bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Constitutive Activation of STAT3 in Myeloma Cells Cultured in a Three-Dimensional, Reconstructed Bone Marrow Model
Authors: Huang Yung-Hsing , Molavi Ommoleila , Alshareef Abdulraheem , Haque Moinul , Wang Qian , Chu Michael P. , Venner Christopher P. , Sandhu Irwindeep , Peters Anthea C. , Lavasanifar Afsaneh , Lai Raymond
Published: June 2018

Malignant cells cultured in three-dimensional (3D) models have been found to be phenotypically and biochemically different from their counterparts cultured conventionally. Since most of these studies employed solid tumor types, how 3D culture affects multiple myeloma (MM) cells is not well understood. Here, we compared MM cells (U266 and RPMI8226) in a 3D culture model with those in conventional culture. While the conventionally cultured cells were present in single cells or small clusters, MM-3D cells grew in large spheroids. We discovered that STAT3 was the pathway that was more activated in 3D in both cell lines. The active form of STAT3 (phospho-STAT3 or pSTAT3), which was absent in MM cells cultured conventionally, became detectable after 1-2 days in 3D culture. This elevated pSTAT3 level was dependent on the 3D environment, since it disappeared after transferring to conventional culture. STAT3 inhibition using a pharmacological agent, Stattic, significantly decreased the cell viability of MM cells and sensitized them to bortezomib in 3D culture. Using an oligonucleotide array, we found that 3D culture significantly increased the expression of several known STAT3 downstream genes implicated in oncogenesis. Since most primary MM tumors are naturally STAT3-active, studies of MM in 3D culture can generate results that are more representative of the disease.
Stuck on a Plateau? A Model-Based Approach to Fundamental Issues in Visual Temporal-Order Judgments
Authors: Tünnermann Jan , Scharlau Ingrid
Published: June 2018

Humans are incapable of judging the temporal order of visual events at brief temporal separations with perfect accuracy. Their performance---which is of much interest in visual cognition and attention research---can be measured with the temporal-order judgment task, which typically produces S-shaped psychometric functions. Occasionally, researchers reported plateaus within these functions, and some theories predict such deviation from the basic S shape. However, the centers of the psychometric functions result from the weakest performance at the most difficult presentations and therefore fluctuate strongly, leaving existence and exact shapes of plateaus unclear. This study set out to investigate whether plateaus disappear if the data accuracy is enhanced, or if we are ``stuck on a plateau'', or rather with it. For this purpose, highly accurate data were assessed by model-based analysis. The existence of plateaus is confidently confirmed and two plausible mechanisms derived from very different models are presented. Neither model, however, performs well in the presence of a strong attention manipulation, and model comparison remains unclear on the question which of the models describes the data best. Nevertheless, the present study includes the highest accuracy in visual TOJ data and the most explicit models of plateaus in TOJ studied so far.
Evolution of Elevated-Temperature Strength and Creep Resistance during Multi-Step Heat Treatments in Al-Mn-Mg Alloy
Authors: Wang G. S. , Liu K. , Wang S. L.
Published: June 2018

Present work has systematically investigated the evolution of dispersoid and elevated-temperature properties including the strength and creep resistance during the various multi-step heat treatments in Al-Mn-Mg 3004 alloys. Results show that only α-Al(MnFe)Si dispersoid is observed in the studied temperature range (up to 625°C) and it coarsens with increasing temperature to 500°C but dissolves at 625°C. The evolution of elevated-temperature strength and creep resistance is greatly related to the temperature of each step during the multi-step heat treatments. Generally, lower temperature at the first-step heat treatment leads to higher properties while the properties decrease with increasing temperature of last-step heat treatment. Suitable models have been introduced to explain the evolution of strength and the creep threshold stress at elevated-temperature during the various heat treatments.
Community Peer Review: A Method to Bring Consent and Self-Determination into the Sciences
Authors: Liboiron Max , Zahara Alex , Schoot Ignace
Published: June 2018

Community peer review is a method that extends the ethics of consent into scientific practices. It gives communities affected by scientific research the ability to determine whether research may cause them harm and be part of determining how knowledge should best circulate to reduce or eliminate that harm. This paper introduces the method of community peer review by first looking at the concepts of consent and refusal, then outlining the steps to community peer review, using a case study of community meetings on a study of plastic ingestion by fish to elucidate the details of each step. Steps include: hiring a community member to the team; researching the social, cultural, and economic contexts of the community; identify the community; ensure skills for community conversation are in place; call the community meeting; conduct the community meeting; and analyze feedback for consent and refusal. Community peer review is premised on the idea that research is not inherently good and can cause harm, and that the best people to know whether and what kinds of harms are likely to occur are community members rather than researchers. The second premise is that the researcher’s “right” to research never supersedes a community’s right to not be harmed.
Cetane Improvers and Ethanol Performance and Emissions Characteristics Using Pyrorated Biodiesel
Authors: Semakula Maroa , Inambao Freddie
Published: June 2018

