bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Analyzing the Risks in Supply Chain Information System Implementations
Authors: Ganguly Kunal , Padhy R. K.
Published: October 2019

Organizations make considerable efforts when implementing Supply Chain Information systems (SCIS) to increase their competitiveness. This chapter attempts to identify the Risk Factors (RFs) in SCIS implementation and evaluate them. Sixteen risk factors were identified based on an extensive literature survey. A comprehensive framework is presented with three major phases to select an adequate SCIS. The risk assessment for SCIS implementation is then empirically investigated. The RFs are formulated as hierarchy structures and Fuzzy AHPs as a Multi Attribute Decision Making (MADM) tool applied to judge the viable candidates. Based on a fuzzy AHP approach, a revised risk matrix with a continuous scale is proposed to assess the RFs' classes. The result classifies the risk factors in different categories (Extreme, High, Medium and Low). The revised risk matrix with continuous scale for risk assessment in SCIS implementation is a novel approach.
Managing Collaborative Relationships in Third Party Logistics
Authors: Gu Vicky Ching , Cao Ray Qing , Black Ken , Zeng Hansen
Published: October 2019

Some supply chain management researchers have realized the potential of collaborative activities for enhancing supply chain performance while other researchers have explored the positive impact of relationship quality on supply chain performance. To date, however, no empirical research has integrated these two research streams. Drawing upon social exchange theory, the authors propose a holistic research framework to explore the relationships among collaborative activities, the inter-organizational relationship quality, and supply chain performance. Specifically, they examine the mediating effect of relationship quality on the association between collaborative activities and supply chain performance. The research model is then tested using survey data (n=219). The authors' results illustrate a positive impact of both collaborative activities and relationship quality on enhancing supply chain performance. Moreover, this paper also supports the hypothesis that relationship quality mediates the relationship between collaborative activities and supply chain performance in third party logistics.
Security- and Privacy-Aware Computing in Cloud With User Mobility
Authors: Sen Sayani , Roy Sathi , Biswas Suparna , Chowdhury Chandreyee
Published: October 2019

Today's computational model has been undergoing a huge paradigm shift from personalized, local processing using local processing unit (LPU) to remote processing at cloud servers located globally. Advances in sensor-based smart applications such as smart home, smart health, smart transport, smart environment monitoring, etc. are generating huge data which needs to stored, pre-processed, analyzed using machine learning and deep learning techniques, which are resource-hungry, to generate results to be saved for future reference, and all these need to be done in real time, with scalability support satisfying user data privacy and security that may vary from application to application. In smart application like remote health monitoring and support, patient data needs utmost privacy besides confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Recent Advances Delivered in Mobile Cloud Computing's Security and Management Challenges
Authors: Stergiou Christos , Psannis Kostas E.
Published: October 2019

Mobile cloud computing provides an opportunity to restrict the usage of huge hardware infrastructure and to provide access to data, applications, and computational power from every place and in any time with the use of a mobile device. Furthermore, MCC offers a number of possibilities but additionally creates several challenges and issues that need to be addressed as well. Through this work, the authors try to define the most important issues and challenges in the field of MCC technology by illustrating the most significant works related to MCC during recent years. Regarding the huge benefits offered by the MCC technology, the authors try to achieve a more safe and trusted environment for MCC users in order to operate the functions and transfer, edit, and manage data and applications, proposing a new method based on the existing AES encryption algorithm, which is, according to the study, the most relevant encryption algorithm to a cloud environment. Concluding, the authors suggest as a future plan to focus on finding new ways to achieve a better integration MCC with other technologies.
Secure Identity-Based Proxy Signature With Computational Diffie-Hellman for Cloud Data Management
Authors: Ramesh Dharavath , Mishra Rahul , Edla Damodar Reddy , Sake Madhu
Published: October 2019

This chapter explains a secure smart cloud framework based on identity-based proxy signature (IDBPS) scheme on Computational Diffie-Hellman (CD-H) assumption and AckIBE for data management. The objective of this chapter is to construct a secure hierarchical structure of homogeneous and heterogeneous cloud centers. This structure gives various types of computing services in the support of data analysis and information management. In this, the authors also introduce a security-related solution based on acknowledgment identity-based encryption (AckIBE), an IDBPS on computational Diffie-Hellman assumption, and identity-based proxy re-encryption to face critical security issues of the proposed framework.
Big Data, Data Mining, and Data Analytics in IoT-Based Healthcare Applications
Authors: Isakki Alias Devi P
Published: October 2019

IoT seriously impacts every industry. The healthcare industry has experienced progression in digitizing medical records. Healthcare services are costlier than ever. Data mining is one of the largest challenges to face IoT. Big Data is an accumulation of data. IoT devices receive lots of data. Big data systems can do a lot of data analytics. The tools can also be used to perform these operations. The big health application system can be built by integrating medical health resources using intelligent terminals, internet of things (IoT), big data, and cloud computing. People suffer from many diseases. A big health system can be applied to scientific health management by detecting risk factors for the occurrence of diseases. Patients can have special attention to their health requirements and their devices can be tuned to remind them of their appointments, calorie count, exercise check, blood pressure variations, symptoms of any diseases, and so much more.
Predictive Modeling for Improving Healthcare Using IoT
Authors: Jagannathan Jayanthi , Udaykumar U.
Published: October 2019

