bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Modelling of Granular Fracture in Polycrystalline Materials Using Ordinary State-Based Peridynamics
Authors: Zhu Ning , De Meo Dennj , Oterkus Erkan
Published: December 2016

An ordinary state-based peridynamic formulation is developed to analyse cubic polycrystalline materials for the first time in the literature. This new approach has the advantage that no constraint condition is imposed on material constants as opposed to bond-based peridynamic theory. The formulation is validated by first considering static analyses and comparing the displacement fields obtained from the finite element method and ordinary state-based peridynamics. Then, dynamic analysis is performed to investigate the effect of grain boundary strength, crystal size, and discretization size on fracture behaviour and fracture morphology.
Engineering Characteristics of Chemically Treated Water-Repellent Kaolin
Authors: Choi Youngmin , Choo Hyunwook , Yun Tae , Lee Changho , Lee Woojin
Published: December 2016

Water-repellent soils have a potential as alternative construction materials that will improve conventional geotechnical structures. In this study, the potential of chemically treated water-repellent kaolin clay as a landfill cover material is explored by examining its characteristics including hydraulic and mechanical properties. In order to provide water repellency to the kaolin clay, the surface of clay particle is modified with organosilanes in concentrations (CO) ranging from 0.5% to 10% by weight. As the CO increases, the specific gravity of treated clay tends to decrease, whereas the total organic carbon content of the treated clay tends to increase. The soil-water contact angle increases with an increase in CO until CO = 2.5%, and then maintains an almost constant value (≈134.0°). Resistance to water infiltration is improved by organosilane treatment under low hydrostatic pressure. However, water infiltration resistance under high hydrostatic pressure is reduced or exacerbated to the level of untreated clay. The maximum compacted dry weight density decreases with increasing CO. As the CO increases, the small strain shear modulus increases, whereas the effect of organosilane treatment on the constrained modulus is minimal. The results indicate that water-repellent kaolin clay possesses excellent engineering characteristics for a landfill cover material.
Conversion of Biowaste Asian Hard Clam (Meretrix lusoria) Shells into White-Emitting Phosphors for Use in Neutral White LEDs
Authors: Chang Tsung-Yuan , Wang Chih-Min , Lin Tai-Yuan , Lin Hsiu-Mei
Published: December 2016

The increasing volume and complexity of waste associated with the modern economy poses a serious risk to ecosystems and human health. However, the remanufacturing and recycling of waste into usable products can lead to substantial resource savings. In the present study, clam shell waste was first transformed into pure and well-crystallized single-phase white light-emitting phosphor Ca9Gd(PO4)7:Eu2+,Mn2+ materials. The phosphor Ca9Gd(PO4)7:Eu2+,Mn2+ materials were synthesized by the solid-state reaction method and the carbothermic reduction process, and then characterized and analyzed by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and photoluminescence (PL) measurements. The structural and luminescent properties of the phosphors were investigated as well. The PL and quantum efficiency measurements showed that the luminescence properties of clam shell-based phosphors were comparable to that of the chemically derived phosphors. Moreover, white light-emitting diodes were fabricated through the integration of 380 nm chips and single-phase white light-emitting phosphors (Ca0.979Eu0.006Mn0.015)9Gd(PO4)7 into a single package of a white light emitting diode (WLED) emitting a neutral white light of 5298 K with color coordinates of (0.337, 0.344).
Marine Organisms with Anti-Diabetes Properties
Authors: Lauritano Chiara , Ianora Adrianna
Published: December 2016

Diabetes is a chronic degenerative metabolic disease with high morbidity and mortality rates caused by its complications. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in looking for new bioactive compounds to treat this disease, including metabolites of marine origin. Several aquatic organisms have been screened to evaluate their possible anti-diabetes activities, such as bacteria, microalgae, macroalgae, seagrasses, sponges, corals, sea anemones, fish, salmon skin, a shark fusion protein as well as fish and shellfish wastes. Both in vitro and in vivo screenings have been used to test anti-hyperglycemic and anti-diabetic activities of marine organisms. This review summarizes recent discoveries in anti-diabetes properties of several marine organisms as well as marine wastes, existing patents and possible future research directions in this field.
Steric and Stereochemical Modulation in Pyridyl- and Quinolyl-Containing Ligands
Authors: Dai Zhaohua
Published: December 2016

Nitrogen-containing pyridine and quinoline are outstanding platforms on which excellent ionophores and sensors for metal ions can be built. Steric and stereochemical effects can be used to modulate the affinity and selectivity of such ligands toward different metal ions on the coordination chemistry front. On the signal transduction front, such effects can also be used to modulate optical responses of these ligands in metal sensing systems. In this review, steric modulation of achiral ligands and stereochemical modulation in chiral ligands, especially ionophores and sensors for zinc, copper, silver, and mercury, are examined using published structural and spectral data. Although it might be more challenging to construct chiral ligands than achiral ones, isotropic and anisotropic absorption signals from a single chiroptical fluorescent sensor provide not only detection but also differentiation of multiple analytes with high selectivity.
Pathway Analysis and Metabolites Identification by Metabolomics of Etiolation Substrate from Fresh-Cut Chinese Water Chestnut (Eleocharis tuberosa)
Authors: Li Yi-Xiao , Pan Yong-Gui , He Feng-Ping , Yuan Meng-Qi , Li Shang-Bin
Published: December 2016

