bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ovarian cancer statistics, 2018
Authors: Torre Lindsey A. , Trabert Britton , DeSantis Carol E. , Miller Kimberly D. , Samimi Goli , Runowicz Carolyn D. , Gaudet Mia M. , Jemal Ahmedin , Siegel Rebecca L.
Published: May 2018

In 2018, there will be approximately 22,240 new cases of ovarian cancer diagnosed and 14,070 ovarian cancer deaths in the United States. Herein, the American Cancer Society provides an overview of ovarian cancer occurrence based on incidence data from nationwide population‐based cancer registries and mortality data from the National Center for Health Statistics. The status of early detection strategies is also reviewed. In the United States, the overall ovarian cancer incidence rate declined from 1985 (16.6 per 100,000) to 2014 (11.8 per 100,000) by 29% and the mortality rate declined between 1976 (10.0 per 100,000) and 2015 (6.7 per 100,000) by 33%. Ovarian cancer encompasses a heterogenous group of malignancies that vary in etiology, molecular biology, and numerous other characteristics. Ninety percent of ovarian cancers are epithelial, the most common being serous carcinoma, for which incidence is highest in non‐Hispanic whites (NHWs) (5.2 per 100,000) and lowest in non‐Hispanic blacks (NHBs) and Asians/Pacific Islanders (APIs) (3.4 per 100,000). Notably, however, APIs have the highest incidence of endometrioid and clear cell carcinomas, which occur at younger ages and help explain comparable epithelial cancer incidence for APIs and NHWs younger than 55 years. Most serous carcinomas are diagnosed at stage III (51%) or IV (29%), for which the 5‐year cause‐specific survival for patients diagnosed during 2007 through 2013 was 42% and 26%, respectively. For all stages of epithelial cancer combined, 5‐year survival is highest in APIs (57%) and lowest in NHBs (35%), who have the lowest survival for almost every stage of diagnosis across cancer subtypes. Moreover, survival has plateaued in NHBs for decades despite increasing in NHWs, from 40% for cases diagnosed during 1992 through 1994 to 47% during 2007 through 2013. Progress in reducing ovarian cancer incidence and mortality can be accelerated by reducing racial disparities and furthering knowledge of etiology and tumorigenesis to facilitate strategies for prevention and early detection. CA Cancer J Clin 2018;68:284–296. © 2018 American Cancer Society.
A 1½ year old girl with excessive bleeding following accidental trauma to the upper labial frenum during playing
Authors: Rahman Mohammad Mizanur , Aziz Monwarul , Mohsin Mohammad , Begum Maksuda , Rahman Bazlur , Akter Afroza , Baki Abdullah-Al , Asaduzzaman Md.
Published: May 2018

This article has no abstract. The first 100 words appear below:A 1½ year old girl of a consanguineous parents was brought to the emergency and casualty department of a secondary care military hospital in Chattogram Cantonment (South-East part of Bangladesh), Chattogram, Bangladesh at 0100 hours on 19th January 2018 by her parents with the complaints of excessive bleeding following accidental trauma to the upper labial frenum during playing for the last six hours. The duty medical officer attended the patient and took detail history. The doctor came to know that the baby got accidental trauma to the upper labial frenum during playing at 2130 hours on 18th January 2018 followed by excessive bleeding from the injury site.
Construction Technology Adoption Cube: An Investigation on Process, Factors, Barriers, Drivers and Decision Makers Using NVivo and AHP Analysis
Authors: Sepasgozar Samad M. E. , Davis Steven
Published: May 2018

Due to the complexity, high-risk and conservative character of construction companies, advanced digital technologies do not become widely adopted in the short term, while vendors make determined efforts to overcome this and disseminate their technologies. This paper presents the methods of an investigation addressing the extremely complex issues related to the current practices of digital technology adoption in construction. It discusses how construction companies follow a specific logical process linked to need, project objectives, the characteristics of the adopting organization and the characteristics of the new technology to be adopted. The study aims to demonstrate a novel method of data collection and analysis, such as data and methodological triangulation techniques, including the use of NVivo and AHP to explore how companies make the decision to uptake new technology (e.g., advanced crane, tunnel boring machine or drones) by focusing on customer and vendor activities, their interactions, contributing factors and people involved in the process. The major original contribution of this paper is developing an innovative methodological cube for investigating the Construction Technology Adoption Process (CTAP) covering technology adoption, acceptance, diffusion and implementation concepts. CTAP is a framework that delineates the phases of the process that customer organizations use when deciding to adopt a new digital technology and the parallel vendor activities. The significance of these contributions is that they enable vendors to understand how to match their strategies with customer expectations in each phase of CTAP. It also provides a benchmark for new construction companies to use the current best practices of decision making. Future research is warranted to more clearly delineate any differences with respect to developing nations or related industries such as mining and property management.
Improving Natural Ventilation Conditions on Semi-Outdoor and Indoor Levels in Warm–Humid Climates
Authors: Bayoumi Mohannad
Published: May 2018

