LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Welding behaviour of semi-crystalline polymers

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The Potential of Natural Waste ( Corn Husk ) for Production of Environmental Friendly Biodegradable Film for Seedling

The use of plastic materials in agriculture causes serious hazards to the environment. The introduction of biodegradable materials, which can be disposed directly into the soil can be one possible solution to this problem. In the present research results of experimental tests carried out on biodegradable film fabricated from natural waste (corn husk) are presented. The film was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and atomic force microscope (AFM) observation. The film is shown to be readily degraded within 7-9 months under controlled soil conditions, indicating a high biodegradability rate. The film fabricated was use to produce biodegradable pot (BioPot) for seedlings plantation. The introduction and the expanding use of biodegradable materials represent a really promising alternative for enhancing sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural activities. Keywords—Environment, waste, plastic, biodegradable.
The evidence for 'flipping out': A systematic review of the flipped classroom in nursing education.

BACKGROUND
The flipped classroom has generated interest in higher education providing a student-centred approach to learning. This has the potential to engage nursing students in ways that address the needs of today's students and the complexity of contemporary healthcare. Calls for educational reform, particularly in healthcare programs such as nursing, highlight the need for students to problem-solve, reason and apply theory into practice. The drivers towards student-based learning have manifested in team, problem and case-based learning models. Though there has been a shift towards the flipped classroom, comparatively little is known about how it is used in nursing curricula.


OBJECTIVES
The aims of this systematic review were to examine how the flipped classroom has been applied in nursing education and outcomes associated with this style of teaching.


DATA SOURCES
Five databases were searched and resulted in the retrieval of 21 papers: PubMed, CINAHL, EMBASE, Scopus and ERIC.


REVIEW METHODS
After screening for inclusion/exclusion criteria, each paper was evaluated using a critical appraisal tool. Data extraction and analysis were completed on all included studies.


RESULTS
This systematic review screened 21 titles and abstracts resulting in nine included studies. All authors critically appraised the quality of the included studies. Five studies were identified and themes identified were: academic performance outcomes, and student satisfaction implementing the flipped classroom.


CONCLUSIONS
Use of the flipped classroom in higher education nursing programmes yielded neutral or positive academic outcomes and mixed results for satisfaction. Engagement of students in the flipped classroom model was achieved when academics informed and rationalised the purpose of the flipped classroom model to students. However, no studies in this review identified the evaluation of the process of implementing the flipped classroom. Studies examining the process and ongoing evaluation and refinement of the flipped classroom in higher education nursing programmes are warranted.
Down-regulation of interferon signature in systemic lupus erythematosus patients by active immunization with interferon α-kinoid.

OBJECTIVE
We developed interferon-α-kinoid (IFN-K), a drug composed of inactivated IFNα coupled to a carrier protein, keyhole limpet hemocyanin. In human IFNα-transgenic mice, IFN-K induces polyclonal antibodies that neutralize all 13 subtypes of human IFNα. We also previously demonstrated that IFN-K slows disease progression in a mouse model of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). This study was undertaken to examine the safety, immunogenicity, and biologic effects of active immunization with IFN-K in patients with SLE.


METHODS
We performed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase I/II dose-escalation study comparing 3 or 4 doses of 30 μg, 60 μg, 120 μg, or 240 μg of IFN-K or placebo in 28 women with mild to moderate SLE.


RESULTS
IFN-K was well tolerated. Two SLE flares were reported as serious adverse events, one in the placebo group and the other in a patient who concomitantly stopped corticosteroids 2 days after the first IFN-K dose, due to mild fever not related to infection. Transcriptome analysis was used to separate patients at baseline into IFN signature-positive and -negative groups, based on the spontaneous expression of IFN-induced genes. IFN-K induced anti-IFNα antibodies in all immunized patients. Notably, significantly higher anti-IFNα titers were found in signature-positive patients than in signature-negative patients. In IFN signature-positive patients, IFN-K significantly reduced the expression of IFN-induced genes. The decrease in IFN score correlated with the anti-IFNα antibody titer. Serum complement C3 levels were significantly increased in patients with high anti-IFNα antibody titers.


