bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Geometrical Spreading Correction in Sidescan Sonar Seabed Imaging
Authors: Tamsett Duncan
Published: November 2017

Sound backscattered to a sonar from a seabed decreases in intensity with increasing range ( R ) due to geometrical spreading. As a far-range approximation, a geometrical spreading correction of + 30 log R decibels may be applied. A correction based on an accurate estimation of the area of the seabed ensonified by the sonar pulse incorporates additional terms that are a function of: range, sonic ray inclination angle, along- and across-trace components of seabed slope and sonar vehicle pitch. At near-normal incidence, the area of the seabed ensonified by the pulse lies within a circle truncated by the narrowness of the sonar beam. Beyond a critical range, the ensonified area separates into two areas disposed on opposite sides of an annulus, one being the principal and the other its conjugate. With increasing range, backscatter intensity from the conjugate area rapidly decreases. At steep inclination angles, the principal area of seabed ensonified is effectively increased by an estimable factor due to scattering from the conjugate area. Backscatter from the conjugate area leads the angle of incidence measured by swath interferometry requiring a correction for an estimate of the angle to the center of the pulse in the principal area.
Mesenchymal Stromal Cells for Antineoplastic Drug Loading and Delivery
Authors: Petrella Francesco , Rimoldi Isabella , Rizzo Stefania , Spaggiari Lorenzo
Published: November 2017

Mesenchymal stromal cells are a population of undifferentiated multipotent adult cells possessing extensive self-renewal properties and the potential to differentiate into a variety of mesenchymal lineage cells. They express broad anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory activity on the immune system and after transplantation can interact with the surrounding microenvironment, promoting tissue healing and regeneration. For this reason, mesenchymal stromal cells have been widely used in regenerative medicine, both in preclinical and clinical settings. Another clinical application of mesenchymal stromal cells is the targeted delivery of chemotherapeutic agents to neoplastic cells, maximizing the cytotoxic activity against cancer cells and minimizing collateral damage to non-neoplastic tissues. Mesenchymal stem cells are home to the stroma of several primary and metastatic neoplasms and hence can be used as vectors for targeted delivery of antineoplastic drugs to the tumour microenvironment, thereby reducing systemic toxicity and maximizing antitumour effects. Paclitaxel and gemcitabine are the chemotherapeutic drugs best loaded by mesenchymal stromal cells and delivered to neoplastic cells, whereas other agents, like pemetrexed, are not internalized by mesenchymal stromal cells and therefore are not suitable for advanced antineoplastic therapy. This review focuses on the state of the art of advanced antineoplastic cell therapy and its future perspectives, emphasizing in vitro and in vivo preclinical results and future clinical applications.
Study in Wire Feedability-Related Properties of Al-5Mg Solid Wire Electrodes Bearing Zr for High-Speed Train
Authors: Wang Bo , Xue Songbai , Ma Chaoli , Wang Jianxin , Lin Zhongqiang
Published: November 2017

This work offers an analysis of the wire feedability-related properties of Al-5Mg solid wire electrodes bearing Zr. Effects of Zr content on microstructures and mechanical properties of the Al-5Mg alloys were studied. Experimental results have demonstrated that α-Al dendrites of the as-cast Al-5Mg alloy are refined, and the tensile strength, microhardness and roughness of the 1.2 mm wire electrode are improved with an appropriate addition of Zr. In addition, the tensile strength and elongation of the welded joints welded using Al-5Mg wire electrodes bearing Zr reach the maximum value when 0.12% Zr is added into the wire alloy. However, when excess Zr is added, α-Al phases of the wire alloy and welded joint are coarsened, and the mechanical properties are deteriorated. Moreover, the structure and principle of a novel apparatus, which can enhance the feedability of the wire electrode, are introduced and the apparatus can achieve the rough and fine adjustments of cast and helix of the wire electrode.
Tellurium Enrichment in Jurassic Coal, Brora, Scotland
Authors: Bullock Liam , Parnell John , Perez Magali , Feldmann Joerg
Published: November 2017

Mid-Jurassic pyritic coals exposed at the village of Brora, northern Scotland, UK, contain a marked enrichment of tellurium (Te) relative to crustal mean, average world coal compositions and British Isles Carboniferous coals. The Te content of Brora coal pyrite is more than one order of magnitude higher than in sampled pyrite of Carboniferous coals. The Te enrichment coincides with selenium (Se) and mercury (Hg) enrichment in the rims of pyrite, and Se/Te is much lower than in pyrites of Carboniferous coals. Initial pyrite formation is attributed to early burial (syn-diagenesis), with incorporation of Te, Se, Hg and lead (Pb) during later pyrite formation. The source of Te may have been a local hydrothermal system which was responsible for alluvial gold (Au) in the region, with some Au in Brora headwaters occurring as tellurides. Anomalous Te is not ubiquitous in coal, but may occur locally, and is detectable by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS).
A Strategy for Preparative Separation of 10 Lignans from Justicia procumbens L. by High-Speed Counter-Current Chromatography
Authors: Jiang Jiaojiao , Dong Hongjing , Wang Tao , Zhao Ruixuan , Mu Yan , Geng Yanling , Zheng Zhenjia , Wang Xiao
Published: November 2017

