bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
PENGEMBANGAN BAHAN AJAR FISIKA MELALUI PENDEKATAN STEM BERORIENTASI HOTS PADA MATERI USAHA DAN ENERGI
Authors: Chania Dini Melani Putri , Medriati Rosane , Mayub Afrizal
Published: October 2020

ABSTRAK Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengembangkan bahan ajar fisika melalui pendekatan STEM berorientasi HOTS di SMAN Kota Bengkuku pada materi usaha dan energi. Produk yang dihasilkan berupa bahan ajar yang dapat digunakan guru dan siswa. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian dan pengembangan (R&D) dengan metode Sugiyono Level 1 yang dimodifikasi. Validasi produk dilakukan oleh ahli dengan menggunakan angket. Hasil validasi menunjukkan bahwa bahan ajar fisika ini dikategorikan sangat layak digunakan dengan persentase capaian 83,25%. Persentase tersebut merupakan rata-rata dari aspek penilaian materi 82,5%, aspek penilaian HOTS dan penilaian pendekatan STEM 81%, aspek penilaian bahasa 86% dan aspek penilaian media 84%. Dengan demikian dapat disimpulkan bahwa bahan ajar fisika melalui pendekatan STEM berorientasi HOTS di SMAN Kota Bengkulu pada materi usaha dan energi memenuhi kriteria dengan kualitas sangat layak sebagai salah satu media pembelajaran yang digunakan peserta didik SMA kelas X. Kata Kunci: Bahan ajar fisika, Pendekatan STEM, HOTS, Usaha dan energi. ABSTRACT This research was aimed to develop physics teaching material through HOTS oriented STEM approach in SMAN Kota Bengkulu on material of work and energy. The result of this product was teaching material which be used for teacher and student. This research was Research and Development (R&D) with modified Sugiyono level 1 method. Product was validated by experts using questionnaires. Validation results showed that this physics teaching material was categorized as very proper to use with 83,25% achivement percentage. That percentage was average of 82,5% material evaluation aspect, 81% HOTS evaluation aspect and STEM approach evaluation, 86% language evaluation aspect and 84% media evaluation aspect. Therefore can be conclude that physics teaching material through HOTS oriented STEM approach in SMAN Kota Bengkulu on material of work and energy meet the criteria with very proper quality as one of learning media that use by grade X senior high school student. Keyword: Physich teaching material, STEM approach, HOTS, work and energy
PENGEMBANGAN PERANGKAT PEMBELAJARAN FISIKA BERMUATAN LINGKUNGAN LAHAN BASAH DENGAN MODEL GUIDED INQUIRY UNTUK MELATIHKAN KARAKTER WAJA SAMPAI KAPUTING
Authors: Anissa Rivca , Mastuang Mastuang , Misbah Misbah
Published: October 2020

ABSTRAK Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendeskripsikan validitas perangkat pembelajaran  fisika bermuatan lingkungan lahan basah untuk melatihkan karakter waja sampai kaputing. Penelitian ini merupakan jenis penelitian dan pengembangan dengan model ADDIE, namun pada artikel ini hanya sampai pada tahapan develop. Produk yang dikembangkan berupa RPP, LKS, materi ajar dan THB terhadap materi fluida statis. Validitas perangkat pembelajaran diukur dengan menggunakan lembar validasi dan divalidasi oleh validator ahli. Hasil analisis menunjukkan bahwa validitas perangkat pembelajaran berkategori tinggi. Hal ini menunjukkan bahwa perangkat pembelajaran fisika bermuatan lingkungan lahan basah untuk melatihkan karakter waja sampai kaputing valid, sehingga layak untuk digunakan dalam proses pembelajaran dikelas pada materi fluida statis. Kata  kunci—validitas, lingkungan lahan basah, karakter waja sampai kaputing ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to describe the validity of the physics teaching tools based on wetlands environment to train waja sampai kaputing character. The study was a research and development study using ADDIE model, but in this article, the study would only until the develop stage. The product developed were lesson plans, student’s worksheets, learning material and learning result test for static fluid. The validity of the teaching tools was measured by validation sheets. The results of analysis showed that the validity of the teaching tools is in high category. The results show that the teaching tools based on wetlands environment to train waja sampai kaputing was valid and eligible to be used in learning process in classroom for static fluid topic. Keywords—validity, wetlands environment, waja sampai kaputing character
HUBUNGAN ANTARA MOTIVASI BELAJAR DENGAN PEMAHAMAN KONSEP FISIKA PESERTA DIDIK MAN BARAKA
Authors: Shidik Muhammad Amran
Published: October 2020

