Final Phase Research Articles

Hybrid machine learning method for classification and recommendation of vector-borne disease

<p>Vector-borne diseases (VBD) are a class of infectious illnesses that are transmitted to humans and animals through the bites of arthropod vectors, such as mosquitoes, ticks, and fleas. These diseases are caused by a variety of pathogens, including bacteria, viruses, and parasites, and are a significant global public health concern. Vector-borne diseases are prevalent in many parts of the world, particularly in tropical and subtropical regions, where the vectors thrive. This research has contributed by constructing a hybrid machine learning based prediction model, which helps to discover patients who are infected by vector-borne disease at an earlier stage and also helps with the categorization and diagnosis of severe vector-borne disease. The model that has been proposed is made up of units: data conversion, data preprocessing, normalization, extraction of feature, splitting of dataset, and classification and prediction unit. The fact that the suggested prediction model is capable of identifying vector-borne disease in its early phases as well as categorizing the kind of disease using the medical report of a sufferer is one of the innovative aspects of the model. The 7 distinct conventional machine learning and single hybrid machine learning (HML) are applied for classification and Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) based reinforcement learning are utilized for recommendation. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the system that’s been proposed, a number of tests were carried out. A dataset consisting of 1539 different cases of a disease transmitted by vectors has been collected. The 11 common vector-borne diseases namely malaria, dengue, Japanese encephalitis, kala-azar and chikungunya were taken for experimental evaluation. The performance accuracy of the proposed prediction model has been measured at 98.76%, which assists the healthcare team in making decisions on a timely basis and ultimately helps to save the patient’s lives. The final phase system provides the recommendation for those classifiers resulting in four different classes such as normal, mild, moderate and severe respectively. The recommendation is also demonstrating future direction for cure of vector borne disease.</p>

Fabrication and Characterization of Chitosan-Polyvinyl Pyrolidone K-30 for Creatinine Transport Membranes

The investigation of membrane-based hemodialysis is an interesting study due to its efficacy in eliminating metabolic waste compounds, such as creatinine, from the body. However, not all membrane types exhibit optimal transport capabilities, necessitating modifications. In this study, we conducted modifications on chitosan (CS) membranes by incorporating polyvinyl pyrrolidone K-30 (PVP K-30) and assessing their physicochemical characteristics. The modified membrane underwent characterization and subsequent evaluation of its transport capabilities. The primary objective of this research is to design a membrane composed of chitosan and PVP K-30 with enhanced creatinine transport capabilities. The study commenced with the fabrication of CS membranes combined with CS-PVP, involving six variations of CS and PVP K-30 with volume ratios of 5:0, 4:1, 3:2, 1:1, 2:3, and 4:1. The resulting solution was then printed into a flat sheet membrane. All completed membranes underwent comprehensive characterization, including tests for functional groups using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), membrane weight and thickness, porosity, water absorption, swelling, hydrophilicity, pH resistance, and biodegradation. In the final phase, the membrane was utilized in the creatinine transport process. FTIR analysis of the CS-PVP K-30 membrane revealed O-H and N-H group spectra at wave numbers 3363.06 cm-1 and 1587.17 cm-1, indicating hydrogen bonding between the two polymers. Characterization tests demonstrated that the CS-PVP membrane exhibited increased porosity, water absorption, swelling, and hydrophilicity. In the creatinine transport test, the CS-PVP membrane demonstrated enhanced creatinine transport ability compared to the CS membrane. The highest clearance value for creatinine was observed in the CS-PVP5 membrane, with an increase in the amount of PVP K-30 correlating with an elevated creatinine clearance value. The creatinine clearance values for the CS membrane, CS-PVP1, CS-PVP2, CS-PVP3, CS-PVP4, and CS-PVP5 were 0.30, 0.36, 0.37, 0.39, 0.42, and 0.46 mg/dL, respectively.