Ten compounds, including three lignan glycosides and seven lignans, were purified from Justicia procumbens L. in 8 h using an efficient strategy based on high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC). The two-phase solvent system composed of petroleum–ethyl acetate–methanol–H2O (1:0.7:1:0.7, v/v) was firstly employed to separate the crude extract (320 mg), from which 19.3 mg of justicidin B (f), 10.8 mg of justicidin A (g), 13.9 mg of 6′-hydroxyjusticidin C (h), 7.7 mg of justicidin E (i), 6.3 mg of lignan J1 (j) were obtained with 91.3 mg of enriched mixture of compounds a–e. The enriched mixture (91.3 mg) was further separated using the solvent system consisting of petroleum–ethyl acetate–methanol–H2O (3:3.8:3:3.8, v/v), yielding 12.1 mg of procumbenoside E (a); 7.6 mg of diphyllin-1-O-β-d-apiofuranoside (b); 7.4 mg of diphyllin (c); 8.3 mg of 6′-hydroxy justicidin B (d); and 7.9 mg of diphyllin acetyl apioside (e). The purities of the 10 components were all above 94%, and their structures were identified by NMR and ESI-MS spectra. The results demonstrated that the strategy based on HSCCC for the separation of lignans and their glycosides was efficient and rapid.
Impact of Ohmic-Assisted Decoction on Bioactive Components Extracted from Yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius Poepp.) Leaves: Comparison with Conventional Decoction
Authors: Khajehei Forough , Niakousari Mehrdad , Seidi Damyeh Maral , Merkt Nikolaus , Claupein Wilhelm , Graeff-Hoenninger Simone
Published: November 2017

Yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius Poepp.) leaves are a potentially rich source of bioactive compounds, such as phenolic acids and flavonoids. In this study, the effect of the extraction method (ohmic-assisted decoction (OH-DE) and decoction (DE)), yacon cultivar (red and white), and leaf age (young and old) on the quality/quantity of extracted phytochemicals were investigated. Extraction yield, energy consumption, total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), ABTS and DPPH radical scavenging activity, and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) were determined. Additionally, HPLC-DAD was used to identify the major individual phenolic and flavonoid compounds of yacon leaves. The results showed that a three-way interaction of process-variables (extraction method×yacon cultivar×age of leaves) influenced the extraction yield, TPC, TFC, ABTS, and DPPH radical scavenging activity, and FRAP, significantly (p < 0.05). However, energy consumption of the extraction process was only affected by method of extraction (p < 0.05) and was halved when OH-DE was applied as compared to DE alone. Additionally, the phytochemical quality of extracts was either improved or comparable when OH-DE was used for extraction. Also, it was shown that yacon leaves contained considerable amounts of caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, ferrulic acid, myricetin, p-coumaric acid, and rutin, while leaves of the red cultivar had higher contents of each compound compared to leaves of the white cultivar.
Deep Convolutional Neural Network-Based Early Automated Detection of Diabetic Retinopathy Using Fundus Image
Authors: Xu Kele , Feng Dawei , Mi Haibo
Published: November 2017

The automatic detection of diabetic retinopathy is of vital importance, as it is the main cause of irreversible vision loss in the working-age population in the developed world. The early detection of diabetic retinopathy occurrence can be very helpful for clinical treatment; although several different feature extraction approaches have been proposed, the classification task for retinal images is still tedious even for those trained clinicians. Recently, deep convolutional neural networks have manifested superior performance in image classification compared to previous handcrafted feature-based image classification methods. Thus, in this paper, we explored the use of deep convolutional neural network methodology for the automatic classification of diabetic retinopathy using color fundus image, and obtained an accuracy of 94.5% on our dataset, outperforming the results obtained by using classical approaches.
Hierarchical Mn2O3 Microspheres In-Situ Coated with Carbon for Supercapacitors with Highly Enhanced Performances
Authors: Gong Feilong , Lu Shuang , Peng Lifang , Zhou Jing , Kong Jinming , Jia Dianzeng , Li Feng
Published: November 2017

Porous Mn2O3 microspheres have been synthesized and in-situ coated with amorphous carbon to form hierarchical C@Mn2O3 microspheres by first producing MnCO3 microspheres in solvothermal reactions, and then annealing at 500 °C. The self-assembly growth of MnCO3 microspheres can generate hollow structures inside each of the particles, which can act as micro-reservoirs to store biomass-glycerol for generating amorphous carbon onto the surfaces of Mn2O3 nanorods consisting of microspheres. The C@Mn2O3 microspheres, prepared at 500 °C, exhibit highly enhanced pseudocapacitive performances when compared to the particles after annealed at 400 °C and 600 °C. Specifically, the C@Mn2O3 microspheres prepared at 500 °C show high specific capacitances of 383.87 F g−1 at current density of 0.5 A g−1, and excellent cycling stability of 90.47% of its initial value after cycling for 5000 times. The asymmetric supercapacitors assembled with C@Mn2O3 microspheres after annealed at 500 °C and activated carbon (AC) show an energy density of up to 77.8 Wh kg−1 at power density of 500.00 W kg−1, and a maximum power density of 20.14 kW kg−1 at energy density of 46.8 Wh kg−1. We can attribute the enhanced electrochemical performances of the materials to their three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical structure in-situ coated with carbon.
“Let’s Imagine Something Different”: Spiritual Principles in Contemporary African American Justice Movements and Their Implications for the Built Environment
Authors: Edwards Elise
Published: November 2017

