bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Where are the people in Continuous Improvement efforts?
Authors: Garrido-López Mariano , Cai-Hillon Yue
Published: March 2022

La principale motivation des organisations pour se lancer dans des efforts d’amélioration continue tels que Lean Six Sigma (LSS) a toujours été d’améliorer les mesures clés de la performance (coût, vitesse, etc.). Cependant, la plupart des efforts ont été confrontés à des échecs significatifs dans la mise en œuvre, principalement en raison du manque de prise en compte des aspects du changement liés à l’organisation et aux personnes. Même si la nécessité de traiter ces aspects clés a été mentionnée dans la littérature, il semble y avoir des lacunes théoriques et empiriques à la fois sur les aspects structurels et de mise en œuvre de la manière dont la Gestion du Changement (CM) / le Développement Organisationnel (OD) sont intégrés dans les efforts d’amélioration continue. Ce document partagera l’expérience de la façon dont une organisation mature a tenté de concevoir et de déployer un cadre intégrant LSS et CM / OD. Cette étude explore également comment une approche socio-économique pourrait remédier aux faiblesses et aux défis auxquels sont confrontés les cadres existants.
Wong-Zakai approximations and pathwise dynamics of stochastic fractional lattice systems
Authors: Chen Yiju , Wang Xiaohu , Wu Kenan
Published: March 2022

This paper is concerned with the pathwise dynamics of stochastic fractional lattice systems driven by Wong-Zakai type approximation noises. The existence and uniqueness of pullback random attractor are established for the approximate system with a wide class of nonlinear diffusion term. For system with linear multiplicative noise and additive white noise, the upper semicontinuity of random attractors for the corresponding approximate system are also proved when the step size of the approximation approaches zero.
Finite difference method for transmission dynamics of Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia
Authors: Kıkpınar Sait , Modanli Mahmut , Akgül Ali , Jarad Fahd
Published: March 2022

In this study, the transmission dynamics of Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP) by finite difference method are presented. This model is made up of sensitive, exposed, vaccinated, infectious, constantly infected, and treated compartments. The model is studied by the finite difference method. Firstly, the finite difference scheme is constructed. Then the stability estimates are proved for this model. As a result, several simulations are given for this model on the verge of antibiotic therapy. From these figures, the supposition that 50% of infectious cattle take antibiotic therapy or the date of infection decrease to 28 days, 50% of susceptible obtain vaccination within 73 days.
Optimal control in pharmacokinetic drug administration
Authors: Hungerbühler Norbert
Published: March 2022

We consider a two-box model for the administration of a therapeutic substance and discuss two scenarios: First, the substance should have an optimal therapeutic concentration in the central compartment (typically blood) and be degraded in an organ, the peripheral compartment (e.g., the liver). In the other scenario, the concentration in the peripheral compartment should be optimized, with the blood serving only as a means of transport. In either case the corresponding optimal control problem is to determine a dosing schedule, i.e., how to administer the substance as a function $ u $ of time to the central compartment so that the concentration of the drug in the central or in the peripheral compartment remains as closely as possible at its optimal therapeutic level. We solve the optimal control problem for the central compartment explicitly by using the calculus of variations and the Laplace transform. We briefly discuss the effect of the approximation of the Dirac delta distribution by a bolus. The optimal control function $ u $ for the central compartment satisfies automatically the condition $ u\ge 0 $. But for the peripheral compartment one has to solve an optimal control problem with the non-linear constraint $ u\ge 0 $. This problem does not seem to be widely studied in the current literature in the context of pharmacokinetics. We discuss this question and propose two approximate solutions which are easy to compute. Finally we use Pontryagin's Minimum Principle to deduce the exact solution for the peripheral compartment.
Forecasting algae and shellfish carbon sink capability on fractional order accumulation grey model
Authors: Gu Haolei , Yin Kedong
Published: March 2022

Marine biology carbon sinks function is vital pathway to earned carbon neutrality object. Algae and shellfish can capture CO2 from atmosphere reducing CO2 concentration. Therefore, algae and shellfish carbon sink capability investigate and forecast are important problem. The study forecast algae and shellfish carbon sinks capability trend base on 9 China coastal provinces. Fractional order accumulation grey model (FGM) is employed to forecast algae and shellfish carbon sinks capability. The result showed algae and shellfish have huge carbon sinks capability. North coastal provinces algae and shellfish carbon sinks capability trend smoothness. South and east coastal provinces carbon sinks capability trend changed drastically. The research advised coastal provinces defend algae and shellfish population, expand carbon sink capability. Algae and shellfish carbon sink resource will promote environment sustainable develop.
Puentes de madera con estructura recíproca. Análisis comparativo del puente tradicional chino y el puente de Leonardo
Authors: Aira José Ramón , Cabo-Fernández Miguel Carlos , Del Blanco-García Federico Luis , Gonzalo-Calderón Laura
Published: March 2022