Structural and Electrochemical Investigation of 3D Tunnel Type Li0.44MnO2 Cathode Material for Secondary Li-Ion Batteries

The design of new cathode materials remains a key goal in the development of (post) Li-ion batteries. In that regard, densely packed structures like Li0.44MnO2 are judicious for study. The presence of Mn as a transition metal makes it more attractive due to its sustainable nature, low cost, elemental abundance, structural diversity/polymorphism, and rich oxidation states (2+ to 7+) offering tunable redox potential [1]. Here, we have investigated Mn-based tunnel-type Li0.44MnO2 oxide for secondary LIBs. i) Li44MnO2 (LMO) was prepared by a soft chemical method using the corresponding sodium manganese oxide (Na0.44MnO2) as a parent compound [2]. The crystal structure of Li0.44MnO2 maintains the parent Na0.44MnO2-type tunnel structure which is analogous to Na4Mn4Ti5O18 having an orthorhombic (s.g. Pbam) crystal system [3]. To understand redox chemistry, this material was studied for both cationic (Mn) and anionic (O) redox reactions using ex-situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The lithium (de)insertion mechanism of Li0.44MnO2 was explored involving ab initio calculations and in-situ X-ray diffraction experiments. Combined with electrochemical measurements, structural characterizations, and first principles DFT calculations revealed the capacity correlated strongly with both cationic and anionic redox reactions. ii) We have studied the phase transition of Li44MnO2 from a 3D tunnel-type structure to a cubic spinel structure by in-situ X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. The mechanism of transformation was elucidated by employing transmission electron microscopy. In this case, diffusion-less transformation occurs involving the rearrangement of atoms during heating [4]. An increase in the average redox potential from the pristine orthorhombic phase to the final spinel phase was observed by electrochemical studies. iii) Further to improve the electrochemical performance of Li0.44MnO2, Ti was used as a dopant. The Li0.44[Mn1-xTix]O2 (x=0, 0.11, 0.22, 0.33, 0.44, 0.56) series were obtained with chemical ion exchange from Na precursors. The Na precursors (Na0.44[Mn1-xTix]O2) were prepared via a simple solid-state route. Ti-substituted compositions exhibited similar crystal structures to their parent LMO i.e. orthorhombic framework with Pbam symmetry. A tunnel-type morphology was observed in all cases. The electrochemical performance of Ti-substituted LMO as cathode material for LIBs was studied in a half-cell configuration. The structure and electrochemical properties of Ti-doped LMO, reaching the highest capacity of 128 mAh/g, will be described. Keywords: batteries; cathode; tunnel type manganese oxides; phase transformation; doping

An iterative approach to developing a multifaceted implementation strategy for a complex eHealth intervention within clinical practice

BackgroundThe number of complex eHealth interventions has increased considerably. Despite available implementation theory outlining well-designed strategies, implementing complex interventions within practice proves challenging and often does not lead to sustainable use. To improve sustainability, theory and practice should be addressed during the development of an implementation strategy. By subsequently transparently reporting the executed theory-based steps and their corresponding practice findings, others can learn from these valuable lessons learned. This study outlines the iterative approach by which a multifaceted implementation strategy for a complex eHealth intervention in clinical practice was developed, tested and refined.MethodsWe implemented the BENEFIT program, an advanced eHealth platform with Personal Health Portal facilitating healthy living in cardiac patients. In six iterative phases alternating between theory and practice, the implementation strategy was developed, tested and refined. The initial implementation strategy (phase 1) was drawn up using the Implementation model and RE-AIM. Subsequently, this strategy was further updated in brainstorming sessions and group discussions with twenty key stakeholders from three cardiac care centres and then evaluated in a pilot (phases 2 and 3).ResultsThe pilot of the program led to the identification of (context-specific) key challenges in practice (phase 4), which were subsequently connected back to broader theory (phase 5) using the Consolidated Framework of Implementation Research (CFIR). In the final phase, practice recommendations tackling the key challenges were formulated (phase 6) based on CFIR theory, the CFIR-ERIC Matching Tool, and stakeholders’ input and feedback. These recommendations were then added to the refined strategy. Thus, executing this approach led to the realisation and use of a multifaceted theory-informed practice-based implementation strategy.ConclusionThis case study gives an in-depth description of an iterative approach to developing an evidence-based, practice-tailored strategy for implementing a complex eHealth intervention in cardiac care. As such, this study may serve as a blueprint for other researchers aspiring to implement complex eHealth interventions within clinical practice sustainably.