Fresh-cut Chinese water chestnuts (CWC) turn yellow after being peeled, reducing their shelf life and commercial value. Metabolomics, the systematic study of the full complement of small molecular metabolites, was useful for clarifying the mechanism of fresh-cut CWC etiolation and developing methods to inhibit yellowing. In this study, metabolic alterations associated with etiolation at different growth stages (0 day, 2 days, 3 days, 4 days, 5 days) from fresh-cut CWC were investigated using LC–MS and analyzed by pattern recognition methods (principal component analysis (PCA), partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), and orthogonal projection to latent structures-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA)). The metabolic pathways of the etiolation molecules were elucidated. The main metabolic pathway appears to be the conversion of phenylalanine to p-coumaroyl-CoA, followed by conversion to naringenin chalcone, to naringenin, and naringenin then following different pathways. Firstly, it can transform into apigenin and its derivatives; secondly, it can produce eriodictyol and its derivatives; and thirdly it can produce dihydrokaempferol, quercetin, and myricetin. The eriodictyol can be further transformed to luteolin, cyanidin, dihydroquercetin, dihydrotricetin, and others. This is the first reported use of metabolomics to study the metabolic pathways of the etiolation of fresh-cut CWC.
Expedient Organocatalytic Syntheses of 4-Substituted Pyrazolidines and Isoxazolidines
Authors: Yousfi Tarek , Elliott Alysha , Hanane Messiad , Merdes Rachid , Moyano Albert
Published: December 2016

The efficient organocatalytic synthesis of heterocyclic systems of biological relevance is a subject of growing interest. We have found that the pyrrolidine/benzoic acid-catalyzed reaction of α-substituted propenals such as methacrolein, 2-benzylpropenal and 2-(n-hexyl)propenal with activated hydrazines takes place in very good yields (83%–99.6%) under very mild conditions to afford 4-substituted pyrazolidin-3-ols (as diastereomer mixtures); subsequent oxidation with PCC affords the corresponding-4-substituted-3-pyrazolidinones in essentially quantitative yields. In a similar way, 4-substituted isoxazolidinones are obtained with N-Cbz-hydroxylamine as a reagent. The use of chiral diarylprolinol trimethylsilyl ethers as catalysts allows the synthesis of several of these compounds in optically active form, in some cases with excellent enantioselectivity (up to 96:4 er). A preliminary evaluation of the biological activity shows that some of these compounds exhibit interesting antibacterial and antifungal activities.
High Percentage of Isomeric Human MicroRNA and Their Analytical Challenges
Authors: Mwangi Joseph , Chiu Norman
Published: December 2016

MicroRNA (miR) are short non-coding RNAs known to post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression, and have been reported as biomarkers for various diseases. miR have also been served as potential drug targets. The identity, functions and detection of a specific miR are determined by its RNA sequence, whose composition is made up of only 4 canonical ribonucleotides. Hence, among over two thousand human miR, their nucleotide compositions are expected to be similar but the extent of similarity has not been reported. In this study, the sequences of mature human miR were downloaded from miRBase, and collated using different tools to determine and compare their nucleotide compositions and sequences. 55% of all human miR were found to be structural isomers. The structural isomers of miR (SimiR) are defined as having the same size and identical nucleotide composition. A number of SimiR were also found to have high sequence similarities. To investigate the extent of SimiR in biological samples, three disease models were chosen, and disease-associated miR were identified from miR2Disease. Among the disease models, as high as 73% of miR were found to be SimiR. This report provides the missing information about human miR and highlights the challenges on the detection of SimiR.
Predicting Human Mortality: Quantitative Evaluation of Four Stochastic Models
Authors: Novokreshchenova Anastasia
Published: December 2016

In this paper, we quantitatively compare the forecasts from four different mortality models. We consider one discrete-time model proposed by Lee and Carter (1992) and three continuous-time models: the Wills and Sherris (2011) model, the Feller process and the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck (OU) process. The first two models estimate the whole surface of mortality simultaneously, while in the latter two, each generation is modelled and calibrated separately. We calibrate the models to UK and Australian population data. We find that all the models show relatively similar absolute total error for a given dataset, except the Lee-Carter model, whose performance differs significantly. To evaluate the forecasting performance we therefore look at two alternative measures: the relative error between the forecasted and the actual mortality rates and the percentage of actual mortality rates which fall within a prediction interval. In terms of the prediction intervals, the results are more divergent since each model implies a different structure for the variance of mortality rates. According to our experiments, the Wills and Sherris model produces superior results in terms of the prediction intervals. However, in terms of the mean absolute error, the OU and the Feller processes perform better. The forecasting performance of the Lee Carter model is mostly dependent on the choice of the dataset.
Femtosecond Laser Ablated FBG with Composite Microstructure for Hydrogen Sensor Application
Authors: Zou Meng , Dai Yutang , Zhou Xian , Dong Ke , Yang Minghong
Published: December 2016

A composite microstructure in fiber Bragg grating (FBG) with film deposition for hydrogen detection is presented. Through ablated to FBG cladding by a femtosecond laser, straight-trenches and spiral micro-pits are formed. A Pd–Ag film is sputtered on the surface of the laser processed FBG single mode fiber, and acts as hydrogen sensing transducer. The demonstrated experimental outcomes show that a composite structure produced the highest sensitivity of 26.3 pm/%H, nearly sevenfold more sensitive compared with original standard FBG. It offers great potential in engineering applications for its good structure stability and sensitivity.
Manipulation and Immobilization of a Single Fluorescence Nanosensor for Selective Injection into Cells
Authors: Hashim Hairulazwan , Maruyama Hisataka , Masuda Taisuke , Arai Fumihito
Published: December 2016

