bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ionic Liquid-Promoted Three-Component Domino Reaction of Propargyl Alcohols, Carbon Dioxide and 2-Aminoethanols: A Thermodynamically Favorable Synthesis of 2-Oxazolidinones
Authors: Xia Shu-Mei , Song Yu , Li Xue-Dong , Li Hong-Ru , He Liang-Nian
Published: October 2018

To circumvent the thermodynamic limitation of the synthesis of oxazolidinones starting from 2-aminoethanols and CO2 and realize incorporation CO2 under atmospheric pressure, a protic ionic liquid-facilitated three-component reaction of propargyl alcohols, CO2 and 2-aminoethanols was developed to produce 2-oxazolidinones along with equal amount of α-hydroxyl ketones. The ionic liquid structure, reaction temperature and reaction time were in detail investigated. And 15 mol% [TBDH][TFE] (1,5,7-triazabicylo[4.4.0]dec-5-ene trifluoroethanol) was found to be able to synergistically activate the substrate and CO2, thus catalyzing this cascade reaction under atmospheric CO2 pressure. By employing this task-specific ionic liquid as sustainable catalyst, 2-aminoethanols with different substituents were successfully transformed to 2-oxazolidinones with moderate to excellent yield after 12 h at 80 oC. This three-component reaction running under atmospheric pressure proves to be a clever detour to avoid the thermodynamic issue in the synthesis of 2-oxazolidinones starting from 2-aminoethanols and CO2.
Experimental and Numerical Investigations into the Failure Mechanisms of TRIP700 Steel Sheets
Authors: Habibi Niloufar , Sundararaghavan Veera , Prahl Ulrich , Ramazani Ali
Published: October 2018

The formability and failure behavior of TRIP steel blanks were investigated through various stress states. The forming limit diagram (FLD) at fracture is constructed both experimentally and numerically. Numerical studies are performed to evaluate the applicability of different damage criteria in predicting the FLD as well as complex cross-die deep drawing process. The fracture surface and numerical results revealed that the material failed in a different mode for different strain path. Therefore, Tresca model which is based on shear stress accurately predicted the conditions where shear had the profound effect on the damage initiation, whereas Situ localized necking criterion was able to calculate the conditions which localization was dominant.
Surface-Wave Extraction Based on Morphological Diversity of Seismic Events
Authors: Qiu Xinming , Wang Chao , Lu Jun , Wang Yun
Published: October 2018

Extraction of high-resolution surface waves is essential in surface-wave survey. Because reflections usually interfere with surface waves on X-component in a multicomponent seismic exploration, it is difficult to extract dispersion curves of surface waves. The situation goes more serious when the frequencies and velocities of higher-mode surface waves are close to those of PS-waves. A method for surface-wave extraction is proposed based on the morphological differences between reflections and surface waves. Frequency-domain high-resolution linear Radon transform (LRT) and time-domain high-resolution hyperbolic Radon transform (HRT) are used to represent surface waves and reflections respectively. Then, the sparse representation problem based on the morphological component analysis (MCA) is built and optimally solved to obtain high-fidelity surface waves. An advantage of our method is its ability to extract surface waves when their frequencies and velocities are close to those of reflections. Furthermore, results of synthetic and field examples confirm that the proposed method can attenuate the distortion of surface-wave dispersive energy caused by reflections, which contributes to extracting accurate dispersion curves.
Chlorpyrifos- and Dichorfos-Induced Oxidative and Neurogenic Damage Elicits Neuro-Cognitive Deficits and Increases Anxiety-Like Behaviors in Wild-Type Rats
Authors: Imam Aminu , Sulaiman Nafeesah Abdulkareem , Oyewole Aboyeji Lukuman , Chengetanai Samson , Williams Victoria , Ajibola Musa Iyiola , Folarin Royhaan Olamide , Muhammad Asma'u Shehu , Shittu Sheu-Tijani Toyin , Ajao Salihu Moyosore
Published: October 2018

The mechanization of agricultural activities has led to indiscriminate deposition of toxic xenobiotics, including organophosphates in the biomes, and this has led to intoxication characterized with deleterious oxidative and neuronal changes. This study investigated the consequences of oxidative and neurogenic disruptions that follow exposure to two organophosphates, chlorpyrifos (CPF) and dichlorvos (DDVP) on neuro-cognitive performance and anxiety-like behaviors in rats Thirty-two adult male Wistar rats (150 – 170g) were randomly divided into 4 groups, orally exposed to normal saline (NS), DDVP (8.8mg/kg), CPF (14.9mg/kg) and DDVP+CPF for 14 consecutive days. On day 10 of exposures, anxiety-like behaviors and amygdala dependent fear learning were assessed using Open Field and Elevated Plus Maze paradigms respectively, while spatial working memory was assessed on day 14 in the Morris water maze paradigm, following 3 training trials each on days 11, 12 and 13. On day 15, the rats were euthanized, and their brains excised, hippocampus and amygdala removed, 5 of which were homogenized and centrifuged to analyze nitric  oxide (NO) metabolites, total reactive oxygen species (ROS), and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity, and the other three processed for histology (cresyl violet stain) and proliferative marker (Ki67 immunohistochemistry). Marked (p≤0.05) loss in body weight, AChE depletion, and overproduction of both NO and ROS were observed after repeated exposure to individual and combined doses of CPF and DDVP. Insults from DDVP exposure appeared more severe owing to the observed greater losses in the body weights of exposed rats. There was also a significant (p≤0.05) effect on the cognitive behaviors recorded from the exposed rats, and these deficits were related to the oxidative damage and neurogenic cell loss in the hippocampus and the amygdala of the exposed rats. Taken together, these results provided an insight that oxidative and neurogenic damages are central to the severity of neuro-cognitive dysfunction and increased anxiety-like behaviors that follow organophosphate poisoning.
Geobotanical Study of the Microforests of Juniperus oxycedrus subsp. badia in the Central and Southern Iberian Peninsula
Authors: Cano Eusebio , Musarella Carmelo Maria , Cano-Ortiz Ana , Piñar Fuentes José Carlos , Rodríguez Torres Alfonso , Del Rio González Sara , Pinto Gomes Carlos , Quinto-Canas Ricardo , Spampinato Giovanni
Published: October 2018