Control of memory retrieval alters memory-based eye movements.

Past work has shown that eye movements are affected by long-term memory across different tasks and instructional manipulations. In the current study, we tested whether these memory-based eye movements persist when memory retrieval is under intentional control. Participants encoded multiple scenes with six objects (three faces; three tools). Next, they completed a memory regulation and visual search task, while undergoing eye tracking. Here, scene cues were presented and participants either retrieved the encoded associate, suppressed it, or substituted it with a specific object from the other encoded category. Following a delay, a search display consisting of six dots intermixed with the six encoded objects was presented. Participants' task was to fixate one remaining dot after five had disappeared. Incidental viewing of the objects was of interest. Results revealed that performance in a final recognition phase was impaired for suppressed pairs, but only when the associate was a tool. During the search task, incidental associate viewing was lower when participants attempted to control retrieval, whereas one object from the nonassociate category was most viewed in the substitute condition. Additionally, viewing patterns in the search phase were related to final recognition performance, but the direction of this association differed between conditions. Overall, these results suggest that eye movements are attracted to information retrieved from long-term memory and held active (the associate in the retrieve condition, or an object from the other category in the substitute condition). Furthermore, the level of viewing may index the strength of the representation of retrieved information. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Power and politics of leading change in emergency departments: A qualitative study of Australasian emergency physicians.

The ability to lead change is well recognised as a core leadership competency for clinicians, including emergency physicians. However, little is known about how emergency physicians' think about change leadership. The present study explores Australasian emergency physicians' beliefs about the factors that help and hinder efforts to lead change in Australasian EDs. An online modified Delphi study was conducted with 19 Fellows of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine. To structure the process, participants were sorted into four panels. Using a three-phase Delphi process, participants were guided through a process of brainstorming, narrowing down and ranking the factors that help and hinder attempts to lead change. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to code and interpret the qualitative data set emerging from participants' responses through the final ranking phase. A wide array of self-, ED- and hospital-related enablers and barriers of leading change were identified, the relative importance of which varied as a function of panel. Five core themes characterised emergency physicians' conceptions of change leadership in hospitals: challenging environments of competing interests and tribalism; need for trust and psychological safety to sustain collaboration; challenges of navigating complex hierarchies; need to garner executive leadership support and; need to maintain a growth mindset and motivation to practice change leadership. The findings of our study provide new insight into emergency physicians' conceptions of the nature, barriers to and enablers of change and point to new directions in leadership development to support emergency physicians' aspirations in the context of quality, organisation and health systems improvement.

Cooperative management of an initial training program: case study of a Czech production site of a Japanese globalized manufacturing firm

PurposeThis study examines the case of an initial training, called “Dojo”, invented and implemented at a production site in the Czech Republic. It clarifies the initial training program implementation process and offers a conceptual framework for cooperative management of subsidiary activities at the site and firm.Design/methodology/approachThis study conducts an in-depth analysis of qualitative data from the Czech production site over a five-year period. The theoretical base is the theorization and labeling phase of management innovation (MI), the final phase of which legitimizes a new management practice. Interview data, archival data, pictures and financial data are used for the analysis.FindingsTo legitimize the Dojo in the operational flow controlled by the site and firm, the Czech production site acquires validation of the Dojo from employees and board members of the Japanese and European headquarters, helping the site build trustful relationships with them. Training programs, process standardization and skills standardization of the workers offer benefits to the trainees, production site and firm.Originality/valueThe authors offer theoretical insights into MI at the subsidiary-level, which past studies have not differentiated at the firm-level. The authors also provide details of the implementation and management of initial training for newly hired blue-collar workers at the production site. The findings complement related literature on human resource management and operational management.

Antibiotics in the end-of-life phase in pediatric oncological patients with a diagnosis of terminal illness: a dilemma.

