Network Elements Research Articles

Mapping academic practice: a Latourian inquiry into a set of lecture slides

ABSTRACT How is academic work accomplished within a curriculum that has been established through a digital education infrastructure, and what, exactly, does an academic member of staff do within this digital context? Reflecting on the empirical findings of a three-year ethnography of a distributed medical education curriculum delivered across two university campuses in Canada, this paper demonstrates that the ways in which work that has typically been characterized as academic is enacted within this curriculum, positioned as a socio-technological network, through a heterogeneous network of people and materials. Drawing on the philosophical anthropology of Bruno Latour, An Inquiry into Modes of Existence, this paper positions the individual academic member of staff as one amongst many network elements within the digital platform across which academic work is generated and circulated. The paper argues that studies of digitally-mediated higher education can equally rest on small and localized instances of practice as well as on cross-boundary or institutional explorations, and offers ways of thinking that are informed by Latour's philosophical anthropology.

Methane emissions from elements of gas distribution networks and the energy security of EU countries in time of gas wars

The scale of methane emissions from gas distribution systems has serious consequences for energy security, ensuring the security of natural gas transmission and reducing gas losses in transport. That is why it is important to determine the scale of such emissions from individual elements of the infrastructure. It has been confirmed that such emissions have a significant effect on the military security of EU co untries. The emission factor (EF) is affected by many other causes. The best method of calculating the EF is one that takes into account the most variables. A theoretical method of determining the EF has been developed, taking into consideration the age of the equipment as well as pressure, temperature and speed. When comparing the methods in the literature to date, one has to bear in mind that none of them describes the variables that affect the magnitude of the EF. To map an actual emission, it is crucial to have data that describe the gas infrastructure component under analysis, along with the most precise information available to characterise the operating conditions.

Spinal Interneurons: Diversity and Connectivity in Motor Control.

The spinal cord is home to the intrinsic networks for locomotion. An animal in which the spinal cord has been fully severed from the brain can still produce rhythmic, patterned locomotor movements as long as some excitatory drive is provided, such as physical, pharmacological, or electrical stimuli. Yet it remains a challenge to define the underlying circuitry that produces these movements because the spinal cord contains a wide variety of neuron classes whose patterns of interconnectivity are still poorly understood. Computational models of locomotion accordingly rely on untested assumptions about spinal neuron network element identity and connectivity. In this review, we consider the classes of spinal neurons, their interconnectivity, and the significance of their circuit connections along the long axis of the spinal cord. We suggest several lines of analysis to move toward a definitive understanding of the spinal network.

Sepasar As A Hybrid Educational Media And OnlineMarketing Of Sambilegi Market Traders In Covid-19 Pandemic

The important function of traditional markets is not only as a market for selling local (local) community products, but also as employment opportunities that are very beneficial for the community. One of the traditional markets located in Slemn Regency is Sambilegi Market. Sambilegi Market is one of the driving forces in driving economic growth and mobilizing the community. The conditions in the Sambilegi market are the weak organizational network of traders which results in weak unity and inter-market networks . Therefore, technology must be treated specifically if businesses are to survive and thrive. Digital technologies create new economic dynamics and social environments that need to be managed for technological changes in industry and society to provide long-term and far-reaching benefits. Opportunities and opportunities for Sepasar.id to apply institutional engineering models and support the transformation of traditional markets in the digital era. The traditional market digitization model embodies several institutional elements, such as organizational, human resources, business, and network elements. In addition, training is given to volunteers who will go directly to the market to assist traders in learning the video material that has been prepared. The expected output target of the joint community empowerment program Sepasar.id is exists enhancement knowledge, skills, HR capacity and organization, as well as digital literacy of Sambilegi market traders.

