Platform For Interdisciplinary Research Research Articles

Angiogenesis-elicited spectral responses of early invasive skin melanoma: Implications for the evaluation of lesion progression.

Early invasive skin melanoma (EISM) associated with partial tumor invasion to the thin and optically complex papillary dermis (PD) represents a critical stage before the onset of metastasis. EISM lesions may be accompanied by angiogenesis, which can alter the PD's blood and fibril contents. A comprehensive understanding about these interconnected processes is essential for enhancing the efficacy of EISM optical evaluation methodologies. Employing a first-principles computational approach supported by measured data, we systematically assess the impact that angiogenesis can have on the EISM's spectral responses. Our findings indicate that these responses are discernibly affected by angiogenesis under distinct physiological conditions, with more substantial tissue alterations leading to accentuated spectral changes in the 550-600 nm region. Accordingly, we propose the use of a customized low-cost spectral index to monitor these processes. Furthermore, our investigation provides a high-fidelity in silico platform for interdisciplinary research on the photobiology of evolving skin melanomas.

Holistic analysis of a gliding arc discharge using 3D tomography and single-shot fluorescence lifetime imaging

Gliding arc plasmas, a versatile form of non-thermal plasma discharges, hold great promise for sustainable chemical conversion in electrified industrial applications. Their relatively high temperatures compared to other non-thermal plasmas, reactive species generation, and efficient energy transfer make them ideal for an energy-efficient society. However, plasma discharges are transient and complex 3D entities influenced by gas pressure, mixture, and power, posing challenges for in-situ measurements of chemical species and spatial dynamics. Here we demonstrate a combination of innovative approaches, providing a comprehensive view of discharges and their chemical surroundings by combining fluorescence lifetime imaging of hydroxyl (OH) radicals with optical emission 3D tomography. This reveals variations in OH radical distributions under different conditions and local variations in fluorescence quantum yield with high spatial resolution from a single laser shot. Our results and methodology offer a multidimensional platform for interdisciplinary research in plasma physics and chemistry.

Mapping Glacier Basal Sliding Applying Machine Learning

AbstractDuring the RESOLVE project (“High‐resolution imaging in subsurface geophysics: development of a multi‐instrument platform for interdisciplinary research”), continuous surface displacement and seismic array observations were obtained on Glacier d’Argentière in the French Alps for 35 days in May 2018. The data set is used to perform a detailed study of targeted processes within the highly dynamic cryospheric environment. In particular, the physical processes controlling glacial basal motion are poorly understood and remain challenging to observe directly. Especially in the Alpine region for temperate based glaciers where the ice rapidly responds to changing climatic conditions and thus, processes are strongly intermittent in time and heterogeneous in space. Spatially dense seismic and Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements are analyzed applying machine learning to gain insight into the processes controlling glacial motions of Glacier d’Argentière. Using multiple bandpass‐filtered copies of the continuous seismic waveforms, we compute energy‐based features, develop a matched field beamforming catalog and include meteorological observations. Features describing the data are analyzed with a gradient boosting decision tree model to directly estimate the GPS displacements from the seismic noise. We posit that features of the seismic noise provide direct access to the dominant parameters that drive displacement on the highly variable and unsteady surface of the glacier. The machine learning model infers daily fluctuations and longer term trends. The results show on‐ice displacement rates are strongly modulated by activity at the base of the glacier. The techniques presented provide a new approach to study glacial basal sliding and discover its full complexity.