Pediatric cancer patients in the final phase of life receive antibiotics empirically. The decision to start, maintain, or stop the antibiotic administration as part of care at this stage is a dilemma. We conducted a retrospective, descriptive, cross-sectional study including cancer patients in the final phase of life, hospitalized during the last 5 to 7 days of life. We included demographic variables, diagnoses, days of hospitalization, cultures, antibiotics used, prevalent symptoms in the last week of life, and principal diagnosis at the time of death, and performed descriptive statistics and a chord diagram. Twenty-two patients were included; 18 (81.81%) received antibiotic treatment. The mean age was 8.75 years. The predominant pathologies were central nervous system tumors in seven patients (31.81%). Of the total, 18 (81.81%) had an infectious diagnosis reported as bloodstream infection, followed by pneumonia in three (13.63%). The main cause of death was respiratory failure (40.9%). Of the 18 patients with an infectious diagnosis, 16 (88.88%) received empiric therapy. Predominant factors for antibiotic use were more than 7 days of hospitalization (75%), ICU admission (100%), invasive devices (88.8%), and aminergic support (100%). The predominant symptoms were dyspnea (68.18%), pain (50%), and fever (40.9%), which persisted in nine (60%), two (18.18%), and five (55.5%) patients, respectively. The lack of guidelines for antibiotic administration leads to excessive and potentially unnecessary use, which can lead to discomfort, prolonged hospitalization, bacterial resistance, excessive cost, and suffering without symptom control.

Effect of isokinetic eccentric training on the human shoulder strength, flexibility, and muscle architecture in physically active men: A preliminary study.

Strengthening the rotator cuff muscles is important for injury prevention and rehabilitation. Since muscle fascicle length improves motor performance and is suggested to reduce the risk of injury for the hamstring, it may be an important variable to promote multidirectional changes in the function and macroscopic structure for the shoulder. Recent literature reviews overwhelmingly suggest that eccentric exercises improve fascicle length and functional measures for the lower limb. However, there is a research gap for the shoulder. Since ultrasound imaging is the most commonly used imaging technique to quantify muscle structure, but has yielded heterogeneous results in different studies, there is another issue and a research gap for the imaging method. Based on the research gaps, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of standardized eccentric strength training on the function and structure of the external rotator cuff muscles using an isokinetic dynamometer and MRI. Therefore, a preliminary pre-post intervention study was conducted and 16 physically active men were recruited in October 2021. For the right shoulder, an eccentric isokinetic training was performed twice a week for almost six weeks. The primary outcome measures (external rotators) were active and passive range of motion, eccentric and concentric torque at 30, 60, and 180°/s isokinetic speed, and fascicle length and fascicle volume for the supraspinatus and infraspinatus muscles. The findings show a training effect for the absolute mean values of eccentric strength (+24%, p = .008). The torque-angle relationship increased, especially in the final phase of range of motion, although a 4% (p = .002) decrease in passive range of motion was found in the stretch test. Positive changes in muscle structure were shown for the supraspinatus muscle fascicle length (+16%, p = .003) and fascicle volume (+19%, p = .002). Based on the study results, we can conclude that eccentric isokinetic training has a significant positive effect on the shoulder. To our knowledge, this is the first eccentric training study using both isokinetic dynamometer and muscle diffusion tensor imaging to access functional and structural changes in the human shoulder rotator cuff muscles. The methods were shown to be applicable for interventional studies. Based on these results, populations such as high-performance handball players with highly trained shoulders should be included in future studies.

Modul Customer Service pada Aplikasi Komputerisasi Standar Akuntansi Perbankan berbasis Website

Practicing students have difficulty in using standard banking accounting computerization applications because they still use disk operating systems and virtual machines. This happens because special knowledge is needed to run the application. This research aims to create a customer service module on a website-based standard banking accounting computerized application so that it can be used for learning operations in the ManLan Lab more easily. Programming using CodeIgniter and MySQL with a waterfall method approach in the system development life cycle, starting from the initial phase to the final phase of development. Data analysis using literature study and observation. This research involved 1 staff, 3 practicum students, and 2 assistants and programmers at the Advanced Management Laboratory as research subjects. The system design stage uses a navigation structure and four types of Unified Modeling Language (UML). Testing is done with black box testing to ensure there are no functional errors in the system. The results of our finding are in the form of a customer service module in the computerized application of banking accounting standards which is used as a depiction of customer service tasks in banks through an application system. And the results of black box testing show the system runs well as expected. Therefore, this application is suitable for operational learning practicum.

