bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
EXPERIMENTAL APPROVAL OF THE EFFICACY OF THE COMBINED COMPOSITION RECTAL CREAM NEW TEST-SAMPLES IN THE CONDITIONS OF ACUTE COMPLICATED ANAL FISSURE IN RATS
Authors: Zaychenko Ganna , Stakhorska Marina
Published: August 2019

Anal fissure (AF) is one of the most common anorectal problems. The severity of the disease, the chronicity of the pathological process and frequent complications lead to a sharp deterioration in the quality of life of patients. An important place in the treatment of anal fissure is occupied by drugs that affect its key mechanism of pathogenesis, namely, reduce the muscle tone of the internal anal sphincter and have anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and reparative properties.

Aim: conducting of screening studies of the effectiveness of new test samples of rectal cream of the combined composition (RCCC) on the model of acute complicated anal fissure in rats and determining the optimal composition of the potential drug.

Materials and methods. The research was conducted on the basis of the Central Scientific Research Laboratory of the National Pharmaceutical University (CSRL NUPH) in the spring (April) season of 2015 on the female rats.

A study of test specimens of the rectal cream of the combined composition was performed on a modified model of acute anal fissure. The effectiveness of the treatment was evaluated in terms of (0 to 2) severity of edema, hyperaemia, local bleeding, purulent necrotic processes, scapular formation, anatomical defect, and a general indicator of the severity of the pathological process (by the sum of the points for all the criteria that were analyzed). The level of proinflammatory PGE2 in serum was determined by the immune enzyme method.

Results. The RCCC sample No. 4 showed the most expressive therapeutic effect among the four samples under study, and had credible benefits to the inhibitory effect on purulent-necrotic processes, as expressed by the differences in the overall rate of the pathological process (6 days: 5.83±0.47 points against 7.00±0.37; 7.83±0.31 under the influence of RCCC No. 2, No. 3, respectively, and for 11 days 5.00±1.03 versus 6.83±1.28 points (p=0.08 ) under the influence of RCCC No. 1). The ability of RCCCs No.1 and No.4 to reduce the level of pro-inflammatory PGE2 in blood serum of rats compared with CP in 1.8 and 2.0 times, respectively, contributed to accelerating epithelization and scar formation. The advantages of RCCC No. 4 on the comparison of the ointment "Proctozan" with the reduction of the period of epithelization of the defect of the mucous membrane of the anal canal for 3 days (for 7 days – RCCC No. 4, for 10 days - ointment "Proctozan").

Conclusions. The rectal cream of the combined composition No. 4 showed the greatest efficacy, had advantages over the comparison ointment "Proctozan", and is promising for the creation on its basis a new drug for the treatment of anal fissures.
STUDY OF QUALITY AND SAFETY PARAMETERS OF LIVER PASTES WITH AUBERGINE POWDER
Authors: Dzyundzya Oksana , Burak Valentyna , Ryapolova Іrina , Voievoda Nadiia , Shinkaruk Mariya , Antonenko Artem , Brovenko Tetiana , Kryvoruchko Myroslav , Tolok Galina , Mihailik Vitalii
Published: August 2019

The aim of this work is to study quality and safety parameters of developed recipes of liver pastes with a partial replacement of liver by aubergine powder that allows to improve their food value and to introduce them in food rations of people, working at toxic enterprises, living on ecologically polluted territories and all population layers.

This work is devoted to studying quality and safety parameters of liver pastes with aubergine powders, produced by infrared drying at temperature 50–60 °С. Chemical parameters, established for developed paste products, are presented.

The use of aubergine powders gives a possibility to increase biological and food values, to widen the assortment of pastes with prognosticated quality parameters, to form new consumption properties of products, to use the food potential of vegetable supplements more completely. It has been proved, that new pastes with using aubergine powders confirmed advantages of developed products over traditional ones.

New products have a balanced chemical composition, low energetic value, decreased content of easily assimilated carbohydrates and increased content of healthy ingredients of functional and treating-prophylactic destination.

These studies testify the quality and safety of developed paste recipes. It has been established, that adding aubergine powders in paste recipes results in increasing a food value at the expanse of raising an amount of carbohydrates, content of irreplaceable amino acids, enrichment with mineral substances and vitamins.
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE EFFICIENCY OF ANIMAL BREEDING PREMISES DISINFECTION BY MODERN DISINFECTANTS
Authors: Paliy Andriy , Paliy Anatoliy , Nanka Alexander , Chalaya Olga , Chalyi Oleksandr
Published: August 2019

