Scientific Issues Research Articles

Research Progress on Forest Eco-Product Value Realization and Eco-Industry: The Inspiration for Planted Forests in Karst Desertification Control

Karst desertification (KD) is a phenomenon in which the surface of the karst region presents a landscape similar to desertification, which restricts the social development of the karst region. How to develop values based on karst desertification control is the focus of current research, with the continuous promotion of karst desertification control (KDC). Planted forests for KDC are an important part of the value realization of ecological products (EPs) and ecological industry (EI) in karst areas. The statistical analysis of 265 relevant papers in this paper shows the following: (1) the literature focuses on EP and EI research; (2) the overall research shows a year-on-year growth trend. It includes three stages: budding (2001–2006), fluctuating growth (2007–2015) and rapid development (2016–2023), with 6, 58 and 211 articles published in each stage, respectively; (3) China is the country with the largest number of articles published, followed by the United States and then Canada, accounting for 47.74%, 11.93% and 6.17%. This paper summarizes the landmark results and key scientific issues to be solved in the study directions of EP supply capacity, EP value accounting, eco-products value realization (EPVR) and EI, taking into account the above results.

ON THE NECESSITY OF ADOPTING THE NATIONAL PROGRAM FOR OVERCOMING THE EDUCATIONAL LOSSES AND EDUCATIONAL GAPS IN HIGHER EDUCATION

The article presents the problems of overcoming of educational losses through the prism of normative regulation and planning of the post-war development of higher education in Ukraine. It is noted that in the conditions of hostilities, the problem of moving a significant number of participants of educational process to safer regions within Ukraine and abroad has become urgent. It is noted that the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine provides regulatory and legal support for the functioning of education and science system and issues orders on the securement of safe educational environment, the organization of education, the educational process, etc., which are not regulated by law during martial law, emergency or state of emergency (special period). The article proposes the development of the National Program for Overcoming the Educational Losses and Educational Gaps, which will be effective both during the period of martial law (special period) and after its end and will provide for the improvement of legislation, the definition of the terms “educational losses” and “educational gaps”, will establish the obligation of monitoring the quality of higher education, analysis and introduction of security components for higher education, in particular in the field of distance learning and components of psychological assistance for students, teachers and staff.

Искусственный интеллект против ученого в вопросе о сохранении баланса между правом на информацию и необходимостью защиты персональных данных от незаконного использования

This article reflects the results of a scientific experiment caused by a discussion about the possibility of replacing scientists with neural networks. The development of digital technologies today raises many controversial issues in science and legal practice. One of the most popular is the question of how to ensure human protection in the context of the transformation of inviolable rights and freedoms: information, privacy and inviolability. The large-scale spread of new technologies poses many questions to the regulator, one of which is the question of finding a balance between the right to information and the need to ensure the protection of personal data in a dynamic and constantly evolving Internet environment. Such a choice is faced by the legislator due to the fact that the spread of innovations involves constant work with personal data, accelerating their exchange, storage and protection. The introduction of digital technologies is beneficial for the development of public services, interaction and control, which ultimately leads to increased efficiency and accelerated information exchange for citizens and legal entities. Taking into account the progressive development of artificial intelligence technologies, it was quite interesting to conduct an experiment comparing the answers to the question of maintaining a balance between the right to information and the need to protect personal data given by scientists and artificial intelligence, in particular, the YandexGPT2 neural network. The responses of the neural network are analyzed for compliance with the main criteria of scientific work: reliability, objectivity and novelty, and are evaluated in comparison with the response of the authors of the scientific article.

Biochemical and functional characterization of heat-inactivated coelomic fluid from earthworms as a potential alternative for fetal bovine serum in animal cell culture

Fetal bovine serum (FBS) plays a pivotal role in animal cell culture. Due to ethical and scientific issues, searching for an alternative, comprising the three R’s (Refinement, Reduction and Replacement) gained global attention. In this context, we have identified the heat inactivated coelomic fluid (HI-CF) of the earthworm, Perionyx excavatus as a potential alternative for FBS. Briefly, we formulated HI-CF (f-HICF) containing serum free medium which can aid the growth, attachment, and proliferation of adherent cells, similar to FBS. In this study, we investigated the biochemical characterization, sterility, stability, formulation, and functional analysis of HI-CF as a supplement in culturing animal cells. Notably, vitamins, micronutrients, proteins, lipids, and trace elements are identified and compared with FBS for effective normalization of the serum free media. HI-CF is tested to be devoid of endotoxin and mycoplasma contamination thus can qualify the cell culture grade. The f-HICF serum free media was prepared, optimised, and tested with A549, HeLa, 3T3, Vero and C2C12 cell lines. Our results conclude that f-HICF is a potential alternative to FBS, in accordance with ethical concern; compliance with 3R's; lack of unintended antibody interactions; presence of macro and micronutrients; simple extraction; cost-effectiveness and availability.