Building form and facade development for energy saving and generation are of great importance. Further development for natural ventilation purposes is also imperative as it is related to many issues that affect the quality of the living and working environment inside and around the buildings in outdoor and semi-outdoor spaces. In rapidly developing regions experiencing a warm and humid climate, like Saudi Arabia, mechanical cooling and ventilation are commonly used in residential and non-residential buildings. However, this was not the case in traditional structures, like the massive coral buildings of Jeddah, where cooling essentially depended on cross ventilation and heat storage in thermal mass. Further, the building forms in the traditional oriental city were optimized for natural ventilation on the macro- and micro-urban and room scales, respectively. Owing to the advancement in air-conditioning technology, conventional building design approaches tend to encourage sealed indoor spaces that rarely interact with the outdoor environment. Even in such harsh climates, during many months in a year, the outdoor temperature is remarkably low, allowing the utilization of natural ventilation within the rooms, as well as between building complexes and the surrounding spaces. This optimization process requires the integrated planning of many aspects, such as the facade, building form, as well as the intermediate threshold spaces between the indoor and outdoor spaces. Non-residential buildings in Saudi Arabia require a large amount of energy for operation. This is mainly due to the relatively high cooling demand caused by internal loads. A hybrid cooling system that incorporates mechanical and natural cooling and ventilation can be implemented for low-temperature days and nights. This paper presents a method for saving energy in a university faculty building, which is located in Jeddah. Models of the proposed solutions were analyzed using a computational fluid dynamics simulation tools, as well as the dynamic building simulation tool IDA-Indoor Climate and Energy (IDA-ICE) to assess user comfort and the level of reduction in energy demand.
A Library of Doped-Graphene Images via Transmission Electron Microscopy
Authors: Pham Phuong Viet
Published: May 2018

Much recent work has focused on improving the performance of graphene by various physical and chemical modification approaches. In particular, chemical doping of n-type and p-type dopants through substitutional and surface transfer strategies have been carried out with the aim of electronic and band-gap tuning. In this field, the visualization of (i) The intrinsic structure and morphology of graphene layers after doping by various chemical dopants, (ii) the formation of exotic and new chemical bonds at surface/interface between the graphene layers and the dopants is highly desirable. In this short review, recent advances in the study of doped-graphenes and of the n-type and p-type doping techniques through transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis and observation at the nanoscale will be addressed.
Application of Oxovanadium Complex Stabilized by N,N,N,N-Chelating Ligand in Air-Drying Paints
Authors: Charamzová Iva , Vinklárek Jaromír , Kalenda Petr , Honzíček Jan
Published: May 2018

New vanadium-based drier, stabilized with macrocyclic chelating ligand, is described. Its drying activity was established on solvent-borne alkyd resins of different oil-length modified by soybean oil. The test coatings were characterized by standardized mechanical tests as well as spectroscopic methods. Time-resolved infrared spectroscopy was used for determination of kinetic parameters of the autoxidation process while the EPR (electron paramagnetic resonance) spectroscopy enabled confirmation of stability of oxovanadium(IV) species in the cured films. The obtained experimental data revealed promising catalytic activity of the oxovanadium(IV) compound stabilized with N,N,N,N-chelating ligand at low concentration. At 0.03 wt % of metal in dry matter content, it shows short total dry times not exceeding 12 h while commercial cobalt(II) 2-ethylhexanoate is, at the same concentration, considerably lower active with total dry times 15.4 h (alkyd of short oil-length) and >24 h (alkyd of medium oil-length).
Simultaneous Enhancement of Electrical Conductivity and Seebeck Coefficient of [6,6]-Phenyl-C71 Butyric Acid Methyl Ester (PC70BM) by Adding Co-Solvents
Authors: Rastegaralam Mina , Lee Changhee , Dettlaff-Weglikowska Urszula
Published: May 2018

Chemical modification by co-solvents added to [6,6]-Phenyl-C71 butyric acid methyl ester, commonly known as an n-type semiconducting fullerene derivative PC70BM, is reported to change the electrical and thermoelectric properties of this system. Power factor of the casted PC70BM samples achieves values higher than that determined for a variety of organic compounds, including conducting polymers, such as PEDOT:PSS in the pristine form. After chemical functionalization by different solvents, namely N,N-Dimethylformamide (DMF), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP), acetonitrile (AC), and 1,2-Dichloroethane (DCE), the four-probe in-plane electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient measurements indicate a simultaneous increase of the electrical conductivity and the Seebeck coefficient. The observed effect is more pronounced for solvents with a high boiling point, such as N,N-Dimethylformamide (DMF), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), and N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP), than in acetonitrile (AC) and 1,2-Dichloroethane (DCE). We identified the origin of these changes using Hall mobility measurements, which demonstrate enhancement of the PC70BM charge carrier mobility upon addition of the corresponding solvents due to the improved packaging of the fullerene compound and chemical interaction with entrapped solvent molecules within the layers.
Accuracy and Optimal Altitude for Physical Habitat Assessment (PHA) of Stream Environments Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV)
Authors: Klein Hentz Ângela Maria , Kinder Paul J. , Hubbart Jason A. , Kellner Elliott
Published: May 2018

