Principal Concepts Research Articles

Calcium signaling hypothesis: A non-negligible pathogenesis in Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) presents a significant challenge to global healthcare systems, with an exacerbation by an aging population. Although the plethora of hypotheses are proposed to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of AD, from amyloid-beta (Aβ) accumulation and Tau protein aggregation to neuroinflammation, a comprehensive understanding of its pathogenesis remains elusive. Recent research has highlighted the critical role of calcium (Ca2+) signaling pathway in the progression of AD, indicating a complex interplay between Ca2+ dysregulation and various pathological processes. This review aims to consolidate the current understanding of the role of Ca2+ signaling dysregulation in AD, thus emphasizing its central role amidst various pathological hypotheses. We aim to evaluate the potential of the Ca2+ signaling hypothesis to unify existing theories of AD pathogenesis and explore its implications for developing innovative therapeutic strategies through targeting Ca2+ dysregulation. The review focuses on three principal concepts. First, the indispensable role of Ca2+ homeostasis in neuronal function and its disruption in AD. Second, the interaction between Ca2+ signaling dysfunction and established AD hypotheses posited that Ca2+ dysregulation is a unifying pathway. Third, the dual role of Ca2+ in neurodegeneration and neuroprotection, highlighting the nuanced effects of Ca2+ levels on AD pathology.

Output Feedback Control for T‐S Fuzzy Markov Jump Systems Subjected to Parameter‐Dependent Dissipative Performance

ABSTRACTThis article is committed to the matter of asynchronous dynamic output feedback control for a class of Takagi–Sugeno fuzzy Markov jump systems. The principal concept is to construct a high‐level Markovian process governed controller under an asynchronous event‐triggered scheme and to develop a time‐varying dissipative index. As a salient feature that distinguishes it from the reported works with the common index, this paper firstly proposes a dissipative index with mode and membership functions‐dependence. Secondly, governed by the high‐level Markovian process, the asynchronous dynamic output feedback controller is constructed under the mode‐dependent partitioned regions. Meanwhile, to mitigate the communication pressure, an asynchronous dynamic event‐triggered mechanism is investigated with making allowances for the inaccessible system mode. What's more, as a first effort, this article presents a unified framework for co‐designing the strategy of asynchronous event generators and controllers. This is done under the proposed performance index and the mode‐dependent fuzzy state‐space partitions, resulting in more design flexibility. Based on the mode and region‐dependent Lyapunov functional, sufficient criteria are obtained to ensure the proposed dissipative performance and stochastic stability. Eventually, the practicabilities and advantages of the theoretic results are illustrated by a modified tunnel diode circuit model.

La fonction des écrits dans les relations entre la théorie et la pratique en psychiatrie et psychologie clinique. À la mémoire de Georges Lanteri-Laura et de Jean Garrabé

Among the many ways in which knowledge is transmitted in psychiatry and clinical psychology, written communication has always been a vast field. But new means of expression and communication have brought about a diversity in the modalities used in teaching and personal training in the midst of the diversification of psychiatric currents, the means of exploration, and therapeutic methods. The relationship between theory and practice is central to the means of transmission in the specific characteristics of the different currents of French psychiatry: 1) Psychiatric conceptions which focus on the various neurobiological and biochemical networks, genetic research and artificial intelligence are confronted in their current evolution with the epistemological demands of explanation and understanding. And psychiatry, in all its complexity, cannot and will not be spared adopting these same demands; 2) The different psychopathological dimensions that underlie the various concepts of psychiatric disorders in children, adolescents and adults are constantly confronted with the relationship between theoretical conceptions and practical modalities, in the clinical relationship and in therapeutic conduct. In this article, we propose to address a certain number of reflections in this field, by questioning the principal psychopathological conceptions of today. And this reflection places great emphasis on the need to clarify concepts, perspectives and projects; 3) Epistemological dimensions can thereby render it possible to identify the numerous articles concerning the transmission of psychiatry and its fields: – First and foremost, studies on the relationship between theory and practice make it possible to distinguish between the various categories. They provide a clear understanding of the specific dynamics involved in understanding psychiatric disorders; – Studies on the relationship between the fields of time and life sciences correspond to very important epistemological attitudes that are very important to be taken into account. The neurosciences which are currently playing a key role in medicine and psychiatry usher us into “the knowledge of life”. These various studies compel us to consider just what the relationship is betweenthe “objectivity of the scientist” and the “subjectivity of the living”. We can then turn our attention to the anthropological concepts concerning the philosophy of life where we will find in the various psychiatric disorders the essential questions about the meaning of life that are present in the mind of every human being.

