Universal Criteria Research Articles

Assessment of the university entrepreneurial potential (comparative analysis)

Relevance. The relevance of the study is due to the need to conduct a comparative analysis of the Kazakhstan�s universities with entrepreneurial universities from the leading countries of the world in order to assess their entrepreneurial potential.Purpose. This article is aimed at identifying the universal criteria that define the concept of entrepreneurial university, with the help of which it is possible to assess how a university corresponds to the definition of entrepreneurial university, as well as to make assessment of the universities� entrepreneurial potential.Methodology. The method of analyzing economic processes is the leading approach to the study of this problem, which allows considering in details the significant events and trends in the economic and social development of countries that has occurred as a result of implementation of the idea of entrepreneurial universities. In addition, the following research methods were used: online questioning of experts, comparative analysis, work with sources, system analysis, logical analysis, methods of synthesis and deduction.Results. In this article, there are the results of the study: it has been identified the universal criteria that define the concept of entrepreneurial university, with the help of which it is possible to assess how a university meets this definition; it has been conducted an online survey of experts to assess the compliance of universities in Kazakhstan, the USA, Germany and India with the criteria of entrepreneurial university; it has been carried out a comparative analysis of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial universities of these countries based on the data identified during the analysis; it has been given the general recommendations on the formation and development of entrepreneurial university.Conclusions. The materials of this article are valuable for science, as they contain recommendations for the formation and development of entrepreneurial university, based on the experience of the leading countries in this field, and in addition, it has been described the universal criteria for entrepreneurial university that will help in determining its entrepreneurial potential.

Phase formation criteria for structurally ordered high-entropy intermetallics

Structurally ordered high-entropy intermetallics (SOHEI), as the latest paradigm of high-entropy materials, exhibit a variety of excellent and attractive mechanical and functional properties, which are mainly derived from the formation of multi-principal element intermetallics. Nevertheless, the phase formation criteria for SOHEI have not been systematically investigated so far. In this work, a series of parameter formulas related to the mixing entropy (ΔSmix*), mixing enthalpy (ΔHmix*, ΔHmixA−B), atomic size difference (δr*, δrA−B), electronegativity difference (Δχ*, ΔχA−B), standard deviation of valence electron concentration (VEC) (σVEC*, σVECA−B), and total VEC (VECtot) based on the sublattice model were established. The universal criteria for phase formation of SOHEI were proposed, which states that various atoms occupying the common and different sublattice need to satisfy: − 8 kJ∙mol−1 ≤ ΔHmix*≤ 4 kJ∙mol−1, δr* ≤ 6.5%, Δχ*≤ 8%, σVEC*≤ 1.6, − 60 kJ∙mol−1 ≤ ΔHmixA−B ≤ 0 kJ∙mol−1, 2.5% ≤ δrA−B ≤ 16.5%, ΔχA−B ≥ 2.5% and 0.5 ≤ σVECA−B ≤ 3.5. Importantly, the VECtot of alloy system was identified as the crucial factor for determining the phase types of SOHEI, which can be utilized to design and regulate the desired type of intermetallic phase. The correctness and effectiveness of the proposed criteria based on sublattice model were well verified by designed experiments. The quantitative insights of phase formation criteria are greatly useful for the preliminary screening alloy components, and this contribution can provide meaningful guidance for the future development of SOHEI.

Review article: Pre-hospital trauma guidelines and access to lifesaving interventions in Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand.

The centralisation of trauma services in western countries has led to an improvement in patient outcomes. Effective trauma systems include a pre-hospital trauma system. Delivery of high-level pre-hospital trauma care must include identification of potential major trauma patients, access and correct application of lifesaving interventions (LSIs) and timely transport to definitive care. Globally, many nations endorse nationwide pre-hospital major trauma triage guidelines, to ensure a universal approach to patient care. This paper examined clinical guidelines from all 10 EMS in Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand. All relevant trauma guidelines were included, and key information was extracted. Authors compared major trauma triage criteria, all LSI included in guidelines, and guidelines for transport to definitive care. The identification of major trauma patients varied between all 10 EMS, with no universal criteria. The most common approach to trauma triage included a three-step assessment process: physiological criteria, identified injuries and mechanism of injury. Disparity between physiological criteria, injuries and mechanism was found when comparing guidelines. All 10 EMS had fundamental LSI included in their trauma guidelines. Fundamental LSI included haemorrhage control (arterial tourniquets, pelvic binders), non-invasive airway management (face mask ventilation, supraglottic airway devices) and pleural wall needle decompression. Variation in more advanced LSI was evident between EMS. Optimising trauma triage guidelines is an important aspect of a robust and evidence driven trauma system. The lack of consensus in trauma triage identified in the present study makes benchmarking and comparison of trauma systems difficult.

