Browse Our Latest Applied Sciences Journals
In applied sciences, researchers use particular scientific methods to achieve practical goals. You can think of applied sciences as a broad, integrated area of various scientific fields that involve agronomy, agriculture, food science, medicine, engineering, computer science, and many other natural and social science disciplines. The main goal of applied science is to provide more knowledge and practical applications
Materials and Applied Sciences
Abstract
In our study, using a combination of eye-tracking parameter analysis and the van Westendorp method, we investigate whether participants pay more attention to products that they perceive as more expensive or to those that they prefer in the ranking process. The experiment involved 50 participants, a questionnaire with ranking and pricing tasks, and an eye-tracking measurement. Three wine varieties (Irsai Olivér, Rosé and Merlot-Shiraz) and three different label alternatives were tested. When comparing the results of the ranking and the pricing tasks, the product that is considered more expensive is not always the one that is most appealing to the participants. If we compare the results from the analysis of the eye-tracking parameters and the pricing, we can say that in all cases the labels that received the most visual attention were those that were priced more expensively by the participants.
Abstract
Thermobifida alba is the mesophilic member of the Thermobifida genus, the genome and enzyme sets of which have not been described and published yet. Thermobifida strains are thermotolerant actinomycete, which possess wide sets of cellulose and hemicellulose hydrolysing enzymes. Previously, three endomannanases (Man5ATh, Man5ATc, and Man5AThf) of thermobifidas were cloned and investigated, and hereby the endomannanase of T. alba DSM 43795 is described. All four endomannanases belong to the glycoside hydrolase family 5, their sizes are around 50–55 kDa. Their structure consists of a catalytic domain and a carbohydrate binding module, while there is an interdomain linker region in-between consisting repetitive tetrapeptide motifs (eg.: PPTEPTD-Ta, PTDP-Tc, TEEP-Tf, DPGT-Th). The pH optima of Man5A enzymes from T. alba, Thermobifida halotolerans, Thermobifida cellulosilytica, and Thermobifida fusca are slightly different (6.5, 7.0, 7.5, and 8.0, respectively), however, the temperature optima of the enzymes were detected within a wider range of 65–75 °C. In this research, Man5ATa exhibited the lowest Michaelis-Menten constant (KM) (0.13 mM) on LBG-mannan substrate, while others shared similar kinetic parameters: 0.9–1.7 mM of KM. Despite the high sequence similarity of the investigated mannanases, they exhibit different temperature stability parameters. These different functional characteristics can be advantageous for industrial applications producing biologically active, oligomannan prebiotics under different conditions.
15 years of analyzing the Global Terrorism Database: An overview
A Global Terrorism Database elemzésének elmúlt 15 éve
Summary.
This article provides an overview of research on terrorism using the Global Terrorism Database (GTD). It is an open-source database containing over 200,000 terrorist events, both domestic and transnational. After identifying seven prominent journals of terrorism, data were gathered on 442 articles citing the GTD. All were published between 2008 and the beginning of 2023. An increasing trend was found in the number of articles over the examined period, supporting the growing popularity of the GTD. Popular databases containing control variables were identified in the second part of the analysis. Finally, the most common research topics were introduced through examples. These included spatiotemporal trends, case studies, suicide bombers, and lone-wolf terrorists.
Összefoglalás.
Jelen kutatás áttekintést nyújt a nyílt forrású, Global Terrorism Database (GTD) nevű adatbázis terrorizmus kutatásában történő felhasználásáról. Az adatbázist 2007-ben tették közzé, ingyenesen elérhető bárki számára. Összesen több, mint 200.000 nemzetközi és belföldi terrorcselekményről tartalmaz adatokat. Az elmúlt 15 évben világszinten az egyik legjelentősebb terrorizmussal kapcsolatos nyilvános adatbázissá vált. A kutatás során először azonosítottam a terület 7 vezető folyóiratát, majd ezekből kigyűjtöttem az összes olyan, 2008 és 2023 eleje között megjelent publikációt, melyek hivatkoznak a GTD-re (n = 442). A megjelenési dátumukat elemezve megállapítottam, hogy az évente megjelent, erre az adatbázisra hivatkozó publikációk száma növekvő tendenciát követ. Ez azonban nem volt egyenletes. 2016 előtt lassú növekedés volt megfigyelhető, 2017-re viszont egy hirtelen ugrással elkezdett meredeken emelkedni a cikkek száma.
A 442 publikáció közül 50 nem volt elérhető, az absztrakt alapján pedig nem volt egyértelműen megállapítható a felhasznált adatbázis, vizsgált változók, így ezek nem kerültek bele az elemzésbe. Szintén kivontam az elemzésből a recenziókat, bibliográfiákat, szerkesztői ajánlásokat, konferenciaelőadások összefoglalóit, illetve azokat a cikkeket, ahol a GTD csak a szerző által idézett tanulmányban szerepel. Hatvanhat esetben a szerző (1) illusztrációként használt fel adatot, (2) a GTD terrorcselekmény definícióját idézte, vagy (3) a nyilvánosan elérhető adatbázisok bemutatása során említette meg ezt.
Végezetül 207 olyan publikáció maradt, ahol a szerző a GTD-ből nyert adatokat elemzett. Ezek vizsgálata során először megállapításra került, hogy a megjelenésük a teljes mintával azonos módon mutat növekvő tendenciát. A legtöbb kutatásban több adatbázist használtak a szerzők a GTD mellett, ezek jellemzően szintén nyilvánosan elérhetők. Innen származnak általában a kontrollváltozók, melyek politikai, kulturális, demográfiai, földrajzi, biztonsági és szociökonómiai területeket fednek le. Néhányan azonban saját adatbázist építettek különböző forrásokból. Következő lépésként példákon keresztül bemutatásra kerültek gyakori vizsgált témakörök. Ezek közé tartoznak tér- és időbeli tendenciák, terrorista csoportok és azok környezetükkel és egymással való kapcsolatainak elemzései. Szintén megjelentek öngyilkos merénylők, magányos elkövetők, illetve az állam és terrorista csoportok kapcsolatának vizsgálatai. Összességében az elemzés során bizonyosságot nyert, hogy a GTD jelentős hatással van a terrorizmus kutatására.
Az erőszak kockázatértékelése – pszichológiai szempontok
Risk assessment of violence – Psychological aspects
Összefoglalás.
Jelen tanulmány célja áttekintést adni arról, hogy a pszichológiai szempontok milyen módon használhatók fel az erőszakos magatartás kockázatának felmérése során a terrorizmus elleni küzdelemben. Ezzel az elméleti vizsgálódással azt kívánom bemutatni, hogy a pszichológiának milyen szemlélete van az erőszakos cselekmények, a szélsőséges, radikális gondolkodásmód hátterének megismerésében. Számos felfogás létezik a terrorista magatartás okainak és személyiségjellemzőinek leírására, amelyek alapján megállapítható, hogy nem létezik az ún. terrorista személyiség. Nincsenek olyan tulajdonságok, amelyek alapján egyértelműen meg lehet állapítani a különbséget a terroristák és az átlagnépesség között, nem létezik egyetlen közös terrorista profil. Az erőszakos magatartás kockázati tényező megismeréséhez az előzetes felmérésnek éppen ezért kiemelt jelentősége van a terrorcselekmények megelőzése szempontjából.
