bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Soft Robotic Gripper with Chambered Fingers for Performing In-Hand Manipulation
Authors: Batsuren Khulan , Yun Dongwon
Published: July 2019

In this work, we present a soft robotic gripper for grasping various objects by mimicking in-hand manipulation. The soft robotic gripper consists of three fingers. Each finger contains three air chambers: Two chambers (side chambers) for twisting in two different directions and one chamber (middle chamber) for grasping. The combination of these air chambers makes it possible to grasp an object and rotate it. We fabricated the soft finger using 3D-printed molds. We used the finite element method (FEM) method to design the most effective model, and later these results were compared with results from experiments. The combined experimental results were used to control the range of movement of the whole gripper. The gripper could grasp objects weighing from 4 g to 300 g just by inflating the middle chamber, and when air pressure was subsequently applied to one of the side chambers, the gripper could twist the object by 35°.
Antioxidants and Atherosclerosis: Mechanistic Aspects
Authors: Malekmohammad Khojasteh , Sewell Robert D. E. , Rafieian-Kopaei Mahmoud
Published: July 2019

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease which is a major cause of coronary heart disease and stroke in humans. It is characterized by intimal plaques and cholesterol accumulation in arterial walls. The side effects of currently prescribed synthetic drugs and their high cost in the treatment of atherosclerosis has prompted the use of alternative herbal medicines, dietary supplements, and antioxidants associated with fewer adverse effects for the treatment of atherosclerosis. This article aims to present the activity mechanisms of antioxidants on atherosclerosis along with a review of the most prevalent medicinal plants employed against this multifactorial disease. The wide-ranging information in this review article was obtained from scientific databases including PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Science Direct and Google Scholar. Natural and synthetic antioxidants have a crucial role in the prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis through different mechanisms. These include: The inhibition of low density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation, the reduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, the inhibition of cytokine secretion, the prevention of atherosclerotic plaque formation and platelet aggregation, the preclusion of mononuclear cell infiltration, the improvement of endothelial dysfunction and vasodilation, the augmentation of nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability, the modulation of the expression of adhesion molecules such as vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) on endothelial cells, and the suppression of foam cell formation.
Preparation and Characterization of Perforated SERS Active Array for Particle Trapping and Sensitive Molecular Analysis
Authors: Rigó István , Veres Miklós , Váczi Tamás , Holczer Eszter , Hakkel Orsolya , Deák András , Fürjes Péter
Published: July 2019

A gold-coated array of flow-through inverse pyramids applicable as substrate for entrapment and immobilization of micro-objects and for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopic measurements was fabricated using bulk micromachining techniques from silicon. Surface morphology, optical reflectance, immobilization properties, and surface enhanced Raman amplification of the array were modelled and characterized. It was found that the special perforated periodic 3D structure can be used for parallel particle and cell trapping and highly sensitive molecular analysis of the immobilized objects.
Sec20 Is Required for Autophagic and Endocytic Degradation Independent of Golgi-ER Retrograde Transport
Authors: Lakatos Zsolt , Lőrincz Péter , Szabó Zoltán , Benkő Péter , Kenéz Lili Anna , Csizmadia Tamás , Juhász Gábor
Published: July 2019

Endocytosis and autophagy are evolutionarily conserved degradative processes in all eukaryotes. Both pathways converge to the lysosome where cargo is degraded. Improper lysosomal degradation is observed in many human pathologies, so its regulatory mechanisms are important to understand. Sec20/BNIP1 (BCL2/adenovirus E1B 19 kDa protein-interacting protein 1) is a BH3 (Bcl-2 homology 3) domain-containing SNARE (soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor-attachment protein receptors) protein that has been suggested to promote Golgi-ER retrograde transport, mitochondrial fission, apoptosis and mitophagy in yeast and vertebrates. Here, we show that loss of Sec20 in Drosophila fat cells causes the accumulation of autophagic vesicles and prevents proper lysosomal acidification and degradation during bulk, starvation-induced autophagy. Furthermore, Sec20 knockdown leads to the enlargement of late endosomes and accumulation of defective endolysosomes in larval Drosophila nephrocytes. Importantly, the loss of Syx18 (Syntaxin 18), one of the known partners of Sec20, led to similar changes in nephrocytes and fat cells. Interestingly. Sec20 appears to function independent of its role in Golgi-ER retrograde transport in regulating lysosomal degradation, as the loss of its other partner SNAREs Use1 (Unconventional SNARE In The ER 1) and Sec22 or tethering factor Zw10 (Zeste white 10), which function together in the Golgi-ER pathway, does not cause defects in autophagy or endocytosis. Thus, our data identify a potential new transport route specific to lysosome biogenesis and function.
The Role of Calcium and Strontium as the Most Dominant Elements during Combinations of Different Alkaline Earth Metals in the Synthesis of Crystalline Silica-Carbonate Biomorphs
Authors: Cuéllar-Cruz Mayra , Moreno Abel
Published: July 2019