Palaeodiet during the pre-dormancy period of MIS 3 Romanian cave bears as inferred from dental microwear analysis

Cave bears (Ursus spelaeus) have been recognized as being predominantly herbivorous. However, Romanian Carpathian cave bears have displayed a flexible diet based on a wide range of δ15N values. In this work, we analyse 97 lower first molars of Ursus spelaeus and contemporaneous Ursus arctos from different sites in this region, using dental microwear analysis to reconstruct their pre-dormancy diets during MIS 3. Newly obtained radiocarbon dates of the individuals are also reported. The short-term diet of all populations studied is identified as omnivorous, with a preference for the consumption of hard objects. For the first time, the widespread presence of puncture pits on U. spelaeus populations has been observed, which could be linked to the intake of seeded and hard-shelled fruits from temperate broadleaf trees. Hence, the dietary patterns of Carpathian cave bears exhibit similarities to those of present-day brown bears inhabiting the same region and suggests that the Carpathians served as an ecological refuge for cave bear specimens. This is reinforced by an early 27.1 cal kyr B.P. date from an individual from Urşilor Cave, which sheds light on the potential dietary continuity of Romanian Carpathian cave bear populations even during the final phases leading up to their extinction.

<em>In the Intimacy of the Dār al-Nisā’: The Residential Spaces of the Nasrid Sultanas at the Alhambra of Granada (Thirteenth-Fifteenth Centuries)</em>

Like many other dynasties in the History of Islam in the Middle Ages, the Banū Naṣr (1232-1492) created their own palaces as both their seat of power and royal residence at the Alhambra in Granada, the city chosen as the capital of their kingdom in 1238. During its long building process, which lasted from the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries, the Alhambra became the dwelling of the different members of the Nasrid family, including not only the men but also the many women who made up the harem of this dynasty. This article aims to identify the residential spaces in the Alhambra where the daily life of the women of the Nasrid dynasty took place. To start with, we will reflect on the feminine nature of the Alhambra and the concept of the harem in this final phase of Andalusi history, also analysing the composition of the household of the Nasrid sultanas. We will then try to locate the specific areas of the Alhambra where the Dār al-nisā’ (or “house of women”) may have been located, gathering the sparse textual anecdotes reflecting the presence of women in different parts of this royal palace and resorting to personal interpretations due this scarcity of textual sources. For this, we will revisit the available Arabic sources and material culture from a gender perspective. With this study, we aim to turn the Alhambra into an academic field of debate and reflection on how the segregation of spaces according to gender category was organized in the context of both Islamic society and architecture.

Circuit mechanisms of navigation strategy learning in mice

Navigation tasks involve the gradual selection and deployment of increasingly effective searching procedures to reach targets. The brain mechanisms underlying such complex behavior are poorly understood, but their elucidation might provide insights into the systems linking exploration and decision making in complex learning. Here, we developed a trial-by-trial goal-related search strategy analysis as mice learned to navigate identical water mazes encompassing distinct goal-related rules and monitored the strategy deployment process throughout learning. We found that navigation learning involved the following three distinct phases: an early phase during which maze-specific search strategies are deployed in a minority of trials, a second phase of preferential increasing deployment of one search strategy, and a final phase of increasing commitment to this strategy only. The three maze learning phases were affected differently by inhibition of retrosplenial cortex (RSC), dorsomedial striatum (DMS), or dorsolateral striatum (DLS). Through brain region-specific inactivation experiments and gain-of-function experiments involving activation of learning-related cFos+ ensembles, we unraveled how goal-related strategy selection relates to deployment throughout these sequential processes. We found that RSC is critically important for search strategy selection, DMS mediates strategy deployment, and DLS ensures searching consistency throughout maze learning. Notably, activation of specific learning-related ensembles was sufficient to direct strategy selection (RSC) or strategy deployment (DMS) in a different maze. Our results establish a goal-related search strategy deployment approach to dissect unsupervised navigation learning processes and suggest that effective searching in navigation involves evidence-based goal-related strategy direction by RSC, reinforcement-modulated strategy deployment through DMS, and online guidance through DLS.

