Scientific Platform Research Articles

Mechanical stimulation of distraction regenerate. Mini-review of current concepts

Introduction One of the key limitations of distraction osteogenesis (DO) is the absence or delayed formation of a callus in the distraction gap, which can ultimately prolong the duration of treatment.Purpose Multiple modalities of distraction regenerate (DR) stimulation are reviewed, with a focus on modulation of the mechanical environment required for DR formation and maturation.Methods Preparing the review, the scientific platforms such as PubMed, Scopus, ResearchGate, RSCI were used for information searching. Search words or word combinations were mechanical bone union stimulation; axial dynamization, distraction regenerate.Results Recent advances in mechanobiology prove the effectiveness of axial loading and mechanical stimulation during fracture healing. Further investigation is still required to develop the proper protocols and applications for invasive and non-invasive stimulation of the DR. Understanding the role of dynamization as a mechanical stimulation method is impossible without a consensus on the use of the terms and protocols involved.Discussion We propose to define Axial Dynamization as the ability to provide axial load at the bone regeneration site with minimal translation and bending strain. Axial Dynamization works and is most likely achieved through multiple mechanisms: direct stimulation of the tissues by axial cyclic strain and elimination of translation forces at the DR site by reducing the effects of the cantilever bending of the pins.Conclusion Axial Dynamization, along with other non-invasive methods of mechanical DR stimulation, should become a default component of limb-lengthening protocols.

Classifying stages in the gonotrophic cycle of mosquitoes from images using computer vision techniques

The ability to distinguish between the abdominal conditions of adult female mosquitoes has important utility for the surveillance and control of mosquito-borne diseases. However, doing so requires entomological training and time-consuming manual effort. Here, we design computer vision techniques to determine stages in the gonotrophic cycle of female mosquitoes from images. Our dataset was collected from 139 adult female mosquitoes across three medically important species—Aedes aegypti, Anopheles stephensi, and Culex quinquefasciatus—and all four gonotrophic stages of the cycle (unfed, fully fed, semi-gravid, and gravid). From these mosquitoes and stages, a total of 1959 images were captured on a plain background via multiple smartphones. Subsequently, we trained four distinct AI model architectures (ResNet50, MobileNetV2, EfficientNet-B0, and ConvNeXtTiny), validated them using unseen data, and compared their overall classification accuracies. Additionally, we analyzed t-SNE plots to visualize the formation of decision boundaries in a lower-dimensional space. Notably, ResNet50 and EfficientNet-B0 demonstrated outstanding performance with an overall accuracy of 97.44% and 93.59%, respectively. EfficientNet-B0 demonstrated the best overall performance considering computational efficiency, model size, training speed, and t-SNE decision boundaries. We also assessed the explainability of this EfficientNet-B0 model, by implementing Grad-CAMs—a technique that highlights pixels in an image that were prioritized for classification. We observed that the highest weight was for those pixels representing the mosquito abdomen, demonstrating that our AI model has indeed learned correctly. Our work has significant practical impact. First, image datasets for gonotrophic stages of mosquitoes are not yet available. Second, our algorithms can be integrated with existing citizen science platforms that enable the public to record and upload biological observations. With such integration, our algorithms will enable the public to contribute to mosquito surveillance and gonotrophic stage identification. Finally, we are aware of work today that uses computer vision techniques for automated mosquito species identification, and our algorithms in this paper can augment these efforts by enabling the automated detection of gonotrophic stages of mosquitoes as well.