METHOD OF ROUTING A GROUP OF MOBILE ROBOTS IN A FIXED NETWORK FOR SEARCHING THE MISSING OBJECTS IN A TECHNOLOGICAL DISASTER ZONE

Context. The relevance of the article is determined by the need for further development of models of collective behavior of systems with multi-agent structure construction endowed with intelligence that ensures synchronization of the joint efforts of various agents while achieving the goals set for the system. The method proposed in the article solves the problem of competition between different agents of a multi-agent system, which is important while performing search, rescue, and monitoring tasks in crisis areas of various origins.
 Objective is to develop a method for determining the sufficient population of a multi-agent system and the optimal routes of movement of its individual elements in a stationary network for the most complete examination of a technological disaster zone (any given zone based on a certain transport network).
 Method. We implemented the concept of a dynamic programming to search for all possible edge-simple longest paths connecting the directed subsets of vertices-sources and vertices-sinks in the structure of the model weighted directed graph. To this end, the modified Dijkstra method was applied. The modification comprises representing the weights of the arcs of the modeling directed graph with the negative values, which are further used in calculations according to the Dijkstra method. After finding the next edgesimple longest path, the arcs that make up it are fixed in the memory of the computer system (in the route plan) and removed from the graph structure, and the process is iteratively repeated. The search for paths takes place as long as the transitive closure between the vertices that are part of the specified subsets of source vertices and sink vertices is preserved. The developed method makes it possible to find such a set of traffic routes for the elements of the multi-agent system, which maximizes the area examined by them in a technological disaster zone (or the number of checked objects on the traffic routes) in one “wave” of the search and distributes the elements of a multi-agent system by routes that do not have common areas. A derivative of the application of the developed method is the determination of a sufficient population of a multi-agent system for effective search activities within the defined zone.
 Results. 1) A method of routing a group of mobile robots in a stationary network for searching the missing objects in a technological disaster zone has been developed. 2) The working expression of the Dijkstra method for searching in the structure of a network object (in the structure of a model graph) for the longest paths has been formalized. 3) We have suggested a set of indicators for a comprehensive evaluation of route plans of a multi-agent system. 4) The method has been verified on test problems.
 Conclusions. Theoretical studies and several experiments confirm the efficiency of the developed method. The solutions made using the developed method are accurate, which allows recommending it for practical use in determining in an automated mode route plans for multi-agent systems, as well as the required number of agents in such systems to perform the required amount of search tasks in a particular crisis area.

From pressure in the pipeline to accelerating ascension: a survey to understand professional experiences of and opportunities for Canadian women in the healthcare sector

BackgroundMuch has been written about the state and persistent lack of progress regarding gender equity and the commonly referenced phenomenon of a ‘leaking pipeline’. This framing focuses attention on the symptom of women leaving the workforce, rather than the well-documented contributing factors of hindered recognition, advancement, and financial opportunities. While attention shifts to identifying strategies and practices to address gender inequities, there is limited insight into the professional experiences of Canadian women, specifically in the female-dominated healthcare sector.MethodsWe conducted a survey of 420 women working across a range of roles within healthcare. Frequencies and descriptive statistics were calculated for each measure as appropriate. For each respondent, two composite Unconscious Bias (UCB) scores were created using a meaningful grouping approach.ResultsOur survey results highlight three key areas of focus to move from knowledge to action, including (1) identifying the resources, structural factors, and professional network elements that will enable a collective shift towards gender equity; (2) providing women with access to formal and informal opportunities to develop the strategic relational skills required for advancement; and (3) restructuring social environments to be more inclusive. Specifically, women identified that self-advocacy, confidence building, and negotiation skills were most important to support development and leadership advancement.ConclusionsThese insights provide systems and organizations with practical actions they can take to support women in the health workforce amid a time of considerable workforce pressure.

Photoperiod Genes Contribute to Daylength-Sensing and Breeding in Rice.

