bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Writing onto the Clouds: John Durham Peters and Inscription Media
Authors: Pooley Jefferson
Published: January 2020

John Durham Peters' Speaking Into the Air (1999) is a series of exegeses of textual remains, delivered in the same written mode. These aren’t conversations, since the authors can’t reply. Peters—an estranged reader—catches what he can from letters that weren’t addressed to him. And his own interpretations have the same character: Delivered as writing, they have no addressee. The book’s playful and scattershot style—its runic overflow—is itself a notable abstention from dialogue. This is the main point of my brief monologue: Speaking Into the Air enacts its own argument. In its written form, with its hermeneutic mode, and by its promiscuous prose, the book exemplifies its own moral case for dissemination over (in Peters’ chilling phrase) “interpersonal mimesis” (p. 31). It is itself speaking into the air—or, as I prefer, writing onto the clouds.
PENILAIAN PERFORMA DALAM PEMBELAJARAN SAINS
Authors: R. Dicky Agus Purnama  , Benny Agus Pribadi
Published: January 2020

This article will elaborate the use of performance assessment to measure students competencies in learning science. What type of performance assessment appropriate to assess students learning outcome of science? The answer of this question is necessary for the teachers to determine the best assessment technique in science. Basically science can be considered as the root of knowledge and technology. Learning activities in science should be designed in order to facilitate students learning. It is a constructive process which requires students to study concepts inductively. Learning activities in science should be based on constructivism learning theory which encourages students to build their own knowledge and to apply it in the real world. Learning science should involve several essentials activities such as student involvement (engagement); extracting knowledge (exploration); presenting the findings (explanation); understanding knowledge (elaboration); and achievement learning competencies (assessment). It is necessary to implement performance assessment to measure the students learning outcome in science.

Penulisan artikel ini bertujuan untuk mengelaborasi implementasi penilaian performa siswa untuk mengukur kemampuan siswa dalam mempelajari isi atau mata pelajaran sains. Bentuk penilaian seperti apa yang diperlukan untuk mengetahui kompetensi siswa setelah mempelajari mata pelajaran sains? Jawaban terhadap pertanyaan ini sangat diperlukan untuk dapat merancang dan mengembangkan sistem penilaian untuk mengukur kemampuan siswa dalam mata pelajaran sains. Sains atau science pada hakekatnya merupakan akar perkembangan ilmu pengetahuan dan teknologi (iptek). Pembelajaran sains pada semua jenjang pendidikan perlu dirancang agar menarik dan bermakna bagi siswa. Aktivitas dalam pembelajaran sains harus memanfaatkan pendekatan dan teori belajar konstruktivistik yang mendorong siswa dapat membangun pengetahuan dan mengaplikasikannya dalam dunia nyata. Pembelajaran sains berbasis teori belajar konstruktivistik bercirikan belajar seperti: Keterlibatan siswa (engagement); penggalian pengetahuan (exploration); penjelasan (explanation); penjabaran (elaboration); dan penilaian (assessment). Dalam aktivitas pebelajaran sains berbasis teori belajar konstruktivistik penilaian hasil belajar menekankan pada performa siswa dalam mengintegrasikan pengetahuan-fenomena alam. Artikel ini akan mengupas implementasi konsep penilaian performa atau performance assessmentdalam pembelajaran sains berbasis teori belajar konstruktivistik.
EKSPERIMENTASI MODEL PEMBELAJARAN KOOPERATIF TIPE STUDENT TEAMS ACHIEVEMENT DIVISIONS MODIFIKASI PENEMUAN TERBIMBING TERHADAP PRESTASI BELAJAR MATEMATIKA DITINJAU DARI KEMAMPUAN VERBAL
Authors: Herlina Herlina
Published: January 2020

The purpose of this study was to compare the learning achievement using cooperative learning model Student Teams Achievement Divisions with cooperative learning model Student Teams Achievement Divisions modification of guided discovery in terms of verbal abality. Based on the results of the study concluded that (1) based on a model of learning, the mathematics achievement of students who use cooperative learning model Student Teams Achievement Divisions as good with mathematics achievement of students who use cooperative learning model Student Teams Achievement Divisions modifications guided discovery, both onstudents who have the high verbal skills, medium and low, (2) base on terms of verbal skills, mathematics achievement of students who have high verbal ability is better than mathematics achievement of students who have medium and low verbal ability, and mathematics achievement of students have medium verbal skillsbetter than mathematics achievement of students have the ability low verbal skills.

Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui perbandingan prestasi belajar yang menggunakan model pembelajaran kooperatif tipe Student Teams Achievement Divisions dengan model pembelajaran kooperatif tipe Student Teams Achievement Divisions modifikasi penemuan terbimbing ditinjau dari kemamuan verbal. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian disimpulkan bahwa (1) berdasarkan model pembelajaran, prestasi belajar matematika peserta didik yang menggunakan model pembelajaran kooperatif tipe Student Teams Achievement Divisions sama baiknya dengan prestasi belajar matematika peserta didik yang dikenai model pembelajaran kooperatif tipe Student Teams Achievement Divisions modifikasi penemuan terbimbing,baik pada peserta didik yang memiliki kemampuan verbal tinggi, sedang dan rendah, (2) ditinjau dari kemampuan verbal, peserta didik yang memiliki kemampuan verbal tinggi lebih baik daripada peserta didik yang memiliki kemampuan verbal sedang dan rendah, dan peserta didik yang memiliki kemampuan verbal sedang lebih baik daripada peserta didik yang memiliki kemampuan verbal rendah.
KARYA VISUAL ANAK USIA DINI DEVELOPING VISUAL ART IN EARLY CHILDHOOD
Authors: Settings Siti Aisyah
Published: January 2020

Early childhood need proper media when they want to express their willingnesses and feelings due to they havent got verbal communication ability well. Pictures or visual art can be used as media that can depicture children feelings when they can not talk. In more mature age phase, pictures or visual art made by children can be rendered as expressive media to measure perceptions they have. Hence, pictures can be made as aid media to develop language skill to children. There are some steps that need to be conducted for giving stimulus that can produce visual art containing typical original story for children. Creating visual art is one of steps that can be conducted to enhance kinds of intelligence components in early age children. Besides, it is used to develop spatial-visual intelligence in the children, creating visual art can be proceeded as one of ways of developing language creativity. Utilizing visual art can enact the children more helpful in narrating about something. Describing a thing experienced by the children then narrates it, is one of step for them in expressing their feelings on something. Therefore, by means of visual creation development, a teacher is be able to increase children capabilities in communication and their ability in intellectual.

Anak usia dini membutuhkan media yang tepat ketika akan mengungkapkan keinginan serta perasaannya saat mereka belum memiliki kemampuan komunikasi verbal yang baik. Gambar atau karya visual dapat dimanfaatkan sebagai media yang menceritakan perasaan anak ketika mereka tidak berbicara. Pada tahapan usia yang lebih matang, gambar atau karya visual yang dibuat oleh anak-anak dapat dijadikan sebagai media ekspresi serta untuk mengukur wawasan yang dimiliki oleh mereka. Karena itu, gambar dapat dijadikan sebagai media yang membantu mengembangkan keterampilan berbahasa pada anak. Agar dapat menghasilkan karya visual yang kaya dengan cerita asli khas anak-anak, banyak langkah yang perlu dilakukan untuk memberi stimulus. Menciptakan karya visual adalah salah satu cara yang dapat dilakukan untuk mengembangkan berbagai komponen kecerdasan pada anak usia dini. Selain untuk mengembangkan kecerdasan visual-spasial pada anak, menciptakan karya visual dapat dilakukan sebagai salah satu cara pengembangan kreativitas berbahasa. Menggunakan karya visual membuat anak-anak lebih terbantu dalam bercerita mengenai suatu hal. Menggambarkan hal yang dialami oleh anak kemudian menceritakannya adalah merupakan salah satu jalan bagi mereka mengekspresikan perasaannya terhadap sesuatu. Dengan demikian, melalui pengembangan karya visual, guru dapat meningkatkan kemampuan anak dalam berkomunikasi serta peningkatan kemampuan berpikirnya.
REDUKSI KESULITAN SISWA DALAM MENYELESAIKAN SOAL ICAS DENGAN PEMBERIAN TEKNIK SCAFFOLDING BERDASARKAN HASIL PEMETAAN KOGNITIF
Authors: Yunus Arrizal Muhaemin , Wahyuning Endang , Suroyo Suroyo
Published: January 2020

This research intends to analize the effect of scaffolding technique on the difficulty level experienced by students in solving problems of The International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS) for space and geometry lessons. This research uses qualitative analytic. The subjects in this study are 9 students from 32 students in grade V of the Islamic Elementary School of Al-Azhar BSD. The validity of ICAS test results ranged from 0.2 to 0.6 and the reliability is 0.66. The results showed the reduction of students’ difficulties in solving mathematics problems of ICAS after obtaining scaffolding technique based on the result of cognitive mapping. The conclusions are: (1) The number of incorrect student answers during the initial diagnostic test and the final diagnostic test vary of 2 to 3 from 6 questions; (2) There was a reduction in the average score of the students’ wrong answers by 65%; (3) Of the 9 subjects who received scaffolding techniques based on cognitive mapping, there were 6 subjects had a reduction of difficulty more than 50%, while the other 3 subjects had a reduction of difficulty less than 50%. (4) The result of paired t-test of 9 subjects is 5.121 with significance level of  0.001. It can be concluded that  scaffolding technique has a good impacts in reducing students’ difficulties in geometry.

 

