP alternate both in terms of energy dissipation in the device and with respect to improved structure response. The use of multiple (distributed) yield zones through circular cut-outs is key in the performance enhancement observed with the MYZ connector.
Assessing Risk Factors Affecting the Accuracy of Conceptual Cost Estimation in the Middle East
Authors: Abdel-Monem Mohamed , Alshaer Kareem , El-Dash Karim
Published: July 2022

The construction industry is subjected to more risk and uncertainty than many other industries, in addition to poor risk-tracking records. This usually causes the late completion of projects, surpassing their estimated budgets even without achieving the desired quality and operational requirements. This study first identified the most critical factors affecting the accuracy of cost estimates. A questionnaire has been designed and distributed to construction experts; the results indicated stakeholders’ perception to improve their cost estimation using a proper and predefined risk management plan. Following the respondents’ judgment, this study identified 51 risk factors and their potential root causes and presents a response plan for the most critical risks that might affect cost estimates to improve construction-industry performance. Then, a new simple model has been developed to analyze risk factors affecting the accuracy of conceptual cost estimates, from both clients’ and contractors’ perspectives. The developed model will provide the decision-makers with a list of risks accompanied by guidelines/response plans to mitigate their effect on project cost to help the estimators identify the most effective cost contingency against the project’s scope creep.
Application of Artificial Neural Networks in Construction Management: A Scientometric Review
Authors: Xu Hongyu , Chang Ruidong , Pan Min , Li Huan , Liu Shicheng , Webber Ronald J. , Zuo Jian , Dong Na
Published: July 2022

As a powerful artificial intelligence tool, the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) has been increasingly applied in the field of construction management (CM) during the last few decades. However, few papers have attempted to draw up a systematic commentary to appraise the state-of-the-art research on ANNs in CM except the one published in 2000. In the present study, a scientometric analysis was conducted to comprehensively analyze 112 related articles retrieved from seven selected authoritative journals published between 2000 and 2020. The analysis identified co-authorship networks, collaboration networks of countries/regions, co-occurrence networks of keywords, and timeline visualization of keywords, together with the strongest citation burst, the active research authors, countries/regions, and main research interests, as well as their evolution trends and collaborative relationships in the past 20 years. This paper finds that there is still a lack of systematic research and sufficient attention to the application of ANNs in CM. Furthermore, ANN applications still face many challenges such as data collection, cleaning and storage, the collaboration of different stakeholders, researchers and countries/regions, as well as the systematic design for the needed platforms. The findings are valuable to both the researchers and industry practitioners who are committed to ANNs in CM.
Influence of Impregnation Medium on the Adsorptive Performance of Silica Sulfuric Acid for the Removal of Gaseous o-Xylene: Comparison on Ethyl Acetate and Water
Authors: Zhao Dandan , Ma Mengze , Qian Jinjin , Wang Yaxu , Ma Zichuan , Ma Xiaolong
Published: July 2022

Silica supported sulfuric acid (SSA) has been demonstrated to be capable of effectively removing phenyl VOCs through the reaction-type adsorption mechanism. The effects of the solvent (water, ethyl acetate) used to impregnate silica gel with H2SO4 solution in order to prepare SSA adsorbents have been studied. As-prepared two series SSA(E)-x and SSA(W)-x materials (x = 1, 2, 3, 4) were characterized by TG, SEM/EDS and N2 adsorption/desorption techniques, and their breakthrough adsorption performances were evaluated from experimental and theoretical aspects. The results showed that the H2SO4 loading amounts were 2.8, 4.0, 4.8 and 5.6 mmol g−1 respectively for both SSA(E)-x and SSA(W)-x when x equaled 1, 2, 3, 4. Among them, SSA(E)-4 was found to have a higher proportion of the C-state H2SO4 than SSA(W)-4. Both SSA(E)-x and SSA(W)-x exhibited significant removal capacity of gaseous o-xylene. The reactive temperature regions were determined to be 120–170 °C for SSA(E)-4 and 120–160 °C for SSA(W)-4 with a common optimum point of 160 °C. Both SSA(E)-x and SSA(W)-x adsorbents exhibited excellent recyclability and reuse performance. Further, the series SSA(E)-x materials outperformed the series SSA(W)-x on all adsorption performance metrics, suggesting that ethyl acetate is a preferred solvent for preparing the SSA materials in phenyl VOCs removal application.
Competitive Adsorption of NOx and Ozone on the Catalyst Surface of Ozone Converters
Authors: Ji Xiaolong , Clacens Jean-Marc , Can Fabien , Boréave Antoinette , Veyre Laurent , Gil Sonia , Meille Valérie
Published: July 2022