In Search of Industry 4.0 and Logistics 4.0 in Small-Medium Enterprises—A State of the Art Review

The implementation of Industry 4.0 currently concerns mainly large enterprises. However, the economy of most European countries is based on the activities of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). For this reason, the further development of the I4.0 concept and the technology of Logistics 4.0 depends on adjusting its assumptions to the needs of SMEs. The article aims to identify research areas regarding the adaptation of Industry 4.0 and Logistics 4.0 solutions to the needs of the SME sector, based on a review of the literature. The PRISMA method, one of the popular analytical methods used in a literature review, was used for the research. The selection of publications for the analysis was based on the Web of Science database, an important interdisciplinary research platform. Ninety-five publications were accepted for the final analysis, which concerned only the application of Industry 4.0 in SMEs and 10 publications on Logistics 4.0. The conducted studies of the literature allowed to identify the scope of research on the implementation of the concept of Industry 4.0 and Logistics 4.0 in the SME sector. The research allowed us to distinguish five thematic groups in total, which have been characterized. One of the identified groups concerns the adaptation of Logistics 4.0 systems to the needs of SMEs. The number of publications on this group of studies is minimal, therefore this area has been recognized as the currently existing research gap.

Cinderella or princess: Past and present of economic history

The article considers: (a) the main features of the development of economic history (EH) as an academic discipline in the second half of the 20th century; key challenges faced by the EH in the early 2020s. Based on the results of the survey of 147 international economic historians author reveals the most popular methods used by scholars from different local research communities. Special attention is paid to the study of respondents’ perception of the place of EH among other sciences. The analysis has shown that nowadays EH is gradually becoming an interdisciplinary research platform connecting scholars from a wide variety of subject At the same time, these scholars are united not as much by the unity of conceptual views, as by the desire to study EH not for the sake of history per se, but for the sake of finding the origins of modern social and economic challenges. The article also contains the results of a survey of 42 Russian economic historians about the theoretical and methodological assumptions they use and their vision of the problems of studying economic history in today’s Russia. The analysis has revealed that one of the main challenges for the development of the Russian community of economic historians is its high fragmentation, manifested in the lack of methodological consensus, as well as a rather pessimistic vision of future prospects of EH.

A Multimodal Sensing Platform for Interdisciplinary Research in Agrarian Environments.

Agricultural and environmental monitoring programs often require labor-intensive inputs and substantial costs to manually gather data from remote field locations. Recent advances in the Internet of Things enable the construction of wireless sensor systems to automate these remote monitoring efforts. This paper presents the design of a modular system to serve as a research platform for outdoor sensor development and deployment. The advantages of this system include low power consumption (enabling solar charging), the use of commercially available electronic parts for lower-cost and scaled up deployments, and the flexibility to include internal electronics and external sensors, allowing novel applications. In addition to tracking environmental parameters, the modularity of this system brings the capability to measure other non-traditional elements. This capability is demonstrated with two different agri- and aquacultural field applications: tracking moth phenology and monitoring bivalve gaping. Collection of these signals in conjunction with environmental parameters could provide a holistic and context-aware data analysis. Preliminary experiments generated promising results, demonstrating the reliability of the system. Idle power consumption of 27.2 mW and 16.6 mW for the moth- and bivalve-tracking systems, respectively, coupled with 2.5 W solar cells allows for indefinite deployment in remote locations.

AutismOnt: An Ontology-Driven Decision Support For Autism Diagnosis and Treatment

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a deleterious neurodevelopmental disorder affecting 1 in 54 children. The complex interdisciplinary nature of ASD research, however, introduces challenges to the spread and accessibility of new discoveries among researchers in different disciplines; furthermore, this highly complex research environment makes it even harder for practicing physicians and primary care providers to keep up with recent advances, which would profoundly impact the extent toward which recent research impacts standard medical and caretake practices. In order to contribute toward bridging the gaps between researchers in different fields, practicing physicians, and primary caretakers, we have created the most expansive autism ontology up to date (AutimsOnt) through utilizing the Protégé ontological framework. With 676 classes and more than 124 properties, AutismOnt can serve as the foundation to support a wide range of applications ranging from decision support systems for practicing physicians to text annotation processes that would allow for the creation of an interdisciplinary research platform where investigators can easily share and retrieve scientific findings. The Ontology is available in the NCBO BioPortal.