The chapter covers the challenges faced in real-world healthcare services such as operating room bottlenecks, upcoming newborn medicines, managing datasets, and sources. It includes future directions that address practitioner difficulties. When IoT is merged with predictive techniques, it improves the medical service performance rate tremendously. Finally, the chapter covers the case studies and the tools that are in use to motivate the researchers to contribute to this domain.
Development and Research of Phase-Transition and Thermochemical Materials for Heat Accumulation
Authors: Babaev Baba Dzhabrailovich , Kharchenko Valeriy Vladimirovich , Panchenko Vladimir
Published: October 2019

The chapter discusses various phase-transition heat-accumulating materials. Their application in heat pumps and their use for heat supply are presented. Phase-transition heat-accumulating materials in heat pipes are also considered, various types of heat pipes are presented. The installation of heat storage with phase-transition materials is presented. Along with phase-transition heat-accumulating materials, the chapter considers thermochemical heat-accumulating material of photochemical reactions of energy storage. As an example of a thermochemical heat-accumulating material, a solar power plant for thermochemical energy storage is presented. A developed computer program for the description of thermochemical reactions allows examining chemical and thermochemical reactions in multicomponent reciprocal systems, which can be carried out in the course of the reciprocal multicomponent systems. The computer program allows identifying thermochemical reactions occurring in mutual multicomponent systems, regardless of component and dependent on temperature.
Lévy-Enhanced Swarm Intelligence for Optimizing a Multiobjective Biofuel Supply Chain
Authors: Ganesan T. , Vasant Pandian
Published: October 2019

Engineering systems are currently plagued by various complexities and uncertainties. Metaheuristics have emerged as an essential tool for effective engineering design and operations. Nevertheless, conventional metaheuristics still struggle to reach optimality in the face of highly complex engineering problems. Aiming to further boost the performance of conventional metaheuristics, strategies such as hybridization and various enhancements have been added into the existing solution methods. In this work, swarm intelligence techniques were employed to solve the real-world, large-scale biofuel supply chain problem. Additionally, the supply chain problem considered in this chapter is multiobjective (MO) in nature. Comparative analysis was then performed on the swarm techniques. To further enhance the search capability of the best solution method (GSA), the Lévy flight component from the Cuckoo Search (CS) algorithm was incorporated into the Gravitational Search Algorithm (GSA) technique; developing the novel Lévy-GSA technique. Measurement metrics were then utilized to analyze the results.
Renewable Energy and Economic Growth
Authors: Morganti Patrizio , Garofalo Giuseppe
Published: October 2019

The global commitment to drastically curb greenhouse gas emissions towards a sustainable development is strongly connected to the development and usage of renewable energy (RE), such as solar and wind. Between 2006 and 2016, world's total RE consumption, excluding hydro-electricity, increased by almost 350%, and RE investment grew from US $47 billion in 2004 to 279.8 billion in 2017. The importance of RE has attracted a lot of attention from the economic literature as well, since a growing body of empirical research is investigating the relationships between RE and economic growth. The general outcome is the existence of a positive bi-directional (direct and reverse) link between RE consumption and real GDP, though it also emerges evidence showing no statistically significant relationship. This Chapter provides i) an overview of the recent world's trends of RE production and investment, ii) an extensive and detailed review of the recent advances in the RE-growth empirical literature, highlighting the main methodologies adopted and the main findings emerged.
Environmental Sustainability to Support Competitiveness
Authors: Mazzi Anna
Published: October 2019

The interest of scientists and companies in understanding the business implications of environmental commitments is timely; however, a dilemma remains at the firm level: is environmental sustainability a strategic factor for business competitiveness? The author contributes to this international end interdisciplinary debate through a double analysis, theoretical and empirical. Starting from a systematic literature review, the main correlations between environmental commitments and business performance are identified in a scholar's perspective. Based on the results from an Italian survey, the main added values associated with certified environmental management system are verified with a manager's perspective. Finally, the findings obtained from theoretical and empirical points of view are compared, to discuss confirmations or contradictions and underline questions still open.
B Corp Certification for a Circular Economy Approach and a Sustainable Pathway
Authors: Mosconi Enrico Maria , Poponi Stefano , Fortunati Simona , Arezzo di Trifiletti Michelangelo
Published: October 2019

The “loop” approach of the circular model, which aims to live in the business or market environment, requires a radical evolution of the production techniques, management, and skills in a new concept or idea for the market. Circular Economy results from a long awareness-raising process connected with problems concerning environmental protection. The dissemination of circular economy supposes the adoption of business models which will eventually enable environmental sustainability oriented behaviors, an efficient use of resources, and the respect of ethical, social, and environmental values. Benefit Corporations are companies pursuing these objectives. This chapter identifies and discusses the potential of B Corp certification to apply the principle of Circular economy. In particular, a compared multiple analysis of case studies is used to evaluate how the requirements of the scheme of certification influence the potential circularity of the enterprises analyzed.
The Evolution of Fast Food in a Customer-Driven Era
Authors: Bonadonna Alessandro , Giachino Chiara , Pucciarelli Francesca , Bertoldi Bernardo
Published: October 2019

