Various Areas Of Interest Research Articles

Regional frequency analysis of extreme wind in Pakistan using robust estimation methods

The quantile estimates of extreme wind speed are needed for various areas of interest using regional frequency analysis (RFA) and extreme value theory. These calculations are crucial for the coding of wind speed. The data was taken from the NASA official website at a 10-meter distance and measured in meters per second (m/s). RFA of annual maximum wind speed (AMWS) using L-moments is performed utilizing annual maximum wind speed data from sixteen sites (16) in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. There are no sites that are found to be discordant. The wards method is used to construct a homogenous region and make two homogenous regions from 16 sites. The heterogeneity test justifies that both clusters are homogeneous. The most appropriate probability distribution from the Generalized Normal (GNO), Generalized Logistic (GLO), Pearson Type-3 (P3), Generalized Pareto (GPA), and Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) distributions is chosen to calculate regional quantiles. According to the L-moments diagram and Z statistics, the GEV for Cluster- Ι and GLO for Cluster- ΙΙ are the best suggestions from the others. Both clusters’ robustness is measured utilizing relative bias (RB) and relative root mean square error (RRMSE). Overall, GEV distribution is fit for cluster-Ι, and the GLO distribution is fit for cluster-ΙΙ. Utilizing the site mean and median as index parameters, we can also find at-site quantiles from regional quantiles. The study’s quantile estimates can be employed in codified structural designs with policy consequences.

Exploring the user’s gaze during product evaluation through the semantic differential: a comparison between virtual reality and photorealistic images

Advanced product presentation methods can enhance the product evaluation experience both during the design process and online shopping, as static images often fail to convey essential product details. Virtual Reality (VR) technologies hold great potential in this regard, becoming increasingly accessible to all users. However, the influence of display mediums on emotional responses and product assessment needs further investigation, especially using physiological measures to obtain more objective insights. In this study, we investigate the influence of VR and photorealistic images on assessing and observing virtual prototypes of game controllers. The Semantic Differential technique was employed for product assessment, while built-in eye-tracking was used to measure participants’ viewing time on various areas of interest (AOIs). Our findings show that the medium significantly affects not only product evaluation and confidence in the response but also how the user observes it, with sensory-related features being particularly influenced. These findings hold practical implications for product design and vendors, as understanding the relationship between visualization mediums and product evaluation enhances the design process and improves consumer experiences.

Default mode function in patients with generalised epilepsy syndromes: from generalised to focal findings.

Many recent studies have suggested that generalised epilepsy is associated with cortical epileptogenic focus, and therefore distinguishing between focal and generalised often becomes difficult. We aimed to detect differences between default mode function in patients with idiopathic generalised epilepsy who have discharges on EEG, and healthy persons. This was a case-control study; we performed EEG analysis with LORETA in 17 patients with a type of generalised epilepsy and a control group represented by 17 healthy age-matched persons. We performed statistical non- -parametric tests for current density electrical distribution for our two groups ('t-statistic on Log transformed data') and we defined regions of interest (ROIs) from the default mode network. In the second part, we compared the average activation for each ROI for each timeframe in the epoch for the group with epilepsy, and for controls (we performed a Wilcoxon rank-sum test for two means). In the first part, we obtained that in the medial frontal gyrus (BA 9) delta oscillations significantly differed in patients with epilepsy who had electrical discharges on EEG in resting state conditions compared to healthy controls (medial frontal gyrus in this group had a greater number of synchronously oscillating neurons than did the controls). In the second part, we ran statistics on our localised activity from the default mode network (defined ROIs) and we obtained statistically significant differences in the left medial frontal gyrus (the values were higher for the group with epilepsy, p-value = 0.0066). It may be possible to move from a 'generalised theory' about epilepsy to a 'focused theory' by understanding how various areas of interest are activated within default mode networks. Insights into the pathophysiology of generalised epilepsy may lead to new treatment options.

