bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Etica y desarrollo moral
Authors: Villegas Manuel
Published: July 2019

En este artículo se plantea la relación entre ética y desarrollo moral. La ética, como disciplina filosófica, no puede ignorar la dimensión psicológica de la conciencia sobre la que se sustenta. Pero esta conciencia, desde el punto de vista psicológico, no puede garantizar el conocimiento del bien y del mal, puesto que no es innata, sino adquirida. De esta relación entre filosofía y psicología nacen varias preguntas: ¿Cómo se forma la conciencia moral? ¿Cómo la conciencia moral llega a distinguir entre el bien y el mal? ¿Ejerce la conciencia moral un efecto coercitivo sobre la conducta? Estas y otras cuestiones son examinadas en el artículo desde una perspectiva metafísica, epistemológica y psicológica.
Procesos Sensoriales y Emocionales implicados en la Actitud Solidaria
Authors: Rosal Cortés Ramón
Published: July 2019

El presente trabajo se centra en el estudio de la relevancia de las primeras fases del ciclo del fluir vital de la Psicoterapia Integradora Humanista (Gimeno-Bayón y Rosal, 2016, 2017), y en concreto de la sensibilidad y la emoción, para la vivencia sana de la actitud de solidaridad para la justicia.  En él tiene muy en cuenta –a modo de prólogo- la dimensión psicológica y ética del Movimiento de los Indignados, así como las reflexiones sobre el mismo del sociólogo Castells (2005, 2006, 2013).  Tras subrayar la contribución de lo sensorial y afectivo para generar la experiencia que llevará a la persona a adopción de una ética solidaria, se describen, los principales trastornos de aquellas fases que la obstaculizan.  La descripción contemplará los problemas que llevan a bloquearla, distorsionarla o dispersarla, haciéndola ineficaz.  También se ocupa de las consecuencias a que darán lugar estas primeras fases cuando repercutan en la fase valorativa.  Termina con la enumeración de los requisitos para transformar las experiencias sensibles y emocionales en una praxis efectiva, y la esperanza de que se pueda contribuir a ella desde la práctica psicoterapéutica.
Recensión de libro: Psicología de los siete pecados capitales
Authors: Anguera Domenjó Blanca
Published: July 2019

Recensión de libro: La Psicología de los siete pecados capitales.

 

Editor: Villegas, Manuel

Barcelona, España: Herder.

Año de publicación: 2018.

ISBN: 978-8425441349
Supplementation with Fish Oil Improves Meat Fatty Acid Profile although Impairs Growth Performance of Early Weaned Rabbits
Authors: Rodríguez María , Carro María Dolores , Valiente Víctor , Formoso-Rafferty Nora , Rebollar Pilar G.
Published: July 2019

Our objective was to analyze the influence of replacing lard (control) with fish oil (FO) rich in long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in the diet of rabbits weaned at 25 days of age on their growth performance, meat quality, cecal fermentation, and ileal morphology. Twenty-four litters (12 control and 12 FO) of nine kits each were fed the experimental diets from weaning (25 days) until slaughter at 60 days of age. Half of the litters (six per diet) were used to monitor productive performance, carcass characteristics, and ileal morphology, and cecal fermentation was assessed in the rest of litters. Diet had no influence on feed intake, meat color, and pH or cecal fermentation, but FO-fed rabbits had lower (p ≤ 0.049) average daily gain, chilled carcass weight, and perirenal fat than control rabbits. Fish oil inclusion in the diet resulted in lower morbidity (5.56% vs. 20.4%; p = 0.019) and a healthier fatty acid profile with lower (p < 0.001) n-6/n-3 ratios in both muscle and perirenal fat. In summary, the inclusion of FO in the diet of early weaned rabbits improved the fatty acid profile of rabbit meat and fat and decreased the morbidity, but growth performance was slightly reduced.
Data Driven Approach for Eye Disease Classification with Machine Learning
Authors: Malik Sadaf , Kanwal Nadia , Asghar Mamoona Naveed , Sadiq Mohammad Ali A. , Karamat Irfan , Fleury Martin
Published: July 2019

Medical health systems have been concentrating on artificial intelligence techniques for speedy diagnosis. However, the recording of health data in a standard form still requires attention so that machine learning can be more accurate and reliable by considering multiple features. The aim of this study is to develop a general framework for recording diagnostic data in an international standard format to facilitate prediction of disease diagnosis based on symptoms using machine learning algorithms. Efforts were made to ensure error-free data entry by developing a user-friendly interface. Furthermore, multiple machine learning algorithms including Decision Tree, Random Forest, Naive Bayes and Neural Network algorithms were used to analyze patient data based on multiple features, including age, illness history and clinical observations. This data was formatted according to structured hierarchies designed by medical experts, whereas diagnosis was made as per the ICD-10 coding developed by the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Furthermore, the system is designed to evolve through self-learning by adding new classifications for both diagnosis and symptoms. The classification results from tree-based methods demonstrated that the proposed framework performs satisfactorily, given a sufficient amount of data. Owing to a structured data arrangement, the random forest and decision tree algorithms’ prediction rate is more than 90% as compared to more complex methods such as neural networks and the naïve Bayes algorithm.
Estimation of Direct Normal Irradiance at Antarctica for Concentrated Solar Technology
Authors: Balog Irena , Spinelli Francesco , Grigioni Paolo , Caputo Giampaolo , Napoli Giuseppe , De Silvestri Lorenzo
Published: July 2019