Fail-Safe Topology Optimization Using Damage Scenario Filtering

Within the framework of isotropic materials, this paper introduces an efficient topology optimization method that incorporates fail-safe design considerations using a penalty function approach. Existing methods are either computationally expensive or overlook fail-safe requirements during optimization. This approach not only achieves optimized structures with fail-safe characteristics, but also significantly enhances the computational efficiency of fail-safe topology optimization. In this method, the minimization of worst-case compliance serves as the optimization objective, employing the Kreisselmeier–stein Hauser function to approximate the non-differentiable maximum operator. A sensitivity analysis, derived through the adjoint method, is utilized, and a universal fail-safe optimization criterion is developed to update the design variables. During the optimization process for fail-safe strategies, a density-based filtering method is applied, effectively reducing damage scenarios. Finally, the effectiveness and computational efficiency of this method are validated through several numerical examples.

Variability in approach to exercise stress echocardiography for diagnosis of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: an international survey on real-world practice.

The diagnosis of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) remains challenging based on resting assessments. Exercise echocardiography is often used to unmask abnormalities that develop during exercise, but the diagnostic criteria have not been standardized. This study aimed to elucidate how cardiologists utilize exercise echocardiography to diagnose HFpEF in real-world practice. An international web-based survey involving 87 cardiologists was performed. We also performed a retrospective cross-sectional study to investigate the impact of different exercise echocardiographic diagnostic criteria in 652 dyspnoeic patients who underwent exercise echocardiography. The HFA-PEFF algorithm was the most commonly used exercise echocardiography criterion for HFpEF diagnoses (48%), followed by the ASE/EACVI criteria (24%) and other combinations of multiple parameters (22%). Among 652 patients, the proportion of HFpEF diagnosis varied substantially according to the criteria used ranging from 20.1% (ASE/EACVI criteria) to 44.3% (HFA-PEFF algorithm). Many cases (49.4-70.5%) remained indeterminate after exercise echocardiography, but only 41% of surveyed cardiologists would utilize exercise right heart catheterization to resolve an indeterminate result. Despite these diagnostic uncertainties, 54% of surveyed cardiologists would utilize exercise echocardiography results to initiate sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors. In real-world practice, exercise echocardiographic criteria utilized across cardiologists vary, which meaningfully impacts the frequency of HFpEF diagnoses, with indeterminate results being common. Despite these diagnostic uncertainties, many cardiologists initiate pharmacotherapy based on exercise echocardiography. The lack of consensus on universal diagnostic criteria for exercise echocardiography and approaches to indeterminate results may limit the delivery of evidence-based treatment for HFpEF.

Il taccuino dell’antropologia. La stesura delle note di campo durante un’etnografia dell’ospedale

Within anthropology, data collection is not a standardized process. Therefore, documentation praxis on the field is deeply subjective. The very conceptual definition of “fieldnotes” is highly variable among researchers and their construction, content, the extent of the subsequent re-writing process, objectives do not meet univocal or universal criteria. However, taking notes is essential for the gaining of ethnographic knowledge. In this article, I focus on some potentially problematic methodological aspects of the writing of fieldnotes. Social actors might find the note-taking disturbing and suspicious and they might react to it with hostility or apprehension. Under certain circumstances or in certain settings it may be inappropriate to take notes. It is necessary to continuously adapt the need to jot with both the contingent situations and the behavior of the bystanders. Here, as an example I describe the background and its adaptations to the context of the methodology for writing fieldnotes that I applied during research I conducted in a hospital ward. I also illustrate my re-writing of fieldnotes procedures during and after the fieldwork.

