bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Bladder Cancer Segmentation in CT for Treatment Response Assessment: Application of Deep-Learning Convolution Neural Network—A Pilot Study
Authors: Cha Kenny H. , Hadjiiski Lubomir M. , Samala Ravi K. , Chan Heang-Ping , Cohan Richard H. , Caoili Elaine M. , Paramagul Chintana , Alva Ajjai , Weizer Alon Z.
Published: December 2016

Assessing the response of bladder cancer to neoadjuvant chemotherapy is crucial for reducing morbidity and increasing quality of life of patients. Changes in tumor volume during treatment is generally used to predict treatment outcome. We are developing a method for bladder cancer segmentation in CT using a pilot data set of 62 cases. 65 000 regions of interests were extracted from pre-treatment CT images to train a deep-learning convolution neural network (DL-CNN) for tumor boundary detection using leave-one-case-out cross-validation. The results were compared to our previous AI-CALS method. For all lesions in the data set, the longest diameter and its perpendicular were measured by two radiologists, and 3D manual segmentation was obtained from one radiologist. The World Health Organization (WHO) criteria and the Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors (RECIST) were calculated, and the prediction accuracy of complete response to chemotherapy was estimated by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). The AUCs were 0.73 ± 0.06, 0.70 ± 0.07, and 0.70 ± 0.06, respectively, for the volume change calculated using DL-CNN segmentation, the AI-CALS and the manual contours. The differences did not achieve statistical significance. The AUCs using the WHO criteria were 0.63 ± 0.07 and 0.61 ± 0.06, while the AUCs using RECIST were 0.65 ± 007 and 0.63 ± 0.06 for the two radiologists, respectively. Our results indicate that DL-CNN can produce accurate bladder cancer segmentation for calculation of tumor size change in response to treatment. The volume change performed better than the estimations from the WHO criteria and RECIST for the prediction of complete response.
The Quantitative Imaging Network in Precision Medicine
Authors: Nordstrom Robert J.
Published: December 2016

Precision medicine is a healthcare model that seeks to incorporate a wealth of patient information to identify and classify disease progression and to provide tailored therapeutic solutions for individual patients. Interventions are based on knowledge of molecular and mechanistic causes, pathogenesis and pathology of disease. Individual characteristics of the patients are then used to select appropriate healthcare options. Imaging is playing an increasingly important role in identifying relevant characteristics that help to stratify patients for different interventions. However, lack of standards, limitations in image-processing interoperability, and errors in data collection can limit the applicability of imaging in clinical decision support. Quantitative imaging is the attempt to extract reliable, numerical information from images to eliminate qualitative judgments and errors for providing accurate measures of tumor response to therapy or for predicting future response. This issue of Tomography reports quantitative imaging developments made by several members of the National Cancer Institute Quantitative Imaging Network, a program dedicated to the promotion of quantitative imaging methods for clinical decision support.
Evaluation of Cross-Calibrated 68Ge/68Ga Phantoms for Assessing PET/CT Measurement Bias in Oncology Imaging for Single- and Multicenter Trials
Authors: Byrd Darrin , Doot Robert , Allberg Keith , MacDonald Lawrence , McDougald Wendy , Elston Brian , Linden Hannah , Kinahan Paul
Published: December 2016

Quantitative PET imaging is an important tool for clinical trials evaluating the response of cancers to investigational therapies. The standardized uptake value, used as a quantitative imaging biomarker, is dependent on multiple parameters that may contribute bias and variability. The use of long-lived, sealed PET calibration phantoms offers the advantages of known radioactivity activity concentration and simpler use than aqueous phantoms. We evaluated scanner and dose calibrator sources from two batches of commercially available kits, together at a single site and distributed across a local multicenter PET imaging network. We found that radioactivity concentration was uniform within the phantoms. Within the regions of interest drawn in the phantom images, coefficients of variation of voxel values were less than 2%. Across phantoms, coefficients of variation for mean signal were close to 1%. Biases of the standardized uptake value estimated with the kits varied by site and were seen to change in time by approximately ±5%. We conclude that these biases cannot be assumed constant over time. The kits provide a robust method to monitor PET scanner and dose calibrator biases, and resulting biases in standardized uptake values.
Test–Retest Data for Radiomics Feature Stability Analysis: Generalizable or Study-Specific?
Authors: van Timmeren Janna E. , Leijenaar Ralph T.H. , van Elmpt Wouter , Wang Jiazhou , Zhang Zhen , Dekker André , Lambin Philippe
Published: December 2016

Radiomics is an objective method for extracting quantitative information from medical images. However, in radiomics, standardization, overfitting, and generalization are major challenges to be overcome. Test–retest experiments can be used to select robust radiomic features that have minimal variation. Currently, it is unknown whether they should be identified for each disease (disease specific) or are only imaging device-specific (computed tomography [CT]-specific). Here, we performed a test–retest analysis on CT scans of 40 patients with rectal cancer in a clinical setting. Correlation between radiomic features was assessed using the concordance correlation coefficient (CCC). In total, only 9/542 features have a CCC > 0.85. Furthermore, results were compared with the test–retest results on CT scans of 27 patients with lung cancer with a 15-minute interval. Results show that 446/542 features have a higher CCC for the test–retest analysis of the data set of patients with lung cancer than for patients with rectal cancer. The importance of controlling factors such as scanners, imaging protocol, reconstruction methods, and time points in a radiomics analysis is shown. Moreover, the results imply that test–retest analyses should be performed before each radiomics study. More research is required to independently evaluate the effect of each factor.
Deep Feature Transfer Learning in Combination with Traditional Features Predicts Survival among Patients with Lung Adenocarcinoma
Authors: Paul Rahul , Hawkins Samuel , Balagurunathan Yoganand , Schabath Matthew , Gillies Robert , Hall Lawrence , Goldgof Dmitry
Published: December 2016

Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related deaths in the USA. It can be detected and diagnosed using computed tomography images. For an automated classifier, identifying predictive features from medical images is a key concern. Deep feature extraction using pretrained convolutional neural networks (CNNs) has recently been successfully applied in some image domains. Here, we applied a pretrained CNN to extract deep features from 40 computed tomography images, with contrast, of non-small cell adenocarcinoma lung cancer, and combined deep features with traditional image features and trained classifiers to predict short- and long-term survivors. We experimented with several pretrained CNNs and several feature selection strategies. The best previously reported accuracy when using traditional quantitative features was 77.5% (area under the curve [AUC], 0.712), which was achieved by a decision tree classifier. The best reported accuracy from transfer learning and deep features was 77.5% (AUC, 0.713) using a decision tree classifier. When extracted deep neural network features were combined with traditional quantitative features, we obtained an accuracy of 90% (AUC, 0.935) with the 5 best post-rectified linear unit features extracted from a vgg-f pretrained CNN and the 5 best traditional features. The best results were achieved with the symmetric uncertainty feature ranking algorithm followed by a random forests classifier.
A Response Assessment Platform for Development and Validation of Imaging Biomarkers in Oncology
Authors: Yang Hao , Schwartz Lawrence H. , Zhao Binsheng
Published: December 2016

Quantitative imaging biomarkers are increasingly used in both oncology clinical trials and clinical practice aid evaluation of tumor response to novel therapies. To obtain these biomarkers, and to ensure smooth clinical adoption once they have been validated, it is critical to develop reliable computer-aided methods and a workflow-efficient imaging platform for integration in research and clinical settings. Here, we present a volumetric response assessment system developed based on an open-source image-viewing platform (WEASIS). Our response assessment system is designed using the Model–View–Controller concept, and it offers standard image-viewing and -manipulation functions, efficient tumor segmentation and quantification algorithms, and a reliable database containing tumor segmentation and measurement results. This prototype system is currently used in our research laboratory to foster the development and validation of new quantitative imaging biomarkers including the volumetric computed tomography technique as a more accurate and early assessment method of solid tumor response to targeted therapy and immunotherapy.
Comparison between 3-Scan Trace and Diagonal Body Diffusion-Weighted Imaging Acquisitions: A Phantom and Volunteer Study
Authors: Hectors Stefanie J. , Wagner Mathilde , Corcuera-Solano Idoia , Kang Martin , Stemmer Alto , Boss Michael A. , Taouli Bachir
Published: December 2016

Diagonal diffusion-weighted imaging (dDWI) uses simultaneous maximized application of 3 orthogonal gradient systems as opposed to sequential acquisition in 3 directions in conventional 3-scan trace DWI (tDWI). Several theoretical advantages of dDWI vs. tDWI include reduced artifacts and increased sharpness. We compared apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) quantification and image quality between monopolar dDWI and tDWI in a dedicated diffusion phantom (b = 0/500/900/2000 s/mm2) and in the abdomen (b = 50/400/800 s/mm2) and pelvis (b = 50/1000/1600 s/mm2) of 2 male volunteers at 1.5 T and 3.0 T. Phantom estimated signal-to-noise ratio (eSNR) was also measured. Two independent observers assessed the image quality on a 5-point scale. In the phantom, image quality was similar between tDWI and dDWI, with equivalent ADC quantification (mean coefficient of variation [CV] between sequences: 1.4% ± 1.2% at 1.5 T and 0.7% ± 0.7% at 3.0 T). Phantom eSNR was similar for both tDWI and dDWI, except for a significantly lower eSNR for b900 of dDWI at 3.0 T (P = .006). In the volunteers, the CV values between tDWI and dDWI were higher than those in the phantom (CV range: abdominal organs, 1.3%–13.3%; pelvic organs, 0.6%–5.7%). A trend toward significant better image quality for dDWI compared with tDWI was observed for b800 (abdomen) at 3.0 T and for b1000 and b1600 (pelvis) at 1.5 T (P = .063 to .066). Our data suggest that dDWI may provide better image quality than tDWI without affecting ADC quantification, needing confirmation in a future clinical study.
Radiomics of Lung Nodules: A Multi-Institutional Study of Robustness and Agreement of Quantitative Imaging Features
Authors: Kalpathy-Cramer Jayashree , Mamomov Artem , Zhao Binsheng , Lu Lin , Cherezov Dmitry , Napel Sandy , Echegaray Sebastian , Rubin Daniel , McNitt-Gray Michael , Lo Pechin , Sieren Jessica C. , Uthoff Johanna , Dilger Samantha K. N. , Driscoll Brandan , Yeung Ivan , Hadjiiski Lubomir , Cha Kenny , Balagurunathan Yoganand , Gillies Robert , Goldgof Dmitry
Published: December 2016

Radiomics is to provide quantitative descriptors of normal and abnormal tissues during classification and prediction tasks in radiology and oncology. Quantitative Imaging Network members are developing radiomic “feature” sets to characterize tumors, in general, the size, shape, texture, intensity, margin, and other aspects of the imaging features of nodules and lesions. Efforts are ongoing for developing an ontology to describe radiomic features for lung nodules, with the main classes consisting of size, local and global shape descriptors, margin, intensity, and texture-based features, which are based on wavelets, Laplacian of Gaussians, Law's features, gray-level co-occurrence matrices, and run-length features. The purpose of this study is to investigate the sensitivity of quantitative descriptors of pulmonary nodules to segmentations and to illustrate comparisons across different feature types and features computed by different implementations of feature extraction algorithms. We calculated the concordance correlation coefficients of the features as a measure of their stability with the underlying segmentation; 68% of the 830 features in this study had a concordance CC of ≥0.75. Pairwise correlation coefficients between pairs of features were used to uncover associations between features, particularly as measured by different participants. A graphical model approach was used to enumerate the number of uncorrelated feature groups at given thresholds of correlation. At a threshold of 0.75 and 0.95, there were 75 and 246 subgroups, respectively, providing a measure for the features' redundancy.
An Approach Toward Automatic Classification of Tumor Histopathology of Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer Based on Radiomic Features
Authors: Patil Ravindra , Mahadevaiah Geetha , Dekker Andre
Published: December 2016