Four catalysts—1%Pd-2%Mn/γ-Al2O3, 1%Pd/γ-Al2O3, 2%Mn/γ-Al2O3 and γ-Al2O3—were synthesized via a sol–gel method and characterized using various techniques to evaluate their physicochemical, textural, surface and acidic properties. They were used in the catalytic transformation of ozone and nitrogen oxides using in situ Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform Spectroscopy (DRIFTS) analysis. Different consecutive gas sequences were followed to unravel the poisoning role of nitrogen oxides and the possible reactivation by ozone. It has been proven that on palladium and manganese-based catalysts, the inhibition effect of nitrogen oxides was due to the formation of monodentate nitrites, monodentate, bidentate and bridged nitrates, which are difficult to desorb and decompose into gaseous NOx, either by oxidation or by thermal treatment. Interestingly, monodentate nitrites could be eliminated if the catalyst went through a co-adsorption of NOx and ozone prior to exposure in clean ozone flow. This transformation could be the reason why the catalytic conversion of ozone could return to its original value before the poison effect of nitrogen oxides.
The Attitude of Portuguese Physical Education Teachers toward Physical Fitness
Authors: Marques Adilson , Balsa Diogo , Domingos Marta , Cavalheiro Rafael , Carreira Tiago , Moreira Tiago , Ribeiro Tiago , Gouveia Élvio R.
Published: July 2022

In this study, we aimed to examine how Portuguese physical education teachers perceive the development of physical fitness through fitness tests in schools. The participants were 764 Portuguese teachers teaching at middle-school and high-school levels. The Physical Education Teacher Attitudes Toward Fitness Tests Scale (PETAFTS) was used to collect the data. The means and confidence intervals for each attitude subdomain and the overall attitude were computed. A one-way ANOVA was used to examine the group differences in three subdomains of the attitudes of teachers by different variables. The overall attitude of teachers toward fitness tests was slightly positive according to a 7-point Likert scale (5.52, 95% CI: 5.47, 5.58). The results suggested that female teachers found fitness tests more useful, but male teachers significantly enjoyed implementing them. The data collected also showed that younger teachers found the implementation of fitness tests significantly more enjoyable than older teachers. In conclusion, future research should prioritise specific intervention content considering gender and the age of teachers to reinforce the development of physical fitness through fitness tests in schools.
Climate Change Related Catastrophic Rainfall Events and Non-Communicable Respiratory Disease: A Systematic Review of the Literature
Authors: Peirce Alexandra M. , Espira Leon M. , Larson Peter S.
Published: July 2022

Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme precipitation events, the impacts of which disproportionately impact urban populations. Pluvial flooding and flooding related sewer backups are thought to result in an increase in potentially hazardous human-pathogen encounters. However, the extent and nature of associations between flooding events and non-communicable respiratory diseases such as chronic bronchitis, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are not well understood. This research seeks to characterize the state of research on flooding and NCRDs through a systematic review of the scientific literature. We conducted a systematic search of PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus for published scholarly research papers using the terms flooding, monsoon, and tropical storm with terms for common NCRDs such as asthma, COPD, and chronic bronchitis. Papers were included if they covered research studies on individuals with defined outcomes of flooding events. We excluded review papers, case studies, and opinion pieces. We retrieved 200 articles from PubMed, 268 from Web of Science and 203 from Scopus which comprised 345 unique papers. An initial review of abstracts yielded 38 candidate papers. A full text review of each left 16 papers which were included for the review. All papers except for one found a significant association between a severe weather event and increased risk for at least one of the NCRDs included in this research. Our findings further suggest that extreme weather events may worsen pre-existing respiratory conditions and increase the risk of development of asthma. Future work should focus on more precisely defining measure of health outcomes using validated tools to describe asthma and COPD exacerbations. Research efforts should also work to collect granular data on patients’ health status and family history and assess possible confounding and mediating factors such as neighborhood water mitigation infrastructure, housing conditions, pollen counts, and other environmental variables.
Walsh–Hadamard Kernel Feature-Based Image Compression Using DCT with Bi-Level Quantization
Authors: Nayak Dibyalekha , Ray Kananbala , Kar Tejaswini , Kwan Chiman
Published: July 2022

