bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
RHETORICAL PATTERNS, VERB TENSE, AND VOICE IN CROSS DISCIPLINARY RESEARCH ARTICLE ABSTRACT
Authors: Hanidar Sharifah
Published: November 2016

This article investigates research article abstracts in terms of their rhetorical patterns and the use of verb tenses and voice. A total of 40 abstracts were selected from four international journals in the fields of Biology, Mechanical Engineering, Linguistics, and Medicine. A four move model was adopted from Hardjanto (1997) to analyze the structure of the abstracts. The results show that all the abstracts have Move 1, creating a research space; 70% have Move 2, describing research procedure; 85% have Move 3, summarizing principal results; and 85% have Move 4, evaluating results. All the abstracts in medicine have Moves 1, 2, 3 and 4, whereas the most common pattern in Biology is Moves 1, 3 and 4, in Mechanical Engineering Moves 1, 2 and 3, and in Linguistics Moves 1, 2 and 4. This seems to suggest that there is a disciplinary variation in the structuring of RA abstracts in the four disciplines under investigation. With regard to the use of verb tense and voice in each move, the present tense and past tense in the active voice and the past tense in the passive voice were the most frequently used tenses. The present tense in the active voice was frequently used in Moves 1 and 4, while the past tense in the active voice was commonly used in Move 3 and the past tense in the passive voice was frequently found in Move 2. Furthermore, it was found that the present tense in the active voice was frequently used in Biology, Mechanical Engineering and Linguistics, whereas the past tense in the active voice occurred more frequently in Medicine, and the past tense in the passive voice was more frequently found in Mechanical Engineering than in other disciplines.
THE POSITION OF MINANG-CHINESE RELATIONSHIP IN THE HISTORY OF INTER-ETHNIC GROUPS RELATIONS IN PADANG, WEST SUMATRA
Authors: Alfirdaus Laila Kholid , Hiariej Eric , Adeney-Risakotta Farsijana
Published: November 2016

Generally studies on pribumi and Chinese relationship in Indonesia are dominated with conflict perspectives. In fact, in practice, the relationship between the two groups can be very dynamic. Amongst social tension arose between them, there are often stories about social harmony, social engagement and social cohesion. This is also what we found in the Minang-Chinese relationship in Padang, West Sumatra. The Minang-Chinese relationship in Padang, West Sumatra, in current period has been not only about social tension. In spite of the strong tension arose due to differences in ethnicity and religious belief, they are strongly tied in running local trading, political party, and other areas of public policy making. Competition in economy often stands together with cooperation. This similarly works in local politics, and, recently, community recovery post 2009-earthquake. Such dynamic relationships is inseparable from ethnic politics constructed throughout Padang history in the past. This paper sees that the relationships of Minang and Chinese are inseparable from the ethnic politics constructed throughout Padang history. This paper tries to portray briefly the journey of Minang and Chinese relationship in Padang and the politics that contextualizes the making of that relationship based on literature research and in-depth interviews. Despite its shortness, this paper is supposed to provide background information for those interested in discussing the issue of ethnicity in Padang and West Sumatra.
Cooperative Patterns in the Egyptian Colloquial Arabic
Authors: Aminah Siti , Ma'ruf Amir
Published: November 2016

This article described the cooperative patterns formed in the Egyptian speech community using Egyptian Colloquial Arabic (ECA). The data were taken by using participatory observation method  through  the  recording  and  note-taking  techniques.  By  employing  Grice’s  theory of cooperative principles and maxims, this study suggested that speech events in Egyptian society had a variety of cooperative patterns. The varied patterns could be seen in the negotiation processes to reach an agreement. Therefore, the negotiations required a lot of energy and time.
A Translation Study on School Signboards in Surakarta: Types, Functions, And Quality
Authors: Nuraeni Ardianna , Kusumastuti Fenty , Nababan M.R.
Published: November 2016

This research aims to map out types of bilingual signboards found in Elementary and Secondary schools in Surakarta based on their functions, to assess their quality in terms of accuracy and acceptability, and to describe factors influencing the translation quality. This descriptive qualitative research used data sources in the form of documents and persons, i.e. bilingual signboards displayed on school walls and those called raters who have competencies in assessing translation quality. Content analysis, Interview, and Focus Group Discussion were applied as the methods to collect and analyze the data of bilingual signboards. As a result, there are three types of school signboard, namely signboards showing names of place, signboards showing the condition of a particular place, and those saying proverbs. Dealing with the function, signboards having informative, suggestive, restrictive and mandatory functions are identified. The majority of the data resulting accurate and less acceptable translation is found in universal signboards, while culture-bound signboards tend to be rendered less accurate and less acceptable due to some factors that can be read thoroughly in this article.
Book Review: Resurrecting Kuntowijoyo’s Idea on Prophetic Transformative (Social) Sciences
Authors: Wicaksono Harto
Published: November 2016

Understanding Kuntowijoyo’s idea about prophetic (social) sciences was the underpinning for Ahimsa-Putra to produce his lastest work. The fundamental structure of science offered by Kuntowijoyo, according to Ahimsa-Putra, still leaves some problems, both from paradigm aspect and some concepts used in an attempt to apply prophetic social sciences. That is, the idea is not yet ready to be applied into social sciences.This problem arises neither because Kuntowijoyo is not communicative, nor as an indication of the unproductiveness of contemporary scholars to respond to the idea.
The Impact of the Learning Effectiveness on Alumni Employability: A Case Study of a T/I Department in Taiwan
Authors: Hsiung Pin-Shan
Published: November 2016