The Honest Broker versus the Epistocrat: Attenuating Distrust in Science by Disentangling Science from Politics

ABSTRACT People’s trust in science is generally high. Yet in public policy disputes invoking scientific issues, people’s trust in science is typically polarized, aligned with their political preferences. Theorists of science and democracy have reasoned that a polarization of trust in scientific information could be mitigated by clearly disentangling scientific claims from political ones. We tested this proposition experimentally in three German public policy disputes: a) school closures versus openings during the COVID-19 pandemic, b) a ban on versus a continuation of domestic air traffic in view of climate change, and c) the shooting of wolves in residential areas or their protection. In each case study, we exposed participants to one of four versions of a news item citing a scientist reporting their research and giving policy advice. The scientist’s quotes differed with regard to the direction and style of their policy advice. As an epistocrat, the scientist blurs the distinction between scientific and political claims, purporting to “prove” a policy and thereby precluding a societal debate over values and policy priorities. As an honest broker, the scientist distinguishes between scientific and political claims, presenting a policy option while acknowledging the limitations of their disciplinary scientific perspective of a broader societal problem. We find that public policy advice in the style of an honest broker versus that of an epistocrat can attenuate political polarization of trust in scientists and scientific findings by enhancing trust primarily among the most politically challenged.

Eutrophication hotspots, nitrogen fluxes and climate impacts in estuarine ecosystems: A model study of the Odra estuary system

The Odra estuary in the southern Baltic Sea comprises the Odra (Szczecin) Lagoon, the Pomeranian Bay and a number of other shallow water areas and channels. Known for its abundance of fish, eutrophication in the Odra Lagoon is a pressing issue for science and environmental management representing a global problem: What determines the seasonal variability of nitrogen and nitrogen turnover in shallow water areas, and how does seasonal variability change due to climatic changes such as warming and sea level rise? How do such changes affect nutrient exports to the regional ocean? This study employs a high-resolution unstructured model system to investigate physical-biogeochemical interactions, nitrogen turnover, and conditions leading to nitrogen export to the Baltic Sea within the Odra estuary. The research comprises hindcast and a climatic experiment with modified water level and temperature inputs. The model reproduces the thermohaline dynamics of brackish shallow water areas, phytoplankton blooms and the variability of inorganic nitrogen. The simulations identify the dynamic partitioning of the Odra Lagoon into the highly eutrophic, lake-like Small Lagoon and more frequently flushed, zooplankton-rich Great Lagoon. Although the two years of the hindcast simulation feature very different boundary conditions in terms of river forcing, comparable patterns of seasonal nitrogen export emerge. In a climate change experiment with increased sea levels and global temperatures, the system appears sensitive, but remains stable with regard to nutrient transport and is therefore predictable. The climate change experiment reveals enhanced primary producer biomass concentrations, suggesting heightened eutrophication. While in the shallow waters of Odra Lagoon oxygen concentration remains relatively stable, oxygen depletion intensifies as the lagoon outflows enter the Pomeranian Bay. This phenomenon is linked to increased denitrification within the stratified Odra plume. Deeper, meandering channels, such as Swina, demonstrate resilience to oxygen reduction, influenced by sea level rise and enhanced currents. Based on the temporal-spatial high-resolution coupled, validated simulations, it is possible to develop tailor-made management solutions without having to run expensive and complicated observation campaigns in the shallow waters with complex topography.

Dynamic flyer in barrel imaging via high intensity short-pulse laser.

The thin flyer is a small-scale flying object, which is well known as the core functional element of the initiator. Understanding how flyers perform has been a long-standing issue in detonator science. However, it remains a significant challenge to explore how the flyer is formed and functions in the barrel of the initiator via tabletop devices. In this study, we present dynamic and unprecedented images of flyer in barrel via high intensity short-pulse laser. Advanced radiography, coupled with a high-intensity picosecond laser X-ray source, has enabled the provision of state-of-the-art radiographs in a single-shot experiment for observing micron-scale flyer formation in a hollow cylinder in nanoseconds. The flyer was clearly visible in the barrel and was accelerated and restricted differently from that without the barrel. This first implementation of a tabletop X-ray source provided a new approach for capturing dynamic photographs of small-scale flying objects, which were previously reported to be accessible only via an X-ray phase-contrast imaging system at the advanced photon source. These efforts have led to a significant improvement of radiographic capability and a greater understanding of the mechanisms of "burst" of exploding foil initiators for this application.

