International Journal of KIU Volume (2) Issue (2) December 2021

International Journal of KIU is a peer-reviewed multidisciplinary open access journal published online and bi-annually in print version. The Journal provides a research platform for the researchers and practitioners in all regions of the world thus contributing new insights into current and emerging concepts, theories, research and practice through diverse disciplines. The Journal maintains high quality standards by exercising peer review and editorial quality control. Facts and opinions in articles published on International Journal of KIU are solely the personal statements of respective authors. Authors are responsible for all contents in their article(s) including accuracy of the facts, statements, citing resources, and so on. International Journal of KIU and editors disclaim any liability of violations of other parties’ rights, or any damage incurred therefore to use or apply any of the contents of the International Journal of KIU. Material submitted to International Journal of KIU considered to be original and not published or submitted for publication elsewhere. All rights reserved by International Journal of KIU. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior permission in writing from the copyright holder. Special requests should be addressed to [email protected]

FaceBit

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically increased the use of face masks across the world. Aside from physical distancing, they are among the most effective protection for healthcare workers and the general population. Face masks are passive devices, however, and cannot alert the user in case of improper fit or mask degradation. Additionally, face masks are optimally positioned to give unique insight into some personal health metrics. Recognizing this limitation and opportunity, we present FaceBit: an open-source research platform for smart face mask applications. FaceBit's design was informed by needfinding studies with a cohort of health professionals. Small and easily secured into any face mask, FaceBit is accompanied by a mobile application that provides a user interface and facilitates research. It monitors heart rate without skin contact via ballistocardiography, respiration rate via temperature changes, and mask-fit and wear time from pressure signals, all on-device with an energy-efficient runtime system. FaceBit can harvest energy from breathing, motion, or sunlight to supplement its tiny primary cell battery that alone delivers a battery lifetime of 11 days or more. FaceBit empowers the mobile computing community to jumpstart research in smart face mask sensing and inference, and provides a sustainable, convenient form factor for health management, applicable to COVID-19 frontline workers and beyond.

Identification of Research Priorities during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Implications for Its Management

Novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a great impact on global production and life in the past period. Countless researchers devoted themselves to rescuing patients and reducing its impact. Analyzing the literature published during the pandemic and identifying the research priorities is of great significance to quickly discover research gaps, rationally allocate scientific research resources, and promote the development of the global research platform. To understand the swing of research priorities during the pandemic, this paper proposed a research priorities identification framework for pandemic based on scientific literature text analysis. Moreover, a research priority metric model was proposed to measure the characteristics of research priorities, and the empirical analysis from COVID-19 scientific literature was conducted to identify the research priorities during the pandemic. As a result, the research priorities identified by the method proposed in this paper discovered the fine-grained dynamic characteristics along with the process in the pandemic outbreak, and based on this, the emergency scientific research response strategies were discussed to give implications for the public health emergency scientific research and management.

SYSTEMATIZATION OF IDENTIFICATION CRITERIA AND POSITIONING PARAMETERS OF TERRITORIAL COMMUNITIES: INNOVATIVE ASPECT

The article deepens theoretical and methodical provisions on the attractive image formation for the territorial communities in terms of systematization of their identification criteria and positioning parameters, strengthened in this context local innovative aspect of the implementation of sustainable development concept. The theoretical and methodical provisions regarding the marketing tools of economic entities at the local level have been analysed, which made it possible to research the territorial community as a complex and innovatively active system characterized by emergence and synergistic metasystem connections between its elements that require ordering. This ordering became possible due to the methodological research platform, which based on the positions of the systemic and integrated approach, D. Forrester counterintuitive method of system dynamics, A. Marshall partial equilibrium approach and the principle of stable disequilibrium. The authors proved that the process of determining and ordering identification criteria and positioning parameters depends on the existing institutional frames for the functioning and development of territorial communities, which have a narrowing effect on the search opportunities and alternatives in choice. The discreteness of the coverage of the unique characteristics, which made it possible to distinguish the community among many others based on the established scientific hypothesis, justified the choice of 15 identification criteria and 13 positioning parameters that form the idea of a territorial unit. The provisions of the article systematized of certain criteria and parameters by constructing appropriate classification schemes based on a descending hierarchical chain of classification taxa “class – type – criterion / parameter – result (value) of criterion / parameter”. This made it possible to distinguish between the classes of identification criteria into key and auxiliary ones, and the classes of positioning parameters into single (quantitative) and complex (qualitative) ones. The article proves importance of the implementation of identification criteria and positioning parameters in the practice of the territorial communities strategizing to improve their innovative activity and determine key development positions in a strategic perspective.

