Individual Entities Research Articles

Прогнозирование агропродовольственных экономических систем с использованием искусственных нейронных сетей

Abstract. The purpose of the study was to substantiate the applicability of the use of artificial neural networks to the forecasting of agro-food economic systems. Methods. The research is based on the use of elements of the interpretative method in a combination of genetic, structural, functional, complex, systemic, and empirical approaches. The scientific novelty it consists in systematization of algorithms for the implementation of artificial neural networks and substantiation of their applicability for forecasting agro-food economic systems, development of an algorithm and architecture for building a neural network based on multiple data on agricultural markets, substantiation of directions for improving information infrastructure at the firm level. Results. The authors systematized intuitive and formalized forecasting methods, justified the place of methods based on machine learning in this system. The advantages and disadvantages of using artificial neural networks for forecasting agri-food economic systems are considered in detail, the expediency of their use from the point of view of compliance with the principles of forecasting is justified. The analysis of the main types of artificial neural networks allowed us to conclude that the most promising for the implementation of forecasting tasks are competitive neural networks with a back propagation algorithm (LSTM and GRU). The main objectives of building models based on neural networks for use in forecasting economic systems are formulated, the basic provisions of the sequence and methods of deploying neural networks in the forecasting process in the agri-food market are developed, the key elements of the organization of the forecasting process in individual economic entities are considered, practical aspects of the possibility of using a mathematical algorithm for modeling agri-food systems are considered, as well as the conditions for improving the information infrastructure at the firm level in order to ensure the availability of data sources and technologies for their processing.

Peculiarities of criminal liability for intentional destruction or damage to someone else’s property

The article reveals the specifics of criminal liability for intentional destruction or damage to someone else’s property provided for in Article 194 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The problematic issues of the composition of the criminal offense of intentional destruction or damage to someone else’s property are analyzed, the difference between this composition and the intentional destruction or damage to property that has special features (objects of the electric power industry, nature reserve fund, archaeological heritage, weapons, military supplies, official documents, military property, etc.). Intentional destruction or damage to someone else’s property, which has special features to be qualified according to the special norms provided for by articles: 113, 1941, 252, 258, 292, 298, 338, 357, 360, 378, 399, 411, 437, 433, 438 of the Criminal Code, is proposed. of Ukraine. On the basis of the analysis of judicial practice, it was proposed that in the case of using an explosive device, for the intentional destruction or damage of someone else’s property, such actions of the perpetrator must be additionally qualified under Part 1 of Art. 263 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The imperfection of the provisions of the current criminal legislation in terms of the formulation of the qualifying signs of intentional destruction or damage to property was revealed. It has been established that the current legislation of Ukraine on criminal responsibility does not include the concept of a generally dangerous method, arson, explosion, the content of the death of people, serious consequences is not disclosed. The concept of a generally dangerous method and its varieties is proposed. The concept of a generally dangerous method and its varieties is proposed. A generally dangerous method of intentional destruction or damage to property is a method that causes property, non-property, physical damage to an individual or legal entity or creates a real danger of causing such damage to two or more people. In order to avoid unnecessary differentiation of criminal law norms, it is proposed to exclude from the Criminal Code of Ukraine articles 347, 3471, 352, and part 2 of Art. 194 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine to add the sign of intentional destruction or damage to someone else’s property in connection with the person’s performance of official powers or professional duties.

Prediction of pea composites physicochemical traits and techno-functionalities using FTIR spectroscopy