What do you Think about Parenting? Challenges to Cohesiveness in Child Protection Teams

AbstractChild protection work requires professionals to manage the different perspectives regarding intervention aims and strategies associated with different personal, academic and organisational backgrounds. Parenting assessment is a determinant task for intervention and for children's future where universal or automatic criteria remain unavailable. This study aimed to explore and characterise the existing agreement (and disagreement) between child protection workers on statements related to judgements on parenting. A total of 325 Portuguese social workers participated in the study, mostly with a background in social work and psychology and more than six years of experience in child protection. Professionals were required to distribute 50 sentences in a scoring sheet (Q‐sort methodology) with 11 points. The results were interpreted through the matrix of operationalisation of minimally adequate parenting. Three main answer strands revealed different focuses in sorts' configurations: the child, the procedures and the child's ecology. The clear difference between the factors could contribute to maintaining the child protection system as an adversarial one, and not as an effectively cooperative system. To promote team cohesiveness and intervention success, and to reinforce professionals' wellbeing and resilience, metacommunication on parenting assessment criteria is proposed as a determinant strategy.

A systematic theoretical study of CO2 hydrogenation towards methanol on Cu-based bimetallic catalysts: role of the CHO&CH3OH descriptor in thermodynamic analysis.

The application of density functional theory (DFT) has enriched our understanding of methanol synthesis through CO2 hydrogenation on Cu-based catalysts. However, variations in catalytic performance under different metal doping conditions have hindered the development of universal catalytic principles. To address these challenges, we systematically investigated the scaling relationships of adsorption energy among different reaction intermediates on pure Cu, Au-Cu, Ni-Cu, Pt-Cu, Pd-Cu and Zn-Cu models. Additionally, by summing the respective adsorption energies of two separate species, we have developed a dual intermediate descriptor of CHO&CH3OH, capable of achieving computational accuracy on par with DFT results using the multiple linear regression method, all the while enabling the rapid prediction of thermodynamic properties at various stages of methanol synthesis. This method facilitates a better understanding of the coupling mechanisms between energy and linear expressions on copper-based substrates, and the universal linear criterion can be applied to other catalytic systems, with the aim of pursuing potential catalysts having both high efficiency and low cost.

Effective patchiness from critical points of a coarse-grained protein model with explicit shape and charge anisotropy.

Colloidal model systems are successful in rationalizing emergent phenomena like aggregation, rheology and phase behaviour of protein solutions. Colloidal theory in conjunction with isotropic interaction models is often employed to estimate the stability of such solutions. In particular, a universal criterion for the reduced second virial coefficient at the critical point is frequently invoked which is based on the behavior of short-range attractive fluids (Noro-Frenkel rule, ). However, if anisotropic models for the protein-protein interaction are considered, e.g. the Kern-Frenkel (KF) patchy particle model, the value of the criterion is shifted to lower values and explicitly depends on the number of patches. If an explicit shape anisotropy is considered, as e.g. in a coarse-grained protein model, the normalization of becomes ambiguous to some extent, as no unique exclusion volume can be defined anymore. Here, we investigate a low-resolution, coarse-grained model for the globular protein bovine serum albumin (BSA) and study effects of charge-anisotropy on the phase diagram (determined by simulations) at the isoelectric point. We present methods of assigning an "effective patchiness" to our protein model by comparing its critical properties to the KF model. We find that doubling the native charges increases the critical temperature Tc by ≈14% and that our BSA model can be compared to a 3 to 5 patch KF model. Finally, we argue that applying existing criteria from colloidal theory should be done with care, due to multiple, physically plausible ways of how to assign effective diameters to shape-anisotropic models.