Marine recreation with a purpose: an emerging form of marine citizen science in the Ocean Decade

Amidst the growth of the marine technology and recreation sectors and heightened public environmental awareness, the opportunity for marine citizen science is extending to marine recreationalists. An unnoticed yet growing demand for purpose among marine recreationalists has translated into citizens recruiting scientists to integrate environmental data collection into recreational activities or events, named here “marine recreation with a purpose.” As an example, GB Row Challenge is an annual ocean rowing competition circumnavigating Great Britain which recently integrated environmental monitoring as an inherent component of the event with the help of partner scientists and engineers. This bottom-up, integrated form of marine citizen science that is rooted in recreation, adventure or sports, has unique contributions to United Nations' Ocean Decade goals, such as encouraging ocean stewardship and normalizing citizen science and ocean literacy to audiences not usually exposed to this content. The public nature of these projects may also help overcome common barriers of citizen science with funding and technical support by private sources via sponsorships. To build the experiential, financial and technical capacities needed to enable marine recreation with a purpose at all scales, coordination between all forms of marine recreation-based citizen science is required. This could be realized through forming a dedicated coalition in existing citizen science associations and platforms. Marine recreation with a purpose is a growing trend of citizen science in the marine recreation sector and global coordination will amplify its impact as an essential contribution to the Ocean Decade.

On-demand entanglement of molecules in a reconfigurable optical tweezer array

Entanglement is crucial to many quantum applications, including quantum information processing, quantum simulation, and quantum-enhanced sensing. Because of their rich internal structure and interactions, molecules have been proposed as a promising platform for quantum science. Deterministic entanglement of individually controlled molecules has nevertheless been a long-standing experimental challenge. We demonstrate on-demand entanglement of individually prepared molecules. Using the electric dipolar interaction between pairs of molecules prepared by using a reconfigurable optical tweezer array, we deterministically created Bell pairs of molecules. Our results demonstrate the key building blocks needed for quantum applications and may advance quantum-enhanced fundamental physics tests that use trapped molecules.

Caesia walalbai A.T.Webb, Birch & R.L.Barrett (Asphodelaceae, Hemerocallidoideae), a new species from south-east Queensland

Caesia walalbai A.T.Webb, Birch & R.L.Barrett (Asphodelaceae, Hemerocallidoideae) is described as a new species endemic to south-east Queensland, Australia. It is distinguished from other white-flowered, eastern Australian Caesia species by long, often recurved pedicels and entirely yellow staminal filaments. Caesia walalbai is notable for having 23 observations on the citizen science platform iNaturalist, all made in the last three years, while a similar number of herbarium specimens have been collected, the first in 1959. The species was also collected on the Carnarvon Station Reserve BushBlitz in 2014. A new description of Caesia parviflora R.Br. is provided based on specimens collected in the Sydney region of New South Wales, the type location for the species.

Autonomous Driving of a Rover Based on Traffic Signals and Signs

The traditional driving system has several disadvantages such as human error, driver fatigue and the inability to handle complex situations. These limitations make traditional driving unsafe and unreliable, leading to accidents and traffic congestion. The necessity for Autonomous Driving of a Rover based on Traffic Signals & Signs is to address these issues by automating the driving process and making it safer and more efficient. A dataset with traffic signs will be used to train a deep-learning model for classifying signs. A transfer learning technique will be used to deploy the trained model on the rover, considering hardware limitations. A camera on the rover captures images and sends them to the model for classification, enabling autonomous navigation based on traffic signs. The required software for the project includes Anaconda, a popular data science platform, and MaixPy, which is a version of MicroPython specifically designed for the Kendryte K210 chipset. The hardware required for the system includes the Zumo Shield for Arduino, which serves as the interface between the rover and the computer vision software, the Maixduino board, which is used to process the image data, and batteries to power the system. The system is designed to detect traffic signs and signals in real-time and respond accordingly, enabling the rover to navigate through traffic safely and efficiently.