ABSTRAK Mengetahui hubungan antara motivasi belajar dengan pemahaman konsep fisika peserta didik MAN Baraka merupakan tujuan dilakukannya penelitian ini. Penelitian ini termasuk dalam penelitian korelasi produk momen, dimana ada dua variabel yang ingin dikatahui hubungan dan arah hubungannya, serta menggunakan pendekatan kuantitatif. Subjek dari penelitian ini adalah seluruh kelas X MIA MAN Baraka dengan total 121 orang peserta didik. Pengumpulan data menggunakan dua jenis instrument yakni instumen non-tes dan tes masing-masing untuk mengetahui motivasi belajar dengan jumlah 37 pernyataan, setiap pernyataan memiliki 5 pilihan jawaban dan pemahaman konsep fisika peserta didik dengan jumlah butir soal 26 yang setiap nomornya memiliki lima alternatif jawaban. Dengan menggunakan analisis korelasi produk momen diperoleh hasil penelitian yaitu nilai signifikansi 0,008 < 0,05 yang berarti Ho ditolak dan Ha diterima. Dari hasil penelitian ini dapat disimpulkan bahwa ada hubungan antara motivasi belajar dengan pemahaman konsep fisika peserta didik MAN Baraka dengan arah korelasinya adalah positif. Dengan ini, guru-guru ketika akan melakukan pembelajaran, baiknya memberikan motivasi terlebih dahulu kepada peserta didik agar mereka termotivasi. Ketika pererta didik sudah termotivasi, maka peserta didik akan bersemangat dan memungkinkan mereka untuk mudah dalam memahami konsep-konsep pelajaran sehingga akan memperoleh hasil belajar yang lebih baik. Kata  kunci: motivasi, belajar, pemahaman, konsep, fisika ABSTRACT Knowing the relationship between learning motivation and understanding students' MAN Baraka concepts is the aim of this study. This research was included in product-moment research, where there were two variables that wanted to know the relationship and direction needed, and used quantitative research. The subjects of this study were all students of class X MIA MAN Baraka with a total of 121 students. Data collection used two types of instruments namely non-test and each test to determine learning motivation with a total of 37 answers, each of which had 5 answer choices and students' understanding of concepts with a total of 26 items, each of which had five alternative answers. By using product evaluation analysis when the results of significance 0.008 <0.05 which mean that Ho was rejected and Ha was accepted. From the results of this study, it can be concluded that there is a relationship between learning and learning with the understanding of MAN Baraka students' concepts and the direction of correlation is positive. With this, the teacher when going to learn, it is better to provide motivation in advance to students so that they are motivated. When students are motivated, students will be excited and allow them to easily understand the concepts of the lesson so that they will get better learning outcomes. Keywords: motivation, learning, understanding, concepts, physics
Comportamento ingestivo de bovinos em diferentes sistemas de produção – uma revisão sistemática de estudos científicos
Authors: Guimarães Yan Lee Farina , Debortoli Elísio De Camarfgo , Santos Juliana Dos , Gopinger Edenilse
Published: October 2020

O estudo do comportamento ingestivo é uma ferramenta importante para a avaliação de dietas e da relação do animal com o sistema de criação. Objetivou-se com este estudo analisar o comportamento ingestivo de bovinos nos sistemas de pastejo e confinado para algumas variáveis em condições experimentais. Utilizando a metodologia de revisão sistemática, foram analisados trabalhos científicos publicados no período de setembro de 2004 a março de 2018, totalizando inicialmente 88 artigos científicos e após aplicação de critérios de seleção, 35 artigos constituíram o banco de informações, com 153 informações e 1079 animais. Observou-se diferença estatística (P < 0,0001) nos parâmetros analisados entre os sistemas de criação. As médias de tempo encontradas, em minutos por dia, para alimentação foram maiores em sistemas a pasto (520,13) do que em sistemas confinados (249,39). Já o tempo dispendido pelos animais em ruminação e ócio foi maior em sistemas confinados (470,28 e 691,86, respectivamente) do que em sistemas a pasto (319,21 e 360,50, respectivamente). Os sistemas de produção possuem influência sobre o comportamento ingestivo dos bovinos. Porém, a dieta que é fornecida nos diferentes sistemas de produção é a principal responsável pela mudança no comportamento dos animais, mostrando-se importante o avanço dos estudos sobre o tema.
Roteiro Pedagógico Patrimonial do centro colonial de Diamantina, Minas Gerais: Personagens Ilustres
Authors: Lima Maíra Cristina de Oliveira , Morais Marcelino Santos de , Mucida Danielle Piuzana
Published: October 2020

Diamantina, Minas Gerais, contextualiza-se como sede municipal de núcleo colonial, tombado pelo IPHAN desde 1938, e reconhecida como Patrimônio Cultural da Humanidade pela UNESCO em 1999. Este trabalho tem como intuito apresentar um roteiro pedagógico por meio de casarios no centro colonial de Diamantina, relacionados a personalidades nascidas ou que viveram na região e que tiveram vida e obra relevantes em diversos campos do saber. Foi realizado a partir de levantamento bibliográfico e entrevistas informais com historiadores locais. O resultado consistiu em seleção de 9 personagens, simbolizadas pela identificação do local de suas moradias em um folder com um roteiro pelo núcleo colonial de da cidade e localização dos casarios vinculados às personalidades. No verso, constam as principais informações de cada um. Neste sentido, o trabalho constitui um diferencial na relação entre patrimônio, educação patrimonial e colaborativa, práticas de ensino e para a sociedade em geral.
Winter-forage crop grazing in the Gore-Mataura area of Southland: using time-series mapping to estimate location and frequency of cropping
Authors: Drewry John J. , North Heather , Belliss Stella E. , Amies Alexander
Published: October 2020