We have studied Juniperus oxycedrus subsp. badia in the central and southern Iberian Peninsula. Here, the macrobioclimate ranges from Mediterranean-pluviseasonal-oceanic and Mediterranean-pluviseasonal-continental, thermotype from thermomediterranean and supramediterranean. The relevés were taken following the Braun-Blanquet phytosociological methodology. A statistical treatment was applied to establish a separation among Juniperus communities. To understand the presence of Juniperus communities in territories dominated by species of the genus Quercus, we applied the formula of Thornthwaite to calculate potential evapotranspiration. The general cluster analysis clearly separates two groups of plant communities and separates the different associations in each group. All plant communities growing on rocky crests and in steeply extreme sloping areas are significantly influenced by the soil. The Ombroclimatic Index does not explain the presence of plant communities influenced by substrate: so, we propose a new Ombroedaphoxeric Index which explains the presence of the Juniperus communities in territories with a thermotype ranging from the thermo to the supramediterranean belt. The areas of distribution of Juniperus species are expanding due to the spread of rocky areas: this phenomenon causes a rise in edaphoxerophilous areas and a decrease in climatophilous one. We propose four new plant associations and with this update on their structures and floristic compositions, it is possible to make an efficient form of conservation in both territories studied (Spain and Portugal) with specific cross-border-cooperation projects.
Diamagnetism of Bulk Graphite Revised
Authors: Semenenko Bogdan , Esquinazi Pablo
Published: October 2018

Recently published structural analysis and galvanomagnetic studies of a large number of different bulk and mesoscopic graphite samples of high quality and purity reveal that the common picture assuming graphite samples as a semimetal with a homogeneous carrier density of conduction electrons is misleading. These new studies indicate that the main electrical conduction path occurs within 2D interfaces embedded in semiconducting Bernal and/or rhombohedral stacking regions. This new knowledge incites us to revise experimentally and theoretically the diamagnetism of graphite samples. We found that the $c$-axis susceptibility of highly pure oriented graphite samples is not really constant but can vary several tens of percent for bulk samples with thickness $t \gtrsim 30~\mu$m, whereas by a much larger factor for samples with smaller thickness. The observed decrease of the susceptibility with sample thickness resembles qualitatively the one reported for the electrical conductivity and indicates that the main part of the $c-$axis diamagnetic signal is not intrinsic of the ideal graphite structure but it is due to the highly conducting 2D interfaces. The interpretation of the main diamagnetic signal of graphite agrees with the reported description of its galvanomagnetic properties and provides a hint to understand some magnetic peculiarities of thin graphite samples.
Supersymmetric and Conformal Features of Hadron Physics
Authors: Brodsky Stanley
Published: October 2018

The QCD Lagrangian is based on quark and gluonic fields -- not squarks nor gluinos. However, one can show that its hadronic eigensolutions conform to a representation of superconformal algebra, reflecting the underlying conformal symmetry of chiral QCD. The eigensolutions of superconformal algebra provide a unified Regge spectroscopy of meson, baryon, and tetraquarks of the same parity and twist as equal-mass members of the same 4-plet representation with a universal Regge slope. The predictions from light-front holography and superconformal algebra can also be extended to mesons, baryons, and tetraquarks with strange, charm and bottom quarks. % The pion $q \bar q$ eigenstate has zero mass for $m_q=0.$ % % A key tool is the remarkable observation of de Alfaro, Fubini, and Furlan (dAFF) which shows how a mass scale can appear in the Hamiltonian and the equations of motion while retaining the conformal symmetry of the action. When one applies the dAFF procedure to chiral QCD, a mass scale $\kappa$ appears which determines universal Regge slopes, hadron masses in the absence of the Higgs coupling. One also predicts the form of the nonperturbative QCD running coupling: $\alpha_s(Q^2) \propto e^{-{Q^2/4 \kappa^2}}$, in agreement with the effective charge determined from measurements of the Bjorken sum rule. One also obtains viable predictions for spacelike and timelike hadronic form factors, structure functions, distribution amplitudes, and transverse momentum distributions. % The combination of conformal symmetry, light-front dynamics, its holographic mapping to AdS$_5$ space, and the dAFF procedure thus provide new insights, not only into the physics underlying color confinement, but also the nonperturbative QCD coupling and the QCD mass scale.
A Demographic and Biochemical Analytic of Cases of G6PD Deficiency:
A Cross-Sectional Study from the Middle East
Authors: Al-Imam Ahmed
Published: October 2018

