Search Results (20)

Plasma-activated water (PAW), enriched with reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS), presents oxidative and antimicrobial characteristics with potential in cosmetic applications. This study examined the effects of two PAW formulations—nitrate-rich (PAW-N) and peroxide-rich (PAW-P)—on human hair types classified as straight (Type 1), wavy (Type 2), and coily/kinky (Type 4). The impact of PAW on hair structure and chemistry was evaluated using Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), UV–Vis spectrophotometry, and physicochemical analyses of the liquids (pH, ORP, conductivity, and TDS). PAW-N, with high nitrate content (~500 mg/L), low pH (2.15), and elevated conductivity (6244 µS/cm), induced significant damage to porous hair types, including disulfide bond cleavage, protein oxidation, and lipid degradation, as indicated by FTIR and EDS data. SEM confirmed severe cuticle disruption. In contrast, PAW-P, containing >25 mg/L of hydrogen peroxide and exhibiting milder acidity and lower ionic strength, caused more localized and controlled oxidation with minimal morphological damage. Straight hair showed greater resistance to both treatments, while coily and wavy hair were more susceptible, particularly to PAW-N. These findings suggest that the formulation and ionic profile of PAW should be matched to hair porosity for safe oxidative treatments, supporting the use of PAW-P as a gentler alternative in hair care technologies. Full article

This paper describes the Pawns programming language, currently under development, which uses several novel features to combine the functional and imperative programming paradigms. It supports pure functional programming (including algebraic data types, higher-order programming and parametric polymorphism), where the representation of values need not be considered. It also supports lower-level C-like imperative programming with pointers and the destructive update of all fields of the structs used to represent the algebraic data types. All destructive update of variables is made obvious in Pawns code, via annotations on statements and in type signatures. Type signatures must also declare sharing between any arguments and result that may be updated. For example, if two arguments of a function are trees that share a subtree and the subtree is updated within the function, both variables must be annotated at that point in the code, and the sharing and update of both arguments must be declared in the type signature of the function. The compiler performs extensive sharing analysis to check that the declarations and annotations are correct. This analysis allows destructive update to be encapsulated: a function with no update annotations in its type signature is guaranteed to behave as a pure function, even though the value returned may have been constructed using destructive update within the function. Additionally, the sharing analysis helps support a constrained form of global variables that also allows destructive update to be encapsulated and safe update of variables with polymorphic types to be performed. Full article

This study investigates the sensitivity of the square cup forming process. It analyses how the uncertainties in the material properties, friction and process conditions affect the results of the square cup, such as equivalent plastic strain, geometry change, thickness reduction, punch force and springback. The cup flange and the die curvature region are identified as highly affected areas, while the cup bottom is least affected by the uncertainties. Two sensitivity analysis techniques, PAWN and Sobol indices, are compared. In particular, the study shows that PAWN indices require a significantly smaller number of simulations than Sobol indices, making them a more efficient choice for sensitivity analysis. While both PAWN and Sobol indices generally give comparable results, discrepancies arise in the analysis of springback, where PAWN indices show superior accuracy, particularly when dealing with multimodal distributions. This observation highlights the importance of selecting the appropriate sensitivity analysis method based on the nature of the data being analysed. These results provide insights for optimizing stamping processes to reduce production time and costs. Full article

Throughout history, the pursuit of diagnosing and predicting crop yields has evidenced genetics, environment, and management practices intertwined in achieving food security. However, the sensitivity of crop phenotypes and genetic responses to climate still hampers the identification of the underlying abilities of plants to adapt to climate change. We hypothesize that the PiAnosi and WagNer (PAWN) global sensitivity analysis (GSA) coupled with a genetic by environment (GxE) model built of environmental covariance and genetic markers structures, can evidence the contributions of climate on the predictability of maize yields in the U.S. and Ontario, Canada. The GSA-GxE framework estimates the relative contribution of climate variables to improving maize yield predictions. Using an enhanced version of the Genomes to Fields initiative database, the GSA-GxE framework shows that the spatially aggregated sensitivity of maize yield predictability is attributed to solar radiation, followed by temperature, rainfall, and relative humidity. In one-third of the individually assessed locations, rainfall was the primary responsible for maize yield predictability. Also, a consistent pattern of top sensitivities (Relative Humidity, Solar Radiation, and Temperature) as the main or the second most relevant drivers of maize yield predictability shed some light on the drivers of genetic improvement in response to climate change. Full article