Rice (Oryza sativa L.), one of the most important food crops worldwide, is a facultative short-day (SD) plant in which flowering is modulated by seasonal and temperature cues. The photoperiodic molecular network is the core network for regulating flowering in rice, and is composed of photoreceptors, a circadian clock, a photoperiodic flowering core module, and florigen genes. The Hd1-DTH8-Ghd7-PRR37 module, a photoperiodic flowering core module, improves the latitude adaptation through mediating the multiple daylength-sensing processes in rice. However, how the other photoperiod-related genes regulate daylength-sensing and latitude adaptation remains largely unknown. Here, we determined that mutations in the photoreceptor and circadian clock genes can generate different daylength-sensing processes. Furthermore, we measured the yield-related traits in various mutants, including the main panicle length, grains per panicle, seed-setting rate, hundred-grain weight, and yield per panicle. Our results showed that the prr37, elf3-1 and ehd1 mutants can change the daylength-sensing processes and exhibit longer main panicle lengths and more grains per panicle. Hence, the PRR37, ELF3-1 and Ehd1 locus has excellent potential for latitude adaptation and production improvement in rice breeding. In summary, this study systematically explored how vital elements of the photoperiod network regulate daylength sensing and yield traits, providing critical information for their breeding applications.

Finite-time stability of almost periodic solutions of Clifford-valued RNNs with time-varying delays and [formula omitted] operator on time scales

The aim of this study is to present the finite-time stability of almost periodic solutions for Clifford-valued recurrent neural networks (RNNs) with time-varying delays and the D operators on time scales using a direct method. In real-world networks, the interactions between network elements are inherently time-delayed, which causes the neural network to oscillate and become unstable. First, some lemmas are obtained by the definitions of almost periodic. Second, by using the theory of calculus for time scales and the Banach fixed point theorem, some sufficient conditions to ensure the finite-time stability of almost periodic solutions for this class of neural networks are obtained. Furthermore, a numerical example is provided to demonstrate the feasibility of the results.

Bistable All‐Optical Devices Based on Nonlinear Epsilon‐Near‐Zero (ENZ) Materials

AbstractNonlinear and bistable optical systems are a key enabling technology for the next generation optical networks and photonic neural systems with many potential applications in optical logic and information processing. Here, a novel bistable resonator‐free all‐optical waveguide device based on indium tin oxide as nonlinear epsilon‐near‐zero material providing a cost‐efficient and high‐performance binarity photonic platform is proposed. The salient features of the proposed device are compatibility with silicon photonics, enabling sub‐picosecond operation speeds with moderate switching power. The device can act as an optical analogue of memristor or thyristor and can become an enabling element of photonic neural networks not requiring OEO conversions.

Development of insulation moisture level criteria as a result of technological progress in the maintenance system of oil-filled transformers

Transformers are critical elements of electrical networks and systems. The operational reliability of oil-filled transformers largely depends on the characteristics of the insulation, which is confirmed by the failure statistics. A number of factors affecting the insulation of electrical machines are identified, including excessive moisture, with its negative consequences outlined. The complexity and shortcomings of the use of traditional technologies for drying solid insulation are indicated, which focus on the search and implementation of the latest technologies in the system of maintenance and repair of transformers — automated insulation restoration systems (AIRS).Taking into account the development of technical progress in the field of service maintenance of transformers, the negative impact of moisture on the reliability, durability and overload capacity of electrical machines, especially those beyond their normal service life, a new look at the criteria for the moisture content of cellulose insulation is proposed. A review is made of the normative requirements for the moisture content of the insulation of oil-filled transformers of a number of Russian and foreign standards. On the basis of the Oommen equilibrium curves, the shortcomings of the lack of comparability of the humidity criteria for solid and liquid insulation in STO 34.01–23.1– 001–2017 and RD 34.45–51.300–97 are presented. It is proposed to single out several areas of the operational state of transformers in terms of “moisture content of solid insulation (paper)”. The optimal period for the use of AIRS has been determined.The AIRS technology is implemented in a TRANSEC module, which enables to carry out work under load, without adversely affecting predictive diagnostics. The design features of the TRANSEC module, the principle of operation, functional and design differences from standard transformer units – thermosiphon /adsorption filters — are outlined. The results of testing the TRANSEC technology in an existing electrical installation serviced by PJSC Rosseti are presented. Six months of trial operation of the TRANSEC module demonstrated the restoration of insulation characteristics on operating equipment without additional involvement of personnel. Besides, during the testing of the TRANSEC technology, the influence of oil temperature on the information content of the assessment of solid insulation parameters was confirmed. Proposals are formulated on the revision of industry documentation in the established part.

