bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Differential Gene Expression in Circulating CD14+ Monocytes Indicates the Prognosis of Critically Ill Patients with Sepsis
Authors: Liepelt Anke , Hohlstein Philipp , Gussen Hendrik , Xue Jia , Aschenbrenner Anna C. , Ulas Thomas , Buendgens Lukas , Warzecha Klaudia T. , Bartneck Matthias , Luedde Tom , Trautwein Christian , Schultze Joachim L. , Koch Alexander , Tacke Frank
Published: January 2020

Critical illness and sepsis are characterized by drastic changes in the systemic innate immune response, particularly involving monocytes. The exact monocyte activation profile during sepsis, however, has remained obscure. Therefore, we prospectively analyzed the gene expression profile of circulating CD14+ monocytes from healthy volunteers (n = 54) and intensive care unit (ICU) patients (n = 76), of which n = 36 had sepsis. RNA sequencing of selected samples revealed that monocytes from septic ICU patients display a peculiar activation pattern, which resembles characteristic functional stages of monocyte-derived macrophages and is distinct from controls or non-sepsis ICU patients. Focusing on 55 highly variable genes selected for further investigation, arachidonate 5-lipoxygenase-activating protein (ALOX5AP) was highly upregulated in monocytes of ICU patients and only normalized during 7 days in the ICU in non-sepsis patients. Strikingly, low monocytic guanine nucleotide exchange factor 10-like protein (ARHGEF10L) mRNA expression was associated with the disease severity and mortality of ICU patients. Collectively, our comprehensive analysis of circulating monocytes in critically ill patients revealed a distinct activation pattern, particularly in ICU patients with sepsis. The association with disease severity, the longitudinal recovery or lack thereof during the ICU stay, and the association with prognosis indicate the clinical relevance of monocytic gene expression profiles during sepsis.
Interfacial Bond Behavior of High Strength Concrete Filled Steel Tube after Exposure to Elevated Temperatures and Cooled by Fire Hydrant
Authors: Chen Zongping , Tang Jiyu , Zhou Xingyu , Zhou Ji , Chen Jianjia
Published: January 2020

For the engineering structure in case of fire, a fire hydrant is generally used for extinguishing the fire. This paper presents an experimental investigation on interfacial bond behavior of high-strength concrete-filled steel tube (HSCFST) after exposure to elevated temperatures and cooled by fire hydrant using the pull-out test of 22 specimens. According to the experimental study, the failure mechanism of HSCFST exposed to elevated temperatures and water-cooling (ETWC) was revealed, the influence of various parameters on the bond behavior was analyzed, and the calculation formula of the bond strength of HSCFST subjected to ETWC was put forward. The results show that the load-slip curves of the loading end and the free end of the specimen are basically similar, and can be divided into three types of typical curves. In the push out test, the strain on the outer surface of the steel tube is exponentially distributed with its distance from the loading end. After ETWC exposure, the bond strength of the specimen is less affected by the concrete strength, which is inversely proportional to the anchorage length, and it is basically stable after the constant temperature duration is longer than 60 min. With the increase of the maximum temperature, the ultimate bond strength increases first, then decreases and then increases, and the residual bond strength increases first and then decreases. Besides, the study indicate that cooling method has significant influence on the bond behavior, compared with natural cooling specimens, the ultimate bond strength, residual bond strength, and shear bond stiffness of water-cooling specimens are smaller, and the interfacial energy dissipation capacity is larger.
The Impact of Metabolic Syndrome and Lifestyle Habits on the Risk of the First Event of Cardiovascular Disease: Results from a Cohort Study in Lithuanian Urban Population
Authors: Jasiukaitienė Vilma , Lukšienė Dalia , Tamošiūnas Abdonas , Radišauskas Ričardas , Bobak Martin
Published: January 2020

Background and Objectives: In recent years, the impact of individual risk factors on mortality from cardiovascular diseases (CVD) has been often investigated. However, there is a lack of studies that have evaluated the relationship between lifestyle habits, metabolic syndrome, and their combined influence on the first event of CVD. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of metabolic syndrome and lifestyle habits on the risk of the first event of CVD in a Lithuanian urban population. Materials and Methods: The presented data were collected from a survey that was carried out within the framework of the international project Health, Alcohol and Psychosocial Factors in Eastern Europe (HAPIEE). For statistical analysis, 4257 participants aged 45–72 years were selected (with a follow-up of 11 years). Results: The findings from the Cox proportional hazards regression multivariable analysis showed that metabolic syndrome, current smoking status, and former smoking status increased the risk of the first event of CVD among men (with respective hazard ratios (HR) of 1.53, 1.94, and 1.43; p < 0.01). In women, metabolic syndrome increased the risk of the first event of CVD (HR = 1.56; p = 0.001), while the increased consumption of fresh vegetables and fruits decreased the risk of the first event of CVD (HR = 0.80; p = 0.003). Multivariable logistic regression analysis results show that a level of increased physical activity by one hour can be linked to a lower risk of metabolic syndrome by 2% among men (odds ratio (OR) = 0.98; p = 0.001). Conclusions: Metabolic syndrome and lifestyle habits including cigarette smoking in men and low consumption of fresh vegetables and fruits in women are strong predictors of the first event of CVD.
Hydrogen Production via Steam Reforming: A Critical Analysis of MR and RMM Technologies
Authors: Franchi Giovanni , Capocelli Mauro , De Falco Marcello , Piemonte Vincenzo , Barba Diego
Published: January 2020