«МЕТОДОЛОГИЧЕСКИЙ АНАРХИЗМ» ПОЛА ФЕЙЕРАБЕНДА И ЭПИСТЕМОЛОГИЧЕСКИЙ СТАТУС ДЕЯТЕЛЬНОСТИ УЧЕНОГО В ПОЛИТАРНУЮ ЭПОХУ

The relevance of the article is determined by the importance of comprehension and theoretical explication of the origins and forms of specifically scientific cognition of objective reality, which originated in the civilizations of the ancient and medieval East (ancient Egypt and Babylon, ancient and medieval India and China, the medieval Arab-Muslim East), generally designated in the article as «politary societies». The purpose of the article is to show the possibility and effectiveness of applying the concept of the so-called «methodological anarchism» developed by the American philosopher Paul Feyerabend (1924–1994) to the epistemological activity that took place over the course of about three millennia in societies of the politary type. As the main method of research, the author uses the ascent from the abstract to the concrete: from the abstract generalized description of the methodological principles proclaimed by Feyerabend, the author moves on to the concrete realities of the epistemological discourse of the politary epoch, demonstrating the relevance of these principles in this respect and the fruitfulness of the coverage of politary science from this perspective. Three principles of Feyerabend’s were chosen as the supporting pillars of the study: 1) «Leave science to scientists!»; 2) «Anything goes!»; 3) separation of science from the state. The unity of the logical and the historical acts as an auxiliary method: the concrete-historical features of natural-scientific and mathematical work under the conditions of politarism appear as more or less pronounced individualized specifications of those general, universal criteria of scientific activity which modern philosophy of science tries to logically reconstruct, and which (as Feyerabend never tired of showing) are still very far from perfection. As a result of the study, the author draws conclusions that have a novelty. First of all, the very possibility of successful application of the concepts developed by Feyerabend on the material of the history of Western science, far beyond the socio-cultural sphere with which the American thinker directly dealt is substantiated. Secondly, it has been demonstrated that the reasons that ensured, on the one hand, the success of scientific and cognitive research, and, on the other hand, hindered it and harmed it, were, in fact, of the same type both on the European continent and in the politary East. Thirdly, it is shown that it is the acquisition by the research community of subjectness, the right to independently form research priorities, that is the condition for obtaining significant scientific innovations, and a condition that works in any culture and in any era - from antiquity to the present. The practical significance of the work carried out by the author of the article is seen in the fact that a methodological basis is created for a stricter demarcation between the concepts of «science» and «proto- (pre-) science» and for qualified theoretical and moral assessments of the intellectual and creative work that was done by scientists of the ancient and medieval East.

Exergy and exergoenvironmental analyses for characterizing heat transfer and pressure drop of any heat exchanger

In the context of increasing awareness of climate change, the performance and environmental impacts (EIs) of heat exchangers (HEs) have become crucial. Traditional approaches have often overlooked the comprehensive evaluation of EI due to the absence of a universal criterion. Adressing this gap, this study introduces an innovative methodology for assessing both performance and EI in HEs, focusing on heat transfer and pressure drop across various types. The proposed methodology leverages exergoenvironmental analysis to optimize HEs handling liquid and gaseous fluids on both hot and cold sides with pumps and fans. Validation of this approach is conducted using experimental data from compact plate HEs (CPHEs) produced by additive manufacturing. The results highlight the influence of material choice on the EI of CPHEs, with a particular emphasis on the comparative significance of exergy destruction-related EI versus component-related EI. Notably, the EI on the cold side is consistently higher than that on the hot side. The study also delves into the role of pressure drop as a critical factor in HE enhancement techniques and discusses the variations in EI under different ambient conditions, inlet temperatures, and pressures. Consequently, this study presents a powerful model that serves as both an EI criterian and an optimization tool for HEs, offering valuable insights for environmentally conscious improvements in HE design and operation.

Designing High-Performance and Water-Stable ‘Layered’ Na- Transition Metal Oxide Cathode Materials for Na-Ion Batteries By Invoking Fundamental Materials-Electrochemical Principles

