The concept of economic self-reliance, widely known by Thai people as the philosophy of sufficiency economy, has been widely promoted in rural Thai societies. By practicing this philosophy, it is expected that the citizens’ quality of life and local environments could be sustainably improved. This study aims to explore the contribution of the community practices of the sufficiency economy philosophy to rural villagers’ quality of life improvement, and to investigate potential factors that determine the trust of villagers in the philosophy. With the purpose to propose strategies which could enhance trust and promote villagers’ practices of the philosophy, the study investigated influences of three relevant factors on trust towards the philosophy. Those factors included factors related to cognitive-based trust, factors related to emotional-based trust, and factors related to demographic characteristics. Questionnaire surveys and in-depth interviews with community leaders and local villagers were conducted in the Ban Jamrung community, in Thailand’s Rayong province. The results of the statistical analysis revealed that the residents who applied the sufficiency economy philosophy in their daily lives experienced a relatively better quality of life. Additionally, it was found that trust in the philosophy could be predicted more by rational factors than by emotional factors. These findings could be utilized to develop strategies to maintain and enhance the trust of the people in the philosophy of sufficiency economy.

Afghanistan is overwhelmed with food insecurity that is a large percentage of the population lacks reliable access to food supplies. Grains play a vital role in the country's food security due to their importance in terms of consumption and production quantity. This paper estimates cereal self-sufficiency and then makes a food balance forecast of the three major food crops cultivated in Afghanistan over six-decades. Descriptive statistics and coarse metric techniques were employed to determine cereal self-sufficiency and food balance forecast. The econometric analysis demonstrated that (1) Afghanistan is not yet self-sufficient in meeting grain consumption, and the production and consumption ratio declined from 0.9 to 0.55 from 1979 to 2030. (2) The gap of theoretical food imbalance will increase, and by the year 2030, cereal production will likely be sufficient for only 49.8 percentage of inhabitants, leaving a high shortage equivalent to the amount required by 24.4 million people. By evaluating the quantitative food balance and the growing population change, this study presents an analysis of the emerging threat to Afghanistan's food security and suggests a solution for food security, should increase the size of public agricultural expenditure, improve the level of agriculture infrastructure, and continue to introduce a policy to achieve higher yield.

Brain aging causes a wide variety of changes at molecular and cellular levels, leading to the decline of cognitive functions and increased vulnerability to neurodegenerative disorders. The research aimed at understanding the aging of the brain has made much progress in recent decades. Technological innovations such as single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq), proteomic analyses, and spatial transcriptomic analyses have facilitated the research on the dynamic changes occurring within neurons, glia, and other cells along with their impacts on intercellular communication during aging. In this review, we introduce recent trends of how neurons and glia change during aging and discuss the impact of the brain microenvironment such as the blood-brain barrier (BBB).

: Foodshed approaches allow the assessment of the theoretical food self-sufficiency capacity of a specific region based on biophysical conditions. Recent analyses show that the focus needs to be shifted from foodshed size portrayed as an isotropic circle to a commodity-group-specific spatial configuration of the foodshed that takes into account the socio-economic and biophysical conditions essential to the development of local food supply chains. We focus on a specific animal product (beef) and use an innovative modeling approach based on spatial analysis to detect the areas of the foodshed dedicated to beef feeding (forage, pasture, and grassland), considering the foodshed as a complex of complementary areas called an archipelago. We use available statistical data including a census to address the city-region of Avignon (France) covering a 100 km radius. Our results show that the factors driving the use of short supply chains for beef feeding areas are the foodshed archipelago’s number of patches, the connectivity between them, and the rugosity of the boundaries. In addition, our beef self-sufficiency assessment results differ depending on geographical context. For instance, being located within the perimeters of a nature park seems to help orient beef production towards short supply chains. We discuss possible leverage for public action to reconnect beef production areas to consumption areas (the city) via short supply chains (e.g. green, home-grown school food programs) so as to increase local food security through increased local food self-sufficiency.

Lack of water resources in Iran, especially in recent years, has faced the agricultural sector as the most important consumer of water resources, with serious challenges. In Iran, the agricultural sector accounted for more than 90% of water consumption. However, the focus on domestic production and self-sufficiency policy in staples (wheat, barley, maize and rice) has been emphasized in general agriculture's policy. This study was conducted to estimate the imported virtual water from the imports of basic products in Iran using defined indicators during 1961-2013. Also this study investigated the possibility of achieving self-sufficiency due to the limited water resources in Iran. The results of this study showed with the increase in cereal imports, virtual water imports from 0.28 billion cubic meters in 1961 increased to 17.6 billion cubic meters in 2013 and on average about 60% of virtual water imports in strategic products is related to wheat imports during the past 53 years. Other products in cereal (barley, maize and rice) are also indicative of the general trend of increasing imports of virtual water in development plans. The estimated long-run elasticity of virtual water imports in the cereal group compared with the country's water resources also showed that with a one percent reduction in renewable water resources of the country, the virtual water import in the main cereal group will increase equivalent to 2.89 percent and the determination coefficient more than 90 percent also confirms this negative relationship. According to this result and the emphasis on the fact that renewable water resources per capita in the country is falling increasingly, it cannot be expected that domestic production could compensate for the imports of the cereal group and virtual water imports with current technology, without increasing the water productivity and without additional harm to water resources.

Regionalization of food systems for shortening supply chains and developing local agriculture to feed city-regions presents particular challenges for food planning and policy. Existing foodshed approaches enable to assess the theoretical capacity of food self-sufficiency of a specific region, but they struggle to consider the diversity of existing crops in a way that could be usable for informing decisions and support urban food strategies. Most studies are based on the definition of the area required to meet local consumption, obtaining a map represented as an isotropic circle around the city, without considering the site-specific pedoclimatic, geographical and socio-economic conditions, which are essential for the development of local food supply chains. In this study we propose a first stage to fill this gap by combining the Metropolitan Foodshed and Self-sufficiency Scenario (MFSS) model, which already considers regional yields and specific land use covers, with spatially explicit data on cropping pattern, soil and topography. We use European-wide available data and apply the methodology in the city-region of Avignon (France), initially considering a foodshed with a radius of 30 Km. Our results show that even though a theoretical high potential self-sufficiency could be achieved for the whole food commodities consumed (>80%), when considering the specific pedological conditions of the area, this could be suitable only for domestic plant-based products, whereas for animal products an expansion of the initial foodshed to a radius of 100Km was required to provide >70% of self-sufficiency. We conclude that it is necessary to shift the analysis from the size assessment to the commodity-group specific spatial configuration of the foodshed based on biophysical and socio-economic features, and discuss avenues for further researches enabling to develop a foodshed assessment as a complex of complementary pieces: the foodshed archipelago.

The bioactive marine sulfated polysaccharides ulvan and carrageenan, formulated in gels at 1.5, 5.0 and 10% w/w concentrations, were evaluated for their wound healing potential on second-degree burn wounds. The polysaccharide-based gels were administered on the burn-inflamed skin of hairless female SKH-hr2 mice, and the therapeutic effect of the various treatments was assessed based on histopathological analysis, the clinical condition of mice, photo-documentation, evaluation of biophysical skin parameters, and FT-IR spectroscopy.Clinical and histopathological assessment, as well as the reduction rate of the burn wound area, indicated that the 10% w/w carrageenan gel significantly enhanced wound healing, especially at the early stages of the healing process, recovering both the α-helix of collagen and the glycosaminoglycans configuration as evidenced by the FT-IR absorption bandsof skin in vivo and ex vivo. At later stages, the healing effect of the 5% w/w ulvan gel was also notably significant, indicating that carrageenan and ulvan wound dressing gels could potentially contribute to the efficient wound healing of burn wounds.

The paper examines the evolution and crucial role of energy communities in the context of the transition to renewable energy sources. Such communities are presented as an innovative and resilient response to the challenges posed by climate change. Their importance emerges from their ability to decentralise energy production, increasing local security and reducing dependence on non-renewable energy sources and external suppliers. However, despite the obvious benefits, the contribution highlights several challenges, such as the need for significant upfront investment and the presence of regulatory barriers that may hinder the integration of these solutions into existing energy systems. A detailed bibliometric analysis is used, focusing on specific research areas and using tools to map the most relevant keywords and emerging trends. The results of the bibliometric analysis highlight how energy communities are emerging as key players in the sustainability landscape, capable of addressing and overcoming contemporary environmental challenges. The research reaffirms the transformative potential of energy communities in promoting a more sustainable and resilient future.

Recently two new degree concepts have been defined in graph theory: ev-degree and ve-degree. Also the ev-degree and ve-degree Zagreb and Randić indices have been defined very recently as parallel of the classical definitions of Zagreb and Randić indices. It was shown that ev-degree and ve-degree topological indices can be used as possible tools in QSPR researches . In this paper we define the ve-degree and ev-degree Narumi–Katayama indices, investigate the predicting power of these novel indices and extremal graphs with respect to these novel topological indices. Also we give some basic mathematical properties of ev-degree and ve-degree Narumi-Katayama and Zagreb indices.

New setting is introduced to study types of coloring numbers, degree of vertices, degree of hyperedges, co-degree of vertices, co-degree of hyperedges, neutrosophic degree of vertices, neutrosophic degree of hyperedges, neutrosophic co-degree of vertices, neutrosophic co-degree of hyperedges, neutrosophic number of vertices, neutrosophic number of hyperedges in neutrosophic hypergraphs. Different types of procedures including neutrosophic (r, n)−regular hypergraphs and neutrosophic complete r−partite hypergraphs are proposed in this way, some results are obtained. General classes of neutrosophic hypergraphs are used to obtain chromatic number, the representatives of the colors, degree of vertices, degree of hyperedges, co-degree of vertices, co-degree of hyperedges, neutrosophic degree of vertices, neutrosophic degree of hyperedges, neutrosophic co-degree of vertices, neutrosophic co-degree of hyperedges, neutrosophic number of vertices, neutrosophic number of hyperedges in neutrosophic hypergraphs. Using colors to assign to the vertices of neutrosophic hypergraphs and characterizing representatives of the colors are applied in neutrosophic (r, n)−regular hypergraphs and neutrosophic complete r−partite hypergraphs. Some questions and problems are posed concerning ways to do further studies on this topic. Using different ways of study on neutrosophic hypergraphs to get new results about number, degree and co-degree in the way that some number, degree and co-degree get understandable perspective. Neutrosophic (r, n)−regular hypergraphs and neutrosophic complete r−partite hypergraphs are studied to investigate about the notions, coloring, the representatives of the colors, degree of vertices, degree of hyperedges, co-degree of vertices, co-degree of hyperedges, neutrosophic degree of vertices, neutrosophic degree of hyperedges, neutrosophic co-degree of vertices, neutrosophic co-degree of hyperedges, neutrosophic number of vertices, neutrosophic number of hyperedges in neutrosophic (r, n)−regular hypergraphs and neutrosophic complete r−partite hypergraphs. In this way, sets of representatives of colors, degree of vertices, degree of hyperedges, co-degree of vertices, co-degree of hyperedges, neutrosophic degree of vertices, neutrosophic degree of hyperedges, neutrosophic co-degree of vertices, neutrosophic co-degree of hyperedges, neutrosophic number of vertices, neutrosophic number of hyperedges have key points to get new results but in some cases, there are usages of sets and numbers instead of optimal ones. Simultaneously, notions chromatic number, the representatives of the colors, degree of vertices, degree of hyperedges, co-degree of vertices, co-degree of hyperedges, neutrosophic degree of vertices, neutrosophic degree of hyperedges, neutrosophic co-degree of vertices, neutrosophic co-degree of hyperedges, neutrosophic number of vertices, neutrosophic number of hyperedges are applied into neutrosophic hypergraphs, especially, neutrosophic (r, n)−regular hypergraphs and neutrosophic complete r−partite hypergraphs to get sensible results about their structures. Basic familiarities with neutrosophic hypergraphs theory and hypergraph theory are proposed for this article.