En las últimas décadas las estructuras recíprocas han encontrado una nueva utilidad vinculada a la ejecución de obras temporales y reciclables en línea con las tendencias actuales en arquitectura sostenible. El objetivo de este trabajo consiste en analizar el comportamiento de puentes de madera con estructura recíproca. Se realizó un modelo numérico y se compararon las respuestas estructurales del puente tradicional chino y el puente desmontable de Leonardo. El modelo se verificó midiendo la deformación de un puente real construido en taller. Además del comportamiento mecánico se estudió el mecanismo de transmisión de cargas, la influencia del rozamiento, la estabilidad lateral y la robustez. El puente chino trabaja fundamentalmente a compresión, acercándose más al comportamiento de un arco funicular, y transmitiendo una carga horizontal en los apoyos del orden de tres veces mayor que el puente de Leonardo, que trabaja fundamentalmente a flexión y con niveles de agotamiento y deformación mayores.
La perception de la qualité de vie et de l’environnement dans une région en crise
Authors: Ira Vladimir
Published: March 2022

En s’appuyant sur les résultats d’une enquête individuelle effectuée dans la région Horna Nitra (Slovaquie), l’article étudie comment les habitants perçoivent leur environnement dans un contexte de forte dégradation du milieu. Bien que l’environnement n’arrive qu’après la santé dans l’ordre des facteurs de qualité de la vie privilégiés par les habitants, sa dégradation est ressentie négativement par la majorité de la population. La pollution de l’atmosphère est perçue comme le facteur le plus préoccupant, suivie la pollution de l’eau. En revanche, les questions relatives aux déchets et à la dégradation des forêts sont perçues comme plus secondaires. La responsabilité des industries polluantes dans la dégradation du milieu est perçue de façon très inégale par les habitants qui atténuent ou exagèrent leur influence réelle. La prise de conscience d’un manque d’information est particulièrement marquée à proximité des régions les plus exposées. Cependant, bien que la grande majorité des habitants aient le sentiment de vivre dans un environnement malsain et manifestent une volonté potentielle d’émigration, ils demeurent dans la région pour des raisons de liens familiaux, d’emploi, de logement ou d’attachement sentimental.
L’établissement d’un centre-ville sans voiture à Oslo, ou l’européanisation de la capitale norvégienne
Authors: Tortosa Grégoire
Published: March 2022

L’établissement d’un centre-ville sans voiture à Oslo semble illustrer, de prime abord, l’engagement remarquable de la capitale norvégienne en faveur de la protection de l’environnement et de la lutte contre les émissions de CO2 et le réchauffement climatique, révélant, une nouvelle fois, une certaine exemplarité nordique en matière d’écologie urbaine. Or, une fois analysées, les raisons profondes qui guident ce projet, comme ses déclinaisons opérationnelles sur l’espace public, apparaissent très éloignées des préoccupations environnementales. L’éviction de la voiture du centre-ville ne serait qu’un moyen pour la municipalité de s’européaniser, c’est-à-dire d’adopter les codes de l’urbanité de l’Europe « continentale » pour stimuler son intégration européenne et dépasser sa périphéricité.
Pouvait-on être heureux dans la Finlande des années 1920 ? Une enquête micro-historique
Authors: Carrez Maurice
Published: March 2022

À Somero, commune du Sud-Häme, aux confins du département de Turku, plus de 160 personnes trouvèrent la mort lors de la guerre civile de 1918 et des mois qui suivirent. Les familles endeuillées n’eurent pas toujours le loisir d’honorer leurs défunts et furent contraintes de vivre durant des décennies aux côtés des responsables de certains massacres. Peut-on dans ces conditions être heureux ? Sans doute pas. Néanmoins, bien que la question du bonheur soit éminemment subjective, l’historien peut essayer de réfléchir à cette question à partir non seulement de témoignages postérieurs, mais également de sources administratives ou judiciaires qui laissent entrevoir des situations douloureuses et des abus manifestes. Cette contribution a ainsi pour but de montrer que, pour traiter d’une notion aussi délicate à cerner, le chercheur a suffisamment de ressources pour apporter un éclairage intéressant.
Une « école du bonheur » en Suède ? Reflets médiatiques d’une utopie, entre projections et fantasmes
Authors: Colla Piero
Published: March 2022

L’article se penche sur la manière dont la topique du « bonheur à l’école » a dominé, à partir du milieu du XXe siècle, le regard français sur le système d’enseignement suédois et une prétendue culture suédoise du rapport à l’enfance. En s’inscrivant dans une histoire sociale du transfert culturel, l’auteur interroge en parallèle l’action déployée par les pourvoyeurs et par les récepteurs d’un paradigme moral. Les corpus interrogés sont les reportages et flashes d’information que la télévision française a consacrés à la situation en Suède à partir des années 1960 et les fonds documentaires des appareils suédois de diplomatie culturelle qui ont tout à la fois nourri et orienté idéologiquement le message des médias. Au cours des années 1960, le reportage sur l’école suédoise s’est établi comme un genre narratif en soi, animé par des lieux (le laboratoire de mécanique, la cuisine), des enjeux récurrents (la place de l’éducation sexuelle dans les curricula) et un questionnement de fond : la question de savoir si la réorganisation de l’enseignement autour des nécessités psychologiques et sociales des enfants a bénéficié à leur épanouissement intérieur, à leur « bonheur ». Dans l’ombre de mai 68, cette problématique se fond avec l’agenda de la présidence Pompidou – alors qu’elle permet aux autorités (scolaires et diplomatiques) suédoises de présenter leurs projets les plus récents sous les dehors d’une utopie prête à l’exportation : une école moderne et flexible pour la société post-industrielle. L’analyse de la programmation plus récente – dans un paysage médiatique bien plus diversifié – atteste de la ténacité de l’investissement utopique de l’école suédoise, mais aussi, à partir de 2012, du retournement du mythe vers son opposé, avec un jeu de miroirs entre les attentes déçues des observateurs français et les échos des classements internationaux des prestations des élèves, qui ont assimilé l’évolution libérale du système scolaire suédois à la trahison de ses anciennes promesses égalitaires.
Happy moderation – Serge de Chessin’s promotion of Sweden in France as a counter image to bolchevik Russia
Authors: Stadius Peter G.
Published: March 2022