In recent years, the number of translation and interpretation courses offered in Taiwan has increased rapidly, but few studies has looked at the employability of their graduates. This paper is aimed to investigate the direct effects of curriculum on the professional careers of alumni as reflected in their current employment status and level of academic advancement. A questionnaire survey was carried out to evaluate multiple aspects of teaching, including learning effectiveness, core competency, curriculum design and repay the society. Through an analysis of 150 named and 300 anonymous questionnaires, this study analyzed the learning effectiveness as the mediator for the careers of alumni, using the Amos statistical package for Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), along with other related techniques, such as Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). The analyses have produced parameter estimates and goodness-of-fit indices, which could be useful for many purposes, such as examining longitudinal data and comparing groups. It is hoped that this brief study may provide a better understanding and a basis for future studies.
The Pedagogical Importance of Illustrations in Translated and Non-Translated Children’s Literature: An Intersemiotic Approach
Authors: Sharif Nasrin Qorbani , Saeedipour Abbas
Published: November 2016

In Children’s literature the text is almost always paired with vivid illustration to appeal to children more effectively. For young children, the pictorial code is a more direct means of communication than the verbal code. Such children will look at the pictures and tell the story in their own words. Also, children’s books are used for different purposes at different times. Children’s literature, for example, is a powerful means of educating children, through which they will be exposed to the set of behaviors deemed appropriate. That’s why illustrations in children’s stories are so important. Therefore, it is necessary to pay close attention to the illustrations and the relationships they hold with the linguistic texts of the story. The illustrations will serve better if they are educational. In the present study a number of translated and original Persian children story books were collected. All the books have illustrations which accompany the texts of the books. Then all the texts were studied carefully, analyzed and compared with their accompanying pictures (or illustrations). Each picture was analyzed based on its educational value. The results of the study revealed that there are significant differences in illustrations in translated and non-translated children story books.
The Representation of Qatari Nation on Television: The Qatari Nation as Traditional in Two Local Channels
Authors: Al-Dosari Bothaina. R.
Published: November 2016

This paper is a part of MA thesis, “The Representation of Qatari Nation on Television: Tradition, Modernity and Islam in Two Local Channels”. It examines Qatari national imagination in Qatari local television channels, are Qatar National Television and Al-Rayyan Channel. “National imagination” means here an imagined perception of the Qatari nation in which the social and the political factors are integral. The image of Qatari nation is continuously produced in Qatari television channels as a part of national building project. It is presented on television as traditional nation, modern nation and Muslim nation. For the representation of Qatari nation as traditional, there were two television programs chosen for research are Al-Sagar, and Fatah Al-Khair programs. This part contains anthropological and cultural analysis of the traditional television content. There were also numbers of people interviewed to understand the content presented in these television channels. This research aims to contribute to the literature of media, culture and nationalism.
Outbreak of Neisseria meningitidis capsular group W among scouts returning from the World Scout Jamboree, Japan, 2015
Authors: Smith-Palmer Alison , Oates Ken , Webster Diana , Taylor Sarah , Scott Kevin J , Smith Gemma , Parcell Benjamin , Lindstrand Ann , Wallensten Anders , Fredlund Hans , Widerström Micael , McMenamin Jim ,   on behalf of the IMT
Published: November 2016

The 23rd World Scout Jamboree was held in Japan from 28 July to 8 August 2015 and was attended by over 33,000 scouts from 162 countries. An outbreak of invasive meningococcal disease capsular group W was investigated among participants, with four confirmed cases identified in Scotland, who were all associated with one particular scout unit, and two confirmed cases in Sweden; molecular testing showed the same strain to be responsible for illness in both countries. The report describes the public health action taken to prevent further cases and the different decisions reached with respect to how wide to extend the offer of chemoprophylaxis in the two countries; in Scotland, chemoprophylaxis was offered to the unit of 40 participants to which the four cases belonged and to other close contacts of cases, while in Sweden chemoprophylaxis was offered to all those returning from the Jamboree. The report also describes the international collaboration and communication required to investigate and manage such multinational outbreaks in a timely manner.
Editorial
Authors: Sapkota Kumar
Published: November 2016

Not available.Journal of Institute of Science and TechnologyVolume 21, Issue 1, August 2016
Patients’ Medical Charts in Intensive Care Unit: A Potential Source of Nosocomial Infections
Authors: Thapa Roshan , Thapa Eliza , Singh Anjana , Pokharel Bharat Mani , Devkota Upendra
Published: November 2016