Non–small cell lung cancer contributes toward 85% of all lung cancer burden. Tumor histology (squamous cell carcinoma, large cell carcinoma, and adenocarcinoma and “not otherwise specified”) has prognostic significance, and it is therefore imperative to identify tumor histology for personalized medicine; however, biopsies are not always possible and carry significant risk of complications. Here, we have used Radiomics, which provides an exhaustive number of informative features, to aid in diagnosis and therapeutic outcome of tumor characteristics in a noninvasive manner. This study evaluated radiomic features of non–small cell lung cancer to identify tumor histopathology. We included 317 subjects and classified the underlying tumor histopathology into its 4 main subtypes. The performance of the current approach was determined to be 20% more accurate than that of an approach considering only the volumetric- and shape-based features.
Diffusion Tensor Imaging for Assessment of Response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Patients with Breast Cancer
Authors: Wilmes Lisa J. , Li Wen , Shin Hee Jung , Newitt David C. , Proctor Evelyn , Harnish Roy , Hylton Nola M.
Published: December 2016

In this study, the prognostic significance of tumor metrics derived from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was evaluated in patients with locally advanced breast cancer undergoing neoadjuvant therapy. DTI and contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging were acquired at 1.5 T in 34 patients before treatment and after 3 cycles of taxane-based therapy (early treatment). Tumor fractional anisotropy (FA), principal eigenvalues (λ1, λ2, and λ3), and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) were estimated for tumor regions of interest drawn on DTI data. The association between DTI metrics and final tumor volume change was evaluated with Spearman rank correlation. DTI metrics were investigated as predictors of pathological complete response (pCR) by calculating the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Early changes in tumor FA and ADC significantly correlated with final tumor volume change post therapy (ρ = −0.38, P = .03 and ρ = −0.71, P < .001, respectively). Pretreatment tumor ADC was significantly lower in the pCR than in the non-pCR group (P = .04). At early treatment, patients with pCR had significantly higher percent changes of tumor λ1, λ2, λ3, and ADC than those without pCR. The AUCs for early percent changes in tumor FA and ADC were 0.60 and 0.83, respectively. The early percent changes in tumor eigenvalues and ADC were the strongest DTI-derived predictors of pCR. Although early percent change in tumor FA had a weak association with pCR, the significant correlation with final tumor volume change suggests that this metric changes with therapy and may merit further evaluation.
Big Data Analytics for Medication Management in Diabetes Mellitus
Authors: Wang Lidong , Alexander Cheryl Ann
Published: December 2016

Medication development plays a prominent role in the fight against chronic illness such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, asthma, etc. Without proper testing and methods for management of drug data, the disease management would fail. Providers rely on pharmaceutical companies to provide research data in widespread formats and pharmaceutical companies rely on hospitals for electronic medical record data (EHR) and for pharmacy refill records from insurance companies. Big Data Analytics (BDA) provides an excellent basis to examine and manage terabytes of data that comprises drug data and can manage all aspects of drug development. This survey paper examines the current literature to determine what is current practice in the area of Big Data analytics and medication management.
Pollution and Other Dimensions of Non-Renewable Groundwater in Haryana (India)
Authors: Rahi Avtar Singh
Published: December 2016

The vital role groundwater plays as a decentralized source of drinking water for millions rural and urban families cannot be overstated. In India, where groundwater is used intensively for irrigation and industrial purposes, a variety of land and water-based human activities are causing pollution of this precious resource. There are no estimates of the public health consequences of groundwater pollution as it involves methodological complexities and logistical problems. The groundwater behavior in the Indian sub-continent is highly complicated due to the occurrence of diversified geological formations with considerable litho-logical and chronological variations, complex tectonic framework, climato-logical dissimilarities and various hydro-chemical conditions. Once contamination starts, very little can be done to check it except a total ban on pumping. But this is very difficult, as millions of rural families in India depend on groundwater for sustaining irrigated agriculture and livelihoods. Manufacturing and service industries have high demands for cooling water, processing water and water for cleaning purposes. Groundwater pollution occurs when used water is returned to the hydrological cycle. Haryana is fast emerging as one of the most favoured investment destinations in India. The State has taken lead in terms of planned industrial and urban growth compared to neighboring States, which has resulted in development of vibrant urban and industrial complexes. They dump the wastes in the rivers which results in water pollution. Management of groundwater resources in the Indian context is an extremely complex proposition as it deals with the interactions between the human society and the physical environment. Unplanned depletion of non-renewable groundwater reserves can undermine and potentially erode the economic and social vitality of any community. Hence, there is need to plan the exploitation of non-renewable groundwater resources and guide their utilization with a view to making communities better prepared socio-economically to cope with increasing water stress as aquifer storage is depleted.
Self-help Group (SHGs) Activities under DAY-NRLM at Kolar district of Karnataka
Authors: Chatterjee Shankar
Published: December 2016