The origin of life from the chemical point of view is an intriguing and fascinating topic, and is of continuous interest. Currently, the chemical elements that are part of the different cellular types from microorganisms to higher organisms have been described. However, although science has advanced in this context, it has not been elucidated yet which were the first chemical elements that gave origin to the first primitive cells, nor how evolution eliminated or incorporated other chemical elements to give origin to other types of cells through evolution. Calcium, barium, and strontium silica-carbonates have been obtained in vitro and named biomorphs, because they mimic living organism structures. Therefore, it is considered that these forms can resemble the first structures that were part of primitive organisms. Hence, the objective of this work was to synthesize biomorphs starting with different mixtures of alkaline earth metals—beryllium (Be2+), magnesium (Mg2+), calcium (Ca2+), barium (Ba2+), and strontium (Sr2+)—in the presence of nucleic acids, RNA and genomic DNA (gDNA). Our results allow us to infer that the stability of calcium followed by strontium had played an important role in the evolution of life since the Precambrian era until our current age. In this way, the presence of these two chemical elements as well as silica (in the primitive life) and some organic molecules give origin to a great variety of life forms, in which calcium is the most common dominating element in many living organisms as we know nowadays.
Structure Extension of Tree-Augmented Naive Bayes
Authors: Long Yuguang , Wang Limin , Sun Minghui
Published: July 2019

Due to the simplicity and competitive classification performance of the naive Bayes (NB), researchers have proposed many approaches to improve NB by weakening its attribute independence assumption. Through the theoretical analysis of Kullback–Leibler divergence, the difference between NB and its variations lies in different orders of conditional mutual information represented by these augmenting edges in the tree-shaped network structure. In this paper, we propose to relax the independence assumption by further generalizing tree-augmented naive Bayes (TAN) from 1-dependence Bayesian network classifiers (BNC) to arbitrary k-dependence. Sub-models of TAN that are built to respectively represent specific conditional dependence relationships may “best match” the conditional probability distribution over the training data. Extensive experimental results reveal that the proposed algorithm achieves bias-variance trade-off and substantially better generalization performance than state-of-the-art classifiers such as logistic regression.
Coin.AI: A Proof-of-Useful-Work Scheme for Blockchain-Based Distributed Deep Learning
Authors: Baldominos Alejandro , Saez Yago
Published: July 2019

One decade ago, Bitcoin was introduced, becoming the first cryptocurrency and establishing the concept of “blockchain” as a distributed ledger. As of today, there are many different implementations of cryptocurrencies working over a blockchain, with different approaches and philosophies. However, many of them share one common feature: they require proof-of-work to support the generation of blocks (mining) and, eventually, the generation of money. This proof-of-work scheme often consists in the resolution of a cryptography problem, most commonly breaking a hash value, which can only be achieved through brute-force. The main drawback of proof-of-work is that it requires ridiculously large amounts of energy which do not have any useful outcome beyond supporting the currency. In this paper, we present a theoretical proposal that introduces a proof-of-useful-work scheme to support a cryptocurrency running over a blockchain, which we named Coin.AI. In this system, the mining scheme requires training deep learning models, and a block is only mined when the performance of such model exceeds a threshold. The distributed system allows for nodes to verify the models delivered by miners in an easy way (certainly much more efficiently than the mining process itself), determining when a block is to be generated. Additionally, this paper presents a proof-of-storage scheme for rewarding users that provide storage for the deep learning models, as well as a theoretical dissertation on how the mechanics of the system could be articulated with the ultimate goal of democratizing access to artificial intelligence.
Using Agent-Based Customer Modeling for the Evaluation of EV Charging Systems
Authors: Rodemann Tobias , Eckhardt Tom , Unger René , Schwan Torsten
Published: July 2019

The development of efficient electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure requires a modeling of customer behavior at an appropriate level of detail. Since only limited information about real customers is available, most simulation approaches employ a stochastic approach by combining known or estimated customer features with random variations. A typical example is to model EV charging customers by an arrival and a targeted departure time, plus the requested amount of energy or increased state of charge (SoC), where values are drawn from normal (Gaussian) distributions with mean and variance values derived from user studies of obviously limited sample size. In this work, we compare this basic approach with a more detailed customer model employing a multi-agent simulation (MAS) framework in order to investigate how a customer behavior that responds to external factors (like weather) or historical data (like satisfaction in past charging sessions) impacts the essential key performance indicators of the charging system. Our findings show that small changes in the way customers are modeled can lead to quantitative and qualitative differences in the simulated performance of EV charging systems.
The Gene Master Regulators (GMR) Approach Provides Legitimate Targets for Personalized, Time-Sensitive Cancer Gene Therapy
Authors: Iacobas Sanda , Ede Nneka , Iacobas Dumitru A.
Published: July 2019

The dynamic and never exactly repeatable tumor transcriptomic profile of people affected by the same form of cancer requires a personalized and time-sensitive approach of the gene therapy. The Gene Master Regulators (GMRs) were defined as genes whose highly controlled expression by the homeostatic mechanisms commands the cell phenotype by modulating major functional pathways through expression correlation with their genes. The Gene Commanding Height (GCH), a measure that combines the expression control and expression correlation with all other genes, is used to establish the gene hierarchy in each cell phenotype. We developed the experimental protocol, the mathematical algorithm and the computer software to identify the GMRs from transcriptomic data in surgically removed tumors, biopsies or blood from cancer patients. The GMR approach is illustrated with applications to our microarray data on human kidney, thyroid and prostate cancer samples, and on thyroid, prostate and blood cancer cell lines. We proved experimentally that each patient has his/her own GMRs, that cancer nuclei and surrounding normal tissue are governed by different GMRs, and that manipulating the expression has larger consequences for genes with higher GCH. Therefore, we launch the hypothesis that silencing the GMR may selectively kill the cancer cells from a tissue.
The Prediapause Stage of Aedes japonicus japonicus and the Evolution of Embryonic Diapause in Aedini
Authors: Bova Jake , Soghigian John , Paulson Sally
Published: July 2019

