bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ciencias genómicas, biodiversidad del suelo y paisaje: interacciones para la sustentabilidad
Authors: Gómez-Merino Fernando Carlos , García-Albarado J. Cruz , Trejo-Téllez Libia Iris , Pérez Vázquez Arturo , Silva-Rojas Hilda Victoria , Velasco-Velasco Joel
Published: April 2018

Las subdisciplinas tradicionales de la ciencia del suelo, física, química, biología, taxonomía y mineralogía han contribuido de manera determinante al establecimiento de los principios básicos de esta ciencia y han dado respuesta a numerosas preguntas prácticas. Actualmente han reorientado sus objetos de estudio hacia áreas emergentes, con la finalidad de entender, manejar y aprovechar de una mejor manera la comunidad biológica más compleja del planeta. En particular, la biología del suelo se contempla como el centro de las investigaciones científicas de este siglo, planteando novedosos objetivos y metas en sus investigaciones, soportadas fuertemente por estudios físicos, químicos y taxonómicos. En las ciencias de la vida, la genómica aplicada al estudio de los sistemas vivos en el suelo ha implicado un enorme progreso en el conocimiento de estos ecosistemas. La caracterización de diversos organismos en suelos, y en especial de microorganismos recientemente descubiertos, representan únicamente el inicio de una nueva etapa en el desarrollo de la microbiología molecular de suelos que permita y asegure un manejo sustentable del recurso edáfico. El reto para estas disciplinas es identificar las comunidades de microorganismos y las funciones que éstas desempeñan en sus hábitats que integran los diversos paisajes sobre la Tierra. Genómica y metagenómica, junto con técnicas microbiológicas tradicionales están contribuyendo en mucho a los avances en el conocimiento de la biodiversidad que existe en el suelo, como base que asegure la sustentabilidad del suelo y del paisaje.
Potencial agroecoturístico endógeno del territorio rural: el caso de Tepexilotla, Veracruz
Authors: Mikery Gutiérrez Mildred Joselyn , Pérez-Vázquez Arturo , Piñar Álvarez María de los Ángeles , García Albarado J. Cruz , Asiain Hoyos Alberto
Published: April 2018

El potencial turístico de cualquier paisaje rural requiere del análisis de múltiples dimensiones que integren sus recursos endógenos (ambiente, sociedad y economía), para generar estrategias locales de desarrollo sustentable. Tepexilotla, en la región de Las Altas Montañas en el estado de Veracruz, posee riqueza en biodiversidad que contrasta con la pobreza y marginación social. Por ello, el objetivo del presente trabajo fue analizar el potencial agroecoturístico de Tepexilotla desde el capital endógeno (ambiental, sociocultural y productivo), e incluyendo la perspectiva de los residentes respecto al agroecoturismo en esta comunidad. Se realizó consulta de fuentes secundarias, sondeos en la localidad y entrevistas semiestructuradas con informantes clave, así como el análisis de los recursos a nivel espacial mediante cartografía participativa. En el capital ambiental se encontró que el bosque ha perdido su cobertura original debido a su aprovechamiento en agricultura y ganadería; además los relictos de bosque preservan especies características de su ecosistema con alto valor ecológico y económico, que junto a la orografía del lugar, le confiere un alto valor al capital ambiental. El capital sociocultural se caracterizó por alta capacidad de organización y apertura de la comunidad para la recepción de visitantes que junto al capital productivo, con actividades primarias de subsistencia propiciaron la identif icación de 26 elementos con potencial agroecoturístico desde la perspectiva local. Se concluye que dada las características de sus recursos endógenos, Tepexilotla presenta un potencial alto para el desarrollo del agroecoturismo.
Micronutrientes y rendimiento en Ammi majus como respuesta a la aplicación de composta
Authors: Ruíz-Bello Alejandrina , Trejo-Téllez Libia Iris , Pérez-Vázquez Arturo
Published: April 2018

La especie Ammi majus tiene potencial ornamental pero el principal motivo de estudio es su contenido de cumarinas y furanocumarinas, substancias utilizadas como base en productos para padecimientos de la piel. El objetivo de este trabajo es conocer el rendimiento y absorción de micronutrientes con la aplicación de composta. El experimento se realizó en 2013 en Texcoco, México. Los tratamientos consistieron en mezcla suelo:composta 1:1 y suelo solo; a dos de las mezclas se les agregó 20 y 30% agrolita y a una tercera se le adicionaron 100 g de fertilizante N-P-K generando cinco tratamientos. Las plantas se cosecharon a los cinco meses de edad; se secaron a 71 °C, se pesaron y se molieron para el análisis de Fe, Cu, Mn y Zn. Se analizó pH, conductividad eléctrica, materia orgánica y capacidad de intercambio catiónico de los sustratos. La composta no tuvo efecto en la producción de materia seca, pero afectó significativamente el pH, la CE y la CIC de los sustratos. Las mezclas con agrolita y la mezcla con fertilizante, produjeron los rendimientos más altos; en estos, el pH subió y la CE bajó, ambos significativamente. Solo el Mn manifestó diferencias significativas, su absorción aumentó con la composta y con la disminución del pH inducida por el fertilizante. Se concluye que la adición de composta incrementó el rendimiento de Ammi majus, debido a los cambios inducidos en el sustrato y no necesariamente al aporte de nutrientes.
Efecto de dos extractos botánicos en el desarrollo y contenido de polifenoles de ají (Capsicum annuum L.)
Authors: Tighe Neira Ricardo , Montalba Navarro René , Leonelli Cantergiani Gina , Contreras Novoa Aliro
Published: April 2018