Customers are important for every company and their changes in taste, behavior, and way to decide strongly influence companies' strategy. The food sector follows the new trends and tries to adapt its way to do business, leveraging on innovation and sustainability. In the food sector, an innovation can be linked to tradition. There is a limited change in the offer and fast food restaurants' innovating is key to survive. Thus, authors analyzed how both International Hamburger Foodservices (IHF) such as McDonalds and Burger King, and Local Hamburger Foodservice (LHF), such as M**Bun and Burgheria, are changing their strategies to meet customers' needs. Authors focused on the Piedmont area, in particular the Turin area, which has a long culinary tradition, hostings of important food events, and an increasing trend of new fast food restaurants.
Assessment of sampling methods about level of mercury in fish
Authors: Ciccarelli Cesare , Leinoudi Melina , Semeraro Angela Marisa , Di Trani Vittoria , Angelozzi Giuseppe , Ciccarelli Elena , Corti Ivan
Published: October 2019

Mercury (Hg) seriously affects some sensitive subgroups of population and the detection of Hg content in fish and fishery products is one of the most important activities aimed at controlling their safety. In fact, Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 set maximum levels for certain contaminants in foodstuffs and Regulation (EC) No 333/2007 laid down the methods of sampling and analysis for their control in foodstuffs. As Hg content highly varies among different fish species depending on a variety of factors and even among members of the same population, sampling methods play a crucial role in the accuracy, precision and statistical significance of Hg determination. By the use of an analysis method independent probabilistic model, based on the axioms of Kolmogorov’s probability theory, this paper aims to assess the relationship between sampling methods set by Regulation (EC) No 333/2007 and the probability to detect compliant or non-compliant outcomes of Hg in fish.
Microbiological, rheological and physical-chemical characteristics of bovine meat subjected to a prolonged ageing period
Authors: Smaldone Giorgio , Marrone Raffaele , Vollano Lucia , Peruzy Maria Francesca , Barone Carmela Maria Assunta , Ambrosio Rosa Luisa , Anastasio Aniello
Published: October 2019

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a long ageing period on the microbiological, rheological and physicalchemical characteristics of bovine beef. For the trial n. 3 Marchigiana bovine breed (live weight of 760 kg approximately), slaughtered at 34 months were chosen and the loin muscles were undergone to a prolonged ageing process. The analytical determinations performed were: pH and aw values, texture profile analysis, Warner-Bratzler shear force, colour (CIE L*a*b*), centesimal analysis, total bacterial count, Enterobacteriaceae, Listeria monocytogenes, yeasts and moulds. The results indicate that extended ageing has a negative effect on weight loss but, by the means of the standardization of dry aging parameters, reduce lipid oxidation and improve tenderness.
Colourimetric analysis of some powdered medicinal herbs from Ogbomoso, Nigeria
Authors: Ogunkunle Adepoju , Ideh Jennifer
Published: October 2019

Background: The organoleptic evaluation of herbal drugs is as old as science, but the authentication of herbs on the basis of their fluorescence characteristics is difficult and sometimes impracticable because humans are limited by their sense of colour recognition.Aim: This article undertakes a computer-aided examination of some powdered herbal materials with a view to characterising them calourimetrically, thus providing a reliable organoleptic clue for their authentication, against possible misidentification.Setting: Research was conducted in Ogbomoso, Nigeria.Methods: Seventeen herbal materials (i.e. stem bark, root/root bark, vines, fruit calyx, leaf sheath and seed) used for two traditional powdered drugs were collected and pulverised into powders. Their colours were digitised by scanning the surface of the powders in petri dishes using a CamScanner installed on a Samsung Galaxy Tablet 10.1 Model 7500, and were qualitatively and quantitatively analysed by uploading the images into the online Cool Hypertext Preprocessor (Cool PHP) software tool, setting the number of colours at five, thus giving consideration to only five dominant colour shades in each image, all expressed as hexadecimal codes. The codes were uploaded into Chir.ag/art, another online tool, to read off the colour names. The relative mean percentage, frequency and relative colour intensity (RCI) of each colour shade were calculated, and the colour with the highest RCI was taken as the first or typical colour of each herb.Results: Nine of the 62 colours observed, namely Lucky, Sandrift, Cannon Pink, Potters Clay, Mandalay, Ferra, Domino, Russet and Roti, were highly restricted in distribution, each being the first or typical colour in only one species of the herbs (i.e. Enantia chlorantha, Garcinia kola, Hibiscus sabdariffa, Khaya senegalensis, Sarcocephalus latifolius, Sorghum bicolor, Theobroma cacao, Uvaria chamae and Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides respectively). These colours were therefore substantially diagnostic of those herbs. Another nine colours among the most frequently observed colours and the number of species that had them were Pesto (9), Shadow (8), Driftwood (8), Barley Corn (5), Domino (4), Roman Coffee (4), Cape Palliser (4), Himalaya (4) and Husk (4); these were less diagnostic of the herbs in question. Based on the distribution of these colours, a diagnostic PHP colour chart was constructed for the authentication of the powdered medicinal herbs.Conclusion: Powders of the 17 medicinal herbs analysed have been characterised colourimetrically with each species being unambiguously diagnosed. The study has therefore circumvented the subjectivity of the human sense of colour recognition in medicinal herb authentication.
Development, optimization, standardization, and validation of a simple in-house agar gradient method to determine minimum inhibitory concentration of vancomycin for Staphylococcus aureus
Authors: Rai Sumit , Tandon Mukta , Singh Narendra Pal , Manchanda Vikas , Kaur Iqbal Rajinder
Published: October 2019

BACKGROUND: The Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute recommends reporting minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of vancomycin for Staphylococcus aureus. Commercial MIC strips are expensive, and the traditional broth microdilution method is cumbersome. With this background, we attempted to develop and standardize an in-house agar gradient method to determine MIC values of vancomycin for S. aureus.

