bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Microbiological Quality of Slovak Traditional Cheese
Authors: Cabanová L. , Niníková P.
Published: May 2020

The aim of this study was to investigate the micro-biological quality of traditional Slovak “bryndza” cheese made in Slovakia. Besides the common pathogenic bacteria, we focused on the analyses of verocytotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC), the occurrence of which has been analysed only occasionally in a few products. As we chose food of the highest risk which contained raw milk, we expected several positive findings. The presence of Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes and Campylobacter spp. was not confirmed. The enumeration of Staphylococcus aureus was more successful. In the case of VTEC stx and eae screening, the presence of genes producing verocytotoxins vtx1, vtx2 and the gene encoding virulent factor intimin—eae in nine samples by molecular-biological methods were revealed. Only one isolate, which carried genes vtx1 a vtx2 and did not belong to these serogroups: O157, O111, O26, O103, O145, or O104, was detected by confirmation assays.
A Novel Attention Bias Modification Single Session Training Improves Eye Gaze Behaviour in Social Anxiety Disorder: A Pilot Study
Authors: Carey Louise F. , Anderson Giles M. , Kumar Sanjay
Published: May 2020

Background

Attention bias modification (ABM) can reduce anxiety and attentional bias towards threatening stimuli, but evidence of its usefulness as a potential intervention for socially anxious individuals has been mixed. Eye contact avoidance, a maladaptive attentional strategy in social anxiety disorder (SAD), has yet to be targeted by ABM research.

Aims

This study sought to establish whether a new ABM training paradigm could increase attentional deployment towards eyes and what effect this would have on social and gaze-related anxiety.

Method

Participants (n = 23) recruited through adverts calling for people who felt anxious in social situations completed either a novel ABM training task designed to induce attentional bias towards images of eyes over images of noses, or control training. Data on response times (RTs), accuracy of responses, gaze behaviour (using an eye tracker) and scores on clinical measures of social and gaze-related anxiety were collected before and after both training tasks.

Results

ABM training produced a greater number of initial saccades towards eye images than did the control task, indicating an induced shift in early attentional deployment. ABM training was also associated with a marginal increase in fixation durations on eye images. No effect was observed on RTs or social and gaze-related anxiety.

Conclusions

Our results indicate that ABM can alter the gaze behaviour of socially anxious individuals. They also highlight the importance of eye tracking to ABM research, because it was more sensitive than analyses of RTs to changes in early attentional deployment.
Perceptual Analysis according to Rudolf Arnheim’s Gestalt Theoretical approach in Structuralist Landscape Planning
Authors: Schneider Gerda , Scharmann Ingrid
Published: May 2020

Landscape planning lacked an evidence-based method for the reflection of planning models on the imaginary level in order to present the image content and the relationships in the image as the basis for interpretation in a verifiable manner. The contribution is based on the thesis that the perceptual analysis according to Rudolf Arnheim can be translated into landscape planning.

The case study, here an illustration with two plan sketches for urban and landscape development, is described and interpreted with the Gestalt theoretical perceptual analysis according to the criteria theme, theses, principle sketches and composition lines, interpretation, conclusion and Gestalt theoretical results. The analysed planning sketches have a low “reality level” and are part of the imaginary level. The theory of science contained therein can be understood by Gestalt theory as elementary theory of design. In the sketches, the living spaces and economic areas of the city are divided into the elements ‘settlement’ and ‘landscape’ and thereby undergo a revaluation of their significance. The replacement of figure (city) and ground (landscape) can be interpreted in terms of gestalt theory as a change of theme in the sketches as the greatest possible structural exchange. The results of the analysis are processed as research theses in the contextualisation of landscape planning and thus examined scientifically on the basis of circumstantial evidence against the reality of the living environments of the urban dwellers. The contribution proves that the perceptual analysis according to R. Arnheim is a suitable method in landscape planning for describing and interpreting graphic representations of planning models. Interdisciplinary cooperation is a contribution to the holistic treatment of a topic, because structuralist landscape planning has structural similarities with Gestalt theory and is committed to the dialogical principle. As a theory of organisation (development), Gestalt theory derives principles, structures, their relationships and qualities and is therefore suitable as a meta-theory of landscape planning to characterise the values and ethical bases in planning. This applies to all areas of the field of consciousness in landscape planning.
Constructional Meaning and Knowledge-Driven Interpretation of Motion Events
Authors: Buoniconto Alfonsina
Published: May 2020

Covert encoding is one of the strategies available to languages for the encoding of motion, in which, in accordance with the laws of Gestalt, the meaning of an expression encoding motion is not coincident with the mere sum of the meanings of each of its constitutive units, relying on the mediation of grammatical and co(n)text­established knowledge for its interpretability. Moving on from a data set gathered for a previous study and adopting a holistic, constructional approach, several strategies were found in a diachronic corpus of Italian, French and Spanish for the covert encoding of motion in such languages, based on whether the motion­interpretation attributed to the covert construction is mediated by either linguistic or extralinguistic knowledge. The diachronic investigation also showed that the use of such patterns is diachronically consistent in frequency, thus proving that such patterns of interaction between language and cognition may be regarded as functional for speakers of all languages and time stages, also confirming that a holistic, constructional approach to language study can help shed light on linguistic–cognitive phenomena on the basis of language variation and change.
The effect of soil type and ecosystems on the soil nematode and microbial communities
Authors: Renčo M. , Gömöryová E. , Čerevková A.
Published: May 2020