To meet the high bit rate requirements in many multimedia applications, a lossy image compression algorithm based on Walsh–Hadamard kernel-based feature extraction, discrete cosine transform (DCT), and bi-level quantization is proposed in this paper. The selection of the quantization matrix of the block is made based on a weighted combination of the block feature strength (BFS) of the block extracted by projecting the selected Walsh–Hadamard basis kernels on an image block. The BFS is compared with an automatically generated threshold for applying the specific quantization matrix for compression. In this paper, higher BFS blocks are processed via DCT and high Q matrix, and blocks with lower feature strength are processed via DCT and low Q matrix. So, blocks with higher feature strength are less compressed and vice versa. The proposed algorithm is compared to different DCT and block truncation coding (BTC)-based approaches based on the quality parameters, such as peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and structural similarity (SSIM) at constant bits per pixel (bpp). The proposed method shows significant improvements in performance over standard JPEG and recent approaches at lower bpp. It achieved an average PSNR of 35.61 dB and an average SSIM of 0.90 at a bpp of 0.5 and better perceptual quality with lower visual artifacts.
Therapy Follows Diagnosis: Old and New Approaches for the Treatment of Acute Porphyrias, What We Know and What We Should Know
Authors: Petrides Petro E.
Published: July 2022

Heme, iron protoporphyrin IX, is one of life’s most central molecules. Hence, availability of the enzymatic machinery necessary for its synthesis is crucial for every cell. Consequently, inborn errors of porphyrin metabolism that compromise normal synthesis, namely the family of porphyrias, undermine normal cellular metabolism given that heme has functions in catalytic centers, signal transduction and functional regulation and its synthesis is fully integrated into the center of intermediary metabolism. Very often, diagnosis of porphyrias is difficult and therefore delayed. Therapy can be as complicated. Over the last 50 years, several strategies have been developed: because of its integration with other parts of intermediary metabolism, the infusion of glucose (glucose effect) was one of the first attempts to counterbalance the dysregulation of porphyrin synthesis in porphyrias. Since heme synthesis is impaired, infusional replacement of heme was the next important therapeutic step. Recently, siRNA technology has been introduced in order to downregulate 5-ALA-synthase 1, which contributes to the patho-physiology of these diseases. Moreover, other novel therapies using enzyme protein replacement, mRNA techniques or proteostasis regulators are being developed.
Use of POCUS in Chest Pain and Dyspnea in Emergency Department: What Role Could It Have?
Authors: Piccioni Andrea , Franza Laura , Rosa Federico , Manca Federica , Pignataro Giulia , Salvatore Lucia , Simeoni Benedetta , Candelli Marcello , Covino Marcello , Franceschi Francesco
Published: July 2022

Chest pain and dyspnea are common symptoms in patients presenting to the emergency room (ER); oftentimes it is not possible to clearly identify the underlying cause, which may cause the patient to have to return to the ER. In other cases, while it is possible to identify the underlying cause, it is necessary to perform a large number of tests before being able to make a diagnosis. Over the last twenty years, emergency medicine physicians have had the possibility of using ultrasound to help them make and rule out diagnoses. Specific ultrasound tests have been designed to evaluate patients presenting with specific symptoms to ensure a fast, yet complete, evaluation. In this paper, we examine the role of ultrasound in helping physicians understand the etiology behind chest pain and dyspnea. We analyze the different diseases and disorders which may cause chest pain and dyspnea as symptoms and discuss the corresponding ultrasound findings.
Osteosarcoma Arising in Fibrous Dysplasia of the Long Bone: Characteristic Images and Molecular Profiles
Authors: Kim Han Gyeol , Baek Jong Hun , Na Kiyong
Published: July 2022

Fibrous dysplasia (FD) is a benign fibro-osseous lesion that frequently involves the craniofacial bones and femur. Malignant transformation of FD is a rare occurrence. We report a 38-year-old woman with osteosarcoma (OS) arising from FD of the femur. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a well-defined lesion in the medulla of the femur, with cortical thinning and local bone destruction. Wide excision of the femur was performed. Grossly, the inner part of the mass was hard and tan-gray in color, and the outer part of the mass adjacent to the cortex showed myxoid discoloration with infiltrative borders. Microscopically, most of the tumor consisted of curvilinear woven bone and fibrous stroma with bland spindle cells, which transitioned to the outer portion of the tumor, showing cellular proliferation of pleomorphic cells with frequent mitotic activity. Next-generation sequencing revealed GNAS and TP53 mutations, and the diagnosis of OS arising from FD was strongly supported. This case highlights the characteristic images and molecular features of the malignant transformation of FD.
Multiple-UAV Reinforcement Learning Algorithm Based on Improved PPO in Ray Framework
Authors: Zhan Guang , Zhang Xinmiao , Li Zhongchao , Xu Lin , Zhou Deyun , Yang Zhen
Published: July 2022