‘Hydrogen as the energy carrier of the future’ has been a topic discussed for decades and is today the subject of a new revival, especially driven by the investments in renewable electricity and the technological efforts done by high-developed industrial powers, such as Northern Europe and Japan. Although hydrogen production from renewable resources is still limited to small scale, local solutions, and R&D projects; steam reforming (SR) of natural gas at industrial scale is the cheapest and most used technology and generates around 8 kg CO2 per kg H2. This paper is focused on the process optimization and decarbonization of H2 production from fossil fuels to promote more efficient approaches based on membrane separation. In this work, two emerging configurations have been compared from the numerical point of view: the membrane reactor (MR) and the reformer and membrane module (RMM), proposed and tested by this research group. The rate of hydrogen production by SR has been calculated according to other literature works, a one-dimensional model has been developed for mass, heat, and momentum balances. For the membrane modules, the rate of hydrogen permeation has been estimated according to mass transfer correlation previously reported by this research group and based on previous experimental tests carried on in the first RMM Pilot Plant. The methane conversion, carbon dioxide yield, temperature, and pressure profile are compared for each configuration: SR, MR, and RMM. By decoupling the reaction and separation section, such as in the RMM, the overall methane conversion can be increased of about 30% improving the efficiency of the system.
Study of the Structure of FeOx-CaO-SiO2-MgO and FeOx-CaO-SiO2-MgO-Cu2O-PdO Slags Relevant to Urban Ores Processing through Cu Smelting
Authors: Hasan Mohammad Mehedi , Rhamdhani M. Akbar , Shuva M. Al Hossaini , Brooks Geoffrey A.
Published: January 2020

Ferrous-calcium-silicate (commonly known as FCS) slags are used in the valuable metal recycling from urban ores through both primary and secondary copper smelting processes. In the present study, the structure of selected FCS-MgO (FCSM) and FCS-MgO-Cu2O-PdO (FCSM-Cu2O-PdO) slags, relevant to the processes, were investigated using Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometry. Deconvolution of the FTIR spectra was carried out to calculate the relative abundance of different silicate structural units (Qn), the overall degree of polymerization (DOP) of the slags and the oxygen speciation in the FCS slags. It was observed that, for the slag investigated, the relative intensity of both the high-frequency band ≈ 1100 cm−1 (Q3) and low-frequency band ≈ 850 cm−1 (Q0) were affected by Fe/SiO2 ratio, basicity, temperature (T) and oxygen partial pressure (pO2). The DOP and the average number of bridging oxygen (BO) were found to decrease with increasing both Fe/SiO2 ratio and basicity. Improved semi-empirical equations were developed to relate the DOP of the slags with chemistry, process parameters and partitioning ratio (i.e., the ratio of the amount of element in the slag phase to metal phase, also known as distribution ratio) of Pd and Ge. Possible reactions, expressed as reactions between metal cations and silicate species, as a way to evaluate thermodynamic properties, are presented herein.
Metabolite Profiling and Classification of Developing Styrax tonkinensis Kernels
Authors: Wu Qikui , Zhao Xue , Chen Chen , Zhang Zihan , Yu Fangyuan
Published: January 2020

Background: Styrax tonkinensis is an economic tree species with high timber, medicine, oil, and ornamental value. Its seed, containing a particularly high oil content, are widely studied for their biodiesel properties by nutritional components and oil body ultrastructure. However, their comprehensive biochemical compositions have not been studied. Methods: During S. tonkinensis kernel development, we collected samples from four time points for metabolite profiling and classification through gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Results: A total of 187 and 1556 metabolites were obtained, respectively. All of the metabolites were grouped into 19 and 21 classes by their chemical properties and into 8 clusters based on their change trends, respectively. Among all the metabolites, carboxylic acids and derivatives, flavonoids, fatty acyls, glycerophospholipids, organooxygen compounds, prenol lipids, and steroids and steroid derivatives were the main components. Alanine, glutamine, tryptophan, tyrosine and valine were the five most abundant amino acids. Palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid and linoleic acid were the four major free fatty acids. Flavans, flavonoid glycosides and o-methylated flavonoids were the three major flavonoids. The differential metabolites distributions between different time points were identified. A pathway enrichment was performed, which was mainly focused on three groups, amino acids metabolism, carbon flow from sucrose to lipid and secondary metabolites biosynthesis. Conclusions: It’s the first time to analyze the metabolite fingerprinting for developing S. tonkinensis kernels and identify varied kinds of flavonoids. We performed metabolite profiling, classification and pathway enrichment to assess the comprehensive biochemical compositions. Our results described the change in major metabolites and main metabolic processes during S. tonkinensis kernel development and provided a variety of bases for seed applications as biofuel or medicine.
Direct Implementation of Intestinal Permeability Test in NMR Metabolomics for Simultaneous Biomarker Discovery—A Feasibility Study in a Preterm Piglet Model
Authors: Alinaghi Masoumeh , Nguyen Duc Ninh , Sangild Per Torp , Bertram Hanne Christine
Published: January 2020