Alternative fuels available at low cost, friendly to natural environments and meet the energy needs and demands, have witnessed a growing demand and use today. Ethanol is an attractive renewable energy source with a high content of oxygen. Ethanol can be produced through ethanolisis, however for this work direct blending of conventional diesel, waste plastic pyrolysis oil and ethanol with commercial fuel improver CI-0808 purchased from Innospec company was attempted. The primary purpose of adding a cetane improver was to improve the combustion characteristics of the blends by at least 1- 3 ignition quality points. Five mixing ratios were chosen in the following order, 50:25:25, 60: 20:20, 70: 15:15, 80: 10:10 and 90: 5:5 for Waste Plastic Pyrolysis Oil (WPPO), ethanol and conventional diesel (CD) respectively. However, for the fuel additive mixing ratio the total volume percentage was considered and the ratio put at 0.01% of the total quantity of blended fuel. In this work WPPO, diesel blends and fuel additives improvers were used as alternative fuel. This was to evaluate their performance and emission characteristics in a stationary single cylinder water cooled experimental diesel engine. The CI-0808 was added due to its potential power to reduce emissions of CO, UHC, NOX, PM and improved engine performance. The results obtained were compared carefully to ASTM standards and discussed using graph curves figures and tabulated values. The conclusion was that ethanol and WPPO blends can be used in diesel engines as alternative fuel without modification. Used in combination with cetane improvers the emissions reduce significantly and performance improved equalling that of conventional diesel fuel.
Pleiotropic Immune Functions of Chemokine Receptor 6 in Health and Disease
Authors: Ranasinghe Ranmali , Eri Rajaraman
Published: June 2018

Chemokine C-C receptor 6 (CCR6) and its exclusive ligand CCL20 is an extremely important chemokine receptor-ligand pair which controls cell migration and immune induction during inflammatory disease. Not many scientific studies have been undertaken to study its immune mechanisms in detail, but its unique contribution to steady state cell chemotaxis in upholding immune tolerance and regulating immune homeostasis during inflammation is evident in multiple organ systems, including lung, liver, kidney, skin, brain, eye, joints, gonads and the gut in the human body. The role of CCR6 is constitutively expressed as a series of much debilitating severe inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, HIV and cancer metastasis. CD4+ T cells, the central organizers of adaptive immunity, are stringently mobilized by the CCR6/CCL20 axis also induced by cytokines and a host of other factors in a carefully executed immune modulation scenario, to bring about a delicate balance between pro-inflammatory TH17 cells and regulatory Treg cells. Although the exact immune regulatory role is not elucidated yet, CCR6/CCL20 axis is implicated as a front runner which determines the polarization of TH17 and Treg cells and consequently the resolution or progression of many debilitating disorders. This review therefore aims at emphasizing the pleiotropic significance of the chemokines CCR6 and CCL20 in immunologic function in multiple organ systems thereby hoping to accentuate its value in future therapeutic modalities.
Novel Insights into the Configurations of Lead(II)-Benzohydroxamic Acid Coordination Compounds in Aqueous: A Combined Experimental and Computational Study
Authors: He Jianyong , Han Haisheng , Zhang Chenyang , Yuan Dandan , Tian Mengjie , Sun Wei , Hu Yuehua
Published: June 2018

Novel collector lead(II)-benzohydroxamic acid (Pb [II]-BHA) complexes in aqueous solution were characterized by using experimental approaches, including Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), powder X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (PXRD), Ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, and electrospray ionization–mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), and first-principle density functional theory (DFT) calculations with consideration of solvation effects. The Job plot delineated that a single coordinated Pb(BHA)+ should be formed first, and the binary structures of Pb(BHA)2 can be formed subsequently. Moreover, the Pb(II)-BHA species aggregated with each other to form highly complicated structures. ESI-MS results validated the existence of Pb-(BHA)n=1,2. The well-consistent infrared spectra from the DFT calculations and FTIR measurements indicated that the cis-amide (Za)-type BHA conformer may be dominant in the solid-state crystals of BHA. The first-principle calculations suggested that Pb(BHA)2 should be the most stable structure, and the Pb atom in Pb(BHA)+ will play as an active site to attack nucleophiles. These findings are meaningful to further illustrate the adsorption mechanism of Pb(II)-BHA complexes in mineral processing.
A Five-Bar Planar Parallel Manipulator with Two End-Effectors
Authors: Gallardo-Alvarado Jaime , Rodriguez-Castro Ramon , Perez-Gonzalez Luciano , Aguilar-Najera Carlos R. , Sanchez-Rodriguez Alvaro
Published: June 2018

Parallel manipulators with multiple end-effectors bring us interesting advantages over conventional parallel manipulators such as improved manipulability, workspace and avoidance of singularities. In this work the kinematics of a five-bar planar parallel manipulator equipped with two end-effectors is approached by means of the theory of screws. As an intermediate step the displacement analysis of the robot is also investigated. The input-output equations of velocity and acceleration are systematically obtained by resorting to reciprocal-screw theory. In that regard the Klein form of the Lie algebra se(3) of the Euclidean group SE(3) plays a central role. In order to exemplify the method of kinematic analysis, a case study is included. Furthermore, the numerical results obtained by means of the theory of screws are confirmed with the aid of special software like ADAMS.TM
Fat Loss in Continuous Enteral Feeding of the Preterm Infant: How Much, What and When is it Lost?
Authors: Zozaya Carlos , García-Serrano Alba , Fontecha Javier , Redondo-Bravo Lidia , Sánchez-González Victoria , Montes María Teresa , Saenz de Pipaon Miguel
Published: June 2018