Winter grazing of forage crops is a key land-use in southern New Zealand, providing important feed for livestock but has been identified as risky if not managed well, potentially resulting in soil degradation and nutrient losses. We hypothesised that analysing an existing time series of winter-forage maps, derived from satellite imagery could be used to identify how often paddocks are re-used for winter forage. A pilot study was undertaken to explore the practicality and utility of this new method by examining maps derived from satellite images of the Gore-Mataura area, Southland taken in 2013, 2014, 2017, and 2018. Within the study site (67,618 ha), 8925 ha was classed as winter forage in one or more of the source maps. Eighty-five percent of this area was used in only one of the four years, and just 1% in three or four years. High-certainty class pairs for 2013/14 and 2017/18 show two consecutive years of winter forage in the same paddock, 31% or 21% of the time, respectively. These winter-forage crops were generally grown on Brown soils (63%), followed by Pallic and Gley soils. Although, this study was limited by differences in the mapping methodologies of the source maps, it nonetheless  demonstrated that potentially valuable data can be derived. It showed a low level of repeat use of paddocks for winter forage grazing over all the years studied, and that Brown soils are more commonly used for winter forage than previous studies suggested.
Identifying morphological traits associated with vegetative persistence in the perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) cultivar 'Grasslands Samson'
Authors: O'Connor Jessica R. , Crush James R. , Jahufer Zulfi
Published: October 2020

Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) vegetative persistence (maintained herbage growth and survival without reseeding) is an important economic trait for farmers in New Zealand as it decreases the frequency of reseeding pastures. Vegetative persistence is difficult to breed for due to a lack of long-term trials to observe the complex interactions between plant genotype and the environment. In a long-term trial a genetic shift in the sown cultivar population could occur as individual plants with advantageous traits outcompete other plants and survive. The objectives of our study were to investigate the occurrence of a potential genetic shift in a sample (30 plants) of a persistent population of ‘Grasslands Samson’ perennial ryegrass. Persistent plants were collected from a nine-year-old trial at Poukawa, Hawke's Bay. To identify a genetic shift, these plants were compared to a sample of 30 plants sourced from commercial seed of ‘Grasslands Samson’ representing the original population. This study estimated genotypic variation within and between the populations for eight morphological traits after 10 weeks' growth under glasshouse conditions. Phenotypic and genotypic correlations between the traits were estimated. Results showed that the persistent population had significantly (P<0.05) greater means for tiller number, reproductive tiller number, lamina sheath length, and dry weight. Future research studying these traits across farm environments would further understanding of their roles in vegetative persistence of ryegrass.
HOW TO IMPROVE LIBRARIANS PROFESSIONALITY IN ERA O F SOCIETY 5.0?
Authors: Wijonarko Wijonarko
Published: October 2020

Problem Statement: One of the problems in this research is the lack of interest of readers in reading printed books and prefers to use internet media in search of information. Besides that, technology-based facilities are still not fully provided in libraries and limited human resources in libraries as a challenge for librarians. Librarian attitude and ability is needed to attract readers' interest in utilizing media provided by the library. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate efforts to improve the professionalism of university librarians in dealing with users in Era Society 5.0 in order to improve the quality of library services as a means of developing knowledge and increase the interest of users in the use of library facilities. Methods: The research method used is descriptive method which describes the phenomena that occur and explains the criteria of professional librarians in the era of society. Result: The interest of users in the Jatinangor IPDN library environment in using the internet to search for information is higher than reading books in the library. Yet according to the results of the questionnaire also showed that 100% of respondents as a library stated the importance of the existence of the library. Conclusion: In an effort to increase the professionalism of librarians in the era of society 5.0, it is necessary to develop the soft skills of librarians. Soft skills that must be possessed by librarians include listening skills, communications skills, and public relations skills. Librarians should deepen and understand the marketing profession in an effort to attract the interest of users.
FACTORS AFFECTING COMMUNITY INTEREST IN THE USE OF NON-CASH (DIGITAL) PAYMENTS
Authors: Sari Vivi Nila , Anggraini Dian
Published: October 2020

This study aims to analyze and provide empirical evidence regarding the effect of perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of non-cash (digital) payments with the use attitude as an intervening variable. The population in this study was the Islamic Community of West Sumatra. The sampling method used in this research was a number of 100 West Sumatran people using quota sampling. Data processing with SmartPLS 3.0 shows the results show perceived benefit has a positive effect on non-cash payments (digital). The higher the perception of benefit, the higher the non-cash payment (digital). Perception of Ease has a positive effect on Non-Cash (Digital) Payments. The higher the perception of ease, the higher the non-cash payment (digital).And Perceptions of Benefit have a positive effect on User Attitudes. The higher the perceived usefulness, the higher the user's attitude. Then the Ease of Perception has a positive effect on User Attitudes. The higher the perception of Ease, the higher the User's Attitude. User Attitudes have a positive effect on Non-Cash (Digital) Payments. The higher the User Attitude, the higher the use of Digital Payments. The indirect effect is greater than the direct effect, so it can be said that the User Attitude variable is perceived as an intervening variable between the Perception of Benefit and Perception of Ease with the Non-Cash Payment (Digital) variable.
GAMBARAN PENGETAHUAN MASYARAKAT DALAM PENGOBATAN SENDIRI (SWAMEDIKASI) UNTUK OBAT ANALGESIK
Authors: Chusun Chusun , Lestari Nanda Sinta
Published: October 2020