This  study  was  carried  out  to  determine  the  degree  of  contamination  of  patients’  medical  charts  in  ICU settings.  A total of 100 medical charts were randomly selected from ICU.  The swab samples were collected from  outer  surface  of  charts  with  sterile  swabs  moistened  with  sterile  normal  saline.  The swabs were immediately transferred to Trypticase soy broth and incubated aerobically for 48h and then subcultured  inMacConkey,  Blood  and  Eosin-methylene  blue  agars.  The isolates were identified by using standard microbiological and biochemical techniques.  Out  of  100  charts  sampled,  89%  charts  were  found  to  be contaminated  with  pathogenic  or  potentially  pathogenic  bacteria.  Staphylococcus aureus was the most commonly isolated bacteria in ICU (n=32, 28.3%) followed by Citrobacter freundii (n=27, 24%), Coagulase Negative Staphylococci (CoNS) (n=23, 20.3%) and Acinetobacter spp. (n=12, 10.7%).  It is concluded that medical chart contains pathogenic and potentially pathogenic bacteria. Thus, contaminated charts can act as vector of pathogenic bacteria and source of cross-infection in hospital.Journal of Institute of Science and TechnologyVol. 21, No. 1, 2016, page: 48-51
Loss of Tree Biomass in Jure Landslide, Sindhupalchowk, Nepal
Authors: Acharya Smrita , Khadka Udhab Raj
Published: November 2016

Landslide causes massive loss of lives and properties along with intangible losses in mountainous regions. Yet such intangible losses in ecosystems are rarely considered. The present study assesses the tree biomass lost due to Jure landslide in Sindhupalchowk that destroyed 71 hectare of land. Altogether, 12 plots (250 m2) were sampled through systematic and purposive sampling technique. The total tree biomass was estimated using allometric equation. The study recorded 21 tree species in which Schimawallichiii (Korth.), Lagerstroemia parviflora (Roxb.), Shorea robusta (Gaertn.), Alnus nepalensis (D. Don), Phyllanthus emblica (Linn.) and Celtius australis (Linn.) were dominant. Schima wallichiii had the highest density (320 individual ha-1) and frequency (92%). The total biomass of tree species was 216 ton ha-1 in which Schima wallichiii constituted the highest total tree biomass (82 ton ha-1). In 71 ha landslide area, the landslide caused loss of 15,336 tons of total tree biomass, which equals to 56,283 tons CO2 equivalents. These findings are relevant for assessing post-landslide impacts on the mountain environment. Furthermore, to reduce carbon emissions resulting from forest loss, mitigation of landslide is crucial.Journal of Institute of Science and TechnologyVol. 21, No. 1, 2016,Page: 65-70
Regeneration and Reuse of Biomaterial for the Removal of Cadmium Ions from Waste Water
Authors: Kour Jagjit
Published: November 2016

The nitrogen functionalized biomaterial is used for the adsorption of Cd (II) from waste water. The application and possibility of regeneration and reuse of functionalized biomaterial were evaluated with adsorption desorption experiments. Cd (II) loaded biomaterial was eluted with sodium hydroxide, nitric acid, and hydrochloric acid. Among them 0.1 M nitric acid gave the most effective result releasing about 90% of metal ions onto the solution in six successive cycles. The result suggests the efficiency and applicability of functionalized biomaterial as a potential biosorbent in the removal of Cd (II) from waste water.Journal of Institute of Science and TechnologyVol. 21, No. 1, 2016, Page: 90-94
Synthesis and Characterization of Cellulose-based Eco-Friendly Hydrogels
Authors: Haque Md. Obaidul , Mondal Md. Ibrahim H.
Published: November 2016

Biodegradable nature of hydrogels is highly appreciable and core expectation at present time. Cellulose and cellulose derivatives can be copolymerized in producing green hydrogels for improving the absorption performance of many adsorbent products. Hydrogels are polymeric substances and due to hydrophilic functional groups in their structure capable of holding large amount of water compared to its body mass. Crosslinking is one of the simplest reactions used to improve the physico-chemical properties of cellulose and cellulose derivatives. In the present paper an innovative cellulose based environment friendly hydrogel was experimentally synthesized as an alternative to acrylate-based synthetic hydrogels for personal care product and other absorption purposes. The cellulose based hydrogels were prepared by free radical graft copolymerization reaction of cotton with acrylic acid (AA) and acrylamide (AM) using N,N-methylne-bis-acrylamide (MBA) as a crosslinker in the presence of initiator potassium persulphate (K2S2O8) system. The maximum water absorption capacity of the prepared hydrogels were 50 g/g in deionized water. Optimized preparation condition was invstigated depending on monomer concentration, initiator concentration, crosslinker concentration,pH, time and temperaturefor equilibrium water absorption which were 120%, 10%, 5%, 7, 2h and 50°C respectively.For structural characterization FTIR spectroscopy, SEM analysis, TGA and XRD technique were performed. The result ensuresthat the characteristic of prepared hydrogel can be effectively used in personal absorbent products, tissue engineering, biomedical application etc. and as adsorbent material in polluted water treatment.
Preparation of Highly Cross-linked Magnetic Polymer Composite Particles and Application in the Separation of Arsenic from Water
Authors: Sharafat M. K. , Ahmad H. , Alam M. A. , Rahman M. M.
Published: November 2016