Human milk fat is a concentrated source of energy and provides essential and long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. According to previous experiments, human milk fat is partially lost during continuous enteral nutrition. However, these experiments were done over relatively short infusion times, and a complete profile of the lost fatty acids was never measured. Whether this lost happens considering longer infusion times or if some fatty acids are lost more than others remain unknown. Pooled breast milk was infused through a feeding tube by a peristaltic pump over a period of 30 minutes and 4, 12 and 24 hours at 2 ml/hour. Adsorbed fat was extracted from the tubes, and the fatty acid composition was analyzed by Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Total fat loss (average fatty acid loss) after 24 hours was 0.6 ± 0.1%. Short-medium chain (0.7%, p=0.15), long chain (0.6%, p=0.56) saturated (0.7%, p=0.4), monounsaturated (0.5%, p=0.15), polyunsaturated fatty (0.7%, p=0.15), linoleic (0.7%, p=0.25), and docosahexaenoic acids (0.6%, p=0.56) were not selectively adsorbed to the tube. However, very long chain fatty (0.9%, p=0.04), alpha-linolenic (1.6%, p=0.02) and arachidonic acids (1%, p=0.02) were selectively adsorbed and therefore lost in a greater proportion than other fatty acids. In all cases, the magnitude of the loss was clinically low.
Red Seaweed Eucheuma cottonii Ethanol Extract Regulates Inflammatory Mediators Production and Prevents Colonic Injury on Acute Colitis Disease in Mice
Authors: Sudirman Sabri , Hsu Yuan-Hua , He Jia-Ling , Kong Zwe-Ling
Published: June 2018

This study aims to determine the protective effects of red seaweed Eucheuma cottonii (EC) ethanol extract on acute colitis disease in mice. Male BALB/c mice used for acute colitis disease model by induced 2.5% (w/v) of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) for 7 days for all groups, except control group. The DSS-induced mice then treated by three different doses of EC extracts (0.35, 0.70, 1.75 g/kg body weight), curcumin (as a positive control, 0.10 g/kg), and a group was orally only by water. In 8th day, the mice sacrificed and collected the blood, then measured the body weight, colon weight, and colon length. Disease activity index (DAI), pro-inflammatory such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, and IL-6, as well as IL-10 as anti-inflammatory were measured. The results showed that after treatment for 7 days, EC extract protected the weight loss and decreased the colon weight per length ratio. In addition, EC extract also decreased the pro-inflammatory cytokines expression in serum and increased the IL-10. Moreover, EC extract protected the colonic tissue damage. According to this results, the EC ethanol extract might be can used for the treatment of colitis disease.
Fuzzy Sumudu Transform for Solving System of Linear Fuzzy Differential Equations with Fuzzy Constant Coefficients
Authors: Abdul Rahman Norazrizal Aswad , Ahmad Muhammad Zaini
Published: June 2018

In this paper, we employ fuzzy Sumudu transform for solving system of linear fuzzy differential equations with fuzzy constant coefficients. The system with fuzzy constant coefficients is interpreted under strongly generalized differentiability. For this purpose, new procedures for solving the system are proposed. A numerical example is carried out for solving system adapted from fuzzy radioactive decay model. Conclusion is drawn in the last section and some potential research directions are given.
Impact-Sliding Tribology Behavior of TC17 Alloy Treated by Laser Shock Peening
Authors: Yin Meigui , Wang Wenjian , He Weifeng , Cai Zhenbing
Published: June 2018

Outer particles collision with certain dynamic object is not a pure impact wear behavior; it is typically accompanied by sliding wear phenomena. This study aimed investigating the impact-sliding wear performance of three different TC17 titanium alloys. One was untreated, and the other two were subjected to laser shock peening (LSP) by 5 and 7 J pulse energy, respectively. Wear test was performed on a novel impact-sliding wear testing rig, which can realize multiple impact-sliding motions by changing motion parameters in x and z directions. Present results showed that wear resistance of both treated samples improved compared with the untreated alloy. Given the increase in wear cycles, increment in wear rate of the untreated sample was constantly higher than those of treated samples. All results can be attributed to the increase in surface hardness of the material and residual compressive stress, which was also introduced after LSP.
Mechanical Properties and Carbonation Durability of Engineered Cementitious Composites Reinforced by Polypropylene and Hydrophilic Polyvinyl Alcohol Fibers
Authors: Zhang Wei , yin Chenglong , Ma Fuquan , Huang Zhiyi
Published: June 2018

Herein, the mechanical properties and carbonation durability of engineered cementitious composites (ECC) were studied. For cost-efficient utilization of ECC materials, polypropylene (PP) and hydrophilic polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibers were employed to cast different types of specimens. The compressive strength, Poisson’s ratio, strength-deflection curves, cracking/post-cracking strength, impact index, and tensile strain-stress curves of the two types of ECC materials, with different fiber contents of 0 vol%, 1 vol%, 1.5 vol% and 2 vol%, were investigated by conducting compressive tests, four-point bending tests, drop weight tests, and uniaxial tensile tests. In addition, the matrix microstructure and failure morphology of the fiber in the ECC materials were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. Furthermore, carbonation test and steel corrosion after carbonization were employed to study durability resistance. The results indicated that for both PP fiber- and hydrophilic PVA fiber-reinforced ECCs, the compressive strength first increases and then decreases as fiber content increases from 0 vol% to 2 vol% and reaches the maximum at 1 vol% fiber content. The bending strength, deformation capacity, and impact resistance show significant improvement with increasing fiber contents. The ECC material reinforced with 2 vol% PP fiber shows superior carbonized durability with maximum carbonation depth of only 0.8 mm.
In Search of Factors Negatively Affecting Vaccine Immunity to Pertussis in Preschool Children Before the Administration of the First Booster
Authors: Bednarek Anna , Bodajko-Grochowska Anna , Hasiec Barbara , Klepacz Robert , Szczekala Katarzyna , Zarzycka Danuta , Emeryk Andrzej
Published: June 2018