Physical Habitat Assessments (PHA) are useful to characterize and monitor stream and river habitat conditions, but can be costly and time-consuming. Alternative methods for data collection are getting attention, such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV). The objective of this work was to evaluate the accuracy of UAV-based remote sensing techniques relative to ground-based PHA measurements, and to determine the influence of flight altitude on those accuracies. A UAV quadcopter equipped with an RGB camera was flown at the altitudes of 30.5 m, 61.0 m, 91.5 m and 122.0 m, and the metrics wetted width (Ww), bankfull width (Wbf) and distance to water (Dw) were compared to field PHA. The UAV-PHA method generated similar values to observed PHA values, but underestimated distance to water, and overestimated wetted width. Bankfull width provided the largest RMSE (25–28%). No systematic error patterns were observed considering the different flight altitudes, and results indicated that all flight altitudes investigated can be reliably used for PHA measurements. However, UAV flight at 61 m provided the most accurate results (CI = 0.05) considering all metrics. All UAV parameters over all altitudes showed significant correlation with observed PHA data, validating the use of UAV-based remote sensing for PHA.
Entropy Generation on Nanofluid Thin Film Flow of Eyring–Powell Fluid with Thermal Radiation and MHD Effect on an Unsteady Porous Stretching Sheet
Authors: Ishaq Mohammad , Ali Gohar , Shah Zahir , Islam Saeed , Muhammad Sher
Published: May 2018

This research paper investigates entropy generation analysis on two-dimensional nanofluid film flow of Eyring–Powell fluid with heat amd mass transmission over an unsteady porous stretching sheet in the existence of uniform magnetic field (MHD). The flow of liquid films are taken under the impact of thermal radiation. The basic time dependent equations of heat transfer, momentum and mass transfer are modeled and converted to a system of differential equations by employing appropriate similarity transformation with unsteady dimensionless parameters. Entropy analysis is the main focus in this work and the impact of physical parameters on the entropy profile are discussed in detail. The influence of thermophoresis and Brownian motion has been taken in the nanofluids model. An optima approach has been applied to acquire the solution of modeled problem. The convergence of the HAM (Homotopy Analysis Method) has been presented numerically. The disparity of the Nusslet number, Skin friction, Sherwood number and their influence on the velocity, heat and concentration fields has been scrutinized. Moreover, for comprehension, the physical presentation of the embedded parameters are explored analytically for entropy generation and discussed.
A Decision Support System for Public Funding of Experimental Development in Energy Research
Authors: Hirzel Simon , Hettesheimer Tim , Viebahn Peter , Fischedick Manfred
Published: May 2018

New energy technologies may fail to make the transition to the market once research funding has ended due to a lack of private engagement to conclude their development. Extending public funding to cover such experimental developments could be one way to improve this transition. However, identifying promising research and development (R&D) proposals for this purpose is a difficult task for the following reasons: Close-to-market implementations regularly require substantial resources while public budgets are limited; the allocation of public funds needs to be fair, open, and documented; the evaluation is complex and subject to public sector regulations for public engagement in R&D funding. This calls for a rigorous evaluation process. This paper proposes an operational three-staged decision support system (DSS) to assist decision-makers in public funding institutions in the ex-ante evaluation of R&D proposals for large-scale close-to-market projects in energy research. The system was developed based on a review of literature and related approaches from practice combined with a series of workshops with practitioners from German public funding institutions. The results confirm that the decision-making process is a complex one that is not limited to simply scoring R&D proposals. Decision-makers also have to deal with various additional issues such as determining the state of technological development, verifying market failures or considering existing funding portfolios. The DSS that is suggested in this paper is unique in the sense that it goes beyond mere multi-criteria aggregation procedures and addresses these issues as well to help guide decision-makers in public institutions through the evaluation process.
A Novel Method for Lithium-Ion Battery Online Parameter Identification Based on Variable Forgetting Factor Recursive Least Squares
Authors: Lao Zizhou , Xia Bizhong , Wang Wei , Sun Wei , Lai Yongzhi , Wang Mingwang
Published: May 2018

For model-based state of charge (SOC) estimation methods, the battery model parameters change with temperature, SOC, and so forth, causing the estimation error to increase. Constantly updating model parameters during battery operation, also known as online parameter identification, can effectively solve this problem. In this paper, a lithium-ion battery is modeled using the Thevenin model. A variable forgetting factor (VFF) strategy is introduced to improve forgetting factor recursive least squares (FFRLS) to variable forgetting factor recursive least squares (VFF-RLS). A novel method based on VFF-RLS for the online identification of the Thevenin model is proposed. Experiments verified that VFF-RLS gives more stable online parameter identification results than FFRLS. Combined with an unscented Kalman filter (UKF) algorithm, a joint algorithm named VFF-RLS-UKF is proposed for SOC estimation. In a variable-temperature environment, a battery SOC estimation experiment was performed using the joint algorithm. The average error of the SOC estimation was as low as 0.595% in some experiments. Experiments showed that VFF-RLS can effectively track the changes in model parameters. The joint algorithm improved the SOC estimation accuracy compared to the method with the fixed forgetting factor.
Energy Management Strategy for a Bioethanol Isolated Hybrid System: Simulations and Experiments
Authors: Gabriel Rullo Pablo , Costa-Castelló Ramon , Roda Vicente , Feroldi Diego
Published: May 2018