Inertial microfluidic mixer for biological CubeSat missions

Nanosatellites of CubeSat type due to, i.a., minimized costs of space missions, as well as the potential large application area, have become a significant part of the space economy sector recently. The opportunity to apply miniaturized microsystem (MEMS) tools in satellite space missions further accelerates both the space and the MEMS markets, which in the coming years are considered to become inseparable. As a response to the aforementioned perspectives, this paper presents a microfluidic mixer system for biological research to be conducted onboard CubeSat nanosatellites. As a high complexity of the space systems is not desired due to the need for failure-free and remotely controlled operation, the principal concept of the work was to design an entirely passive micromixer, based on lab-on-chip technologies. For the first time, the microfluidic mixer that uses inertial force generated by rocket engines during launch to the orbit is proposed to provide an appropriate mixing of liquid samples. Such a solution not only saves the space occupied by standard pumping systems, but also reduces the energy requirements, ultimately minimizing the number of battery modules and the whole CubeSat size. The structures of the microfluidic mixers were fabricated entirely out of biocompatible resins using MultiJet 3D printing technology. To verify the functionality of the passive mixing system, optical detection consisting of the array of blue LEDs and phototransistors was applied successfully. The performance of the device was tested utilizing an experimental rocket, as a part of the Spaceport America Cup 2023 competition.Graphical abstract

Representational Pluralism in Science Education

AbstractThis essay analyses the theme of representational pluralism in science education and a possible interpretation through the inferential-pragmatic conception of scientific representations. A brief description of two principal conceptions of scientific representations (the semantic-structural and the inferential-pragmatic conceptions) and their implications for unicity and plurality are presented to compare how those philosophical approaches can help understand representational plurality in science education. Subsequently, a brief analysis of different topics of science education is made to determine relevant classes of representational plurality in science education: Plurality and coexistence of representations in subjects in a school context; plurality in diverse cultural contexts; plurality by approaches and methods of research; plurality and perspectivism. In the discussion and conclusions, those classes of representational plurality are analysed from the inferential conception of representations, and themes such as proliferation, reduction, normativity, and building in plurality are discussed. The conclusions point to the understanding that representational plurality is not a subject’s deviation from the norm of scientific and school representations; instead, it is inherent to the subjects’ construction of representations, individually and collectively. Certainly, this implies that the separation from the semantic-structural approach of scientific representations must be accomplished by cancelling any similarity condition for representations. Plural representations imply that teaching requires the construction of new scenarios for students to consider the intentionality of representations and interpret them more coherently with the expectations of scientific disciplines in diverse cultural contexts.

Paramedic occupational violence: A qualitative examination of aggressive behaviour during out-of-hospital care

Occupational violence (OV) is an insidious problem for emergency medical services with continued high levels of paramedic exposure despite significant education and resources devoted to mitigation. Though there is considerable data on the epidemiology of the phenomenon, the available evidence on the experiences of paramedics exposed to acts of violence during healthcare is limited. Utilising a generic qualitative approach and a semi-structured interview framework, we examined the perceptions and experiences of 25 Australian paramedics who had been exposed to incidents of patient-initiated violence during out-of-hospital care. A general inductive methodology and a first- and second-cycle coding process assisted in the development of the principal concepts of the patient and the paramedic from the raw data. Subsequently, a further four main themes and 15 secondary themes were developed which characterise the influence of social interaction on the evolution of paramedic OV. The results of this study provide a unique insight into the phenomenon of paramedic OV. As opposed to the rudimentary manifestation of aggression typically endorsed by emergency medical services, aggressive behaviour during healthcare presents as a judicious interaction of dynamic scene management and situational context. The social interactions that occur during healthcare, and the premises which both promote and suppress this connection, were identified to exert significant influence on the evolution of aggressive behaviour. The consequences of these findings challenge traditional violence mitigation strategies which seek to position the patient as both the focal point of initiation and the key to its extenuation.