Manipulation and injection of single nanosensors with high cell viability is an emerging field in cell analysis. We propose a new method using fluorescence nanosensors with a glass nanoprobe and optical control of the zeta potential. The nanosensor is fabricated by encapsulating a fluorescence polystyrene nanobead into a lipid layer with 1,3,3-trimethylindolino-6′-nitrobenzopyrylospiran (SP), which is a photochromic material. The nanobead contains iron oxide nanoparticles and a temperature-sensitive fluorescent dye, Rhodamine B. The zeta potential of the nanosensor switches between negative and positive by photo-isomerization of SP with ultraviolet irradiation. The positively-charged nanosensor easily adheres to a negatively-charged glass nanoprobe, is transported to a target cell, and then adheres to the negatively-charged cell membrane. The nanosensor is then injected into the cytoplasm by heating with a near-infrared (NIR) laser. As a demonstration, a single 750 nm nanosensor was picked-up using a glass nanoprobe with optical control of the zeta potential. Then, the nanosensor was transported and immobilized onto a target cell membrane. Finally, it was injected into the cytoplasm using a NIR laser. The success rates of pick-up and cell immobilization of the nanosensor were 75% and 64%, respectively. Cell injection and cell survival rates were 80% and 100%, respectively.
Comparing ∆Tmax Determination Approaches for Granier-Based Sapflow Estimations
Authors: Rabbel Inken , Diekkrüger Bernd , Voigt Holm , Neuwirth Burkhard
Published: December 2016

Granier-type thermal dissipation probes are common instruments for quantifying tree water use in forest hydrological studies. Estimating sapflow using Granier-type sapflow sensors requires determining the maximum temperature gradient (∆Tmax) between the heated probe and the reference probe below. ∆Tmax represents a state of zero sap flux, which was originally assumed to occur each night leading to a ∆Tmax determination on a daily basis. However, researchers have proven that, under certain conditions, sapflow may continue throughout the night. Therefore alternative approaches to determining ∆Tmax have been developed. Multiple ∆Tmax approaches are now in use; however, sapflow estimates remain imprecise because the empirical equation that transfers the raw temperature signal (∆T) to sap flux density (Fd) is strongly sensitive to ∆Tmax. In this study, we analyze the effects of different ∆Tmax determination approaches on sub-daily, daily and (intra-)seasonal Fd estimations. On this basis, we quantify the uncertainty of sapflow calculations, which is related to the raw signal processing. We show that the ∆Tmax determination procedure has a major influence on absolute ∆Tmax values and the respective sap flux density computations. Consequently, the choice of the ∆Tmax determination approach may be a significant source of uncertainty in sapflow estimations.
A Robust and Device-Free System for the Recognition and Classification of Elderly Activities
Authors: Li Fangmin , Al-qaness Mohammed , Zhang Yong , Zhao Bihai , Luan Xidao
Published: December 2016

Human activity recognition, tracking and classification is an essential trend in assisted living systems that can help support elderly people with their daily activities. Traditional activity recognition approaches depend on vision-based or sensor-based techniques. Nowadays, a novel promising technique has obtained more attention, namely device-free human activity recognition that neither requires the target object to wear or carry a device nor install cameras in a perceived area. The device-free technique for activity recognition uses only the signals of common wireless local area network (WLAN) devices available everywhere. In this paper, we present a novel elderly activities recognition system by leveraging the fluctuation of the wireless signals caused by human motion. We present an efficient method to select the correct data from the Channel State Information (CSI) streams that were neglected in previous approaches. We apply a Principle Component Analysis method that exposes the useful information from raw CSI. Thereafter, Forest Decision (FD) is adopted to classify the proposed activities and has gained a high accuracy rate. Extensive experiments have been conducted in an indoor environment to test the feasibility of the proposed system with a total of five volunteer users. The evaluation shows that the proposed system is applicable and robust to electromagnetic noise.
Lightweight Sensor Authentication Scheme for Energy Efficiency in Ubiquitous Computing Environments
Authors: Lee Jaeseung , Sung Yunsick , Park Jong
Published: December 2016

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the intelligent technologies and services that mutually communicate information between humans and devices or between Internet-based devices. In IoT environments, various device information is collected from the user for intelligent technologies and services that control the devices. Recently, wireless sensor networks based on IoT environments are being used in sectors as diverse as medicine, the military, and commerce. Specifically, sensor techniques that collect relevant area data via mini-sensors after distributing smart dust in inaccessible areas like forests or military zones have been embraced as the future of information technology. IoT environments that utilize smart dust are composed of the sensor nodes that detect data using wireless sensors and transmit the detected data to middle nodes. Currently, since the sensors used in these environments are composed of mini-hardware, they have limited memory, processing power, and energy, and a variety of research that aims to make the best use of these limited resources is progressing. This paper proposes a method to utilize these resources while considering energy efficiency, and suggests lightweight mutual verification and key exchange methods based on a hash function that has no restrictions on operation quantity, velocity, and storage space. This study verifies the security and energy efficiency of this method through security analysis and function evaluation, comparing with existing approaches. The proposed method has great value in its applicability as a lightweight security technology for IoT environments.
Wearable Sensor-Based Human Activity Recognition Method with Multi-Features Extracted from Hilbert-Huang Transform
Authors: Xu Huile , Liu Jinyi , Hu Haibo , Zhang Yi
Published: December 2016