The technological complex of veterinary-sanitary and organization-economic arrangements, conducted for prophylaxis and fight against infectious diseases inevitably includes disinfection, directed on inactivation of pathogenic agents in the environment. At applying new disinfectants in practice in the whole structure of the technological process of animal husbandry products, it is necessary to determine their sensitivity to the circulating microflora. The aim of the study was to establish the effectiveness of using new disinfecting preparations of different chemical groups and to determine regimes of their application in the whole complex of anti-epizootic prophylactic arrangements. Disinfecting preparations “Hermicidan FF plus”, “Peroxan forte”, “Viro-xal” were used in experiments. The quality of the conducted disinfection was controlled by separation of sanitary-representative microorganisms – bacteria of the colon bacillus group. It has been established, that the disinfecting preparations “Hermicidan FF plus”, “Peroxan forte”, “Viro-xal” have bactericidal properties relative to the sanitary-representative microorganisms and can be used in the general complex of sanitary-hygienic arrangements. The disinfectant “Hermicidan FF plus” has bactericidal properties in concentration 0,5 % at exposition 1 hour, preparation “Peroxan Forte” is effective at using in concentration 1,0 % at exposition 1 hour, and the disinfecting means “Viro xal” acts bactericidially in concentration 1,0 % at exposition 3 hours. For today the question of search for new technological, high-effective disinfecting preparations that correspond to existent requirements of biological safety and protection remains urgent.
Soil Microbial Biomass Size and Nitrogen Availability Regulate the Incorporation of Residue Carbon into Dissolved Organic Pool and Microbial Biomass
Authors: Li Lu‐Jun , Ye Rongzhong , Zhu‐Barker Xia , Horwath William R.
Published: August 2019

Microbial biomass (MB) plays a critical role in residue decomposition and soil organic matter (SOM) turnover. We investigated the effects of the initial size of soil MB pool and nitrogen (N) availability on the incorporation of ryegrass residue carbon (C) into microbial biomass C (MBC) and dissolved organic C (DOC). Soils from a row crop system (CS) and an adjacent grass sod (GS) were preincubated with (i.e., increased MB) and without (i.e., unchanged MB) glucose to produce soils with two levels of initial MB size before residue additions. Ammonium sulfate was added to test the effect of N availability. Residue addition increased DOC production in both soils, regardless of initial MB size and N availability, contributing 9 to ∼22% to the total pool. Residue quality was observed to affect the incorporation of residue C into DOC, which depended on soil type and initial MB size. However, the assimilation of residue C into MBC was not affected by the quality of ryegrass residue. Compared with the control (which did not have residue and N additions), a significant increase in SOM‐derived MBC by residue addition was observed in CS without glucose preincubation but not in the glucose preincubated CS and in GS. This indicated that the primed MBC by residue addition depended on initial MB size and soil type. The assimilation of residue C into MB was marginally inhibited by the preincubation with glucose in GS but was promoted in CS. With the addition of extra N, higher ryegrass‐derived MBC was observed in CS with glucose preincubation compared with the corresponding treatments without preincubation, which was not found in GS. These results suggested that residue‐derived MBC was not only regulated by initial MB size and N availability but also was affected by soil management history. However, N addition reduced ryegrass‐derived DOC production in GS without glucose preincubation. Apparently, both soil MB size and N availability largely affected the assimilation and incorporation of residue C in soil labile pools (i.e., DOC and MBC), and the extent of this relationship varied between two agricultural soils.

Core Ideas

Ryegrass residue addition primed the production of SOM‐derived DOC and MBC.

Residue quality affected ryegrass‐derived DOC in crop soils.

N addition reduced ryegrass‐derived DOC in grass soils.

N addition increased ryegrass‐derived MBC in crop soils.

Initial MB and N availability regulated the incorporation of residue C into DOC and MBC.
Auto-regressive Distributed Lag Model for long-run US household debt determinants
Authors: Swanepoel Ezelda
Published: August 2019

US household debt increased on a yearly basis from 1987 to 2007. In addition, household debt in the USA nearly doubled between 2000 and 2007, from $5.6 trillion to $9 trillion. This came to an abrupt end in 2009 with the crash of the financial market. This paper employs the bound test and Auto-regressive Distributed Lag Model to determine the long-run relationship between US household debt and consumer prices, housing prices, the unemployment rate, and the lending rate. Unit root tests were conducted first to ascertain the stationarity of the variables. E-views 11 was used in the analysis of the data, which was obtained from Q1: 1990 to Q1: 2007 from the International Monetary Fund and the US FED. It was found that in the long run, there is a negative effect of consumer prices and unemployment on US household debt, while house prices and the lending rate would have a positive effect on household debt.
Groundwater prospect mapping using remote sensing, GIS and resistivity survey techniques in Chhokra Nala Raipur district, Chhattisgarh, India
Authors: Indhulekha K. , Chandra Mondal Kamalesh , Jhariya D. C.
Published: August 2019

Groundwater availability in urbanized areas is under high demand due to overconsumption and lack of recharge area. It is important to consider the groundwater scenario of the cities and industrial areas for its safe consumption and management. In this framework, remote sensing, geographic information system (GIS), is a tool which plays a vital role to map groundwater prospect zones due to its convenience and time-saving nature. The present study area, the watershed of Chhokra Nala, covers an area which consists partly of an industrial area and also Raipur city. The current study has utilized satellite imagery, along with other data sets, to develop different thematic layers such as geology, land use land cover, drainage and drainage density, lineament, geomorphology, rainfall, slope, groundwater depth and soil types. Integration of all these thematic layers through GIS analysis delineated the groundwater prospect zones by the application of a weighted index overlay method. A Resistivity Survey was also performed to locate groundwater potential zones. The groundwater potential zone map of the study area is categorized into five different zones, namely very low, low, moderate, high and very high.
Improving operational management of wastewater systems. A case study
Authors: Pereira A. , Pinho J. L. S. , Faria R. , Vieira J. M. P. , Costa C.
Published: August 2019