Revisiting corporate governance mechanisms and real earnings management activities in emerging economies

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the effects of main corporate governance (CG) mechanisms used in Iran on the relationship between managers’ rewards and real earnings management activities.Design/methodology/approachPanel data analysis is performed on 101 companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange during the past seven years (from 2015 to 2021).FindingsThe percentage of non-executive members of the company’s board of directors and the percentage of acquisition of the company’s largest shareholders have a negative significant effect on the relationship between abnormal operating cash flows and managers’ remuneration. Moreover, the separation of the CEO from the chairman and vice chairman of the board has also a negative significant effect on this relationship. However, concentration of ownership does not have a significant effect on the relationship between abnormal operating cash flows and managers’ rewards.Practical implicationsThe study provides policymakers and governing bodies with a better understanding of the effects of the percentage of non-executive board members, concentration of ownership, percentage of major shareholders and duality of the role of CEO (or president) from the chairman and vice chairman of the board on the relationship between managers’ rewards and earnings management.Originality/valuePrevious studies focus mainly on accrual-based earnings management. This study investigates real earnings management and provides empirical evidence on the most effective and significant CG dimensions in Iran. It embraces the fact that CG may have the same principal concept in different markets, but the mechanisms may vary significantly, thus opening the door for more comparative future research.

Modernization Data Analysis and Visualization for Food Safety Research Outcomes

Appropriate data collection and using reliable and accurate procedures are the first steps in conducting an experiment that will provide trustworthy outcomes. It is key to perform an assertive statistical analysis and data visualization for a correct interpretation and communication of results. A clear statistical summary and presentation of the data is critical for the reader to easily process and comprehend experimental results. Nowadays, there are a series of different tools to perform proper statistical analysis and create elaborate graphs that will help readers to understand the data, identify trends, detect outliers, evaluate statistical outputs, etc. However, researchers that are beginning to navigate experiments do not frequently encounter a guide that can provide basic principal concepts to begin their statistical analysis and data presentation. Therefore, the objective of this article is to provide a guide or manual to analyze and presents results focused on different types of common food safety experiments, including method comparisons, intervention studies, pathogen presence experiments, bio-mapping, statistical process control, and shelf life experiments. This review will provide information about data visualization options and statistical analysis approaches for different food safety experiments. In addition, basic concepts about descriptive statistics and possible solutions for issues related to microbiological measurements will be discussed.

Managing Complexity in Socio-Technical Systems by Mimicking Emergent Simplicities in Nature: A Brief Communication.

In the context of socio-technical systems, traditional engineering approaches are inadequate, calling for a fundamental change in perspective. A different approach encourages viewing socio-technical systems as complex living entities rather than through a simplistic lens, which enhances our understanding of their dynamics. However, these systems are designed to facilitate human activities, and the goal is not only to comprehend how they operate but also to guide their function. Currently, we lack the appropriate terminology. Hence, we introduce two principal concepts, simplexity and complixity, drawing inspiration from how nature conceals intricate mechanisms beneath straightforward, user-friendly interfaces.

Exploring the nexus between law and morality: ethical considerations in legal studies