La presencia de fitoquímicos de distinta naturaleza presente en extractos botánicos que impactan en la generación de metabolitos primarios y secundarios (principalmente polifenoles) en los cultivos en que son aplicados, se ha considerado un elemento relevante vinculado a los efectos benéficos de su aplicación foliar. Se evaluó el efecto del extracto acuoso de ortiga (Urtica dioica L.) y Ulex europaeus L., sobre parámetros de desarrollo en aji (Capsicum annuum L. var Longum cv. “Cacho de cabra”), así como en el contenido de polifenoles en hoja y fruto, como atributo funcional. El ensayo se estableció en condiciones de invernadero en la Región de La Araucanía, Chile. Los extractos se aplicaron en dosis inversas de N:P con relación 1:3.7 entre los extractos, a cada planta distribuída completamente al azar. El porcentaje de materia seca (MS%) presentó diferencias significativas a las aplicaciones de U. europaeus y U. dioica. En fructificación, U. dioica dosis 2 presentó MS% en fruto inmaduro estadísticamente igual que el testigo e inferior que los demás tratamientos. La concentración de polifenoles en hojas y frutos tendió a ser mayor en los extractos botánicos y significativamente menor en el testigo (p> 0.05) en la medición final del ciclo productivo. En frutos U. europaeus presentó valores mayores (p≤ 0.05) que los demás tratamientos incluído el testigo. Estos resultados permiten inferir la presencia de compuestos activadores del metabolismo primario y secundario en los extractos botánicos.
Análisis de la calidad sanitaria de nopal verdura en Otumba, Estado de México
Authors: Angeles-Núñez Juan Gabriel , Anaya-López José Luis , Arévalo-Galarza Ma. de Lourdes , Leyva-Ruelas Gabriel , Martínez-Martínez Talina Olivia
Published: April 2018

Para la exportación de nopal verdura, México debe cumplir con los requisitos sanitarios de cada país. Una forma de garantizar la inocuidad de este producto es implementar buenas prácticas agrícolas (BPA). Sin embargo, sólo unos pocos productores de nopal verdura poseen reconocimiento en BPA. El objetivo del presente trabajo fue evaluar la calidad sanitaria de nopal verdura en punto de embarque de productores que usan BPA. Se seleccionaron al azar 10 productores de Otumba, Estado de México pertenecientes a una sociedad rural con reconocimiento BPA, y se tomaron muestras combinadas de nopal en punto de embarque durante los meses de comercialización de marzo de 2008 a mayo de 2009. Se determinó la carga de bacterias mesófilas aerobias (BMA), Coliformes totales (CT), Salmonella sp. y Escherichia coli, así como residuos de plaguicidas. Sólo 8% y 3% de las muestras rebasaron los límites especificados por la ICMSF en el conteo de BMA y CT, respectivamente. Una de las muestras colectadas en mayo de 2009 estuvo contaminada con Escherichia coli, y ninguna con Salmonella sp. Cinco productores rebasaron los límites permisibles de BMA, y dos los de CT en una de sus muestras. Estos casos se relacionaron con escasa higiene de los contenedores y el medio de transporte. Adicionalmente, se detectaron residuos de uno o varios plaguicidas en 8% de las muestras. Indicando el cumplimiento parcial de las BPA por estos productores en particular. Los resultados indican que el nopal verdura producido con BPA cumple con los requisitos sanitarios para exportación.
Impacto de la salinidad y la temperatura diurna sobre la fluorescencia de la clorofila en fresa
Authors: Francisco-Francisco Nazario , Benavides-Mendoza Adalberto
Published: April 2018

Este estudio fue realizado para investigar el comportamiento de la fluorescencia de la clorofila de plantas de fresa (Fragaria x ananassa) ante la salinidad y la temperatura diurna bajo invernadero. Para ello, se establecieron plantas de fresa en macetas de polietileno negro con una capacidad de 5 L conteniendo turba de musgo como sustrato. Los tratamientos de salinidad fueron inducidos por la aplicación de CaCl2 a 0 y 12 mM el cual fue adicionado a una solución nutritiva Steiner. Las plantas testigo y las tratadas crecieron en un invernadero ventilado con extractores de aire y fueron irrigadas cada dos días. La investigación del impacto de la temperatura diurna sobre la fluorescencia de la clorofila fue realizado registrando la temperatura ambiente del invernadero cada hora entre las 8:00 am a 5:00 pm. Las mediciones de los parámetros de fluorescencia fueron realizadas en los días 0, 14, 28, y 42 después del inicio de los tratamientos de salinidad. El tratamiento de 12 mM de CaCl2 redujo el rendimiento cuántico máximo (Fv/Fm) y efectivo (ePS2), pero no aumentó el decaimiento no fotoquímico (NPQ) interpretándose esta respuesta como una mínima afectación al PSII. En cuanto a la temperatura las plantas mostraron disminución en la Fv/Fm y ePS2 con temperaturas del aire superiores a los 28 °C. La máxima eficiencia fotoquímica se observó con temperaturas menores a 19 °C.
Intensificación de la producción en la agricultura orgánica: caso café
Authors: Noriega Altamirano Gerardo , Cárcamo Rico Brenda , Gómez Cruz Manuel Ángel , Schwentesius Rindermann Rita , Cruz Hernández Sergio , Leyva Baeza Jesús , García de la Rosa Eduardo , López Reyes Ulises Iván , Martínez Hernández Alexander
Published: April 2018