The estimation of the average daily, monthly and annual direct normal solar irradiation (DNI) was done in the region hosting the Mario Zucchelli Station, in the bay of Terra Nova (Antarctica). Estimates are based on measurements of direct normal (DNI), horizontal global (GHI) and horizontal diffuse (Diff.HI) irradiations, observed by a solar-metric acquisition station installed during the XXVIII scientific expedition carried out in the austral summer 2012/2013 as part of the National Plan of Research in Antarctica (PNRA). The contemporary observations of all three irradiations allowed the setting up of the model for the estimation of the DNI starting from the values of the GHI only, validated for the weather conditions of the Antarctic region. Subsequently, the long-time data reconstruction of the DNI values thanks to the availability of several years' hourly measurements of GHI at the Mario Zucchelli base has been carried out using the meteorological acquisition data installed both at the base and in places scattered around it. The final results make feasible the estimation of solar potential for concentrated solar technology according to long measurements of GHI. Overall, we propose a clean technology based on a renewable power plant and a specific example with a tendency toward a decreased human carbon footprint in the atmosphere of this protected area.
Expression of TMBIM6 in Cancers: The Involvement of Sp1 and PKC
Authors: Junjappa Raghu Patil , Kim Hyun-Kyoung , Park Seong Yeol , Bhattarai Kashi Raj , Kim Kyung-Woon , Soh Jae-Won , Kim Hyung-Ryong , Chae Han-Jung
Published: July 2019

Transmembrane Bax Inhibitor Motif-containing 6 (TMBIM6) is upregulated in several cancer types and involved in the metastasis. Specific downregulation of TMBIM6 results in cancer cell death. However, the TMBIM6 gene transcriptional regulation in normal and cancer cells is least studied. Here, we identified the core promoter region (−133/+30 bp) sufficient for promoter activity of TMBIM6 gene. Reporter gene expression with mutations at transcription factor binding sites, EMSA, supershift, and ChIP assays demonstrated that Sp1 is an essential transcription factor for basal promoter activity of TMBIM6. The TMBIM6 mRNA expression was increased with Sp1 levels in a concentration dependent manner. Ablation of Sp1 through siRNA or inhibition with mithramycin-A reduced the TMBIM6 mRNA expression. We also found that the protein kinase-C activation stimulates promoter activity and endogenous TMBIM6 mRNA by 2- to 2.5-fold. Additionally, overexpression of active mutants of PKCι, PKCε, and PKCδ increased TMBIM6 expression by enhancing nuclear translocation of Sp1. Immunohistochemistry analyses confirmed that the expression levels of PKCι, Sp1, and TMBIM6 were correlated with one another in samples from human breast, prostate, and liver cancer patients. Altogether, this study suggests the involvement of Sp1 in basal transcription and PKC in the enhanced expression of TMBIM6 in cancer.
Convolutional Neural Network and Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory-Based Method for Predicting Drug–Disease Associations
Authors: Xuan Ping , Ye Yilin , Zhang Tiangang , Zhao Lianfeng , Sun Chang
Published: July 2019

Identifying novel indications for approved drugs can accelerate drug development and reduce research costs. Most previous studies used shallow models for prioritizing the potential drug-related diseases and failed to deeply integrate the paths between drugs and diseases which may contain additional association information. A deep-learning-based method for predicting drug–disease associations by integrating useful information is needed. We proposed a novel method based on a convolutional neural network (CNN) and bidirectional long short-term memory (BiLSTM)—CBPred—for predicting drug-related diseases. Our method deeply integrates similarities and associations between drugs and diseases, and paths among drug-disease pairs. The CNN-based framework focuses on learning the original representation of a drug-disease pair from their similarities and associations. As the drug-disease association possibility also depends on the multiple paths between them, the BiLSTM-based framework mainly learns the path representation of the drug-disease pair. In addition, considering that different paths have discriminate contributions to the association prediction, an attention mechanism at path level is constructed. Our method, CBPred, showed better performance and retrieved more real associations in the front of the results, which is more important for biologists. Case studies further confirmed that CBPred can discover potential drug-disease associations.
Mitigating Climate Change in the Cultural Built Heritage Sector
Authors: Sesana Elena , Bertolin Chiara , Gagnon Alexandre , Hughes John
Published: July 2019