OBJECTIVES: To develop and validate an in-house vancomycin MIC strip, based on simple agar gradient method for S. aureus as per bioassay development guidelines.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Filter paper gradient strips were made in house and impregnated with varying concentrations of vancomycin to create an antibiotic gradient. During standardization, MICs of ninety clinical strains of S. aureus and ATCC 29213 were tested by the broth microdilution and commercial strip followed by the in-house strip. During the validation stage, MICs of ninety different clinical strains of S. aureus and ATCC 29213 were determined by the in-house strip followed by MIC detection by broth microdilution and commercial strips. A reading of more than ± 1log2 dilution compared with broth microdilution was considered as an outlier.

RESULTS: During the initial stage, there were 7/90 outliers in the clinical strains, and no outliers were seen with the ATCC 29213 control strain. Corrective action included increasing precaution during the antibiotic impregnation on the strip. During validation stage, only 4/90 outliers were observed in the clinical strains. The commercial strips had 29/90 among clinical and 15/30 outliers in the control strain during the prevalidation phase. Despite maintaining cold chain during the validation phase, the outliers for commercial strip were 18/90 and 4/30 for clinical and control strains, respectively.

CONCLUSION: Reporting vancomycin MIC for S. aureus may be attempted using the in-house method after validating it with a gold standard broth microdilution method and quality control as per protocol.
Molecular epidemiology of hepatitis B virus genotypes in blood donors in Islamabad, Pakistan
Authors: Masood Iram , Waheed Usman , Arshad Muhammad , Saeed Muhammad , Farooq Ahmad , Moneeba Sadaf , Basharat Nosheen , Zaheer Hasan Abbas
Published: October 2019

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a major causative agent of early, severe and prolonged liver infection that subsequently leads to cirrhosis of liver and hepatocellular carcinoma. The aim of this study was to evaluate the molecular epidemiology of hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotypes and comparison of serological assay performance versus polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in HBV screening.

METHODS: Blood samples of 8517 healthy blood donors were collected during the period of January to June 2017 from Blood Bank of Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University, Islamabad. Samples were screened for HBsAg assay using technique of chemiluminescence immunoassay. PCR of positive samples was carried out using already reported genotype-specific primers by Naito et al. (2001). The results were confirmed by visualizing genotype bands.

RESULTS: The study confirmed the presence of HBV in 2.5% of blood donors, and PCR confirmed the presence of HBV-DNA in 92 samples. The genotyping was done by PCR using type-specific primer sequences. PCR was dogged to check six genotypes, i.e., A, B, C, D, E, and F. The results of this study show high levels of Genotype D is this region, i.e., 52.17% with less dominating Genotype C, which is 16.30% with decreasing ratio of Genotype E (14.13%), Genotype A and B (9.78%), and mixed D + E (2.17%). The presence of coinfection is found at lowest rate. Due to the high percentage of HBV/D, it is concluded that D genotype is common in our population.

CONCLUSION: The most prevalent HBV genotype in ICT region was genotype D, which is responsible for liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Efficacy of drugs varies with variation in genotypes of hepatitis B virus and also with geographical distribution.
Single point insulin sensitivity estimator as an index for insulin sensitivity for metabolic syndrome: A study in North Indian population
Authors: Dudi Parmila , Goyal Bela , Saxena Vartika , Rabari Kamlesh , Mirza Anissa Atif , Naithani Manisha , Kumar Tarun , Goyal Rajeev
Published: October 2019

BACKGROUND: Various indices for estimating insulin sensitivity, based on glucose tolerance test and fasting insulin levels, have been devised. However, they are laborious, time-consuming, and costly. Recently, a new index, single point insulin sensitivity estimator (SPISE) based on TG, high-density lipoproteins (HDL), and body mass index (BMI) was proposed in the European population and was found comparable to gold standard test. Decreased insulin sensitivity is a hallmark of metabolic syndrome (MetS). Hence, the current study was planned to determine the optimal cutoff of SPISE with high sensitivity and specificity in MetS patients of the North Indian population.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A community-based cross-sectional study including 229 MetS cases and 248 controls was conducted. MetS was defined according to the South Asian Modified National Cholesterol Education Program criteria. SPISE index was calculated for cases and controls using the formula devised by Paulmichl et al.: SPISE = 600 × HDL-C0.185/(TG0.2 × BMI1.338). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was plotted for determining optimal cutoff for SPISE in MetS.

RESULTS: SPISE was significantly lower in MetS patients (5.35 ± 1.35) than that for controls (7.45 ± 2) with P < 0.05 (confidence interval [CI]: 1.79—2.41). ROC curve showed area under the curve = 0.83 for SPISE (P < 0.05, CI: 0.79—0.86), showing SPISE to have good predictive ability to discriminate MetS cases from controls. The cutoff value of SPISE index for predicting insulin sensitivity in MetS was found out to be 5.82 with sensitivity and specificity of 73% and 80%, respectively. This cutoff is lower than the European population (6.61), indicating higher insulin resistance (IR) in the study population.

