**4.2 Six rotors tracking**

This experiment has the particularity of that the UAV to avoid detection flies hidden behind the trees, after which it starts a free flight. And in both cases the particle estimator is able to detect when only one part of its image visible. From the moment of the first detection the particle estimator remains locked throughout the entire flight. The **Figure 8** shows part of the frames sequence of the flight, from left to right and from top to bottom the "UAV" first flying behind the trees, while the particle estimator begins distributing the particles in the largest possible area of the screen, after the third frame, and with the "UAV" still largely behind the trees, the particle estimator still able to detect it and "hook" it as soon as it partially appears.

From the fourth frame the estimator remains locked during the whole flight, especially when the occlusion free flight is carried out, and the tracking is always right.


4.7.4. Western Blot Analysis

Protein expression levels of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), and Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap1) were analyzed via western blotting. Cells were seeded in 6 well culture plates and samples were treated given 24 h period, following 1 h incubation cells were stimulated with H2O2. Cells were harvested after complete incubation and lysed. Protein content was measured and standardized. Following electrophoresis, it was transferred on to nitrocellulose membranes. Blocked membranes (5% skim milk) were incubated with primary and secondary antibodies step wisely (Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Paso Robles, CA, USA). The bands were developed and photographed via a FUSION SOLO Vilber Lourmat system. ImageJ program was assisted in the quantification of the band intensities [55,56].

#### *4.8. In Vivo Antioxidant E*ff*ects of PBP Using Zebrafish Model*


**5.2. Omphalocele**

#### *5.2.1. Pregnancy management*

Omphalocele and gastroschisis are the most common fetal abdominal wall defects. By the end of the first trimester (11–14 weeks), almost all omphaloceles can be detected by prenatal ultrasound examination [77].

• Genetic assessment. Multiple chromosomal abnormalities have been reported among fetuses with omphalocele. As many as 60% of omphaloceles not containing liver are associated with fetal aneuploidy, particularly trisomy 18 or 13 [77, 78]. Fetal genetic studies should be offered if omphalocele or related body wall defects are identified prenatally, because of the high risk of aneuploidy. It is reasonable to offer amniocentesis for genetic testing for Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, but this testing is complicated and should be discussed with a geneticist [77]. There is a 10–20% risk of Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome in fetuses with apparently isolated omphalocele on ultrasound.

#### *5.2.2. Delivery management*

the biparietal diameter, occipitofrontal diameter, and femur length measurements [76]. Oligohydramnios may be related to fetal growth restriction and is a risk factor for cord compression and its sequelae. Polyhydramnios is less common, but an important finding because it is often caused by dysfunction of the gastrointestinal tract due to bowel

• Assessment of fetal bowel. Gastric dilatation, bowel dilatation, and bowel wall thickening have been considered poor prognostic signs by several investigators [73]. If these significant changes are observed prior to 34 weeks, a course of glucocorticoids is suggested for

• Antepartum fetal surveillance. Fetal growth restriction and amniotic fluid abnormalities are commonly accepted indications for increased antepartum fetal surveillance. The pre-

Gastroschisis increases the risk of preterm delivery; delivery should occur in a facility with appropriate resources for caring for these neonates. Gastroschisis alone is not an indication

The decision on timing of delivery is based on a combination of factors, including gestational age, ultrasound findings (fetal growth profile, AFV, appearance of fetal bowel), and fetal testing results (NST, BPP, umbilical cord Doppler if fetal growth restriction is present). In the absence of standard obstetric indications for abdominal delivery, a trial of labor rather than scheduled cesarean birth for most patients is suggested. Cesarean delivery is reasonable if the liver is significantly herniated because of the theoretic risk of dystocia and trauma. Delivery of pregnancies complicated by fetal gastroschisis at 37 or 38 weeks of gestation is suggested to minimize neonatal morbidity and mortality and avoid the possibility of term (39–40 weeks) stillbirth; however, there is no consensus on the optimum timing of delivery

Omphalocele and gastroschisis are the most common fetal abdominal wall defects. By the end of the first trimester (11–14 weeks), almost all omphaloceles can be detected by prenatal

• Genetic assessment. Multiple chromosomal abnormalities have been reported among fetuses with omphalocele. As many as 60% of omphaloceles not containing liver are associated with fetal aneuploidy, particularly trisomy 18 or 13 [77, 78]. Fetal genetic studies should be offered if omphalocele or related body wall defects are identified prenatally, because of the high risk of aneuploidy. It is reasonable to offer amniocentesis for genetic testing for Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, but this testing is complicated and should be discussed

atresia [73].

fetal maturation [73].

490 Congenital Anomalies - From the Embryo to the Neonate

*5.1.2. Delivery management*

of these pregnancies [73].

*5.2.1. Pregnancy management*

ultrasound examination [77].

**5.2. Omphalocele**

cise timing and frequency of testing is arbitrary [73].

for preterm intervention or cesarean delivery [73].