Climate change mitigation targets have put pressure to reduce the carbon footprint of cultural heritage buildings. Commonly adopted measures to decrease the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of historical buildings are targeted at improving their energy efficiency through insulating the building envelope, and upgrading their heating, cooling and lighting systems. However, there are complex issues that arise when mitigating climate change in the cultural built heritage sector. For instance, preserving the authenticity of heritage buildings, maintaining their traditional passive behaviours, and choosing adaptive solutions compatible with the characteristics of heritage materials to avoid an acceleration of decay processes. It is thus important to understand what the enablers, or the barriers, are to reduce the carbon footprint of cultural heritage buildings to meet climate change mitigation targets. This paper investigates how climate change mitigation is considered in the management and preservation of the built heritage through semi-structured interviews with cultural heritage experts from the UK, Italy and Norway. Best-practice approaches for the refurbishment of historical buildings with the aim of decreasing their energy consumption are presented, as perceived by the interviewees, as well as the identification of the enablers and barriers in mitigating climate change in the cultural built heritage sector. The findings emphasise that adapting the cultural built heritage to reduce GHG emissions is challenging, but possible if strong and concerted action involving research and government can be undertaken to overcome the barriers identified in this paper.
Topical Sunscreen Application Preventing Skin Cancer: Systematic Review
Authors: Perugini Paola , Bonetti Margherita , Cozzi Arianna Cecilia , Colombo Giorgio Lorenzo
Published: July 2019

Background: Avoiding extended exposure to direct sunlight and the topical application of sunscreen when exposed are the main techniques used to protect the skin form sunburn, photoaging, and skin cancer risk (melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer). Preventive strategies could lead to a significant reduction of the excessive health system cost for the treatment of these conditions. Sunscreen employment and efficacy stay controversial despite decades of humane use with health benefits closely related. At the present, few studies still found a connection between the use of sunscreen and not significant long-term benefits from UV induced damages. Objectives: To assess the effects of sunscreens for preventing melanoma, non-melanoma skin cancer (basal or squamous carcinoma and melanoma) and precancerous skin lesions. Method: Published literature (1993–2017) was reviewed and eligible studies that reported the impact of sunscreen use in the prevention of melanoma, non-melanoma skin cancer, or precancerous skin lesion were selected. Result: Starting from 532 sources, a total of seven articles met the inclusion criteria and they have been subjected to a systematic review. All of the included studies suggest that sunscreen use is associated with a reduction in melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and precancerous skin lesions; however, the difficulties in evaluating the efficiency of sunscreen were pointed out. Conclusion: The review of the experimental evidence supports the topical application of sunscreen as an effective effort in preventing skin cancer and precancerous skin lesions.
Hair Structures Affecting Hair Appearance
Authors: Nagase Shinobu
Published: July 2019

Optical factors affecting hair appearance are reviewed based on hair structures from macroscopic to microscopic viewpoints. Hair appearance is the result of optical events, such as reflection, refraction, scattering, and absorption. The effects of hair structures on such optical events are summarized and structural conditions for hair appearance are considered. Hair structures are classified into the following: the alignment of multiple hair fibers, the cross-sectional shape of the hair fiber, and the microstructures of hair fiber (cuticle, cortex, and medulla). The alignment of multiple hair fibers is easily affected by the existence of meandering fibers and their alignment along hair length becomes less-synchronized. The less-synchronized orientation of multiple fibers causes the broadening of the apparent reflection and luster-less dull impression. The cross-sectional shape of hair fiber affects light reflection behavior. Hair fibers with elliptical cross-section show glittering colored light based on total reflection in the hair. The scaly structures of cuticles at the surface of hair are often uplifted and cause light scattering, and then affect hair luster. The porous structure of the cortex and medulla in hair fiber can cause light scattering and affect hair luster and color. The above phenomena suggest that important factors for hair appearance are the alignment of multiple hair fibers, appropriate cross-sectional shape, ordered scaly structure, and pore-less internal structure.
Wild Bee Toxicity Data for Pesticide Risk Assessments
Authors: Lewis Kathleen A , Tzilivakis John
Published: July 2019

Pollination services are vital for agriculture, food security and biodiversity. Although many insect species provide pollination services, honeybees are thought to be the major provider of this service to agriculture. However, the importance of wild bees in this respect should not be overlooked. Whilst regulatory risk assessment processes have, for a long time, included that for pollinators, using honeybees (Apis mellifera) as a protective surrogate, there are concerns that this approach may not be sufficiently adequate particularly because of global declines in pollinating insects. Consequently, risk assessments are now being expanded to include wild bee species such as bumblebees (Bombus spp.) and solitary bees (Osmia spp.). However, toxicity data for these species is scarce and are absent from the main pesticide reference resources. The aim of the study described here was to collate data relating to the acute toxicity of pesticides to wild bee species (both topical and dietary exposure) from published regulatory documents and peer reviewed literature, and to incorporate this into one of the main online resources for pesticide risk assessment data: The Pesticide Properties Database, thus ensuring that the data is maintained and continuously kept up to date. The outcome of this study is a dataset collated from 316 regulatory and peer reviewed articles that contains 178 records covering 120 different pesticides and their variants which includes 142 records for bumblebees and a further 115 records for other wild bee species.
Multiple Modulation Strategy of Flying Capacitor DC/DC Converter
Authors: Li Pengcheng , Zhang Chunjiang , Padmanaban Sanjeevikumar , Zbigniew Leonowicz
Published: July 2019