Summary.
The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the ways in which psychological aspects can be used to assess the risk of violent behaviour in the fight against terrorism. Through this theoretical exploration, I aim to show how psychology can be used to understand the background of violent acts against the background of extremist, radical mindsets. There are several conceptions of the causes and personality traits of terrorist behaviour, which suggest that there is no such thing as a terrorist personality. There are no characteristics that can be used to clearly distinguish between terrorists and the general population, there is no single common terrorist profile. Understanding the risk factors for violent behaviour in advance is therefore of particular importance for the prevention of terrorist acts.
The different theoretical approaches to specific cases, at the individual level, do not always provide an explanation. However, without knowledge of the research on the subject it is more difficult to understand the motives that lead people to act cruelly towards others. There are many theories about the psychology of terrorism, but relatively few controlled ones, empirical studies. Terrorism was previously considered a pathological manifestation of psychological and behavioural deviance. Based on psychoanalytic concepts, the psychopathology of terrorism was thought to be rooted in unconscious motives from childhood. However, the psychological analysis is relevant to risk assessment because the terrorist can be very diverse in temperament, ideologies, thinking characteristics and cognitive abilities. Psychological aspects are an important part of the various risk analysis methods. In developing the use of specific methods, I believe it is important to ensure that they are effective in helping to prevent terrorist acts in practice. The ideas expressed in this study perhaps demonstrate that it is a very versatile method.
It is essential that, with the spread of the Internet and globalisation, more and more potential terrorists and radicalisers are coming to the attention of the intelligence and counter-intelligence services. Psychological aspects will continue to play an essential role in the development of risk analysis methods, given that the commission of a terrorist act is always the result of extreme human violence.
Összefoglalás.
A cikk arra keresi a választ, hogy a terrorizmus és az extrémizmus kapcsán milyen indikátorokat tudunk azonosítani, és ezek mögött milyen okok és magyarázatok találhatók.
Áttekintjük a terrortámadások alakulását az utóbbi években, valamint azt, hogy az extrémizmusnak milyen társadalmi és egyéni aspektusai vannak. A tanulmányban elméleti forrásmunkák szintetizálása, valamint egy hazai és nemzetközi adatbázis leíró jellegű elemzése olvasható. Napjainkban a társadalmi és gazdasági válságok a biztonság és identitás újradefiniálására késztetnek, és ezek az egyének sajátos választását is befolyásolják: a meggyengült közösségek és értékek radikalizálódáshoz, extrémizmushoz és terrorizmushoz vezethetnek. Fontos, hogy a tárgyalt témakörben minél szélesebb körűen, multidiszciplináris szemlélettel és innovatívan álljunk a felderítéshez, elhárításhoz és tudományos kutatáshoz, annak érdekében, hogy csökkentsük a társadalmat veszélyeztető egyének és csoportok tevékenységét.
Summary.
The article examines what indicators we can identify in relation to terrorism and extremism and what reasons and explanations are behind them.
We review the development of terrorist attacks in recent years, as well as the social and individual aspects of extremism. The study includes a synthesis of theoretical source works and a descriptive analysis of a domestic and international database. Today’s social and economic crises, security and identity lead to redefining and this affects the specific response of individuals and weakened communities and values can lead to radicalization, extremism and terrorism. It is important to take a multidisciplinary and innovative approach to detection, prevention and research in the discussed topic, in order to reduce the activities of individuals and groups that threaten society.
According to the Hungarian model, since 2012–2013 the DEREX index, which is a percentage measure, shows the proportion of respondents who may be susceptible to extreme right-wing ideas and the political actions that can be derived from them, based on the pattern of their attitudes and values in a given society. From this point of view, based on the survey, this “threat” of extremism does not threaten Hungarian society. The definition of terrorism is still not unanimous acceptance, so the term extremism is increasingly being used (Berger 2018), which means extremism that can manifest itself in violence. All of this can be important because it is a complex phenomenon that is not limited to racial, religious, political categories and views, but leaves a mark on society and can cause damage.
Extremism is a phenomenon close to radicalism, which can be linked to terrorism in many cases, and this deserves attention in all countries of the world, whether directly or indirectly affected in terms of the risk of terrorism in the given society. If we want to take action against them, the goal can be to divide the political and military leaders, as well as to capture the leaders. It is worth lowering the profile of terrorists in the media, making the goals more expensive, and presenting the act in a different narrative instead of the role of a martyr. Amnesty programs may appear if this fits into society’s values. Furthermore, there are great opportunities in education through the implementation of integration and assimilation programs.
A dzsihádista merényletekben 2015 óta bekövetkezett változások Nyugat- és Észak-Európában
Changes in jihadist terrorism in Western and Northern Europe since 2015
Összefoglalás.
A tanulmány bemutatja, hogyan és miként változtak meg a nyugat- és észak-európai dzsihádista terrortámadások végrehajtási módjai az elmúlt években, és esettanulmányokon keresztül igyekszik rávilágítani az elkövetők általános jellemzőire.
Summary.
This paper aims to show how terrorist attacks in Western and Northern Europe have changed in recent years, especially in comparison to the attacks in Paris in November 2015 and Brussels in March 2016. Case studies of successful attacks in 2021 and 2022 highlight the general characteristics of the perpetrators. Several conclusions can be drawn through brief profiles of Ndiaga Dieye, Abdellah Gmara, Jamel Gorchene, Ali Harbi Ali, Abdalrahman A., Emad al-Swealmeen, Franck Elong Abé, Zaniar Matapour and Yassine Mahi.
On one hand, it can be established that these persons have either entered the territory of the European Union as irregular immigrants or have committed terrorist acts as second-generation nationals of their countries. It can also be said that in recent years only lone perpetrators have been able to carry out successful attacks, i.e. the above-mentioned persons have planned and carried out their acts entirely on their own, with at most only tangential links to an Islamist terrorist organisation.
The common feature of the perpetrators is that they are all young men, with an average age of 33. They all had some form of mental disorder. Most of them have chosen to use a stabbing weapon, but it can be seen that they may be seeking to acquire firearms or to make explosives at home. They generally attacked “soft” targets, i.e. civilians, as they were expected to put up much less resistance than “hard” targets, i.e. police or soldiers. Nevertheless, it can be observed that many of the terrorists presented also attacked police officers, which may illustrate, among other things, a dislike of the authorities or a desire to see such an act receive more press coverage.
At one point in their lives, the individuals profiled in this study were clearly radicalised, i.e. they adopted and embraced opinions and views that ultimately led them to commit an act of terrorism. While no clear pattern of radicalisation can be drawn from the case studies, it is possible to identify a significant role for both online and offline spaces. Some may have decided to turn to extremist Islamism solely on the basis of online sources, but others may have first encountered radical ideas in prison.
The role of time is also an important factor. The speed with which someone becomes radicalised and the time it takes for them to commit a terrorist act (if at all) is individual-specific.
Finally, it is important to note that the process of radicalisation can be triggered or even accelerated by a perceived or real grievance against Muslims.