Wearable sensors-based human activity recognition introduces many useful applications and services in health care, rehabilitation training, elderly monitoring and many other areas of human interaction. Existing works in this field mainly focus on recognizing activities by using traditional features extracted from Fourier transform (FT) or wavelet transform (WT). However, these signal processing approaches are suitable for a linear signal but not for a nonlinear signal. In this paper, we investigate the characteristics of the Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT) for dealing with activity data with properties such as nonlinearity and non-stationarity. A multi-features extraction method based on HHT is then proposed to improve the effect of activity recognition. The extracted multi-features include instantaneous amplitude (IA) and instantaneous frequency (IF) by means of empirical mode decomposition (EMD), as well as instantaneous energy density (IE) and marginal spectrum (MS) derived from Hilbert spectral analysis. Experimental studies are performed to verify the proposed approach by using the PAMAP2 dataset from the University of California, Irvine for wearable sensors-based activity recognition. Moreover, the effect of combining multi-features vs. a single-feature are investigated and discussed in the scenario of a dependent subject. The experimental results show that multi-features combination can further improve the performance measures. Finally, we test the effect of multi-features combination in the scenario of an independent subject. Our experimental results show that we achieve four performance indexes: recall, precision, F-measure, and accuracy to 0.9337, 0.9417, 0.9353, and 0.9377 respectively, which are all better than the achievements of related works.
On the Use of a Feedback Tracking Architecture for Satellite Navigation Spoofing Detection
Authors: Garbin Manfredini Esteban , Dovis Fabio
Published: December 2016

In this paper, the Extended Coupled Amplitude Delay Lock Loop (ECADLL) architecture, previously introduced as a solution able to deal with a multipath environment, is revisited and improved to tailor it to spoofing detection purposes. Exploiting a properly-defined decision algorithm, the architecture is able to effectively detect a spoofer attack, as well as distinguish it from other kinds of interference events. The new algorithm is used to classify them according to their characteristics. We also introduce the use of a ratio metric detector in order to reduce the detection latency and the computational load of the architecture.
THE ROTATION PERIOD DISTRIBUTIONS OF 4–10 Myr T TAURI STARS IN ORION OB1: NEW CONSTRAINTS ON PRE-MAIN-SEQUENCE ANGULAR MOMENTUM EVOLUTION
Authors: Karim Md Tanveer , Stassun Keivan G. , Briceño César , Vivas A. Katherina , Raetz Stefanie , Mateu Cecilia , Downes Juan José , Calvet Nuria , Hernández Jesús , Neuhäuser Ralph , Mugrauer Markus , Takahashi Hidenori , Tachihara Kengo , Chini Rolf , Cruz-Dias Gustavo A. , Aarnio Alicia , James David J. , Hackstein Moritz
Published: December 2016

Most existing studies of the angular momentum evolution of young stellar populations have focused on the youngest (≲1–3 Myr) T Tauri stars. In contrast, the angular momentum distributions of older T Tauri stars (∼4–10 Myr) have been less studied, even though they hold key insights to understanding stellar angular momentum evolution at a time when protoplanetary disks have largely dissipated and when models therefore predict changes in the rotational evolution that can in principle be tested. We present a study of photometric variability among 1974 confirmed T Tauri members of various subregions of the Orion OB1 association, and with ages spanning 4–10 Myr, using optical time series from three different surveys. For 564 of the stars (∼32% of the weak-lined T Tauri stars and ∼13% of the classical T Tauri stars in our sample) we detect statistically significant periodic variations, which we attribute to the stellar rotation periods, making this one of the largest samples of T Tauri star rotation periods yet published. We observe a clear change in the overall rotation period distributions over the age range 4–10 Myr, with the progressively older subpopulations exhibiting systematically faster rotation. This result is consistent with angular momentum evolution model predictions of an important qualitative change in the stellar rotation periods starting at ∼5 Myr, an age range for which very few observational constraints were previously available.
BVRI OBSERVATIONS AND ANALYSES OF THE SEMIDETACHED BINARY FF VULPECULA
Authors: Samec R. G. , Nyaude R. , Caton D. , Hamme W. Van
Published: December 2016

High-precision

light curves of FF Vul were taken during the fall of 2015 with the Dark Sky Observatory 0.81 m reflector of Appalachian State University, and the SARA north 0.91 m reflector at KPNO. FF Vul is an eclipsing binary with a period of 0.44 day. A Wilson–Devinney solution shows that the binary is a near-contact, semidetached binary, i.e., with a V1010 Oph-type configuration. Five eclipse timings (three primary and two secondary) were calculated. A quadratic ephemeris was determined indicating that the period is decreasing. A near-equatorial hot spot was modeled on the cooler, secondary star, possibly caused by matter impacting from the primary component via the inner Lagrangian point. The component temperature difference is more than 1500 K. The solution confirms a total secondary eclipse of 23 minutes duration. As expected in binaries of this type, there is a magnetic spot region.
ROTATIONAL DYNAMICS AND STAR FORMATION IN THE NEARBY DWARF GALAXY NGC 5238
Authors: Cannon John M. , McNichols Andrew T. , Teich Yaron G. , Ball Catherine , Banovetz John , Brock Annika , Eisner Brian A. , Fitzgibbon Kathleen , Miazzo Masao , Nizami Asra , Reilly Bridget , Ruvolo Elizabeth , Singer Quinton
Published: December 2016

We present new H i spectral-line images of the nearby low-mass galaxy NGC 5238, acquired with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array. Located at a distance of 4.51 ± 0.04 Mpc, NGC 5238 is an actively star-forming galaxy with widespread Hα and ultraviolet (UV) continuum emission. The source is included in many ongoing and recent nearby galaxy surveys, but until this work the spatially resolved qualities of its neutral interstellar medium have remained unstudied. Our H i images resolve the disk on physical scales of ∼400 pc, allowing us to undertake a detailed comparative study of the gaseous and stellar components. The H i disk is asymmetric in the outer regions, and the areas of high H i mass surface density display a crescent-shaped morphology that is slightly offset from the center of the stellar populations. The H i column density exceeds 1021 cm−2 in much of the disk. We quantify the degree of co-spatiality of dense H i gas and sites of ongoing star formation as traced by far-UV and Hα emission. The neutral gas kinematics are complex; using a spatially resolved position–velocity analysis, we infer a rotational velocity of 31 ± 5 km s−1. We place NGC 5238 on the baryonic Tully–Fisher relation and contextualize the system among other low-mass galaxies.
REDSHIFT MEASUREMENT AND SPECTRAL CLASSIFICATION FOR eBOSS GALAXIES WITH THE REDMONSTER SOFTWARE
Authors: Hutchinson Timothy A. , Bolton Adam S. , Dawson Kyle S. , Prieto Carlos Allende , Bailey Stephen , Bautista Julian E. , Brownstein Joel R. , Conroy Charlie , Guy Julien , Myers Adam D. , Newman Jeffrey A. , Prakash Abhishek , Carnero-Rosell Aurelio , Seo Hee-Jong , Tojeiro Rita , Vivek M. , Zhu Guangtun Ben
Published: December 2016

We describe the redmonster automated redshift measurement and spectral classification software designed for the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV (SDSS-IV). We describe the algorithms, the template standard and requirements, and the newly developed galaxy templates to be used on eBOSS spectra. We present results from testing on early data from eBOSS, where we have found a 90.5% automated redshift and spectral classification success rate for the luminous red galaxy sample (redshifts 0.6 ≲ z ≲ 1.0). The redmonster performance meets the eBOSS cosmology requirements for redshift classification and catastrophic failures and represents a significant improvement over the previous pipeline. We describe the empirical processes used to determine the optimum number of additive polynomial terms in our models and an acceptable

threshold for declaring statistical confidence. Statistical errors on redshift measurement due to photon shot noise are assessed, and we find typical values of a few tens of km s−1. An investigation of redshift differences in repeat observations scaled by error estimates yields a distribution with a Gaussian mean and standard deviation of μ ∼ 0.01 and σ ∼ 0.65, respectively, suggesting the reported statistical redshift uncertainties are over-estimated by ∼54%. We assess the effects of object magnitude, signal-to-noise ratio, fiber number, and fiber head location on the pipeline’s redshift success rate. Finally, we describe directions of ongoing development.
Proteomic Investigation of Dermal Fibroblasts Isolated from Affected and Unaffected Skin Samples from Patients with Limited Cutaneous Systemic Sclerosis: 2 Distinct Entities?
Authors: Corallo Claudio , Santucci Annalisa , Bernardini Giulia , Figura Natale , Leoncini Roberto , Riolo Giulia , Montella Antonio , Chirico Chiara , Nuti Ranuccio , Giordano Nicola
Published: December 2016

Objective.

To identify using proteomic analysis the proteins of altered abundance in the affected and unaffected limited cutaneous systemic sclerosis (lcSSc) skin fibroblasts.

Methods.

Excision biopsies (3 mm) were obtained from the affected and unaffected skin of 5 patients with lcSSc. Dermal fibroblasts were isolated enzymatically. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis was used to separate and define proteins in affected and unaffected fibroblast lysates. Proteins of altered abundance were identified by mass spectrometry. Differences among skin samples were confirmed also by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) for type I collagen (Col-1) and vimentin (VIM).

Results.

Proteomic analysis revealed different expressions of proteins involved in cytoskeleton organization (27%), extracellular matrix remodeling (11%), response to oxidative stress (22%), energy metabolism (19%), protein metabolism (5%), cellular homeostasis (5%), signal transduction (3%), and protein transcription, synthesis, and turnover (8%). IHC analysis showed that SSc-affected epidermis is thickened and the dermis is strongly reactive to Col-1 and VIM (typical markers of activated myofibroblasts) compared to SSc-unaffected skin, whose stainings are comparable to those of control healthy skin. Overexpression of Col-1 and VIM mRNA levels in affected lcSSc fibroblasts compared to unaffected lcSSc ones was confirmed by qRT-PCR.

Conclusion.

Consistent with previous studies, these findings are important for 2 reasons: first, because they reveal the opposite behavior of dermal fibroblasts in the unaffected and affected skin areas of the same patient with lcSSc; second, because they demonstrate the histological/histochemical similarities between unaffected skin from patients with lcSSc and healthy control skin.
Ankylosing Spondylitis versus Nonradiographic Axial Spondyloarthritis: Comparison of Tumor Necrosis Factor Inhibitor Effectiveness and Effect of HLA-B27 Status. An Observational Cohort Study from the Nationwide DANBIO Registry
Authors: Glintborg Bente , Sørensen Inge J. , Østergaard Mikkel , Dreyer Lene , Mohamoud Abdiweli A. , Krogh Niels S. , Hendricks Oliver , Andersen Lis S. , Raun Johnny L. , Kowalski Marcin R. , Danielsen Laura , Pelck Randi , Nordin Henrik , Pedersen Jens K. , Kraus Dorte G.A. , Christensen Susan R. , Hansen Inger M.J. , Esbesen Jakob , Schlemmer Annette , Loft Anne G. , al Chaer Nabil , Salomonsen Lone , Hetland Merete L.
Published: December 2016

Objective.

To compare baseline disease activity and treatment effectiveness in biologic-naive patients with nonradiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) who initiate tumor necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi) treatment and to study the role of potential confounders (e.g., HLA-B27 status).

Methods.

Observational cohort study based on prospectively registered data in the nationwide DANBIO registry. We used Kaplan-Meier plots, Cox, and logistic regression analyses to study the effect of diagnosis (nr-axSpA vs AS) and potential confounders (sex/age/start yr/HLA-B27/disease duration/TNFi-type/smoking/baseline disease activity) on TNFi adherence and response [e.g., Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Activity Index (BASDAI) 50%/20 mm].

Results.

The study included 1250 TNFi-naive patients with axSpA (29% nr-axSpA, 50% AS, 21% lacked radiographs of sacroiliac joints). Patients with nr-axSpA were more frequently women (50%/27%) and HLA-B27–negative (85/338 = 25%), compared to AS (81/476 = 17%; p < 0.01). At TNFi start patients with nr-axSpA had higher visual analog scale scores [median (quartiles)] for pain: 72 mm (55–84)/65 mm (48–77); global: 76 mm (62–88)/68 mm (50–80); fatigue: 74 mm (55–85)/67 mm (50–80); and BASDAI: 64 (54–77)/59 (46–71); all p < 0.01. However, patients with nr-axSpA had lower C-reactive protein: 7 mg/l (3–17)/11 mg/l (5–22); and BAS Metrology Index: 20 (10–40)/40 (20–50); all p < 0.01. Median (95% CI) treatment adherence was poorer in nr-axSpA than in AS: 1.59 years (1.15–2.02) versus 3.67 years (2.86–4.49), p < 0.0001; but only in univariate and not confounder-adjusted analyses (p > 0.05). Response rates were similar in AS and nr-axSpA (p > 0.05). HLA-B27 negativity was associated with poorer treatment adherence [HLA-B27 negative/positive, nr-axSpA: HR 1.74 (1.29–2.36), AS: HR 2.04 (1.53–2.71), both p < 0.0001]; and lower response rates (nr-axSpA: 18/61 = 30% vs 93/168 = 55%; AS: 17/59 = 29% vs 157/291 = 54%, both p < 0.05).

Conclusion.

In this nationwide cohort, patients with nr-axSpA had higher subjective disease activity at start of first TNFi treatment, but similar outcomes to patients with AS after confounder adjustment. HLA-B27 positivity was associated with better outcomes irrespective of axSpA subdiagnosis.
Sustained Benefits of Exercise-based Motivational Interviewing, but Only among Nonusers of Opioids in Patients with Fibromyalgia
Authors: Kim Sunghye , Slaven James E. , Ang Dennis C.
Published: December 2016

Objective.

Given the known side effects of opioids and their potential effects on cognition, we sought to evaluate the benefits of motivational interviewing (MI) to promote physical activity on 2 subsets of participants with fibromyalgia (FM): nonusers and users of opioids.

Methods.

This was a secondary data analysis of a 36-week randomized controlled trial to assess the efficacy of MI to promote physical activity among participants with FM. Participants were randomized to 1 of 2 treatment arms: 6 phone-based MI sessions (n = 107) or 6 sessions of FM self-management instructions [attention control (AC), n = 109]. The primary outcomes were changes in physical function (Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36), pain severity (Brief Pain Inventory), global FM symptom severity (Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire), and the amount of light to moderate physical activity (LMPA) from baseline to each followup visit. At study entry, subjects were categorized as opioid nonusers versus users. Repeated measures ANOVA was used to assess treatment effects adjusting for potential confounders.

Results.

Of the 216 participants, 145 (67%) were nonusers and 71 (33%) were opioid users. Among nonusers, MI was associated with improved physical function, reduced pain severity, and global FM severity, and increased LMPA at 6-month followup. Among opioid users, there were no significant differences in any outcome measures between the MI and AC groups.

Conclusion.

Exercise-based MI was associated with sustained clinical benefits 6 months after completion of therapy, but only for those who were not taking opioids.
Étudier l’islam
Authors: Bozarslan Hamit , Amir-Moezzi Mohammad Ali
Published: December 2016

Le Coran est susceptible d’une pluralité de lectures, selon le contexte historique, avec des périodes d’essor, ouvertes sur les cultures voisines, et d’autres de pétrification et de fermeture sur soi. La sagesse et la richesse de l’islam sont aujourd’hui oubliées au profit de la sécheresse du wahhabisme.
La « marchandisation » croissante du monde
Authors: Dupuis Flavien
Published: December 2016

Un examen de la « marchandisation » montre qu’elle s’accompagne d’un processus inverse de dé-marchandisation, en particulier du travail, des ressources naturelles, du corps et des échanges, sous l’impulsion de l’État-Providence, du droit et de la société civile.
Yves Bonnefoy
Authors: Suzzoni Cécilia
Published: December 2016

La tâche du poète consiste à retrouver la présence du monde à travers l’énigme du langage, accompagnée de réflexion et en dialogue avec les arts. L’Écharpe rouge , roman familial et récit d’enfance, rappelle que la poésie est indispensable à une société malade de son langage.
Hacia una teoría para la construcción del conocimiento en las pequeñas y medianas empresas desde la perspectiva de la ciencia de la acción. (argyris y schön)
Authors: Aular López Andrés
Published: December 2016

La présente étude a pour principal objectif de formuler une théorie de l’action sur les processus de construction de la connaissance, fondée sur la science de l’action, à partir des théories implicites des dirigeants des petites et moyennes entreprises (PME). La méthodologie est qualitative sur base de dialogues ayant été traités avec des dirigeants, et d’entretiens approfondis avec le traitement des informations par le biais de l’échelle d’inférence. Les résultats correspondent aux composants de la théorie de l’action des dirigeants: principes directeurs, hypothèses et stratégies d’action. Des stratégies d’action ont été reconstruites, soutenues par la définition du cadre normatif, pour promouvoir l’évolution de la dite théorie d’utilisation.
Importancia y participación de las MIPYMES en la economía mexicana
Authors: Velázquez Valadez Guillermo , Cerón Palma Isidro , Rodríguez Córdova Carla Guadalupe
Published: December 2016

Compte tenu de la situation de chômage que connaît le Mexique, l’auto-emploi est sans aucun doute la forme la plus adoptée par les familles pour leur subsistance; dans ce contexte, la toute petite entreprise est une solution pour les revenus des familles. Cependant, le coût du microcrédit pour ces entreprises est élevé, en raison du système de gestions bureaucratiques des petits crédits. Les principaux problèmes rencontrés par les PME mexicaines sont: 99% manque de trésorerie ou de capital; 79% manque d’expérience; 59% manque de bons systèmes d’information et 58% d’investissements excessifs dans les actifs immobilisés. Cette situation fait que le micro-entrepreneur dépasse leur capacité de paiement et ce qui l’oblige à emprunter à nouveau avec un deuxième crédit.
Responsabilidad Social Empresaria (RSE) en debate: Investigación, docencia y prácticas en conflicto
Authors: Vinsennau Daniel José , Simonetta Carlos David
Published: December 2016

Le concept de RSE a gagné plus de centralité à tel point que, aujourd’hui, il dépasse l’approche court-termiste de la gestion traditionnelle de l’entreprise. Á partir de là, une série d’efforts orientés vers la recherche, l’enseignement et la pratique de la responsabilité sociétale des entreprises (RSE) ont commencé à s’intensifier. Il est dès lors possible d’observer des formulations conceptuelles à partir de perspectives et d’idéologies divergentes. Cela à largement contribué au débat sur ce thème. Un examen de cette confrontation nous a permis de réaliser une synthèse conceptuelle de cet antagonisme.
Los bienes tecnológicos de los Centros Conacyt y su transferencia, estudio longitudinal 2000-2013
Authors: López Torres Virginia Guadalupe , Moreno Moreno Luis Ramón , Bückle López Karin Y. , Marín Vargas María Enselmina
Published: December 2016

L’étude porte sur le statut de la propriété industrielle des centres Conacyt et de son transfert. La recherche est basée sur une étude menée dans 18 centres, avec des informations obtenues au moyen d’un questionnaire et des rapports d’activité. Les résultats indiquent que 30% des brevets déposés à l’étranger, ont été transférés aux secteurs productifs, tandis que seuls 9% des brevets déposés au Mexique ont été transférés. Cela représente une opportunité de partager des connaissances et de créer un avantage concurrentiel.
Henry Mintzberg sans compromis
Authors: Normandin François
Published: December 2016

Le professeur octogénaire, qui a marqué de sa plume et de ses idées le monde des entreprises et des organisations en matière de management, n’a pas fini de réfléchir sur ce qui l’entoure et ce qu’il voit. Ses plus récentes réflexions sortent des chemins qu’il a traditionnellement suivis et montrent du doigt les dysfonctionnements du système capitaliste. « Enough ! » est le premier mot sur lequel tomberont les lecteurs dans Rebalancing Society , son dernier ouvrage. Et ce cri du cœur résonnera à maintes reprises lors de l’entrevue que le professeur émérite a accordée à Gestion .
Le passage de la centralisation à la décentralisation : un dangereux balancier
Authors: Pastoriza David
Published: December 2016

La différence entre une multinationale décentralisée et une multinationale centralisée réside dans la distribution des pouvoirs. Dans une multinationale centralisée, le pouvoir est entre les mains du siège social. Au contraire, dans une multinationale décentralisée, le pouvoir est partagé entre les différentes filiales à l’étranger. Parfois, lorsque l’environnement concurrentiel international change, les sociétés sont contraintes de transférer les pouvoirs. Cette opération est délicate et comporte son lot de risques, comme les exemples de Philips et de Panasonic le prouvent.
Quelles priorités stratégiques face à la nouvelle phase de mondialisation ?
Authors: Sirois Charles , Rousseau Henri-Paul
Published: December 2016

Dans un environnement en profonde transformation, quels sont les effets de la concurrence mondiale à l’horizon 2020 et quelles sont les priorités stratégiques gagnantes à adopter ? Le Réseau QG100, un regroupement privé de partage de connaissances constitué de près de 80 chefs de direction d’entreprises mondiales, vient de conclure un processus de consultation auprès de ses membres. En voici les faits saillants.
Compétitivité : passer de dinosaure à tigre
Authors: Jézéquel Myriam
Published: December 2016

Compétitivité : le mot est galvaudé. Mais êtes-vous aussi compétitif que vous le croyez ? Pour cela, faut-il se lever à cinq heures chaque matin ? Avez-vous une valeur de marché ? Suffit-il de savoir faire un bon discours ? De combien d’amis avez-vous besoin pour réussir ? Afin d’illustrer les façons dont la compétitivité influe sur nos attitudes, Stéphane Garelli fait le tour du sujet en 100 question.
Innover par le sens
Authors: Balloffet Pierre
Published: December 2016

Nous vivons un temps de mutations. Désormais, l’innovation ne rime plus avec la seule conception de produits et de services, ni même avec la simple élaboration de modèles d’affaires inédits. La force d’innovation n’est plus nécessairement proportionnelle au nombre de brevets déposés par une entreprise. L’innovation percole dans tous les domaines, y compris celui du sens. Bienvenue dans cette ère de transparence où ce qui compte n’est pas ce que vous dites mais ce que vous faites, pourquoi vous le faites, voire ce que vous êtes .
Évaluez une offre d’emploi avec les lunettes d’un investisseur
Authors: Jézéquel Myriam
Published: December 2016

Si vous examiniez une offre d’emploi avec le regard d’un investisseur averti, quels critères vous conduiraient à croire en sa valeur ? L’auteure Stephanie Vozza s’inspire des principes de Douglas McCormick, investisseur professionnel et cofondateur de la firme HCI Equity, pour un petit cours accéléré dans l’article « Why You Should Evaluate Job Offers Like An Investor » , paru dans Fast Company en avril 2016.
Vers l’énigme du transcendantal
Authors: Goldschmit Marc
Published: December 2016

La réélaboration, et le renouvellement, de la notion de « transcendantal » par Kant, après son ensevelissement par les grands rationalismes dogmatiques, aura été l’un des événements les plus surprenants de l’histoire de la pensée : il aura déterminé la philosophie comme mouvement d’inquiétude vers le transcendantal. Dans leurs livres Après la finitude et Avant demain, Meillassoux et Malabou nous proposent un retour à un dogmatisme qui n’invente aucun rapport renouvelé à l’histoire du « transcendantal », ni à la science dont ils se réclament, ils proposent seulement une lecture scolaire et historiquement limitée du « transcendantal ».
SUSTAINABILITY CERTIFICATION SYSTEMS AS GUIDELINES FOR EARLY-PHASE URBAN DESIGN PROCESSES
Authors: Jensen Lotte B. , Bjerre Lærke , Mansfeldt Lise
Published: December 2016

The German Sustainable Building Council (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen or DGNB) has one of the most comprehensive sustainability certification systems for urban districts (UD). Their explicit aim is that the system should impact the very earliest design decisions. The Technical University of Denmark has tested the DGNB-UD system in two experimental design projects for similar locations to find out how it can be used in the early-phase design process. This paper describes these two independent design processes, compares them and discusses their general features.

We found that DGNB-UD addresses a broad sustainable focus and can be used as a tool for setting sustainability goals from the very first design steps. The system tends to promote multifunctional compromise solutions that meet several criteria at the same time. Using the DGNB-UD certification system in the early design phases therefore does have some effect on the urban design in terms of a bias towards certain design traits.
ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE AND SAVING BENEFIT OF EXTERNAL SHADING DEVICES VIA PHOTOVOLTAIC (PV) ENERGY GENERATION
Authors: Pushkar Svetlana
Published: December 2016

The aim of the study is to evaluate both environmental damage and saving benefit in selecting building shading devices. The environmental damage from the production and construction (P&C) of shading devices is evaluated. The saving benefit, i.e., decreasing building operation energy (OE), due to installing shading devices is evaluated. A simple office building module is used. The external shading devices are constructed from concrete-based external shading devices and aluminum-based light shelf devices. Energy design via Life Cycle Energy Assessment (LCEA) and environmental design via Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) are applied. Environmental design is performed when PV energy generation is used. It was found that in energy design, 40% of building OE saving benefit is required to compensate energy needed for the P&C of shading devices. In environmental design, 100% of the building OE saving benefit is required to compensate for environmental damage stemming from the P&C of shading devices. It was concluded that in energy design, in addition to OE, P&C energy should be evaluated. In environmental design, due to a major reduction in the OE saving benefit, the importance of the P&C environmental damage increased. Environmental design cannot be replaced with energy design when PV energy generation is assumed for building OE needs.
Initial validation of Randolph Glacier inventory: version 5.0 data over Canada using 250 m MODIS-derived annual minimum snow/ice extent
Authors: Regan A M , Trishchenko A P , Woulfe J , McClacherty S
Published: December 2016

This report describes the background, methodology and results of using annual Minimum Snow and Ice (MSI) extent derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) 250 m data to validate glacier outline data from the Randolph Glacier Inventory:
Version 5.0 (RGI 5.0). This work was a four part collaborative effort conducted by 1) a team from the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing (CCRS) who produced the MODIS MSI raster data and worked with the Atlas of Canada Data (Atlas Data) team to facilitate the use of the raster imagery, 2) the CCRS
GeoAnalytics team who evaluated sources of glacier data, 3) the Atlas Data team who carried out the classification and vectorization of the MODIS raster imagery and the validation of the RGI 5.0 glaciers and 4) the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) who advised on the interpretation of Google Earth
and LANDSAT 8 OLI_TIRS image products that were used as references. In particular, it was observed that seventeen glaciers with an area greater than 2.0 km2 are suspected of having either fully or significantly melted. They are distributed across northern Canada, with four located in the Yukon,
seven located in Arctic Canada South region and six located in Arctic Canada North region. The validated glacier data will be generalized to the 1:1,000,000 scale and used as a national scale dataset for Canadian glaciers.