Self-medication is an alternative that is taken by the community to increase the affordability of treatment. This study aims to determine the description of Community Knowledge in Self-medication (Self-medication) for analgesics in Sukmajaya Village - Depok City. This research uses descriptive quantitative method. Samples were taken as many as 250 respondents from RW 09 and RW 10. Samples were taken randomly, the data obtained were analyzed univariate and bivariate with SPSS 20. The results showed that from 250 respondents, (90%) conducted self-medication with analgesic drugs, public knowledge. about high self-medication (72%) as well as knowledge of analgesics (58.8%). There is a significant relationship between education and self-medication, namely respondents who have low education have a chance of doing self-medication as well as knowledge of self-medication, namely respondents who have high self-medication knowledge have a chance of 3,193 times to do self-medication. The reason respondents did self-medication was because the disease was considered mild (52.4%). Source of drug information mostly comes from electronic media (88%). The analgesic drug that is widely used is paracetamol (63.6%).
Ocular dirofilariasis in practical ophthalmology
Authors: Sharova T. A.
Published: October 2020

Parasitic diseases of the eye are a widespread and poorly studied problem. This article is intended to systematize the possible mechanisms of infection and to determine the features of the clinical course and treatment of an ocular dirofilariasis. For this purpose, case reports and research data from medical professionals from Europe and Asia are presented. Conclusions were drawn regarding the dependence of the clinical course on the host  – parasite interaction and immune response and that the only applicable method of treatment in all the cases considered was surgical intervention.
A detailed examination protocol for evaluating the efficacy of myopia control methods
Authors: Proskurina O. V. , Tarutta E. P.
Published: October 2020

To ensure a reliable assessment of the efficacy of myopia control methods and their comparison, it is important that the studies are carried out according to identical protocols. Purpose. To analyze patient examination protocols used by different authors for assessing the efficacy of myopia control methods, and to evaluate the principles of forming the main (treatment) and control groups. Materials and methods. Domestic and foreign authors research works devoted to the assessment of myopia control methods were analyzed, most of which were randomized controlled studies. Results and Discussion. The authors propose their own protocol for evaluation of the efficacy of myopia control methods that includes methods for evaluating the results, recommended number (frequency) and duration of follow-up, represented as a checklist. Conclusion. The proposed protocol can be used for planning and executing a clinical research.

Conflict of interest: the authors are members of the editorial board of the journal and recused themselves from review process and from making decision regarding acceptance of this article.
Influence of Cutting Date on Phenotypic Variation in Fatty Acid Concentrations of Perennial Ryegrass Genotypes from a Breeding Population
Authors: Morgan Sarah A. , Huws Sharon A. , Scollan Nigel D.
Published: October 2020

Breeding forages for increased fatty acid (FA) concentrations has the potential to improve the FA profile of ruminant products (meat and milk). Twenty perennial ryegrass genotypes from an “experimental” breeding population and four genotypes from a “benchmark” mapping population were used to assess genotypic variation in FAs across a growing season. Mean total FA (TFA) concentration for cuts one through five were 29.0, 31.7, 31.1, 34.4 and 42.0 g kg−1 DM, respectively. Six main individual FAs, namely palmitic acid (C16:0), trans-3-hexadecenoic acid (C16:1Δt3), stearic acid (C18:0), oleic acid (C18:1Δc9), linoleic acid (C18:2Δc9,12) and α-linolenic acid (C18:3Δc9,12,15), accounted for between 90% to 96% of TFA. Population means differed (p < 0.001) for TFA and all individual FAs, expect for C18:2Δc9,12 (p = 0.106). “Benchmark” mapping population on average had 8–44% higher FA concentrations compared to the “experimental” breeding population, except for C18:0 where the mapping population had lower concentrations. Individual genotypes from each population differed for all individual FAs and TFA (p < 0.05), with differences between the lowest and highest concentrations ranging from 8% to 23% amongst the mapping population genotypes and between 20% and 39% for the breeding population genotypes. Cutting date had a strong effect on population and genotype means (p < 0.001) with an overall trend for FA concentrations to increase through the season. However, several significant population and genotype × cutting date interactions were also found highlighting the need for further investigations to strengthen our knowledge and understanding of how genetics and environment interact for this particular trait. Nevertheless, candidate “high-lipid” genotypes were able to be identified using multivariate analysis which could be taken forward into a breeding program aimed at increasing forage FAs.
Effect of Adjuvants on Oxytetracycline Uptake upon Foliar Application in Citrus
Authors: Killiny Nabil , Hijaz Faraj , Gonzalez-Blanco Pedro , Jones Shelley E. , Pierre Myrtho O. , Vincent Christopher I.
Published: October 2020

Recently in Florida, foliar treatments using products with the antibiotics oxytetracycline and streptomycin have been approved for the treatment of citrus Huanglongbing (HLB), which is caused by the putative bacterial pathogen ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’. Herein, we assessed the levels of oxytetracycline and ‘Ca. L. asiaticus’ titers in citrus trees upon foliar applications with and without a variety of commercial penetrant adjuvants and upon trunk injection. The level of oxytetracycline in citrus leaves was measured using an oxytetracycline ELISA kit and ‘Ca. L. asiaticus’ titer was measured using quantitative PCR. Low levels of oxytetracycline were taken up by citrus leaves after foliar sprays of oxytetracycline in water. Addition of various adjuvants to the oxytetracycline solution showed minimal effects on its uptake by citrus leaves. The level of oxytetracycline in leaves from trunk-injected trees was higher than those treated with all foliar applications. The titer of ‘Ca. L. asiaticus’ in the midrib of leaves from trees receiving oxytetracycline by foliar application was not affected after four days and thirty days of application, whereas the titer was significantly reduced in oxytetracycline-injected trees thirty days after treatment. Investigation of citrus leaves using microscopy showed that they are covered by a thick lipidized cuticle. Perforation of citrus leaf cuticle with a laser significantly increased the uptake of oxytetracycline, decreasing the titer of ‘Ca. L. asiaticus’ in citrus leaves upon foliar application. Taken together, our findings indicate that trunk injection is more efficient than foliar spray even after the use of adjuvants. Our conclusion could help in setting useful recommendations for the application of oxytetracycline in citrus to improve tree health, minimize the amount of applied antibiotic, reduce environmental exposure, and limit off-target effects.
A Review on Upper Limb Rehabilitation Robots
Authors: Qassim Hassan M. , Wan Hasan W. Z.
Published: October 2020

