Important Objective Research Articles

A Comparison of Estimated and Actual Indicators of Flood Damage on the Yana River in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia)

In 2022, Verkhoyansky District of Yakutia experienced the largest flood of the regional scale, affecting 1,220 people and with the cost of emergency recovery work amounting to RUB 160.2 million. For the Arctic regions, the consequences of natural disasters are felt several times more acutely, due to the natural and geographical peculiarities and the duration of the process of restoration of the disturbed ecosystem. Protection of the population and territories of the Arctic is one of the priority tasks of the state policy of Russia. The article assesses the flood hazard on the Yana River. Based on the analysis of historical elevations at hydrological posts, hydrological characteristics of the water body, determination of maximum levels, water discharge of the river, and basic hydrological calculations, the area of flooded territory of settlements in Verkhoyansky District of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) under the percentage availability is determined, and a map of flood zones is drawn up. Using the cadastral value of lands falling into the flood zone, the index of forecast economic damage is determined in order to preliminarily determine the scale of flooding; to carry out preventive measures for preparation, protection of the population, socially important objects, buildings and structures; to plan the amount of financial resources required for rescue operations and for liquidation of the consequences of emergency situations. A comparison and an analysis of actual and estimated damage indicators are given. A strong disproportion in the actual and calculated indicators of economic damage is proved.

Evaporation of Small Sessile Drop Deposited on a Horizontal Solid Surface: New Exact Solutions and Approximations

Evaporating a liquid sessile drop deposited on a horizontal surface is an important object of applications (printing technologies, electronics, sensorics, medical diagnostics, hydrophobic coatings, etc.) and theoretical investigations (microfluidics, self-assembly of nanoparticles, crystallization of solutes, etc.). The arsenal of formulas for calculating the slow evaporation of an axisymmetric drop of capillary dimensions deposited on a flat solid surface is reviewed. Characteristics such as vapor density, evaporation flux density, and total evaporation rate are considered. Exact solutions obtained in the framework of the Maxwellian model, in which the evaporation process of the drop is limited by vapor diffusion from the drop surface to the surrounding air, are presented. The summary covers both well-known results obtained during the last decades and new results published by us in the last few years, but practically unknown to the wider scientific community. The newest formulas, not yet published in refereed publications, concerning exact solutions for a number of specific contact angles are also presented. In addition, new approximate solutions are presented (total evaporation rate and mass loss per unit surface area per unit time in the whole range of contact angles θ∈[0, π), drop lifetime in constant contact radius evaporation regime and constant contact angle mode), which can be used in modeling without requiring significant computational resources.

Tailoring solvent mixtures to boost electrochemical stability and low-temperature performances of supercapacitors

The important objective in improving supercapacitor's performance is to increase their operating voltage and expand their working temperature range. Among various organic electrolytes reported so far, the conventional acetonitrile (AN)-based electrolyte features the highest conductivity but suffers from a relatively low operational voltage window (2.5−3.0 V). Our study investigated binary mixtures, combining propionitrile (PN) and AN as the electrolytes designed for high-voltage and high-rate supercapacitors to address this limitation. The physical and electrochemical properties of various binary mixtures are systematically examined. The supercapacitors utilizing these binary electrolyte systems demonstrated remarkable capacitance retention over 10,000 cycles at the upper voltage of 3.4 V, in contrast to the significant capacitance degradation observed in cells using single AN-based electrolytes. Among the various binary electrolytes, carbon-based supercapacitors using a PN−AN with a 20:80 vol ratio achieved an optimal balance among the ionic conductivity (42.2 mS cm−1), long-term stability, working voltage (3.4 V), energy density (32.6 Wh kg−1), and power density (2278 W kg−1). Impressively, it also obtains good rate capability and capacitance retention (>95 %) at a voltage as high as 3.4 V under ultra-low temperature of −40 °C. This approach paves the way to developing high-voltage supercapacitors with optimal performance.