En la región costeña de Oaxaca, en la parte media de la cuenca, se encuentra el agroecosistema cafetalero, donde además de los servicios ambientales, la producción del aromático es la base de la economía campesina, vulnerable a desastres asociados a tormentas y ciclones tropicales. Por ejemplo, antes del huracán Paulina se producían de 12 a 15 quintales ha, 13 años después del meteoro los cafetales tienen una cubierta vegetal con 81% de sombra, 7 000 kilos de hojarasca ha sobre el suelo y un rendimiento medio de sólo 2.9 qq/ha. La lixiviación del suelo ha conducido a la degradación edáfica donde el pH es de 5.4, la relación C/N de 11.57 y el fósforo disponible de 17.68 mg kg. Por ello, en un esquema de parcelas demostrativas se promueve: la restauración de la biología del suelo, de la materia orgánica, para la remineralización del suelo se incorporan minerales secundarios no metálicos, como zeolitas, dolomitas y roca fosfórica; se practica la inoculación de microorganismos: Azotobacter y micorrizas, así como la incorporación de compostas y la fertilización foliar.
Aplikasi Virtual Reality Pengenalan Kerangka Tubuh Manusia Berbasis Android
Authors: Sahulata Reynoldus Andrias , Wahyudi Andria , Wuwungan Brian Givens , Nayoan Mexi Akri
Published: April 2018

Penelitian ini menghasilkan Aplikasi kerangka tubuh manusia yang perancangannya dalam bentuk tiga dimensi (3D) dan  pada penelitian ini menampilkan tulang – tulang manusia dari kepala, badan dan anggota gerak. Aplikasi ini digunakan untuk sarana pengenalan dalam bentuk virtual. Peneliti memanfaatkan teknologi komputer grafik yaitu Blender untuk membuat objek kerangka tubuh manusia serta Unity3D untuk menghasilkan aplikasi kerangka tubuh manusia yang dikemas dalam bentuk aplikasi secara 3D. Metode Throw-Away Prototyping merupakan metode yang diterapkan pada penelitian ini. Penelitian ini  menghasilkan aplikasi kerangka tubuh manusia sebagai media peraga terhadap 9 jenis tulang yang terdapat pada manusia yang berbasis Android menggunakan Animasi 3D yang  menggunakan cardboard atau head mounted display.Kata Kunci: Aplikasi Kerangka tubuh manusia 3D, Virtual Reality, Throw-Away Prototyping, Cardboard, Head Mounted Display
Analisis Pengaruh Pemanfaatan Smartphone Terhadap Prestasi Akademik Mahasiswa Fakultas Ilmu Komputer Universitas Klabat
Authors: Mandias Green Ferry
Published: April 2018

Kualitas lulusan sebuah perguruan tinggi yang rendah terjadi karena ada hubungan dengan motivasi belajar mahasiswa ketika sedang menuntut studi di bangku kuliah.  Fenomena ini terjadi pada proses belajar mahasiswa dalam pendidikan di perguruan tinggi. Smartphone adalah sebuah device yang memungkinkan untuk melakukan komunikasi juga di dalamnya terdapat fungsi PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) dan berkemampuan seperti komputer. Sebuah karakteristik dari smartphone yaitu smartphone memiliki software aplikasi Penelitian ini untuk mengetahui hubungan pemanfaatan smartphone dan pretasi akademik mahasiswa FIK Unklab. Metodologi penelitian digunakan pada penulisan ini adalah metode deskriptif. Setelah penelitian dilakukan maka didapati kesimpulan yaitu hubungan smartphone dan GPA mahasiswa tidak ada. Ini ditunjukkan dengan angka yang dihitung masing-masing variable dan didapati dibawah 5% yang artinya hubungan pretasi mahasiswa fakultas ilmu komputer dengan smartphone tidak ada. Bila data dihitung sekaligus maka kebergunaan dan motivasi memiliki hubungan yang signifikan dengan prestasi mahasiswa fakultas ilmu komputer Universitas Klabat ditunjukkan dengan angka dibawah 5%. Kata Kunci: Smartphone, Pretasi Akademik, Fik
Killing Canadians (II): The International Politics of the Accident
Authors: Molloy Patricia
Published: April 2018

In April 2002, four Canadian soldiers were killed and eight wounded by “friendly fire” when a U.S. pilot mistakenly dropped a bomb on a live ammunition training exercise in Afghanistan, an event which was subsequently voted by Canadian journalists as the biggest news item of the year. This paper examines two conflicting narratives in the Canadian media which wrote the incident as either a training accident, or the first Canadian combat casualties since the Korean War. We thus have “victims” or “heroes,” depending on the narrative. Drawing on the work of Paul Virilio, I question whether the production of the hero is even possible (or desirable) in an accident of war. The paper also examines the political implications of the event in the context of Canada-U.S. relations and media vilification of the American pilots.
Trial by Ordeal: Abu Ghraib and the Global Mediasphere
Authors: Lewis Jeff , Lewis Belinda
Published: April 2018