Penelitian ini bertujuan menganalisis dampak penggunaan teknik scaffolding pada tingkat kesulitan siswa dalam penyelesaian soal The International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS) untuk materi space dan geometry.Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian kualitatif. Subjek dalam penelitian ini adalah 9 orang siswa yang diambil dari 32 siswa kelas V E  SD Islam Al-Azhar BSD. Validitas hasil uji coba tes ICAS berkisar antara 0,2 sampai 0,6 dengan reliabilitas sebesar 0,66. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan reduksi kesulitan siswa dalam menyelesaikan soal matematika ICAS year 5 setelah mendapatkan teknik scaffolding berdasarkan hasil pemetaan kognitif. Beberapa kesimpulan diperolehyaitu: (1) Banyaknya jawaban siswa yang salah pada saat tes diagnostik awal dan tes diagnostik akhir berkisar antara 2 sampai 3 dari 6 soal; (2) Terjadi pengurangan atau reduksi pada rata-rata jawaban siswa yang salah sebesar 65%; (3) Dari 9 orang subjek penelitian yang mendapatkan teknik scaffolding berdasarkan pemetaan kognitif, ada 6 subjek yang mengalami reduksi kesulitan lebih dari 50%, sedangkan 3 subjek lain mengalami reduksi kesulitan kurang dari 50%. (4) Hasil perhitungan uji-t berpasangan pada 9 subjek adalah 5,121 dengan nilai signifikan 0,001. Dengan demikian, penerapan teknik scaffolding saat penelitian memiliki dampak baik pada subjek yaitu mengurangi kesulitan siswa dalam mengerjakan soal geometri ICAS.
METODE PENCEGAHAN PLAGIARISME PADA KELAS TUTORIAL
Authors: Amilia Fitri
Published: January 2020

Plagiarism is an act of  taking or stealing ideas of others, whether intentionally or not. This plagiarism can happen anywhere, by anyone, and in various forms of writing. This plagiarism is referred to as academic crime, so it must be avoided by all parties. This article will examine ways to prevent plagiarism. The scope of this study is in the Indonesian online tutorial at Universitas Terbuka. This article is written based on observations and practices in tutorial activities. In the context of this discussion, plagiarism means writing the same answers from several students during the learning activities. The similarity of answers may be obtained from similar sources. The similariries occur because there is no attempt to write with the correct citation, or paraphrase it. Therefore, it demands  creativity and innovation from  the tutor in conducting  the learning or tutorial, both during discussion time and tutorial task. Creativity is applied in selecting and designing the problem form in discussion activities. This creativity is also related to the skills of the tutor in higher order thinking skills to the students. The concept of innovation is applied in the dynamics of the problem in the tutorial task. Dynamic tutorial will be an indicator of professional educator in performing his duties as tutor. Through the creativity and innovation of tutors, students are indirectly required to answer honestly, thoroughly, and comprehensively. Besides, students are also required to always open the material and questions, because the tutor creates the tutorial class to be dynamic, not static. In this way, the tutorial activities will be a medium and place oflearning for students and tutors.
ANALISIS PENGEMBANGAN MODEL MATAKULIAH PRAKTIK PADA PROGRAM STUDI ILMU PEMERINTAHAN UNIVERSITAS TERBUKA
Authors: Aisyah Siti , Enceng Enceng
Published: January 2020

The problem in developing practical courses at universities that apply the distance education in Indonesia are: 1)It is difficult to determine the place of practice for students because students are spread in different locations; 2)The study program found it difficult to develop a practice course in distance education methods. The development of subject matter practice in the government science study program at Universitas Terbuka has a significant urgency with the needs of the people in Indonesia. This article aims to analyze the development of practical courses in government science study programs, in Universitas Terbuka.This article is the result of a research with a qualitative approach. Primary data obtained from interviews with experts, students, and graduate users. Secondary data includes the results of the literature review, the results of previous studies, and documents relating to practical subjects. The research findings are: 1)Mastery of students in understanding governance as science and art implies not only at the level of mastery of theory and concepts, but also the importance of prioritizing attitude skills and behavior in dealing with government phenomena. 2)The subject matter which has the potential to be developed into practice material is a course related to development, village government, the legislature, and the methodology of governmental science. The implication of this finding is the need to conduct a comparative study in the application of practical subjects at several other universities that use distance learning methods both domestically and abroad.
A Novel Calcium-Activated Potassium Channel Controls Membrane Potential and Intracellular pH in Trypanosoma cruzi
Authors: Barrera Patricia , Skorka Christopher , Boktor Michael , Dave Noopur , Jimenez Veronica
Published: January 2020

Trypanosoma cruzi develops in environments where nutrient availability, osmolarity, ionic concentrations, and pH undergo significant changes. The ability to adapt and respond to such conditions determines the survival and successful transmission of T. cruzi. Ion channels play fundamental roles in controlling physiological parameters that ensure cell homeostasis by rapidly triggering compensatory mechanisms. Combining molecular, cellular and electrophysiological approaches we have identified and characterized the expression and function of a novel calcium-activated potassium channel (TcCAKC). This channel resides in the plasma membrane of all 3 life stages of T. cruzi and shares structural features with other potassium channels. We expressed TcCAKC in Xenopus laevis oocytes and established its biophysical properties by two-electrode voltage clamp. Oocytes expressing TcCAKC showed a significant increase in inward currents after addition of calcium ionophore ionomycin or thapsigargin. These responses were abolished by EGTA suggesting that TcCAKC activation is dependent of extracellular calcium. This activation causes an increase in current and a negative shift in reversal potential that is blocked by barium. As predicted, a single point mutation in the selectivity filter (Y313A) completely abolished the activity of the channels, confirming its potassium selective nature. We have generated knockout parasites deleting one or both alleles of TcCAKC. These parasite strains showed impaired growth, decreased production of trypomastigotes and slower intracellular replication, pointing to an important role of TcCAKC in regulating infectivity. To understand the cellular mechanisms underlying these phenotypic defects, we used fluorescent probes to evaluate intracellular membrane potential, pH, and intracellular calcium. Epimastigotes lacking the channel had significantly lower cytosolic calcium, hyperpolarization, changes in intracellular pH, and increased rate of proton extrusion. These results are in agreement with previous reports indicating that, in trypanosomatids, membrane potential and intracellular pH maintenance are linked. Our work shows TcCAKC is a novel potassium channel that contributes to homeostatic regulation of important physiological processes in T. cruzi and provides new avenues to explore the potential of ion channels as targets for drug development against protozoan parasites.
A Combined Method of Image Processing and Artificial Neural Network for the Identification of 13 Iranian Rice Cultivars
Authors: Abbaspour-Gilandeh Yousef , Molaee Amir , Sabzi Sajad , Nabipur Narjes , Shamshirband Shahaboddin , Mosavi Amir
Published: January 2020

