bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Penser politiquement les activités politiques en ligne
Authors: Rueff Julien
Published: August 2017

Pour analyser les dimensions et les enjeux politiques des technologies de communication numérique, les recherches actuelles en sciences sociales reposent le plus souvent sur une conception déterminée de la démocratie, une théorie de l’action collective, une conception relationnelle du pouvoir ou une tradition théorique en économie politique. Bien que la fécondité de ces différentes approches ne fasse aucun doute, cet article souhaite questionner la possibilité d’appréhender politiquement le « Web politique » au prisme de ces perspectives théoriques. Il s’agit par là même d’interroger leur capacité à conférer une intelligibilité politique aux articulations entre Internet et la politique. Pour entreprendre cette réflexion, nous aurons recours à la conception gramscienne du pouvoir politique, en nous attardant notamment sur la place centrale qu’elle accorde à l’histoire et aux relations d’antagonisme. Nous explorerons comment celle-ci peut redéfinir les coordonnées d’une problématisation des articulations entre Internet et la politique.
Cadrer sans discipliner
Authors: Vayre Jean-Sébastien , Larnaudie Lucie , Dufresne Aude
Published: August 2017

Les agents de recommandation sont des systèmes d’intelligence artificielle qui doivent prédire les préférences des consommateurs à partir des traces d’usages que ces derniers déposent durant leurs activités de navigation. Du point de vue de la littérature, ces agents sont potentiellement dotés d’une efficacité non négligeable. Pour autant, peu de travaux se sont jusqu’ici attachés à comprendre les formes de ce pouvoir d’action. La contribution de cet article sera double. D’une part, il s’agira de rendre compte de méthodes comportementalistes mobilisées par les sciences de gestion pour évaluer et régler la pertinence des agents de recommandation. D’autre part, il s’agira de montrer comment ces méthodes peuvent être utilisées par les sciences sociales, non pas pour dégager des règles de conduite de l’action économique comme le font traditionnellement les sciences de gestion, mais plutôt pour comprendre les modes d’existence des marchés. Nous montrerons en ce sens que l’agent de recommandation constitue un dispositif d’économicisation des activités d’exploration des consommateurs qui, à l’ère des marchés numérisés, participe à l’instauration de nouvelles formes de cadrage cognitif et relationnel.
The Nexus Between CSR, Corporate Image, Company Identification, Emotional Attachment and Small Equity Investors Behavior
Authors: Ali Imran
Published: August 2017

Marketing literature provides empirical evidence on the relationship among corporate social responsibility (CSR), company identification, emotional attachment, corporate image and consumer behavior. However, there is sparse research that examines the impact of CSR, image, identity and emotional attachment in shaping investors' behavior. The current study fills this gap by proposing and testing a conceptual model that examines the nexus between CSR, company identification, emotional attachment and corporate image and investor behavior. Data has been collected from small equity investors trading at Lahore Stock Exchange in Pakistan using self-administered survey questionnaire technique. The study used structural equation modeling (SEM) technique to test the proposed model. The study found positive association between CSR, and corporate image, corporate identity and development of emotional attachment with company. The higher level of CSR, corporate image, corporate identity and emotional attachment leads to development of investors' behavioral loyalty with company.
CloudGanga
Authors: Barik Rabindra K.
Published: August 2017

The present research paper proposes and develops a Cloud computing based Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) Model named as CloudGanga for sharing, analysis and processing of geospatial data particularly in River Ganga Basin management in India. The main purpose of the CloudGanga is to integrate all the geospatial information such as dam location, well location, irrigation project, hydro power project, canal network and central Water Commission gauge stations locations related to River Ganga. CloudGanga can help the decision maker/ planner or common users to get enough information for their further research and studies. The open source software (Quantum GIS) has been used for the development of geospatial database. QGIS Plugin has been linked with Quantum GIS for invoking cloud computing environment. It has also discussed about the various overlay analysis in CloudGanga environment. In the present research, machine learning approaches are also used in a R tool for well locations which are associated with the basin of River Ganga.
An Energy-Aware Task Scheduling in the Cloud Computing Using a Hybrid Cultural and Ant Colony Optimization Algorithm
Authors: Azad Poopak , Navimipour Nima Jafari
Published: August 2017

