Research Branch Research Articles

Interpretable Emotion Classification Using Multidomain Feature of EEG Signals

Research on affective computing by physiological signals has become a new and important research branch of artificial intelligence. However, most of the research focuses only on the improvement of emotion classification models while neglecting the correlation between subjective emotional labels and implicit EEG feature information. In this study, we proposed an interpretable emotion classification framework based on food images as visual stimuli and a proposed EEG dataset acquired by a portable single-electrode EEG device. Then, we construct a multi-domain feature extraction method based on sliding time windows, which can effectively extract single-channel EEG features. Finally, we chose the extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) model as our classifier in the proposed classification framework. The optimal accuracy of our single-channel EEG classification model was 94.76%, which reached the classification performance of multi-channel EEG classification. Based on XGBoost, we interpret the global and the local emotion feature selection method by calculating Shapley additive explanation (SHAP) values. Through the analysis of interpretable methods, we can not only obtain the contribution degree of features from three types of emotional labels (positive, negative, and neutral), but also know whether features have a positive or negative effect on classification results. The source codes of this work are publicly available at:https://github.com/VCMHE/MDF-EEG.

Megaproject Governance Research in China: A Review and Visual Analysis from the Whole Life Cycle Perspective

At present, the number of megaprojects in China is rapidly increasing, with multiple projects ranked as the world’s highest. To showcase the theoretical and practical achievements of China’s megaprojects to the world, a visual analysis was carried out using CiteSpace software based on data from 520 pieces of core literature related to megaproject governance in the CNKI database from 2001 to 2023. Our findings indicate that: the number of publications has significantly increased since 2016, with a core group of researchers significantly contributing to this field, while team collaboration needs to be strengthened; the research hotspots include social stability risks, transaction governance, and innovation in megaprojects; the research can be divided into three stages, starting with early macro-studies, gradually forming clear and hierarchical research branches, and beginning to develop in the direction of Chinese characteristics and innovative deepening in recent years; research on the megaproject governance system is becoming gradually more enriched, but there is a lack of research at the levels of top-level governance and operational governance. Finally, in order to advance the study of megaproject governance in China, future research directions are suggested.

Introducing the Methodology of ‘Critical Fashion Practice’ into Fashion Design Studies in Croatia

Since the advent of mass production, where the quantity of clothing reflects the consumption habits of society, fashion has become a reflection of the capitalist atmosphere. The reciprocity of society and fashion begin to occupy and initiate all the intense theoretical discussions that lead to the emergence of new branches of scientific research in the social-humanist field. The two most important scientific field are the history of fashion and fashion theory, whose analyses focus on the role of clothing as part of material culture conditioned by the political, social, economic and religious context. These two branches of science are increasingly becoming the focus of fashion design students in the education system. As a result, the above disciplines are included as separate compulsory subjects in the fashion design programme, developing strong theoretical skills at the expense of practical production and collection making. This approach represents a significant departure from the curricula of previous fashion design programmes, where the conditioning of the profession by political, economic, technological and social impulses was evident. In 2014, the former Centre for Fashion Studies at the Stockholm College highlighted the problem of a strong dichotomy between theoretical and fashion design courses in fashion design programmes and organised a symposium entitled ‘Fashion Issues: Critical Fashion Studies’. Based on his guidelines, the project ‘Critical Fashion: Reflections in Theory and Practice’ was developed as part of the degree programme at Beckmans College of Design in Stockholm, resulting in a highly discursive internet platform with the symbolic name ‘Critical fashion practice’. The aim of the new approaches was to rethink the importance of theoretical approaches in observing fashion production based on reflection of social relations, media images and personal experiences. This paper analyses the contribution of the platform ‘Critical fashion practice’ in the context of theoretical-practical teaching for fashion design students at the Faculty of Textile Technology, University of Zagreb.

