The authors argue that despite significant numbers of foreign workers present in the Russian labor market Russia remains unattractive for highly skilled foreign workers. The economic crisis the country has faced since 2014 has resulted in a further outflow of foreign nationals from OECD countries. So Russia has to look for employees among newcomers from the former Soviet states, the majority of whom come from Central Asia. Russian politics with regard to immigration is characterized by the collision between “geopolitical” and domestic policy rationales. On one hand, seeking to maximize its influence in the post-Soviet space Russia provides preferential conditions of employment for citizens of partner countries in the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union. On the other hand, the Kremlin is afraid to liberalize its approach to immigration and the integration of immigrants through fear of losing popularity among the electorate. The second substantial feature of Russian immigration politics is an extreme level of securitization of migration issues. The government considers these issues primarily through a policing lens. One cannot claim that the Russian state does not take any steps to liberalize “migratory regulation”; however, the effect of these measures is being vastly reduced by new restrictions. In addition, liberally designed laws do not bring the expected results due to the corrupt practices that pervade the whole of migration regulation.

The West Pomeranian Anti-Crisis Package was an effective tool of the Voivodeship Executive Board of West Pomeranian self-government, which was used to combat and counteract and counteract the social and economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Anti-Crisis Package was prepared with a view to undertaking systemic, but also point-based measures in order to save and protect regional health care, entrepreneurs, the labour market, but also to use the existing social capital of non-governmental organizations involved in measures reducing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The West Pomeranian Anti-Crisis Package, as evidenced not only by the financial outlays incurred, but also by the outcome of implementing measures achieved in 2020 and their continuation in 2021.

In the rapidly evolving landscape of mobile applications, the demand for efficient and user-friendly platforms for services like motorcycle rentals is rising, particularly in urban areas. This paper presents the development of a Motorcycle Rent Application using Agile Methodology, tailored for the Android platform and developed with Flutter. Agile is iterative and adaptive approach, emphasizing continuous improvement and customer feedback, was crucial in managing the project's dynamic requirements. Flutter, with its single code base for multiple platforms and hot reload feature, significantly expedited development and enhanced the application's responsiveness and user interface. The project successfully implemented features such as user registration, motorcycle listing, rental booking, and payment integration, resulting in a seamless user experience. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of combining Agile Methodology with Flutter to create high-quality, responsive mobile applications that meet modern user expectations.

Water footprint has been widely used to illustrate the consumption of water in many situations; for instance, in products, processes or regions of interest. In this work, we analyzed – using a sensitivity analysis approach – the effect of some variables in the calculation of the water footprint in the viticulture in Brazilian Serra Gaúcha (the major producing region of Brazilian Wine).The classical Penman-Monteith model for evapotransporation was considered, with uncertainties in some parameters (dead mulch covering fraction in the vineyard, maximum temperatures for some months, altitudes and latitudes of the site). The sensitivity analysis was conducted using the SAFE toolbox under Octave framework. The results indicated that the the portion of the water footprint corresponding to the evapotranspiration is more sensitive to the values of mulch covering fraction and the altitude of the site in comparison with the latitude and the maximum temperatures.

In the face of escalating climate concerns and the push for sustainable development, the global shift towards renewable and decentralized energy systems presents new challenges and opportunities. This study investigates integrating decentralized energy production, particularly photovoltaic (PV) systems, into national energy planning, aiming to optimize energy strategies that balance local production and consumption with national objectives. By analyzing the Swiss energy model, the research employs the EnergyScope and REHO models to assess the strategic implications of decentralized versus centralized energy systems. Results show that a decentralized approach can significantly reduce PV installation needs to 35 GW, about 23% of potential capacity, and decrease annual system costs by 10% to CHF 1230 per capita. This strategy emphasizes local consumption, minimizes grid reinforcement demands, and leverages economic advantages while addressing overproduction challenges through effective energy storage and grid management. Conclusions underline the strategic value of combining centralized and decentralized methods for resilient and sustainable energy planning. The study contributes to the discourse on energy policy and infrastructure planning, advocating for a hybrid model that accommodates both local conditions and broader energy objectives, urging further research into climate impacts and technology integration for a comprehensive energy future.

Proteins have the ability to adsorb on the surface of materials, such as soft contact lenses (SCLs), and can affect the hydrophobicity, roughness and surface properties of the contact lenses (CLs), which, in turn, can influence the friction between the lenses and the ocular surface. Excessive friction between contact lenses and the ocular surface can lead to discomfort for the wearer and may cause irritation or inflammation of the cornea, better known as corneal ulcers (keratitis). Bovine serum albumin (BSA) is often used as a standard protein in biocompatibility testing of materials, including contact lenses. One standard commercial contact lenses was tested under lubricated conditions to access the coefficient of friction (CoF), being the contact lubricated with a tear like fluid (TLF) solution containing six different concentrations of BSA. In all cases, a good linearity of the results of the friction force was verified, so the first friction law can be applied to determine the value of the coefficient of friction. It was found that friction increases with increasing protein concentration.

Strategic intelligence covers the examination of what impacts and influences the business and the related SWOT analysis, (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats mapping). Through this research, leaders will be able to properly allocate and re-route resources, identify areas of improvement, and ensure that strategic initiatives are aligned with the organization's mission. Strategic intelligence is, therefore, effective through the use of critical thought and data-driven decisions and seeing the outcomes of different positioned alternatives. It must also form and support a culture of cooperation and open communication within the organizations, stimulating employees' inputs and learning curves. The article's subject is the necessity for strategic intelligence, a crucial competence for leaders, managers, and companies striving to remain competitive, to be utilized and best leveraged in today's volatile and dynamic business contexts. It helps the leadership turn proactive, foresee trends, and make correct, agile decisions that enforce companies' long-term growth and success. This study follows a research design that includes a thorough literature review and bibliometric research, executed via VoSViewer, illustrating the concept of strategic intelligence from a leadership point of view as a driver of competitive advantage. Further, the article points out that the limitations are acknowledged because the literature on the matter is limited, as strategic intelligence is relatively new to the business sector; moreover, more research is required to fully understand and use the potential of strategic intelligence in business growth. By overcoming these limitations and continuing to study this concept, businesses can gain a competitive edge and make informed decisions that fuel their success in an ever-evolving market. As a result, this study contributes to developing strategic intelligence in leadership and business and paves the road for further research and applications of strategic intelligence theories in organizational contexts.

Understory plants are important components of forest ecosystem productivity and diversity. Compared to biomass models of overstory canopy trees, few are available for understory saplings and shrubs and therefore their roles in estimation of forest carbon pools are often ignored. In this study, we harvested 24 understory species including 4 saplings, 9 tree-like shrubs and 11 typical shrubs in coniferous and broadleaved mixed forest in northeastern China and developed the best fit allometric equations of above- and below-ground and total biomass by species-specific or multispecies using morphological measurements of basal diameter, height and crown area as independent variables. The result showed that single basal diameter, height or crown area had good explanatory power for both species-specific and multispecies (p<0.001). The best-fit models included only basal diameter in sapling and tree-like shrubs, and combinations of crown area, height, and basal diameter in typical shrubs. The logarithmic model was most desired among the 4 model forms of linear, quadratic, multiple linear and logarithmic, for species-specific and multispecies. The models we developed should help the estimation of forest ecosystem carbon stocks, especially for belowground component, and provide tools for quantification of individual species biomass of understory plants.

The relationship between nations is largely seen as a peripheral issue in the recent history of political philosophy and in the majority of discussions of political philosophy issues today. The idea of a universal natural state were countries are seen as essentially self-sufficient, functional units, and have been proposed to represent the relative lack of moral standards guiding relationships between nations. At one extreme of the tradition, international thought has substituted raison d'état being the highest norm for any universal laws governing relations between states, a view embodied by Machiavelli, Rodin, and others and Hobbes , The lack of supranational political powers has led to the conclusion that, even in cases where the possibility of international moral relationships has been acknowledged, such as in post-Grotian publications on international law, these ties are significantly weaker than in-tranational social bonds. The justification and aversion to war—the primary mode of social in-teraction in the natural condition of the world—is the only issue in the field of global relations to have received substantial theoretical study. Even though this disregard was justified in the past, a number of recent events force us to re-consider the "recalcitrance of international affairs to being theorized about."2. The growing gap between both prosperous and impoverished nations; the emergence of centers of economic in-fluence beyond the reach of effective state regulation; the emergence of severe food and energy shortages brought on, at least in part, by national governments' pursuit of disorganized and uncontrolled growth policies; the growing sensitivity of domestic Countries to the outside eco-nomic, political, and cultural events are some of these developments , requests from third-world nations for greater equal access to international politics and economy. To put it in terms more familiar to conversations about this topic, the rise of "low politics" in negotiation and "welfare questions" within global forums corresponds with the growing influence of transnational con-nections and international agreements on human well-being. Not because "high politics"—that is, the threat and prevention of war—has lost significance; rather, it is just one issue among many for which international cooperation is now required in order to find answers.

This study explores novel techniques to improve the detection accuracy of skarn iron deposits using advanced image processing methodologies. Leveraging the capabilities of Aster image, Band Ratio (BR) images, and Principal Component Analysis (PCA), alongside the power of 3D Convolutional Neural Networks (3D-CNN), the research aims to enhance the precision and efficiency of ore detection in complex geological environments. The proposed method employs a specific 3D-CNN architecture, accepting input as a 7×7×C image patch, where C represents the combined number of selected Aster image bands, Principal Component (PC) bands, and computed BR images. To evaluate the accuracy of the proposed method, five distinct image bands combinations, including the proposed bands combination, were tested and evaluated based on the overall accuracy (OA), average accuracy (AA), and kappa coefficient. The results demonstrated that while the incorporation of BR images alongside Aster bands initially seemed promising, it introduced significant confusion in certain classifications, leading to unexpected mis-classification rates. Surprisingly, utilizing solely Aster bands as input parameters yielded higher accuracy rates (OA= 93.13%, AA = 91.96%, Kappa = 90.91%) compared to scenarios involving the integration with band ratios (OA = 87.02%, AA = 79.15, and Kappa = 82.60%) or the integration of BR images to PC bands (OA= 87.78%, AA = 82.39%, Kappa = 83.81%). However, the amalgamation of Aster bands with selected PC bands showed slight improvements in accuracy (OA= 94.65%, AA = 92.93%, Kappa = 93.45%), although challenges in accurately classifying certain features persisted. Ultimately, the proposed combination of Aster bands, PC bands, and BR images (proposed bands combination) presented the most visually appealing and statistically accurate results (OA = 96.95%, AA= 94.87%, and Kappa = 95.93%), effectively addressing misclassifications observed in the other combinations. These findings underscore the synergistic contributions of each of the Aster bands, PC bands, and BR images, with Aster bands proving pivotal for optimal skarn classification, PC bands enhancing intrusions classification accuracy, and BR images strengthening wall rock classification accuracy. In conclusion, the proposed combination of input image bands emerges as a robust and comprehensive methodology, demonstrating unparalleled accuracy in the remote sensing detection of skarn iron minerals.

In the recent years, tubular nanostructures have been related with immense advances in various fields of science and technology. Considerable research efforts have been centered on the theoretical prediction and manufacturing of non-carbon nanotubes (NTs), which meet modern requirements for the developing of novel devices and systems. In this context, diatomic inorganic nanotubes formed by atoms of elements from the 13th group of the periodic table (B, Al, Ga, In, Tl) and nitrogen (N), have received much research attention. In the present work, the elastic properties of single-walled boron nitride, aluminium nitride, gallium nitride, indium nitride and thallium nitride nanotubes were numerically evaluated using the nanoscale continuum modelling approach (also called molecular structural mechanics). The elastic properties (rigidities, surface Young´s and shear moduli, and Poisson´s ratio) of nitride nanotubes are discussed with respect to the bond length of the corresponding diatomic hexagonal lattice. The results obtained contribute to a better understanding of the mechanical response of nitride compound-based nanotubes, covering a broad range from the well-studied boron nitride NTs to the hypothetical thallium nitride NTs.

