bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Social Classes and Reflection of 18th Century Life in Novel Pamela
Authors: Nugroho Dwi Adi
Published: March 2019

In social life there are always rules, norms and values that organize the behavior or patterns of society. Yet some members of society cannot fulfill the rights and responsibilities in accordance with the norms and rules. Unequal rights and obligations in social life is the reason why there are social classes in society. It means that the people who have wealth and someone who can carry out many rights and obligations will be in the upper classes and those one with little or even no rights and responsibilities will be grouped in the lower classes. This research therefore aims to explain the phenomenon of social classes in the novel Pamela, and social condition in 18th century life in England that reflected in the novel. This research used descriptive  qualitative  method.  It was conducted by describing the data within literary work which were related to the topic of the research. The analysis of the data was done using sociology of literature approach put forward by Swingewood and Laurenson. The results of this research show that during England 18th century, social discrimination has become a major problem in the community. Social status become the standard of interaction in the society. Success and prestige of a person are measured based on his/her birth. Nobody wants to be at the bottom of the social hierarchy. The character of Pamela never think that money and power is everything. She never despise her identity as a lower class citizen who is always treated unequally in the society.
Erotic Narration of Syair Lebai Guntur
Authors: Mustari Mustari
Published: March 2019

The text of Syair Lebay Guntur contained in the Syair Lebay Guntur text by Raja Ali Haji records the traces of the 'disgraceful' behavior of some Malay people in the past who practiced "Cina Buta" marriages. It is aiming to find muhallil or a proponent to reconcile a couple (wife and husband) who had divorced by triple divorce. Because the problem raised in the poetry is a matter of muhallil, inevitably, its diction appears to be erotic in every verses of the poetry. This study employed the theory of diction and language style with stylistic analysis of Malay to uncover two raised problems they are (1) Can erotic diction contained in SLG be categorized as vulgar pornography? (2) How to interpret the erotic diction? The findings show that the erotic diction in Syair Lebai Guntur poem cannot be categorized as pornography diction, but it rather as a diction adapted to the poem's theme of the practice of "Cina Buta" marriage. The diction considered as an allusion that is intended as teaching values which is not need to be copied by anyone to avoid a disgrace.
Speech Genre: A Study of Gossip in Australian English Speaking Context
Authors: Hamka Nurhadi
Published: March 2019

A gossip as a casual conversation usually occurs in diverse context or a wide range of social situations; has distinct and various topics; and involve an irregular set of participants. The scholars scrutinize that conversation has highly structured activity of which people tacitly realize that there are some basic conventions to follow – such as when to speak or to stay silent and to listen. In this study, I specifically discuss one of the speech genre – a gossip, in Australia English speaking context. The gossip data of the study is taken from the research conducted by Thornburry, Scott, and Slade, Diana (2006). In a discussion, I focus the analysis of the generic structure of the gossip and how it establishes the social function (within) the speech members. Several findings conveyed that: 1) there is a leeway of shifting from one genre to another – e.g. narrative to gossip, within the same participants; 2) conversation can be successful if all the participants aware of and follow the basic conventions – when to talk or to listen, support to judgement or reluctant to the focus of conversation; 3) the genre, e.g. narrative or gossip, could motivate people to leave or to join the conversation which then could establish and reinforce the group membership and maintain the values of the social group.
Using Spolsky’ Model in Examining Malaysia’s National Language Policy
Authors: Awang Habuan Dayangku Alina
Published: March 2019

Malaysia gained its independence on 31 August 1957 after the British Empire have fully relinquished its colonisation on the land. As with any newly independent polity, one of the ways for Malaysia, a multi-ethnic country, tries to establish its national identity is by establishing a language policy. This paper will examine Malaysia’s language policy planning using Bernard Spolsky’s (2004) model proposed in his book ‘Language Policy’ published by Cambridge University Press in 2004. In the book, Spolsky (2004) theorised that there are four major motivations that influences the decision of a country’s language policy planning. These four major motivations are, the sociolinguistic situation of a country, a country’s national identity or ideology, the effects of English as the language of a wider communication, and minority linguistic rights. In the case of Malaysia, each of Spolsky’s (2004) four forces does seem to have an impact on Malaysia’s language policy planning and the forces are very intertwined with each other. Malay as the dominant ethnic group in a sense has influenced the language chosen as the national language. However, being a diverse country, this decision does pose an issue at creating a national identity among its people. At the same time, English being the past colonial language and at present, the language for wider communication has caused Malaysia’s medium of instruction in public education policy to be seen as oscillating back and forth between Malay and English. On the other hand, minority linguistic rights in Malaysia has a long way to go since only certain indigenous languages are taught as elective subjects in schools.
The Depiction of Slavery through Animal Treatment in Sewell’s Black Beauty in Relation to Living with Environment
Authors: Wahyuni Sri , Harun Sudarmin
Published: March 2019