Erőszakos radikalizmus kockázatbecslése – elméleti háttér és kutatási eredmények
Risk matrix for violent extermism – theoretical background and research findings
Összefoglalás.
A tanulmány a terrorveszély felismerésének és kezelésének elméleti és technikai összefoglalását nyújtja. Kiemelten foglalkozik a kockázatbecslés technikájával, és bemutat egy új, mesterséges intelligencián alapuló eljárást, amelynek segítségével 90%-os sikereséllyel lehet azonosítani azokat, akik terrortámadásokat hajthatnak végre. E mellett, az eljárás által szolgáltatott adatok felhasználásával sikerült leírni a radikálisok két típusát, amelyeket megközelítőleg az „alárendelt/erőszakos” és a „vezető/nem-erőszakos” szavakkal jellemezhetnénk. A két csoport között jelentős különbségek voltak a családi háttér, iskolázottság, radikalizálódási folyamat, állampolgársági múlt, bűnözői előélet, és szerepvállalási jellegzetességek tekintetében.
Summary.
Although Hungary is in a privileged position regarding the threat of terrorism, the history of other countries suggests that similar good positions can be temporary. The threat of terrorism can be investigated by several scientific approaches. After reviewing these, we analyze the theoretical and technical background of risk assessment, and present the results of our recently concluded research. In this we examined the US database PIRUS, which contained 112 types of personal data of 2,148 radicals. About half of them did carry out terrorist attacks the other half did not. Based on the individual characteristics of the radicals, the XGBoost machine learning algorithm correctly identified the perpetrators of the terrorist attacks with a probability of 87%. By using the data provided by the software, it was also possible to describe two types of radicals, which could be roughly characterized by the words “subordinate/violent” and “leader/non-violent”. The former usually had a criminal but not a radical background. They converted late in life (if their radicalization was of a religious nature) and adopted radical ideas as adults (if their radicalization was nonreligious in nature). They played a subordinate role in terrorist groups, required training and were largely influenced by social media. They also belonged to low social classes and had many personal problems. In contrast, non-violent extremists were characterized by a family tradition of radicalism, mostly had no criminal past, belonged to higher social strata, and played leading roles in terrorist organizations. Instead of committing attacks, they engaged in illegal activity by supporting terrorist organizations. The two main types probably consist of subtypes. Compared to violent extremists who were radicalized in prison, for example, those who were not radicalized in prison were mostly foreigners, were often unemployed despite their higher education, and compared to those radicalized in prison, they committed lesser crimes before radicalization. Similar subgroups occurred in both main groups, but their detailed characterization requires further research. Our findings suggest that artificial intelligence can become a good tool for the risk assessment of radicals concerning their proneness to perform terrorist attacks. Moreover, the risk assessment tool employed here may be useful in typifying radicals, and studying their radicalization routes.
The general model of counter-terrorism
A terrorelhárítás elméleti modellje
Summary.
One of the very important conditions for the normal functioning of a state is its ability to defend itself against various external or internal threats, attacks, and dangers. Such security challenges may be e.g. natural disasters, health emergencies, external attacks (military, political, economic), economic collapse, civil strife, organised crime, terrorism, etc. A well-functioning state has the appropriate administrative, health, law enforcement, military, etc. organisations, and structures to deal with and respond to these types of challenges and threats.
There are several studies in the literature (both Hungarian and foreign) on the theoretical model of intelligence services. Without exception, these theories take the approach of constructing a theoretical model through the various activities of secret services. In this paper, I attempt to construct, albeit sketchily, a kind of general, logical-functional counter-terrorism model to illustrate the complex activities of counter-terrorism intelligence and law enforcement organisations.
Összefoglalás.
Az államok normális működésének egyik nagyon fontos feltétele, hogy az állam önmagát képes legyen megvédeni különböző külső vagy belső fenyegetésektől, támadásoktól és veszélyektől. Ilyen biztonsági kihívások lehetnek pl. természeti katasztrófák, egészségügyi veszélyhelyzet, külső támadás (katonai, politikai, gazdasági), gazdasági összeomlás, belviszály/polgárháború, szervezett bűnözés, terrorizmus stb. Egy jól működő állam esetében megvannak a megfelelő államigazgatási, egészségügyi, rendészeti, katonai stb. szervezetek és strukturák az ilyen típusú kihívások és veszélyhelyzetek kezelésére, megszüntetésére. Jelen tanulmány szempontjából alapvetően a terrorizmus releváns biztonsági kihívás, ennek megfelelően az erre adott állami választ, a terrorelhárítás egy lehetséges elméleti modelljét állítom fel és mutatom be vázlatosan, annak titkosszolgálati és rendőrségi szempontjai szerint.
A nemzetbiztonsági szolgálatok működésének alapját a történelmük során mindig speciális feladatrendszerük, az állam területi integritásának biztosítása, függetlenségének és állampolgárai jogainak és biztonságának a védelme határozta meg (Boda–Regényi 2019). Ezeknek a feladatoknak az ellátásához a szolgálatok törvényi felhatalmazással különleges eszközöket és módszereket használhatnak és használnak. A titkosszolgálatok működési területük alapján két csoportra, polgári és katonai szolgálatokra oszthatók, míg a klasszikus szakmai tevékenységi körük alapján hírszerző és elhárító feladatokat láthatnak el (Dávid 2018: 15). Már ez alapján is világosan látszik, hogy a szolgálatok szerepe és feladatköre mennyire szerteágazó és sokszínű lehet. A terrorizmus elleni küzdelem pedig ennek a feladatnak csak egy, bár kétségkívül nagyon fontos része. A szakirodalomban (magyar és külföldi egyaránt) több tanulmány is foglalkozik a titkosszolgálatok elméleti modelljével. Ezek az elméletek kivétel nélkül azt a megközelítést használják, hogy a titkosszolgálatok egyes tevékenységi körein keresztül állítják fel az elméleti modellt. Jelen tanulmányban arra vállalkozom, hogy – ha vázlatosan is – de megalkossak egyfajta általános, logikai-funkcionális terrorelhárítási modellt, a terrorelhárítást végző elhárító és rendészeti szervezetek összetett tevékenységének bemutatására.
Külföldi és visszatérő külföldi terrorista harcosok versenye a társadalmi jelzőrendszerekkel
Foreign fighters and returning foreign terrorist fighters vs. social awareness systems
Összefoglalás.
Arra a kérdésre keressük a választ, hogy milyen hatása van a leendő külföldi terrorista harcosoknak és a visszatérőknek a társadalmi jelzőrendszerekre. A két területet a radikalizáció fogalma mentén kapcsoljuk össze. Bemutatjuk a társadalmi jelzőrendszerek tervezésének, kiépítésének és működtetésének gyakorlatát. Ezt követően megpróbálunk a releváns és aktuális szakirodalmi keret áttekintésével összefoglaló képet alkotni a visszatérő külföldi terrorista harcosokról, felfedve a jelenség mögött megbúvó kihívásokat és veszélyeket. A nemzetközi ajánlások áttekintésével választ keresünk a repatriáció és reintegráció legjobb gyakorlataira, amelyek alapján egyértelművé válik, hogy a jelzőrendszereknek jelentős szerepük lehet a vizsgált kihívás kezelésében. Azonban a hagyományos jelzőrendszerek helyett komplex társadalmi jelző-, deradikalizációs és reintegrációs rendszerekre van szükségünk.
