Acceptable Conditions Research Articles

The Assessment of Originality in Academic Research

"Nowadays, for those working in the academic field, the list of publications has become an essential condition in justifying the research activity. “To be or not to be” published in high-ranking journals and indexed in databases is a criterion in the evaluation of any researcher. In some cases, originality is a sine qua non condition for acceptance or publication. And yet sometimes the definition of the concept of “originality” is confusing in some cases. The novice researcher (and not only) needs some terminological clarifications and contextualization in the daily practice. In this sense, this paper offers possible answers to the questions: what is considered to be research? what is originality in research and why is it important? who and how evaluates originality in research? This last interrogation is the key question of the article, and the answer is presented on two main coordinates: the pre-publication evaluation (performed by the author himself followed by the peer-reviewer) and the post-publication evaluation (performed by Altmetrics and again by the author). Therefore, the whole process of evaluation is viewed from the perspective of a cycle that begins and ends with the author. Keywords: research, originality, peer-review, databases, Altmetrics, databases, citations "

Determining Pollution Level for the Marine Environment Using the Pollution Load Index

Monitoring means Monitoring, Data, Indicators, Assessment, and Knowledge. Based on this context the Pollution Load Index (PLI), has been applied using the data obtained from the analysis of water and algae. Algae and Posidonia oceanic were considered as good candidates among the different species selected by the United Nation Environmental Program (UNEP). The concentrations of the metals (Zn, Pb, Cd, and Cu) were measured in two marine green algae namely Ulva sp and Enteromorpha sp, that were collected from four Sites, during the winter and summer seasons. The results of the PLI calculated showed that the values for Enteromorpha species were 1.2 indicating a polluted condition, while PLI values for Ulva species were 3.3. With regard to site B (Juliana area), the PLI value for Ulva species was found to be 4.1 indicating an acceptable condition while it was a clean condition for the Enteromorpha species at the same sites. Enteromorpha species is a good accumulator of heavy metals and could be also a good candidate for monitoring the Libyan coastline. The results also show that the PLI index could be an important tool for the assessment of the marine environment.

ENSURING THE SEAWORTHINESS OF A BULK VESSEL AT THE STAGE OF CARGO OPERATIONS

The seaworthiness includes the conformity of the parameters of the vessel's stability and strength to the permissible limits, which is provided during the port loading and discharging operations. Requirements concerning the ship's stability and strength are universal for all types of vessels and are postulated in the International Maritime Organization (IMO) codes and documents of the shipping registers of different countries. The cargo operations of bulk carriers are responsible moment, as it determines the level of their seaworthiness and maritime safety at the sea voyage. For bulkers raised strict requirements in regard of cargo distribution and ballast operations with continuous control of their stability and strength. The search of methods for optimal performing cargo operations of the bulk vessels with assurance of all seaworthy parameters at the safe level remains actual. The bulk carriers usually have instructions for their standard loading options provided by the ship's builder, the character of which depends on the specific cargo volume and the number of holds processed at the same time. For each standard variant of cargo operations, the instructions provide a sequence of stages of loading the vessel. At the end of each stage, the vessel must be in acceptable seaworthy condition. In the situation of non-standard loading of bulk carriers, which are not covered by the shipbuilder's instructions, there are difficulties with planning and conducting cargo operations to ensure proper seaworthiness of the vessel, efficient use of its carrying capacity. Ship personnel must independently deal with the distribution of cargo, sorting through various loading options, which is not always efficient and time consuming. At the same time, a number of restrictions on the seaworthiness of the vessel must be met. The purpose of this article is to analyze the possibilities of determining acceptable variants of loading of the bulk vessel, which satisfy the limitations imposed by parameters of the seaworthiness and marine safety. The limitations imposed by the requirements of continuous vessel’s seaworthiness were considered and divided into groups with a view to creating an optimization task. The general approach to formation of a number of permissible loading of the bulk vessel, proposed in the article, creates preconditions for setting the task of choosing the optimal strategy of carrying out cargo operations on the criteria of continuous observance of seaworthy characteristics of the vessel.