The purposes of this research were (1) to elaborate the kind of slavery depiction through animal treatment in Sewell’s Black Beauty and (2) to exposure how the human treatment to horses in the novel is considered as a form of slavery in England Victorian age. The data were obtained from Sewell’s Black Beauty through a descriptive qualitative method by applying Sociological Approach. The study concluded that human treatment to horses is considered slavery for violating laws on animal protection. Horses are created to work but also there are rules in using them. There were four animal Anti-Cruelty laws in 1867 existed in the novel. Those laws are penalty for overdriving cruelly treating animal, for impounding animals without giving sufficient food and water, penalty for carrying animals in a cruel manner and penalty for abandoning infirm animals in public place. This study also suggest human being that there is no rights of one creature to judge another creatures.
Students’ Strategies in Reducing Anxiety in Learning English
Authors: Sulastri Sulastri , Ratnawati Ratnawati
Published: March 2019

The aims of this research is to know the level of anxiety faced by students at ABA-UMI, to know the factors cause anxiety, and to know the students’ strategies in reducing anxiety in learning English. This research used descriptive qualitative method. The writers focused on observing the level of anxiety faced by ABA students. The writers took two classes as the repondents in 2013-2014 academic years. The writers did classroom observation and interviewed nine (9) students who tended to feel anxious in learning English. The observation was conducted three meetings in speaking class and the writers used video recording to record and collect the data needed.The writers found three levels of anxiety faced by ABA students; they were mild anxiety, moderate anxiety and severe anxiety level. The first level can be seen in physical response from the students such as nervous, afraid, sweating, and embarrassed. But, the students could control their anxiety by motivating themselves to learn. The second level of anxiety was moderate level. The student did not participate in class (silent), cold hands and sweating. In this level, the students could control his/her anxiety so that he/she could participate in learning.And the last level of anxiety found was severe anxiety. The writers found that there were two students who felt anxious. The students had different symptoms such as cold hands, sweating, and their head feel heavy. This anxiety appeared when students could not overcome his/her worry. In this level, the students could not control their anxiety so that they could not participate even avoid the learning activity.
The Struggle for Freedom as Illustrated in Mark Twain’s The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn in Relation to Social Welfare
Authors: Magfirah Mutmainnah
Published: March 2019

This study aims to describe the struggles experienced by the two main characters in the novel in getting their freedom and also to elaborate the important of freedom for the main characters as human rights. The research method used was a qualitative descriptive method with the sociology of literature approach. The primary data were collected from descriptions and utterances of the main characters and narrators in the novel. The supporting data were obtained from the library, internet, journals, and articles. The results of this research indicate that there is struggle of the main characters in obtaining their freedom as a human in this novel. Huckleberry Finn as the main character fought for his freedom from a drunk and abusive father, while Jim, as the second main character fought for his freedom from slavery. The two figures then met and made an adventure together to get their own freedom.
The Syllabus Design of ESP for The Students of Health Analyst
Authors: Nurhidayat Nurhidayat
Published: March 2019

The research was purpose at finding out the need analysis of English for the Health Analyst students, and also designing the syllabus based on the students need. The research was conducted at Academy Health analyst Muhammadiyah Makassar. This research is descriptive research. Data were analyzed using quantitative and qualitative methods. Information on the needs of students is obtained through the provision of questionnaires and interviews to students, alumni, lecturers and stake holder. The findings based on the data analysis indicate that the students state that they need English for communicative competence, the priority in speaking and reading skill in order able to communication and read materials related their field and the student’s purpose in learning English to support to getting a job in the health service institution. By the students need in this study shows that the students give  positive response in the health analyst related topic, grammar items and interesting task, method to be consider in apply suggested syllabus design.
The Use of Picture-Kwl Technique in Improving Students’ Reading Comprehension: A Cooperative Learning Approach
Authors: Mustafa Mutakhirani
Published: March 2019

The objective of this research was to find out whether the use of Picture-KWL technique in improving students’ reading comprehension: a cooperative learning approach could improve the reading comprehension and the interest of the students in reading. The design of this research is quasi experimental which the experimental group would be employed treatment Picture-KWL in cooperative learning approach while the control group would be employed treatment using conventional techniques by the researcher. The findings indicated that the experimental class scored higher on the reading comprehension in post-test than their peers did in the control class. The researcher concluded that the technique was successful in improving the reading comprehension performance and recommended that the technique should be integrated into the English Syllabus specially in teaching reading comprehension. Moreover, based on the students’ respond on questionnaire, it shows that the students’ interest was categorized as interested. And also observation showed that the students’ progress were excellent in the classroom during learning progress.
Differential object marking and Scales: insights from diachrony
Authors: Irimia Monica Alexandrina , Pineda Anna
Published: March 2019

This paper addresses a generally ignored counterexample to the Scales, comparing Old Catalan and Old Romanian on the one hand to Old Spanish on the other hand. Contrary to widely assumed marking hierarchies, Old Catalan/Old Romanian 3rd person pronouns show differential object marking, to the exclusion of or to a higher degree than 1st/2nd persons. We propose these patterns can be straightforwardly derived once we pin down micro-parameters in the composition of Romance DPs and the consequences various types of perspectival/sentience features have on the syntactic licensing of arguments.
EXPLICIT SOLUTION OF THE RIEMANN BOUNDARY VALUE PROBLEM FOR DOUBLE PERIODIC FUNCTIONS IN CASE OF COMPOUND CONTOUR
Authors: Gatalskaja T. I.
Published: March 2019