The Sciences of the Qur’an Readings According to Al-Dhahabi through His Mention of Issues and Benefits in the Biographies of the Qur’an Reciters A Comparative Applied Study

I meant to highlight examples of issues in the sciences of Qur'anic readings and their benefits found in the biographies of Qur'anic readers in Al-Dhahabi's -(died 748 AH)- biographies books, especially his book: (Quranic Biographies Readers). The most important research objectives are to highlight the aspects of the science of Quranic recitations from Al-Dhahabi's book (Quranic Biographies Readers), refer to his efforts, show the book's importance, and compare it with similar books. Following the descriptive methods, I described the aspects of the science of Quranic recitations from Al-Dhahabi's biographies books of readers and compared them with similar books. The essential results are Al-Dhahabi's position in Quran readings, the position of his books, and highlighting the manifestations of his interest in the science of Quran readings. The most important recommendations: Highlight the essential manifestations of the sciences of Quran reading from various biographies and books and show the efforts of their authors.

Egzystencjalna unikatowość żałoby w świetle filozofii dialogu Martina Bubera inspirowanej myślą chasydów

The existential uniqueness of mourning in the light of the philosophy of dialogue by Martin Buber and inspired by Hassidic thought For centuries, there has been a belief that mourning occurs only after the death of a person close to us. This traditional mourning perception was expanded by S. Freud in the first half of the 20th century. According to him, the mourning may also be vested upon us when we irretrievably lose some important objects of attachment of our selves. This can be either another person or personal properties, capabilities, ideals, values, dreams, physical appearance, work, homeland, health, interpersonal relationships, etc. This kind of mourning frequently induces deep mental trauma and pushes a person to the brink of existential abyss. Culture provides support for those who are orphaned in struggling with it. Philosophical or religious systems of reference are of significant importance in this case. Many valuable guidelines can be found in the philosophy of dialogue by Martin Buber, which was inspired by the Hassidic wisdom. The result of these thoughts can lead to the conclusion that mourning may be converted into a possibility of human self-development and its ontic growth.

The Influence Of A STEM/STEAM Education Based High School on Students of The Ivoti Institute

The aim of this paper is to determine the difference between the STEM/STEAM education High School model and the Traditional Basic General education High School Model. Another important objective is to explain the benefits of the STEM/STEAM High School format being implemented in the Ivoti Institute, in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. I start by giving the definition of STEM/STEAM education, and then talk about the New High School format that is being used in the Ivoti Institute. I explain all the benefits and opportunities that this educational setting brings to the students, and how it has affected my life, personally. STEM/STEAM education is the future of education, and will be extremely effective in the development of critical and autonomous individuals.

Филогенетика и географическое распространение скальных ящериц (Lacertidae, Reptilia) на горной системе Эльбурс

Rock lizards of the genus Darevskia have long been an important model object for study of reptile evolution. To understand the overall picture, it is important to know how bisexual and parthenogenetic species are distributed within this genus. The ranges of Caucasian species of rock lizards have been studied for a long time and in detail. However, recent attention to the species inhabiting the territory of Iran has been attracted after the description of several new species in 2013. As part of the continuation of these studies, we studied the distribution and genetic diversity of five species of lizards of the Darevskia genus along the Alborz mountain range in Iran: D. chlorogaster, D. caspica, D. defilippii, D. schaekeli and D. raddei. In the course of this, we discovered new localities of D. defilippii that are outside their known range. We assessed the phylogenetic relationships between the studied species according to the ND4 – Leu tRNA region of mitochondrial DNA and found a relatively high level of genetic variability in D. defilippii and D. chlorogaster, while D. raddei, despite its wide distribution, has low variability. In general, the phylogenetic position of the studied species is somewhat different from that described by Ahmadzadeh et al. (2013).