Due to the importance of identifying crop cultivars, the advancement of accurate assessment of cultivars is considered essential. The existing methods for identifying rice cultivars are mainly time-consuming, costly, and destructive. Therefore, the development of novel methods is highly beneficial. The aim of the present research is to classify common rice cultivars in Iran based on color, morphologic, and texture properties using artificial intelligence (AI) methods. In doing so, digital images of 13 rice cultivars in Iran in three forms of paddy, brown, and white are analyzed through pre-processing and segmentation of using MATLAB. Ninety-two specificities, including 60 color, 14 morphologic, and 18 texture properties, were identified for each rice cultivar. In the next step, the normal distribution of data was evaluated, and the possibility of observing a significant difference between all specificities of cultivars was studied using variance analysis. In addition, the least significant difference (LSD) test was performed to obtain a more accurate comparison between cultivars. To reduce data dimensions and focus on the most effective components, principal component analysis (PCA) was employed. Accordingly, the accuracy of rice cultivar separations was calculated for paddy, brown rice, and white rice using discriminant analysis (DA), which was 89.2%, 87.7%, and 83.1%, respectively. To identify and classify the desired cultivars, a multilayered perceptron neural network was implemented based on the most effective components. The results showed 100% accuracy of the network in identifying and classifying all mentioned rice cultivars. Hence, it is concluded that the integrated method of image processing and pattern recognition methods, such as statistical classification and artificial neural networks, can be used for identifying and classification of rice cultivars.
Irrigation during Flowering Improves Subsoil Water Uptake and Grain Yield in Rainfed Soybean
Authors: He Jin , Jin Yi , Turner Neil C. , Li Feng-Min
Published: January 2020

Water is the main factor limiting soybean yield and the timely supply of supplemental irrigation could increase the grain yield, but the effects of a supplemental water supply on soybean yields have not been well studied. Field and pot experiments were conducted to compare the grain yield, yield components, water use efficiency for grain yield (WUEG), flower number, filled-pod number, soil water content, and root dry weight at different depths with and without supplemental irrigation at flowering. Field experiments showed that compared to rainfed conditions, 40 mm of water applied during flowering significantly increased grain yield by 26%, WUEG by 12%, filled-pod number by 16%, grain number by 13.3%, and water uptake from soil by 11% in 2011, and increased grain yield by 22%, WUEG by 7%, filled-pod number by 26%, grain number by 27%, and water uptake by 21% in 2012. The soil water content in the subsoil (1.2–2.0 m) layers under the irrigated treatment was lower, indicating greater water extraction, than in the rainfed treatment and water uptake was significantly and positively correlated with yield in both years. In a pot experiment, flower and filled-pod number, water use during flowering and podding were significantly higher in the well-watered (WW) treatment than cyclic water stress (WS) treatment. Flower number and filled-pod number were significantly and positively correlated with water use during flowering and podding, respectively, under both the WW and WS treatments. The root dry weight was higher in the 0.2–0.8 m soil layer in the WW treatment than the WS treatment. We conclude that supplementary water at flowering increased the water uptake from deeper soil layers by increasing the distribution of roots in the subsoil layers that resulted in the production of more flowers and filled pods and increased the WUEG and grain yield.
Identification of Metabonomics Changes in Longissimus Dorsi Muscle of Finishing Pigs Following Heat Stress through LC-MS/MS-Based Metabonomics Method
Authors: Gao Jie , Yang Peige , Cui Yanjun , Meng Qingshi , Feng Yuejin , Hao Yue , Liu Jiru , Piao Xiangshu , Gu Xianhong
Published: January 2020