Rehabilitation is the process of treating post-stroke consequences. Impaired limbs are considered the common outcomes of stroke, which require a professional therapist to rehabilitate the impaired limbs and restore fully or partially its function. Due to the shortage in the number of therapists and other considerations, researchers have been working on developing robots that have the ability to perform the rehabilitation process. During the last two decades, different robots were invented to help in rehabilitation procedures. This paper explains the types of rehabilitation treatments and robot classifications. In addition, a few examples of well-known rehabilitation robots will be explained in terms of their efficiency and controlling mechanisms.
Selection of Support Vector Candidates Using Relative Support Distance for Sustainability in Large-Scale Support Vector Machines
Authors: Ryu Minho , Lee Kichun
Published: October 2020

Support vector machines (SVMs) are a well-known classifier due to their superior classification performance. They are defined by a hyperplane, which separates two classes with the largest margin. In the computation of the hyperplane, however, it is necessary to solve a quadratic programming problem. The storage cost of a quadratic programming problem grows with the square of the number of training sample points, and the time complexity is proportional to the cube of the number in general. Thus, it is worth studying how to reduce the training time of SVMs without compromising the performance to prepare for sustainability in large-scale SVM problems. In this paper, we proposed a novel data reduction method for reducing the training time by combining decision trees and relative support distance. We applied a new concept, relative support distance, to select good support vector candidates in each partition generated by the decision trees. The selected support vector candidates improved the training speed for large-scale SVM problems. In experiments, we demonstrated that our approach significantly reduced the training time while maintaining good classification performance in comparison with existing approaches.
Humanization of Drosophila Gαo to Model GNAO1 Paediatric Encephalopathies
Authors: Savitsky Mikhail , Solis Gonzalo P. , Kryuchkov Mikhail , Katanaev Vladimir L.
Published: October 2020

Several hundred genes have been identified to contribute to epilepsy—the disease affecting 65 million people worldwide. One of these genes is GNAO1 encoding Gαo, the major neuronal α-subunit of heterotrimeric G proteins. An avalanche of dominant de novo mutations in GNAO1 have been recently described in paediatric epileptic patients, suffering, in addition to epilepsy, from motor dysfunction and developmental delay. Although occurring in amino acids conserved from humans to Drosophila, these mutations and their functional consequences have only been poorly analysed at the biochemical or neuronal levels. Adequate animal models to study the molecular aetiology of GNAO1 encephalopathies have also so far been lacking. As the first step towards modeling the disease in Drosophila, we here describe the humanization of the Gαo locus in the fruit fly. A two-step CRISPR/Cas9-mediated replacement was conducted, first substituting the coding exons 2–3 of Gαo with respective human GNAO1 sequences. At the next step, the remaining exons 4–7 were similarly replaced, keeping intact the gene Cyp49a1 embedded in between, as well as the non-coding exons, exon 1 and the surrounding regulatory sequences. The resulting flies, homozygous for the humanized GNAO1 loci, are viable and fertile without any visible phenotypes; their body weight, locomotion, and longevity are also normal. Human Gαo-specific antibodies confirm the endogenous-level expression of the humanized Gαo, which fully replaces the Drosophila functions. The genetic model we established will make it easy to incorporate encephalopathic GNAO1 mutations and will permit intensive investigations into the molecular aetiology of the human disease through the powerful toolkit of Drosophila genetics.
Current Multimodality Treatments against Brain Metastases from Renal Cell Carcinoma
Authors: Matsui Yoshiyuki
Published: October 2020

In patients with renal cell carcinoma, brain metastasis is generally one of the poor prognostic factors. However, the recent introduction of molecular target therapy and immune checkpoint inhibitor has remarkably advanced the systemic treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma and prolonged the patients’ survival. The pivotal clinical trials of those agents usually excluded patients with brain metastasis. The incidence of brain metastasis has been increasing in the actual clinical setting because of longer control of extra-cranial disease. Brain metastasis subgroup data from the prospective and retrospective series have been gradually accumulated about the risk classification of brain metastasis and the efficacy and safety of those new agents for brain metastasis. While the local treatment against brain metastasis includes neurosurgery, stereotactic radiosurgery, and conventional whole brain radiation therapy, the technology of stereotactic radiosurgery has been especially advanced, and the combination with systemic therapy such as molecular target therapy and immune checkpoint inhibitor is considered promising. This review summarizes recent progression of multimodality treatment of brain metastasis of renal cell carcinoma from literature data and explores the future direction of the treatment.
Preschool Teachers’ Beliefs towards Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in Yemen
Authors: Taresh Sahar Mohammed , Ahmad Nor Aniza , Roslan Samsilah , Ma’rof Aini Marina
Published: October 2020