Integrated studies are required to better understand the relationships between groups of soil microfauna under the influence of various biotic and abiotic factors that drive and characterise ecosystems. We analysed soil nematode communities and microbial diversity and the properties of three soil types to assess the effect of these environmental variables on biological diversity in natural (forest), semi-natural (meadow), and managed (agriculture) habitats of the Slovak Republic. The type of ecosystem and soil and the interaction of both factors had considerable effects on most monitored abiotic and biotic soil properties. The forest with a Chernozem soil had the most nematode species, highest nematode diversity, highest abundance of nematode within functional guilds, best values of ecological and functional indices, highest microbial biomass, highest microbial richness and diversity, and the highest values of various soil properties, followed by meadows with a Cambisol soil. The agricultural ecosystem with a Stagnosol soil had the lowest biological diversity and values of the soil properties. Several nematode species were new for Slovak nematode fauna. Sampling date and the interaction of all three factors (ecosystem × soil × date) had minor or no effect on most of the parameters, except soil moisture content, microbial richness, nematode channel ratio, nematode maturity index, and plant parasitic index. Both the biological indicators and basic soil properties indicated that the natural forest with a Chernozem soil was the best habitat from an ecological point of view. This ecosystem is thus the most appropriate for ecological studies.
The mouse bile duct tapeworm, Hymenolepis microstoma in free-living small mammals in Slovakia: occurrence and genetic analysis
Authors: Jarošová J. , Šnábel V. , Cavallero S. , Chovancová G. , Hurníková Z. , Antolová D.
Published: May 2020

The mouse bile duct tapeworm Hymenolepis microstoma, is a potentially zoonotic species with a wide variety of reported definitive hosts of rodent genera. In the present study the occurrence of H. microstoma in free-living small mammals in selected areas of Slovakia and the retrospective analysis of epidemiological data published in Slovakia were performed. Hymenolepis microstoma was detected in two animal species, the common shrew (Sorex araneus) and the European hamster (Cricetus cricetus) of 186 small mammals examined from two ecosystems, urban and natural ecosystem of national park. No mention about the presence of this parasite in Slovakia in the past was found following a bibliographical search. Partial sequences of the nuclear paramyosin gene showed the shrew isolate placed in a subclade together with H. microstoma from Portugal, with high bootstrap value for its differentiation from the sister species Hymenolepis nana. Similarly, the analysis of the nuclear ribosomal ITS region placed the hamster isolate in the cluster composed of H. microstoma from Australia, Spain and Portugal. The Slovak isolate was the most distinctive sample among available H. microstoma, differing in 1.4 – 1.9% of nucleotides from the remaining isolates. The difference (seven of 17 nucleotide positions) was partially due to indel polymorphisms associated with two and five nucleotides. To our knowledge, these are the first reports of H. microstoma in Central Europe and also the first record of infection in the common shrew. A recently indicated zoonotic potential of H. microstoma along with a possibility of its direct transmission between animals and/or humans without the need of intermediate hosts pose a public health concern in contaminated areas of Slovakia. The use of molecular techniques may substantially facilitate more thorough understanding of the epidemiological situation of H. microstoma and related tapeworms in various ecosystems of the country.
Independent Parties in Minimizing Agency Problem in Indonesia: An Alternative Model
Authors: Rinaldo Dito , Puspita Vina Anggilia
Published: May 2020

Despite various studies on good corporate governance (GCG), many GCG mechanisms do not seem to work effectively in Indonesian companies due to frequent conflicts between majority and minority shareholders. A more independent party needs to be offered to solve this unique agency problem. This study attempts to analyze how independent parties; foreign and domestic institutional ownership, and independent commissioners may provide solution to agency problem. Results of panel data regression show a positive and significant influence of foreign institutional ownership on dividends and stock prices, whereas domestic institutional ownership and independent commissioners do not significantly affect shareholder wealth. The study also proposes a new model to minimize the possibility of agency problems in Indonesian context through the establishment of foreign institutional ownership as an independent party.
Training Analysis and Locus of Control on Self Efficacy and Work Ability of Employees
Authors: Sasongko Budi , Widarni Eny Lestari , Bawono Suryaning
Published: May 2020

This study aims to get an overview of the effect of training factors and locus of control on self efficacy and work ability of employees in three-star hotels in East Java. The population in this study is the three-star hotel industry in East Java, which totals 20 hotels and all employees at the three-star hotels in East Java, with a total sample of 501 employees. The analysis technique used is by using path analysis. Based on the analysis of the results and the hypothesis proposed previously that the variables of trainer, training material, training method, training facility, and locus of control partially have a significant effect on the variable of self-efficacy, that is acceptable/true. Meanwhile, the hypothesis which states that the variables of trainer, training material, and training methods and locus of control partially have effect on the variable of work ability can also be accepted, only one hypothesis that cannot be accepted, i.e. the effect of the variable of training facility on work ability.
The Impact of Population Ageing and Labor Supply on Economic Growth - Analysis Based on Panel Autoregressive Model
Authors: Sun Changing
Published: May 2020