Climate change is challenging the agricultural sector worldwide. The pressure exerted by the altered thermal conditions drives the zonal shift for various cultivations. This study presents the multiyear analysis of the Growing Degree Days (GDD) index over the Northern Mediterranean Basin (NMB), focused on the high-value vine cultivation derived from the E-OBS dataset. To handle this extensive environmental dataset, R-language scripts and packages were applied, along with the capabilities of the GIS software. The investigated time period spans from 1969 to 2018, and the performed analysis indicates a broad shift/expansion in areas of GDD exceeding 2000 heat units. The extracted results specify the viticultural areas where the GDD index surpasses the suitable values for vine cultivation, owing to the increase of the thermal stress risk. In addition to mapping areas with GDD ≥ 2000, spatial calculations of the surface of areas meeting this criterion per country in the study area were made. In the northern parts of the NMB, the rise of the GDD index values indicates the establishment of vine plantations in the future.

Chellali et al. introduced two degree concepts, ve-degree and ev-degree (Chellali et al, 2017). The ve-degree of a vertex equals to number of different edges which are incident to a vertex from the closed neighborhod of v. Moreover the ev-degree of an edge e=ab equals to the number of vertices of the union of the closed neighborhoods of a and b. The most private feature of these degree concepts is, total number of ve-degrees and total number of ev-degrees equal to first Zagreb index of the graphs for triangle-free graphs. In this paper we introduce ve-degree entropy, ev-degree entropy and investigate the relations between these entropies and the first Zagreb index entropy. Finally we obtain the maximal trees with respect to ve-degree irregularity index.

This study delves into the critical domain of public procurement, specifically focusing on Sustainable Public Procurement (SPP) and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations within the context of South Korea. The aim of this research is to empirically scrutinize the factors influencing the impact index of SPP, with a particular emphasis on services related to labor standards. The investigation spans three years, from January 1, 2019, to July 31, 2021, encompassing state agency orders and post-implementation legal changes. Leveraging the comprehensive Korea On-line E-Procurement Sys-tem(KONEPS) platform, we meticulously collected data, ultimately culminating in 21,573 services meeting our criteria, from which 250 cases underwent an in-depth analysis. The study sheds light on the influence of social responsibility evaluation cri-teria on overall procurement scores, while also uncovering the moderating effects of various factors. The outcomes of this study offer valuable insights into the impact index of social responsibility evaluation criteria within South Korea's public procurement landscape. Factors including procurement year, classification, service period, and estimated price were identified as significant influencers. Moreover, the number and location of evalu-ation criteria items, inclusion of sincerity elements, and the evaluating agency were deemed pivotal determinants of the influence index. These findings hold profound implications for policymakers, procurement practitioners, and researchers and provide a roadmap for optimizing the utilization of social responsibility evaluation criteria to advance responsible and sustainable procurement practices. Future research avenues include conducting further study of additional moderat-ing variables, expanding datasets to encompass a broader spectrum of procurement contexts, and evaluating the long-term repercussions of social responsibility evaluation on procurement outcomes. These endeavors promise to further refine and advance public procurement practices in South Korea and beyond.

Surface acoustic wave (SAW) is effective for the manipulation of fluids and particles in microscale. The current approach of integrating interdigitated transducers (IDTs) for SAW generation into microfluidic channels involves complex and laborious microfabrication steps. These steps often require the full access to clean room facilities and hours to align the transducers to the precise location. This work presents an affordable and innovative method for fabricating SAW-based microfluidic devices without the need of clean room facilities and alignment. The IDTs and microfluidic channels are fabricated in the same process and thus precisely self-aligned in accordance with the device design. With the use of the developed fabrication approach, a few types of different SAW-based microfluidic devices have been fabricated and demonstrated for particle separation and active droplet generation.

In 2021 an acute energy crisis inflicted severe damage on the global economy, leading to escalated prices for electricity, gas, and fuel. In order to shield individuals and businesses from the mounting energy expenses, governments have been compelled to implement policy measures, including tax reductions, price restrictions or discounts, and subsidies. This research paper examines these policy responses through the lens of energy sufficiency. Energy poverty poses a significant threat to social cohesion and support for climate-related initiatives. Therefore, it is imperative to employ compensatory measures. However, the design of such solutions must carefully consider the incentives to reduce energy consumption and associated carbon emissions. The findings of the analysis demonstrate that the escalation of energy costs holds promise for achieving energy sufficiency. Nevertheless, the government's response to the surge in energy prices and energy poverty falls short and lacks precision. Most of the policy changes primarily focus on regressive energy cost subsidies and nudging households away from fossil fuels, but they fail to generate the necessary impetus for achieving energy sufficiency, which involves the elimination of energy poverty and excessive energy consumption.

In wireless sensor networks (WSNs), each sensor node can estimate the global parameter from the local data in distributed manner. This paper proposed a robust diffusion estimation algorithm based on minimum error entropy criterion with self-adjusting step-size, which are referred to as diffusion MEE-SAS (DMEE-SAS) algorithm. The DMEE-SAS algorithm has fast speed of convergence and is robust against non-Gaussian noise in the measurements. The detailed performance analysis of the DMEE-SAS algorithm is performed. By combining the DMEE-SAS with diffusion minimum error entropy (DMEE) algorithms, an Improving DMEE-SAS algorithm is proposed, in non-stationary environment where tracking is very important. The Improving DMEE-SAS algorithm can avoid insensitivity of the DMEE-SAS algorithm due to the small effective step-size near the optimal estimator, and obtain a fast convergence speed. Numerical simulations are given to verify the effectiveness and advantages of these proposed algorithms.

Background: The practice of self-medication is common worldwide and is an important component of medical self-care. However, the practice can be dangerous and is linked to various risks for the patients and the entire community. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence and factors associated with self-medication among Bangladeshi adults. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted between April and June 2021 among Bangladeshi adults (aged >19 years) using convenient sampling. A total of 1320 data were collected through face-to-face interviews using a standardized questionnaire. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with self-medication practice (SMP). Results: Overall, 41% of adults in our survey reported SMP. The most common illnesses that prompted SMP were common cold/flu (66.4%), gastric problems (65%), and headache (64.4%). The most frequent reasons for SMP were to get better services (30.59%), perceive SMP without side effects (23.28%), and save time with effectiveness (14.56%). Potential risk factors included 10 years (AOR = 1.91; 95% CI: 1.04 - 3.50) and >12 years of schooling (AOR = 5.03; 95% CI: 2.27 - 11.15), being a businessman (AOR = 4.64; 95% CI: 1.74 - 12.37), having ≤6 family members (AOR = 2.13; 95% CI: 1.40 - 3.24), being a member of a social group (AOR = 1.53; 95% CI: 1.10 - 2.12), a health status check after every six months (AOR = 1.52; 95% CI: 1.08 - 2.13), and current ill-health (AOR = 1.41; 95% CI: 1.06 - 1.87). Protective factors identified included ≤30 years of age (AOR = 0.40; 95% CI: 0.17 - 0.93), and practice of modern (AOR = 0.39; 95% CI: 0.22- 0.69) and herbal (AOR = 0.45; 95% CI: 0.21- 0.97) healing types. Conclusion: More than one-third of the study participants reported practicing self-medication. Increasing the community’s awareness of the extreme consequences of SMP and not just the average experience might sway individuals away from SMP, and implementing strict jurisdiction could be a way to minimize the SMP.

Topological indices have important role in theoretical chemistry for QSPR researches. Among the all topological indices the Randić and the Zagreb indices have been used more considerably than any other topological indices in chemical and mathematical literature. Most of the topological indices as in the Randić and the Zagreb indices are based on the degrees of the vertices of a connected graph. Recently novel two degree concepts have been defined in graph theory; ev-degrees and ve-degrees. In this study we define ev-degree Zagreb index, ve-degree Zagreb indices and ve-degree Randić index by using these new graph invariants as parallel to their corresponding classical degree versions. We compare these new group ev-degree and ve-degree indices with the other well-known and most used topological indices in literature such as; Wiener, Zagreb and Randić indices by modelling some physicochemical properties of octane isomers. We show that the ev-degree Zagreb index, the ve-degree Zagreb and the ve-degree Randić indices give better correlation than Wiener, Zagreb and Randić indices to predict the some specific physicochemical properties of octanes. We investigate the relations between the second Zagreb index and ev-degree and ve-degree Zagreb indices and some mathematical properties of ev-degree and ve-degree Zagreb indices.

The objective of the present study was to apply an intervention program based on emotional ed-ucation and self-knowledge, in students of the degree in Education to verify changes in wisdom. For this, the 3S-WS questionnaire was administered before and after 8 weeks of intervention, an-alyzing aspects related to affective, cognitive and reflective wisdom. The sample consisted of 100 students (40 men and 60 women, aged between 20 and 29 years). After the intervention program, students improved reflective wisdom without difference between sexes. On the other hand, men had higher values in all variables than women. In conclusion, the program to improve personal development and self-awareness could be useful to improve wisdom (especially reflective wis-dom) in 3rd and 4th year students of the degree in Education, specializing in Physical Education. At the same time, it is intended that these students understand the foundations of the intervention so that in the future it can be replicated in their classrooms and contribute to the sustainable de-velopment of the 2030 Agenda.

New setting is introduced to study quasi-degree and quasi-co-degree arising from co-neighborhood. quasi-degree and quasi-co-degree is about a vertex which are applied into the setting of neutrosophic graphs. . The structure of set is studied and general results are obtained. Also, some classes of neutrosophic graphs namely path-neutrosophic graphs, cycle-neutrosophic graphs, complete-neutrosophic graphs and star-neutrosophic graphs, complete-bipartite-neutrosophic graphs and complete-multipartite-neutrosophic graphs are investigated in the terms of a vertex which is called either quasi-degree or quasi-co-degree. Neutrosophic number is reused in this way. It’s applied to use the type of neutrosophic number in the way that, three values of a vertex are used and they’ve same share to construct this number to compare with other vertices. Summation of three values of vertex makes one number and applying it to a comparison. This approach facilitates identifying vertices which form quasi-degree and quasi-co-degree. Quasi-degree is a value of a vertex which is maximum amid all values of vertices which are neighbors to a fixed vertex. Quasi-co-degree is a value of an edge which is maximum amid all values of edges which are neighbors to a fixed vertex but corresponded vertex is representative for this notion. Using different values which are related to a vertex inspire us to focus on edge and vertices which are corresponded to a fixed vertex. The notion of neighborhood is used to collect either vertices are titled neighbors or edges are incident to fixed vertex. In both settings, some classes of well-known neutrosophic graphs are studied. Some clarifications for each result and each definitions are provided. Using fixed vertex has key role to have these notions in the form of vertex or edge. The value of an edge has eligibility to call quasi-co-degree but the value of a vertex has eligibility to call quasi-degree. Some results get more frameworks and perspective about these definitions. The way in that, two vertices have connection together, open the way to define neighborhood and co-neighborhood. The maximum values in neighborhood and co-neighborhood introduces quasi-degree and quasi-co-degree, respectively. New name is chosen from degree. Since amid all vertices with different degrees, one vertex is chosen. In other words, one vertex is fixed and its degree turns out quasi-degree where two degrees could be assigned to a vertex. Degree of edges and degree of vertices. The number of edges which are incident to the vertex and the number of vertices which are neighbors to the vertex. Degree and co-degree are the notions which are transformed to use in quasi-style. Two neutrosophic values introduce two neutrosophic vertices separately in each settings. These notions are applied into neutrosophic graphs as individuals but not family of them as drawbacks for these notions. Finding special neutrosophic graphs which are well-known, is an open way to purse this study. Some problems are proposed to pursue this study. Basic familiarities with graph theory and neutrosophic graph theory are proposed for this article.

Sustainability is essential for every business and organization, but how can it be achieved? This work is a study of sustainability based on the sufficiency economy philosophy, a valuable concept introduced by the Thai people. We apply it to the notion of sustainability in 400 agricultural community enterprise owners in Thailand, who participated in the study. An oblique rotation component analysis was performed, finding that the variables on the same side are related, and a confirmative component analysis with structural equation models was conducted. The results showed that the approach to applying the sufficiency economy philosophy among community enterprises consists of 11 components, as follows: 1) financial control, 2) planning, 3) member management, 4) morals, 5) prevention plan, 6) moderation, 7) knowledge and expertise, 8) market development, 9) care, 10) quality control and 11) value of investment. The confirmative component analysis with structural equation modeling was consistent with the empirical data. Agricultural community enterprises and entrepreneurs focus on the moral component, conduct business with honesty and avoid causing problems for others, value justice without taking advantage with diligence and adhere to moral principles in life, because all of the above will lead to sustainability in the future.