It is perplexing that some preschool teachers not only advise parents who have children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to go to religious healers, but also attribute such neurological disorders to the curse of the “evil eye” or vaccines. Although it is now the twentieth century, this behavior simply reflects the concerns of over-protective teachers and the cultural misperceptions about the actual definition of ASD. In Yemen, the term “ASD”, with its wide range of symptoms, is still ambiguous among preschool teachers. Thus, in a rather insightful piece for the education community, this study has attempted to look beneath the surface of the beliefs (religious belief–social belief–personal belief) of Yemeni preschool teachers regarding ASD. Based on the data collected from 213 teachers (20–30\31–40-~≥40 age) in the Taiz district, this study found that misconceptions specific to autism spectrum disorder were strongly evidenced among teachers who taught preschoolers. Due to personal ignorance and growing superstitions, these teachers tend to believe the society’s perceptions of ASD, thus resulting in the ignorance of scientific views. However, the mass media can increase this group’s awareness of ASD by continually assessing the inaccurate views on ASD, and correcting them. And by influencing the teachers to take a more conceptual scientific approach in serving their special needs students, furthermore, by informing preschool teachers of children’s rights in normal life in the future through providing children with an optimal chance of development by early intervention.
Solar Energy Transformation Strategies by Ecosystems of the Boreal Zone (Thermodynamic Analysis Based on Remote Sensing Data)
Authors: Sandlersky Robert , Krenke Alexander
Published: October 2020

The hypothesis of an increase in free energy (exergy) by ecosystems during evolution is tested on direct measurements. As a measuring system of thermodynamic parameters (exergy, information, entropy), a series of measurements of reflected solar radiation in bands of Landsat multispectral imagery for 20 years is used. The thermodynamic parameters are compared for different types of ecosystems depending on the influx of solar radiation, weather conditions and the composition of communities. It is shown that maximization of free energy occurs only in a succession series (time scale of several hundred years), and on a short evolutionary time scale of several thousand years, various strategies of energy use are successfully implemented at the same time: forests always maximize exergy and, accordingly, transpiration, meadows—disequilibrium and biological productivity in summer, and swamps, due to a prompt response to changes in temperature and moisture, maintaining disequilibrium and productivity throughout the year. On the basis of the obtained regularities, we conclude that on an evolutionary time scale, the thermodynamic system changes in the direction of increasing biological productivity and saving moisture, which contradicts the hypothesis of maximizing free energy in the course of evolution.
Big Data Analytics for Short and Medium-Term Electricity Load Forecasting Using an AI Techniques Ensembler
Authors: Ayub Nasir , Irfan Muhammad , Awais Muhammad , Ali Usman , Ali Tariq , Hamdi Mohammed , Alghamdi Abdullah , Muhammad Fazal
Published: October 2020

Electrical load forecasting provides knowledge about future consumption and generation of electricity. There is a high level of fluctuation behavior between energy generation and consumption. Sometimes, the energy demand of the consumer becomes higher than the energy already generated, and vice versa. Electricity load forecasting provides a monitoring framework for future energy generation, consumption, and making a balance between them. In this paper, we propose a framework, in which deep learning and supervised machine learning techniques are implemented for electricity-load forecasting. A three-step model is proposed, which includes: feature selection, extraction, and classification. The hybrid of Random Forest (RF) and Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGB) is used to calculate features’ importance. The average feature importance of hybrid techniques selects the most relevant and high importance features in the feature selection method. The Recursive Feature Elimination (RFE) method is used to eliminate the irrelevant features in the feature extraction method. The load forecasting is performed with Support Vector Machines (SVM) and a hybrid of Gated Recurrent Units (GRU) and Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN). The meta-heuristic algorithms, i.e., Grey Wolf Optimization (GWO) and Earth Worm Optimization (EWO) are applied to tune the hyper-parameters of SVM and CNN-GRU, respectively. The accuracy of our enhanced techniques CNN-GRU-EWO and SVM-GWO is 96.33% and 90.67%, respectively. Our proposed techniques CNN-GRU-EWO and SVM-GWO perform 7% and 3% better than the State-Of-The-Art (SOTA). In the end, a comparison with SOTA techniques is performed to show the improvement of the proposed techniques. This comparison showed that the proposed technique performs well and results in the lowest performance error rates and highest accuracy rates as compared to other techniques.
Experimental Investigation of Critical Heat Flux on Different Surfaces at Low Pressure and Low Flow
Authors: Suk Ladislav , Petrosyan Taron , Stevanka Kamil , Vlcek Daniel , Gejdos Pavel
Published: October 2020

Steady state flow boiling experiments were carried out on several heated tubes with outer diameter 9.14 mm at outlet pressures 120, 200 and 300 kPa, inlet temperatures 64, 78 and 91 °C and approximately 400, 500, 600 and 800 kg/(m2·s) mass flux entering the vertically aligned test annulus until critical heat flux (CHF) was reached. The tubes were made of Inconel 625 with a length of 400 mm. The Inconel tubes were tested in three different modifications as smooth, abraded with 150 grit sandpaper and bead blasted. Multiple experiments were repeated on the same specimen to investigate the effect of surface characteristic changes (i.e., wettability, roughness and oxide layer morphology) on the occurrence of CHF. Despite the changes in initial wettability, the CHF dependency was not clearly observed, however, the changes in roughness led to an increase in CHF. The total number of 115 experimental runs were collected and the results were also compared with other literature experimental data.
Hydrolyzed Agricultural Residues—Low-Cost Nutrient Sources for l-Lactic Acid Production
Authors: Krull Susan , Brock Silvia , Prüße Ulf , Kuenz Anja
Published: October 2020