Introducing Research Through Oral Surveys: French Students Meet Witnesses of the Holocaust by Bullets

Abstract French students in the third and final year from the Humanities and Social Sciences license A license is the first national university degree and it is completed in six terms. degree course traveled to Ukraine and Belorussia between 2017 and 2020, in order to carry out surveys of eyewitnesses to the so-called “Holocaust by Bullets.” The subject-matter stands out in the French scholarly scene, as the Holocaust usually attracts little attention at this level of studies. Students registered in the course hail from license degrees in History, Social Sciences or Geography, and have chosen to attend the course labeled “European Historical Heritage and Citizens’ Thoughts” as a complement to a more classical curriculum, and as a way of enhancing their own university curriculum. The research professors involved have also volunteered to participate as authors of the aforementioned multidisciplinary program, with the aim to raise awareness to research practices on the Holocaust. University professors and teams from the Yahad-in-Unum Since its foundation in 2004 by Father Patrick Desbois (2007), having researched Soviet and Nazi Second World War records, the organization has been tirelessly surveying all Eastern European locations associated with the Holocaust by Bullets. It has been collecting villagers’ testimonies supporting the evidence of a genocide, documenting the locations of mass graves, and at times identifying victims. The results of such meticulous research have been made public on an interactive online map displaying the locations of all the mass graves recorded – over 2000 to date – and making the information and testimony relevant to each of the sites available to web users. See [online] https://www.yahadmap.org/%20-%20map/#map/ NGO take turns leading the two-hour weekly sessions. The professors help establish theoretical focus and provide methodological tools, develop lines of investigation on various areas of interest (e.g., mode of operation used in the shootings, collaboration and rescue operations, and neighbors of the crime scene), as well as the context (anti-Semitism, racism, local geopolitics, regional history, culture and society, etc.), while Yahad-in-Unum participants describe actual cases based on records, maps and filmed testimonies. They had the task to provide documents from Soviet and Nazi archives translated from Russian, or from German, and act as translators during fieldwork. Students are encouraged to participate as often as possible and have to prepare analytical reports and presentations following each session, while adopting the position of a researcher.

A Decade of Bibliometric Analysis of Biodiversity

Abstract Bibliometric analysis is a significant method used in scientific research to evaluate extensive and rich areas of specialized research. This study explored biodiversity as the main focus, using bibliometric data from the ScienceDirect and Scopus bases. The analysis found 1115 appearances for the keyword “biodiversity” in the top 10 specialized journals, highlighting journals such as “Biological Conservation” and “Science of The Total Environment”. The clustering of keywords illustrated seven interest groups, highlighting biodiversity, the Romanian context, forestry, climate change and conservation. The time analysis also revealed the thematic evolution of the research, moving from morphology and nitrogen issues to topics such as conservation, climate change and environmental protection. Despite the usefulness of bibliometric analysis, it brings up the limitations and precautions required in the use of bibliometric data, highlighting the importance of a rigorous data cleaning process. It is also stressed that bibliometric analysis is better suited for short-term forecasts than for overly ambitious conclusions about long-term impacts. However, this method is a useful tool for specialized research, facilitating the development of knowledge in various areas of interest.

A Novel Method to Determine Patient Skin Type: The Skin Analyzer.

Measuring skin color for medical research in an objective and nonbiased manner usually requires expensive equipment such as spectrophotometry and requires the subject to be present in person. We present a novel method to measure skin color from photographs using the Skin Analyzer application as a more effective, accessible, and efficient alternative. A desktop application, the Skin Analyzer, was developed to convert skin samples collected from digital images to the L*a*b color space and uses those values to calculate an individual typology angle that correlates to a Fitzpatrick skin type. To assess accuracy in variable lighting, six known colors representing the six Fitzpatrick skin types were printed and photographed in 15 separate locations within the hospital. To account for user variability in sample selection, interrater reliability was calculated with data generated by 13 untrained users testing the app on six subjects. The accuracy of measuring known values, which is the classification accuracy, was calculated to be 80%. Krippendorff alpha test was used to evaluate interrater reliability. The obtained alpha of 0.84 indicates a high interrater reliability. The high accuracy and reliability make the Skin Analyzer a suitable method of objectively determining Fitzpatrick skin type from images. The app may be used to investigate the effects of skin tone in various areas of interest, especially in retrospective studies where skin colorimeters cannot be used.