This publication aims to furnish a comprehensive examination of the ethical elements inherent in the roles of judges, prosecutors, attorneys, and notaries, elucidating their influence on the content of pertinent legal statutes governing the professional status of these legal vocations. The research employed various methodologies, encompassing the analytical method, the synthetic method, the method of scientific generalization, the method of interpreting legal norms, and the formal-logical method. The examination of legal understanding from a moral and ethical perspective involves the scrutiny of two principal concepts: the concept of natural law and the concept of legal positivism. This analytical framework enables the author to assert that a hallmark of progressive law-making lies in the adherence to not only the tenets of natural human rights but also moral and ethical principles during the formulation of legislative acts. In the context of the role and significance of ethics in the professional conduct of judges, prosecutors, attorneys, and notaries, the author undertakes an analysis of pertinent Ukrainian laws. It is asserted that within each of the examined legal enactments, ethical requirements assume a predominant role in the regulation of the legal status of practitioners in the specified legal professions. For instance, the non-violation of rules of professional ethics is delineated as a fundamental duty for specific categories of legal practitioners, with breaches serving as grounds not only for disciplinary consequences but also for the termination of the authority. Building upon the aforementioned observations, it is affirmed that the ethical dimensions of jurisprudence hold significance within contemporary legal discourse across three dimensions: adherence to moral and ethical principles in the crafting of legislative instruments; avoidance of breaches against ethical principles in the course of judicial, prosecutorial, attorney-at-law, and notarial activities; and the imperative that moral and ethical requirements remain inviolate during the preparation of legally consequential documents.

Corruption and Good Governance in Africa: A Hermeneutical Analysis

Human beings are social and communal animals and cannot but live in an ordered society and have interactive relationships, hence good governance, which is essential for their well-being and development. This fact grounds their forming governmental apparatus to coordinate the things that are common to them; otherwise, violence and warfare may continue unabated. Good governance does not just happen. Those elected or appointed into positions of governance need to be effective, efficient and exhibit an ethical character to ensure that the good life constitutive of the promotion of human rights, provision of social facilities, and all that provide a better life for the people are in place. In the African continent, many of those in governance, instead of working for the public good to ensure a better life for their citizens, serve their private and parochial interests to the detriment of the welfare of the people by engaging in massive corruption. Corruption, especially political and public, has grave effects on the economy and the lives of the people all over the continent. Massive corruption has siphoned public funds for development projects and lodged them in foreign banks. This has led to poverty and underdevelopment, weakened sustainable development goals, caused youth restiveness, led to forced migration, poor environmental growth, and loss of millions of lives. Problematized in this paper is a continent endowed and blessed with natural and human resources but remains the poorest, most undeveloped continent in the world because of corruption. The paper used hermeneutics and critical analytic methods to examine corruption as an impediment to good governance in Africa. The hermeneutics method was used to interpret, decipher, and highlight the importance of this work’s principal concepts. The critical-analytic method was used to rationalize the arguments. The paper found that massive corruption is decimating the continent and that there is a need to combat it to ensure good governance. It concluded that combating corruption will help create a better continent where people enjoy a good life and democratic entitlements

Smart Tissue Carriers for Innovative Cosmeceuticals and Nutraceuticals

The present review was conducted to investigate the possibilities in realizing novel nanostructured tissues containing functional molecules that can be commercialized as solid products (without using emulsifiers and preservatives) for cosmeceutical and nutraceutical applications. After considering the principal concepts regarding skin and mucous features and physiologies, the possibilities in using bio-based, biodegradable and biocompatible materials was explored by investigating the correlations between their structures and morphologies with respect to the characteristics of the skin extracellular matrix (ECM). Regarding the new smart type of biodegradable tissues, their possible composition was reviewed in relation to the skin aging process and to the current contest for novel, innovative cosmeceuticals and nutraceuticals that consider the “beauty from within” concept. The barriers to the development of these new tissues were mainly identified due the necessity in defining the claim regarding green products. Moreover, the market growth data regarding these novel products were highlighted to support the idea that the diffusion of smart tissue-based cosmeceuticals and nutraceuticals is an opportunity for new sustainable industrial chains in the development of bioeconomies.