Unraveling public perceptions of the Sustainable Development Goals for better policy implementation

Public participation is crucial for policy-making and can contribute to strengthening democracies and decision-making. Public participation can help to address sustainability challenges and plays a key role in attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). While the SDGs are policy concepts, there has been limited research conducted on how the public perceives the SDGs. Public participation in scientific research has been carried out through citizen science (CS). This paper analyzes the public's perception of the SDGs through CS and how the public can participate in their implementation. The paper uses the OSDG community platform, a citizen science platform with >2000 participants, to analyze public perception of the SDGs. A set of 40,062 excerpts of text (v2023-01-01), a topic modeling and agreement scores by using CorTexT Manager software, was analyzed. The results show that some SDGs, e.g. health (SDG3) or life below water (SDG14), have higher levels of agreement from the public, whilst for other SDGs the public disagree on their perception, (e.g. zero hunger). The paper shows that issues affecting citizens' daily lives (e.g. in People related goals) tend to have a higher level of agreement among volunteers, while economic issues and directives have greater discrepancies. The results provide an overview of the differences in public perception on the SDGs and their implementation. The misperceptions regarding the SDGs should be reduced to achieve a better implementation, improve public participation, and help policy-making processes.

Pluriverse in science: Discourses of Amazonian land-use change and socio-environmental (in)justice

In the Brazilian Amazon region, social, economic, and political changing structures have increased the pressure on land, generating inequalities for the region's most vulnerable residents. Simultaneously, scientific knowledge production has increased and documented the region's different realities. This document presents a scientific discourse analysis of land-use change in the Amazonian region and its interaction with socio-environmental (in)justice, considering the pluriversal perspective. We respond to the main questions: Do hierarchies in scientific knowledge production contribute to silencing subaltern voices and hiding a pluriverse approach when writing about Amazonia land issues? And if so, how? A systematic literature review was conducted using the scientific dissemination platforms Scielo, Scopus, and WoS. The results show a disproportionate representation of some stakeholders, and some states are used as near-total representatives for the Amazonia region. Furthermore, consideration of pluriversal perspectives in the articles does not guarantee high sensibility for heterogeneity of local contexts or for making subaltern voices heard.

Exploring the research area of direct taxation. An empirical analysis based on bibliometric analysis results

Abstract The investigation and exploration of the general fiscal field with emphasis on “direct taxation” through the analysis of the published scientific literature, looking at the conceptual, intellectual, and collaborative structure while highlighting the future research directions is aiming to visualize the prevailing knowledge structure in order to help the future researchers and research clusters. A sample of 557 documents was extract from the Web of Science platform for the 1954 - 2022-time range and a bibliometric analysis was applied as a quantitative technique to investigate the scientific literature. The main questions for which this study could offer an answer are: Are there emerging subfields or topics within direct taxations research? Which authors have made significant contributions to the study of direct taxation? But what are the most influential and frequently cited publications? How has the research on direct taxations evolved over time in terms of publication trends? Is there any geographical concentration of research in this area? Which collaborative partnerships are standing out?

Melatonin or its analogs as premedication to prevent emergence agitation in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundEmergence agitation (EA) is a prevalent complication in children following general anesthesia. Several studies have assessed the relationship between melatonin or its analogs and the incidence of pediatric EA, yielding conflicting results. This meta-analysis aims to assess the effects of premedication with melatonin or its analogs on preventing EA in children after general anesthesia.MethodsPubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global, Web of Science, CNKI, Wanfang Data, clinicaltrials.gov, and WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform were searched until 25 November 2022. We included randomized controlled trials that assessed EA in patients less than 18 years old who underwent general anesthesia. We excluded studies that did not use a specific evaluation to assess EA.ResultsNine studies (951 participants) were included in this systematic review. Melatonin significantly reduced the incidence of EA compared with placebos (risk ratio 0.40, 95% CI 0.26 to 0.61, P < 0.01) and midazolam (risk ratio 0.48, 95% CI 0.32 to 0.73, P < 0.01). Dexmedetomidine remarkably decreased the incidence of EA compared with melatonin (risk ratio 2.04, 95% CI 1.11 to 3.73, P = 0.02).ConclusionsMelatonin premedication significantly decreases the incidence of EA compared with placebos and midazolam. Dexmedetomidine premedication has a stronger effect than melatonin in preventing EA. Nevertheless, further studies are warranted to reinforce and validate the conclusion on the efficacy of melatonin premedication in mitigating EA in pediatric patients.