Mesh‐size independent rigid‐body spring network for simulation of the dynamic fracture behavior of concrete

AbstractIn this study, a numerical approach is developed for simulating the rate‐dependent behaviors of concrete without mesh sensitivity. The rheological units (e.g., dashpot) are integrated with the six directional springs in the rigid‐body spring network (RBSN) elements to reflect the rate‐dependent behavior of concrete. Previously, the viscoplastic damage model was associated with the elemental degrees of freedom. However, in the present approach, a viscoelastic constitutive law is newly defined for the normal direction as a function of the strain rate, from which the internal forces can be updated from the regularized elemental stresses. Such improvements are validated through the numerical simulations of the direct tensile test and spalling test using the modified split‐Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB). The simulated results show consistent structural responses without mesh dependence on the strain rate. In addition, the influences of the softening curve shapes on the crack localizations are examined. It is shown that the rheological parameters can be optimized and determined for consistent applications through virtual experiments. The proposed numerical approach enables the mesh construction procedure without concerning the mesh‐size sensitivity due to the strain rate, and various applications are expected for the simulations of detailed numerical models of concrete materials and structures under high loading rates.

A Game-Theoretic Framework for Coexistence of WiFi and Cellular Networks in the 6-GHz Unlicensed Spectrum

The recently unlocked 6-GHz spectrum is accessible to cellular and WiFi networks for unlicensed use while they conform to the constraints imposed by the incumbent nodes. We allow only a fraction of the cellular base stations (BSs) and a fraction of WiFi access points (APs) to use the 6-GHz band so that sources of interference are spatially segregated and made sparse, thereby decreasing the overall interference to each other. Through our proposed framework, we control this fraction as we group portions of cellular and WiFi network elements into entities competing with the other entities for the spectrum resources. These entities interact to satisfy their Quality of Service demands by playing a non-cooperative game. The action of an entity corresponds to the fraction of its network elements (WiFi APs and cellular BSs) operating in the 6-GHz band. We use tools from stochastic geometry to derive the theoretical performance metrics for users of each radio access technology, which helps us capture the aggregate behaviour of the network in a snapshot. Due to the decentralized nature of the game, we find the solution using distributed Best Response Algorithm ( <monospace xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">D-BRA</monospace> ), which improves the average datarate by 11.37% and 18.59% for cellular and WiFi networks, respectively, with random strategy as the baseline. The results demonstrate how the system parameters affect the performance of a network at equilibrium and highlight the throughput gains of the networks as a result of using the 6-GHz bands, which offer considerably larger bandwidths. We tested our framework using real-world data, which shows that practical implementation of multi-entity spectrum sharing is feasible even when the spatial distribution of the network elements and population are non-homogeneous.

Cluster of resistance-inducing genes in MCF-7 cells by estrogen, insulin, methotrexate and tamoxifen extracted via NMF

Breast cancer has become a leading cause of death for women as the economy has grown and the number of women in the labor force has increased. Several biomarkers with diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic implications for breast cancer have been identified in studies, leading to therapeutic advances. Resistance, on the other hand, is one of clinical practice's limitations. In this paper, we use Nonnegative Matrix Factorization to automatically extract two gene signatures from gene expression profiles of wild-type and resistance MCF-7 cells, which were then investigated further using pathways analysis and proved useful in relating resistance pathways to breast cancer regardless of the stimulus that caused it. A few extracted genes (including MAOA, IL4I1, RRM2, DUT, NME4, and SUMO3) represent new elements in the functional network for resistance in MCF-7 ER+breast cancer. As a result of this research, a better understanding of how resistance occurs or the pathways that contribute to it may allow more effective therapies to be developed.

