Impact of Carbon-Based Nanoparticles on Polyvinyl Alcohol Polarizer Features: Photonics Applications.

Among different inorganic and organic polarizer elements, thin-film light polarizers occupy a special place because of their flexibility, ease of integration into any optoelectronic circuit, and good functioning in the visible and near-infrared spectral range and can compete with Glan and Nicolas volumetric prisms. This paper presents the results of a study on how carbon-based nanoparticles influence on the basic properties of a well-known PVA-based polymer matrix, using which it is possible to obtain good transparency for parallel light components. An accent is made on graphene oxide nanoparticles, which are used as PVA sensitizers.

Modified Nested Barker Codes for Ultra-Wideband Signal-Code Constructions.

Currently, various applications of ultra-wideband signal-code constructions are among the most vibrant technologies, being implemented in very different fields. The purpose of this research consists of analyzing Barker codes and searching for the optimal nested representations of them. We also aim to synthesize signal-code constructions based on the tenets of nesting of alternative modified Barker codes, which employ an asymmetric alphabet.

Search and Study of Marked Code Structures for a Spatially Distributed System of Small-Sized Airborne Radars.

When forming the radar situation of a terrain, in order to increase its information content and to extract useful information, multi-position spatially distributed systems for integrating multi-angle radar data established by small-sized UAV-based airborne radars are used. In this case, each radar station belonging to a multi-position system as a probing signal must have its own unique marked signal. Such a setup will allow the signals reflected from ground objects and zones to be "attached" to specific receiving-transmitting positions of the multi-position system.

Deep Learning in Precision Agriculture: Artificially Generated VNIR Images Segmentation for Early Postharvest Decay Prediction in Apples.

Food quality control is an important task in the agricultural domain at the postharvest stage for avoiding food losses. The latest achievements in image processing with deep learning (DL) and computer vision (CV) approaches provide a number of effective tools based on the image colorization and image-to-image translation for plant quality control at the postharvest stage. In this article, we propose the approach based on Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) and Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) techniques to use synthesized and segmented VNIR imaging data for early postharvest decay and fungal zone predictions as well as the quality assessment of stored apples.

Algebraic Multi-Layer Network: Key Concepts.

The paper refers to interdisciplinary research in the areas of hierarchical cluster analysis of big data and ordering of primary data to detect objects in a color or in a grayscale image. To perform this on a limited domain of multidimensional data, an NP-hard problem of calculation of close to piecewise constant data approximations with the smallest possible standard deviations or total squared errors () is solved. The solution is achieved by revisiting, modernizing, and combining classical Ward's clustering, split/merge, and K-means methods.

Broadcast Propagation Time in SpaceFibre Networks with Various Types of Spatial Redundancy.

Various methods of spatial redundancy can be used in local networks based on the SpaceFibre standard for fault mitigation of network hardware and physical communication channels. Usually, a network developer chooses the method of spatial redundancy according to the number of failures that have to be mitigated, the time required for restoring the normal operation of the network, required overheads and hardware costs. The use of different spatial redundancy mechanisms can cause changes in the structure of the links between network nodes, in case of failure and subsequent mitigation.

Color Reproduction by Multi-Wavelength Bragg Diffraction of White Light.

Accurate color reproduction is highly important in multiple industrial, biomedical and scientific applications. Versatile and tunable light sources with high color-rendering quality are very much in demand. In this study, we demonstrate the feasibility of multi-wavelength Bragg diffraction of light for this task.

Choosing the optimal mandible position for inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) using finite element analysis.

Background: One of the most popular methods of local anesthesia in dentistry, inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) involves the blockade of the inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) and lingual nerve (LN) in the pterygomandibular space. Despite the large number of works describing the contents of this space, the spatial displacements of the anatomical structures of this area at different positions of the mandible have not been sufficiently studied. The aim of our study was to study the spatial movements of the IAN and inferior alveolar artery (IAA) at various positions of the mandible using computer simulation and finite element analysis to find the safest way to conduct IANB.

A Model of Pixel and Superpixel Clustering for Object Detection.

The paper presents a model of structured objects in a grayscale or color image, described by means of piecewise constant image approximations, which are characterized by the minimum possible approximation errors for a given number of pixel clusters, where the means the total squared error. An ambiguous image is described as a non-hierarchical structure but is represented as an ordered superposition of object hierarchies, each containing at least one optimal approximation in = 1, 2,..

Concerns and Challenges Related to Sputnik V Vaccination Against the Novel COVID-19 Infection in the Russian Federation: The Role of Mental Health, and Personal and Social Issues as Targets for Future Psychosocial Interventions.

Background: Vaccine hesitancy causes serious difficulties in vaccination campaigns in many countries. The study of the population's attitude toward vaccination and detection of the predictive important individual psychological and social factors defining the vaccination necessity perception will allow elaborating promoting vaccination adherence measures.

Objectives: The aim of this research was to study COVID-19 threat appraisal, fear of COVID-19, trust in COVID-19 information sources, COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs, and the relationship of sociodemographic variables to COVID-19 preventive behavior.

Formation of Fused Images of the Land Surface from Radar and Optical Images in Spatially Distributed On-Board Operational Monitoring Systems.

This paper considers the issues of image fusion in a spatially distributed small-size on-board location system for operational monitoring. The purpose of this research is to develop a new method for the formation of fused images of the land surface based on data obtained from optical and radar devices operated from two-position spatially distributed systems of small aircraft, including unmanned aerial vehicles. The advantages of the method for integrating information from radar and optical information-measuring systems are justified.

Environmental Monitoring with Distributed Mesh Networks: An Overview and Practical Implementation Perspective for Urban Scenario.

Almost inevitable climate change and increasing pollution levels around the world are the most significant drivers for the environmental monitoring evolution. Recent activities in the field of wireless sensor networks have made tremendous progress concerning conventional centralized sensor networks known for decades. However, most systems developed today still face challenges while estimating the trade-off between their flexibility and security.

Positioning Information Privacy in Intelligent Transportation Systems: An Overview and Future Perspective.

Today, the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) are already in deep integration phase all over the world. One of the most significant enablers for ITS are vehicle positioning and tracking techniques. Worldwide integration of ITS employing Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) and European standard for vehicular communication, known as ETSI ITS-G5, brings a variety of options to improve the positioning in areas where GPS connectivity is lacking precision.