Nuevos registros estatales de la cucaracha mimética de luciérnaga Achroblatta luteola (Blanchard, 1843) (Blattodea: Blaberidae: Panchlorinae) en México

The firefly-mimicking cockroach Achroblatta luteola (Blanchard, 1843) (Blattodea: Blaberidae: Panchlorinae) is newly recorded for the Mexican states of Chiapas, Guanajuato, Puebla, Quintana Roo and Tabasco via the examination of specimens deposited in scientific collections and observations in a citizen science platform.

К вопросу о множественной концептуализации исторического кванториума

The article examines the possibilities of conceptual substantiation of the historical quantorium as a digital edu-cational platform within the framework of studying the history of the native land. The authors’ assumption re-garding the possible mitigation of the risks of digital education “Generation Z” (as well as the ability to over-come the “digital divide” at the level of semantic and ideological transformation of traditional practices through the justification and implementation of the digital historical quantorium) is explicated by a synthesis of various models and their own proposals. The multivalence of conceptual approaches to quantoriums, associated with their habitual consideration as natural science platforms, is rethought in the perspective of the development of digital historical education. The key characteristics of the digital historical quantorium are highlighted, the main directions and types of activity of the participants are determined, and possible options for methodological equipment of the educational platform are proposed (projects with elements of augmented reality, interactive maps, interactive desktops, video games).

Library instruction and information literacy 2022

PurposeThis paper aims to present recently published resources on library instruction and information literacy. It provides an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography of publications organized thematically and detailing, study populations, results and research contexts. The selected bibliography is useful to efficiently keep up with trends in library instruction for academic library practitioners, library science students and those wishing to learn about information literacy in other contexts.Design/methodology/approachThis article annotates 340 English-language periodical articles, dissertations, theses and reports on library instruction and information literacy published in 2022. The sources were selected from the EBSCO platform for Library, Information Science and Technology s (LISTA), Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), Elsevier SCOPUS and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. Sources selected were published in 2022 and included the terms “information literacy,” “library instruction,” or “information fluency” in the title, subject terms, or author supplied keywords. The sources were organized in Zotero. Annotations were made summarizing the source, focusing on the findings or implications. Each source was then thematically categorized and organized for academic librarians to be able to skim and use the annotated bibliography efficiently.FindingsThe paper provides a brief description of 340 sources from 144 unique publications, and highlights publications that contain unique or significant scholarly contributions. Further analysis of the sources and authorship are provided.Originality/valueThe information is primarily of use to academic librarians, researchers, and anyone interested as a quick and comprehensive reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy published within 2022.

A new small carder bee species from the eastern Canary Islands (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae, Anthidiini)

Recent field surveys in the eastern Canary Islands (Spain), followed by contributions of new occurrence records through the citizen science platform iNaturalist.com and the social media photo repository Flickr.com have revealed the presence of an overlooked small carder bee species (genus Pseudoanthidium Friese (Megachilidae: Anthidiini)) on the islands of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. Here, we combined morphology, DNA barcodes (mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I, COI) and ecological data (distribution, altitudinal ranges and environmental niche classification) to describe this species as Pseudoanthidium (Pseudoanthidium) jacobiisp. nov. We provide an illustrated description along with diagnostic morphological characters to separate it from P. (P.) canariense (Mavromoustakis, 1954), the only other congeneric species known from the neighbouring islands of La Gomera, Tenerife and Gran Canaria and from which it is separated by a genetic distance of 2.7%. We also evaluated the extent of shared environmental niche space among the two Pseudoanthidium species, and our results show a significant difference in elevation range as well as a very small (less than 1%) overlap between the modelled climatic niche of P. jacobii and that of P. canariense. Given the extremely restricted geographic distribution and the fragile and isolated nature of the habitat and host plants of this new island endemic species, we assign it an IUCN conservation status of “EN” (endangered) and discuss avenues for future research on the ecology and conservation of wild bees in the Canary Islands and neighbouring regions.