A significant social and cultural crisis is concentrated through photographs taken by military wardens at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad. These photographs represent critical issues, meanings and meaning-making processes, not merely of the US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq, but of a broader global, cultural crisis. In order to elucidate these meaning and meaning-making processes it is necessary to re-theorize key elements of the photographs’ cultural setting. In particular, the public sphere’ within which the photographs appear and are circulated should be understood as a mediasphere, the convocation of public and private engagement and expressivity within the global, networked communication systems. This is not a clash of civilizations’, but a complex and unfolding crisis of meaning within and through cultures, a fragmentation of ideology and knowledge. It is a trial by media ordeal which challenges key assumptions in the liberal, democratic tradition. These photographs will not necessarily change the course of the war on terror, but they should contribute to the interrogation of our own culture, identity and perspectives.
The Elite War on Utopia
Authors: Armitage John
Published: April 2018

In the first section of this article I describe the United States’ (U.S.) war on Iraq in March 2003 by way of a focus on the targeting of Baghdad and the U.S. military’s utilization of high-tech weapons of intelligence and targeting, including of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and Special Operations Forces. In the second section, I argue that the new U.S. civilian-military elite associated with the Project for the New American Century (PNAC) is today waging a similar war inside the U.S. on the Utopia (society without war) of the global peace movement. Targeting what I call the Imaginist City, the new U.S. civilianmilitary elite is exploiting high-tech weapons of intelligence and targeting, UAVs and Special Operations Units with the aim of pursuing what I portray as the politics of noise. I illustrate my contentions in the third section by demonstrating how the new U.S. civilian-military elite and PNAC has activated a sequence of assaults on the Utopian society and Imaginist City of the global peace movement and how, following the domestic deployment of hightech weapons of intelligence and targeting such as UAVs on the U.S.-Mexican border and Special Operations Units in New York, the global peace movement might resist such attacks.
The Second Sexual Revolution: Big Pharma, Porn and the Biopolitical Penis
Authors: Maddison Stephen
Published: April 2018

This paper identifies concurrent trends in the forms of representation found in contemporary pornography,andinthekindsofideologyproducedbytheraphy, and in the kinds of ideology produced by the biomedical industry, specifically in relation to the form and function of the penis. The rise of Viagra culture has been described as the second sexual revolution and promises the availability of phallic embodiment for all men. In recent years, with the rise of gonzo genres and independent modes of production and distribution, hard core pornography increasingly offers an industrialized understanding of sexual bodies, and a narrative of sexual acts no longer determined by Kinseyian logic, where detumescence doesn’t exist and penises are always hard, and always large. This paper argues that the logic informing sexual biosciences is pornographic rather than medical, and that the logic informing the pornographic penis is economic rather than libidinal. The paper concludes with an attempt to map a contemporary biopolitics of the penis.
Shaming the Indian Diaspora, Asking for “Returns”: Swades
Authors: Chakraborty Chandrima
Published: April 2018

This essay examines how the Bollywood film Swades (Gowariker 2004) mobilizes a discourse of shame to reorient Indian diasporic communities toward the homeland and, in the process, urges them to invest affectively and financially—or, better yet, to return physically to India. By revealing possibilities for non-resident Indians to inaugurate new relations with the world left behind, Swades prods Indian diasporic viewers to rethink their relations to the homeland. The construction of shame within Swades is part of a complex address to those diasporic communities who consume Bollywood products through an affect of nostalgia and whose economic investment proves necessary to the continuation of Bollywood’s free enterprise and to India’s economic development.
Beyond Academic Freedom: Canadian Neoliberal Universities in the Global Context
Authors: Jeppesen Sandra , Nazar Holly
Published: April 2018

In April 2010, the University of Toronto announced receipt of a thirty-five million dollar donation from the Peter and Melanie Munk Charitable Foundation to fund a new institute, to be named the Munk School of Global Affairs. This donation is emblematic of the intensifying neoliberalization of university governance in Canada, and critical responses to it have been twofold. Faculty members have suggested that academic freedom—an important principle that protects researchers from censorship, termination and other institutional pressures— is at risk. Students, on the other hand, have drawn attention to the source of Munk’s capital, pointing to his role as CEO of Barrick Gold, and to recent accounts of human rights abuses in Barrick’s mining practices. In practice, however, we have found that both academic freedom and human rights are arguably less available to people in some specific global and social locations. This article will critically analyze the discourses of academic freedom in Canada in relation to human rights discourses in the global South. Using anti-authoritarian intersectionality theory, we argue that in both instances the systems of oppression and exclusion are part of the same logic of global neoliberalism, inflected by intersectionally hierarchical practices of capitalism, patriarchy and colonialism. To conclude, we look briefly at alternative knowledge-production sites that strive for horizontalism in pedagogies, research and governance, and that attempt to eliminate hierarchies by experimenting with real practices of equality—practices that are fundamental to the accessibility of academic freedom.
Financial Literacy Education as Public Pedagogy for the Capitalist Debt Economy
Authors: Arthur Chris
Published: April 2018