Predicting and Determining the Time Between Metrological Failures of Smart Systems for Precision Farming

Introduction. Solving the problem of forecasting and determining the operating time for metrological failure and conducting the first calibration of smart systems of precision land use is possible by solving the problem of self-calibration of smart sensors that are part of these smart systems (SS). This problem is solved and described in [1]. The purpose of the paper is the methodology for dynamic prediction and determination of the time between metrological failures (MF) and the first verification of SS designed for precision farming. Results. The article describes a method patented in Ukraine for measuring the SS operating time for a MF (dynamic prediction method) based on a synthesized probabilistic-physical model (PP-model) of SS MF described by a multi-parameter Kondratov – Weibull distribution function (DF) with controlled (flexible) parameters. The proposed model describes the relationship between the normalized error and the parameters of the metrological reliability (MR) of the SS. It is shown that the dynamic regression PP-models of MF are a combination of the capabilities of regression models using flexible multi-parameter DF, with the possibility of using dynamic (spatio-temporal) processes covering different trends in the change in the values of normalized errors and their uncertainty bands, confidence level, time frame, acceptable boundary conditions, etc. Dynamic regression models of MF SS make it possible to understand the relationship between DF variables and allow the possibility of studying metrological problems (“scenarios”) of the “what if …” type. The dynamic regression method is a set of techniques for reciprocating approximation of the values of the shift parameter of the dynamic PP-model of MF to the predicted value of the shift parameter of the static PP-model of MF SS, as well as methods for assessing the reliability and accuracy of forecasting and determination. The article describes the essence of a new method for determining the operating time of the SS in the MF using the PP-model of the MF based on the Kondratov – Weibull DF. For the first time, a graphical portrait of the PP-model of SS metrological failures in the combined system of scales (coordinates) has been developed and presented - with the scales "probability of metrological failure Pξ" and "normalized error ξx" and separate or combined scales of "interval time scale tx " and "calendar time scale". The procedure for determining the time of the first verification is described, the advantage of non-periodic verifications is noted in order to save costs for their implementation. The possibility of occurrence of "conditional misses" in determining the error and time of operation on the MF during one or another verification is shown. Their existence is established only after the subsequent verification, analysis of the obtained data, and drawing the curve of the DF on a graphical portrait. It is recommended to choose the time between verifications as a multiple of one year, and to carry out verifications on the same day and month of the year. Conclusions. The dynamic regression method is an effective and versatile method due to the high accuracy of forecasting and determining the operating time in the MF. It can also be implemented using MF PP- models based on the DF of Kondratov - Cauchy, Kondratov - Laplace and others. Keywords: smart sensor, self-calibration, wireless sensor systems, methods of redundant measurements, problems of metrological support.

Explanation of many natural phenomena by one cause

This article shows how the external gravity force on the core of the planet leads to the appearance of the magnetic field (MF) of the planet. How this force provides acceptable conditions for the existence of life. Natural phenomena, which can easily be explained using the proposed mechanism of interaction of planets, such as earthquakes, mountain formation, ocean currents, tides, time jumps, changes in the duration of the day, periodic Solar activity are considered.

Conditional Abstract Dialectical Frameworks

Abstract dialectical frameworks (in short, ADFs) are a unifying model of formal argumentation, where argumentative relations between arguments are represented by assigning acceptance conditions to atomic arguments. This idea is generalized by letting acceptance conditions being assigned to complex formulas, resulting in conditional abstract dialectical frameworks (in short, cADFs). We define the semantics of cADFs in terms of a non-truth-functional four-valued logic, and study the semantics in-depth, by showing existence results and proving that all semantics are generalizations of the corresponding semantics for ADFs.