Heat stress (HS) negatively affects meat quality by affecting material and energy metabolism, and exploring the mechanism underlying the muscle response to chronic HS in finishing pigs is important for the global pork industry. This study investigated changes in the metabolic profiles of the longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle of finishing pigs under high temperature using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS) and multivariate data analysis (MDA). Castrated male DLY pigs (Duroc × Landrance × Yorkshire pigs, n = 24) from 8 litters were divided into three treatment groups: constant optimal ambient temperature at 22 °C and ad libitum feeding (CR, n = 8); constant high ambient temperature at 30 °C and ad libitum feeding (HS, n = 8); and constant optimal ambient temperature 22 °C and pair-feeding to the control pigs (PF, n = 8). The metabolic profile data from LD muscle samples were analyzed by MDA and external search engines. Nine differential metabolites (L-carnosine, acetylcholine, inosinic acid, L-carnitine, L-anserine, L-α-glycerylphosphorylcholine, acetylcarnitine, thiamine triphosphate, and adenosine thiamine diphosphate) were involved in antioxidant function, lipid metabolism, and cell signal transduction, which may decrease post mortem meat quality and play important roles in anti-HS. Four metabolites (L-carnosine, acetylcholine, inosinic acid, and L-carnitine) were verified, and it was indicated that the muscle L-carnitine content was significantly lower in HS than in CR (p < 0.01). The results show that constant HS affects the metabolites in the LD muscle and leads to coordinated changes in the endogenous antioxidant defense and meat quality of finishing pigs. These metabonomics results provide a basis for researching nutritional strategies to reduce the negative effects of heat stress on livestock and present new insights for further research.
Genetic Parameters for Growth and Kid Survival of Indigenous Goat under Smallholding System of Burundi
Authors: Josiane Manirakiza , Gilbert Hatungumukama , Johann Detilleux
Published: January 2020

The goal of this study was to estimate genetic parameters for the growth, conformation, and survival of goat kids raised in smallholder farming systems in Burundi. To do this, measurements were taken on live weight, thoracic perimeter, length, and height at birth (n = 1538 animals), at 3 months (n = 1270 animals), at 6 months (n = 992 animals), at 9 months (n = 787 animals), and at 12 months (n = 705 animals). Kids were born between 2016 and 2019, from 645 dams and 106 bucks. Three bivariate animal models were used to estimate genetic parameters of body weight and conformation measurements as potential indicators of this weight. According to the measure, heritability was estimated between 15 and 17% and genetic correlations between 65 and 79%. An accelerated failure time animal model was used to estimate the heritability of survival for kids under one year, adjusted for birth weight. Goat survival was significantly prolonged by 0.64 days per kilogram of birth weight. The estimated heritability for this trait was 2%. Overall, these results suggest that a selection program could be implemented to improve animal growth, either directly on weight or indirectly on conformational traits. At the same time, efforts need to be made to improve rearing conditions to increase the survival of kids.
Development and Challenges of Antimicrobial Peptides for Therapeutic Applications
Authors: Chen Charles H. , Lu Timothy K.
Published: January 2020

More than 3000 antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have been discovered, seven of which have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Now commercialized, these seven peptides have mostly been utilized for topical medications, though some have been injected into the body to treat severe bacterial infections. To understand the translational potential for AMPs, we analyzed FDA-approved drugs in the FDA drug database. We examined their physicochemical properties, secondary structures, and mechanisms of action, and compared them with the peptides in the AMP database. All FDA-approved AMPs were discovered in Gram-positive soil bacteria, and 98% of known AMPs also come from natural sources (skin secretions of frogs and toxins from different species). However, AMPs can have undesirable properties as drugs, including instability and toxicity. Thus, the design and construction of effective AMPs require an understanding of the mechanisms of known peptides and their effects on the human body. This review provides an overview to guide the development of AMPs that can potentially be used as antimicrobial drugs.
Essential Oil of Croton ceanothifolius Baill. Potentiates the Effect of Antibiotics against Multiresistant Bacteria
Authors: J. de Araújo Ana C. , R. Freitas Priscilla , Rodrigues dos Santos Barbosa Cristina , Muniz Débora F. , Esmeraldo Rocha Janaína , Neto José B. de Araújo , C. da Silva Maria M. , Moura Talysson F. , Pereira Raimundo L. S. , Ribeiro-Filho Jaime , Silva Luiz E. da , do Amaral Wanderlei , Deschamps Cícero , Tintino Saulo R. , Iriti Marcello , Vitalini Sara , Melo Coutinho Henrique D.
Published: January 2020

This study is a pioneer in reporting the antibacterial properties of the species Croton ceanothifolius Baill. The genus Croton belongs to the family Euphorbiaceae composed of numerous species with documented biological activities. However, the pharmacological properties of C. ceanothifolius remain poorly understood. The leaves of this plant were submitted to hydrodistillation for essential oil (CcEO) extraction and the phytochemical characterization of the oil was performed by GC/MS. The minimum inhibitory concentration of the CcEO was determined for the evaluation of antibacterial activity against multiresistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Escherichia coli. The antibiotic-modulating activity of the oil, in combination with antibiotics, was also evaluated. The combination of the CcEO with penicillin, norfloxacin, and gentamicin presented a synergistic effect. This effect was more significant for the association with antibiotics of the quinolone and aminoglycoside classes against Escherichia coli. The association of oil with gentamicin showed better results with regard to the Gram-positive strain. The association of the oil with norfloxacin against P. aeruginosa also showed synergism, but the association with penicillin did not change the effect of this antibiotic. Thus, it is concluded that C. ceanothifolius essential oil selectively potentiates the action of antibiotics against multiresistant strains.
Effect of α-Bisabolol and Its β-Cyclodextrin Complex as TetK and NorA Efflux Pump Inhibitors in Staphylococcus aureus Strains
Authors: Pereira da Cruz Rafael , Sampaio de Freitas Thiago , do Socorro Costa Maria , Lucas dos Santos Antonia Thassya , Ferreira Campina Fábia , Pereira Raimundo Luiz Silva , Bezerra José Weverton Almeida , Quintans-Júnior Lucindo José , De Souza Araújo Adriano Antunes , De Siqueira Júnior José Pinto , Iriti Marcello , Varoni Elena Maria , De Menezes Irwin Rose Alencar , Melo Coutinho Henrique Douglas , Bezerra Morais-Braga Maria Flaviana
Published: January 2020