Introduction: The top priority of active immunoprophylaxis of pertussis is immunisation of infants as they can develop severe multiple-organ complications or even die from this disease. Objectives: The aim of the work is the identification of factors negatively affecting vaccine immunity to pertussis in preschool children prior to the administration of the first booster. Patients and Methods: The research was conducted on 352 children from 4.5 to 5.9 years of age who were hospitalised in the University Children’s Hospital in Lublin (Poland) from 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2015. The children taking part in the study had been administered all the mandatory vaccines from their birth to the age of 2 or 2.5 years old according to the Polish Immunisation Program 2008-2009. The immunoenzymatic method ELISA was applied to assess vaccine immunity to tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), poliomyelitis (IPV), mumps, rubella and measles. The level of vaccine antibodies to hepatitis type B was determined chemilumiscently. Results: The protective antibody titer was not found in 41 (11.65%) children before the administration of the booster. To verify the collective impact of parameters analised on antibody titer to pertussis, the Generalized Linear Model (GLZ) was used. Gender, type of vaccine, asthma, Hib and mumps antibody titers have been shown to be predicators of vaccine immunity to pertussis. Conclusions: Immunomodulation considered on the example of titer of IgG antibody to pertussis can serve as a useful model of the assessment of development of acquired immunity after mandatory vaccinations.
Methods for Analyzing Surface Texture Effects of Volcanoes with Plinian and Subplinian Eruptions Types: Cases of Study Lascar (23° 22' S) and Chaiten (42 ° 50' S), Chile
Authors: Fernández Luis , Álvarez Gabriel , Salinas Renato
Published: June 2018

This paper presents a new methodology that provides the analysis of surface texture changes in areas adjacent to the volcano and its impact product of volcanic activity. To do this, algorithms from digital image processing such as the co-occurrence matrix and the wavelet transform are used. These methods are working on images taken by the Landsat satellite platform sensor 5 TM and Landsat 7 ETM + sensor, and implemented with the purpose of evaluating superficial changes that can warn of surface movements of the volcano. The results were evaluated by similarity metrics for grayscale images, and validated in two different scenarios that have the same type of eruption, but differ, essentially, in climate and vegetation. Finally, the proposed algorithm is presented, setting the parameters and constraints for implementation and use.
Chronic Pediatric Pain in Low and Middle Income Countries
Authors: Walters Camila , Kynes Matthew , Sobey Jenna , Chimhundu-Sithole Tsitsi , McQueen Kelly
Published: June 2018

Chronic pain is a serious health concern and potentially debilitating condition, leading to anxiety, depression, reduced productivity and functionality, and poor quality of life. This condition can be even more detrimental and incapacitating in the pediatric patient population. In low and middle income countries (LMICs), pain services are inadequate or unavailable, leaving most of the world's pediatric population with chronic pain untreated. Many of these children in LMICs are suffering without treatment, and often die in pain. Awareness and advocacy for this population must be prioritized. We reviewed the available literature on the chronic pediatric pain burden in LMICs, barriers to treatments, and current efforts to treat these patients.
New Insights into the Occurrence of Matrix Metalloproteases -2 and -9 in a Cohort of Breast Cancer Patients and Proteomic Correlations
Authors: Di Cara Gianluca , Marabeti Maria Rita , Musso Rosa , Riili Ignazio , Cancemi Patrizia , Pucci-Minafra Ida
Published: June 2018

Matrix metalloproteases (MMPS) are a family of well-known enzymes which operate prevalently in the extracellular domain, where they fulfil the function of remodeling the extracellular matrix. Within the about 26 family members, encoded by 24 genes in humans, MMP-2 and MMP-9, have been regarded as the primary responsibility for the basement membrane and pericellular ECM rearrangement. In cases of infiltrating carcinomas, which arise from the epithelial tissues of a gland or of an internal organ, a marked alteration of the expression and the activity levels of both MMPs is known to occur. Present investigation represents the continuation and upgrading of our previous studies, now focusing on the occurrence and intensity levels of MMP-2 and -9, and their proteomic correlations, in a cohort of 80 breast cancer surgical tissues
Nutrigenética, nutrigenómica y dieta mediterránea: una nueva visión para la gastronomía
Authors: Corella Dolores
Published: June 2018

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Los relojes biológicos de la alimentación
Authors: Calvo Fernández José Ramón
Published: June 2018

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Alimentos y gastronomía de cercanía: ¿un valor en alza?
Authors: Ascorbe Landa Cristina
Published: June 2018

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CRITERIOS DE ARMONÍA FUNCIONAL ENTRE GASTRONOMÍA Y SALUD: UNA VISIÓN DESDE LA COMUNIDAD CIENTÍFICA
Authors: Achón Tuñón María
Published: June 2018

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UNA VISIÓN GLOBAL DE LAS REACCIONES ADVERSAS A ALIMENTOS: ALERGIA E INTOLERANCIA ALIMENTARIA
Authors: Ruiz Sánchez Jorge Gabriel
Published: June 2018

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Estudio y promoción de hábitos alimentarios saludables y de actividad física entre los adolescentes españoles: programa TAS (Tú y Alicia por la Salud)
Authors: Pareja Sierra Sara Lucía
Published: June 2018

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Team Approach: Upper-Extremity Numbness
Authors: Merrill Christian A. , Ferreira Joel , Parrino Anthony , Moss Isaac L.
Published: June 2018

* Upper-extremity numbness has a wide differential diagnosis and can arise from pathology in the cervical spine, brachial plexus, shoulder, elbow, and hand.