In a cloud environment, computing resources are available to users, and they pay only for the used resources. Task scheduling is considered as the most important issue in cloud computing which affects time and energy consumption. Task scheduling algorithms may use different procedures to distribute precedence to subtasks which produce different makespan in a heterogeneous computing system. Also, energy consumption can be different for each resource that is assigned to a task. Many heuristic algorithms have been proposed to solve task scheduling as an NP-hard problem. Most of these studies have been used to minimize the makespan. Both makespan and energy consumption are considered in this paper and a task scheduling method using a combination of cultural and ant colony optimization algorithm is presented in order to optimize these purposes. The basic idea of the proposed method is to use the advantages of both algorithms while avoiding the disadvantages. The experimental results using C# language in cloud azure environment show that the proposed algorithm outperforms previous algorithms in terms of energy consumption and makespan.
Verification and Identification Approach to Maintain MVCC in Cloud Computing
Authors: Singh Niharika , Lakhina Upasana , Jangra Ajay , Jangra Priyanka
Published: August 2017

MultiVersion concurrency control is maintained over transactional database systems for secure, fast and efficient access to the shared data file implementation scenario. Most of the services and application offered in cloud world are real-time, which entails optimized compatibility service environment between master and slave clusters. In the paper, offered methodology supports replication and triggering methods intended for data consistency and dynamicity. Here, cluster based communication is set up for processing. Intercommunication among different clusters is administered through middleware besides slave intra-communication is handled by verification and identification protection. The proposed approach incorporates resistive flow to handle high impact systems that identifies and verifies multiple processes. Statistical analysis determines that the new scheme reduces the overheads from different master and slave servers as they are co-located in clusters which allow increased horizontal and vertical scalability of resources.
Biometric Pattern Recognition from Social Media Aesthetics
Authors: Azam Samiul , Gavrilova Marina L.
Published: August 2017

Online social media (OSN) has witnessed a significant growth over past decade. Millions of people now share their thoughts, emotions, preferences, opinions and aesthetic information in the form of images, videos, music, texts, blogs and emoticons. Recently, due to existence of person specific traits in media data, researchers started to investigate such traits with the goal of biometric pattern analysis and recognition. Until now, gender recognition from image aesthetics has not been explored in the biometric community. In this paper, the authors present an authentic model for gender recognition, based on the discriminating visual features found in user favorite images. They validate the model on a publicly shared database consisting of 24,000 images provided by 120 Flickr (image based OSN) users. The authors propose the method based on the mixture of experts model to estimate the discriminating hyperplane from 56 dimensional aesthetic feature space. The experts are based on k-nearest neighbor, support vector machine and decision tree methods. To improve the model accuracy, they apply a systematic feature selection using statistical two sampled t-test. Moreover, the authors provide statistical feature analysis with graph visualization to show discriminating behavior between male and female for each feature. The proposed method achieves 77% accuracy in predicting gender, which is 5% better than recently reported results.
A Just-in-Time Inventory Model with Preventive Maintenance and Defect Rate
Authors: Chiu Yufang , Yang Chi-Hua , Lin Po-Chao
Published: August 2017

In competitive market environments, businesses employ Just-In-Time (JIT) systems not only to reduce costs, but also to enhance their business partnerships. Although product quality level is essential for maintaining competitiveness, traditional inventory models do not consider defect rate, which is the main determinant of product quality. Also, in real working environments, machines break down after long operating times, which increases product defect rate. Therefore, an effective preventive maintenance policy is needed to ensure that machinery is reliable. Reworking defective items is another important inventory problem. To answer the above questions regarding varying defect rate, preventive maintenance and rework, this study developed an integrated two-echelon inventory model to determine the best production quantity, delivery frequency and preventive maintenance schedule under JIT production and delivery policy. The model results can be used to minimize total cost.
Robots in Medicine
Authors: Kasina Hruday , Bahubalendruni M. V. A. Raju , Botcha Rahul
Published: August 2017