Induction heating is a fast, reproducible, and efficient heating method used in various manufacturing processes. However, there is no established additive manufacturing (AM) process based on induction heating using wire as feedstock. This study investigates a novel approach to AM based on inductive heating, where a steel wire is melted and droplets are detached periodically using a two-winding induction coil. The process parameters and energy input into the droplets are characterized. The induction generator exhibits sluggish response to the excitation voltage, resulting in a lag in the coil current. The process is captured using a high-speed camera, revealing regular droplet formation and uniform size and shape when operated within an appropriate process window. Larger drops and increased spatter formation occur outside this window. The proposed method allows for the production of droplets with almost spherical shapes. Further analysis and characterization of droplet formation and energy input provide insights into process optimization and overall efficiency.

Amid the array of challenges prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the policy response of governments proved vital. The U.S. states pursued varied policy approaches that demonstrated distinct divergences in impact. Particularly, contrasting state contexts produced markedly assorted frameworks for the delivery of public health services, which indicate potential effects for COVID-19 policy implementation. Using the rates of COVID-19 vaccinations as a measure of policy execution, the purpose of this study is to examine the political and administrative influences contributing to differences in COVID-19 public health policy outcomes among the U.S. states. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models included data sources of nationally representative information pertaining to state public health attributes of politics and administration during the height of the pandemic and vaccine campaign. The findings suggest that state political and fiscal orientations display significant associations with COVID-19 vaccination disparities, while other administrative indicators did not. The results signal important policy implications for the politics-administration dynamic within the COVID-19 pandemic and offer further understanding toward the roles of federalism and governance in future public health emergencies.

Partially state-owned firms are common in both developed and developing countries and contribute around 10% of the world's GDP. This has led to a rich literature exploring various aspects of competition between such “mixed”-ownership firms. This paper contributes to the existing literature by studying the effects of mixed ownership on the intensity of competition in oligopoly markets. Our findings indicate that state ownership exerts an anti-competitive influence, with a higher state ownership share resulting in less aggressive behavior by firms in the product market. This result implies that industries with a higher proportion of state ownership yield lower total surplus. Further, when considering factors such as taxes, soft budget constraints, and weak property rights, the anti-competitive effects of state ownership are accentuated.

: A strong financialtransaction is an important factor in organizational triumph and sustainability, and it is elucidated in the revised student handbook of the University that can be found on page 96 rules 1 to 5. This study assessed the registered students organizations' profile in terms of its type, registration, years of establishment, functions, and designations of student leaders and advisers. The financial practices or internal control system manages their organizational finances and the problems encountered by the student organizations and eventually proposed a manual of operation for students and youth organization's internal control system. This research used the descriptive design with the aid of questionnaire; data gathering through quota sampling from 57 student leaders and advisers of different student organizations of NEUST. Findings showed that most organizations had their constitution and by-laws but kept only as files and renewal requirements. Some provisions were not known to the officers, mostly were registered more than five years in operation; however, in terms of functions of officers and advisers, the results showed that some functions were not done by the officers who supposed to do it like the auditors who serve as treasurers also, the PRO as the record keeper and the presidents who handled finances and collections and as well as disbursements of funds. Generally, the organizations' financial activities were deemed to be "good", especially budgeting and cash receipt, due to the implementation of "no collection and no tuition fee policy". The researchers concluded that the absence of the proper internal control systems and manual of operation and lack of proper transfer of financial records from the previous sets of officers were the serious problems that should be addressed. Moreover, the student organizations' internal control system could still be improved if there is proper training and supervision in accounting operation.

The book of Job presents a unique and detailed contrastive study of two fundamental and fundamentally opposed religious personae: Job, on the one hand, and the collective image of his friends on the other. It is a normative dispute about the religion’s most basic norm of disposition. How is one to respond to inexplicable disaster when one believes one is blameless? What is the religiously appropriate response to catastrophe? To confront God’s judgment as did Job, or to submissively surrender to it, as his four friends insist he should? Is one supposed to question divine justice when deemed to be wanting, as did Job, or to suppress any thought to the contrary and deem it to be just, come what may? Rather than expound (once again) upon the theological implications of the Job dispute, this paper focuses on its theological-political dimensions, and its looming and vivid, yet largely overlooked presence in the Hebrew Bible’s master narrative; and more specifically, on the marked, if inevitable antinomian nature of the Jobian side to the divide.

Pregnancy-related morbidity and mortality remains high across the United States and the majority of deaths are preventable. Misdiagnosis and delay in diagnosis are thought to be contributors to preventable harm. These diagnostic errors in obstetrics are understudied. We present selected research methods to ascertain rates of and harm associated with diagnostic errors, the challenges in investigating them, and present future steps toward achieving diagnostic excellence in obstetrics.

This paper concentrates on the general birth-death processes with two different types of catastrophes. The Laplace transform of transition probability function for birth-death processes with two-type catastrophes are is successfully expressed with the Laplace transform of transition probability function of the birth-death processes without catastrophe. The first effective catastrophe occurrence time is considered. The Laplace transform of its probability density function, expectation and variance are obtained.

With the increasing concern of environment, the energy-efficiency scheduling of manufacturing industry is becoming urgent and popular. In turning processes, both spindle speed and processing time can affect the final energy consumption and thus the spindle speed and scheduling scheme need to be optimized simultaneously. Since the turning workshop can be regarded as the flexible flow shop, this paper formulates a mixed integer linear programming model for energy-efficient scheduling of flexible flow shop. Accordingly, a new decoding method is developed by considering of the optimization of spindle speed and scheduling scheme simultaneously, and an estimation of distribution algorithm adopting the new decoding method is proposed to solve large-size problems. The parameters of this algorithm are determined by statistical technique with a simplified practical case. In order to validate the proposed method, a case from practical factories is studied, in which the makespan can be shortened by 25.22%, and the consumed energy can be saved by 5.48%. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed mathematical model and algorithm.

As the leader of the largest economy, President of the United States has substantive influence on addressing the global climate change problem. However, presidential election is often dominated by issues other than energy problems. This paper focuses on the on-going 2016 presidential election, examining the energy plans proposed by the leading Democrat and Republican candidates. Our data from the Iowa caucus survey in January 2016 suggests that voters are more concerned about terrorism and economic issues than environmental relative issues. We then compare the Democratic and Republican candidate’s view of American’s energy future, and evaluate their proposed renewable energy targets. We find that the view on renewable energy is polarized between Democratic and Republican candidates, while candidates from both parties agree on the need for energy efficiency. Results from our ordinal least squares regression models suggest that Democratic candidates have moderate to ambitious goals for developing solar and other renewable energy. The Republican candidates favor fossil fuel and they neglect to provide any plan for renewable energy. In addition, this trend of polarization has grown more significant when compared with the past three presidential elections. Our observation suggests that energy issues need to be discussed more to draw broader attention to salient issues of diversifying and decarbonizing the nation’s energy system.

As an important part of coastal wetlands, tidal flats provide unique ecosystem services and functions. China's tidal flats are significantly threatened by industrialization, urbanization, aquaculture expansion and coastline reconstruction, and there is an urgent need for sustainable strategies to balance the protection and utilization of tidal flats. Remote sensing technology can realize large-scale spatiotemporal research of tidal flats, comprehensively improve the ecological environment of coastal zones, and help achieve the overall planning goals of major projects for the protection and restoration of important ecosystems in China. In this study, based on GEE (Google Earth Engine) platform, Sentinel-2 (MSI), Landsat 8 (OLI) and Landsat 9 (OLI-2) remote sensing images were used to construct multi-source intensive time series remote sensing image collection, combined with MSIC-OA algorithm. The tidal flat data of China in 2018 and 2023 are extracted and analyzed. The results show as follows: 1) The overall classification accuracy of the tidal flat in 2023 is 95.19%, and the Kappa coefficient is 0.89; In 2018, they were 92.77% and 0.83 respectively. 2) The total tidal flat area in 2018 and 2023 is 8300.34km2 and 8151.54km2, respectively, a decrease of 148.80km2; 3) In 2023, estuarine and bay tidal flats will account for 54.88% of the total area, and most of the tidal flats will be distributed near river inlets and bays; 4) In 2023, the total length of the coastline adjacent to the tidal flat is 10196.17km, of which the artificial shoreline accounts for 67.06%, and the development degree of the tidal flat is 2.04, indicating that most of the tidal flat has been developed and utilized. The research results provide valuable reference for the scientific planning and rational utilization of tidal flat resources in China.

Given the opportunities offered by foreign investment in energy infrastructure mostly by Chinese firms, the Government of Cambodia is giving high priority to developing hydropower resources for reducing energy poverty and powering economic growth. Using a “Political ecology of the Asian drivers” framework, this paper assesses China’s involvement in the development of large dams’ in Cambodia and its impacts on the access of natural resources such as water and energy by dam builders, local communities and the government. This analysis is based on 61 interviews and 10 focus group discussions with affected communities, institutional actors, Chinese dam builders and financiers in relation to the first large Chinese dam built in Cambodia, the Kamchay dam. Based on the results of the analysis this paper makes recommendations on how to improve the planning, implementation and governance of large dams to ensure that the dams’ benefits are shared more equally.

The question of what generates conscious experience has mesmerized thinkers since the dawn of humanity, yet its origins remain a mystery. The topic of consciousness has gained traction in recent years, thanks to the development of large language models that now arguably pass the Turing test, an operational test for intelligence. However, intelligence and consciousness are not related in obvious ways, as anyone who suffers from a bad toothache can attest - pain generates intense feelings and absorbs all our conscious awareness yet nothing particularly intelligent is going on. Still, in the hard sciences, this topic is frequently met with skepticism because to date no protocol to measure the content or intensity of conscious experiences in an observer-independent manner has been agreed upon. Here we present a novel proposal: Conscious experience arises whenever a quantum mechanical superposition forms. Our proposal has several implications: First, it suggests that the structure of the superposition determines the qualia of the experience. Second, quantum entanglement naturally solves the binding problem, ensuring the unity of phenomenal experience. Finally, a moment of agency may coincide with the formation of a superposition state. We outline a research program to experimentally test our conjecture via a sequence of quantum biology experiments. Applying these ideas opens up the possibility of expanding human experience through brain-quantum computer interfaces.

Numerous investigations have consistently underscored the impact of societal stigma on the well-being of transgender individuals, encompassing both those experiencing gender dysphoria (transgender) and those who have undergone gender-affirming interventions (transsexual). The primary objective of the current research is to translate and adapt the Attitudes Toward Transgendered Individuals Scale into the Greek language. This scale specifically assesses stigma, excluding components such as discreteness and violence, and is tailored to evaluate individuals within the general populace. Employing confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and assessing gender metric equivalence, the analyses yielded highly favourable outcomes, demonstrating excellent scale fit, reliability, and content validity, reflecting the robustness of the adapted tool for the Greek population.

Although ChatGPT promises wide-ranging applications, there is a concern that it is politically biased; in particular, it has a left-libertarian orientation. Nevertheless, in light of recent trends in attempts to reduce such biases, this study re-evaluated the political biases of ChatGPT using political orientation tests and the application programming interface. Moreover, the effects of the languages used in the system as well as gender and race settings were evaluated. The results indicated that ChatGPT had less political bias than previously thought; however, they did not entirely discount the political bias. The languages used in the system and the gender and race settings may induce political biases. These findings enhance our understanding of the political biases of ChatGPT and may be useful for bias evaluation and designing ChatGPT’s operational strategy.