The 2023 Grand National steeplechase race was delayed when protesters from the animal rights group, ‘Animal Rising’, gained access to the course just prior to the race. The international media spotlight was focused on what is already a high-profile event and the social licence of both this race and racing in general was scrutinised. Both at the time and for several days afterwards, the general public was exposed to two different narratives from pro- and anti-racing communities. This paper discusses these perspectives and the potential impact on the general public’s relationship with racing. Whilst well-meaning and aiming to promote racing, much of the racing industry’s commentary inadvertently risked damaging its reputation due to a poor understanding of social licence principles. We explore the reasons for these two groups’ alternative perspectives on welfare and suggest considerations for change. Ultimately, if ‘the people’s race’ is to maintain its social licence, the racing community needs to both understand and embrace the concept. Welcoming independent opinions, engaging with different viewpoints, accepting that change is inevitable and, most importantly, being proactive in making changes to prioritise equine welfare will all help racing to move towards greater public acceptance. Full article

We propose a neural network-based approach to calculate the value of a chess square–piece combination. Our model takes a triplet (color, piece, square) as the input and calculates a value that measures the advantage/disadvantage of having this piece on this square. Our methods build on recent advances in chess AI, and can accurately assess the worth of positions in a game of chess. The conventional approach assigns fixed values to pieces (= ∞, = 9, = 5, = 3, = 3, = 1). We enhance this analysis by introducing marginal valuations. We use deep Q-learning to estimate the parameters of our model. We demonstrate our method by examining the positioning of knights and bishops, and also provide valuable insights into the valuation of pawns. Finally, we conclude by suggesting potential avenues for future research. Full article

Vitamins, exogenous organic compounds that play a vital role in metabolic reactions, and fundamental powerful antioxidants with a crucial role in the genetic transcription process, are considered essential nutritional factors. Folic acid (FA), also known as folate, or Vitamin B9, plays an indispensable role in various intracellular reactions, being the main pawn, with a strong impact on medical and dental science. The aim of this paper mainly focuses on presenting the latest and most advanced aspects related to the following topics: (1) the resonance that FA, and more specifically FA deficiency, has at the level of the oral cavity; (2) the elements involved in the molecular landscape, which reflect the interaction and the possible mechanisms of action, through which FA influences oral health; and (3) the particular processes by which FA deficiency causes certain clinical conditions. Moreover, we aim to draw the attention and trigger the curiosity of health professionals on the need to know the specific host–environment interactions, particularly the linkage between individual genotype and phenotypic variability, which in the future could represent the basis of novel and effective treatment methods. From this perspective, we begin by providing an overview of the general radar echo of the human body induced by FA deficiency, before focusing on the genetic strategic substrate and biochemical processes involved in the molecular mechanisms through which FA acts at the cellular level. Finally, we reflect on the resulting conclusions: (1) the complex interrelationships between different types of cytokines (CKs) and abnormal folate metabolism are involved in the occurrence of neural tube defects (NTDs) and orofacial clefts (OFCs); (2) increased oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction, and genomic instability, induced by folate deficiency, have a major impact on periodontal health; and (3) glutamate carboxypeptidase II, GCP2 1561C>T allelic variant, constitutes the main pawn, which specifically influences the bioavailability of natural folates and FA, as the main actors, with essential roles in oral health. Full article

As the backbone of oncological treatments, systemic chemotherapy is still one of the main pawns in cancer care, alone or in combination with newer targeted agents. All chemotherapy agents can be associated with a type of adverse event called an infusion reaction, which can be characterized as unpredictable, non-dose related, and unexplained by the cytotoxic profile of the drug. For some of these events, a certain immunological mechanism can be identified by blood or skin testing. In this case, we can speak of true hypersensitivity reactions that occur as a response to an antigen/allergen. The current work summarizes the main antineoplastic therapy agents and their susceptibility to induce hypersensitivity reactions and also includes a review of clinical presentation, diagnostic methods in hypersensitivity reactions, and perspectives to overcome these negative events in the treatment of patients suffering from various types of cancer. Full article