Population Ageing will increase the proportion of the elderly in the population and affect the Labor supply, which will eventually have an effect on the economy. This paper first analyzes the impact of aging on labor supply and economic growth from the theoretical level. Population ageing argues will reduce the supply of labor and hamper economic growth. Then, based on the panel data of 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in China, this paper uses panel auto-regression Model. An empirical analysis of the interaction between population ageing and labor force is carried out by means of Impulse Response Diagram and variance decomposition. The study adds to evidence that ageing reduces the supply of labor and hence economic growth.
The Study on the Agricultural Trade Pattern Between China and Central and Eastern Europe Countries Under the “16 + 1” Cooperation Mechanism
Authors: Qi Mengyang
Published: May 2020

This article is based on the 2008-2017 data from the UN Merchandise Trade Database and analyzes the trade patterns of agricultural products between China and 16 Central and Eastern European countries in terms of trade competitiveness, complementarity and trade potential by using the index of revealed Comparative Advantage, the index of trade complementarity and the index of trade intensity. The results show that China and 16 countries are highly competitive in multi-chapter products, but there are significant differences in the export advantages of different countries’ agricultural products and strong trade complementarity, and the trade links between China and 16 countries are loose In the multi-chapter products have greater trade potential. China and the 16 central and eastern European countries should make full use of the “16 + 1” Cooperation Mechanism to expand bilateral agricultural trade.
The Implementation of Village Fund Policy: A Comparative Study in Improving the Public Welfare in Two Villages in Pati Regency, Central Java
Authors: Udjianto Djoko , Hakim Abdul , Domai Tjahjanulin , Suryadi Suryadi
Published: May 2020

This research attempts to describe and analyse the implementation process of Village Fund in two villages in Pati Regency, Central Java. This qualitative research was conducted in Tambakromo Village and Mojomulyo Village. The result shows that the implementation of Village Fund has been in accordance with the substance of rules that underlies the village fund policy, such as how to transfer the fund, the planning, the implementation procedure, the liability, and the monitoring of the village fund. However, in their participation in the implementation of village fund policy, the actors who have big roles in allocating the village fund were the internal bureaucracy actors. Meanwhile, the participation of the local community was low. Ideally, the local community should greatly participate starting from the planning step up to the monitoring of Fund Policy.
Work Family Conflict, Recovery Experience, & Employee’s Weel Being in Working Women (Case Study of Nurses in Inpatient Division at Hospital in Bandung)
Authors: Sari Wiendy Puspita
Published: May 2020

Work Family Conflict (WFC) often occurs in working women. This study discusses the influence of WFC on Employee’s Well Being with Recovery Experience as a moderator variable. The purpose of this study are to analyze WFC, Recovery Experience, & Employee’s Well Being for working women, and to find out the influence of WFC on Employee’s Well Being directly or indirectly through Experience Recovery for working women. The method used was the survey method by giving questionnaires to 30 nurses in Inpatient Division at Hospital in Bandung. This study use Partial Least Square (PLS) to analyze the relation between variables. The measurements of WFC are work-family conflict & family-work conflict. The measurements of Recovery Experience are psychological detachment from work & verbal expression of emotions. The measurement of Employee’s Well Being are psychological strain & life satisfaction.
The Importance of Teaching Activity in the Process of Cognitive Processing
Authors: Călugărescu Ana-Georgiana
Published: May 2020

Most young people have to adapt to society. More and more students have gaps in the communicative act, no real conditions about material or spiritual are known. More serious is that it is a very high percentage while it is dedicated to new technologies, while allocated it is being recreated in nature being increasingly reduced, reaching the final young people having problems adapting the place where they are in society. Building a connection between education and the environment, strengthening the connections between people and the influence of nature can have the physical health of the person but also mental health. Awareness of climate change for the last period and the desire for an opera can use phenomena that can be protected from the natural desert, produced more and more often.
Independent Predictors for the Severity of Coronary Artery Disease in Patients with Myocardial Infarction without St-Segment Elevation
Authors: Cozma Alexandra , Babeș Katalin , Ioachim P. M. , Ardelean Adriana , Moisi Mădălina
Published: May 2020

It is well known that the severity of coronary heart disease is associated with a poor prognosis. 70% of patients with NSTEMI have multivascular disease, the percentage being 40% for STEMI patients. Knowing the grade severity of the coronary artery disease has importance for the therapeutic management of the case and to establish the prognosis. However, until now, we have no possibilities to identify these patients before performing the coronarography.

The objective of this study was to establish a correlation between cardiovascular risk factors, ECG changes, echocardiographic changes, GRACE score and the severity of coronary artery disease invasively detected by coronarography, in patients with myocardial infarction without ST-segment elevation.

Material and methods. We performed a study on 125 patients diagnosed with NSTEMI, who performed coronarography. For each patient we noted age, sex, history of high blood pressure, dyslipidemia, chronic kidney disease, smoking habit, HS troponin T levels, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, C-reactive protein, creatinine clearance, ejection fraction of left ventricle, number of lesions discovered on angiography, GRACE and SYNTAX score.