A nation's social, economic, and political emancipation is ineluctably connected with functional education systems in which people learn to create new institutions, utilise new technologies, cope with vagaries and difficulties in their environment, and positively alter their behavioural patterns. Education in a broad sense improves the capabilities of individuals and the capacity of institutions and becomes a catalyst for the closely interrelated economic, social, cultural, and political changes that are parts of the hallmarks of national development. Nevertheless, a teacher stands out as a crucial figure within any educational institution, wielding significant influence in effecting these changes and transformations. Teacher education is broad. It is based on the praxis that teachers are made in contrary to the assumption that teachers are born. Since teaching is considered an art and a science, the teacher has to acquire not only knowledge but also requisite skills needed in carrying out his or her inestimable duties or services. The efficiency and effectiveness of every educational system hinge significantly on the educational achievements of teachers. After all, no education can surpass the quality of its educators. Thus, every nation places demands and expectations on the teacher, which need to be addressed by both initial and continuing teacher education. On this note, this paper examines teacher education with respect to its praxis and professionalism, examines the nexus between teacher education and socioeconomic as well as political emancipation, analyses the challenges of teacher education in Nigeria, and in the final analysis, gives recommendations based on the identified challenges.

The consistent and continuous growth in the world’s population is creating many challenges for public policymakers in the different life areas, including dealing with the increasing amounts of waste that are generating problems involving air and land pollution and a shortage of land for waste disposal. This study presents the results of public policy on managing municipal waste, as manifested in the quantity and rate of waste collected throughout Israel in recent years and disposed of in the various landfills and in analysis of the political and economic factors affecting this policy. The study combines a quantitative and qualitative approach, where the quantitative study includes analysis of statistical data based on information from the Central Bureau of Statistics, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Ministry of Finance, and others, and the qualitative study relies on reading and analyzing primary documents of the different government ministries on Israel’s waste disposal policy and information in the media on this issue. The research findings attest to an increase in the amount of municipal waste dumped in Israel, a merely slight decrease in the rate of landfilling as a proportion of all municipal waste disposal, and a merely slight increase in the rate of municipal waste recycled in recent years. The research conclusions stress the effects of the landfill levy and the Cleanliness Maintenance Fund on one hand, and of the government instability in the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the positivist policy embraced by decision makers in the Ministry of Environmental Protection, and the power struggles between Israel’s different ministries on the other, as the respective economic and political factors affecting Israeli policy on municipal waste management.

The paper is focused on researching the behavior of heating companies in connection with current developments in the electricity market and flexibility in the context of market behavior. The work assesses the increase in profitability through the creation of a technical-economic model using an objective function with profit maximization. The paper objective is presented the procedure and methodology for creating a model using the basic scheme of production processes integrated into the system platform. The result of the work is a comparative analysis of modelled cases of implemented operation deployment according to a defined period and modelling modes in selected time series. The description of individual outputs demonstrates the economic advantage of using combinations of modes of combined electricity and heat production, and non-combined electricity and heat production, including the use of the heat suppression mode because of overproduction of electricity.

Given the widespread use of AI language models such as ChatGPT, there is an urgent need 1 to understand their political biases in different languages. This study aims to uncover such biases. To 2 investigate this issue, we applied IDRLabs’ Political Coordinates Test to ChatGPT based on GPT-4 3 in four languages - English, French, German, and Italian. The results confirm previous studies that 4 identified a left-libertarian bias in ChatGPT. There was remarkable consistency in political orientation 5 across all four languages, although minor variations were found. Differences in ChatGPT response 6 distributions across languages could indicate culturally determined differences in interpretation 7 of political questions. The results highlight the need to diversify and optimize data collection and 8 model training methods to ensure greater fairness and neutrality and minimize the influence of bias. 9 Our study highlights the importance of cultural differences in the processing and interpretation of 10 political information by AI models.

The present study was conducted with the aim of analyzing the impact of social networks on political socialization and political participation of political science students of the Islamic Azad University of Tehran, Tehran south branch during 2007-2017. This article is a descriptive-survey research based on the theory of planned behavior and has been done based on random sampling with a population of 280 samples. The findings indicate that 93% of students use social media and spend a significant part of their study hours on social networks, which mainly include Telegram, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp. The variables related to social networks affect the socialization and political participation of students, and the extent of the impact of social networks on encouraging individuals to participate in the election as a component of political socialization is positive and significant. This finding and other findings are a positive and significant impact of social networks on the attitudes, values ​​and norms, attitudes and behaviors of political science students as a sample population, and thus the hypothesis of this research has been confirmed.

Taeniid infections pose a significant threat to both animal and public health, as certain tapeworms within this group can also infect humans, potentially leading to severe health conditions. Therefore, this calls for preventive and control measures, such as regular deworming of dogs. While the efficacy of deworming has been established in developed countries, there is a paucity of reported deworming practices in rural areas of developing countries, such as Tanzania. This study aims to understand determinants for helminth treatment-seeking behavior towards control of cestodial taeniid infections in rural settings in northern Tanzania. A cross-sectional study was undertaken in agropastoral and pastoral areas of northern Tanzania. Comprehensive data from household surveys in selected sub-villages were collected to ascertain dog ownership, dog deworming practices, and the availability of dewormers. Analytical methods were employed to discern how various determinants influenced deworming practices among dog owners in these communities. Awareness of dewormers specifically formulated for dogs emerged as a pivotal factor affecting dog deworming practices. Dog owners who were informed about appropriate dog dewormers were nearly two times more likely to engage in deworming compared to those with limited knowledge (OR = 1.78, 95% CI 1.77 - 4.18, p < 0.001). A majority 32(51.6%, 95% CI: 38.7-64.3) acknowledged accessing dewormers for livestock within their wards. Praziquantel a potent dewormer on cestodes was least known to most dog owners 2(13%, 95% CI: 2.3-41.6). Praziquantel, a potent and common dewormer effective against cestodial taeniid infections, remains relatively unknown in rural areas of northern Tanzania. Therefore, more awareness on appropriate deworming agents against taeniids in dogs should be raised in rural dog-keeping communities.

Prevalence rates of anger and aggression are often higher in military personnel, so it is important to understand more about why this is and factors with which they are associated. Despite this, there is little evidence relating to anger and aggression in UK veterans who are seeking treatment for mental health difficulties such as PTSD. This study investigated the prevalence rates of anger and aggression in this population, as well as the associations between anger and aggression, and various sociodemographic, functioning and mental health variables. A cross-sectional design was used, with participants completing a battery of self-report questionnaires. Prevalence rates for significant anger and aggression were 74% and 28% respectively. Both women and those over 55 were less likely to report difficulties. Those with high levels of PTSD and other mental health difficulties were more likely to report anger and aggression. Other factors related to anger and aggression included childhood adversity; unemployment due to ill health; and a perceived lack of family support. Findings show that veterans who are seeking support for mental health are likely to experiencing significant difficulties with anger and aggression, especially if they have co-morbid mental health difficulties. The associations between anger and aggression and other variables has implications for the assessment and treatment of military veterans.

The traffic light detection and recognition are crucial for enhancing the security of unmanned systems. This study proposes a YOLOv5-based traffic light detection algorithm to tackle the challenges posed by small targets and complex urban backgrounds. Initially, the mosaic-9 method is employed to enhance the training dataset, thereby boosting the network’s ability to generalize and adapt to real-world scenarios. Furthermore, the network incorporates the Squeezed-and-Excitation (SE) attention mechanism to improve. Moreover, the YOLOv5 algorithm’s loss function has been optimized by substituting it with EIoU_loss, which addresses issues like missed detection and false alarms. Experimental results demonstrate that the model , trained with this enhanced network, achieves a 99.4% mAP on a custom dataset, which is 6.3% higher than the original YOLOv5, while maintaining a detection speed of 74 f/s. Therefore, this algorithm offers higher detection accuracy and effectively meets real-time operational requirements.

Food is one of the basic necessities for all living things in this globe to grow, maintain life and develop. It is a source of energy for almost all bodily functions and it directly affects our health status and how we feel each day and the future. Yet, there are millions of people around the globe who do not have the sumptuousness to provide enough food to themselves and their beloved ones. Ethiopia is one of the highly food insecure countries in the world, it's name has been illustrious for famine and drought for decades. The study's main aim is to assess the livelihood resources and strategies of the smallholding farmers in their strive to achieve food security at household level. For this particular study, from Tigray region, Kilte Awelalo was taken as a study area and three Tabias were selected; Ayenalem, Genfel and Tahetay Adikesanded. The total sample number of households from these three Tabias was 370 and a formal interview schedule was employed to collect relevant primary inputs for the study. The study found that farmland holding size and its fertility as major impacting factors behind the livelihood strategies and food security condition of the smallholding farmers. It was also found that about one third of the total sample population were chronically food insecure, whereas about half of the population were transitory food insecure and rest very little number of households were food secure.

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is a vital process for depositing thin films of various materials with precise control over thickness, composition, and properties. Understanding the heat and mass transfer mechanisms during CVD is essential for optimizing process parameters and ensuring high-quality film deposition. This review provides an overview of recent advancements in the heat and mass transfer modeling for chemical vapor deposition processes. It explores innovative modeling techniques, recent research findings, emerging applications, and challenges in the field. Additionally, it discusses future directions and potential areas for further advancement in CVD modeling.

This study explored the intricate nexus between public service provision and land use planning, with a specific focus on the conservation of local plant species in Tambon Khao Phanom, Amphoe Khao Phanom, Krabi Province. Rooted in commitment. The research framework encompasses three fundamental activities: resource survey and collection, resource conservation and utilization, and resource development planning for public services, emphasizing land use planning for local plant species conservation. This multidisciplinary approach integrates the one-map method and draws data from the Department of Land Development to formulate a comprehensive land utilization plan that optimizes land use for biodiversity conservation. This study underscores the critical synergy between public service delivery and land use planning, highlighting their collective potential to advance community well-being and sustainable development.

The objective of the study was to evaluate the risk factors associated with lower COVID-19 vaccination rates in the United States. The study evaluated the effect of red-blue political affiliation and the effect of the US state's average educational aptitude score and per capita income on states' vaccination rates. The study found that states with concomitantly lower income along with lower educational aptitude scores are less vaccinated while the states with higher income have higher vaccination rates even among those with lower educational aptitude scores. These findings stayed significant after adjusting for red-blue political affiliation where states with red political affiliation have lower vaccination rates. Further study is needed to evaluate how to stop online misinformation among states with low income and low educational aptitude scores; and whether such an effort will increase overall vaccination rates in the United States.

Focusing on the problem of identifying and classifying aero-engine models, this paper measures the infrared spectrum data of aero-engine hot jets using a telemetry Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. Simultaneously, infrared spectral data sets with the six different types of aero-engines are created. For the purpose of classifying and identifying infrared spectral data, a CNN architecture based on the continuous wavelet transform peak seeking attention mechanism (CWT-AM-CNN) is suggested. This method calculates the peak value of middle wave band by continuous wavelet transform, and the peak data is extracted by the statistics of the wave number locations with high frequency. Attention mechanism is used for the peak data, and the attention mechanism is weighted to the feature map of the feature extraction block. The training set, vali-dation set and prediction set are divided in the ratio of 8:1:1 for the infrared spectral data sets. For three different data sets, CWT-AM-CNN proposed in this paper is compared with the classical classifier algorithm based on CO2 feature vector and the popular AE, RNN and LSTM spectral processing networks. The prediction accuracy of the proposed algorithm in the three data sets is as high as 97%, and the lightweight network structure design not only guarantees high precision, but also has a fast running speed, which can realize the rapid and high-precision classification of the infrared spectral data of the aero-engine hot jets.

In this paper, we investigate the Green measure for a class of non-Gaussian processes in $\mathbb{R}^{d}$. These measures are associated with the family of generalized grey Brownian motions $B_{\beta,\alpha}$, $0

Motivated by a common Mathematical Finance topic, this paper surveys several results concerning windings of 2-dimensional processes, including planar Brownian motion, complex-valued Ornstein-Uhlenbeck processes and planar stable processes. In particular, we present Spitzer's asymptotic Theorem for each case. We also relate this study to the pricing of Asian options.

This study applies several natural language processing techniques for characterizing social groups by analyzing published text in social media. The resulting computed values are proposed as features for modeling social groups and measure distances or similarities among them, along further data that could help understanding group behavior according to language usage. In this study, we have analyzed the messages published on Twitter regarding patriotism by the main political parties in Spain. The results show that lexical resources and topic modelling algorithms are useful to model different groups and serve as comparison tools to better understand the topics these groups are talking about.

Humans tend to become angry whenever a reward they were expecting is 'unfairly' taken away. We presently tested whether situational anger induced by unfair reward omissions may influence (pre-existing) racial biases across self-identified Liberals (n = 119) and Conservatives (n = 115). In the study, participants were exposed to a frustration induction task (or a control variant), followed by implicit and explicit evaluations of White and Black male targets. Frustrated Conservatives were more likely to exhibit implicit anti-Black bias relative to non-frustrated Conservatives, but not significantly so (p's > .2). Frustrated Liberals became significantly anti-White relative to both non-frustrated Liberals and Frustrated Conservatives (p's < .006). Both Liberals and Conservatives became equally angered following reward omissions, but only the former became significantly anti-White. The present work highlights Liberals are more likely to exhibit frustration-augmented racial bias relative to Conservatives.

Hydrogen has a leading role in accomplishing a net zero green-house gas emission future. Today’s challenge is producing green hydrogen to cover the fuel demand of transportation and industry, to gain independence from fossil fuels. This review’s goal is to demonstrate critically the existing methods of biomass treatment and assess their ability to scale up. Biomass is an excellent hydrogen carrier and biomass-derived processes are the main target for hydrogen production as it is an innovative pathway to green hydrogen production. Comparing the existing processes, thermochemical treatment is found to be far more evolved than biological or electrochemical treatment especially with regard to scaling prospects.

This study provides a detailed investigation into the pathways through which microplastics from urban sources are transported to marine ecosystems, their distribution across different environments, and their impacts on marine life. Utilizing a combination of water and sediment sampling across urban, riverine, and marine environments, the research quantitatively assesses the concentration and types of microplastics present, and evaluates the ecological consequences of their accumulation in marine ecosystems. The findings reveal a significant concentration of microplastics in all examined environments, with the highest levels detected in urban areas, closely linked to industrial activities and inadequate waste management practices. The study documents a variety of microplastic polymers, with polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) being the most prevalent. A substantial impact on marine organisms was observed, including evidence of microplastic ingestion across a wide range of species and indications of stress and physical damage to coral reefs. Seasonal variations indicate that microplastic concentrations peak during periods of high rainfall, suggesting urban runoff as a critical pathway for microplastic transport. The study concludes with recommendations for improving waste management practices, enhancing public awareness and engagement in plastic recycling efforts, and implementing policies aimed at reducing the production and use of single-use plastics. This research underscores the urgent need for coordinated actions to mitigate the pervasive issue of microplastic pollution, highlighting the role of urban management and policy interventions in safeguarding marine ecosystems.

Researches on the runoff and sediment reduction effects of soil and water conservation measures are being on the rise, which is of great significance for carrying out strategic on soil and water conservation in the Yellow River Basin. Through the analysis of various soil and water conserva-tion measures, runoff, sediment, and rainfall datas in the Sanchuan River Basin from 1960 to 2019, we use the lagrange multiplier method to determining the threshold year of soil and water con-servation measures on runoff and sediment processes. The preliminary conclusion is as follows: The trend of flood season rainfall and annual rainfall in the Sanchuan River Basin is consistent. The 10-year average rainfall in each periods indicates that before 2000, it gradually decreased and then significantly increased. The 10-year average runoff showed a gradual decrease before 2010, followed by a sudden increase, while the 10-year average sediment has shown a decreasing trend years by years, especially after the centralized treatment period. Terrace and dam measures show a trend of first decreasing, then increasing, and then approaching stability during different treat-ment periods, while the trend of forest and grass measures is slightly decreasing and then in-creasing rapidly. The runoff and sediment reduction effects of various soil and water conservation measures during different treatment periods indicate that the runoff reduction effect reached its peak in 2005, while the sediment reduction benefit reached its best in 2015. Based on the compre-hensive benefits of runoff and sediment regulation, 2015 are considered as the threshold year for various soil and water conservation measures, with each measure areas being 4.86 × 104, 17.91 × 104, 1.20 × 104, and 0.83 × 104hm2, respectively. The research results will have certain reference significance for the high-quality development of soil and water conservation in the Yellow River Basin.

Malaysia became the centre of international attention when it democratically removed a semi-authoritarian government of 62 years during its 14th general election this year. This electoral success has provided geriatric medicine in Malaysia with the unexpected ageing icon in the oldest prime minister in the world. Political change has led to a wave of optimism for the expansion of geriatric services in Malaysia, which has met with numerous challenges in the last two decades. The number of geriatrics specialists and services had already begun expanding under the previous government. However, existing geriatricians will need to reassess the landscape of delivery and access of care in our rapidly growing ageing population and develop new strategies to truly expand their services. In addition to unrelenting efforts in the recruitment and training of future geriatricians, the steady expansion of the geriatric workforce should take into account the inclusion of geriatric medicine in the undergraduate training curricula of all healthcare professionals. Expansion of geriatric services will also be a cost-effective strategy to reduce the growing national healthcare budget incurred by the growing needs of an ageing population.

Disease related malnutrition (DRM) is prevalent in hospitals and is associated with increased care needs, prolonged hospital stay, delayed rehabilitation and death. Nutrition care process related activities such as screening, assessment and treatment has been advocated by scientific societies and patient organizations but implementation is variable. We analyzed the cross-sectional nutritionDay database for prevalence of nutrition risk factors, care processes and outcome for medical patients. In 59126 medical patients included between 2006-2015 the prevalence of recent weight loss (45%), history of decreased eating (48%) and low actual eating (53%) was more prevalent than low BMI (8%). Each of these risk factors was associated with a large increase in 30 days hospital mortality. Nutrition care processes increases slightly with presence of risk factors but never done in more than 50% of patients. Only a third of patients not eating in hospital receive oral nutritional supplements or artificial nutrition. We suggest that political action should be taken to raise awareness and formal education on all aspects related to DRM for all stakeholders, to create and support responsibilities within hospitals, and to create adequate reimbursement schemes. Collection of routine and benchmarking data is crucial to tackle DRM.

The present grievous situation of the tuberculosis disease can be improved by efficient case management and timely follow-up evaluations. With the advent of digital technology this can be achieved by quick summarization of the patient-centric data. The aim of our study was to assess the effectiveness of the ODK Scan paper-to-digital system during testing period of three months. A sequential, explanatory mixed-method research approach was employed to elucidate technology use. Training, smartphones, application and 3G enabled SIMs were provided to the four field workers. At the beginning, baseline measures of the data management aspects were recorded and compared with endline measures to see the impact of ODK Scan. Additionally, at the end, users’ feedback was collected regarding app usability, user interface design and workflow changes. 122 patients’ records were retrieved from the server and analysed for quality. It was found that ODK Scan recognized 99.2% of multiple choice bubble responses and 79.4% of numerical digit responses correctly. However, the overall quality of the digital data was decreased in comparison to manually entered data. Using ODK Scan, a significant time reduction is observed in data aggregation and data transfer activities, however, data verification and form filling activities took more time. Interviews revealed that field workers saw value in using ODK Scan, however, they were more concerned about the time consuming aspects of the use of ODK Scan. Therefore, it is concluded that minimal disturbance in the existing workflow, continuous feedback and value additions are the important considerations for the implementing organization to ensure technology adoption and workflow improvements.

Rapid urbanization has profoundly impacted regional ecosystem services. However, few studies have comprehensively examined the spatiotemporal relationship between multi-dimensional urbanization processes and ecosystem services. This study investigated the spatiotemporal dynamics of urbanization and ecosystem services value (ESV) in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region, China, from 2010 to 2020. We measured urbanization levels from two dimensions: Urbanization I (demographic, economic, and land urbanization) and Urbanization II (social and cultural urbanization). The ESV was quantified using the equivalent factor method. The results showed that: (1) The level of Urbanization I increased steadily, while Urbanization II, despite a lower level, exhibited a faster growth rate, especially after 2017; (2) The total ESV declined, with regulating services decreasing the most. The spatial distribution of ESV showed significant heterogeneity; (3) Urbanization had a significant negative correlation with ESV, with Urbanization I exerting a greater negative impact than Urbanization II; (4) The eastern region was dominated by high urbanization-low ESV clusters, while the western region was characterized by low urbanization-high ESV clusters. The findings provide important implications for regional sustainable development and can serve as a reference for related studies in other rapidly urbanizing areas around the world.

Pure titanium is limited to be used in biomedical applications due to its lower mechanical strength compared to its alloy counterpart. To enhance its properties and improve medical implants feasibility, advancements in titanium processing technologies are necessary. One such technique is equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) for its severe plastic deformation (SPD). This study aimed to surface modify commercially pure titanium using micro arc oxidation (MAO) technology and mineral solutions containing Ca and P. The composition and shape of the changed surface were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM), respectively. The weight % of Ca and P in the coating was determined using Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS), and the corrosion resistance was evaluated through potentiodynamic measurement. The behavior of human dental pulp cell and periodontal cell behavior was also studied through a biomedical experiment over a period of 1-, 3-, and 7-days using trypsin as the culture medium and ELISA as the observation method. This study showed that the mechanical grain refinement method and surface modification significantly improved the biomechanical properties of commercially pure (CP) Titanium. Although the results showed variations in the absorbance values of cells cultured on different surfaces, this study provides valuable insights into pulp cell behavior and advances the field of biomedical research.

Arsenic is naturally present in many geological formations around the world and is a major source of groundwater contamination. Bolivia is not exempt from this problem. Physical-chemical studies of water quality in deep and shallow wells have determined the presence of arsenic in some areas of the Bolivian Altiplano, valleys, and plains. In the Lake Poopó basin, water from shallow wells (up to 30 m) has arsenic concentrations that exceed the Bolivian drinking water standard and the WHO recommendation of 10 μg-As/l by up to 25 times. In peri-urban areas of Cochabamba, the arsenic content in groundwater is up to 113 μg-As/l. chronic exposure to arsenic is associated with neurological and dermatological problems and carcinogenic effects. To date, no measures have been taken to mitigate the arsenic problem for the rural population, who often rely on arsenic-contaminated water as their only source of drinking water. This contamination represents a serious threat to the health and economic well-being of the inhabitants and ecosystem in these areas. In this work, for arsenic removal, iron and iron oxide nanoparticles obtained from recycling metal chips by top-down and bottom-up technology have been used for arsenic adsorption in an experimental filter combined with other artisanal filtering materials in the form of layers. The results have shown that water contaminated with arsenic after passing through the filter reduces the concentration of total arsenic filtered from 83, 52 ppb to less than 5 ppb, less than the Bolivian standard 512 of 10 ppb for drinking water.

The COVID-19-medical emergency has ended worldwide, yet there is still a need to evaluate the psychological impact of these years of unprecedented changes on students’ life. Methods: This study aims to assess and compare COVID-19-related stressors (Relationships-and-Academic-Life; Isolation; Fear-of-Contagion) and psychophysical symptoms reported by university students in April-2020, April 2021, and April 2022. The predictive role of COVID-19-related stressors on psychophysical symptoms within each time was also tested. Data were collected among 637 university students in April-2020 (n = 197), April-2021 (n = 200), April-2022 (n = 240). Results: In April-2022, perceived Isolation and Fear-of-Contagion decreased from the peak registered in April-2021, but stress related to Relationships-and-Academic-Life remained noteworthy high. A sharp and ongoing increase in psychophysical symptoms was found, with more than 50% of students reporting clinical levels of Sleep-Disorders, Depression, Psychoticism, and Interpersonal-Sensitivity. In April-2022, students still perceiving stress related to Relationships-and-Academic-Life and Isolation were at risk for Anxiety, Somatization, and Sleep-Disorders, while those still perceiving stress related to Fear-of-Contagion were also at risk for Depression, Obsessive-Compulsive, and Psychoticism. Conclusion: Findings emphasized the long-lasting detrimental effects of the COVID-19-related stress. Interventions must pinpoint the complex post-pandemic adjustment process and their effects on university students' psychophysical health.