CONCLUSION
These results show that IFN-K is well tolerated, immunogenic, and significantly improves disease biomarkers in SLE patients, indicating that further studies of its clinical efficacy are warranted.
Students’ experiences and challenges of blended learning at the University

Recent developments in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), especially eLearning, have heightened the need for University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) to supplement oncampus face-to-face delivery as well as meeting increased students’ enrolments through blended distance learning. Since 2008, the University has been offering three postgraduate programmes: Postgraduate Diploma in Education, Postgraduate Diploma in Engineering Management, and Master degree in Engineering via dedicated Learning Centres in Mwanza, Arusha, and Dar es Salaam. In total, 310 students have been enrolled into these programmes since 2008. However, the implementation of these programmes has resulted in mixed and unpredictable results. This paper reports on students’ experiences as well as challenges UDSM has been facing during the implementation of blended learning courses in Tanzania. The data were generated through documentary reviews and 22 responses from a questionnaire distributed to students enrolled into these programmes. The study has revealed outdated learning resources, unavailability of instructors during live online sessions, under-utilization of Learning Centres, and technical difficulties are the main factors that affect students from exceling well in blended learning programmes. These findings have a number of important lessons and implications for similar institutions running blended learning or wishing to implement blended learning specifically in developing countries.
Detection of Target Maneuver Onset

A classical maneuvering target tracking (MTT) problem (detection of the onset of a target maneuver) is presented in two parts. The first part reviews most traditional maneuver onset detectors and presents results from a comprehensive simulation study and comparison of their performance. Six algorithms for maneuver onset detection are examined: measurement residual chi-square, input estimate chi-square, input estimate significance test, generalized likelihood ratio (GLR), cumulative sum, and marginalized likelihood ratio (MLR) detectors. The second part proposes two novel maneuver onset detectors based on sequential statistical tests. Cumulative sums (CUSUM) type and Shiryayev sequential probability ratio (SSPRT) maneuver onset detectors are developed by using a likelihood marginalization technique to cope with the difficulty that the target maneuver accelerations are unknown. The proposed technique gives explicit solutions for Gaussian-mixture prior distributions, and can be applied to arbitrary prior distributions through Gaussian-mixture approximations. The approach essentially utilizes a~priori information about the maneuver accelerations in typical tracking engagements and thus allows to improve detection performance as compared with traditional maneuver detectors. Simulation results demonstrating the improved capabilities of the proposed onset maneuver detectors are presented.
Pranlukast, a novel leukotriene receptor antagonist: results of the first European, placebo controlled, multicentre clinical study in asthma.

BACKGROUND
Leukotriene receptor antagonists have been shown to protect against bronchoconstriction induced by antigens, exercise, and cold air. There are relatively few clinical studies reported in patients with asthma. The present study is the first clinical evaluation of pranlukast (SB 205312, ONO-1078) outside Japan in patients with asthma.


METHODS
A randomised, double blind, placebo controlled, parallel group, multicentre four week study of the safety and tolerability of oral pranlukast, 225 or 337.5 mg twice daily, was performed in patients with mild to moderate asthma. Preliminary efficacy data were obtained; the main efficacy variables evaluated were forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and morning domiciliary (home) peak expiratory flow rates (PEFR). Clinic PEFR and daytime and night-time asthma symptom scores were also recorded.


RESULTS
Compared with the placebo group the improvement in morning home PEFR was statistically significant at all time points for patients receiving pranlukast 337.5 mg twice daily and at weeks 1 and 2 for those treated with pranlukast in a dose of 225 mg twice daily. Mean morning home PEFR increased by 10.8 to 18.61/min (95% CI 0.2 to 29.3 l/min) in patients treated with pranlukast compared with a slight deterioration in those given placebo. FEV1 significantly increased within one hour after the first dose of pranlukast compared with baseline and this increase was maintained for eight hours. Improvements in trough FEV1-that is, at the end of the dosing interval-were statistically significant for the group treated with pranlukast 225 mg twice daily compared with placebo at week 4. Mean increases in FEV1 ranged from 210 ml to 340 ml (95% CI 60 to 500 ml) at trough in the pranlukast group. Patients treated with pranlukast also showed improvements in summary symptom and night-time asthma scores. Pranlukast was well tolerated, and no drug related changes in haematological and biochemical variables were observed.


CONCLUSIONS
Pranlukast, an oral leukotriene receptor antagonist, is well tolerated and is effective for the treatment of asthma. It increased FEV1 within one hour of dosing, improved patient summary symptom and night-time asthma scores, and reduced the use of rescue bronchodilators, thus providing further evidence of a role for leukotrienes in the pathogenesis of asthma.
Sensitivity of winter wheat yields in the Midwestern United States to future changes in climate, climate variability, and CO2 fertilization