Summary.
Radicalization awareness of social systems and returning foreign fighters have been key elements of security discourse on international and national level for the past two decades. Complexity of these topics offer many opportunities and challenges. This study attempts to combine this two aspects and examine their relationship. As the difficulty of definition-making poses a fundamental problem, we attempt to define radicalization, social awareness systems, foreign fighters and the latest related concepts.
The main question is: what effect do foreign terrorist fighters and returnees have on social awareness systems? Radicalization connects both. The study highlights the main stages of radicalization process searching for a pattern that could be useful in understanding radicalization and planning, building and operating social awareness systems. The basic task of social awareness systems is to detect violent extremism and intervene to stop the process. At the same time, they are suitable for the prevention and detection of recruitment, but for this they must cooperate closely with the national intelligence services and intervention units of the social services. As a closing thought, the study provides a summary of returning foreign terrorist fighters, and a review of international recommendations regarding best practice for reintegration and repatriation. Social awareness systems are never perfect, but they are able to provide an adequate response to challenges at many points, as well as they are suitable for dealing with the problem of returnees.
To prevent a wave of foreign fighters in the future the social awareness systems must be strengthened. The accuracy of finding vulnerable groups must be improved and the tools to protect them must be developed. In order to effectively deal with security challenges posed by returning foreign terrorist fighters, applying a multi-agency model could be the answer. Overall social awareness systems can play a significant role in dealing with the complex problem of returning foreign terrorist fighters. However, instead of traditional social awareness systems, we need complex social awareness, de-radicalization and reintegration systems.
Profilalkotás a terrorelhárításban – profilozzuk-e a magányos elkövetőket?
Profiling in counter-terrorism – should we profile lone actor terrorists?
Összefoglalás.
Jelen tanulmány célja a magányos elkövetők megismerése mellett annak körüljárása, hogy mely módszerek lehetnek hasznosíthatók az ellenük folyó harcban, illetve milyen problémákkal szembesülhetnek a témát kutató szakemberek. A szakirodalom áttekintésével képet kaphatunk általános profiljukról. Tekintettel azonban arra, hogy a magányos elkövetők kevés olyan tulajdonsággal rendelkeznek, amelyek megkülönböztetik őket másoktól, elmondhatjuk, hogy megbízhatóan nem profilozhatók. Továbbá a profilalkotás módszere csak bizonyos esetekben segítheti az ellenük folyó küzdelmet, hiszen a módszer célja egy már megtörtént bűncselekmény elemzése. A terrorcselekmények esetében pedig a hangsúly azok megelőzésén van, melyben elsősorban a kockázatelemzési és társadalmi jelzőrendszerek nyújthatnak segítséget.
Summary.
The aim of this study is to understand the lone actor terrorist and to discuss which methods can be used to combat this specific type of terrorist. We will review the main research findings on lone actors to understand their general profile. Lone perpetrators are generally male and under 50 years of age. A review of the literature suggests that there are some characteristics which lone actors have in common, which relate to their behaviour prior to the terrorist offence. Furthermore, there is a higher prevalence of mental disorders among lone offenders compared to both the general population and organised terrorist offenders. However, this cannot be considered as a causal factor. Given the fact that lone offenders have few characteristics that distinguish them measurably from other types of terrorist offenders, or even from society, it can be said that they cannot be reliably profiled. The small amount of information and data sets available to researchers (the closed treatment of case details) also makes analysis and scientific investigation difficult. Furthermore, the profiling method can only help in certain cases, since the aim of profiling is to analyse an already existing, unknown offender. In the case of terrorist offences, the focus is on prevention and deterrence, where risk analysis and social alarm systems can be of particular help. We briefly present the TRAP-18 risk analysis tool, which has proven useful in assessing the risk of lone offences.
The emergence of online space provides a new platform for radical organisations, and thus for counter-terrorism services, to detect extremist groups and individuals in virtual platforms. Open source information can also help risk analysis, and if used professionally, can provide very specific information about a targeted individual. Due to the limitations of this paper, the radicalisation processes of lone offenders, as a very important part of the subject, will not be discussed, and this article will focus on the differences between the methods and their practical aspects. Overall, the benefits of profiling lone offenders are not essentially practical work, but rather in supporting the development of risk analysis methods and as part of the cognition process.
The psychiatric correlation of terrorism – schizophrenia and the lone-actor terrorist
A terrorcselekmények pszichiátriai korrelációi a skizofrénia és a magányos elkövető tükrében.
Pszichiátria és terrorizmus
Summary.
The correlation between terrorism and mental disorder has been studied for decades. Empirical findings suggest that no major role of psychiatric disorders can be found in relation to terror attacks, except for one type of terrorism: the lonely offender. Schizophrenia has been proved to be one of the most important psychiatric disorders that have correlation with lonely-offender type terrorism. In this paper the symptomatology of schizophrenia is presented with a special regard to its role in the development of deviant tendency that may lead to terror attacks. A domestic case of lonely-offender terror activity is introduced with the aim of highlighting this correlation in practice. Based on international empirical data and cases such as the one presented here a conclusion can be drawn; close attention is required on the mental state in the case of lonely-offender terrorism.
Összefoglalás.
A bűnelkövetés természetének vizsgálata során a mentális állapot kérdése egy rendszeresen előforduló problémakör. A pszichológia tudomány mellett, melynek különböző alkalmazott és elméleti területei régóta eszközül szolgálnak a bűnnel való küzdelem során, a pszichiátria is egyre nagyobb hangsúlyt kap. A 21. században a terrorizmus a bűnelkövetés egy igen speciális jelentőséggel bíró típusa. Mivel a terrorizmus társadalmi jelentőség szempontjából központi szerepet kapott az elmúlt évtizedekben, a tudományos világ is intenzív figyelmet szentel neki. A modern trendeknek megfelelően a terrorcselekmények természetének tanulmányozása során is egyre jobban előnyt élvez a minél szélesebb körű tudományos megközelítések integrálása, a multidiszciplináris megközelítés. A terrorizmus jelenségének vizsgálata során a pszichiátria diszciplínája is egyre gyakrabban szerephez jut, ennek megfelelően a terrorizmus és a mentális betegségek kapcsolata a kutatókat évtizedek óta foglalkoztatja. Ugyan az eddig gyűjtött empirikus adatok azt sugallják, hogy a mentális betegségeknek nincs kifejezett jelentősége a terrorcselekmények kapcsán, a terroristák egy speciális típusa, a magányos elkövetők által végrehajtott támadások ebből a szempontból kivételt képeznek. Több pszichiátriai zavar esetében találtak a normálpopulációhoz mérten magas pervalenciákat a magányos terroristák között. Ezek közül a skizofrénia az egyik legnagyobb jelentőséggel bíró pszichiátriai kórkép. Ez, tekintve, hogy a tudathasadásos elmebaj gyakran asszociálódik erőszakos cselekményekkel, nem meglepő, jóllehet a skizofrének által mutatott deviancia igen eltérő a skizofrén populáción belül. Ez elsősorban azért is van, mert a skizofrénia rendkívül változatos és sokszínű klinikai képe mentén igen nagy a változatosság a tekintetben, hogy a különböző tüneteket produkáló betegek mennyire erőszakosak. A jelen tanulmányban a skizofréniához köthető, a terrorcselekmények szempontjából kulcsjelentőségű deviancia kialakulásában leginkább meghatározó tüneteket járjuk körbe. A skizofrénia általános tünettanának tárgyalásán túl kísérletet teszünk annak életszerűbb bemutatására egy hazai terrorcselekmény skizofréniában szenvedő elkövetőjének az esetén keresztül. A bemutatott incidenshez hasonló elkövetések és a nemzetközi empirikus adatok alapján az a következtetés vonható le, hogy a magányos elkövetők kapcsán a mentális állapot fokozott figyelmet érdemel. Erre tekintettel további empirikus adatgyűjtés szükséges, mely tudás várhatóan nagyban hozzájárul a terrorizmussal folytatott küzdelem sikerességéhez.