BACKGROUND
G6PD deficiency is an inherited an X-linked recessive condition leading to insufficient levels of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, thus causing hemolytic anaemia under certain conditions.
METHODS
Our study is explorative for cases admitted to Jordan University Hospital. The studied parameters include demographics, clinical manifestations, biochemical markers including Hb level, WBC count, liver enzymes, and blood grouping.
RESULTS
Most of the patients were admitted to the emergency unit (53.13%). Individuals who were Rh-positive represented 57.81%, while patients of AB blood group accounted for 75%. The mean values were 4.81 years (age), 29.06 hours (time-to-hospital admission), 38.10 degree Celsius (temperature), 6.11 gm/dl (Hb), 13242.19 (WBC count), 343.20 U/L (S. ALP), and 50.98 IU/L (S. ALT). There was no significant difference between males and females or between favism-induced versus drug-induced hemolytic episodes. AB and Rh positive blood groups are of protective effect in relation to liver enzymes. Patients who were admitted to the hospital within 24 hours from having clinical manifestations had a better prognosis.
CONCLUSION
This study is the first inferential research on G6PD deficiency from the Middle East to explore cases from one of the largest healthcare centres in Jordan. The role of blood grouping should be investigated prospectively.
Correlating the Process Variables and Products Involved in the Fluid Catalytic Cracking of Waste Feeds
Authors: Alvira José Ignacio , Hita Idoia , Rodriguez Elena , Arandes Jose M , Castaño Pedro
Published: October 2018

Associating the most influential parameters with the product distribution is of uttermost importance in complex catalytic processes such as fluid catalytic cracking (FCC). These correlations can lead to the information-driven catalyst screening, kinetic modeling and reactor design. In this work, a dataset of 104 uncorrelated experiments, with 64 variables, has been obtained in an FCC simulator using 6 types of feedstock (vacuum gasoil, polyethylene pyrolysis waxes, scrap tire pyrolysis oil, dissolved polyethylene and blends of the previous), 36 possible sets of conditions (varying contact time, temperature and catalyst/oil ratio) and 3 industrial catalysts. Principal component analysis (PCA) has been applied over the dataset, showing that the main components are associated with feed composition (27.41% variance); operational conditions (19.09%) and catalyst properties (12.72%). The variables of each component have been correlated with the indexes and yields of the products: conversion, octane number, aromatics, olefins (propylene) or coke, among others.
Fusaproliferin, a Fungal Phytotoxin Shows Rapid and Potent Cytotoxicity against Pancreatic Cancer Cell Lines
Authors: Hoque Nazia , Hasan Choudhury Mahmood , Rana Md. Sohel , Varsha Amrit , Sohrab Md. Hossain , Rahman Khondaker Miraz
Published: October 2018

As a part of our ongoing research on endophytic fungi, we have isolated a sesterterpene mycotoxin, fusaproliferin (FUS), from Fusarium solani strain associated with the plant Aglaonema hookerianum Schott. FUS showed rapid and sub-micromolar IC50 against pancreatic cancer cell lines. Time dependent survival analysis and microscopy imaging showed rapid morphological changes in cancer cell lines 4 hours after incubation with FUS. This provides a new chemical scaffold that can be further developed to obtain more potent synthetic agents against pancreatic cancer.
Rock Sample Surface Preparation Influences Thermal Infrared Spectra
Authors: Rost Evelien , Hecker Christoph , Schodlok Martin C. , van der Meer Freek D.
Published: October 2018

High-resolution laboratory-based thermal infrared spectroscopy is an up-and-coming tool in the field of geological remote sensing. Its spatial resolution allows for detailed analyses at centimeter to sub-millimeter scale. However, this increase in resolution creates challenges with sample characteristics such as grain size, surface roughness and porosity that can influence the spectral signature. This research explores the effect of rock sample surface preparation on the TIR spectral signatures. We applied three surface preparation methods (split, saw and polish) to determine how the resulting differences in surface roughness affects both the spectral shape as well as the spectral contrast. The selected samples are a pure quartz sandstone, a quartz sandstone containing a small percentage of kaolinite, and an intermediate-grained gabbro. To avoid instrument or measurement type biases we conducted measurements on three TIR instruments, resulting in directional hemispherical reflectance spectra, emissivity spectra and bi-directional reflectance images. Surface imaging and analyses were performed with scanning electron microscopy and profilometer measurements. We demonstrate that surface preparation affects the TIR spectral signatures influencing both the spectral contrast as well as the spectral shape. The results show that polished surfaces predominantly display a high spectral contrast while the sawed and split surfaces display up to 25% lower reflectance values. Furthermore, the sawed and split surfaces display spectral signature shape differences at specific wavelengths, which we link to mineral transmission features, surface orientation effects and multiple reflections in fine-grained minerals. Hence, the influence of rock surface preparation should be taken in consideration to avoid an inaccurate geological interpretation.
Sustainable Business Model: A Review
Authors: Nosratabadi Saeed , Mosavi Amir
Published: October 2018