Comparing different citizen science platforms for collecting urban ecological data from Toco toucan (Ramphastos toco) in Argentina

AbstractCitizen science projects are valuable tools since they provide substantial amounts of data on different animal species. Currently, there are a wide variety of platforms and objectives for diverse citizen science projects. Despite these advances, the approaches and contributions of citizen science platforms for collecting data on a particular species, and in a specific site or region, have been poorly explored. Thus, in this article, we compare the number of participants and the amount of data collected by three platforms on the Toco toucan (Ramphastos toco) in San Salvador de Jujuy city, located in northwestern Argentina. This particular bird species is very charismatic and frequents urban areas all year round; so that, it is interesting to know what contributions (e.g. participant numbers, ecological and distribution data) are being made about this species on citizen science platforms. Thus, we examined data reported by two global citizen science platforms, iNaturalist and eBird, and one local platform, Tucanes en mi Jujuy (TEMJ). We found that the local, focal TEMJ project had a greater number of participants (n = 193), greater presence records (n = 614) and a wide spatial distribution of data in the city. In the iNaturalist and eBird platforms, the number of participants was smaller (n = 9 and 36, respectively), with fewer presence records (n = 12 and 178, respectively), and even fewer reports of species‐specific ecological data (feeding, behaviour and age). This reflected clear differences between the three platforms, as TEMJ not only reported more presence data but also more detailed information on age and behaviour. Based on this research, we highlight the commitment of citizens to this particular project and the study of species. Therefore, we recommend the implementation of new local and focal citizen science platforms for more detailed ecological data on other charismatic and focal species.

Taking the “UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development” as an opportunity to help build a “Community with a Shared Future between China and Pacific Island Countries”

A deep heritage of cooperation and a growing convergence of interests have driven relations between China and Pacific Island countries forward. These nations are closely linked by water, and the ocean has become an important frontier of common concern for both sides. The “United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development”(the UN Ocean Decade) and the “Building a Community with a Shared Future Between China and Pacific Island Countries” were born during the era of globalization and have a high degree of compatibility in their development visions. China should seize the opportunities brought by the UN Ocean Decade to promote science and technology diplomacy with Pacific Island countries through building science and technology innovation cooperation platforms, participating deeply in global ocean governance, and conducting civil science and technology exchanges. This will help build a closer “Community with a Shared Future between China and Pacific Island countries”.

Prediction of COVID-19 using machine learning techniques

In December 2019, the world faced an unprecedented and formidable challenge in the form of COVID-19. Since its first reported case in December 2019 and subsequent classification as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO), it has imposed an enormous impact, taking lives, disrupting diverse economic sectors, and introducing numerous challenges. Predicting and controlling COVID-19 precisely remains a pivotal concern for the future. To enhance the precision of COVID-19 disease prediction and alleviate the burden on healthcare systems, we explore the application of diverse machine learning classifiers. Leveraging datasets comprising confirmed cases, recoveries, and fatalities, our study seeks to improve the predictive accuracy, ensuring efficient and precise evaluation and triage of patients. This, in turn, the load on overburdened emergency departments is reduced, and mitigates the pressures faced by healthcare professionals. The pivotal role of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in this context cannot be overstated. Our research endeavors to refine the accuracy and quality of results by employing advanced machine learning techniques such as Random Forest (RF), Decision Tree (DT), Support Vector Machine (SVM), Naïve Bayes (NB), Gradient Boosting (GB), and Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost). Our dataset is sourced from Kaggle, a well-established platform for data science and machine learning. Our comprehensive analysis compares the outcomes of six distinct models. Notably, the Gradient Boosting classifier surpasses other techniques, achieving an impressive accuracy rate of 90% for confirmed cases, 90% for recoveries, and 92% for fatalities. This represents a significant improvement over the baseline paper, which achieved accuracy rates of 83% for confirmed cases, 72% for recoveries, and 81% for fatalities using the same dataset. Further our research enhances COVID-19 prediction, aiding healthcare professionals in addressing the other global epidemic for future.