Abstract
In the study, suitability of porridge, bun, and salad prepared from processed pearl millet FBC16 and sorghum PSC4 had been evaluated organoleptically by a panel of semi-trained judges and 25 non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus subjects. Organoleptically, germinated pearl millet was found to be more suitable for porridge (50%) and salad (100%), while puffed sorghum was best suitable for bun (15%) preparation. Prepared porridge had significantly (P ≤ 0.05) higher protein (16.9%) and total phenols (178.8 mg GAE/100 g) contents and antioxidant capacity (1,036 mg TE/100 g) than control. The dietary fibre and in vitro starch digestibility of composite porridge and bun increased significantly (P ≤ 0.05). Most acceptable composition of porridge, bun, and salad had low glycaemic index (17.64–26.79) and medium to low glycaemic load (8.82–13.40). Suitability of pearl millet and sorghum using appropriate processing techniques (germination and puffing) is recommended for preparation of indigenous food products especially for diabetics.
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the anti-obesity potential of camel colostrum and milk proteins as well as their enzymatic hydrolysates. Camel colostrum and milk proteins were treated using six proteolytic enzymes (pepsin, trypsin, α-chymotrypsin, pancreatin, papain, and pronase). The degree of hydrolysis was measured to verify the degradation of proteins. The in vitro anti-obesity activity was evaluated using the pancreatic lipase inhibitory assay. Camel colostrum and milk protein hydrolysates exhibited different degrees of hydrolysis ranging from 17.69 to 43.97%. The protein content varied between 56.08–61.95% and 37.39–41.72% for camel colostrum and milk protein hydrolysates, respectively. The hydrolysates displayed significantly higher anti-obesity activity than the undigested proteins at all tested concentrations (P < 0.05). Colostrum protein hydrolysate generated with pancreatin had the highest anti-obesity potential (59.92%). These results suggest that colostrum and milk protein hydrolysates could be used to formulate functional foods and nutraceuticals.
Abstract
In the modern era, nutraceutical properties of horticultural crops are indispensable to determine their adaptability to different agro-ecological regions. The present study exploits the potential of mulches (P: plastic mulch; S: straw mulch; N: No mulch) in relation to drip irrigation (I1: 100%, I2: 80%, I3: 60% of crop evapotranspiration (Etc)), and fertigation (F1: 100%, F2: 80%, F3: 60% of recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF): 125 kg N, 62.5 Kg P2O5, 62.5 kg K2O per ha) on Pak choi at three maturity stages in the North West region of India. Plant fresh weight was the highest at 55 days after transplanting (DAT); however, maximum soil plant analysis development (SPAD) values were registered at 45 DAT. Antioxidant activity, FRAP, DPPH, phenols, flavanols, total sugars, ascorbic acid, free amino acids, and irrigation water use efficiency were observed significantly higher in plants grown on plastic mulch at different levels of irrigation and fertigation. It is envisioned that Pak choi plants had the highest nutritional value at 45 DAT from plots mulched with silver-black, irrigated at 80% Etc, and fertigated at 100% RDF. The nutrient enriched plants are used for green salad and as ingredients for the preparation of many recipes in the semi-arid and sub-tropic areas of India.
Abstract
This paper explores the prediction of the soluble solid content (SSC) in the visible and near-infrared (400–1,000 nm) regions of Baise mango. Hyperspectral images of Baise mangoes with wavelengths of 400–1,000 nm were obtained using a hyperspectral imaging system. Multiple scatter correction (MSC) was chosen to remove the effect of noise on the accuracy of the partial least squares (PLS) regression model. On this basis, the characteristic wavelengths of mango SSC were selected using the competitive adaptive reweighted sampling (CARS), genetic algorithm (GA), uninformative variable elimination (UVE), and combined CARS + GA-SPA, CARS + UVE-SPA, and GA + UVE-SPA characteristic wavelength methods. The results show that the combined MSC-CARS + GA-SPA-PLS algorithm can reduce redundant information and improve the computational efficiency, so it is an effective method to predict the SSC of mangoes.
Abstract
This paper provides a rapid method coupled with chemometrics to visualise PEL quality of eight regions. The contents of mineral elements, Vitamin C (Vc), and colour parameters were measured using spectrophotometric methods. The volatile substances were determined by electronic nose (E-nose) and headspace solid phase micro-extraction with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME/GC-MS). Chemometric analyses were employed to visualise the sample distribution according to the geographical origin. The colour parameters, Vc, and mineral contents of PEL from diverse origins were significantly different (P < 0.05). A total of 25 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were identified from PELs, with the highest percentage of components being ethyl acetate. The combination of HS-SPME/GC-MS and E-nose can properly characterise PEL samples. Therefore, the results of this exploratory work highlight the possibility of discriminating PEL from different regions.
Abstract
Synthesis of nanoparticles can be long and costly processes using physical and chemical methods. Biological synthesis of nanoparticles is known to be cheaper and easier than other methods. In this study, silver nanoparticles (AgNP) were obtained by biological synthesis, also known as green synthesis, using Sorghum bicolor var. technicum (Körn) Stapf ex Holland seed extract, popularly known as sorghum. AgNPs were characterised by SEM, EDS, TEM, FT-IR, and UV-Vis Spectroscopy. SEM images confirmed that the shape of AgNPs was spherical. TEM analysis showed that the average sizes of AgNPs ranged from 51 to 56 nm. EDS analysis confirmed the presence of AgNPs by detecting a silver ion peak at 3 KeV. UV-Vis spectroscopy analyses indicated that the brown-burgundy colour of AgNPs exhibited maximum absorbance at 450 nm. The biological activities of the extract and AgNPs were investigated through antimicrobial, antibiofilm, antioxidant, mutagenic, and DNA cleavage activity analyses. The extract exhibited the highest MIC value against Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis (0.62 μg mL−1), whereas AgNPs demonstrated the highest antimicrobial activity specifically against Gram-negative bacterium Escherichia coli (0.31 μg mL−1). The antibiofilm results revealed that the extract displayed the highest percentage of biofilm inhibition against B. subtilis, while AgNPs exhibited notable efficacy against both Candida albicans yeast and Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacterium. The antioxidant activities were evaluated using DPPH• and ABTS•+ methods, and it was determined that both samples had high antioxidant activity. Mutagenicity of the extract and AgNPs were evaluated by the Ames/Salmonella test using two strains of Salmonella typhimurium (TA98 and TA100). The mutagenic activity of the extract increased depending on the concentration for both strains, while AgNP did not show mutagenicity at any concentration. The agarose gel electrophoresis method showed that the extract and AgNPs cleaved DNA in the presence of an oxidising agent.