* Physical examination must include evaluation of both nerve root and peripheral nerve function to aid in determining if symptoms are due to central or peripheral pathology.

* Double-crush syndrome, with both spinal and peripheral etiology, is not uncommon and, if not recognized, may lead to treatment failure.

* A team approach including orthopaedic surgeons, neurologists, physiatrists, radiologists, and occupational therapists can be crucial in making the diagnosis and designing the treatment plan.

* Nonoperative treatment can include observation, physical and occupational therapy, functional bracing, and injections of corticosteroids and/or local anesthetics.

* Operative treatment is appropriate after an appropriate course of nonoperative management has failed or with specific diagnoses in which a delay in definitive treatment may put a patient at risk for long-term functional deficits.
Taming the Mob: the Early Public Library and the Creation of Good Citizens
Authors: Gerolami Natasha
Published: June 2018

The article examines the principles upon which the public library operated in the 19th and early 20th Century. Gilles Deleuze’s philosophic work on the disciplinary and control societies is used as a theoretical framework to highlight the forms of governance that have been used in the last couple centuries. A discourse analysis is conducted of sample articles from the first forty years of the Library Journal. The article documents how librarians played a role in normalizing patron behaviour by associating the concept of the good citizen with a series of practices, including reading, abstention from the consumption of alcohol, homogeneity, order, acceptance of class status, and self-reliance.
Collaboratively Creating a Programmatic Information Literacy Strategy: Challenges and Opportunities
Authors: Adam Tom , Burgess Colleen , McPhee Kim , Olson Leanne , Sich Christy
Published: June 2018

In 2017, a team of librarians and archivists at Western University developed local Information Literacy Learning Outcomes (ILLOs). The resulting document outlined the skills and understanding that Western University students should demonstrate at the end of a four-year undergraduate degree—specifically, the skills relating to accessing, assessing, and applying information. This article focuses on the challenges and opportunities encountered during the collaborative process as well as the approach employed by the team in the development of these ILLOs.

Six librarians and archivists in very different roles formed the project team. Despite coming from diverse backgrounds, the team recognized that there could be many benefits to developing these outcomes: they could be used as a benchmark for students to measure their own learning, as a conversation starter and leveler with faculty and other instruction partners, and as a stepping stone to develop a full instruction program and common understanding among the librarians and archivists at Western University and Huron University College.

The ILLOs created also incorporate guidelines and ideas from various sources, including the Association of College and Research Libraries’ Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education and Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education, Western University’s undergraduate Degree Outcomes, and the university’s and library system’s strategic plans.

To ensure the success of this complex venture, detailed project planning was vital. We consulted with our colleagues through multiple engagement activities: information literacy retreats, focused discussion meetings, and one-on-one consultations. The diversity of roles and experiences of our team members and colleagues added both a richness to our project and specific challenges in dealing with dissenting opinions, information overload, engagement and visioning fatigue, and collaborative writing. This article will discuss our approach to writing collaboratively and valuing diverse opinions to improve colleague and organizational buy-in. We have also included practical suggestions for implementing a similar process at the reader's own institution.
Gear fault feature extraction and classification of singular value decomposition based on Hilbert empirical wavelet transform
Authors: Chemseddine Rahmoune , Boualem Merainani , Djamel Benazzouz , Semchedine Fedala
Published: June 2018

Vibration signal of gearbox systems carries the important dynamic information for fault diagnosis. However, vibration signals always show non stationary behavior and overwhelmed by a large amount of noise make this task challenging in many cases. Thus, a new fault diagnosis method combining the Hilbert empirical wavelet transform (HEWT), the singular value decomposition (SVD) and Elman neural network is proposed in this paper. Vibration signals of normal gear, gear with tooth root crack, gear with chipped tooth in width, gear with chipped tooth in length, gear with missing tooth and gear with general surface wear are collected in different speed and load conditions. HEWT, a new self-adaptive time-frequency analysis, was applied to the vibration signals to obtain the instantaneous amplitude matrices. Singular value vectors, as the fault feature vectors were then acquired by applying the SVD. Last, the Elman neural network was used for automatic gearbox fault identification and classification. Through experimental results, it was concluded that the proposed method can accurately extract and classify the gear fault features under variable conditions. Moreover, the performance of the proposed HEWT-SVD method has an advantage over that of Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT)-SVD, local mean decomposition (LMD)-SVD or wavelet packet transform (WPT)-PCA for feature extraction.
Sources of New Life Insurance Product Ideas in LIC of India
Authors: Furquan Uddin Furquan Uddin
Published: June 2018