AI Testing Framework for Next-G O-RAN Networks: Requirements, Design, and Research Opportunities

Openness and intelligence are two enabling features to be introduced in next generation wireless networks, for example, Beyond 5G and 6G, to support service heterogeneity, open hardware, optimal resource utilization, and on-demand service deployment. The open radio access network (O-RAN) is a promising RAN architecture to achieve both openness and intelligence through virtualized network elements and well-defined interfaces. While deploying artificial intelligence (AI) models is becoming easier in O-RAN, one significant challenge that has been long neglected is the comprehensive testing of their performance in realistic environments. This article presents a general automated, distributed and AI-enabled testing framework to test AI models deployed in O-RAN in terms of their decision-making perfor-mance, vulnerability and security. This framework adopts a master-actor architecture to manage a number of end devices for distributed testing. More importantly, it leverages AI to automatically and intelligently explore the decision space of AI models in O-RAN. Both software simulation testing and software-defined radio hardware testing are supported, enabling rapid proof of concept research and experimental research on wireless research platforms.

The Role of Social Capital in Village Owned Business Entities (BUMDes) on Village Development (Case Study in Pujonkidul Village, Pujon District, Malang Regency)

This study aims to determine what social capital affects the management of BUMDes for village development and to find the elements of social capital to help solve existing problems. By using qualitative research methods, this study seeks to explore the elements and roles of existing social capital and then analyze how this social capital plays a role in solving the problems faced. The results of research and observations of all elements of social capital, namely trust, network, norm, and reciprocal, are all contained in the management of BUMDes. However, the most dominant is the network of all existing elements, thanks to the breadth of relationships and networks. This study also proves that the solution to the problems that exist in the parking business unit, namely the problem of irregular parking by visitors due to the available parking is no longer able to accommodate the vehicles of visitors to the rice field cafe on certain days, so reciprocal is the solution to this problem. Mutual benefit between residents and parking unit managers. Then from the side of trust, the existence of mutual trust between the villagers and the manager of the rice field cafe will strengthen the kinship so that no more problems arise.

QV Analysis for the Identification of Vulnerable Zones to Voltage Collapse: A Study Case

Radial High-Voltage networks have problems ensuring voltage stability when a fault occurs. Among preventive actions for these events, installing reactive power compensation in the most vulnerable zones to voltage instability is an economical and simple alternative. Previous works have used the QV curves methodology based on contingency power flows to identify such zones. However, this method has been criticized because it does not consider the dynamical effect of some network elements that depend on the voltage levels, especially in contingency scenarios. This article proposes a QV curve analysis based on the operating point resulting from dynamic simulations to amend this critique. To evaluate the proposed procedure, the model of the Patagonian High-Voltage Network in southern Argentina is used through the PSS/E software with the help of the Python programming language. The results detect the most vulnerable areas to voltage instability after a fault occurs and the reactive power necessary to maintain voltage levels in an acceptable operating range. The proposed methodology can be applied to other networks. For example, it can be used in the Latin-American context to assess future network expansions, especially on those linking countries, such as Ecuador with Perú or Colombia, or even the Centro American Interconnected System.

Retraction Note: P2P net loan default risk based on Spark and complex network analysis based on wireless network element data environment

Retraction Note: P2P net loan default risk based on Spark and complex network analysis based on wireless network element data environment

Perfiles de resiliencia asociados al engagement académico y al apoyo social en estudiantes universitarios