Seismic events in the Sverdlovsk region for the period 1788–2022

Introduction. Sverdlovsk region is a major industrial center. There are mining enterprises, chemical plants, reservoirs, and high-capacity power plants. These objects are located close to large settlements. Currently, about 400 seismic events are recorded annually in the region. To ensure the seismic safety of objects of increased responsibility and especially important construction objects, it is necessary to carry out studies on detailed seismic zoning of the territory under consideration. The results of this work are the first stage of these studies. Research theory. For the first time, a consolidated unified catalog of seismic events that occurred on the territory of the Sverdlovsk region was compiled. Historical and instrumental catalog data for the period 1788–2022 and data from instrumental records of local seismic events recorded by temporary, mobile stations of the Institute of Geophysics Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IGF UB RAS) served as the basis. served as the basis. Results. Most of the recorded events are technogenic. Mostly these are industrial explosions and rock burst. These seismic events are recorded in the area of the following cities: Asbest, Ekaterinburg, Revda, Nizhny Tagil, Kushva, Kachkanar, Karpinsk, Severouralsk. Tectonic earthquakes have also been repeatedly recorded in the Sverdlovsk region. Most of them are not felt by people. Earthquakes with a magnitude greater than 4.0 have macroseismic manifestations. The strongest earthquake is 08.17.1914 (MS= 5.0, epicenter coordinates 57.09° N, 59.8° E). The intensity of the earthquake at the epicenter was 6.0 on the MSK-64 scale. The results of this work will serve as a basis for further determination of the parameters of the seismic regime of the study area.

The structural and electronic properties of (001) surface of 1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene (TATB) with first-principles calculations.

1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene (TATB) is a typical insensitive energetic material. It can be used in explosive formulations, such as PBX-9502 and LX-17-0. TATB is an intriguing and unusual explosive for another reason: it crystallizes into a wide array of planar hydrogen bonds, forming a graphite-like layered structure. Therefore, TATB is one of the important research objects, and its surface structure needs to be deeply understood. In this research work, the electronic and energetic properties of TATB (001) surface are explored. In this paper, the structural, electronic, energetic properties and impact sensitivity of TATB (001) surface structure at 0 and -3 GPa along with x-axis were calculated in this study using the first-principles calculations. The calculations in this paper are performed in the CASTEP code, which is based on the density functional theory with the first-principles calculation method using the plan-wave pseudopotential approach. The exchange-correlation interaction was adopted by the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) with the Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof (PBE) functional. The DFT-D method with the Grimme correction accurately models van der Waals interactions. To model the surface structures of TATB, the planar slab method was employed. We constructed TATB (001) periodic slabs including three layers with a 15-Å vacuum layer.

Confidence intervals of survival predictions with neural networks trained on molecular data

In medicine, an important objective is predicting patients’ survival based on their molecular and clinical characteristics. In this context, neural networks have recently been used for their ability to capture complex interactions in the data. Measuring the uncertainty associated with survival estimates obtained by neural networks is essential to enhance predictions’ reliability. We compared four methods adapted to multilayer perceptrons (MLPs) for building confidence intervals at the patient level. The methods were based either on bootstrap with Boot (Efron, 1979), ensembling with DeepEns (Lakshminarayanan et al., 2016), or Monte-Carlo Dropout with MCDrop and BMask (Gal and Ghahramani, 2016; Mancini et al., 2020). A comparison was made through MLP-based survival models: CoxCC and CoxTime (Kvamme et al., 2019) in a continuous time framework, DeepHit (Lee et al., 2018) and PLANN (Biganzoli et al., 1998) in a discrete time framework. We applied the methods to a simulation study, enabling us to estimate a coverage rate of the estimated confidence intervals. We also applied them to real-world datasets, and predicted the survival probability for patients with breast cancer and patients with lung cancer.In the simulation study, CoxCC and CoxTime obtained the mean C-indices numerically closest to those from the Oracle model (mean C-index of 0.723 for CoxCC, 0.726 for CoxTime, versus 0.743 for the Oracle model). Regarding the confidence intervals of survival probabilities, Boot with CoxCC obtained a coverage rate of 96.5%, the closest to the nominal value of 95%. MCDrop was slightly anticonservative and obtained a coverage rate of 89.8% with CoxTime. This method may represent a reasonable compromise in terms of coverage with regards of computational time. In the breast cancer cohort, MLPs had difficulty capturing additional prognostic information from the molecular data. In contrast, in the lung cancer cohort, the models led to substantially stronger discrimination values when adding molecular data to the clinical variables. In conclusion, we were able to represent uncertainty in the survival estimates at particular time points at the patient level using MLPs in the form of 95% confidence intervals. We recommend using CoxTime with either Boot or, for a less intensive computation time, MCDrop.