The genus Aedes is well known for its desiccation-resistant eggs, which frequently serve as an overwintering mechanism through diapause. Despite this, relatively little is known about the diapause and overwintering biology of most Aedes species including Aedes japonicus japonicus, an invasive mosquito in the United States. The importance of this mosquito in disease systems like La Crosse virus remain uncertain. Embryonic diapause is used by Ae. j. japonicus to survive temperate winters, and the persistence of this species in the Appalachian region is a result of overwintering, which has important implications for the transmission of this virus to humans. The objective of this study was to identify the prediapause stage, or the stage sensitive to environmental cues needed to induce diapause in this mosquito. By exposing each Ae. j. japonicus life stage independently to short-day photoperiods, we determined that the adult maternal life stage is the prediapause stage. Using the most recent phylogeny and prior literature on the prediapause stages in the genus Aedes, we were able to infer the evolutionary history of the prediapause stages of Aedes mosquitoes that overwinter or aestivate as eggs. This initial ancestral state reconstruction allowed us to hypothesize that Aedini mosquitoes that undergo obligate diapause may have evolved from those utilizing the embryonic prediapause stage, and that the ancestral prediapause state of Aedini appears to be maternally controlled.
Land of Plenty, Land of Misery: Synergetic Resource Grabbing in Mozambique
Authors: Bruna Natacha
Published: July 2019

Global climate change policy enforcement has become the new driving force of resource grabbing in the context of the “scramble of resources” in Africa. Nevertheless, the environmental crisis should not be seen as an isolated phenomenon amid contemporary capitalism. On the contrary, a very distinct feature of the current wave of land grabs is the convergence of multiple crises, including food, energy/fuel, environmental, and financial. The Southern Mozambique District, Massingir, is an area with high potential regarding water sources and biodiversity. It recently became a host of a biofuel project, and also a huge block of land is being transformed into a conservation/tourism area; answering to many issues within capitalism’s crisis, this area is an evidence of how synergetic resource grabbing can arise as a response to the convergence of multiple crises. Therefore, by analyzing the emerging politics of natural resources in Massingir District and the dynamics regarding the land-use change, changes in property relations, it is possible to understand how rural livelihoods are shaped. Risks related to food security and sovereignty, loss of control and access to resources, consistent narrowing down of the set of livelihood strategies, and inter-community conflicts over scarce resources are the main implications of such emerging climate-smart land politics.
Development of An Oral Treatment with the PPAR-γ-Acting Cannabinoid VCE-003.2 Against the Inflammation-Driven Neuronal Deterioration in Experimental Parkinson’s Disease
Authors: Burgaz Sonia , García Concepción , Gómez-Cañas Maria , Muñoz Eduardo , Fernández-Ruiz Javier
Published: July 2019

In a recent study, we described the neuroprotective properties of VCE-003.2—an aminoquinone derivative of the non-psychotropic phytocannabinoid cannabigerol (CBG)—administered intraperitoneally (i.p.) in an inflammatory model of Parkinson’s disease (PD). We also demonstrated that these properties derive from its activity on the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ, in particular at a regulatory site within this receptor type. In the present study, we wanted to further confirm this neuroprotective potential using an oral lipid formulation of VCE-003.2, developed to facilitate the clinical development of this phytocannabinoid derivative. To this end, we evaluated VCE-003.2, administered orally at two doses (10 and 20 mg/kg), to mice subjected to unilateral intrastriatal injections of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a classic model of inflammation-driven neuronal deterioration that recapitulates characteristics of PD. The administration of VCE-003.2 to these mice showed, as expected, poor activity in the different motor tests (rotarod, computer-aided actimeter) used in experimental parkinsonism, in general due to the lack of evident changes in these behaviors by LPS lesion. However, VCE-003.2, at 20 mg/kg, was highly active in improving the changes detected in LPS-lesioned mice in the cylinder rearing test. In addition, the histopathological analysis of the basal ganglia revealed a trend towards recovery at 20 mg/kg VCE-003.2 in the loss of tyrosine hydroxylase-containing nigrostriatal neurons, as well as a complete reduction in the elevated LAMP-1 immunolabeling (reflecting autophagy impairment) caused by LPS lesion. These effects were not seen at 10 mg/kg. This was associated with a partial reduction in the intense glial reactivity provoked by LPS in the substantia nigra, in particular the astroglial reactivity labeled with glial fibrillary acidic protein. The analysis using qPCR in the striatum of proinflammatory mediators, such as tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β, inducible nitric oxide synthase, and cyclooxygenase-2, showed that the marked elevations provoked by the LPS lesion tended to be, in general, attenuated by VCE-003.2 treatment, with the greatest effects normally found with the highest dose of 20 mg/kg. In summary, our data confirm the neuroprotective potential of an oral formulation of VCE-003.2 against neuronal injury in an in vivo model of PD based on neuroinflammation, and this study opens the possibility to further the development of oral VCE-003.2 in the clinic.
Food Addiction Is Associated with Irrational Beliefs via Trait Anxiety and Emotional Eating
Authors: Nolan Laurence J. , Jenkins Steve M.
Published: July 2019