The purpose of investigating livelihood strategies is to seek patterns that can be acted upon in order to improve livelihood prospects. This paper assesses household livelihood strategies and their determinates by asking (1) how urban households manage and mobilise resources and (2) how they combine assets—emphasising the existing strategies they adopt and their outcomes. Using a mixed-method cross-sectional design, four informal settlements were surveyed. Household questionnaires were developed and used to collect data from 425 households in Calabar, Nigeria. A total of 45 interviews, non-participant observation, and 2 focus groups were conducted. Quantitative data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS version 26, IBM, Armonk, NY, USA) and presented using tables. The qualitative data were collected, coded and analysed using NVivo 1.2 (QRS International). Fundamental context-related livelihood strategies in asset building are identified, and the diverse approaches and constraints that emerged are analysed. The result shows that households diversify their assets with strategies which are complex and diverse. This ranges from the extension of spaces and sub-letting a room to reducing their expenses (by spending less), borrowing from friends and relatives, and seeking help from community organisations. Others include pawning their belongings, engaging in home-based enterprises, and investing in children’s education, migration, and urban agriculture. Findings further indicate the ability of households to avoid or reduce their vulnerability and to increase their productivity depends on their initial assets and on their ability to transform them into income, food, or other necessities. This paper recommends ways of strengthening and supporting households’ strategies to cope with and reduce housing vulnerability. Full article

By leveraging the conventional Vehicular Ad-hoc Networks (VANETs), the Internet of Vehicles (IoV) paradigm has attracted the attention of different research and development bodies. However, IoV deployment is still at stake as many security and privacy issues are looming; location tracking using overheard safety messages is a good example of such issues. In the context of location privacy, many schemes have been deployed to mitigate the adversary’s exploiting abilities. The most appealing schemes are those using the silent period feature, since they provide an acceptable level of privacy. Unfortunately, the cost of silent periods in most schemes is the trade-off between privacy and safety, as these schemes do not consider the timing of silent periods from the perspective of safety. In this paper, and by exploiting the nature of public transport and role vehicles (overseers), we propose a novel location privacy scheme, called OVR, that uses the silent period feature by letting the overseers ensure safety and allowing other vehicles to enter into silence mode, thus enhancing their location privacy. This scheme is inspired by the well-known war strategy “Give up a Pawn to Save a Chariot”. Additionally, the scheme does support road congestion estimation in real time by enabling the estimation locally on their On-Board Units that act as mobile edge servers and deliver these data to a static edge server that is implemented at the cell tower or road-side unit level, which boosts the connectivity and reduces network latencies. When OVR is compared with other schemes in urban and highway models, the overall results show its beneficial use. Full article

Using terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) technology, forests can be digitized at the centimeter-level to enable fine-scale forest management. However, there are technical barriers to converting point clouds into individual-tree features or objects aligned with forest inventory standards due to noise, redundancy, and geometric complexity. A practical model treeiso based on the cut-pursuit graph algorithm was proposed to isolate individual-tree points from plot-level TLS scans. The treeiso followed the local-to-global segmentation scheme, which grouped points into small clusters, large segments, and final trees in a hierarchical manner. Seven tree attributes were investigated to understand the underlying determinants of isolation accuracy. Sensitivity analysis based on the PAWN index was performed using 10,000 parameter combinations to understand the treeiso’s parameter importance and model robustness. With sixteen reference TLS plot scans from various species, an average of 86% of all trees were detected. The mean intersection-over-union (mIoU) between isolated trees and reference trees was 0.82, which increased to 0.92 within the detected trees. Sensitivity analysis showed that only three parameters were needed for treeiso optimization, and it was robust against parameter variations. This new treeiso method is operationally simple and addresses the growing need for practical 3D tree segmentation tools. Full article