Distributed multi-agent collaborative decision-making technology is the key to general artificial intelligence. This paper takes the self-developed Unity3D collaborative combat environment as the test scenario, setting a task that requires heterogeneous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to perform a distributed decision-making and complete cooperation task. Aiming at the problem of the traditional proximal policy optimization (PPO) algorithm’s poor performance in the field of complex multi-agent collaboration scenarios based on the distributed training framework Ray, the Critic network in the PPO algorithm is improved to learn a centralized value function, and the muti-agent proximal policy optimization (MAPPO) algorithm is proposed. At the same time, the inheritance training method based on course learning is adopted to improve the generalization performance of the algorithm. In the experiment, MAPPO can obtain the highest average accumulate reward compared with other algorithms and can complete the task goal with the fewest steps after convergence, which fully demonstrates that the MAPPO algorithm outperforms the state-of-the-art.
BVLOS Unmanned Aircraft Operations in Forest Environments
Authors: Hartley Robin John ap Lewis , Henderson Isaac Levi , Jackson Chris Lewis
Published: July 2022

This article presents a review about Beyond Visual Line Of Sight (BVLOS) operations using unmanned aircraft in forest environments. Forest environments present unique challenges for unmanned aircraft operations due to the presence of trees as obstacles, hilly terrain, and remote areas. BVLOS operations help overcome some of these unique challenges; however, these are not widespread due to a number of technical, operational, and regulatory considerations. To help progress the application of BVLOS unmanned aircraft operations in forest environments, this article reviews the latest literature, practices, and regulations, as well as incorporates the practical experience of the authors. The unique characteristics of the operating environment are addressed alongside a clear argument as to how BVLOS operations can help overcome key challenges. The international regulatory environment is appraised with regard to BVLOS operations, highlighting differences between countries, despite commonalities in the considerations that they take into account. After addressing these points, technological, operational, and other considerations are presented and may be taken into account when taking a risk-based approach to BVLOS operations, with gaps for future research to address clearly highlighted. In totality, this article provides a practical understanding of how BVLOS unmanned aircraft operations can be done in forest environments, as well as provides a basis for future research into the topic area.
Intimate Partner Violence in the Sub-Saharan African Immigrant Community in Chicago: A Changing Landscape
Authors: Wenham Kathryn , Sebar Bernadette , Lee Patricia , Harris Neil , Campbell Gabrielle
Published: July 2022

The challenges of conducting research on intimate partner violence (IPV) in immigrant communities means little is known about the occurrence of various forms of IPV, making it difficult to address in these populations. This research draws on data gathered in Chicago’s large and varied African immigrant communities. This research used a mixed methods approach: collection of quantitative survey data on occurrence, followed by qualitative interviews to explain the results. Missing quantitative data and contradicting qualitative responses made it difficult to draw definite conclusions on physical IPV; however, verbal abuse and controlling behaviours appear to be relatively widespread and normalised, and not always viewed as violence. Particularly with the probability of future pandemics and natural disasters, which are known to increase prevalence, it is important to raise awareness of less visible controlling behaviours and verbal abuse as forms of violence, and to implement appropriate prevention programs to minimise a concomitant rise in IPV within African immigrant communities.
Modeling of Flow Heat Transfer Processes and Aerodynamics in the Cabins of Vehicles
Authors: Beskopylny Alexey N. , Panfilov Ivan , Meskhi Besarion
Published: July 2022

Ensuring comfortable climatic conditions for operators in the cabin of technological machines is an important scientific and technical task affecting operator health. This article implements numerical and analytical modeling of the thermal state of the vehicle cabin, considering external airflow and internal ventilation. A method for calculating the heat transfer coefficients of a multilayer cabin wall for internal and external air under conditions of forced convective heat exchange is proposed. The cabin is located in the external aerodynamic flow to consider the speed and direction of the wind, as well as the speed of traffic. Inside the cabin, the operation of the climate system is modeled as an incoming flow of a given temperature and flow rate. The fields of velocities, pressures, and temperatures are calculated by the method of computer hydrodynamics for the averaged Navier–Stokes equations and the energy equation using the turbulence model. To verify the model, the values of the obtained heat transfer coefficients were compared with three applied theories obtained from experimental data based on dimensionless complexes for averaged velocities and calculated by a numerical method. It is shown that the use of numerical simulation considering the external air domain makes it possible to obtain more accurate results from 5% to 75% compared to applied theories, particularly in areas with large velocity gradients. This method makes it possible to get more accurate values of the heat transfer coefficients than for averaged velocities.
Periodic and Solitary Wave Solutions of the Long Wave–Short Wave Yajima–Oikawa–Newell Model
Authors: Caso-Huerta Marcos , Degasperis Antonio , Leal da Silva Priscila , Lombardo Sara , Sommacal Matteo
Published: July 2022