The evidential value of an mtDNA match between biological remains and its potential donor is determined by the random match probability of the haplotype. This probability is based on the haplotype’s population frequency estimate. Consequently, implementing a population study representative of the population relevant to the forensic case is vital to correctly evaluating the evidence. The emerging number of poaching cases and the limited availability of such data emphasizes the need for improved fallow deer mtDNA population databank for forensic purposes, including targeting the entire mitochondrial control region. By sequencing the whole mitochondrial control region in 138 animals from five populations in Hungary we found four different haplotypes, including one which has not yet been described. Our results, supplemented with data already available from previous research do not support the possibility of determining the population of origin, although some patterns of geographical separation can be distinguished. Estimates of molecular diversity indicate approximately similarly low mtDNA diversity (Hd=0.565 and π = 0.002), compared with data from other countries. The calculated random match probability of 0.547 shows a high probability of coincidence and, therefore, a limited capacity for exclusion. Consequently, it may be necessary to search for polymorphic sites on other mitochondrial gene sections or to sequence the entire mitogenome of fallow deer.

Being forced to live in an area following a catastrophic landslide may adversely impact people's mental well-being. Unprivileged communities such as Adivasis, Dalits, plantation workers, and people with low incomes in Kerala's hilly districts are forced to live in landslide-affected areas despite their fear. This paper examines the fears and concerns of landslide survivors from the marginalized sections of society from a broader framework of the political economy of mental health. This approach aligns with the assertion made by the World Health Organisation that individual factors do not solely determine mental health but are intricately linked to broader social, political, and economic circumstances. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with fatal landslide survivors and key informants [ ]. The study employed thematic data analysis from in-depth interviews of various fatal landslide survivors since 2018. The three major themes unveiled in the analysis are: 1. post-disaster fears, 2. The factors that triggered fear and concern and 3. Socio-economic marginality and mental health. The study asserts that individuals who are poor and unprivileged are highly susceptible to mental health issues associated with landslides.

The main objective of this paper is to assess pro-environmental behavior, climate change perception, anxiety, hope and despair in different political orientations. Specific aims included to validate all the instruments; to assess whether the factor structure of the scales were valid across political orientations; to evaluate their reliability; to assess differences concerning age, gender and political orientation; to know the variables that explain pro-environment behavior; and to evaluate the moderating role of climate change perception, despair and hope in the relationship between climate change anxiety and pro-environmental behavior. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFAs), multi-group CFAs (to measurement invariance), multiple linear regressions and moderations were performed. Results showed that pro-environment behavior and climate change hope achieved the four levels of invariance across different political orientations; climate change anxiety achieved the three first levels of invariance; climate change perception and climate change despair achieved configural invariance. Climate change anxiety personal experience, climate change perception total, reality and consequences present higher values in left political orientation that in right or center. Climate change anxiety variables contribute most to explaining pro-environmental behaviors. Hope, despair and climate change perception consequences moderate de relationship between climate change anxiety and pro-environment behavior. These results open up new avenues of investigation, namely, to understand why high levels of anxiety lead to more pro-environment al behaviors.

This is a study of Political Economy on religion and migration management in the United States of America (USA). This paper offers a review of migrants-citizens relations in the USA, with attention to the pendulum effect, moving from integration policies (open doors and melting pot agenda) to official persecution (raids and deportations), with a high social opportunity cost. There has been a split between the State and civil society, causing civil disobedience and sanctuary network across the country. Also, it is paid attention to the American post-modern paradox, as a result of culture wars and identity politics that imply a violation of American constitutional principles (i.e. religious liberty, freedom of movement, to pursuit the happiness). Special attention is paid to the development of the Sanctuary Movement, as an ongoing example of the sociocultural upheaval bringing grassroots society into confrontation with powerful elites by promoting resistance and offering help to the needy, even if this results in sanctions. This movement was revitalized after the values crisis of 2008, but it has also been polarized between those who follow the traditional approach to socio-religious action in the form of peaceful civil disobedience, and those who follow the ideological anti-system and communitarian approach, which causes greater tension for the immigrants themselves

(1) Background: The purpose of this study was therefore to analyze the predictive capacity of the three variables (impulsivity, sensation-seeking and drug use) in aggressors and victims of violence. (2) Methods: The design is cross-sectional quasi-experimental. A sample of 822 students aged 13 to 18 who had filled in an ad hoc questionnaire, the State Impulsivity Scale and the Sensation-Seeking Scale, was used for this. (3) Results: The results show that aggressors had high levels of gratification, automatism, attentional factor, disinhibition and susceptibility to boredom, and use alcohol and/or tobacco. The variables that could predict involvement as an aggressor in peer conflict are use of alcohol, smoking, high levels of gratification, automatism and attentional factors and a high degree of disinhibition and susceptibility to boredom. The disinhibition is the best predictor of aggressor. (4) Conclusions: Thus having available empirical evidence that facilitates detection of predictive variables for participation in violence is going to favor the design of effective education intervention for reducing risk behavior.

We bring a strength-based and socially-oriented lens to behaviors observed in profound autism. Social deficits are a defining characteristic of autism. Yet humans’ biological drive for social connection is sufficiently strong that is should be observable, in some form at least, in individuals with autism. We describe a case that validates this view. Mahad is a 20-year-old Pakistani-American male, with intellectual disability, and minimal verbal abilities. Mahad has an intense interest in food and the steps involved in food preparation. He employs and capitalizes on his family’s meal routines to ensure continual social attention from his mother. When not immersed in food, Mahad uses his limited capacities to pursue the additional biological needs of exploring his environment, seeking information, and developing his cognitive abilities.

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between weight-bias internalization and eat-ing-disorder psychopathology in treatment-seeking patients with severe obesity using a network approach. Two thousand, one hundred and thirteen patients with obesity consecutively admitted to a specialist clinical unit for obesity were recruited from January 2016 to February 2023. Body mass index was measured, and each patient completed the Weight Bias Internalization Scale (WBSI) and the Eating Disorder Examination Interview (EDE). Network analysis showed that the most central and highly interconnected nodes in the network were related to the EDE items exposure avoidance, dissatisfaction with shape, and wanting an empty stomach. Bridge nodes were found, but the bootstrap difference test on expected bridge influence indicated non-significant centrality differences. Nevertheless, the eating-disorder psychopathology and weight-bias internalization network structure in patients seeking treatment for obesity indicate the prominent role of body dissatisfaction and control of eating and weight in these psychological constructs. This finding, if replicated, could pave the way for a new understanding of the psychological mechanisms operating in patients with obesity.

Sensation seeking (SS) is a psychobiological personality trait characterized by an individual’s propensity to engage in various forms of risk-taking behavior. The Brief Sensation Seeking Scale (BSSS-8) is a widely used instrument for assessing SS that has been translated into several languages. However, only outdated and non-validated questionnaires have been used to measure SS in the Slovenian population. The aim of this study was to translate and psychometrically validate the Slovenian version of the BSSS-8. A total of 363 participants aged between 14 and 65 years completed the translated BSSS-8 and the questionnaire on drug abuse. The scale demonstrated good reliability (Cronbach’s α=0.81) and a unidimensional factorial structure, as revealed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The multigroup CFA showed gender-specific measurement invariance. In the nomological network, SS was positively associated with drug-related variables. The Slovenian version of the BSSS-8 scale is a short and simple instrument to assess SS for research and epidemiological purposes.

Pyrazinacenes are linearly fused heteroaromatic rings, with N atoms replacing all apical CH moieties. Component rings may exist in a reduced state having NH groups instead of N, causing cross-conjugation. These compounds have interesting optical and electronic properties, including strong fluorescence in the near infrared region and photocatalytic properties, leading to diverse possible applications in bio-imaging, organic synthesis as well as obvious molecular electronic uses. In this study, we have investigated the behaviour of seven-ring pyrazinacene 2,3,11,12-tetraphenyl-7,16-dihydro-1,4,5,6,7,8,9,12,13,14,15,16,17,18-tetradecaazaheptacene (Ph4H2N14HEPT) with emphasis on protic processes including oxidation, tautomerism, deprotonation and protonation, and the species resulting from those processes. We have used computational methods to optimize the structures of the different species and generate/compare molecular orbital structures. Aromaticity of species generated by the different processes has been assessed using the nucleus independent chemical shifts, and trends in the values have been associated with the different transformations of the pyrazinacene core. The computational data was compared with experimental data obtained from synthetic samples of the molecule tBu8Ph4H2N14HEPT.

The Katerini-Kolindros aquifer system (KKas) is a critical freshwater resource, essential for the local and regional economy. To understand contamination sources, groundwater flow paths, and assess the aquifer's health, an extensive dataset of 751 samples from 113 wells collected between 2010 and 2020 was analyzed using multivariate statistical analysis (MVSA) and hydrogeochemical diagrams. The prevailing water types identified were Ca-HCO₃ and Mg-HCO₃, with mixed water types resulting from various factors affecting groundwater quality. The chemistry of groundwater in the KKas is shown to be affected by ion exchange processes and to a lesser extent by reverse ion exchange processes. No indications of sea-water intrusion have been identified in the water wells monitored. On the other hand, nitrate contamination has been detected in specific water wells spatially associated with urban-type land uses and activities. It is considered that nitrate contamination originates primarily from septic tanks and urban sewage networks or secondarily from fertilization of football pitches, cemeteries or urban waste management practices.

Combining modern thermodynamics theory branches, including finite time thermodynamics or entropy generation minimization, constructal theory and entransy theory, with metallurgical process engineering, this paper provides a new exploration on generalized thermodynamic optimization theory for iron and steel production processes. The theoretical core is to thermodynamically optimize performances of elemental packages, working procedure modules, functional subsystems, and whole process of iron and steel production processes with real finite-resource and/or finite-size constraints with various irreversibilities toward saving energy, decreasing consumption, reducing emission and increasing yield, and to achieve the comprehensive coordination among the material flow, energy flow and environment of the hierarchical process systems. A series of application cases of the theory are reviewed. It can provide a new angle of view for the iron and steel production processes from thermodynamics, and can also provide some guidelines for other process industries.

In the study of relativistic jets one of the key open questions is their interaction with the environment on the microscopic level. Here, we study the initial evolution of both electron–proton (e^- - p⁺) and electron–positron (e^±) relativistic jets containing helical magnetic fields, focusing on their interaction with an ambient plasma. We have performed simulations of "global" jets containing helical magnetic fields in order to examine how helical magnetic fields affect kinetic instabilities such as the Weibel instability, the kinetic Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (kKHI) and the Mushroom instability (MI). In our initial simulation study these kinetic instabilities are suppressed and new types of instabilities can grow. In the e^- - p⁺ jet simulation recollimation-like instability occurs and jet electrons are strongly perturbed. In the e^± jet simulation a recollimation-like instability occurs at early times followed by a kinetic instability and the general structure is similar to a simulation without helical magnetic field. Simulations using much larger systems are required in order to thoroughly follow the evolution of global jets containing helical magnetic fields.

REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) aims to achieve its purpose by working across multiple sectors and involving multi-level actors in reducing deforestation and forest degradation in tropical countries. By contrast, the European Union (EU) Action Plan on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) and its Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) focus on forestry and functions at bilateral state level. The FLEGT Action Plan specifically aims to tackle illegal logging, legalise timber production and trade improve forest governance in countries exporting tropical timber to the EU. Since illegal logging is just one driver of deforestation and forest degeneration, and legalisation of logging does not necessarily reduce deforestation and forest degradation, the two instruments differ in scale and scope. However, by addressing the causes of deforestation and forest degradation and their underlying governance issues, the EU FLEGT and REDD+ share many functional linkages at higher levels of forest policy and forest governance. The contribution and participation of civil society organisations (CSOs) and other actors is imperative to both processes. Our study is based on a survey of key actors (national and international) in REDD+ and FLEGT VPA processes in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Our analysis was guided by the theoretical perspectives of the policy arrangement approach and examination of two specific dimensions of this approach, namely resources and rules of the game. This paper argues that participation of CSOs in both processes is crucial as it facilitates and nurtures the very much needed cooperation between other national and international actors. The paper also argues that participation of CSOs feeds valuable information and knowledge into REDD+ and FLEGT VPA processes, thus contributing to increased legitimacy, justice and transparency.

In the Post-Colonial period, the influence of media complexity in the transition to civilian rule and in shaping and consolidating democracy is self-evident in one hand and the post-colonial period the media have continued to watch and shout at misrule and governance in Nigeria. This paper examined how the Nigerian mass media mirrored the Nigerian political landscape using their major functions such as surveillance, correlation, cultural transmission, status conferral, enforcement of cultural norms and values, education, information and narcotizing dysfunctional role. This study was conducted as a longitudinal non-empirical study that relied on secondary data to examine how the mass media showcase political activities in Nigeria from the pre-colonial era through the independent era till date (2023). In this historical account, the researchers examined all media forms which include print, broadcast and new/social media such as Facebook, Whatsapp, Twitter, Telegram, and Instagram. The study showed that the mass media have played a critical role in shaping the political system in Nigeria. The findings which stemmed mainly from secondary data also showed that the Nigerian mass media have shown great interest in the Nigerian political system and as well exposed some unethical dealings in the political structure, raised consciousness, empowered the vulnerable, and acted as the mouthpiece of the oppressed on the one hand and on the other hand have played to the gallery. The researchers conclude that Nigerian mass media have effectively mirrored the Nigerian political system, particularly in the age of social media.

Daniel Yergin’s “The New Map: Energy, Climate, and the Clash of Nations” is a remarkable and groundbreaking work that addresses the ever-changing global energy landscape and its profound geopolitical implications. In this modest book review, we aim to offer a fresh perspective by re-examining the core issues from the standpoint of political geography. The aim of this article is twofold: to enrich the existing literature on political geography and to provide valuable insights to students of geography to broaden their knowledge in this field.

Due to the continuing high suicide rates among young men, there is a need to understand help-seeking behaviour and engagement with tailored suicide prevention interventions. The aim of this study was to compare help-seeking among younger and older men who attended a therapeutic centre for men in a suicidal crisis. In this case series study, data were collected from 546 men who were referred into a community-based therapeutic service in North West England. Of the 546 men, 337 (52%) received therapy; 161 (48%) were aged between 18 and 30 years (mean age 24 years, SD=3.4). Analyses included baseline differences, symptom trajectories for the CORE-34 Clinical Outcome Measure (CORE-OM) and engagement with the therapy. For the CORE-OM there was a clinically significant reduction in mean scores between assessment and discharge (p<0.001) for both younger and older men. At initial assessment, younger men were less affected by entrapment (46% v 62%; p=.02), defeat (33% v 52%; p=.01), not engaging in new goals (38% v 47%; p=.02), and positive attitudes towards suicide (14% v 18%; p=.001) than older men. At discharge assessment, older men were significantly more likely to have an absence of positive future thinking (15% v 8%; p=0.03), have less social support (45% v 33%; p=.02) and feelings of entrapment (17% v 14%; p=.02) than younger men. Future research needs to assess the long-term effects of help-seeking using a brief psychological intervention for young men in order to understand whether the effects of the therapy are sustainable over a period of time following discharge from the service.

Because of an often complicated and difficult-to-access care system, help-seeking for people with suspected dementia can be stressful. Difficulty in help-seeking may contribute to carer burden, in addition to other known stressors in dementia care. This study examined the relationship between perceived help-seeking difficulty and carer burden, and the barriers contributing to perceived difficulty. We interviewed 110 carers accessing a community-based dementia assessment service for suspected dementia of a family member for their perceived difficulty, delays, and barriers in help-seeking, and carers burden in terms of role strain, self-criticism, and negative emotions. Linear regression models showed that perceived help-seeking difficulty is associated with carer self-criticism, while carer role strain and negative emotions are associated with symptom severity of the person with dementia but not help-seeking difficulty. Inadequate knowledge about symptoms, service accessibility, and affordability together explained more than half of the variance in perceived help-seeking difficulty (Nagelkerke R2 = .56). Public awareness about symptoms, support in navigating service, and financial support may reduce perceived difficulty in help-seeking, which in turn may reduce carer self-criticism during the early course of illness.

We present information theoretic search strategies for single and multi-robot teams to localize the source of biochemical contaminants in turbulent flows. The robots synthesize the information provided by sporadic and intermittent sensor readings to optimize their exploration strategy. By leveraging the spatio-temporal sensing capabilities of a mobile sensing network, our strategies result in control actions that maximize the information gained by the team while optimizing the time spent localizing the position of the biochemical source. By leveraging the team's ability to obtain simultaneous measurements at different locations, we show how a multi-robot team is able to speed up the search process resulting in a collaborative information theoretic search strategy. We validate our proposed strategies in both simulations and experiments.

We discuss methods for calculation of critical indices and amplitudes from the perturbative expansions. Several important examples of the Stokes flow through 2D and 3D channels are brought up. Power series for the permeability derived for small values of amplitude are employed to calculation of various critical exponents in the regime of large amplitudes. Special nonlinear approximations valid for arbitrary values of the wave amplitude are derived from the expansions. The technique developed for critical phenomena is applied then for relaxation phenomena. The concept of time-translation invariance is discussed, its spontaneous violation and restoration considered. Emerging probabilistic patterns correspond to a local breakdown of time-translation invariance. Their evolution leads to the timetranslation symmetry complete (or partial) restoration. We estimate typical time extent, amplitude and direction for such restorative process. The new technique is based on explicit introduction of origin in time. After some transformations we come to the exponential and generalized, exponential-type solution with explicit finite time scale, which was only implicit in initial parametrization with polynomial approximation. The concept of crash as a relaxation phenomenon, consisting of time-translation invariance breaking and restoration, is put forward. COVID-19 related mini-crash in the time series for Shanghai Composite is discussed as an illustration.

From the theory of relativistic chemical kinetics [M. W. Baig, Int. J. Mod. Phys. B 31, 1750177 (2017)] relativistic thermodynamics and kinetics for electrode processes have been developed to explain time dilation for electrode processes. For a moving observer moving at fractions of the speed of light, cell potential is observed to decrease. This results in the slower oxidation and reduction of ions at the respective electrodes. The newly formulated Lorentz transformation of the electrode and cell potential is explained in terms of generation of spin 2-boson “gravitons” from fusion of spin-1 boson “virtual-photons” mediating electrostatic force of attraction between ions and electrodes. It is postulated that birth of spin 2-boson i.e. gravitons is followed by their eventual escape in any of higher 4+n dimensions. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the present theory, the Daniel cell is considered as a numerical example.

COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy is considered responsible for the lower rate of acceptance of vaccines in many parts of the world. However, sources of this hesitancy are rooted in many social, political, and economic factors. This paper strives to find the most important variables in predicting the COVID-19 vaccination uptake. We introduce an explainable machine learning (ML) framework to understand the COVID-19 vaccination uptake around the world. To predict vaccination uptake, we have trained a random forest (RF) regression model using a number of sociodemographic and socioeconomic data. The traditional decision tree (DT) regression model is also implemented as the baseline model. We found that the RF model performed better than the DT model since RF is more robust to handle nonlinearity and multi-collinearity. Also, we have presented feature importance based on impurity measure, permutation, and Shapley values to provide the most significant unbiased features. It is found that electrification coverage and Gross Domestic Product are the strongest predictors for higher vaccination uptake, whereas the Fragile state index (FI) contributed to lower vaccination uptake. These findings suggest addressing issues that are found responsible for lower vaccination uptake to combat any future public health crisis.

Electromobility promises to efficiently mitigate consequences of increasing traffic volume and its accompanied greenhouse gas emissions. On an individual level, electrified bikes allow emission free electrified mobility at moderate costs and consequently their stock has increased significantly in recent years. This simultaneously increases the demand for spare parts, which are often manufacturer or application-specific, and due to many variants, challenging to provide for the market. This article evaluates powder-based and extrusion-based metal additive manufacturing of a typical electrified bike component to demonstrate an alternative spare parts supply. The investigation demonstrates how these parts can be additively manufactured function equivalent and with sufficient mechanical properties, also taking economical aspects into account. Furthermore, the needed resources and related environmental consequences for metal-based additive manufacturing spare-part production are compared for both process routes. The results show that both routes are capable of producing spare-parts at comparatively same mechanical performance and resource costs, while needed resources such as energy, gases and manufacturing time are significantly lower for powder-based, respectively machine costs for extrusion-based additive manufacturing. Therefore, additive manufacturing offers a promising opportunity to produce parts in small quantities resource efficient and rapidly.

The water-soluble vitamin - vitamin B12, also known as cobalamin, plays a crucial role in cellular metabolism, particularly in DNA synthesis, methylation, and mitochondrial functionality. Its de-ficiency can lead to hematological and neurological disorders, however the manifestation of these clinical outcomes is relatively late. It leads to difficulties in its early diagnosis, often resulting in the development of hidden subclinical cobalamin deficiency. Prolonged lack of vitamin B12 con-dition may have severe consequences including increased morbidity to neurological and cardio-vascular diseases. Beyond inadequate dietary intake, vitamin B12 deficiency might be caused by insufficient bioavailability, blood transport disruptions, or impaired cellular uptake and metabo-lism. Despite nearly 70 years of knowledge since its isolation and characterization, there are still gaps in understanding its metabolic pathways. Thus, this review aims to gather current knowledge about the crucial proteins necessary to efficiently process vitamin B12 in humans, presenting it as a multi-protein mediated network. Based on these findings, we also highlight new potential methods for supporting the evaluation of the risk of epidemiological consequences of vitamin B12 deficiency or clinical warnings of increased risk of vitamin B12 deficiency based on already testing targeting specific moonlighting proteins engaged in vitamin B12 metabolic path-ways.

Amid to the COVID-19 pandemic, digital health literacy (DHL) has become a significant public health concern. This research aims to assess information seeking behavior, as well as the ability to find relevant information and deal with DHL among university students in Pakistan. An online-based cross-sectional survey, using a web-based interviewing technique, was conducted to collect data on DHL. Simple bivariate and multivariate linear regression was performed to assess the association of key characteristics with DHL. The results show a high DHL related to COVID-19 in 54.3% of students. Most of the Pakistani students demonstrated ~50% DHL in all dimensions, except of reliability. Multivariate findings showed that gender, sense of coherence and importance of information were found to be significantly associated with DHL. However, a negative association was observed with students’ satisfaction with information. This led to the conclusion that critical operational and navigations skills are essential to achieve COVID-19 DHL and cope with stress, particularly to promote both personal and community health. Focused interventions and strategies should be designed to enhance DHL amongst university students to combat the pandemic.

The measurement of discrimination in employment is a key variable in understanding dynamics in the nature of and change in ‘race relations’. Measuring such discrimination using ‘situation’ and ‘correspondence’ tests was influenced by John Rex’s sociological analyses, begun in in England in the 1960s, and replicated in Europe and America in later decades. This literature is reviewed, and the methodologies of testing for employment discrimination are discussed. Recent work in Britain and The Netherlands is considered in detail in the light of changing social structures, and the rise of Islamophobia. Manchester, apparently the city manifesting the most discrimination in Britain, is considered for a special case study, with a focus on one individual, a Muslim woman seeking intermediate level accountancy employment. Her vita was matched with that of a manifestly indigenous, white Briton. Submitted vitas (to 1,043 potential employers) indicated significant discrimination against the Muslim woman candidate. Results are discussed within the context of Manchester’s micro-sociology, and Muslim women’s employment progress in broader contexts, drawing on our work in Jordan and Palestine. We conclude with the critical realist comment that the “hidden racism” of employment discrimination shows that capitalist societies continue to be institutionally racist, and the failure to reward legitimate aspirations of minorities pushes ethnic minorities into a permanent precariat, with implications for social justice and social control, which denies minority efforts to “integrate” in society’s employment systems.