The role of interpersonal trust and romantic experiences in mate copying

Mate copying occurs when individuals imitate the mate choice of other same-sex individuals. These effects can be influenced by factors related to the rater and the model. The present study explored the roles of raters' interpersonal trust and models' romantic experiences in the decision-making progress. Study 1 replicated mate copying effects and found the effect of interpersonal trust was nonsignificant. Study 2 further tested the interaction effect among interpersonal trust, model's romantic experiences, and model's mate choice decision. Results showed that change in targets' attractiveness varied with the model's romantic experiences under the model acceptance condition. The attractiveness of targets showed a greater increase when models had one or two romantic experiences than when they had no or multiple romantic experiences. A three-way interaction effect occurred as well. Under the condition of model acceptance, for raters with a low or medium level of interpersonal trust, change in attractiveness increased with the model's romantic experiences and the relationship was non-monotonic. For individuals with high levels of trust, models' romantic experiences did not have any effect. These results reveal that both rater's interpersonal trust and models' romantic experiences matter in individuals' willingness to copy other's mate preference.

Determination of some heavy metals in soil and edible vegetables grown in two different farms in Damaturu Metropolis, Yobe State, Nigeria

Vegetables comprise an important part of our daily foods that contribute some minerals and other nutrients to human body. Consumption of contaminated vegetables by heavy metals results in bioaccumulation of these harmful elements in the body. Therefore, this study is designed to examine the amount of heavy metal concentrations (Nickel, Copper, Cadmium and Zinc) in soil and edible parts of four vegetables namely Amaranthus hybridus (spinach), Hibiscus sabdariffa (roselle), Urena lobata (caesar weed) and Ceratotheca sesamoides (false sesame) grown in two farms. Transfer factor of heavy metals from soil to the plants was also evaluated. Samples were prepared and analysed using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS). The mean concentrations of all the vegetables in the both farms for Ni, Cu, Cd and Zn were obtained as 0.215, 2.341, 0.023 and 2.251 mg/Kg respectively. Whereas, the mean concentrations in the soils were 0.317, 7.560, 0.071 and 9.910 mg/Kg for Ni, Cu, Cd and Zn respectively. The levels of the above heavy metals in almost all the samples from those farms were below the maximum allowable limits recommended by WHO/FAO and therefore, they had acceptable conditions for human consumption. The exception was Ni which was slightly above the (0.1 mg/Kg) WHO/FAO permissible limit in the samples of both farms excluding Urena lobata of Custom Farm. In Bin Bukar, the trend of the transfer factor was in rank of Ni > Cd > Cu > Zn, whereas, in Custom Farm the transfer factor was sort as Cu > Ni > Cd. The highest Transfer Factor (TF) value was 1.464 found in Ceratotheca sesamoides for Ni in Bin Bukar Farm and 0.627 in Urena lobata for Cu in Custom Farm. The Transfer Factor values for Cd, Cu and Zn for the range of vegetables were not substantially high, except for Ni which the ratio was greater than one indicating that the plants have accumulated elements.

Pavement Maintenance Program at the Network Level: Mixed-Integer Programming with Multiple Objectives

Pavement network conditions deteriorate over the years of use. To keep pavement conditions at acceptable levels, highway agencies plan pavement maintenance and rehabilitation (M&R) programs and perform accordingly. Highway agencies usually face budget variability for pavement M&R activities because of limited resources, economic conditions, and changes in policies. The situation makes it difficult for highway agencies to keep an acceptable pavement condition at the network level. Therefore, it is important for highway agencies to adopt M&R policies that can maximize the network condition as well as handle the deviation of the network condition considering the available maintenance funds. In this paper, a multi-period multi-objective linear integer programming model is proposed. Two objectives, maximization of the average network condition and minimization of deviation of the network condition from an idealized network condition trend, are considered in the formulation. The model is formulated for fixed M&R budgets, as well as for variable M&R budgets. The proposed model provides an M&R program for the pavement network that helps decision makers to manage pavement maintenance programs considering budgetary constraints. A case study examining a network of 45 pavement sections is conducted. The solutions of the fixed-budget and variable-budget model are presented. In addition, the values of the system to the decision maker are discussed. Results show that the proposed model is an attractive way to manage pavement maintenance programs at the network level.