To facilitate widespread development of Na-ion battery systems for a variety of applications, not only does the electrochemical behaviour/performances of ‘layered’ Na-TM-oxide based cathode materials need substantial improvements, but also does their (in)stability upon exposure to moisture. The latter renders handling/storage of Na-TM-oxides challenging and also negatively affects their electrochemical performance. More importantly, the water-instability mandates the usage of toxic-hazardous-expensive chemicals likeNMP for electrode preparation, as opposed to the possible usage of water-based slurries. On another note, detrimental structural changes of the Na-TM-oxides upon deep de-sodiation, i.e., charging to high voltages, cause electrochemical instability. From a broader perspective, the above problems are inherent to the ‘layered’ Na-TM-oxides as a class of material, addressing which necessitate tuning the very compositional/structural aspects, invoking fundamental materials science -cum- electrochemical principles; as has been the focus of some of the recent/ongoing research in our group. These have evolved a universal design criterion, paving the way towards successful design and widespread development of environmentally stable and high-performance cathodes for the Na-ion battery system and beyond, as also demonstrated in our works (as in refs. [1-4] here).In a nut-shell, a ‘layered’ Na-TM-oxide structure is built of alternate ‘slabs’ composed of NaO2 and TMO2, with the O-ions (which bear a net negative charge) shared by the TM-ions and the Na-ions in their respective layers (i.e., O-ion is common to both cation-types). Here, while the TM-O bond is iono-covalent in nature, the Na-O is predominantly ionic. In such a structure, tuning the degree of covalency of the TM-O bond by designing a suitable combination of cations in the TM-layer can tune the net/effective negative charge on the O-ion, which, in turn, can affect the electrostatic attraction between the Na- and O-ions and also the repulsions between the O-ions across the Na-layer. For example, a higher net/effective negative charge on the O-ion due to reduced TM-O covalency will cause accrued electrostatic attraction between the Na-ions and O-ions, rendering the predominantly ionic Na-O bond stronger and shorter. The above should lead to a reduced ‘inter-slab’ spacing (or Na-layer thickness) and can improve the air/water-stability, as well as suppress the occurrence of deleterious structural/phase transition(s) during desodiation/charge in the O3-structured Na-TM-oxide based cathode materials; as demonstrated by us in ref. [1]. This has also allowed the development of high-performance cathodes for Na-ion batteries, which can be prepared via health/environment-friendly and cost-effective ‘aqueous’ processing route; as in refs. [1,4].By contrast, a lower effective negative charge on the O-ion, as induced by greater TM-O bond covalency, would decrease the electrostatic attraction between the Na- and O-ions, resulting in a weaker-cum-longer Na-O bond and, thus, an enlarged ‘inter-slab’ spacing (i.e., Na-layer thickness). This facilitates faster Na-transport and, thus, enhanced rate-capability of the cathode; as demonstrated in ref. [2], where a highly rate-capable O3-structured Na-TM-oxide based cathode material has been reported.An allied logic, i.e., increase in the TM-O bond covalency to lessen the effective negative charge on O-ions, as is needed to stabilize the prismatic O-coordination around Na-ions, has been invoked to stabilize the inherently higher rate-capable and electrochemically more stable P2 structure for Na-TM-oxide cathode materials at a considerably higher starting Na-content of ~0.84 p.f.u. (compared to the typically obtained < 0.7 p.f.u.). As demonstrated by us in ref. [3], this newly developed P2-structured Na-TM-oxide cathode material exhibits a very high desodiation capacity of ~178 mAh/g (@ C/5; within 2-4 V vs. Na/Na+), exceptional cyclic stability pertaining to ~98% capacity retention after 500 galvanostatic desodiation/sodiation cycles at a high current density (i.e., 2.5C) and also stability upon exposure to air/water. The cathodes have also exhibited excellent performances in laboratory scale prototype Na-ion ‘full’ cells.The student contributors, B. S. Kumar, A. Pradeep, I. Biswas, R. Kumar, A. Amardeep, A. Dutta (IIT Bombay), and the collaborators, Prof. A. Chatterjee (IIT Bombay), Dr. V. Srihari, Dr. H. K. Poswal (BARC) (see publications below), are duly acknowledged; and so are SERB and DST, Government of India, for the funding support. The associated publications (references) B. S. Kumar, A. Pradeep, V. Srihari, H. K. Poswal, R. Kumar, A. Amardeep, A. Chatterjee and A. Mukhopadhyay; Adv. Energy Mater. (2023) 2204407: 1-15 (https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.202204407)I. Biswas, B. S. Kumar, A. Pradeep, A. Das, V. Srihari, H. K. Poswal and A. Mukhopadhyay; Chem. Commun. 59 (2023) 4332-4335B. S. Kumar, R. Kumar, A. Pradeep, A. Amardeep, V. Srihari, H. K. Poswal, A. Chatterjee and A. Mukhopadhyay; Chem. Mater. 34[23] (2022) 10470–10483B. S. Kumar, A. Pradeep, A. Dutta and A. Mukhopadhyay; J. Mater. Chem. A 8 (2020) 18064-18078