Measurement of intestinal permeability (IP) is often used in the examination of inflammatory gastrointestinal disorders. IP can be assessed by measurement of urinary recovery of ingested non-metabolizable lactulose (L) and mannitol (M). The present study aimed to examine how measurements of IP can be integrated in a NMR-based metabolomics approach for a simultaneous quantification of L/M ratio and biomarker exploration. For this purpose, plasma and urine samples were collected from five-day-old preterm piglets (n = 20) with gastrointestinal disorders (subjected to intra-amniotic lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 1 mg/fetus)) after they had been administrated a 5% lactulose and 5% mannitol solution (15 mL/kg). The collected plasma and urine samples were analyzed by 1H NMR-based metabolomics. Urine L/M ratio measured by 1H NMR spectroscopy showed high correlation with the standard measurement of the urinary recoveries by enzymatic assays (r = 0.93, p < 0.05). Partial least squares (PLS) regressions and correlation analyses between L/M ratio and NMR metabolomics data revealed that L/M ratio was positively correlated with plasma lactate, acetate and succinate levels and negatively correlated with urinary hippuric acid and glycine. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that NMR metabolomics enables simultaneous IP testing and discovery of biomarkers associated with an impaired intestinal permeability.
Contrasting Fluids in the Svetlinsk Gold-Telluride Hydrothermal System, South Urals
Authors: Vikent’eva Olga , Prokofiev Vsevolod , Borovikov Andrey , Kryazhev Sergey , Groznova Elena , Pritchin Mikhail , Vikentyev Ilya , Bortnikov Nikolay
Published: January 2020

The large gold-telluride Svetlinsk deposit (~135 t Au) is considered to be a nontraditional one in the Urals and its origin is debated. A specific feature of the deposit is the abundance of various tellurides, such as tellurides of Fe, Ni, Pb, Sb, Bi, Ag, and Au. The new data of microthermometry, Raman spectroscopy, LA-ICP-MS, and crush-leach analysis (gas and ion chromatography, ICP-MS) for fluid inclusions as well as O-isotope data for quartz were obtained for the construction of PTX parameters of ore-formation and fluid sources in the deposit. Mineralisation was formed at a wide range of temperature and pressure (200–400 °C, 1–4 kbar) and from contrasting fluids with multiple sources. At the early stages, the magmatic fluid evolved during its ascent and phase separation and the fluid derived from the host rock decarbonation and dehydration were involved in the hydrothermal system. In addition, mantle-derived fluid might be involved in the ore-forming process during gold-telluride precipitation as well as heated meteoric waters during the late stages. Early fluids were rich in H2S, S0, and CH4, while the Au-Te mineralisation was formed from N2-rich fluid.
Effect of Ordinary Portland Cement and Water Glass on the Properties of Alkali Activated Fly Ash Concrete
Authors: Bocullo Vytautas , Vaičiukynienė Danutė , Gečys Ramūnas , Daukšys Mindaugas
Published: January 2020

This research presents the influence of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) and/or water glass addition on fly ash alkali-activated mortar and concrete. The results show that fly ash (FA) concrete activated with a NaOH solution and water glass mixture had better resistance to freeze and thaw, carbonation, alkali-silica reaction (ASR) and developed higher compressive strength and static elastic modulus compared with the FA concrete activated only with an NaOH solution. The addition of OPC contributes to the development of a denser microstructure of alkali activated concrete (AAC) samples. In the presence of water glass and OPC, the compressive strength (52.60 MPa) of the samples increased more than two times as compared with the reference sample (21.36 MPa) without OPC and water glass. The combination of OPC and water glass showed the increased strength and enhanced durability of AAC. The samples were more resistant to freeze and thaw, ASR, and carbonation.
Two-Stage Origin of K-Enrichment in Ultrapotassic Magmatism Simulated by Melting of Experimentally Metasomatized Mantle
Authors: Förster Michael W. , Buhre Stephan , Xu Bo , Prelević Dejan , Mertz-Kraus Regina , Foley Stephen F.
Published: January 2020

The generation of strongly potassic melts in the mantle requires the presence of phlogopite in the melting assemblage, while isotopic and trace element analyses of ultrapotassic rocks frequently indicate the involvement of subducted crustal lithologies in the source. However, phlogopite-free experiments that focus on melting of sedimentary rocks and subsequent hybridization with mantle rocks at pressures of 1–3 GPa have not successfully produced melts with K2O >5 wt%–6 wt%, while ultrapotassic igneous rocks reach up to 12 wt% K2O. Accordingly, a two-stage process that enriches K2O and increases K/Na in intermediary assemblages in the source prior to ultrapotassic magmatism seems likely. Here, we simulate this two-stage formation of ultrapotassic magmas using an experimental approach that involves re-melting of parts of an experimental product in a second experiment. In the first stage, reaction experiments containing layered sediment and dunite produced a modally metasomatized reaction zone at the border of a depleted peridotite. For the second-stage experiment, the metasomatized dunite was separated from the residue of the sedimentary rock and transferred to a smaller capsule, and melts were produced with 8 wt%–8.5 wt% K2O and K/Na of 6–7. This is the first time that extremely K-enriched ultrapotassic melts have been generated experimentally from sediments at low pressure applicable to a post-collisional setting.
Fabrication of Metastable Crystalline Nanocomposites by Flash Annealing of Cu47.5Zr47.5Al5 Metallic Glass Using Joule Heating
Authors: Okulov Ilya , Soldatov Ivan , Kaban Ivan , Sarac Baran , Spieckermann Florian , Eckert Jürgen
Published: January 2020

Flash Joule-heating was applied to the Cu47.5Zr47.5Al5 metallic glass for designing fully crystalline metastable nanocomposites consisting of the metastable B2 CuZr and low-temperature equilibrium Cu10Zr7 phases. The onset of crystallization was in situ controlled by monitoring resistivity changes in the samples. The effect of heating rate and annealing time on the volume fraction of the crystalline phases and mechanical properties of the nanocomposites was studied in detail. Particularly, an increase of the heating rate and a decrease of the annealing time lead to a lower number of equilibrium Cu10Zr7 precipitates and an increase of tensile ductility. Tailoring of these non-equilibrium microstructures and mechanical properties may not be possible unless one starts with a fully glassy material that opens new perspectives for designing metastable nanomaterials with unique physical properties.
Thermo-Physical Characterization of Carbon Nanotube Composite Foam for Oil Recovery Applications
Authors: Piperopoulos Elpida , Calabrese Luigi , Khaskhoussi Amani , Proverbio Edoardo , Milone Candida
Published: January 2020