Influence of building envelope characteristics on the effectiveness of PMV-based controls for schools located in Saudi Arabia

This paper summarizes the results of a comprehensive analysis to investigate the performance of both thermal comfort-based and temperature-based controls for schools in harsh hot climates of Saudi Arabia. The analysis considers the impact of building envelope characteristics including thermal insulation level of exterior walls and air leakage rate on the ability of both control options to maintain indoor thermal comfort while minimizing cooling energy consumption. The analysis utilizes a calibrated energy model for an existing Saudi school with monitored energy consumption data. The analysis results indicated that the thermal comfort-based control is able to maintain the predicted percentage of dissatisfied (PPD) value at 5% throughout the year for any combination of the exterior wall’s R-value and air infiltration rate unlike the case of the temperature-based controls that do not maintain acceptable indoor thermal comfort conditions. However, the thermal comfort-based controls consume more cooling energy than the temperature-based controls. The analysis also revealed that the difference between the annual cooling energy of the PMV-based control and the temperature-based controls increases almost linearly with the cooling degree days of the site where the school is located. The analysis results indicate that acceptable indoor thermal comfort levels can be achieved using temperature-based controls when optimal temperature set points are used.

Exploring the effect of Arctic perennial sea ice on modulation of local air temperature

Sea ice cover plays an important role in modulating local temperature through heat and moisture fluxes. The influence of thin ice, lead and polynya has been well investigated, however, the effect of perennial ice (also called multiyear ice, MYI) has not. This study is motivated by it and investigated a hypothesis that changes in MYI concentration in winter triggers changes in short-term local 2-m air temperature. The hypothesis was tested using time series analysis of the two parameters and correlation between them. Data from the winters of 2004–2009 were used for the examination at three spatial scales. The hypothesis is found to be potentially accepted when MYI exists in a consolidated ice regime with negligible thin ice or open water in the surroundings, and the air temperature is low enough. Conditions for the acceptance of the hypothesis were quantitatively identified. The qualifications entail that the ice cell must experience daily change of MYI concentration meanwhile satisfy the criteria of total ice concentration (TIC), young ice concentration (YIC) and air temperature (Tair) in the surrounding area, which are TIC >88.3%, YIC <9.5% and Tair<–19.0 °C. Inverse relationships between changes in MYI concentration and the corresponding changes in air temperature were developed retroactively using data that satisfied the acceptance conditions. The relationships varied with years, depending on ice conditions such as ice type distributions and snow cover. This study offers a first attempt to assess the effect of MYI on the same-day local surface air temperature using satellite observations, and provides evidence of this effect under quantitatively quanlifying conditions.

Solidification of Gelatine Hydrogels by Using a Cryoplatform and Its Validation through CFD Approaches.

In this work, we developed a numerical approach based on an experimental platform to determine the working conditions on a cryoplatform and to predict and evaluate the cryogenic printing of hydrogels. Although hydrogels have good biocompatibility, their material properties make it difficult to print them with high precision and shape fidelity. To overcome these problems, a cryogenic cooling platform was introduced to accelerate the physical stabilisation of each deposited layer during the printing process. By precisely controlling solidification (crystallisation), each printed material can withstand its own weight to maintain shape fidelity, and the porosity of the scaffolds can also be controlled more selectively. The thermophysical properties of gelatine hydrogels were investigated to gain a better understanding of the phase change upon freezing. The corresponding material properties and experimental observations of gelatine solidification served as the basis for developing a computational fluid model (CFD) to mimic the solidification of gelatine hydrogels using a cryoplatform at different process conditions and extruder speeds. The goal was to develop a tool simple enough to predict acceptable process conditions for printing gelatine hydrogels using a cryoplatform.

Automatic medical term extraction from Vietnamese clinical texts

Abstract In this paper, we propose the first method for automatic Vietnamese medical term discovery and extraction from clinical texts. The method combines linguistic filtering based on our defined open patterns with nested term extraction and statistical ranking using C-value. It does not require annotated corpora, external data resources, parameter settings, or term length restriction. Beside its specialty in handling Vietnamese medical terms, another novelty is that it uses Pointwise Mutual Information to split nested terms and the disjunctive acceptance condition to extract them. Evaluated on real Vietnamese electronic medical records, it achieves a precision of about 74% and recall of about 92% and is proved stably effective with small datasets. It outperforms the previous works in the same category of not using annotated corpora and external data resources. Our method and empirical evaluation analysis can lay a foundation for further research and development in Vietnamese medical term discovery and extraction.