Dynamic distribution monitoring and biomass estimation of aquatic vegetation in Jupiá Hydropower Station, Brazil

Study RegionJupiá Hydropower Station, the junction of São Paulo and Mato Grosso, Brazil. Study FocusDuring the flood season, a large amount of aquatic vegetation is brought to the front of the dam, which not only threatens the safety of the project but also causes internal pollution in the reservoir. This study combined the field data with the remote sensing technology to analyze the temporal and spatial succession of aquatic vegetation in the Jupiá Reservoir. The biomass inversion models were established to estimate the biomass of aquatic vegetation in the whole reservoir area. New hydrological insights(1) The area of aquatic vegetation in rainy season could reach twice that in dry season. From 2018–2022, the total area of aquatic vegetation in the reservoir area showed an overall trend of increase. (2) The total biomass of floating vegetation and submerged vegetation in the reservoir area fluctuated little from 2018 to 2022, with an annual average of 32.14 × 104 t, of which the average biomass of floating vegetation only accounts for 23.5% of the total biomass. Submerged vegetation was an important object of aquatic vegetation management in this reservoir.

Seed Germination and Growth Improvement for Early Maturing Pear Breeding.

Breeding early maturing cultivars is one of the most important objectives in pear breeding. Very early maturing pears provide an excellent parental material for crossing, but the immature embryo and low seed germination of their hybrid progenies often limit the selection and breeding of new early maturing pear cultivars. In this study, we choose a very early maturing pear cultivar 'Pearl Pear' as the study object and investigate the effects of cold stratification, the culture medium, and the seed coat on the germination and growth of early maturing pear seeds. Our results show that cold stratification (4 °C) treatment could significantly improve the germination rates of early maturing pear seeds. A total of 100 days of cold-temperature treatment in 4 °C and in vitro germination on White medium increased the germination rate to 84.54%. We also observed that seed coat removal improved the germination of early maturing pear seeds, with middle seed coat removal representing the optimal method, with a high germination rate and low contamination. The results of our study led to the establishment of an improved protocol for the germination of early maturing pear, which will greatly facilitate the breeding of new very early maturing pear cultivars.

Theory and Practice of Conceptual Understanding in Physics Education: A Literature Review and Bibliometric Analysis of the Recent Decades

This paper aims to map the existing conceptual understanding literature to explore and classify current theory and practice in physics education. This paper systematically reviews research on conceptual understanding in the field of physics education from 2012 to 2023. The PRISMA framework for systematic literature was used, 278 research articles specific to physics education were identified through a structured keyword search in the SCOPUS database. The analysis revealed two important objectives in the conceptual understanding commonly used in physics education research. First, it relates to the distribution of conceptual understanding articles in terms of number per year, country, research discipline, and journal in which they are published. Second, revealing research collaboration between countries which is dominated by developed countries such as the United States, Germany, Chile, Croatia and Mexico. As for the future agenda, it is important to collaborate on research in developing countries.

Planning GvHD preemptive therapy: risk factors, biomarkers, and prognostic scores.

Prevention of acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease (aGvHD and cGvHD) is an important objective of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). While there is has been significant progress in preventative approaches in the peritransplant period to minimize development of GvHD, no preventative approach has completely eliminated development of either aGvHD or cGvHD. Recently, posttransplant immune biomarker profiling early post-HCT by the Mount Sinai Acute GvHD International Consortium group has resulted in a validated risk assignment algorithm and development of preemptive approaches to decrease aGvHD and mortality in high-risk patients. cGvHD risk assignment algorithms have been developed based on measurements at day 100 and may be used for future preemptive intervention trials to minimize cGvHD. This article discusses the current state of the art in aGvHD and cGvHD preemptive algorithms and therapeutic interventions and what is needed to move these into validated approaches.

Numerical Investigation on Anti-Explosion Performance of Non-Metallic Annular Protective Structures.

