bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Calculation of Compound Hazard Probability using Convolution of Distributions
Authors: Sanabria L.A. 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
The hazard produced by natural phenomena on infrastructure and urban populations has been widely studied. Researchers recognise that the danger posed by these phenomena depends on their extreme values. Most researchers focus on the extremes of natural phenomena considered in isolation, one variable at a time. What is relevant in hazard studies is, however, coincident extremes of several climatic variables, i.e. the presence of compound extremes. The peak value of these extremes seldom coincide, but off-peak values located in the tail of the distributions are often concurrent and can lead to catastrophic events. The problem is complicated by the presence of correlations between these variables. This paper presents a robust methodology to solve the problem based on the convolution of distributions. To illustrate the methodology, the case of a cyclone landing close to a coastal city is discussed, and its probability of flooding and recurrence period is calculated.
Water reuse for vine irrigation: from research to full-scale implementation
Authors: Ayache Chrystelle , Poussade Yvan , Jaeger Yves , Soyeux Emmanuel 
Published: July 2023

Abstract

Water scarcity is a worldwide problem, which leads to unprecedented pressure on water supply in arid and semi-arid regions. Treated wastewater is an alternative water resource, therefore, its reuse for agricultural irrigation has been growing worldwide since the beginning of the 21st century. In several regions of wine-producing countries (e.g., Australia, California – USA, Spain), wastewater reuse appears to be the most accessible alternative, both financially and technically, for agricultural uses that notably do not require drinking water. From the summer of 2022, vine irrigation full-scale implementation will start with tertiary treated municipal wastewater in the French Languedoc region. This was made possible thanks to a collaborative research project conducted between 2013 and 2018 to address all potential health and environmental risks associated with this process. This research project was conducted in the south of France, with experimental and control plots both equipped with drip irrigation systems. All the results produced during the research project demonstrated the feasibility of applying this process for vine drip irrigation while effectively managing health and environmental risks and complying with the regulation. A social acceptance and economic study were also performed in order to broaden the scope of the project scalability evaluation.
Mathematical model for assessing the prognostic significance of 25(OH)D deficiency in the progression of diabetic retinopathy in type 2 diabetes patients
Authors: Netrebin L.I. , Pankiv V.I. , Kyryliuk M.L. 
Published: July 2023

Background. In modern medicine, modeling of pathological processes is actively implementing in clinical endocrinology and ophthalmology. This process provides an opportunity to predict the risk of occurrence, course, prognosis and development of complications of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), in particular diabetic retinopathy (DR). Nowadays, special attention is paid to the course of DR against the background of vitamin D deficiency. But in the scientific literature, there are no mathematical models for assessing the risk of DM progression in patients with type 2 diabetes against the background of vitamin D deficiency. Aim of the study is to develop an adequate mathematical model for assessing the prognostic significance of 25(OH)D deficiency in the progression of diabetic retinopathy in patients with type 2 diabetes. Materials and methods. An open observational single-center one-stage selective study was conducted. It was approved by the Local Ethics Committee. Seventy-one patients (138 eyes) with T2DM and DR (men and women; mean age 61.9 ± 2.4 years; mean HbA1c 8.12 ± 0.91 %) were divided into 3 groups, based on the stage of DR (according to fundus instrumental examination). The inclusion of patients in groups with DR was carried out in accordance with the ETDRS protocol (2019). Statistical processing included ANOVA, MANOVA and regression analysis with the construction of logistic regression models. Results. A statistically significant (p < 0.001) decrease in the risk of a high degree of DR was found with an increasing concentration of 25(OH)D in the blood plasma for each 1 ng/ml (odds ratio = 0.46 (0.32–0.67)). The pseudocorrelation index (Nagelkerke) R2 is 0.54, area under a receiver operating characteristic curve is 0.92 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.85–0.97), which indicates the presence of a strong relationship between the risk of a high degree of DR and the concentration of 25(OH)D in the blood, gender and HbA1c level. The obtained multifactorial model was represented by the appropriate mathematical formula. The sensitivity (according to the Youden index) of the obtained logistic regression model is 84.4 % (95% CI 73.1–92.2), specificity is 92.3% (95% CI 74.9–99.1). Conclusions. An adequate mathematical model of logistic regression was developed to assess the prognostic significance of total vitamin D deficiency in the progression of DR in patients with T2DM. Its prognostic significance is 96.4 % (95% CI 87.7–99.0).
Structure-based Drug Design, ADME and Molecular Docking analyses of anti-viral agents against SARS-CoV-2 virus, Zika virus and Hepatitis C virus
Authors: Solo Peter , Zeliang Sangdintuile , Lohe Muluvelu , Neikha Avünü , Jamir Akumsunep 
Published: July 2023