Blame avoidance has been one of the most applied strategies by policy makers in both democratic and non-democratic regimes to avoid responsibility and accountability in cases of failure and tragic events. It is also known that politicians have used religion for Machiavellian purposes, as exactly advised by Machiavelli. However, a systematic empirical analysis of how religion is used for blame avoidance by politicians has not been conducted. In this article, we aim to address this gap by examining the empirical data derived from the weekly Friday sermon texts produced by Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs and delivered in more than 90 thousand mosques every week to a large segment of the population in Turkey, where the majority claims to be religious. Starting with its violent response to the peaceful Gezi protests in 2013, the ruling AKP has opened up a new phase in Turkish political history by resorting to civilizational populism: it blamed the Western world for financing and masterminding the protests, using the protestors as internal pawns to attack Turkey and the Muslim World, suppressed the protests brutally and entered into a populist authoritarian regime. Our paper shows, following this turn, how the Diyanet sermons started using religion to help with the AKP’s blame avoidance. The Diyanet either parroted the AKP’s conspiratorial narrative or tried to convince the citizens that all negativities are works of God and with these humans are being tested by God. The AKP’s use of religion to avoid blame is a text-book case of how both a religious institution and religious discourse can be used to help the incumbent avoid responsibility. Whenever, there was a problem that would the AKP votes, the Diyanet’s sermons tried to shift the blame to either God or citizens or conspiratorial enemies. Full article

Enhancing the quality retention of fresh noodles remains challenging. In this study, we investigated the effect of dough mixing with plasma-activated water (PAW) of different activation times on the storage stability and quality characteristics of fresh noodles. It was found that the total plate count in the fresh noodles prepared by PAW (PAWN) showed no obvious inhibition during storage at 25 °C, but could be significantly reduced at 4 °C as compared with the control. The decrease in L* value and pH of the PAWN was significantly retarded during storage, indicating an enhanced storage stability. The stability time of dough mixed with PAW could be significantly improved. PAW treatment decreased the viscosity properties and setback value of starch, while enhancing the interaction of water and non-water components in fresh noodles. In addition, dynamic polymerization and depolymerization of proteins were detected in Size-Exclusion High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (SE-HPLC) profiles of PAWN. The hardness and adhesiveness of the cooked noodles decreased, while the springiness significantly increased. These results implied the potential of PAW in improving the storage stability and quality of fresh noodles. Full article

The most used global sensitivity analysis (GSA) method is based on variance. This is performed using Monte Carlo Sampling (MCS) or Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS). It requires a large sample to obtain accurate estimates. Density-based methods, such as the GSA PAWN, have been developed to reduce the sample size without compromising the result. PAWN is simpler than other methods because it uses cumulative density functions (CDF) instead of probability density. This method has been widely used in areas such as environmental engineering with very good results, reducing computation time. However, its use in structural engineering is incipient. The PAWN method was used to classify the design variables of the isolation system in relation to their sensitivity, and in relation to the seismic response of industrial storage racks. The above was analyzed in terms of the effectiveness of each variable to reduce the seismic demand using a novel base isolation kinematic device (BIKD). Racks with different combinations of their structural parameters such as the number of storage levels, the height between them, and isolation period, among others, were studied. The dimensions of the racks were chosen to match those that would later be experimentally tested on shaking table. An earthquake whose response spectrum matched the design spectrum of current Chilean regulations, was considered as seismic forcing. The maximum base shear load, the displacement of the top level of storage and the floor drift were considered as target responses to be studied. Fixed base racks (FBR), as reference, and base-isolated racks (BIR) were analyzed. The results showed the effectiveness of using the BIKD system in reducing all three-target responses up to one order of magnitude. Additionally, it was determined that the parameters that have the greatest influence on the response correspond to the number of storage levels and the height between them, both for FBR and BIR. Full article

Remote sensing has been applied to map the extent and biophysical properties of mangroves. However, the impact of several critical factors, such as the fractional cover and leaf-to-total area ratio of mangroves, on their canopy reflectance have rarely been reported. In this study, a systematic global sensitivity analysis was performed for mangroves based on a one-dimensional canopy reflectance model. Different scenarios such as sparse or dense canopies were set up to evaluate the impact of various biophysical and environmental factors, together with their ranges and probability distributions, on simulated canopy reflectance spectra and selected Sentinel-2A vegetation indices of mangroves. A variance-based method and a density-based method were adopted to compare the computed sensitivity indices. Our results showed that the fractional cover and leaf-to-total area ratio of mangrove crowns were among the most influential factors for all examined scenarios. As for other factors, plant area index and water depth were influential for sparse canopies while leaf biochemical properties and inclination angles were more influential for dense canopies. Therefore, these influential factors may need attention when mapping the biophysical properties of mangroves such as leaf area index. Moreover, a tailored sensitivity analysis is recommended for a specific mapping application as the computed sensitivity indices may be different if a specific input configuration and sensitivity analysis method are adopted. Full article