This research investigates the potential impacts of climate change on winter wheat Triticum aestiuum L. production, looking at changes both in the mean climate and in climate variability, under conditions of elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations. The study region is comprised of the 5 states of Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin in the US. This analysis was conducted for the period 2050–59 for 10 representative farm locations in the 5 states for 6 future climate scenarios using the crop growth model CERES-Wheat. Wheat is currently the most widely grown crop in the world, with approximately 250 million ha planted each year. This region, while not a critical area for winter wheat production under current climate, is in a marginal area that could become a more important production region under a warmer climate. As such, the impacts of climate change on wheat growth are of great significance both regionally and globally. With future atmospheric CO2 concentrations of 555 ppmv, wheat yields increased 60 to 100% above current yields across the central and northern areas of the study region when modeled for 2050–59 climate change scenarios. In the southern areas of the study region, small increases (0.1 to 20%) and small decreases (–0.1 to –15%) were found. These decreases in yield were more frequent under climate conditions associated with the more extreme Hadley Center greenhouse gas run (HadCM2-GHG, representing a 1% increase in greenhouse gases per year) and for the doubled climate variability analyses. Across all sites, earlier planting dates (September 2 is optimal) performed best; yields decreased as planting was delayed. These results have implications for spring-planted crops. CO2 fertilization effects also are found to be significant for wheat, representing an average yield increase greater than 20% under future climate scenarios, with greater benefits occurring under more moderate future climate scenarios. Without the effects of CO2 fertilization in the model, many of the southern locations had greater decreases in yields. The overall climate change impact across the study area resulted in large increases in yields with only a few locations exhibiting decreases, and those decreases occurring only under the more extreme climate scenarios.
THE NEW HORIZONS MISSION TO PLUTO : ADVANCES IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM DESIGN

This paper presents the RF telecommunications system designed for the New Horizons mission, NASA’s planned mission to Pluto, with focus on new technologies developed to meet mission requirements. These technologies include an advanced digital receiver — a mission-enabler for its low DC power consumption at 2.3 W secondary power. The receiver is one-half of a card-based transceiver that is incorporated with other spacecraft functions into an integrated electronics module, providing further reductions in mass and power. Other developments include extending APL’s long and successful flight history in ultrastable oscillators (USOs) with an updated design for lower DC power. These USOs offer frequency stabilities to 1 part in 10, stabilities necessary to support New Horizons’ uplink radio science experiment. In antennas, the 2.1 meter high gain antenna makes use of shaped suband main reflectors to improve system performance and achieve a gain approaching 44 dBic. New Horizons would also be the first deep-space mission to fly a regenerative ranging system, offering up to a 30 dB performance improvement over sequential ranging, especially at long ranges. The paper will provide an overview of the current system design and development and performance details on the new technologies mentioned above. Other elements of the telecommunications system will also be discussed. Note: New Horizons is NASA’s planned mission to Pluto, and has not been approved for launch. All representations made in this paper are contingent on a decision by NASA to go forward with the preparation for and launch of the mission.
An Iterative Global Structure-Assisted Labeled Network Aligner

Integrating data from heterogeneous sources is often modeled as merging graphs. Given two ormore “compatible”, but not-isomorphic graphs, the first step is to identify a graph alignment, where a potentially partial mapping of vertices between two graphs is computed. A significant portion of the literature on this problem only takes the global structure of the input graphs into account. Only more recent ones additionally use vertex and edge attributes to achieve a more accurate alignment. However, these methods are not designed to scale to map large graphs arising in many modern applications. We propose a new iterative graph aligner, gsaNA, that uses the global structure of the graphs to significantly reduce the problem size and align large graphs with a minimal loss of information. Concretely, we show that our proposed technique is highly flexible, can be used to achieve higher recall, and it is orders of magnitudes faster than the current state of the art techniques. ACM Reference format: Abdurrahman Yaşar and Ümit V. Çatalyürek. 2018. An Iterative Global Structure-Assisted Labeled Network Aligner. In Proceedings of Special Interest Group on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining, London, England, August 18 (SIGKDD’18), 10 pages. https://doi.org/10.1145/nnnnnnn.nnnnnnn
A survey on Zigbee based wireless sensor networks in agriculture

This paper focuses on providing an overview of zigbee based wireless sensor network (WSN) as applied in agriculture for intelligent farming. In this research work, a survey on wireless sensor networks and their standards and technologies in the field of agriculture was carried out. Based on the analysis and survey, the need for intelligent farming especially in developing countries like India, has grown to a greater extent. In this paper we try to survey different applications of zigbee based wireless sensor network in agriculture such as monitoring of environmental conditions like weather, soil moisture content, soil temperature, soil fertility, weed-disease detection, monitoring leaf temperature/moisture content and monitoring growth of the crop, precision agriculture, automated irrigation facility, storage of agricultural products etc. This paper also provides the possible research issues existing in Physical layer of ZigBee.
Symptomatic overlap between microscopic colitis and irritable bowel syndrome: a prospective study.