Delivery should be planning at a tertiary care center. In the absence of standard indications for early delivery, it is reasonable to await spontaneous labor or achieve 39 weeks of gestation. Preterm birth offers no advantage to affected neonates and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. There is no evidence that cesarean delivery improves outcome in uncomplicated omphalocele; surgery should be reserved for usual obstetric indications [77]. However, some pediatric surgeons have recommended cesarean delivery for fetuses with giant omphaloceles (defined as an omphalocele containing >75% of the liver and defect greater than 5 cm) in an attempt to avoid dystocia, rupture, infection, and hemorrhage [80]. Visceral trauma has also been reported after cesarean delivery [77].


*Edited by Yo-Sung Ho*

This book aims to bring together recent advances and applications of video coding. All chapters can be useful for researchers, engineers, graduate and postgraduate students, experts in this area, and hopefully also for people who are generally interested in video coding. The book includes nine carefully selected chapters. The chapters deal with advanced compression techniques for multimedia applications, concerning recent video coding standards, high efficiency video coding (HEVC), multiple description coding, region of interest (ROI) coding, shape compensation, error resilient algorithms for H.264/AVC, wavelet-based coding, facial video coding, and hardware implementations. This book provides several useful ideas for your own research and helps to bridge the gap between the basic video coding techniques and practical multimedia applications. We hope this book is enjoyable to read and will further contribute to video coding.

ISBN 978-953-51-0929-7

Advanced Video Coding for Next-Generation Multimedia Services

Photo by ayvengo / iStock


*Edited by Hülya Şenol*

There is a growing realization that the role of educational leaders has been undergoing many changes in the era of globalization due to the diverse needs and expectations of the stakeholders of education. Schools have different specific needs due to their demographical structure, the academic achievement level of students, the experience of teachers and parental involvement and they need educational leaders who can transform and develop schools. This book intends to provide the reader with a comprehensive overview of the expected responsibilities and features of school leaders in the context of the different models of educational leadership. Scholars from different countries share their opinions about the challenges faced by the school leaders as principals, teachers, students, school committees, and boards in schools; the importance of leader preparation and the need for the professional development of educational leaders.

Published in London, UK © 2020 IntechOpen © Vincent Guth / unsplash

Educational Leadership

Educational Leadership

*Edited by Hülya Şenol*


2.2.4. Cross-Reactivity of the Antisera with Zearalenone Derivatives

Inhibition of the antiserum by metabolites and structural analogues of ZON was also determined under optimized assay conditions. ZON is metabolized mostly through hydrolysis mainly to β- and α-zearalenol in yeast and ovine species, respectively [71,72]. Thus, IC50 values by ZON metabolites and their reduced derivatives (α- and β zearalenol, α- and β-zearalanol, zearalanone) were determined in the immunoassay by absorbance and fluorescence and relative cross-reactivities (considering inhibition by ZON as 100%) are listed in Table 2. The results indicate that the antibodies appear to be most sensitive to the presence of the unsaturation in the resorcyclic lactone ring and exhibit lower affinity to hydroxy metabolites. Stereoconfiguration of the hydroxyl group also occurs to influence recognition.

**Table 2.** Percentage cross-reactivity (CR%) of the antiserum with zearalenone and its derivatives determined by fluorescence and absorbance.

1 IC50: half maximal inhibitory concentration; 2 CR%: Cross-reactivity defined as the percentage ratio of the IC50 values of zearalenone and of the given derivative.


**3.2. Oxytocin receptor antagonists**

Atosiban is an oxytocin receptor antagonist and presents minimum side effects to both mother and fetus in inhibition of preterm labor. This is a positive aspect, since it leads to a better acceptance and compliance to treatment [39].

to approve it as a tocolytic due to the results of one trial, which questioned safety of this drug in pregnancies before 28 weeks. Perhaps, these findings can be explained by the concentration

**Table 3.** Principal drugs used nowadays in tocolysis, with recommended regimen dose and important characteristics

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In UNIFESP, as in Europe, this tocolytic class is considered an interesting choice, and its administration begins with a bolus of 6.75 mg followed by a 300 mcg/min infusion for 3 hours

of oxytocin receptors that increases as more advanced the pregnancy is [41].

and then 100 mcg/min for up to 45 hours [40].

of them.

Meanwhile, this medication has a high cost and is administered intravenously. In the United States, atosiban is not available, because the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) refused

The main goal of tocolysis is not to prevent preterm delivery, once the effectiveness for it is not proven [33]. However, tocolytic drugs can postpone delivery in 48 hours to 7 days, which is essential to manage antenatal corticosteroids to accelerate fetal pulmonary maturation and

Tocolytic drugs should be administered when there is a clear benefit to the newborn, once the majority of these drugs has side effects to the mother and, sometimes, also to the fetus. So, it can be used from viability (23–24 weeks of pregnancy) until the 34th week, as most guideline recommendations propose. In special cases, they can also be used before viability, for example, in patients after an intra-abdominal surgery, when the cause of preterm labor is

Contraindications for tocolytics include lethal fetal anomaly, preterm premature rupture of membranes, chorioamnionitis, severe preeclampsia and eclampsia, maternal hemorrhage with hemodynamic instability, suspected placental abruption, intrauterine fetal demise, and