Editorial for First Issue of Science for Energy and Environment

Editorial for First Issue of Science for Energy and Environment Yongfa Zhu Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China Correspondence: zhuyf@tsinghua.edu.cn Received: 8 November 2023; Accepted: 8 November 2023; Published: 4 March 2024

Cultural–Historical Activity Theory as an integrative model of socioscientific issue based learning in museums using extended reality technologies

ABSTRACT The transformation of natural history and science museums from receptacles (temples) to facilitators (forums) of knowledge fosters discourse around issues relating to science and society, known as social scientific issues (SSI). To assist guests with enhanced object-based learning, extended reality (XR) technologies are thought to leverage the leisure and social motivations of guests for greater object-based learning and SSI engagement. To model guests’ experiences using XR, this theoretical paper identifies and describes how a new conceptualization of Cultural–Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) to facilitate SSI outcomes through shared outcome spaces of interacting guest and museum activity systems, mediated by XR technology. We present two scenarios of forum-forward SSI-based learning utilizing this emergent CHAT model in: (i) scrutinizing the environmental and ecological consequences of human activity and (ii) unveiling the contributions of Indigenous Science Knowledge. Issues surrounding ownership and representation are discussed when ‘transforming’ singular objects into digital, decontextualized, and distributable entities.

What the future looks like: Heralding the unique missions of translational issues in psychological science.

What the future looks like: Heralding the unique missions of translational issues in psychological science.

New approach methodologies (NAMs): identifying and overcoming hurdles to accelerated adoption.

New approach methodologies (NAMs) can deliver improved chemical safety assessment through the provision of more protective and/or relevant models that have a reduced reliance on animals. Despite the widely acknowledged benefits offered by NAMs, there continue to be barriers that prevent or limit their application for decision-making in chemical safety assessment. These include barriers related to real and perceived scientific, technical, legislative and economic issues, as well as cultural and societal obstacles that may relate to inertia, familiarity, and comfort with established methods, and perceptions around regulatory expectations and acceptance. This article focuses on chemical safety science, exposure, hazard, and risk assessment, and explores the nature of these barriers and how they can be overcome to drive the wider exploitation and acceptance of NAMs. Short-, mid- and longer-term goals are outlined that embrace the opportunities provided by NAMs to deliver improved protection of human health and environmental security as part of a new paradigm that incorporates exposure science and a culture that promotes the use of protective toxicological risk assessments.

Permission for Municipalities to Establish and Finance Prizes and Awards for Athletes in Electronic Sports

Abstract The article, original in nature, was devoted to the issue of awards and prizes for e-sports players. The motivational financial instruments in question are regulated in the Sports Law, specifically in Article 31. The author has attempted to solve the legal problem of finding an answer to the question of the legal possibility for municipalities to establish and finance prizes and awards for e-sports players under Article 31 of the Sports Law. Due to the singular and causal works in the field of e-sports funding, which do not address the issue of establishing and funding prizes and awards for e-sports players under Article 31 of the Sports Act, the elaboration of this issue within the framework of the article will, in the author’s opinion, undoubtedly enrich the current literature on the subject. The introductory considerations focus on presenting the essence of the definition of sport and attempt to qualify e-sports as a sport under the Sports Act, which is significant for the possibility of local authorities establishing prizes and awards. The key views of the literature, judicial decisions, and the state of the law in this area were presented. Investigations in this area have led to the conclusion that, with a few reservations, it is possible to qualify e-sport as a sport. Subsequently, the focus was on the legal aspects concerning the possibility for municipalities to establish and finance prizes and awards for e-sports players. The problem concerning the understanding of competition under the Sports Act was resolved, and it was pointed out that e-sports players, despite the lack of a Polish e-sports association, can participate in sports competitions under the Sports Act. In addition, the problematic premise concerning the importance of a given sport for a local authority has been clarified. The final considerations in this area have allowed de lege ferenda postulates to be formulated. The analysis is based on legal norms and statements of doctrine and jurisprudence. The article contains considerations concerning the normative and dogmatic sphere as well as the sphere of law application by administrative courts. The research has a national character. In this article, the dogmatic-legal method has been applied, consisting of the analysis of legal regulations on the establishment and financing of awards and prizes for players of electronic sports. The subject matter discussed is divided into several main editorial units. The different parts correspond to the main outline of the problem and its relation to important scientific and practical issues.