This study aimed to test the feasibility of applying FTIR spectroscopy in order to create models that can predict quality attributes of pea composites. FTIR spectroscopy data were captured from three types of samples namely pea flour (PF), pea concentrate (PC) and pea isolate (PI). The FTIR spectral data along with partial least square (PLS) regression were used to build predictive models for physicochemical (moisture content, protein content, starch content, fiber content, bulk density, color), structural (particle size distribution, surface openings, fractal dimension), thermal (denaturization temperature, enthalpy), and techno-functional traits (water holding capacity, foaming capacity, foam stability, solubility, least gelation concentration) of pea composites. The FTIR spectra were subjected to different spectral pretreatment where 2nd derivative pretreatment provided the most suitable model for prediction of the studied parameters. The values of pea composite's traits determined through non-destructive FTIR spectroscopy coupled with partial least squares regression analysis, were very closed to the values obtained by the destructive standard methods. Performance (correlation, root mean square error) of the developed models were attribute-specific. For most of the studied attributes, correlation coefficient (r) were higher than 0.82 in the calibration step, and 0.71 in the prediction step. Pea composites have shown distinctive functionalities both as individual entity and in formulating meat analogs. Overall, it could be recommended that FTIR spectroscopy could be used in pea processing industry for developing robust models, to non-destructively assess the pea composite's properties and techno-functionalities.

The Conservation Varieties Regime: Its Past, Present and Future in the Protection and Commercialisation of Vegetable Landraces in Europe

In 1998, the European Union aimed to make the official Common European Catalogue of Plant Varieties more flexible and to mitigate the decline of agricultural biodiversity in European rural areas by introducing the Conservation Varieties Regime (CVR): a set of rules pertaining to local and/or traditional varieties cultivated in specific regions that are at risk of genetic erosion. This initiative was intended to permit the sale of those varieties that do not fully meet the distinctness, uniformity and stability (DUS) criteria required for the registration of standard varieties in the Common European Catalogue. In this review, we examine the impact of establishing the CVR 25 years after its first definition. As of the date of data collection, 191 conservation varieties were registered throughout Europe, representing only 0.88% of the total number of varieties included in the Common Catalogue. The most important countries are Spain, Italy and Croatia, which have, respectively, 57, 43 and 26 conservation varieties. The case study from Italy highlights that the CVR is poorly structured and is characterised by the initiatives of individual entities that take it upon themselves to protect and/or promote specific vegetable varieties. In this review, we discuss such data in relation to the protection and commercialisation of vegetable landraces in Europe. Overall, the CVR has failed to promote and enforce a dedicated market for all those varieties excluded from registration in the Common Catalogue due to DUS requirements.

Creating a Sustainable Narrative: The Interplay of Ecological Agriculture, Cultural Heritage, and Community Efficacy in Contemporary China

Abstract Highlighting the situational, creative strategics implemented by local actors for encouraging dynamic interactions among culinary heritage, cultural tourism, and ecosystem, this study presents two case studies from southeast-central China: Dongjiao Center for Porcelain History and Cultural Exchange in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province, and Changsha Banquets, a restaurant chain in Changsha, Hunnan Province. Together, they embody the author’s ongoing research on heritage education, cultural tourism, and sustainable development in contemporary China. This article provides an overview and analysis of the developing forms of sustainable tourism and heritage education enacted by individual social actors since 1985, when China signed the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, against the backdrop of China’s economic growth, sustainable consumption, and most importantly, the rising public awareness of heritage protection. The author argues that these individual entities develop sustainable cultural tourism through social media and creative contents that are not a part of China’s mainstream state-funded food media.

Parent-Only Balance Sheet Information and Credit Risk Assessments

SYNOPSIS General-purpose financial statements prepared under GAAP are for a consolidated reporting entity—a collection of legal entities that includes the parent and any subsidiaries it controls. This reporting model results in a loss of information about the individual legal entities within the consolidated reporting entity. Our study examines the role of parent-only balance sheet information in assessing the credit risk of the parent when it is a bank holding company. We obtain evidence from three trading platforms: credit default swaps (CDS), outstanding bonds, and new bonds. We find that parent-only leverage is useful for debtholders to assess the parent’s credit risk even after considering consolidated leverage. Moreover, in CDS markets, parent-only leverage is more useful for firms without downstream guarantee than for firms with guarantee and is less useful for firms with a stronger internal capital market. Our study raises the awareness of parent-only financial information for credit risk assessments. Data Availability: All data are available from the identified public sources. JEL Classifications: M2; M4; G3.