To meet the increasing demands for effective cleanup technologies to deal with the oil spill accidents that significantly affect the ecological and environmental systems, promising composite materials based on carbon nanotubes containing silicone foams were investigated. Pump oil, kerosene, and virgin naphtha had been used to assess, during sorption tests, foams behavior. Test results highlighted the advantage of the hydrophobic and oleophilic behavior of carbon nanotubes, and their high mechanical strength for oil spill recovery application was studied. In order to better relate the property-structure relationship for this class of materials, the role and influence of functionalized nanotubes on thermo-physical and morphological characteristics of the foams had been evaluated. The results showed how the pristine nanotubes fillers, despite functionalized ones, led to optimal composite foam performances with high hydrophobic (62 mg g−1) and oleophilic (6830 mg g−1 in kerosene oil) characteristics. The evidenced high oil selectivity was a relevant key point in order to consider the suitable material for oil spill recovery applications. Eventually, the proposed configuration exhibited the best thermo-physical performances and high reusability, leading to the optimal cost-benefits option.
A Comprehensive Cheminformatics Analysis of Structural Features Affecting the Binding Activity of Fullerene Derivatives
Authors: Fjodorova Natalja , Novič Marjana , Venko Katja , Rasulev Bakhtiyor
Published: January 2020

Nanostructures like fullerene derivatives (FDs) belong to a new family of nano-sized organic compounds. Fullerenes have found a widespread application in material science, pharmaceutical, biomedical, and medical fields. This fact caused the importance of the study of pharmacological as well as toxicological properties of this relatively new family of chemicals. In this work, a large set of 169 FDs and their binding activity to 1117 disease-related proteins was investigated. The structure-based descriptors widely used in drug design (so-called drug-like descriptors) were applied to understand cheminformatics characteristics related to the binding activity of fullerene nanostructures. Investigation of applied descriptors demonstrated that polarizability, topological diameter, and rotatable bonds play the most significant role in the binding activity of FDs. Various cheminformatics methods, including the counter propagation artificial neural network (CPANN) and Kohonen network as visualization tool, were applied. The results of this study can be applied to compose the priority list for testing in risk assessment related to the toxicological properties of FDs. The pharmacologist can filter the data from the heat map to view all possible side effects for selected FDs.
Simulations of Graphene Nanoribbon Field Effect Transistor for the Detection of Propane and Butane Gases: A First Principles Study
Authors: Rashid Muhammad Haroon , Koel Ants , Rang Toomas
Published: January 2020

During the last few years graphene has emerged as a potential candidate for electronics and optoelectronics applications due to its several salient features. Graphene is a smart material that responds to any physical change in its surrounding environment. Graphene has a very low intrinsic electronic noise and it can detect even a single gas molecule in its proximity. This property of graphene makes is a suitable and promising candidate to detect a large variety of organic/inorganic chemicals and gases. Typical solid state gas sensors usually requires high operating temperature and they cannot detect very low concentrations of gases efficiently due to intrinsic noise caused by thermal motion of charge carriers at high temperatures. They also have low resolution and stability issues of their constituent materials (such as electrolytes, electrodes, and sensing material itself) in harsh environments. It accelerates the need of development of robust, highly sensitive and efficient gas sensor with low operating temperature. Graphene and its derivatives could be a prospective replacement of these solid-state sensors due to their better electronic attributes for moderate temperature applications. The presence of extremely low intrinsic noise in graphene makes it highly suitable to detect a very low concentration of organic/inorganic compounds (even a single molecule ca be detected with graphene). In this article, we simulated a novel graphene nanoribbon based field effect transistor (FET) and used it to detect propane and butane gases. These are flammable household/industrial gases that must be detected to avoid serious accidents. The effects of atmospheric oxygen and humidity have also been studied by mixing oxygen and water molecules with desired target gases (propane and butane). The change in source-to-drain current of FET in the proximity of the target gases has been used as a detection signal. Our simulated FET device showed a noticeable change in density of states and IV-characteristics in the presence of target gas molecules. Nanoscale simulations of FET based gas sensor have been done in Quantumwise Atomistix Toolkit (ATK). ATK is a commercially available nanoscale semiconductor device simulator that is used to model a large variety of nanoscale devices. Our proposed device can be converted into a physical device to get a low cost and small sized integrated gas sensor.
Relationship of Late Lactation Milk Somatic Cell Count and Cathelicidin with Intramammary Infection in Small Ruminants
Authors: Puggioni Giulia Maria Grazia , Tedde Vittorio , Uzzau Sergio , Dore Simone , Liciardi Manuele , Cannas Eugenia Agnese , Pollera Claudia , Moroni Paolo , Bronzo Valerio , Addis Maria Filippa
Published: January 2020