Renewable energy sources have significant advantages both from the environmental and the economic point of view. Additionally, renewable energy sources can contribute significantly to the development of isolated areas that currently have no connection to the electricity supply network. In order to make efficient use of these energy sources, it is necessary to develop appropriate energy management strategies. This work presents an energy management strategy for an isolated hybrid renewable energy system with hydrogen production from bioethanol reforming. The system is based on wind-solar energy, batteries and a bioethanol reformer, which produces hydrogen to feed a fuel cell system. Bioethanol can contribute to the development of isolated areas with surplus agricultural production, which can be used to produce bioethanol. The energy management strategy takes the form of a state machine and tries to maximize autonomy time while minimizing recharging time. The proposed rule-based strategy has been validated both by simulation and experimentally in a scale laboratory station. Both tests have shown the viability of the proposed strategy complying with the specifications imposed and a good agreement between experimental and simulation results.
Study on a Novel Gelled Foam for Conformance Control in High Temperature and High Salinity Reservoirs
Authors: Li Tong , Fang Jichao , Jiao Baolei , He Long , Dai Caili , You Qing
Published: May 2018

A novel gelled foam for conformance control was investigated for its ability to enhance oil recovery (EOR) in high temperature and high salinity reservoirs. The formulation optimization, foaming performance, and core flooding performance of the gelled foam were systematically evaluated under harsh reservoir conditions. The gelled foam formulation was optimized with 0.4% polymer (hydrolyzed polyacrylamide; HPAM), 0.06% cross-linker (phenolic) and 0.2% foaming agent (sulphobetaine; SB). The addition of the gel improved the stability of the foam system by 3.8 times that of traditional foam. A stabilization mechanism in the gelled foam was proposed to describe the stabilization process of the foam film. The uniformly distributed three-dimensional network structure of the gel provided a thick protective layer for the foam system that maintained the stability of the foam and improved the strength and thickness of the liquid film. The gelled foam exhibited good formation adaptability, profile control, and EOR performance. The foam flowed into the high permeability layer, plugged the dominant channel, and increased the swept volume. Oil recovery was enhanced by 29.4% under harsh high -temperature and high salinity conditions.
Pruning Biomass Potential in Italy Related to Crop Characteristics, Agricultural Practices and Agro-Climatic Conditions
Authors: Pari Luigi , Alfano Vincenzo , Garcia-Galindo Daniel , Suardi Alessandro , Santangelo Enrico
Published: May 2018

This work, developed under the EuroPruning Project, aims to look at relations between pruning biomass production and several factors related both to crop species and management. The aim is to find out mathematical relations that allow improvement of the biomass potential assessment. This is generally calculated using biomass production ratios. These ratios are variable due to the influence of several aspects. On the one hand there are crop characteristics—such as species, cultivar, and age—and on the other, crop management, which is often associated to local habits and conditions such as the training system, planting pattern, density, pruning methods, irrigation and climate. This work has been produced by gathering data from literature reviews and surveying. The subset of Italian records in the EuroPruning database consists of 70 records. Each record contains the biomass production ratio and eight agronomic variables. Additionally, a set of six climatic and agro-climatic groups of variables (in total 28 variables) have been added to each record. Moderate to good correlations have been found, especially with few climatic factors. As a result, two regression models are proposed for the evaluation of the vineyard and olive tree pruning biomass ratios for Italy, and applied to assess pruning biomass potential.
Achieving Cost Minimization and Fairness in Multi-Supplier Smart Grid Environment
Authors: Malik Amna , Ali Zain , Awan Ahmed Bilal , Abo-Khalil Ahmed G. , Sidhu Guftaar Ahmad Sardar
Published: May 2018

In this paper, we study the energy management techniques in the smart grid with multiple energy providers. We seek to minimize the electricity cost. In this paper, the desired objectives are achieved through scheduling of different consumers to different utilities at different time slots. We consider a practical system where multiple users can be allocated to a single utility, but, a user cannot be assigned to more than one utility. As a first goal, we formulate a sum cost minimization problem subject to independent generation capacity of each utility. A dual decomposition approach is exploited to find an efficient solution where the sub-gradient approach is adopted to update the dual variables. Later, a min-max based optimization framework is adopted to achieve the fairness among different customers. Moreover, suboptimal schemes are also designed to reduce the computational complexity. Simulation results are presented to validate the performance of the proposed solutions.
Service Continuity of PV Synchronous Buck/Buck-Boost Converter with Energy Storage†
Authors: Siouane Saima , Jovanović Slaviša , Poure Philippe
Published: May 2018