Flying-capacitor multiplexed modulation technology is suitable for bipolar DC microgrids with higher voltage levels and higher current levels. The module combination and corresponding modulation method can be flexibly selected according to the voltage level and capacity level. This paper proposes a bipolar bidirectional DC/DC converter and its interleaved-complementary modulation strategy that is suitable for bipolar DC microgrids. The converter consists of two flying-capacitor three-level bidirectional DC/DC converters that are interleaved in parallel 90°, and then cascaded with another module to form a symmetrical structure of the upper and lower arms; the complementary modulation of the upper and lower half bridges constitutes an interleaved complementary multilevel bidirectional DC/DC converter. If the bidirectional converter needs to provide a stronger overcurrent capability, more bridge arms can be interleaved in parallel. Once n bridge arms are connected in parallel, the bridge arms should be interleaved 180°/n in parallel. In bipolar DC microgrids, the upper and lower arms should be complementarily modulated, and the input and output are isolated by the inductance. To solve the current difference, caused by the inconsistent parasitic, the voltage-current double closed-loop-control is used, and the dynamic response is faster during bidirectional operation. This paper proposes theoretical analysis and experiments that verify bipolar bidirectional DC/DC converter for high-power energy storage.
CFD Simulations of the Propagation of Free-Surface Waves Past Two Side-By-Side Fixed Squares with a Narrow Gap
Authors: Zhang Haoyu , Liu Shengnan , Ong Muk Chen , Zhu Renqing
Published: July 2019

Two-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations are carried out to investigate the gap resonance phenomenon that occurs when free-surface waves travel past twin squares in tandem. The volume of fluid method is used to capture the free surface. Validation studies of the present numerical model are conducted for different incident wave frequencies. The numerical results agree well with the published experimental data in terms of the free surface elevations in the gap. The hydrodynamic characteristics of the water column in the gap are investigated at different incident wave frequencies and gap widths. It is found that the free surface elevation in the gap increases and then decreases with the increasing incident wave frequency. The horizontal force on the weather side square structure (the structure in front of the gap) reaches the peak value at a larger frequency than the gap resonance frequency, whereas the variation of the horizontal force on the lee side structure (the structure behind the gap) is in-phase with the free surface elevation in the gap. Moreover, the added mass of the water column in the gap increases with the increasing gap width, which results in the decrease of resonance amplitude and frequency in the gap. However, this does not necessarily reduce the peak value of the horizontal forces on the structures.
Thermal Transmittance of Internal Partition and External Facade LSF Walls: A Parametric Study
Authors: Santos Paulo , Lemes Gabriela , Mateus Diogo
Published: July 2019

Light steel framed (LSF) construction is becoming widespread as a quick, clean and flexible construction system. However, these LSF elements need to be well designed and protected against undesired thermal bridges caused by the steel high thermal conductivity. To reduce energy consumption in buildings it is necessary to understand how heat transfer happens in all kinds of walls and their configurations, and to adequately reduce the heat loss through them by decreasing its thermal transmittance ( U -value). In this work, numerical simulations are performed to assess different setups for two kinds of LSF walls: an interior partition wall and an exterior facade wall. Several parameters were evaluated separately to measure their influence on the wall U -value, and the addition of other elements was tested (e.g., thermal break strips) with the aim of achieving better thermal performances. The simulation modeling of a LSF interior partition with thermal break strips indicated a 24% U -value reduction in comparison with the reference case of using the LSF alone ( U = 0.449 W/(m2.K)). However, when the clearance between the steel studs was simulated with only 300 mm there was a 29% increase, due to the increase of steel material within the wall structure. For exterior facade walls ( U = 0.276 W/(m2.K)), the model with 80 mm of expanded polystyrene (EPS) in the exterior thermal insulation composite system (ETICS) reduced the thermal transmittance by 19%. Moreover, when the EPS was removed the U -value increased by 79%.
Growth and Tree Water Deficit of Mixed Norway Spruce and European Beech at Different Heights in a Tree and under Heavy Drought
Authors: Schäfer Cynthia , Rötzer Thomas , Thurm Eric Andreas , Biber Peter , Kallenbach Christian , Pretzsch Hans
Published: July 2019