We consider an $N$ fermion system at low temperature $T$ in which we encounter special particle number values $N_m$ exhibiting special traits. These values arise in focusing attention upon the degree of mixture (DM) of the pertinent quantum states. Given the coupling constant of the Hamiltonian, the DMs stay constant for all $N$-values, but experience sudden jumps at the $N_m$. For a quantum state described by the matrix $\rho$, its purity is expressed by $Tr \rho^2$ and then the degree of mixture is given by $1 - Tr \rho^2$, a quantity that coincides with the entropy $S_q$ for $q=2$. Thus, Tsallis entropy of index two faithfully represents the degree of mixing of a state, that is, it measures the extent to which the state departs from maximal purity . Macroscopic manifestations of the degree of mixing can be observed through various physical quantities. Our present study is closely related to properties of many-fermion systemsn that are usually manipulated at zero temperature. Here we wish to study the subject at finite temperature. Gibbs' ensemble is appealed to. Some interesting insights are thereby gained.

To better understand the shape memory materials and self-healing materials, a new series of liquid-crystalline shape memory polyurethane (LC-SMPU) composites, named SMPU-OOBAm, were successfully prepared by incorporating 4-octyldecyloxybenzoic acid (OOBA) into the PEG-based SMPU. The effect of OOBA on the structure, morphology and properties has been carefully investigated. The results demonstrate that SMPU-OOBAm have liquid crystalline properties, triple-shape memory properties and self-healing properties. The incorporated OOBA promotes the crystallizability of both soft and hard segments of SMPU, and the crystallization rate of the hard segment of SMPU decreases when the OOBA-content increases. Additionally, the SMPU-OOBAm forms a two-phase separated structure (SMPU phase and OOBA phase), and it shows two-step modulus changes upon heating. Therefore, the SMPU-OOBAm shows triple-shape memory behavior, and the shape recovery ratio decreases with an increase in the OOBA content. Finally, SMPU-OOBAm shows self-healing properties. The new mechanism can be ascribed to the heating-induced “bleeding” of OOBA in the liquid crystalline state and the subsequent re-crystallization upon cooling. This successful combination of liquid crystalline properties, triple-shape memory properties and self-healing properties make the SMPU-OOBAm composites with many promise applications in smart optical devices, smart electronic devices and smart sensors.

We establish certain modular equations of degree three based on some results of Ramanujan's theta functions.

Bi1-xSbx crystal is one of the best n-type thermoelectric materials below 200 K, but its weak mechanical strength hinders practical applications for deep refrigeration. Herein, we adopted the mechanical enhancement method of hot extrusion to investigate the comprehensive mechanical and thermoelectric properties of Bi0.905Sb0.095. It revealed that reducing the grain size of the matrix and increasing the extrusion ratio can improve the gain size uniformity and mechanical properties. While the thermoelectric performance depends on the texture, grain size, and local composition. The extruded sample prepared by ingot with the high extrusion ratio of 9:1 generated a high texture degree of (001) plane and small grain sizes between ~4-40 mm, which resulted in the high bending strength of Bi1-xSbx ~130 Mpa and a high-power factor of ~ 68 μW·cm-1·K-2@173 K, as well as the relative high figure of merit of 0.25@173K. This work highlights the importance of the uniform distribution of the grain size and the compositions for Bi1-xSbx, as well as the required universal key parameter for the hot-extrusion method.

Climate change is expected to influence cooling and heating energy demand of residential buildings and affect overall thermal comfort. Towards this end, the heating degree-day (HDD), the cooling degree-day (CDD) and the HDD+CDD were computed from an ensemble of 7 high-resolution bias-corrected simulations attained from EURO-CORDEX under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5. These three indicators were analyzed for 1971-2000 (from E-OBS) and 2011-2040 and 2041-2070, under both RCPs. Results show that the overall spatial distribution of HDD trends for the 3 time-periods points out an increase of energy demand to heat internal environments in Portugal's northern-eastern regions, most significant under RCP8.5. It is projected an increase of CDD values for both scenarios; however, statistically significant linear trends were only found for 2041-2070 under RCP4.5. The need for cooling is almost negligible for the remaining periods, though linear trend values are still considerably higher for 2041-2070 under RCP8.5. By the end of 2070, higher amplitudes for all indicators are depicted for southern Algarve and Alentejo regions, mainly under RCP8.5. For 2041-2070 the Centre and Alentejo (North and Centre) regions present major positive differences for HDD(CDD) under RCP4.5(RCP8.5), within the 5 NUTS II regions predicting higher heating(cooling) requirements for some locations.

In this paper, a new type of self-excited thermomechanical oscillator containing an oscillating shape memory alloy (SMA) filament with two symmetrically arranged spheres is investigated. The self-excitation of the oscillations is due to a heater of constant temperature, which causes periodic contractions of the filament when it approaches it. The contracted filament moves away from the heater a distance sufficient to cool it. Under the action of the weight of the spheres, the cooled filament re-approaches the heater, causing the above processes to repeat periodically. On the basis of experimental studies, approximating functions of the heater's heat field distribution are derived. A dynamic model of the oscillator has been created, in which the minor and major hysteresis in the SMA alloy and the distribution of the heat field around the heater have been taken into account. By numerical solutions of the differential equations, the laws of motion of the spheres are obtained. The displacements of the spheres in two perpendicular directions were measured using an experimental system. The obtained experimental results validate the proposed dynamic model and its assumptions with a high degree of confidence. Conclusions are drawn about the stochastic nature of the oscillations due to the hysteresis properties of the SMA and the temperature variation of the natural frequency of the oscillating system.

Speeding is a significant global issue, with disparities in speed outcome and speed research between low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and high-income countries (HICs). This study aims to address speed research gaps by examining the prevalence of self-reported speeding and factors influencing drivers' speeding behavior (SB) using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). An online survey involving 387 anonymous drivers was conducted in Yaoundé. Results showed that all drivers reported exceeding speed limits, with 81% exceeding by 5km/h, 12% by 10km/h, and 7% by more than 10km/h in urban areas. On highways, 54% reported exceeded the limit by more than 10km/h. Age, driver's license, and gender showed significant associations with speed limits non-compliance. The study results suggests that the TPB can be useful in assessing speeding behavior, as the inclusion of TPB variables led to a more than 50% proportionate increase in SB variance. Structural equation modeling revealed attitude towards speeding as the strongest predictor of speeding intention (SI), along with certain demographics indirectly influencing SB through SI. Perceived behavioral control (PBC) and SI directly influenced SB. These findings emphasize the potential of interventions targeting attitude, intentions, and perceived behavioral control to modify speeding behavior and improve road safety.

In this paper, we give some upper and lower bounds for the multiplicative Randic index, reduced reciprocal Randic index, Narumi-Katayama index and symmetric division index a graph using solely the vertex degrees. Then we obtain upper and lower bounds for these indices for the complete graphs, path graphs and Fibonacci-sum graphs. Finally, we compared the bounds of these indices for a general graph and some special graphs.

The topological index is a numerical quantity based on the characteristics of various invariants or molecular graph. For ease of discussion, these indices are classified according to their logical derivation from topological invariants rather than their temporal development. Degree based topological indices depends upon the degree of vertices. This paper computes degree based topological indices of Bismuth Tri-Iodide chains and sheets with the help of M-polynomial.

For many engineering applications it is sufficient to use the concept of simple materials. However, higher gradients of the kinematic variables are taken into account to model materials with internal length scales as well as to describe localization effects using gradient theories in finite plasticity or fluid mechanics. In many approaches length scale parameter have been introduced that are related to a specific micro structure. An alternative approach is possible, if a thermodynamically consistent framework is used for material modelling as shown in the present contribution. However, even if sophisticated and thermodynamically consistent material models can be established there are still not yet standard experiments to determine higher order material constants. In order to contribute to this ongoing discussion system identification based on the method of self-adaptive filtering is proposed in this paper. To evaluate the effectiveness of this approach it has been applied to second-order gradient materials considering longitudinal vibrations. Based on thermodynamically consistent models that have been solved numerically it has been possible to prove that system identification based on self-adaptive filtering can be used effectively for both narrow-band and broadband signals in the field of second-order gradient materials. It has also been found that the differences identified for simple materials and gradient materials allow for condition monitoring and detection of gradient effects in the material behavior.

The social- and self-directed behaviours of two golden lion tamarins (Leontopithecus rosalia) was investigated while having residence in the tropical house of Aalborg Zoo, Denmark. The behaviour of the female had been distinct from the male since 2018. Despite several diagnostic examinations and medicinal treatments, the cause of the aberrant and apparently stereotypical behavioural patterns remained undetermined, which initiated this study. The pair were recorded throughout a predetermined observation period and these recordings were analysed to illuminate the behaviours of the individuals. The results showed that there were differences in the type, frequency, and durations of both social- and self-directed behaviours between the sick female and the healthy male. The female expressed both social- and self-directed behaviours more frequently and for longer durations, while the male were more socially reserved and did not engage in social behaviours as frequently. Furthermore, subsequent necropsy of the female revealed uro-genital disease.

Owing to the nondiffracting, self-accelerating, and self-healing properties, Airy beams of different nature have become a subject of immense interest in the past decade. Their interesting properties have opened doors to many diverse applications. Consequently, the questions of how to properly design spatial manipulation of Airy beams or how to implement them in different setups have become important and timely in the development of various optical devices. Here, based on our previous work, we present a short review on the spatial control of Airy beams, including the interactions of Airy beams in nonlinear media, beam propagation in harmonic potential, and the dynamics of abruptly autofocusing Airy beams in the presence of a dynamic linear potential. We demonstrate that under the guidance of nonlinearity and external potential, the trajectory, acceleration, structure, and even the basic properties of Airy beams can be adjusted to suit specific needs. We describe other fascinating phenomena observed with Airy beams, such as self-Fourier transformation, periodic inversion of Airy beams, and the appearance of spatial solitons in the presence of nonlinearity. These results have promoted the development of Airy beams, and have been utilized in various applications, including particle manipulation, self-trapping, and electronic matter waves.

Several articles have reported that the low number of COVID-19 cases in Japan is attributed to the small number of diagnostic RT-PCR tests performed. The criticism is based on the low number of the tests performed, and they suspected there would be more potential cases in Japan. The use of pre-test probability among tested subjects is proposed in order to evaluate of the sufficiency of test availability instead of the number of the tests. The pre-test probability means the average probability, i.e., ‘suspicion level’, of having coronavirus among the tested subject in a country. The higher pre-test probability is regarded as less sufficient opportunity of the tests, and the test availability could be evaluated by the pre-test probability. Thus, potential problems of underestimation of COVID-19 cases by insufficient amount of the test would be clear by using pre-test probability. The comparison of the pre-test probability could be replaced with that of the positive rate of the test because of the linear relationship between them under the assumption of common sensitivity and specificity. Japan shows the third lowest rate (8.6%), and is considered that the considerably sufficient number of the tests have been performed. In conclusion, the positive rate of the test as a surrogate index of the pre-test probability is useful to evaluate the sufficiency of test amount instead of the number of the tests performed. In present, the potential problem of underestimation by insufficient test availability would be less serious in Japan.

Fiber aggregation in nanocomposites has an important effect on the macroscopic electrical performance. To quantitatively evaluate its effect, an index to characterize the degree of aggregation is imperative, and ideally it should have three features simultaneously, i.e., single-parametric, dimensionless and physically meaningful, applicable to different aggregation topologies, and one-to-one corresponding to material electrical properties. To this end, a new aggregation degree is proposed, which is defined as the average increased number of fibers that connect with each one when fibers aggregate from a uniformly distributed state. This index is applicable to different aggregation topologies from lump-like aggregating clusters to network-like aggregating clusters. This index is proven to only depend on the local features of aggregating clusters, and can be concisely expressed by the characteristic parameters of local structure, via geometric probability analysis and numerical validations. Further, a one-to-one linear relation between the aggregation degree and percolation threshold is established by Monte Carlo simulations, which is independent of the distribution law of the fibers. This work provides a guide to the property characterization, performance prediction and material design of nanocomposites, and also gives a physical insight into the understanding of systems with similar non-uniform distributions.

In this paper we prove that if the product $X^{n}$ of a space $X$ has some tightness-type properties, then the space of permutation degree ${\sf SP^{n}}X$ also has these properties. It is proved that the set tightness (resp. $T$-tightness) of the space of permutation degree ${\sf SP^{n}}X$ is equal to the set tightness (resp. $T$-tightness) of the product $X^{n}$.