Iron oxide magnetic particles have become a promising research field in separation technology because of their easy separation by external magnetic field and can be applied for the removal of toxic metals from waste water. Highly cross-linked Fe3O4/P(S-DVB) particles were prepared in this research by suspension polymerization of styrene (S) and divinylbenzene (DVB) in presence of nanosized Fe3O4 particles. At first Fe3O4 nanoparticles were prepared by co-precipitation of Fe2+ and Fe3+ from their alkaline aqueous solution. To stabilize the magnetic particles, the surface of the particles was modified with oleic acid. The morphology and surface structure were characterized by Fourier Transform IR(FTIR), Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), Scanning Electron Microscope(SEM), and light microscope.The adsorption behavior of As(III) on composite polymer particles was evaluated and a comparative study with reference copolymer particles revealed that composite polymer particles possessed better adsorption capacity.
Molecular Evolutionary Analysis of a-Defensin Peptides in Vertebrates
Authors: Rahman Arafat , Islam M Sahidul , Saha Otun , Saha Titon Chandra
Published: November 2016

?-Defensin is a group of polypeptides with antimicrobial activity found in the host defense system and it is widely distributed in, but not limited to mammalian epithelial cells and phagocytes. These molecules protect the organism from a diverse spectrum of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoan parasites. Different studies have revealed widesequence variation within ?-defensin sequences, but the underlying evolutionary cause is not well-studied. In this study, the ?-defensin gene from 25 vertebrate species has been comprehensively collected and computationally analyzed. NCBI gene and nucleotide databases were accessed to extract meta-information about ?-defensin gene's defensin domain and leader propeptide sequences. Full coding sequences downloaded from nucleotide database by splitting out intron sequence. MEGA software used to construct phylogenetic tree using Neighbor-Joining method, which indicates that ?-defensin gene evolution does not matches with species evolution. Selection analysis was carried out using Data Monkey web-server's FEL, SLAC, IFEL, MEME, TOGGLE and REL program on both propeptide and defensin super-family codon-aligned sequences to test different hypothesises. Positively selected sites were found on both propeptide and defensin domain, but the effect of negative selection pressure was higher on leader sequences. It was found that mutations in the positively selected sites of defensin domain had stabilizing effect on protein. Phyre2 web-server was used for homology modeling of selected ?-defensin genes. Structural variation is observed on ?-defensinproteins which may indicate heterogeneous structure-function relationship between species that reflects its interaction with diverse pathogens. This study provides a new perspective on the relationships among ?-defensin gene repertoires which will help to infer its evolution.
An Improvement in Representation of Audio Signal in Time-Frequency Plane using EMD-2TEMD Based Approach
Authors: Hassan Kazi Mahmudul , Hamid Md. Ekramul , Nakai Takayoshi
Published: November 2016

This study proposed an enhanced time-frequency representation of audio signal using EMD-2TEMD based approach. To analyze non-stationary signal like audio, timefrequency representation is an important aspect. In case of representing or analyzing such kind of signal in time-frequency-energy distribution, hilbert spectrum is a recent approach and popular way which has several advantages over other methods like STFT, WT etc. Hilbert-Huang Transform (HHT) is a prominent method consists of Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) and Hilbert Spectral Analysis (HSA). An enhanced method called Turning Tangent empirical mode decomposition (2T-EMD) has recently developed to overcome some limitations of classical EMD like cubic spline problems, sifting stopping condition etc. 2T-EMD based hilbert spectrum of audio signal encountered some issues due to the generation of too many IMFs in the process where EMD produces less. To mitigate those problems, a mutual implementation of 2T-EMD & classical EMD is proposed in this paper which enhances the representation of hilbert spectrum along with significant improvements in source separation result using Independent Subspace Analysis (ISA) based clustering in case of audio signals. This refinement of hilbert spectrum not only contributes to the future work of source separation problem but also many other applications in audio signal processing.
Regression Based Robust QTL Analysis for F2 Population
Authors: Alam Md. Jahangir , Alamin Md. , Sultana Most. Humaira , Amanullah Md. , Mollah Md. Nurul Haque
Published: November 2016

This Quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis is a widely used statistical approach for the detection of important genes in the chromosomes. Maximum likelihood (ML) based interval mapping (IM) is one of the most popular approaches for QTL analysis. However, it is relatively complex and computationally slower than regression based IM. Haley-Knott (HK) and extended Haley-Knott (eHK) regression based IM save computation time and produce similar results as ML-IM. However, these approaches are not robust against phenotypic outliers. In this research, we have developed a robust regression based IM approach by maximizing beta-likelihood function for intercross (F2) population. The proposed method reduces to the HK-IM method when beta ? 0. The tuning parameter beta controls the performance of the proposed method. The simulation results show that the proposed method improves performance over the existing IM approaches in the case of data contaminations; otherwise, it shows almost the same results as the classical IM approaches.
A Modified Cloud Particles Differential Evolution Algorithm for Real-Parameter Optimization
Authors: Li Wei
Published: November 2016

The issue of exploration-exploitation remains one of the most challenging tasks within the framework of evolutionary algorithms. To effectively balance the exploration and exploitation in the search space, this paper proposes a modified cloud particles differential evolution algorithm (MCPDE) for real-parameter optimization. In contrast to the original Cloud Particles Differential Evolution (CPDE) algorithm, firstly, control parameters adaptation strategies are designed according to the quality of the control parameters. Secondly, the inertia factor is introduced to effectively keep a better balance between exploration and exploitation. Accordingly, this is helpful for maintaining the diversity of the population and discouraging premature convergence. In addition, the opposition mechanism and the orthogonal crossover are used to increase the search ability during the evolutionary process. Finally, CEC2013 contest benchmark functions are selected to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. The experimental results show that the proposed MCPDE is an effective method for global optimization problems.
The Welfare of Performing Animals. A Historical Perspective. By David A. H. Wilson. Springer: Berlin, Germany, 2015; 278 pp; $189.00; ISBN 978-3-662-50931-9
Authors: Kiley-Worthington Marthe
Published: November 2016