Financial literacy education often appears as part of a solution to the individualization of economic risk, growing indebtedness, financialization and ongoing austerity. Using concepts from Marx, Žižek and Foucault, this paper analyses a number of prominent debt and investment television shows, arguing that these forms of entertainment work with financial literacy curriculum documents, editorials and speeches to form a public pedagogic dispositif that supports the creation of subjects ethically disposed to recreate the debt economy’s hierarchical relations and practices. In contrast to those who see financial literacy education as a tool for reducing debt and ameliorating financial and economic insecurity, I argue that financial literacy education is better seen as a technology that supports the production of an economic system that produces debt and financial and economic insecurity. To challenge the capitalist debt economy, the paper ends by calling for a critical public pedagogy to create the conditions in which all can be secure and realize their human capacities free from the constraints imposed by capital–conditions we owe others and ourselves a debt to continually recreate.
Vocational Embodiments of the Precariat in The Girlfriend Experience and Magic Mike
Authors: Stewart Michelle , Pine Jason
Published: April 2018

Recent works by Steven Soderbergh present a symptomatology of contemporary economic culture in the midst of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. These films follow the peculiarities of the present crisis and what it feels like to inhabit a fraught economic culture. More specifically, Soderbergh pays close attention to the overinvestment of the self in vocation—what we are calling vocational embodiment—for the production of value that is never quite materialized and never quite paid out. In these films, the main protagonists embody future states of their own imagining, promises of self-realization that lead them to unwittingly enact their own subjectivization.
Resoundingly Queer: Cover Song as Collective Return
Authors: Jennex Craig
Published: April 2018

In this article, I listen closely to Rae Spoon, Vivek Shraya and Kaleb Roberston’s (as Ms. Fluffy Soufflé) cover performance of “Insensitive,” a song most commonly associated with Jann Arden. Through their cover, Spoon, Shraya and Soufflé work to fissure linear progressive temporality— often and aggressively associated with certain queer experiences in Canadian culture—both in the sense that their cover itself is a musical return and in its specific musical details. I show that there is political potential in listening experiences that open alternative temporal experiences. Their collective project simultaneously renders audible an unlikely musical genealogy and encourages listeners to glean a sense of queer plurality in a national context that increasingly privileges individualism. Their re-imagining of “Insensitive” allows us to hear a type of musical virtuosity when vocal performance is untethered from strict heteronormative gender performance and transforms the popular tune from a solo lament into a collective queer anthem.
A Tale of Two Constitutions: Métis Nationhood and Section 35(2)’s Impact on Interpretations of Daniels
Authors: Adese Jennifer
Published: April 2018

Spurious claims to “Métisness,” or those claiming a Métis identity, have been on the rise since the Daniels decision, wherein the Supreme Court determined some measure of federal responsibility to Métis people. Yet the justices in the decision neither confirmed nor denied that people making claims to Métisness (often) on the basis of distant Indigenous ancestry, are people for whom federal responsibility extends. This is due to (what appears on the surface to be) a lack of clarity around the definition of Métis as it exists in section 35 of the Canadian Constitution of 1982. In light of this, this article offers a brief discussion of the Powley case, the first major Supreme Court decision pertaining to Métis rights and the first that sought to offer a pathway for determining who is Métis in the context of section 35(2) “Aboriginal rights.” It then takes a chronological step backwards to the time of constitutional negotiations to discuss the situation of Métis within the category of Aboriginal peoples. The article then ties this discussion into the recent Supreme Court decision in Daniels v. Canada. I argue that political activists put forth a specific definition of Métis rooted in an understanding of Métis nationhood that was not formally entrenched in the 1982 Constitution; this definition should be embraced and acknowledged to appropriately narrow the meaning of Métis in section 35. This would in turn have implications for Daniels and the federal government’s responsibility to the Métis Nation.
In the Name of the National Multicultural Family: The Documentation of Honour Killings and the Pedagogy of Pain
Authors: Haque Eve
Published: April 2018

This article focuses on Shelley Saywell’s documentary film about honour killings, In the Name of the Family, which won the Best Canadian Feature Award at the 2010 HotDocs Documentary Film Festival. Saywell stated that her hope in making this documentary was that it would help educate in order to break the cycle of abuse. This goal will be explored to see if in fact this documentary can allow the audience to hear these young women who are the victims of honour killings and whether this translates into the pedagogic potential for which Saywell hopes. Saywell’s documentary is framed within a binaristic “clash of cultures” narrative, where the fate of these young Muslim women are the limit case of a crisis of multicultural tolerance. This framing obscures the material realities which underpin gendered violence and racial exclusion in Canada even as it secures the national fantasy of a tolerant multicultural society. Ultimately, this article argues that the epistemological constraining of the patriarchal violence in this film as a specific form of culturalized and essentialized patriarchal traumatic violence serves only to entrench a larger project of white settler multicultural nationalism and limits the possibilities of knowing to the primacy of the viewing subject.
Change in mobility function and its causes in adults with cerebral palsy by Gross Motor Function Classification System level: A cross-sectional questionnaire study
Authors: Himuro Nobuaki , Mishima Reiko , Seshimo Takashi , Morishima Toshibumi , Kosaki Keisuke , Ibe Shigeharu , Asagai Yoshimi , Minematsu Koji , Kurita Kazuhiro , Okayasu Tsutomu , Shimura Tsukasa , Hoshino Kotaro , Suzuki Toshiro , Yanagizono Taiichiro
Published: April 2018

BACKGROUND:

The prognosis for mobility function by Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) level is vital as a guide to rehabilitation for people with cerebral palsy.