Robots are wide across used in several industrial applications. Robot applications are more found in medical industry in recent days. In initial days, robots were mostly used for simple surgeries and medical applications such as laparoscopic surgery and minimally invasive surgery in 1980's. At that time robotic surgeries were performed with the presence of surgeons in operation theatre. The present day technology has been so much advanced with more enhanced capabilities to perform several complicated tasks such as remote surgery and micro robotic surgery. The current paper discuss about the history and evolution of robots in medical industry and their latest technological advances, applications in various fields in medicine and limitations of robots in medical industry along with its future scope.
Understanding Crowdsourcing of Agricultural Market Information in a Pilot Study
Authors: Juma Musa Fadhili , Fue Kadeghe Goodluck , Barakabitze Alcardo Alex , Nicodemus Neema , Magesa Mawazo Mwita , Kilima Fredy Timothy Mlyavidoga , Sanga Camilius A.
Published: August 2017

Access to agricultural markets and marketing information are essential factors in promoting competitive markets and improving agricultural sector development. The agricultural sector employs majorities in developing countries and contributes greatly to its development. Unluckily, majorities of the farmers are smallholders living in rural areas and thus, lack appropriate access to markets for their products and also, they are deprived of agricultural market information. As results, farmers are exploited by middlemen who offer low prices for their agricultural produce. This study presents the best way for the agricultural stakeholders to obtain easily agricultural market information service. This study presents a novel agricultural market information system which was implemented using some concepts of crowdsourcing. Crowdsourcing allows sellers to broadcast whatever produce they want to sell and customers are allowed to submit their requests using either SMS or web.
An Empirical Investigation of Factors that Influence Government Apps Usage/Adoption
Authors: Oni Aderonke A. , Idemudia Efosa Carroll , Odusote Babafemi O.
Published: August 2017

Governments worldwide are using technology to provide effective and efficient services; and to improve the lives of all citizens. To date, there are few studies relating to unstructured text data that investigate the factors that influence government and mobile apps' usage and adoption. To address this issue, we conducted our research and developed the Natural Language Processing Model to sequentially analyze our unstructured text data, which we collected from MetricsCat's website. Our results from text analysis show that some of the most influential factors in why users adopt and use government apps are the quality of the app, the app's usefulness, whether or not the app is informative, and whether or not the app remains up to date. Our research contains practical and research implications for key government officials and designers of mobile apps.
An Ontology-Based Decision Support System for the Diagnosis of Plant Diseases
Authors: Lagos-Ortiz Katty , Medina-Moreira José , Paredes-Valverde Mario Andrés , Espinoza-Morán Winston , Valencia-García Rafael
Published: August 2017

There are several cities and countries whose population depends on agriculture. Crops demand close monitoring regarding diseases because these ones can affect significantly both production and post-harvest life. The identification of disease symptoms plays a crucial role in the successful cultivation of crops. The diagnosis of diseases is a challenging task since many symptoms should be considered, which makes a proper diagnosis becomes a knowledge handling problem. This paper specifies an ontology-based decision support system that promotes the knowledge of experts for the plant disease diagnosis to farmers. This system takes advantage of ontologies in two ways, to exploit the knowledge contained in the ontology for decision support purposes, in this case, the diagnosis of diseases, and to provide a standard vocabulary for integrating phytopathology data sources. The system was evaluated for the diagnosis of diseases presented in short-cycle and perennial crops achieving promising results based on the F-measure metric.
Knowledge Acquisition Through Ontologies from Medical Natural Language Texts
Authors: Medina-Moreira José , Lagos-Ortiz Katty , Luna-Aveiga Harry , Apolinario-Arzube Oscar , Salas-Zárate María del Pilar , Valencia-García Rafael
Published: August 2017