Irrational beliefs (IB) are believed, in cognitive behavioral therapies, to be a prime cause of psychopathologies including anxiety, depression, problem eating, and alcohol misuse. “Food addiction” (FA), which has been modeled on diagnostic criteria for substance use disorder, and emotional eating (EE) have both been implicated in the rise in overweight and obesity. Both FA and EE are associated with anxiety. Thus, in the present study, the hypothesis that IB is associated with FA and with EE was tested. Furthermore, possible mediation of these relationships by trait anxiety and depression (and EE for IB and FA) was examined. The responses of 239 adult participants to questionnaires measuring FA, IB, EE, depression, trait anxiety, and anthropometrics were recorded. The results revealed that IB was significantly positively correlated with FA and EE (and depression and trait anxiety). Furthermore, only EE mediated the effect of IB on FA and this was not moderated by BMI. Finally, trait anxiety (but not depression) mediated the effect of IB on EE. Exploratory analysis revealed a significant serial mediation such that IB predicted higher FA via elevated trait anxiety and emotional eating in that order. The results of this study suggest that IB may be a source of the anxiety that is associated with EE and FA and suggest that clinicians may find IB a target for treatment of those persons who report experiences of EE and FA. IB may play a role in food misuse that leads to elevated BMI.
Gut Microbiota-Derived Components and Metabolites in the Progression of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)
Authors: Ji Yun , Yin Yue , Li Ziru , Zhang Weizhen
Published: July 2019

Human gut microbiota has been increasingly recognized as a pivotal determinant of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Apart from the changes in the composition of gut microbiota, the components and metabolites derived from intestinal microbiota have emerged as key factors in modulating the pathological process of NAFLD. Compelling evidences have revealed that gut microbiota generates a variety of bioactive substances that interact with the host liver cells through the portal vein. These substances include the components derived from bacteria such as lipopolysaccharides, peptidoglycan, DNA, and extracellular vesicles, as well as the metabolites ranging from short-chain fatty acids, indole and its derivatives, trimethylamine, secondary bile acids, to carotenoids and phenolic compounds. The mechanisms underlying the hepatic responses to the bioactive substances from gut bacteria have been associated with the regulation of glycolipid metabolism, immune signaling response, and redox homeostasis. Illuminating the interplay between the unique factors produced from gut microbiome and the liver will provide a novel therapeutical target for NAFLD. The current review highlights the recent advances on the mechanisms by which the key ingredients and metabolites from gut microbiota modulate the development and progression of NAFLD.
Finite Difference Analysis and Bivariate Correlation of Hyperspectral Data for Detecting Laurel Wilt Disease and Nutritional Deficiency in Avocado
Authors: Hariharan Jeanette , Fuller John , Ampatzidis Yiannis , Abdulridha Jaafar , Lerwill Andrew
Published: July 2019

Laurel wilt (Lw) is a very destructive disease and poses a serious threat to the commercial production of avocado in Florida, USA. External symptoms of Lw are similar to those that are caused by other diseases and disorders. A rapid technique to distinguish Lw infected avocado from healthy trees and trees with other abiotic stressors is presented in this paper. A novel method was developed to analyze data from hyperspectral data using finite difference approximation (FDA) and bivariate correlation (BC) to discriminate Lw, Nitrogen (N), and Iron (Fe) deficiencies from healthy avocado plants. Several combinatorial methods were used in preprocessing the data, such as standard normal transformation of data, smoothing of the data, and polynomial fit. The FDA technique was derived using a Taylor Polynomial finite difference approximation. This FDA accentuates inflection points in the spectrum. These, in turn, reveal variance in the data that can be used to identify spectral signature associated with healthy and diseased states. By statistical correlation using the bivariate correlation coefficient of these enhanced spectral patterns, an algorithm (FDA-BC) for distinguishing Lw avocado leaves from all other categories of healthy or mineral deficient avocado leaves is achieved with an overall accuracy of 100%.
Aptamers in Education: Undergraduates Make Aptamers and Acquire 21st Century Skills Along the Way
Authors: Stovall Gwendolyn M. , Huynh Vincent , Engelman Shelly , Ellington Andrew D.
Published: July 2019