CONCLUSION: SPISE could be a useful potential low-cost indicator with high sensitivity and specificity
for predicting IR in MetS.
Abnormalities of the intestinal pacemaker cells, enteric neurons, and smooth muscle in intestinal atresia
Authors: OH Radhika krishna , Aleem Mohammed Abdul , Kayla Geetha
Published: October 2019

BACKGROUND: Small bowel atresia is a congenital disorder that carves a substantial morbidity. Numerous postoperative gastrointestinal motility problems occur. The underlying cause of this motility disorder is still unclear. Interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) play a major role in gastrointestinal motility.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To investigate the morphological changes of enteric nervous system and ICC in small bowel atresia.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Resected small bowel specimen from affected patients (n=15) were divided into three parts (proximal, distal, atretic). Standard histology and immunohistochemistry with anti C-KIT receptor antibody (CD117), calretinin and α-SMA was carried out. The density of myenteric ICCs in the proximal, atretic and distal parts was demonstrated by CD 117 while Calretinin was used for ganglion cells and nerve bundles, α-SMA highlighted muscle hypertrophy.

RESULT AND CONCLUSION: The proximal and distal bowel revealed clear changes in the morphology and density of enteric nervous system and interstitial cells of Cajal..
Association of ABO blood groups with dengue fever and its complications in a tertiary care hospital
Authors: Ravichandran Shivani , Ramya S. R. , Kanungo Reba
Published: October 2019

CONTEXT: Dengue fever (DF) has been steadily increasing in India with outbreaks in certain areas taking the proportion of epidemics. Along with secondary dengue, several risk factors predispose to dengue hemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome. Very few studies associating the relationship between dengue and its severity with ABO blood group have been documented.

AIMS: The aim of this study was to determine the association between distribution of ABO Rh blood groups and DF and DF with thrombocytopenia.

SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This was a retrospective descriptive study conducted at the clinical laboratory of the department of microbiology.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Dengue patients whose case record contained information on blood group were screened for details of blood group and confirmed dengue diagnosis. Randomly 384 case records were selected. These were divided into two groups; Group 1 included DF cases (platelet count >20,000) and Group 2 included DF cases with thrombocytopenia (platelet count <20,000). Control group consisted of patients other than dengue, whose blood grouping had been done; randomly 390 were selected and analyzed.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: P value was calculated using the Chi-square test. Odds ratio were calculated using the Fisher's exact test.

RESULTS: DF was higher in 23% of individuals with AB blood group as compared to 8.5% of controls (P = 0.0004), whereas patients with blood group O were significantly less affected with DF (P = 0.0048). Disease severity was not associated with any of the blood groups.

CONCLUSIONS: Individuals with AB blood group are more prone to DF, whereas individuals with blood group O are less prone.
Multispectral estimation of retinal photoreceptoral inputs
Authors: Bara Salvador , Bonmati-Carrion Maria Angeles , Madrid Juan Antonio , Rol Maria Angeles , Zamorano Jaime
Published: October 2019

Integrated multispectral devices provide convenient means for assessing the inputs to the five known photoreceptors present in the human retina. These photoreceptors drive relevant visual and non-visual pathways that control key aspects of human physiology. In this Letter we show that standard metrics of retinal photoreceptoral exposure can be quantitatively estimated, to within a 5%, by means of 12 multispectral channels, 20 nm wide (FWHM), distributed across the visible range. Full Text: PDF ReferencesD.M. Berson, F.A. Dunn, M. Takao, "Phototransduction by Retinal Ganglion Cells That Set the Circadian Clock", Science 295, 1070 (2002). CrossRef R.J. Lucas et al. "Measuring and using light in the melanopsin age", Trends in Neurosciences 37, 1 (2014). CrossRef Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage. TN 003:2015 Report on the First International Workshop on Circadian and Neurophysiological Photometry, 2013. CIE, 2015. DirectLink A. Sánchez de Miguel et al, "Evaluating Human Photoreceptoral Inputs from Night-Time Lights Using RGB Imaging Photometry", Journal of Imaging 5(4), 49 (2019). CrossRef M.S. Rea, M.G. Figueiro, A. Bierman, R. Hamner. "Modelling the spectral sensitivity of the human circadian system", Lighting Research and Technology 44, 386 (2012). CrossRef D. Cao, P.A. Barrionuevo, "Estimating photoreceptor excitations from spectral outputs of a personal light exposure measurement device", Chronobiology International 32(2), 270 (2015). CrossRef P.B. Liebelt, An Introduction to Optimal Estimation (Reading, MA, Addison-Wesley, 1967). CrossRef J. Escofet, S. Bará, "Reducing the circadian input from self-luminous devices using hardware filters and software applications", Lighting Research and Technology 49, 481 (2017). CrossRef
Artificial light sources as light pollutant of humans melatonin suppression
Authors: Jakubowski Piotr
Published: October 2019