Unusual Multiple and Bilateral Combinations of Arterial and Neural Variations in the Axillae of Single Cadaver

Nerve During the dissection of the axillae and upper limbs of an 80-year-old male donor, multiple vascular and neural variations were encountered. On the right side, the thoracoacromial artery and the lateral thoracic artery were absent. On the left side the subscapular artery was absent, and the posterior cord of the brachial plexus gave branch to two upper subscapular nerves and then divided into radial nerve and a common stem that branched into thoracodorsal nerve, lower subscapular nerve, nerves to teres major and minor muscles and the axillary nerve. Additionally, in the left arm there was a variant communication between the musculocutaneous nerve and the median nerve. Although the existence of these variations is well documented in the literature as individual entities or few combinations, the occurrence of such multiple variations in a single cadaver in a limited area of the body involving vessel and nerves is not common. A multitude of variations in a small area of the body such as this can be a source of diagnostic and imaging interpretation errors. Unpredictable iatrogenic injuries can also occur during various procedures in the area such as during preparation of muscle flap, mastectomy with axillary lymph node dissection, reconstructive and aesthetic plastic surgery of the breast and other clinical procedures including shoulder arthroplasty.

Cervical Spine Injuries

Around a third of all cervical spine injuries occur in the upper cervical spine in the area between the occiput and the second cervical vertebra. The latter being the most common location of the injury with around 70%. But also atlas fractures, occipital condyle fractures, traumatic spondylolisthesis of C2, atypical fractures in the corpus area as well as atlantooccipital and atlantoaxial ligamentous lesions should be mentioned in connection with injuries in this area. In many cases, conservative therapy regimen is possible. In unstable or displaced injuries, however, surgical intervention is required, with various surgical procedures being used. The frequency, diagnostics, classification, and standard therapy of the individual entities are presented in detail in this continuing medical education article.

A scalable and transparent data pipeline for AI-enabled health data ecosystems.

Transparency and traceability are essential for establishing trustworthy artificial intelligence (AI). The lack of transparency in the data preparation process is a significant obstacle in developing reliable AI systems which can lead to issues related to reproducibility, debugging AI models, bias and fairness, and compliance and regulation. We introduce a formal data preparation pipeline specification to improve upon the manual and error-prone data extraction processes used in AI and data analytics applications, with a focus on traceability. We propose a declarative language to define the extraction of AI-ready datasets from health data adhering to a common data model, particularly those conforming to HL7 Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR). We utilize the FHIR profiling to develop a common data model tailored to an AI use case to enable the explicit declaration of the needed information such as phenotype and AI feature definitions. In our pipeline model, we convert complex, high-dimensional electronic health records data represented with irregular time series sampling to a flat structure by defining a target population, feature groups and final datasets. Our design considers the requirements of various AI use cases from different projects which lead to implementation of many feature types exhibiting intricate temporal relations. We implement a scalable and high-performant feature repository to execute the data preparation pipeline definitions. This software not only ensures reliable, fault-tolerant distributed processing to produce AI-ready datasets and their metadata including many statistics alongside, but also serve as a pluggable component of a decision support application based on a trained AI model during online prediction to automatically prepare feature values of individual entities. We deployed and tested the proposed methodology and the implementation in three different research projects. We present the developed FHIR profiles as a common data model, feature group definitions and feature definitions within a data preparation pipeline while training an AI model for "predicting complications after cardiac surgeries". Through the implementation across various pilot use cases, it has been demonstrated that our framework possesses the necessary breadth and flexibility to define a diverse array of features, each tailored to specific temporal and contextual criteria.