Infinite Energy Creates Better Life

As the world moves towards sustainability, renewable energy development is driven in most countries as an alternative offer to the use of non-renewable and polluting fossil fuels. One such alternative is solar energy, which is the versatile technology used to harness the sun’s energy and make it usable. It refers also to capturing the energy from the sun, collected elsewhere (i.e. the Earth) and subsequently converting it into electricity. Due to the non-constant nature of solar energy, collector and storage unit components are required to have a functional solar energy generator. The collector simply collects the radiation that falls on it and converts a fraction of it to other forms of energy (electricity or heat). The storage unit is required to store excess energy during the periods of maximum productivity and release it when the productivity drops. The proposed study is aimed to explore the feasibility of solar energy as an infinite energy to be restored and used as it needs. The merit of this study lies in the fact that solar energy creates better life (such as cost reduction, resource availability, eco-friendly. and sustainability) should it is harvested, stored and utilized considerably in a holistic way. Moreover, it may enhance independency of electricity supply, particularly in remote areas where access to power supply are limited. It is anticipated that the study will not only create a further interdisciplinary research platform for fundamental studies on solar energy harvesting, storage, and utilization, but also a research that leads to technology transfer to industry as it is lauded as a renewable and an inexhaustible fuel source, environmentally friendly due to its nature of pollution – and often noise – free.

A survey on role of photonic technologies in 5G communication systems

A new generation of mobile communications has been evolving for every 10 years, keeping in mind the enormous data traffic, huge capacity requirements, excellent quality of service with minimal latency; there is a shift in paradigm toward the upcoming 5G technology which is expected to be rolled out by 2020 that promises to meet the requirements stated above. 5G is envisaged to be a merged framework of wide range of applications ranging from device-to-device communications, smart grid to Internet of Things and many more. In this survey paper, a brief discussion on the major pillars of 5G which are millimeter wave technology, massive MIMO, ultra-dense network, beamforming and full-duplex transmission are presented. This survey paper also focuses on the role of optics in 5G technology, sometimes commonly referred to as microwave photonics, an interdisciplinary research platform. Due to huge bandwidth and enormous capacity upgrade, optical fibers are considered to be ideal backhaul and fronthaul media rather than copper cables in order to support small cells and next-generation networks. These advantages of optical fiber technology enable integrated optical and wireless access technologies for 5G wireless communications an interdisciplinary area of research.

INFORMATION SYSTEM FRAMEWORK FOR INTEGRATED RISK ASSESSMENT FROM NATURAL DISASTERS

Abstract. In recent years around the world, and in particular in Bulgaria, there is a reported increase in the number and intensity of disasters caused by natural phenomena. An increase is observed in the adverse effects of disasters on social relations, economic growth and sustainable development of the country. The purpose of the paper is to propose a general framework of information system for integrated risk assessment from natural disasters with the help of modern information and communication technologies. Innovative and classical techniques (quantitative and qualitative approaches, deterministic and stochastic methods, intelligent methods as fuzzy logic and neural networks, etc.) are applied in the overall process of the risk assessment (IEC/ISO 31010:2009): risk identification (identification of single and multiple natural disasters), risk analysis (determination of the disaster probability/intensity; interdependence of multiple disasters; exposure; object vulnerabilities; social, ecological and economical consequences) and risk evaluation. The information system is designed on the principle of modules which implement interaction with geographical information system (GIS) and heterogeneous databases containing information about the monitored objects and potential natural disasters in Bulgaria. The information system will use cloud computing and online network for exchange of heterogeneous databases and expertise for the risks from natural disasters. The proposed information system could successfully assist all stakeholders about risk assessment of the monitored objects before, during or after the occurrence of natural disasters. This system could be considered as a unified platform for interdisciplinary research concerning natural disasters.