Ontologies are used to represent knowledge and they have become very important in the Semantic Web era. Ontologies evolve continuously during their life cycle to adapt to new requirements and needs, especially in the biomedical field, where the number of ontologies and their complexity have increased during the last years. On the other hand, a vast amount of clinical knowledge resides in natural language texts. For these reasons, building and maintaining biomedical ontologies from natural language texts is a relevant and challenging issue. In order to provide a general solution and to minimize the experts' participation during the ontology enriching process, a methodology for extracting terms and relations from natural language texts is proposed in this work. This framework is based on linguistic and statistical methods and semantic role labeling technologies, having been validated in the domain of diabetes, where they have obtained encouraging results with an F-measure of 82.1% and 79.9% for concepts and relations, respectively.
Phenolic acids and ruminal parameters of different varieties of sugarcane in natura or ensiled
Authors: Spínola Jaime Emerson Laranjeira , Tavares dos Reis Sidnei , Junqueira de Sales Eleuza Clarete , Monção Flávio Pinto , Rigueira João Paulo Sampaio , Delvaux Júnior Nelson De Abreu
Published: August 2017

This study aimed to determine and measure the phenolic acids in four varieties of sugarcane (RB 855536, RB 765418, SP 80-1842 and SP 80-1816) as fresh and ensiled, and assess the influence of these acids on in situ degradability of dry matter and neutral detergent fiber. The experimental design was completely randomized in a factorial design. For the fraction of dry matter (DM), varieties RB 855536 and SP 80-1842 had average 17.80% higher compared to others. The SP80-1842 and RB 855536 varieties did not differ (p > 0.05), with an average of DM effective degradability of 33.70%. For silage, the highest levels of p-coumaric acid were found in the variety RB 855536, which was 24.64% higher than the varieties RB 765418 and SP 80-1842 (average 12.75%) and 52.60% of the variety SP 80-1816 (average 8.02%), since for the in natura form, varieties did not differ between each other (p > 0.05), and had an average of 8.86%. Silage variety SP 80-1816 has ferulic acid content 40.82% higher than the other varieties, with an average of 4.63%. The examination of the concentrations of phenolic acids p-coumaric and ferulic are not sufficient to justify the effect of microbial action on the varieties studied in different forms of processing.
Agronomic traits and nutritional value of forage sorghum genotypes
Authors: Lima Luciana Oliva Barbosa , Pires Daniel Ananias de Assis , Moura Marielly Maria Almeida , Rodrigues José Avelino Santos , Tolentino Daniella Cangussú , Viana Maria Celuta Machado
Published: August 2017

This study aimed to evaluate the agronomic performance of 24 sorghum genotypes in four Brazilian regions and the chemical characteristics of genotypes grown in Sete Lagoas, state of Minas Gerais. Genotypes BRS655 and 12F37005 had higher average production of green matter (> 44 ton ha-1) and dry matter (> 17 ton ha-1), respectively. Genotypes 12F38019, 12F40019, 12F37005, 12F37043 and Volumax took more days to flower in three of the four municipalities (75-90 days). Genotypes 12F38006, 12F40006 and 12F37016 were taller (> 2 m). Values of dry matter, crude protein and neutral detergent fiber ranged from 37.15 to 50.13; 5.51 to 10.28 and 43.57 to 65.69%, respectively. The genotypes were not different regarding acid detergent fiber content, with mean value of 34.83%. Genotypes 12F38019, 12F37016, 12F39005, 12F39019, 12F37007, 12F37014, 12F39014 and BRS 655 showed the best values of dry matter digestibility (64.31 to 74.20%) and crude protein content (8.33 to 10.28%). Among them, 12F139014 exhibited the lowest lignin content (3.32%), suggesting less effect of this fraction on digestibility. Genotype 12F39014 is the most suitable for cultivation, as it presented the best nutritional value and good dry matter production in the four municipalities.
Performance and economic viability of broiler chicken fed diets with multienzyme complexes
Authors: Pasquali Guilherme Aguiar Mateus , Oliveira Raphael Fortes de , Aiello Paula Andressa Bedim , Polycarpo Gustavo Do Valle , Crivellari Rafael , Cruz-Polycarpo Valquíria Cação da
Published: August 2017