Fungal melanins and their potential applications: A Review

Melanins are complex molecules found in many organisms including bacteria, fungi, plants, and animals that have protective functions against stress. In fungi there are several biochemical routes for their synthesis, and their diversity and structural complexity have made their analysis and characterization difficult. However, the possible specific functions of melanins in organisms have been determined. Based on their physicochemical properties, their potential in the application in various areas of interest and benefit of the human being have been visualized, such as in health and medicine, in bioremediation, and in the food industry. In this review, the type of melanins produced by fungi are discussed, as well as their main biological functions, the main biochemical routes involved in their synthesis, and potential applications in various areas. An important research area is visualized to find the best melanin-producing fungi as well as the conditions in which their production is maximized, in order to continue investigating the relationship of the structure of melanin with its biological functions as well as the determination of its physicochemical properties to establish its applications.

How do drivers allocate visual attention to vulnerable road users when turning at urban intersections?

IntroductionDrivers turning at urban intersections pose a high risk to Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs), such as cyclists and pedestrians. In vehicle collisions with VRUs, driver attention misallocation is considered a leading contributor. While previous naturalistic studies have examined driver gaze behaviors at intersections, findings are limited to general gaze directions obtained through video analysis, meaning specific areas to which drivers attend cannot be determined. MethodWe present a secondary analysis of an on-road instrumented vehicle dataset collected in 2019 which offers eye-tracking and video data from 26 experienced drivers (13 cyclists and 13 non-cyclists). Three coders jointly examined eye-tracking footage from four right-signalized turns (n = 96) to quantify drivers’ glance distributions to various areas of interest, including those most relevant to VRU safety when drivers turn. Individual temporal glance patterns and general attention allocation trends are presented and described. Results(1) Relevant pedestrians were the top objects of glance irrespective of signal status, and (2) at red light turns, driver attention was heavily skewed toward leftward traffic. ConclusionsThis analysis provides a detailed report of driver glance distributions toward scene-specific areas (as opposed to general directions) at urban intersections and discusses how these patterns may influence VRU safety. Practical applicationsThis study provides important information regarding the human factors challenges of vehicle-VRU collisions and their prevention.

Which visual cues do drivers use to anticipate and slow down in freeway curve approach? An eye-tracking, think-aloud on-road study

Although much research is done on speed and gaze behaviour inside curves, there is little understanding of which cues drivers use to anticipate and slow down while approaching curves. Therefore, an on road experiment was conducted in which 31 participants drove through six freeway curves in their own car. During the experiment, look-ahead fixations and speed were recorded using an eye-tracker and a GPS tracker, respectively. In addition to these measurements, the participants verbalised their reasons for changing speed. The distribution of fixations over various areas of interest was investigated around the start of deceleration before each curve and around the start of each curve. Verbalisation data were analysed to infer the number and types of reasons for changing speed and when these were mentioned together with mentions of deceleration before a curve. The results showed that before starting to decelerate, the participants fixated mostly on the Focus of Expansion and edges parallel to the curve trajectory, whereas most fixations on warning or speed signs were recorded mostly after participants started to decelerate. These findings suggest that drivers use information from the Focus of Expansion, be it a change in optical flow or the presence of a kink in the alignment, as the main cue to start decelerating. Parallel edges are also important cues, whereas warning and speed signs are primarily used to confirm that a speed change is needed.

Transformer-Based Weed Segmentation for Grass Management.

Weed control is among the most challenging issues for crop cultivation and turf grass management. In addition to hosting various insects and plant pathogens, weeds compete with crop for nutrients, water and sunlight. This results in problems such as the loss of crop yield, the contamination of food crops and disruption in the field aesthetics and practicality. Therefore, effective and efficient weed detection and mapping methods are indispensable. Deep learning (DL) techniques for the rapid recognition and localization of objects from images or videos have shown promising results in various areas of interest, including the agricultural sector. Attention-based Transformer models are a promising alternative to traditional constitutional neural networks (CNNs) and offer state-of-the-art results for multiple tasks in the natural language processing (NLP) domain. To this end, we exploited these models to address the aforementioned weed detection problem with potential applications in automated robots. Our weed dataset comprised of 1006 images for 10 weed classes, which allowed us to develop deep learning-based semantic segmentation models for the localization of these weed classes. The dataset was further augmented to cater for the need of a large sample set of the Transformer models. A study was conducted to evaluate the results of three types of Transformer architectures, which included Swin Transformer, SegFormer and Segmenter, on the dataset, with SegFormer achieving final Mean Accuracy (mAcc) and Mean Intersection of Union (mIoU) of 75.18% and 65.74%, while also being the least computationally expensive, with just 3.7 M parameters.