It is obtained the explicit solution to the Riemann boundary value problem for a compound contour on the torus. An example is presented which illustrates theoretical results.
THE R-FUNCTIONS METHOD IN THE BOUNDARY VALUE PROBLEM FOR A COMPLEX DOMAIN POSSESSING THE SYMMETRY
Authors: Semerich Yu. S.
Published: March 2019

This paper considers a case of the punctual symmetry of cyclic type and application of the R‐functions method in building equations of the boundaries for symmetric objects. The R‐functions method combined with the Ritz method is used for solving the Laplace equation in the complex symmetric domain. The problem is described for calculating an electrostatic field in the system with crossed fields (the cylindrical magnetron of reversed construction).
PROJECT EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS AFFECTING PROJECT DELIVERY SYSTEMS SELECTION
Authors: Liu Bingsheng , Xue Bin , Huo Tengfei , Shen Geoffrey , Fu Meiqing
Published: March 2019

Project delivery systems (PDSs) selection is crucial to construction project management success. The matching between construction projects and PDSs is hypersensitive to project external environment. Existing studies on selecting PDSs mainly focus on owner’s and project’s characteristics and attach less attention to project environmental factors. This study, therefore, aims to formally identify key project external environmental factors affecting PDSs selection using a data-driven approach. Key factors are summarized and identified through the granular computing method based on 61 Chinese project samples. Empirical results indicate that four factors including market competitiveness, technology accessibility, material availability, and regulatory impact are critical to PDSs selection. This study extended previous research findings on PDSs selection from a perspective of project external environments. Research conclusions can be used as references underpinning construction owners selecting appropriate PDSs considering project external environmental factors.
Design and development of a Stewart platform assisted and navigated transsphenoidal surgery
Authors: KİZİR SELÇUK , BİNGÜL ZAFER
Published: March 2019

In this study, technical details of a Stewart platform (SP) based robotic system as an endoscope positioner and holder for endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery are presented. Inverse and forward kinematics, full dynamics, and the Jacobian matrix of the robotic system are derived and simulated in MATLAB/Simulink. The required control structure for the trajectory and position control of the SP is developed and verified by several experiments. The robotic system can be navigated using a six degrees of freedom (DOF) joystick and a haptic device with force feedback. Position and trajectory control of the SP in the joint space is achieved using a new model-free intelligent PI (iPI) controller and it is compared with the classical PID (proportional-integral-derivative) controller. Trajectory tracking experimental results showed that the tracking performance of iPI is better than that of PID and the total RMSE of the trajectory tracking is decreased by 17.64% using the iPI controller. The validity of the robotic system is proven in the endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery performed on a realistic head model in the laboratory and on a cadaver in the Institute of Forensic Medicine. The key feature of the system developed here is to operate the endoscope via the joystick or haptic device with force feedback under iPI control. Usage of this system helps surgeons in long, fatiguing, and complex operations. This system can generate new possibilities for transsphenoidal surgery such as fully automated robotic surgery systems.
Optimal range of loading for operating a fixed-speed wind turbine using a self-excited induction generator
Authors: IQTEIT, NASSİM , KURT GÜL , ÇAKIR BEKİR
Published: March 2019

In the present study, a new strategy of analysis was used to determine the optimal interval of a single-phase resistive load to operate a fixed-speed wind turbine. The essence of this optimal range is to enable the generator to have stable voltages and current balances, large power, and an acceptable frequency range, and also mitigate generator overheating. The generator windings and excitation capacitances were prepared according to the C-2C connection scheme with suitable values of excitation capacitances. The admittance matrix of the system was based on positive and negative sequence generator voltages and was calculated by symmetrical components theory. The generator performance was found through optimization of the determinant admittance matrix magnitude. Moreover, balanced position of the generator can be achieved near the maximum load power. Consequently, the best interval of resistive load of the generator (1.5 kW) was found around 2% voltage unbalance factor. The appropriate optimal load was approximately ±6% of the perfect balance resistive load value.
TAPU: Test and pick up-based k-connectivity restoration algorithm for wireless sensor networks
Authors: KHALİLPOUR AKRAM VAHİD , DAĞDEVİREN ORHAN
Published: March 2019

A k-connected wireless sensor network remains connected if any k-1 arbitrary nodes stop working. The aim of movement-assisted k -connectivity restoration is to preserve the k -connectivity of a network by moving the nodes to the necessary positions after possible failures in nodes. This paper proposes an algorithm named TAPU for k-connectivity restoration that guarantees the optimal movement cost. Our algorithm improves the time and space complexities of the previous approach (MCCR) in both best and worst cases. In the proposed algorithm, the nodes are classified into safe and unsafe groups. Failures of safe nodes do not change the k value of the network while failures of unsafe nodes reduce the k value. After an unsafe node’s failure, the shortest path tree of the failed node is generated. Each node moves to its parent location in the tree starting from a safe node with the minimum moving cost to the root. TAPU has been implemented on simulation and testbed environments including Kobuki robots and Iris nodes. The measurements show that TAPU finds the optimum movement up to 79.5% faster with 50% lower memory usage than MCCR and with up to 59% lower cost than the greedy algorithms.
A polarity calculation approach for lexicon-based Turkish sentiment analysis
Authors: YURTALAN GÖKHAN , KOYUNCU MURAT , TURHAN ÇİĞDEM
Published: March 2019