Although several studies suggest that tree species in mixed stands resist drought events better than in pure stands, little is known about the impact on growth and the tree water deficit (TWD) in different tree heights at heavy drought. With dendrometer data at the upper and lower stem and coarse roots, we calculated the TWD and growth (ZGmax) (referring to the stem/root basal area) to show (1) the relationship of TWD in different tree heights (50% tree height (H50), breast height (BH), and roots) and the corresponding leaf water potential and (2) how mixture and drought influence the partitioning of growth and tree water. The analyses were made in a mature temperate forest of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) and European beech (Fagus sylvatica (L.)). Half of the plots were placed under conditions of extreme drought through automatic closing roof systems within the stand. We found a tight relationship of leaf water potentials and TWD at all tree compartments. Through this proven correlation at all tree heights we were also able to study the differences of TWD in all tree compartments next to the growth allocation. Whereas at the beginning of the growing period, trees prioritized growth of the upper stem, during the course of the year the growth of lower stem became a greater priority. Growth allocation of mixed spruces showed a tendency of a higher growth of the roots compared to the BH. However, spruces in interspecific neighborhoods exhibited a lesser TWD in the roots as spruces in intraspecific neighborhood. Beeches in intraspecific neighborhoods showed a higher TWD in BH compared to H50 as beeches in interspecific neighborhoods. Mixture seems to enhance the water supply of spruce trees, which should increase the stability of this species in a time of climatic warming.
Quantifying Impacts of National-Scale Afforestation on Carbon Budgets in South Korea from 1961 to 2014
Authors: Kim Moonil , Kraxner Florian , Son Yowhan , Jeon Seong Woo , Shvidenko Anatoly , Schepaschenko Dmitry , Ham Bo-Young , Lim Chul-Hee , Song Cholho , Hong Mina , Lee Woo-Kyun
Published: July 2019

Forests play an important role in regulating the carbon (C) cycle. The main objective of this study was to quantify the effects of South Korean national reforestation programs on carbon budgets. We estimated the changes in C stocks and annual C sequestration in the years 1961–2014 using Korea-specific models, a forest cover map (FCM), national forest inventory (NFI) data, and climate data. Furthermore, we examined the differences in C budgets between Cool forests (forests at elevations above 700 m) and forests in lower-altitude areas. Simulations including the effects of climate conditions on forest dynamics showed that the C stocks of the total forest area increased from 6.65 Tg C in 1961 to 476.21 Tg C in 2014. The model developed here showed a high degree of spatiotemporal reliability. The mean C stocks of the Cool forests and other forests increased from 4.03 and 0.43 Mg C ha−1, respectively, to 102.43 and 73.76 Mg C ha−1 at a rate of 1.82 and 1.36 Mg C ha−1 yr−1 during the same period. These results imply that, although the total Cool forest area of South Korea occupied only about 12.3% (772,788 ha) of the total forest area, the Cool forests play important roles in C balances and forest ecosystems in South Korea. Annual C sequestration totals are projected to decrease at a low rate in the near future because the overall growth rate of a mature forest decreases as the stand ages. Our results quantified forest C dynamics in South Korean forests before and after national reforestation programs. Furthermore, our results can help in development of regional and national forest management strategies to allow for sustainable development of society and to cope with climate change in South Korea.
Toward Incorporation of Membrane Properties Non-Uniformity in Spiral Wound Module Performance Simulators—Effect of Non-Uniform Permeability on Fouling Layer Evolution
Authors: Kostoglou Margaritis , Karabelas Anastasios
Published: July 2019

A performance simulator of spiral wound membrane (SWM) modules used for desalination is a valuable tool for process design and optimization. The existing state-of-the-art mesoscale simulation tools account for the spatial non-uniformities created by the operation itself (flow, pressure, and concentration distributions) but they assume uniform membrane properties. However, experimental studies reveal that membrane properties are by no means uniform. Therefore, the need arises to account for this non-uniformity in simulation tools thus enabling a systematic assessment of its impact, among other benefits; a first step toward this goal is presented herein. In particular, the issue of an organic fouling layer growing on a membrane with non-uniform permeability is analyzed. Several mathematical treatments of the problem are discussed and indicative results are presented. The concept of fouling layer thickness probability density function is suggested as a means to introduce sub-grid level calculations in existing simulation tools. The analysis leads to the selection of an appropriate methodology to incorporate this effect in the dynamic simulation of fouling layer evolution at the membrane-sheet scale.
Hybrid RANS/LES Turbulence Model Applied to a Transitional Unsteady Boundary Layer on Wind Turbine Airfoil
Authors: Zhang Di , Cadel Daniel R. , Paterson Eric G. , Lowe K. Todd
Published: July 2019

A hybrid Reynolds-averaged Navier Stokes/large-eddy simulation (RANS/LES) turbulence model integrated with a transition formulation is developed and tested on a surrogate model problem through a joint experimental and computational fluid dynamic approach. The model problem consists of a circular cylinder for generating coherent unsteadiness and a downstream airfoil in the cylinder wake. The cylinder flow is subcritical, with a Reynolds number of 64,000 based upon the cylinder diameter. The quantitative dynamics of vortex shedding and Reynolds stresses in the cylinder near wake are well captured, owing to the turbulence-resolving large eddy simulation mode that was activated in the wake. The hybrid model switched between RANS and LES modes outside the boundary layers, as expected. According to the experimental and simulation results, the airfoil encountered local flow angle variations up to ±50°. Further analysis through a phase-averaging technique found phase lags in the airfoil boundary layer along the chordwise locations, and both the phase-averaged and mean velocity profiles collapsed into the Law-of-the-wall in the range of 0 < y + < 50 . The features of high blade-loading fluctuations due to unsteadiness and transitional boundary layers are of interest in the aerodynamic studies of full-scale wind turbine blades, making the current model problem a comprehensive benchmark case for future model development and validation.
Fractal Logistic Equation
Authors: Khalili Golmankhaneh Alireza , Cattani Carlo
Published: July 2019