THE DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF A TACTICAL GRADE EGI SYSTEM FOR LAND VEHICULAR NAVIGATION APPLICATIONS

Abstract. Over recent years, the utilization of commercially available integrated navigation systems for the development of navigation algorithms has become increasingly commonplace. Nevertheless, the wide range of sensor quality on the market complicates system customization and restricts the evolution of navigation algorithms. This study aims to address these issues by creating an affordable, tactical-grade, real-time integrated navigation system, EGI-500 (Embedded GNSS and INS), encompassing both hardware and software components. EGI-500 incorporates a tactical-grade IMU500 and a Septentrio Mosaic-X5 GNSS receiver module. The integration process is segmented into three distinct stages. The first involves hardware integration, with an illustrative architecture diagram of the real-time navigation system. Second, we focus on data preprocessing, where a cross-correlation approach is proposed to tackle multi-sensor time synchronization issues, specifically to determine potential time lags in IMU data. The final phase covers the fusion of multi-sensor data and motion constraints. The Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) forms the backbone of this part, with Zero Velocity Update (ZUPT) and Non-Holonomic Constraints (NHC) being integrated into the Loosely Coupled (LC) scheme. Furthermore, the IMU calibration process is performed to ascertain necessary algorithmic parameters. Experimental results, conducted in diverse environments (open sky, GNSS challenging, and GNSS denied), will be presented in this paper. Comparisons with reference data indicate that the navigation accuracy of the developed integrated system, both in terms of hardware and navigation algorithm, achieves expected meter-level accuracy, fulfilling the "Which Lane" and "Which Road" level criteria in varied environments. Furthermore, outcomes from the GNSS denied environment align with predictions based on propagation error theory, demonstrating the feasibility of our navigation algorithm for tactical integrated navigation systems.

Sentiment analysis and classification of COVID-19 tweets using machine learning classifier

<p>In March of 2020, the World Health Organization identified COVID-19 as a new pandemic and issued a statement to that effect. This fatal virus was able to disperse and propagate throughout several countries all over the world. During the progression of the pandemic, social networking sites like Twitter generated significant and substantial volumes of data that helped improve the quality of decisions pertaining to health care applications. In this paper, we proposed a sentiment classification using various feature extraction and machine leavening techniques for social media dataset. The system has divided into four phase data collection, preprocessing and normalization, feature extraction and feature selection and finally classification. In first phase we collect data from social media sources such as twitter using Twitter API. In second phase the tweets, data was ready for preprocessing and it was sorted into three categories: positive, neutral, and negative. During the third phase, various features were extracted from the tweets by employing a number of widely utilized approaches, including as bag of words (BoW), Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency (TF-IDF), Word2Vec, and FastText, to gather feature datasets. These methods were employed to extract distinct datasets for the features. The final phase different machine learning classification algorithms are applied for detection of sentiment using machine learning. In the extensive experimental analysis, the BoW performed better results with modified support vector machine (mSVM) than existing machine learning algorithms. The proposed mSVM performed superiorly to the other classifiers by 98.15% accuracy rate. Once the tweets are correctly classified as COVID-19 tweets, it is further categorized into three sentiments that is positive, negative and neural. Proposed mSVM achieves 93% of accuracy rate for positive sentiment which better as compared to other Machine Learning (ML) classifiers.</p>

Improving image resolution using deabsorption prestack time migration with effective Q estimation: A back-propagation network approach