Sentiment analysis attempts to resolve the senses or emotions that a writer or speaker intends to send across to the people about an object or event. It generally uses natural language processing and/or artificial intelligence techniques for processing electronic documents and mining the opinion specified in the content. In recent years, researchers have conducted many successful sentiment analysis studies for the English language which consider many words and word groups that set emotion polarities arising from the English grammar structure, and then use datasets to test their performance. However, there are only a limited number of studies for the Turkish language, and these studies have lower performance results compared to those studies for English. The reasons for this can be incorrect translation of datasets from English into Turkish and ignoring the special grammar structures in the latter. In this study, special Turkish words and linguistic constructs which affect the polarity of a sentence are determined with the aid of a Turkish linguist, and an appropriate lexicon-based polarity determination and calculation approach is introduced for this language. The proposed methodology is tested using different datasets collected from Twitter, and the test results show that the proposed system achieves better accuracy than the previously developed lexical-based sentiment analysis systems for Turkish. The authors conclude that especially analysis of word groups increases the overall performance of the system significantly.
Selective word encoding for effective text representation
Authors: ÖZKAN SAVAŞ , ÖZKAN AKIN
Published: March 2019

Determining the category of a text document from its semantic content is highly motivated in the literature and it has been extensively studied in various applications. Also, the compact representation of the text is a funda- mental step in achieving precise results for the applications and the studies are generously concentrated to improve its performance. In particular, the studies which exploit the aggregation of word-level representations are the mainstream techniques used in the problem. In this paper, we tackle text representation to achieve high performance in different text classification tasks. Throughout the paper, three critical contributions are presented. First, to encode the word- level representations for each text, we adapt a trainable orderless aggregation algorithm to obtain a more discriminative abstract representation by transforming word vectors to the text-level representation. Second, we propose an effective term-weighting scheme to compute the relative importance of words from the context based on their conjunction with the problem in an end-to-end learning manner. Third, we present a weighted loss function to mitigate the class-imbalance problem between the categories. To evaluate the performance, we collect two distinct datasets as Turkish parliament records (i.e. written speeches of four major political parties including 30731/7683 train and test documents) and newspa- per articles (i.e. daily articles of the columnists including 16000/3200 train and test documents) whose data is available on the web. From the results, the proposed method introduces significant performance improvements to the baseline techniques (i.e. VLAD and Fisher Vector) and achieves 0.823% and 0.878% true prediction accuracies for the party membership and the estimation of the category of articles respectively. The performance validates that the proposed con- tributions (i.e. trainable word-encoding model, trainable term-weighting scheme and weighted loss function) significantly outperform the baselines.
A new spectral estimation-based feature extraction method for vehicle classification in distributed sensor networks
Authors: KÖSE ERDEM , HOCAOĞLU ALİ KÖKSAL
Published: March 2019

Ground vehicle detection and classification with distributed sensor networks is of growing interest for border security. Different sensing modalities including electro-optical, seismic, and acoustic were evaluated individually and in combination to develop a more efficient system. Despite previous works that mostly studied frequency-domain features and acoustic sensors, in this work we analyzed the classification performance for both frequency and time-domain features and seismic and acoustic modalities. Despite their infrequent use, we show that when fused with frequency-domain features, time-domain features improve the classification performance and reduce the false positive rate, especially for seismic signals. We investigated the performance of seismic sensors and showed that the classification performance varies with the type of road due to the distinct spectral characteristics of the medium. Our proposed classifier fuses time and frequency-domain features and acoustic and seismic modalities to achieve the highest classification rate of 98.6% using a relatively small number of features.
El tipo iconográfico del Deus Pictor. A propósito de José García Hidalgo
Authors: Moreno Cuadro Fernando
Published: March 2019

Se presenta el análisis de las relaciones existentes entre la idea primigenia del Divino Pintor y la ejecución de la obra, centrándonos en el lienzo conservado en el Museo Nacional del Prado, Dios Padre retratando a la Inmaculada (c.1690) de José García Hidalgo, por ser un singular ejemplo que recalca la primacía de la pintura como actividad intelectual, al tiempo que pone de manifiesto cómo María siempre estuvo en la mente del Padre, en la Sabiduría de Dios (Prov 2,22), conforme al gran diseño divino de la historia de la Salvación, en un momento en el que la defensa del Misterio concepcionista se asocia a la conservación de la monarquía.
El caso de Ganemos Zaragoza: una aproximación desde la sociología relacional
Authors: Minguijón Pablo Jaime , Pac Salas David
Published: March 2019

En este artículo se presentan los resultados de una investigación que ha analizado la génesis del movimiento Ganemos Zaragoza/Zaragoza en Común (GZ/ZeC) y el paso a su constitución como formación política. A partir del análisis de los datos de una encuesta (n=253) y entrevistas a informantes clave, mostramos que los movimientos sociales (entendidos como una nueva red social) nacen en situaciones sociales “enredadas”.