ИСТОРИЧЕСКАЯ НАУКА В БАШКОРТОСТАНЕ: СТАНОВЛЕНИЕ, ИТОГИ И ПЕРСПЕКТИВЫ РАЗВИТИЯ

The article examines the history of the formation and development of Russian historical science in the XX – early XXI century on the basis of archival documents and published sources. This is an important topic, which has not only scientific, but also social significance. The purpose of the article is to analyze the research activities of historians of the Department of Modern History of Bashkortostan of the Order of the Badge of Honor of the Institute of History, Language and Literature of the Ufa Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The article examines the priority areas of scientific research of historians specializing in the study of historical problems of the modern period, reflects their results and prospects for development. Based on the reports and thematic plans of the institute and department deposited in the funds of the Scientific Archive of the Ufa Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the author was able to identify the characteristics of the historical activity of historians during the period under consideration, show the complex and controversial path of the formation of historical science in Bashkortostan from the 1920s onwards, reflect unsolved problems, difficulties faced and omissions made by researchers. The author concludes that through its research activities, the Department of Modern History of Bashkortostan at the IHLL of UFRC has made and continues to contribute to the development of scientific issues related to regional and national history as a whole. The study was carried out in accordance with the principles of historicism, objectivity, and a scientific approach, utilizing methods commonly employed in historical research.

Efficient fault tolerant cost optimized approach for scientific workflow via optimal replication technique within cloud computing ecosystem

<span lang="EN-US">Cloud computing is one of the dispersed and effective computing models, which offers tremendous opportunity to address scientific issues with big scale characteristics. Despite having such a dynamic computing paradigm, it faces several difficulties and falls short of meeting the necessary quality of services (QoS) standards. For sustainable cloud computing workflow, QoS is very much required and need to be addressed. Recent studies looked on quantitative fault-tolerant programming to reduce the number of copies while still achieving the reliability necessity of a process on the heterogeneous infrastructure as a service (IaaS) cloud. In this study, we create an optimal replication technique (ORT) about fault tolerance as well as cost-driven mechanism and this is known as optimal replication technique with fault tolerance and cost minimization (ORT-FTC). Here ORT-FTC employs an iterative-based method that chooses the virtual machine and its copies that have the shortest makespan in the situation of specific tasks. By creating test cases, ORT-FTC is tested while taking into account scientific workflows like CyberShake, laser interferometer gravitational-wave observatory (LIGO), montage, and sipht. Additionally, ORT-FTC is shown to be only slightly improved over the current model in all cases. </span>

A roadmap to achieving a healthier information ecosystem through GDPR implementation and privacy compliance technologies

AbstractPrivacy protection has become a central issue in information science, with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) significantly impacting information ecosystems. Research gaps persist in understanding the causal relationship between GDPR implementation and websites' proactive changes, such as adopting privacy compliance technologies. This study aims to examine the influence of GDPR implementation on websites' information ecosystems and identify boundary conditions that may affect this relationship. Utilizing domain‐level data from a professional platform tracking website technologies before and after GDPR implementation, which encompasses a comprehensive longitudinal dataset of over 1.2 million websites, our results indicate that GDPR implementation has increased the decision, breadth, depth, and intensity of adopting related technologies. The variance in these adoptions is significantly shaped by the differing levels of institutional impacts experienced by trailblazing versus laggard industries. Our study contributes to the literature by revealing the importance of policy factors in fostering a healthier information ecosystem. We demonstrate the complex nature of the relationship between policy factors and technology adoption, highlighting the need for researchers to consider institutional context and industry‐specific characteristics. We further discuss valuable insights for relevant stakeholders.

Решение обратной задачи теплопередачи в конденсаторе турбоустановки со встроенным теплофикационным пучком

For power plants reduction of heat losses is one of the main ways to save energy. Energy saving issue is one of the priority areas of the development of science, engineering, and technology in the Russian Federation. Efficiency upgrading of the equipment operation are associated with the condensers of turbine units, since more than 50 percent of the fuel energy is released into the environment with cooling water. The operating efficiency of a condenser with built-in heating beams significantly affects the vacuum in the condenser and, thus, the operating efficiency of the entire unit. Diagnostics of the condition and improvement of operating modes of the condenser of a turbine unit with a built-in heating unit is an urgent scientific and practical issue. To develop a model of a condenser with a built-in heating beam, the methodology of matrix formalization of the description of heat and mass transfer processes has been used. To solve the problem of diagnosing the condition of equipment, methods of least squares and mathematical programming have been used. Within the framework of the matrix formalization methodology, the authors have developed an approach to solve inverse problems of diagnosing and designing multi-flow heat exchange equipment considering the phase transition in coolants. The authors have obtained and analyzed solutions of the inverse problem from the point of view of diagnosing the state of heat exchange equipment using the example of a turbine unit condenser with a built-in heating beam. Analysis of the calculated results has shown an adequate description by the model of the standard data for the analyzed condenser. Analysis results have shown the possibility to use the model for runtime diagnosis of the condition of power equipment and the efficient use of energy resources due to preventing ineffective modes. The proposed approach allows us to formulate and solve inverse problems of diagnosing the state of equipment of condensing units for various purposes.