The conventional time migration method does not consider the attenuation caused by the viscoelasticity of the underground media during the imaging process. Therefore, the final imaging amplitude and phase include inaccuracies caused by attenuation. In this study, we develop a migration scheme to compensate for absorption and dispersion using an effective quality factor ( Q) estimation based on a back-propagation (BP) neural network. We use BP neural network technology to automatically estimate the effective Q value from stacked imaging data, thereby avoiding manual Q estimation using conventional methods. Our scheme can be incorporated into conventional seismic data-processing workflows. Furthermore, synthetic and field data sets are used to validate our scheme, which is used to acquire high-resolution images with low noise levels. In addition to developing a completely data-driven Q-value estimation strategy, this study demonstrates close integration of artificial intelligence, data mining, and conventional geophysics; our approach is appropriate for estimating the effective Q and has strong industrial application value and significance.

Динамика нижних ярусов растительного покрова в антропогенно нарушенных сосновых ценозах Красноярской лесостепи

The dynamics of the understorey vegetation cover in anthropogenically transformed cenoses of common pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) in the period 2017–2020 was studied. The studies were conducted in a diverse herbaceous group of forest types of natural origin in the Krasnoyarsk forest-steppe zone. The forest stands are characterized by I–IV classes of bonitet, density 0.5–0.9 and IV–VII class of age. Vegetation cover was studied at each monitoring site on 30 (1 m2) survey plots: species composition, projective cover, species occurrence, horizontal and vertical structure of phytocenosis. The intensity of change in species composition over a 4-year period was identified using the Serensen-Chekanovsky coefficient. Species diversity was assessed using Shannon index, recreational transformation of living ground cover – synanthropization index. Based on the results of the study, the species composition of the undergrowth and living ground cover was determined, and the features of its change in the period 2017–2020 were described. Based on the analysis of changes in species diversity, composition and projective cover of dominants and co-dominants, quantitative ratio of ecological and cenotic groups, the stages of recreational transformation of the ground cover were determined. As a result of the increased recreational load, the stage of recreational transformation of the vegetation cover changed: in sample area 1 from undisturbed to the 1st (initial) phase I stage (weak transformation), in sample area 3 – from the 1st to the 2nd (final) phase I stage. Due to the absence of anthropogenic influence, the undisturbed vegetation cover was preserved in sample area 4, whereas in sample areas 2 and 5, due to the constant recreational load, the 2nd phase I stage of vegetation cover transformation observed in 2017 remained. To reduce the impact on the lower tiers of vegetation under the canopy of pine plantations (sample areas 1–3) and to preserve its species diversity, it is possible to recommend the arrangement of a specific road-trail network. For citation: Goncharova I.A., Skripalschikova L.N., Barchenkov A.P. Dynamics of Understory Vegetation Cover in Anthropogenically Disturbed Pine Cenoses of Krasnoyarsk Forest-Steppe. Lesnoy Zhurnal = Russian Forestry Journal, 2023, no. 6, pp. 204–214. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.37482/0536-1036-2023-6-204-214

Tectonic significance of the late-Ediacaran syn-orogenic basin in the easternmost portion of the Paraguay Belt, Tocantins Province, central Brazil