This article is based on field study based carried out in Kolar district of Karnataka by contacting Self-help Group (SHGs)  formed under Deendayal Antyaodaya Yojana- National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM)/Aajeevika which is presently in implementation in the country.  This DAY-NRLM is the massive self-employment programme which is the off-shoot of restructured scheme of Swarnajayanati Gram Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY). It was launched by the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India based on Prof Radhakrishna Committee.  The study reveals that DAY-NRLM is yet to start with full swing in Kolar district, Karnataka. However, by contacting the two SHGs formed and nurtured under DAY-NRLM it was observed that they were matured enough and earning substantially. It is pertinent to mention that initially the name of the programme was National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM)/Aajeevika but from 26 February 2016, Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India through a notification has rechristened as Deendayal Antyaodaya Yojana so presently it is known as Deendayal Antyaodaya Yojana- National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM). 
Work-life Balance a Strategic Human Resource Policies and Practices followed by Indian Organizations
Authors: Barik Pratibha , Pandey B.B.
Published: December 2016

The study examines the innovative work-life balance policies and practices implemented by various Indian Companies. As with the increase of women workforce, dual earner families and increase in nuclear families have generated the need for the employees to balance their work and personal life. Further to provide better quality of life and to retain their talented employees companies are providing various Work Life programmes. The present paper has made an effort to reveal the present status of work-life balance programs and benefits offered by various well reputed Indian organizations and its prospect and future challenges. The study is based on the extent of literature review, empirical study and secondary data. It was found that many organizations have started taking initiative to overcome work-life conflicts. Practices like flexi-time, parental leaves, childcare assistance and counseling etc. have improved and these supports enhance the performance and behavior of an employee towards their organization. This holistic view of this paper will contribute to the work-life balance literature and discuss the implication for future research. 
Biochemical Characterization for Lipid Synthesis in Aspergillus niger
Authors: Taha Ekhlass M. , Al-Taweil Hayyan I. , K. M. S. Noura , Yusoff Wan Mohtar Wan , Omar Othman , Hamid Aidil Abdul
Published: December 2016

A niger, a fungus which doesn't have high ability to production lipid, this fungus has been select to investigate the non oleaginicity. In this search, there are explorations about: i) growth profile ii) enzymes profile iii) isoforms. Growth profile shows that this fungus doesn't have ability to accumulate lipid more than 6% while bio mass are around 10g/l in spite of the presence of glucose in the media till the end of cultivation time and excision of nitrogen within 24 hrs. In enzyme study, we investigate all lipogenic enzymes Malic enzyme (ME), Fatty acid synthase (FAS), ATP: Citrate lays (ACL), NAD+ isocitrate dehydrogenase (NAD+ICDH), Glucose-6-phosphate (G6PD), and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6PGD), all these enzymes show, activities till the end of cultivation time including ACL which is regarded the key enzyme to differentiate between the two species oleaginous and non oleaginous. So, there is no main reason to non oleaginicity for this fungus. A further experiment has been done using Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis to identify ME isoforms. The result of Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis shows multi isoforms (A, B, C, D & E), with low intensity of isoform E, the isoforms that may involve in lipid synthesis. We have now studied the biochemistry of A.niger grown under conditions designed to promote lipid accumulation and can now advance a coherent hypothesis to explain why A niger could not accumulate lipid more than 6%. So the absence of isoforme E is the main reason for non oleaginicity in A niger.
Study Oxidative Stress Statues In Hypertension Women
Authors: Aldeen Yasmeen Muhi , Habeeb Perry , Jawad Alaa H.
Published: December 2016

The oxidative stress is result of unbalancing between oxidants and antioxidants in the body. Hypertension (HT) is a measure of average systolic blood pressure which created by the heart contracting, greater ?140 mmHg or an average diastolic blood pressure, which is the heart fills, of ?equal to 90 mmHg. The study is conducted on 28 female patients with HT from Ibn Al-nafese hospital in addition to 28 female control. The markers measured are albumin, malondialdehyde (MDA) and 8-Hydroxy deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG). Also electrophoresis study on extracted DNA with Fenton reaction was done. Results of this study show there are high significant decrease (p?0.01) in albumin concentration of patient related to control, and there is a high significant increase (p? 0.01) in each MDA and 8-OHdG for patients group in comparison with controls. The Fenton reaction done shows that oxidant has degradation effect on DNA either in two minutes of reaction. It is concluded that oxidative stress in its parameter (albumin) and markers (MDA and 8-OHdG) is main chemical manifestation of group under study. And oxidants produced by Fenton can denature the DNA in vitro.
Removal Color Study of Toluidine Blue dye from Aqueous Solution by using Photo-Fenton Oxidation
Authors: Dhahir Saadiyah A. , Hussein Enaas A. , Saleh Asaad H. , Samer Mouna
Published: December 2016

The degradation of Toluidine Blue dye in aqueous solution under UV irradiation is investigated by using photo-Fenton oxidation (UV/H2O2/Fe+). The effect of initial dye concentration, initial ferrous ion concentration, pH, initial hydrogen peroxide dosage, and irradiation time are studied. It is found put that the removal rate increases as the initial concentration of H2O2 and ferrous ion increase to optimum value ,where in we get more than 99% removal efficiency of dye at pH = 4 when the [H2O2] = 500mg / L, [Fe + 2 = 150mg / L]. Complete degradation was achieved in the relatively short time of 75 minutes. Faster decolonization is achieved at low pH, with the optimal value at pH 4 .The concentrations of degradation dye are detected by spectrophotometer at ?max =626 nm. The order of photo degradation reaction under UV is the first order kinetics. The photo-Fenton degradation process was monitored by UV-visible spectrophotometer.
Flame Atomic Emission and Colorimetric Methods for the Determination of Cephalexin Monohydrate in Pharmaceutical Preparations
Authors: Al-kahdimy Abbas S. Hasan , Ahmed Mohammed Abdullah
Published: December 2016