The present complex nature of market has created sturdy challenges before the business world in the form of designing right product, right price, right placement and right promotion. In order to survive and thrive, a marketer has to focus on these challenges. Amongst, right product is most crucial which requires good and feasible ideas in all industries including life insurance. In fact, life insurance is perceived as an unsought and complicated financial product in India. The present paper is a humble attempt to examine the sources of new life insurance product ideas in LIC of India. The findings of the present study include the sources into six groups such as key stakeholders, workforce, organizational documents and other sources, research unit, competitors, and national and international source. It may be noticed the key stakeholders like Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, actuary, top management, and policyholders play vital role in providing ideas in the new product development process of LIC of India.
The Role of Competencies and Education in Increasing Entrepreneurial Intention in Creative Economy
Authors: Sandroto Christine Winstinindah , Ramawati Yussi , Darmoyo Syarief
Published: June 2018

The creative economy is being increasingly encouraged by the Indonesian government, the existing entrepreneurs are mostly engaged in the culinary industry. This study aims to describe the role of competencies and education in increasing entrepreneurial intention in the creative economy. Three hundred and five questionnaires were distributed to creative entrepreneurs, consisting of 162 respondents in Jakarta and 143 in Balikpapan using convenience sampling.  Research findings show that there is no difference between the mean scores of entrepreneurial competencies in Jakarta and Balikpapan.  Furthermore, the level of education has a positive effect on (i) entrepreneurial intention, (ii) entrepreneurial professional attraction, and (iii) entrepreneurial networking support. There is a positive relationship between education level and monthly revenue, as well as between entrepreneurial competencies and monthly revenue. The findings of this research would suggest government and education institution to further develop entrepreneurship education and train them with various methods and to cultivate interests in other creative sub-sectors.
Gradation of the significance level of trends in precipitation over China
Authors: Xie Ping , Zhao Yuxi , Sang Yan-Fang , Gu Haiting , Wu Ziyi , Singh Vijay P.
Published: June 2018

How to accurately detect and estimate the significance level of trends in hydroclimate time series is a challenge. Building on correlation analysis, we propose an approach for evaluating and grading the significance level of trend in a series, and apply it to evaluate the changes in annual precipitation in China. The approach involved first formulating the relationship between the correlation coefficient and trend's slope. Four correlation coefficient thresholds are then determined by considering the influence of significance levels and data length, and the significance of trends is graded as five levels: no, weak, moderate, strong and dramatic. A larger correlation coefficient reflects a larger slope of trend and its higher significance level. Results of Monte-Carlo experiments indicated that the correlation coefficient-based approach not only reflects the magnitude of a trend, but also considers the influence of dispersion degree and mean value of the original series. Compared with the Mann–Kendall test used commonly, the proposed approach gave more accurate and specific gradation of the significance level of trends in annual precipitation over China. We find that the precipitation trends over China are not uniform, and the effects of global climate change on precipitation are not strong and limited to some regions.
Invasion of Hovenia dulcis Thunb. (Rhamnaceae) in Southern Brazilian subtropical forest
Authors: Gerber Dionatan , O'Connor Paula Helena Pereira , Mendonça Hiuller Vasconcellos , Brizola Gilmar Poser , Freddo Álvaro Rodrigo , Bechara Fernando Campanhã
Published: June 2018

This study aimed to evaluate the level of Hovenia dulcis (oriental-raisin-tree) invasion in an area under ecological restoration (area 1) and in a fragment area of araucaria forest with semi-deciduous seasonal forest (area 2), both located in the municipality of Dois Vizinhos, Paraná. In 1, the techniques of passive restoration, nucleation and plantation of high diversity of tree species were analyzed. In 2, there was a survey of young and adult individuals. In 1, 12 plots of 2,160 m² were sampled (25,920 m² sampled). In 2, 30 plots with an area of 30 m² each were sampled (900 m² sampled). In 1, the greatest proliferation of the species, with density of 334.5 plants.ha-1, was observed in a period of 17 months. In 2, the invasive potential of H. dulcis was high, with a mean of 911 young plants.ha-1 and 111 adult plants.ha-1. Higher invasive capacity occurred in areas of initial and secondary stages of secondary succession. Sites that present hydromorphic soils and especially those where there are pteridophyte, bromeliaceae and bambusoid groups, practically prevent the development of young individuals of H. dulcis. The species presents great invading potential in areas under ecological restoration and in forest fragments, thus, attention in the monitoring and control of the species is recommended.
Avaliação qualitativa da arborização com Mangifera indica nas ruas de Belém – PA
Authors: Da silva Dâmaris Araújo , Batista Daniela Biondi , Batista Antônio Carlos
Published: June 2018

O objetivo deste trabalho foi caracterizar a arborização das ruas com mangueira no Distrito Administrativo de Belém, localizado na cidade de Belém, PA. A pesquisa foi desenvolvida com levantamento quantitativo de mangueiras plantadas nas ruas urbanizadas. Para tanto, as variáveis avaliadas foram: caracterização do espaço físico, condições de copa e raiz e danos físicos. As distâncias das estruturas urbanas das mangueiras foram consideradas adequadas, porém houve incompatibilidade entre a projeção da rede aérea com o porte das mangueiras. Considerou-se regular a condição de copa em estado geral (68,5%), enquanto 57,56% das mangueiras apresentaram raízes semissuperficiais. Verificou-se que 22,03% dos entrevistados tiveram participação na manutenção das mangueiras. Constatou-se ainda que 70% dos entrevistados perceberam pelo menos dois danos nas árvores. Notou-se a necessidade de implementar podas regulares para melhorar o ambiente urbano e, consequentemente, a qualidade de vida da população.
Diversidade de avifauna urbana em Joinville, Santa Catarina
Authors: Valentim Cleiton , Da Silva Mouga Denise Monique Dubet
Published: June 2018