Sedimentary provenance studies using detrital zircon U–Pb ages represent an important tool to investigate the evolution of orogenic basins and to suggest tectonic settings and paleogeography reconstructions when it comes to supercontinent modeling. Syn-orogenic basins worldwide are characterized by a large proportion of zircons with ages close to the maximum depositional period, reflecting the proximity of recently formed magmatic rocks. In this work, we combine field observations, detrital zircon U–Pb ages, whole-rock Sm–Nd and mica Ar–Ar isotopic analyses to constrain the final tectonic evolution of a restricted basin located in a poorly studied region at the easternmost limit of the Paraguay Belt in the Tocantins Province, central Brazil. The investigated area corresponds to the boundary sector of the Paraguay Belt and the Brasília Belt and is also transected by the strike-slip fault system associated with the Transbrasiliano Lineament. This sector was previously mapped as part of the Cuiaba Group, internal zone of the Paraguay Belt. We provide 465 new detrital zircon U–Pb data with ages distributed from the early Cambrian to the Archean, with approximately 60% of the analyzed grains derived from Ediacaran-Cryogenian sources. The maximum depositional age of the basin is defined at ca. 590 Ma, constrained by the youngest age peak and an evident provenance shift in detrital input in the Paraguay Belt was demonstrated. The syn-orogenic character of the basin is inferred based on the main peak of the detrital zircon population age distribution around 600 Ma, which is very close to the maximum depositional period and points to a short time between erosion, deposition, and burial processes. The muscovite 40Ar/39Ar age of ca. 536–546 Ma obtained for muscovite schist metamorphosed under greenschist facies conditions indicates that the regional thermal regime was maintained up to the early-Cambrian in the area. The minimum fast cooling rate of 25 °C/Myr defined in the investigated area is constrained by the 40Ar/39Ar analysis of biotite (549.16 ± 1.30 Ma) from a syn-to late-kinematic granodiorite intrusion. The very rapid magma emplacement occurred into relatively shallow crustal levels through the associated strike-slip faults. The Transbrasiliano Lineament would have facilitated the rapid unroofing of the study area and therefore the syn-orogenic deposition in a foreland domain at the final phase of West Gondwana amalgamation. The studied metasedimentary rocks represent a transition phase from the passive margin sedimentation (Cuiabá Group) to an orogenic phase, constraining an inversion event in the West Gondwana around ca. 590 Ma. The data provide evidence of a late orogenic basin that was formed contemporaneously with the evolution of an active margin between the Amazonian Craton and the eastern blocks/cratons (São Francisco-Congo and Rio de la Plata cratons and Paranapanema Block) close to Cambrian times. Our results support the existence of the younger Clymene Ocean and the subsequent final assembly of West Gondwana in the Cambrian.

Multi-professional teamwork in Finnish early childhood education and care

This article analyses the theoretical, practical, and political interpretations of multi-professional teamwork in Finnish early childhood education and care during the last two decades. A semi-systematic approach was used to provide an overview of teams, teamwork, team composition, and multi-professionalism. The data were drawn from two main sources: key Finnish policy documents that regulate or guide multi-professional teamwork and a systematic literature review of multi-professional teamwork in Finnish research studies over the past 20 years. The data were examined through the lens of thematic analysis. In the final phase of the analysis, we constructed a narrative timeline. The timeline indicates two main themes: one is an emphasis on multi-professional teamwork as a resource combined with the challenges in implementing it, the other is an emphasis on pedagogy and the clarification of professional profiles. The timeline illustrates changes in the ways multi-professional teamwork has been interpreted, guided, and studied.

Mechanism of self-healing behavior in rolled Cu-2Be flat product

In this research, we aimed to investigate the self-healing behavior of Cu-2Be alloy (UNS C17200), which is used as a non-magnetic high-strength material, under various loading conditions, both static and dynamic, including tension-annealing and fatigue tests. We observed crack filling in all heat-treated and tested samples, specifically those subjected to solution heat treatment at 800 °C, under-aged (UA) conditions, and aging conditions at 320 °C for 5 and 30 min.The latter two phenomena were triggered by the precipitation of γ (CuBe) and γ’ phases after straining and heat treatment. The synergistic effect of dynamic aging and dislocation recovery resulted in increased ductility in the pre-strained and UA sample, as evidenced by post-fracture elongation, compared to specimens elongated up to a certain pre-strained level followed by annealing and aging. In conclusion, uniaxial fatigue testing revealed that the lifetime of UA Cu-2Be samples surpasses that of annealed and fully aged ones due to the efficient preparation of self-healing effects brought about by the precipitation of intermediate and final age-hardening phases, dislocation rearrangement, and grain boundary reinforcement through beryllium atoms. To characterize the precipitated CuBe, we conducted XRD, XPS, and DIGE phase identification analyses, alongside relevant electron microscopy analyses. Additionally, we investigated the possibility of crack closure by integrating the findings from the positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy and coincidence Doppler broadening spectroscopy outputs, thus validating the results of spectroscopy and diffraction.