We propose two simple, rapid, and convenient spectrophotometric methods which are described for the determination of cephalexin in bulk and its pharmaceutical preparations. They are based on the measurement of the flame atomic emission of potassium ion (in the first method) and colorimetric determination of the green colored solution at 610 nm formed after the reaction of cephalexin with potassium permanganate as an oxidant agent (in the second method) in basic medium. The working conditions of the methods are investigated and optimized. Beer's law plot shows a good correlation in the concentration range of 5-40?g ml-1. The detection limits are 2.573,2.814 ?g ml-1 for the flame emission photometric method and 1.844,2.016 ?g ml-1 for colorimetric methods for capsules and suspensions respectively.The methods are successfully applied to the determination of cephalexin in capsules and suspensions, and the obtained results are in good agreement with the label claim. No interference is observed from the commonly encountered additives and excipients.
SISTEM PAKAR PENGIDENTIFIKASI KERUSAKAN WATER HEATER ARISTON DENGAN MENGGUNAKAN METODE BACKWARD CHAINING BERBASIS WEB
Authors: Hendra Asbon , Destari Ratih Adinda
Published: December 2016

ABSTRAK

Sistem pakar merupakan paket perangkat lunak atau paket program komputer yang ditujukan sebagai penyedia nasihat dan sarana bantu dalam memecahkan masalah di bidang-bidang spesialisasi tertentu seperti masalah kerusakan, pendidikan, dan sebagainya. Perkembangan pembangunan sistem pakar dalam bidang teknologi merupakan satu hal yang diharapkan dapat memperbaiki kualitas hidup manusia. Salah satunya adalah dengan penerapan sistem pakar dengan menggunakan metode Backward Chaining untuk mengdiagnosis kerusakan water heater. Kajian ini bertujuan untuk menambah pengetahuan tentang bagaimana membuat mesin inferensi untuk mengendalikan proses mengidentifikasi solusi menggunakan metode Backward Chaining, serta merancang aplikasi sistem pakar menggunakan metode Backward Chaining untuk mendiagnosis kerusakan water heater. Pembangunan sistem pakar ini terdiri dari beberapa tahap yaitu perancangan basis pengetahuan dan direpresentasikan dalam bentuk aturan yang berlaku, kemudian dilanjutkan dengan perancangan basis data dan perancangan antar muka, kemudian hasil perancangan dituangkan ke dalam bahasa
pemrograman PHP dan basis datanya menggunakan MySql. Sistem pakar ini akan dipergunakan sebagai pedoman bagi para teknisi untuk menyelesaikan masalah-masalah yang dihadapi. Sistem pakar ini dapat digunakan untuk mempercepat pencarian dan pengaksesan terhadap pengetahuan tentang kerusakan water heater oleh orang-orang yang membutuhkan informasi tentang gejala kerusakan Water Heater.
TINJAUAN ANALISIS PERFORMANSI TRAFIK KANAL PADA LAYANAN VOIP
Authors: Bandung Y. , Simamora S.N.M.P.
Published: December 2016

ABSTRAK

Jalur komunikasi data di jaringan Internet dapat dimodelkan sebagai suatu saluran antrean, yaitu apabila trafik data di dalam saluran mengalami peningkatan maka akan terbentuk antrean data yang menunggu untuk dilayani oleh sistem. Di dalam makalah ini akan dibahas analisis hubungan intensitas trafik, waktu pelayanan, dan beban layanan. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) merupakan salah satu bentuk layanan pengiriman paket data di jaringan Internet yaitu sinyal suara dikodekan menjadi bit-bit data yang disalurkan melalui media transmisi. Dengan demikian sifat dan kondisi trafik berlaku untuk semua layanan data tanpa melihat jenis dan media-transmisi bahkan kanal data yang akan dan sedang diduduki. Model layanan yang digunakan dan umum bekerja pada layanan VoIP adalah first-come-first served, sehingga nilai waktu tunggu dering pertama bergantung pada waktu layanan pada node yang dituju untuk menerima panggilan.
PERANCANGAN ALAT PENGGANTI AIR AQUARIUM OTOMATIS BERBASIS MIKROKONTROLER ATMEGA8
Authors: Ramadona Ahmad Suci , Haryanto Edy Victor , Tanjung Muhammad Rusdi
Published: December 2016

ABSTRAK

Perkembangan teknologi di segala aspek kehidupan saat sekarang ini sangat dibutuhkan, hal ini dapat dilihat dari banyaknya teknologi-teknologi sudah menggantikan pekerjaan-pekerjaan manusia yang dilakukan secara manual yang memakan tenaga dan waktu. Seperti pada aquarium ikan yang ada, pekerjaan yang rutin dilakukan pada Aquarium adalah mengganti air yang ada didalamnya agar
terlihat bersih dan menciptakan kondisi yang baik untuk ikan tersebut. Biasanya akan dibuat suatu jadwal untuk mengganti air aquarium tersebut, hal ini terkadang sangat menyita waktu apalagi pada saat kesibukan meningkat dan jika telat ataupun lupa untuk mengganti air pada aquarium tersebut maka dapat berakibat buruk pada kondisi air dan juga ikan yang ada didalamnya. maka penulis tertarik untuk perancang Alat Pengganti Air Aquarium Otomatis Berbasis Mikrokontroler ATmega8, merupakan sebuah aplikasi alat yang digunakan untuk otomatisasi penggantian air pada aquarium. Alat yang dirancang ini menggunakan RTC dan sensor kekeruhan sebagai penentu kapan air aquarium akan berganti, serta digunakan 2 buah pompa air mini untuk menguras dan mengisi air aquarium. Alat ini dirancang untuk mempermudah pengguna aquarium dalam hal penggantian air.
ANALISIS DATA SHARING TERDISTRIBUSI BERDASAR POLA JUMLAH N-USER UNTUK TEKNIK MANAJEMEN JARINGAN
Authors: Simamora S.N.M.P. , Butarbutar R. P.
Published: December 2016