A New Remotely Operated Sensor Platform for Interdisciplinary Observations under Sea Ice

Observation of the climate and ecosystem of ice covered polar seas is a timely task for the scientific community. The goal is to assess the drastic and imminent changes of the polar sea ice cover induced by climate change. Retreating and thinning sea ice affects the planets energy budget, atmospheric and oceanic circulation patterns as well as the ecosystem associated with this unique habitat. To increase the observational capabilities of sea ice scientists, we equipped a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) as sensor platform for interdisciplinary research at the ice water interface. Here we present the technical details and operation scheme of the new vehicle and provide data examples from a first campaign in the Arctic in autumn 2016 to demonstrate the vehicle’s capabilities. The vehicle is designed for efficient operations in the harsh polar conditions. Redundant modular design allows operation by three scientists simultaneously operating a wide variety of sensors. Sensors from physical, chemical and biological oceanography are combined with optical and acoustic sea ice sensors to provide a comprehensive picture of the underside of sea ice. The sensor suite provides comprehensive capabilities and can be further extended as additional ports for power and communication are available. The vehicle provides full six degrees of freedom in navigation, enabling intervention and manipulation skills despite its simple one function manipulator arm.

Lived Lives: A Pavee Perspective. An arts-science community intervention around suicide in an indigenous ethnic minority

Background: Suicide is a significant public health concern, which impacts on health outcomes. Few suicide research studies have been interdisciplinary. We combined a psychobiographical autopsy with a visual arts autopsy, in which families donated stories, images and objects associated with the lived life of a loved one lost to suicide. From this interdisciplinary research platform, a mediated exhibition was created ( Lived Lives) with artist, scientist and families, co-curated by communities, facilitating dialogue, response and public action around suicide prevention. Indigenous ethnic minorities (IEMs) bear a significant increased risk for suicide. Irish Travellers are an IEM with social and cultural parallels with IEMs internationally, experiencing racism, discrimination, and poor health outcomes including elevated suicide rates (SMR 6.6). Methods: An adjusted Lived Lives exhibition, Lived Lives: A Pavee Perspective manifested in Pavee Point, the national Traveller and Roma Centre. The project was evaluated by the Travelling Community as to how it related to suicide in their community, how it has shaped their understanding of suicide and its impacts, and its relevance to other socio-cultural contexts, nationally and internationally. The project also obtained feedback from all relevant stakeholders. Evaluation was carried out by an international visual arts research advisor and an independent observer from the field of suicide research. Results: Outputs included an arts-science mediated exhibition with reference to elevated Irish Traveller suicide rates. Digital online learning materials about suicide and its aftermath among Irish Travellers were also produced. The project reached its target audience, with a high level of engagement from members of the Travelling Community. Discussion: The Lived Lives methodology navigated the societal barriers of stigma and silence to foster communication and engagement, working with cultural values, consistent with an adapted intervention. Feedback from this project can inform awareness, health promotion, education and interventions around suicide and its aftermath in IEMs.

Lived Lives: A Pavee Perspective. An arts-science community intervention around suicide in an indigenous ethnic minority.

Background: Suicide is a significant public health concern, which impacts on health outcomes. Few suicide research studies have been interdisciplinary. We combined a psychobiographical autopsy with a visual arts autopsy, in which families donated stories, images and objects associated with the lived life of a loved one lost to suicide. From this interdisciplinary research platform, a mediated exhibition was created (Lived Lives) with artist, scientist and families, co-curated by communities, facilitating dialogue, response and public action around suicide prevention. Indigenous ethnic minorities (IEMs) bear a significant increased risk for suicide. Irish Travellers are an IEM with social and cultural parallels with IEMs internationally, experiencing racism, discrimination, and poor health outcomes including elevated suicide rates (SMR 6.6). Methods: An adjusted Lived Lives exhibition, Lived Lives: A Pavee Perspective manifested in Pavee Point, the national Traveller and Roma Centre. The project was evaluated by the Travelling Community as to how it related to suicide in their community, how it has shaped their understanding of suicide and its impacts, and its relevance to other socio-cultural contexts, nationally and internationally. The project also obtained feedback from all relevant stakeholders. Evaluation was carried out by an international visual arts research advisor and an independent observer from the field of suicide research. Results: Outputs included an arts-science mediated exhibition with reference to elevated Irish Traveller suicide rates. Digital online learning materials about suicide and its aftermath among Irish Travellers were also produced. The project reached its target audience, with a high level of engagement from members of the Travelling Community. Discussion: The Lived Lives methodology navigated the societal barriers of stigma and silence to foster communication and engagement, working with cultural values, consistent with an adapted intervention. Feedback from this project can inform awareness, health promotion, education and interventions around suicide and its aftermath in IEMs.