Effect of statin therapy on long-term mortality among patients with myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries (MINOCA)

Abstract Background Myocardial infarction with non-obstructive coronary arteries (MINOCA) is associated with the lack of visible atherosclerosis in coronary arteries. Current 2020 ESC Guidelines on the management of acute coronary syndromes state that statins may be beneficial to reducing all-cause mortality and major adverse cardiac events (MACE) among MINOCA patients. Although, the existing literature data remains conflicting, recent meta-analysis based on observational studies showed that statin therapy resulted in a reduction of MACE and mortality. Purpose We aimed to assess the effect of statin therapy on long-term mortality among MINOCA patients. Methods 1011 patients were hospitalized between 2012 and 2017 with the diagnosis of MI based on clinical symptoms, electrocardiographic findings, and the evolution of myocardial necrotic biomarkers according to the universal criteria of MI. On admission, coronary angiography was performed in all patients to assess the existence of obstructive lesions in coronary arteries. 72 patients had lesions narrowing a coronary artery by less than 50% and were classified as MINOCA. Results Statins were used by 54 (75.0%) of MINOCA patients. Those treated with statins had a higher prevalence of hypertension (P=0.001), dyslipidemia (P&amp;lt;0.001), lower Killip class on admission (P=0.005) and a higher LVEF (P=0.019) than MINOCA not treated with a statin. At the time of the decision about statin therapy, LDL cholesterol level was higher in the MINOCA population with subsequently prescribed statins (P=0.008). Long-term mortality was significantly higher in MINOCA patients not treated with statins (17.7%/year versus 6.6%/year, P=0.009) compared with those treated with statins. Conclusions According to our results, statins should be routinely prescribed in the heterogeneous group of MINOCA patients. However, more research regarding that issue is needed.The long-term outcomes.

Abstract 14823: Assessment of the Appropriateness and Prognostic Significance of the Current Universal Diagnostic Definition for Acute Kidney Injury in Patients After Cardiac Surgery and Exploration of Tailored Criteria

Background: Cardiac surgery-associated AKI (CSA-AKI) is prevalent and its diagnosis currently adheres to the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) guidelines, commonly used criteria developed for general populations. Limited evidence exists on their appropriateness and prognostic value for CSA-AKI, which exhibits unique mechanisms and clinical courses. Aims: We aimed to assess the prognostic value of the KDIGO diagnostic criteria for CSA-AKI and explore potentially more prognostically relevant criteria for cardiac surgery. Methods: Patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting surgery at a single institution were included and categorized into four groups: no AKI, AKI stage-1, AKI stage-2, and AKI stage-3, based on KDIGO guidelines. Patients of AKI-1 were further divided based on specific criteria met: absolute criteria (0.3mg/dL serum creatinine (SCr) increase over 48-hour intervals), ratio criteria (1.5-1.9 times baseline SCr), and dual criteria (meeting both criteria) AKI-1. The primary outcome was 30-day all-cause mortality. Results: Among 20626 patients, the overall incidence of CSA-AKI was 47.4%, with rates of 44.2% for AKI-1, 2.2% for AKI-2, and 0.9% for AKI-3. The overall 30-day mortality was 0.6%. Among AKI-1, 72.4%, 3.2%, and 24.2% met the absolute criteria, ratio criteria, and dual criteria, respectively. After multivariate adjustment, AKI-2 and AKI-3 were significantly associated with increased 30-day mortality. However, neither AKI-1 nor its subcategories showed prognostic significance. Subsequent restricted cubic spline analysis identified more prognostically relevant cut-off values for AKI-1 criteria as &gt;0.7 mg/dL SCr increase over 48-hour intervals and &gt;1.3 times baseline SCr, respectively. Conclusions: The current universal KDIGO diagnostic criteria may not be suitable for CSA-AKI, especially regarding cut-off values for AKI stage-1, highlighting the necessity of tailored criteria for cardiac surgery.