Para alcanzar tal fin, nos situamos en la mirada teórica de los movimientos sociales desde una perspectiva relacional. Entre sus principales resultados se ha podido comprobar cómo GZ/ZeC se tejió, en un primer momento, a través de los contactos y alianzas que se establecieron entre movimientos sociales preexistentes, que terminaron por construir la malla relacional desde la que se fue edificando y fortaleciendo el movimiento. Por tanto, este texto sirve para comprender el proceso de configuración de las candidaturas de confluencias municipales en las elecciones de mayo de 2015.
La superación de la antinomia entre realismo y constructivismo en Luhmann y Bhaskar. Hacia una fundación paradójica del conocimiento científico
Authors: Pignuoli Ocampo Sergio
Published: March 2019

Este trabajo aborda las posiciones epistemológicas de Luhmann y Bhaskar, en cuyo marco comparamos sus concepciones de unidad de análisis y conocimiento científico. Nuestra hipótesis es que ambos plantearon la distinción entre realismo y constructivismo en términos paradójicos, superando así el dualismo.
Evaluation of Ammonia-Nitrogen Removal by Ultrasonic Irradiation in Synthetic Solution Using Response Surface Methodology
Authors: Aris Khadijah Mohamad , Ramli Suzana , Othman Zulhafizal , Jaafar Jurina
Published: March 2019

The objective of this study was to evaluate the ability of ultrasonic irradiation to remove ammonia-nitrogen in synthetic solution by considering the factors including initial concentration, pH and irradiation time. Ultrasonic bath was used to provide a constant effective power, frequency and temperature of 150 W, 37 kHz and 60°C, respectively during sonication. It was revealed that the removal efficiency of ammonia-nitrogen improved at lower concentration with basic water environment and extended irradiation time. Based on this judgement, optimization is carried out by using response surface methodology (RSM) of Box Behnken design to develop a quadratic regression model in order to analyze the interactions between the three factors and their effects on the removal efficiency. Optimum removal achieved from the model was found to be 82.26% at 10 mg/L of initial concentration with pH of 11 and sonication for 30 minutes. Verification of the quadratic regression model is done by comparing with the experimental work conducted within the experimental domain.
Investigating the Risk Posed by Chlorine Incident Release under Wind Rose Effect: An Industrial Case Study
Authors: Rashid Zulkifli Abdul , Muhd Fuad Muhd Fazril Irfan , Razak Khalil Abdul , Alias Azil Bahari , Ahmad Mohd Aizad , Ahmad Mohd Arshad , Yeong Anis Farhanah Mohd Suhaimi , Mozdah Qaeem K.
Published: March 2019

Malaysia is one of the countries that strongly promotes industrial development. Therefore, industrial activities have grown rapidly since the 1980s. However, since the development of the country's industry, the country has experienced several major accident hazards, thus sacrificing many lives, causing assets and environmental destruction. For example, Bright Sparklers explosion incident that occurred on 7th of May 1991 in Sungai Buloh had killed 26 people, injuring more than 100 people and damaging more than 200 residential properties. While at Johor Port Sand Warehouse, a large fire had occurred at Petronas terminal and destroyed three storage tanks and 720,000 liters of petroleum and 240,000 of aviation fuel. This fire has resulted in 100 firefighters. In the latest 2018 incident, Malaysia was shocked by a major fire at Kemaman Bitumen Company. The results of these three insights indicate that a comprehensive analysis needs to be made to assess land use and other risk management decisions. Malaysia is the world’s largest rubber glove producer, therefore, the quantity usage of chlorine is high. As noted by Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, chlorine is harmful to human body when it is handled improperly. In this paper, a study was conducted to assess the impact of the use of chlorine gas at the rubber glove manufacturing plant. Quantitative risk analysis is used as a tool to prevent major failure in storage, production and transportation of chemicals has been issued. Therefore, this paper investigates the consequences of risk posed by chlorine incident release under wind rose effect at rubber glove manufacturing industry.
Slow Pyrolysis Temperature and Duration Effects on Fuel Properties of Food Rice Waste Bio-Char
Authors: Ahmad Normadyzah , Baharudin Nurul Nabila Huda , Talib Norhayati
Published: March 2019