The Black Lives Matter movement has become one of the most visible, controversial, and impactful campaigns to address racialized violence and discrimination in the 21st century. Activists within the movement join traditional forms of social protest and policy development with rituals and spiritual practices, drawing upon spiritual resources as a source of transformation and empowerment. The transformative aims of Black Lives Matter and other contemporary African American justice movements address critical areas for reform, like criminal justice, education, and public health, but their vision for reform is broad and extensive, envisioning the creation of a more just world. As such, the physical context for African American life—the buildings and public spaces known as the built environment—is a crucial aspect of social transformation. This essay examines the spirituality of Black Lives Matter and other contemporary African American justice movements and considers how it inspires the ongoing transformation of buildings and public spaces. By analyzing the spiritual practices and themes in the Black Lives Matter movement as described by its founders, this paper identifies three principles and relates them to similar concepts in African American religious thought, womanist ethics, and ecowomanism. Applying these three spiritual principles—liberation, inspiration, and healing—to the design of architecture and public spaces can enrich and affirm African American life. Appealing to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture as an example, this paper articulates the possibilities of architectural projects to symbolically and practically support liberative goals in African American religious systems and political movements.
Spirituality and Dignity of Thai Adolescents Living with HIV
Authors: Balthip Karnsunaphat , McSherry Wilfred , Nilmanat Kittikorn
Published: November 2017

(1) Background: Adolescents are a key asset and resource for the social and economic development of any country, with the potential to make a significant contribution to their families, communities and countries. Healthy and educated adolescents are important. However, there are still significant rates of death, illness and disease among adolescents in some countries, where HIV is one of the most prevalent causes of death in this group. Adolescents living with HIV may experience and encounter social restrictions and physiological limitations. Therefore, this investigation explored whether the concepts of spirituality and dignity had any relevance to participants sense of meaning and purpose and whether these had any impact upon their health and well-being (2) Methods: A qualitative descriptive design was used involving twenty-two adolescents living with HIV attending one regional hospital in Southern Thailand. One to one interviews and descriptive diaries were used to collect the data and thematic analysis enabled the identification of attributes of spirituality and dignity. (3) Results: The findings revealed that spirituality and dignity were present in the lives of Thai adolescents living with HIV expressed in the main category of living life responsibly. This comprised of six themes: (a) Understanding the disease and accepting the truth about life, (b) Maintaining hope for a cure, (c) Focusing on life’s purposes, (d) Making life choices, (e) Caring for oneself and (f) Responsibility towards other. (4) Conclusions: The findings provide helpful insights for parents, nurses, and other health professionals supporting adolescents living with HIV to obtain a holistic, dignified approach to care that includes attention to the spiritual dimension.
A Survey of Recent Advances in Particle Filters and Remaining Challenges for Multitarget Tracking
Authors: Wang Xuedong , Li Tiancheng , Sun Shudong , Corchado Juan M.
Published: November 2017

We review some advances of the particle filtering (PF) algorithm that have been achieved in the last decade in the context of target tracking, with regard to either a single target or multiple targets in the presence of false or missing data. The first part of our review is on remarkable achievements that have been made for the single-target PF from several aspects including importance proposal, computing efficiency, particle degeneracy/impoverishment and constrained/multi-modal systems. The second part of our review is on analyzing the intractable challenges raised within the general multitarget (multi-sensor) tracking due to random target birth and termination, false alarm, misdetection, measurement-to-track (M2T) uncertainty and track uncertainty. The mainstream multitarget PF approaches consist of two main classes, one based on M2T association approaches and the other not such as the finite set statistics-based PF. In either case, significant challenges remain due to unknown tracking scenarios and integrated tracking management.
The Relationship between the Efficiency, Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction for State-Owned Commercial Banks in China
Authors: Chang Meehyang , Jang Han-Byeol , Li Yi-Mei , Kim Daecheol
Published: November 2017

In 2006, China fully opened up its financial markets. This means that the banking industry is facing a more severe competitive environment, which requires not only the operational efficiency of the bank but also customer satisfaction for the quality of service. As the reform and opening up policy started from the eastern costal areas in China, there are differences in economic development levels by the region, and so are the levels of financial development. Therefore, it is necessary to study the effect of regional differences on bank efficiency. Prior studies also showed a lot of limitations about using data envelopment analysis, in that the efficiencies of the bank are only measured without consideration of other managerial aspects of the service and customer satisfaction. Thus, this study aims to analyze the efficiencies of twenty state-owned commercial banks in five provinces of China. The relationships between bank efficiency, service quality, and customer satisfaction are analyzed. The data used for the analysis was obtained from the 2015 Chinese Banking Statistics. As a result, the average technical efficiency of twenty state-owned banks is as high as 81.9%. It is also found that the bank’s service quality has a positive impact on efficiency and customer satisfaction. In the case of banks that are located in areas with high economic levels, customer satisfaction is lower than that of banks in lower regions. This is because customers in high economic level regions have higher expectations for service quality and it leads to lower customer satisfaction.
A New Hesitant Fuzzy Linguistic TOPSIS Method for Group Multi-Criteria Linguistic Decision Making
Authors: Ren Fangling , Kong Mingming , Pei Zheng
Published: November 2017