Modeling the intra-urban nocturnal summertime air temperature fields at a daily basis in a city with complex topography

Detailed knowledge about the intra-urban air temperature variability within a city is crucial for the implementation of adaptation strategies to counteract the negative effects of urban heat stress. Various methods to model urban-rural temperature differences exist, but they often only cover certain periods (heatwave, hot day) or meteorological conditions (sunny and calm) due to computational limitations or limited data availability. Here, we present a land use regression approach to model nocturnal air temperature fields for every single night of the summers 2018 to 2020 in a city with complex terrain (Bern, Switzerland). Furthermore, we investigate the applicability of different model structures and straight-forward computable GIS variables to model cold air drainage, which exerts an important influence on the local-scale climate of cities with complex terrain. The geostatistical models are calibrated with in-situ data of a dense low cost air temperature measurement network and high resolution spatiotemporal (land use and meteorology) data, which are all publicly available. The resulting land use regression models are capable to model and map intra-urban air temperature differences with a good model performance (R2: 0.65–0.71; RMSE: 0.69–0.76 K). Evaluations with data from additional measurement stations and periods (summer 2021) show that the models are able to estimate different meteorological and spatial conditions, but that the representation of small-scale topographic features remains difficult. However, the comparatively low computational and financial effort needed to calculate nocturnal air temperature fields at daily basis enable new applications for cities with restricted resources for various areas of interest, such as urban planning (e.g. effect of heat mitigation policies) or heat risk management (e.g. analyze small-scale urban heat vulnerability).

Gut-on-chip for ecological and causal human gut microbiome research

There is a growing interest to understand if and how the gut microbiome is causally linked to the pathogenesis and/or progression of diseases. While in vitro cell line models are commonly used for studying specific aspects of the host-microbe interaction, gnotobiotic murine models are considered the preferred platform for studying causality in microbiome research. Nevertheless, findings from animal studies provide limited opportunity for delineating various areas of interest to the human gut microbiome research. Gut-on-chips are biomimetics recapitulating intestinal physiology which enable investigation of bidirectional effects of the host and microbiome. We posit that they could advance causal and ecological gut microbiome research in three major areas: (i) diet-microbiome and drug-microbiome interaction; (ii) microbiome-targeted therapeutics pharmacoecology; and (iii) mechanistic studies of gut microbiome and microbiome-targeted intervention in extraintestinal pathologies.

The Role of Patient-Reported Outcomes in Sleep Measurements.

Several questionnaires aka patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) have been developed for specific use in sleep medicine. Some PROMS are "disease-specific," that is, related to a specific sleep disorder, whereas others are generic. These PROMS constitute a valuable add-on to the conventional history taking. They can be used in the areas of research, clinical practice, and quality of health care appraisal. Still, these instruments have inherent limitations, requiring proficient application in the various areas of interest. Disease-specificity includes a risk for nosologic bias that may confound diagnostic and therapeutic results. Future research should provide solutions for shortcomings of presently available questionnaires.

A theoretical foundation for investigating the spatial economic attributes of airport-centric developments

Abstract Among the various areas of interest on the topic of airports and the geographical distribution of land use, one pertinent theme is the spatial economic analysis of airports and their environs. However, the existing literature predominantly focuses on describing the land-use composition of airport-centric developments, without unpacking the spatial economic forces at play. This gap brings to the fore the need to employ an appropriate theoretical lens to guide the spatial economic analysis of airports and their environs. The aim of this theoretical review paper is thus to identify concepts that are relevant to the analysis of airports and their environs; and to use those concepts to systematically identify the existing theory that is most suitable for investigating the spatial economic forces that drive airport-centric developments. Against the background of globalisation, we scrutinise classical location theories, regional science, growth pole theory and new economic geography against their relational interpretations of the concepts of space, proximity, firm, scale and pattern. Given that it portrays a relational perspective of the aforesaid concepts, the paper concludes that growth pole theory is suitable as the main framework for analysing airport-centric developments. It is therefore recommended that growth pole theory be empirically used to guide the analysis of airports and their environs, and subsequently be used as the basis for developing a theoretical framework tailored for airport-centric developments.