OBJECTIVE:

This study sought to investigate change in mobility function and its causes in adults with cerebral palsy by GMFCS level.

METHODS:

We conducted a cross-sectional questionnaire study.

RESULTS:

A total of 386 participants (26 y 8 m, SD 5 y 10 m) with cerebral palsy were analyzed. Participant numbers by GMFCS level were: I (53), II (139), III (74) and IV (120). The median age of participants with peak mobility function in GMFCS level III was younger than that in the other levels. 48% had experienced a decline in mobility. A Kaplan-Meier plot showed the risk of mobility decline increased in GMFCS level III; the hazard ratio was 1.97 (95% CI, 1.20–3.23) compared with level I. The frequently reported causes of mobility decline were changes in environment, and illness and injury in GMFCS level III, stiffness and deformity in level IV, and reduced physical activity in level II and III.

CONCLUSIONS:

Peak mobility function and mobility decline occurred at a younger age in GMFCS level III, with the cause of mobility decline differing by GMFCS level.
Ejection Fraction: Do You Know Your Number?
Authors: Ali M Atahar
Published: April 2018

Abstract not availableBangladesh Heart Journal 2017; 32(2) : 63-64
Near-Optimal Heuristics for Just-In-Time Jobs Maximization in Flow Shop Scheduling
Authors: Fuchigami Helio , Sarker Ruhul , Rangel Socorro
Published: April 2018

The number of just-in-time jobs maximization in a permutation flow shop scheduling problem is considered. A mixed integer linear programming model to represent the problem as well as solution approaches based on enumeration and constructive heuristics were proposed and computationally implemented. Instances with up to 10 jobs and five machines are solved by the mathematical model in an acceptable running time (3.3 min on average) while the enumeration method consumes, on average, 1.5 s. The 10 constructive heuristics proposed show they are practical especially for large-scale instances (up to 100 jobs and 20 machines), with very good-quality results and efficient running times. The best two heuristics obtain near-optimal solutions, with only 0.6% and 0.8% average relative deviations. They prove to be better than adaptations of the NEH heuristic (well-known for providing very good solutions for makespan minimization in flow shop) for the considered problem.
Safe Path Planning of Mobile Robot Based on Improved A* Algorithm in Complex Terrains
Authors: Zhang Hong-Mei , Li Ming-Long , Yang Le
Published: April 2018

The A* algorithm has been widely investigated and applied in path planning problems, but it does not fully consider the safety and smoothness of the path. Therefore, an improved A* algorithm is presented in this paper. Firstly, a new environment modeling method is proposed in which the evaluation function of A* algorithm is improved by taking the safety cost into account. This results in a safer path which can stay farther away from obstacles. Then a new path smoothing method is proposed, which introduces a path evaluation mechanism into the smoothing process. This method is then applied to smoothing the path without safety reduction. Secondly, with respect to path planning problems in complex terrains, a complex terrain environment model is established in which the distance and safety cost of the evaluation function of the A* algorithm are converted into time cost. This results in a unification of units as well as a clarity in their physical meanings. The simulation results show that the improved A* algorithm can greatly improve the safety and smoothness of the planned path and the movement time of the robot in complex terrain is greatly reduced.
Technology and Innovation Management in Higher Education—Cases from Latin America and Europe
Authors: Arciénaga Morales Antonio , Nielsen Janni , Bacarini Hernán , Martinelli Silvia , Kofuji Sergio , García Díaz Juan
Published: April 2018

To solve common bottlenecks in the innovation and development process known as the “European Paradox” or the “Latin American Innovative Gap”, we introduce different experiences of training and education at graduate level. The main objective of this study is to analyze different cases from Europe and Latin America to synthetize a model of technology and innovation management. Conceptually, the model focuses on competences, tools, skills and behaviors. From this knowledge base, we derive a new model of learning for higher education, using an organizational framework. Our model of learning includes different ways to obtain a panoply of competencies to identify technology and innovation management issues at individual business and regional level, particularly for small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The model addresses innovation challenges related to new innovative relationships and product opportunities emerging from traditional sectors, but also from nanotechnology, biotech and ICT fields, with particular emphasis on environmental and sustainability problems. We suggest that our two models may serve as the foundation for designing a curricular master’s program for higher education, in accordance with the Latin American and European realities.
Flight Load Assessment for Light Aircraft Landing Trajectories in Windy Atmosphere and Near Wind Farms
Authors: Varriale Carmine , De Marco Agostino , Daniele Elia , Schmidt Jonas , Stoevesandt Bernhard
Published: April 2018