Nowadays, the main drugs used in tocolysis are beta-agonists (as terbutaline), calcium channel blockers (as nifedipine), cyclooxygenase inhibitors (as indomethacin), and oxytocin recep-

The ACOG recommends as first-line treatment in acute preterm labor in multiple pregnancy calcium channel blockers and cyclooxygenase inhibitors due to fewer side effects of these drugs [7]. In UNIFESP, the preference is for calcium channel blockers and oxytocin receptor

The main drug of this class used in preterm birth inhibition is nifedipine, and many dosing regimens were proposed. Among tocolytics, nifedipine was the only drug that seems to statis-

In addition to being inexpensive, nifedipine is also administered orally and has less adverse maternal effects when compared to beta-agonists. When present, hypotension, flush, and

The recommendation in UNIFESP is an initial dose of 10 mg orally every 20 minutes (maximum of 30 mg in 1 hour) until inhibition is reached, followed by 20 mg orally every 8 hours

Atosiban is an oxytocin receptor antagonist and presents minimum side effects to both mother and fetus in inhibition of preterm labor. This is a positive aspect, since it leads to a better

Meanwhile, this medication has a high cost and is administered intravenously. In the United States, atosiban is not available, because the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) refused

tically reduce neonatal morbidity and to increase gestational age at birth [38, 39].

to transfer the patients to a tertiary care center when necessary [34, 35].

self-limited [34, 36, 37].

196 Multiple Pregnancy - New Challenges

antagonists.

compromised fetal status [34].

**3.1. Calcium channel blockers**

for up to 48 hours [40].

headaches usually are not severe [37, 39].

**3.2. Oxytocin receptor antagonists**

acceptance and compliance to treatment [39].

tor antagonist (as atosiban), as exposed in **Table 3**.

**Table 3.** Principal drugs used nowadays in tocolysis, with recommended regimen dose and important characteristics of them.

to approve it as a tocolytic due to the results of one trial, which questioned safety of this drug in pregnancies before 28 weeks. Perhaps, these findings can be explained by the concentration of oxytocin receptors that increases as more advanced the pregnancy is [41].

In UNIFESP, as in Europe, this tocolytic class is considered an interesting choice, and its administration begins with a bolus of 6.75 mg followed by a 300 mcg/min infusion for 3 hours and then 100 mcg/min for up to 45 hours [40].

## **3.3. Beta-agonists**

The beta2-agonists cause relaxation of the myometrium, and the most studied drugs of this tocolytic class were terbutaline and ritodrine, which is no more commercialized in the United States. development between the 24th and 34th week of gestation [46] and reduce mortality of the preterm infant after delivery [47]. An important consequence of lung immaturity in preterm birth is the respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), and it is the great responsibility for the early neonatal mortality and the high cost of neonatal intensive care [47]. Preterm babies present higher risk of neurological impairment [48], which is the reason why the strategies for reduction of the risk of neonatal RDS and IVH in preterm delivery have received considerable

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A single course of corticosteroids reduces the risk of RDS from 40 to 21% in babies born before 32 weeks of gestation [46]. In recent publication (2017) of Cochrane Reviews*,* it was observed that treatment with antenatal corticosteroids was associated with an overall average reduction in IVH of 45%, average reduction in RDS of 34%, moderate to severe RDS was reduced to 41% compared with no exposure to antenatal corticosteroids, with less need for neonatal respiratory support, with a reduction in the need for mechanical ventilation/CPAP, fewer infants receiving corticosteroids needed surfactant, and was associated with a reduction in

However, an experimental study in Wistar rats in UNIFESP [50] evidenced that the groups presented different numbers of apoptotic neurons in the hippocampus, more precisely on the region named cornu ammonis 1 (CA1) and dentate gyrus (DG) after a single course of corticosteroids. The number of apoptotic neurons in the DG region was increased after corticosteroid use (by directly receptor activation), which caused, probably, the decrease in cell death in the

The increased apoptosis in DG and reduced cell death in the CA1 region can indicate the existence of an indirect compensatory pattern (statistically significant difference). A new balance was obtained in different areas of the hippocampus. There is no evidence in literature that the decrease in the number of apoptotic cells in CA1 is due to direct action of betamethasone, but the results suggest that this minor mortality is a compensation of a previous lesion in DG [50]. It is possible that inconclusive data referred to neurodevelopmental latency after corticosteroids (RR 0.64) described in Cochrane Review (**Table 4**), can be justified by abnormal

Another important finding was described in a multicenter, cluster-randomized trial, within six countries (Argentina, Zambia, India, Kenya, Pakistan, and Guatemala) to standard care or an multifaceted intervention with teaching pregnant women how and when to use corticosteroids, including facilitation of the antenatal corticosteroid use with distribution of a kit with drug, material, and knowledge for application. The primary outcome was 28-day neonatal

Fifty control clusters with 50,743 livebirths (2258 less than 5th percentile for birthweight [4%]) and 51 intervention clusters with 47,394 livebirths (2520 less than 5th percentile [5%]) completed follow-up. About 45% (1052/2327) of women in intervention clusters who delivered less-than-5th-percentile infants received antenatal corticosteroids compared with 10%

the incidence of necrotizing enterocolitis, as shown in **Table 4** [2].

mortality among infants less than the 5th percentile for birthweight.

attention [49].