Comparing the Visual Perception According to the Performance Using the Eye-Tracking Technology in High-Fidelity Simulation Settings.

Introduction: We used eye-tracking technology to explore the visual perception of clinicians during a high-fidelity simulation scenario. We hypothesized that physicians who were able to successfully manage a critical situation would have a different visual focus compared to those who failed. Methods: A convenience sample of 18 first-year emergency medicine residents were enrolled voluntarily to participate in a high-fidelity scenario involving a patient in shock with a 3rd degree atrioventricular block. Their performance was rated as pass or fail and depended on the proper use of the pacing unit. Participants were wearing pre-calibrated eye-tracking glasses throughout the 9-min scenario and infrared (IR) markers installed in the simulator were used to define various Areas of Interest (AOI). Total View Duration (TVD) and Time to First Fixation (TFF) by the participants were recorded for each AOI and the results were used to produce heat maps. Results: Twelve residents succeeded while six failed the scenario. The TVD for the AOI containing the pacing unit was significantly shorter (median [quartile]) for those who succeeded compared to the ones who failed (42 [31–52] sec vs. 70 [61–90] sec, p = 0.0097). The TFF for the AOI containing the ECG and vital signs monitor was also shorter for the participants who succeeded than for those who failed (22 [6–28] sec vs. 30 [27–77] sec, p = 0.0182). Discussion: There seemed to be a connection between the gaze pattern of residents in a high-fidelity bradycardia simulation and their performance. The participants who succeeded looked at the monitor earlier (diagnosis). They also spent less time fixating the pacing unit, using it promptly to address the bradycardia. This study suggests that eye-tracking technology could be used to explore how visual perception, a key information-gathering element, is tied to decision-making and clinical performance.

The "Fonds Georges Brohée": a longstanding Belgian national initiative to stimulate research in hepatogastroenterology.

The Fonds Brohée/Brohée fund was created in 1964 at the initiative of 16 Belgian physicians, in the memory of Georges Brohée, the founder of the Belgian Society of Gastroenterology in 1928 and of its Journal in 1933, first published under the name "Le Journal Belge de Gastro-entérologie", then until today as "Acta Gastro-Enterologica Belgica". The goal of the Fonds is to stimulate research in the field of gastroenterology in Belgium, by awarding a young researcher (< 40 years) for an outstanding work in the clinical, translational or fundamental setting. Since 1966, 26 remarkable works have been awarded in various areas of interest in gastrointestinal diseases, whether in IBD, functional disorders, digestive oncology and, last but not least, hepatology. Since the recognition of their work, many of the awardees have become recognized for their expertise well beyond Belgium. Hopefully, the Foundation will continue to thrive and flourish after 55 years, as the members of its board and its healthy finances will allow to continue to promote and encourage high-quality research by young hepato-gastroenterologists in Belgium.

Simulation-based training to enhance process safety in offshore energy operations: Process tracing through eye-tracking

Systemic risks and human errors are the root causes of process safety incidents in offshore operations. Human factor amounts for more than 70 % of offshore incidents and among those 75 % of them are due to perceptual errors involving rich information displays. Offshore drilling console is one such area where a display of hundreds of parameters and alarms maintains a constant cognitive load on the driller and upon his slight oblivion, severe consequences can follow. One way to study these errors is through a cognitive approach that focuses on the information accusation patterns rather than a behaviorist approach of focusing on the decision outcomes. In this research, we attempt to apply process tracing through eye-tracking methodology to look at information acquisition patterns of participants during a well control simulation. The simulation was designed on a commercial well control drilling simulator to observe the difference in performances by tracking information acquisition patterns of expert and novice participants. Fourteen (n=14) participants were paired into eight teams with each comprising of a driller and a supervisor. Eye-tracking glasses were used to record the fixation and saccade pattern of the participants over the simulator console and displays. For the analysis phase, four time of interests (TOIs) were selected as drilling break detection, kick detection, kick control, and kick circulation. For these TOIs the fixation and saccades pattern of participants on various areas of interest (AOIs) were analyzed through heat and gaze plots. Significant differences in information acquisition patterns of the novice and expert participants were linked to their performance to reveal valuable insights. Such insights are useful in identifying the dominating factors behind performance and can be used for targeted feedback to improve well control training and evaluation.