Abstract
In this study, a water-soluble novel polysaccharide called TPS was successfully prepared and isolated from Liubao tea. The optimal extraction conditions resulted in a yield of 10.70% for the crude TPS. The purified TPS exhibited unique physicochemical properties and structural characteristics. It was identified as an acidic polysaccharide with trace binding proteins, with a →4)-α-D-Galp-(1→) residue. The purified TPS had a dense and uneven appearance, potential crystallisation characteristics, and structural stability. Importantly, it demonstrated the ability to inhibit glucose transport in Caco-2 cells by down-regulating the expression of sodium/glucose cotransporter 1 (SGLT1) and glucose transporter 2 (GLUT2), leading to a hypoglycemic effect. These findings highlight the potential of TPS from Liubao tea as a functional food or additive with hypoglycaemic properties.
Abstract
Cultures used in dairy products make it possible to obtain standard industrial products. However, they all provide a uniform taste and aroma. Generally, non-starter lactic acid bacteria (NSLAB) isolated from raw-milk or artisanal cheeses offer varied sensory characteristics when integrated in cheese provided that biosafety criteria are met. Enterococcus faecium HZ was previously isolated from traditional Turkish cheese and determined to have strong antibacterial activity as well as no gelatinase and hemolysis activities. In this study, this strain was used as adjunct culture in white-brined cheese to improve the physicochemical, textural, and aromatic properties, as well as antimicrobial activity. Cheeses with E. faecium HZ had a higher sensory score, which could be due to the aroma-active compounds produced by this strain. The incorporation of E. faecium HZ also improved the microbial quality of cheeses and showed an inhibitory effect via a stable enterocin production on indicator microorganisms.
Abstract
A railway on 4 m height embankment is being built in the south of Iraq. The railway alignment is extending on a compressible soil experienced impermissible settlement according to the results of soil investigation of the soil at the project site. A trial for reducing the settlement was done adopting sand piles. Nonlinear analysis was conducted to evaluate the settlement of soil before and after using the proposed technique.
The results indicated that without any improvement, the expected total settlement of the railway embankment on the compressible clay layer is 170.2 mm. By inserting granular piles of diameter 0.3 m, it was obtained settlement decreases to 88.7 mm with reduction being in range of ∼48%.
Abstract
The nutritional and therapeutic benefits of plants are outstanding. Wild mustard (Sinapis arvensis L.) collected from different regions was analysed for its phenolic, flavonoid, protein, and biological activity levels. In this case, the plant ethanol extract was obtained using a soxhlet apparatus. Rel assay kits and the DPPH test were used to assess the plant's antioxidant activity. The agar dilution test was used to determine antimicrobial efficacy. A549 lung cancer cells were used in an MTT assay to measure antiproliferative activity. The Folin−Ciocalteu reagent was used to quantify the total phenolic content of the sample. The amount of flavonoids was determined using an aluminium chloride test. The amount of protein was calculated using the AOAC's standard technique. Based on the research conducted, it was shown that the maximum total antioxidant status (TAS) value for the ethanol extract of wild mustard from various places was 5.232 ± 0.047 mmol L−1. At a concentration of 2 mg mL−1, DPPH activity was measured to be 82.06 ± 1.01. The maximum levels of total phenolic, flavonoid, and protein were 80.57 ± 2.19 mg g−1, 154.07 ± 2.79 mg g−1, and 7.75 ± 0.24%, respectively. Doses of 25–100 μg mL−1 of plant extracts were effective against fungal strains, whereas doses of 50–200 μg mL−1 were beneficial against bacterial strains. The plant extracts were shown to have potent antiproliferative properties. It was found that wild mustard's phenolic, flavonoid, protein, and biological activity levels varied according to the location from which it was gathered. It was also concluded that wild mustard had significant biological activity.
Abstract
The aim of this study was to assess the nutritional quality of homemade beef sausages by examining the amino acid, biogenic amine, and fatty acid composition. The most abundant amino acids were Ala (15.56%), Leu (13.28%), Gly (8.64%), Pro (8.41%), Ser (8.26%), and Val (7.65%). The essential amino acids accounted for 44.30% of total amino acids. Apart from the protein building amino acids, the free amino acid content was relatively high, accounting for 10% of total amino acid content. The average biogenic amine concentration in the sausage samples was low (1.69 mg kg−1). Saturated fatty acids accounted for 59.10% of total fatty acids, followed by monounsaturated (38.63%) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (2.27%). The fatty acid profile was dominated by oleic (C18:1, 34.37%) and palmitic (C16:0, 30.24%) acids, and short-chain fatty acids were also present, which may have a positive impact on gut health. The results show that beef sausages have a high nutritional value and are a good source of essential amino acids, free amino acids, and fatty acids that are important for human health.
Abstract
The efficiency of using photovoltaic panels significantly depends on the climatic conditions and the power of the consumer. The evaluation of the efficiency of using the battery of the photovoltaic panel depending on the climatic conditions and the power of the consumer was carried out by the method of simulation modeling. A new type of storage battery allows to accumulate excess and compensate for the energy deficit due to the capacity of the batteries, and in case of their complete discharge - due to connection to other sources of electrical and thermal energy. The temperature field on the surface of the solar panel is constructed based on numerical simulation. The temperature ranges from +70.4 to +127.5 °C. In the main area of the panel, the heat flow ranged from 3,200 to 7000 W m−2.
Abstract
Speech scrambling aims to distort speech signals to prevent unauthorized listeners from understanding them, but conventional techniques are vulnerable to attacks. Therefore, more robust and secure speech scrambling algorithms are needed to ensure sensitive communication security. A proposed scheme uses a particle swarm optimization algorithm to generate a random key and optimize the level of noise in the scrambled signal, along with two transformations Multiwavelet and Arnold techniques to improve complexity and security. The proposed algorithm has been evaluated using various performance measurements and has demonstrated superior encryption performance than other similar audio encryption schemes with key space equal to 128 × 2.718. Further research and development in speech scrambling are essential to guarantee secure communication in sensitive contexts such as military and intelligence.
Abstract
With the development of society and economy, people pay more and more attention to thematic landscape architectural design featuring various cultures. Landscape architectural design is no longer only satisfied with the standardized, identical design style, but should focus on some specific cultural communication functions. In the thematic landscape architectural design, the use of cultural symbols can reflect the characteristics of the park. Through some research and practical design, the design method of using cultural symbols in landscape architectural design is summarized: from finding cultural elements to design language transformation.