CA1, as a compensatory reaction.

neuronal apoptosis in the hippocampus.

(215/2062) in control clusters (p < 0·0001).

Although efficient in postpone preterm labor, terbutaline is also known by many side effects to the mother (as tachycardia, tremor, palpitations, dyspnea, hyperglycemia and pulmonary edema) and to the fetus (tachycardia and neonatal hypoglycemia) [41, 42]. So, if possible, in multiple pregnancy, beta-agonists should be avoided to inhibit preterm labor.

In UNIFESP, when necessary, for example, in the absence of calcium channel blockers and atosiban, terbutaline is used by continuous intravenous infusion. The starting dose is 2.5–5 mcg/min, increasing 2.5–5 mcg/min every 20–30 minutes until inhibition has been reached (maximum dose is 25 mcg/min), and maintain this dose for 12 hours. Then, the infusion can be decreased 2.5–5 mcg/min every 20–30 minutes, and the minimum dose of terbutaline is maintained for more 12 hours [40].


**3. Knowledge required for users related to an accessible virtual campus**

Once a virtual campus reaches an acceptable level of accessibility, this accessibility must be constantly maintained. The content and learning material published by the teachers and administrators will be periodically updated, and it is important to teach stakeholders on how to create and adapt learning content to be accessible following most used guidelines. Among the actions to be carried out periodically to maintain accessibility in a virtual campus are the following:

#### **3.1. Techniques for creating accessible documents**

It is important to take into consideration that when digital content is created by teachers or students in any type of format (textual, graphic, audio, or multimedia), it is necessary to keep in mind that final users of such content may be people with physical, sensory, or cognitive limitations, who could find barriers to access the information. In fact, at some point in our lives, we all probably will have limitations that can affect our access to digital content. Among the difficulties that teachers are facing when preparing learning content in digital format is the diversity of authoring tools available to create the content. In [19], a collection of the basic considerations to create accessible digital content are presented and for diversity, the Acces‐ sible Digital Office Document (ADOD) initiative [20] prepared different recommendations based on the content creator used.

The Accessible Digital Office Documents (ADOD) Project [20] is an initiative created to provide guidelines on the accessibility of office documents, office document formats, and office applications independent of the tool used to create the content. ADOD provides both an "ADOD Assessment Framework" and a suite of practical guidance documents that are intended to help stakeholders in the educational process to make decisions about office applications. Currently, ADOD is based primarily on the WCAG and ATAG recommendations presented in Section 2.

The recommendations provided for office tools are also applicable to PDF documents. Among the recommendations to create accessible PDF documents with learning content, based on WCAG 2.0 guidelines [21], are the following:

WAI-ARIA also includes technologies to map controls, Ajax live regions, and events to accessibility application programming interfaces (APIs), including custom controls used for rich Internet applications. WAI-ARIA [16] techniques apply to widgets such as buttons, dropdown lists, calendar functions, tree controls (for example, expandable menus), and others

**3. Knowledge required for users related to an accessible virtual campus**

Once a virtual campus reaches an acceptable level of accessibility, this accessibility must be constantly maintained. The content and learning material published by the teachers and administrators will be periodically updated, and it is important to teach stakeholders on how to create and adapt learning content to be accessible following most used guidelines. Among the actions to be carried out periodically to maintain accessibility in a virtual campus are the

**•** Training for teachers and students in techniques for creating accessible digital contents

**•** Providing in the virtual campus the functionality of online accessibility checkers when final users work with basic actions such as uploading images and alternative text, providing

It is important to take into consideration that when digital content is created by teachers or students in any type of format (textual, graphic, audio, or multimedia), it is necessary to keep in mind that final users of such content may be people with physical, sensory, or cognitive limitations, who could find barriers to access the information. In fact, at some point in our lives, we all probably will have limitations that can affect our access to digital content. Among the difficulties that teachers are facing when preparing learning content in digital format is the diversity of authoring tools available to create the content. In [19], a collection of the basic considerations to create accessible digital content are presented and for diversity, the Acces‐ sible Digital Office Document (ADOD) initiative [20] prepared different recommendations

The Accessible Digital Office Documents (ADOD) Project [20] is an initiative created to provide guidelines on the accessibility of office documents, office document formats, and office applications independent of the tool used to create the content. ADOD provides both an "ADOD Assessment Framework" and a suite of practical guidance documents that are intended to help stakeholders in the educational process to make decisions about office applications. Currently, ADOD is based primarily on the WCAG and ATAG recommendations

context information for links, validating information in content editors, etc.

**•** Training for teachers in Universal Learning Design techniques

**3.1. Techniques for creating accessible documents**

based on the content creator used.

presented in Section 2.

usually available in virtual campuses so it is important that LMS administrators.