Late lactation is a critical moment for making mastitis management decisions, but in small ruminants the reliability of diagnostic tests is typically lower at this stage. We evaluated somatic cell counts (SCC) and cathelicidins (CATH) in late lactation sheep and goat milk for their relationship with intramammary infections (IMI), as diagnosed by bacteriological culture (BC). A total of 315 sheep and 223 goat half-udder milk samples collected in the last month of lactation were included in the study. IMI prevalence was 10.79% and 15.25%, respectively, and non-aureus staphylococci were the most common finding. Taking BC as a reference, the diagnostic performance of SCC and CATH was quite different in the two species. In sheep, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis produced a higher area under the curve (AUC) value for CATH than SCC (0.9041 versus 0.8829, respectively). Accordingly, CATH demonstrated a higher specificity than SCC (82.92% versus 73.67%, respectively) at comparable sensitivity (91.18%). Therefore, CATH showed a markedly superior diagnostic performance than SCC in late lactation sheep milk. In goats, AUC was <0.67 for both parameters, and CATH was less specific than SCC (61.90% versus 65.08%) at comparable sensitivity (64.71%). Therefore, both CATH and SCC performed poorly in late lactation goats. In conclusion, sheep can be screened for mastitis at the end of lactation, while goats should preferably be tested at peak lactation. In late lactation sheep, CATH should be preferred over SCC for its higher specificity, but careful cost/benefit evaluations will have to be made.
Following the Path That Heroes Carved into History: Space Tourism, Heritage, and Faith in the Future
Authors: Weibel Deana L.
Published: January 2020

Human spaceflight is likely to change in character over the 21st century, shifting from a military/governmental enterprise to one that is more firmly tied to private industry, including businesses devoted to space tourism. For space tourism to become a reality, however, many obstacles have to be overcome, particularly those in finance, technology, and medicine. Ethnographic interviews with astronauts, engineers, NASA doctors, and NewSpace workers reveal that absolute faith in the eventual human occupation of space, based in religious conviction or taking secular forms, is a common source of motivation across different populations working to promote human spaceflight. This paper examines the way faith is expressed in these different contexts and its role in developing a future where space tourism may become commonplace.
Who Is Interested in Developing the Way of Saint James? The Pilgrimage from Faith to Tourism
Authors: Moscarelli Rossella , Lopez Lucrezia , Lois González Rubén Camilo
Published: January 2020

The Way of St. James in Spain is the main European pilgrimage route. Currently, it is a cultural, tourist, monumental, spiritual, and sports route. For this reason, the paper aims to discuss the concept of the “Polysemy of The Way”, by analysing how the new pilgrims’ motivations are creating an inclusive and complex space, which is making a shift from religious space to a multifaceted tourism reality. We study the characterisation and interaction of the new actors involved in its development, maintenance and promotion. As a result, its original “space of faith” is now a “live heritage space”, thanks to the rehabilitation of routes, monuments, and landscapes. The combination of these motivational and spatial transformations enhances the factors of post-secular pilgrimage, such as slow mobility, the liminality and the sense of community, which the same actors assume as priorities for territorial management.
Understanding Tree-to-Tree Variations in Stone Pine (Pinus pinea L.) Cone Production Using Terrestrial Laser Scanner
Authors: Schneider Robert , Calama Rafael , Martin-Ducup Olivier
Published: January 2020

Kernels found in stone pinecones are of great economic value, often surpassing timber income for most forest owners. Visually evaluating cone production on standing trees is challenging since the cones are located in the sun-exposed part of the crown, and covered by two vegetative shoots. Very few studies were carried out in evaluating how new remote sensing technologies such as terrestrial laser scanners (TLS) can be used in assessing cone production, or in trying to explain the tree-to-tree variability within a given stand. Using data from 129 trees in 26 plots located in the Spanish Northern Plateau, the gain observed by using TLS data when compared to traditional inventory data in predicting the presence, the number, and the average weight of the cones in an individual tree was evaluated. The models using TLS-derived metrics consistently showed better fit statistics, when compared to models using traditional inventory data pertaining to site and tree levels. Crown dimensions such as projected crown area and crown volume, crown density, and crown asymmetry were the key TLS-derived drivers in understanding the variability in inter-tree cone production. These results underline the importance of crown characteristics in assessing cone production in stone pine. Moreover, as cone production (number of cones and average weight) is higher in crowns with lower density, the use of crown pruning, abandoned over 30 years ago, might be the key to increasing production in combination with stand density management.
The Nonlinear Causal Relationship Between Environmental Regulation and Technological Innovation—Evidence Based on the Generalized Propensity Score Matching Method
Authors: Zhang Guan-Yu , Guan Rong , Wang Hui-Juan
Published: January 2020

The existing research on testing Porter’s hypothesis has not considered the selective bias in the sample when establishing a model. However, the selective bias is likely to cause instability of estimation results and reduce the reference value of conclusions. This article, based on individual enterprises in the China Industrial Enterprise Database, aims to verify the selective bias existing in previous research. Then, using the generalized propensity score matching method, a frontier method in the field of causal inference, we re-examined the causal relationship between environmental regulation and two types of technological innovation, weakened endogenous and reverse causal effects, and obtained a more complete and accurate dynamic impact of environmental regulation on the level of technological innovation for enterprises. The main conclusions of this paper are as follows: (1) The influence of environmental regulation on the level of process innovation has two dimensions: time and intensity, and the causal relationship between these dimensions changes from an N shape to an inversed-U shape over time. (2) The influence of environmental regulation on product innovation levels only includes the intensity dimension, and the two produce a U shape. (3) Process innovation and product innovation, to a certain extent, are reflected in the intriguing situation that they cannot gain and lose at the same time. (4) Light industries have a lower tolerance of environmental regulation than heavy industries, and they are more likely to be stimulated by environmental regulation. The conclusions of this paper can provide valuable advice to governments in relation to the formulation of environmental policies and laws.
Histopathology findings of the pelvic organ prolapse
Authors: CORPAS FERNANDA M.A. , ILLARRAMENDI ANDRES , NOZAR FERNANDA , CASERTA BENEDICTA
Published: January 2020

Pelvic organ prolapse is a benign condition, which is the result of a weakening of the different components that provide suspension to the pelvic floor. Surgical treatment, traditionally involve a vaginal hysterectomy, although over the last few decades the preservation of the uterus has become more popular.