A sustainable business model describes the rationale of how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value, in economic, social, cultural or other contexts in a sustainable way. The process of sustainable business model construction forms an innovative part of business strategy. Different industries and business types have utilized sustainability business models to satisfy their economic, environmental and social goals simultaneously. This study is conducted to present the state of the art of sustainable business models in various application areas. The business models are classified and reviewed in different application groups. To do so, a review is conducted, and the findings reveal that the application of sustainability business models can be classified in 16 unique categories. The key contribution of this study is providing an insight about the state of the art of sustainable business models in various application areas and its research path.
Expert-Based Speed-Precision Control in Early Simulator Training for Novice Surgeons
Authors: Dresp-Langley Birgitta
Published: October 2018

Simulator training for image-guided surgical interventions may benefit from artificial intelligence systems that control the evolution of task skills in terms of time and precision of a trainee's performance on the basis of fully automatic feed-back systems. At the earliest stages of training, novice trainees frequently focus on getting faster at the task, and may thereby compromise the optimal evolution of the precision of their performance. For automatically guiding them towards attaining an optimal speed-accuracy trade-off, an effective control system for the reinforcement/correction of strategies must be able to exploit the right individual performance criteria in the right way, reliably detect individual performance trends at any given moment in time, and alert the trainee, as early as necessary, when to slow down and focus on precision, or when to focus on getting faster. This article addresses several aspects of this challenge for speed-accuracy controlled simulator training before any training on specific surgical tasks or clinical models should be envisaged. Analyses of individual learning curves from the simulator training sessions of novices and benchmark performance data of one expert surgeon, who had no specific training in the simulator task, validate the suggested approach.
Mesoscale Laser 3D Printing
Authors: Jonušauskas Linas , Gailevičius Darius , Rekštytė Sima , Baldacchini Tommaso , Juodkazis Saulius , Malinauskas Mangirdas
Published: October 2018

3D meso-scale structures that can reach up to centimeters in overall size but retain micro- or nano-features, proved to be promising in various science fields ranging from micro-mechanical metamaterials to photonics and bio-medical scaffolds. In this work we present synchronization of the linear and galvano scanners for efficient femtosecond 3D optical printing of objects at the meso-scale (from sub-μm to sub-cm spanning five orders of magnitude). In such configuration the linear stages provide stitch-free structuring at nearly limitless (up to tens-of-cm) working area, while galvo-scanners allow to achieve translation velocities in the range of mm/s-cm/s without sacrificing nano-scale positioning accuracy and preserving undistorted shape of the final print. The principle behind this approach is demonstrated, proving its inherent advantages in comparison to separate use of only linear stages or scanners. The printing rate is calculated in terms voxels/s, showcasing the capability to maintain an optimal feature size while increasing throughput. Full capabilities of this approach are demonstrated by fabricating structures that reach millimeters in size but still retain μm-scale features: scaffolds for cell growth, microlenses and photonic crystals. All this is combined into a benchmark structure: a meso-butterfly. Provided results show that synchronization of two scan modes is crucial for the end goal of industrial-scale implementation of this technology and makes the laser printing well aligned with similar approaches in nanofabrication by electron and ion beams.
Hedonic Price Ripple Effect and Consumer Choice: Evidence from New Homes
Authors: Gu Guangtong ,   School of Economics and Management, Zhejiang A & F University Center for China Farmers’ Development of Zhejiang No.252 Yijing Street, Lin’an City, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 311300, China Research Institute of Quantitative Economics, Zhejiang Gongshang University Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310018, China
Published: October 2018

This study uses the hedonic price model to examine the determinants of house prices. It employs kernel density to estimate the spatial weight matrix and conducts spatial econometrics and instrumental variables quantile regression analysis. Taking a new building in Shanghai city as an example, this micro-perspective study shows that hedonic prices of houses are derived from consumer hedonic preferences and their changes in terms of inertia and spatial ripple effects. However, there are large differences in the drivers of the same hedonic attribute across quantile degrees. With house prices gradually decreasing from the city center to the surrounding areas, the ripple effect is significant in determining residents’ preferred consumption characteristics and presents several inverted U-shaped and inverted U-shaped relationships. Residents’ preference for housing consumption is mainly reflected in the average area of the house, property fee, location of the administrative area, and so on. Regional real estate price changes are mainly reflected in hedonic house prices, and real consumer demand for housing is mainly derived from hedonic preference. Therefore, government regulation and control of house prices should consider different regions and different consumer groups simultaneously.
Advertising and Pricing Decisions with Reference Price Effect
Authors: Zhou Erfeng ,   School of Economics and Management, Anhui Normal University 189 Jiuhua South Road, Wuhu City, Anhui Province 241002, China, Zhang Tinglong , Ni Lei , Fang Chang
Published: October 2018