This study evaluated the effect of multienzyme complexes (EC1 and EC2) in low nutritional density diets on performance and economic viability of broilers. A total of 840 day-old chicks were assigned to 7 treatments, distributed in a completely randomized design: (1) PC: positive control, basal diet formulated to meet nutritional requirements; (2) NC1: negative control, reduced energy and nutrient density diet without enzymes; (3) NC1+EC1; (4) NC2: negative control, diet formulated with 7% over-estimated crude protein and amino acids of soybean meal without enzymes; (5) NC2+EC2; (6) NC3: negative control, reduced energy and nutrient density diet and over-estimation of crude protein and amino acids of soybean meal; (7) NC3+EC1+EC2. Feeding NC1 or NC3 impaired feed conversion ratio at 7, 21 and 42 days, and NC2 at 21 days. Inclusion of EC2 in NC2 diet improved feed conversion ratio and kept it similar to basal diets from 1 to 21 days. Association of EC1 with EC2 in NC3 diet did not improve performance. In summary, inclusion of EC2 in diets with reduced nutrient density keep feed conversion ratio similar to basal diets from 1 to 21 days but does not improve performance of broiler chicken from 1 to 42 days post-hatch.
Tilapia by-product hydrolysate powder in diets for Nile tilapia larvae
Authors: Sary Cesar , Paris Leandro Daniel de , Bernardi Daniela Miotto , Lewandowiski Vanessa , Signor Altevir , Boscolo Wilson Rogério
Published: August 2017

This study aimed to evaluate the digestibility of tilapia by-product protein hydrolysate powder (TBHP) from tilapia filleting by-product, and its inclusion in diets for Nile tilapia larvae. In order to determine the apparent digestibility coefficients, two diets were formulated, the reference diet and the test diet (20% of TBHP) and, to evaluate the inclusion, six diets were formulated, which were with 0.0, 2.0; 4.0; 6.0, and 8.0% of TBHP. The apparent digestibility coefficients of crude protein and gross energy were 89.5 and 98.3%, respectively. At levels above 4.0% of inclusion of TBHP, the weight, final length and weight gain were impaired, however, survival rate was higher (p < 0.05). The TBHP can be used in diets for tilapia due to the high digestibility coefficients for crude protein and gross energy. The inclusion of up to 4.0% of TBHP does not affect the reproductive performance and survival rate of Nile tilapia larvae.
Africanisation as an agent of theological education in Africa
Authors: Mashabela James K.
Published: August 2017

This article focuses on the response of Africanisation to Western theological education in Africa, which has for centuries become a theological problem for the African context. In this 21st century, Africanisation is at the centre of the African discourse and focuses on the realities of our African context. Therefore, theological education in Africa should be Africanised in order to seriously engage the aspects of Africanisation. The struggle against colonial education was to ensure that Africa is liberated from unjust educational oppression, socio-economic oppression, poverty, racism, political oppression and gender injustice. In this regard, Africanisation is an agent to address the introduced Western theological education in Africa. Yet the two concepts, namely commercialisation and commodification, have an influence on theological education in Africa.
Educating Grade 6 students for higher-order thinking and its influence on creativity
Authors: Daher Wajeeh , Tabaja-Kidan Amal , Gierdien Faaiz
Published: August 2017

Educating students for higher-order thinking provides them with tools that turn them into more critical thinkers. This supports them in overcoming life problems that they encounter, as well as becoming an integral part of the society. This students’ education is attended to by educational organisations that emphasise the positive consequences of educating students for higher-order thinking, including creative thinking. One way to do that is through educational programmes that educate for higher-order thinking. One such programme is the Cognitive Research Trust (CoRT) thinking programme. The present research intended to examine the effect of the participation of Grade 6 students in a CoRT programme on their creative thinking. Fifty-three students participated in the research; 27 participated in a CoRT programme, while 26 did not participate in such programme. The ANCOVA test showed that the students who participated in the CoRT programme outperformed significantly, in creative thinking, the students who did not. Moreover, the students in the CoRT programme whose achievement scores were between 86 and 100 outperformed significantly the other achievement groups of students. Furthermore, students with reported high ability outperformed significantly the other ability groups of students. The results did not show statistically significant differences in students’ creativity attributed to gender.
Improvising information technology projects through the duality of structure
Authors: Iyamu Tiko
Published: August 2017