Results. Of the 125 patients included, 86 (68.8%) were men, with a mean age of 63.66 ± 11.54. The average of the laboratory tests and the parameters studied: creatinine Cl 83.80 ± 33.862 ml / min, FEVS 46.37 ± 7.394%, troponin HS 3533.625 ± 7460.873 pg / ml, CRP 2.811 ± 5.262 mg / dl, LDL 113.618 ± 50.13 mg / dl, triglyceride ± 100.58mg / dl. The mean Syntax score in the studied group was 17, 58 ± 13.65, Grace score 118.80 ± 26.980, and the number of coronary lesions 2.19 ± 1.162 The number of coronary lesions and the SYNTAX score were significantly correlated statistics with age, Grace score, presence of diabetes and chronic kidney disease. With regard to laboratory tests, creatinine clearance proved to be the most important predictor for both the number of vessels affected (r =-0.322, p=0.000) and for the Syntax score (r = -0.323,p=0.000), the latter being influenced also by the level of triglycerides (r = -0.177, p = 0.048) and that of the high sensitive troponin (r = 0.322, p = 0.015).

Conclusions. Independent predictors of multivascular disease in patients with NSTEMI are : age, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, creatinine clearance and Grace score. The severity of the coronary heart disease assessed by the Syntax score, is also correlated with age, history of diabetes and chronic kidney disease, creatinine clearance, Grace score, but also with the value of tiglycerides and high-sensitive T troponin.
Study of the Relationship Between Glycosylated Hemoglobin, Homa IR and Serum Glucose in Acute Ischemic Stroke in the Diabetic Patient
Authors: Pop Nicolae Ovidiu , Mohan Aurel George , Zaha Dana Carmen , Mekereș Florica , Babeș Petru Aurel
Published: May 2020

Determination of serum glycosylated hemoglobin, blood glucose and insulinemia (Homa IR) can be used in the assessment and prognosis of patients with diabetic versus non-diabetic acute ischemic stroke.
Clinical Forms and Electroencephalogram Aspects of Sleep Disorders – Literature Review
Authors: Szabó Réka , Mihancea Petru , Voiţă-Mekereș Florica , Voiţă Gheorghe Florin , Racoviţă Mariana , Mekeres Gabriel Mihai
Published: May 2020

The clinical manifestations in sleep disorders vary according to the type of hypnopathies, a heterogeneous group of conditions, characterized by the presence of any sleep-related symptoms capable of generating discomfort.

We aimed to present the diagnostic criteria and the classification of the subtypes of sleep disorders in the most recent classification published in the medical literature. I have searched in the PubMed, Medline, Google Scholar Search databases, using keywords to select the right items. We selected the articles published in English and French language, in the period of 2000-2018.

The sleep disturbances may be of quantitative order (hyper- or hyposomnia) or of qualitative order (parasomnia), respectively hypnopathies related to breathing or movement, due to the circadian rhythm and other categories, according to ICSD-3.

Conclusions. The correct classification in the subtypes of sleep disorders is the key to their optimal treatment, but this process is complex, staged and multidisciplinary.
Polyadenopathy - A Multidisciplinary Approach
Authors: Jichitu Alexandra , Manea Laura Maria , Pînzariu Vlad , Sprîncenatu Nicoleta Mihaela , Hanu Irina Iuliana , Popescu Raluca Mihaela , Chirilă Claudia Mihaela , Orghidan Mihnea George , Coșei Valentin Caius
Published: May 2020

Introduction. Sarcoidosis is a multisystemic disease, that can basically affect any organ of the body, the lungs and the intrathoracic lymph nodes being the most affected. Despite the attempts to understand the exact pathogenic mechanism of the disease, this continues to remain uncertain. Histopathologically, the trademark of sarcoidosis is the presence of nonnecrotizing granuloma.

Case presentation. We report the case of a 33-year-old man without significant past medical history, who is admitted to our clinic for bilateral supraclavicular and axillary adenopathies, progressive asthenia for the last three months and pain in the latero-thoracic region. The patient denies weight loss, odynophagia and fever.

Clinically, the patient is afebrile and has supraclavicular, bilateral laterocervical and axillary adenopathies which are painless, elastic and mobile with a maximum diameter of 1.5 cm. The prehepatic diameter is 16 cm, with rounded inferior edge and the spleen in not palpable.

The laboratory tests reveal moderate inflammatory syndrome, with C-reactive protein (CRP) of 1.4mg/dL (N<0.5mg/dL) and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) 65mm/h (N<40mm/h). There is no lymphocytosis or neutrophilia. The ENT (Ear Nose Throat) consultation found no evidence of angina and, combined with the paraclinical investigations, excluded mononucleosis.

Thus, the presumptive diagnosis was difficult because of the non-specific symptomatology and included the following: lymphoma, mononucleosis, sarcoidosis, tuberculosis and systemic vasculitis.

The chest X-ray reveals enlarged pulmonary hilums, diffuse outlined-adenopathic/tumoral aspect, diffuse changes in the pulmonary interstitium and micronodular opacities of medium intensity, being diffusely outlined with the tendency of basal merging on the left side and slight asymmetrical enlargement of the superior mediastinum on the right side, para trachealadenopathic aspect.