Numerous advantages offered by Photovoltaic (PV) generation systems coupled with the increasing power demands for clean energy put PV systems in the front of many research works. For stand-alone applications powered with PV systems, the reliability of the power conversion stage is essential to ensure the continuous supply of energy. Therefore, in the case of any failure occurring in the power conversion stage, it is mandatory to provide remedial actions to guarantee the service continuity of the produced electrical power. This paper analyses the service continuity of a two-stage buck/buck-boost converter with energy storage, driven with synchronous control. The initial two-stage converter is made fault-tolerant and robust to failures of its two switches by adding only one additional switch associated with two diodes. In this study, only open-circuit switch faults are considered. The proposed fault-tolerant circuit and the initial one have the same electrical behavior when synchronous control is used. The applied synchronous control in both healthy conditions and post-fault operation ensures the same functionalities without degrading the system’s performances. The proposed two-stage synchronously-controlled circuit is validated through simulation in the cases of open circuit faults on the two switches of the initial converter. The obtained results show the feasibility of the proposed functional redundancy and the continuity of operation at full power after switch fault diagnosis.
Method for Assessing the Development of Underground Hard Coal Mines on a Regional Basis: The Concept of Measurement and Research Results
Authors: Jonek-Kowalska Izabela
Published: May 2018

The functioning and development of the extractive industry depends on many unusual conditions that are not found in other industries, such as the size of deposits, the level of natural and technical hazards, geographic location, or the method of mineral extraction (open pit or underground). Therefore, it is difficult to use universal development assessment methods for such specific production units. As a result, the research undertaken in this article aims to develop an indicator method for evaluating the development potential of underground hard coal mines. This method is based on a theoretical and practical analysis of the conditions of functioning of hard coal mines, expert research, and multiple case studies verifying the operation of the presented development indicator. The first part of the article is devoted to identifying and analyzing the criteria for assessing the functioning of underground hard coal mines. Next, the essence and methodology of creating and interpreting the proposed indicator was presented. The second part of the article is empirical, and contains the results of the assessment carried out using the developed indicators for five Polish hard coal mines for the years 2011–2015. The results of the research indicate that the most important factors in the development of hard coal mines relate to the geological and mining conditions, and those concerning natural hazard levels. However, during the functioning, the financial conditions and related production conditions, which ultimately determine the survival and development of underground mining plants, gain in significance.
Spatial and Temporal Optimization Strategy for Plug-In Electric Vehicle Charging to Mitigate Impacts on Distribution Network
Authors: Gong Lili , Cao Wu , Liu Kangli , Zhao Jianfeng , Li Xiang
Published: May 2018

The large deployment of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) challenges the operation of the distribution network. Uncoordinated charging of PEVs will cause a heavy load burden at rush hour and lead to increased power loss and voltage fluctuation. To overcome these problems, a novel coordinated charging strategy which considers the moving characteristics of PEVs is proposed in this paper. Firstly, the concept of trip chain is introduced to analyze the spatial and temporal distribution of PEVs. Then, a stochastic optimization model for PEV charging is established to minimize the distribution network power loss (DNPL) and maximal voltage deviation (MVD). After that, the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm with an embedded power flow program is adopted to solve the model, due to its simplicity and practicality. Last, the feasibility and efficiency of the proposed strategy is tested on the IEEE 33 distribution system. Simulation results show that the proposed charging strategy not only reduces power loss and the peak valley difference, but also improves voltage profile greatly.
Solar Radiation Estimation Algorithm and Field Verification in Taiwan
Authors: Kuo Ping-Huan , Chen Hsin-Chuan , Huang Chiou-Jye
Published: May 2018

The power generation potential of a solar photovoltaic (PV) power generation system is closely related to the on-site solar radiation, and sunshine conditions are an important reference index for evaluating the installation of a solar PV system. Meanwhile, the long-term operation and maintenance of a PV system needs solar radiation information as a reference for system performance evaluation. Obtaining solar radiation information through the installation of irradiation monitoring stations is often very costly, and the cost of sustaining the reliability of the monitoring system, Internet stability and subsequent operation and maintenance can often be alarming. Therefore, the establishment of a solar radiation estimation model can reduce the installation of monitoring stations and decrease the cost of obtaining solar radiation information. In this study, we use an inverse distance weighting algorithm to establish the solar radiation estimation model. The model was built by obtaining information from 20 solar radiation monitoring stations in central and southern Taiwan, and field verification was implemented at Yuan Chang Township town hall and the Tainan Liujia campus. Furthermore, a full comparison between Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) and the Kriging method is also given in this paper. The estimation results demonstrate the performance of the IDW method. In the experiment, the performance of the IDW method is better than the Ordinary Kriging (OK) method. The Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) values of the solar radiation estimation model by IDW at the two field verifications were 4.30% and 3.71%, respectively.
Workload, Exposure to Noise, and Risk of Musculoskeletal Disorders: A Case Study of Motor-Manual Tree Feeling and Processing in Poplar Clear Cuts
Authors: Cheţa Marius , Marcu Marina Viorela , Borz Stelian Alexandru
Published: May 2018