In this study, to convert high moisture content waste into bio-char, slow pyrolysis of cooked rice waste was proposed. The effects of temperature and duration of slow pyrolysis of cooked rice waste on the fuel properties of the biochar produced were investigated, namely the carbon content and energy density. The cooked rice waste was dried overnight at 80°C prior to pyrolysis to reduce moisture content. The carbon content was measured by using Thermo Finnigan Flash EA 1112 Series Elemental Analyser CHNS-O. Energy density was measured by using IKA Works C—5000 Control bomb calorimeter. Results demonstrated that pyrolysed rice waste at 250°C and 4 hour duration had the highest carbon content (60.30%). Moreover, the calorific values for pyrolysed cooked rice wastes demonstrated that biochar derived from cooked rice waste could be a promising alternative renewable energy source.
Experimental Study of Ignition and Combustion Characteristics of Mixed Rice Straw and Sewage Sludge Solid and Hollow Spherical Pellets in a Plasma Combustion System
Authors: Mostafa Mohamed E. , Tang Hao , Xu Jun , Chi Huan Ying , Xu Kai , Su Sheng , Hu Song , Wang Yi , El-Sayed Saad A. , Xiang Jun
Published: March 2019

In this work, the ignition and combustion characteristics of mixed rice straw and sewage sludge pellets in air atmosphere were investigated using a plasma combustion system. One common pellet shape (solid spherical pellet) and another new shape (hollow spherical) are used in this study. High-speed camera was used to record and observe ignition and combustion process of pellets. In case of hollow pellets, the shape and distribution of flame are found to be better compared to solid pellets. Also, it is clear that the values of volatile combustion times in case of hollow pellets are low compared to solid pellets. The overall heat transfer enhanced in case of hollow pellet due to the large area subjected to hot gases and the high surface to volume ratio. Hollow pellet consumed less time for internal ignition and volatiles char combustion compared to solid pellet. Volatiles and char combustion lasted for 63.05 and 61 s, respectively for hollow pellet while these values were found to be 72.8 and 83 s, respectively for solid pellet.
Synthesis of ZnO Nanoparticles for Wax Deposition Control and Oil Upgrading: Effect of Ratio of Zinc Acetate Dihydrate to Oxalic Acid Dihydrate
Authors: Che Mohamed Hussein Siti Nurliyana , Dollah Aqilah , Mohamad Salleh Mohamad Firdaus , Othman Nur Hidayati , Che Abdul Rahim Azzah Nazihah , Japperi Nur Shuhadah
Published: March 2019

In the current paper, fundamental aspects of heavy oil and wax deposition problems are defined. Wax or in another term is cloud point occur when the oil starts to precipitate. When it’s started to precipitate, it can cause major problem to industry of oil and gas. In this study, ZnO nanoparticles were chosen to study the effect of varying molar ratio from 1:1, 1:2, 1:3 to the morphology and size of the nanoparticle. The structures and properties were recognized with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) methods. EDX and FE-SEM is to study the morphology of ZnO structure while XRD is to determine the purity and size of the nanoparticle. From the study, 1:1 ratio has the smallest size of nanoparticle with 10.37 nm while 1:2 and 1:3 give the size of 12.3 nm and 16.37 nm respectively. As the molar ratio is increases, the size of nanoparticle become bigger. The influenced of ZnO nanoparticles on rheological behaviour of model oils and the wax content is reported. From the study, the addition of ZnO nanoparticle reduced the rheology behaviour of crude oil by varying nanoparticle sizes, temperature and shear rate. ZnO nanoparticle can reduce the deposition of wax up to 50% with influenced of smaller nanoparticle size. Effect of size of nanoparticle highly impact the viscosity and wax content. This prove that, by introducing nanoparticle into crude oil, wax content can be reduced thus decrease the chance for crude to precipitate.
Study on Catalytic Steam Reforming of Toluene over Ni/Activated Carbon Catalysts Prepared from Adsorption Treatment of Nickel Electroplating Wastewater by Activated Carbon
Authors: Chen Xiao Fang , Jiang Ning , Hu Song , He Li Mo , Liao Guang , Ren Qiang Qiang , Su Sheng , Wang Yi , Xiang Jun , Qiu Ji Hua
Published: March 2019

The conditions (adsorption duration and pH) for removal of nickel ions from nickel electroplating wastewater by adsorbing on activated carbon were studied. Ni/AC catalysts prepared by adsorption under alkaline conditions with high removal rate of Ni(II) has been chosen for catalytic steam reforming of toluene, and its catalytic performances were evaluated compared to that of Ni/AC catalysts prepared by impregnation. Alkaline conditions facilitated the removal of Ni(II) from nickel electroplating wastewater by AC and pH=9 in especial, was a critical point above which Ni(II) could be removed efficiently. The removal rate within 20 min reached up to more than 97%. After H2 reduction, the catalytic activity of Ni/AC-Ad was observed in catalytic steam reforming of toluene and then gradually decreased with the reaction time. Both the toluene conversion and hydrogen production with Ni/AC-Ad were about 65% of those with Ni/AC-Im at similar Ni loading rate. Under alkaline conditions, most of the nickel adsorbed on AC was Ni(OH)2 complex. This adsorption state led to a larger average size of nickel particle in Ni/AC-Ad than that in Ni/AC-Im. The uneven size of nickel particles on the surface caused poor dispersion of active spots, agglomeration and sintering, resulting in gradual deactivation of Ni/AC-Ad prepared under alkaline conditions during catalytic steam reforming of toluene.
Athletic Training Student Perspectives on Spirituality and Spiritual Care in Clinical Practice: A Pilot Study
Authors: Wright Cynthia J. , Ediger Michael J.
Published: March 2019

Context

Spirituality is an important component of holistic health care. While attitudes of athletic training program directors and clinicians toward spirituality are documented, the attitudes and practices of athletic training students are unknown.