422 E-Learning - Instructional Design, Organizational Strategy and Management

following:

Besides the ADOD project and the recent book [19], other initiatives and guidelines for creating electronic documents accessible are found in [22–24].

As an alternative, authors can export a document in DAISY format, which is a good way to ensure that a document is accessible. DAISY is a multimedia format that maintains and promotes a system of Access to standard printed documents for blind, low vision or other problems. The format was developed by the DAISY consortium in 1996 and is currently based on the definition of ANSI/NISO Z39.86-2005 standard [25].

The text content can be exported in DAISY format with plug-ins for Word processors as Microsoft Office Word and LibreOffice Writer. This format can be tested with a DAISY complaint software, for example, the AMIS software (http:/www.daisy.org/amis). Exporting content to DAISY [25] format allows authors to check the accessibility of a document to a person with vision problems because the software prepares and audio book based on the content.

Administrators for a virtual campus based on learning management systems (LMS) should not assume that the users (e.g., teacher, instructor, tutor, student, etc.) have all the knowledge concerning WCAG guidelines or principles of Universal Learning Design. It is important to incorporate and provide descriptive aid in the different interfaces and provide validators to allow users to know whether the content is accessible based on the minimal requirements established by the educational institution.

Examples of basic functionality to be included to help final users creating contents are as follows:

#### **3.2. Automatic analysis using validation tools**

The evaluation of the accessibility of a virtual campus and its contents is performed in two main phases.

The first phase is proposed to use an online automatic validator based on the WCAG guide‐ lines. Some of the identified tools available online are as follows:

The assessment of accessibility should identify a simple of pages related to the main actions from users within the virtual campus. The main actions to be evaluated are as follows:

	- **a.** Visit the homepage of the educational institution.
	- **b.** Visit the accessibility information for the educational institution.
	- **c.** Pages that the user needs to visit to reach the virtual campus login pages.

incorporate and provide descriptive aid in the different interfaces and provide validators to allow users to know whether the content is accessible based on the minimal requirements

Examples of basic functionality to be included to help final users creating contents are as

**•** Basic code validator (HTML) included in WYSIWYG content editors usually used in application for discussion forums, wikis, information box, etc. (e.g., AChecker plug-in

The evaluation of the accessibility of a virtual campus and its contents is performed in two

The first phase is proposed to use an online automatic validator based on the WCAG guide‐

The assessment of accessibility should identify a simple of pages related to the main actions from users within the virtual campus. The main actions to be evaluated are as follows:

**•** Validator for images and alternative text aids for users editing content

**2.** Manual analysis/heuristic evaluation by experts and end users

lines. Some of the identified tools available online are as follows:

**•** CynthiaSays (based on WCAG 2.0) (www.cynthia-says.com)

**a.** Visit the homepage of the educational institution.

**•** Tingtun (based on WCAG 2.0) (accessibility.tingtun.no)

**•** HERA (based on WCAG 1.0) (www.sidar.com/hera)

**•** CSS validator (http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/)

**•** Examinator (based on WCAG 2.0 guidelines) (www.examinator.ws) **•** AChecker (based on WCAG 2.0, HTML y CSS) (www.achecker.ca)

**•** WebAim (Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool) (http://wave.webaim.org)

**b.** Visit the accessibility information for the educational institution.

**c.** Pages that the user needs to visit to reach the virtual campus login pages.

established by the educational institution.

(www.achecker.ca) for ATutor LMS)

**•** Validator for accessibility in equation writer editors

424 E-Learning - Instructional Design, Organizational Strategy and Management

**3.2. Automatic analysis using validation tools**

**1.** Automatic analysis with validation tools

**•** TAW (based on WCAG 2.0) (www.tawdis.net)

**•** HTML validator (http://validator.w3.org/)

**1.** Start using the virtual campus.

follows:

main phases.

	- **a.** Create and publish content in a course page.
	- **b.** Create content on the course with conditional availability (hide and enable content).
	- **c.** Create a task assignment.
	- **d.** Create a questionnaire with different types of questions.
	- **e.** Reorganize and sort items in the course menu.
	- **f.** Copy items from one section of the course to another section.
	- **g.** Login and manage the student gradebook.
	- **h.** Evaluate and comment a student assignment.

The pages included in the virtual campus (dynamic content and login required pages) usually cannot be verified easily by automatic analysis tools. To perform this analysis, it is possible to use installed tools as plug-ins (e.g., WAVE tool) or download the pages to be evaluated as static content.

The second phase of the evaluation is the heuristic evaluation by experts and end users. Automatic validation tools offer a partial view on the accessibility, but it is important to have a group of accessibility experts and final users with disabilities to test the main functions and have a contrasted opinion and recommendations to improve the accessibility of the virtual campus.