Abstract
This study presents the frequency control of hybrid deregulated power system. The power system is supplied with appropriate system non-linearity's for practicality. A resilient model predictive control based two degree of freedom proportional integral derivative controller is designed. The Covid-19 based optimization algorithm is applied for optimization purpose. The impact of solar and wind on system dynamics are also examined. Further, the capacitive energy storage is also incorporated to check its influence. The distribution companies' participation matrix changes with market fluctuations, so the matrix is varied to check its impact. Lastly, sensitivity assessment is performed to analyze the strength of proposed controller optimized gains achieved under nominal conditions.
Abstract
The application of natural ventilation strategies in high-rise office buildings is considered one of the most promising trends to address high energy performance and enhance the indoor thermal comfort levels in interior office spaces. In this regard, this study attempts to assess the potential of natural ventilation strategies of a specific, previously investigated, envelope design of a high-rise office building located in a temperate climate zone. Different summer natural ventilation approaches were tested using the building energy simulation program IDA ICE 4.8, evaluating thermal comfort and energy demand. The findings indicated that considerable energy savings can be achieved, compared to conventional mechanical ventilation and air conditioning systems.
Abstract
Previous studies introduced the shiftability condition for successful gearshift, based on the dog clutch kinematics model containing several parameters. This study analyzes the effect of these parameters on the dog clutch shiftability. A method to study the impact of parameters is proposed. The influence of chosen parameter domains is shown. Their influence is recognized based on the shiftability map and the engagement probability. The initial relative position showed a periodic effect within one pitch region. The teeth number, axial speed, and the backlash positively affected the engagement probability, while the mismatch speed and the overlap distance showed a negative effect. The analysis showed lower limit values for the axial speed and the backlash but higher limit values for the mismatch speed and the overlap distance.
Abstract
In this study, it is aimed to encapsulate some functional components of the olive leaves. Olive leaf extract was encapsulated using solution of sodium alginate, sodium alginate/gelatine, and sodium alginate/agar as wall material by ionic gelation technique. Also, olive leaf extract was encapsulated using solution of gelatine as wall material by cold gelation technique. The viscosities of the coating materials used in the study were investigated. An optimisation process was carried out to determine the injection time to be applied in the ionic gelation technique and the encapsulation efficiencies, particle sizes, swelling ratios, in vitro release profiles, and antioxidant activities of the obtained capsules were determined. While the encapsulation efficiency of the capsules obtained by the cold gelation technique was determined as the highest (98.2 ± 0.99%), it was revealed that the viscosity of the wall material used in the ionic gelation technique was important in the encapsulation efficiency. The particle size and swelling rate of the capsules obtained using the cold gelation technique were the highest. The release rate of oleuropein was generally higher at gastric pH than at intestinal pH. A correlation was found between antioxidant activities and the encapsulation efficiency of capsules.
Abstract
The current research aimed to obtain mean pressure distribution over an air-inflated membrane structure using Computational Wind Engineering tools. The steady-state analysis applied the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations with the
Abstract
Due to the increase in earthquake activity in Iraq and Middle East during the last two decades, the study and understanding of probable destructive action and the best method to mitigate this effect became more important. So, many improvements and mitigation methods can be used. In this study, the use of permeation grout technique was adopted to prevent the existing soil condition in urban area by using cement kiln dust and bentonite clay. The tests were executed by using 1 g shaking table apparatus to simulate a sinusoidal motion (vibration) at specified different frequencies. The liquefaction phenomena were observed for loose saturated sand at 60 s, 25 s, and 10 s for 0.5 Hz, 0.75 Hz, and 1 Hz, respectively. After mitigation process, the soil liquefaction did not occur until 100 s, 60 s, and 30 s, for the same mentioned frequencies. Besides, the use of cement kiln dust decreases the liquefaction potential and increase the factor of safety.
Abstract
In this article, polymer-modified concrete was studied to present the effect of using additives on its mechanical properties. This will be achieved by employing a high-performance super plasticizing admixture that significantly enhances polymer-modified concrete mechanical capabilities. The study indicates that the polymer styrene-butadiene rubber (used increases concrete mechanical properties by 10% by weight. When the dosage exceeds 10% by weight of cement, the compressive, tensile, and flexural strengths of polymer-modified concrete are diminished. With the addition of a superplasticizer with a ratio of 1.2%, regular polymer-modified concrete compressive strength has increased from 34.3 to 42.9 MPa for a 10% polymer/cement ratio. Additionally, this superplasticizer enhanced the Material's flexural and tensile strength.
Abstract
Multimodal biometric systems have been widely implemented in a variety of real-world scenarios due to their ability to overcome limitations associated with unimodal biometric systems. This paper is focused on the combination of the face, ear and gait in a unified multimodal biometric identification system using handcrafted features. These approaches provide robust and discriminative features to solve the biometric problem. In this research, speed up robust features and histogram of oriented gradients approaches have been used to extract features from face, ear and gait. The extracted features are optimized using genetic algorithm and classified using Levenberg-Marquardt backpropagation neural network. The system performance is evaluated on constrained and unconstrained dataset conditions.
Abstract
A large amount of waste, especially the outer part of citrus fruits (peel), is generated after consuming the pulp and it remains unused. The valorisation of this waste by recovering its bioactive compounds seems interesting. The aim of this study was to find the optimal conditions using ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) that yield the highest carotenoid content and better antioxidant activity from Citrus reticulata Blanco peels.
Response surface methodology (RSM) through Box–Behnken experimental design was used to optimise the conditions for carotenoid extraction using UAE. Hexane concentration, temperature, and sonication time were selected as the main factors.
The results revealed that all independent variables affected the responses. The optimal UAE conditions for hexane concentration, temperature, and sonication time were 60.76%, 36.45 °C, and 37.32 min, respectively. The values of total carotenoid content (TCC) and total antioxidant activity (TAA) obtained by UAE were higher than those obtained by the maceration extraction method.
It can be concluded that the medium and extraction parameters, including hexane concentration, temperature, and sonication time, significantly influenced the recovery of carotenoids and antioxidant activity. The optimisation study allowed determining the appropriate conditions to maximise both responses. Compared to conventional maceration, the UAE method was superior and more efficient for extracting carotenoids from C. reticulata Blanco peels.
Abstract
Food allergies became a major public health and food safety interest in the past decades as their prevalence is increasing, and their only available treatment is a strict elimination diet that necessitates appropriate food labelling regulations. While such regulations are available worldwide, most of them are not taking into account inadvertent allergen cross-contamination and they usually do not define threshold doses that could support the industry in their endeavour to provide reliable food labels for allergic consumers. This resulted in the proliferation of the “may contain” type precautionary allergen labelling (PAL), which is voluntary and is intended to warn consumers for potential unintended contamination with an otherwise undeclared allergen. As this kind of labelling is hardly ever based on actual risk assessment, it puts both the industry and the consumer into a difficult position. A promising tool towards the solution of this problem could be allergen threshold doses based on clinical data, which are becoming increasingly available. This review intends to present this process, the new ways of improved risk assessment it opens, and its implications for food analysis.