Aptamers have a well-earned place in therapeutic, diagnostic, and sensor applications, and we now show that they provide an excellent foundation for education, as well. Within the context of the Freshman Research Initiative (FRI) at The University of Texas at Austin, students have used aptamer selection and development technologies in a teaching laboratory to build technical and 21st century skills appropriate for research scientists. One of the unique aspects of this course-based undergraduate research experience is that students develop and execute their own projects, taking ownership of their experience in what would otherwise be a traditional teaching lab setting. Of the many successes, this work includes the isolation and characterization of novel calf intestinal alkaline phosphatase (anti-CIAP) RNA aptamers by an undergraduate researcher. Further, preliminary survey data suggest that students who participate in the aptamer research experience express significant gains in their self-efficacy to conduct research, and their perceived ability to communicate scientific results, as well as organize and interpret data. This work describes, for the first time, the use of aptamers in an educational setting, highlights the positive student outcomes of the aptamer research experience, and presents the research findings relative to the novel anti-CIAP aptamer.
Investigation of Weigh-in-Motion Measurement Accuracy on the Basis of Steering Axle Load Spectra
Authors: Rys Dawid
Published: July 2019

Weigh-in-motion systems are installed in pavements or on bridges to identify and reduce the number of overloaded vehicles and minimise their adverse effect on road infrastructure. Moreover, the collected traffic data are used to obtain axle load characteristics, which are very useful in road infrastructure design. Practical application of data from weigh-in-motion has become more common recently, which calls for adequate attention to data quality. This issue is addressed in the presented paper. The aim of the article is to investigate the accuracy of 77 operative weigh-in-motion stations by analysing steering axle load spectra. The proposed methodology and analysis enabled the identification of scale and source of errors that occur in measurements delivered from weigh-in-motion systems. For this purpose, selected factors were investigated, including the type of axle load sensor, air temperature and vehicle speed. The results of the analysis indicated the obvious effect of the axle load sensor type on the measurement results. It was noted that systematic error increases during winter, causing underestimation of axle loads by 5% to 10% for quartz piezoelectric and bending beam load sensors, respectively. A deterioration of system accuracy is also visible when vehicle speed decreases to 30 km/h. For 25% to 35% of cases, depending on the type of sensor, random error increases for lower speeds, while it remains at a constant level at higher speeds. The analysis also delivered a standard steering axle load distribution, which can have practical meaning in the improvement of weigh-in-motion accuracy and traffic data quality.
An Integrated Variational Mode Decomposition and ARIMA Model to Forecast Air Temperature
Authors: Wang Huan , Huang Jiejun , Zhou Han , Zhao Lixue , Yuan Yanbin
Published: July 2019

Temperature forecasting is a crucial part of climate change research. It can provide a valuable reference, as well as practical significance, for understanding the macroscopic evolutionary processes of regional temperature and for promoting sustainable development. This study presents a new integrated model, called the Variational Mode Decomposition-Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (VMD-ARIMA) model, which reduces the required data input and improves the accuracy of predictions, based on the deficiencies of data dependence and the complicated mechanisms associated with current temperature forecasting. In this model, the variational mode decomposition (VMD) was used for mining the trend features and detailed features contained in a time series, as well as denoising. Moreover, the corresponding autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models were derived to reflect the different features of the components. The final forecasted values were then obtained using VMD reconstruction. The annual temperature time series from the Wuhan Meteorological Station were investigated using the VMD-ARIMA model, ARIMA model, and Grey Model (1, 1) based on three statistical performance metrics (mean relative error, mean absolute error, and root mean square error). The results indicate that the VMD-ARIMA model can effectively enhance the accuracy of temperature forecasting.
Agent-Based Simulation Model for Evaluating Urban Freight Policy to E-Commerce
Authors: Alves Roberta , da Silva Lima Renato , Custódio de Sena David , Ferreira de Pinho Alexandre , Holguín-Veras José
Published: July 2019

This study aims to assess delivery lockers as a last-mile solution, considering the behavior and interaction among e-commerce stakeholders. In Brazil, a large portion of deliveries are attended home. This results in a large number of failed deliveries and redelivery attempts, which can reach up to three delivery attempts. Delivery lockers (DL) represent a solution to reduce the number of re-deliveries and consolidate the delivery of goods. The implementation of DL and the exclusion of the third delivery attempt are evaluated in this study via an agent-based simulation model (ABSM) in the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Four scenarios were simulated by varying delivery locker implementation and the exclusion of the third attempts, which allowed comparable results to be obtained for each agent, in terms of gains and operational and external costs (emission, noise, and congestion). The scenario that most closely resembles the current situation was the one that presented the worst results. The implementation of the lockers brings improvements to this scenario in terms of reducing re-deliveries and distances traveled by trucks. When the possibility of three delivery attempts is excluded, the benefits are even greater. The deployment of lockers also enables carriers to reduce the number of trucks required to make deliveries, thereby increasing their profits.
Parameter Reductions of Bipolar Fuzzy Soft Sets with Their Decision-Making Algorithms
Authors: Ali Ghous , Akram Muhammad , Koam Ali N. A. , Alcantud José Carlos R.
Published: July 2019