FOUNDATIONS OF REALITY IN ARISTOTLE

In my contribution, I analyse some aspects of Aristotle’s interpretation of the organisation of ontology. Aristotle, in many of his works, is looking for a new ontology: through his investigation, Aristotle aims to discover the correct components of the ontology and to put them in the right place. Aristotle’s way of proceeding consists in a progressive opening of the curtains of ontology: concepts such as categories, one, being this something, such, this such, quality, universals and so on are clarified, step by step, in the different works of Aristotle. In the present analysis, I concentrate my attention on the two districts of entities and on the four levels of entities present in Aristotle’s ontology. The two-district scheme is the structure of reality composed of individual and universal entities; the four-level scheme consists in the structure of reality composed of individual substantial entities, individual non-substantial entities, universal substantial properties, and universal nonsubstantial properties. In both schemes, entities should be put in the due ontological places and, conversely, they should not be assigned to false ontological places. Individual entities are instances of properties (or: instantiated properties); universal properties are programmes / dispositions instantiated by individual entities. The field of the instances is always constituted by individuals (by individual entities), while the whole field of existence is constituted both by individuals (by individual entities) and by universal properties (in the case of the universals connected to biological properties, universals are deputies for properties inscribed in the reality).

Long-Term Hierarchic Changes in Settlement Systems at Geographic ‘Edges’

ABSTRACT Sparsely populated geographic edges of colonised nations exhibit heterogenous historical demographic trajectories. In this study, we analyse the longitudinal evolution of the settlement system in Northern Australia to quantify and visualise relative settlement dynamics over 165 years. We extend the existing literature by deviating from analysing each township as an individual entity, instead focusing the analysis on relativities within the entire settlement system. We quantify settlement and systemic volatility through measurement and visualisation of relative settlement sizes using rank-sizes and document rank-size changes between 1856 and 2021. We analyse rapid and non-synergic shifts in rank-trajectories and demonstrate rank-trajectories for selected settlements by types. We found that the expansion of a fly-in-fly-out workforce in the resource sector since the 1980s has meant less turbulent trajectories for the settlement system in the North could potentially open prospects for more sustainable population growth policies while relocating the risks of resource dependency in employment and growing unemployment during economic bust from edges to core areas. Beyond annotating the evolution of the settlement system in Northern Australia, this study demonstrates the potential for policy, economic conditions and definitional peculiarities to affect volatility in the settlement system at geographic edges elsewhere.

From collections to connections in libraries, archives and museums: Do theories meet practice?

Libraries, archives and museums are primarily seen as institutions that preserve and promote collections. However, ongoing social changes are causing them to increasingly focus on their social partners and the relationships that can be established with them. The evolving nature of these institutions’ priorities raises questions about how they are adapting to this shift and its impact on their operations. The objective of this research is to contribute to the conceptualization of the paradigm shift through verification of how selected social and cultural theories of social relations are reflected in the activities of libraries, archives and museums, as well as their connections with various partners. A content analysis of articles from three journals indicates that the relation-centric theories studied, and the concepts presented therein, are taken into account by their authors, albeit to varying degrees. The relationships of libraries, archives and museums primarily concern local communities and special user groups, but also involve other legal or individual entities, as well as the professional community.

FOREIGN ECONOMIC ACTIVITY IN THE SYSTEM OF ACCOUNTING AND ANALYTICAL MANAGEMENT SUPPORT

The article decomposes the foreign economic activity of enterprise through the prism of accounting and analytical support of management. It has been determined that current trends in the development of the domestic and world economy, specificity and peculiarities of activities of individual business entities in the field of foreign economic relations, the need for further development of methodology and methods of accounting and analysis of foreign economic activity, taking into account the objectively arising needs for the development of information support for management, determine the relevance of decomposition of foreign economic activity in the system of accounting and analytical support for management. It is substantiated that the basis for the decomposition of foreign economic activity in the system of accounting and analytical support of management is the concept of the type of activity. The organisation of accounting of foreign economic activity at a particular enterprise is largely determined by the type of foreign economic activity inherent in this enterprise. In the process of production and economic activity, enterprises, as a rule, face several types of foreign economic operations simultaneously. The accounting and analytical aspects of management of foreign economic activity of enterprise are systematised. A model of decomposition of the foreign economic activity of enterprise has been developed. It is proposed that the model of decomposition of foreign economic activity of enterprise should include types of foreign economic activity and accounting and analytical aspects, grouped into blocks: key aspects; characteristics of types of foreign economic activity, organisational and legal conditions, purpose, directions and results of functioning, accounting approaches and basic analytical criteria, performance indicators, structural construction and functioning, etc. The developed model provides for the reflection and determination of performance results by types, subtypes, segments and other classification features of foreign economic activity in order to obtain analytical, detailed, transparent and relevant information based on financial, management and strategic accounting data. Formation of an integrated system of accounting and analysis of foreign economic activity is based on consideration of regulatory, contractual, structural, accounting, analytical, control and software and hardware support of foreign economic activity.