Models describing long wave–short wave resonant interactions have many physical applications, from fluid dynamics to plasma physics. We consider here the Yajima–Oikawa–Newell (YON) model, which was recently introduced, combining the interaction terms of two long wave–short wave, integrable models, one proposed by Yajima–Oikawa, and the other one by Newell. The new YON model contains two arbitrary coupling constants and it is still integrable—in the sense of possessing a Lax pair—for any values of these coupling constants. It reduces to the Yajima–Oikawa or the Newell systems for special choices of these two parameters. We construct families of periodic and solitary wave solutions, which display the generation of very long waves. We also compute the explicit expression of a number of conservation laws.
Distributed Adaptive Mittag–Leffler Formation Control for Second-Order Fractional Multi-Agent Systems via Event-Triggered Control Strategy
Authors: Wang Yougang , Zhang Jing , Wu Huaiqin
Published: July 2022

This brief investigates the Mittag–Leffler formation bounded control problem for second-order fractional multi-agent systems (FMASs), where the dynamical nodes of followers are modeled to satisfy quadratic (QUAD) condition. Firstly, under the undirected communication topology, for the considered second-order nonlinear FMASs, a distributed event-triggered control scheme (ETCS) is designed to realize the global Mittag–Leffler bounded formation control goal. Secondly, by introducing adaptive weights into triggering condition and control protocol, an adaptive event-triggered formation protocol is presented to achieve the global Mittag–Leffler bounded formation. Thirdly, a five-step algorithm is provided to describe protocol execution steps. Finally, two simulation examples are given to verify the effectiveness of the proposed schemes.
Formulation and Evaluation of Moxifloxacin Loaded Bilosomes In-Situ Gel: Optimization to Antibacterial Evaluation
Authors: Zafar Ameeduzzafar , Alsaidan Omar Awad , Imam Syed Sarim , Yasir Mohd , Alharbi Khalid Saad , Khalid Mohammad
Published: July 2022

In this study, moxifloxacin (MX)-loaded bilosome (BS) in situ gel was prepared to improve ocular residence time. MX-BSs were prepared using the thin-film hydration method. They were optimized using a Box–Behnken design (BBD) with bile salt (A, sodium deoxycholate), an edge activator (B, Cremophor EL), and a surfactant (C, Span 60) as process variables. Their effects were assessed based on hydrodynamic diameter (Y1), entrapment efficacy (Y2), and polydispersity index (Y3). The optimized formulation (MX-BSop) depicted a low hydrodynamic diameter (192 ± 4 nm) and high entrapment efficiency (76 ± 1%). Further, MX-BSop was successfully transformed into an in situ gel using chitosan and sodium alginate as carriers. The optimized MX-BSop in situ gel (MX-BSop-Ig4) was further evaluated for gelling capacity, clarity, pH, viscosity, in vitro release, bio-adhesiveness, ex vivo permeation, toxicity, and antimicrobial properties. MX-BSop-Ig4 exhibited an optimum viscosity of 65.4 ± 5.3 cps in sol and 287.5 ± 10.5 cps in gel states. The sustained release profile (82 ± 4% in 24 h) was achieved with a Korsmeyer–Peppas kinetic release model (R2 = 0.9466). Significant bio-adhesion (967.9 dyne/cm2) was achieved in tear film. It also exhibited 1.2-fold and 2.8-fold higher permeation than MX-Ig and a pure MX solution, respectively. It did not show any toxicity to the tested tissue, confirmed by corneal hydration (77.3%), cornea histopathology (no internal changes), and a HET-CAM test (zero score). MX-BSop-Ig4 exhibited a significantly (p < 0.05) higher antimicrobial effect than pure MX against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. The findings suggest that bilosome in situ gel is a good alternative to increase corneal residence time, as well as to improve therapeutic activity.
Comparative Assessment of the Level of Patient Safety Culture between Surgical and Nonsurgical Units in Bulgarian Hospitals
Authors: Dimova Rositsa , Stoyanova Rumyana , Tarnovska Miglena , Doykov Mladen , Blagoeva Vesela
Published: July 2022