Scope of application of Art. 3 and Art. 14 in the jurisprudence of C.E.D.O. in the case of vulnerable groups

The paper is devoted to the scope of application of art. 3 and art. 14 of C.E.D.O. jurisprudence, namely the principle of non-discrimination in public international law, which highlights some of the numerous cases of discrimination treated so far by the major international monitoring bodies. Primary attention being given to judicial or quasi-judicial bodies. Of particular interest and purpose of this research is the analysis of C.E.D.O jurisprudence which clearly indicates the path to be followed in other, much more serious situations, and the establishment of universal legal criteria, which can and must guide both parliamentarians and legal professions in drafting laws and in the practical application of the right to equality and the prohibition of discrimination.

Development of a Technique for Automatic Lineament Allocation Based on a Neural Network Approach

The purpose of the scientific work is to study the potential of neural network technologies in the field of extracting linear structures from digital terrain models SRTM. Linear structures, also known as lineaments, play an important role in the verification of known faults, the identification of fault-fracture structures, the detailing of the framework of discontinuous faults, as well as in the exploration of minerals. Their accurate and effective extraction in solving the designated tasks is of fundamental importance. The use of neural network technologies provides a number of advantages over sequential algorithms, including the ability to search for universal criteria for selecting lineaments based on a training sample. The paper considers a comprehensive innovative methodology that includes several key stages. The first stage is the author’s method of data preparation, which helps to ensure the quality of the training sample and minimize the impact of noise. The second stage is to develop an algorithm for vectorizing the results of the neural network, which allows you to easily export the results (lineaments) to a geographic information system (GIS). The third stage provides a method for minimizing the noise component of the training sample and optimizing the selection of synaptic weighting coefficients by retraining the neural network using simulated data reflecting various localization conditions of the lineaments. To verify the results obtained, a spatial comparison of linear structures extracted by a neural network and lineaments isolated by the operator was carried out. The results of this comparison demonstrate the high potential of the proposed approach and show that the use of neural network technologies is an actual and promising approach to solving the problem of extracting linear structures from digital terrain models. Positive conclusions are made about the expediency of using the results obtained for their practical application in the field of Earth sciences.

Preanalitik Hataların Altı Sigma Metodu ve Pareto Prensibi Analizi ile Değerlendirilmesi

Aim: In this study, we aimed to evaluate the preanalytical errors over a five year period using the Six Sigma methodology and Pareto Principle in the clinical biochemistry laboratory. Methods: Five-year sample rejection data between January 2015 and December 2019 in the clinical biochemistry laboratory were analyzed and classified according to the reasons for rejection. Six Sigma levels for the total and each preanalytical error were calculated with Westgard online formula. Preanalytical errors were evaluated according to their frequencies ranks and percentages with Pareto's principle. Results: The overall rate of five-year total critical preanalytical errors was 1.91% and the sigma level was 3.6. According to Pareto's chart, the three most common errors among the five-year preanalytical rejections were clotted sample (42.49%, sigma value:4), insufficient sample (23.53%, sigma value:4.2), and wrong container (8.01%, sigma value:4.5). Conclusion: Six Sigma is a quality management methodology used to evaluate laboratory performance processes according to universal quality criteria. Calculated sigma values of preanalytical errors in our laboratory were within the acceptable range. However, planned regulatory activities for frequently observed preanalytical errors should be a laboratory management strategy to reduce these error rates and improve our laboratory performance.

Optimal energy mix in relation to multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM), review and further research directions

The need for a transition to a society that will meet its energy needs from local resources and with minimal negative environmental impact is no longer presented as an option but as a necessity. Energy resources are limited, and it is necessary to ensure that they are properly used and managed in a sustainable manner. Optimal redistribution of energy supply from different energy generation and distribution options to end users within the local community is called the energy mix. What sets itself the task is to find this way of sustainable use of all available energy and energy types from local communities, different regions to the entire country. This is not a simple task, because it includes many variables that must all be considered. Therefore, it is necessary to classify and define universal criteria (sustainability), which describe ways of supplying energy and energy in a particular locality. The criteria mainly describe energy needs, availability of energy resources, existing technologies, economic and environmental indicators, qualitative and quantitative values of different energy supply options. This paper aims to review the state of play in optimal energy mix research in relation to the local community. Also, this paper provides an overview and importance of the application of MCDM methods in this area. As a way out, in this paper we propose conclusions, directions and research opportunities in the field of seeking the optimal energy mix supply for local community, region or state, connected to the importance MCDM tools.