Виктор Валентинович Новожилов: недописанная глава «австрийской» книги

The increasing complexity of economic phenomena demands improved analytical tools. The 21st century saw a discernible trend where diverse economic schools and various social sciences converged to collaboratively analyze complex economic phenomena. Traces of this trend, however, can be discerned in an earlier period in Soviet science, as illustrated by the work of Viktor Novozhilov, a leading figure in the mathema­tical school of optimal planning during the late 1930s. Despite this subsequent focus, a series of articles from the 1920s, which positioned Novozhilov among the country’s foremost economists, reflect entirely different theoretical positions. Classified as a liberal economist in the comprehensive scientific biography by Nikolai Ya. Petrakov and Natalia S. Kozerskaya, the article aims to highlight the consistency of Novozhilov’s 1920s views with the approaches of the Austrian school of economics, using content analysis as the primary research method. The article views Novozhilov’s change in research approach as the scholar’s strategic response to repressive conditions, driven by his apprehensions about potential persecution. Novozhilov’s principal concept for determining socialist national economic efficiency was rooted in the principle of opportunity costs from the Austrian school. Future research may explore parallels between Novozhilov’s approach and Friedrich von Wieser’s perspective on the valuation of capital goods.

The CAD/CAM Technology and Digital Smile Design for Fabricated Ceramic Veneers

Nowadays, the application of digital technologies and devices are widely used in dentistry. The explanation of the innovative and advanced digital technology for designing and fabricating the provisional restorations transfers to final restorations. Computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) in digital dentistry has numerous advantages and greater efficiency and accuracy over the conventional techniques. The digital smile design (DSD) is used for esthetic dentistry especially in case of veneer and can be improved the effectiveness and efficiency of dentist to patient and dentist to technician communication. However, the applications of DSD and CAD/CAM require an understanding of the principal concept and digital technology to create the precise and esthetic outcome of the final restoration.

Illuminating the Neuroscience of Decision-making Through the Dark Night of John of the Cross

In this publication, we will use the principal concepts of John of the Cross, the famous mystic of the XVIth century, as a framework to go over, in a non-reductionist way, three challenges in contemporary neuroscience of decision-making. Firstly, the dark night and the purgative paths will be related to discontinuity in decision-making. Secondly, the passive and active paths will be associated to brain plasticity, architecture, and levels of decision. Thirdly, the illumination, which can be felt when a solution is reached, has to do with positive emotions and can be inspired by the science of love of John of the Cross. We shall lastly conclude by emphasizing the usefulness of his work to illuminate the neuroscience of decision-making.

Alkyl gallates inhibit serine O-acetyltransferase in bacteria and enhance susceptibility of drug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria to antibiotics.

A principal concept in developing antibacterial agents with selective toxicity is blocking metabolic pathways that are critical for bacterial growth but that mammalian cells lack. Serine O-acetyltransferase (CysE) is an enzyme in many bacteria that catalyzes the first step in l-cysteine biosynthesis by transferring an acetyl group from acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA) to l-serine to form O-acetylserine. Because mammalian cells lack this l-cysteine biosynthesis pathway, developing an inhibitor of CysE has been thought to be a way to establish a new class of antibacterial agents. Here, we demonstrated that alkyl gallates such as octyl gallate (OGA) could act as potent CysE inhibitors in vitro and in bacteria. Mass spectrometry analyses indicated that OGA treatment markedly reduced intrabacterial levels of l-cysteine and its metabolites including glutathione and glutathione persulfide in Escherichia coli to a level similar to that found in E. coli lacking the cysE gene. Consistent with the reduction of those antioxidant molecules in bacteria, E. coli became vulnerable to hydrogen peroxide-mediated bacterial killing in the presence of OGA. More important, OGA treatment intensified susceptibilities of metallo-β-lactamase-expressing Gram-negative bacteria (E. coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae) to carbapenem. Structural analyses showed that alkyl gallate bound to the binding site for acetyl-CoA that limits access of acetyl-CoA to the active site. Our data thus suggest that CysE inhibitors may be used to treat infectious diseases caused by drug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria not only via direct antibacterial activity but also by enhancing therapeutic potentials of existing antibiotics.