L’auteur et journaliste franco-russe Serge de Chessin a apporté l’une des plus importantes contributions à une image positive de la Suède et de la Scandinavie au cours des années 1920 et 1930. Son travail cadre avec un discours sur des nations scandinaves heureuses mais présente quelques spécificités par rapport à d’autres contributions comparables. L’œuvre majeure de Chessin, Les Clefs de la Suède (1935), est une représentation dithyrambique de la Suède au travers d’un prisme conservateur. La Suède y est décrite comme une société harmonieuse, reposant sur un respect mutuel entre classes sociales, et où la population conserve un intérêt pour le passé national, tout en se tournant vers la vie moderne. L’image des Suédois comme des premiers de la classe, non-exempte d’eugénisme, est un poncif, tout comme la rhétorique antibolchevique continue et acerbe de Chessin. Dans les écrits de Chessin, la Suède est devenue une référence démontrant l’absorption réussie d’une forme douce de démocratisation dans une modernité et une société de masse en germe pendant l’entre-deux-guerres.
Cross-Layer Distributed Attack Detection Model for the IoT
Authors: Ahmed Hassan I. , Nasr Abdurrahman A. , Abdel-Mageid Salah M. , Aslan Heba K.
Published: March 2022

IoT is a huge network that contains many objects communicating with each other. It has a collection of sensitive data which is vulnerable to various threats at different layers. Due to the lack of infrastructure and the distributed control in IoT, there have been many security threats in all network layers. The security of IoT that is based on layered approaches has shortcomings such as the redundancy, inflexibility and inefficiently of security solutions. There are many harmful attacks in IoT network such as DoS and DDoS attacks which can compromise the IoT architecture in all layers. Consequently, cross layer approach is proposed as an effective and practical security defending mechanism. Cross-Layer Distributed Attack Detection model (CLDAD) is proposed to enhance security solution for IoT environment. CLDAD presents a general detection method of DDoS in sensing layer, network layer and application layer. CLDAD is based on big data analytics techniques which enable the detection process to be performed in distributed way, so the model can detect DDoS attacks in any layer on-the-fly and the model support the scalability of the IoT environment. CLDAD is tested based on three datasets, namely, artificial jamming attack dataset, BoT-IoT dataset, and BoT-IoT based HTTP. The results showed that the proposed model is efficient in detecting attacks in the three layers of the IoT and gives detection accuracy of 99.8% on average.
Evolutionary Algorithm With Self-Learning Strategy for Generation of Adversarial Samples
Authors: Pavate Aruna Animish , Bansode Rajesh
Published: March 2022

Knowledge engineering algorithms such as deep learning models have exhibited tremendous success in solving complex problems. However, the linear nature of the neural network is the primary reason for vulnerability to the perturbed samples. Adversarial attacks pose a severe threat to applying deep models, especially while designing safety-critical applications. This work proposes security attacks against neural architectures. In particular, we introduce a novel method to create adversarial samples. First, we propose a differential evolution population resizing scheme, which enlarges the generation of adversarial samples by allowing adversaries to speed the convergence process. The proposed system is a novel self-adaptive population resizing-based adversarial mechanism. The result shows the success rate for targeted attack LeNet(60.07%), Network_in_Network(97%), Wide_ResNet50(99%), Pure CNN (97%), DenseNet (54.11%),ResNet50(51%) and LeNet(85.13%), Network_in_Network(33.37%), WideResnet(24.40%), Pure_CNN(19.96%),DenseNet (63.67%), ResNet (68.00%) for non targeted attacks respectively.
Impact of Organisational Culture on Corporate Government Practices in State-Owned Enterprises
Authors: Tshuma Noah
Published: March 2022

The study sought to determine the current cultural elements in state-owned enterprises and establish their impact on state-owned corporate governance practices. It appeared that as the public sector continues to embrace new systems of corporate governance practices, the employees were developing a new set of culture values, norms, behavior patterns which appeared to impact the corporate governance systems. The state-owned enterprises continued to face corporate governance issues as evidenced by the increase of corporate governance scandals. The researcher world view was anchored and predicated within the positivism research philosophy. The study employed the quantitative research approach. The study employed the explanatory research design. The study population for the study was drawn from employees & management of 3 parastatals in Zimbabwe namely ZESA,ZINARA AND ZUPCO.It is recommended that the parastatals workforce require to go under change management to move away from the existing culture prevailing within the sector which is inhibiting the success of good corporate governance.
Use of Artificial Neural Network for Forecasting Health Insurance Entitlements
Authors: Goundar Sam , Bhardwaj Akashdeep , Prakash Suneet Sonal , Sadal Pranil
Published: March 2022