Multifunctional agriculture in the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Bibliometric review

Abstract The aim of this work was to analyse the systemic structure of multifunctional agriculture (MFA) and its nexus with sustainability through a bibliometric review of existing literature. By monitoring articles published on the Web of Science platform, a sample of 432 documents was identified. Two software packages, Bibliometrix and VOSviewer, were used to map scientific collaboration networks. The results made it possible to identify the authors, journals, and countries that had given rise to the current structure of knowledge. Four broad thematic clusters were identified: a) MFA and sustainability; b) ecosystem services and biodiversity; c) European public policies; d) governance and urban agriculture. It is concluded that despite an increase in publication rates research is concentrated in Europe, and, furthermore, there are few collaborative networks between different disciplines, suggesting that SDG17 is not being achieved.

EXPLORING ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF WORK OUT OF COMPANY OFFICE BASED ON BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS

Increasing the incidence of work out of company office (WOCO) by transforming it from a more limited and circumstantial practice into a predominant work option requires a special attention of social partners and political decision-makers in order to harmonize economic and social performances. The aim of this research is to evaluate the effects of WOCO from the economic perspective – resources allocation and performance, developing the previous studies through the approach of the broad area of WOCO, extending the analysis at the microeconomic and macroeconomic level, in order to harmonize the objectives of sustainable economic growth. Using bibliometric techniques, the 289 scientific publications from the Web of Science platform were analysed, highlighting the conceptual and intellectual structure of the research, in the field. The research themes related to economic topic consist of: the degree of employment, technology and digital infrastructure development, economic performance and productivity, and carrying out economic activities from the perspective of WOCO. The results of this broad-spectrum research reveal a holistic view of the network, constituting a relevant reference to develop a comprehensive understanding of the impact of WOCO, useful to researchers, managers, and regulatory bodies, and identifying the potential research gaps and future research direction.

Features of Gold Placer Formation in the Ukrainian Crystalline Shield And Southern Ukraine

The presence of numerous native gold deposits of the Ukrainian Crystalline Shield (UCS), as well as the spread of placer gold manifestations, determines the high probability of the formation here of gold placers with industrial parameters. The main factors and geological conditions that contribute to the formation of gold placers are manifested at the UCS. An important reason for the failures of previous geological works is the outdated scientific and methodological platform, which involved the search for typical gold-bearing deposits with metal of gravity size classes. They did not take into account the possibility of significant movement of placer gold in the geologically clay water flow and the formation of long-distance placers. The traditional Schlich method used in the study did not make it possible to determine the actual gold content when particles with a size smaller than 0.25 mm predominate in the sample, which is precisely the particle size of the primary sources of the UCS. The applied means of research could not be effective in the absence of the necessary analytical base for determining the gold content, modern methods of studying the geological structure and tectonics of the territories. The negative results did not provide any real grounds for further specialized large-scale research and prospecting for placer gold. Today, it is getting obvious that placer gold of small and fine classes can easily move over considerable distances in the water flow and form accumulations not only in boulder-pebble material, but also in pelitic sediments. Due to repeated block movements, erosion and redepositing of gold-bearing accumulations in secondary reservoirs could occur. In this aspect, neotectonic studies (using materials from space surveys) become the main predictive and prospecting method for identifying promising areas of placer gold concentration in the region. When carrying out fieldwork, drilling and modern methods of laboratory analysis of gold samples should be used. The results of many years of research give hope for the discovery of real placer gold deposits in the Northern Black Sea region in the near future.