BACKGROUND
Microscopic colitis and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are the common causes of watery diarrhea, abdominal discomfort, and other gastrointestinal symptoms. Previous retrospective data and post hoc analysis of information from a randomized controlled trial have suggested that there is considerable overlap between the symptoms seen in patients with microscopic colitis and the symptom-based criteria for IBS. We sought to study this overlap in a prospective cohort.


METHODS
A random cohort of patients with biopsy-proven microscopic colitis seen at our institution were administered a symptom questionnaire. Based on their responses, the proportion of patients who met various definitions for IBS was determined. Clinical characteristics of those meeting IBS criteria were compared with those who did not.


RESULTS
In the 120 patients who were included, 38% to 58% met the diagnostic criteria for IBS. These patients tended to be younger and more likely female than those who did not meet IBS criteria.


CONCLUSIONS
Patients with microscopic colitis frequently meet the diagnostic criteria for IBS. Therefore, these criteria are not specific enough to exclude the presence of microscopic colitis. In patients with watery diarrhea, colonoscopy with mucosal biopsies should be performed if symptoms are not controlled by antidiarrheal medications.
Self-reported cold sensitivity in normal subjects and in patients with traumatic hand injuries or hand-arm vibration syndrome

BACKGROUND
Cold sensitivity is a common and disabling complaint following hand injuries. The main purpose of this study was to describe self-reported consequences of cold sensitivity and the association with disability and health-related quality of life in patients with hand injuries or hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) and in normal subjects.


METHODS
Responses to the Cold Intolerance Symptom Severity (CISS) questionnaire, Potential Work Exposure Scale (PWES), Disability of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) and Short-Form 36 questionnaire (SF-36) were investigated in normal subjects (n = 94), hand injured patients (amputation and nerve injuries, n = 88) and patients with HAVS (n = 30). The results are presented as median (range), percent and mean deviation from norms. The Kruskal Wallis Test or Mann-Whitney U-Test were used to identify significant differences between multiple groups or subgroups. The Spearman rank correlation was used to study the relationship between cold sensitivity and disability.


RESULTS
Abnormal cold sensitivity (CISS score > 50) was seen in 75% and 45% of patients with HAVS and a traumatic hand injury, respectively. Patients were significantly more exposed to cold in their work environment than the normal population, with a consequently negative effect on work ability due to cold sensitivity. Patients with abnormal cold sensitivity were more seriously disabled and had a poorer health-related quality of life than patients with normal cold sensitivity [higher DASH scores and e.g. significantly larger mean deviation from norms in the subscales Role Physical and Bodily Pain (SF-36)].


CONCLUSION
Severe and abnormal cold sensitivity may have a profound impact on work capacity, leisure, disability and health-related quality of life. It is frequently seen in patients with traumatic hand injuries and particularly apparent in patients with HAVS.
Effective Sea System and Case Studies

This report describes SEA (Strategic Environmental Assessment), and case studies demonstrating the merits of SEA in Europe and North America. The report is aimed at helping readers understanding and implementing SEA.
Adaptive Integral-type Sliding Mode Control for Spacecraft Attitude Maneuvering Under Actuator Stuck Failures

A fault tolerant control (FTC) design technique against actuator stuck faults is investigated using integral-type sliding mode control (ISMC) with application to spacecraft attitude maneuvering control system. The principle of the proposed FTC scheme is to design an integral-type sliding mode attitude controller using on-line parameter adaptive updating law to compensate for the effects of stuck actuators. This adaptive law also provides both the estimates of the system parameters and external disturbances such that a prior knowledge of the spacecraft inertia or boundedness of disturbances is not required. Moreover, by including the integral feedback term, the designed controller can not only tolerate actuator stuck faults, but also compensate the disturbances with constant components. For the synthesis of controller, the fault time, patterns and values are unknown in advance, as motivated from a practical spacecraft control application. Complete stability and performance analysis are presented and illustrative simulation results of application to a spacecraft show that high precise attitude control with zero steady-error is successfully achieved using various scenarios of stuck failures in actuators.
Fertility and Income

There is an inverse association between income per adult and fertility among countries, and across households this inverse association is also often observed. Many studies find fertility is lower among better educated women and is often higher among women whose families own more land and assets. What do we know about the social consequences of events and policies that change fertility, if they are independent of parent preferences for children or the economic conditions which account for much of the variation in parent lifetime fertility? These effects of exogenous fertility change on the health and welfare of children can are assessed from Kenyan household survey data by analysis of the consequences of twins, and the effect of avoiding unanticipated fertility appears to have a larger beneficial effect on the body mass index or health status of children in the family than would be expected due to variation in fertility which is accounted for by parent education and household land.