Hesitant fuzzy linguistic decision making is a focus point in linguistic decision making, in which the main method is based on preference ordering. This paper develops a new hesitant fuzzy linguistic TOPSIS method for group multi-criteria linguistic decision making; the method is inspired by the TOPSIS method and the preference degree between two hesitant fuzzy linguistic term sets (HFLTSs). To this end, we first use the preference degree to define a pseudo-distance between two HFLTSs and analyze its properties. Then we present the positive (optimistic) and negative (pessimistic) information of each criterion provided by each decision maker and aggregate these by using weights of decision makers to obtain the hesitant fuzzy linguistic positive and negative ideal solutions. On the basis of the proposed pseudo-distance, we finally obtain the positive (negative) ideal separation matrix and a new relative closeness degree to rank alternatives. We also design an algorithm based on the provided method to carry out hesitant fuzzy linguistic decision making. An illustrative example shows the elaboration of the proposed method and comparison with the symbolic aggregation-based method, the hesitant fuzzy linguistic TOPSIS method and the hesitant fuzzy linguistic VIKOR method; it seems that the proposed method is a useful and alternative decision-making method.
MUXER—A New Equipment for Energy Saving in Ethernet
Authors: Onik Md , Al-Zaben Nasr , Phan Hoo Hung , Kim Chul-Soo
Published: November 2017

Nowadays, the rapidly increasing energy consumption of communication equipment is an economic and environmental problem that needs to be addressed. Small Local Area Networks (LAN) switches in the US alone consume about 8 TWh per year that corresponds to hundreds of millions of US dollars in electricity. A main reason is communication equipment, due to the fact that, Ethernet switches have to active all days even in low-traffic time. There are many approaches to make the switches sensitive with the different traffic load environment, but they have to put some changes to current Ethernet that cause the incompatibility issues. This paper proposes a new device called Modified Multiplexer (MUXER), which can control the power functions of switches without modifying the current Ethernet protocol. The MUXER devices are put before the switches in the network, which provide some functions to transfer incoming Media Access Control (MAC) data frames to the corresponding switches managed by MUXERs. By using the proposed device, the wasted energies in the network can be reduced, especially in the specified low-traffic time. We describe the result of numerical analysis and compare detail power consumption data between a normal and a network where MUXERs are installed. In this work, the explained result shows that if a network administrator can estimate the number of MUXER needed for a particular network and install accordingly, our device can provides a significant energy saving.
Therapeutic Potential of Cholera Toxin B Subunit for the Treatment of Inflammatory Diseases of the Mucosa
Authors: Royal Joshua , Matoba Nobuyuki
Published: November 2017

Cholera toxin B subunit (CTB) is a mucosal immunomodulatory protein that induces robust mucosal and systemic antibody responses. This well-known biological activity has been exploited in cholera prevention (as a component of Dukoral® vaccine) and vaccine development for decades. On the other hand, several studies have investigated CTB’s immunotherapeutic potential in the treatment of inflammatory diseases such as Crohn’s disease and asthma. Furthermore, we recently found that a variant of CTB could induce colon epithelial wound healing in mouse colitis models. This review summarizes the possible mechanisms behind CTB’s anti-inflammatory activity and discuss how the protein could impact mucosal inflammatory disease treatment.
The Source, Flow Rates, and Hydrochemical Evolution of Groundwater in an Alluvial Fan of Qilian Mountain, Northwest China
Authors: Guo Qiaona , Zhou Zhifang , Wang Shan
Published: November 2017

Major ions and selected environmental tracers (D, 18O, 3H and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)) were employed to determine the source, flow rates, and hydrochemical evolution of groundwater in an alluvial fan along the front of the Qilian Mountains, which serves as an important groundwater reservoir in northwest China. Temporal and spatial variations in ion concentrations were limited near the upper portion of the alluvial fan. However, groundwater quality deteriorated along the flow path as concentrations of Mg2+, Na+, SO42−, and Cl− increased toward the fan toe and into the center of the valley. The relative abundance of the major cations and anions also changed down-fan from Ca2+ to Na+ and Mg2+, and from HCO3− to SO42− and Cl−, respectively. Isotopic data suggests that precipitation within the Qilian Mountains, which recharged the alluvial deposits near the mountain front, was the primary source of groundwater. Apparent groundwater ages determined by CFCs varied from 23 to 40 years, and in general, increased in age from south to north (down-fan). It is concluded that groundwater in the study area was recharged by the Qilian Mountains, flowed through the alluvial fan from south to north, and was subsequently discharged several decades later from springs located along the toe of the fan, after which it re-entered the Shule River.
Four new neotropical Trioza species associated with Loranthaceae (Santalales) and comments on mistletoe inhabiting psyllids (Hemiptera, Psylloidea)
Authors: Burckhardt Daniel , Díaz Fiorella , Queiroz Dalva L.
Published: November 2017