The objective of the paper is to analyze the characteristics of those patients diagnosed with pelvic organ prolapse, whose treatment involved a vaginal hysterectomy and its correlation to the histopathological characteristics. Retrospective, descriptive study. Data recovered from the medical history of patients that underwent surgical treatment for pelvic organ prolapse through vaginal hysterectomy, were analyzed in a 2 years period, in the CHPR, and compared to the pathology results of the uterus. At the level of the cervix, 58,2% presented changes related to the prolapse (acantosis, para and hyperkeratosis) and 43,6% chronic endocervicitis. Findings in the corpus of the uterus were 58,2% atrophy of the endometrium, 21% of endometrial polyps and 30.9% leiomiomas and 1 case of simple hyperplasia without cellular atypia. No malignant lesions were found. The pathology results of the uterus reveal the presence of anatomical changes related to the pelvic organ prolapse and in accordance to the age of the patient, as well as associated pathologies to a lesser extent.

As we were able to establish, in most cases the removal of the uterus is not due to a pathology of the uterus itself but to a symptom generated by the failure of the suspension system of the pelvis.
Cumhuriyetin Kuruluşundan Günümüze Görsel Sanatlar Dersi
Authors: ERKUZU Demet , ÇOBAN Ahmet
Published: January 2020

Sanat eğitiminin bireyin gelişimindeki gerekliliği, yaratıcılığa olan etkisi, psikomotor, bilişsel ve duyuşsal alanlarda gerçekleştirilen kazanımlara olan katkısı oldukça önemlidir. Sanat eğitiminde; sanatın bireye sağladığı kültürel ve toplumsal katkılarının yanı sıra, kendine güveni olan, yeteneklerini ortaya çıkaran, çevreye duyarlı ve estetik duygularını geliştiren bireylerin gelişimine önem verilmektedir. Bu çalışmada; Türk Eğitim Sistemi’nde (1924 – 2018 Arası) yer alan Görsel Sanatlar dersi öğretim programları ile ilgili gelişmelerin değerlendirilmesi amaçlanmıştır. Araştırmada nitel araştırma yaklaşımı benimsenmiş, araştırmanın modeli, kaynak tarama yöntemidir. Araştırmada, 1924-2018 yılları arasındaki Görsel Sanatlar dersi öğretim programları taranmış ve görsel sanatların değişen adı, hangi sınıflarda yer aldığı, amaçları, kazanımları, ders saati sayısı  ile ilgili gelişmeler ve görsel sanatların programlardaki ağırlığı değerlendirilmiştir. Araştırmada tarama modeli kullanıldığından evren ve örneklem belirtilmemiştir. Elde edilen bulgularda; Programlarda dersin adında değişiklikler yapıldığı, Görsel sanatlar dersine her sınıf düzeyinde yer verildiği, ders saatinin zamanla azaldığı, programlarda amaçlara yer verildiği ve hedef sayısının arttığı belirlenmiştir. Kazanımlara ilk olarak 1992 İlköğretim Resim-İş dersi Öğretim Programında yer verildiği ve daha sonraki programlarda öğrenme alanlarına ayrılarak yapılandırıldığı belirlenmiş ve dersin programlardaki ağırlığını zamanla azalmıştır. Görsel Sanatlar dersinin programlarda belirlenen amaçlara ulaşılabilmesi için önerilere yer verilmiştir.
Filistin’de Kadın Hareketlerine Genel Bir Bakış: 1897-1997
Authors: ÖZ YILDIZ Seda
Published: January 2020

19. yüzyıldan itibaren dünya siyasi tarihinde öne çıkan kadın hareketleri, çoğunlukla Batı coğrafyasındaki biçimleri ile literatürde yer almıştır. Oysa kadın hareketleri, farklı kültürel, siyasal ve sosyal zeminlerde Batı dışındaki tüm coğrafyada -bazen birbirine paralel, bazen de birbirinden farklı zeminlerde ortaya çıkan- etkili sonuçlar doğuran olaylardır. Bu çalışmanın konusu, Filistin’e toplu Yahudi göçlerinin başladığı 1897 yılında ilk kez örgütlü olarak ortaya çıkan Filistin kadın hareketinin Oslo Barış süreçlerinin sonu kabul edilen 1997’ye kadarki yüzyıllık serüvenidir. Tarihsel çalışma olan bu makalede Filistin kadın hareketi, kronolojik olarak beş temel kategoriye ayrılarak her dönemdeki siyasal ve silahlı eylemler incelenmiştir. Filistin kadın hareketine dair tarihsel verilerin Filistin ulusal kaynaklarından derlenmesi ve dönemsel kategorilendirilmesi bu çalışmanın özgün yanını oluşturmaktadır. Söz konusu araştırma Filistin çalışmaları kapsamında Türkçe literatüre önemli bir katkı sağlamayı ve devam edecek çalışmalara tarihsel bir perspektif sunmayı hedeflemektedir. Çalışmanın sonucunda Filistin meselesinin siyasal seyrinde yönetim politikalarıyla paralel yürüyen kadın hareketlerinin Filistin sorununa oldukça önemli katkılar sağladığı ancak yönetime muhalif kadın hareketlerinin baskılarla sindirilerek yok sayıldığı tespit edilmiştir.
Eksperimen Gangguan Getaran Pada Fenomena Cloaking Cahaya Tampak Sistem Empat Lensa
Authors: Tri Maryana Okky Fajar , Ginting L. Y. , Pahlawan F. , Darmawan M. Y.
Published: January 2020