This work focuses on the wake encounter problem occurring when a light, or very light, aircraft flies through or nearby a wind turbine wake. The dependency of the aircraft normal load factor on the distance from the turbine rotor in various flight and environmental conditions is quantified. For this research, a framework of software applications has been developed for generating and controlling a population of flight simulation scenarios in presence of assigned wind and turbulence fields. The JSBSim flight dynamics model makes use of several autopilot systems for simulating a realistic pilot behavior during navigation. The wind distribution, calculated with OpenFOAM, is a separate input for the dynamic model and is considered frozen during each flight simulation. The aircraft normal load factor during wake encounters is monitored at different distances from the rotor, aircraft speeds, rates of descent and crossing angles. Based on these figures, some preliminary guidelines and recommendations on safe encounter distances are provided for general aviation aircraft, with considerations on pilot comfort and flight safety. These are needed, for instance, when an accident risk assessment study is required for flight in proximity of aeolic parks. A link to the GitHub code repository is provided.
Robust Optimization for Household Load Scheduling with Uncertain Parameters
Authors: Wang Jidong , Li Peng , Fang Kaijie , Zhou Yue
Published: April 2018

Home energy management systems (HEMS) face many challenges of uncertainty, which have a great impact on the scheduling of home appliances. To handle the uncertain parameters in the household load scheduling problem, this paper uses a robust optimization method to rebuild the household load scheduling model for home energy management. The model proposed in this paper can provide the complete robust schedules for customers while considering the disturbance of uncertain parameters. The complete robust schedules can not only guarantee the customers’ comfort constraints but also cooperatively schedule the electric devices for cost minimization and load shifting. Moreover, it is available for customers to obtain multiple schedules through setting different robust levels while considering the trade-off between the comfort and economy.
Energy Efficient Joint Power Control and User Association Optimization in Massive MIMO Enabled HetNets
Authors: Tang Liangrui , Hu Hailin , He Yanhua
Published: April 2018

Massive MIMO enabled heterogeneous cellular networks (HetNets) have a wide application prospect in improving end-to-end performance. To increase the performance of energy efficiency (EE), we formulate the joint optimization problem of power control and user association in this paper. Unfortunately, the problem is a fractional and mixed integer nonlinear programming problem (FMINLP). Nevertheless, an energy efficient joint power control and user association optimization algorithm is proposed to solve the problem. Firstly, based on the Dinkelbach’s theorem, we transform the objective function of the problem into an integral expression and propose the optimal EE iterative algorithm. Then, with the help of the approximately iterative method and Lagrange’s decomposition dual method, the problem can be transformed into a convex optimization problem and the joint optimization algorithm is proposed correspondingly. In the simulation, the performance of EE and its influence factors are analyzed and some interesting points are discussed.
Preparation Techniques of TiO2 Nanofluids and Challenges: A Review
Authors: Ali Hafiz , Babar Hamza , Shah Tayyab , Sajid Muhammad , Qasim Muhammad , Javed Samina
Published: April 2018

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) has been used extensively because of its unique thermal and electric properties. Different techniques have been used for the preparation of TiO2 nanofluids which include single-step and two-step methods. In the natural world, TiO2 exists in three different crystalline forms as anatase, brookite, and rutile. Nanoparticles are not used directly in many heat transfer applications, and this provides a major challenge to researchers to advance towards stable nanofluid preparation methods. The primary step involved in the preparation of nanofluid is the production of nano-sized solid particles by using a suitable technique, and then these particles are dispersed into base fluids like oil, water, paraffin oil or ethylene glycol. However, nanofluid can also be prepared directly by using a liquid chemical method or vapor deposition technique (VDT). Nanofluids are mostly used in heat transfer applications and the size and cost of the heat transfer device depend upon the working fluid properties, thus, in the past decade scientists have made great efforts to formulate stable and cost-effective nanofluids with enhanced thermophysical properties. This review focuses on the different synthesis techniques and important physical properties (thermal conductivity and viscosity) that need to be considered very carefully during the preparation of TiO2 nanofluids for desired applications.
Application of Workflow Technology for Big Data Analysis Service
Authors: Zhang Bin , Yu Le , Feng Yunbo , Liu Lijun , Zhao Shuai
Published: April 2018

This study presents a lightweight representational state transfer-based cloud workflow system to construct a big data intelligent software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform. The system supports the dynamic construction and operation of an intelligent data analysis application, and realizes rapid development and flexible deployment of the business analysis process that can improve the interaction and response time of the process. The proposed system integrates offline-batch and online-streaming analysis models that allow users to conduct batch and streaming computing simultaneously. Users can rend cloud capabilities and customize a set of big data analysis applications in the form of workflow processes. This study elucidates the architecture and application modeling, customization, dynamic construction, and scheduling of a cloud workflow system. A chain workflow foundation mechanism is proposed to combine several analysis components into a chain component that can promote efficiency. Four practical application cases are provided to verify the analysis capability of the system. Experimental results show that the proposed system can support multiple users in accessing the system concurrently and effectively uses data analysis algorithms. The proposed SaaS workflow system has been used in network operators and has achieved good results.
Metasurface-Based Polarimeters
Authors: Ding Fei , Chen Yiting , Bozhevolnyi Sergey
Published: April 2018