Four newTriozaspecies associated with mistletoes are described, diagnosed and illustrated from Brazil and Chile. They are monophagous on the LoranthaceaeStruthanthusuraguensis(Triozastruthanthisp. n.),Tripodanthusacutifolius(Triozatripodanthisp. n.) and narrowly oligophagous onTristerixspp. (Triozatristericissp. n.). For a fourth species (Triozavagatasp. n.) host information is unavailable but its association with mistletoes is likely. The four species form a putative monophyletic group, together with three North American species (TriozaacuminataTuthill,T.incidataTuthill andT.phorodendraeTuthill), based on the apically incised paramere, the highly modified valvulae of the female ovipositor and the host association with mistletoes.T.acuminatastat. n. from California is raised to species rank (originally described as subspecies ofT.phorodendrae). TheTriozastruthanthi-group is diagnosed and a key for the identification of its constituent members is provided. New host data are provided forCalophyasp. from Brazil as well as forNotophorinafuscaBurckhardt andZonopelmaaustralisBurckhardt from Chile. Host plant and biogeographical patterns of mistletoe feeding psyllids around the world are briefly discussed.
Dr. Ivan Löbl, zum 80. Geburtstag unseres Ehrenmitglieds
Authors: Burckhardt Daniel
Published: November 2017

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Hofmann AF & Tremewan WG (2017) The Natural History of Burnet Moths (Zygaena Fabricius, 1775) (Lepidoptera: Zygaenidae), Part I
Authors: Guenin Raymond
Published: November 2017

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Ecosystem services mapping for municipal policy: ESTIMAP and zoning for urban beekeeping
Authors: Stange Erik , Zulian Grazia , Rusch Graciela , Barton David , Nowell Megan
Published: November 2017

Pollinating insects are an integral part of cities’ natural capital and perform an important ecosystem function with a high degree of relevance to many cultural ecosystem services. Consequently, pollinators serve as a useful proxy for assessing urban biodiversity. Beekeeping has recently emerged as a popular activity in many urban areas and a good deal of the motivation for urban beekeeping for many stems from the cultural and non-consumptive aspects of beekeeping. Yet the recent increases in domestic honeybee densities in urban landscapes has raised concern regarding the potential threat that honeybees might pose to local populations of threatened bumblebee and solitary bee species. This issue constitutes a trade-off between the cultural ecosystem services associated with urban beekeeping and the regulation and maintenance ecosystem services of maintaining nursery populations of rare and threatened species. Municipal authorities in Oslo, Norway have proposed establishing eight “precautionary zones”, within which placement of honeybee hives could be more strictly regulated. We propose a mapping and assessment approach for informing zoning decisions regarding urban honeybees, utilising a model of an urban landscape’s biophysical capacity to support pollinating insects (ESTIMAP). Together with an additional model describing the approximate distrubtion of honeybees in Oslo, we identify areas in the city where domestic honeybees may be more likely to exhaust floral resources. This case also tests the policy relevance of ecosystem service mapping tools beyond awareness raising, with broader general lessons for ecosystem mapping and assessment .
Au fondement de l’altruisme : le lien comme fin
Authors: Thoron Sylvie
Published: November 2017

Lorsque l’économie comportementale a voulu s’inspirer des recherches sur l’empathie pour modifier le modèle de l’ homo œconomicus en interaction, elle s’est heurtée à l’impossibilité de penser les émotions dans le cadre d’une théorie des préférences sociales toujours ancrée dans la rationalité du modèle individualiste interactionniste de la théorie des jeux. Cette impossibilité est due au fait que la théorie des jeux tout d’abord, puis l’économie comportementale ensuite, n’ont pas voulu remettre en question l’objectif fondamental de l’individu lorsqu’il agit en interaction avec les autres. Or, se pencher sur la question des émotions et de l’empathie émotionnelle en particulier devait amener à remettre en question les ressorts du comportement. Que nous disent en effet les autres sciences du comportement ? Que si la survie de l’organisme est sans doute un objectif fondamental et commun à tous les êtres vivants, ce dernier tire par ailleurs sa spécificité de mécanismes fondamentaux et pré-câblés qui le spécialisent pour la vie en interaction avec ses semblables. Grâce à ces mécanismes fondamentaux l’espèce humaine a pu élaborer des modes de coopération productifs et sociétaux à grande échelle. Nous proposons en conséquence un changement de perspective en économie comportementale qui permettrait de considérer que l’objectif ultime de l’individu en société n’est pas d’assurer sa survie et ses besoins, mais de créer et d’entretenir le lien aux autres.
Economic Evil and the Other
Authors: Mildenberger Carl David
Published: November 2017

L’objectif de cet article est double. Premièrement, nous proposons une définition économique du mal. Un agent accomplit une action économique malfaisante s’il blesse (ou incite à blesser) intentionnellement, matériellement, un autre agent, s’il subit une perte matérielle à la suite de cette action et si la possibilité d’un choix plus gratifiant pour lui existait. Deuxièmement, nous discutons de la manière dont nous pouvons catégoriser différentes théories du mal économique et différentes actions économiquement malfaisantes sur la base d’une analyse de la relation entre l’agent malfaisant et l’autre blessé. Notre article met en lumière qu’un type particulier de mal économique n’a pas encore reçu l’attention requise. Ce type de mal économique se caractérise par une relation spécifique entre l’agent et l’autre : l’agent ne se soucie de l’autre que dans la mesure où le gain matériel de l’autre est concerné – et seulement dans la mesure où il s’assure que ce dernier sera négativement impacté par son action. L’article cite également des preuves de tels comportements. JEL Codes : D74, P16, P48, Z13.
The Current and Future States of Ethiopia’s Energy Sector and Potential for Green Energy: A Comprehensive Study
Authors: Khan Baseem , Singh Pawan
Published: November 2017