A number of numerical practices exist that actuaries use to predict annual medical claims expense in an insurance company. This amount needs to be included in the yearly financial budgets. Inappropriate estimating generally has negative effects on the overall performance of the business. This paper presents the development of Artificial Neural Network model that is appropriate for predicting the anticipated annual medical claims. Once the implementation of the neural network models were finished, the focus was to decrease the Mean Absolute Percentage Error by adjusting the parameters such as epoch, learning rate and neuron in different layers. Both Feed Forward and Recurrent Neural Networks were implemented to forecast the yearly claims amount. In conclusion, the Artificial Neural Network Model that was implemented proved to be an effective tool for forecasting the anticipated annual medical claims. Recurrent neural network outperformed Feed Forward neural network in terms of accuracy and computation power required to carry out the forecasting.
Gender and Catalog
Authors: Vila Adrián R. , Lynch Gloria Alejandra
Published: March 2022

The present papers aims at analyzing the actions of the publishing industry in connection with the transposition of Latin American and Caribbean literature written by women from printed to digital format. It presents some results obtained from searches and it detects and analyzes the strategies implemented by the main commercial platforms, digital libraries and bookstores in transposing literary works by women. Likewise, it describes the mechanisms negatively impacting on their representation in the general catalog of Latin American and Caribbean literature. The irruption of works in the public domain and best-selling works by female writers from the region is also discussed.
Machine Learning Tool to Predict Student Categories After Outlier Removal
Authors: Desarkar Anindita , Das Ajanta , Chaudhuri Chitrita
Published: March 2022

Statistical outlier detection techniques uses academic performance oriented results to find the truly brilliant as well as the weakest amongst a colony of students. Machine Learning allows further partitions within the remaining student community, based on both merit and personality. Present work proposes a decision tree model for predicting three more appropriate categories. It utilizes Text Analytic tools to assess student characteristic traits from their textual responses and feedbacks. The cream of the general pool is chosen to belong to a top class comprising the mentor group, provided they can academically assist the weaker of the lot. But all on the top may not be suited for mentor-ship role - textual assessment data delves to reveal character orientations favouring such decisions. The bulk who can manage their own forms the second class. The bottom of the pool benefits with assistance from the mentor group and comprise the third class.
Forecasting Stock Market Volume Price Using Sentimental and Technical Analysis
Authors: Siddesh G. M.  , Sekhar S. R. Mani , Srinidhi H.  , Srinivasa K. G.
Published: March 2022

The stock market volume and price are active areas of research. Behind every dollar of investment, the customer will be hoping for profit in one or the other way. There is a positive correlation between investor sentiment and stock volume. Predicting the stock market is the most difficult task due to the dynamic fluctuation of volume and price. The traditional analysis methods carried out lead to satisfactory results. In this paper, the proposed system uses real-time data from Twitter to detect the user opinion about the product along with the stock volume for prediction. The stock volume data and the Twitter data are collected first, and then the classification of the polarity is carried out using the SentiWordnet dictionary. The algorithm for the prediction of the stock prices uses long short-term memory, a neural network, as the prices are sequentially evolving in nature. The results of the proposed system are correlated between the stock market and Twitter data to obtain better insights that are positive.
Let's Get United and #ClearTheShelters
Authors: Akar Ezgi
Published: March 2022

This study explores the factors contributing to online users' network centrality in a network on Twitter in the context of a social movement about the “clear the shelters” campaign across the United States. The authors performed a social network analysis on a network including 13,270 Twitter users and 24,354 relationships to reveal users' betweenness, closeness, eigenvector, in-degree, and out-degree centralities before hypothesis testing. They applied a path analysis including users' centrality measures and their user-related features. The path analysis discovered that the factors of the number of people a user follows, the number of followers a user has, and the number of years since a user had his account increased a user's in-degree connections in the network. Together with the user's out-degree connections along with in-degree links, they pushed a user to have a strategic place in the network. They also implemented a multi-group analysis to find whether the impact of these factors showed differences specifically in replies to, mentions, and retweets networks.
Research on Photorealistic Virtual Face Modeling
Authors: He Xiangzhen , Zhu Shengyin , Zhang Yihao , Hu Yerong , Zhu Dengyun , Liu Xiaoyue , Wan Fucheng
Published: March 2022

Most of the traditional face modeling methods adopt the parameter-based method to construct, but the face model constructed by this method is too smooth and ignores the detailed features of the face. To solve this problem, a virtual face modeling method based on 3D motion capture data is proposed in this paper. In order to improve the deformation method for the realistic modeling purpose, this paper divides the modeling process of personalized face into two parts: overall modification and local deformation. The overall deformation modifies the facial shape and the position of the facial features of Maya universal model. Based on the principle of radial basis function interpolation algorithm, a smooth interpolation function is constructed, and the new position coordinates of non-characteristic points are obtained by solving the linear equations, so that they are more in line with the physiological characteristics of human faces. The end result is a more realistic virtual face that you model.
Morphology and Conductivity Characteristics of Polycrystalline Silicon Thin Film Deposited by Plasma-Enhanced Vapor Deposition in Textured Substrate
Authors: Muhida Riza , Riza Muhammad , Dunan Hendri , Pratowo Bambang , Cucus Ahmad , Soewito Soewito , Sutjipto Agus Geter Edy , Muhida Rifki
Published: March 2022