The Numerical Analysis of The Group and Phase Velocity of Waves in The Ionosphere is Thought to Be Collision-Free

The behavior of phase and group velocities of waves occurring in the ionosphere, which is considered collision-free, is the focus of this article. The phase velocities of the waves (ordinary, polarized waves) occurring in the ionosphere are larger than the speed of light, whereas the group velocities are less than the speed of light, according to the findings. The phase velocities are compatible with changes in electron density under acceptable conditions, however, the group velocities show an antisymmetric variation with the electron density. In the northern hemisphere, the extra-ordinary wave takes negative values, while in the southern hemisphere, it takes positive values.

Comparison of the Group and Phase Velocity of the Polarized Wave and the Equatorial Anomaly of the Ionosphere

The behavior of phase and group velocities of a left-polarized wave in the F-region of the ionosphere is studied in this paper. Despite the fact that the magnitudes of a left polarized wave's phase and group velocities in the F-region of the ionosphere are almost identical at low latitudes, they are schematically asymmetric under acceptable conditions. Under the same conditions, the group velocity changes in the same way as the electron density in this region; however, the phase velocity changes in the opposite direction. According to the findings, the left-polarized wave's group velocity and electron density have a linear connection. The phase velocity, on the other hand, cannot be said to be the same.&#x0D; Keywords: Ionosphere, The polarized wave, Group-phase velocity, Equatorial anomaly

Big data based on IoT in the agriculture industry: developments, opportunities, and challenges ahead

With the creation of mobile phones and new technologies, new opportunities have been created in industries; This is while among these technologies are big data and the Internet of Things, which can help increase the potential of the agricultural industry. Meanwhile, technological advances have also changed the way data is collected, shared, and used. Governments and non-governmental actors are increasingly using digital technologies, and new sources and approaches to data have increased the determination of governments and professionals to further integrate data science with agriculture. Our goal is to evaluate the acceptance conditions of big data technologies in agricultural applications, based on the research conducted in this direction based on the growing technologies in this field. In this regard, the literature of the subject has been reviewed and the most important features, opportunities and challenges facing the agricultural industry in the face of the huge amount of data have been reviewed and evaluated. The results show that among the main characteristics of big data (volume, speed, variety, accuracy) in the field of agriculture, the most emphasis is on speed and variety. The main concern of the stakeholders is the cost, user-friendliness and embedding of the solution in their current working procedure.

Thermal Network Model for an Assessment of Summer Indoor Comfort in a Naturally Ventilated Residential Building

Costs of cooling installations cause them to be very rarely used in residential buildings in countries located in heating-dominated climates, like Poland. Hence, there arises the need to assess indoor thermal comfort during summer and to indicate ways to reduce possible overheating. This paper presents an attempt to use the thermal network model of the building zone of EN ISO 13790 to assess indoor operative temperature during four warm months from June to September. The model of the naturally ventilated single-family residential building located in central Poland was used. Performed calculations for the base case resulted in 38 and 63 days within the comfort zone at 80% acceptance level in a total of 122 days in the analyzed period for EN 15251 and ASHRAE standards, respectively. Use of external shading on windows and the roof with lower solar absorptance resulted in 46 and 70 days with acceptable conditions, respectively. Further application of night ventilation resulted in the 38 and 63 days, respectively. From the considered solutions in Polish climate conditions, windows shading seems to be the most efficient solution when controlling indoor comfort in residential buildings with no cooling system. A comparison of hourly operative temperature from that model with the detailed simulation in EnergyPlus showed a strong correlation with R2 = 0.934.