A practical utility-based but objective approach to model selection for regression in scientific applications

In many fields of science, various types of models are available to describe phenomena, observations and the results of experiments. In the last decades, given the enormous advances of information gathering technologies, also machine learning techniques have been systematically deployed to extract models from the large available databases. However, regardless of their origins, no universal criterion has been found so far to select the most appropriate model given the data. A unique solution is probably a chimera, particularly in applications involving complex systems. Consequently, in this work a utility-based approach is advocated. However, the solutions proposed are not purely subjective but all based on “objective” criteria, rooted in the properties of the data, to preserve generality and to allow comparative assessments of the results. Several methods have been developed and tested, to improve the discrimination capability of basic Bayesian and information theoretic criteria, with particular attention to the BIC (Bayesian Information Criterion) and AIC (Akaike Information Criterion) indicators. Both the quality of the fits and the evaluation of model complexity are aspects addressed by the advances proposed. The competitive advantages of the individual alternatives, for both cross sectional data and time series, are clearly identified, together with their most appropriate fields of application. The proposed improvements of the criteria allow selecting the right models more reliably, more efficiently in terms of data requirements and can be adjusted to very different circumstances and applications. Particular attention has been paid to ensure that the developed versions of the indicators are easy to implement in practice, in both confirmatory and exploratory settings. Extensive numerical tests have been performed to support the conceptual and theoretical considerations.

О возможности единых и контрпродуктивности одинаковых критериев оценки риска промышленной аварии

The risk-oriented approach in ensuring industrial safety is intended to orient industrialists, supervisory authorities and the expert community in the existing emergency hazards and threats of today industrial Russia. In recent decades, there is a dangerous trend of opportunistic introduction of universal criteria for safe operation. In fact, instead of a risk-oriented approach, a risk-prescriptive approach is proposed. Any risk assessment methodology is only a means for measuring hazard, and is not at all a guarantor or a witness of compliance with safety. In order to eliminate measurement errors as much as possible, it is required to evaluate not the absolute level of accident hazard, but the relative one. The tools for measuring hazard (accident risk assessment at a hazardous production facility) cannot give a reliable, comprehensive conclusion about the safety of a hazardous production facility. Safety is not a mechanistic absence of hazard, but a systemic property of the technical-social system «source of hazard — those at risk» to function in conditions of changing hazards and threats that arise from them. Hazards are objective, and safety is a cultivated systemic property of hazardous industries to prevent the transformation of hazards into threats. In a risk-oriented approach to industrial safety, it is required to distinguish between information social engineering technology risk management (impact on ideas about hazards and threats) and organizational and technical management of a directly hazardous production facility, controlled by hazard analysis with a reliable assessment of the risk of an accident. The main criterion for ensuring the safe operation of a hazardous production facility should be considered a set of limit values of safe operation parameters and conditions for non-occurrence of emergency threats of major industrial accidents in the performance of existing industrial safety requirements. Criteria for acceptable accident risk must be established in accordance with the industry level of emergency threats. Due to the significant variety of possible causes of accidents, scenarios for their occurrence and development, a wide range of possible consequences of industrial accidents, it is not possible to establish absolutely identical, so-called «unified» criteria for acceptable accident risk for different hazardous production facilities: acceptable accident risk as a measure of acceptable hazard, cannot be accepted as a single criterion for ensuring industrial safety of a hazardous production facility. Unified criteria for assessing the risks of accidents at industrial facilities are not single and individual microscopic probabilities that are not the same for all different industries. Unified criteria are a unified set of methods for developing, establishing, testing and adopting criteria for assessing hazards using risk as a special measure of hazard.