In this paper, we give difference equations on fractal sets and their corresponding fractal differential equations. An analogue of the classical Euler method in fractal calculus is defined. This fractal Euler method presets a numerical method for solving fractal differential equations and finding approximate analytical solutions. Fractal differential equations are solved by using the fractal Euler method. Furthermore, fractal logistic equations and functions are given, which are useful in modeling growth of elements in sciences including biology and economics.
Assessing the Prevalence of Orthorexia Nervosa in a Sample of University Students Using Two Different Self-Report Measures
Authors: Parra-Fernández María Laura , Onieva-Zafra María Dolores , Fernández-Martínez Elia , Abreu-Sánchez Ana , Fernández-Muñoz Juan José
Published: July 2019

In recent decades, orthorexia nervosa (ON) has increased presence in society. It is related with beliefs and attitudes towards eating and is characterized by an obsessive behavior toward heathy eating. The prevalence of ON has been reported by numerous researchers, with rates varying considerably according to the tool used to evaluate the same parameter. The aim of this study was to compare the prevalence of ON in a single population using two different questionnaires. The test for the diagnosis of orthorexia (ORTO-11-ES) assessment tool for orthorexia nervosa and the Düsseldorfer Ortorexie Skala (DOS-ES), constitute brief self-report assessment tools which measure the risk of suffering ON. A sample of 492 students from the University of Castilla la Mancha (Spain) participated in this study, of whom 43.1% were male and 56.9% were female. The findings show that, according to the DOS-ES, only 10.5% of students displayed ON whereas, with the ORTO-11-ES, the prevalence of ON increased to 25.2%. The tendency towards orthorexic behavior is more closely associated with the female gender. The Body Mass Index (BMI) had no influence on the tendency for ON. This study provides valuable information on the usefulness of both questionnaires and the possible limitations associated with the use of these tools in the general population.
Cooking and Meal Planning as Predictors of Fruit and Vegetable Intake and BMI in First-Year College Students
Authors: Hanson Andrea J. , Kattelmann Kendra K. , McCormack Lacey A. , Zhou Wenjun , Brown Onikia N. , Horacek Tanya M. , Shelnutt Karla P. , Kidd Tandalayo , Opoku-Acheampong Audrey , Franzen-Castle Lisa D. , Olfert Melissa D. , Colby Sarah E.
Published: July 2019

The objective was to determine if cooking skills and meal planning behaviors are associated with greater fruit and vegetable intake and lower body mass index (BMI) in first-year college students who are at risk for excessive weight gain. A cross-sectional analysis was conducted using baseline data from a multi-state research project aimed at preventing weight gain in first-year college students. Cooking type, frequency and confidence, self-instruction for healthful mealtime behavior intention, self-regulation of healthful mealtime behavior, and cup equivalents of fruits and vegetables (FV) were measured using validated surveys. BMI was calculated from measured height and weight. First-year students (n = 1108) considered at risk for weight gain from eight universities completed baseline assessments within the first month of entering college. Multiple linear regression was used to determine associations among independent variables of cooking patterns, meal planning behaviors, and dependent variables of fruit and vegetable intake and BMI, after controlling for the influence of sex. Cooking more frequently, cooking with greater skills, and practicing meal planning behaviors are associated with greater fruit and vegetable intake and lower BMI in first-year college students. Interventions aimed at improving health in college students may be enhanced by incorporating cooking and meal planning components.
Intervention and Public Policy Pathways to Achieve Health Care Equity
Authors: White-Means Shelley , Gaskin Darrell J. , Osmani Ahmad Reshad
Published: July 2019

Health care equity reflects an equal opportunity to utilize public health and health care resources in order to maximize one’s health potential. Achieving health care equity necessitates the consideration of both quantity and quality of care, as well as vertical (greater health care use by those with greater needs) and horizontal (equal health care use by those with equal needs) equity. In this paper, we summarize the approaches introduced by authors contributing to this Special Issue and how their work is captured by the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) framework. The paper concludes by pointing out intervention and public policy opportunities for future investigation in order to achieve health care equity.
Facilitating Community Risk Communication for Wide-Area Evacuation during Large-Scale Floods
Authors: Suzuki Takeyasu , Watanabe Takanori , Okuyama Shin’ichiro
Published: July 2019