ABSTRAK

Teknik manajemen jaringan dibutuhkan untuk mendapatkan keteraturan dan akses merata dalam suatu area jaringan komputer sesuai rules yang ditetapkan sehingga pemakaian sumber daya yang disediakan oleh jaringan terdistribusi dengan baik ke setiap terminal host-computer client. Salah satu metode yang sederhana untuk implementasi teknik manajemen jaringan adalah dengan membagi rata setiap sumber daya yang tersedia kepada sejumlah host-computer client. Dalam penelitian ini telah dilakukan teknik manajemen jaringan menggunakan model distribusi secara alamiah
untuk setiap pertambahan n-jumlah user secara terpola. Dan metode yang digunakan pada penelitian ini adalah kuantitatif dengan pengukuran memanfaatkan tools yang memiliki kemampuan untuk dapat mengamati trafik data secara real-time. Hasilnya menunjukkan ada perubahan signifikan seiring dengan perubahan jumlah n-user terhadap nilai parameter throughput dan end-to-end delay.
BUSSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING SISTEM PRESENSI MAHASISWA BERBASIS WAKTU SECARA PAPERLESS (STUDY KASUS : STMIK POTENSI UTAMA)
Authors: Agustin Fhery
Published: December 2016

Abstract
Bussiness Process Reengineering merupakan sebuah konsep rekontruksi ulang dengan melakukan tindakan secara dramatis dan radikal sehingga dapat menghasilkan perbaikan proses, penghematan biaya, serta peningkatan kecepatan. Sistem Presensi Mahasiswa di STMIK Potensi Utama yang berjalan saat ini, setelah dilakukan evaluasi ternyata memiliki banyak kelemahan ditinjau dari 5 indikator penyebab perlunya dilakukan Bussiness Process Reengenering. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk melakukan proses Reengineering sehingga menghasilkan peningkatan sistem jika dibandingkan dengan sebelum dilakukan Bussiness Process Reengineering dengan menggunakan 3 pendekatan (restructure, informate, dan mind). Berdasarkan hasil penelitian ternyata tidak terjadi peningkatan pada kategori input, kemudian dari kategori proses terjadi peningkatan sebesar 66,67%. Lalu ditinjau kategori output, terjadi peningkatan sebesar 50%. Namun secara keseluruhan Bussiness Process Reengineering yang dilakukan terhadap sistem Presensi Mahasiswa di STMIK Potensi Utama dapat dikatakan berhasil dengan baik. Sistem baru yang dihasilkan dengan memanfaatkan konsep Bussiness Process Reengineering di STMIK Potensi Utama adalah sebuah protype aplikasi presensi mahasiswa secara paperless berbasis web dengan metode batasan waktu.
PENGONTROLAN GERAK MOBILE ROBOT MENGGUNAKAN SENSOR ACCELEROMETER PADA PERANGKAT BERGERAK ANDROID
Authors: Hermanto Dedy
Published: December 2016

Smartphone merupakan perangkat bergerak saat ini yang sering digunakan oleh setiap orang. Didalam ponsel smartphone salah satunya android, ditanamkan beberapa sensor yang digunakan untuk mendukung proses yang berjalan dalam kegiatan yang berjalan dalam ponsel smartphone. Salah satu sensor yang ditanamkan didalam smartphone terdapat sensor accelerometer, accelerometer ini
digunakan untuk mengukur percepatan dari sudut X, Y dan Z. sensor yang tertanam didalam smartphone digunakan untuk menggerakkan mobile robot sesuai dengan perubahan sensor yang terjadi pada smartphone. Penerapan komunikasi yang digunakan berupa serial komunikasi dengan teknologi wireless. Teknologi ini menggunakan teknologi bluetooth. Penerapan pergerakan yang digunakan yaitu dengan mengambil nilai perubahan X dan Y.
WATERMARKING CITRA DIGITAL DENGAN INFORMATION DISPERSAL ALGORITHM (IDA) DAN ALGORITMA HUFFMAN
Authors: Hutagalung Bambang T.J. , Syahputra Andrian
Published: December 2016

Penelitian ini memaparkan bagaimana menunjukkan keaslian citra digital dari tindakan klaim kepemilikan citra digital oleh pihak yang tidak bertanggung jawab. Hal tersebut dapat dilakukan dengan proses watermaking menggunakan Information Dispersal Algorithm (IDA). Untuk menjaga  kerahasiaan parameter pembangkit proses watermarking dapat dilakukan dengan proses encoding dan decoding dengan algoritma Huffman. Pembuktian keaslian citra digital ter-watermark dilakukan dengan proses deteksi dan ekstraksi watermark pada citra digital ter-watermark yang memiliki ukuran yang sama dengan citra digital asli, maupun yang telah mengalami perubahan ukuran. Citra yang telah disisipi data akan mengalami penurunan kualitas. Untuk engevaluasi  kualitas citra hasil steganografi adalah dengan penilaian secara obyektif yaitu menghitung nilai Mean Square Error (MSE) dan Peak Signal to Noise Ratio (PSNR). Dari hasil pengujian pada citra digital asli dan citra digital watermark tidak mengalami perubahan yang signifikan. Hal ini  menunjukkan bahwa perbandingan kualitas antara citra asli dan citra watermark tidak jauh berbeda. Sehingga dapat disimpulkan bahwa kualitas citra pada steganografi mengalami penurunan namun sangat kecil, atau dapat dikatakan bahwa kualitas citra tetap baik.
Sistem Rekomendasi Pembelian Barang Pada Toko Bangunan Menggunakan Fuzzy Tsukamoto
Authors: Kurniawan July , Haryanto Hanny
Published: December 2016