Classical verification of quantum measurement for the computational basis and the XY -plane basis

Recent advances in quantum technologies raise the urgent need of verifying the correct functionality of a quantum device. Certifying the correctness of a quantum device in a fully classical manner is an important research branch. In this paper, we present a measurement protocol that allows a classical verifier to interact with an efficient quantum prover to verify the computational basis or the $XY$-plane basis measurement on a quantum state. With the help of two adaptive hardcore bit properties of a noisy trapdoor claw-free family, the security of measurement protocol is proved, which is under quantum hardness of the learning with error. The security characterizes the distance between the output distribution of measurement protocol and the distribution obtained by measuring certain quantum states in the designated basis, with or without the presence of honest behavior of the prover. Moreover, exploiting the measurement protocol, we present two device-noise-independent verification protocols of graph states and a classical verification protocol of delegated quantum computing whose soundness is 0.5757.

Fast reactor multi-scale and multi-physics modelling at NRG

With the increase in computational power and capacity, and the advancements being made in numerical modeling, it has become possible to model the various physical phenomena that take place in nuclear reactors with more and more detail and accuracy. This includes phenomena related to structural mechanics, fluid dynamics and reactor physics amongst others. Additionally, there has been an increased interest to simulate these combined, interacting phenomena simultaneously by coupling various numerical tools. This coupling of different codes is currently a topic high on the research and development agenda of the international nuclear community. It is also a focus point within the research done at NRG in the national PIONEER research program funded by the Dutch ministry of economic affairs.This focus has resulted in two branches of research at NRG: multi-scale modeling of the complete primary system of a nuclear reactor by coupling a 3D Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code with a 1D System Thermal Hydraulics (STH) code, and multi-physics modelling through the coupling of dedicated and advanced thermal-dynamics, structural mechanics and reactor physics solvers. The paper presents simulation results of both branches applied to fast reactors. As both fields of research require the coupling of codes, it has led to the creation of an independent, external, Fortran-based coupling tool named myMUSCLE (MultiphYsics MUltiscale Simulation CoupLing Environment) that arranges the efficient and robust coupling of the different codes. The paper presents the proof-of-principle and first validation of the myMUSCLE tool under development. Additionally, results obtained with MUSCLE-Foam will be presented, which is a new multi-physics code being developed at NRG that includes several reactor physics as well as structural mechanics solvers.

Sequential path-equilibration algorithm for highly accurate traffic flow assignment in an urban road network

Nowadays, the issue of traffic flow assignment has become an interdisciplinary topic that concerns multiple research areas and branches of science. This work is focussed on the mathematical and computational aspects of the equilibrium traffic assignment problem in the case when route flows are considered to be decision variables. Firstly, we obtain a fixed-point mapping with the explicit contraction operator, which is proven to equilibrate the journey times on feasible routes between a single origin-destination pair of nodes with the quadratic rate. Remarkable that from mathematical perspectives, the developed operator generalizes most path-equilibration operators already exploited by researchers. Secondly, we use the obtained fixed-point procedure to run the sequential path-equilibration algorithm for traffic flow assignment on well-known test urban road networks with arc-additive travel time functions. Our computational results appear to demonstrate higher accuracy of user-equilibrium traffic assignment solutions than the best ones known to us. In other words, developed within this paper sequential path-equilibration algorithm leads to solutions with less goal function values compared to the best solutions for today, according to our knowledge.

The potential for palaeoseismic and palaeoclimatic reconstructions from Lake Tennyson, North Canterbury, New Zealand

ABSTRACT Lake Tennyson’s basin and sedimentary record were assessed for multiple branches of paleoenvironmental research. A geophysical investigation of the lake depositional setting was supported by physical and chemical analysis of multiple sediment cores. The basin reaches 60 m depth and several subaerial landforms identified were likely deposited from seismic activity. Deformed sediments and turbidites in gravity cores are attributed to one or more large (pre)historic earthquakes, and episodic grain size changes in sediment cores are related to either seismic and/or climatic/meteorological processes. A hummocky slump deposit located on the western lake bed margin is linked to widespread sediment deformation that was likely caused by movement of the Awatere Fault. Radiocarbon dating constrains the most recent major deformation event between the late thirteenth century CE and mid-twentieth Century. Folded turbidites in the stratigraphy suggest multiple sedimentary deformation episodes occurred during the last millennium. Micro-XRF elemental signatures suggest proxies of past water column mixing (windiness proxy) can be reconstructed via identification of changing redox conditions. Records from Lake Tennyson show potential for several palaeoenvironmental research applications, and combining them with basin morphostratigraphy and land-based palaeoclimate and palaeoseismic evidence can enhance understanding of environmental change in the northern South Island.