Phillips is the editor of this series on scholarly works on animal welfare which are “designed to contribute towards a culture of respect for animals and their welfare by producing learned treatises . . . ”.[...]
Longitudinal Jitter Analysis of a Linear Accelerator Electron Gun
Authors: Liu MingShan , Iqbal Munawar
Published: November 2016

We present measurements and analysis of the longitudinal timing jitter of a Beijing Electron Positron Collider (BEPCII) linear accelerator electron gun. We simulated the longitudinal jitter effect of the gun using PARMELA to evaluate beam performance, including: beam profile, average energy, energy spread, and XY emittances. The maximum percentage difference of the beam parameters is calculated to be 100%, 13.27%, 42.24% and 65.01%, 86.81%, respectively. Due to this, the bunching efficiency is reduced to 54%. However, the longitudinal phase difference of the reference particle was 9.89°. The simulation results are in agreement with tests and are helpful to optimize the beam parameters by tuning the trigger timing of the gun during the bunching process.
Harmonic Differential Quadrature Analysis of Soft-Core Sandwich Panels under Locally Distributed Loads
Authors: Wang Xinwei , Yuan Zhangxian
Published: November 2016

Sandwich structures are widely used in practice and thus various engineering theories adopting simplifying assumptions are available. However, most engineering theories of beams, plates and shells cannot recover all stresses accurately through their constitutive equations. Therefore, the soft-core is directly modeled by two-dimensional (2D) elasticity theory without any pre-assumption on the displacement field. The top and bottom faces act like the elastic supports on the top and bottom edges of the core. The differential equations of the 2D core are then solved by the harmonic differential quadrature method (HDQM). To circumvent the difficulties in dealing with the locally distributed load by point discrete methods such as the HDQM, a general and rigorous way is proposed to treat the locally distributed load. Detailed formulations are provided. The static behavior of sandwich panels under different locally distributed loads is investigated. For verification, results are compared with data obtained by ABAQUS with very fine meshes. A high degree of accuracy on both displacement and stress has been observed.
Characteristics of PM10 Chemical Source Profiles for Geological Dust from the South-West Region of China
Authors: Liu Yayong , Zhang Wenjie , Bai Zhipeng , Yang Wen , Zhao Xueyan , Han Bin , Wang Xinhua
Published: November 2016

Ninety-six particulate matter (PM10) chemical source profiles for geological sources in typical cities of southwest China were acquired from Source Profile Shared Service in China. Twenty-six elements (Na, Mg, Al, Si, K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, As, Se, Sr, Cd, Sn, Sb, Ba, Be, Tl and Pb), nine ions (F−, Cl−, SO42−, NO3−, Na+, NH4+, K+, Mg2+ and Ca2+), and carbon-containing species (organic carbon and elemental carbon) were determined to construct these profiles. Individual source profiles were averaged and compared to quantify similarities and differences in chemical abundances using the profile-compositing method. Overall, the major components of PM10 in geological sources were crustal minerals and undefined fraction. Different chemical species could be used as tracers for various types of geological dust in the region that resulted from different anthropogenic influence. For example, elemental carbon, V and Zn could be used as tracers for urban paved road dust; Al, Si, K+ and NH4+ for agricultural soil; Al and Si for natural soil; and SO42− for urban resuspended dust. The enrichment factor analysis showed that Cu, Se, Sr and Ba were highly enriched by human activities in geological dust samples from south-west China. Elemental ratios were taken to highlight the features of geological dust from south-west China by comparing with northern urban fugitive dust, loess and desert samples. Low Si/Al and Fe/Al ratios can be used as markers to trace geological sources from southwestern China. High Pb/Al and Zn/Al ratios observed in urban areas demonstrated that urban geological dust was influenced seriously by non-crustal sources.
A Methodology to Reduce the Computational Effort in the Evaluation of the Lightning Performance of Distribution Networks
Authors: Bendato Ilaria , Brignone Massimo , Delfino Federico , Procopio Renato , Rachidi Farhad
Published: November 2016

The estimation of the lightning performance of a power distribution network is of great importance to design its protection system against lightning. An accurate evaluation of the number of lightning events that can create dangerous overvoltages requires a huge computational effort, as it implies the adoption of a Monte Carlo procedure. Such a procedure consists of generating many different random lightning events and calculating the corresponding overvoltages. The paper proposes a methodology to deal with the problem in two computationally efficient ways: (i) finding out the minimum number of Monte Carlo runs that lead to reliable results; and (ii) setting up a procedure that bypasses the lightning field-to-line coupling problem for each Monte Carlo run. The proposed approach is shown to provide results consistent with existing approaches while exhibiting superior Central Processing Unit (CPU) time performances.
Fe-Substitution for Ni in Misch Metal-Based Superlattice Hydrogen Absorbing Alloys—Part 1. Structural, Hydrogen Storage, and Electrochemical Properties
Authors: Young Kwo-Hsiung , Ouchi Taihei , Nei Jean , Yasuoka Shigekazu
Published: November 2016