We investigate the characteristics of polycrystalline Silicon (poly-Si) thin films for solar cells produced by very high frequency (VHF) plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition using a conductive scanning probe microscope (SPM). We measure the surface morphology and local current images are simultaneously of the poly-Si layers with a thickness, d=2 mm, formed on textured Ag/SnO2/glass in the range of RMS based-textured substrate (a) s=85nm, (b) s=42nm and (c) s=2nm respectively. Influences of the substrate texture on the crystal growth as well as the local current flow are discussed. Where we found that the average of local current proportional with crystallinity, where the poly-Si layer that has rich crystallinity indicated low conductivity that yield high local current.
A Review on Mechanical Properties of Deformation Mechanism of Tubular Nanostructures: Molecular Dynamics Simulations
Authors: Tsai Ping Chi , Jeng Yeau Ren
Published: March 2022

A molecular dynamic (MD) simulation, which is used for estimating mechanical properties of both microscopic and mesoscopic materials during loading/unloading processes. Understanding the deformation mechanisms of material's internal structure, shape and volume is a key step to enhance its strength and rigidity. Novel nanostructures, nanoparticles and nanocomposites, more efficient, selective, and environmental friendly can be developed and suggested. At the moment, few experimental methods can characterize molecular mechanisms due to their time-consuming and cost-intensive. Therefore, MD simulation allows to gain understanding in structure-to-function relationships involved in the low-dimensional materials. Specifically, MD simulation can be performed on the time scale of nanoseconds, and in three dimensions, it is thus sufficient for the study of the mechanical behaviors and deformation mechanisms at a molecular level. This work reviews the progress in MD simulation of the mechanical properties and structure deformations for various tubular nanomaterials including silicon, carbon and III-V compound nanotubes (NTs), respectively. In particular, we have a detailed description and analysis of the impacts of environmental and structural factors on material strength for the present nanostructures. It is hopeful that this review can provide certain reference for the follow-up research.
Synthesis and Properties of One-Component Addition-Crosslinking Silicone Resin
Authors: Peng Dan , Mu Qiu Hong , Li Jin Hui , Wang Feng
Published: March 2022

A kind of MDT polysiloxane was prepared by step hydrolysis and polycondensation of alkoxysilane. It could be cured at elevated temperature with existence of microencapsulated platinum catalyst. The effects of crosslinkable groups’ contents and PhSiO1.5 content on properties of cured silicone resin were studied in detail. When the contents of crosslinkable groups were 20mol% to 30mol% and the PhSiO1.5 content was 25mol% to 30mol%, the cured silicone resin had good tensile strength, flexural strength, moderate elasticity, and low viscosity. With the increase of PhSiO1.5 content from 17mol% to 32mol%, Tg of the silicone resin could be improved by 50°C to 128°C. The thermal stability was explored by thermo gravimetric analysis. The onset temperature of thermal degradation and the center temperature of thermal degradation were 486°C and 548°C, respectively. The average dielectric constant was about 2.45 and the dielectric loss tangent value was less than 0.01. The silicone resin also showed a high-volume resistivity of 5.6×1016Ω•cm. These results suggest that such silicone resin is suitable for utilization in electronic packaging.
Inhibition Effect of Aminophen Fluid Derivative on the Corrosion of 1070 Aluminum
Authors: Loto Roland Tolulope , Loto Cleophas Akinloto
Published: March 2022

The corrosion mitigation effect of aminophen (an organic fluid derivative) on 1070 aluminum alloy was studied in 1 M HCl solution by potentiodynamic polarization and weight loss analysis. Data obtained showed aminophen performed poorly at low concentrations (2.5%, 5% and 7.5%) with optimal value of 49.9% and 30% (potentiodynamic polarization and weight loss analysis) at 7.5% aminophen concentration. At 10% concentration, significant improvement in inhibition efficiency value was observed (53% and 61.33%), but the value is below the threshold minimum for effective inhibition. Effective inhibition efficiency occurred at 12.5% and 15% aminophen concentration with values of 71% and 81.67% at 12.5% concentration, and 89% and 70.77% at 15% concentration. Plots from weight loss indicated stable thermodynamic behavior throughout the exposure hours. Aminophen demonstrated anodic-cathodic type inhibition characteristics with dominant cathodic inhibition action. Corrosion inhibition behavior of aminophen aligned with Frumkin and Freundlich adsorption isotherm models. However, thermodynamic calculations show adsorption did not occur. Inhibition behavior of aminophen on 1070 aluminum occurred through modification of the corrosive media.
Effect of PC Percentages on Hardness and Notched Impact Strength of PBT/PC Blends
Authors: Pham Thi Hong Nga , Tran Nguyen Phuong Duy , Tran Thien Khiem , Nguyen Thanh Tan , Vo Xuan Tien , Thien Tran Ngoc , Tran Van Tron , Uyen Tran Minh The , Hoang Van Huong
Published: March 2022

Polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) has been proven to be a potential material for modern car bumpers. However, the potential of PBT is limited by its low notched impact strength. The main aim of this study is the improvement in the notched impact strength of PBT by blending with polycarbonate (PC). PBT/PC blend at different ratios (95/5, 90/10, 85/15, 80/20) is investigated in notched Izod impact strength (ASTM D256) and hardness (ASTM D2240). Results are compared to those of neat PBT. It was found that notched Izod impact strength decreased with increasing PC rate in the blend, overall, from 4.35 kJ/m2 of neat PBT to 3.37 kJ/m2 of 80/20 blend. The microstructure of testing samples was observed through FESEM images taken at fracture surfaces to determine the cause of the decrease. The low interfacial adhesion between PBT and PC phases is believed to be the main reason. However, an increase in notched impact strength was shown, from 4.18 kJ/m2 of 95/5 blend to 4,71 kJ/m2 of 90/10 blend. This result is presumed to be due to the compatibilizing effect of PBT-PC copolymers formed during the melt blending process. Hardness testing result demonstrates neither significant improvement nor deterioration. It concluded that it is possible to improve the notched impact strength of PBT by blending with PC. The PBT/10% PC blend is a suitable choice for car bumper material since its notch impact strength is higher than neat PBT.
Preparation and Properties of VPCS/PMPS Composites
Authors: Mu Qiu Hong , Peng Dan , Li Jin Hui , Wang Feng
Published: March 2022

VPCS with [Si-CH2-CH2-Si] structure were synthesized through hydrosilylation reaction of divinyldimethylsilane and diphenylsilane. VPCS were mixed with additive liquid PMPS silicone rubber and VPCS/PMPS based ablative composites were also prepared. VPCS play an important role in improving the thermal stability of PMPS. The 10% weight loss of VPCS/PMPS is 530.6°C, and Tmax is at 601.3°C, 43°C and 48°C higher than PMPS. Anti-ablation fillers have great important on composites. VPCS/PMPS/ZrB2 showed higher mechanical properties and ablative resistance, which is accordance with the results of SEM morphology observation.
An Electrical Model of a Solid Polymer Electrolyte Cell
Authors: Muhida Riza , Riza Muhammad , Dunan Hendri , Pratowo Bambang , Cucus Ahmad , Soewito Soewito , Efendi Dandi , Sutjipto Agus Geter Edy
Published: March 2022

Solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) produces hydrogen and oxygen from pure water uses electrochemical reaction, and this process is believed to be the most promising and efficient way to produce hydrogen. For application and simulation, the electrical model of SPE is absolutely required, we intend to develop an electrical model. Where the model has been constructed based on the structure and characteristics of SPE. The electrical model of SPE battery like that consists of a voltage and resistance, that fulfil the equation v=1.936+ 0.0183I-0.013T, to ensure that this model is close to the character of the SPE, we conducted an experiment to validate it, based on the correlation analysis method we obtained those results of the experiment and results of calculation of the model have a correlation is > 0.9988, this meaning that the model is valid.
Applying FCCCD Response Surface Method in Studying the Cutting Power of Wood Materials
Authors: Loc Nguyen Huu , Tran Van Thuy
Published: March 2022

For machine design, determining the machine’s technical specifications as the basis for design element computation and choosing an appropriate electric motor are among the most crucial tasks. Especially, considering the scarcity of studies about tropical wood materials, it is more important to determine the specific work by the experimental approach. The scope of the study includes the research of dependency of the cutting power on the working parameters such as feed per tooth Sz, the cutting depth h, and the tooltip’s radius r in the process of wood material machining. Employing the response surface method, the experiments following the Central Composite Face design (FCCCD) plan were undertaken with 4 replicates. The author used Minitab software to process experimental results, analyze the regression equation and variance (ANOVA). In addition, the cutting force components in wood milling is also determined, which is the basis for the design of machine elements of wood milling machines and CNC woodworking machines.
Rotational tenure and land productivity: farm level evidence from low country wet zone paddy lands in Sri Lanka
Authors: Munaweerage T. P. , Bandara M. A. C. S. , Samarasinha G. G. de L. W.
Published: March 2022

Rotational tenure systems of Thattumaru – Kattimaru is a special system which is peculiar to certain parts of the country specially the Mid and Low country Wet zone paddy lands. Even though the original features are slowly waning, it still survives most persistently in areas where land is limited, and agriculture remains the predominant occupation. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the paddy production performance and resource use efficiency in the rotational tenure paddy lands. Data from comprehensive field survey conducted in Ratnapura, Kalutara and Galle districts in 2018/2019 Maha and 2019 Yala season was used for the study. Technical efficiency and determinates of the efficiency were estimated using stochastic frontier approach. Results of the efficiency analysis reveal that inefficiencies do exist in paddy production under rotational tenure and estimated production loss due to inefficiencies is 45 percent. Land, labour and seeds have significant impact on the yield. Level of productivity can be enhanced making relevant resource adjustment while combining it with social factors.
La tutela del malato di mente nel diritto internazionale dei diritti dell'uomo: documenti vecchi e nuovi
Authors: Scalabrino Spadea Michelangela
Published: March 2022