Welding processes offer a unique capability with a wide range of applications in industries. In recent times, welding has established itself as a tool for large scale additive manufacturing. In general, the quality and repeatability assurance for welding and specifically for additive manufacturing necessitates integrating process monitoring techniques with existing welding and additive manufacturing processes. The process-specific signals such as welding current fluctuations, temperature, and acoustic, generated during the welding operations, make them a suitable candidate for digitization. This chapter comprehensively describes the process monitoring techniques relevant to welding and additive manufacturing. Firstly, various sensors used during welding are described for their construction and working. Subsequently, specific applications of the sensors in digitizing the welding processes are presented.

Artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots are the latest advance in information technology. They are next-word predictors built on large language models (LLM) that offer the possibility to process and generate information. In this theoretical article, we provide educational insights of the possibilities and challenges of educational usage of AI chatbots. The insights were produced in the context of chemical information-seeking activities designed for chemistry teacher education. The analysis was conducted via a SWOT approach using technological pedagogical content knowledge framework (TPACK) to improve the accuracy. The analysis revealed several internal and external possibilities and challenges. The key insight is that AI chatbots will change the way people interact with information. For example, they enable the building of personal learning environments with ubiquitous access to information and AI tutoring. Their ability to support chemistry learning is impressive. However, processing of chemical information reveals the limitations of current AI chatbots not being able to process multimodal chemical information. There are also ethical issues to address. Despite the benefits, wider educational adoption of AI chatbots will take time. The obstacles hindering the adoption of AI chatbots can be removed, for example, through integrating LLMs to curricula, focusing on open-source solutions, and training teachers with modern information literacy skills. This research presents theory-grounded examples of how to support the development of modern information literacy skills in chemistry teacher education. Based on the conducted analysis, we predict that AI chatbots will be a major technological change agent towards inclusive and equitable quality lifelong learning for all.

Artificial intelligence (AI) driven language models have seen a rapid rise in development, deployment, and adoption over the last few years. This surge has sparked many discussions about their societal and political impact, including political bias. Bias is a crucial topic in the context of large models due to its far-reaching consequences on technology, politics, and society. It significantly influences public perception, decision-making, political discourse, and AI policy governance and ethics. This study investigates political bias through a comparative analysis of four prominent AI models: ChatGPT-4, Perplexity, Google Gemini, and Claude.Through a comprehensive analysis by systematically and categorically evaluating their responses to politically and ideologically charged tests and prompts, utilizing the Pew Research Center’s Political Typology Quiz, the Political Compass assessment, and ISideWith political party quiz, this study identifies significant ideological leanings and the nature of political bias within these models. The findings revealed that ChatGPT-4 and Claude exhibit a liberal bias, Perplexity is more conservative, while Google Gemini adopts more centrist stances. The presence of such biases underscores the critical need for transparency in AI development and the incorporation of diverse training datasets, regular audits, and user education to mitigate these biases. This analysis also advocates for more robust practices and comprehensive frameworks to assess and reduce political bias in AI, ensuring these technologies contribute positively to society and support informed, balanced, and inclusive public discourse, which will point towards neutrality.The results of this study add to the ongoing discourse about the ethical implications and development of AI models, highlighting the critical need to build trust and integrity in AI models. Additionally, future research directions have been outlined to explore and address the complex issue of bias in AI.

Driven by mounting environmental apprehensions stemming from the over dependence on fossil fuels in energy and transportation sectors, extensive exploration into alternative energy sources, particularly biomass, has stimulated profound research on harnessing the potential of computational and mathematical techniques. This comprehensive survey delves into optimal models and strategies, unveiling their pivotal role in the design of biomass gasification processes.of hydrogen through biomass gasification. In this study, we aim to provide a comprehensive overview of the computational and mathematical techniques employed in optimizing biomass gasification processes, with a specific focus on enhancing hydrogen yield. Through an extensive literature review, various models and strategies will be examined, including thermodynamic analysis, kinetic modeling, reactor design, and process optimization. By uncovering the power of these techniques, we aim to contribute to the advancement of sustainable and efficient biomass utilization for the hydrogen-based future economy.This paper aims to provide an updated and comprehensive coverage of the investigations conducted on the potential of producing hydrogen from biomass through gasification. To achieve this, we incorporate the latest works that have utilized numerical modeling, simulation, optimization techniques, process heat integration, and co-generation in their studies. By encompassing these aspects, we aim to offer a broader and more in-depth re-appraisal of the subject matter. This will ensure that readers gain a holistic understanding of the advances made in the field and the potential for sustainable hydrogen production of biomass gasification.Through a meticulous re-appraisal and analysis of each subject, we can identify their respective strengths and areas that require further research effort. By thoroughly examining numerical modeling, simulation, optimization techniques, process heat integration, and co-generation, we can assess their effectiveness and applicability in the context of biomass gasification for hydrogen production. This analysis shed light on the areas where these techniques excel, as well as pinpoint limitations or gaps in current understanding. By identifying these areas, we can highlight the need for further research and development, enabling us to make significant advancements in biomass gasification processes and pave the way for a sustainable and efficient hydrogen-based future economy..

An analysis of the physical and chemical phenomena accompanying the electrical discharges was carried out, principal factors inactivating microorganisms is studied. Characteristic factors of an electric discharge in cavitation mode providing a synergistic effect when disinfecting water with a discharge and chemical reagents are identified in order of importance. As a result of the integral action of cavitation, the inactivation of bacteria is intensified both due to the emergence of chem-ically active particles and due to local shock waves, acoustic currents and ultraviolet radiation in the area of cavitating bubbles. The similarity of cavitation processes in water systems implemented by underwater electric discharges and with the ultrasound has been experimentally proved. The main advantage of electric discharge cavitation in comparison with ultrasonic one is the wide band of ultrasonic frequencies of radiation inherent in electric discharge, high intensity and power of cav-itation processes, and, accordingly, the possibility of a significant increase in the volume of the disinfected liquid. The study enable better understanding and prediction of the effects that occur during a high-voltage underwater electrical discharge and have a bactericidal effect.

Opioids are highly addictive substances with a relapse rate of over 90%. While preclinical models of chronic opioid exposure exist for studying opioid dependence, none recapitulate the relapses observed in human opioid addiction. The mechanisms associated with opioid dependence, the accompanying withdrawal symptoms and the relapses that are often observed months or years after opioid dependence are poorly understood. Therefore, we developed a novel model of chronic opioid exposure whereby the level of administration is self-directed with periods of behavior acquisition, maintenance and then extinction alternating with reinstatement. This profile arguably mirrors that seen in humans, with initial opioid use followed by alternating periods of abstinence and relapse. Recent evidence suggests that dietary interventions that reduce inflammation, including omega-3 fatty acids such as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), may reduce substance misuse liability. Using the self-directed intake model, we characterize the observed profile of opioid use and demonstrate that a diet enriched in polyunsaturated fat acids (PUFAs) ameliorates oxycodone-seeking behaviors in the absence of drug availability and reduces anxiety. Guided by the major role gut microbiota have on brain function, neuropathology, and anxiety, we profile the microbiome composition and the effects of chronic opioid exposure and DHA supplementation. We demonstrate that withdrawal of opioids led to a significant depletion in specific microbiota genera whereas DHA supplementation increased microbial richness, phylogenetic diversity, and evenness. Lastly, we examined the activation state of microglia in the striatum and found that DHA supplementation reduced the basal activation state of microglia. These preclinical data suggest that a diet enriched in PUFAs could be used as a treatment to alleviate anxiety induced opioid-seeking behavior and relapse in human opioid addiction.

We have now identified two thermodynamically distinct types (A and B) of energetic processes naturally occurring on Earth. Type A energy processes such as the classical heat engines, apparently well follow the second law of thermodynamics; Type B energy processes, such as the newly discovered thermotrophic function that isothermally utilizes environmental heat energy to do useful work in driving ATP synthesis, which follows the first law of thermodynamics (conservation of mass and energy) but does not have to be constrained by the second law, owing to their special asymmetric functions. Several Type-B energy processes such as asymmetric-function-gated isothermal electricity and epicatalysis have been created through human efforts. The innovative efforts on Type-B processes to enable isothermally utilizing endless environmental heat energy could help to liberate all peoples from their dependence on fossil fuel energy, thus helping to reduce greenhouse gas CO2 emissions and control climate change towards a sustainable future for the humanity on Earth.

In this review, severe plastic deformation (SPD) is considered as a materials processing technology. The deformation mode is the principal characteristic differentiating SPD from common forming operations. For large plastic strains, deformation mode depends on the distribution of strain rates between continuum slip lines and can be varied from pure shear to simple shear. A scalar, invariant and dimensionless coefficient of deformation mode is introduced as a normalized speed of rigid rotation. On this basis, simple shear provides the optimum mode for structure modification and grain refinement whereas pure shear is "ideal" for forming operations. Special experiments and SPD practice confirm this conclusion. Various techniques of SPD are classified and described in accordance with simple shear realization or approximation. It is shown that correct analyses of the processing mechanics and technological parameters are essential for comparison of SPD techniques and the development of effective industrial technologies.

In this article, we estimate the role of Political Stability and Absence of Violence and Terrorism-PS in the context of Environmental, Social and Governance-ESG data at world level. We analyse data from 193 countries in the period 2011-2020. We apply Panel Data with Fixed Effects, Panel Data with Random Effects and Pooled Ordinary Least Square-OLS. We found that PS is positively associated, among others, to Population Density and Government Effectiveness, and negatively associated, among others, to Research and Development Expenditure and Maximum 5-day Rainfall. Furthermore, we apply the k-Means algorithm optimized with the application of the Elbow Method and we find the presence of four clusters. Finally, we propose a confrontation among eight different machine-learning algorithms for the prediction of PS and we find that the Polynomial Regression shows the higher performance. The Polynomial Regression predicts an increase in the level of PS of 0.25% on average for the analysed countries.

The modern civil engineering and construction sector requires collaborative work environments, learning and trust among all parties involved, qualities that are absent in the Peruvian reality. This research, which is based on an extensive literature review, investigates this challenge. The study reflects upon (i) the current situation of public works procurement in Peru and (ii) the New Engineering Contract (NEC). Comparisons are presented between the characteristics, documentation and roles of these two systems, with the purpose of understanding and representing the advantages, disadvantages and possibilities of integrating tools of NEC4 Engineering and Construction Contract to the Peruvian State Contracting Law (Ley de Contrataciones del Estado: LCE). The research is validated through the case study of a high impact road infrastructure project in the city of Arequipa, Peru; which revealed five main negative impacts on good contractual management and, also, facilitated an initial assessment of challenges and improvement opportunities in public infrastructure procurement. Thus, contribution is made to closing the knowledge gap regarding the implementation of NEC4 ECC in public sector works.

As a behavior of bilingual individuals and an indispensable part of bilingual speech, code-switching has been investigated by many researchers. However, there are many variables influencing code-switching, and each variable has the potential to be a confounding variable. Among these variables is the gender; however, whether there are significant gender differences and what are the gender differences in code-switching remains unknown for Mandarin Mandarin-English child bilinguals, as previous literature diverse on the existence of gender differences. Therefore, this paper seeks potential code-switching and distribution of code-switching by quantitative analysis of speech data in Singapore Bilingual Corpus. The results indicate that gender differences are significant in the amount of intra code-switching. However, neither considerable gender difference is observed in the amount of inter nor the code-switching related environment.