Computer-aided drug design has been taking an increasing role in the field of modern drug discovery. These in silico computational methods are cost-effective, reduce the use of animal models in pharmacological research, and can be used to study pathogenic organisms without the need for any facilities. Based on the structure of known anti-viral agents, a total of 812 ligands have been designed. All ligands were screened for drug-likeness based on Lipinski rule of five. A database of ligands was constructed and in silico docking analyses were performed using MOE 2015.10 program against three selected viruses, viz., Zika virus, Hepatitis C virus and SARS-CoV-2 virus. Ligand 93 (-8.4469 kcal/mol) and ligand 123 (-8.3609 kcal/mol) were identified to be having higher docking scores as compared to the native ligand 6T8 (-8.2839 kcal/mol) and could be considered potential candidates for further studies in anti-viral drugs against Zika virus. Ligands 153 (-10.3108 kcal/mol), 63 (-9.9968 kcal/mol), 621 (-9.8700 kcal/mol), 31 (-9.5001 kcal/mol) and 779 (-9.3874 kcal/com) were identified as the top five binding ligands, and have docking scores much higher than the reference native ligand K4J (-8.9037 kcal/com). All these ligands can be potent candidates for anti-viral research against Hepatitis C virus. Ligand 798 (-8.0957 kcal/com) and ligand 63 (-8.0778 kcal/com) have higher docking scores as compared to the reference native ligand X77 (-8.0689 kcal/mol), they also interact with the catalytic dyad at the active site of the target protein and can be considered as possible candidates for studies in anti-viral drugs against SARS-CoV-2.
Keywords: Computer-aided drug design, ADME, Molecular Docking analyses, anti-viral agents, Sars-CoV-2 virus, Zika virus, Hepatitis C virus
Features of Legal Regulation of the Certain Types of Inheritance Agreements
Authors: Kolesnik I. V. , Rudik I. E. 
Published: July 2023

Introduction. In the Inheritance Law doctrine much attention is paid to the Inheritance Agreement construct as a universal tool for planning the inheritance procedure. However, the content of the Inheritance Agreement depends on the purpose of the agreement. In the present article, the features of each type of the Inheritance Agreement are defined. The aim of the study is to determine the legal regulatory specifics of the relationships being the subject of different types of the Inheritance Agreements and justify the need to apply a particular method of defending the interests of the Parties thereto.Materials and Methods. The social relationships arising from entering, executing and terminating the certain types of the Inheritance Agreements are the object of the present study. The methodological basis of the research includes the general scientific methods: formal-logical analysis, structural-functional and induction methods. From among the specific scientific methods, the legalistic and comparative-legal methods have been used.Results. Based on the purpose of the Inheritance Agreement, five types of this legal construct have been distinguished: the Inheritance Agreement designated for a testator to receive income during his lifetime from the after death descent of inheritance; the one used for financing the implementation of the important testator’s interests after his death; the agreement concluded to encourage the heir’s certain behavior before and (or) after testator’s death, including management of a testator's property; the Inheritance Agreement protecting the will of a testator from being contested by heirs; the Matrimonial Inheritance Agreement. Each type has the features of legal regulation expressed in the ways of defending the rights and interests of the parties to the agreement.Discussion and Conclusions. The analysis of the implementation efficiency of the considered types of the Inheritance Agreements in terms of achieving their Parties’ goals, allowed formulating the following conclusions. For ensuring fulfillment of a testator’s will after his death, it is necessary to allow keeping the record of the inheritance acquiring conditions during the period established for the accession to the heirship. To strengthen protection of a testator’s counterparty in the compensatory contracts, it is necessary to allow encumbering the future inheritance with pledge; impose on a testator the obligation to inform a heir about the alienation of property, being an object of an agreement and reimburse him the incurred expenses; recognise the right of a heir for reimbursement of all the losses incurred due to relying on a testator’s promise to transfer to him the property after death.
Educational Resources Developers’ Copyright
Authors: Kasyanenko T. S. , Alekseeva A. P. 
Published: July 2023