TopoGeoFusion: Integrating object topology based feature computation methods into geometrical feature analysis to enhance classification performance

This study used smartphone captured RGB images of gooseberries to automatically sort into standard, premium, or rejected categories based on topology. Main challenges addressed include, separation of touching or overlapping fruits into individual entities and new method called 'TopoGeoFusion' that combines basic geometrical features with topology aware features computed from the fruits to assess the grade or maturity. Quality assessment helps in grading the fruit to determine market suitability and intelligent camera applications. Computer Vision-based techniques have been applied to automatically grade the quality of gooseberries as standard, premium, or rejected according to fruit maturity. Smartphone-captured images of 1697 Indian Star Gooseberries are contributed to the study. This work acquired images consisting multiple fruits with overlapping and non-overlapping boundaries for concurrent quality assessment. Multiple classifiers such as Random Forest, SVM, Naive Bayes, Decision Tree, and KNN were applied to grade the gooseberry fruit. Random Forest classification with a fusion feature model resulted in an accuracy of 100 % towards reject, standard, and premium classes for test sets with four training strategies. The proposed segmentation model proves reliable in fruit detection & extraction with an average mAP of 0.56, resulting in an acceptable model for grade assessment.•The study highlights the effectiveness of TopoGeoFusion in automating the grading process of gooseberry fruits using topologically computed features.•The developed models exhibit high accuracy and reliability, even in challenging scenarios such as overlapping and touching fruits.•The method provides the technique to detect and extract the occluded objects and compute the features based on the partial object's topology.

Evaluating the impact of iron impurities in KOH on OER performance of BaNiO3 single crystals using scanning electrochemical cell microscopy

Understanding the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysis requires a careful understanding of the surface and activity evolution of well-defined materials. An especially promising candidate is the BaNiO3 hexagonal perovskite, matching strides with benchmark catalysts such as Ba0.5Sr0.5Co0.8Fe0.2O3–δ. Here, we conducted a structural and electrochemical analysis of BaNiO3 single crystals to assess the influence of iron impurities in KOH electrolyte on their OER performance. We used scanning electrochemical cell microscopy (SECCM) for precise measurements on BaNiO3 single crystals in the absence of carbon additives. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) revealed that the presence of iron consistently enhanced the OER current with subsequent cycles, indicating a dynamic improvement in BaNiO3's electrochemical activity. Conversely, in iron-free KOH electrolyte, performance diminished with cycling. These findings not only underscore the critical necessity of KOH purification for BaNiO3 electrochemical studies but also showcase SECCM's unparalleled ability to offer insights into the electrochemical evolution of individual entities such as single crystals. This makes it a powerful operando tool for evaluating forthcoming single crystals, thereby aiding in the design of superior catalysts for OER reactions.

A Contribution to the Integration of International, National and Local Cultural Heritage Protection in Planning Methodology: A Case Study of the Djerdap Area

The paper focuses on the question of how the application of a multilevel, integrated, and territorial approach can contribute to the protection of cultural heritage through planning instruments in Serbia. The principles of territorialization, integration and digitalization highlighted in the recent strategic documents of the Republic of Serbia are related to international recommendations and theoretical concepts and analyzed with regards to the possibilities of their implementation in planning methodology. The case study is the spatial plan for the Djerdap National Park, a special purpose area with already recognized international and national importance. The research suggests that the encompassed cultural heritage, except the Roman limes, is still recognized at the level of individual entities. The study emphasizes the importance of aligning all levels of governance to safeguard the whole spatial entity rather than focusing solely on its particular areas. The international and national significance of the planning area contributes to the strengthening of awareness of heritage and its institutional protection. However, the vitality of the area, which is key to its sustainable development, comes from the local level. Planning documents contribute to the integration of local values and local communities into development programs and projects.