Explosive shock wave protection is an important issue that urgently needs to be solved in the current military and public security safety fields. Non-metallic protective structures have the characteristics of being lightweight and having low secondary damage, making them an important research object in the field of equivalent protection. In this paper, the numerical simulation was performed to investigate the dynamic mechanical response of non-metallic annular protective structures under the internal blast, which were made by the continuous winding of PE fibers. The impact of various charges, the number of fiber layers, and polyurethane foam on the damage to protective structures was analyzed. The numerical results showed that 120 PE fiber layers could protect 50 g TNT equivalent explosives. However, solely increasing the thickness of fiber layers cannot effectively enhance the protection efficiency. By adding polyurethane foam in the inner layer, the stress acting on the fiber could be effectively reduced. A 30 mm thick polyurethane layer can reduce the equivalent stress of the fiber layer by 41.6%. This paper can provide some reference for the numerical simulations of non-metallic explosion protection structures.

Reading Skills Transfer Best from Home Language to a Second Language: Policy Lessons from Two Field Experiments in South Africa

In many countries, children need to become proficient in both their home language (L1) and an international language, such as English (L2). Governments face tradeoffs in how to prioritize these two objectives. We provide empirical evidence on cross-linguistic transfer between L1 and L2, using the results of two randomized evaluations of Structured Pedagogy Programs implemented in South Africa. The programs had the same design, implementing organization, and duration. The key difference is that one program targeted the teaching of reading in L1, while the other targeted L2. We find that both interventions had positive effects on the languages they targeted. The L1 intervention also had a positive effect on L2 reading proficiency. In contrast, the L2 intervention had a negative effect on L1 outcomes, for the lower-performing students. These results are consistent with the Simple View of Reading and suggest that decoding skills are best learned in L1. It is thus cost-effective to prioritize learning to read in L1, as well as supporting teachers in this subject, even if becoming proficient in L2 is also regarded as an important policy objective.

The implementation of the substitution principle in European chemical legislation: a comparative analysis

BackgroundThe substitution of hazardous chemicals with safer alternatives is an important objective in European chemical policy, but implementation has been slower than expected. We conduct a comprehensive analysis and comparison of the implementation of the substitution principle in European regulations for pesticides, biocides, and industrial chemicals. Specifically, we examine and compare the criteria and processes associated with the identification of candidates for substitution and the assessment of alternatives.ResultsWe find only minor differences in the criteria applied to identify candidates for substitution amongst pesticides, biocides, and industrial chemicals, but larger differences concerning the processes used. While all substances that are to be approved as a pesticide and biocide are systematically evaluated against the established criteria for substitution, the substitution process for industrial chemicals only focuses on those substances identified as substances of very high concern. The main reason candidates for substitution remain on the market is the lack of identified safer chemical alternatives and the insufficient consideration of non-chemical alternatives, caused, at least to a large extent, by the comparatively weak incentives provided by current regulations.ConclusionsThe systematic approach for the identification of industrial substances of very high concern (SVHC) under ECHAs “Integrated Regulatory Strategy” is much welcome. However, no final conclusion on SVHC properties or the need for regulatory action has been drawn for approximately 90% of the REACH-registered substances, as often even basic hazard and exposure data are missing. Hence, at least a screening-level evaluation of SVHC properties should become a mandatory part of the substance registration under REACH. To reduce the risk of strategic behaviour in the search for alternatives to industrial chemicals identified as SVHC, a setup in which regulatory authorities play a larger role as information and knowledge brokers should be considered. Investments in innovation as well as improved sharing of information and a better distribution of the workloads amongst European authorities might also improve the identification of safer alternatives. However, without stronger incentives, making it more costly for companies to continue using hazardous substances relative to safer alternatives, initiatives to promote substitution are likely to have limited success.