Developing an environmental research platform in the Karoo at the Square Kilometre Array

A part of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will be constructed in the northern Karoo of South Africa on approximately 135 000 ha of land. This land is formerly privately owned rangelands (farms) that were purchased by the South African National Research Foundation (NRF), on which the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory, as part of the global SKA project, will erect the SKA infrastructure. Additionally, a long-term environmental research programme will be established to investigate various dryland ecosystem components at a landscape scale. Livestock has been removed from the farms, and the area is now managed by the South African National Parks (SANParks) as the Meerkat National Park. The land-use and land cover changes present an unprecedented opportunity to study ecosystem dynamics. The property will be established as an NRF science park, incorporating an SKA research platform for radio astronomy and an environmental research platform of the South African Environmental Observation Network, with additional environmental research conducted by SANParks and their collaborators. We briefly describe current knowledge of the area’s environment, and report on past and contemporary changes in this part of the Karoo. We present a conceptual model for the larger landscape which considers possible future land-use scenarios, the projected trajectories of change under these scenarios, and factors influencing these trajectories. These deliberations represent the foundation for future research in this landscape and the development of an environmental observation research platform in the Karoo at SKA.

You + ME Registry: A Research Platform to Facilitate Clinical and Therapeutic Discoveries in ME/CFS and Related Diseases

ME/CFS (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) is a chronic, complex, heterogeneous disease that affects millions and lacks both diagnostics and treatments. Big data, or the collection of vast quantities of data that can be mined for information, has transformed the understanding of many complex illnesses like cancer (1,2) and multiple sclerosis (3,4), by dissecting heterogeneity, identifying subtypes, and enabling the development of personalized treatments. It is possible that big data can reveal the same for ME/CFS. Solve M.E. developed and launched the You + ME Registry to collect longitudinal health data from people with ME/CFS, people with Long COVID (LC) and control volunteers using rigorous protocols designed to harmonize with other groups collecting data from similar groups of people. The Registry is an invaluable resource because it integrates with a symptom tracking app, as well as a biorepository, to provide a robust and rich dataset that is available to qualified researchers. Accordingly, it facilitates collaboration that may ultimately uncover causes and help accelerate the development of therapies.

Challenges and Experiences Extending the cBioPortal for Cancer Genomics to a Molecular Tumor Board Platform

In Molecular Tumor Boards (MTBs), therapy recommendations for cancer patients are discussed. To aid decision-making based on the patient’s molecular profile, the research platform cBioPortal was extended based on users’ requirements. Additionally, a comprehensive dockerized workflow was developed to support the deployment of cBioPortal and connected services. In this work, we present the challenges and experiences of nearly two years of implementing and deploying an MTB platform based on cBioPortal and compare those to findings of a previous study.

The Roles of Amphibian (Xenopus laevis) Macrophages during Chronic Frog Virus 3 Infections

Infections by Frog Virus 3 (FV3) and other ranavirus genus members are significantly contributing to global amphibian decline. The Xenopus laevis frog is an ideal research platform upon which to study the roles of distinct frog leukocyte populations during FV3 infections. Frog macrophages (MΦs) are integrally involved during FV3 infection, as they facilitate viral dissemination and persistence but also participate in immune defense against this pathogen. In turn, MΦ differentiation and functionality depend on the colony-stimulating factor-1 receptor (CSF-1R), which is ligated by CSF-1 and iterleukin-34 (IL-34) cytokines. Our past work indicated that X. laevis CSF-1 and IL-34 give rise to morphologically and functionally distinct frog MΦ subsets, and that these CSF-1- and IL-34-MΦs respectively confer susceptibility and antiviral resistance to FV3. Because FV3 targets the frog kidneys and establishes chronic infections therein, presently we examined the roles of the frog CSF-1- and IL-34-MΦs in seeding and maintaining these chronic kidney infections. Our findings indicate that the frog CSF-1-MΦs result in more prominent kidney FV3 infections, which develop into greater reservoirs of lingering FV3 marked by infiltrating leukocytes, fibrosis, and overall immunosuppressive states. Moreover, the antiviral effects of IL-34-MΦs are short-lived and are lost as FV3 infections progress.

Codemeshing or Linguistic Purity: A Case Study of Wechat Languaging among Youngsters

What are the specific manifestations of the codemeshing? In Wechat, how is this performance further reflected? What is the modality frequently used by youngsters? What are the characteristics of this modality and how do they realize? How do youngsters treat language? These seemingly simple questions are actually a profound discussion of social and cultural phenomena. This study seeks to solve these problems. The case in this research comes from a group of 23-27-year-old postgraduates of English major, taking the currently widely used social media---WeChat as the research platform, using case studies as research method, and Vygotsky’s Social and Cultural Theory as well as the Visual Grammar under the multi-modal analysis framework as the theoretical support, with a combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis, tries to analyze codemeshing discourse, and conclude with the youngsters’ attitude towards language to explore language development issues.