The lymph node biopsy reveals the aspect of non-necrotizing granuloma, which suggests the diagnosis of sarcoidosis.

We used the dosage of angiotensin convertase, which reveals high values of 108.20U/L (N 13.3-63.9 U/L). Therefore, a pulmonary clinical evaluation was recommended.

Conclusion. Case of 33-year-old man with sarcoidosis. The diagnosis was difficult, considering the non-specific symptomatology and the numerous pathologies that can be included in the differential diagnosis.
Intragenerational labor mobility in the Indian labor market
Authors: Neog Bhaskar Jyoti , Sahoo Bimal Kishore
Published: May 2020

The present study contributes to the limited literature on labor mobility in India using the India Human Development Survey panel data for the years 2004–2005 and 2011–2012. We use three different tools, viz., transition matrices, multinomial logistic regression, and wage regressions for this study. The results show significant mobility across sectors in the economy. Mobility patterns among workers are found to differ significantly along the lines of gender, caste, education, wealth, and family background, among others. There is a distress-driven movement of workers. Significant earnings differentials exist across paid work statuses. The paper concludes with some policy suggestions.
An Algorithm for the Evolutionary-Fuzzy Generation of on-Line Signature Hybrid Descriptors
Authors: Zalasiński Marcin , Cpałka Krzysztof , Laskowski Łukasz , Wunsch Donald C. , Przybyszewski Krzysztof
Published: May 2020

In biometrics, methods which are able to precisely adapt to the biometric features of users are much sought after. They use various methods of artificial intelligence, in particular methods from the group of soft computing. In this paper, we focus on on-line signature verification. Such signatures are complex objects described not only by the shape but also by the dynamics of the signing process. In standard devices used for signature acquisition (with an LCD touch screen) this dynamics may include pen velocity, but sometimes other types of signals are also available, e.g. pen pressure on the screen surface (e.g. in graphic tablets), the angle between the pen and the screen surface, etc. The precision of the on-line signature dynamics processing has been a motivational springboard for developing methods that use signature partitioning. Partitioning uses a well-known principle of decomposing the problem into smaller ones. In this paper, we propose a new partitioning algorithm that uses capabilities of the algorithms based on populations and fuzzy systems. Evolutionary-fuzzy partitioning eliminates the need to average dynamic waveforms in created partitions because it replaces them. Evolutionary separation of partitions results in a better matching of partitions with reference signatures, eliminates dispro-portions between the number of points describing dynamics in partitions, eliminates the impact of random values, separates partitions related to the signing stage and its dynamics (e.g. high and low velocity of signing, where high and low are imprecise-fuzzy concepts). The operation of the presented algorithm has been tested using the well-known BioSecure DS2 database of real dynamic signatures.
Flowering, Forage Value, and Insect Pollination in Borage (Borago Officinalis L.) Cultivated in Se Poland
Authors: Stawiarz Ernest , Wróblewska Anna , Masierowska Marzena , Sadowska Dagmara
Published: May 2020

The three-year study on borage was conducted in Lublin, SE Poland. The aims were to investigate the flowering pattern and abundance, and the attractiveness (in terms of nectar and pollen production) for flower-visiting insects, mainly bees. Insect visitation and the effect of pollinators on fruit set and seed set were assessed as well. Flowering of borage started in the latter half of June and lasted eight weeks. The mean number of flowers · m−2 of the crop was 4570 per season. A borage flower produced on average 4.0 mg of nectar with a mean sugar concentration of 31.5%. The mean total sugar amount secreted in nectar was 1.2 mg. The pollen amount · flower−1 was 1.1 mg. A borage plant can supply insects with 1.1 g of nectar sugars and 1.1 g of pollen. The estimated nectar sugar yield and pollen yield per 1 m2 of the crop were similar, i.e. 5.2 g. Bees accounted for 73.0% of all insect visits to the borage flowers. The presence of insect pollinators increased the fruit set by 43.3% and seed set by 26.8%.
Topic Sentiment Analysis in Online Learning Community from College Students
Authors: Wang Kai , Zhang Yu
Published: May 2020

Purpose

Opinion mining and sentiment analysis in Online Learning Community can truly reflect the students’ learning situation, which provides the necessary theoretical basis for following revision of teaching plans. To improve the accuracy of topic-sentiment analysis, a novel model for topic sentiment analysis is proposed that outperforms other state-of-art models.

Methodology/approach

We aim at highlighting the identification and visualization of topic sentiment based on learning topic mining and sentiment clustering at various granularity-levels. The proposed method comprised data preprocessing, topic detection, sentiment analysis, and visualization.

Findings

The proposed model can effectively perceive students’ sentiment tendencies on different topics, which provides powerful practical reference for improving the quality of information services in teaching practice.

Research limitations

The model obtains the topic-terminology hybrid matrix and the document-topic hybrid matrix by selecting the real user’s comment information on the basis of LDA topic detection approach, without considering the intensity of students’ sentiments and their evolutionary trends.