Pedagogical model of curator activity for formation of student civil position at higher educational institution

The article shows that the education system should prepare people who can live in civil society and constitutional state and also create them. Literature theoretical analysis allowed us to determine the activities of the curator for the formation of student civic position as a focused and consciously carried out pedagogical process for the organization of socially significant activities of students and the development of self-government, necessary for self-realization of a person in society. In the course of the experimental work, a pedagogical model of the curator’s activity on the formation of the civic position of students was developed and implemented. It includes a number of components such as goals, objectives, content of the activities of curators and students at each stage of the formation of a civil position, methods, forms, means, criteria and indicators of the formation of a civil position. The implementation of this pedagogical model promotes the involvement of students in socially significant work, their active participation in various areas of interest, allows students to develop organizational skills, gain experience in participating in self- government and show a civil position. On the basis of developed the criteria and indicators we measured the level of formation of the civic position of students based on their introspection and expert assessments. The experts were individual group students, lecturers and curators. The study allowed us to conclude that the focused activities of the curators contribute to the activation of extracurricular activities of students, the development of student self-government of the group as a real form of student democracy with the corresponding rights, opportunities and responsibilities.

The successful experience of IGCP636 project “Unifying international research forces to unlock and strengthen geothermal exploitation of the Americas and Europe”

Geothermal fluids are extracted through deep wells drilled in a geological reservoir, which can be represented by highly heterogeneous volcanic complex, sedimentary basins or deep basement rocks. The main objective of this project was to propose suitable methodologies and techniques for the characterization and modeling of fractured geothermal reservoirs, to ensure their sustainable exploitation and, therefore, ensure acceptation of this kind of energy by local communities. This goal was achieved with experiences from the volcanic complex of the Nevado del Ruiz (Colombia), the St. Lawrence Lowlands sedimentary basin (Quebec, Canada), the Carboniferous limestone reservoir in the area of Mons (Belgium), the Soultz-Sous-Forets power plant and the Ploemeur fractured rock hydrogeological experimental site (France), and various areas of interest for geothermal exploration in Chile. The work conducted provided new insights into the construction of conceptual and numerical models for geothermal reservoirs and allowed the creation of a solid research network between Europe and Americas, fostering participation in geosciences of young researchers, students, and women.

Exploring the implications of blockchain technology for brand–consumer relationships: a future research agenda

PurposeThe purpose of this conceptual paper is to delve into the implications of blockchain technology adoption for brands and consumers. Drawing on the existing branding literature and real-life applications of blockchain, the challenges, risks and opportunities from blockchain adoption for four important areas of the branding literature are canvassed (i.e. brand positioning and corporate brand image, consumer–brand relationships, online brand communication and consumers’ trust in the brand). Also, a future-oriented discussion is provided that highlights some important avenues for researchers in the field.Design/methodology/approachThis conceptual paper sheds light on the potential implications of blockchain technology for brand–consumer relationships. To do so, an analytical review of the blockchain literature is conducted, the nature of blockchain technology is presented and its unique features and functions for brand–consumer interactions are discussed.FindingsThis paper ignites an exploratory discussion around how blockchain applications and platforms can affect consumer–brand relationships, drawing on a number of real-life examples of blockchain adoption. This discussion sheds light on how blockchain features can impact on various areas of interest for strategic brand management, such as the adoption of digital currencies, brand storytelling, use of blockchain-enabled loyalty programmes, role of intermediaries in online advertising, counterfeit consumption, brand transparency and trust for brands in online marketplaces, amongst others.Originality/valueThis is one of the first conceptual efforts in the branding literature that draws on the scarce existing knowledge around blockchain adoption and discusses the potential implications of blockchain technology for brands and consumers whilst also providing directions for future research.