Social perception influences product and brand evaluations. Consumers are especially susceptible to reference price effects when they make purchase decisions for a certain product. Meanwhile, the advertising and pricing are the determinable factors that have impact on consumers’ reference price which also are fundamental marketing strategies. Therefore, how to dynamically set advertising and pricing to maximize firms’ profits are essential tasks. We investigate a duopoly market in a mature product category where two firms compete through time using advertising and pricing as their dominated marketing tools. The firms make the advertising and pricing decisions to maximize their own profits in the planning period. The main results of this paper include the following. (i) The optimal retail price and advertising effort are positively correlated to the initial reference price and basic market size. (ii) When the two firms’ initial basic market size are different, the retail price difference is positive correlated to the initial basic market size difference, so is the advertising effort difference. This conclusion will result to that the strong firm is getting stronger and stronger, however, the weak firm is getting weaker and weaker, this is the situation which happen in the e-commerce market, that is winners take all. (iii) The value of the initial reference price can also determines the reference price effect on the consumer demand rate, that is, when the initial reference price is relatively low, the reference price will have a negative effect on the consumers’ demand of both firms in the whole planning period; when the initial reference price is relatively high, the reference price will have a positive effect on the consumers’ demand of both firms in the whole planning period. Whereas, a moderate initial reference price may lead to different effects on demand.
Comparative Analysis of Risk Assessment for Technical Standards Alliance Based on BP Neural Network and Fuzzy AHP Methods
Authors: Hu Jing , Zhou Lijun , Wang Yilin ,   College of Economics and Management, China Jiliang University No.258 Xueyuan Street, Xiasha Higher Education District, Hangzhou 310018, China,   Zhongchao Ink Co., Ltd. No.288 Xiuyan Road, Nanhui District, Shanghai 201315, China
Published: October 2018

Establishing unified industrial technical standards for a single enterprise in a highly global integrated market is becoming increasingly difficult. In recent years, leading enterprises have often built technical standards alliances around a key core technology to develop industrial standards cooperatively in order to learn from each other and optimize their resource allocation. Although such technical standards alliances result in huge gains to their members, their internal and external risks threaten both the alliances and their members. As compared to other forms of strategic alliances, the risk of such an alliance has fuzzy characteristics and is difficult to fully and accurately identify. This paper uses a fuzzy pattern-recognition method to evaluate and summarize the risks of technical standards alliances. A fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP) evaluation and back propagation (BP) logic fuzzy neural network methods are used to construct a risk-evaluation model of technical standards alliances while considering an alliance around new-energy automobiles in Zhejiang as an empirical example. The two evaluation models are then contrastively analyzed, and cross validation of the evaluation results is performed in order to provide theoretical guidance and support for the application of two fuzzy evaluation models in practice.
Localization of Substation Fittings Based on a Stereo Vision Method
Authors: Wang Tao , Chen Xin , Tan Chang , Fu Hao ,   State Grid Hubei Electric Power Research Institute No.175 Xudong Road, Wuhan, Hubei 430074, China,   School of Automation, China University of Geosciences No.388 Lumo Road, Wuhan, Hubei 430074, China
Published: October 2018

We propose a novel stereo vision method based on a fast template matching strategy to improve localization accuracy and efficiency of substation fittings. First, considering the salient features of the substation fittings that can be recognized easily, the method searches for features that are similar to the ones in the matching template related to the sub-image of the substation fittings from the global image. When the substation fittings are confirmed, the method repeatedly searches for the one of screw holes in the local region of the substation fittings. It then computes the centering coordinates of the template in the source images until the screw holes are matched. The experimental results show that the proposed template matching method increases the accuracy and efficiency of the substation fitting localization from the global to local search area. Correspondingly, the accuracy and efficiency of stereo vision localization of substation fittings is improved.
Effects of Trade Environment in Decentralized Inter-Organizational Business Structures Through Agent Simulation
Authors: Mukai Taisei ,   Department of Computational Intelligence and Systems Science, Tokyo Institute of Technology 4259 Nagatsuda-cho, Midori-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 226-8503, Japan, Terano Takao
Published: October 2018

The objective of this research is to investigate the features of an inter-firm trade structure model. We have developed this model through agent-based simulation. In order to adapt to rapid changes in the business market, each firm must deal with changes in requirements and the required volume changes. Thus, the model has two combined functions. The first function allows a firm to freely trade with other firms as a decentralized trade structure. The second function allows a firm to mediate other firms as a centralized trade structure. The combined model has worked well in various test cases so far. However, other trading environments have not been fully investigated. Therefore, this study focuses on the detailed environmental conditions: (1) the number of similar firms and (2) the number of procurement items, and deals with intensive experiments and detailed analysis of the two functions of the model in the agent-based simulations. The simulation results suggest that the two functions in the combined model work particularly well under the conditions of a trading environment in which there exist both (1) a large number of similar business firms and (2) firms with a certain number of procurement items, compared to the decentralized trade structure, where each firm’s size is neither particularly large nor small.
A Socially Interactive Robot Partner Using Content-Based Conversation System for Information Support
Authors: Woo Jinseok , Botzheim János , Kubota Naoyuki ,   Tokyo Metropolitan University 6-6 Asahigaoka, Hino, Tokyo 191-0065, Japan,   Department of Mechatronics, Optics and Mechanical Engineering Informatics, Budapest University of Technology and Economics 4-6 Bertalan Lajos Street, Budapest 1111, Hungary
Published: October 2018