Wastewater treatment facilities collecting wastewater from longstanding sewer networks of five municipalities in the Ave River basin (located in NW Portugal) are especially vulnerable to water inflows since they have considerable extensions of sewers installed in stream and riverbeds. TRATAVE, the company responsible for operating the system, designed and implemented a monitoring network to measure discharges along the entire drainage network and treatment facilities in order to reduce those water inflows. Several flow measurement devices were installed at strategic locations within the sewer network and integrated with a SCADA system responsible for its operation. A decision support system (DSS) is being implemented using the Delft-FEWS platform, integrating monitoring data and models. Based on monitored data and model results, an estimation of infiltration volumes during wet periods is presented. Moreover, the capabilities of the DSS are illustrated in: (i) location of manholes losses along sewer networks during wet periods; (ii) identification and location of unknown connections to the sewer network using wastewater balances; and (iii) design of a PID controller for a pumping station using on-line tank water level measurement. Acquired knowledge resulting from the DSS greatly improved the utility performance both in terms of economic revenue and environmental protection.
Stopping the Unstoppable: Unconventional Methods to Prevent the Biofilm Growth
Authors: Jain Neha , Mansuri Abdulkhalik
Published: August 2019

Biofilms are consortia of microorganisms encased in extracellular matrix that protect cells from
adverse conditions. A biofilm matrix is typically composed of extracellular DNA, cellulose and proteinaceous
amyloid fibers. The matrix aids in adhesion to abiotic and biotic surface including medical devices
and host tissues. The presence of biofilm makes bacteria more resilient and non-responsive to most current
treatment regimes at disposal. Therefore, biofilm-associated infections are serious threat in hospital settings
and pose a huge burden on economy. Inhibition of matrix components (cellulose and/or amyloid
formation) has emerged as a lucrative alternative strategy to cure biofilm-related infections and combat
antibiotic resistance. Here we review the current and emerging therapeutic interventions to mitigate persistent
infections due to biofilms. The successful implementation of these interventions will have a huge
impact on alleviating the current financial burden on healthcare services.
Synthesis of New C2-Symmetric Chiral Benzimidazole Derivatives Having Norbornene/Dibenzobarrelene Skeletons
Authors: Çapan İrfan , Servi Süleyman
Published: August 2019

Racemic dicarboxylic acids were synthesized from the Diels-Alder cycloaddition reactions
which formed the dibenzobarrelene and norbornene skeletons. The pure enantiomers of these compounds
were obtained using brucine as the chiral auxiliary. Novel C2-symmetric chiral benzimidazole
derivatives were synthesized from the reaction of the diaminobenzene and enantiomeric dicarboxylic
acids in the presence of boric acid.
Neurological Involvement as the Initial Manifestation in Primary Sjögren's Syndrome - A Case Report
Authors: Posso-Osorio Iván , Naranjo-Escobar Juan , Loaiza Diana Marcela , Polo Marcela , Echeverri Alex , Tobón Gabriel J.
Published: August 2019

Background:

Sjögren's syndrome is an autoimmune disease characterised by
exocrinopathy mainly involving the salivary and lacrimal glands. In addition, it is a multisystemic
condition (i.e., affecting multiple organs and systems). Neurological involvement has been reported
in ~20% of cases, with peripheral manifestations being the most frequent.

Methods:

We analysed four cases in which neurological manifestations were the first symptoms of
Sjögren's syndrome.

Results:

In all four cases, neurological symptoms preceded sicca symptoms. In addition, immunosuppressive
treatment with steroids and, in some cases, cyclophosphamide showed improvement.

Conclusion:

Neurological involvement in Sjögren's syndrome is common and often occurs as the
first clinical manifestation. Since evidence is limited, more studies are required in order to determine
appropriate diagnostic methods and treatments for each manifestation of Sjögren's syndrome.
Key Relevance of Epigenetic Programming of Adiponectin Gene in Pathogenesis of Metabolic Disorders
Authors: Un Nisa Kaiser , Reza Mohammad Irshad
Published: August 2019

Background & Objective::

Significant health and social burdens have been created by the
growth of metabolic disorders like type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), atherosclerosis, and non-alcoholic
steatohepatitis, worldwide. The number of the affected population is as yet rising, and it is assessed
that until 2030, 4−5 million individuals will acquire diabetes. A blend of environmental, genetic, epigenetic,
and other factors, such as diet, are accountable for the initiation and progression of metabolic
disorders. Several researches have shown strong relevance of adiponectin gene and metabolic disorders.
In this review, the potential influence of epigenetic mechanisms of adiponectin gene “ADIPOQ”
on increasing the risk of developing metabolic disorders and their potential in treating this major disorder
are discussed.