Bisnis ritel mengalami perkembangan yang sangat pesat, terutama di Indonesia.Salah satunya adalah toko bangunan yang belum menerapkan teknologi dan masih bersifat manual.Di era serba modern ini konsumen membutuhkan jual beli secara efektif dan cepat maka diperlukan sistem untuk membantu dalam mengatasi permasalahan dalam hal rekomendasikan barang berdasarkan kebutuhan konsumen. Tujuan yang ingin dicapai dari penelitian ini adalah menentukan kebutuhan konsumen untuk merekomendasikan barang yang dibutuhkan konsumen. Sistem ini akan lebih menyederhanakan proses-proses tersebut, dengan memanfaatkan teknologi informatika fuzzy logic tsukamoto. Sehingga diharapkan kebutuhan konsumen akan lebih cepat dan akurat dalam merekomendasikan barang. Penelitian ini menguraikan apa saja yang dibutuhkan untuk mengatasi masalah yang selama ini dialami oleh konsumen dengan minimnya informasi. Hasil rekomendasi dari penelitian ini adalah berupa persentase barang yang mengacu dari hasil prediksi yang telah diteliti sebelumnya.
Sistem Informasi Nilai Siswa SMA Negeri 1 Tegal Berbasis Short Message Service
Authors: Arif Zaenul , Afandi Muhammad
Published: December 2016

Nilai Siswa pada instansi sekolah merupakan salah satu tolok ukur keberhasilan siswa dalam mempelajari materi yang disampaikan. Pada sistem yang lama orang tua belum mendapatkan nilai secara langsung dari pihak sekolah kecuali pada setiap akhir semester, sehingga mereka kesulitan untuk mengetahui perkembangan nilai anak mereka selama di sekolah. Untuk memberikan transparasi nilai kepada para siswa dan orang tua diperlukan sebuah sistem informasi nilai yang mudah dan cepat dalam pengaksesan data. Dengan mengidentifikasi masalah tersebut dilakukan analisis terhadap sistem lama untuk mengetahui kelemahan sistem. Dengan demikian sistem baru akan mengalami peningkatan. Analisis kelemahan sistem lama dengan menggunakan kategori PIECES (Performance, Information, Economy, Control, Eficiency, dan Service). Dalam memenuhi hal tersebut maka dibangun sebuah sistem informasi nilai siswa berbasis Short Message Service (SMS) Gateway. Sistem ini dibangun menggunakan software Gammu dan dengan menggunakan bahasa pemrograman PHP. Dengan menggunakan SMS untuk memperoleh data nilai bisa memberikan kemudahan bagi orang tua untuk memantau hasil belajar putra putrinya di sekolah.
Implementasi Metode SAW Dan AHP Pada Sistem Informasi Penilaian Kinerja Dosen
Authors: Ari Jayanti Ni Ketut Dewi
Published: December 2016

Dosen adalah tenaga pendidik profesional yang memiliki tugas menjalankan fungsi Tri Darma Perguruan Tinggi dalam mencerdaskan kehidupan bangsa. Selain itu, agar fungsi dan tugas yang melekat pada jabatan fungsional dosen dilaksanakan sesuai dengan aturan yang berlaku, maka diperlukan penilaian kinerja dosen yang menjamin terjadinya proses pembelajaran yang berkualitas di jenjang pendidikan tinggi. Pelaksanaan penilaian kinerja dosen dimaksudkan bukan untuk menyulitkan dosen, tetapi sebaliknya penilaian kinerja dosen dilaksanakan untuk mewujudkan dosen yang profesional, karena harkat dan martabat suatu profesi ditentukan oleh kualitas layanan profesi yang bermutu. Untuk dapat menghasilkan laporan kinerja dosen yang akurat, tentu saja dibutuhkan suatu metode yang dapat melibatkan banyak komponen atau kriteria yang dinilai (multi kriteria), sehingga dalam penyelesaiannya diperlukan sebuah sistem pendukung keputusan dengan multikriteria. Metode sistem pendukung keputusan yang multikriteria antara lain yaitu Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) dan Simple Additive Weighting (SAW), namun keduanya mempunyai metode pengukuran yang berbeda-beda. Hasil yang didapat dari penelitian ini adalah menerapkan metode SAW dan metode AHP dimana pada penilaian kinerja dosen ini melibatkan kriteria dan sub-kriteria serta sistem penilaian kinerja dosen. Kriteria serta sub-kriteria tersebut dapat ditambah ataupun dikurangi sesuai dengan peraturan yang berlaku. Disamping itu, pada masing-masing kriteria tersebut dapat ditentukan jumlah bobotnya sehingga penilai dapat memprioritaskan bobot yang dirasa penting.
Educação Ambiental e a Agenda 21 do Pedaço: Percepções de alunos em uma Escola Particular no Município de Serra Talhada - PE
Authors: Paulo Felipe Luiz Lima , Bezerra Káren Gercyane Oliveira , Regino Juliana Nunes
Published: December 2016

Hoje enfrentamos uma problemática ambiental fruto da má utilização dos recursos e energia da natureza pelo homem. Neste trabalho realizou-se o diagnóstico da percepção de alunos do 7º e 8º ano sobre o meio ambiente em que vivem utilizando a metodologia da Agenda 21 do pedaço proposta pelo instituto ECOAR. Os resultados mostram que os alunos possuem uma percepção realista da situação ambiental atual, mas precisam amadurecer o conceito sobre as soluções apresentadas.
Liderança: Dificuldades e Potencialidades de um líder introvertido nas organizações
Authors: Costa Pedro Henrique Faria Carvalho da
Published: December 2016