Creating optical illusions or invisible objects by using cloaking devices is still being a concern for many researchers in the world. The cloaking devices are working in visible spectrum regime, large dimention, and replicable. Addition with the full-field of light, no new materials, simple infrastructure, and scale easily may be considered an ‘ideal’ cloaking device. Based on four lenses cloaking system by Choi’s work shows an idea for solution of blindspot large vehicle’s problem. The set up for this optical system is regular covex lenses non-aberation based on educational laboratory framework. The experimental confirmation that cloaking area with 4f convex lenses is limited to certain areas only, not 100 % of the object to be observed can disappear from the view. Vibration disturbance generated by rotor module (wheels disturbance analogy on vehicles) applied on the system demonstrate that below on 2000 rotation per minutes (rpm) equal 33.34 hertz, optical illusion is still consistent. The results support the information to create optical cloaking prototype for optimizing large vehicle driver’s visibility as alternative solution blindspot’s problem.
APPLICATION OF THERMOGRAPHY TO ANALYZE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ERGOMETER TRAINING
Authors: Zubrzycki Jarosław , Smidova Natalia , Bajura Magdalena
Published: January 2020

The work determines the degree of thermographic suitability of the method of temperature measurement in people exercising on a rowing ergometer.

Thermography is gaining popularity in medical diagnostics by measuring the body temperature. Its main advantages are non-invasive, safe and comfortable for patients. It is widely used in the prevention of breast cancer and treatment of osteoarticular injuries. The basis for the use of thermography in medicine is the phenomenon of thermoregulation of living organisms and the emissive property of the skin, which is similar in value to a perfectly black body.To achieve the set goal, 10 people were trained on the rowing ergometer. During the two series of measurements (before and immediately after), the focus was on two areas of the subjects' body: upper limbs and abdomen.The thermographs obtained were analyzed taking into account the physical and physiological parameters of the players and their experience. The conclusions from them seemed to answer the thesis that the thermographic method is suitable for supporting players in planning and improving their training. It has also been shown that training on a rowing ergometer involves many muscle parties in which an increase in the released metabolic heat takes place.
Factor Influencing the Convergence Time in Border Gateway Protocol (BGP)
Authors:   Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (MALAYSIA), Ishaq* Kashif , Abid Dr. Adnan ,   University of Management and Technology (PAKISTAN), Abid Dr. Kamran ,   University of the Punjab, Ali Qasim ,   University of Management and Technology (PAKISTAN), Ijaz Mustansar ,   University of Management and Technology (PAKISTAN)
Published: January 2020

Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) is the protocol which helps to route the traffic over the internet, it also helps to interchange reachability and routing information between diverse Autonomous systems (AS). The major operations of Border gateway Protocol (BGP) takes place at transport layer. When BGP works with TCP it removes the need for acknowledgement, sequence number. The major problem which occurs over the network is due to delay during the process of path selection and due to change in routing table [2]. This degradation convergence and delay can occur due to defined policy in between the peers of network. BGP performance can be improved by implementing different techniques such as MD5 Authentication, 16 bits Autonomous system, 32 bits Autonomous system, Classless Inter Domain Routing (CIDR), IPSec over BGP and consistency assertions. In this paper we have used CIDR technique to enhance BGP performance as well as we have focused on identifying and calculating affects on convergence time of BGP protocol due to the variation in the number of nodes and complex topology design. We have designed simulation based topology over OpNet, to analyze the impact of convergence time of BGP. Simulation results show that we can minimize the convergence time due to link failure.
Development of the Creativity of Students in the Context of the Problematic Teaching
Authors:   Professor of Faculty of Social Science, Department of Education, The National University of Uzbekistan after named Mirzo Ulugbek, Tashkent, Uzbekistan., Hudoykulov* H. , Sodikova Sh. ,   Senior Teacher of Faculty of Social Science, Department of Education, The National University of Uzbekistan after named Mirzo Ulugbek, Tashkent, Uzbekistan., Ruzimatov E. ,   Senior Teacher of Faculty of Social Science, Department of Education, The National University of Uzbekistan after named Mirzo Ulugbek, Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Published: January 2020

This article was written with the aim of the development of creative thinking of students in the educational process in the context of problem-based learning. The article defines the following tasks as to reveal the essence, content, basic structural components of the student’s creative thinking development, to determine their relationship; to develop a pedagogical model for the effective development of creativity and creative thinking of students; identify and justify pedagogical conditions that ensure the optimality of the development of creative thinking of students in the process of problem-based learning; to carry out an experimental verification of the constructed model for the development of creative thinking of students. The article consists of from introduction, literature survey, methodology, recommendation, discussions, and conclusion.
اثر استراتيجية PQ4R في تحصيل مادة الجغرافية وتنمية مهارات ما وراء المعرفة لدى طلاب الصف الرابع الأدبي
Authors: م.د. محمد صادج محمد أبو دكَة
Published: January 2020