Blue light emitted by LEDs might influence on natural biological rhythm of human being, what can be considered as environment pollution. In this paper the effect of the latest commercially available LEDs on melatonin suppression index (MSI) was analyzed. Research was done based on spectral power distribution of given LED (SPD) and melatonin suppression function in reference to melatonin suppression under daylight (illuminant D65). Results of calculations shows strong correlation between CCT and MSI, however MSI factor might vary for different LEDs with same CCT. Full Text: PDF ReferencesC. C. Sun, et al., Packaging efficiency in phosphor-converted white LEDs and its impact to the limit of luminous efficacy, Journal of Solid State Lighting, 1:19, (2014). CrossRef M. S. Rea, M. G. Figueiro, J. D. Bullough, "Circadian photobiology: An emerging framework for lighting practice and research", Light Research Technology Vol. 34(3), (2002). CrossRef I. Fryc, P. Jakubowski, K. Kołacz, Analysis of optical radiation parameters of compact discharge HID lamps and LED COB modules used for illuminating shop windows, Przeglad Elektrotechniczny, R. 93, No. 11, (2017). CrossRef G. C. Brainard, J. P. Hanifin, J.M. Greeson, B. Byrne, E. Gerner, D. D. Rollang, "Action spectrum for melatonin regulation in humans: evidence for a novel circadian photoreceptor", Journal of Neuroscience vol. 21, (2001). CrossRef K. Thapan, J. Arendt, D. J. Skene, "An action spectrum for melatonin supression: evidence for a novel non-rod, non-cone photoreceptor system in humans," Journal of Physiology vol. 535, (2001). CrossRef I. Fryc, J. Fryc, P. Jakubowski, K. A. Wąsowski, Technical, medical and legal aspects of domestic light sources photobiological safety, Przeglad Elektrotechniczny, R. 93, No. 3, (2017). CrossRef J. Enzi et. al, A "Melanopic" Spectral Efficiency Function Predicts the Sensitivity of Melanopsin Photoreceptors to Polychromatic Lights Journal of biological rhytms, Vol. 26 No. 4, (2011). CrossRef M. Aube, J. Roby J, M. Kocifaj, Evaluating Potential Spectral Impacts of Various Artificial Lights on Melatonin Suppression, Photosynthesis, and Star Visibility. PLOS ONE, Vol. 8, (2013). CrossRef P. Jakubowski, I. Fryc, Metrological requirements for measurements of circadian radiation, Optica Applicata, Vol. 48 Issue 4, (2018). CrossRef P. Jakubowski, I. Fryc, Measurement methods of optical radiation in circadian active range, Zeszyty Naukowe Wydziału Elektrotechniki i Automatyki Politechniki Gdańskiej, nr 54 (2017). DirectLink P. Jakubowski, Comparative analysis of light parameters of LEDs and OLEDs in context of blue light emission, Polish Journal for Sustainable Development 21 (2), (2017). CrossRef CIE TN003:2015, "Report on the First International Workshop on Circadian and neurophysiological Photometry", (2015). DirectLink
Early Jurassic arc related magmatism associated with porphyry copper mineralization at Zafranal, Southern Peru unraveled by zircon U-Pb ages
Authors: Santos Polo Alan , Weimin Guo , Rivera Fernando , Tassinari Colombo , Cerpa Luis , Kojima Shoji
Published: October 2019

Early Jurassic arc-related igneous rocks host porphyry copper prospects and gold-bearing quartz vein deposits in southern Peru. Ten new zircon U-Pb ages for wall rocks of gold-bearing quartz veins, Jurassic rocks and copper-mineralized porphyry bodies in Zafranal porphyry copper, together with published ages for Jurassic rocks, reveal a continuous magmatic evolution of the early Jurassic arc. The Jurassic rocks and gold-bearing quartz vein systems in the western flank of the Western Cordillera are hosted by Paleo- and Meso-proterozoic orthogneisses of the Arequipa Massif (1.75-1.44 Ga) that underwent Grenville-age metamorphism ~1 Ga. The early mafic magmatism is recorded between 199.6-193.2 Ma, and was followed by dominantly felsic magmatism from 184.1-174.9 Ma. Both magmatic events have formed the thinnest intrusive belt (
Syn-Eruptive Taphoflora From The Agua De La Zorra Formation (Upper Triassic) Cuyana Basin, Mendoza, Argentina
Authors: Pedernera Tomás Ezequiel , Ottone Eduardo Guillermo , Mancuso Adriana Cecilia , Benavente Cecilia Andrea , Abarzua Fernando
Published: October 2019

In the North of Mendoza Province, at Paramillos de Uspallata locality, Triassic sedimentary rocks outcrop. These Triassic beds are grouped in four formations: Paramillos, Agua de la Zorra, Portezuelo Bayo and Los Colorados. The Agua de la Zorra Formation is characterized by deposition in a deltaic and lacustrine system. The aims of this contribution are: (1) to realize a systematic study of new plant remains found in the Agua de la Zorra Formation and (2) to analize the influence of the potential of preservation and the volcanism in the Agua de la Zorra taphoflora in contrast with other Triassic units. Plant remains were systematically collected and compared with taphofloras from other Triassic formations of the Cuyana Basin. The systematic study from the Agua de la Zorra Formation allowed the determination of 21 taxa, nine of which have been cited in a previous contribution and 12 were described for the first time for the Agua de la Zorra Formation. There are differences in the taxonomic diversity between the taphofloras recovered from Potrerillos and Paramillos formations and these differences are linking with differences in biostratinomic process in each fluvial system and linked with the evidence of volcanic processes in these areas. The differences in diversity in the taphofloras of the Cacheuta and Agua de la Zorra formations can be more associated to ecological differences than variations in the taphonomic processes in each of the lake systems.
Public health preparedness for maritime terrorist attacks on ports and coastal waters
Authors: Wassel, MD John J.
Published: October 2019