Patient safety culture is a key component of the organizational culture and a critical measure of the quality of healthcare. The aim of this study was to gain an insight into the problems concerning patient safety culture, based on the analysis of data, collected after interviewing healthcare specialists working in surgical and nonsurgical units in selected Bulgarian hospitals. This was a cross-sectional online study using a web-platform and the Bulgarian Version of Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture. It was conducted among healthcare workers (n = 620) in 2021. The B-HSOPSC incudes 42 scales grouped in 12 different domains. We compared the percentage of positive ratings and outcome dimensions between surgical and other hospital departments with the nonparametric Mann–Whitney U test, χ2 tests, Fisher’s Exact Test, and OR. The results showed that there are no statistically significant differences between the ratings on Patient Safety Culture given by the surgical and the nonsurgical staff except for the dimension “Hospital management support for patient safety”. Results from the study highlighted that the most important aspect of hospital patient safety is the shortage of medical staff in both surgical and nonsurgical hospital units. Communication, work shift organization, handoffs and transitions between shifts and among different hospital units, as well as communication with line managers were rated as satisfactory in Bulgarian hospitals.
Effects of Early Initiation of High-Dose Dexamethasone Therapy on Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines and Mortality in LPS-Challenged Mice
Authors: Son Ji-young , Kwack Won Gun , Chung Eun Kyoung , Shin Sooyoung , Choi Yeo Jin
Published: July 2022

This study aims to explore the effects of early dexamethasone therapy at low to high doses on the survival and inflammatory responses in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-challenged mice. We performed two-series experiments to explore the impact of early dexamethasone therapy at different doses (0.5 mg/kg, 1.5 mg/kg, and 5 mg/kg; PO) on pro-inflammatory cytokine levels, including tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), as well as survival in LPS-treated mice (10 mg/kg, IP). Dexamethasone was administered daily from 24 h before and 5 days after LPS challenge. Dose-dependent improved survival was demonstrated with dexamethasone (p < 0.05). Body weight was significantly decreased within 24 h of LPS injection, with significantly greater weight loss in the dexamethasone groups (p < 0.05). Weight changes were significantly associated with the days after LPS administration (p < 0.01), but not with the dexamethasone dose (p > 0.05). Mice treated with high-dose dexamethasone (5 mg/kg) had a significantly lowered serum TNF-α (134.41 ± 15.83 vs. 408.83 ± 18.32) and IL-6 (22.08 ± 4.34 vs. 91.27 ± 8.56) compared with those without dexamethasone. This study provides essential insights that the suppression of early-phase hyperactivation of pro-inflammatory activities through the early initiation of high-dose dexamethasone therapy increases sepsis-related prognosis.
Non-Destructive Detection of Fruit Quality Parameters Using Hyperspectral Imaging, Multiple Regression Analysis and Artificial Intelligence
Authors: Hasanzadeh Behzad , Abbaspour-Gilandeh Yousef , Soltani-Nazarloo Araz , Hernández-Hernández Mario , Gallardo-Bernal Iván , Hernández-Hernández José Luis
Published: July 2022

Currently, destructive methods are often used to measure the quality parameters of agricultural products. These methods are often complex, time consuming and costly. Recently, studying to find a solution to the disadvantages of destructive methods has become a major challenge for researchers. Non-destructive methods can be useful for the rapid detection of the quality parameters of agricultural products. In this study, hyperspectral imaging was used to evaluate the non-destructive quality parameters of Red Delicious (Red Delicious) and Golden Delicious (Golden Delicious) apples, including pH, soluble solids content (SSC), titratable acid (TA) and total phenol (TP). In order to predict the quality characteristics of apples, the partial least squares (PLS) method with different pre-processing was used. The developed models were evaluated using the root mean square parameters of RMSECV validation error, correlation coefficient (Rcv) and standard deviation ratio (SDR). The results showed that in Red Delicious, for pH, TA, SSC and TP the best forecasting methods were SNV, SNV, MSC and normalized pre-processing with the regression coefficient values of 0.9919, 0.9939, 0.9909 and 0.9899, respectively. In Golden Delicious (Golden Delicious), for pH, TA, SSC and TP, the first derivative, (smoothing and second derivative), normalize (and SNV and normalize) preprocessors were selected as the best prediction models, with values of 0.9989, 0.9989, 0.9999 and 0.9989, respectively. The results related to an artificial neural network also showed that in hyperspectral imaging, the best state of the feed-forward network structure with the LM training algorithm was R = 0.93, Performance = 0.005 and RMSE = 0.03 in 325 inputs, 5 outputs and 2 hidden layers. The results showed that hyperspectral imaging has different predictive capabilities for the qualitative characteristics studied in this study with high accuracy.
In Vitro Propagation of Aconitum violaceum Jacq. ex Stapf through Seed Culture and Somatic Embryogenesis
Authors: Hadi Abdul , Singh Seema , Rafiq Shah , Nawchoo Irshad A. , Wagay Nasir Aziz , Mahmoud Eman A. , El-Ansary Diaa O. , Sharma Hanoor , Casini Ryan , Yessoufou Kowiyou , Elansary Hosam O.
Published: July 2022