O objetivo deste estudo visa demostrar através de pesquisas teóricas e bibliográficas as potencialidades e dificuldades encontradas no indivíduo introvertido. A liderança, sobretudo pode ser vista como uma grande sinfonia, tendo o líder como o maestro. O que vai determinar se a apresentação será boa ou não é a capacidade e/ou habilidade que o líder possui para influenciar seus liderados para agirem conforme a música. Liderar é uma das atribuições, sendo ela crucial dentro das organizações. Perante isso se pode considerar que as empresas buscam pessoas com um determinado estilo de liderança, considerando fatores como: a assertividade, as habilidades de oratória, a expressão corporal, assim como se posicionar a frente. Características estas marcantes no estilo extrovertido, contudo, neste trabalho, será tratado o estilo oposto, dominado pela introversão, reflexão, compreensão e senso do cooperativo. Os resultados mostram que a liderança introvertida é minoria ou quase inexpressiva nas organizações, onde através de estudos encontra-se uma plena capacidade deles para com a liderança de uma equipe, de um setor ou até mesmo de uma organização.
Pesquisa de Clima Organizacional: ferramenta de modelo de Gestão na promoção de melhorias contínuas no Ambiente Institucional Financeiro
Authors: Silva Alex Amancio da , Oliveira Maria Do Carmo , Rosini Alessandro Marco , Silva Gislaine Souza dos Santos Amancio da
Published: December 2016

A pesquisa de clima organizacional tem sido uma ferramenta importante no mundo corporativo, modo pelo qual as instituições podem avaliar e apurar por meio dos resultados obtidos, o grau de satisfação de seus colaboradores e  buscar por meio de plano de ação, alcançar melhores resultados tanto em desempenho quanto em produção. Através de uma investigação empírica, de linha de pesquisa qualitativa exploratória, com coleta de dados secundários, verificou-se que a implementação da pesquisa  de clima organizacional, “Fale Francamente” do banco Itaú Unibanco, possibilitou analisar dados e efetuar um plano de ação eficaz almejando melhorias contínuas no ambiente organizacional, servindo como modelo de gestão de pessoas. Os resultados obtidos foram favoráveis no período compreendido do ano de 2012 a 2014 com elevação do grau de satisfação em quatro 4% e mantida ótima aderência dos funcionários em responder as perguntas chegando a atingir 90% o número de colaboradores.
Placental and Cord Blood Methylation of Genes Involved in Energy Homeostasis: Association With Fetal Growth and Neonatal Body Composition
Authors: Díaz Marta , García Cristina , Sebastiani Giorgia , de Zegher Francis , López-Bermejo Abel , Ibáñez Lourdes
Published: December 2016

Low weight at birth is associated with subsequent susceptibility to diabetes. Epigenetic modulation is among the mechanisms potentially mediating this association. We performed a genome-wide DNA methylation analysis in placentas from term infants born appropriate-for-gestational-age (AGA) or small-for-gestational-age (SGA) to identify new genes related to fetal growth and neonatal body composition. Candidate genes were validated by bisulfite pyrosequencing (30 AGA, 21 SGA) and also analyzed in cord blood. Gene expression analyses were performed by RT-PCR. Neonatal body composition was assessed by dual X-ray absorptiometry at age 2 weeks. The ATG2B, NKX6.1, and SLC13A5 genes (respectively related to autophagy, β-cell development and function, and lipid metabolism) were hypermethylated in placenta and cord blood from SGA newborns, whereas GPR120 (related to free fatty acid regulation) was hypomethylated in placenta and hypermethylated in cord blood. Gene expression levels were opposite to methylation status, and both correlated with birth weight, circulating IGF-I, and total and abdominal fat at age 2 weeks. In conclusion, alterations in methylation and expression of genes involved in the regulation of energy homeostasis were found to relate to fetal growth and neonatal body composition and thus may be among the early mechanisms modulating later susceptibility to diabetes.
Infestation of four mustard varieties by Lipaphis erysimi (Kalt) in relation to different levels of irrigation
Authors: Mannan MA , Tarannum N
Published: December 2016

An experiment was conducted to find out the influence of three irrigation levels (no irrigation, one irrigation and two irrigation) on four mustard varieties (Tori- 7, BARI Sharisha-6, BARI Sharisha-9 and BARI Sharisha-8). The non-irrigated plots had highest aphid population (34.96/plant) and lowest (11.16 aphids/plant) in two irrigation. The variety BARI Sharisha-8 showed lowest (5.34 aphids/plant) aphid infestation and its yield was highest (2.05 ton/ha). Interaction effects indicated that the crop escaped from the aphid incidence in the variety BARI Sharisha-8 irrigated 2 times and produced highest yield (2.37 ton/ha). The differences in the aphid population at three irrigation levels affected the yield contributing characters and it was negatively correlated (correlation coefficient value r ranged from -0.91 to 1.0).Bangladesh J. Agril. Res. 41(4): 625-632, December 2016
Identification of okra shoot and fruit borer infesting okra and their distribution in Bangladesh
Authors: Mazed MA , Alam MZ , Miah MRU , Hossain MS , Mian MIH
Published: December 2016

A survey was conducted during July 2009 to October 2010 to know the occurrence of okra shoot and fruit borer species that infest okra in Bangladesh. Infested okra fruits were collected from eleven selected locations representing 11 Agro-ecological Zones of Bangladesh and reared in the laboratory. A total of 423 adult individuals consisting of 188 male and 235 female moths emerged from the infested fruits. The male and female ratio was 1.00?1.25. The morphological characteristics of adult moths were recorded. Head and thorax of adults are ochreous white; forewings are pale white with a wedge shaped horizontal green patch in the middle and hind wings are silvery creamy white in color. The males are smaller than the females in size and the females are Vshaped at the end of the anal part but the males have thick hairs at the end of the anal part. Pupae are chocolate brown, bluntly rounded and enclosed in grey colored inverted boat shaped cocoon formed in the fruit or in the sand. Full grown caterpillars measured 1.64 cm in length and their color is brownish with white streaks dorsally and pale yellow ventrally, without finger tipped process. The recorded morphological characteristics ware compared with standard key and the insects were identified as Earias vittella belonging to the family Noctuidae.Bangladesh J. Agril. Res. 41(4): 657-665, December 2016