Results & Conclusion::

Various studies have postulated that a series of factors such as maternal High
fat diet (HFD), oxidative stress, pro-inflammatory mediators, sleep fragmentation throughout lifetime,
from gestation to old age, could accumulate epigenetic marks, including histone remodeling, DNA
methylation, and microRNAs (miRNAs) that, in turn, alter the expression of ADIPOQ gene and result
in hypoadiponectinemia which precipitates insulin resistance (IR) that in turn might induce or accelerate
the onset and development of metabolic disorder. A better understanding of global patterns of epigenetic
modifications and further their alterations in metabolic disorders will bestow better treatment
strategies design.
Withdrawal Notice: Intelligent Logistics System Optimization Based on IoT and Fuzzy Algorithms
Authors: Jiang Yanyan , Tian Shen
Published: August 2019

The article has been withdrawn at the request of the author of the journal Recent Advances in Computer Science and
Communications.;

Bentham Science apologizes to the readers of the journal for any inconvenience this may have caused.

The Bentham Editorial Policy on Article Withdrawal can be found at https://benthamscience.com/editorial-policies-main.php

Bentham Science Disclaimer:

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appropriate action against the authors, if plagiarism or fabricated information is discovered. By submitting a manuscript
the authors agree that the copyright of their article is transferred to the publishers if and when the article is accepted for
publication.
OPTIMAL AND FAST HAND GESTURE RECOGNITION MODEL USING FASTER R-CNN
Authors: Sundaramoorthy Kathirvel , G Murugaboopathi , Marimuthu Ramaprabha
Published: August 2019

Due to the advancements in computer vision, gesture recognition becomes an important research topic and is widely used for human-computer interfaces. Among gesture recognition models, the hand gesture is highly preferable because of its application in various applications like healthcare, gaming, etc. Though numerous hand gesture recognition models exist, none of these methods attained an efficient and faster detection rate in different situations. In this paper, we introduce an optimal and fast hand gesture recognition model using Faster R-CNN. The use of Faster R-CNN leads to efficient recognition at a faster rate. To evaluate the results of the Faster R-CNN model, we employ this model to a set of two benchmark hand gesture dataset. The experimental outcomes demonstrate that the Faster R-CNN model gains enhanced performance over the standard methods in terms of accuracy and computation time.
METHWORK: An Approach for Ranking of Research Trends with a Case Study for IoET
Authors: Kumar Neeraj , Agrawal Alka , Khan Raess A.
Published: August 2019

Objective:

Ranking in many areas has been a big problem for a long time. The authors
tried to use a novel ranking approach to find out the most popular research interest among all the research
fields. The authors have assumed that the selection of a research area is a tedious task.

Methods:

Therefore, they tried to propose a mechanism named METHWORK (Methodology With
the Opted Related Keywords) to choose popular research trends. Google-based searching was applied
to find samples in the initial state of this approach. The METHWORK was tested with respect
to a case of ranking of research trends within the IoET (Internet of Environmental Things). To find
ranks, the first phase is to assess the popularity of the topics in the existing published research papers.
To find out the correctness of the ranking found using METHWORK, the authors performed
χ2 hypothesis testing while making a comparison with current ranking techniques.

Results:

The methodology proposed is a milestone to find out the research trends within a broad research
area.

Conclusion:

The results of the test indicated that the approach could be applied to determine trends in
any research discipline and proved the applicability of the proposed approach.
Experimental and Comparison Based Study on Diabetes Prediction Using Artificial Neural Network
Authors: Pradhan Nitesh , Dhaka Vijaypal S. , Kulhari Satish C.
Published: August 2019

Background:

Diabetes is spreading in the entire world. In a survey, it is observed that every
generation from child to old age people are suffering from diabetes. If diabetes is not identified in time,
it may lead to deadliest disease. Prediction of diabetes is of the utmost challenging task by machines. In
the human body, diabetes is one of the perilous maladies that creates depended disease such as kidney
disease, heart attack, blindness etc. Thus it is very important to diagnose diabetes in time.

Objective:

Our target is to develop a system using Artificial Neural Network (ANN), with the ability to
predict whether a patient suffers from diabetes or not.

Methods:

This paper illustrates various machine learning techniques in form of literature review; such
as Support Vector Machine, Naïve Bayes, K Nearest Neighbor, Decision Tree, Random Forest, etc. We
applied ANN to predict diabetes. In this paper, the architecture of ANN consists of four hidden layers each
of six neurons and one output layer with one neuron. Optimizer used for the architecture is ‘Adam’.

Results:

We have Pima Indian diabetes dataset of sufficient number of patients with nine different
symptoms with respect to the patients and nine different features in connection with the mathematical
computation/prediction. Hence we bifurcate the dataset into training and testing set in majority and minority
ratio of 80:20 respectively. It facilitates us the majority patient’s data to be used as training set
and minority data to be used as testing set. We train our network for multiple epoch with different activation
function. We used four hidden layers with six neurons in each hidden layer and one output layer.
On the hidden layer, we used multiple activation functions such as sigmoid, ReLU etc. and obtained
beat accuracy (88.71%) in 600 epochs with ReLU activation function. On the output layer, we used only
sigmoid activation function because we have only two classes in our dataset.