Lo studio, partendo dalla premessa che la bontà di un ordinamento giuridico viene misurata dal grado di tutela che può garantire a persone e gruppi sociali a rischio, si addentra nell'esame dei documenti giuridici internazionali riguardanti i malati di mente. L'Autore considera in particolare la Raccomandazione n. R(83)2 adottata dal Consiglio dei Ministri del Consiglio d'Europa il 22.2.1 983 e la Risoluzione A/3/0231/92 adottata il16.9.1 982 dal Parlamento europeo, esaminando le garanzie giurisdizionali ivi previste e la tutela apprestata dai due testi nel campo dei diritti economici e sociali.
Peripheral Neuropathy Phenotyping in Rat Models of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Evaluating Uptake of the Neurodiab Guidelines and Identifying Future Directions
Authors: Hossain Md Jakir , Kendig Michael D. , Letton Meg E. , Morris Margaret J. , Arnold Ria
Published: March 2022

Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) affects over half of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients, with an urgent need for effective pharmacotherapies. While many rat and mouse models of T2DM exist, the phenotyping of DPN has been challenging with inconsistencies across laboratories. To better characterize DPN in rodents, a consensus guideline was published in 2014 to accelerate the translation of preclinical findings. Here we review DPN phenotyping in rat models of T2DM against the ‘Neurodiab’ criteria to identify uptake of the guidelines and discuss how DPN phenotypes differ between models and according to diabetes duration and sex. A search of PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science databases identified 125 studies, categorised as either diet and/or chemically induced models or transgenic/spontaneous models of T2DM. The use of diet and chemically induced T2DM models has exceeded that of transgenic models in recent years, and the introduction of the Neurodiab guidelines has not appreciably increased the number of studies assessing all key DPN endpoints. Combined high-fat diet and low dose streptozotocin rat models are the most frequently used and well characterised. Overall, we recommend adherence to Neurodiab guidelines for creating better animal models of DPN to accelerate translation and drug development.
The Impact of Time to Reperfusion on Recanalization Rates and Outcome After Mechanical Thrombectomy
Authors: Sreedharan Sapna Erat , K Arun , Kannath Santhosh , ER Jayadevan , Thulaseedharan Jissa V. , Sylaja PN
Published: March 2022

Background:

Timely and effective recanalization to salvage the penumbra is the main determinant of outcome in acute ischemic strokes. Randomized controlled trials on late window mechanical thrombectomy (MT) have proved its safety and efficacy upto 24 h after stroke onset. We looked at the impact of time to reperfusion on vessel recanalization rates and short-term outcome in patients undergoing MT for large vessel occlusion.

Methods:

The clinical, imaging, and outcome of all patients undergoing MT upto 24 h from last seen normal was extracted from a prospectively maintained ischemic stroke database from January 2012 till September 2019.

Results:

There were 145 patients with a mean (SD) age of 58.2 (±14) years. Of them, 28 had wake up/unknown time of onset stroke and 9 presented beyond >360 min. There were 23 vertebrobasilar strokes. Median National Institute of Health Stroke scale score (NIHSS) at admission was 16.4 (Inter quartile range (IQR) 12–21). CT-Alberta Stroke program early CT score (CT-ASPECTS) was excellent (8–10) in 39 (31.6%) and fair (5–7) in 77 (63.6%) patients in anterior circulation strokes. About 25% underwent bridging therapy. Recanalization rates did not differ between those presenting early (<6 h) versus wake up strokes and late presenting patients (81.79% vs 71.9%). Symptomatic Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) occurred in 5%. At 3 months, excellent outcome (modified rankin scale <2) was observed in 28.9%. While Admission NIHSS remained strong predictor of poor outcome at 3 months, delay in presentation did not impact MT outcome (37.5% vs 45.79% and P = 0.460).

Conclusions:

The recanalization rates were similar in patients irrespective of the time to reperfusion from stroke onset. The functional outcome was not inferior in late presenters selected by advanced imaging.
Delayed presentation of partial anomalous systemic venous connection
Authors: Paraswanath Bharath A , Subramanian Anand P , Usha M K , Jayranganath M , Bhat Seetharam
Published: March 2022

Anomalies of systemic venous connections are extremely rare. We describe the case of an asymptomatic 29-year-old woman who was found to have systemic desaturation in the peripartum period and referred to us for suspected cyanotic heart disease. She was diagnosed to have hemianomalous systemic venous connection of the inferior vena cava (IVC) into the left atrium (LA). Transesophageal echocardiogram with contrast diagnosed anomalous connection of the IVC to the LA, further confirmed by computed tomography and conventional angiography. The patient underwent successful surgical correction with an uneventful postoperative course.
Predictive capacity of anthropometric indicators of body fat in identifying hypertension in adolescents
Authors: Musa Danladi Ibrahim , Dominic Olufumilola Leah
Published: March 2022

Background:

Hypertension (HTN) is a major health problem affecting different populations including adolescents worldwide, and it is strongly associated with obesity.

Objectives:

This study examined the predictive capacity of anthropometric proxies of body fat and determined the threshold values that would identify HTN among Nigerian adolescents.

Setting and Design:

A cross-sectional study with a total of 2228 in-school adolescents aged 12–16 years.

Materials and Methods:

Participants were evaluated for physical characteristics including five anthropometric indices of body fat and blood pressure. Receiver operating characteristics curves were used for the analysis of sensitivity, specificity, area under curve (AUC) of the fat indices in detecting HTN.