Objective: To assess the risk of mass casualties and necessary public health and provider preparation relating to maritime terrorist attacks on the US ports.Design: Articles were obtained by searching PubMed database, Google, and Google Scholar search engines using terms such as “maritime security,” “maritime terrorism,” “port security,” “terrorist attacks on the US ports,” “terrorist nuclear attacks,” “terrorist attacks on liquefied natural gas tankers,” and “terrorist attack on high occupancy ships.”Setting: US ports and coastal waters.Results: Seventy-six journal articles were reviewed.Conclusions: Morbidity and mortality high for nuclear terrorist attack; mortality low but morbidity potentially high for radiological attacks. It would be more difficult for terrorist attack on natural gas tankers to cause high mortality and/or morbidity.
Summer 2012
Authors: DeVito, Jr. Richard A.
Published: October 2019

Vol. 7, No. 3
Summer 2013
Authors: DeVito, Jr. Richard A.
Published: October 2019

Vol. 8, No. 3
The evolution of healthcare disaster preparedness and response training at the FEMA Center for Domestic Preparedness
Authors: Marlow, MS Roy , Singleton, EdD Sondra , Campeau, MS Denis , Russell, MA, CEM Tony , Hunt, MD Richard , Hick, MD John L. , Harvey, RN, MPH Melissa , Ryan, PhD Jeffrey
Published: October 2019

The Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP) in partnership with the US Department of Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response is using a multiagency/organization, targeted, collaborative approach to adjust existing courses and develop responsive new courses to provide best practices education and experiential learning techniques in healthcare facility emergency resilience, preparedness, response, and recovery applicable to all first receivers. The CDP in Anniston, AL, is a Federal Emergency Management Agency training facility for the Nation’s state, local, tribal, and territorial first responders and healthcare professionals. The Center’s role has rapidly evolved to provide healthcare emergency preparedness, response, and management training. Through the integration of its Noble Training Facility, a former military hospital, the training courses replicate disaster and mass casualty emergency situations. Patient simulators enable triage and assessment of treatment for mass casualty surge skills application while an isolation ward serves as a training laboratory for the care of patients with infectious diseases of specific concern. Ambulance simulators and an eight-bay treatment area add authenticity to an integrated capstone event accompanying select classes.
A tabletop school bus rollover: Connecticut-wide drills to build pediatric disaster preparedness and promote a novel hospital disaster readiness checklist
Authors: Cicero, MD Mark X. , Golloshi, BS Klevi , Gawel, MSN Marcie , Parker, MD James , Auerbach, MD, MSci Marc , Violano, PhD, MSPH, RN-BC, CCRN Pina
Published: October 2019

Objective: To assess emergency medical services (EMS) and hospital disaster plans and communication and promote an integrated pediatric disaster response in the state of Connecticut, using tabletop exercises to promote education, collaboration, and planning among healthcare entities.Design: Using hospital-specific and national guidelines, a disaster preparedness plan consisting of pediatric guidelines and a hospital checklist was created by The Connecticut Coalition for Pediatric Disaster Preparedness.Setting: Five school bus rollover tabletop exercises were conducted, one in each of Connecticut’s five EMS regions. Action figures and playsets were used to depict patients, healthcare workers, vehicles, the school, and the hospital.Participants: EMS personnel, nurses, physicians and hospital administrators.Intervention: Participants had a facilitated debriefing of the EMS and prehospital response to disasters, communication among prehospital organizations, public health officials, hospitals, and schools, and surge capacity, capability, and alternate care sites. A checklist was completed for each exercise and was used with the facilitated debriefing to generate an after-action report. Additionally, each participant completed a postexercise survey.Main Outcome Measures: Each after-action report and postexercise survey was compared to established guidelines to address gaps in hospital specific pediatric readiness.Results: Exercises occurred at five hospitals, with inpatient capacity ranging 77-1,592 beds, and between 0 and 221 pediatric beds. There were 27 participants in the tabletop exercises, and 20 complete survey responses for analysis (74 percent). After the exercises, pediatric disaster preparedness aligned with coalition guidelines. However, methods of expanding surge capacity and methods of generating surge capacity and capability varied (p < 0.031).Conclusion: Statewide tabletop exercises promoted coalition building and revealed gaps between actual and ideal practice. Generation of surge capacity and capability should be addressed in future disaster education.
The effect of training and experience on mass casualty incident triage performance: Evidence from emergency personnel in a high complexity university hospital
Authors: Vargas, MD, MSc Juan P. , Hubloue, MD, PhD Ives , Pinzón, MD Jazmín J. , Duque, MD Alejandra Caycedo
Published: October 2019