Efflux pumps are proteins present in the plasma membrane of bacteria, which transport antibiotics and other compounds into the extracellular medium, conferring resistance. The discovery of natural efflux pump inhibitors is a promising alternative. α-Bisabolol is a sesquiterpene isolated from several plants such as Matricaria chamomilla L. and has important properties such as antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activity. Currently, the formation of inclusion complexes with β-Cyclodextrin has been used for improving the physicochemical characteristics of the host molecule. This study evaluated the effect of α-Bisabolol, in isolation and in complexation with β-Cyclodextrin, as TetK and NorA efflux pump inhibitors in Staphylococcus aureus strains. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined. Subsequently, inhibitory activity over the pumps was observed by an MIC reduction for the antibiotics, by using subinhibitory concentrations (MIC/8) in combination with tetracycline and norfloxacin. The MIC of the compounds was ≥1024 μg/mL. α-Bisabolol potentiated the action of tetracycline and reduced the MIC of norfloxacin to a clinically relevant concentration. The complexed substance showed synergism however, the effect of the isolated α-Bisabolol was superior to the complex. These results indicate α-Bisabolol is a potential substance to be used as an efflux pump inhibitor.
Enhancing the Prediction Accuracy of Data-Driven Models for Monthly Streamflow in Urmia Lake Basin Based upon the Autoregressive Conditionally Heteroskedastic Time-Series Model
Authors: Attar Nasrin Fathollahzadeh , Pham Quoc Bao , Nowbandegani Sajad Fani , Rezaie-Balf Mohammad , Fai Chow Ming , Ahmed Ali Najah , Pipelzadeh Saeed , Dung Tran Duc , Nhi Pham Thi Thao , Khoi Dao Nguyen , El-Shafie Ahmed
Published: January 2020

Hydrological modeling is one of the important subjects in managing water resources and the processes of predicting stochastic behavior. Developing Data-Driven Models (DDMs) to apply to hydrological modeling is a very complex issue because of the stochastic nature of the observed data, like seasonality, periodicities, anomalies, and lack of data. As streamflow is one of the most important components in the hydrological cycle, modeling and estimating streamflow is a crucial aspect. In this study, two models, namely, Optimally Pruned Extreme Learning Machine (OPELM) and Chi-Square Automatic Interaction Detector (CHAID) methods were used to model the deterministic parts of monthly streamflow equations, while Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (ARCH) was used in modeling the stochastic parts of monthly streamflow equations. The state of art and innovation of this study is the integration of these models in order to create new hybrid models, ARCH-OPELM and ARCH-CHAID, and increasing the accuracy of models. The study draws on the monthly streamflow data of two different river stations, located in north-western Iran, including Dizaj and Tapik, which are on Nazluchai and Baranduzchai, gathered over 31 years from 1986 to 2016. To ascertain the conclusive accuracy, five evaluation metrics including Correlation Coefficient (R), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), Nash–Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE), Mean Absolute Error (MAE), the ratio of RMSE to the Standard Deviation (RSD), scatter plots, time-series plots, and Taylor diagrams were used. Standalone CHAID models have better results than OPELM methods considering sole models. In the case of hybrid models, ARCH-CHAID models in the validation stage performed better than ARCH-OPELM for Dizaj station (R = 0.96, RMSE = 1.289 m3/s, NSE = 0.92, MAE = 0.719 m3/s and RSD = 0.301) and for Tapik station (R = 0.94, RMSE = 2.662 m3/s, NSE = 0.86, MAE = 1.467 m3/s and RSD = 0.419). The results remarkably reveal that ARCH-CHAID models in both stations outperformed all other models. Finally, it is worth mentioning that the new hybrid “ARCH-DDM” models outperformed standalone models in predicting monthly streamflow.
Depression and Microbiome—Study on the Relation and Contiguity between Dogs and Humans
Authors: Mondo Elisabetta , De Cesare Alessandra , Manfreda Gerardo , Sala Claudia , Cascio Giuseppe , Accorsi Pier Attilio , Marliani Giovanna , Cocchi Massimo
Published: January 2020

Behavioral studies demonstrate that not only humans, but all other animals including dogs, can suffer from depression. A quantitative molecular evaluation of fatty acids in human and animal platelets has already evidenced similarities between people suffering from depression and German Shepherds, suggesting that domestication has led dogs to be similar to humans. In order to verify whether humans and dogs suffering from similar pathologies also share similar microorganisms at the intestinal level, in this study the gut-microbiota composition of 12 German Shepherds was compared to that of 15 dogs belonging to mixed breeds which do not suffer from depression. Moreover, the relation between the microbiota of the German Shepherd’s group and that of patients with depression has been investigated. The results indicate that the German Shepherd’s gut-microbiota has a different composition compared to other dog breeds and is characterized by microbial groups identified in humans with depression, highlighting the existence of a “core” microbiota associated with depression.
Complete Lung Ultrasound Using Liquid Filling: A Review of Methods Regarding Sonographic Findings and Clinical Relevance
Authors: Wolfram Frank , Lesser Thomas G.
Published: January 2020