**8. Conclusions**

In the absence of any effective antiviral drug and vaccine (long term effect is not yet established) to prevent the infection, several approaches have been explored to reduce the duration of the disease course. One therapeutic approach that is being utilized globally is convalescent plasma therapy against nCoV-2019. Once the person recovers from nCoV-2019, the blood contains antibodies against the causative virus. In emergency situations, these antibodies can be given to other affected people to provide immediate immunity against the virus, reducing the severity and helping in faster recovery. FDA has not yet approved the use of CP as a treatment of nCoV-2019. It is administered under the EUA or an IND. However, further largescale, world-wide controlled clinical trials are needed to prove the efficacy of the CP therapy for the current pandemic.

#### **Acknowledgements**

The authors would like to thank all the researchers/clinicians/healthcare workers or frontline workers for their dedication and valuable contribution towards the society in this hard time. We would also like to thank Dr. Akhilesh Gupta, Adviser & Head, STIP Secretariat, DST, Govt of India for motivating the corresponding author to write this article.


**1. Introduction**

The *Journal of Risk and Financial Management (JRFM)* was inaugurated in 2008, and has continued to be published successfully, with Volume 13 being published in 2020. Since the journal was established, *JRFM* has published in excess of 350 topical and interesting theoretical and empirical papers in financial economics, financial econometrics, empirical finance, banking, finance, mathematical finance, statistical finance, accounting, decision sciences, information management, tourism economics and finance, international rankings of journals in financial economics, and bibliometric rankings of journals in cognate disciplines.

Papers published in the journal range from novel technical and theoretical papers to innovative empirical contributions. The journal/Special Issue wishes to encourage critical review papers on topical subjects in any of the topics mentioned above, in financial economics and in cognate disciplines.

The number of papers with more than 5000 views and/or downloads continues to increase, and stands at 9 at present. The most highly viewed paper garnered almost 14,000 views and well over 11,000 downloads, and the second most highly viewed paper had than 8000 views and around 5500 downloads. This is testimony to the excellent papers that are being submitted to the journal, and the outstanding efforts of all staff associated with the journal.

The Special Issue on "Review Papers for Journal of Risk and Financial Management (JRFM)" consists of 8 interesting and informative critical reviews of novel technical, innovative theoretical, and

new empirical contributions. The following section presents each of the eight papers, and discusses their significant contributions.

#### **2. Discussion of the Review Papers**

After the Editorial Note, the remaining seven papers are presented in chronological order.

The editorial by McAleer (2018) considers topical issues that have covered, among many others, risk measures, basis risk, default risk, competing risk, downside risk, upside risk, equity risk, risk calibration, optimal hedging, quadratic hedging, life insurance, reinsurance, financial distress, mergers and acquisitions, stock market integration, forecasting dispersion, stock market crashes, corporate risk and creditworthiness, corporate governance, sensitivity analysis, conserving capital, capital regulation, gammas and deltas, spot and futures markets, financial derivatives, exchange traded funds, generating latent variables, arbitrage, trading strategies, international diversification, domestic diversification, publicly traded companies, Bayesian models, and option pricing.

Moreover, the editorial describes interesting topics that include asymmetry and leverage, implied volatility, local volatility, conditional volatility, stochastic volatility, realized volatility, long memory volatility, collapsing bubbles, mean reversion, quantile regressions, factor analysis, fossil fuels, fertilizers, technical e fficiency, nonparametric analysis, entropy, oscillation, default models, executive compensation, portfolio optimization, stochastic dominance, higher-order stochastic dominance, equilibria, stochastic control, finite mixture models, interest rate derivatives, exchange rates, collateralized derivative trading, value-at-risk, conditional value-at-risk, expected shortfall, cross listings, Basel accord, heavy tails, skewness, and higher moments. Furthermore, other challenging topics that have been covered include network analysis, inflation, speculation, expectations, stress testing, credit default swaps, vine copulas, property portfolios, social capital, structured finance, credit scoring, fuzzy support vectors, board structures, firm performance, mortgages, neural networks, integration, fractional integration, cointegration, high frequency, ultrahigh frequency, cloud migration, insolvency, bankruptcies, crypto-currencies, safety evaluation, trade openness, emerging economies, sustainability, foreclosures, experimental evidence, innovations, simulations, text mining, learning, big data, computational science, marketing, management, psychology, contagion, and natural disasters.

The Editor-in-Chief and editorial sta ff of *JRFM* at MDPI look forward to working with potential authors of review papers, for which the editorial process will be handled e fficiently and in a timely manner.

The invaluable paper by Chang et al. (2018) provides a review of the literature that connects Big Data, Computational Science, Economics, Finance, Marketing, Management, and Psychology, and discusses research issues that are related to the various disciplines. Academics could develop theoretical models and subsequent econometric and statistical models to estimate the parameters in the associated models, as well as conduct a simulation to examine whether the estimators in their theories on estimation and hypothesis testing have good size and high power. Thereafter, academics and practitioners could apply theory to analyze some interesting issues in the seven disciplines and cognate areas.