The development of robot partners for supporting human life has been growing for many years. One main feature that should be considered in developing such robots is the conversation system. In this study, a conversation system called iPhonoid-C is introduced. The iPhonoid-C is a robot partner based on a smart device. A conversation is a form of communication in which two or more people exchange words and information. Therefore, one important part of judging the effectiveness of the interaction must be to evaluate if the appropriate amount of information is provided by the robot. In this research, we focused on a time-dependent utterance system to adjust the amount of conversation based on Grice’s maxim of quantity. By utilizing Grice’s theory, it is possible to tailor the robot’s communication by selecting the Grice value to correspond to the human’s condition. Using this method, the robot partner can control the amount of information it communicates to adapt to the human’s situation based on Grice’s maxim of quantity. An experimental result with the robot partner is presented to validate the proposed time-dependent conversation system.
Estimating Lumbar Load During Motion with an Unknown External Load Based on Back Muscle Activity Measured with a Muscle Stiffness Sensor
Authors: Tsuchiya Yoshio , Imamura Yumeko , Tanaka Takayuki , Kusaka Takashi ,   Department of Engineering for Innovation, National Institute of Technology, Tomakomai College 443 Nishikioka, Tomakomai, Hokkaido 059-1275, Japan,   National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology 1-1-1 Umezono, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 059-1275, Japan,   Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Hokkaido University Kita 14, Nishi 9, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0814, Japan
Published: October 2018

A forward bending motion is essential in everyday tasks, such as carrying objects, shoveling snow, and performing farm work. However, many people suffer from lumbar pain resulting from forward bending motion, which causes a lumbar disc load owing to the changing of the lumbar shape. We have developed a wearable lumbar load estimation system, which measures the skin shape on the back using a curvature sensor. Because the lumbar load varies with the external load, the lumbar load should be estimated based on the external load. Therefore, we have developed a method for estimating an unknown external force using a muscle stiffness sensor. Muscle strength can be estimated by measuring the muscle hardness from the surface, and the relationship between the external force and the muscle force can be modeled. Using this method, we estimate the dependence of the lumbar load on external forces in real time. In addition, we simplify the calculation by converting the external load into a load resulting from a person’s own weight. We incorporate the proposed method into our wearable sensor system, estimate the lumbar load, and compare this with the results of a musculoskeletal dynamics simulation.
Feature Selection for Work Recognition and Working Motion Measurement
Authors: Miyajima Saori , Tanaka Takayuki , Miyata Natsuki , Tada Mitsunori , Mochimaru Masaaki , Izumi Hiroyuki ,   Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Hokkaido University Kita 14, Nishi 9, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0814, Japan,   National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) 2-3-26 Aomi, Koto-ku, Tokyo 135-0064, Japan,   University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan 1-1 Iseigaoka, Yahatashi-ku, Kitakyushu-shi, Fukuoka 807-0804, Japan
Published: October 2018

As the demand for nursing care services is growing, the physical burden involved in caregiving has drawn widespread attention. To mitigate the physical burden in caregiving, we have to recognize what kind of work and problems are involved in each caregiving task. To identify the problems involved in caregiving, we need to recognize the work and analyze its workload. Aiming to reduce the burden on the waist during caregiving tasks, we are developing inertial sensor suits for measuring the working motions. With the developed method, the burden on the waist is estimated from the waist posture. Considering its use in practical caregiving sites, the number of inertial sensors should be the minimum necessary, which depends on the number of body parts where to measure the posture. In this study, we select the body parts to achieve the two above-mentioned goals: to recognize the work involved in caregiving and capture the waist posture. A support vector machine (SVM) is used to recognize the work. Its conventional method of selecting the features on which to recognize the work only considers the recognition accuracy and does not sufficiently meet the needs for measuring the postures. Therefore, we propose a new feature-selection method, which can evaluate the waist-posture measuring accuracy and can make forward feature selections in the same manner as the conventional wrapper method. We have verified the effectiveness of the proposed method by measuring simple simulated work motions.
Error Analysis by Kinetics for Parallel-Wire Driven System Using Approximated Inverse Kinematics
Authors: Kino Hitoshi , Imamura Takumi , Sakagami Norimitsu ,   Department of Intelligent Mechanical Engineering, Fukuoka Institute of Technology 3-30-1 Wajirohigashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka-shi, Fukuoka 811-0295, Japan,   Department of Navigation and Ocean Engineering, Tokai University 3-20-1 Orido, Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka-shi, Shizuoka 424-0902, Japan
Published: October 2018

Parallel-wire driven systems, which use light flexible wires in place of rigid links, control the position of a target object by controlling their wire lengths. In the kinematics for such a parallel-wire driven system, when the relationship between the end-effector position and the wire lengths is investigated, a fixed point for the wire-contacting point on the winding reel in the actuator (or guide pulley) is often approximated to simplify the calculation. The approximated kinematics however could lead to a number of positioning errors in the positioning control. This study proposes a framework for evaluating these positioning control errors by using approximated inverse kinematics. In view of the system dynamics, this study analyzes the positioning control errors for the control method in the wire-length coordinates. We discuss a case study on a two degrees-of-freedom planar system using three wires.
Mechanism and Control of Connecting Robot Moving in Narrow and Irregular Terrain
Authors: Doi Takahiro ,   Kanazawa Institute of Technology 7-1 Ohgigaoka, Nonoichi, Ishikawa 921-8812, Japan, Okumura Motohiro , Harada Tomoki , Mitsuma Yuto
Published: October 2018