Motor-manual tree felling and processing (MMTFP) is among the most used options in timber harvesting operations and it is formally known to be a heavy job exposing the workers to safety hazards and harmful factors. Nevertheless, both workload and exposure depend on many operational, organizational, and worker-related parameters. Few studies have evaluated the ergonomics of such operations and fewer have been carried out using an integrated approach able to collect and interpret data for more than one ergonomic parameter. This study evaluated the ergonomic conditions of task-based MMTFP operations in flatland poplar forests by the means of workload, exposure to noise, and risk of musculoskeletal disorders. A fully-automatic approach was used to collect and pair the heart rate and noise exposure data that was complemented by video recording to collect postural data. Workload experienced by the worker was evaluated in terms of heart rate reserve (%HRR), indicating a heavy load during the productive time (%HRR = 46%); exposure to noise was calculated at the task and study level, exceeding (LAeq = 97.15 dB(A); LEX,8h = 96.18 dB(A)) the acceptable limits; and the risk of musculoskeletal disorders was evaluated using the concepts and procedures of the Ovako Working Posture Analysis System, indicating a high postural risk index (PRI = 275), which can cause musculoskeletal disorders (MSD). For more conclusive results, the research should be extended to cover the relevant variability factors.
Biotic and Abiotic Drivers of Sap Flux in Mature Green Ash Trees (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) Experiencing Varying Levels of Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis) Infestation
Authors: Flower Charles E. , Lynch Douglas J. , Knight Kathleen S. , Gonzalez-Meler Miquel A.
Published: May 2018

While the relationship between abiotic drivers of sap flux are well established, the role of biotic disturbances on sap flux remain understudied. The invasion of the emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire, EAB) into North America in the 1990s represents a significant threat to ash trees (Fraxinus spp.), which are a substantial component of temperate forests. Serpentine feeding galleries excavated by EAB larvae in the cambial and phloem tissue are linked to rapid tree mortality. To assess how varying levels of EAB infestation impact the plant water status and stress levels of mature green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marshall) trees, we combined tree-level sap flux measurements with leaf-level gas exchange, isotopes, morphology and labile carbohydrate measurements. Results show sap flux and whole tree water use are reduced by as much as 80% as EAB damage increases. Heavily EAB impacted trees exhibited reduced leaf area and leaf mass, but maintained constant levels of specific leaf area relative to lightly EAB-impacted trees. Altered foliar gas exchange (reduced light saturated assimilation, internal CO2 concentrations) paired with depleted foliar δ13C values of heavily EAB impacted trees point to chronic water stress at the canopy level, indicative of xylem damage. Reduced photosynthetic rates in trees more impacted by EAB likely contributed to the lack of nonstructural carbohydrate (soluble sugars and starch) accumulation in leaf tissue, further supporting the notion that EAB damages not only phloem, but xylem tissue as well, resulting in reduced water availability. These findings can be incorporated into modeling efforts to untangle post disturbance shifts in ecosystem hydrology.
Comparative Study of PEGylated and Conventional Liposomes as Carriers for Shikonin
Authors: Tsermentseli Stella , Kontogiannopoulos Konstantinos , Papageorgiou Vassilios , Assimopoulou Andreana
Published: May 2018

Liposomes are considered to be one of the most successful drug delivery systems. They apply nanotechnology to potentiate the therapeutic efficacy and reduce the toxicity of conventional medicines. Shikonin and alkannin, a pair of chiral natural naphthoquinone compounds, derived from Alkanna and Lithospermum species, are widely used due to their various pharmacological activities, mainly wound healing, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and their recently established antitumor activity. The purpose of this study was to prepare conventional and PEGylated shikonin-loaded liposomal formulations and measure the effects of different lipids and polyethylene glycol (PEG) on parameters related to particle size distribution, the polydispersity index, the zeta potential, drug-loading efficiency and the stability of the prepared formulations. Three types of lipids were assessed (1,2-Dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DOPC), 1,2-Distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DSPC) and 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-rac-(1-glycerol) (DSPG)), separately and in mixtures, forming anionic liposomes with good physicochemical characteristics, high entrapment efficiencies (varying from 56.5 to 89.4%), satisfactory in vitro release profiles and good physical stability. The addition of the negatively charged DSPG lipids to DOPC, led to an increment in the drug’s incorporation efficiency and reduced the particle size distribution. Furthermore, the shikonin–loaded PEGylated sample with DOPC/DSPG, demonstrated the most satisfactory characteristics. These findings are considered promising and could be used for further design and improvement of such formulations.
Game Theory of Tumor–Stroma Interactions in Multiple Myeloma: Effect of Nonlinear Benefits
Authors: Sartakhti Javad , Manshaei Mohammad , Archetti Marco
Published: May 2018