Adjustment of first-year students to university environments, as well as their academic success, is not exclusively related to their academic aptitude; instead, this adjustment is associated with psychological characteristics, personal and even social resources that help students cope with stressors and new circumstances. A comprehensive assessment of the students’ adjustment to university environment must transcend preoccupation on academic performance, and instead explore associations among psychological, academic, and social elements that promote adaptation during the initial years of higher education (Marenco-Escuderos et al., 2021). In this line of research, the objective of this work was to inquire how internal characteristics of students (psychological and academic) interplay with external elements in their support systems to promote adaptation in a higher education environment. Associations were explored among resilience, academic engagement, and social support as determining elements in the adjustment to the demands of the university context. The sample consisted of 371 undergraduate students (60 % female), of low socioeconomic status, enrolled in public universities in the Caribbean region of Colombia. Firstly, the resilience of university students was explored, as the ability to respond to obstacles with a positive view of the world, of others, and of one’s own abilities to cope with stressors (Saavedra-Guajardo et al., 2019). Second, the level of engagement that drives young students to concentrate their energies on academic activities was reviewed; and third, the role of peers, and friends as the close-support system that facilitates the overcoming of personal and academic difficulties was investigated (Fernández-Martínez et al., 2017). Based on a statistical cluster analysis, by the agglomerative hierarchical method, individuals were classified according to their similarities in the expression of 12 dimensions of resilience (SV-RES scale), and subsequently compared in terms of engagement (UWES-S scale), and personal support networks (UNICET software). The results showed four student profiles: (1) the largest group consisting of students with low-resilience, high engagement and strong support networks; (2) a resilient group with low levels of engagement and support networks with little intimacy; (3) a resilient group with high characteristics of autonomy, intermediate levels of engagement, and support networks with weak structure; and (4) a very resilient group, high engagement, and wide and strong social support networks. The results point out the fact that the greatest proportion of students who start college show profiles of low resilience, however, high levels of motivation for studies and social resources such as peer support networks are the conditions that mostly allow for coping with adversity in the first years of college. These results could point to cultural aspects specific to the Caribbean region, where social networks are of great importance for daily functioning (Marenco-Escuderos et al., 2021). Regarding the association among the studied variables, it is important to note that only the last profile gathered all elements of high resilience, high engagement, and strong support networks that allow for confirming the association among these constructs. The other three profiles represent cases in which the resilience traits are independent of the students' levels of engagement and the composition of their personal support networks. This study is valuable as it provides a differentiating picture of the relationship of resilience with other psychological and social constructs, and in that it allows to better understand resilience in association with other elements that mediate its interpretation. Important gender differences among the profiles are additionally discussed. https://doi.org/10.16888/interd.2023.40.2.14

Technological Transformation of Telco Operators towards Seamless IoT Edge-Cloud Continuum.

This article investigates and discusses challenges in the telecommunication field from multiple perspectives, both academic and industry sides are catered for, surveying the main points of technological transformation toward edge-cloud continuum from the view of a telco operator to show the complete picture, including the evolution of cloud-native computing, Software-Defined Networking (SDN), and network automation platforms. The cultural shift in software development and management with DevOps enabled the development of significant technologies in the telecommunication world, including network equipment, application development, and system orchestration. The effect of the aforementioned cultural shift to the application area, especially from the IoT point of view, is investigated. The enormous change in service diversity and delivery capabilities to mass devices are also discussed. During the last two decades, desktop and server virtualization has played an active role in the Information Technology (IT) world. With the use of OpenFlow, SDN, and Network Functions Virtualization (NFV), the network revolution has got underway. The shift from monolithic application development and deployment to micro-services changed the whole picture. On the other hand, the data centers evolved in several generations where the control plane cannot cope with all the networks without an intelligent decision-making process, benefiting from the AI/ML techniques. AI also enables operators to forecast demand more accurately, anticipate network load, and adjust capacity and throughput automatically. Going one step further, zero-touch networking and service management (ZSM) is proposed to get high-level human intents to generate a low-level configuration for network elements with validated results, minimizing the ratio of faults caused by human intervention. Harmonizing all signs of progress in different communication technologies enabled the use of edge computing successfully. Low-powered (from both energy and processing perspectives) IoT networks have disrupted the customer and end-point demands within the sector, as such paved the path towards devising the edge computing concept, which finalized the whole picture of the edge-cloud continuum.

Set-Point Control of a Spatially Distributed Buck Converter

The classical buck converter is a very common DC–DC converter, which reduces an higher input supply voltage to a lower output load voltage. Replacing the inductor and the capacitor by a transmission line, we obtain a distributed buck converter, which can be described by partial differential equations. Therefore, we obtain a completely new class of model. This new topology can be used if the load is operated at some spatial distance from the power supply, where the power supply line is directly used as a reactive network element of the converter. In addition to the analysis and simulation we will also investigate the control of such a converter. In this contribution, we employ a discrepancy-based control technique. Approximating the theoretically derived feedback law yields an easy to implement sliding mode control scheme. The controller design is based on an ideal circuit model and verified by numerical simulation.