We develop new theory from a broad case-study approach to explore a better understanding of what constitutes knowledge and its value as identifiable to human-machine teams. From past research, this trail of exploration will lead to these initial questions: What is the value of debate in the furtherance of knowledge? Will machines with AI be able to contribute to a debate if we humans cannot define it or determine its value sufficiently for a machine’s understanding, contribution, exploration and identification? Like humans, as teammates, machines must be able to determine with AI what constitutes the usable knowledge that contributes to a team’s success in the field (e.g., testing "knowledge" in the field, identifying new knowledge, using knowledge to develop innovation) or its failure (viz., trouble shooting; identifying weaknesses; discovering vulnerabilities, hiding by deception). It matters not whether a debate is public, private or unexpressed by an individual human or machine agent alone; we speculate in this exploration that the process advances the science of autonomous human-machine teams and assists in interpretable machine learning. We conclude with questions and a speculation: How does a human become aware or express its awareness of knowledge? Can a machine be as expressive as its human teammates? And how does a human-machine teammate become aware that its teammates possess sufficient knowledge to perform a task? We speculate that the structure of “knowledge," once found, is resistant to alternatives (i.e., it is ordered); that its functional utility is generalizable; and that its applications are multifaceted (akin to maximum entropy production). The complexity of the team is taken into consideration in our search for knowledge, which can also be used as an information metric.

Cutaneous melanoma (CM) is a candidate for screening programs, since its prognosis is excellent when diagnosed in an early disease stage. Targeted screening of those at high risk for developing CM, a cost-effective alternative to population-wide screening, requires valid procedures to identify the high-risk group. Self-assessment of the number of nevi has been suggested as a component of such procedures, but its validity has not yet been established. We analyzed the level of agreement between self-assessments and expert assessments of the number of melanocytic nevi in the area between the wrist and the shoulder of both arms based on 4548 study subjects in whom mutually blinded double counting of nevi was performed. Nevus counting followed the IARC protocol. Study subjects received written instructions, photographs, a mirror, and a “nevometer” to support self-assessment of nevi larger than 2 mm. Nevus counts were categorized based on the quintiles of the distribution into five levels defining a nevus score. Cohen’s weighted kappa-coefficient was estimated to measure the level of agreement. In the total sample, agreement between self-assessments and expert-assessments was moderate (raw agreement: 50.29%, weighted κ=0.596). Self-assessed nevus counts were higher than those determined by experts (mean differ-ence: 3.33 nevi). The level of agreement was independent of sociodemographic and cutaneous factors; however, participants’ eye color had a significant impact on the level of agreement. Our findings show that even with comprehensive guidance, only a moderate level of agreement between self-assessed and expert-assessed nevus counts can be achieved. Self-assessed nevus information does not appear to be reliable enough to be used in individual risk assessment to target screening activities.

This study addresses the critical challenge of Speech Enhancement (SE) in noisy environments, where the deployment of Deep Neural Networksolutions on microcontrollers is hindered by their extensive computational demands. Focusing on this gap, our research introduces a novel SE method optimized for MCUs, employing a 2-layer GRU model that capitalizes on perceptual speech properties and innovative training methodologies. By incorporating self-reference signals and a dual strategy of compression and recovery based on the Mel scale, we develop an efficient model tailored for low-latency applications. Our GRU-2L-128 model demonstrates a significant reduction in size and computational requirements, achieving a 14.2× decrease in model size and a 409.1× reduction in operations compared to traditional DNN methods like DCCRN, without compromising performance. This advancement offers a promising solution for enhancing speech intelligibility in resource-constrained devices, marking a pivotal step in SE research and application.

Lyme carditis (LC) is a manifestation of the early disseminated stage of Lyme disease and often presents as high-degree atrioventricular (AV) block. High-degree AV block in LC can be treated with antibiotics, usually resolving with highly favourable prognosis, thus preventing the unnecessary implantation of permanent pacemakers. We present a systematic approach to the diagnosis and management of LC that implements the Suspicious Index in Lyme Carditis (SILC) risk stratification score.

Two polyurethanes (PUs) were similarly synthesized by reacting a cycloaliphatic isocyanate with 1,4 butanediol and two polyols of different nature (polyester, polycarbonate diol) with molecular weights of 1000 Da. The PU made with polycarbonate diol polyol (YCD) was the only showing intrinsic self-healing at 20 °C. For assessing the mechanism of intrinsic self-healing of YCD, a structural characterization by molecular weights determination, infrared and X-ray photoelectronic spectroscopies, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction, thermal gravimetric analysis and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis was carried out. It was concluded that the self-healing at 20 °C of YCD was due to non-covalent dynamic exchange interactions among the carbonate groups of the soft segments. Therefore, the chemical nature of the polyol played a key role in developing PUs with intrinsic self-healing at 20 °C.

IIt is important that Master’s Degree students in psychology, regardless of their future specialisa-tion, know about Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The aim is evaluate and an-alyse the ADHD-related knowledge held by students of Early Childhood Education and Primary Education. The findings that were obtained in this study (on the chronicity of the disorder, changes in manifestations throughout the life cycle, and the importance of early and multidisci-plinary intervention) have clear implications in relation to the specific training in ADHD for fu-ture teachers. It is essential to broaden the specific training in relation to ADHD in studies for the Master’s Degrees in Early Childhood Education and Primary Education and through contin-uous training.

In recent years, more and more attention has been paid to the behavior of tourists and their intention to travel after certain natural disasters or social unrest. The aim of the research was to establish the influence of psychological profiles of tourists on their decision to choose a tourist destination, using three psychographic techniques BFI-10 (Big Five Inventory), AIO (Activities, Interests, Opinions), and VALS 2 (Values and lifestyle), and a freely determined six-level scale of risk and tourist attractiveness of the imagined destinations. By analyzing the results through structural modeling-path analysis, it was determined that almost all psychographic orientations derived from lifestyles negatively perceive destinations with a high degree of risk and attractiveness, while with the VALS 2 technique, only members of the action orientation tend to accept the risk and challenge of visiting high-risk destinations. The results of the research have a degree of innovation in the application of the combination of the mentioned models, as well as in the theoretical and applied aspects in supplementing the building and strategic planning of the future business.

This study analyzes how Perceived Credibility of a 360-degree feedback and Evaluation of Outcome impact on ratees’ attitudes towards behavioral change. The study adopts a qualitative-quantitative mixed method approach. Reasoned Action Theory was selected as the theoretical framework, and ten 360-degree assessment ratees were interviewed on their perceived credibility, evaluation of outcome and attitude toward behavioral change in the 360-degree assessment practices. The qualitative inputs were analyzed under the methodology of grounded theory. Additional 159 respondents participated in the quantitative research phase of the research to validate the findings in the qualitative research phase. It was validated that Perceived Credibility, Evaluation of Outcome has impact on Attitude Toward Behavioral Change in 360-degree assessment.

This paper studies the flexural behavior of the bridge deck link slabs made with the Polyvinyl Alcohol-Strain Hardening Cementitious Composites (PVA-SHCC). Tensile and flexural properties of the PVA-SHCC with four volume fractions, i.e., 0%, 1%, 1.5%, and 2%, were evaluated first. Next, using the similarity theory, composite models with a geometric similarity ratio of 1: 5 were designed to represent the bridge deck with the link slabs. The models considered three materials for link slabs, including concrete, cement mortar and self-compacting PVA-SHCC; and two different curing ages at 7 and 56 days. Bending tests were performed to investigate the flexural behavior of the models. Based on the fractal theory, cracking characteristics of the models with different types of link slabs were compared, and the relationship between Df and the flexural behavior of the models were studied. Numerical models were built to correlate with the results from the bending tests. It is illustrated that the flexural behavior of the self-compacting PVA-SHCC link slab is better than that of concrete and cement mortar link slabs, where the crack initiation and propagation can be postponed.

In this paper we propose a novel self-supervised approach of keywords and keyphrases retrieval and extraction by an end-to-end deep learning approach, which is trained by contextually self-labelled corpus. Our proposed approach is novel to use contextual and semantic features to extract the keywords and has outperformed the state of the art. Through the experiment the proposed approach has been proved to be better in both semantic meaning and quality than the existing popular algorithms of keyword extraction. In addition, we propose to use contextual features from bidirectional transformers to automatically label short-sentence corpus with keywords and keyphrases to build the ground truth. This process avoids the human time to label the keywords and do not need any prior knowledge. To the best of our knowledge, our published dataset in this paper is a fine domain-independent corpus of short sentences with labelled keywords and keyphrases in the NLP community.

Bending waveguide is one of the building blocks of on-chip photonic integrated circuits (PICs). Previous bending waveguides (BWs) usually suffer from larger footprint size in the bending region, which is are not conducive to develop large-scale and high-density PICs. To this end, we propose and numerically investigate an ultra-compact silicon-on-insulator 180-degree waveguide bend with a bending radius of 2 µm. Being different from the previous BWs, the design is based on topologically optimized digital metamaterials, which is implemented by using intelligent genetic algorithms. Simulated results show that the proposed structure has a -1.36 dB bend efficiency per 180-degree at a wavelength of 1.55 µm and occupies a footprint of only 4 × 4 µm2. Moreover, the crosstalk is <−20 dB and the loss is <2.6 dB over a >100 nm operating bandwidth (1.6-1.7 µm) for TE0 modes. With the wide operating bandwidth and ultra-compact footprint, the proposed silicon-based 180-degree waveguide bend shows a potential application as the fundamental component for optical communication interconnect in the ultra-highly integrated photonic circuit.

Hong Kong is the biggest consumer of eggs in the world and ranks on the top with an average consumption of 24.52kg/capita/year. The egg consumption trend in Hong Kong has been increasing specifically; a drastic increase of about 100% has been observed from 2008 to 2020. One of the reasons behind this significant increase is the increase in the gross national income of Hong Kong in addition to the population growth rate. However, there was a slight decline in egg consumption trend in the year 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been estimated that there was a bulk of 17,100 tons of recoverable waste eggshells in 2019 (pre-COVID-19 situation), having a daily yield of 47 tons per day. Based on the linear regression, it may be expected that if the pre-COVID-19 trend of egg consumption remains sustained, there will be a big bulk of more than 45,000 tons per year and up to 125 tons per day of waste eggshells till 2050. In addition, a public survey was conducted across the city targeting individuals, families, and restaurants majorly on egg consumption and reuse. The survey outcomes revealed that Chinese eggs have an extensive market in Hong Kong, and people have a positive attitude towards eggshell recycling. Also, a massive population disposes of the waste eggshells while only a trace population reuses them. Therefore, Hong Kong has a very high potential to improve the circular economy by reusing waste eggshells on a commercial level in cementitious products.

Climate change is a major threat to agricultural food production globally and locally. It poses both direct and indirect effects on soil functions. Thus, agricultural management practices has evolved to adaptation strategies in order to mitigate the risks and threats from climate change. The study concludes with a recommendation the coconut farmers should explore the idea of soil biodiversity in a bid to mitigate the potential negative impact of climate related risk on the farming. The study proffers the need for adopting sustainable agricultural practices to boost local coconut production. This can contribute to the simultaneous realisation of two of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations: SDG 2 on food security and sustainable agriculture and SDG 13 on action to combat climate change and its impacts. The study findings has implications for tackling climate change in Sub-Saharan Africa and in particular Nigeria in order to boost local agricultural production and coconut in particular without negative environmental consequences and an ability to cope with climate change related risks.