The interesting paper by Barth and Miller (2018) notes that, after the Latin American Debt Crisis of 1982, the o fficial response worldwide turned to minimum capital standards to promote stable banking systems. Despite their existence, however, such standards have still not prevented periodic disruptions in the banking sectors of various countries. After the 2007–2009 crisis, bank capital requirements have, in some cases, increased, and overall have become even more complex. This paper reviews how:

The informative paper by Marak and Pillai (2019) observes that, in the current highly competitive and fast-changing business environment, in which the optimization of all resources matters, creating an e fficient supply chain is crucial. Earlier studies on supply chains have focused on aligning product/services and information flows, while neglecting the financial aspects. Due to this, in recent times, importance has been given to align financial flows with the other components of the supply chain. The interest in supply chain finance rose after the financial crisis, when the bank loans declined considerably, as the need for better management and the optimization of working capital became obvious.

The paper reviews the articles on supply chain finance based on three themes—factors, outcomes, and solutions—while at the same time, providing directions for future research on supply chain finance. This article is unique, as it investigates the factors a ffecting supply chains, according to the existing literature. It also sheds light on the outcome of the supply chain, without limiting the discussion only to the benefits. Further, it addresses the question: what are the solutions constituting supply chain finance?

Sun et al. (2019) evaluate that the notable literature on portfolio selection and risk measurement has considerably advanced in recent years. The aim of the present paper is to trace the development of the literature and identify areas that require further research. This paper provides a literature review of the characteristics of financial data, commonly used models of portfolio selection, and portfolio risk measurement. In the summary of the characteristics of financial data, we summarize the literature on fat tail and the dependence characteristic of financial data.

In the portfolio selection model part, we cover three models: mean-variance model, global minimum variance (GMV) model and factor model. In the portfolio risk measurement part, we first classify risk measurement methods into two categories: moment-based risk measurement and moment-based and quantile-based risk measurement. Moment-based risk measurement includes time-varying covariance matrix and shrinkage estimation, while moment-based and quantile-based risk measurement includes semi-variance, VaR and CVaR.

In an informative paper, Ying et al. (2019) examine the expansion of investment strategies and capital markets as altering the significance and empirical rationality of the e fficient market hypothesis. The vitality of capital markets is essential for e fficiency research. The authors explore here the development and contemporary status of the e fficient market hypothesis, by emphasizing anomaly/excess returns. Investors often fail to get excess returns; however, thus far, market anomalies have been witnessed, and stock prices have diverged from their intrinsic value.

The paper presents an analysis of anomaly returns in the presence of the theory of the e fficient market. Moreover, the market e fficiency progression is reviewed, and its present status is explored. Finally, the authors provide enough evidence of a data snooping issue, which violates and challenges the existing proof, and creates room for replication studies in modern finance.

Patil and Rastogi (2019) conduct an informative review of the literature on the price–volume relationship and its relation to the implications of the adaptive market hypothesis. The literature on market e fficiency is classified as e fficient market hypothesis (EMH) studies or adaptive market hypothesis (AMH) studies. Under each class, studies are categorized, either as return predictability studies or price–volume relationship studies. Finally, the review in each category is analyzed based on the methodology used. The review shows that the literature on return predictability and price–volume relationship in classical EMH approach is extensive, while studies in return predictability in the AMH approach have gained increased attention in the last decade.

However, the studies in price–volume relationship under adaptive approach are limited, and there is a scope for studies in this area. Authors did not find any literature review on time-varying price–volume relationship. Authors find that there is a scope to study the nonlinear cross–correlation between price and volume using detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA)-detrended cross-correlational analysis (DXA) in the AMH domain. Furthermore, it would be interesting to investigate whether the

same cross-correlation holds across di fferent measures of stock indices, within a country and across di fferent time scales.

Zaremba (2019) provides and interesting review of the last three decades, that have brought mounting evidence regarding the cross-sectional predictability of country equity returns. The studies not only documented country-level counterparts of well-established stock-level anomalies, such as size, value, or momentum, but also demonstrated some unique return-predicting signals, such as fund flows or political regimes. Nonetheless, the di fferent studies vary remarkably in terms of their dataset and methods employed.

The authors provide a comprehensive review of the current literature on the cross-section of country equity returns. We focus on three particular aspects of the asset pricing literature. First, we study the choice of dataset and sample preparation methods. Second, we survey di fferent aspects of the methodological approaches. Last but not least, we review the country-level equity anomalies discovered so far. The discussed cross-sectional return patterns not only provide new insights into international asset pricing, but can also be potentially translated into e ffective country allocation strategies.

**Funding:** For financial support, the author wishes to acknowledge the Australian Research Council and the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), Taiwan.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The author declares no conflict of interest.


**10. Endotyping**

In 2018, Consortium of Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Disease Researchers analyzed endoscopic and histological features in patients with EoE using eosinophilic esophagitis diagnostic panel (EDP) which is a set of 96 informative transcripts. The EoE endoscopic reference score (EREFS), EoE histology scoring system (HSS), quantification of esophageal eosinophils and molecular features were assessed. The EDP identified clear signature of 3 distinct endotypes of EoE [29]:


Therefore, average time required for battery charging = [(27 � 157)/60]h = 70.65 h.