Origin of the Moon and Lunar Water

Three principal concepts regarding lunar formation have been examined: the accretion hypothesis, the mega-impact theory, and the multi-impact model. The multi-impact model amalgamates the salient facets of the mega-impact theory and the accretion hypothesis. As per this model, fragments of the terrestrial crust are ejected into space during collisions with numerous planetesimals (proto-asteroids) with diameters around 10-100 kilometers. In the vicinity of Earth’s orbit, this ejecta interacts with the accretion disk, augmenting its mass. Numerical computations demonstrate that particles within the prograde-rotating accretion disk effectively capture prograde-rotating ejecta while shedding retrograde-rotating ejecta onto the planetary body. The multi-impact theory provides an explanation for the creation of not just the Moon and Charon but also the satellites of asteroids. Several predictions regarding the parameters of asteroid satellites posited by this theory have already been validated through statistical analysis of binary asteroids. Different models of lunar formation yield varied conclusions regarding the quantity of lunar water, its subsurface distribution, and isotopic composition. The mega-impact theory postulates the genesis of a largely desiccated Moon. Consequently, the modest lunar water content may arise from comets, solar wind, or the transport of water from Earth’s atmosphere. These mechanisms for lunar water formation imply its superficial occurrence in polar regions and substantial deviation of the deuterium-to-hydrogen (D/H) ratio from terrestrial norms. Conversely, the multi-impact theory posits lunar water’s origin from planetesimals, akin to terrestrial water. Thus, a significant quantity of lunar water is inferred, expected to be pervasive across the lunar surface at varying depths, and possessing isotopic composition analogous to terrestrial water. Geomorphological structures in the lunar polar regions (smoothed craters, landslides, regular patterns) suggest the presence of a substantial permafrost layer with an approximate thickness of a kilometer.

A Bibliometric Analysis of Customer Experience in Service Design from 1999 to 2020

The customer experience in service design has recently revealed a growing interest in service research; the objective focuses on exploring the connection between customer experience and service design through a bibliometric analysis to examine growing interest. The methodology utilized Biblioshiny from the Bibliometrix Library of R software to process documents obtained from the Scopus database from 1999 to 2020. In parallel, the VOSviewer software executed the five types of bibliometric methods: citation analysis, co-citation analysis, bibliographic coupling, co-authorship analysis, and co-occurrence analysis. The main findings focus top 10 authors, 10 primary sources, 10 leading countries, 10 relevant affiliations, central clusters of collaborative networks, relevant authors and sources from influence and similarity, and principal connection concepts; therefore, customer experience in service design has become essential for scientific research and is rising in the European continent. Future research must consider methods to reinforce the fundamentals of service design and customer experience, technology to improve the customer experience in service design, services ecosystems for value co-creation, and the customer’s experience in the physical environment of the services.

A Formal Treatment of Expressiveness and Relevanceof Digital Evidence

Digital investigations are largely concerned with reconstructing past events based on traces in digital systems. Given their importance, many concepts have been established to describe their quality—most of them concerned with procedural aspects, i.e., authenticity and integrity, for example. Besides that, there exist principal concepts that have been overlooked in the past: Two of those criteria are relevance and expressiveness of digital evidence. Unlike others, those are directly concerned with reaching the investigative goal. Therefore, we approach these two overlooked concepts of digital evidence by giving formal definitions. To illustrate the usefulness, we present two applications: First, we demonstrate that the notions of expressiveness and completeness can be used to guide investigations by presenting the Facet-oriented Criminalistic Cycle as a thinking model, which extends the well-established criminalistic cycle. Second, we put the concepts into practice by calculating the expressiveness of facets from a state machine representation of a digital system utilizing temporal logic and a model checker. Furthermore, we sketch out the implications of this improved way of defining relevance and expressiveness. Accordingly, this article aims to improve the understanding of these critical aspects of the overall investigative process.

Healthy Principal Leadership Concepts

One of the goals of a healthy principal's leadership is to produce graduates who have achievements on a national and international scale. Therefore, healthy school principal leadership is influenced by the education system that supports it. In writing this article, we will discuss the characteristics of a healthy school principal's leadership and its role in the school, the method used is literature study. The findings from this research are to ascertain the characteristics and role of a healthy school principal's leadership, especially for school empowerment. The characteristics of healthy leadership behaviors that can encourage an effective school sustainability process include having visionary thinking, strong self-confidence and trusting others, strong will, courage and consistency. The role of leadership is very necessary in supporting the process of improving the quality of education, the behavioral characteristics shown by leaders will be able to influence and move individuals or groups in the organization they lead.