Pluralism in Search of Sustainability: Ethics, Knowledge and Methdology in Sustainability Science

Sustainability Science is an emerging, transdisciplinary academic field that aims to help build a sustainable global society by drawing on and integrating research from the humanities and the social, natural, medical and engineering sciences. Academic knowledge is combined with that from relevant actors from outside academia, such as policy-makers, businesses, social organizations and citizens. The field is focused on examining the interactions between human, environmental, and engineered systems to understand and contribute to solutions for complex challenges that threaten the future of humanity and the integrity of the life support systems of the planet, such as climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, and land and water degradation. Since its inception in around the year 2000, and as expressed by a range of proponents in the field, sustainability science has become an established international platform for interdisciplinary research on complex social problems [1]. This has been done by exploring ways to promote ‘greater integration and cooperation in fulfilling the sustainability science mandate’ [2]. Sustainability science has thereby become an extremely diverse academic field, yet one with an explicit normative mission. After nearly two decades of sustainability research, it is important to reflect on a major question: what critical knowledge can we gain from sustainability science research on persistent socio-ecological problems and new sustainability challenges?

DEVELOPMENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE LOWER DANUBE REGION

Purpose. The main objective is common information about the creation, nature and scientific basis of a new research infrastructure that combines the world's leading expertise and provides access to a range of river and marine ecosystems. Providing a single center for knowledge sharing, access to harmonized data, a platform for interdisciplinary research, education and training, that provides opportunities for sustainable management and environmental protection. The general goal is to develop quality to a pan-European level of research. Methods. Interdisciplinary dialogue at different levels between scientists of different disciplines had been used. Results. The ability to take into account inter-disciplinary relationships is crucial to bridging the gap between scientific disciplines, as well as barriers between scientists and politicians, water managers and entrepreneurs. An education system is being developed for the development of transnational cooperation in order to facilitate the exchange of data and knowledge, which will make a significant contribution to increasing efficiency and capacity building. Users are offered research in the fields of geology, biology, ecology, chemistry, physics, numerical and physical modeling, climatology, social and economic sciences and the development of new technologies for freshwater, terrestrial and marine environments and transition areas. Conclusions. The final result allows identifying the most important scientific parameters in the river-sea ecosystem, identifying current environmental problems covering the river-sea system for solving key social problems and related scientific and political needs.

Proposing an open-source model for unconventional participation to energy planning

In this paper we present MELiSsa, a local multi-regional energy system model of a specific area: the Lombardy region. MELiSsa, implemented through an open-code modeling framework (OSeMOSYS), is built upon transparent relations and open data. Building this model is a first step towards four main goals: (i) extending the energy planning process of the region to citizens and experts usually not involved; (ii) exploiting this uncommon participation for a crowd-source development; (iii) providing a simple tool for interested local citizens to get consciousness of the technological and behavioral limits of their energy system; (iv) providing a real-case-based platform for interdisciplinary research and academic purposes possibly beyond the region boundaries. The current structure and input data of MELiSsa are presented and discussed together with a demonstrative analysis. Preliminary results show that interdisciplinary participation is enabled as an opportunity and it is needed to properly model technological dynamics as well as non-technological issues that will be relevant within the path to reach environmental, economic and social targets.