Results:

All body fat indicators with the exception of waist-to-height ratio in boys, had significant (P < 0.0005) AUC with total fat mass (TFM) in girls and waist circumference (WC) in boys as the best fat indicators for predicting systolic HTN in adolescents. The TFM cut-point for girls was 8.0 kg and the WC cut-point for boys was 66.3 cm. Both TFM and WC demonstrated a stronger association with systolic HTN than other fat indicators in both genders. The likelihood of a girl developing HTN is 1.1 (95% confidence interval [CI] =1.05–1.20) times with a unit increase in TFM, while boys with unhealthy WC had 3.2 (95% CI = 1.83–5.67) times odd of developing HTN compared to their healthy peers.

Conclusions:

This study showed that TFM and WC are useful tools for detecting HTN in Nigerian adolescent girls and boys, respectively. The fat indicators used in this study generally showed low predictive capacity.
Repair of Taussig-Bing anomaly with unusual coronary pattern using autologous pericardial tube extension
Authors: Katewa Ashish , Yaldo Fitoon , Prabhu Atul , Srimurugan Balaji
Published: March 2022

The incidence of unusual coronary patterns including single coronary artery is high in Taussig-Bing anomaly (TBA). The relocation of a single coronary artery from a nonfacing sinus can be technically challenging with implications on early and late outcomes. Many innovative techniques for coronary transfer have been described and no coronary pattern precludes arterial switch operation in the current era. We describe a technique of coronary transfer using autologous pericardial tube extension with good early outcome.
Ventricular septal defect with pulmonary arterial hypertension in an infant
Authors: Bhattacharya Deepanjan , Sasikumar Deepa , Gopalakrishnan Arun , Anoop A
Published: March 2022

An 11-month-old girl was detected to have muscular ventricular septal defect with hyperkinetic pulmonary hypertension (PH) was urgently operated upon. On follow-up, her PH worsened, resulting in right ventricular dysfunction and was later detected to have absent portal vein.
“Crossed” pulmonary arteries in a newborn with truncus arteriosus
Authors: Cordoba Katherine , Rothman Abraham , Evans William N , Restrepo Humberto
Published: March 2022

We report a newborn with truncus arteriosus and a very unusual variant of “crossed” pulmonary arteries. The left pulmonary artery arose anterior and slightly to the right side of the common trunk and the right pulmonary artery arose from the posterior and left side of the common trunk. Computed tomographic images and a diagram are provided.
Septal defect with polyvalvular involvement
Authors: Sennaiyan Usha Nandhini , Kiruthika S. , Krishna Mani Ram
Published: March 2022

Congenital Heart Diseases occur in close to 90% of children with Trisomy 18. A ventricular septal defect along with abnormalities of more than one cardiac valve is considered to be an imaging hallmark of Trisomy 18. We present echocardiographic images of an infant with Trisomy 18 who had a large ventricular septal defect and abnormalities of all cardiac valves.
Prevalence and predicting factors of Group A beta-hemolytic Streptococcus carrier state in primary schoolchildren
Authors: Rahmadhany Anisa , Advani Najib , Djer Mulyadi M. , Handryastuti Setyo , Safari Dodi
Published: March 2022

Introduction:

Transmission of Group A Streptococcus from asymptomatic children to their surrounding carries a risk of acute rheumatic fever in susceptible people.

Aim and Objectives:

We aimed to investigate the prevalence and predictors of GAS carrier state and evaluate the antibiotic sensitivity pattern of GAS in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Material and Methods:

We enrolled 201 asymptomatic schoolchildren (6–12 years) using stratified random sampling from a primary school in Jakarta. None of the children had a history of rheumatic fever or rheumatic heart disease. All participants underwent physical examination, and laboratory tests include complete blood count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, antistreptolysin O titer, and throat swab culture.

Results:

The prevalence of GAS carrier was 13.9% (95% confidence interval: 9.2%–18.6%) in our study. On multivariate analysis, tonsillar enlargement was found to be the only predicting factor of GAS carrier (P = 0.03). GAS was sensitive to penicillin G, erythromycin, vancomycin, clindamycin, chloramphenicol, azithromycin, and tetracycline in 100%, 89%, 86%, 75%, 68%, 68%, and 32% of patients, respectively.

Conclusion:

The GAS carrier state is common among school-age children affecting approximately 13.9% children. Tonsillar enlargement is a significant finding predictive of GAS carrier state. All isolates are still sensitive to penicillin and mostly sensitive to erythromycin but are increasingly resistant to tetracycline.
Necrotizing enterocolitis and congenital heart disease
Authors: Kashif Hadi , Abuelgasim Eyad , Hussain Nafisa , Luyt Jessica , Harky Amer
Published: March 2022

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) remains a prominent surgical emergency among infant population, associated with a significant mortality, as well as various subsequent morbidities. Congenital heart disease (CHD) has an increased associated incidence with NEC in infant population. Recent research has provided insight into the pathophysiology of NEC in patients with CHD and how this differs from those without CHD. The deviation from normal circulatory physiology has a suggested association in the pathophysiology of NEC in CHD, which may have implications for the risk factors of NEC in infants with CHD, the effect on outcomes of NEC, and whether alternative approaches to management may need to be considered in comparison to classical NEC. This review aims to highlight studies that provide insight and awareness into the relationship between NEC and CHD, in order that clinicians may direct themselves more clearly toward optimal management for infants in this category.