Tradeoffs between ventilation, air mixing, and passenger density for the airborne transmission risk in airport transportation vehicles

Airport transportation vehicles, such as buses, aerotrains, and shuttles, provide important passenger transfer services in airports. This study quantitatively investigated COVID-19 aerosol infection risk and identified acceptable operational conditions, such as passenger occupancy rates and duration of rides, given the performance of vehicle ventilation. The greatest risk to the largest number of passengers is from an index case whose exhaled breath would take the longest time to exit the vehicle. The study identified such a case based on ventilation patterns, and it tracked the spread of viral aerosols (5 μm) by using the Wells-Riley equation to predict aerosol infection risk distribution. These distributions allowed a definition of an imperfect mixing degree (δ) as the ratio of actual risk and the calculated risk under a perfect mixing condition, and further derived regression equations to predict δ in the far-field (FF) and near-field (NF) of each passenger. These results revealed an order of magnitude higher aerosol infection risk in NF than in FF. For example, with a ventilation rate of 58 ACH (air changes per hour) and a 45% occupancy rate, unmasked passengers should stay up to 15 min in the bus and 35 min in the shuttle to limit infection risk in NF within 10%. These also indicate that masking is an important and effective risk reduction measure in transportation vehicles, especially important in NF. Overall, the analysis of imperfect air mixing allows direct comparison of risks in different transportation vehicles and a structured approach to development of policy recommendations.

Hypothetical effects assessment of tourism on coastal water quality in the Marine Tourism Park of the Gili Matra Islands, Indonesia.

Tourism is one of the most important issues facing marine protected areas (MPAs) and small islands worldwide. Tourism development is considered a contribution to pollution levels in the environment. This paper aims to evaluate the hypothetical effects of tourism development on water quality spatially and temporally using the coastal water quality index (CWQI) and Geographic Information System (GIS) in search of improved management for marine conservation areas. This study showed significant tourism influences on the CWQI in the Marine Tourism Park of the Gili Matra Islands, Lombok, Indonesia. Water quality variability indicates a significant spatiotemporal difference (p < 0.05) in the two tourism seasons. During the peak season of tourism, the CWQI decreased to poor conditions, i.e., ranging from 9.95 to 21.49 for marine biota and from 7.98 to 30.42 for marine tourism activities in 2013, and ranging from 39.52 to 44.42 for marine biota and from 44.13 to 47.28 for marine tourism activities, which were below the standard for both marine biota and marine tourism activities. On the contrary, it showed a better level (from poor to moderate) during the low season of tourism (ranging from 41.92 to 61.84 for marine biota and from 48.06 to 65.27 for marine tourism activities in 2014), providing a more acceptable condition for both aspects. The study proved that massive tourism development in the MPA and small islands could reduce water quality and increase vulnerability. Accordingly, integrated tourism management and the environment, waters, and land will be needed to develop sustainable tourism. The CWQI and GIS were applicable to assess water quality, both spatially and temporally, and become a quick reference in monitoring and initial evaluation of impact management.

Bilateralism and Probabilism

The aim of this paper is to provide a philosophical interpretation of bilateralism in terms of probabilism. In particular, to interpret the main concepts of bilateralism –acceptance, rejection and incoherence– in terms of the probabilistic notions of degree of belief and coherence. According to bilateralism, the meaning of logical connectives is determined by the acceptance and rejection conditions of the sentences in which they are involved, where acceptance and rejection cannot be reduced to one another. I will focus on a variant of bilateralism that understands logical consequence as the statement that it is incoherent to accept all the premises of a valid argument while rejecting all its conclusions. On the other hand, probabilism states that it is possible to interpret our degrees of belief in terms of probabilities. The aim of this work is then to interpret the concept of incoherence in terms of probability functions and determine when it is coherent to accept or to reject a proposition according to some threshold defined in terms of degrees of belief. To achieve this goal, we need both an interpretation of the concept of incoherence coined by the bilateralists as well as an interpretation of acceptance and rejection. I will show that a good interpretation of coherence in probabilistic terms can already be found in the literature. Then, I will give an interpretation of acceptance and rejection in terms of degrees of belief. In particular, I will show that it is possible to interpret these concepts in accordance with Locke’s thesis, the thesis that states that there is some threshold r such that if you believe some sentence in degree equal or higher than r you should accept it, without falling into epistemic paradoxes.