يهدف البحث الحالي إلى معرفة اثر استراتيجية PQ4R في تحصيل مادة الجغرافية, وتنمية مهارات ما وراء المعرفة لدى طلاب الصف الرابع الأدبي، تكونت العينة من (67) طالباً وزعت على مجموعتين, بواقع(32) طالباً في المجموعة التجريبية التي درست مادة الجغرافية باستعمال استراتيجية PQ4R و(35) طالبا في المجموعة الضابطة التي درست المادة نفسها بالطريقة التقليدية، ثم تأكد من التكافؤ بين المجموعتين في (المعرفة السابقة، مهارات ما وراء المعرفة، اختبار الذكاء، العمر الزمن محسوبا بالأشهر), اعتمد الباحث على أداتين لقياس المتغيرات التابعة للبحث، تمثلت الأداة الأولى ببناء اختبار تحصيلي مؤلف من(48)، أما الأداة الثانية فتمثلت بالصورة المعربة لمقياس مهارة ما وراء المعرفة الذي استعمله كومر  (Kumar, 1998) المؤلف من (42) فقرة, تأكد الباحث من صدقهما، وثباتهما، وخصائصهما السيكومترية، وقد دلت النتائج الى صالح طلاب المجموعة التجريبية.
موقف الطائفة المارونية من الاحتلال الفرنسي للبنان 1918- 1920
Authors: م.د. ماجد حمدان بهير الموسوي
Published: January 2020

الطائفة المارونية من الطوائف المسيحية التي سكنت المقاطعات الشمالية من لبنان بل تعد اكبر تلك الطوائف, ولها ارتباط وثيق بفرنسا التي تعتبرها الدولة الام, ومن جانبها كانت لفرنسا مطامع في بلاد الشام وكان الموارنة الاداة الرئيسية في لبنان لتنفيذ خطط فرنسا الاستعمارية. وهذا البحث يهدف الى بيان موقف الطائفة المارونية من الاحتلال الفرنسي للبنان الذي بدأ عام 1918 واكتمل بفرض الانتداب من الدولة نفسها عام 1920, وبمساندة الطائفة المارونية لاسيما كبار رجال الدين من الكنيسة المارونية.

        تضمنت الدراسة ثلاث مباحث. تناول المبحث الاول سياسة فرنسا تجاه لبنان حتى عام 1918, اذ بحث التغلغل الفرنسي في جبل لبنان وموقف الموارنة منه حتى عام 1914, والموارنة وفرنسا خلال سنوات الحرب العالمية الاولى  1914 – 1918. في حين تطرق المبحث الثاني الى الاحتلال الفرنسي للبنان وموقف الموارنة منه 1918-1920 الذي سلط الضوء على الاحتلال الفرنسي للبنان 1918 وموقف الطائفة المارونية منه والمطالب المارونية في مؤتمر الصلح في باريس 1919-1920 , اما المبحث الثالث فقد درس فرض الانتداب الفرنسي على لبنان 1920 وموقف الطائفة المارونية منه.
المباحث العقدية في تفسير مجمع البيان للشيخ الطبرسي (التوحيد، والعدل، والإمامة) أنموذجاً
Authors: م. عامر ضاحي سلمان
Published: January 2020

حاولنا في بحثنا الموسوم" المباحث العقدية في تفسير مجمع البيان للشيخ الطبرسي (التوحيد، والعدل، والإمامة) أنموذجاً " إبراز المباحث العقدية الموجودة في ثنايا تفسير مجمع البيان؛ كي تخرج الدراسة بهذه الحلّة التي اتمنى أن أكون قد وفّقت فيها، وقد أغفلت ذكر السيرة الذاتية للطبرسي، لتكرارها في أكثر من دراسة، لذا شرعت ببيان المباحث العقدية في مطلع بحثنا هذا، بدءً من التوحيد وانتهاءً بالإمامة، ومما تجدر الإشارة إليه إلى أنّنا تناولنا في دراستنا هذه أبراز المباحث العقدية الموجودة في تفسير مجمع البيان، وتركنا بعضها كون البحث لا يمكن له أن يسع المباحث بأكملها، فهي تحتاج دراسة أكاديمية مستقلة، فقد تضمن بحثنا ثلاثة مباحث وخاتمة:

تناولت في المبحث الأول: أصل التوحيد، وتفرّع عن هذا الأصل، دراسة محاور عدة أهمها: نفي الرؤية عن الله تعالى، وحدوث القرآن، ومسألة الصفات.

وجاء المبحث الثاني بعنوان العدل، بيّنا فيه: وجوب اللطف والصلاح والأصلح على الله تعالى، والحسن والقبح العقليين.

وآخر المباحث خصّصته للإمامة، التي تُعدّ الأصل الرابع من أصول الدين عند الشيعة الإماميِّة، فلا يتمّ الإيمان عندهم إلا بالاعتقاد بها.

ثم ختمتُ بحثي بخاتمة أجملتُ فيها أهمَّ النتائج التي تمخّض عنها البحث.
Gender Role in Kamala Markandaya’s Nectar in a Sieve
Authors: Prof. Eman Fathi Yahya PhD.
Published: January 2020

Women are being presented in Kamala Markandaya’s novels as the center of concern. She is a famous Indian novelist  in the postcolonial era and she is very famous internationally for her masterpiece “Nectar in a Sieve”1954 .

    Markandaya treats women’s issues and problems  in her novels in a very deep way. A woman quest for identity and redefining herself finds reflection and constituted an important motif of the female characters.

      What helps Markandaya in drain a realistic portrayal  of a contemporary woman is that having a  deep insight into women’s issues. Markandaya explores and interprets the emotional responses of women and their problems with much understanding.

     In her novels, female characters are the chief protagonists searching for meaning and value of life. Also She presents an existential struggle of a woman in some of her novels who refuses to submit her individual self and emerges undergoing much pain and suffering.

     In her writing, Markandaya  traces a woman’s journey in order to know herself. This journey is from self-denial to self-assertion, from self-negation to self-affirmation,  and from self-sacrifice to self-realization.