Practical implications

The implication and association rules to visualize the negative sentiment in comments or reviews enable teachers and administrators to access a certain plaint, which can be utilized as a reference for enhancing the accuracy of learning content recommendation, and evaluating the quality of their services.

Originality/value

The topic-sentiment analysis model can clarify the hierarchical dependencies between different topics, which lay the foundation for improving the accuracy of teaching content recommendation and optimizing the knowledge coherence of related courses.
Describing Citations as a Function of Time
Authors: Hu Xiaojun , Li Xian , Rousseau Ronald
Published: May 2020

Purpose

Providing an overview of types of citation curves.

Design/methodology/approach

The terms citation curves or citation graphs are made explicit.

Findings

A framework for the study of diachronous (and synchronous) citation curves is proposed.

Research limitations

No new practical applications are given.

Practical implications

This short note about citation curves will help readers to make the optimal choice for their applications.

Originality/value

A new scheme for the meaning of the term “citation curve” is designed.
Detection of Malignant and Benign Breast Cancer Using the ANOVA-BOOTSTRAP-SVM
Authors: Vrigazova Borislava Petrova
Published: May 2020

Purpose

The aim of this research is to propose a modification of the ANOVA-SVM method that can increase accuracy when detecting benign and malignant breast cancer.

Methodology

We proposed a new method ANOVA-BOOTSTRAP-SVM. It involves applying the analysis of variance (ANOVA) to support vector machines (SVM) but we use the bootstrap instead of cross validation as a train/test splitting procedure. We have tuned the kernel and the C parameter and tested our algorithm on a set of breast cancer datasets.

Findings

By using the new method proposed, we succeeded in improving accuracy ranging from 4.5 percentage points to 8 percentage points depending on the dataset.

Research limitations

The algorithm is sensitive to the type of kernel and value of the optimization parameter C.

Practical implications

We believe that the ANOVA-BOOTSTRAP-SVM can be used not only to recognize the type of breast cancer but also for broader research in all types of cancer.

Originality/value

Our findings are important as the algorithm can detect various types of cancer with higher accuracy compared to standard versions of the Support Vector Machines.
A Two-Level Approach based on Integration of Bagging and Voting for Outlier Detection
Authors: Dogan Alican , Birant Derya
Published: May 2020

Purpose

The main aim of this study is to build a robust novel approach that is able to detect outliers in the datasets accurately. To serve this purpose, a novel approach is introduced to determine the likelihood of an object to be extremely different from the general behavior of the entire dataset.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper proposes a novel two-level approach based on the integration of bagging and voting techniques for anomaly detection problems. The proposed approach, named Bagged and Voted Local Outlier Detection (BV-LOF), benefits from the Local Outlier Factor (LOF) as the base algorithm and improves its detection rate by using ensemble methods.

Findings

Several experiments have been performed on ten benchmark outlier detection datasets to demonstrate the effectiveness of the BV-LOF method. According to the results, the BV-LOF approach significantly outperformed LOF on 9 datasets of 10 ones on average.

Research limitations

In the BV-LOF approach, the base algorithm is applied to each subset data multiple times with different neighborhood sizes (k) in each case and with different ensemble sizes (T). In our study, we have chosen k and T value ranges as [1–100]; however, these ranges can be changed according to the dataset handled and to the problem addressed.

Practical implications

The proposed method can be applied to the datasets from different domains (i.e. health, finance, manufacturing, etc.) without requiring any prior information. Since the BV-LOF method includes two-level ensemble operations, it may lead to more computational time than single-level ensemble methods; however, this drawback can be overcome by parallelization and by using a proper data structure such as R*-tree or KD-tree.

Originality/value

The proposed approach (BV-LOF) investigates multiple neighborhood sizes (k), which provides findings of instances with different local densities, and in this way, it provides more likelihood of outlier detection that LOF may neglect. It also brings many benefits such as easy implementation, improved capability, higher applicability, and interpretability.
Green gas for grid as an eco-friendly alternative insulation gas to SF6: From the perspective of PD initiated by metallic particles under DC
Authors: Wang Guoming , Shen Jiahua , Liu Demao , Kim Sung-Wook , Kil Gyung-Suk
Published: May 2020

This paper dealt with characteristics of partial discharge (PD) initiated by metallic particles under DC voltage in green gas for grid (g3), which is an emerging and promising eco-friendly alternative insulation gas to SF6. Experimental setup was configured to simulate PD under DC in gas-insulated power facilities. Two types of particle, namely rectangle particle and sphere particle were used. The results indicated that the discharge inception voltages in g3 gas were 90.1-92.5% of that in SF6. In two particles, PD occurred with higher average apparent charge and discharge repetition rate in g3 compared with those in SF
6 gas. The time-resolved partial discharge presented similar characteristics in g3 and SF6 gas. The time interval between two successive discharge pulses were 0.1 ms-10 ms and 5 ms-15 ms in the rectangle particle and sphere particle, respectively. Results from this paper are expected to provide fundamental material for the development of SF
6 -free gas-insulated power apparatus.
Acquiring electric energy from the transport conveyor roller movement for distributed sensors network
Authors: Mazurek Krzysztof , Szyguła Marek , Perutka Karel , Turczyński Krzysztof , Stankiewicz Krzysztof
Published: May 2020