Conclusion:

Diabetes prediction by machine is a challenging task. So many machine learning algorithms
exist to predict the diabetes such as Naïve Bayes, decision tree, K nearest neighbor, support vector
machine etc. This paper presents a novel approach to predict whether a patient has diabetes or not
based on Pima Indian diabetes dataset. In this paper, we used artificial neural network to train out network
and it is observed that artificial neural network approach performs better than all other classifiers.
Big Data Analysis on Job Trends Using R
Authors: Ramasubbareddy Somula , Walia Anish S. , Luhach Ashish K. , Kannayaram Govinda , Evakattu Swetha
Published: August 2019

Background:

Nowadays, the demand for data science-related job positions have seen a
huge increase due to the recent data explosion incurred by the industries and organizations globally.
The necessity to harness and utilize the amount of information hidden inside these huge datasets for
effective decision-making has become the need of the hour. However, this scenario is where a data
analyst or a data scientist comes into play. They are domain experts who have the skillset and expertise
to extract hidden meaning from data and convert them into useful insights. This work illustrates
the use of data mining and advanced data analysis techniques such as data aggregation, summarization
along with data visualization using R tool to understand and analyse the job trends in the United
States of America (USA) and then drill down to analyse job trends for data science-related job positions
from year 2011 to 2016.

Objective:

This paper discusses the general job trends in the US and how the job seekers are migrating
from one place to another place using Visa for different titles, majorly for business analytics.

Methods:

Analytics is done using R programming, different functions of the programming on various
parameters and inference is drawn on the result.

Results & Conclusion:

The aim of this analysis is to predict the job trends in line with demand, region,
employers, wages in USD.
Sonification of the Riemann Zeta Function
Authors: Collins Nick
Published: August 2019

The Riemann zeta function is one of the great wonders of mathematics, with a deep and still not fully solved connection to the prime numbers. It is defined via an infinite sum analogous to Fourier additive synthesis, and can be calculated in various ways. It was Riemann who extended the consideration of the series to complex number arguments, and the famous Riemann hypothesis states that the non-trivial zeroes of the function all occur on the critical line 0:5 + ti, and what is more, hold a deep correspondence with the prime numbers. For the purposes of sonification, the rich set of mathematical ideas to analyse the zeta function provide strong resources for sonic experimentation. The positions of the zeroes on the critical line can be directly sonified, as can values of the zeta function in the complex plane, approximations to the prime spectrum of prime powers and the Riemann spectrum of the zeroes rendered; more abstract ideas concerning the function also provide interesting scope.
Data-driven Auditory Contrast Enhancement for Everyday Sounds and Sonifications
Authors: Hermann Thomas , Weger Marian
Published: August 2019

We introduce Auditory Contrast Enhancement (ACE) as a technique to enhance sounds at hand of a given collection of sound or sonification examples that belong to different classes, such as sounds of machines with and without a certain malfunction, or medical data sonifications for different pathologies/conditions. A frequent use case in inductive data mining is the discovery of patterns in which such groups can be discerned, to guide subsequent paths for modelling and feature extraction. ACE provides researchers with a set of methods to render focussed auditory perspectives that accentuate inter-group differences and in turn also enhance the intra-group similarity, i.e. it warps sounds so that our human built-in metrics for assessing differences between sounds is better aligned to systematic differences between sounds belonging to different classes. We unfold and detail the concept along three different lines: temporal, spectral and spectrotemporal auditory contrast enhancement and we demonstrate their performance at hand of given sound and sonification collections.
Traces of Modal Synergy: Studying Interactive Musical Sonification of Images in General-audience Use
Authors: Rönnberg Niklas , Löwgren Jonas
Published: August 2019

Photone is an interactive installation combining color images with musical sonification. The musical expression is generated based on the syntactic (as opposed to semantic) features of an image as it is explored by the user’s pointing device, intending to catalyze a holistic user experience we refer to as modal synergy where visual and auditory modalities multiply rather than add. We collected and analyzed two months’ worth of data from visitors’ interactions with Photone in a public exhibition at a science center. Our results show that a small proportion of visitors engaged in sustained interaction with Photone, as indicated by session times. Among the most deeply engaged visitors, a majority of the interaction was devoted to visually salient objects, i.e., semantic features of the images. However, the data also contains instances of interactive behavior that are best explained by exploration of the syntactic features of an image, and thus may suggest the emergence of modal synergy.
Hearing Artificial Intelligence: Sonification Guidelines & Results From a Case-study in Melanoma Diagnosis
Authors: Winters R. Michael , Kalra Ankur , Walker Bruce N.
Published: August 2019