Big Bacteria for Micro-Humans. Bacteria as an archeological - ecological nexus for an integrative form of health and heritage research

This article sketches out some aspects of an integrated mode of health and heritage research, in reference to the research network entitled Big Bacteria . Its aim is to establish an interdisciplinary research platform between the natural and the health sciences the arts and the humanities, in order to strengthen the latter in the light of rapid biotechnological advances and related worldviews. The text presents necessary methodological bridges and a model case with ambition to advance the “transitory” resort between the Arts and the Sciences entitled Micro-Humanities . Its minimal goal is to supplement the visual culture approach with the one based on material culture. Since bacterium as res vivens exhibits a form of organization that is responsible for interpreting and changing the processes it is involved in, it serves as central model for individuation, agency and selfhood, observing and interpreting systems. Being the oldest, smallest, most abundant and structurally simplest organisms, bacteria are ubiquitous, diverse and variant, as well as vital for all other life forms. They require to be treated not only as indispensable motives, metaphors and models of knowledge, but also as material, medium and methods for its acquiring as well. As their taxonomy unambiguously suggests, bacteria are the facts of the permanently changing and sensing living matter. The contribution focuses on an important case of the bacteria’s agency to be systematized and related to the research on bioremediation and biodeterioration (breakdown of materials by microbial action).

Robustness of Social‐Ecological Systems: Implications for Public Policy

We conceptualize social‐ecological systems (SESs) as complex adaptive systems where public policy affects and is affected by the biophysical system in which it is embedded. The study of robustness ofSESscombines insights from various disciplines including economics, political science, ecology, and engineering. In this paper we present an approach that can be used to explore the implications for public policy when viewed as a component of a complex adaptive system. Our approach leverages theInstitutionalAnalysis andDevelopment framework to provide a platform for interdisciplinary research that focuses on system‐wide outcomes of the policy process beyond just policy change. The main message is that building robustness can create new vulnerabilities. Fail‐free policies cannot be developed, and instead of a focus on the “right” policy, we need to think about policy processes that stimulate experimentation, adaptation, and learning.

The Berchtesgaden National Park (Bavaria, Germany): a platform for interdisciplinary catchment research

The Berchtesgaden National Park (Bavaria, Germany), a study site of the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere program in the catchment of Berchtesgadener Ache, is introduced as a platform for interdisciplinary research. As the investigation of how human activities affect the natural resources in the park area, which has been defined a main aim of the program, naturally requires expertise from different scientific fields, interdisciplinary research has been fostered in the national park plan since the very beginning of the Man and the Biosphere program in 1981. To analyze the complex interactions and mutual dependencies between socio-economic and natural systems, a variety of monitoring programs have been initialized in different disciplines (e.g. climate sciences, zoology, botany) that are addressed in this paper. As a result of these research efforts, the park offers a profound data basis to be used in future studies (e.g. land cover classifications, maps of geological and soil conditions). Detailed information is provided on a climate monitoring network that has been installed in the park starting in the year 1993. The network has been continuously extended over the years and now provides extraordinary comprehensive information on meteorological conditions in the park, setting the basis for current as well as for potential future climate-related studies. A special characteristic of the station network is the fact that it covers a large range of elevations from 600 m a.s.l in the valleys to 2,600 m a.s.l in the summit regions and is therefore able to capture altitudinal gradients in meteorological variables as typical for Alpine regions. Due to the large number of stations in high elevations (15 stations are in elevations higher than 1,500 m a.s.l) the network provides information on the complex hydrometeorological conditions in summit regions which are often insufficiently represented in observation networks due to the increased costs for maintenance of climate stations in these locations. Beside the various monitoring programs, a variety of numerical models have been (further) developed for application in the park area that make extensive use of the different data collected and therefore largely benefit from the comprehensive data pool. The potential and necessity of the climate monitoring network for modelling studies is demonstrated by utilizing the meteorological recordings in the framework of a hydrometeorological simulation experiment. Further examples of environmental modelling efforts are shortly described together with preliminary model results.

Health-Related Organizational Communication: A General Platform for Interdisciplinary Research

Health-Related Organizational Communication: A General Platform for Interdisciplinary Research