The paper presents the concept of installation of an electricity generator and en energy store inside a roller of belt or roller conveyor. Accordingly, the use of a generator-pulley does not require any structural changes to be made to an existing conveyor. In addition, the user will be able to power distributed sensors network for monitoring the operation of the belt conveyor anywhere on its route.
Fractional analog scheme for efficient stabilization of a synchronous buck converter
Authors: Valele Watson , Virambath Robsen , Mehta Utkal , Azid Sheikh
Published: May 2020

This paper presents the design and control of power electronic synchronous buck converter. Even though a synchronous buck converter is more popular and more widely available, it is not always efficient as nonsynchronous. Firstly, the inputoutput linearization from the state space averaging of the converter is studied, after which a small AC signal analysis is introduced to obtain the dynamic transfer function. All the parameters of the converter are calculated based on the output voltage, current ripples as well as the input voltage. For robustness, the controller is implemented by comparing the response of integer order with non-integer (fractional) order controller, simply known as fractional order controller (FOC). The fractional order derivative is implemented from the Oustaloup approximation and the controller parameters are being tuned using Nelder Mead approximation bases on a system model. It is shown that the FOC performance is comparatively better in presence of the load disturbances and parameter variations. The experimental study with the real-time fractional PI is possible to make for a stand-alone embedded application using FPAA. The proposed technique does not require any digitization of the signal, so it can be easy to implement with improved performance. The effectiveness of the analog controller is discussed, giving some future directions to adopt the new fractional controller.
The Concept of Risk Analysis of Actions Taken in the Reconstruction of Technical Infrastructure in the Areas After the Disaster on the Example of Syria
Authors: Nasan Agha Weam , Szpytko Janusz
Published: May 2020

The subject of the article is the time-cost analysis of the risk of actions taken in the reconstruction of technical infrastructure (in particular housing) in the areas after the disaster on the example of Syria. As a result of the analysis of actions taken at the reconstruction of the technical (housing) infrastructure in the areas after the disaster, an attempt was made to identify the inconveniences in the management of the risk of targeted activity after the incident. Requests for efficient planning of technical (residential) infrastructure projects have been developed, including foreseeable future natural hazards.
Application of the GWR Model for Predicting the Road Fatalities Rate on the Road Network in the Nuts 3 Regions in Europe on the Example of Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship
Authors: Wachnicka Joanna , Palikowska Katarzyna
Published: May 2020

The article presents the application of the GWR (Geographically Weighted Regression) model to the description of differences in the level of road traffic safety in individual counties on the example of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. The GWR model developed for counties, taking into account the diversity of NUTS 3 regions, can be a helpful tool for traffic safety management in voivodships and lower administrative units, and such an approach has not yet been applied.
Assessment of Glycol Antifreeze to Combustion Engines in the Perspective of Using them in the Infrastructure HVAC Systems
Authors: Turlej Anna , Skolniak Marta , Giemza Bolesław
Published: May 2020

Corrosion inhibitors in the antifreeze include both inorganic and organic compounds. Organic additives applied in the antifreeze usually form thinner protective coatings. In spite of this fact, it is believed that they protect the exposed surfaces against corrosion more efficiently than fluids with inorganic additives. This work investigates whether the effects on the steel surface occurring due to the antifreeze meet key normative requirements. Microscopic imaging was used to identify the alterations in the surface invisible in the macro scale. The tests aimed to evaluate the potential of the antifreeze intended for combustion engines in the perspective of applying them in HVAC systems.
Potential role of ACE2 in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) prevention and management
Authors: Liu Mengyuan , Wang Ting , Zhou Yun , Zhao Yutong , Zhang Yan , Li Jianping
Published: May 2020

COVID-19 is the current public health threat all over the world. Unfortunately, there is no specific prevention and treatment strategy for this disease. We aim to explore the potential role of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) in this regard through this literature review. As a crucial enzyme of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS), ACE2 not only mediates the virus entry but also affects the pathophysiological process of virus-induced acute lung injury (ALI), as well as other organs’ damage. As interaction of COVID-19 virus spike and ACE2 is essential for virus infection, COVID-19-specific vaccine based on spike protein, small molecule compound interrupting their interaction, human monoclonal antibody based on receptor-binding domain, and recombinant human ACE2 protein (rhuACE2) have aroused the interests of researchers. Meanwhile, ACE2 could catalyze angiotensin II (Ang II) to form angiotensin 1-7 (Ang 1-7), thus alleviates the harmful effect of Ang II and amplifies the protection effect of Ang1-7. ACE inhibitor and angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) have been shown to increase the level of expression of ACE2 and could be potential strategies in protecting lungs, heart, and kidneys. ACE2 plays a very important role in the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of COVID-19 infection. Strategies targeting ACE2 and its ligand, COVID-19 virus spike protein, may provide novel method in the prevention and management of novel coronavirus pneumonia.
Clostridium perfringens in gas gangrene: Still a smoked gun!
Authors: Preseau Thierry , Deviendt Jacques , Duttman Ruth , Attou Rachid , Franck Diane , Claeys Ruben , Honoré Patrick M. , Bels David De
Published: May 2020