Visando complementar dados sobre a avifauna urbana de Joinville, foram realizados, de outubro de 2016 a maio de 2018, caminhamentos dentro da área do campus da Universidade da Região de Joinville, com identificação das espécies por visualização, registros fotográficos e playback. Foram levantadas 107 espécies (mais de 17% do total de espécies de Santa Catarina). As famílias Tyranidae e Thraupidae apresentaram a maior riqueza. Nove espécies encontram-se em algum nível de ameaça, 12 são consideradas endêmicas do Brasil e, destas, três são endêmicas de mata atlântica. Verificaram-se espécies migratórias das famílias Accipitridae, Hirundinidae, Motacillidae, Tyrannidae e Vireonidae. Observou-se nidificação das espécies Gallinula galeata e Tyrannus savana, além de indivíduos imaturos de Herpsilochmus rufimarginatus e Pyrocephalus rubinus. Foi registrada a ocorrência de indivíduos de Fluvicola nengeta, espécie rara em Santa Catarina, e de duas espécies exóticas: Estrilda astrild e Passer domesticus. Notou-se a ausência de Sporophila frontalis, apontada para a área em estudos anteriores. Predominaram espécies insetívoras, onívoras e frugívoras, decrescentemente. Os índices de diversidade e equabilidade mostraram valores relevantes. A curva de acumulação de espécies e os estimadores de riqueza indicam maiores valores de diversidade. Áreas de conservação próximas ao campus podem explicar a riqueza avifaunística.
Ursolic and Oleanolic Acids as Potential Anticancer Agents Acting in the Gastrointestinal Tract
Authors: Pięt Mateusz , Paduch Roman
Published: June 2018

Background:

Cancer is one of the main causes of death worldwide. Contemporary therapies, including chemo- and radiotherapy, are burdened with severe side effects. Thus, there exists an urgent need to develop therapies that would be less devastating to the patient’s body. Such novel approaches can be based on the anti-tumorigenic activity of particular compounds or may involve sensitizing cells to chemotherapy and radiotherapy or reducing the side-effects of regular treatment.

Objective:

Natural-derived compounds are becoming more and more popular in cancer research. Examples of such substances are Ursolic Acid (UA) and Oleanolic Acid (OA), plant-derived pentacyclic triterpenoids which possess numerous beneficial properties, including anti-tumorigenic activity.

Results:

In recent years, ursolic and oleanolic acids have been demonstrated to exert a range of anticancer effects on various types of tumors. These compounds inhibit the viability and proliferation of cancer cells, prevent their migration and metastasis and induce their apoptosis. Both in vitro and in vivo studies indicate that UA and OA are promising anti-cancer agents that can prevent carcinogenesis at each step. Furthermore, cancers at all stages are susceptible to the activity of these compounds.  Neoplasms that are formed in the gastrointestinal tract, i.e. gastric, colorectal, pancreatic, and liver cancers, are among the most common and most lethal malignancies. Their localization in the digestive system, however, facilitates the action of orally-administered (potential) anti-cancer agents, making chemopreventive drugs more accessible.

In this paper, the anti-tumorigenic effect of ursolic and oleanolic acids on gastric, colon, pancreatic, and liver cancers, as well as the mechanisms underlying this process, are presented.
A Sensitive Microscale HPLC-UV Method for the Determination of Doxofylline and its Metabolites in Plasma: An Adapted Method for Therapeutic Drug Monitoring in Children
Authors: Wu Yue-E , Wu Xiu-Fu , Kan Min , Shi Hai-Yan , Liu Meng-Jie , Dong Qian , Chen Xing-Kai , Huang Xin , Zheng Yi , Zhao Wei
Published: June 2018

Background:

Doxofylline (DXE) is a novel methylxanthine derivative used in the treatment
of asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases (COPD). Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM)
has been proposed in adults, while the adapted analytical method and TDM data are still missing in
children.

Methods:

A highly sensitive and stability indicating High-Performance Liquid Chromatography
(HPLC) method of DXE with caffeine as the internal standard, was developed and validated by separating
its metabolites, β-Hydroxyethyltheophylline (HPE) and Theophylline (TPE). HPLC separation is
achieved on C18 column connected to an ultraviolet detector (276 nm), using acetonitrile and ultra-pure
water in a gradient mode of elution at a flow rate of 0.9 mL/min at 25°C. A liquid-liquid extraction
method using ethyl acetate was developed with a small sample volume of plasma of 50 μL. Trough
concentration was monitored in children receiving DXE therapy.

Results:

The method was linear over the concentration ranges from 0.4-20 µg/mL for DXE, HPE and
TPE, respectively, in plasma. The limits of quantification were 0.4 µg/mL. Intra- and interday coefficients
of variation did not exceed 6.5%, and the accuracy ranged from 94.9% to 112.5%. A total of 39
children (mean age of 1.8 years, range: 0.3-5.7 years) were included. The pediatric patients had detectable
DXE concentrations with a mean value of 1.78 µg/mL (range from 0.49 to 6.36 µg/mL), and HPE
measurable concentrations with a mean value of 0.52 µg/mL (range from 0.40 to 0.82 µg/mL), while the
TPE could not be measured in any patient.