Introduction. Development of digital technologies, expansion of the spheres of distant learning implementation in the context of providing the educational services has resulted in creation and location of large amount of informational content at the open educational resources and institutional websites with access restricted for the external users. As consequence, there arise issues of authorship and copyright holding of the above-mentioned content, the limits of using the intellectual activity results of the authors of such content, distribution of remuneration received for its commercial use, as well as protection of subjects’ copyright whenever it is violated.Materials and Methods. The present study is based on the works of Russian and foreign researchers on copyright, on provisions of the Russian Federation Civil and Labor Law, as well as on the legislation of foreign countries. General scientific and specific scientific methods were used, such as the method of comparative legal studies, which allowed finding out approaches for solving the set forth problems in the frame of the other jurisdictions.Results. The conducted research shows that the problem of unlawful use of the educational content and protection of the rights of the content authors and copyright holders is widely spread and is especially relevant for the open educational resources. The authors of the present article have come to the conclusion that educational online content should be qualified as a complex piece of work and at the same time as a computer software and a unique database. The limits of free use of such a product should be specifically stipulated, i.e. for personal use, for non commercial use. For settling disputes between the authors and educational institutions, it is proposed to specify in an employment contract the types of pieces of work that are considered institutional ones, and to determine the conditions for using them among the parties.Discussion and Conclusions. The investigated problems of creating and locating the large informational-educational content, of using and processing the results of intellectual activity of the authors of such content, distributing the remuneration received for its commercial use, as well as protecting the rights of subjects in case of violation, have great practical importance, because the findings can be applied to solving the problems of exclusive ownership of the institutional pieces of work.
INSURGENCY AND TERRORISM IN AFRICA. MAIN LINES OF ACTION OF THE EUROPEAN UNION. CASE STUDY: CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC, MALI AND NIGER / INSURRECTION ET TERRORISME EN AFRIQUE. PRINCIPALES ORIENTATIONS DE REPONSE DE L'UNION EUROPEENNE. ETUDE DE CAS: REPUBLIQ
Authors: STANCIU Robert-Ionuț 
Published: July 2023

This article examines the main causes of insecurity on the African continent by attempting to identify the structural factors. Starting from these, the study examines and proposes a series of generic EU action lines for an integrated response. The work aimed to answer the following questions: What are the structural factors of insecurity in Africa? What lines of action should the European Union adopt? Is the action in the security sector sufficient? The methodology used was the comparative analysis of similar phenomena in the three mentioned countries. Process tracing and document analysis techniques were also used to determine causality and similarities. The findings indicate that violent extremism, inter- and intra- community conflict, climate change, population growth and poor governance are exacerbating instability and fragmentation on the African continent. Moreover, armed conflicts have become internationalized due to the involvement of external actors such as Russia and China, even if their strategies are different and complementary in nature. In this context, the main axes of the European Union's response must be subordinated to diplomacy and political dialogue, support for socio-economic development and the strengthening of the security sector. These measures should be complemented by coordinating the actions of like-minded actors and articulating appropriate strategic communication actions.
Robust Self-Tuning Control Design under Probabilistic Uncertainty using Polynomial Chaos Expansion-based Markov Models
Authors: Du Yuncheng , Budman Hector , Duever Thomas 
Published: July 2023

<p>A robust adaptive controller is developed for a chemical process using a generalized Polynomial Chaos (gPC) expansion-based Markov decision model, which can account for time-invariant probabilistic uncertainty and overcome computational challenge for building Markov models. To calculate the transition probability, a gPC model is used to iteratively predict probability density functions (PDFs) of system’s states including controlled and manipulated variables. For controller tuning, these PDFs and controller parameters are discretized to a finite number of discrete states for building a Markov model. The key idea is to predict the transition probability of controlled and manipulated variables over a finite future control horizon, which can be further used to calculate an optimal sequence of control actions. This approach can be used to optimally tune a controller for set point tracking within a finite future control horizon. The proposed method is illustrated by a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) system with stochastic perturbations in the inlet concentration. The efficiency of the proposed algorithm is quantified in terms of control performance and transient decay.</p>
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NLRP3 inflammasome inhibition protects against intracranial aneurysm rupture and alters the phenotype of infiltrating macrophages
Authors: Dodd William S. , Patel Devan , Motwani Kartik , Lucke-Wold Brandon , Hosaka Koji , Hoh Brian L. 
Published: July 2023

BackgroundAneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage is a devastating cerebrovascular disease associated with high morbidity and mortality. Macrophage-mediated mural inflammation is a key pathogenic component contributing to aneurysm rupture.ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of pharmacological inhibition of the NLRP3 inflammasome on aneurysm rupture.MethodsCerebral aneurysms were induced in C57BL/6 mice with a combination of hypertension and an intracranial dose of elastase. Mice were treated with either 40 mg/kg of MCC950 or saline via intraperitoneal injections. Vascular tissue at the circle of Willis was harvested for analysis via immunofluorescent microscopy or qPCR.ResultsNLRP3+ cells are more common in the aneurysm tissue compared to the normal cerebral vasculature. The mRNA expression of the downstream NLRP3 pathway components caspase-1, IL-1β, and GSDMD is also increased in the aneurysm tissue compared to healthy vessels. There was no difference in the aneurysm formation rate between MCC950- and vehicle-treated mice; however, MCC950 treatment significantly reduced aneurysm rupture rate. There was no difference in systemic blood pressure between both groups. MCC950 treatment also extended the symptom-free survival of mice after aneurysm induction. Mechanistically, NLRP3 inhibition decreased the phenotype polarization of infiltrating macrophages without affecting the total number of macrophages in the vessel wall.ConclusionsOur results indicate that the NLRP3 inflammasome contributes to aneurysm rupture and macrophage polarization within the vessel wall. The NLRP3 pathway is a promising therapeutic target for the development of therapeutics to prevent aneurysmal hemorrhagic stroke.
SCAD model of solid finite elements: calculation of reinforced concrete waffle slabs
Authors: Mozgolov M. V. , Kozlova E. V. 
Published: July 2023