The applications of artiﬁcial intelligence are becoming more and more prevalent in everyday life. Although many AI systems can operate autonomously, their goal is often assisting humans. Knowledge from the AI system must somehow be perceptualized. Towards this goal, we present a case-study in the application of data-driven non-speech audio for melanoma diagnosis. A physician photographs a suspicious skin lesion, triggering a soniﬁcation of the system’s penultimate classiﬁcation layer. We iterated on soniﬁcation strategies and coalesced around designs representing three general approaches. We tested each in a group of novice listeners (n=7) for mean sensitivity, speciﬁcity, and learning effects. The mean accuracy was greatest for a simple model, but a trained dermatologist preferred a perceptually compressed model of the full classiﬁcation layer. We discovered that training the AI on soniﬁcations from this model improved accuracy further. We argue for perceptual compression as a general technique and for a comprehensible number of simultaneous streams.
Congruent Audio-visual Alarms for Supervision Tasks
Authors: Audry Eliott , Garcia Jérémie
Published: August 2019

Operators in surveillance activities face cognitive overload due to the fragmentation of information on several screens, the dynamic nature of the task and the multiple visual or audible alarms. This paper presents our ongoing efforts to design efficient audio-visual alarms for surveillance activities such as traffic management or air traffic control. We motivate the use of congruent cross-modal animations to design alarms and describe audio-visual mappings based on this paradigm. We ran a preference experiments with 24 participants to assess our designs and found that specific polarities between visual and audio parameters were preferred. We conclude with future research directions to validate the efficiency of our alarms with different cognitive load levels.
Text-driven Mouth Animation for Human Computer Interaction With Personal Assistant
Authors: Hati Yliess , Rousseaux Francis , Duhart Clément
Published: August 2019

Personal assistants are becoming more pervasive in our envi-ronments but still do not provide natural interactions. Their lack of realism in term of expressiveness and their lack of visual feedback can create frustrating experiences and make users lose patience. In this sense, we propose an end-to-end trainable neural architecture for text-driven 3D mouth animations. Previous works showed such architectures provide better realism and could open the door for integrated affective Human Computer Interface (HCI). Our study shows that such visual feedback improves users’ comfort for 78%of the candidates signiﬁcantly while slightly improving their time perception.
Auditory Displays for Automated Driving — Challenges and Opportunities
Authors: Larsson Pontus , Maculewicz Justyna , Fagerlönn Johan , Lachmann Max
Published: August 2019

The current position paper discusses vital challenges related to the user experience design in unsupervised, highly automated cars. These challenges are: (1) how to avoid motion sickness, (2) how to ensure users’ trust in the automation, (3) how to ensure usability and support the formation of accurate mental models of the automation system, and (4) how to provide a pleasant and enjoyable experience. We argue for that auditory displays have the potential to help solve these issues. While auditory displays in modern vehicles typically make use of discrete and salient cues, we argue that the use of less intrusive continuous sonic interaction could be more beneficial for the user experience.
Testing Spatial Aspects of Auditory Salience
Authors: Podwinska Zuzanna , Fazenda Bruno M. , Davies William J.
Published: August 2019

Auditory salience describes the extent to which sounds attract the listener’s attention. So far, there have not been any published studies testing if the location of sound relative to the listener influences its salience. In fact, not many experiments in general test auditory attention in a fully spatialised setting, with sounds in front and behind the listener. We modified two experimental methods from the literature so that they can be used to test spatial salience - one based on oddball detection and artificially created sounds, the other based on self-reported attention tracking in a more ecologically valid scenario. Each of these methods has its advantages and each presents different challenges. However, they both seem to indicate that high frequency sounds arriving from the back are slightly less salient. We believe this result could likely be explained by loudness differences.
A Sonification Experience to Portray the Sounds of Portuguese Consumption Habits
Authors: Seiça Mariana , Martins Pedro , Roque Licínio , Cardoso F. Amílcar
Published: August 2019

The stimuli for consumption is present in everyday life, where major retail companies play a role in providing a large range of products every single day. Using soniﬁcation techniques, we present a listening experiment of Portuguese consumption habits in the course of ten days, gathered from a Portuguese retail company. We focused on how to represent this time-series data as a musical piece that would engage the listener’s attention and promote an active listening attitude, exploring the inﬂuence of aesthetics in the perception of auditory displays. Through a phenomenological approach, ten participants were interviewed to gather perceptions evoked by the piece, and how the consumption variations were un-derstood. The tested composition revealed relevant associations about the data, with the consumption context indirectly present throughout the emerging themes: from the idea of everyday life, routine and consumption peaks to aesthetic aspects as the passage of time, frenzy and consumerism. Documentary, movie imagery and soundtrack were also perceived. Several musical aspects were also mentioned, as the constant, steady rhythm and the repetitive nature of the composition, and sensations such as pleasantness, sat-isfaction, annoyance, boredom and anxiety. These collected topics convey the incessant feeling and consumption needs which portray our present society, offering new paths for comprehending musical sound perception and consequent exploration.
Multilayered Narration in Electroacoustic Music Composition Using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Data Sonification and Acousmatic Storytelling
Authors: Morawitz Falk
Published: August 2019