Parameter reduction is a very important technique in many fields, including pattern recognition. Many reduction techniques have been reported for fuzzy soft sets to solve decision-making problems. However, there is almost no attention to the parameter reduction of bipolar fuzzy soft sets, which take advantage of the fact that membership and non-membership degrees play a symmetric role. This methodology is of great importance in many decision-making situations. In this paper, we provide a novel theoretical approach to solve decision-making problems based on bipolar fuzzy soft sets and study four types of parameter reductions of such sets. Parameter reduction algorithms are developed and illustrated through examples. The experimental results prove that our proposed parameter reduction techniques delete the irrelevant parameters while keeping definite decision-making choices unchanged. Moreover, the reduction algorithms are compared regarding the degree of ease of computing reduction, applicability, exact degree of reduction, applied situation, and multi-use of parameter reduction. Finally, a real application is developed to describe the validity of our proposed reduction algorithms.
Diversity, Cyanotoxin Production, and Bioactivities of Cyanobacteria Isolated from Freshwaters of Greece
Authors: Gkelis Spyros , Panou Manthos , Konstantinou Despoina , Apostolidis Panagiotis , Kasampali Antonia , Papadimitriou Sofia , Kati Dominiki , Di Lorenzo Giorgia , Ioakeim Stamatia , Zervou Sevasti-Kiriaki , Christophoridis Christophoros , Triantis Theodoros , Kaloudis Triantafyllos , Hiskia Anastasia , Arsenakis Minas
Published: July 2019

Cyanobacteria are a diverse group of photosynthetic Gram-negative bacteria that produce an array of secondary compounds with selective bioactivity against a broad spectrum of organisms and cell lines. In this study, 29 strains isolated from freshwaters in Greece were classified using a polyphasic approach and assigned to Chroococcales, Synechococcales, and Nostocales, representing 11 genera and 17 taxa. There were good agreements between 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA)–cpcBA–internal genetic spacer (IGS) characterization and morphological features, except for the Jaaginema–Limnothrix group which appears intermixed and needs further elucidation. Methanol extracts of the strains were analyzed for cyanotoxin production and tested against pathogenic bacteria species and several cancer cell lines. We report for the first time a Nostoc oryzae strain isolated from rice fields capable of producing microcystins (MCs) and a Chlorogloeopsis fritschii strain isolated from the plankton of a lake, suggesting that this species may also occur in freshwater temperate habitats. Strains with very high or identical 16S rRNA gene sequences displayed different antibacterial and cytotoxic activities. Extracts from Synechococcus cf. nidulans showed the most potent antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, whereas Jaaginema sp. strains exhibited potent cytotoxic activities against human colorectal adenocarcinoma and hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Jaaginema Thessaloniki Aristotle University Microalgae and Cyanobacteria (TAU-MAC) 0110 and 0210 strains caused pronounced changes in the actin network and triggered the formation of numerous lipid droplets in hepatocellular carcinoma and green monkey kidney cells, suggesting oxidative stress and/or mitochondrial damage leading to apoptosis.
Deletions in Genes Participating in Innate Immune Response Modify the Clinical Course of Andes Orthohantavirus Infection
Authors: Ribeiro Grazielle Esteves , Leon Luis Edgardo , Perez Ruth , Cuiza Analia , Vial Pablo Agustin , Ferres Marcela , Mertz Gregory J. , Vial Cecilia
Published: July 2019

Andes orthohantavirus (ANDV) is an important human pathogen causing hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS) with a fatality rate of 30% in Chile. Around 60% of all cases have a severe clinical course, while the others have a mild clinical course. The main goal of this study was to understand if the genetic variation of patients is associated with the clinical course they develop after ANDV infection. For this, the frequency of copy number variants (CNVs, i.e., deletions and duplications) was studied in 195 patients, 88 with mild and 107 with severe HCPS. CNVs were called from intensity data of the Affymetrix Genome-Wide SNP Array 6.0. The analysis of the data was performed with PennCNV, ParseCNV and R softwares; Results: a deletion of 19, 416 bp in the q31.3 region of chromosome 1 is found more frequently in severe patients (p < 0.05). This region contains Complement Factor H Related (CFHR1) and CFHR3 genes, regulators of the complement cascade. A second deletion of 1.81 kb located in the p13 region of chr20 was significantly more frequent in mild patients (p < 0.05). This region contains the SIRPB1 gene, which participates in the innate immune response, more specifically in neutrophil trans-epithelial migration. Both deletions are associated with the clinical course of HCPS, the first being a risk factor and the second being protective. The participation of genes contained in both deletions in ANDV infection pathophysiology deserves further investigation.
TDChain: uso de blockchain na cadeia de distribuição de medicamentos
Authors: Mota Jhemeson Silva , Santos Ian Macedo Maiwald , Teixeira Alexandre Henrique Kavalerski , Torres Kennedy Santos , Marioti Madianita Bogo
Published: July 2019

As fobias estão muito relacionadas ao medo, como uma condição que causa grande ansiedade por provocar medo persistente e excessivo no indivíduo. O tratamento de fobias busca reduzir a ansiedade que se manifesta e para isso existem diversas alternativas, como medicação e exposição imaginária ou in vivo. A realidade virtual em tratamentos é apontada como uma tendência, uma vez que tal tecnologia proporciona ao usuário a experiência de imersão em um ambiente completamente artificial. O presente trabalho foi desenvolvido com o propósito de criar uma aplicação que combina a realidade virtual e a técnica de dessensibilização sistemática como recurso terapêutico no tratamento de acrofobia, o medo de altura.
Perancangan Sistem Informasi Akuntansi Penjualan Yoghurt Pada Koperasi Peternakan Sapi Bandung Utara dengan Menggunakan Microsoft Visual Basic 2005 dan MySQL Berbasis Client Server
Authors: Suryati Ai , Firdaus Dony Waluya
Published: July 2019