Background: Visual acuity (VA) assessments are crucial in ophthalmology but traditionally rely on in-clinic evaluations. The emergence of telemedicine has spurred interest in creating dependable self-administered VA tests for use beyond standard clinical environments. This study evaluates the practicality and validity of a self-administered Near VA card test against traditional Snellen and Rosenbaum Pocket Vision Screener (RPVS) methods for home monitoring and enhancing clinical workflow. Methods: In a cross-sectional study a near VA card (Hadassah Self-Visual Acuity Screener-HSVA) was developed with written and videotaped instructions for self-use. Patients with a minimal best corrected VA (BCVA) of 1.0 LogMAR in at least one eye were recruited from Ophthalmology and Optometry clinics. Outcomes included mean BCVA difference between the self-administered and those obtained by the examiner, and correlations among BCVA values obtained by Snellen, RPVS, HSVA and previous distance BCVA according to the patient electronic medical records. Results: A total of 275 participants (mean age: 42.5±19.4 years, range: 18-89 years, 47% female) were included. Test-retest reliability analysis for the HSVA demonstrated very good correlation and repeatability (n=38 patients.; Rs=1.0, P

Rapid SARS-CoV-2 self-tests have the potential to expand access to COVID-19 testing and improve community-level case detection, particularly in resource-constrained countries such as Kenya. However, prior to their introduction, their acceptability must be assessed. This qualitative study explored key decision-takers’ values towards SARS-CoV-2 self-testing in Kenya. Healthcare workers, representatives of civil society, and potential implementors from Mombasa and Taita-Taveta were selected as decision-takers. Semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions were used to collect data on their values towards self-testing. A thematic analysis approach was applied. Most informants considered that the Kenyan public is equipped to accept and use self-testing safely as an approach to help to reduce workload at public healthcare facilities, and know one’s COVID-19 status in a private manner. The informants emphasized the need to provide counselling to end-users, to support those needing to self-isolate, and to engage different civil society stakeholders in information provision on self-testing. Fear of stigma and of forced isolation were noted as potential deterrents to self-testing uptake for some individuals. In conclusion, there is high acceptability of self-testing in Kenya among decision-takers. However, enhanced education, counselling, and addressing deterrents to testing would be helpful to ensure effective use of SARS-CoV-2 self-testing in Kenya.

Powered ankle prostheses have been proven to improve the walking economy of people with transtibial amputation. All commercial powered ankle prostheses that are currently available can only perform one-degree-of-freedom motion in a limited range. However, studies have shown that the frontal plane motion during ambulation is associated with balancing. In addition, as more advanced neural interfaces have become available for people with amputation, it is possible to fully recover ankle function by combining neural signals and a robotic ankle. Accordingly, there is a need for a powered ankle prosthesis that can have active control on not only plantarflexion and dorsiflexion but also eversion and inversion. We designed, built, and evaluated a two-degree-of-freedom (2-DoF) powered ankle-foot prosthesis that is untethered and can support level-ground walking. Benchtop tests were conducted to characterize the dynamics of the system. Walking trials were performed with a 77 kg subject that has unilateral transtibial amputation to evaluate system performance under realistic conditions. Benchtop tests demonstrated a step response rise time of less than 50 milliseconds for a torque of 40 N·m on each actuator. The closed-loop torque bandwidth of the actuator is 9.74 Hz. Walking trials demonstrated torque tracking errors (root mean square) of less than 7 N·m. These results suggested that the device can perform adequate torque control and support level-ground walking. This prosthesis can serve as a platform for studying biomechanics related to balance and has the possibility of further recovering the biological function of the ankle-subtalar-foot complex beyond the existing powered ankles.

Aluminum is a strategic mineral resource, and China’s aluminum production and consumption is fairly large. However, its supply guarantee is uncertain because of a high dependency on external raw materials. This uncertainty may expand, so finding a way to reduce the uncertainty of aluminum resource supply is especially important. This paper applies the SFA method to analyze the aluminum flows in mainland China from 1996 to 2014, and establishes a supply structure model to measure its supply guarantee degree. The results claim that: (1) China’s aluminum production can satisfy demand and even create a surplus; (2) Domestic self-productive primary and secondary aluminum increased at an annual rate of 12% and 24%; (3) The proportion of self-productive secondary aluminum in the supply structure increased from 7.7% in 1996 to 12.8% in 2014, while that of primary aluminum decreased from 79.6% to 42.8%; (4) The total supply guarantee degree decreased from 87.3% to 55.6% in this period. These results provide a feasible way to solve this plight: the proportion of secondary aluminum in the supply structure should be enhanced, and an efficient aluminum resource recycling system needs to be established as soon as possible to ensure its sustainable supply.

The COVID-19 pandemic has left no one indifferent: all around the globe, people have felt the massive impact of a virus that has stopped the world in its tracks. Many countries have been forced to impose strict lockdowns, causing devastating damage to the overall economy and welfare state, but also leaving an unprecedented emotional footprint on almost everyone. In this paper, we aim to quantify, by building our own method how, this pandemic has affected people emotionally by detecting the shifts in the emotional profile of representative users in selected countries. Our method processes the social media stream adapting the Pleasure-Arousal-Dominance (PAD) approach to measure emotional states on the Russell Circumplex plane, allowing for not only an overall emotional shift quantification but also a detailed analysis at mood level. By focusing on certain emotions and searching behavior, we establish a relationship between the pandemic and the emotional response. Although the method can be applied to any location with a significant and varied amount of geo-localized social media streams, the scope of this paper covers the most representative cities in Europe.

In this paper, a 3 DOF gyrscope position control have been designed and controlled using optimal control theory. An input torque has been given to the first axis and the angular position of the second axis have been analyzed while the third axis are kept free from rotation. The system mathematical model is controllable and observable. Linear Quadratic Integral (LQI) and Linear Quadratic State Feedback Regulator (LQRY) controllers have been used to improve the performance of the system. Comparison of the system with the proposed controllers for tracking a desired step and random angular position have been done using Matlab/Simulink Toolbox and a promising results has been analyzed.

For improving the tracking accuracy and model switching speed of maneuvering target tracking in nonlinear systems, a new algorithm named interacting multiple model fifth-degree spherical simplex-radial cubature filter (IMM5thSSRCKF) is proposed in this paper. The new algorithm is a combination of the interacting multiple model (IMM) filter and fifth-degree spherical simplex-radial cubature filter (5thSSRCKF). The proposed algorithm makes use of Markov process to describe the switching probability among the models, and uses 5thSSRCKF to deal with the state estimation of each model. The 5thSSRCKF is an improved filter algorithm, which utilizes the fifth-degree spherical simplex-radial rule to improve the filtering accuracy. Finally, the tracking performance of the IMM5thSSRCKF is evaluated by simulation in a typical maneuvering target tracking scenario. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm has better tracking performance and quicker model switching speed when disposing maneuver models compared with IMMUKF, IMMCKF and IMM5thCKF.

Today, issues related to people’s mental health and well-being have been described as a challenge for society, globally as well as in Sweden. This calls for new approaches to mental health promotion. The aim was to evaluate the adequacy of the content and structure, describing experiences of study circles as a means of supporting participants' self-care and self-compassion. The overall design is a descriptive, QUAL+quan design, where quantitative and qualitative results are integrated. Five participants participated in a focus group interview, of whom four completed questionnaires. One individual interview was conducted with the study circle leader. Study circles can be an arena for mental health promotion as learning and sharing of experience contributes to a sense of coherence, as well as self-compassion and a genuine concern for one’s own and others' wellbeing, but not considered an alternative to psychiatric care, for those in need of professional services. Study circles can be a possible means to support self-care and thereby promote mental health in the general population, and a valuable contribution to public health. However, in addition to modifications of the content, further research is needed on the qualifications for study circle leaders as well as the dissemination of study circles.

The present paper reports an exact approach quantifying the electromagnetic contribution to the anomalous magnetic moment occurring in isolated system comprised of non-composite particle carrying elementary electric charge. Essential averaging procedure and regularization of the electromagnetic field potentials necessary when quantifying the electromagnetic self-interactions and when deriving equations of motion without singularities and obeying the conservation laws are thoroughly discussed. The study shows that the dynamics of the considered system is associated to unique classical transcendental equations of motion satisfied by the particle's velocity and the electromagnetic contribution to the anomalous $g$-factor known from the quantum electrodynamics. The equations of motion lead to an exact analytical expression for the anomalous $g$-factor that provides more accurate result than that calculated with the aid of quantum electrodynamics. It matches the experimentally measured value reported in the literature to a one part per trillion. We obtain a_e=0.00115965218000(65) thus reveling the potential of non-perturbative, non-probability methods in predicting the electron's anomalous g-factor.

The research proposes a self-directed paradigm with self-design using the existing technology with LMS modules, discussions, and self-tests. The research establishes its criteria for assurance of teaching and learning known as 7x2C for the compliance of content, and appearance along with other criteria for the analysis. The above technology of web and LMS is tested for a business course that is technology-oriented in creating an experiential learning system for Covid-19 awareness. Similarly, among other ideas, an environment for educating learners about diabetes and obesity has been designed. The project is known as Sunchoke with its theme of Grow, Eat, and Heal. The educators can use their technology and apply self-directed pedagogy to transform this approach to their customized ways by using their content and rubrics.

Purpose: To identify the impact of dealing with COVID-19 patients in clinical areas on nurses' professional self-concept and self-confidence. Background: Professional self-concept is considered a critical factor in the recruitment/retention process in nursing, nursing shortage, career satisfaction, and academic achievements. Professional self-confidence is also a crucial determinant in staff satisfaction, reducing turnover, and increasing work engagement. Design: Descriptive, comparative study. Methods: The study was conducted between February to May 2021 by utilizing a convenience sampling technique. A total of 170 nurses from two facilities were recruited from two COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 designated facilities. The level of professional self-concept and self-confidence was assessed by utilizing the Nurses' Self-Concept Instrument and Self-Confidence Scale. Results: The professional self-concept level among the exposed group to COVID-19 patients was lower than the comparison group, while the professional self-confidence level among the exposed group to COVID-19 patients was similar to the comparison group. On the other hand, the satisfied staff and those who received professional training in dealing with COVID-19 patients reported a higher level of professional self-concept. Conclusions: Dealing with COVID-19 patients has an impact on professional self-concept; the exposure group was lower than those who did not deal with COVID-19 patients, while the professional self-confidence level among the exposed group was similar to the comparison group. Getting professional training in dealing with COVID-19 patients and being satisfied at work were significant factors in improving the professional self-concept. Policymakers should create strategies that target the improvement of professional training in dealing with COVID-19 patients.

This paper examines the energy efficiency of three variations of the two-degree-of-freedom transverse galloping energy harvester. These variants differ in the number and placement of electromechanical transducers. By utilizing the harmonic balance method, limit cycles of mathematical models of devices were determined. Analytical expressions derived from models were then used to formulate the efficiency of the systems. It was demonstrated that efficiency depends on flow speed and can be comprehensively characterized by four criteria parameters: peak efficiency, denoting the maximum efficiency of the system, and high efficiency bandwidth, which describes the range of flow velocities within which the efficiency remains at no less than 90% of peak efficiency. The values of these parameters are heavily reliant on the speed at which the system achieves peak efficiency—referred to as the nominal speed nominal speed, which in turn is related to the critical speed of the system. Comparative analysis revealed that only the two-degree-of-freedom device equipped with two electromechanical transducers can potentially outperform a simple one-degree-of-freedom system in terms of efficiency.

The North Railway in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) extends over vast areas, crossing various terrains, including valleys, sand veins, plateaus, and hills. Therefore, the Railway was designed and implemented to suit this environmental diversity under the highest safety standards. However, the Railway may be subject to hazards for various reasons. In general, the possibility of direct surface runoff disasters increases if there are residential areas and facilities within the boundaries of drainage basins. Therefore, these areas should be studied, and the degree of hazard in drainage basins should be accurately determined. Hence, this study analyzed the degree of risk of 14 drainage basins affecting the North Train railway within the Wadi Malham drainage basin, using the risk degree model with eight parameters that have hydrological indications to give an idea of the behavior of direct surface runoff and interfere with increasing the risk of direct surface runoff. Researchers found 28.57% of the total basins in the study area have high-risk basin overall score values, which are basins 6, 7, 13, and 14. It is recommended to estimate the rainfall depth during different return periods, analyze soil permeability and land use classification in the study area, and apply hydrological modeling of drainage basins, which contributes to estimating the volume and peak of direct surface runoff in such arid and semi-arid environments that do not contain hydrometric stations to monitor the runoff. .

Citizen science substantially contributes to large-scale biodiversity monitoring and the enhancement of public literacy. While both of the contributions largely depend on the public’s self- regulated learning. In this study, we employed a mix- method approach, incorporating both a questionnaire survey of 133 participants and interviews with 12 volunteers, aiming to explore the feature of self- regulated learning in citizen science, as well as identify the main factors impacting it. The volunteers are all different ages, from different jobs, with varying educational backgrounds. The findings revealed that the educational background of volunteers did not significantly impact their self-regulated learning. However, an increased frequency of participation was linked to higher levels of self-regulated learning. Furthermore, achievement goal orientation mediates the prediction of self-regulation by scientific epistemology. These insights underscore the importance of enhancing citizen science's impact on scientific literacy by fostering self-regulated learning among participants. This can be achieved through explicit instruction in scientific epistemology and by fostering a sense of achievement to boost achievement goal orientations. Additionally, our study advocates for the promotion of social interaction between students and out- of- school citizen scientists in school-based citizen science projects. The main innovation of this study is to consider volunteers as learners, not merely as contributors of data.