Aconitum violaceum Jacq. ex Stapf is a threatened medicinal plant with restricted global distribution. The highest frequency of seed germination was recorded on Murashige and Skoog’s (MS) basal medium, supplemented with 0.5 mg L−1 kinetin with a germination rate of 77.32% and mean germination time of 27 days. Among the various plant growth regulators examined, 0.1 mg L−1 kinetin (Kn) + 0.5 mg L−1 indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) proved to be effective for maximum embryogenic callus production (51.0%) within 31 days of inoculation. The conversion rate of somatic embryos into complete plantlets was highest in the MS medium augmented with 0.1 mg L−1 Kn + 0.5 mg L−1 IAA (68.00%), with an average root initiation time of 25 days. The rooted plantlets were subsequently hardened into jiffy pots with a combination of loamy soil, coco-peat, and vermicompost (1:1:1 v/v), and then transplanted into a greenhouse with a 60% survival rate. To our knowledge, this is the first study on direct in vitro propagation and embryogenic callus induction from seeds. The established regeneration protocol could be employed to propagate A. violaceum on a large scale in a short time. This would contribute significantly to its rapid propagation and germplasm conservation, and establish a framework for the domestication of this highly valued threatened medicinal plant.
Molecular Characterization of Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) Accessions under Drought Stress
Authors: Makhadmeh Ibrahim , Albalasmeh Ammar A. , Ali Mohammed , Thabet Samar G. , Darabseh Walaa Ali , Jaradat Saied , Alqudah Ahmad M.
Published: July 2022

Exploring the genetic diversity among plant accessions is important for conserving and managing plant genetic resources. In the current study, a collection of forty-six tomato accessions from Jordan were evaluated based on their performance and their morpho-physiological, in addition to molecularly characterizing to detect genetic diversity. Tomato accessions seedlings were exposed to drought stress with 70% field capacity and 40% field capacity under field conditions in Jordan. Drought stress had significantly negatively influenced the dry root weight, fresh root weight, root growth rate, fresh shoot weight, dry shoot weight, and shoot growth rate. Moreover, proline content showed a highly significant increase of 304.2% in response to drought stress. The analysis of twenty morphological characters revealed a wide range of variations among tomato accessions. Accessions were screened with fourteen SSR primers; six primers were informative to explain the genetic diversity. Based on resolving power, primers LEct004 and LEat018 were most significant with all 46 accessions. Interestingly, polymorphic information content (PIC) values ranged from 0.00 (Asr2 marker) to 0.499 (LEct004), which confirms that the SSR markers are highly informative. Our findings provide new insights into using informative molecular markers to elucidate such wide genetic variation discovered in our collections from Afraa and Abeel (the southern part of Jordan). Interestingly, the SSR markers were associated with genes, e.g., LEat018 with ACTIN_RELATED PROTEIN gene, the LEct004 with the HOMEOBOX PROTEIN TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS gene, and Asr2 with ABA/WDS. Moreover, the AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR8 gene was associated with the LEta014 SSR marker and the LEta020 with the THIOREDOXIN FAMILY TRP26 gene. Therefore, the genetic diversity analysis and functional annotations of the genes associated with SSR information obtained in this study provide valuable information about the most suitable genotype that can be implemented in plant breeding programs and future molecular analysis. Furthermore, evaluating the performance of the collection under different water regimes is essential to produce new tomato varieties coping with drought stress conditions.
Rootstocks for Commercial Peach Production in the Southeastern United States: Current Research, Challenges, and Opportunities
Authors: Lesmes-Vesga Ricardo A. , Cano Liliana M. , Ritenour Mark A. , Sarkhosh Ali , Chaparro José X. , Rossi Lorenzo
Published: July 2022