The effects of Fe partially replacing Ni in a misch metal-based superlattice hydrogen absorbing alloy (HAA) were studied. Addition of Fe increases the lattice constants and abundance of the main Ce2Ni7 phase, decreases the NdNi3 phase abundance, and increases the CaCu5 phase when the Fe content is above 2.3 at%. For the gaseous phase hydrogen storage (H-storage), Fe incorporation does not change the storage capacity or equilibrium pressure, but it does decrease the change in both entropy and enthalpy. With regard to electrochemistry, >2.3 at% Fe decreases both the full and high-rate discharge capacities due to the deterioration in both bulk transport (caused by decreased secondary phase abundance and consequent lower synergetic effect) and surface electrochemical reaction (caused by the lower volume of the surface metallic Ni inclusions). In a low-temperature environment (−40 °C), although Fe increases the reactive surface area, it also severely hinders the ability of the surface catalytic, leading to a net increase in surface charge-transfer resistance. Even though Fe increases the abundance of the beneficial Ce2Ni7 phase with a trade-off for the relatively unfavorable NdNi3 phase, it also deteriorates the electrochemical performance due to a less active surface. Therefore, further surface treatment methods that are able to increase the surface catalytic ability in Fe-containing superlattice alloys and potentially reveal the positive contributions that Fe provides structurally are worth investigating in the future.
Focused Screening of ECM-Selective Adhesion Peptides on Cellulose-Bound Peptide Microarrays
Authors: Kanie Kei , Kondo Yuto , Owaki Junki , Ikeda Yurika , Narita Yuji , Kato Ryuji , Honda Hiroyuki
Published: November 2016

The coating of surfaces with bio-functional proteins is a promising strategy for the creation of highly biocompatible medical implants. Bio-functional proteins from the extracellular matrix (ECM) provide effective surface functions for controlling cellular behavior. We have previously screened bio-functional tripeptides for feasibility of mass production with the aim of identifying those that are medically useful, such as cell-selective peptides. In this work, we focused on the screening of tripeptides that selectively accumulate collagen type IV (Col IV), an ECM protein that accelerates the re-endothelialization of medical implants. A SPOT peptide microarray was selected for screening owing to its unique cellulose membrane platform, which can mimic fibrous scaffolds used in regenerative medicine. However, since the library size on the SPOT microarray was limited, physicochemical clustering was used to provide broader variation than that of random peptide selection. Using the custom focused microarray of 500 selected peptides, we assayed the relative binding rates of tripeptides to Col IV, collagen type I (Col I), and albumin. We discovered a cluster of Col IV-selective adhesion peptides that exhibit bio-safety with endothelial cells. The results from this study can be used to improve the screening of regeneration-enhancing peptides.
Fluorometric In Situ Monitoring of an Escherichia coli Cell Factory with Cytosolic Expression of Human Glycosyltransferase GalNAcT2: Prospects and Limitations
Authors: Schwab Karen , Lauber Jennifer , Hesse Friedemann
Published: November 2016

The glycosyltransferase HisDapGalNAcT2 is the key protein of the Escherichia coli (E. coli) SHuffle® T7 cell factory which was genetically engineered to allow glycosylation of a protein substrate in vivo. The specific activity of the glycosyltransferase requires time-intensive analytics, but is a critical process parameter. Therefore, it has to be monitored closely. This study evaluates fluorometric in situ monitoring as option to access this critical process parameter during complex E. coli fermentations. Partial least square regression (PLS) models were built based on the fluorometric data recorded during the EnPresso® B fermentations. Capable models for the prediction of glucose and acetate concentrations were built for these fermentations with rout mean squared errors for prediction (RMSEP) of 0.19 g·L−1 and 0.08 g·L−1, as well as for the prediction of the optical density (RMSEP 0.24). In situ monitoring of soluble enzyme to cell dry weight ratios (RMSEP 5.5 × 10−4 µg w/w) and specific activity of the glycosyltransferase (RMSEP 33.5 pmol·min−1·µg−1) proved to be challenging, since HisDapGalNAcT2 had to be extracted from the cells and purified. However, fluorescence spectroscopy, in combination with PLS modeling, proved to be feasible for in situ monitoring of complex expression systems.
An Investigation into Spent Coffee Waste as a Renewable Source of Bioactive Compounds and Industrially Important Sugars
Authors: Scully Damhan , Jaiswal Amit , Abu-Ghannam Nissreen
Published: November 2016