THE HERME AMULET FROM CERAITAI IN PISIDIA

The subject of this article is the Herme amulet brought to Burdur Museum from Ceraitai. The city is one of the mountainous cities of the Pisidia Region. It was largely destroyed by illegal activities in the 1960s and 1970s. A Herme amulet was discovered, which was reportedly found during illegal excavations in the city. This amulet was brought to the Burdur Museum in 1973 and sold. In ancient Egypt, Phoenicia, Mediterranean, Anatolia, and Greece, the use of divine objects or various animal figures in the form of amulets was a common tradition. However, examples of symbolic herme amulets made in the form of miniatures of the god Hermes are extremely rare. The herme amulet, which was determined to be brought from Ceraitai, is an important object in this sense. This amulet was made as a Hermes cult object. It is a miniature version of the ithyphallic Hermes monuments found throughout Athens. It is phallus-shaped and has an anthropomorphic head. On the back, there is a thread hole for hanging it. This object is worn around the neck to ward off evil spirits and to bring success and good fortune. It is an apotropaic object. It is quite distinct from the amulets discovered in Anatolian studies and used for the same purpose. In this way, it is a one-of-a-kind artifact. While determining the work’s historical context, stylistic comparisons with appropriate specimens from outside Anatolia were made. According to these works, it was deemed appropriate to date the amulet to the 5th and 4th centuries BC.

Progress of EGFR targeted therapy for oral cancer

Because of some uncertain factors such as eating habits and smoking, oral cancer has become one of the serious diseases of the oral and maxillofacial region. Especially in some Chinese cities where betel nut chewing is customary, the incidence of oral cancer has been high. Today, the main treatment methods are still traditional surgical excision, radiation and chemotherapy. However, with the development of medical technology, gene-targeted therapy has become the most important research object. Gene targeting technology is mainly targets the treatment of cancer organ cells, reducing the damage of traditional treatment methods on other areas without lesions. At present, the epidermal cytokine EGFR has been the most studied, and some research results have been put into clinical application. However, in terms of targeted therapy, the development of technology is still incomplete and immature. This article mainly discusses the pathogenic mechanism of EGFR in oral cancer, the synergistic effect of EGFR and other factors on the development of oral cancer, and the research results of EGFR-targeted therapy and combination therapy for oral cancer. The significance of this study is that based on these discussions, it provides reference opinions for treatment that can achieve a good prognosis for oral cancer patients and alleviate the pain of oral cancer patients, and evaluate the current development status of clinical application of EGFR targeted therapy for oral cancer. At present, the targeted therapy technology of oral cancer is still immature. In the future, the role of other factors in the development of oral cancer can be studied, and the influence of the combination of targeted therapy and other therapeutic methods on the treatment results of oral cancer can be studied.

A comprehensive meta-analysis of genetic parameters for resilience and productivity indicator traits in Holstein cattle

Selection for resilience indicator (RIND) traits in Holstein cattle is becoming an important breeding objective as the worldwide population is expected to be exposed to increased environmental stressors due to both climate change and changing industry standards. However, genetic correlations between RIND and productivity indicator (PIND) traits, which are already being selected for and have the most economic value, are often unfavorable. As a result, it is necessary to fully understand these genetic relationships when incorporating novel traits into selection indices, so that informed decisions can be made to fully optimize selection for both groups of traits. In the past 2 decades, there have been many estimates of RIND traits published in the literature, albeit in small populations. To provide valuable pooled summary estimates, a random-effects meta-analysis was conducted for heritability and genetic correlation estimates for PIND and RIND traits in worldwide Holstein cattle. In total, 926 heritability estimates for 9 PIND and 27 RIND traits, along with 362 estimates of genetic correlation (PIND × RIND traits) were collected. Resilience indicator traits were grouped into the following subgroups: Metabolic Diseases, Hoof Health, Udder Health, Fertility, Heat Tolerance, Longevity, and Other. Pooled estimates of heritability for PIND traits ranged from 0.201 ± 0.05 (energy-corrected milk) to 0.377 ± 0.06 (protein content), while pooled estimates of heritability for RIND traits ranged from 0.032 ± 0.02 (incidence of lameness, incidence of milk fever) to 0.497 ± 0.05 (measures of body weight). Pooled estimates of genetic correlations ranged from -0.360 ± 0.25 (protein content vs. milk acetone concentration) to 0.535 ± 0.72 (measures of fat-to-protein ratio vs. milk acetone concentration). Additionally, out of 243 potential genetic correlations between PIND and RIND traits that could have been reported, only 40 had enough published estimates to implement the meta-analysis model. Our results confirmed that the interactions between PIND and RIND traits are complex, and all relationships should be evaluated when incorporating novel traits into selection indices. This study provides a valuable reference for breeders looking to incorporate RIND traits for Holstein cattle into selection indices.