The state of polarization (SOP) is an inherent property of light that can be used to gain crucial information about the composition and structure of materials interrogated with light. However, the SOP is difficult to experimentally determine since it involves phase information between orthogonal polarization states, and is uncorrelated with the light intensity and frequency, which can be easily determined with photodetectors and spectrometers. Rapid progress on optical gradient metasurfaces has resulted in the development of conceptually new approaches to the SOP characterization. In this paper, we review the fundamentals of and recent developments within metasurface-based polarimeters. Starting by introducing the concepts of generalized Snell’s law and Stokes parameters, we explain the Pancharatnam–Berry phase (PB-phase) which is instrumental for differentiating between orthogonal circular polarizations. Then we review the recent progress in metasurface-based polarimeters, including polarimeters, spectropolarimeters, orbital angular momentum (OAM) spectropolarimeters, and photodetector integrated polarimeters. The review is ended with a short conclusion and perspective for future developments.
Re: Sex-Bots—Let Us Look before We Leap
Authors: Smith Glenn
Published: April 2018

With the understanding that a substantial commerce in sexually-enabled robots represents a plunge into the unknown for humankind, and at the “deep end of the pool”—i.e., involving one of the most important, complex, and problem-ridden aspects of human existence—it is the goal of this brief opinion piece to help ensure that we remain aware as a society of some of the potential pitfalls—these, as is quite appropriate for an opinion piece of this kind, illustrated via negative but plausible scenarios—and presented as well in the light of the multi-dimensional aspect of human sexuality; and with the reality of a certain level of risk associated with sex-bots having been established, there are presented in conclusion some potentially strategic considerations for those professionals who find themselves involved with their design, production, and/or marketing.
Health Symptom Checking System for Elderly People Using Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process
Authors: Huang Yo-Ping , Basanta Haobijam , Kuo Hung-Chou , Huang Andy
Published: April 2018

The ever-escalating rise in numbers of the aging population has preempted a revolutionary change in the healthcare sector and serves as a major counterpoint to modern life in the 21st century. Increasing demand being placed on the health sector is almost certainly an inevitable process. However, providing appropriate healthcare services is requisite for senior citizens who suffer from various health issues and conditions. To minimize these health risks, we derived an intuitive technique for determining the incongruity of health symptoms by using a symptom checker, which is embedded into a versatile mobile app named Help-to-You (H2U). The designed app helps the users and carers to determine and identify conceivable reasons for elderly ailments and to assist users in deciding when to counsel a health practitioner. The intention of this empirical study was to further analyze and foresee certain variations of infections based on the symptoms accounted for by the patient. The recommended solution consolidated conceptual design with multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) technique and an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) with fuzzy weights to deal with the uncertainty of imprecision and ambiguity resulting from various disease factors. Experimental results verified the effectiveness of the proposed model, subsequently providing a variety of life assistance services.
The Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) Monthly Analysis (New Version 2.3) and a Review of 2017 Global Precipitation
Authors: Adler Robert , Sapiano Mathew , Huffman George , Wang Jian-Jian , Gu Guojun , Bolvin David , Chiu Long , Schneider Udo , Becker Andreas , Nelkin Eric , Xie Pingping , Ferraro Ralph , Shin Dong-Bin
Published: April 2018

The new Version 2.3 of the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) Monthly analysis is described in terms of changes made to improve the homogeneity of the product, especially after 2002. These changes include corrections to cross-calibration of satellite data inputs and updates to the gauge analysis. Over-ocean changes starting in 2003 resulted in an overall precipitation increase of 1.8% after 2009. Updating the gauge analysis to its final, high-quality version increases the global land total by 1.8% for the post-2002 period. These changes correct a small, incorrect dip in the estimated global precipitation over the last decade given by the earlier Version 2.2. The GPCP analysis is also used to describe global precipitation in 2017. The general La Niña pattern for 2017 is noted and the evolution from the early 2016 El Niño pattern is described. The 2017 global value is one of the highest for the 1979–2017 period, exceeded only by 2016 and 1998 (both El Niño years), and reinforces the small positive trend. Results for 2017 also reinforce significant trends in precipitation intensity (on a monthly scale) in the tropics. These results for 2017 indicate the value of the GPCP analysis, in addition to research, for climate monitoring.
A Technique for Estimating Greenhouse Gas Exchange Adjacent Cattle Feedlots
Authors: McGinn Sean , Flesch Thomas
Published: April 2018

Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO) such as open-air beef cattle feedlots are known ‘hot spots’ of emissions of numerous gases including the major greenhouse gases methane, nitrous oxide, and carbon dioxide. Some work has documented CAFOs to derive typical emission factors, but few studies have looked beyond the CAFO to the local landscape to derive the net off-farm emissions. To address the net emissions, the exchange of gases downwind of CAFOs is required, determined in part by the air quality of the gas plume from the CAFO and the characteristics of the underlying surface. Our study measured these downwind fluxes at an open-air beef cattle feedlot using an open-path Fourier Transform Infrared detector and a flux-gradient method. The results showed the dynamic response of fluxes to gas concentration (fresh air or feedlot air) and surface condition (actively growing crop and tilled stubble). These results shed light on the pathways of greenhouse gas flow near a CAFO source, and showed that solely measuring source emissions from a CAFO would lead to errors when developing emission factors.