Conventional coffee brewing techniques generate vast quantities of spent espresso grounds (SEGs) rich in lignocellulose and valuable bioactives. These bioactive compounds can be exploited as a nutraceutical or used in a range of food products, while breakdown of lignocellulose generates metabolizable sugars that can be used for the production of various high-value products such as biofuels, amino acids and enzymes. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize the enzymatic saccharification of lignocellulose in SEGs following a hydrothermal pretreatment. A maximum reducing sugar yield was obtained at the following optimized hydrolysis conditions: 4.97 g of pretreated SEGs, 120 h reaction time, and 1246 and 250 µL of cellulase and hemicellulase, respectively. Industrially important sugars (glucose, galactose and mannose) were identified as the principal hydrolysis products under the studied conditions. Total flavonoids (p = 0.0002), total polyphenols (p = 0.03) and DPPH free-radical scavenging activity (p = 0.004) increased significantly after processing. A 14-fold increase in caffeine levels was also observed. This study provides insight into SEGs as a promising source of industrially important sugars and polyphenols.
The Parent Psychological Flexibility Questionnaire (PPFQ): Item Reduction and Validation in a Clinical Sample of Swedish Parents of Children with Chronic Pain
Authors: Wiwe Lipsker Camilla , Kanstrup Marie , Holmström Linda , Kemani Mike , Wicksell Rikard
Published: November 2016

In pediatric chronic pain, research indicates a positive relation between parental psychological flexibility (i.e., the parent’s willingness to experience distress related to the child’s pain in the service of valued behavior) and level of functioning in the child. This points to the utility of targeting parental psychological flexibility in pediatric chronic pain. The Parent Psychological Flexibility Questionnaire (PPFQ) is currently the only instrument developed for this purpose, and two previous studies have indicated its reliability and validity. The current study sought to validate the Swedish version of the 17-item PPFQ (PPFQ-17) in a sample of parents (n = 263) of children with chronic pain. Factor structure and internal reliability were evaluated by means of principal component analysis (PCA) and Cronbach’s alpha. Concurrent criterion validity was examined by hierarchical multiple regression analyses with parental anxiety and depression as outcomes. The PCA supported a three-factor solution with 10 items explaining 69.5% of the total variance. Cronbach’s alpha (0.86) indicated good internal consistency. The 10-item PPFQ (PPFQ-10) further explained a significant amount of variance in anxiety (29%), and depression (35.6%), confirming concurrent validity. In conclusion, results support the reliability and validity of the PPFQ-10, and suggest its usefulness in assessing psychological flexibility in parents of children with chronic pain.
Perinatal Risk Factors and Genu Valgum Conducive to the Onset of Growing Pains in Early Childhood
Authors: Kaspiris Angelos , Chronopoulos Efstathios , Vasiliadis Elias
Published: November 2016

The most prevalent musculoskeletal disorder of childhood with unclear aetiology is growing pains (GPs). Anatomic deformities and factors that change bone turnover are implicated in GP pathophysiology. Perinatal risk factors alter the bone metabolism affecting the bone mineral density and content. The aim of our study was to analyze the relationship between GPs, knock knees and perinatal factors. The examined population consisted of 276 children aged 3–7 years. Among them, ten pairs of dizygotic twins were evaluated. The data were collected by using a combination of semi-structured questionnaires, clinical examinations and medical charts of the children and the obstetric history of the mothers. A total of 78 children presenting GPs met Peterson’s criteria. Genu valgum severity was a significant factor for GP manifestation and for their increased frequency and intensity. Subsequently, perinatal factors regarding gestational age, Apgar score, head circumference (lower than 33 cm) and birth length or weight (smaller than 50 cm and 3000 g, respectively) made a remarkable contribution to the development of GPs. Conversely, antenatal corticosteroid treatment, increased maternal age and maternal smoking during pregnancy were not predictive of the disorder. Our data are potentially supportive for the “bone strength” theory and for the contribution of anatomical disturbances in GP appearance.
Effective Active Ingredients Obtained through Biotechnology
Authors: Zappelli Claudia , Barbulova Ani , Apone Fabio , Colucci Gabriella
Published: November 2016

The history of cosmetics develops in parallel to the history of man, associated with fishing, hunting, and superstition in the beginning, and later with medicine and pharmacy. Over the ages, together with human progress, cosmetics have changed continuously and nowadays the cosmetic market is global and highly competitive, where terms such as quality, efficacy and safety are essential. Consumers’ demands are extremely sophisticated, and thus scientific research and product development have become vital to meet them. Moreover, consumers are aware about environmental and sustainability issues, and thus not harming the environment represents a key consideration when developing a new cosmetic ingredient. The latest tendencies of cosmetics are based on advanced research into how to interfere with skin cell aging: research includes the use of biotechnology-derived ingredients and the analysis of their effects on the biology of the cells, in terms of gene regulation, protein expression and enzymatic activity measures. In this review, we will provide some examples of cosmetic active ingredients developed through biotechnological systems, whose activity on the skin has been scientifically proved through in vitro and clinical studies.
Existence of Solutions to a Nonlinear Parabolic Equation of Fourth-Order in Variable Exponent Spaces
Authors: Liang Bo , Peng Xiting , Qu Chengyuan
Published: November 2016

This paper is devoted to studying the existence and uniqueness of weak solutions for an initial boundary problem of a nonlinear fourth-order parabolic equation with variable exponent v t + div ( | ∇ ▵ v | p ( x ) − 2 ∇ ▵ v ) − | ▵ v | q ( x ) − 2 ▵ v = g ( x , v ) . By applying Leray-Schauder’s fixed point theorem, the existence of weak solutions of the elliptic problem is given. Furthermore, the semi-discrete method yields the existence of weak solutions of the corresponding parabolic problem by constructing two approximate solutions.
Application of Sample Entropy Based LMD-TFPF De-Noising Algorithm for the Gear Transmission System
Authors: Ning Shaohui , Han Zhennan , Wang Zhijian , Wu Xuefeng
Published: November 2016