Knowledge generation in the telecommunications era and its impact on education and economic development in Latin American

The present study is a branch of previous research carried out in 2017, called "Management of knowledge networks in the shrimp fishing sector in Sinaloa, Mexico." It is a collaborative research project in some Latin American countries, consisting of a theoretical model of knowledge management based on a study in a particular sector; however, this does not prevent the likelihood of its being applied to other areas and strategic sectors in Latin American developing countries from taking place. The study deals with a documentary review of various sources and previous and subsequent studies; moreover, it presents a diagram or proposal of a model in 5 levels or phases that include the main elements that generate knowledge in the educational field and show their relationship with productive regional development. The study concludes that, currently, this type of model serves as an alternative strategy to deficiencies and lack of resources; thus fostering greater linkage between academic and productive areas among the involved actors, and investment for improvement

Tawfik Canaan: A Pioneer Leishmaniologist from Palestine

Tawfik Canaan was born in 1882 in Bet-Jala near Bethlehem in Palestine. He finished his schooling at Schneller School and traveled to Beirut in 1899 to complete his study in Medicine at the Syrian Protestant Collage. He graduated as a physician in 1905. Then, returned back to Al-Quds (Jerusalem) and worked in the German Hospital. In 1910 he became the director of the clinic of Al-Quds (Jerusalem) municipal hospital, Schaare Zedek. In 1912 he was married to a German and moved to Musrara neighborhood in Al-Quds (Jerusalem) where he established his own clinic in 1913. He specialized in tropical medicine and microbiology in Germany between 1912 and 1914. In 1914, he was appointed as a physician in the Turkish army in Nazareth and head of the Turkish army medical laboratories in Nablus, Beer al-Saba', Gaza and Al-Quds (Jerusalem).At the beginning of his carrier, Canaan became responsible for preparing vaccines and antibiotics at the health office in Al-Quds (Jerusalem). He was later appointed as the head of Malaria research branch. He got more and more involved in the medical activities and community health and therefore became director for the Leprosy Hospital in Talbiyyah in Al-Quds (Jerusalem) in 1919 and, later, in 1956, participated in building a new one near Birzeit near Ramallah. Following the 1948 political turmoil (Nakba), Canaan was appointed as head of the Lutheran World Federation medical operations to cope up with the efflux of refugees by mobilizing mobile clinics and building others

Development of a responsibility model based on identity styles with the mediating role of self-concept for the students of Tehran Universities

Introduction: Students’ sense of responsibility has a substantial impact on their academic and professional progress, as well as the future of their society. Therefore, it is necessary to examine and identify factors influencing their sense of responsibility. Aim: The present study aimed to propose a model of responsibility based on identity styles with the mediating role of self-concept. Method: In this correlational study, the path analysis method was applied. The study population consisted of all students of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, and Science and Research Branch of Islamic Azad University in 2022. A total of 411 students were selected via random cluster sampling. The data collection tools were Kurdlo's Responsibility Questionnaire (2015), Identity Style Inventory (1989), and Rogers’ Self-Concept Scale (1957). Pearson's correlation coefficient test was carried out using AMOS version 24 and SPSS version 25 for statistical analysis. Results: The correlation coefficients indicated significant positive correlations between informative and normative identity styles and the sense of responsibility, with the mediating role of self-concept, while the diffuse/avoidant identity style had a significant negative correlation with the sense of responsibility (P<0.01). Moreover, the coefficients were significant for the indirect effects of informative identity style (β=0.028, t=5.17), normative identity style (β=0.047, t=4.32), and diffuse/avoidant identity style (β=-0.056, t=-3.27) on the students’ sense of responsibility, with the mediating role of self-concept (P<0.05). The direct path coefficients for all three identity styles in predicting responsibility were also significant (P<0.01). Conclusion: The present results showed that self-concept mediated the students’ sense of responsibility based on identity styles. Therefore, authorities should take the necessary measures to improve the students’ sense of responsibility, depending on their identity styles.