Mass casualty incident (MCI) can occur at any time and place and health care institutions must be prepared to deal with these incidents. Emergency department staff rarely learn how to triage MCI patients during their medical or nurse degrees, or through on-the-job training. This study aims to evaluate the effect of training and experience on the MCI triage performance of emergency personnel.Methodology: This was a cross-sectional prospective study that analyzed the performance of 94 emergency department staff on the triage classifications of 50 trauma patients, before and after a short training in MCI triage, while taking into account their academic background and work experience.Results: The participants were assigned initially to one of two groups: low experience if they had less than 5 years of practice, and high experience if they had more than 5 years of practice. In the low experience group, the initial accuracy was 45.76 percent, over triage 45.84 percent, and subtriage 8.38 percent. In the high experience group, the initial accuracy was 53.80 percent, over triage 37.66 percent, and sub triage 8.57 percent.Postintervention Results: In the low experience group, the post intervention accuracy was 63.57 percent, over triage 21.15 percent, and subtriage 15.30 percentage. In the high experience group, the post-intervention accuracy was 67.66 percentage, over triage 15.19 percentage, and subtriage 17.14 percentage.  Conclusion: Upon completion of this study, it can be concluded that MCI triage training significantly improved the performance of all those involved in the workshop and that experience plays an important role in MCI triage performance.
Reaching vulnerable populations in the disaster-prone US Gulf Coast: Communicating across the crisis lifecycle
Authors: Petrun Sayers, PhD Elizabeth L. , Parker, PhD Andrew M. , Ramchand, PhD Rajeev , Finucane, PhD Melissa L. , Parks, MA Vanessa , Seelam, MPH Rachana
Published: October 2019

Delivering risk and crisis communication to US Gulf Coast residents poses a unique challenge to individual and organizational responders. The region has endured several natural and man-made disasters, spanning Hurricane Katrina, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and more recently Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. In the future, the US Gulf Coast is expected to remain susceptible to a range of disasters. At the same time, the region is experiencing a growing population, struggles with systemic disparities between residents, and is home to major energy, tourism, fishing, and shrimping industries. Engaging in pre-crisis planning with vulnerable populations, and assessing response strategies, can help the region prepare for future disasters. In support of understanding vulnerabilities in the US Gulf Coast, the authors conducted a survey in 2016 of n = 2,520 adult residents of the targeted geographic region. The authors examine how demographic characteristics affect communication channel preferences (ie, television, Internet, print [newspapers, magazines], radio, word-of-mouth, or another specified channel) and trust in sources (ie, the national news media, local news media, business leaders and organizations, religious leaders and institutions, academics and academic institutions, friends and family, and doctors) in the US Gulf Coast. Weighted prevalence estimates or similar summary statistics (mean, standard deviation) are provided for both outcomes. Findings for channel preferences and trust in sources are examined by sex, race/ethnicity, age, and education. Weighted multinomial logistic regression is used in a multivariate model. Weighted linear regression is used to examine differences in trust in each source of information. Results highlight significant differences in channel preferences and trust across respondents. The authors also place these results in context to more readily accessible national estimates of these outcomes, emphasizing takeaways for the region.
A LARGE SCALE CLASSIFICATION OF PUBLIC SPACES USING A STUDY OF PERCEPTION AND PUBLIC DATA FROM INEGI OF THE CITY OF PUEBLA, SAN PEDRO CHOLULA AND SAN ANDRES CHOLULA
Authors: Oliart Ros A. , González Cacho T. , Sol Martínez D. , Clavijo Plourde D.
Published: October 2019

Abstract. This work aims to create a methodology to automatize the classification of public spaces using a perception test and data obtained from city census information, in our case, from the Mexican National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI). Nowadays there is no well defined process in decision making when planning the creation or development of public spaces. For this reason, a study to measure the human perception was made in order to gather data about what people perceived about five variables: architectural beauty, pollution, fun, wealth and safety. The information obtained was used to create a Machine learning model that could find a relation between the perception obtained and the census dataset. This first attempt aims to find key insights needed to develop a more complex methodology to classify, at a greater scale, public places in terms of their safety or architectural value and which socio-demographic data defines this perception.
INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT AND VISUALIZATION OF STATIC AND DYNAMIC PROPERTIES OF SEMANTIC 3D CITY MODELS
Authors: Chaturvedi K. , Yao Z. , Kolbe T. H.
Published: October 2019

Abstract. CityGML is an international standard issued by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) for representing and exchanging Semantic 3D City Models. Due to their large scale and deeply nested structures, the management and visualization of CityGML based models require sophisticated solutions such as the 3D City Database (3DCityDB). The research work presented in this article proposes a high level architecture for extending the 3D City Database to store and manage dynamic properties encoded within a new Application Domain Extension (ADE) of CityGML called Dynamizer ADE. The implementation employs the 3DCityDB 4.2 ADE Plugin Manager, which provides an automatic way for dynamically extending the 3DCityDB to support the storage and management of CityGML models with ADEs. The paper introduces a relational database model for storing and managing the Dynamizer ADE within the 3DCityDB. Further, the research work includes the extension of the 3DCityDB Importer/Exporter in order to import and export CityGML documents including Dynamizer ADE data. 3DCityDB already comes with a Web Feature Service (WFS) interface allowing CityGML features to be requested in standardized ways. The proposed framework enables CityGML Viewers to access static data (using OGC WFS interface) and dynamic data (using the OGC SWE interfaces) in an integrated fashion.