Cancer cells and stromal cells often exchange growth factors with paracrine effects that promote cell growth: a form of cooperation that can be studied by evolutionary game theory. Previous models have assumed that interactions between cells are pairwise or that the benefit of a growth factor is a linear function of its concentration. Diffusible factors, however, affect multiple cells and generally have nonlinear effects, and these differences are known to have important consequences for evolutionary dynamics. Here, we study tumor–stroma paracrine signaling using a model with multiplayer collective interactions in which growth factors have nonlinear effects. We use multiple myeloma as an example, modelling interactions between malignant plasma cells, osteoblasts, and osteoclasts. Nonlinear benefits can lead to results not observed in linear models, including internal mixed stable equilibria and cyclical dynamics. Models with linear effects, therefore, do not lead to a meaningful characterization of the dynamics of tumor–stroma interactions. To understand the dynamics and the effect of therapies it is necessary to estimate the shape of the benefit functions experimentally and parametrize models based on these functions.
Addendum: Cohen, M.H. OJ 287 as a Rotating Helix. Galaxies 2017, 5, 12
Authors: Cohen Marshall
Published: May 2018

In an earlier paper it was erroneously stated that the inner jet of OJ 287 has a right-hand helical structure. In this addendum we show that the observations underlying this statement are ambiguous, and that they cannot determine the rotation sense.
Temperature and Conductivity as Indicators of the Morphology and Activity of a Submarine Volcano: Avyssos (Nisyros) in the South Aegean Sea, Greece
Authors: Bakalis Evangelos , Mertzimekis Theo , Nomikou Paraskevi , Zerbetto Francesco
Published: May 2018

The morphology and the activity of a submarine caldera, Avyssos, at the northern part of Nisyros volcano in the South Aegean Sea (Greece), has been studied by means of remotely-operated underwater vehicle dives. The recorded time series of temperature and conductivity over the submarine volcano have been analyzed in terms of the generalized moments method. The findings of the mathematical analysis shed light on the volcanic activity, but also on the morphology (shape) of the submarine volcano. The conductivity time series indicates that the volcano is at rest, in agreement with other types of observations. On the other hand, temperature fluctuations, which in general describe a multifractal process, show that the submarine caldera operates as an open system that interacts with its surroundings. This type of analysis can be used as an indicator for the state of activity and the morphological structure (closed or open system) of a submarine volcano.
Handling Complexity in Animal and Plant Science Research—From Single to Functional Traits: Are We There Yet?
Authors: Roberts Jessica , Power Aoife , Chandra Shaneel , Chapman James , Cozzolino Daniel
Published: May 2018

The current knowledge of the main factors governing livestock, crop and plant quality as well as yield in different species is incomplete. For example, this can be evidenced by the persistence of benchmark crop varieties for many decades in spite of the gains achieved over the same period. In recent years, it has been demonstrated that molecular breeding based on DNA markers has led to advances in breeding (animal and crops). However, these advances are not in the way that it was anticipated initially by the researcher in the field. According to several scientists, one of the main reasons for this was related to the evidence that complex target traits such as grain yield, composition or nutritional quality depend on multiple factors in addition to genetics. Therefore, some questions need to be asked: are the current approaches in molecular genetics the most appropriate to deal with complex traits such as yield or quality? Are the current tools for phenotyping complex traits enough to differentiate among genotypes? Do we need to change the way that data is collected and analysed?
Alcoholism: A Multi-Systemic Cellular Insult to Organs
Authors: Dguzeh Ucee , Haddad Natasha C. , Smith Kathia T. S. , Johnson John O. , Doye Angelia A. , Gwathmey Judith K. , Haddad Georges E.
Published: May 2018

Alcohol abuse can affect more than the heart and the liver. Many observers often do not appreciate the complex and differing aspects of alcohol’s effects in pathophysiologies that have been reported in multiple organs. Chronic alcohol abuse is known to be associated with pathophysiological changes that often result in life-threatening clinical outcomes, e.g., breast and colon cancer, pancreatic disease, cirrhosis of the liver, diabetes, osteoporosis, arthritis, kidney disease, immune system dysfunction, hypertension, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathy, and can be as far-reaching as to cause central nervous system disorders. In this review article, we will discuss the various organs impacted by alcohol abuse. The lack of clear guidelines on the amount and frequency of alcohol intake, complicated by personal demographics, make extrapolations to real-life practices at best difficult for public health policy-makers.
Environmental Lead Exposure and Adult Literacy in Myanmar: An Exploratory Study of Potential Associations at the Township Level
Authors: MacTavish Robert C. , Rémillard Liam W. , Davison Colleen M.
Published: May 2018

Environmental lead exposure is a population health concern in many low- and middle-income countries. Lead is found throughout Myanmar and prior to the 1940s the country was the largest producer of lead worldwide. The aim of this study was to examine any potential association between lead mining and adult literacy rates at the level of 330 townships in Myanmar. Townships were identified as lead or non-lead mining areas and 2015 census data were examined with association being identified using descriptive, analytical and spatial statistical methods. Overall, there does appear to be a significant relationship between lead mining activity and adult literacy levels among townships with both low access (p = 0.05; OR = 2.701 (1.136–6.421)) as well with high access to safe sanitation (p = 0.01; OR = 18.40 (1.794–188.745)). Local Indicators of Spatial Association (LISA) cluster maps confirm these findings. This exploratory analysis is a first step in the examination of potential environmental lead exposure and its implications in Myanmar.
Neighborhood Socioeconomic Deprivation and Allostatic Load: A Scoping Review
Authors: Ribeiro Ana Isabel , Amaro Joana , Lisi Cosima , Fraga Silvia
Published: May 2018