Introduction. Current requirements for structural engineering oblige designers to use structures capable of resisting progressive collapse. Such structures include multiribbed reinforced concrete waffle slabs. Spatial systems are multiple indeterminate, their calculation is carried out in software systems based on the finite element method. Models of ribbed structures can be developed from different types of finite elements. The forces determined by different models can vary significantly, which is confirmed by the examples available in the literature.Aim. To detect a simple and accurate finite element model for computer-aided calculating the ribbed reinforced concrete waffle slab.Materials and methods. The study was carried out by comparing the bending moments obtained analytically and in the SCAD software by the finite element method for beams in waffle slabs of 12.0 × 18.0 m in plan with caissons of 1.5 × 2.25 m. The bar model consisting of a T-beam-and-girder construction and a solid model of bulk finite elements are calculated.Results. The bending moments, calculated both analytically and using a solid model, have similar values. The maximum deviations of the computer calculation from the analytical method are from -3.2 to +2.6 %. The maximum deviations of the values of bending moments obtained when comparing the solid model with the bar model are from -9.2 to +4.0 %.Conclusion. The finite element model, which is based on solving the volumetric problem of the elastic theory, is an effective verification model for studying complex systems; however, it is time-consuming and difficult for data analysis. A solid model can be recommended for studying individual structures or their critical zones.
Intention, sensation et mémoire dans l’esthétique médiévale
Authors: Carruthers Mary 
Published: July 2023

La présente étude insiste sur trois aspects de l’expérience sensorielle telle que les penseurs médiévaux l’ont entendue. Premièrement, toute perception ou expérience sensorielle implique des désirs orientés, appelés intentiones ou voluntates dans la terminologie augustinienne ; ce sont les mouvements naturels de l’âme, non des « états » psychiques, mais bien plutôt des énergies dirigées vers un objectif. En second lieu, les êtres humains pensent essentiellement au moyen d’images mentales formées à partir des données sensorielles brutes par un processus psychologique spécifique aboutissant à leur stockage dans la mémoire sous une forme qui permet leur mobilisation ultérieure au moyen du souvenir, processus associatif rationnel. En troisième lieu, toute sensation est un assemblage complexe de qualités et d’éléments, à l’instar d’ailleurs de tout être naturel. Aucune n’est pure ou singulière, et, partant, aucune de nos expériences esthétiques n’est pure et singulière. En concentrant mon propos sur l’analyse de l’intentio telle qu’on la trouve dans le livre xi du De Trinitate de saint Augustin et dans une psychologie des images mentales et du souvenir dérivée d’Avicenne et de Thomas d’Aquin, je m’attache à démontrer comment ces principes sont liés aux cinq sens à partir desquels sont créées les expériences humaines naturelles.
Gut microbial regulation of innate and adaptive immunity after traumatic brain injury
Authors: Celorrio Marta , Shumilov Kirill , Friess Stuart H. 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Acute care management of traumatic brain injury is focused on the prevention and reduction of secondary insults such as hypotension, hypoxia, intracranial hypertension, and detrimental inflammation. However, the imperative to balance multiple clinical concerns simultaneously often results in therapeutic strategies targeted to address one clinical concern causing unintended effects in other remote organ systems. Recently the bidirectional communication between the gastrointestinal tract and the brain has been shown to influence both the central nervous system and gastrointestinal tract homeostasis in health and disease. A critical component of this axis is the microorganisms of the gut known as the gut microbiome. Changes in gut microbial populations in the setting of central nervous system disease, including traumatic brain injury, have been reported in both humans and experimental animal models and can be further disrupted by off-target effects of patient care. In this review article, we will explore the important role gut microbial populations play in regulating brain-resident and peripheral immune cell responses after traumatic brain injury. We will discuss the role of bacterial metabolites in gut microbial regulation of neuroinflammation and their potential as an avenue for therapeutic intervention in the setting of traumatic brain injury.