The Southeastern United States is facing agriculture crises, such as the ongoing epidemic of citrus greening disease that has forced the region to begin looking into alternative crops. Some of these belong to the Rosaceae genus Prunus, which encompasses many economically important species such as peaches, almonds, cherries, plums, and more. Peach production in Florida has become a very promising alternative to citrus; however, there are different limitations and challenges that peach production faces in this region. Differing climates coupled with edaphic challenges such as salinity, alkalinity, and waterlogging have been the focus of much of the research into the viability of peach production in the region. Using the genetic diversity of the Prunus genus is crucial to the success of peach as an alternative crop, due to the nature of its propagation on rootstocks. The development of new rootstock cultivars has been—and continues to be—the most efficient way not only to deal with the variety of problems associated with the climate and soil mentioned above but also to mitigate the effects of pests and diseases. The vegetative propagation of stone fruit rootstocks also has distinct advantages that seed propagation cannot achieve, including tree performance uniformity and the multiplication of interspecific hybrids. Tools used to select the best-performing rootstocks for the area such as the root system architecture (RSA) analysis are fundamental to this development process to ensure that the rootstock cultivars with the traits needed for success in the region are selected. This narrative review lays out all the challenges facing southeastern peach production in detail, discussing the research into these challenges and highlighting the tools that are most crucial to the success of peach production in the region to create a resource for researchers, growers, and breeders to more easily access this information.
Digital Twin of a Magnetic Medical Microrobot with Stochastic Model Predictive Controller Boosted by Machine Learning in Cyber-Physical Healthcare Systems
Authors: Keshmiri Neghab Hamid , Jamshidi Mohammad (Behdad) , Keshmiri Neghab Hamed
Published: July 2022

Recently, emerging technologies have assisted the healthcare system in the treatment of a wide range of diseases so considerably that the development of such methods has been regarded as a practical solution to cure many diseases. Accordingly, underestimating the importance of such cyber environments in the medical and healthcare system is not logical, as a combination of such systems with the Metaverse can lead to tremendous applications, particularly after this pandemic, in which the significance of such technologies has been proven. This is why the digital twin of a medical microrobot, which is controlled via a stochastic model predictive controller (MPC) empowered by a system identification based on machine learning (ML), has been rendered in this research. This robot benefits from the technology of magnetic levitation, and the identification approach helps the controller to identify the dynamic of this robot. Considering the size, control system, and specifications of such micro-magnetic mechanisms, it can play an important role in monitoring, drug-delivery, or even some sensitive internal surgeries. Thus, accuracy, robustness, and reliability have been taken into consideration for the design and simulation of this magnetic mechanism. Finally, a second-order statistic noise is added to the plant while the controller is updated by a Kalman filter to deal with this environment. The results prove that the proposed controller will work effectively.
Interactive Search on the Web: The Story So Far
Authors: Aghaei Sareh , Angele Kevin , Huaman Elwin , Bushati Geni , Schiestl Mathias , Fensel Anna
Published: July 2022

Search on the web, specifically fetching of the relevant content, has been paid attention to since the advent of the web and particularly in recent years due to the tremendous growth in the volume of data and web pages. This paper categorizes the search services from the early days of the web to the present into keyword search engines, semantic search engines, question answering systems, dialogue systems and chatbots. As the first generation of search engines, keyword search engines have adopted keyword-based techniques to find the web pages containing the query keywords and ranking search results. In contrast, semantic search engines try to find meaningful and accurate results on the meaning and relations of things. Question-answering systems aim to find precise answers to natural language questions rather than returning a ranked list of relevant sources. As a subset of question answering systems, dialogue systems target to interact with human users through a dialog expressed in natural language. As a subset of dialogue systems, chatbots try to simulate human-like conversations. The paper provides an overview of the typical aspects of the studied search services, including process models, data preparation and presentation, common methodologies and categories.
Temperature-Sensitive Chameleon Luminescent Films Based on PMMA Doped with Europium(III) and Terbium(III) Anisometric Complexes
Authors: Galyametdinov Yuriy G. , Krupin Aleksandr S. , Knyazev Andrey A.
Published: July 2022

The spin-coating technique was used to produce composite films consisting of PMMA polymer doped with anisometric complexes of Eu(III) and Tb(III). It was found that an increase in the content of Tb3+ complexes intensifies emission of both ions due to the intermolecular energy transfer from the Tb(III) complex to the Eu(III) complex, which results in the increase in the relative luminescence quantum yield of Eu(III) ion by 36%. The temperature sensitivity of the film luminescence intensity and lifetime in the range of 296–363 K was investigated. The maximum relative sensitivity of the films reaches 5.44% × K−1 and exceeds that of all known lanthanide-containing thermal sensors designed for measuring physiological temperatures. In combination with changing luminescence color, such a sensitivity makes these films promising colorimetric thermal sensors for in situ temperature measurements.