Objective

To describe the beliefs and behaviors of athletic training students regarding spirituality and spiritual care.

Design

Repeated measures cohort.

Setting

Online survey.

Patients or Other Participants

All athletic training students (n = 33) enrolled in an accredited athletic training program at a private religiously affiliated university were invited to participate. The response rate was 78.8% (males = 7, females = 19, age = 20.3 ± 2.1).

Intervention(s)

An email invitation to complete the online survey was sent in September and April of the same academic year. The online survey included demographic data, the Spiritual Perspectives Scale (SPS), modified Spiritual Care Perspectives Scale (mSCPS), and modified Spiritual Care Therapeutics Scale (mSCTS).

Main Outcome Measure(s)

Level of agreement on the mSCPS items and therapeutic action frequency on the mSCTS were recorded and compared between fall and spring using paired t tests. For both scales, all item averages were organized from lowest to highest. SPS summary score was calculated.

Results

The mSCPS items with the highest and lowest agreement, respectively, were “Relationships with others are important to patient's spiritual health” and “Spiritual care is only for religious persons.” The mSCTS items with the highest and lowest frequencies, respectively, were “After completing a task, remained present just to show caring” and “Offered to pray with a patient.” Only 3 mSCPS items changed significantly over time, whereas 8 mSCTS items changed significantly (all P < .05). The SPS did not change over time (P = .848; fall = 4.74 ± 0.96, spring = 4.73 ± 0.87).

Conclusions

Athletic training students in this pilot study believe that spirituality is an important part of health care; however, athletic training students preferred items in which patients took the lead in raising spiritual issues. Therapeutic actions that support a patient's spiritual well-being without being openly religious were preferred.
Assessing the Application of Knowledge in Athletic Training: Extended-Matching Questions
Authors: Schilling Jim F.
Published: March 2019

Context

The accuracy of summative assessment scoring and discriminating the level of knowledge in subject matter is critical in fairness to learners in health care professional programs and to ensure stakeholders of competent providers. An evidence-based approach to determine examination quality for the assessment of applied knowledge is imperative.

Objective

To present a written assessment question format that is simple to construct, can be scored electronically, and will accurately assess the application of knowledge in examinations during the classroom curriculum and for high-stakes examinations.

Background

Traditionally, free-response written assessments have been administered to assess the application of knowledge, for example, short answer or essay questions. Selected-response questions such as a carefully constructed multiple-choice questions or extended-matching questions (EMQ) are reliable and valid options to assess the depth of understanding in subject matter.

Description

Extended matching is a selected-response question format used to assess the application of knowledge. It consists of items consistent with a common theme and a large list of homogenous options providing distractors and a correct answer.

Clinical Advantage

Extended-matching questions have demonstrated good psychomotor measures and can assess the application of knowledge over a large number of themes in 1 examination. They are simple to create, minimize cueing, and are scored objectively.

Conclusions

Both well-written multiple-choice questions and EMQs can be used to assess the application of knowledge level of cognition. The EMQ is easier to write with less chance of cueing or guessing the correct option and is optimal for evaluation and treatment scenario type questions.
Isospectrality for Orbifold Lens Spaces
Authors: Bari Naveed S. , Hunsicker Eugenie
Published: March 2019

We answer Mark Kac’s famous question, “Can one hear the shape of a drum?” in the positive for orbifolds that are 3-dimensional and 4-dimensional lens spaces; we thus complete the answer to this question for orbifold lens spaces in all dimensions. We also show that the coefficients of the asymptotic expansion of the trace of the heat kernel are not sufficient to determine the above results.
Dose-response meta-analysis: application and practice using the R software
Authors: Shim Sung Ryul , Lee Jonghoo
Published: March 2019

The objective of this study was to describe the general approaches of dose-response meta-analysis (DRMA) available for the quantitative synthesis of data using the R software. We conducted a DRMA using two types of data, the difference of means in continuous data and the odds ratio in binary data. The package commands of the R software were “doseresmeta” for the overall effect sizes that were separated into a linear model, quadratic model, and restricted cubic split model for better understanding. The effect sizes according to the dose and a test for linearity were demonstrated and interpreted by analyzing one-stage and two-stage DRMA. The authors examined several flexible models of exposure to pool study-specific trends and made a graphical presentation of the dose-response trend. This study focused on practical methods of DRMA rather than theoretical concepts for researchers who did not major in statistics. The authors hope that this study will help many researchers use the R software to perform DRMAs more easily, and that related research will be pursued.
Intervention meta-analysis: application and practice using R software
Authors: Shim Sung Ryul , Kim Seong-Jang
Published: March 2019