(200w) Lung ultrasound (LUS) is widely used for the diagnosis of pulmonary diseases such as solid nodules and consolidations in contact with the pleural cavity. However, sonography for processes of central disease remains impaired due to total sound reflection at the air tissue interfaces in the ventilated lung. These acoustic barriers can be overcome by replacing intra-alveolar air with liquid. Such filling has been reported using perfluorocarbon, saline or emulsions out of those. In order to achieve acoustic access enabling the use of LUS, complete gas free content is required. Such lung tissue - liquid compound will have untypical physical properties that might impact upon the sonographic visualization of central structures. Up to now, the filling of the lung has been reported for very specific applications and not classified regarding their sonographic findings. This work was therefore motivated to review the literature for methods of lung liquid instillation, classifying their methodological strength and limitations for achieving acoustic access and sonographic findings. Finally, their use for ultrasound based clinical applications will be discussed and the need for research will be outlined.
The Impact of Virtual Water on Sustainable Development in Gansu Province
Authors: Wang Weixuan , Adamowski Jan F. , Liu Chunfang , Liu Yujia , Zhang Yongkai , Wang Xueyan , Su Haohai , Cao Jianjun
Published: January 2020

The concept of virtual water, as a new approach for addressing water shortage and safety issues, can be applied to support sustainable development in water-scarce regions. Using the input-output method, the direct and the complete water use coefficients of industries categorized as primary, secondary, or tertiary, and the spatial flow patterns of the inter-provincial trade in the Gansu province region of China, were explored. The results show that in 2007, 2010, and 2012 the direct and complete water use coefficients of the primary industries were the greatest among the three industry categories, with direct water use coefficients of 1545.58, 882.28, and 762.16, respectively, and complete water use coefficients of 1692.22, 1005.38, and 873.44, respectively; whereas, the direct and complete water use coefficient values of the tertiary industry category were the lowest, with direct water use coefficients of 16.65, 7.74, and 66.89 for 2007, 2010, and 2012, respectively, and complete water use coefficients of 65.46, 66.89, and 72.81 for 2007, 2010, and 2012, respectively. In addition, study results suggest that the volume of virtual water supplied to Gasnu province’s local industries has decreased annually, while virtual water exports from the province have increased annually, with the primary industry accounting for 95% of virtual water output. Overall, the virtual water of Gansu province in 2010 showed a net output trend, with a total output of 0.506 billion m3, while in 2007 and 2012 it showed a net input trend with a total input of 0.104 and 1.235 billion m3, respectively. Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Ningxia and other water-scarce areas were the main input, or import source for Gansu’s virtual water; during the years studied, these provinces imported more than 50 million m3 individually. Based on these results, it is clear that under the current structure, virtual water is mainly exported to the well-developed coastal areas and their adjacent provinces or other water-abundant regions. Therefore, Gansu province should (1) adjust the industrial structure and develop water-saving and high-tech industries; (2) adjust the current trade pattern to reduce virtual water output while increasing its input to achieve balanced economic development and water resource security.
Effect of High-Induction Magnetic Stimulation on Complex Heart Rate Variability of Sus Scrofa Domesticus under General Anesthesia
Authors: Hanáková Lenka , Průcha Jaroslav , Socha Vladimír , Štengl Milan , Van den Bergh Sarah
Published: January 2020

Modern approaches to physical therapy often use electric currents induced by time-varying magnetic fields. Although some of these methods are already commonly used, and only a few studies are looking at applying particular techniques on exposed tissue. In this study, a high-induction magnetic stimulation (HIMS) was applied to the chest area to affect the electrical conduction system of the heart. The animal model Sus scrofa domesticus was used for the study. Standard methods were used to make the subsequent analysis, i.e., heart rate variability in time and frequency domain. Concerning the nonlinear character of the electrocardiographic signal and evaluating complex variability (complexity), recurrent quantification analysis was used. The results show high resistance to a physiologically working heart, but there are also specific changes concerning complex variability. Thus, the results indicate that the HIMS application in the chest area may not pose a significant risk to healthy individuals in terms of the short-term effect of this technique on cardiac activity. However, cardiac activity is still, to some extent, affected by the HIMS application. In view of this and the fact that the study was conducted on an animal model, further research in this area would be appropriate.
Geological Formation Mechanism and Thermal Resources Assessment of Geothermal Spring in Lushan County, China
Authors: Zhang Qing , Bin Zhaohui , Xu Yongji , Luo Shaohe , Zhao Li , Qian Jiazhong
Published: January 2020