Gas gangrene (GG) remains a life-threatening and deadly disease. Early recognition together with daily surgical debridement remains the mainstay of therapy. We sought to describe a fatal case of necrotizing soft tissue infection, which was a gas gagrene in this case. This case was remarkable as two main sites were infected simultaneously in geographical zones very far from each other making dissemination between both sites almost impossible. The other particularity was the fact that the infection was caused at the same time by four different bacteria that is atypical in GG similar to that in streptoccocal necrotizing fasciitis where one bacteria is the causative agent (Clostridium perfringens for GG and group A streptococcus for necrotizing fasciitis).
Prevalence and drug resistance of Salmonella in dogs and cats in Xuzhou, China
Authors: Wei Lingling , Yang Cheng , Shao Wangfeng , Sun Tongzheng , Wang Jianyu , Zhou Zhengkun , Chen Caifa , Zhu Aihua , Pan Zhiming
Published: May 2020

Introduction

Salmonellosis is a zoonotic disease, and Salmonella spp. can sometimes be found in dogs and cats, posing a risk to human health. In this study, the prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility of faecal Salmonella were investigated in pet dogs and cats in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, China.

Material and Methods

Faecal samples from 243 dogs and 113 cats, at seven pet clinics, were tested between March 2018 and May 2019. Each Salmonella isolate was characterised using serotyping and antimicrobial susceptibility tests.

Results

The prevalence of Salmonella was 9.47% in dogs and 1.77% in cats. Among the 25 isolates, eight serotypes of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica were detected, S. Kentucky (n = 11), S. Indiana (n = 5), and S. Typhimurium (n = 4) predominating. S. Derby, S. Toucra, S. Sandiego, S. Newport, and S. Saintpaul all occurred singly. The 23 Salmonella strains found in dogs were from seven different serovars, while the two strains in cats were from two. The highest resistance rates were found for tetracycline (92%), azithromycin (88%), cefazolin (84%), nalidixic acid (80%), ampicillin (80%), ceftriaxone (80%), and streptomycin (76%). Resistance to three or more antimicrobial agents was detected in 24 (96%) isolates. Most of the S. Kentucky and S. Indiana isolates were multi-drug resistant to more than 11 agents.

Conclusion

The carriage rate was far higher in dogs than in cats from Xuzhou. Some isolated strains were highly resistant to antimicrobials used to treat infections in humans and pets, which may raise the risk of humans being infected with multi-drug resistant Salmonella via close contact with pets.
Characterization of AZ31-NbC surface composite fabricated by friction stir processing
Authors: Muralimanokar M. , Vaira Vignesh R. , Padmanaban R. , Suganya Priyadharshini G.
Published: May 2020

AZ31D magnesium alloy is widely used in automotive, aircraft, and aerospace applications because of its high strength to weight ratio. However, the softness of the alloy results in higher wear rate and the high activity results in higher corrosion rate. With an aim of reducing the wear rate and corrosion rate of AZ31 alloy, surface composite of AZ31 alloy is fabricated by reinforcing niobium carbide (NbC) by friction stir processing. The microstructure and dispersion of the reinforcements in AZ31-NbC surface composite is analysed by optical microscopy. In addition, the microhardness and tribological characteristics of the developed AZ31-NbC surface composite are investigated. The results demonstrated an increase in microhardness (23.2 %) and the decrease in wear rate (15.6 % for a normal load of 2 kg) in the developed AZ31-NbC surface composite with respect to the base material. The immersion corrosion test was performed to analyse the corrosion rate of the developed AZ31-NbC surface composite in simulated sea water environment (3.5 wt % NaCl solution). The results indicate that the corrosion rate of the developed AZ31-NbC surface composite is higher than that of base material. A comprehensive analysis on the wear and corrosion mechanism of the developed AZ31-NbC surface composite is presented.
Facies patterns and depositional processes in two Frasnian mixed siliciclastic-carbonate systems in the Cantabrian Mountains, northwest Spain
Authors: van Loevezijn Gerard B.S. , Raven J.G.M.
Published: May 2020

Relative sea level fluctuations during the Frasnian generated two shallow-marine, mixed siliciclastic-carbonate successions in the Devonian Asturo-Leonese Basin. Each system represents a third-order sequence-stratigraphical unit deposited in the same basin during comparable extreme greenhouse conditions without nearby fluvial entry points. Depositional control on the siliciclastic and carbonate distribution was driven by relative sea level fluctuations, basin geometry, availability of sand and the way sediment was distributed by shelf currents. Early Variscan flexural bending of the continental crust changed the basin shape from a shelf with a gradual profile and low dip (early Frasnian) towards a shelf with a steep depositional dip (late Frasnian). Shelf distribution changed from along-shelf transport (early Frasnian) towards offshore-directed gravity flows (late Frasnian). As a consequence, siliciclastic-carbonate distribution changed from a predominance of skeletal carbonate in the proximal shoreface – foreshore area and siliciclastic predominance distally (early Frasnian), to a distribution pattern with proximal shoreface skeletal carbonates, offshore muddy carbonates and a siliciclastic zone in between where gravity flows distributed the siliciclastic sediment down dip (late Frasnian).