Evidence-based procedures to improve the reliability of circulating miRNA biomarker assays.

Circulating cell-free microRNAs (cfmiRNA) are an emerging class of biomarkers that have shown great promise in the clinical diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of several pathological conditions, including cancer.However, validation and clinical implementation of cfmiRNA biomarkers has been hindered by the variability introduced during different or suboptimal specimen collection and handling practices. To address the need forstandardization and evidence-based guidance, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) developed a new Biospecimen Evidenced-Based Practices (BEBP) document, entitled "Cell-free miRNA (cfmiRNA): Blood Collection and Processing". The BEBP, the fourth in the document series, contains step-by-step procedural guidelines on blood collection, processing, storage, extraction, and quality assessment that are tailored specifically for cfmiRNA analysis of plasma and serum. The workflow outlined in the BEBP is based on the available literature and recommendations of an expert panel. The BEBP contains the level of detail required for development of evidence-based standard operating procedures (SOPs) as well as the flexibility needed to accomodate (i)discovery- and inquiry-based studies and (ii) the different constraints faced by research labs, industry, clinical and academic institutions to foster widespread implementation. Guidance from the expert panel also included recommendations on study design, validating changes in workflow, and suggested quality thresholds to delineate meaningful changes in cfmiRNA levels. The NCI cfmiRNA: Blood Collection and Processing BEBP is available here as supplementary information as well as through the NCI Biorepositories and Biospecimen Research Branch (BBRB) (https://biospecimens.cancer.gov/resources/bebp.asp).

Gerüche als Kommunikationspfade – warum Emotionen durch die Nase gehen

For many species, the sense of smell is the most important sensory system for interacting with the environment and conspecifics. In contrast, the role of perception and communication of chemosensory information in humans has long been underestimated. The human sense of smell was considered less reliable, so that it was given less importance compared to visual and auditory sensory impressions. For some time now, a growing branch of research has been dealing with the role of the sense of sell in emotion and social communication, which is often only perceived subconsciously. This connection will be examine in more detail in this article. First, he basics regarding the structure and function of our olfactory system will be described for better understanding and classification. Then, with this background knowledge, the significance of olfaction for interpersonal communication and emotions will be discussed. Finally, we conclude that people suffering from olfactory disorders have specific impairments in their quality of life.

Honoring foundational Black psychologists' contributions to research on Black fathers.

Much of the early psychological research on Black fathers and families employed a deficit lens, pathologizing Black fathers as absent and uninvolved contributors to their children's development. As a response, several Black psychologists articulated the need to move away from deficit-based approaches and employ strengths-based and adaptive frameworks to examine the social experiences of Black fathers and their contributions to child development. This transformative work was not only central to advancing research on Black fathers but also a cornerstone in the broader fathering literature. Though the list of foundational architects of Black fatherhood scholarship spans disciplines, we center this article around the contributions of eight Black psychologists-Drs. Phillip Bowman, Cleopatra Howard Caldwell, Anderson J. Franklin, Nancy Boyd-Franklin, Vivian Gadsden, Harriette Pipes McAdoo, John L. McAdoo, and Melvin Wilson. Their collective works and scientific contributions provided a critical lens and articulated a vision for research on Black fathers. In highlighting their contributions, we focus on six thematic areas: (a) conceptual and theoretical advancements, (b) research methods and designs that centered Black fathers, (c) description and contextualization, (d) children's development and well-being, (e) theory to practice and intervention, and (f) scientific cross-pollination and collaborative ethos. Last, we review and highlight research branches and extensions of these foundational roots. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Deep Learning Based Cross-View Human Detection System