This paper investigates an improved noise reduction method and its application on gearbox vibration signal de-noising. A hybrid de-noising algorithm based on local mean decomposition (LMD), sample entropy (SE), and time-frequency peak filtering (TFPF) is proposed. TFPF is a classical filter method in the time-frequency domain. However, there is a contradiction in TFPF, i.e., a good preservation for signal amplitude, but poor random noise reduction results might be obtained by selecting a short window length, whereas a serious attenuation for signal amplitude, but effective random noise reduction might be obtained by selecting a long window length. In order to make a good tradeoff between valid signal amplitude preservation and random noise reduction, LMD and SE are adopted to improve TFPF. Firstly, the original signal is decomposed into PFs by LMD, and the SE value of each product function (PF) is calculated in order to classify the numerous PFs into the useful component, mixed component, and the noise component; then short-window TFPF is employed for the useful component, long-window TFPF is employed for the mixed component, and the noise component is removed; finally, the final signal is obtained after reconstruction. The gearbox vibration signals are employed to verify the proposed algorithm, and the comparison results show that the proposed SE-LMD-TFPF has the best de-noising results compared to traditional wavelet and TFPF method.
Long Term Expected Revenue of Wind Farms Considering the Bidding Admission Uncertainty
Authors: Haji Bashi Mazaher , Yousefi Gholamreza , Bak Claus , Radhakrishna Pillai Jayakrishnan
Published: November 2016

As a long term bidding behavior, bid shading is exhibited by wind farms participating in real Uniform Price (UP) markets. This signifies that the wind farm owners bid far below their true long run marginal cost. In this paper, a method is proposed to consider the uncertainty of bidding admission in the long term expected revenue of wind farms. We show that this consideration could perfectly explain the observed bid shading behavior of wind farm owners. We use a novel market price model with a stochastic model of a wind farm to derive indices describing the uncertainty of bidding admission. The optimal behavior of the wind farm is then obtained by establishing a multi objective optimization problem and subsequently solved using genetic algorithm. The method is applied to the analysis of long term bidding behavior of a wind farm participating in a Pay-as-Bid (PAB) auction such as Iran Electricity Market (IEM). The results demonstrate that wind farm owners change their bid shading behavior in a PAB Auction. However, the expected revenue of the wind farm will also decrease in a PAB auction. As a result, it is not recommended to make an obligation for the wind farms to participate in a PAB auction as a normal market player.
Perceived Acceptability of Implementing Marker-Assisted Selection in the Forests of British Columbia
Authors: Nilausen Chelsea , Gélinas Nancy , Bull Gary
Published: November 2016

The forest sector in British Columbia (BC) has faced a number of challenges over the past decade. In response to some of those challenges, the government has invested in forest genomic tools. Marker-assisted selection (MAS) is a biotechnological tool that flags desired traits on the genome. This tool may assist tree breeders with the early selection of preferred genotypes, reducing the breeding cycle and more accurately and efficiently selecting for improved qualities. However, there is a poor understanding of the perceived acceptability of implementing MAS. Semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire were employed across participants categorized into four groups. It was found that government and industry participants held positive perceptions towards MAS, supporting its use and continued research in BC, and identifying its benefits in forest regeneration and to tree breeders. Environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) and First Nations attitudes lay between neutral and negative. Concerns were most strongly focused on environmental impacts, ecosystem degradation, and reduced genetic diversity, while identified benefits were specific to tree breeders and improved tree resiliency. It was concluded that before MAS can be successfully implemented, an appropriate setting must first be established through improved knowledge of biotechnology and its applications, well-defined policies, and strengthened engagement and consultation with First Nations.
A Genome-Wide Identification and Analysis of the Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors in Brown Planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens
Authors: Wan Pin-Jun , Yuan San-Yue , Wang Wei-Xia , Chen Xu , Lai Feng-Xiang , Fu Qiang
Published: November 2016

The basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors in insects play essential roles in multiple developmental processes including neurogenesis, sterol metabolism, circadian rhythms, organogenesis and formation of olfactory sensory neurons. The identification and function analysis of bHLH family members of the most destructive insect pest of rice, Nilaparvata lugens, may provide novel tools for pest management. Here, a genome-wide survey for bHLH sequences identified 60 bHLH sequences (NlbHLHs) encoded in the draft genome of N. lugens. Phylogenetic analysis of the bHLH domains successfully classified these genes into 40 bHLH families in group A (25), B (14), C (10), D (1), E (8) and F (2). The number of NlbHLHs with introns is higher than many other insect species, and the average intron length is shorter than those of Acyrthosiphon pisum. High number of ortholog families of NlbHLHs was found suggesting functional conversation for these proteins. Compared to other insect species studied, N. lugens has the highest number of bHLH members. Furthermore, gene duplication events of SREBP, Kn(col), Tap, Delilah, Sim, Ato and Crp were found in N. lugens. In addition, a putative full set of NlbHLH genes is defined and compared with another insect species. Thus, our classification of these NlbHLH members provides a platform for further investigations of bHLH protein functions in the regulation of N. lugens, and of insects in general.