Large-scale floods have been occurring more frequently in Japan as a result of current global weather anomalies, yet evacuation procedures face several issues. These include low evacuation rates of citizens, wide-area evacuation by car, and residents who cannot evacuate on their own. For example, in the Kofu Basin, Yamanashi Prefecture, due to the size of the potential inundation area and a population that exceeds 300,000 people spread across 10 municipalities, a large number of residents would have to evacuate across municipal boundaries by car. The author proposed and applied a risk communication method to the Riverside District, Chuo City (with about 1400 households and a population of about 4000), assisting in developing a community disaster management plan for wide-area evacuation without a single victim in case of floods, which has been in place for three years. The next step was risk communication to key stakeholders, such as national, prefectural, and municipal governments. Finally, a public symposium on large-scale evacuation in the Kofu Basin was held. During the panel discussion with representatives of the Kofu River and National Road Office, prefectural government of Yamanashi, the municipality, community residents, and the author as panelists, the role of each stakeholder in area-wide evacuation was clarified and confirmed.
Communicating Health Information at the End of Life: The Caregivers’ Perspectives
Authors: Ibañez-Masero Olivia , Carmona-Rega Inés María , Ruiz-Fernández María Dolores , Ortiz-Amo Rocío , Cabrera-Troya José , Ortega-Galán Ángela María
Published: July 2019

Health information and communication are key elements that allow patients and family members to make decisions about end-of-life care and guarantee a death with dignity. Objective: To understand caregivers’ experiences regarding health information and communication during the illness and death of family members. Methods: This qualitative study was conducted in Andalusia based on the paradigm of hermeneutic phenomenology. Participants were caregivers who had accompanied a family member at the end of life for over 2 months and less than 2 years. Five nominal groups and five discussion groups were established, and 41 in-depth interviews with 123 participants were conducted. Atlas.ti 7.0 software was used to analyze the discourses. A comprehensive reading was carried out along with a second reading. The most relevant units of meaning were identified, and the categories were extracted. The categories were then grouped in dimensions and, finally, the contents of each dimension were interpreted and described given the appropriate clarifications. Results: Four dimensions of the dying process emerged: differences in caregivers’ perceptions of information and communication, a conspiracy of silence, consequences of the absence or presence of information, and the need for a culture change. Conclusions: Poor management of health information and communication at the end of life increased the suffering and discomfort of patients and their families. The culture of denying and avoiding death is still present today. A change in education about death would better enable health professionals to care for patients at the end of life.
Psychosocial Risk Prevention in a Global Occupational Health Perspective. A Descriptive Analysis
Authors: Chirico Francesco , Heponiemi Tarja , Pavlova Milena , Zaffina Salvatore , Magnavita Nicola
Published: July 2019

This study aimed to find out which countries around the world require psychosocial hazards and workplace violence to be assessed by employers through a mandatory occupational risk assessment process and to compare the type of legislation between countries. We systematically searched the International Labour Office (ILO) “LEGOSH” database for documents published during the period between December 2017 and February 2018. The search included 132 countries, of which 23 were considered as developed and 109 as developing according to the United Nations. Our review showed that most countries (85, i.e., 64%) have not included mandatory psychosocial risk assessment and prevention in their national occupational safety and health legislation. Moreover, we found differences between developed and developing countries, showing that developed countries more frequently have legislative measures. Within developed countries, we also found differences between countries following the Scandinavian model of workplace health and safety culture and other countries. Moreover, in many countries, workplace violence was prohibited only if it involves an offence to moral or religious customs. In conclusion, the marked difference in psychosocial hazards and workplace violence regulations among countries leads to unequal levels of workers’ protection, with adverse effects on global health.
A Cheek Nodule in a Child: Be Aware of Idiopathic Facial Aseptic Granuloma and Its Differential Diagnosis
Authors: Miconi Francesco , Principi Nicola , Cassiani Lorenzo , Celi Federica , Crispoldi Roberta , Russo Ada , Esposito Susanna , Papini Manuela
Published: July 2019

Background: Idiopathic facial aseptic granuloma (IFAG) is a rare skin disease that typically presents in children with one or more nontender, erythematous to violaceous nodules located on the cheeks or eyelids. Lesions are not accompanied by other skin abnormalities. IFAG remains a diagnostic challenge in pediatric dermatology, because several diseases may present with similar signs. Case presentation: A three-year-old girl with a previous negative clinical history was referred to our hospital for the evaluation of some asymptomatic nodules on the convexity of the left cheek. The nodules had appeared two months before, and had gradually increased in size. Her mother denied any association with trauma or insect bites. The nodules had a hard-elastic consistency, were moderately firm, and were not fluctuant. No associated lymphadenopathy was observed. The girl was afebrile and in good general condition. A histologic evaluation of a biopsy specimen revealed an inflammatory, granulomatous-diffuse infiltrate in the superficial and deep dermis consisting of giant cells, histiocytes, lymphocytes, neutrophils, eosinophils, and plasma cells. The Ziehl–Neelsen stains, Gram-stains, and cultures were negative. Suspecting an IFAG, treatment with topical fusidic acid and oral clarithromycin for 14 days was started. After two months, the lesion resolved and did not recur. Conclusion: This case shows how to differentiate IFAG from other dermatologic diseases associated with a negative evolution. Treatment with oral clarithromycin was effective in our patient. However, more scientific evidence is needed to evaluate the most suitable antibiotic therapy. Further studies are also needed to establish whether antibiotics actually impact IFAG prognosis.
The Relationship between Vitamin C and Periodontal Diseases: A Systematic Review
Authors: Tada Akio , Miura Hiroko
Published: July 2019