Abstract
This research paper exhibits the design of a V-shaped cantilever beam as a micro Energy Harvester (EH) having Piezoelectric (PZT) as its energy source for biomedical applications. PZT source based materials have the ability to convert the mechanical energy into electrical energy. Low-power biomedical devices mostly operate using electrical energy (i.e. batteries). But batteries are treated as a bio-hazard due to the massive use of biomedical applications. To overcome this toxic bio-hazard, the proposed PZT based V-shaped cantilever beam of micro EH can solve the limitations. To perform the experimental work, the cantilever beam design parameters - length, width and thickness have been considered and simulated using COMSOL Multiphysics to get the resonant frequency of 156.19 Hz which is lower than previous research work. It was observed that the obtained lower resonant frequency can be converted into AC voltage (mV) using PZT material. To convert the output AC voltage (mV) into DC voltage, a circuit of an Ultra-Low-Power (ULP) EH will be designed in LTSPICE software. Finally, the integration of the both V-shape cantilever beam and the ULP EH circuit will be implemented in PCB hardware to generate the output power (10 µW), will be stored in super-capacitor for biomedical devices-pacemaker.
Abstract
Side friction refers to combined variables indicating the degree of interaction between the activities and the traffic stream. The condition worsens when the transport demand and road-side activities increase, leading to inefficient traffic performance. This study has been focused on evaluating side friction impacts in terms of capacity and speed. Four links divided and undivided streets in Al-Najaf City, Iraq, were selected and on-street parking, pedestrian activities, entry-exit maneuvers, and temporary parking vehicles are considered as side friction elements. The results show about a 47% reduction in speed and about a 49% reduction in the capacity at a very high side friction level. Finally, a speed-predicting model has been developed for predicting the speed under side friction impacts.
Abstract
The multi-aquifer system of the Nubian aquifer in central Sudan hydrogeological system was simulated using a three-dimensional steady-state model. The goal of the study is to detect the effect of pumping on the groundwater flow and thus, the aquifer productivity. The conceptual model of the study area was built based on the available geological and hydrogeological data guided by geophysical survey. Processing MODFLOW numerical code was used to calculate the hydraulic head and water balance under the existing boundary conditions. The model accurately simulated the hydraulic head with a determination coefficient of 0.88. The calibrated model indicated that the change in storage is 0.56 m3/day indicating the study area constitutes highly productive zone and is recommended for groundwater developments.
Abstract
Real-time deformation measurements have the potential to be used in a wide range of civil and structural engineering applications. This paper introduces an algorithm that utilizes time-based photogrammetry to measure deformations in real-time. The hardware used in the algorithm consists of a camera and a computer that runs camera-control software and a MATLAB code. The code is responsible for detecting the approximate locations of the circular targets using normalized 2D cross-correlation and performing the sub-pixel measurement of the center by fitting an ellipse on the edges of the circular target. During an experimental load test of a concrete slab outfitted with Ringed Automated Detection targets, a series of images were taken at different loads. The coordinates of the targets were measured using the edge-ellipse operator, least-squares matching, and digital image correlation methods. The edge-ellipse operator has proven to be an effective method of measuring the image coordinates of circular targets.
Abstract
An experimental study was carried out on geo-polymer and reinforced concrete beams to evaluate the flexural behavior of the beams for the structural grade of M30 concrete. The results show that the geo-polymer concrete beams exhibit similar flexural strength when compared to reinforced concrete beams. The split tensile strength, stiffness characters, the energy capacity and ductility relationship were also found with satisfactory results. The deflection and the stiffness degradation at the salient stages were found to be similar and thus the geo-polymer concrete beams find a good alternative to reinforced concrete beams under flexural behavior.
Abstract
Recent studies showed a significant peak of the salt contamination in the Tisza River that exceeded ten times over the average level. The document summarizes the works performed on the investigation of ground displacement using multi-temporal satellite radar interferometry technique in Solotvyno mine located in Tiachiv region. Multi-temporal InSAR aims to identify coherent radar targets exhibiting high phase stability over the entire observation period and derives point data with locations corresponding mainly to the point-wise, man-made features. The middle area with no persecuted targets may correspond to the substantial physical changes of the surface caused by activities like mining or tunneling, adding, or removing structures or their components, and motion perceptible in one pixel.
Abstract
This project is the design of the tourism service station in the coastal park, which not only meets the basic functional requirements of the park service station but also reconfigures the station space with the regional cultural characteristics of Qingdao. The design process is mainly conceived in five aspects: locality, landscape, identity, symbolization, and diversification. It integrates the cultural characteristics of Qingdao coastal tourism with the park landscape to create a tourist rest space with diversified experiences. The purpose of this paper is to explore the interface between the stations' design and the various links of the cultural tourism industry chain. The project will be created as the “Window of Qingdao” in Baisha River Park.
Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the possibility of storage of mangoes (Mangifera indica L.) coated with chitosan-based nano-silver films. Chitosan-based nano-silver films were first made using chitosan with three degrees of deacetylation of 70, 80, and 90%. The films were then used for coating the mango fruits. All coated mangoes and the control samples were stored at 12 °C in a cooling room. The respiration rate, ethylene production rate, weight loss, firmness, total soluble solids, total acid, vitamin C, total sugar, and change of peel colour were evaluated once every 5 days during the storage period. As observed, the coating using the chitosan-based nano-silver films did not induce significant negative alterations on most of the physical characteristics and chemical constituents of the fruits. In addition, the coating using those materials helped reduce the respiration and the ethylene gas production and retard the ripening process of mango fruits. The chitosan-based films with higher deacetylation degrees (CN80 and CN90) better moderated the respiration of mangoes. The coating using chitosan-based nano-silver films prolonged the shelf-life of mangoes (up to 35 days) compared to the control (less than 10 days).
Abstract
The digital economy is increasingly seen as an essential cornerstone in developing national strategies and industrial policies to enhance national competitiveness. On the other hand, a realistic assessment of digital readiness is essential for developing appropriate policies. In our paper, we group the countries of the European Union (EU) using three different methods applied to a dataset consisting of the four main dimensions of the EU's Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) in order to identify Europe's main geographical “fault lines” in terms of digital readiness. DESI is a composite index aggregating several digitalization-related indicators to benchmark the progress of digital transformation in each member state. However, our methods aim not to rank countries but to identify groups of countries that are close to each other. The three methods used in the paper are partially ordered sets (poset), Tiered Data Envelopment Analysis (TDEA), and cluster analysis, known from multivariate statistics. The three types of clustering show a high degree of similarity, indicating the robustness of the results. Another research question relates to the extent to which the digital development of the EU Member States corresponds to the economic development of the countries and core–periphery relationships. While we can observe a high degree of similarity between the more and less developed clusters in terms of digital readiness and the groups that can be identified in terms of economic development and institutional quality, we also notice some peculiar exceptions (which could provide examples of best practices).
Abstract
In the event of a flammable liquid, gas, or vapor release the first step is to identify the type of outflow, which can fall into two categories sonic or subsonic. The two types of outflows carry different flow characteristics, which effect on the extent of the potentially explosive areas. In case of subsonic outflow, a short jet is formed without turbulent flow conditions at low velocity, which appears more concentrated around the source of release. With sonic outflow, a high velocity jet is formed with turbulent flow properties, which can extend further away from the source of release. The simulations examine the lower explosion limit of the flammable medium around the vessel where LEL20% or LEL40%. In addition, high temperature methane gas release was also presented.