The objective of this study was to describe general approaches for intervention meta-analysis available for quantitative data synthesis using the R software. We conducted an intervention meta-analysis using two types of data, continuous and binary, characterized by mean difference and odds ratio, respectively. The package commands for the R software were “metacont”, “metabin”, and “metagen” for the overall effect size, “forest” for forest plot, “metareg” for meta-regression analysis, and “funnel” and “metabias” for the publication bias. The estimated overall effect sizes, test for heterogeneity and moderator effect, and the publication bias were reported using the R software. In particular, the authors indicated methods for calculating the effect sizes of the target studies in intervention meta-analysis. This study focused on the practical methods of intervention meta-analysis, rather than the theoretical concepts, for researchers with no major in statistics. Through this study, the authors hope that many researchers will use the R software to more readily perform the intervention meta-analysis and that this will in turn generate further related research.
College Program Directory
Authors: Of Emergency Management Journal
Published: March 2019

We are pleased to present the inaugural edition of our Journal of Emergency Management Higher Education Program Directory.Our goal was simple, to create an authoritative directory where persons looking towards emergency management could get comprehensive data on all the higher education programs in the field. This profession has a diverse number of entry points. From post-secondary school to professionals changing careers or leaders in the field seeking additional education, individuals need information to pick the programs that will allow for their success.The concept grew out of my recent travels with my sons to local "college fairs" in the Boston area. As we walked the isles past hundreds of colleges, there were signs for "STEM," "Journalism," "Medicine," "Biotech" and more, but there was not one sign promoting "Emergency Management" or "Disaster Sciences." I  thought that was a real tragedy as we need leading edge trained professionals to expand the disaster sciences. We need new thought leaders who can do leading-edge research in the four phases of emergency management: mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery and roll that into practical applications that will help reduce the exploding costs of disasters both in people and property.
Meat production characteristics of Turkish native breeds: II. meat quality, fatty acid, and cholesterol profile of lambs
Authors: Aksoy Yüksel , Çiçek Ümran , Şen Uğur , Şirin Emre , Uğurlu Mustafa , Önenç Alper , Kuran Mehmet , Ulutaş Zafer
Published: March 2019

Abstract. The study conducted a comparison of meat quality, fatty acid profile, and cholesterol amounts of longissimus dorsi (LD) and semitendinosus (ST) muscles of male lambs born to Turkish indigenous sheep breeds raised under intensive conditions. A total of 36 singleton male lambs were used as experimental animals of the Akkaraman (A), Morkaraman (M), Awassi (IW), Karayaka (KR), Kıvırcık (KV), and Middle Anatolian Merino (MAM) pure breeds. All lambs were fed the same diet until they reached a target weight of 40 kg weight. After the feeding period, all lambs were slaughtered and LD and ST muscle samples were collected to determine meat quality traits, fatty acid profile, and cholesterol amounts. Although there were no significant differences between lambs in terms of the fatty acid profile of LD and ST muscles, KR lambs had a higher cholesterol content in both muscles in comparison with the lambs born to other breeds (p<0.05). While water-holding capacity, dripping loss, pH, color, dry matter, ash, and intramuscular fat values of ST muscles showed differences among breeds (p<0.05), dripping loss, pH, cooking loss, color, dry matter, ash, protein, and intramuscular fat values of LD muscles differed between breeds (p<0.05). The data of the current study indicated that meat quality characteristics and cholesterol contents of Turkish indigenous breeds showed differences, and these differences may be used for alternative lamb meat production for the consumer.
DNA methylation pattern of the goat PITX1 gene and its effects on milk performance
Authors: Zhao Haiyu , Zhang Sihuan , Wu Xianfeng , Pan Chuanying , Li Xiangchen , Lei Chuzhao , Chen Hong , Lan Xianyong
Published: March 2019

Abstract. Paired-like homeodomain transcription factor 1 (PITX1) is a pivotal gene in the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis, which is a well-known pathway affecting lactation performance. The aim of this study was to analyze the DNA methylation profile of the PITX1 gene and its relevance to milk performance in Xinong Saanen dairy goats; thus, potential epigenetic markers of lactation performance were identified. A total of 267 goat blood samples were divided into “low” and “high” groups according to two milk traits: the average milk yield (AMY) and the average milk density (AMD). One CpG island in the 3′-flanking region of the PITX1 gene was identified as being related to milk performance. Fisher's exact test demonstrated that the methylation rates of the overall CpG island and the 3rd and 12th CpG-dinucleotide loci in the blood were significantly associated with the AMY, and the overall methylation rate of the high AMY group was relative hypomethylation compared with the low AMY group. The overall methylation rates of this CpG island in mammary gland tissue from dry and lactation periods again exhibited a significant difference: the lactation period showed relative hypomethylation compared with the dry period. Bioinformatic transcription factor binding site prediction identified some lactation performance related transcription factors in this CpG island, such as CTCF, STAT, SMAD, CDEF, SP1, and KLFS. Briefly, overall methylation changes of the CpG island in the PITX1 gene are relevant to lactation performance, which will be valuable for future studies and epigenetic marker-assisted selection (eMAS) in the breeding of goats with respect to lactation performance.