Lipophilic oligonucleotide derivatives are a potent approach to the intracellular delivery of nucleic acids. The binding of these derivatives to serum albumin is a major determinant of their fate in the body, as its structure contains several sites of high affinity for hydrophobic compounds. This study focuses on the features of self-association and non-covalent interactions with human serum albumin of novel self-penetrating oligonucleotide derivatives. The study revealed that the introduction of a triazinyl phosphoramidate modification bearing two dodecyl groups at the 3' end region of the oligonucleotide sequence has a negligible effect on its affinity for the complementary sequence. Dynamic light scattering verified that the amphiphilic oligonucleotides under study can self-assemble into micelle-like particles ranging from 8 to 15 nm in size. The oligonucleotides with dodecyl groups form stable complexes with human serum albumin with a dissociation constant of approximately 10-6 M. The oligonucleotide micelles are simultaneously destroyed upon binding to albumin. Using an electrophoretic mobility shift assay and affinity modification, we examined the ability of DNA duplexes containing triazinyl phosphoramidate oligonucleotides to interact with Ku antigen and PARP1, as well as the mutual influence of PARP1 and albumin or Ku antigen and albumin upon interaction with DNA duplexes. These findings, together with the capability of dodecyl-containing derivatives to effectively penetrate different cells, such as HEK293 and T98G, indicate that the oligonucleotides under study can be considered as a platform for the development of therapeutic preparations with a target effect.

This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of manual therapy and exercise versus synchronized telerehabilitation with self-manual therapy and exercise in treating Subacromial Pain Syndrome (SAPS). Sixty individuals diagnosed with SPS, aged 18-50 years, were randomly assigned to home exercise (HE), manual therapy (MT), and telerehabilitation (TR) groups. Treatment protocols were administered over 8 weeks and included specific exercises and therapy interventions. Out-come measures included Visual Pain Scale (VAS), shoulder range of motion (ROM) via gonio-metric measurements, Quick Disability Arm-Shoulder-Hand Problems Survey (Q-DASH), and patient satisfaction. Results revealed that both MT and TR groups exhibited reduced pain, in-creased ROM, lower Q-DASH scores, and higher patient satisfaction compared to the HE group. However, no significant differences were found between MT and TR groups in pain levels, ROM, Q-DASH scores, or patient satisfaction. The study concludes that both telerehabilitation and manual therapy effectively alleviate pain and are well-received by patients with SPS. Addition-ally, manual therapy demonstrates superiority in enhancing functional levels compared to exer-cise-based interventions. (Registration: NCT05200130)

The following are three successful case studies that affected humanity during the COVID-19 pandemic. The key to their success was their swift adaptability to the new confinement regulations and the unyielding determination of those carrying out their plans. Various extraordinary and prompt efforts were required to make the essential logistical preparations and practice for distance learning a reality. The research activities were also reorganized so the thesis students might carry out a few simple experiments at home under the strict supervision of their advisers and supervisors. The findings revealed that the students who participated in these projects applied all the abilities they had gained before the epidemic. In addition, they included crucial knowledge about the project, problem-based, and research-based learning. Furthermore, because they were the primary implementers of the trials, they learned by planning and performing experiments. The culmination of these efforts was displayed in three scientific publications that were published in index journals with a high level of impact. This latter factor is essential for the prestige and visibility of the university, in addition to the acquisition of financing and grants for scientific research.

: BACKGROUND: The prevalence of smoking among students is a growing concern, particular-ly among medical students. Being associated with stress, competitiveness, and various social in-fluences, smoking can have detrimental effects on self-esteem and self-efficacy and may create a vicious cycle that may contribute to students’ well-being and academic performance out-comes.METHODS: A cross-sectional study on 456 medical students was conducted via an online survey using structured questionnaires on socio-demographic characteristics, smoking habits, nicotine dependence, self-esteem, and self-efficacy. RESULTS: The prevalence of smoking was 31.1% The scores of self-esteem and self-efficacy were positively correlated with smoking habits (W1=0.957, W2=0.975, P<0.05). Students presented rather low smoking addiction with male stu-dents having slightly higher scores than female students on self-esteem and self-efficacy, mili-tary students had higher self-esteem scores than civilians with physical activity having a posi-tive correlation with non-smoking behavior. CONCLUSION: According to our results, self-esteem and self-efficacy were slightly positively correlated with smoking habits. Furthermore, there was no statistically significant association between other social factors and smoking. Our results may develop a theoretical basis for medical students’ psychological variables studying for further implementation of university educational programs and preventive interventions em-powering students towards an overall better quality of life, addressing, among others, smoking behaviors.

The inherent non-smoothness of vibroimpact system leads to complex behaviors as well as strong sensitive dependence on parameter changes. Unfortunately, uncertainties and errors in system parameters are inevitable in mechanical engineering. Therefore, the investigations of dynamical behaviors for vibroimpact systems with stochastic parameters are highly essential. The present study aims to analyze the dynamical characteristics of the three-degree-of-freedom vibroimpact system with an uncertain parameter by means of the Chebyshev polynomial approximation method. Specifically, the vibroimpact system model considered is one with unilateral constraint. Firstly, the three-degree-of-freedom vibroimpact system with an uncertain parameter is transformed into an equivalent deterministic form by the Chebyshev orthogonal approximation. Then, the ensemble means responses of the stochastic vibroimpact system are derived. Numerical simulations are performed to verify the effectiveness of the approximation method. Furthermore, the periodic and chaos motions under different system parameters are investigated, and the bifurcations of the vibroimpact system are analyzed by the Poincaré map. The results demonstrate that both the restitution coefficient and the random factor can induce the appearance of the periodic bifurcation. It is worth noting that the bifurcations fundamentally differ between the stochastic and deterministic systems. The former has a bifurcation interval, while the latter occurs at a critical point.

The European pear is a climacteric fruit species characterized by high storability. 'Conference', a pear cultivar very popular on the market, can be stored in a CA room without major losses for half a year. However, for ‘Conference’ storage to be successful, the fruit must be harvested fully developed even before it enters the climatic maturation phase. Harvested too early or too late, pears will taste bad, have physiological disorders and will be poorly storable. Among the various methods used to determine the optimal harvest date, the degree-days method, which relies of the sum of active temperatures, seems to be relatively accurate and easy to apply. During 11 years of study, ‘Conference’ pears were harvested on 4 dates (every 4-5 days) chosen based on measurements and observations, and then, after a six-month storage period, the optimum harvest date was determined. During the growing season, temperature was measured using an automatic weather station to calculate the sum of active temperatures from full bloom to the optimal harvest date. Measurements made after storage were analysed and the sum of active temperatures needed for the proper development of ‘Conference’ pear was calculated to be 2469 degree days. The calculations are very accurate because the dispersion calculated using the standard deviation was only 20 °. The base temperature with the smallest error was 0 °. On the basis of the study results, this method can be recommended as useful for determining the optimal harvest date.

In this study, a novel flexible ethanol gas sensor was created by the deposition of CoFe2O4 (CFO) thin film was on a thin mica substrate using pulsed laser deposition. Transition electron microscopy (TEM) investigations clearly demonstrated the successful growth of CFO on the mica, where a well-defined interface was observed. Ethanol gas-sensing studies showed optimal performance at 200 °C, with the highest response, 19.2, to 100 ppm ethanol. Operating the sensor in self-heating mode under 7 V applied voltage, which was corresponds to a temperature of approximately 200 °C, produced a maximal response to ethanol of 19.2. This aligned with the highest responses observed during testing at 200 °C, confirming the sensor’s accuracy and sensitivity to ethanol under self-heating conditions. In addition, the sensor exhibited good selectivity to ethanol and excellent flexibility; maintaining its high performance after bending and tilting up to 5000 times. As this is the first report on flexible self-heated CFO gas sensors, we believe that this research holds great promise for the future development of high-quality sensors based on this approach.

Existing methods for simulating missile dynamics and training often rely on three degrees of freedom (3DOF) motions, limiting their ability to represent the complex maneuvers and targeting strategies of modern missiles. This paper proposes integrating virtual reality (VR) technology with six degrees of freedom (6DOF) dynamics to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of missile simulation and training. By incorporating 6DOF dynamics, simulations can capture the full range of missile motion, providing a comprehensive understanding of their capabilities and limitations. Through VR, users can immerse themselves in realistic missile scenarios, interact with dynamic behaviors in real-time, and refine their targeting and interception skills. The integration of VR with 6DOF dynamics also facilitates real-time feedback and evaluation, enhancing training efficiency and proficiency in missile operations. This approach aims to revolutionize missile training by bridging the gap between traditional simulation methods and real-world dynamics.

Background: Early identification and prevention of hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) may reduce neonatal mortality and morbidity. Objective: We aimed to correlate between urinary Activin-A and MRI (conventional and Diffusion-weighted) and the severity of HIE in full-term neonates. Methods: Forty-five full-term neonates with HIE admitted to NICU and 15 normal neonates were enrolled into the study. The concentration of urinary Activin-A was determined using enzyme immunoassay kits and MRI were done. Correlations between urinary Activin-A and MRI with the degree of HIE were done. Results: Urinary Activin-A levels were significantly higher in neonates with HIE than controls (P<0.001). It was positively correlated with the clinical grading of HIE and a cutoff value of 0.08µg/l on day-1 after birth had a sensitivity of 98.6% and specificity of 97.1% for prediction of HIE. DW-MRI detected HIE with a high sensitivity (85%) compared to the low sensitivity of conventional MRI (35%). An ADC value of ≤ 0.8 was the best sensitivity-specificity cutoff point for detecting severe ischemic injury. DW-MRI imaging was positively correlated with Urinary Activin-A and both of them were positively correlated with the clinical grades of HIE (P < 0.001). Conclusions: DW-MRI imaging is correlated well with urinary Activin-A in full-term neonates with HIE and both of them are correlated with the degree of HIE. Early determination of urinary Activin-A combined with DW-MRI imaging can early detect HIE and its severity in full-term neonates with HIE.

Today's unstable labor market increasingly requires flexibility and adaptability to cope with the threat of unemployment. It can cause distress in people and have a more significant negative impact on fragile workers, such as migrants. This study aimed to test whether a Career Counseling intervention designed for Migrants (CCfM) can develop Career Adaptability and, therefore, both Work Self-efficacy (WSe) and Job Search Self-efficacy (JSSe) perceptions. It was conducted in Italy and involved a sample of 233 migrants, who were asked to respond to a questionnaire available in three languages (Italian, French, and English). Data analysis showed that an improvement was demonstrated in all the variables considered, namely career adaptability (including concern, control, confidence, and curiosity), WSe, and JSSe, even though the CCfM was not directly designed to increase the last one. In addition, the development of career adaptability explained the increase in migrants' WSe and JSSe, and the initial level of career adaptability was found to explain the increase in WSe due to the initial positive level of curiosity.

Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) has been a popular research area in the last decade. The dependability of CPS is still a critical issue, and rare survey has been published in this domain. CPS is a dynamic complex system, which involves various multidisciplinary technologies. To avoid human error and to simplify management, self-management CPS (SCPS) is a wise choice. And to achieve dependable self-management, systematic solution is necessary to verify the design and to guarantee the safety of self-adaptation decision, as well as to maintain the health of SCPS. This survey first recalls the concepts of dependability, and proposes a generic environment-in-loop processing flow of self-management CPS, and then analyzes the error sources and challenges of self-management through the formal feedback flow. Focus on reducing the complexity, we first survey the self-adaptive architecture approaches and applied dependability means; then we introduce a hybrid multi-role self-adaptive architecture, and discuss the supporting technologies for dependable self-management at the architecture level. Focus on dependable environment-centered adaption, we investigate the verification and validation (V&V) methods for making safe self-adaptation decision and the solutions for processing decision dependably. For system-centered adaption, the comprehensive self-healing methods are summarized. Finally, we analyze the missing pieces of the technology puzzle and the future directions. In this survey, the technical trends for dependable CPS design and maintenance are discussed, an all-in-one solution is proposed to integrate these technologies and build a dependable organic SCPS. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive survey on dependable SCPS building and evaluation.