Vitamin C is important for preventing and slowing the progression of many diseases. There is significant evidence linking periodontal disease and vitamin C. We aimed to systematically review the studies addressing the relationship between vitamin C and periodontal disease, and the preventive ability of vitamin C against periodontal disease. Electric searches were performed using PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science. Studies addressing the relationships between periodontal disease and vitamin C in adults aged over 18 years were included. Quality assessment was done using the Critical Appraisal Skills Program guideline and GRADE-CERQual. There were 716 articles that were retrieved and 14 articles (seven cross-sectional studies, two case-control studies, two cohort studies, and three randomized controlled trials (RCT)) were selected after reviewing all of the articles. The vitamin C intake and blood levels were negatively related to periodontal disease in all seven cross-sectional studies. The subjects who suffer from periodontitis presented a lower vitamin C intake and lower blood-vitamin C levels than the subjects without periodontal disease in the two case-control studies. The patients with a lower dietary intake or lower blood level of vitamin C showed a greater progression of periodontal disease than the controls. The intervention using vitamin C administration improved gingival bleeding in gingivitis, but not in periodontitis. Alveolar bone absorption was also not improved. The present systematic review suggested that vitamin C contributes to a reduced risk of periodontal disease.
Impact of a Web Program to Support the Mental Wellbeing of High School Students: A Quasi Experimental Feasibility Study
Authors: Anttila Minna , Sittichai Ruthaychonnee , Katajisto Jouko , Välimäki Maritta
Published: July 2019

Little effort has been made to investigate the potential of web programs aimed to support the mental wellbeing of adolescents in school environments in middle-income countries. A quasi-experimental feasibility study was conducted in Thailand with adolescents (N = 180) in three conveniently sampled high schools and with teachers (N = 12) who acted as program tutors. The web program was used in small groups, independently, or it was not used at all. No statistically significant changes were found between the groups regarding depression, stress, or satisfaction. Differences between program users (n = 61) and non-users (n = 48) were not significant. Acceptance was higher among adolescents who used the program independently (n = 40, 73% vs. n = 21, 39%; p = 0.001). Usability feedback did not differ between the groups. Support should be provided in order for programs to be potentially used. More information is needed regarding factors associated with the use of web programs.
How Does Internal and External CSR Affect Employees’ Work Engagement? Exploring Multiple Mediation Mechanisms and Boundary Conditions
Authors: Jia Yu , Yan Jinglu , Liu Tianyuan , Huang Jun
Published: July 2019

We investigate the different mechanisms concerning how employees’ perceptions of external and internal corporate social responsibility (CSR) serve to influence employees’ work engagement. By combining social exchange theory and social identity theory, we implement and examine an integrated moderated mediation framework in which employees’ value orientations (e.g., collectivism or individualism) impact the mediating mechanism between their perceived external and internal CSR, organizational pride and perceived organizational support (POS), and work engagement. This work fills a research gap to examine the indirect relationship between employees’ perceptions of external and internal CSR and work engagement. Using two periods of survey data from 250 working employees in China, we find that employees’ perceptions of external CSR positively influence work engagement via organizational pride. The value of collectivism strengthens the direct effect of employees’ perceptions of external CSR on work engagement, and the indirect effect of employees’ perceptions of external CSR on work engagement via organizational pride. Moreover, employees’ perceptions of internal CSR positively influence work engagement via POS. The value of individualism strengthens the direct effect of employees’ perceptions of internal CSR on work engagement, and the indirect effect of employees’ perceptions of internal CSR on work engagement via POS. The results contribute to both theory and practice.
Vaccinations for Colorectal Cancer: Progress, Strategies, and Novel Adjuvants
Authors: Jiang Stephen , Good David , Wei Ming Q.
Published: July 2019

Although cancer is a leading cause of death, significant breakthroughs have been made in its treatment in recent years. In particular, increasingly effective cancer vaccines are being developed, including some for colorectal cancer. There are also currently a variety of compounds that can act as adjuvants, such as signalling molecules called cytokines. Other adjuvants target and inhibit the specific mechanisms by which cancers evade the immune system. One of them is a galectin inhibitor, which targets galectins—proteins produced by cancer cells that can cause the death of immune cells. Likewise, immune checkpoint inhibitors affect immune checkpoints—natural host proteins that usually control inflammation but can be exploited by cancers to weaken the body’s defences. Equally, regulatory T cells may contribute to the progression of cancer by inhibiting the functions of other T cells. The main advantages of cancer vaccines include their low toxicity and their ability to strengthen the immune system. Nevertheless, significant limitations include their slow effects and their inability to treat cancer at times due to immunosuppression. Ultimately, ongoing trials provide hope for the development of more effective methods of immunotherapeutic inoculation that can target a greater variety of cancers.