Japan is located in a seismic zone and is hence affected by earthquakes, which necessitates frequent disaster rescue activities. It is difficult for humans to access the site of an earthquake with collapsed buildings for carrying out rescue operations. The use of various mobile robots to undertake such rescue activities in place of humans has been proposed and studied to cope with such situations. Disaster sites covered with debris contain narrow spaces and irregular terrains, where robots that can change its size and rigidity should be able to move more effectively. In this study, we propose a robot system, separated into multiple robot units and variable in size and rigidity by connecting and separating them, so that it can adapt itself to a diversity of environments. To realize the proposed robot system in both mechanical and control aspects, we prototyped a group of robot units that can move as well as get connected and separated. We evaluated its thrust and ability to traverse irregular terrains as well as the automatic connection of robot units using cameras and markers.
WALK POLYNOMIAL: A New Graph Invariant
Authors: Nizami Abdul Rauf , Perveen Afshan , Nazeer Waqas , Baqir Mahnoor
Published: October 2018

In this paper we introduce the walk polynomial to find the number of walks of different lengths in a simple connected graph. We also give the walk polynomial of the bipartite, star, wheel, and gear graphs in closed forms.
An Overview of the Pingo Audience Response System in Undergraduate Mathematics and Statistics Teaching
Authors: Evans Kristian Paul
Published: October 2018

Obtaining interaction and engagement in large group teaching can be challenging, in particular in STEM subjects where it is essential to be able to efficiently present symbols, equations and formulae. Pingo is a free, web-based system that provides an excellent way of introducing interaction in large group teaching, as there are no restrictions on the number of participants. It is particularly useful in Mathematics-based subjects as it is TeX compatible. Such interaction also provides feedback to students and lecturers and it is a straightforward, but creative way to enhance student engagement. The author has tried and tested Pingo weekly in Mathematics and Statistics modules. This article provides all the information and resources required to start using Pingo along with some reflections on its use in the Mathematics Department at Swansea University.
Developing STACK practice questions for the Mathematics Masters Programme at the OU
Authors: Mestel Ben , Erskine Grahame
Published: October 2018

The design and implementation of Masters level e-assessment in STACK is described for the introductory module M820 Calculus of Variations and Advanced Calculus in the Open University’s Masters Programme in Mathematics. Some basic design principles are described and illustrated for an online practice quiz on the use of the Jacobi equation to classify stationary paths.
Leveraging Transcriptome Data for Enhanced Gene Expression Analysis in Apple
Authors: Hargarten Heidi , Waliullah Sumyya , Kalcsits Lee , Honaas Loren A.
Published: October 2018

Complex changes in gene expression occur during postharvest storage of apple (Malus ×domestica) and often precede or accompany changes in ripening and disorder development. Targeted gene expression analysis fundamentally relies on previous knowledge of the targeted gene. Minimally, a substantial fragment of the gene sequence must be known with high accuracy so that primers and probes, which bind to their targets in a complimentary fashion, are highly specific. Here, we describe a workflow that leverages publicly available transcriptome data to discover apple cultivar–specific gene sequences to guide primer design for quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). We find that problematic polymorphisms occur frequently in ‘Granny Smith’ and ‘Honeycrisp’ apple when candidate primer binding sites were selected using the ‘Golden Delicious’ genome. We attempted to validate qPCR-based gene expression measurements with RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) analysis of the same RNA samples. However, we found that agreement between the two technologies was highly variable and positively correlated with the similarity between cultivar-specific genes and RNA-Seq reference genes. Thus, we offer insight that 1) improves the accuracy and efficiency of qPCR primer design in cultivars that lack sufficient sequence resources and 2) better guides the essential step of validation of RNA-Seq data with a subset of genes of interest examined via qPCR.
Discovery, Characterization, and Linkage Mapping of Simple Sequence Repeat Markers In Hazelnut
Authors: Bhattarai Gehendra , Mehlenbacher Shawn A.
Published: October 2018

From the genome sequence of hazelnut (Corylus avellana), 192 new polymorphic simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were developed, characterized, and used to investigate genetic diversity in 50 accessions. Next-generation sequencing allows inexpensive sequencing of plant genomes and transcriptomes, and efficient development of polymorphic SSR markers, also known as microsatellite markers, at low cost. A search of the genome sequence of ‘Jefferson’ hazelnut identified 9094 fragments with long repeat motifs of 4, 5, or 6 base pairs (bp), from which polymorphic SSR markers were developed. The repeat regions in the ‘Jefferson’ genome were used as references to which genomic sequence reads of seven additional cultivars were aligned in silico. Visual inspection for variation in repeat number among the aligned reads identified 246 as polymorphic, for which primer pairs were designed. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification followed by agarose gel separation indicated polymorphism at 195 loci, for which fluorescent forward primers were used to amplify the DNA of 50 hazelnut accessions. Amplicons were post-PCR multiplexed for capillary electrophoresis, and allele sizes were determined for 50 accessions. After eliminating three, 192 were confirmed as polymorphic, and 169 showed only one or two alleles in each of the 50 cultivars, as expected in a diploid. At these 169 SSRs, a total of 843 alleles were found, for an average of 4.99 and a range of 2 to 17 alleles per locus. The mean observed heterozygosity, expected heterozygosity, polymorphism information content, and the frequency of null alleles were 0.51, 0.53, 0.47, and 0.03, respectively. An additional 25 primer pairs produced more than two bands in some accessions with an average of 6.8 alleles. The UPGMA dendrogram revealed a wide genetic diversity and clustered the 50 accessions according to their geographic origin. Of the new SSRs, 132 loci were placed on the linkage map. These new markers will be useful for diversity and parentage studies, cultivar fingerprinting, marker-assisted selection, and aligning the linkage map with scaffolds of the genome sequence.
Genotypic Variation in Apple Rootstock Low Temperature Tolerance During Spring and Fall
Authors: Moran Renae E. , Peterson Bryan J. , Fazio Gennaro , Cline John
Published: October 2018