Conclusion:

A sensitive, reliable, and adapted HPLC method has been developed for the simultaneous
analysis of DXE and its metabolites in children. The DXE and its metabolites trough concentrations
showed large inter-individual variability.
Research on Transformer Fault Diagnosis Based on Online Sequential Extreme Learning Machine
Authors: Li Yuancheng , Wang Xiaohan , Zhang Yingying
Published: June 2018

Background:

Transformer is one of the most important pivot equipment in an electric system
which undertakes major responsibility. Therefore, it is very important to identify the fault of the
transformer accurately and transformer fault diagnosis technology becomes one topic with great
research value.

Methods:

In this paper, after analyzing the shortcomings of traditional methods, we have proposed a
transformer fault diagnosis method based on Online Sequential Extreme Learning Machine (OS-ELM)
and dissolved gas-in-oil analysis. This method has better precision than some commonly used methods
at present. Furthermore, OS-ELM is more efficient than ELM. In addition, we analyze the effect of
different parameter selection on the performance of the model by contrast experiments.

Results:

The experimental result shows that OS-ELM has certain promotion in precision than some
traditional methods and can obviously improve the speed of training than ELM. Besides, it is known
that the number of neurons in the hidden layer and the size of dataset have a great effect on the model.

Conclusion:

The transformer fault diagnosis method based on OS-ELM can effectively identify the
faults and more efficient than ELM.
Demográfía de Oreomunnea mexicana (Standl.) J. F. Leroy en el bosque de niebla de Sierra Juárez, Oaxaca
Authors: Pacheco-Cruz Nelly , Clark-Tapia Ricardo , Campos-Contreras Jorge E. , Gorgonio-Ramírez Montserrat , Luna-Krauletz Maria Delfina , Naranjo-Luna Francisco José , Alfonso Corrado Cecilia Liana
Published: June 2018

Se estudió la demografía de Oreomunnea mexicana una especie amenazada y un relicto del Cenozoico. Esta especie es un elemento arbóreo dominante en el bosque de niebla de La Sierra Juárez, Oaxaca. Se obtuvo la estructura poblacional de cuatro sitios en 2011 y 2016 a través de parcelas de 400 m2 (20 m × 20 m). Por medio del uso de matrices de tipo Lefkovitch se obtuvo la tasa finita de crecimiento poblacional (l) para la población de San Bernardo, además de un análisis de elasticidad para dos periodos (2011 - 2015 y 2015 - 2016). En marzo de 2016, se registraron fuertes vientos de 100 km/h, lo que incrementó la mortalidad dentro de las poblaciones, sin modificar su estructura poblacional en forma de J invertida. No obstante, el estudio demográfico en, San Bernardo mostró una l en decremento para el segundo periodo de 0.44 ± 0.009, en comparación con una l en crecimiento de 1.101 ± 1.083 del primer periodo. Se encontró que la permanencia de los individuos es el parámetro demográfico más importante para mantener la estabilidad demográfica de las poblaciones. La especie mostró alta vulnerabilidad a cambios extremos en el ambiente, con un decremento en su número poblacional en un período corto (2015-2016). Por lo anterior, si se desea restaurar estas poblaciones locales, la conservación in situ debe enfocarse a lograr mantener y aumentar a futuro el número de individuos adultos en la zona.
Red dendrocronológica de pino triste (Pinus lumholtzii B.L. Rob. & Fernald) en la Sierra Madre Occidental para reconstrucción de lluvia estacional
Authors: Villanueva-Díaz José , González-Elizondo Martha , Cerano Paredes Julian , Estrada Ávalos Juan , Martínez Sifuentes Aldo Rafael , Rosales Mata Sergio
Published: June 2018

Se desarrolló una red de siete cronologías de Pinus lumholtzii en la Sierra Madre Occidental para el desarrollo de reconstrucciones históricas de precipitación estacional. Los valores de los parámetros dendrocronológicos en general fueron similares a los de series de crecimiento desarrolladas con otras coníferas en esta región: sensibilidad media (0.25 - 0.38), inter-correlación entre series (0.52 - 0.66), relación señal/ruido (1.16 - 18.51) y autocorrelación de primer orden (0.01 - 0.30). El primer componente (PC1) que incluyó las cronologías involucradas se utilizó para realizar una reconstrucción de precipitación acumulada noviembre-junio en el período común de las series (1890-2001), donde el crecimiento anual explicó más de 80% de la precipitación ocurrida en dicho período; asimismo, se utilizó la cronología residual del sitio Sauz para reconstruir la precipitación acumulada de los últimos 346 años (1668-2013), la cual detectó períodos extremadamente secos (1665-1688, 1695-1718, 1767-1778, 1890-1896, 1948-1963). La respuesta de las cronologías de esta especie a fenómenos atmosféricos de circulación general, como El Niño Oscilación del Sur (ENSO, por sus siglas en ingles), también fue similar a la obtenida con cronologías de especies con probado potencial dendroclimático. La ventaja de extender la red dendrocronológica de P. lumholtzii se fundamenta en que su potencial dendroclimático es equiparable con el de especies tradicionalmente usadas con este fin; su amplia distribución y el poco disturbio antropogénico que han sufrido sus poblaciones favorece la posibilidad de encontrar individuos longevos. Por su excelente sensibilidad climática, la red dendroclimática de P. lumholtzii es fundamental para estudios dendroclimáticos, particularmente en regiones donde se carece de registros climáticos instrumentales.