Human detection is an important research branch in the field of computer vision, and it is widely used in vehicle-assisted driving, intelligent monitoring, intelligent transportation and other aspects. In order to solve the problems of poor real-time performance, low detection accuracy and inability to detect under occlusion in traditional human detection methods. This paper proposes a deep learning based trainable cross-view human detection system, where the encoder-decoder network focuses on solving the feature association problem after perspective transformation. Then, the system was tested on the WildTrack dataset. The results show that our cross-view human detection system outperforms conventional systems in terms of speed and accuracy across the board, achieving a satisfactory performance rate of 0.71 MODA in the presence of extensive occlusion.

OPTIMIZATION OF EXPORT DEMAND FROM JAPAN FOR BREAD COMMODITIES USING THE SIMPLEX METHOD (CASE STUDY OF COMPANY XYZ IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA)

The company's condition in facing the global economic crisis, which was caused by the prolonged regional military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, also affected the plan to optimize research on production and sales operations. This problem is also needed by XYZ Company in the United States based on the wheat processing industry in the United States, with the main processed product, namely bread, having problems in choosing decisions from various options, to optimize production for export demand from Japan. This study aims and is expected to know and be able to optimize the long-term profit costs of XYZ company. This research method uses the scientific branch of Industrial Engineering Operations Research, namely the simplex method. Observational analysis also emphasizes the principles of scientific literature review. As a result of collecting and processing the data, it was found that company XYZ earned profits from two types of bread, namely $3 million for strawberry bread and $5 million for chocolate bread. Company XYZ can obtain a maximum profit of 27.5, if it produces goods X1, namely 5/6 tons of strawberry bread and 5 tons of chocolate flavored X2

Bioinspired Superwetting Open Microfluidics: From Concepts, Phenomena to Applications

AbstractMicrofluidics and bioinspired superwetting materials, as two crucial branches of scientific research, are entering their golden age of development. As an emerging interdisciplinary subject of these two fields, bioinspired superwetting open microfluidics is triggering technological revolutions in many disciplines, including rapid medical diagnosis, biochemical analysis, liquid manipulation, 3D printing, etc. However, this new research area has yet to attract extensive attention. So, a timely review is necessary to organize the development process, summarize current achievements, and discuss the challenges or chances for the ongoing scientific trend. In this review, the evolution from closed to open microfluidics is combed first. Then, three typical bioinspired superwetting systems are introduced emphatically. Based on this, the bioinspired superwetting open microfluidics is divided into different categories according to the bionic objects as the focus of this study. Taking natural phenomena as the entry point, the research from the underlying mechanism to the application is systematically discussed and summarized. Several emerging applications are also mentioned. Finally, some views on major problems, existing challenges, and developing trends are briefly put forward in this field to guide future research.

Pictures and Words 2 – An Italian Caricature at the End of the Great Vienna War (1683–1699) as “Icono-Text”


 This paper is a branch of my previous research, dealing with allegorical and persuasive cartography, as an exercise in more recent theoretical interpretations of marginalized historical sources – caricatures. The introduction gives the readers an overview of the modern methodology and secondary literature. Furthermore, Giuseppe Maria Mitelli (1634–1718) is unknown to our audience. Therefore, this paper cannot deal with his immenseoeuvre, but only one example of his mastery, the caricature “An International Array of Doctors Counselling the Sultan”. This engraving is dated approximately to 1696, or slightly later, to the last phase of the War of the Holy League (1683–1699). The staging and the characters, as presented in the analysis, show beyond doubt a strong influence from commedia dell’arte in costumes and apparel, recognizing the oldest stock images of Dottore Gracian, originating in Mitelli’s Bologna, and Pantalone, who is precisely attributed to the “medico Venetiano”. This “icono-text” merges visual arts and comedy theatre with text, criticizing the Christian “nations” for their lack of unity in opposing the common foe and nemesis – the Ottoman sultan. The satire is more pronounced in the para-text, adequately written for each one of the actors, including those without the lyrics – headfirst fleeing grand vizier Kara Mustapha, and wool spinning Protestant Prince Imre Thököly, doing the woman’s and not the warrior’s task. Including the sultan, historians have plenty of material for an imagology analysis from the point of view of a witty Bolognese, well-educated and informed, placed in a hub of the baroque network of Europe, bursting with “furor geographicus” and the sound of the printing machines, street vendors, artisans, and carnivals. As any intellectual work, Mitelli’s art piece is placed within its historical-geographical, cultural and socio-political context. 