Koperasi Peternak Sapi Bandung Utara (KPSBU) is a cooperative engaged in the business of dairy farmers who process milk into yogurt. Authors conducted a study on the marketing administration in making yogurt sales report still uses Microsoft Excel as a data processing. Based on these problems the authors take the title "Design of Accounting Information Systems Yogurt Sales in North Bandung Cattle Farmer Cooperatives Using Microsoft Visual Basic 2005 and MySQL-Based Client Server 2005”

Design research is a design study with the primary data/secondary, the type of research used academic research, methods of research used field survey techniques and literature, the development model of the system used in the output-oriented methodologies, processes and data. Structures used system development iterations. The design of the information system used context diagrams, data flow diagrams, and flowcharts.
Perancangan Sistem Informasi Akuntansi Realisasi Anggaran Pada Kantor Badan Pelayanan Perizinan Terpadu (BPPT) Jawa Barat Menggunakan Microsoft Visual Basic 2008 Dan Database MySQL Server
Authors: Rinaldi Rizki , Firdaus Dony Waluya
Published: July 2019

Badan Pelayanan Perizinan Terpadu (BPPT) Jawa Barat that have an address at Jl. PHH Mustofa No. 22 Bandung. Is a govermment agency that is engaged in licensing services. Problems that occur is a recording system that is still done manually so in the execution of recording to the financial statements do relatively long because it susceptible to errors in recording data.

So that the problems that occur can be minimized, the authors take the title research “Accounting Information System Design Actual Budgeting on Badan Pelayanan Perizinan Terpadu (BPPT) Jawa Barat by Using Microsoft Visual Basic 2008 and MySQL Database Server”.

The type of research use an academic research, the types of data use the qualitative data, the type of study design use descriptive, surveys, and primary secondary data, survey research method, data collection techniques use is a field research, consisting of interviews, system development method use process-oriented methodology, data and output. The structure of the development of the system use was iterations. Information system use context diagram, data flow diagrams, and flowcharts.
Model Perancangan Aplikasi Pesantren Matic Pada Forum Pondok Pesantren Jawa Barat
Authors: Komarudin Edi , Bahri Ramadhan Syaeful , Maulana Dyan Fachri , Maulana Ananda Rizky
Published: July 2019

Pesantren Matic application is a website-based application that provides features for recording financial statements and as a tool for business development for the West Java Boarding School Forum. With a website-based application, FPP West Java can start a business in the form of ustadz training and certification, boarding school management governance training and training in recording the pesantren's financial statements. The target of this program is Islamic boarding schools in Indonesia and especially West Java. The Business Model Canvas used explains that: key partners (Ministry of Religion of West Java Province, Indonesian Ulama Council, Islamic Boarding Schools), key activities (Financial Recording, Islamic Boarding School Training, Ustadz training & certification), key resource (West Java Boarding School Forum), value proposition (Integrated Ministry of Religion, Indonesian Ulema Council), Customer Relationship (Advertising (promos and subscriptions)), Channels (Website, Social Media, Advertising), Customer Segments (Pondok Pesantren, Ustadz), Cost Structure (Domain and Hosting Registration Fees) ), Revenue Streams (Financial Records, Islamic Boarding School Training, Ustadz training & certification).
PENGARUH PARTISIPASI ANGGARAN DAN JOB RELEVANT INFORMATION (JRI) TERHADAP INFORMASI ASIMETRIS
Authors: Oktavia Evi
Published: July 2019

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui apakah partisipasi anggaran dan job relevantinformation mempunyai pengaruh terhadap informasi asimetris. Penelitian inidilatarbelakangi oleh masalah yang terjadi pada PT Bumi Resources Tbk (BUMI) yangmeminjam dana ke China Invesment Corporation (CIC) senilai US$1.9 miliar,sementara kas internalnya hanya US$1.7 miliar, setelah ditelusuri ternyata pinjaman keCIC bertujuan untuk membiayai kembali (refinancing) utang sebesar USS 1,2 miliar.Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah metode deskriptif kuantitatif, dansampel pada penelitian ini adalah karyawan Divisi Perencanaan Strategis pada PT.Bank Jabar Banten. Hasil penelitian menunjukan bahwa tidak terdapat pengaruhantara partisipasi anggaran dan job relevant information terhadap informasi asimetris .
ANALISIS PENGARUH KUALITAS PELAYANAN DAN PENGETAHUAN PERPAJAKAN TERHADAP KEPATUHAN WAJIB PAJAK ORANG PRIBADI PADA KPP PRATAMA BANDUNG CICADAS
Authors: Febriansyah Angky
Published: July 2019