Tumors of the central nervous system produce adverse outcomes in everyday life; however, low-grade gliomas are uncommon in adults. For this reason, the objective is to describe the executive function of a 59-year-old adult neuro-oncological patient. Pre- and postintervention evaluation of neurological and neuropsychological functioning was performed through neuroimaging techniques (iRM, Spectroscopy, Electroencephalography), hospital history, psychological interview, and Wisconsin Card Classification Test (WCST). Executive performance exhibited a noticeable decline in typical and centile WCST results, as evidenced by deterioration in persistent scores, failure to maintain an attitude and difficulty learning from clinical samples. This information coincides with the evolution of the neuroimage over time. Finally, this topic is discussed in the literature.

Background: The adoption of self-care behaviors among patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) is essential for the management of their health condition. However, there is a lack of tools for estimating self-care in CHF patients. We aim to develop and validate the Hippocratic heart failure self-care scale (HHFSCS). Methods: the scale includes 22 items which are reviewed by a committee of experts. Individuals indicate the frequency at which they follow each self-behavior on a five-point Likert scale. Adult patients with CHF (n=250) from a General Hospital, in Athens, were participated in the study from June 2020 to March 2021. Reliability coefficients and Explanatory Factor Analysis (EFA), using a Varimax rotation and the Principal Components Method were used to assess the psychometric measurements. Results: The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the HHFSCS was 0.807. The exploratory factor analysis identified two domains that accounted for 88.44% of the variance of the scale items; however, each sub-scale could not be used as an independent scale. Finally, the test-retest showed a significant strong correlation (r=0.973, p&lt;0.001). Conclusions: The HHFSCS is a reliable and valid tool for assessing self-behaviors in CHF patients. Health professionals can use it in their clinical practice to improve the management of patient’s health conditions.

The experience of ego dissolution and self-transcendence induced by psychedelic substances offers a profound challenge to our conventional understanding of the self and our relationship with the natural world. This paper delves into the philosophical underpinnings and implications of this phenomenon, exploring how the temporary breakdown of ego boundaries during a psychedelic experience may foster a sense of profound interconnectedness with nature. Drawing from Western and Eastern philosophical traditions, as well as recent insights from neuroscience and consciousness studies, we examine the potential of psychedelic-induced self-transcendence to catalyze a shift in our perspectives on the human-nature relationship. The paper investigates the philosophical implications of this experience, including its resonance with deep ecological philosophies and its potential to inspire more ecocentric ethical frameworks. Furthermore, we explore the possible practical implications of fostering a sense of ecological connectedness through psychedelics, such as promoting environmentally sustainable behaviors and addressing the pressing challenges of climate change and ecological degradation. Ultimately, this exploration highlights the value of engaging with altered states of consciousness as a means to reconsider our place within the intricate web of life on Earth.

The application of graph theory in chemical and molecular structure research far exceeds people's expectations, and it has recently grown exponentially. In the molecular graph, atoms are represented by vertices and bonded by edges. Closed forms of multiplicative degree-based topological indices which are numerical parameters of the structure and determine physico-chemical properties of the concerned molecular compound. In this article, we compute and analyze many multiplicative degree-based topological indices of silicon-carbon Si₂C₃-I[p,q] and Si₂C₃-II[p,q].

As paradigm of complex behavior, Self-organized Criticality (SOC) reflects the ability of nonequilibrium dynamical systems to self-adjust into metastable states that are scale independent. The goal of this report is to tentatively show that the hierarchy of Standard Model masses and mixing angles follows from the universal scaling attributes of SOC.

Online education allows learners to develop knowledge and skills flexibly and conveniently—such observation among students whose characteristics involve student engagement, self-regulation, and self-efficacy. However, studies to characterize Filipino online learners seem lacking. Thus, this study aimed to characterize science education tertiary students in the Philippines concerning their online student engagement (OSE), self-regulated learning (SRL), and online learning self-efficacy (OLSE). The unprecedented events brought by COVID-19 pandemic also urged the implementation of online modalities while there is no available information on students’ online learning profiles. Hence, researchers used a survey research employed through ex post facto approach to determine the effects of the demographic profile on OSE, SRL, and OLSE. The survey was participated by N=373 respondents who answered the questionnaire with informed consent administered via Google Forms. Results revealed that OSE indicators moderately characterized students, while SRL and OLSE indicators are true of them, substantiated by the overall mean M=3.85(SD=0.90), M=3.86(SD=0.92), and M=3.14(SD=0.73), respectively. Also, multivariate tests showed no significant effect among the independent groups (p&gt;0.05), except for gender and OLSE interaction (p&lt;0.05) so, only in OLSE was a significant difference found in gender. In conclusion, Filipino online learners are moderate across aspects of student engagement, self-regulation, and self-efficacy.

This research is aimed to develop the method for damage degree evaluation in metals and alloys during their deformation and destruction based on acoustic emission (AE) technique. Experimental studies were carried out on tensile specimens of high-strength steel with simultaneous registration of AE signals in tested material. It was shown that the time-dependent AE primary parameters, such as the AE signal maximum amplitudes and AE activity, do not have a clear relationship with the material damage degree. This fact makes it difficult to use standard methods for assessing the damage degree of acoustic signal sources, including defects. It was proposed to use the Kolmogorov-Smirnov criterion to differ the processes of metal plastic deformation and crack propagation during the rupture. The possibility of estimating the material damage degree by high-energy AE hits share was shown. Besides, a particular expression was obtained for evaluating the damage degree for the material under study.

As Christopher Alexander discovered, all space or matter – either organic or inorganic – has some degree of order in it according to its structure and arrangement. The order refers to a kind of structural character, called living structure, which is defined as a mathematical structure that consists of numerous substructures with an inherent hierarchy. Across the hierarchy, there are far more small substructures than large ones, while on each level of the hierarchy the substructures are more or less similar in size. In this paper we develop a new approach to representing geographic space as a hierarchy of recursively defined subspaces for computing the degree of order. A geographic space is first represented as a hierarchy of recursively defined subspaces, and all the subspaces are then topologically represented as a network for computing the degree of order of the geographic space, as well as that of its subspaces. Unlike conventional geographic representations, which are mechanical in nature, this new geographic representation is organic, conceived, and developed under the third view of space; that is, space is neither lifeless nor neutral, but a living structure capable of being more living or less living. Thus, the order can also be referred to as life, beauty, coherence, or harmony. We applied the new representation to three urban environments, 253 patterns, and 35 black-white strips to verify it and to demonstrate advantages of the new approach and the new kind of order. We further discuss the implications of the approach and the order on geographic information science and sustainable urban planning.

This paper presents a methodology to evaluate (1) to what extent students of a higher degree in the field of education acquire sustainability competencies, and (2) to determine whether the subjects that develop the ESD achieve their learning objectives. The methodology is applied to a case study. The instruments used are the sustainability survey and the sustainability presence map developed by the EDINSOST project. The survey consists of 18 questions, and has been answered by 104 first-year students and 86 fourth-year students belonging to the Bachelor Degree in Primary Education Teaching at the University of Sevilla. The Mann-Whitney U test has been used to compare the results of the two groups, and Cohen's D has been used to measure the effect size. Students only obtain significant improvements, with 95% confidence, in three questions (Q4, Q5 and Q6), all concerning critical thinking and creativity. An improvement is also detected in question Q11, with a confidence of 90%. However, no subject in the curriculum develops the learning outcomes concerning questions Q4, Q5 and Q6, and only one subject develops the learning outcomes regarding question Q11. On the other hand, up to five subjects declare development of the learning outcomes regarding questions in which there is no improvement in student learning. These results suggest that the subjects are failing to reach their ESD learning objectives, and that the students are either trained in sustainability outside the university or the subject learning guides do not reflect the work done by the students throughout their studies

In contemporary society, an increasing number of individuals are identified as the "Indoor Generation". Prolonged periods spent indoors can have detrimental effects on our overall well-being. Consequently, the examination of biophilic indoor environments and their impact on occupant well-being and comfort has emerged as a significant area of study. Besides the construction of new biophilic buildings, numerous existing building stocks retain substantial social, economic, and environmental value. The need for stock renovation is considerable, revitalizing existing structures rather than embarking on new constructions. Swift feedback is crucial during the initial stages of renovation design, fostering consensus among all stakeholders. A comprehensive understanding of proposed renovation plans contributes to improved indoor environment design. Initially, generative adversarial networks (GANs) produce interior renovation drawings based on user preferences and designer styles. Subsequently, the implementation of Mixed Reality (MR) and Diminished Reality (DR) provides users with an immersive perspective, transforming 2D drawings into interactive MR experiences, and facilitating the presentation of interior renovation proposals. This paper outlines the development of a real-time system for architectural designers that seamlessly integrates MR, DR, and GANs results, with the aim of enhancing feedback efficiency during the renovation design process, enabling stakeholders to evaluate and understand renovation proposals more comprehensively. Furthermore, we incorporate several full-reference image quality assessment (FR-IQA) methods to evaluate the quality of the GANs-generated images. The evaluation results indicate that the majority of images fall within the moderate range of quality.

An inclusive curriculum with a socio-cultural approach must include content on sustainability. This study raised the following problem: What is the presence of contents related to sustainability in the curricula of 24 degrees of Pedagogy of the Spanish state.? Through an explicit study, subjects directly related to sustainability were identified and analyzed through the qualitative data analysis program Atlas-ti. The categories of analysis used were those present in the Sustainability Thesaurus [4] to which the professional category was incorporated. The results showed, on the one hand, the low presence in these grades of subjects whose name indicates a direct link with sustainability and, on the other hand, On the other hand, the presence of professional competencies was detected, which were not subsequently specified in the corresponding learning outcomes or in the training content.

The cross-linked microspheres were prepared and loaded with Favipiravir SARS-CoV-2 antiviral drug, by copolymerization of chitosan (CS) with a polysaccharide extracted from fresh pomegranate peels. Moreover, glutaraldehyde (Glu) has been used as chemical cross-linker ,and sodium hexametaphosphate (SHMP) as physical cross-linker. The extracted polysaccharide was analyzed and different techniques have been used and the analyses leads to the fact that it is pectin .The surface morphology of the prepared microspheres was studied use scanning electron microscope where the size and the shape factor (S) of Glu microspheres have shown high values(74.27μm) and (0.852) respectively means their surfaces are tends to roughness, whereas the SHMP microspheres have shown size particle(20.47μm)and shape factor (0.748) which gives indication that the SHMP microspheres have smooth surfaces. The swelling studies have shown that Glu microspheres have higher degree of swelling which means SHMP microspheres are more compact. The prepared microspheres have shown more Loading percentage of Favipiravir antiviral drug in SHMP microspheres(37%w/w)in comparison with Glu microspheres(35%w/w) where the electrostatic interaction between the Favipiravir ions and SHMP anions help for more loading. The microspheres prepared under different types of cross-linking have shown initially burst release of Favipiravir and followed by a step of controlled release for a certain time where its period depends on the pH of the release media. Both Glu and SHMP cross-linked microspheres have shown high controlled release time in buffered release solution of pH 7.4 and for a less periods in pH 1.3 and pH 9.4 which may related to the type of electrostatic interactions between drug and polymer system and their reactions with release solution ions.

An event occurring within a stationary environment, in the direction toward which an observer self-rotates, is perceived to precede a simultaneous event, in the direction away from which she moves. When self-rotation results from angular acceleration in the dark, perception of space is also distorted, such that the subjective straight-ahead shifts in the opposite direction to motion and temporal event promotion. A reference frameshift theory, based on the special theory of relativity, is proposed to explain these findings. Here, a hyperbolic tangent transformation of objective angular velocity constrains subjective self-rotation velocity within finite bounds, consistent with it being a limited perceptual resource. Identifying this subjective variable with vestibular nystagmus slow-phase angular velocity, the asymptotic perceived self-rotation velocity is estimated at ~200 °⁄s. When included in the Lorentz transformations of the new formalism, this value predicts experimental simultaneity distortion. Hypothetically, the hyperbolic tangent objective-to-subjective transfer function would maximize the differential entropy of the percept, and thereby also the stimulus/percept mutual information, if angular velocities of body rotation encountered in naturalistic environmental interaction have a logistic probability density distribution of scale 100 °⁄s, a proposed experimental test of the scheme.