Sub-Saharan nations are facing a lot of challenges for the planning of their future energy sector. Particularly, the rural areas of Sub-Saharan nations bear scarcity of energy access as there is a lack of grid facilities, less financial and technical support, pressure from foreign institutions, excess of energy export etc. Although Ethiopia is growing as a leader of energy sector in Sub-Saharan region, it is also facing numerous problems similar to other African nations. In this paper, authors have conducted a detailed study of Ethiopian power sector. This study includes the complete background and overview of current energy sector in Ethiopia. The key factors which affect the development of energy sector such as international energy export, policy framework, role of government and regulatory framework are also discussed. It is observed that there is a huge renewable energy potential in Ethiopia which is under utilized, and can be used as a major resource for rural energy access. The authors recommend that a new policy framework and subsidies for renewable energy generation, motivational awareness, technical training, improvement in organizational efficiency and managerial skills, arrangement of financial instruments for new projects and easy ICTs based mobile banking programme should be initiated as well as improved to achieve sustainable growth, and 100% energy access by increasing renewable energy production.
Study the Effects of Dielectric Type on the Machining Characteristics of γ-Ti Al in Electrical Discharge Machining
Authors: Shabgard Mohammad Reza , Faraji Hossein , Khosrozade Behnam , Eivazi-Bagheri Hadi , Amini Keivan
Published: November 2017

The current study surveys the results of using deionized water and kerosene as dielectrics in the machining outputs of γ-TiAl intermetallic compound obtained in electric discharge machining. Influences of these different dielectrics properties on machining speed, tool wear, surface cracks and roughness were compared. Scanning electron microscopy micrographs were prepared to investigate influences of dielectrics on the surface characteristics of electrically discharged samples. Results indicate which by kerosene dielectric; the material removal rate (MRR) is further compared to another one. But deionized water as dielectric causes higher tool wear ratio than kerosene dielectric. Electrical discharged samples in deionized water have higher surface roughness, in addition it contains surface cracks, whereas kerosene dielectric results better surface finish in low pulse current. According to XRD spectra electric discharge machining in deionized water and kerosene dielectrics produces Ti3 Al intermetallic compound on the produced surface.
Use of Waste from Agroindustrial Sources as Substrate for Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Production by Thraustochytrium kinney VAL-B1
Authors: Silva David , Villarroel Maria Paz , Roa Alba L. , Quilodrán Benita H.
Published: November 2017

The aim of this work was to evaluate the possibility of using agroindustrial residues as carbon sources for the production of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids by a native Thraustochytrid strain, and analyze the microorganism growth for each substrate. In this study a Chilean strain, Thraustochytrium kinney VAL-B1, was grown in three alternative carbon sources: lupine residue, fermented wine and residual glycerol from biodiesel canola oil for biomass and polyunsaturated fatty acids production. The highest biomass production values were obtained at the fifth day of growth, which were 7.22±0.56 g L-1, 2.72±0.25 g L-1 and 6.54±0.71 g L-1 for fermentations of lupine residue, fermented wine and residual glycerol from biodiesel canola oil, respectively, while the polyunsaturated fatty acids profile showed a docosahexanoic acid percentage of 21.19%, 13.42% and 35.06% in the fermentations of the above mentioned residues. The highest omega 3 fatty acids production (docosahexanoic and eicosapentanoic acid, 2.53±0.36 g L-1 and 0.25±0.03 g L-1, respectively) was obtained in the fermentation of residual glycerol from biodiesel canola oil. With these results, it was concluded that Thraustochytrium kinney VAL-B1 produces more omega 3 fatty acids (docosahexanoic and eicosapentanoic acid) when is fermented in a medium using residual glycerol from biodiesel canola oil as an alternative carbon source, reaching a productivity of 0.50 g L-1 d-1 for docosahexanoic acid. On the other hand, the highest biomass production was obtained in fermentations of lupine residue (7.22 g L-1). For these reasons, it is feasible to employ agroindustrial by-products for polyunsaturated fatty acids production.
Energy management: a synthesis of scientific publications on biodigestion for waste management
Authors: Andreazzi Marcia Aparecida , Mendes Adriano Rogério , Oliveira Karina Volpe de , Lizama Maria De los Angeles Perez
Published: November 2017

Environmentally friendly options for waste disposal and the need for expansion and diversification of the national and international energy matrix are relevant issues today. One technique that supports these goals is anaerobic biodigestion, which generates clean energy from biomass. Accordingly, our goal was to perform a quantitative and qualitative assessment of scientific publications on biodigestion in order to understand the evolution of the technique, which is essential for environmental and economic sustainability. Ninety-nine articles indexed in the Scientific Electronic Library Online between 1980 and 2015 were evaluated. The results showed a significant increase in scientific publications since 2000 which addressed, in addition to environmentally friendly waste management, the energy issue, with the use of biogas. This increase in the number of publications coincides with increased awareness on natural resource management and concern about global energy management. Most of the articles involved a general evaluation of the process, using mainly animal waste from pigs, and emphasizing biodigestion as waste management, since pig farming produces a large volume of waste and has a high environmental impact.
Qualidade da água do rio Setúbal em Jenipapo de Minas – MG após construção de barragem
Authors: Martins Gerson Lucas Alves , Costa Alexandre Sylvio Vieira da , Barros Aruana Rocha , Ramalho Fernanda Maria Guedes
Published: November 2017