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is an analytical tool to determine the structure of chemical compounds. Unlike other spectroscopic methods, signals recorded using NMR spectrometers are frequently in a range of zero to 20000 Hz, making direct playback possible. As each type of molecule has, based on its structural features, distinct and predictable features in its NMR spectra, NMR data sonification can be used to create auditory ‘fingerprints’ of molecules. This paper describes the methodology of NMR data sonification of the nuclei nitrogen, phosphorous, and oxygen and analyses the sonification products of DNA and protein NMR data. The paper introduces On the Extinction of a Species, an acousmatic music composition combining NMR data sonification and voice narration. Ideas developed in electroacoustic composition, such as acousmatic storytelling and sound-based narration are presented and investigated for their use in sonification-based creative works.
Surfing In Sound: Sonification of Hidden Web Tracking
Authors: Lutz Otto Hans-Martin , Kröger Jacob Leon , Schneiderbauer Manuel , Hauswirth Manfred
Published: August 2019

Web tracking is found on 90% of common websites. It allows online behavioral analysis which can reveal insights to sensitive personal data of an individual. Most users are not aware of the amount of web tracking happening in the background. This paper contributes a sonification-based approach to raise user awareness by conveying information on web tracking through sound while the user is browsing the web. We present a framework for live web tracking analysis, conversion to Open Sound Control events and sonification. The amount of web tracking is disclosed by sound each time data is exchanged with a web tracking host. When a connection to one of the most prevalent tracking companies is established, this is additionally indicated by a voice whispering the company name. Compared to existing approaches on web tracking sonification, we add the capability to monitor any network connection, including all browsers, applications and devices. An initial user study with 12 participants showed empirical support for our main hypothesis: exposure to our sonification significantly raises web tracking awareness.
Re-examining "silence"
Authors: Itoi Kiyu
Published: August 2019

As part of a larger study exploring academic discourse socialization of a group of students from diverse academic and cultural backgrounds in an international TESOL graduate program in a Canadian university focusing on how they participate in class, how they perceive different modes of participation of other students in the class, and how this affects their academic discourse socialization process, this study explores 12 EAL students’ “silence”/non-oral participation. The study finds that EAL students’ “silence” or non-participation was reflection of different factors such as language related issues, concerns about other students, lack of content knowledge, and personality. It was often the case that students’ “silence” and/or non-oral participation was a result of combination of those factors. Implications for classroom practices and for meeting EAL students’ needs are also discussed.
What is Contemplation?
Authors: Scott Charles F.
Published: August 2019

A collection of contemplative musings on contemplation, in word and image.
Phantoms at the Helm
Authors: Joensuu Eleonora
Published: August 2019

Educational institutions have held a central role in utopian projects as the vehicle for implementing utopian principles and fashioning the utopian subject. As vehicles for utopian narratives or projects, educational institutions are simultaneously shaped by utopian modes of thought. Modes of thought are not neutral tools that are used as needed, but rather, they are active in how we understand ourselves, others, and the world. This paper draws out the implications and risks of nostalgic and utopian modes of thought to suggest that their mobilization is problematic in education as it directs education’s sight to a distant, illusory past and to an imagined future. The impact of this is an inadequate account for the lived realities of the present. By drawing on feminist epistemology and the work of Jacques Rancière, the paper proposes that a radical attending to the “now,” coupled with a politics of location, offers a way for educational theory and practice to engage its relationship to past, future, and present.
ANALYSIS OF APPLICABILITY OF TOOLS OF INVENTORY CONTROL AND KNOWLEDGE OF HOSPITAL PHARMACISTS ON METHODS OF INVENTORY IN THE CENTRAL PHARMACY OF A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL
Authors: ASHWINI R. SAI , CHOWDRY B. SAI , SANNIHITHA B. SAI , RAJ V. SENTHIL , RANI N. VANITHA , P. THENNARASU , AIYAVOO MALARVIZHI
Published: August 2019

Objective: A study was conducted to analyse the applicability of the tools of inventory control of drugs, and the awareness of hospital pharmacists on the inventory tools in the central pharmacy of a tertiary care hospital.

Methods: Always Better Control (ABC) and High Moderate Low (HML) analysis were carried out for 4057 drugs purchased in the central pharmacy during the financial year of 2017-2018. The drugs were classified as A, B and C category based on their annual usage value and as Category High (H), Moderate (M) and low (L) drugs based on their unit price respectively. The knowledge of the 80 hospital pharmacists on the tools of inventory control was assessed using a structured questionnaire.

Results: Based on ABC analysis, of 4057 drugs, 330 drugs were classified under “A” category accounting to 8.13% of the total number of drugs purchased which was 70.91 % of total annual consumption in money value. The category “B” consisted of 667 drugs accounting to 16.44% of the total number of drugs which was 20.01% of total annual money consumption. Category “C” had 3060 drugs which accounted to 75.42% of the total number of drugs purchased which reflected on 9.01% of annual money consumption. Based on HML analysis, 440 drugs (10%) had a unit price above Rs. 500 and were classified under ‘H’ category. The drugs with unit price between Rs.500 and Rs.100 were grouped as ‘M’ items. There were 695 drugs (17.13%) in ‘M’ category. The ‘L’ category consisted of 2922 drugs (72.02%) with their unit price below Rs.100. Of 80 pharmacists, 84 % had good overall knowledge on the inventory control tools and 59 participants were willing to acquire additional training on inventory control techniques.