Peer-to-peer validation of Ki-67 scoring in a pathology quality circle as a tool to assess interobserver variability: are we better than we thought?

Ki-67, a nuclear protein expressed in all stages of cellular proliferation, is a valuable tool to assess tumor proliferation and has been linked to more aggressive tumor behavior. However, interlaboratory staining heterogeneity and inter-observer variability challenge its reproducibility. Round Robin tests are a suitable tool to standardize and harmonize immunohistochemical and molecular analyses in histopathology. The study investigates the interrater and interlaboratory reproducibility of Ki-67-scoring using both manual and automated approaches. Unstained TMA slides comprising diverse tumor types (breast cancer, neuroendocrine tumors, lymphomas, and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma) were distributed to six pathology laboratories, each employing their routine staining protocols. Manual and automated scoring methods were applied, and interrater and interlaboratory agreement assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). The results highlight good-to-excellent reliability overall, with automated scoring demonstrating higher consistency (ICC 0.955) than manual scoring (ICC 0.871). Results were more variable when looking at the individual entities. Reliability remained good for lymphomas (ICC 0.878) and breast cancer (ICC 0.784) and was poor in well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumors (ICC 0.354). This study clearly advocates standardized practices and training to ensure consistency in Ki-67-assessment, and it demonstrates that this can be achieved in a peer-to-peer approach in local quality-circles.

Conceptual Justification of the Political Future in the Three-Dimensionality of the Past-Present-Future

The article addresses the complicated issue of political future in a temporally three-dimensional manner. First, an attempt is made to dissect the conceptual contents of the idea of the “end of history” linking its historical evolution to contemporary international relations. Moreover, the article exposes the underlying connection between the “end of history” on the one hand and the “political future” on the other. In this sense, one may conculde that it is necessary to differentiate between the “end of history” as an arguable notion and the “desired end of history” as a universal direction of humankind. Second, an emphasis is made on the interrelationships among the individual, the society, the state and supranational entities revealing the sociocultural dimension of the political future. Finally, the article addresses the proposed matrix of “challenge-response to the challenge-counter-challenge” as a formula of an effective deal with contemporary sociopolitical phenomena. The general representation is, however, the anthropomorphizing effect of the political future in the context of global and local civilizations.

Development Process of Unification Education Policy: Focusing on University and Society

Purpose: Unification education is greatly influenced by policy depending on its target. This unification education policy has characteristics that vary depending on the target. Accordingly, the development process of the unification education policy was reviewed, focusing on universities and society. Method: This study first reviewed laws related to unification education policy. Next, we looked at the contents of unification education related to these laws. Based on this, the model of unification education was reviewed. Results: In order to increase the effectiveness of unification education policies targeting universities and social education, efforts are needed to analyze and present the characteristics of unification education in universities and society, and to develop unification education by reflecting the characteristics of individual entities involved. These efforts will converge into public value. Conclusion: In order to induce endogenous changes in a positive direction along with the sustainability of our society related to unification education, the results of unification education being developed in elementary and middle schools should be deepened through university and social education, and through this, the unification policy of our society will be improved. The formation of a bottom-up unification policy that allows this to be formed is required. To this end, various policy efforts will be needed to ensure that the currently developing university and social unification education is developed more actively.

KONSEP NITU DALAM KEPERCAYAAN MASYARAKAT DUSUN LEWOURAN

This article explores the concept of nitu (spirit) in the beliefs of the Lewouran village community, located in Lewotobi Subdistrict, East Flores Regency, East Nusa Tenggara. Specifically, it delves into the concept of nitu in the traditional beliefs of the Lewouran community. The objective of this article is to elucidate whether nitu indeed possesses distinct powers in the lives of the Lewouran villagers. The research employs a qualitative descriptive methodology, combining field research and literature review methods. The findings of this study suggest that nitu, especially nitu date (malevolent spirit), are not merely individual or collective spiritual entities with specific supernatural abilities. Instead, they can have a significant impact on human life, leading to illnesses, diseases, and various calamities within the community.