Survei Analisis Kebutuhan Pengembangan Lembar Kerja Peserta Didik Berbasis Socio Scientific Issues pada Materi Asam Basa

Socio Scientific Issues (SSI) is an approach that can be used to stimulate students' critical thinking in science learning, especially chemistry learning. This approach can be integrated in the students’ worksheet to help students to think critically and achieve learning objectives. The purpose of this study was to determine the responses of chemistry teachers and students of twelve grade secondary school based on the needs analysis of the development of Socio Scientific Issues on Acid-Base topic. The research method used was a survey method using a questionnaire research instrument. This research instrument is filled in through a google form containing several questions or written statements that must be answered by the respondent. The subject of the research were chemistry teachers and XII grade high school students. The results showed that most teachers and students were not familiar with the socio-scientific issue approach in chemistry learning. However, most teachers and students agree to the development of students’ worksheet on Acid-Base topic that supports to stimulate critical thinking skills and meaningful chemistry learning.

Development of a new intelligent instrument for visibility and turbulence meteorological environment parameters in traffic network

The number of transport network systems in the world is increasing and the transport network passes through different geographical environments, there is an urgent need to develop an environmental meteorological monitoring equipment for the transport network security. So, in this study, a new intelligent instrument for monitoring the visibility and turbulence meteorological environmental parameters (temperature, pressure, humidity, etc.) of traffic networks (IVMPT) is developed. The feasibility of simultaneous measurement of visibility, turbulence and various meteorological elements is verified. The atmospheric visibility is measured based on the extinction principle and the atmospheric turbulence in a certain range based on the light intensity scattering principle. The commercial Visibility instrument (DNQ2-1) and Micro-temperature Sensor are used to compare with our new instrument. The results show that the difference between the visibility and turbulence measurements and the comparison instrument is 3% and 8.4%, respectively. After comparative examination, the new instrument meets the design requirements. In addition to environmental meteorological monitoring applications in the transport network, the instrument provides a new scientific instrument for the study of aerosol-turbulence interactions in basic science issues.

Perspectives on the robustness of the mechanical properties assessment of biocomposites

Biocomposite materials made of natural plant fibers are becoming a viable alternative to the use of synthetic ones such as glass fibers, thanks to many economic, ecological, and technical benefits. However, their massive use in the industry requires optimal control of their mechanical performances, which constitutes a real scientific issue to be overcome. Indeed, biocomposites suffer from an important variability in their mechanical properties because of their multiscale structure, natural growth conditions, and various processing parameters, in addition to eventual chemical treatments. Biocomposites are also highly sensitive to the surrounding environment in terms of humidity and temperature because of the hydrophilic properties of natural plant fibers. In this context, this Perspective aims to provide a critical look at the influence of the main factors that affect the mechanical properties of biocomposites in order to suggest some possible research outlooks that could contribute to optimizing the control of these mechanical properties and expanding the use of biocomposites in industry.

Issues of Legal, Scientific, Theoretical, Methodological and Practical Significance as an Important Component of the Informatization of the Library Infrastructure of the Republic (Strategy For The Development of Libraries in the Regions of Azerbaijan)

State programs for the development of regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan formed the basis for the reorganization of the country's library network. He raised issues such as the revision of centralized library systems operating in the administrative regions of Azerbaijan, expansion of the collection, a modern approach to service work, and the use of new technologies. Specialists began work in the field of application of scientific, theoretical and practical projects for the implementation of modern library and information activities capable of meeting the requirements of the 21st century. Determining the specifics of the Sheki-Zagatala region of Azerbaijan, as well as other regions, providing industry, agriculture, education and culture with information resources, opportunities for integration with relevant information institutions, studying reader demand and solving problems of its provision are considered as one of the current problems. This article is devoted to the study of the problem and analysis of proposals based on modern world experience. Scientifically based recommendations have been put forward to improve the library and information infrastructure in the regions.