Experimental observation:

It takes 8.1 h to charge 1 V of the battery [from the previous result section]. Moreover, after 5 V, it takes 18.8 h to charge another 0.5 V.

Therefore, total estimated battery charging hour = [(8.1 � 5) + (18.8 � 2)]h = 78.1 h.

Percentage of error:

$$\text{Percentage of Error, POE} = \frac{(|70.65 - 78.1|)}{70.65} \times \mathbf{100\%} = \mathbf{10.54\%} \tag{3}$$

would result in damaging the battery. As far as wind speed of 4 m/s was concerned, the energy harvesting circuit, taking only 10.4 h to charge up the battery, again showed an excellent performance of 31% efficiency comparing with direct charging that took a straight 15 h lap. For 3 m/s, the energy harvesting circuit still held the top position

Supercapacitor-Based Hybrid Energy Harvesting for Low-Voltage System

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.71565

19

To recapitulate, this research provides an excellent novel idea of a stand-alone Maglevbased VAWT system connected to a PMSG that can harvest energy via Supercap-based battery charging circuit in low wind areas of rural areas. Research contribution is original, and it gives an outstanding foundation for future study in energy harvesting for low wind

The entire research had not been absolutely smooth all throughout and naturally it faced few

i. Firstly, turbine blade design was not taken into consideration in the simulation. As there was no proper mathematical model that relates turbine blade number to output torque or power, the simulation therefore did not account for blade design although it could give better performance if blade number was included in the design. It was not possible to apply finite element analysis (FEA) on turbine blades due to lack of time. Moreover, the position of blade, cut-in angle and vibration analysis of the turbine could be done with FEA. Surely it could have given a wider research scope area on modeling, and blade material could have been brought into the optimization

ii. Moreover, DC/DC boost converter used in this research did not perform well according to the data sheet in its minimum range. As it was stated in the data sheet, the converter can step up voltage from as low as 2.5 V, practically it could not step up voltage less than 4 V. Therefore, the Supercap charging range was made from 4 to 7.5 V, which should have

Conventional DC/DC boost converter is to be replaced with the efficient one, which is specifically designed to work with voltage as low as 2–3 V. This will help Supercap to discharge even more and will play a vital role while dealing with low wind. All these changes will improve the system and should make it capable of performing at 2 m/s. Since most of the electronic devices operate at 12 V, a second DC/DC converter may be placed to charge a 12 V battery

Laptop should be replaced with wireless system in the future. A real-time wireless monitoring interface could be made available. Embedded solutions providing wireless end point connec-

handsomely with 28% efficiency in comparison with direct charging.

The limitations of the developed system and technique are listed below:

been 3–7.5 V. This had a direct effect on system efficiency.

tivity to devices like XBEE modules can be of use in cases like this.

process for a better configuration.

rural areas.

ups and downs.

5. Future work

from the current 6 V-led acid battery.

The voltage drops in boost converter and MOSFET switch are the main reasons for difference in theoretical and experimental values.

Direct charging without converter:

The battery takes 15 h to charge 1 V from the turbine until 5 V. After 5 V, it takes 24.2 h to charge 0.5 V.

Therefore, average time required for battery charging = [(15 � 5) + (24.2 � 2)]h = 123 h

Efficiency of Supercap � based Battery Charging Circuit ¼ ð Þ j123 � 78:1j 123 � 100% ¼ 36% (4)

#### 4. Conclusion

As a conclusion to this research, the achievements are reviewed in terms of research objectives. This consequently facilitates the system, and results are to be analyzed in terms of the percentage and degree of the research objectives that were achieved. Three cases had been compared for performance analysis. "Case A" showed a battery of 6 V, 3.2 AH, being charged from 4.2 to 5 V through a DC/DC converter followed by a series of four Supercaps. "Case B" and "Case C" demonstrated the direct charging of the battery, where "Case B" was experimented with the converter and "Case C" was without converter. Investigation was carried for 3, 4 and 5 m/s wind speed. "Case C" was taken as a reference. For a wind speed of 5 m/s, the result showed an increase of 19% of the charging time for Case A while charging through the Supercap. It took only 8.1 h whereas direct charging without converter took 10 h. Supercap-based charging was also found to be 133% more efficient than direct battery charging with a converter. Keeping in mind, direct charging might not be the appropriate way of charging a device since fluctuation of wind would result in damaging the battery. As far as wind speed of 4 m/s was concerned, the energy harvesting circuit, taking only 10.4 h to charge up the battery, again showed an excellent performance of 31% efficiency comparing with direct charging that took a straight 15 h lap. For 3 m/s, the energy harvesting circuit still held the top position handsomely with 28% efficiency in comparison with direct charging.

To recapitulate, this research provides an excellent novel idea of a stand-alone Maglevbased VAWT system connected to a PMSG that can harvest energy via Supercap-based battery charging circuit in low wind areas of rural areas. Research contribution is original, and it gives an outstanding foundation for future study in energy harvesting for low wind rural areas.

The entire research had not been absolutely smooth all throughout and naturally it faced few ups and downs.

The limitations of the developed system and technique are listed below: