bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Noise pollution is one of the causes of occupational diseases
Authors: Yaroshovych I. G. , Tchaikovskyj B. P. , Mykychak B. M. , Yaroshovych T. S.
Published: May 2019

People lose hearing more often than we can imagine. Loss of hearing or deafness today is one of the most common occupational diseases not only in Ukraine but also in the world. Every day we are accompanied by a whole range of the most diverse sources of noise - household appliances at home and in the office, neighbors repairs, televisions, the road to work - metro, people in public transport or loud headphones music. And this can not be avoided, because each of us lives in a society, co-exists with other its representatives. All our life – a global communication. Many experiments found that noise is a general biologic stimulus and under certain conditions can affect all human life systems. The influence of noise on the human auditory organ is most fully studied. Intense noise, especially at high frequencies – 4000 Hz or more, with daily exposure leads to a professional illness – hearing loss, the symptom of which is the slow loss of hearing on both ears. According to official statistics of the World Health Organization, more than 5% of the Earth's population suffers from a disabling hearing loss. That is, such loss results not only in the deterioration of hearing quality, but also has certain social consequences, namely:

more than 360 million people around the world have hearing problems (about 328 million adults and 32 million children);

1.1 billion teenagers and young people are at risk of hearing loss mainly due to listening to high-volume music as well as excessive noise levels;

more than a third of people lose hearing as a result of excessive noise levels in the workplace. The rest is congenital deafness, loss of hearing due to various diseases and injuries;

an average of almost ten years is passed before hearing impaired people turn to a doctor;

studies have shown that about 1/3 of people over 65 years have hearing problems.
Visualization method in teaching veterinary microbiology, immunology and virology
Authors: Garagulya G. I. , Matkovska S. G. , Panikar I. I.
Published: May 2019

Pedagogical science has in its arsenal a number of methods of teaching educational information. Visibility is one of the main principles of didactics. There are auditory, visual and kinesthetic teaching methods. The task of the teacher is to develop and use such methods that allow the best way to convey information to the student. The article is devoted to the description of visual models developed by teachers of the Department of Microbiology, Virology and Immunology of the Kharkov State Zooveterinary Academy. The models allow visualization of various biological objects: blood cells and tissues of the animal’s body, bacteria, viruses, molecules. Models are made of dense material and have a magnet. Due to this model is easily attached to the magnetic board. The models reflect the morphological and functional features of the depicted objects. Thus, the color of blood cells corresponds to their color in a smear, the color of bacteria — to a color when stained by Gram, and the different colors of molecules can mean their different function. Most often, models are used in the teaching of immunology. They help to visually show the various factors of immunity and their interactions. Using models, one can create illustrations of the most difficult topics: “Immune response”, “The role of cytokines in the immune response”, “Immunodeficiency and autoimmune diseases”, “Serological reactions in the laboratory diagnosis of infectious diseases”. The use of models helps in understanding information, its memorization and allows reflecting the dynamics of processes in immunology, virology and microbiology. To study the effect of the method of visual models on the quality of perception of educational information and analysis of the effectiveness of using models, we conducted a survey among students. The positive role of models in the study of veterinary microbiology, immunology and virology was noted by all students who participated in the survey.
Preliminares
Authors: Editorial Comité
Published: May 2019

Preliminares.
Kurdish Students’ Motivation to Study in Hungary
Authors: Khudur Sana
Published: May 2019

The present study intends to explore the motivation of Kurdish students to study in Hungary. To answer the query of the study; an in-depth qualitative interview method was employed. Nine higher education level students (BA, MA or PhD), five males and four females who are studying at four different universities in Hungary were interviewed. Individual face to face interviews were organised to engage into the details of what could be achieved from the participants and to discover their study experiences deeply. Based on the collected data outcomes; a process model of Kurdish student motivation to study in Hungary was designed which identifies the main stages of their motivational behavior in a process way from the initial wishes to accomplishments. The findings reveal that several reasons have impacts on responders` decision making and the choice of country. Also, the participants are highly motivated on their studies because of the future accomplishments they could gain as the result of pursuing their studies abroad and getting an international qualification.
Dominance of the tiger: The displacement of Aedes aegypti by Aedes albopictus in parts of the Torres Strait, Australia
Authors: Odwell Muzari Mutizwa , Davis Joe , Bellwood Rodney , Crunkhorn Bruce , Gunn Ewan , Sabatino Ursula , Gair Richard
Published: May 2019

Most of the inhabited islands in the Torres Strait region of Australia have experienced dengue outbreaks transmitted by Aedes aegypti at various times since at least the 1890s. However, another potential dengue vector, Aedes albopictus, the Asian tiger mosquito, was detected for the first time in 2005 and it expanded across most of the Torres Strait within a few years. In 2016, a survey of container-inhabiting mosquitoes was conducted in all island communities and Ae. aegypti was undetectable on most of the islands which the species had previously occupied, and had been replaced by Ae. albopictus. It is suspected that competitive displacement was responsible for the changes in species distribution. Aedes aegypti was only detected on Boigu Island and Thursday Island. Recent dengue outbreaks in the Torres Strait have apparently been driven by both Ae. albopictus and Ae. aegypti. The findings have major implications on management of dengue outbreaks in the region.
‘One look and you recognize evil’: Lycan Terrorism, Monstrous Otherness, and the Banality of Evil in Benjamin Percy's Red Moon
Authors: Marsden Simon
Published: May 2019

Benjamin Percy's novel Red Moon (2013) navigates the problem of the ‘monster’ in the context of post-9/11 representations of Islamist terrorism. Structured around a series of terrorist atrocities carried out by lycan extremists, Percy's novel employs the werewolf as a figure of monstrous otherness in order to deconstruct the very processes of othering by which the monster is produced culturally and politically. Focusing on the distorted ethical justifications of the terrorists and on the roles of political opportunism and media manipulation in shaping US responses, the narrative allows both lycan terrorists and their political antagonists to emerge as more clown than monster. This article draws upon Hannah Arendt's account of the banality of evil, and its development by more recent privation theorists, to situate Red Moon within contemporary popular and theoretical discourses of evil and to read the novel as an interrogation of the processes by which our modern political ‘monsters’ are created.
Plasma Nesfatin-1 Levels and its Relationship with Anxiety Levels in Obesity Diagnosed Population: A Controlled Study
Authors: BAYKAN Hayriye , BAYKAN Ozgur , DURMAZ Onur , GULSAH Oguz Elif , KARA Hayrettin , AKDENİZ GORGULU Serap , YAMAN Ali , KARLİDERE Tunay
Published: May 2019

Objective: Nesfatin-1 is a satiety neuropeptide involved in the regulation of metabolic pathways and food intake. Some studies have shown nesfatin-1 to be also associated with stress responses and stress-related behaviors. In the present study, we evaluated nesfatin-1 levels in obese individuals and investigated whether nesfatin-1 levels could be associated with anxiety levels in obese populations. Methods: Fifty-eight obese (29 anxious and 29 non-anxious) patients and 25 healthy control subjects between 18 and 65 years old were enrolled in the study. Plasma nesfatin-1 levels were measured with a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and anxiety levels were measured using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.Results: Plasma nesfatin-1 levels were significantly lower in both obese and anxious subjects and obese and non-anxious subjects than in the control group. No significant differences were found between the obese+anxious group and the obese+nonanxious group.Conclusion: Our results suggest that plasma nesfatin-1 levels are decreased and not associated with anxiety levels in obese populations
Consistency of Yield Ranking and Adaptability Patterns of Winter Wheat Cultivars between Multi-Environmental Trials and Farmer Surveys
Authors: Studnicki Marcin , Kang Manjit S. , Iwańska Marzena , Oleksiak Tadeusz , Wójcik-Gront Elżbieta , Mądry Wiesław
Published: May 2019

Cultivar recommendation based on mean performance determined by multi-environment trials (METs) conducted on research stations could be unreliable and ineffective for assessing performance in farmers’ fields. It is important to improve the efficiency of cultivar recommendation based on METs. For this purpose, it would be useful to validate recommendations based on yield data obtained directly from farmers, i.e., through surveys. The aim of this study was to discuss the possibility and statistical methodology of assessing cultivar performance patterns based on yield data obtained through farmer surveys. We suggest that this might be accomplished by assessing the conformity of yield ranking and yield performance patterns between MET and survey datasets in the same growing regions. As an example, we compare winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) yield data obtained from Polish farmers via surveys with data obtained via METs. In the METs, cultivars were evaluated at two levels of crop-management, a moderate-input management (MIM) system and a high-input management (HIM) system. Based on the yield evaluations in the current study, half of the agro-ecological regions had relatively high levels of consistency in yield rankings between the MET MIM system and survey yield dataset. This indicated a relatively high efficiency of cultivar recommendations based on METs in these regions, especially for the MIM system. For the HIM system, however, with the exception of one region, we observed a poor degree of consistency in cultivar ranking.
“Patients’ interests first, but … ”–Austrian Veterinarians’ Attitudes to Moral Challenges in Modern Small Animal Practice
Authors: Springer Svenja , Sandøe Peter , Bøker Lund Thomas , Grimm Herwig
Published: May 2019

Small veterinary practice is experiencing steady improvement in diagnostics and therapies which enable veterinarians to offer evermore advanced medical care for their patients. This focus group study of veterinarians (n = 32) examined the impact of these improvements and the potential challenges they introduce in small animal practice. It shows that while advanced diagnostics and therapies deliver benefits in patient care, they also add complexities to decision-making. Although the veterinarians participating in the study were aware of their duty to act in the best interests of the animal, their decisions were highly dependent on factors such as the client’s financial background and the emotional bond between client and animal, as well as the veterinarian’s place of work, and level and field of specialization, and certain economic aspects of the practice. The overall conclusion is that small animal veterinarians are increasingly torn between serving the best interests of the animal, medical feasibility and contextual factors related to the client, the veterinarian, and professional colleagues. Further, the findings suggest that services are not only oriented towards the provision of medical care in a strict medical sense. On top of this, veterinarians need to deal with various expectations and wishes of clients which influence their decision-making. As it will be shown, factors like the possibility of referring patients to specialist veterinarians or prompt diagnostic results influence their decision-making.
Behavioural Plasticity by Eastern Grey Kangaroos in Response to Human Behaviour
Authors: Austin Caitlin M. , Ramp Daniel
Published: May 2019

Sharing landscapes with humans is an increasingly fraught challenge for wildlife across the globe. While some species benefit from humans by exploiting novel opportunities (e.g., provision of resources or removal of competitors or predators), many wildlife experience harmful effects, either directly through persecution or indirectly through loss of habitat. Consequently, some species have been shown to be attracted to human presence while others avoid us. For any given population of a single species, though, the question of whether they can recognise and change their response to human presence depending on the type of human actions (i.e., either positive or negative) has received little attention to date. In this study, we chose to examine the behavioural plasticity within a single population of eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) to both positive and negative human activity. Within a relatively small and contiguous landscape, we identified areas where kangaroos experience a combination of either low and high frequencies of benign and harmful human disturbances. From six sampling sessions over five months, we found that density and group sizes were higher where humans acted benignly towards them, and that these groups had higher representations of sub-adults and juveniles than where humans had harmful intentions. Importantly, we found that the vital antipredator strategy of increasing group size with distance from cover was not detectable at sites with low and high levels of harm. Our findings suggest that these kangaroos are recognising and adjusting their behavioural response to humans at fine spatial scales, a plasticity trait that may be key to the survival of these species in human dominated landscapes.
Quality Index of Supervised Data for Convolutional Neural Network-Based Localization
Authors: Ito Seigo , Soga Mineki , Hiratsuka Shigeyoshi , Matsubara Hiroyuki , Ogawa Masaru
Published: May 2019

Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) are important in modern factories. The main functions of an AGV are its own localization and object detection, for which both sensor and localization methods are crucial. For localization, we used a small imaging sensor named a single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) light detection and ranging (LiDAR), which uses the time-of-flight principle and arrays of SPADs. The SPAD LiDAR works both indoors and outdoors and is suitable for AGV applications. We utilized a deep convolutional neural network (CNN) as a localization method. For accurate CNN-based localization, the quality of the supervised data is important. The localization results can be poor or good if the supervised training data are noisy or clean, respectively. To address this issue, we propose a quality index for supervised data based on correlations between consecutive frames visualizing the important pixels for CNN-based localization. First, the important pixels for CNN-based localization are determined, and the quality index of supervised data is defined based on differences in these pixels. We evaluated the quality index in indoor-environment localization using the SPAD LiDAR and compared the localization performance. Our results demonstrate that the index correlates well to the quality of supervised training data for CNN-based localization.
Rapid Green Extractions of C-Phycocyanin from Arthrospira maxima for Functional Applications
Authors: Ruiz-Domínguez Mari Carmen , Jáuregui Marjorie , Medina Elena , Jaime Carolina , Cerezal Pedro
Published: May 2019

Cyanobacteria are a rich source of bioactive compounds, mainly in the Arthospira sp., and one of the most interesting components in recent years has been C-phycocyanin (C-PC). There have been several conventional methods for their extraction, among which stand out: chemical products, freezing-thawing (FT); enzymatic, and maceration (M); which have come to be replaced by more environmentally friendly methods, such as those assisted by microwaves (MW) and high-pressure homogenization (HPH). The aim of the research was to use these two “green extraction processes” to obtain C-PC from cyanobacteria Arthrospira maxima because they improve functionality and are fast. Extractions of C-PC were studied by means of two experimental designs for MW and HPH, based on a response surface methodology (RSM) employing, firstly, a factorial design 33: power (100, 200, and 300 W), time (15, 30, and 60 s), and types of solvents (distiller water, Na-phosphate buffer and, distiller water: Na-phosphate buffer (Ph 7.0; 1:1, v/v); and secondly, two factors with different levels: Pressure (800, 1000, 1200, 1400, and 1600 bar) and, types of solvents (distilled water, Na-phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) 100 mM and, Na-phosphate buffer:water 1:1, (v/v)). Optimum C-PC content was achieved with the HPH process under Na-phosphate solvent at 1400 bar (291.9 ± 6.7 mg/g) and the MW method showed improved results using distilled water as a solvent at 100 W for 30 s (215.0 ± 5.5 mg/g). In the case of conventional methods, the freeze–thawing procedure reached better results than maceration using the buffer (225.6 ± 2.6 mg/g). This last one also did not show a significant difference between solvents (a range of 147.7–162.0 mg/g). Finally, the main advantage of using green extractions are the high C-PC yield achieved, effectively reducing both processing times, costs, and increasing the economic and functional applications of the bioactive compound.
The Most Advanced Hydraulic Techniques for Water Supply at the Fortresses in the Last Period of Al-Andalus (Thirteenth to Fifteenth Century)
Authors: García-Pulido Luis José , Martín Sara Peñalver
Published: May 2019

Due to the conflicts that existed among the kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages, the territories of al-Andalus were protected with defensive architecture that played an influential role on the landscape. The development of these fortresses was necessarily linked to water, either because of the strategic control of a hydraulic resource or because of the need to provide to inaccessible places, as it is often the case of the emplacement of these constructions. The study of their implantation in the territory and the hydraulic elements that they preserve has revealed quite diverse systems of water supply. This paper presents the comprehensive overview that emerged after verifying that many of the existing cisterns, rather than being autonomous and isolated elements, as has often been considered, are strongly related to the organization and development of the fortresses, sometimes located at the end of complex and advanced hydraulic networks, closely linked to the topography of each place. This study is devoted to the water supply systems of some of the most significant fortresses in the last territories of al-Andalus, corresponding to the Nasrid kingdom of Granada (1238–1492).
Expansion and Evolutionary Patterns of Glycosyltransferase Family 8 in Gramineae Crop Genomes and Their Expression under Salt and Cold Stresses in Oryza sativa ssp. japonica
Authors: Kong Weilong , Gong Ziyun , Zhong Hua , Zhang Yue , Zhao Gangqing , Gautam Mayank , Deng Xiaoxiao , Liu Chang , Zhang Chenhao , Li Yangsheng
Published: May 2019

Plant cell walls play a fundamental role in several ways, providing structural support for cells, resistance against pathogens and facilitating the communication between cells. The glycosyltransferase family 8 (GT8) is involved in the formation of the plant cell wall. However, the evolutionary relationship and the functional differentiation of this important gene family remain obscure in Gramineae crop genomes. In the present investigation, we identified 269 GT8 genes in the seven Gramineae representative crop genomes, namely, 33 in Hordeum vulgare, 37 in Brachypodium distachyon, 40 in Oryza sativa ssp. japonica, 41 in Oryza rufipogon, 36 in Setaria italica, 37 in Sorghum bicolor, and 45 in Zea mays. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that all identified GT8 proteins belonged to seven subfamilies: galacturonosyltransferase (GAUT), galacturonosyltransferase-like (GATL), GATL-related (GATR), galactinol synthase (GolS), and plant glycogenin-like starch initiation proteins A (PGSIP-A), PGSIP-B, and PGSIP-C. We estimated that the GAUT subfamily might be further divided into four subgroups (I–IV) due to differentiation of gene structures and expression patterns. Our orthogroup analysis identified 22 orthogroups with different sizes. Of these orthogroups, several orthogroups were lost in some species, such as S. italica and Z. mays. Moreover, lots of duplicate pairs and collinear pairs were discovered among these species. These results indicated that multiple duplication modes led to the expansion of this important gene family and unequal loss of orthogroups and subfamilies might have happened during the evolutionary process. RNA-seq, microarray analysis, and qRT-PCR analyses indicated that GT8 genes are critical for plant growth and development, and for stresses responses. We found that OsGolS1 was significantly up-regulated under salt stress, while OsGAUT21, OsGATL2, and OsGATL5 had remarkable up-regulation under cold stress. The current study highlighted the expansion and evolutionary patterns of the GT8 gene family in these seven Gramineae crop genomes and provided potential candidate genes for future salt- and cold- resistant molecular breeding studies in O. sativa.
Impact of Natural Ventilation on the Thermal and Energy Performance of Buildings in a Mediterranean Climate
Authors: Moret Rodrigues A. , Santos Miguel , Gomes M. Glória , Duarte Rogério
Published: May 2019

Natural ventilation plays an important role on the thermal and energy performance of a building. The present study aims to analyze the natural ventilation conditions of a dwelling in a Mediterranean climate and their impacts on the thermal and energy performance using an advanced building energy simulation tool. Several multi-zone simulations were carried out. In the summer, the simulations were performed under free-floating conditions, whereas in the winter they were carried out under controlled temperature conditions. In the summer, ventilation scenarios with windows opened during certain periods of time and with or without permanent openings in the facades were analyzed. The existence of permanent openings proved to be an important factor of temperature control by lowering the average indoor zone temperatures during the day. Cross-ventilation also showed to be effective. In the winter, we simulated the existence or absence of permanent openings for room ventilation and their surface area. The results showed that the stack effect plays an important role in the ventilation and that in general it outperforms the wind effect. Sizing permanent openings according to the standard guidelines proved to be adequate in providing the expected ventilation rates on an average basis.
Bone Morphogenetic Protein-8B Expression is Induced in Steatotic Hepatocytes and Promotes Hepatic Steatosis and Inflammation In Vitro
Authors: Mahli Abdo , Seitz Tatjana , Beckröge Tobias , Freese Kim , Thasler Wolfgang Erwin , Benkert Matthias , Dietrich Peter , Weiskirchen Ralf , Bosserhoff Anja , Hellerbrand Claus
Published: May 2019

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is considered to be the hepatic manifestation of the metabolic syndrome. The bone morphogenetic protein-8B (BMP8B) has been shown to be expressed in brown adipose tissues and the hypothalamus and to affect thermogenesis and susceptibility to diet-induced obesity. Here, we aimed to analyze BMP8B expression in NAFLD and to gain insight into BMP8B effects on pathophysiological steps of NAFLD progression. BMP8B mRNA and protein expression were dose-dependently induced in primary human hepatocytes in vitro upon incubation with fatty acids. Furthermore, hepatic BMP8B expression was significantly increased in a murine NAFLD model and in NAFLD patients compared with controls. Incubation with recombinant BMP8B further enhanced the fatty acid-induced cellular lipid accumulation as well as NFκB activation and pro-inflammatory gene expression in hepatocytes, while siRNA-mediated BMP8B depletion ameliorated these fatty acid-induced effects. Analysis of the expression of key factors of hepatocellular lipid transport and metabolisms indicated that BMP8B effects on fatty acid uptake as well as de novo lipogenesis contributed to hepatocellular accumulation of fatty acids leading to increased storage in the form of triglycerides and enhanced combustion by beta oxidation. In conclusion, our data indicate that BMP8B enhances different pathophysiological steps of NAFLD progression and suggest BMP8B as a promising prognostic marker and therapeutic target for NAFLD and, potentially, also for other chronic liver diseases.
A Critical E-box in Barhl1 3′ Enhancer Is Essential for Auditory Hair Cell Differentiation
Authors: Hou Kun , Jiang Hui , Karim Md. Rezaul , Zhong Chao , Xu Zhouwen , Liu Lin , Guan Minxin , Shao Jianzhong , Huang Xiao
Published: May 2019

Barhl1, a mouse homologous gene of Drosophila BarH class homeobox genes, is highly expressed within the inner ear and crucial for the long-term maintenance of auditory hair cells that mediate hearing and balance, yet little is known about the molecular events underlying Barhl1 regulation and function in hair cells. In this study, through data mining and in vitro report assay, we firstly identified Barhl1 as a direct target gene of Atoh1 and one E-box (E3) in Barhl1 3’ enhancer is crucial for Atoh1-mediated Barhl1 activation. Then we generated a mouse embryonic stem cell (mESC) line carrying disruptions on this E3 site E-box (CAGCTG) using CRISPR/Cas9 technology and this E3 mutated mESC line is further subjected to an efficient stepwise hair cell differentiation strategy in vitro. Disruptions on this E3 site caused dramatic loss of Barhl1 expression and significantly reduced the number of induced hair cell-like cells, while no affections on the differentiation toward early primitive ectoderm-like cells and otic progenitors. Finally, through RNA-seq profiling and gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis, we found that this E3 box was indispensable for Barhl1 expression to maintain hair cell development and normal functions. We also compared the transcriptional profiles of induced cells from CDS mutated and E3 mutated mESCs, respectively, and got very consistent results except the Barhl1 transcript itself. These observations indicated that Atoh1-mediated Barhl1 expression could have important roles during auditory hair cell development. In brief, our findings delineate the detail molecular mechanism of Barhl1 expression regulation in auditory hair cell differentiation.
Do Local Environmental Factors and Lunar Cycle Influence Timing and Synchrony of Oviposition of a Turtle with Strict Nocturnal Nesting?
Authors: Escalona Tibisay , Valenzuela Nicole , Adams Dean C.
Published: May 2019

Timing of nesting affects fitness of oviparous animals living in seasonal environments, and females may cue on environmental factors for their nesting behavior, but these relationships are understudied in tropical turtles. Here, the timing and synchrony of egg-laying relative to environmental factors were examined in the South American freshwater turtle Podocnemis unifilis on 11 nesting beaches during three nesting seasons. Daily measurements included number of nests laid, rainfall, river level, air temperature, and the phase of the lunar cycle (full moon, last quarter, new moon and first quarter). Results confirmed that P. unifilis nested at night and revealed that females in our population nest in groups from 2 to 17 females at a time. Nesting was not correlated with rainfall, but a significant relationship was found with river level, such that nesting started at the onset of the dry season when river levels dropped and nesting grounds emerged. Importantly, we found that (1) nesting events concentrated on days with intermediate daily maximum air temperature (although maxima changed annually), and that (2) larger groups of females nested around full moon, suggesting the reliance on visual cues to initiate nesting activities (consistent with social facilitation behavior). Altogether, the timing of nesting in P. unifilis may be shaped by a combination of environmental factors, moon phase and social facilitation, where visual cues play an important role.
An Analysis of China’s Onshore and Offshore Exchange Rates—Adjusted Thermal Optimal Path Approach Based on Pruning and Path Segmentation
Authors: Yan Dawen , Lai Kin Keung
Published: May 2019

The study of the lead-lag relationship between the Hong Kong offshore Renminbi (CNH) spot market and onshore (CNY) spot market is of great importance for its wide application in market risk management. In this paper, we study the correlation between the CNH and CNY spot markets in the contexts of daily closing price change and the 2011–2016 Bid-Ask spread (BAS). We test the existence of causality relation between CNH/CNY pairwise change and BAS by using the conventional method of vector auto-regression (VAR) model in the observation period. Furthermore, we detect the local lead-lag dependence relationships between CNH/CNY pairwise change and BAS by using a non-parametric approach-adjusted Thermal Optimal Path (TOP) method. Through introducing a Pruning and Path segmentation algorithm, we address the problem of computation infeasibility that may be encountered in application of the existing TOP method for the detection of lead-lag relationship between two time series with long time duration. Theoretical analyses and simulation results are presented to verify validity of adjusted TOP method in the setting of big time-series data set. This study also provides some interesting findings: (1) the offshore CNH market is informationally integrated with the onshore CNY market from two aspects of closing price change over two consecutive single days and BAS used as a proxy for market liquidity; (2) Local dependency between the two markets changes with economic conditions changing, which would facilitate both investor and policy maker decision making.
Interval-Based Hypothesis Testing and Its Applications to Economics and Finance
Authors: Kim Jae H. , Robinson Andrew P.
Published: May 2019

This paper presents a brief review of interval-based hypothesis testing, widely used in bio-statistics, medical science, and psychology, namely, tests for minimum-effect, equivalence, and non-inferiority. We present the methods in the contexts of a one-sample t-test and a test for linear restrictions in a regression. We present applications in testing for market efficiency, validity of asset-pricing models, and persistence of economic time series. We argue that, from the point of view of economics and finance, interval-based hypothesis testing provides more sensible inferential outcomes than those based on point-null hypothesis. We propose that interval-based tests be routinely employed in empirical research in business, as an alternative to point null hypothesis testing, especially in the new era of big data.
Experimental Study of a Moored Floating Oscillating Water Column Wave-Energy Converter and of a Moored Cubic Box
Authors: Wu Minghao , Stratigaki Vasiliki , Troch Peter , Altomare Corrado , Verbrugghe Tim , Crespo Alejandro , Cappietti Lorenzo , Hall Matthew , Gómez-Gesteira Moncho
Published: May 2019

This paper describes experimental research on a floating moored Oscillating Water Column (OWC)-type Wave-Energy Converter (WEC) carried out in the wave flume of the Coastal Engineering Research Group of Ghent University. This research has been introduced to cover the existing data scarcity and knowledge gaps regarding response of moored floating OWC WECs. The obtained data will be available in the future for the validation of nonlinear numerical models. The experiment focuses on the assessment of the nonlinear motion and mooring-line response of a 1:25 floating moored OWC WEC model to regular waves. The OWC WEC model motion has 6 degrees of freedom and is limited by a symmetrical 4-point mooring system. The model is composed of a chamber with an orifice on top of it to simulate the power-take-off (PTO) system and the associated damping of the motion of the OWC WEC model. In the first place, the motion response in waves of the moored floating OWC WEC model is investigated and the water surface elevation in the OWC WEC chamber is measured. Secondly, two different mooring-line materials (iron chains and nylon ropes) are tested and the corresponding OWC WEC model motions and mooring-line tensions are measured. The performance of these two materials is similar in small-amplitude waves but different in large wave-amplitude conditions. Thirdly, the influence of different PTO conditions is investigated by varying the diameter of the top orifice of the OWC WEC model. The results show that the PTO damping does not affect the OWC WEC motion but has an impact on the water surface elevation inside the OWC chamber. In addition, an unbalanced mooring configuration is discussed. Finally, the obtained data for a moored cubic model in waves are presented, which is a benchmarking case for future validation purposes.
Experimental Investigation of Ventilation Performance of Different Air Distribution Systems in an Office Environment—Heating Mode
Authors: Ameen Arman , Cehlin Mathias , Larsson Ulf , Karimipanah Taghi
Published: May 2019

A vital requirement for all-air ventilation systems are their functionality to operate both in cooling and heating mode. This article experimentally investigates two newly designed air distribution systems, corner impinging jet (CIJV) and hybrid displacement ventilation (HDV) in comparison against a mixing type air distribution system. These three different systems are examined and compared to one another to evaluate their performance based on local thermal comfort and ventilation effectiveness when operating in heating mode. The evaluated test room is an office environment with two workstations. One of the office walls, which has three windows, faces a cold climate chamber. The results show that CIJV and HDV perform similar to a mixing ventilation in terms of ventilation effectiveness close to the workstations. As for local thermal comfort evaluation, the results show a small advantage for CIJV in the occupied zone. Comparing C2-CIJV to C2-CMV the average draught rate (DR) in the occupied zone is 0.3% for C2-CIJV and 5.3% for C2-CMV with the highest difference reaching as high as 10% at the height of 1.7 m. The results indicate that these systems can perform as well as mixing ventilation when used in offices that require moderate heating. The results also show that downdraught from the windows greatly impacts on the overall airflow and temperature pattern in the room.
Advanced Electric Vehicle Fast-Charging Technologies
Authors: Collin Ryan , Miao Yu , Yokochi Alex , Enjeti Prasad , von Jouanne Annette
Published: May 2019

Negative impacts from the dominant use of petroleum-based transportation have propelled the globe towards electrified transportation. With this thrust, many technological challenges are being encountered and addressed, one of which is the development and availability of fast-charging technologies. To compete with petroleum-based transportation, electric vehicle (EV) battery charging times need to decrease to the 5–10 min range. This paper provides a review of EV fast-charging technologies and the impacts on the battery systems, including heat management and associated limitations. In addition, the paper presents promising new approaches and opportunities for power electronic converter topologies and systems level research to advance the state-of-the-art in fast-charging.
Flatness-Based Control for the Maximum Power Point Tracking in a Photovoltaic System
Authors: Gil-Antonio Leopoldo , Saldivar Belem , Portillo-Rodríguez Otniel , Ávila-Vilchis Juan Carlos , Martínez-Rodríguez Pánfilo Raymundo , Martínez-Méndez Rigoberto
Published: May 2019

Solar energy harvesting using Photovoltaic (PV) systems is one of the most popular sources of renewable energy, however the main drawback of PV systems is their low conversion efficiency. An optimal system operation requires an efficient tracking of the Maximum Power Point (MPP), which represents the maximum energy that can be extracted from the PV panel. This paper presents a novel control approach for the Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) based on the differential flatness property of the Boost converter, which is one of the most used converters in PV systems. The underlying idea of the proposed control approach is to use the classical flatness-based trajectory tracking control where a reference voltage will be defined in terms of the maximum power provided by the PV panel. The effectiveness of the proposed controller is assessed through numerical simulations and experimental tests. The results show that the controller based on differential flatness is capable of converging in less than 0.15 s and, compared with other MPPT techniques, such as Incremental Conductance and Perturb and Observe, it improves the response against sudden changes in load or weather conditions, reducing the ringing in the output of the system. Based on the results, it can be inferred that the new flatness-based controller represents an alternative to improve the MPPT in PV systems, especially when they are subject to sudden load or weather changes.
Investigation on Blending Effects of Gasoline Fuel with N-Butanol, DMF, and Ethanol on the Fuel Consumption and Harmful Emissions in a GDI Vehicle
Authors: Liu Haifeng , Wang Xichang , Zhang Diping , Dong Fang , Liu Xinlu , Yang Yong , Huang Haozhong , Wang Yang , Wang Qianlong , Zheng Zunqing
Published: May 2019

The effects of three kinds of oxygenated fuel blends—i.e., ethanol-gasoline, n-butanol-gasoline, and 2,5-dimethylfuran (DMF)-gasoline-on fuel consumption, emissions, and acceleration performance were investigated in a passenger car with a chassis dynamometer. The engine mounted in the vehicle was a four-cylinder, four-stroke, turbocharging gasoline direct injection (GDI) engine with a displacement of 1.395 L. The test fuels include ethanol-gasoline, n-butanol-gasoline, and DMF-gasoline with four blending ratios of 20%, 50%, 75%, and 100%, and pure gasoline was also tested for comparison. The original contribution of this article is to systemically study the steady-state, transient-state, cold-start, and acceleration performance of the tested fuels under a wide range of blending ratios, especially at high blending ratios. It provides new insight and knowledge of the emission alleviation technique in terms of tailoring the biofuels in GDI turbocharged engines. The results of our works showed that operation with ethanol–gasoline, n-butanol–gasoline, and DMF–gasoline at high blending ratios could be realized in the GDI vehicle without any modification to its engine and the control system at the steady state. At steady-state operation, as compared with pure gasoline, the results indicated that blending n-butanol could reduce CO2, CO, total hydrocarbon (THC), and NOX emissions, which were also decreased by employing a higher blending ratio of n-butanol. However, a high fraction of n-butanol increased the volumetric fuel consumption, and so did the DMF–gasoline and ethanol–gasoline blends. A large fraction of DMF reduced THC emissions, but increased CO2 and NOX emissions. Blending n-butanol can improve the equivalent fuel consumption. Moreover, the particle number (PN) emissions were significantly decreased when using the high blending ratios of the three kinds of oxygenated fuels. According to the results of the New European Drive Cycle (NEDC) cycle, blending 20% of n-butanol with gasoline decreased CO2 emissions by 5.7% compared with pure gasoline and simultaneously reduced CO, THC, NOX emissions, while blending ethanol only reduced NOX emissions. PN and particulate matter (PM) emissions decreased significantly in all stages of the NEDC cycle with the oxygenated fuel blends; the highest reduction ratio in PN was 72.87% upon blending 20% ethanol at the NEDC cycle. The high proportion of n-butanol and DMF improved the acceleration performance of the vehicle.
Identity-as-a-Service: An Adaptive Security Infrastructure and Privacy-Preserving User Identity for the Cloud Environment
Authors: Vo Tri Hoang , Fuhrmann Woldemar , Fischer-Hellmann Klaus-Peter , Furnell Steven
Published: May 2019

In recent years, enterprise applications have begun to migrate from a local hosting to a cloud provider and may have established a business-to-business relationship with each other manually. Adaptation of existing applications requires substantial implementation changes in individual architectural components. On the other hand, users may store their Personal Identifiable Information (PII) in the cloud environment so that cloud services may access and use it on demand. Even if cloud services specify their privacy policies, we cannot guarantee that they follow their policies and will not (accidentally) transfer PII to another party. In this paper, we present Identity-as-a-Service (IDaaS) as a trusted Identity and Access Management with two requirements: Firstly, IDaaS adapts trust between cloud services on demand. We move the trust relationship and identity propagation out of the application implementation and model them as a security topology. When the business comes up with a new e-commerce scenario, IDaaS uses the security topology to adapt a platform-specific security infrastructure for the given business scenario at runtime. Secondly, we protect the confidentiality of PII in federated security domains. We propose our Purpose-based Encryption to protect the disclosure of PII from intermediary entities in a business transaction and from untrusted hosts. Our solution is compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation and involves the least user interaction to prevent identity theft via the human link. The implementation can be easily adapted to existing Identity Management systems, and the performance is fast.
Sharing a River with Downstream Externalities
Authors: Steinmann Sarina , Winkler Ralph
Published: May 2019

We consider the problem of efficient emission abatement in a multi polluter setting, where agents are located along a river in which net emissions accumulate and induce negative externalities to downstream riparians. Assuming a cooperative transferable utility game, we seek welfare distributions that satisfy all agents’ participation constraints and, in addition, a fairness constraint implying that no coalition of agents should be better off than it were if all non-members of the coalition would not pollute the river at all. We show that the downstream incremental distribution, as introduced by Ambec and Sprumont (2002), is the only welfare distribution satisfying both constraints. In addition, we show that this result holds true for numerous extensions of our model.
Overexpression of HMGA1 Figures as a Potential Prognostic Factor in Endometrioid Endometrial Carcinoma (EEC)
Authors: Palumbo Júnior Antonio , de Sousa Vanessa Paiva Leite , Esposito Francesco , De Martino Marco , Forzati Floriana , Moreira Fábio Carvalho de Barros , Simão Tatiana de Almeida , Nasciutti Luiz Eurico , Fusco Alfredo , Ribeiro Pinto Luis Felipe , Bessa Pereira Chaves Cláudia , Meireles Da Costa Nathalia
Published: May 2019

Endometrioid endometrial carcinomas (EEC) are the most common malignant gynecologic tumors. Despite the increase in EEC molecular knowledge, the identification of new biomarkers involved in disease’s development and/or progression would represent an improvement in its course. High-mobility group A protein (HMGA) family members are frequently overexpressed in a wide range of malignancies, correlating with a poor prognosis. Thus, the aim of this study was to analyze HMGA1 and HMGA2 expression pattern and their potential role as EEC biomarkers. HMGA1 and HMGA2 expression was initially evaluated in a series of 46 EEC tumors (stages IA to IV), and the findings were then validated in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) EEC cohort, comprising 381 EEC tumors (stages IA to IV). Our results reveal that HMGA1 and HMGA2 mRNA and protein are overexpressed in ECC, but only HMGA1 expression is associated with increased histological grade and tumor size. Moreover, HMGA1 but not HMGA2 overexpression was identified as a negative prognostic factor to EEC patients. Finally, a positive correlation between expression of HMGA1 pseudogenes—HMGA1-P6 and HMGA1-P7—and HMGA1 itself was detected, suggesting HMGA1 pseudogenes may play a role in HMGA1 expression regulation in EEC. Thus, these results indicate that HMGA1 overexpression possesses a potential role as a prognostic biomarker for EEC.
Groundwater Level Change Management on Control of Land Subsidence Supported by Borehole Extensometer Compaction Measurements in the Houston-Galveston Region, Texas
Authors: Liu Yi , Li Jiang , Fang Zheng N.
Published: May 2019

As much as 3.05 m of land subsidence was observed in 1979 in the Houston-Galveston region as a result primarily of inelastic compaction of aquitards in the Chicot and Evangeline aquifers between 1937 and 1979. The preconsolidation pressure heads for aquitards within these two aquifers were continuously updated in response to lowering groundwater levels, which in turn was caused by continuously increasing groundwater withdrawal rates from 0.57 to 4.28 million m3/day. This land subsidence occurred without any management of changes in groundwater levels. However, the management of recovering groundwater levels from 1979 to 2000 successfully decreased inelastic compaction from about 40 mm/yr in the early 1980s to zero around 2000 through decreasing groundwater withdrawal rates from 4.3 to 3.0 million m3/day. The inelastic consolidation that had existed for about 63 years roughly from 1937 to 2000 caused a land subsidence hazard in this region. Some rebounding of the land surface was achieved from groundwater level recovering management. It is found in this paper that subsidence of 0.08 to 8.49 mm/yr owing to a pseudo-constant secondary consolidation rate emerged or tended to emerge at 13 borehole extensometer station locations while the groundwater levels in the two aquifers were being managed. It is considered to remain stable in trend since 2000. The subsidence due to the secondary consolidation is beyond the control of any groundwater level change management schemes because it is caused by geo-historical overburden pressure on the two aquifers. The compaction measurements collected from the 13 extensometers since 1971 not only successfully corroborate the need for groundwater level change management in controlling land subsidence but also yield the first empirical findings of the occurrence of secondary consolidation subsidence in the Quaternary and Tertiary aquifer systems in the Houston-Galveston region.