Geothermal resource is green and clean energy, and geothermal field is widely distributed in the world. Its development and utilization has little harm to the environment, can change the current situation of energy consumption mainly based on fossil energy, reduce carbon emissions, and promote the development of techniques for sustainable processing of natural resources. However, each geothermal field has its own characteristic structure, origin, and storage, so it is necessary to carry out targeted research. In this paper, the geothermal characteristics and geological characteristics of the geothermal belt in Lushan County, China are analyzed by means of remote sensing interpretation, field investigation and observation, geophysical exploration, long-term observation, pumping test, and hydrochemical analysis. Result of this study shows that the geothermal belt of Lushan geothermal fields is as a result of primary thermal control and heat conduction structures of the near east-west Checun-Xiatang deep fault as well as secondary thermal control and heat conduction structures of near north-east and north-west secondary faults; and annual recoverable geothermal energy of whole geothermal field is 4.41 × 1011 MJ. The research results will be beneficial for the development and utilization of Lushan hot springs. At the same time, it also provides reference for more geothermal research.
The Effective Chattering Suppression Technique with Adaptive Super-Twisted Sliding Mode Controller Based on the Quasi-Barrier Function; An Experimentation Setup
Authors: Svečko Rajko , Gleich Dušan , Sarjaš Andrej
Published: January 2020

The paper presents a modified adaptation algorithm for the super-twisted sliding mode controller structure, based on the barrier function method. The aim of the paper is to reduce the chattering phenomena of the controller, which limited the use of the controller in different applications. The chattering phenomena are mostly caused by the overestimated controller gain due to the assumed disturbance bound, which is mostly inaccurate. The chattering origins are also the unknown parasitic dynamic of the system and discrete implementation of the controller. The proposed method with the Barrier function is used to alleviate the chattering phenomena with the adaptation of the controller parameters. The novelty of the method is using an adaptation procedure only in prescribed regions of the sliding variable, otherwise, the adaptation is not used. The advantage of the method is the proper rejection of the chattering phenomena in the vicinity of the manifold of the sliding variable, regardless of the order of the system. With proper selection of the adaptation boundary, the effect of discrete implementation, especially for a longer sampling time of the algorithm, can be suppressed efficiently, as well as the effect of the overestimated controller parameters. The proposed method is verified and compared with a standard version of the algorithm in simulation and real-time environments.
Development of Stochastic Fatigue Model of Reinforcement for Reliability of Concrete Structures
Authors: Rastayesh Sima , Mankar Amol , Dalsgaard Sørensen John , Bahrebar Sajjad
Published: January 2020

This paper presents recent contributions to the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network titled INFRASTAR (Innovation and Networking for Fatigue and Reliability Analysis of Structures-Training for Assessment of Risk) in the field of reliability approaches for decision-making for wind turbines and bridges . Stochastic modeling of uncertainties for fatigue strength parameters is an important step as a basis for reliability analyses. In this paper, the Maximum Likelihood Method (MLM) is used for fitting the statistical parameters in a regression model for the fatigue strength of reinforcement bars. Furthermore, application of the Bootstrapping method is investigated. The results indicate that the latter methodology does not work well in the considered case study because of run-out tests within the test data. Moreover, the use of the Bayesian inference with the Markov Chain Monto Carlo approach is studied. These results indicate that a reduction in the statistical uncertainty can be obtained, and thus, better parameter estimates are obtained. The results are used for stochastic modelling in reliability assessment of a case study with a composite bridge. The reduction in statistical uncertainty shows high impact on the fatigue reliability in a case study on the Swiss viaduct Crêt De l’Anneau.
Design Specifications for an Auxiliary Incision Retractor in Dacryocystorhinostomy Surgeries
Authors: Ramírez-Beltrán V. O. , Z.-Avilés L. A. , Valdovinos-Rosas R. M. , Reyes-Lagos J. J. , Cruz-Martínez G. M.
Published: January 2020

It is presented the design specifications for a Retractor Robotic System (RRS) based on the surgical necessities in the incisions procedure for a dacryocystorhinostomy. The specifications are conformed by a mathematical model, the experimental data measured, a modular flexible architecture, energy supplier system, the mechanical group, and the safety system. The specifications suggest that the use of flexible polymeric materials for the RRS provide a mayor adaptability of the system with the biological tissue; so a pneumatic actuator could be a suitable option.
Exploring a Multimodal Mixture-Of-YOLOs Framework for Advanced Real-Time Object Detection
Authors: Kim Jinsoo , Cho Jeongho
Published: January 2020

To construct a safe and sound autonomous driving system, object detection is essential, and research on fusion of sensors is being actively conducted to increase the detection rate of objects in a dynamic environment in which safety must be secured. Recently, considerable performance improvements in object detection have been achieved with the advent of the convolutional neural network (CNN) structure. In particular, the YOLO (You Only Look Once) architecture, which is suitable for real-time object detection by simultaneously predicting and classifying bounding boxes of objects, is receiving great attention. However, securing the robustness of object detection systems in various environments still remains a challenge. In this paper, we propose a weighted mean-based adaptive object detection strategy that enhances detection performance through convergence of individual object detection results based on an RGB camera and a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) for autonomous driving. The proposed system utilizes the YOLO framework to perform object detection independently based on image data and point cloud data (PCD). Each detection result is united to reduce the number of objects not detected at the decision level by the weighted mean scheme. To evaluate the performance of the proposed object detection system, tests on vehicles and pedestrians were carried out using the KITTI Benchmark Suite. Test results demonstrated that the proposed strategy can achieve detection performance with a higher mean average precision (mAP) for targeted objects than an RGB camera and is also robust against external environmental changes.