Lactic acid is a building block for polylactic acid, which is one of the most promising polymers based on renewable resources and is used mainly in packaging industry. This bio-based polymer is biodegradable and provides an ecological and economical alternative to petrochemical plastics. The largest cost blocks of biotechnological lactic acid production, accounting for up to 38% of the total costs, are substrate and nutrient sources, such as peptone, meat, and yeast extract. Based on a systematic analysis of nutritional requirements, the substitution of yeast extract by low-cost protein-rich agricultural hydrolysates was estimated for the production of l-lactic acid with Lactobacillus casei. Cultivations in 24-well microtiter plates enabled analysis of nutrient requirements and the usage of various hydrolysates with a high parallel throughput and repeated sampling. Rapeseed meal (RM) and distillers’ dried grains with solubles (DDGS) were tested as low-cost protein-rich agricultural residues. By using chemically or enzymatically hydrolyzed rapeseed meal or DDGS, 70% of the nutrient sources was replaced in the fermentation process at identical productivity and product yields. All in all, the total costs of l-lactic acid production with Lactobacillus casei could potentially be reduced by up to 23%.
ADAtools: Automatic Detection and Classification of Active Deformation Areas from PSI Displacement Maps
Authors: Navarro J. A. , Tomás R. , Barra A. , Pagán J. I. , Reyes-Carmona C. , Solari L. , Vinielles J. L. , Falco S. , Crosetto M.
Published: October 2020

This work describes the set of tools developed, tested, and put into production in the context of the H2020 project Multi-scale Observation and Monitoring of Railway Infrastructure Threats (MOMIT). This project, which ended in 2019, aimed to show how the use of various remote sensing techniques could help to improve the monitoring of railway infrastructures, such as tracks or bridges, and thus, consequently, improve the detection of ground instabilities and facilitate their management. Several lines of work were opened by MOMIT, but the authors of this work concentrated their efforts in the design of tools to help the detection and identification of ground movements using synthetic aperture radar interferometry (InSAR) data. The main output of this activity was a set of tools able to detect the areas labelled active deformation areas (ADA), with the highest deformation rates and to connect them to a geological or anthropogenic process. ADAtools is the name given to the aforementioned set of tools. The description of these tools includes the definition of their targets, inputs, and outputs, as well as details on how the correctness of the applications was checked and on the benchmarks showing their performance. The ADAtools include the following applications: ADAfinder, los2hv, ADAclassifier, and THEXfinder. The toolset is targeted at the analysis and interpretation of InSAR results. Ancillary information supports the semi-automatic interpretation and classification process. Two real use-cases illustrating this statement are included at the end of this paper to show the kind of results that may be obtained with the ADAtools.
Surface Modification by Nano-Structures Reduces Viable Bacterial Biofilm in Aerobic and Anaerobic Environments
Authors: Ya’ari Sarah , Halperin-Sternfeld Michal , Rosin Boris , Adler-Abramovich Lihi
Published: October 2020

Bacterial biofilm formation on wet surfaces represents a significant problem in medicine and environmental sciences. One of the strategies to prevent or eliminate surface adhesion of organisms is surface modification and coating. However, the current coating technologies possess several drawbacks, including limited durability, low biocompatibility and high cost. Here, we present a simple antibacterial modification of titanium, mica and glass surfaces using self-assembling nano-structures. We have designed two different nano-structure coatings composed of fluorinated phenylalanine via the drop-cast coating technique. We investigated and characterized the modified surfaces by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and wettability analyses. Exploiting the antimicrobial property of the nano-structures, we successfully hindered the viability of Streptococcus mutans and Enterococcus faecalis on the coated surfaces in both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Notably, we found lower bacteria adherence to the coated surfaces and a reduction of 86–99% in the total metabolic activity of the bacteria. Our results emphasize the interplay between self-assembly and antimicrobial activity of small self-assembling molecules, thus highlighting a new approach of biofilm control for implementation in biomedicine and other fields.
Endothelial-Tumor Cell Interaction in Brain and CNS Malignancies
Authors: Peleli Maria , Moustakas Aristidis , Papapetropoulos Andreas
Published: October 2020

Glioblastoma and other brain or CNS malignancies (like neuroblastoma and medulloblastoma) are difficult to treat and are characterized by excessive vascularization that favors further tumor growth. Since the mean overall survival of these types of diseases is low, the finding of new therapeutic approaches is imperative. In this review, we discuss the importance of the interaction between the endothelium and the tumor cells in brain and CNS malignancies. The different mechanisms of formation of new vessels that supply the tumor with nutrients are discussed. We also describe how the tumor cells (TC) alter the endothelial cell (EC) physiology in a way that favors tumorigenesis. In particular, mechanisms of EC–TC interaction are described such as (a) communication using secreted growth factors (i.e., VEGF, TGF-β), (b) intercellular communication through gap junctions (i.e., Cx43), and (c) indirect interaction via intermediate cell types (pericytes, astrocytes, neurons, and immune cells). At the signaling level, we outline the role of important mediators, like the gasotransmitter nitric oxide and different types of reactive oxygen species and the systems producing them. Finally, we briefly discuss the current antiangiogenic therapies used against brain and CNS tumors and the potential of new pharmacological interventions that target the EC–TC interaction.
Effect of Oral Losartan on Orthobiologics: Implications for Platelet-Rich Plasma and Bone Marrow Concentrate—A Rabbit Study
Authors: Nakama Gilberto Y. , Gonzalez Sabrina , Matre Polina , Mu Xiaodong , Whitney Kaitlyn E. , Utsunomiya Hajime , Arner Justin W. , Philippon Marc J. , Ravuri Sudheer , Huard Johnny
Published: October 2020