Conclusion: The study explained the need for the application of ABC and HML analysis, and the involvement of hospital pharmacists in the regular implementation of inventory analysis towards effective management of Pharmacy stores in a hospital setting.
EFFECT OF GAMMA IRRADIATION ON ANTIOXIDANT POTENTIAL AND BIOACTIVES OF A COSMECEUTICALLY SIGNIFICANT CHLORELLA EMERSONII KJ725233
Authors: Sawant Sneha Sunil , Devi Singh Reema , Ghosh Sukhendu , Kelkar-Mane Varsha
Published: August 2019

Objective : Gamma radiation induces free radicals with a corresponding alteration in the cell’s antioxidant defense system. The present study thus aimed at determining the role of gamma irradiation in improving the cosmeceutical potential of CEK in terms of antioxidants.

 Methods : C.emersonii KJ725233 was subjected to low (100 Gy) and high (1000 Gy) gamma irradiation doses and its effect on the chlorophyll content was evaluated. The quantitative alterations in the antioxidant content of CEK were evaluated by phosphomolybdenum assay (TAC), ferric reducing antioxidant potential (FRAP), 2, 2 - Dipheny-1-picryl hydrazyl radical scavenging assay (DPPH), total phenolic (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC). Also, the corresponding qualitative alterations in the bioactives of CEK were determined by GC-HRMS analysis.  

Results : A 179.57±2.55% increase in the total chlorophyll content alongwith a 71.76±2.96%, 32.08±2.16%, 11.67±0.89%, 42.85±8.0% and 31.37±3.18% increase was observed in the TAC, FRAP, DPPH radical scavenging, TPC and TFC was observed in CEK irradiated at 1000 Gy. GC-HRMS analysis revealed the induction of Vitamin E on irradiation at both the doses with a corresponding decrease in the phytol content whereas 100 Gy stimulated the induction of phytosterols.

Conclusion : The potent intrinsic antioxidant activity of cosmeceutically significant CEK can be elevated with the induction of the most sought after antioxidant in cosmetology – Vitamin E on irradiation.
OLEOGELS OF OLIVE OIL AND SOYBEAN OIL FOR TOPICAL DRUG DELIVERY: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
Authors: ASH DIPANJANA , MAJEE SUTAPA BISWAS , BISWAS GOPA ROY
Published: August 2019

Objective: The objective of the present investigation was to develop olive and soybean oil-based oleogels with Span 40 and/or Tween 80 (as gelator and/or surfactant) and determine the critical gelator concentration (CGC), characterise and compare the rheological, thermal properties and drug release profile of the gels formed for topical delivery.

Methods: Olive and soybean oil-based Span 40 and Span 40/Tween 80 oleogel formulations were prepared by solid fiber mechanism and subjected to organoleptic evaluation, FT-IR spectroscopy, thermal analysis, rheological study, kinetic modeling of gelation and drug release.

Results: The critical gelator (Span 40) concentration was found to be lower for olive oil (12% w/v) and depend on the type of oil. Tween 80 reduced CGC of soybean oleogels only. Soybean oil-based oleogel containing 18% w/v Span 40 was found to form more flexible, less viscous and thermally less stable formulation with better release of paracetamol as evident from lower melt flow index, Tg value, lower β and higher α value compared to olive oil-based oleogel with 12% w/v Span 40 (CGC). Surfactant addition can be assumed to modify the microarchitecture of the oleogels to a great extent to produce more flexible and thermally stable gels with even better drug release profile. Span-Tween based soybean oleogel formed a gel-matrix whereas matrix in olive oil-based oleogels containing Span only became slightly flexible to release the drug in zero-order fashion on the addition of surfactant cogelator.

Conclusion: Nature of oil exerts profound influence on the rheological, thermal and release profile of oleogels containing Span 40 as gelator and/or Tween 80 as surfactant cogelator.
Weathering and biodegradation of hydrothermal petroleum in the north rift of Guaymas Basin, Gulf of California
Authors: Simoneit Bernd R.T. , Oros Daniel R. , Leif Roald N. , Medeiros Patricia M.
Published: August 2019

The Guaymas Basin, Gulf of California, is an actively spreading ocean basin, part of the system of spreading axes and transform faults extending from the East Pacific Rise to the San Andreas fault.  Upward migration of hydrothermal petroleum in the basin rifts occurs by both bulk transport and high temperature/pressure aqueous and supercritical gaseous (e.g. CO2, CH4) fluid phases into the seabed sediments. The resulting mounds are laden with the youngest hydrothermal petroleum known to date.  The north rift hydrothermal system has been dormant for ~ 3000 years, and organic geochemical analyses of sediment samples collected by both piston and push corers and by dredging operations from various cruises to the Gulf of California show that the organic matter is composed primarily of autochthonous lipids from marine biota, overprinted by hydrothermal petroleum. The chemical composition of this petroleum indicates severe biodegradation for exposed samples, based on the contents of aliphatic, aromatic, steroid, and hopanoid biomarkers. Sulfurized lipids are enriched in the biodegraded oils. Both hydrothermal minerals and petroleum in the mounds of the north rift seabed have been weathered by oxidative/microbial processes.