Self-assembly is a spontaneous process through which macroscopic structures are formed from basic microscopic constituents (e.g. molecules or colloids). By contrast, the formation of large biological molecules inside the cell (such as proteins or nucleic acids) is a process more akin to self-organization than to self-assembly, as it requires a constant supply of external energy. Recent studies have tried to merge self-assembly with self-organization by analyzing the assembly of self-propelled (or active) colloid-like particles whose motion is driven by a permanent source of energy. Here we present evidence that points to the fact that self-propulsion considerably enhances the assembly of polymers: self-propelled molecules are found to assemble into polymer-like structures, the average length of which increases towards a maximum as the self-propulsion force increases. Beyond this maximum, the average polymer length decreases due to the competition between bonding energy and disruptive forces that result from collisions. The assembly of active molecules might have promoted the formation of large pre-biotic polymers that could be the precursors of the informational polymers we observe nowadays.

The phenomenon of dissipative self-organization is studied on the example of time-crystal networks. Particular attention was given to transient processes, attractor topologies, phase transitions, and asymptotic stability. New concepts were introduced, including topological phases, spinorial states, and bond flavors. Concepts such as ground states, chemical potentials, elastic forces, temperature, and statistical distributions were endowed with a new meaning associated with asymptotic stability. Phenomena usually attributed exclusively to quantum physics have been shown to occur in this essentially classical environment. They coexist with, and in some cases, such as charge quantization, are related to the phenomenon of time dilation. The approach was applied to model vacuum self-organization. We have shown that under the ac-tion of competing forces, such as gravity and antigravity, a cascade of phase transitions can transform an unorganized vacuum into phases in which interactions, fields and waves resemble electromagnetic, weak, and strong, and their elements can be used as building blocks for prototype particles. In addition, some interrelation field parameters and probabilities of particle transmutations were calculated, which are not predicted by the standard model. The results are consistent with the experiment. The presented material and methodology may be of interest for studying self-organization in different environments.

The Munich ChronoType Questionnaire (MCTQ) has now been available for more than 15 years; its original publication has been cited 1,240 times (Google Scholar, May 2019); its online version, which was available until July 2017, has produced almost 300,000 entries from all over the world (MCTQ database). The MCTQ has gone through several versions, has been translated into 13 languages and has been validated against other more objective measures of daily timing in several independent studies. Besides being used as a method to correlate circadian features of human biology with other factors – ranging from health issues to geographical factors – the MCTQ gave rise to quantifying old wisdoms, like “teenagers are late” and has produced new concepts, like social jetlag. Some like the MCTQ’s simplicity and some view it critically; it is time to have a self-critical view on the MCTQ, to address some misunderstandings and give some definitions about MCTQ-derived chronotype and the concept of social jetlag.

Vitrimers are covalent network materials, comparable in structure to classical thermosets. Unlike normal thermosets, they possess a chemical bond swap mechanism that makes their structure dynamic and suitable for activated welding and even autonomous self-healing. The central question in designing such materials is the trade-off between autonomy and material stability: The swap mechanism facilitates the healing but it also facilitates creep, which makes the perfectly stable self-healing solid a hard goal to reach. Here, we address this question for the case of self-healing vitrimers made from star polymers. Using coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations, we study the adhesion of two vitrimer samples and find that they bond together on timescales that are much shorter than the stress relaxation time. We show that the swap mechanism allows the star polymers to diffuse through the material through coordinated swap events, but the healing process is much faster and does not depend on this mobility.

The paper presents the results of the theoretical and practical research on developing the infrastructure for assessment of overall risk (explosion / occupational / terrorist attack) associated with unwanted events such as major accidents that can occur at explosive storehouses for civilian use. The scientific research outlined in this article was carried out within the Nucleu Project PN 16 43 02 15 - “Research on increasing safety levels at technical facilities for storage of explosives for civil use”.

Secure attachment, developed through consistent relationships with attachment figures in childhood, is a crucial factor in fostering healthy interpersonal relationships and a positive self-perception. This research aimed to assess how perceived security, as an indicator of secure attachment, predicts adult self-concept through the mediating effects of resilience and positive self-esteem. A quantitative, cross-sectional, and non-probabilistic study was conducted with 383 participants, of whom 76.2% were females, aged between 17 and 86 years (M = 28.52, SD = 12.23). Correlational analyses revealed significant positive associations between perceived security, self-concept, resilience, and positive self-esteem. Path analysis demonstrated that resilience and positive self-esteem sequentially mediate the relationship between perceived security during childhood and adult self-concept (Total Effect R2 = .34, F(1,381) = 193, p < .001; Indirect effect of sequential mediation b = .02, CI 95% [.01, .04]). Findings suggest that the ability to cope with ad-versity and personal acceptance underlie the impact of perceived security on self-concept. It is recommended to promote not only secure attachment in family interventions but also resilience and self-esteem in programs targeting adolescents, youth, and adults.

Background and Objectives: Elders’ needs are rarely examined beforehand, and thus, although technology-based tools can enhance self-management, acceptability rates are still low. This study aimed to examine and compare self-reported needs, priorities, and preferences of elders with heart failure (HF), diabetes mellitus (DM), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) toward technology use to enhance self-management. Materials and Methods: A convenience sample of 473 participants over 60s (60.5% females), diagnosed with HF (N=156), DM (N=164), or COPD (N=153) was recruited. They were administered a questionnaire about the usefulness of technology in general and in specific areas of disease management. Results: Most participants (84.7%) admitted that technology is needed for better disease management. This was equally recognized across the three groups both for the overall and specific areas of disease management (in order of priority: ‘Information’, ‘Communication with Physicians &amp; Caregivers’, and ‘Quality of Life &amp; Wellbeing’). Sociodemographic differences were found. Cell phones and PCs were the devices of preference. The four common features prioritized by all three groups were related to ‘information about disease management’ (i.e., monitoring symptoms, reminders for medication intake, management and prevention of complications), whereas the fifth one was related to ‘communication with physicians and caregivers (i.e., in case of abnormal or critical signs). The top disease-specific feature was also monitoring systems (of respiratory rate or blood sugar or blood pressure, oxygen), whereas other disease-specific features followed (i.e., maintaining normal weight for HF patients, adjusting insulin dose for DM patients, and training on breathing exercises for COPD patients). Conclusions: Elders in these three samples seem receptive to technology in disease management. mHealth tools, incorporating both common and disease-specific features and addressing different chronic patients, and being personalized at the same time, could be cost-saving and useful adjuncts in routine clinical care to improve self-management.

Self-compacting concrete is essential for vertical structures due to high reinforcement and usage of pumps for transporting the concrete at the working site. SCC is mainly influenced by self-curing for arid areas. To explore the SCC (Self-Compacting Concrete) mixture and condition influencing the self-curing condition were determined using the experimental procedure. Determination of various parameters was done using T50 slump flow, V-funnel, L-box-box, J ring test, compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, and flexural strength test. After the experimental investigation, it shows that if the dose if the dosage of superplasticizer (SNF%) increases, it will improve the concrete mixture's different properties, such as flowability and ability to pass. Higher water-to-cement ratios (w/c) generally result in enhanced flowability and stability. Mixture 9 (SNF 0.35, w/c 0.5) demonstrates favourable results across all parameters, indicating excellent flowability and stability. Mixture 9 (SNF 0.35, w/c 0.5) also shows favourable flowability and stability characteristics. Lower concentrations, such as 0.5%, may have a positive effect up to a certain point but might not provide sustained improvement over the curing period. On the other hand, concentrations of 1% and 2% demonstrated consistent and significant enhancement in strength throughout the 28 days. It is found that the higher concentrations of PEG 4000 may be more effective in improving the material strength.

Background: Student-specific stress is pervasive and impairs health and attainment. Experimentally induced self-affirmation can reduce stress, but little is known about the mechanisms underlying this effect, and the role of individual differences. The present study explores the relationship between spontaneous self-affirmation, student-specific stress, and overlapping constructs of positive self-regard during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The study investigated inter-relationships between spontaneous self-affirmation, student-specific perceived stress and potential covariates including self-esteem, self-integrity and habitual positive self-thought. University students (N = 151) aged 18 to 50 responded to an online questionnaire including the Spontaneous Self-Affirmation Measure, College Student Stress Scale, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Habitual Index of Positive Thinking and Self-Integrity Scale. Results: Unexpectedly, regression analysis revealed that spontaneous self-affirmation was a positive predictor of student-specific stress, seemingly driven by relational affirmations. Self-esteem and habitual self-thought were negative predictors of student-specific stress, whilst self-integrity was not a predictor. Conclusions: Habitual positive self-thought may offer a sustainable solution to student-specific stress, but spontaneous self-affirmation does not. A reduction in defensive responses, elicitation of negative emotions, or use of conditional relationships in relational affirmation

Self-report measurement is frequently used in human sports to assess training adaptations [1, 2]. This is a technique novel to the equestrian sport. The aim of this study was to describe how elite event riders of Germany evaluate their own fitness as well as that of their horses for the entire duration of an eventing season. Additionally, correlations with possible influencing external factors such as type of training or duration of grazing were also investigated. Short online questionnaires were used to allow eight riders to describe the training of their horses. Five criteria (general performance, ability to concentrate, general state of mind, general muscular condition and emotional wellbeing) were used to assess both, their horse's, as well as their own wellbeing. A 1-10 rating scale was used to score each criterion resulting in an average of 38 points out of 50 (maximum wellbeing) for horse (Std. dev. 0.55) and rider (Std. dev. 0.65) respectively. A total of 120 questionnaires were analysed. A correlation could be demonstrated (Spearman's correlation coefficient = 0.5) between rider and horse score, whereby it only became a linear correlation above 30 points. In addition, the horse score correlates positively with its success at competitions. While the horses were rated similarly throughout the season, the riders’ perceived welfare was higher in the middle of the season compared with the beginning and end of the season. Regularly turned-out horses resulted in higher horse scores (Linear mixed model, p=0,04, n=120). It can be concluded that the self-report measurement of fatigue and wellbeing can be a useful tool for trainers and riders to better determine the horse’s fatigue and recovery. It should be noted that external factors influence both, rider and horse assessment.

The gradient descent algorithm has become the standard algorithm for computing the extreme values of functions, but for multivariate functions this algorithm is mostly ineffective. This is because the convergence rate of each element is inconsistent in most cases. However, in this paper, we found that the gradient sign is a self-optimizing operator, ensuring that the convergence rate is consistent across all elements. This also explains, from an optimization perspective, the success of the Fast Gradient Sign Method (FGSM) in generating adversarial samples that are indistinguishable from the normal input, but can easily fool neural networks. We also found that the fractional order gradient is also self-optimizing, and that the convergence speed of this algorithm can be controlled by adjusting the order of the gradient. Experiments suggest that this algorithm not only generates adversarial samples faster than other algorithms, but that a single source image can generate many such samples. This algorithm is also more effective than others at generating adversarial samples from simple images.

Body Expression (BE) has been defined in the past decades as a discipline within Physical Education (PE) with very particular characteristics and a strong emotional component. In this study, a programme of this discipline was applied to university Physical Activity and Sports Sciences (PASS) students from six consecutive academic years: three prior to and three during the pandemic. A pre-post design was used to determine how the BE programme affected the university students' self-concept (SC). To do so, a questionnaire with a multidimensional approach to this construct was administered, whose dimensions were closely related to the BE programme's characteristics. The results revealed significant improvements in the final SC, compared to the initial SC. Men reported lower SC values than women before the programme implementation, but higher at the end. Therefore, the change was larger in men, so the programme may have had an equalising effect between groups. It was also verified that the pandemic had particularly affected women.

Biological systems often need to operate in complex environments where conditions can rapidly change. This is possible due to their inherent ability to sense changes and adapt their behavior in response. Here, we detail recent advances in the creation of synthetic genetic parts and circuits whose behaviors can be dynamically tuned through a variety of intra- and extra-cellular signals. We show how this capability lays the foundation for implementing control engineering schemes in living cells and allows for the creation of biological systems that are able to self-adapt, ensuring their functionality is maintained in the face of varying environmental and physiological conditions. We end by discussing some of the broader implications of this technology for the safe deployment of synthetic biology.