Recent efforts have focused on customizing orthobiologics, such as platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and bone marrow concentrate (BMC), to improve tissue repair. We hypothesized that oral losartan (a TGF-β1 blocker with anti-fibrotic properties) could decrease TGF-β1 levels in leukocyte-poor PRP (LP-PRP) and fibrocytes in BMC. Ten rabbits were randomized into two groups (N = 5/group): osteochondral defect + microfracture (control, group 1) and osteochondral defect + microfracture + losartan (losartan, group 2). For group 2, a dose of 10mg/kg/day of losartan was administrated orally for 12 weeks post-operatively. After 12 weeks, whole blood (WB) and bone marrow aspirate (BMA) samples were collected to process LP-PRP and BMC. TGF-β1 concentrations were measured in WB and LP-PRP with multiplex immunoassay. BMC cell populations were analyzed by flow cytometry with CD31, CD44, CD45, CD34, CD146 and CD90 antibodies. There was no significant difference in TGF-β1 levels between the losartan and control group in WB or LP-PRP. In BMC, the percentage of CD31+ cells (endothelial cells) in the losartan group was significantly higher than the control group (p = 0.008), while the percentage of CD45+ cells (hematopoietic cells-fibrocytes) in the losartan group was significantly lower than the control group (p = 0.03).
In Situ Determination of Phase Stress States in an Unstable Medium Manganese Duplex Steel Studied by High-Energy X-ray Diffraction
Authors: Lamari Mathias , Allain Sébastien Y. P. , Geandier Guillaume , Hell Jean-Christophe , Perlade Astrid , Zhu Kangying
Published: October 2020

Duplex medium Mn steels are high-potential advanced high-strength steels (AHSS) for automotive construction. Their excellent forming properties stem from the specific stress partitioning between their constituting phases during deformation, namely the ferritic matrix, unstable retained austenite, and strain-induced fresh martensite. The stability of the retained austenite and the 3D stress tensors of each phase are determined simultaneously in this work by in situ high energy X-ray diffraction on synchrotron beamline during a tensile test. The role of internal stresses inherited from the manufacturing stage are highlighted for the first time as well as new insights to understand the origin of the serrations shown by these alloys.
Avian Pathogenic Escherichia coli and Clostridium perfringens: Challenges in No Antibiotics Ever Broiler Production and Potential Solutions
Authors: Fancher Courtney A. , Zhang Li , Kiess Aaron S. , Adhikari Pratima A. , Dinh Thu T.N. , Sukumaran Anuraj T.
Published: October 2020

United States is the largest producer and the second largest exporter of broiler meat in the world. In the US, broiler production is largely converting to antibiotic-free programs which has caused an increase in morbidity and mortality within broiler farms. Escherichia coli and Clostridium perfringens are two important pathogenic bacteria readily found in the broiler environment and result in annual billion-dollar losses from colibacillosis, gangrenous dermatitis, and necrotic enteritis. The broiler industry is in search of non-antibiotic alternatives including novel vaccines, prebiotics, probiotics, and housing management strategies to mitigate production losses due to these diseases. This review provides an overview of the broiler industry and antibiotic free production, current challenges, and emerging research on antibiotic alternatives to reduce pathogenic microbial presence and improve bird health.
Potential of Bacteria from Alternative Fermented Foods as Starter Cultures for the Production of Wheat Sourdoughs
Authors: Comasio Andrea , Van Kerrebroeck Simon , Harth Henning , Verté Fabienne , De Vuyst Luc
Published: October 2020

Microbial strains for starter culture-initiated sourdough productions are commonly isolated from a fermenting flour–water mixture. Yet, starter culture strains isolated from matrices other than sourdoughs could provide the dough with interesting metabolic properties and hence change the organoleptic properties of the concomitant breads. Furthermore, the selection of sourdough starter cultures does not need to be limited to lactic acid bacteria (LAB), as other food-grade microorganisms are sometimes found in sourdoughs. Therefore, different strains belonging to LAB, acetic acid bacteria (AAB), and coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) that originated from different fermented food matrices (fermenting cocoa pulp-bean mass, fermented sausage, and water kefir), were examined as to their prevalence in a wheat sourdough ecosystem during 72-h fermentations. Limosilactobacillus fermentum IMDO 222 (fermented cocoa pulp-bean mass isolate) and Latilactobacillus sakei CTC 494 (fermented sausage isolate) seemed to be promising candidates as sourdough starter culture strains, as were the AAB strains Acetobacter pasteurianus IMDO 386B and Gluconobacter oxydans IMDO A845 (both isolated from fermented cocoa pulp-bean mass), due to their competitiveness in the wheat flour-water mixtures. Wheat breads made with G. oxydans IMDO A845 sourdoughs were significantly darker than reference wheat breads.