Acoustic Multiplexing Based on Higher-Order Topological Insulators with Combined Valley and Layer Degrees of Freedom

Higher-order topological insulators (HOTIs) in classical systems, featuring robust multidimensional boundary states protected by various crystalline symmetries, have become a fast-growing research branch in the vast topological family. Therein, valley pseudospins and layer pseudospins are separately introduced as extra degrees of freedom (DOFs) to manipulate topological phases. Here, we experimentally demonstrate that, by combining valley and layer DOFs, intriguing HOTIs can be realized. They host topological edge and corner states that are simultaneously valley dependent and layer polarized. We implement such HOTIs in bilayer sonic crystals (SCs) consisting of carefully stacked triangular scatterers. By rotating the scatterers, the valley and layer DOFs are interplayed, producing combined valley-layer polarizations. Correspondingly, the SCs exhibit versatile sound transport and localization. This inspires us to design an acoustic multiplexer, where sound waves can be guided along specific directions or trapped at specific locations, depending on the excitation frequencies. Our study of higher-order topology based on the interplay between valley and layer DOFs enriches the topological physics. With combined valley and layer polarizations, the resultant HOTIs also offer versatile ways to guide and/or trap sound waves, which have potential applications in integrated and multiplexing phononic devices.

A Review of the Research on Film and Television Literature on the Theme of Contemporary School Bullying in China

Whether it is the original novel or the adapted film and television literary script, the creation of film and television literary works on the theme of school bullying has been favored by writers and loved by readers. In the field of literary criticism, it is not uncommon to study the theme of contemporary Chinese school bullying film and television literature. As an important branch of contemporary literary research, contemporary film and television literature research carries the mission, responsibility and value path of contemporary literary speech society, and the research on authenticity from society has always been the focus of research in the field of humanities and social sciences. Starting from the existing research results of the school bullying series of film and television literary works, this paper reviews the two major aspects of case study and comparative research, and the two research perspectives within and outside the text, and compares the domestic film and television bullying literature and Chinese and foreign works in parallel through the research method of comparative research, and conducts a comprehensive, all-round and systematic review of the "research" of the nature of review. It aims to call on the world to pay more attention to this real moral and ethical issue, explore effective solutions to problems, guide practice with theory, and promote the construction of a harmonious society with the spark of academia.

Overview of Internet of Medical Things Security Based on Blockchain Access Control

The Internet of Things provides convenience to health systems, especially for remote monitoring of patient physical indicators. While providing convenience, there may be more security vulnerabilities in protecting patient and doctor information and storing health data effectively. As an important research branch in the field of the Internet of Things, the Internet of Medical Things is important for the overall improvement of public health in terms of how to safely conduct technology development and application research and to effectively implement healthcare needs. Blockchain technology is decentralized and untrusted as well as prevents tampering with data and reduces the cost of trust. Its good performance has a strong developmental nature in the healthcare field. This paper analyses how to solve security problems through access control under the Internet of Medical Things, and optimizes three access control methods. The Internet of Medical Things accesses control approach that introduces blockchain technology enhances computational and storage capabilities and is a good solution to the problem of third-party trustworthiness. Even in the face of the rapid growth of end devices, blockchain technology can solve some of the problems arising from access control of massive devices through three directions: hierarchical management, compressed storage and performance optimization. Finally, it provides directions for future research on the security aspects of blockchain technology under the Internet of Medical Things.