A quantidade de recursos hídricos deve ser garantida com a devida qualidade. Neste contexto, o trabalho objetivou caracterizar a qualidade da água do rio Setúbal utilizando o Índice de Qualidade da Água (IQA) e os padrões estabelecidos na Resolução do CONAMA 357/2005, após a construção da barragem de Setúbal, no Município de Jenipapo de Minas – MG. Para a caracterização da qualidade da água, seis amostras foram coletadas bimestralmente em dois pontos estratégicos do rio entre junho de 2015 a junho de 2016, sendo analisados os parâmetros: potencial hidrogeniônico (pH), oxigênio dissolvido (OD), temperatura, demanda bioquímica de oxigênio (DBO), nitrato (NO3-), fósforo (PO43-), cloreto, turbidez, sólidos totais, ferro total, coliformes totais e Escherichia coli. O IQA foi calculado a partir da metodologia proposta pelo IGAM. De acordo com os resultados, a construção da barragem de Setúbal pode ter contribuído para a alteração de alguns parâmetros físico-químicos e biológicos da água do rio Setúbal. Nos dois pontos de amostragem, a água apresentou um IQA predominantemente de nível médio, porém com algumas variáveis em desconformidade com o enquadramento do rio que é de classe 2.
Sinais de um problema crônico: a governança hídrica carece promover os comitês de bacias, coordenar planos e gerir informações
Authors: Souza Júnior Clécio Barbosa , Siegmund-Schultze Marianna , Köppel Johann , Sobral Maria Do Carmo
Published: November 2017

A atual governança Hídrica no Brasil contribui para o aumento dos problemas oriundos da escassez hídrica na bacia do São Francisco, majorando os conflitos pelo uso da água. Este artigo tem o objetivo de avaliar alguns desafios e oportunidades da governança hídrica na bacia do São Francisco com base numa robusta coleta e análise de dados nos mais diversos órgãos e instituições em escalas nacional, estadual e de bacia. A metodologia inclui a análise da interação interinstitucional através do exame da coordenação dos planos de recursos hídricos, a análise da implementação dos comitês de bacias dos rios afluentes e a quantidade e qualidade acessível de dados relativos à gestão de águas. A maioria dos planos dos rios afluentes vigentes foi elaborada pelo poder público e consequentemente, boa parte dos planos analisados apresentam propostas com divergências regionais em suas diferentes escalas de planejamento e apresentam falhas na sinergia entre as ações dos diversos planos. Além disso, a região semiárida padece com a baixa implantação dos comitês de bacias de rios afluentes e a bacia como um todo sofre com a falta de um mecanismo apropriado de produção, atualização e compartilhamento de informações relevantes para a gestão hídrica. Portanto, faz-se necessário aprimorar o mecanismo de articulação entre os planos com o uso de ferramentas de avaliação integrada e de contexto decisório, fortalecer a participação pública através de comitês de rios afluentes e a adoção de uma plataforma de dados colaborativa donde se possa compartilhar informações geradas em diferentes setores da sociedade.
Efficient degradation of solid yeast biomass from ethanol industry by Fenton and UV-Fenton processes applying multivariate analysis
Authors: Labuto Geórgia , Silva Lilia Ribeiro da , Silva Heron Dominguez Torres da , Carrilho Elma Neide Vasconcelos Martins , Goncalves Norberto Sanches , Rodrigues Christiane De Arruda
Published: November 2017

Organic agro-industrial residues have been successfully used as biosorbents and promoting new uses from agricultural wastes benefits the economy. However, the allocation of a solid waste biosorbent after the sorption of contaminants has limited their effective application on a large scale as an alternative treatment of water and wastewaters. One solution could be degradation to convert the biosorbent material and adsorbed organic contaminants into environmental friendly compounds suitable for discharge. This study used an experimental design to evaluate the Fenton degradation of yeast biomass (YB) from the alcohol industry as a potential biosorbent. The efficiency of degradation was monitored according to the degraded mass (DM) and total organic carbon (TOC) remaining in the solution. The ANOVA showed an error of 9.7% for the effects and the media of interaction for the employed model for DM. Conducting the experiments with the best-predicted conditions (60 min, 25 g of YB, pH 3, 8,000 mg L-1 H2O2 and 40 mg L-1 Fe2+) with 30 W UV irradiation resulted in a YB reduction of 72 ± 2% with a TOC of 30 ± 2%. This suggests that an advanced oxidative process is an alternative for degradation of a biosorbent after sorption.
Evaluation of soil water storage in native forest and eucalyptus areas
Authors: Targa Marcelo Dos Santos , Batista Getulio Teixeira , Almeida Ana Aparecida da Silva , Pohl Emilson , Paula Geberson Ricardo de
Published: November 2017