Background: Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, hospital medical staff (HMS) have faced significant personal, workplace, and financial disruption. Many have experienced psychosocial burden, exceeding already concerning baseline levels. This study examines the types and predictors of coping strategies and help-seeking behaviours utilised by Australian junior and senior HMS during the first year of the pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey of Australian frontline healthcare workers was conducted between 27th August and 23rd October 2020. Data collected included demographics, personal and workplace disruptions, self-reported and validated mental health symptoms, coping strategies, and help-seeking. Results: The 9518 participants included 1966 hospital medical staff (62.1% senior, 37.9% junior). Both groups experienced a high burden of anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and burnout. Coping strategies varied by seniority, with maintaining exercise the most common strategy for both groups. Adverse mental health was associated with increased alcohol consumption. Engagement with professional support, although more frequent among junior staff, was uncommon in both groups. Conclusions: Junior and senior staff utilised different coping and help-seeking behaviours. Despite recognition of symptoms, very few HMS engaged formal support. The varied predictors of coping and help-seeking identified may inform targeted interventions to support these cohorts in current and future crises.

A processual texture lies at the core of phenomena that undergo change. Philosophers have observed the incessant becoming of our world from antiquity to the present day, but an explanation must still be found in terms of contemporary metaphysics. This article strives to bring the focus on the domain of possibles, an under-theorised philosophical issue that dwells in the ontological realm between the possibility and its actual realization. Sketching a more comprehensive concept of the possible unravelling the thread of its main meanings, the process of change will be not simply clarified from inside, but also understood as an activator of reality. Finally, the discussion will argue for a principle of prudence and responsibility derived from an ontological basis.

Companies have been increasing the amount of data that they collect from their systems and processes, considering the decrease in the cost of memory and storage technologies in recent years. The emergence of technologies such as Big Data, Cloud Computing, E-Science, and the growing complexity of information systems made evident that traceability and provenance are promising approaches. Provenance has been successfully used in complex domains, like health sciences, chemical industries, and scientific computing, considering that these areas require a comprehensive semantic traceability mechanism. Based on these, we investigate the use of provenance in the context of Software Process (SP) and introduce a novel approach based on provenance concepts to model and represent SP data. It addresses SP provenance data capturing, storing, new information inferencing and visualization. The main contribution of our approach is PROV-SwProcess, a provenance model to deal with the specificities of SP and its ability in supporting process managers to deal with vast amounts of execution data during the process analysis and data-driven decision-making. A set of analysis possibilities were derived from this model, using SP goals and questions. A case study was conducted in collaboration with a software development company to instantiate the PROV-SwProcess model (using the proposed approach) with real-word process data. This study showed that 87.5% of the analysis possibilities using real data was correct and can assist in decision-making, while 62.5% of them are not possible to be performed by the process manager using his currently dashboard or process management tool.

From the perspective of individual resource and social capital, this paper aims to explain how employees’ political skill affect their job satisfaction and turnover intention, through the mediating role of popularity. Using a sample of 237 dyad surveys from supervisors and employees in the Yangtze River Delta of China, we found that: 1) political skill is positively correlated with job satisfaction and negatively correlated with turnover intention, and that these correlations are partially mediated by individual popularity; 2) positive affect (PA) moderates the relationship between political skill and job satisfaction, and negative affect (NA) moderates the relationship between political skill and turnover intention. The implications of our findings and future research directions are discussed.

Abstract: Background: Viral hepatitis B and C (HBV and HCV) pose significant public health challenges globally, particularly in Nigeria, where access to healthcare and treatment affordability are major concerns. This study aims to identify sociodemographic and clinical predictors of health insurance coverage among patients with HBV and HCV in Nigeria. Methods: A cross-sectional facility-based study was conducted at two secondary hospitals in Nasarawa State, Nigeria. Par-ticipants included patients diagnosed with HBV, HCV, or both and are > 18 years old. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire covering sociodemographic and clinical information, health insurance details, and economic impact. Logistic multivariate regression analysis was used to analyze the relationship between sociodemographic/clinical variables and health insurance status. Results: Out of 295 participants included in the final analysis, 67.1% had health insur-ance, primarily covering hepatitis screening and vaccination. Being aged 31-45 years (adjusted Odds Ratio [aOR]: 5.72, 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.4 - 23.28, p = 0.02), having post-secondary education (aOR: 11.73, CI: 4.09 - 33.66, p < 0.001), and being HIV-positive (aOR: 2.86, CI: 1.02 - 8.02, p = 0.046) were significant predictors of health insurance coverage. Being unemployed significantly reduced the likelihood of having health insurance (aOR: 0.04, CI: 0.01 - 0.11, p < 0.001).Conclusions: This study reveals high insurance coverage among patients seeking viral hepatitis services in Nasarawa state, Nigeria and provides critical insights into the sociodemo-graphic predictors of health insurance coverage. It also highlights the need for the expansion health insurance benefit package that covers for viral hepatitis diagnosis and treatment, espe-cially for the younger adults, unemployed and less educated populations. This should be followed with adequate budgeting and policy implementation monitoring efforts, which are crucial for Nigeria's journey towards universal health coverage and elimination of viral hepatitis.

Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne viral disease caused by Chikungunya virus (CHIKV. We conducted this study determine the seroprevalence and clinical presentation of Chikungunya infection among outpatients seeking healthcare in Mzuzu City, Malawi. Blood samples were collected from malaria negative and non-septic febrile outpatients with fevers ≥38 °C, for not more than 5 days. The enzyme- linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test was used to detect anti-CHIKV IgM antibodies and its results were used to determine seroprevalence of Chikungunya. A total of 119 serum samples were tested, of these, 73 (61.3%) tested positive for anti-CHIKV IgM antibodies by ELISA. Laboratory requisition forms were used to capture demographic information such as age, sex, clinical signs and symptoms presented by the enrolled patients. Age groups of 1-9, 10- 19, 20- 29, 30- 39, 40- 49, and ≥50 years had 17.8% (n= 13), 12.3 %,( n=9), 15.1%) (n=11), 19.2%; (n=14), 17.8% (n=13) and 17.8% (n=13) proportion of seroprevalence respectively. Most of the CHIKV infected individuals presented with fever (52.05%), joint pain (45.21%) and abdominal pain (42.67%). The presence of anti- CHIKV IgM antibodies suggest the presence of recent CHIKV infection and therefore accurate laboratory assays are highly recommended for CHIKV diagnosis and appropriate management of febrile patients.

Microgreens (young, edible plantlets) are a remarkable opportunity for both consumers, to benefit from health promoting compounds and for applied research, as such organisms have a very high plasticity related to environmental cues, allowing biotechnology development with low costs. Ocimum basilicum species naturally synthesize valuable, phenolic compounds, among which rosmarinic acid is most prominent. Basil plantlets were grown for 10 days under either full spectrum light (white light) or modulated blue:red:far-red:UV spectrum with an additional factorization, by applying fertilisation. Biomass accumulation reached up to 0.8 g/20 plantlets, while chlorophyll fluorescence was in the 0.75 – 0.78 range and remained uniform across treatments, indicating that no significant stress was exerted under modified light treatment. However, total phenolic contents and, in particular, rosmarinic acid contents were markedly enhanced (up to 7.5 mg/g in the red cultivar) under modulated light treatment and fertilization, compared to full spectrum light. Moreover, gene expression was enhanced, 1.3-6.3 fold for genes coding for enzymes involved in phenylpropanoid synthesis patwhays, such as phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL), Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) and renin-angiotensin system (RAS). Overall, light modulation coupled with fertilization led to the production of basil microgreens with up to 10% more total phenolics and up to 25% more rosmarinic acid.

Soon after the Conservative-led Coalition government came to power in 2010, Baroness Sayeeda Warsi announced that Islamophobia had passed the ‘dinner-table test’ in contemporary Britain. Resultantly, the need to address Islamophobia was identified as a priority for the Coalition. This article critically analyses how the Coalition sought to achieve this and the extent to which it was successful. Focusing on the period 2010-5, this article initially frames what is meant by Islamophobia before briefly setting out how it had been responded to by previous British governments. As regards the Coalition, a threefold approach is adopted that considers the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Islamophobia, the Cross-Government Working Group on Anti-Muslim Hate and the political discourses used by the Coalition about Muslims and Islam more generally. Concluding that the Coalition failed to meet the high expectations set by Warsi’s speech, this article considers why this might have been so.

Sulfate, the main dissolved contaminant in acid mine drainage (AMD), is ubiquitous in watersheds affected by coal and metal mining operations worldwide. Engineered passive bioremediation systems (PBS) are low-cost technologies that remediate sulfate contamination by promoting (1) precipitation of sulfate-bearing compounds, such as schwertmannite and gypsum; and (2) microbially-mediated sulfate reduction (BSR) to sulfide with subsequent precipitation of sulfide minerals. In this study, chemical and sulfur isotopic data are used to infer multiple pathways for sulfate sequestration in the Tab-Simco PBS. By simultaneously monitoring sulfate concentrations and δ34SSO4 values at four sampling points across the PBS, we (1) identified that the organic layer within the bioreactor was the primary site of BSR processes contributing to sulfate sequestration; (2) observed seasonal variations of BSR processes; (3) estimated that initially the BSR processes contributed up to 30% to sulfate sequestration in the Tab-Simco bioreactor; and (4) determined that BSR contribution to sulfate sequestration continuously declined over the PBS operational lifetime. Together, our results highlight the utility of combining geochemical and microbial fingerprinting techniques to decipher complementary processes involved in sulfur cycling in a PBS as well as the value of adding the sulfur isotope approach as an essential tool to help understand, predict, prevent and mitigate sulfate contamination in AMD-impacted systems.

We investigate the impact of aging on exchangeable inter-arrival times in mixed renewal processes, exploring its implications for reliability and survival analysis. In this study, first, we revisit the definition of renewal point processes, where inter-event time intervals are considered as exchangeable non-negative random variables. Then, we define the concept of statistical aging as latency in the observational process of event counting. Latency affects event detection but preserves exchangeability. However, it may alter the statistical properties of inter-event time intervals. Our analytical and numerical assessments highlight the significance of aging in exchangeable lifetimes, offering insights into key metrics such as the failure survival function, renewal function, and hazard rate function. Through archetypal examples and empirical findings, we illustrate the implications of aging on renewal processes. In particular, employing a Bayesian perspective, we analyze high-frequency currency exchange rate data to assess the impact of aging on volatility risk evaluation. This study contributes novel insights to the literature of renewal theory and survival analysis, emphasizing the role of latency aging in stochastic point processes under exchangeability assumption.

The required processes and steps for making bread include technological and innovative concepts. The current trend is the use of less toxic compounds and green processes. Besides lactic acid bacteria and yeast, other microorganisms with special properties, such as enzymes, new aroma and flavor, exopolysaccharides, and vitamins, among other compounds with beneficial properties, could be added to bread manufacture, improving bread quality and health effects for the consumers. Freeze drying, new encapsulation methods, cryoprotectants, spray drying, fluidized bed drying, and vacuum drying are used for probiotics and microorganism cultures that will be used as starters or biological additives in the fermentation. The same development is observed in the preservation methods, and studies with plant extracts and essential oils have been proposed and introduced, replacing chemical agents, such as propionate, within the clean-label bread formulations concept. Baking science is a growing research line incorporating innovative methods and biological additives.

Abstract: The purpose of this review is to summarize recent knowledge on the main processes that occur during wound healing, including the responses of various cell types and the molecular mechanisms involved. Particular attention is also dedicated to new therapies often involved in the resolution of wounds, whether acute or chronic. Awareness of these dynamics is important for the various professional figures who are confronted with these kinds of problem daily. However, the study of the healing mechanisms has yet to be defined in detail, in fact there are alterations of variously coordinated events which lead to a delayed resolution or, as in the case of keloids, to pathological states consisting in the excessive formation of scars with consequences yet to be seen. to define. Therefore, it is necessary to know the most feasible approaches and the most effective therapies.