Residing in socioeconomically deprived neighborhoods may pose substantial physiological stress, which can then lead to higher allostatic load (AL), a marker of biological wear and tear that precedes disease. The aim of the present study was to map the current evidence about the relationship between neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation and AL. A scoping review approach was chosen to provide an overview of the type, quantity, and extent of research available. The review was conducted using three bibliographic databases (PubMed, SCOPUS, and Web of Science) and a standardized protocol. Fourteen studies were identified. Studies were predominantly from the USA, cross-sectional, focused on adults, and involved different races and ethnic groups. A wide range of measures of AL were identified: the mode of the number of biomarkers per study was eight but with large variability (range: 6–24). Most studies (n = 12) reported a significant association between neighborhood deprivation and AL. Behaviors and environmental stressors seem to mediate this relationship and associations appear more pronounced among Blacks, men, and individuals with poor social support. Such conclusions have important public health implications as they enforce the idea that neighborhood environment should be improved to prevent physiological dysregulation and consequent chronic diseases.
Project SoL—A Community-Based, Multi-Component Health Promotion Intervention to Improve Eating Habits and Physical Activity among Danish Families with Young Children. Part 1: Intervention Development and Implementation
Authors: Toft Ulla , Bloch Paul , Reinbach Helene C. , Winkler Lise L. , Buch-Andersen Tine , Aagaard-Hansen Jens , Mikkelsen Bent Egberg , Jensen Bjarne Bruun , Glümer Charlotte
Published: May 2018

Project SoL was implemented over a period of four years from 2012–2015 with the aim to promote healthy eating and physical activity among families with children aged 3–8 years, living in selected communities in two Danish municipalities. This was done by applying the supersetting approach to implement complex multi-component interventions in a participatory, coordinated, and integrated manner in childcare centres, schools, and supermarkets in three local communities, as well as in local media during a 19-month period in the Regional Municipality of Bornholm, which served as the intervention site. The matching municipality of Odsherred served as a control site based on its similarity to Bornholm regarding several socio-demographic and health indicators. The present paper describes the design of Project SoL as well as the processes of developing and implementing its complex interventions. Moreover, the theoretical and conceptual framework of the project is described together with its organisational structure, concrete activities, and sustainability measures. The paper discusses some of the key lessons learned related to participatory development and the implementation of a multi-component intervention. The paper concludes that coordinated and integrated health promotion activities that are implemented together with multiple stakeholders and across multiple settings in the local community are much more powerful than individual activities carried out in single settings. The supersetting approach was a useful conceptual framework for developing and implementing a complex multi-component health promotion intervention and for fostering ownership and sustainability of the intervention in the local community. The research and evaluation approach of the project is described in a separate paper (Part 2).
Particulate Matter and Gaseous Pollutions in Three Metropolises along the Chinese Yangtze River: Situation and Implications
Authors: Mao Mao , Zhang Xiaolin , Yin Yan
Published: May 2018

The situation of criteria atmospheric pollutants, including particulate matter and trace gases (SO2, NO2, CO and O3), over three metropolises (Chongqing, Wuhan, and Nanjing), representing the upstream, midstream and downstream portions of the Yangtze River Basin from September 2015 to August 2016 were analyzed. The maximum annual mean PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations were 61.3 and 102.7 μg/m3 in Wuhan, while highest annual average gaseous pollutions occurred in Nanjing, with 49.6 and 22.9 ppb for 8 h O3 and NO2, respectively. Compared to a few years ago, SO2 and CO mass concentrations have dropped to well below the qualification standards, and the O3 and NO2 concentrations basically meet the requirements though occasionally is still high. In contrary, about 13%, 25%, 22% for PM2.5, and 4%, 17%, 15% for PM10 exceed the Chinese Ambient Air Quality Standard (CAAQS) Grade II. Particulate matter, especially PM2.5, is the most frequent major pollutant to poor air quality with 73%, 64% and 88% accounting for substandard days. Mean PM2.5 concentrations on PM2.5 episode days are 2–3 times greater than non-episode days. On the basis of calculation of PM2.5/PM10 and PM2.5/CO ratios, the enhanced particulate matter pollution on episode days is closely related to secondary aerosol production. Except for O3, the remaining five pollutants exhibit analogous seasonal patterns, with the highest magnitude in winter and lowest in summer. The results of back trajectories show that air pollution displays synergistic effects on local emissions and long range transport. O3 commonly demonstrated negative correlations with other pollutants, especially during winter, while moderate to strong positive correlation between particulate matter and NO2, SO2, CO were seen. Compared to pollutant substandard ratios over three megacities in eastern China (Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou), the situation in our studied second-tier cities are also severe. The results in this paper provide basic knowledge for pollution status of three cities along Chinese Yangtze River and are conductive to mitigating future negative air quality levels.