Quality of service and knowledge of taxation is one of the factors that mayaffect taxpayer compliance, So expect good service quality and level of knowledge isalso good for the taxpayer compliance rate is increasing. The purpose of this study todetermine the effect of service quality and knowledge of taxation on individual taxpayercompliance in the tax office Cicadas Pratama Bandung.The method used in this research is descriptive method and verifikatif,Descriptive method used to determine the variable description quality of service andtaxation knowledge variables and variable individual taxpayer compliance whileverifikatif to determine the correlation between service quality and compliance of anindividual taxpayer and the correlation of knowledge of taxation and individual taxpayercompliance. To determine the effect of service quality and knowledge of taxation onindividual taxpayer compliance used statistical tests.  The test statistic used is thecalculation of Person Product Moment correlation, coefficient of determination,hypothesis test using the software SPSS 15.0 for windows.The results of this study indicate that the quality of service and knowledge oftaxation have a significant effect in improving taxpayer compliance in individual taxoffice Pratama Bandung Cicadas. There is a correlations between service quality andknowledge of taxation with an individual taxpayer compliance in the tax office PratamaBandung Cicadas that is equal to 49.6%.
Всеармійський конкурс «КРАЩИЙ ВИНАХІД РОКУ – 2018»
Authors: Komarov V.
Published: July 2019

Винахідництво – творчий процес, який дає змогу поновому вирішувати завдання в будь-якій галузі народного господарства і має позитивний ефект. Винахідництво у Збройних Силах України пов’язане з удосконаленням результатів технічного прогресу і вдосконалення виробництва озброєння та військової техніки. Винахідництво нерозривно пов’язано з інтелектуальною власністю, ззаконним правом людей володіти, використовувати на власний розсуд свої винахіди або раціоналізаторські пропозиції, надавати право на використання їх іншим особам.
Оцінювання ефективності експлуатації та бойового застосування озброєння і військової техніки з перервними контурами управління за показником ресурсних витрат
Authors: Rozghonaiev S. M.
Published: July 2019

Досліджується процес експлуатації та бойового застосування озброєння і військової техніки, який має перервну природу. Розроблена модель оцінки часресурсного показника виконання завдання для випадку перервного процесу експлуатації та бойового застосування озброєння і військової техніки на основі розвитку метода ергомережних графоаналітичних моделей типових контурів функціонування організаційно технічних систем. Розрахунками на моделі показано вплив зворотного зв’язку на безпомилковість та швидкодію виконання завдання.
Relationship of udder and teat conformation with intra-mammary infection in crossbred cows under hot-humid climate
Authors: Bhakat Champak
Published: July 2019

Aim: The present study was aimed to investigate the relationship of udder shape, teat-end shape, teat length, and teatdiameter with intra-mammary infection in Jersey crossbred cows under hot-humid climate.Materials and Methods: A total of 24 lactating Jersey crossbred cows were evaluated for udder shape (pendulous/regular)and teat-end shape (flat/inverted/pointed) by visual examination, while teat length and teat diameter were measured usingvernier caliper. Monthly milk sampling was done for 4 months of duration. Few quarters were found as blind or nonfunctionaland so, a total of 366 quarter wise milk samples were collected at the monthly interval and subjected to somaticcell count (SCC) microscopically. The data on SCC were transformed into log scale and analyzed.Results: There was a significant (p<0.01) effect of udder shape and teat-end shape on SCC level. The mean SCC levelfor pendulous udder was significantly (p<0.05) higher as compared to the regular shaped udder. Similarly, significantly(p<0.05) a higher level of mean SCC was found in flat teat-end shape. A significant (p<0.01) correlation was found betweenSCC and teat length as well as teat diameter.Conclusion: In conclusion, pendulous udder, flat and inverted teat-end, very long and thick teat were more susceptible tointra-mammary infection in Jersey crossbred cows and these traits must be considered accordingly while selecting dairyanimals for future milk production.
CONFERÊNCIA DE ABERTURA: DAS RAZÕES PARA SER PROFESSOR (DE PORTUGUÊS) HOJE O PROFISSIONAL DE LETRAS: FORMAÇÃO CONSTANTE
Authors: Lino Denise
Published: July 2019

Este artigo procura apontar razões para ser professor (de português) no contexto da sociedade neoliberal brasileira, que construiu ao longo das últimas décadas discursos e práticas de desvalorização da profissão docente. A chave da leitura é (auto-)valorização da profissão com base em exemplos da atuação do professor no âmbito de um projeto de nação que tem na formação docente e na formação de jovens a sua alavanca de sustentação.
O olhar da minoria na poesia de Aysel Özakin
Authors: Mathias Dionei
Published: July 2019

RESUMO: Aysel Özakin é uma autora de origem turca que imigrou para a Alemanha em 1981, fugindo de um golpe militar na Turquia. Em 1985, ela publica em língua alemã uma coletânea de poemas intitulada de Du bist willkommen (‘Tu és bem-vindo’) que reúne uma série de poemas sobre a experiência do imigrante na Alemanha Ocidental. Para este artigo, foram selecionados dois poemas (‘Cultura’ e ‘Segunda geração’) para discutir a visão de uma autora de origem minoritária num contexto culturalmente hegemônico e mostrar como a autora aborda a questão do conceito de cultura e de pertencimento no contexto de imigração na Alemanha. Paralelamente a essa argumentação, o artigo defende também que a discussão dos poemas de Aysel Özakin na aula de alemão como língua estrangeira pode contribuir para uma melhor compreensão das práticas culturais estabelecidas entre atores sociais hegemônicos e subalternos, sensibilizando-o para outros pontos de vista e indicando formas de estabelecer uma voz própria