In the region of the Paraíba do Sul river valley in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, pasture areas have been replaced by eucalyptus plantations, which can modify the dynamics of water in the soils of the region. The objective of this work was to evaluate the behavior of water in a Red-Yellow Latosol in two vegetative coverings, a six-year-old eucalyptus plantation, and a native forest, in the process of regeneration which began twenty years ago. The study was developed in the Una River basin from June 2009 to April 2011. The soil water potential was measured by 96 sensors (Watermark ™) at the depths of 20, 60 and 120 cm. The Available Water Capacity (AWC) and weekly residual soil storage for each layer were calculated. It was observed that the three layers reacted to the processes of rainfall and evapotranspiration and that there was a difference between the storage of water in the soil in the eucalyptus and native forest areas. There was no water restriction in the studied period; however, the variations in native forest storage were smoother than the variations occurring for eucalyptus. In the mean of the whole period and for the three layers, the storage in the native forest and eucalyptus were 88% and 64% of Available Water Capacity (AWC = 183 mm), respectively. These results show the native forest water conservation capacity in watersheds.
Aspects épidémiologiques actuels de l’Encéphalopathie Spongiforme Bovine (ESB) en Europe
Authors: Brugère-Picoux Jeanne , Brugère Henri
Published: November 2017

Suite à la contamination de sujets britanniques par l’agent responsable de l’encéphalopathie spongiforme bovine (ESB) (avec l’apparition de la nouvelle variante de la maladie de Creutzfeldt-Jakob ou nvMCJ), il importe de vérifier si la décroissance du nombre des cas d’ESB déclarés au Royaume-Uni permet effectivement de prédire la disparition de l’épidémie en l’an 2001. Il faut aussi comparer la situation épidémiologique des autres pays européens, expliquer l’origine des cas d’ESB observés chez les animaux “nés après l’interdiction des farines” (NAIF). Enfin, en raison des nombreux franchissements constatés de la barrière d’espèce par l’agent bovin, l’hypothèse d’une contamination du cheptel ovin ne peut pas être exclue.
Un cas d’infestation par Dermatobia hominis chez le chien en France
Authors: Klap Daniel Frédéric , Bourdeau Patrick
Published: November 2017

Myasis caused by dermatobia hominis. On case observed in dog in France.

The authors present a cas of sub-cutaneous myasis caused by the “ver macaque” (Tropical Warble Fly Dermatobia hominis) in dog. The lesions developped two weeks after the dog had returned from Brazil. The different aspects : clinical, histological, therapeutic are presented as well as a review of the parasite, its biology, its effects on man and animals, and methods of combatting it. This case illustrates the possibility of accidental importation of tropical parasitosis.
Nutrithérapie de l’insuffisance rénale chronique du chien et du chat
Authors: Blankaert Christophe
Published: November 2017

Dietary treatment of chronic renal deficiency in dogs and cats.

The aim of nutritional management of chronic renal failure in veterinary practice is to minimize the increase of uraemic toxins in the bloodflow (phosphorus and nitrogenous waste) and to slow the progression of the renal failure, while maintaining a positive nutritional state in a patient with numerous metabolic disorders. In practice, the dietary treatment must be installed early and respect precise nutritional requirements. The patient’s clinical status must be reassessed and its blood levels monitored regularly.
Actualités sur le charbon
Authors: Catsaras Marc , Vaissaire Josée
Published: November 2017

Novelties about anthrax.

Anthrax is coming back, such for animals with cases stated in cattle from 1980 to 1995 and two epidemies in 1997 as well for humans : many cases are known every year, but many others are unknown. Risk is reality, and it is necessary that all the health professionals know well this fact.
La cryptosporidiose humaine : une parasitose émergente d’importance croissante en santé publique
Authors: Ambroise-Thomas Pierre , Pinel Claudine , Grillot Renée
Published: November 2017

Human cryptosporidiosis : an emerging parasitic disease of increasing importance in public health.

Cryptosporidiosis in human is an emerging parasitosis due to an intestinal and opportunistic protozoan : Cryptosporidium parvum. This parasite was described 100 years ago in calves and lambs. This zoonosis had emerged as a global public health problem in industrial countries for essentially two reasons. One is linked to its potentially life threatening evolution which remains practiccaly incurable, in severely immunocompromised patients (AIDS patients, transplant patients, young children with immature immunological system...). The other is the important warterbome outbreaks in industrial countries. Clinical forms of cryptosporidiosis range from asymptomatic to acute intestinal illness in immunocompetent host. In immunocompromised host, chronic or severe diarrhoeal diseases increase the morbidity and mortality. Moreover extra intestinal dissemination of parasites can accured (cholangitis) and pulmonary cryptosporidiosis are also frequently discribed. This parasitosis is also caracterized by the lack of efficient therapy and insuffisant prophylactic measures. Numerical standard and legal regulation of Cryptosporidium was proposed. Furthermore the oocyts are extremelly resistant to conventional disinfectants. The control of water treatment is necessary to determine the efficiency of prophylactic measures. The significance of different Cryptosporidium parvum isolates could suggested the existence of different transmission cycles in human and merits futher investigations. The virulent potential of Cryptosporidium strains as well as individual susceptibility need further works to a better undestanding of epidemiological risk.
Les rapports humains-animaux dans nos sociétés à la fin du XXe siècle
Authors: Catsaras Marc
Published: November 2017

L’auteur examine en détail les différents points qui concernent des problèmes importants, parfois même vitaux, au sujet des rapports Humains-Animaux, dans leurs aspects actuels s’ils ne sont pas nouveaux, ou typiques de notre temps. Sont successivement envisagés : Le retrait de la vie, l’occupation de l’espace terrestre, le bien-être animal et le plan affectif. Les intérêts purement matériels doivent demeurer au second plan, car il est nécessaire que toujours le spirituel l’emporte sur le matériel.