To identify genotypes of apple (Malus ×domestica) rootstock with vulnerability to low temperature, we measured the low temperature tolerance of xylem, phloem and cambium in 2-year-old shoot pieces from cultivars Budagovsky 9 (B.9), M.7 EMLA (M.7), M.9 EMLA (M.9), Geneva® 41 (G.41), Geneva 30 (G.30), Geneva 214 (G.214), Geneva 814 (G.814), and Geneva 935 (G.935), as well as six advanced selections in the Geneva (G.) series and three in the Vineland (V.) series. From Oct. 2013 to Apr. 2014, injury was measured as a 0–10 rating based on percentage of discolored cross-sectional xylem and phloem, and cambial length and circumference with brown discoloration, with 0 indicating no browning and 10 indicating browning in the entire tissue. From Oct. 2014 to Apr. 2015, injury was measured as xylem, phloem and cambium browning using a similar rating scale that accounted for both the percentage of browned tissues and the intensity of browning. Following exposure to −35 to −40 °C, many genotypes, including ‘M.7’, ‘M.9’, ‘G.935’, G.4011, G.4292, G.5087, and V.5, had only partial xylem injury in the fall, whereas others, ‘M.7’, ‘G.41’, ‘G.214’, and G.4011, had more extensive xylem browning at −30 °C and colder. ‘G.30’ had moderate to severe xylem browning at −15 to −19 °C. In late October of both years, G.4013 exhibited severe phloem browning at relatively high temperatures, but accrued additional hardiness by Nov. 2014, whereas genotypes ‘B.9’, ‘M.9’, ‘G.30’, and ‘G.41’ developed considerable phloem hardiness by late October with no additional increase in hardiness in November. Geneva and Vineland genotypes exhibited a low degree of susceptibility to injury at −35 to −40 °C in Jan. 2014 and Mar. 2015. Shoot hardiness in Apr. 2014 and 2015 was highly variable between the 2 years, with severe browning of xylem and cambium at −40 °C in every genotype sampled in Apr. 2014, but not in Apr. 2015. ‘M.9’ and G.3902 appeared to be the least vulnerable to injury in April, whereas ‘G.30’, ‘G.41’, ‘G.814’, G.4292, and G.5257 seem more likely to suffer injury in spring. ‘G.30’ had tender xylem in both fall and spring, G.4013 had the least hardy cambium and phloem in fall, and G.5257 the least hardy cambium in the spring. These genotypes are vulnerable to damaging temperatures during fall acclimation and spring deacclimation.
Validating Blackberry Seedling Pedigrees and Developing an Improved Multiplexed Microsatellite Fingerprinting Set
Authors: Zurn Jason D. , Carter Katie A. , Yin Melinda H. , Worthington Margaret , Clark John R. , Finn Chad E. , Bassil Nahla
Published: October 2018

Confirming parentage and clonal identity is an important aspect of breeding and managing germplasm collections of clonally propagated, outcrossing crops, like blackberry (Rubus subgenus Rubus). DNA fingerprinting sets are used to identify off-cross progeny and confirm clonal identity. Previously, a six-simple sequence repeat (6-SSR) fingerprinting set was developed for blackberry using a small number of samples. The usefulness of the 6-SSR fingerprinting set for pedigree confirmation had not been evaluated. Therefore, it was used in this study to validate parentage for 6 and 12 biparental populations from the University of Arkansas (UA) and US Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), Horticultural Crops Research Unit (HCRU) breeding programs, respectively. Twenty-seven of the 489 individuals in these breeding populations were identified as off-cross. The 6-SSR fingerprinting set was sufficient for parentage confirmation; however, a total of 61 plants distributed across 28 sets of genotypes could not be distinguished from each other. An 8-SSR fingerprinting set with improved resolution was subsequently developed and used to evaluate 177 Rubus accessions from the USDA-ARS National Clonal Germplasm Repository, UA, and USDA-ARS HCRU programs. The 8-SSR fingerprinting set distinguished all samples expected to have unique genotypes and identified differing DNA fingerprints for two sets of accessions suspected to have identical fingerprints. Cluster analysis grouped the accessions from the eastern and western US breeding programs based on geography and descent. Future work will focus on establishing a database of DNA fingerprints for germplasm identification and for determining pedigree relationships between blackberry accessions.