Background: There is always emphasis on information technology (IT) projects because of their significance in organisations. Thus, efforts and resources are reciprocally committed to ensure the successes. Still, failure of IT projects in many organisations remains high and affects competitiveness. As recourse for remedy, different techniques and approaches have been employed. However, little or no progress has been made in increasing the success rate of IT projects in many organisations.Objectives: The objective of this study was to examine the factors that influence and impact IT projects, improvisation and how improvisation manifests.Method: The study was carried out using a single case study approach. Qualitative data were collected and duality of structure from the perspective of structuration theory was used as lens to guide the analysis.Results: Findings from this study reveal how reproduction of actions manifests from non-technical factors, such as cultural value, organisational structure, power relationship, human capacity, know-how and change management. These factors help to gain a more constructive and better understanding of how IT projects improvisation is influenced or impacted by non-technical factors in organisations.Conclusion: The study is intended to benefit both practitioners and academics. Some of the benefits will be gained from fresh perspectives on the complexities of IT projects improvisation, which are often caused by various seen and unforeseen non-technical factors. This includes how actions from relationship, know-how about facilities and communicative scheme are produced and reproduced.
Contemporary and futuristic perspectives on leadership practice in emerging countries contexts
Authors: Coetzee Melinde
Published: August 2017

No abstract available.
Physiotherapy management of patients undergoing thoracotomy procedure: A survey of current practice in Gauteng
Authors: Schwellnus Liezel , Roos Ronel , Naidoo Vaneshveri
Published: August 2017

Background: Physiotherapy is included in the management of patients undergoing thoracic surgery. The aim of this study was to describe physiotherapy practice in the management of patients who undergo an open thoracotomy.Methods: A cross-sectional study using convenience sampling was undertaken. An electronic self-administered questionnaire was distributed via SurveyMonkey to 1389 physiotherapists registered with the South African Society of Physiotherapy in Gauteng. The data collection period was August and September 2014 and data were analysed descriptively.Results: A total of 323 physiotherapists (23.3%) responded to the survey and 141 (10.2%) indicated that they treated patients with open thoracotomies. Preoperative treatment was done by 65 (41.6%) and consisted of teaching supported coughing (92.3%; n = 60), sustained maximal inspiration (70.8%; n = 46) and the active cycle of breathing technique (69.2%; n = 45). One hundred and sixteen (82.3%) respondents treated patients during their hospital stay. Deep breathing exercises (97.6%; n = 83), coughing (95.3%; n = 81), early mobilisation (95.3%; n = 81), upper limb mobility exercises (91.8%; n = 78), chest wall vibrations (88.2%; n = 75) and trunk mobility exercises (85.9%; n = 73) were done frequently. Pain management modalities were less common, for example transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (12.9%; n = 11). Post hospital physiotherapy management was uncommon (32.6%; n = 46).Conclusion: Physiotherapy related to early mobilisation in hospital is in line with evidence-based practice, but further education is needed regarding the need for physiotherapy post hospital discharge and pain management.
Diabetes Mellitus as the Presenting Feature of Friedreich's Ataxia
Authors: Garg Meenal , Kulkarni Shilpa D. , Shah Krishnakumar N. , Hegde Anaita Udwadia
Published: August 2017

Patients with Friedreich's ataxia (FA) are at an increased risk of developing diabetes mellitus and glucose intolerance. Diabetes usually develops many years after the initial presentation. We report an 8-year-old girl who initially presented with diabetic ketoacidosis and was treated as a case of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Around a year later, she developed gait problems and ataxia. Cardiac involvement was detected on echocardiography. Genetic testing confirmed the diagnosis of FA. FA should be a diagnostic consideration in children presenting with diabetes and neurological issues, even with early presentation of the former. Early occurrence of diabetes and rapid progression of ataxia in this patient needs a better understanding of underlying genetic mechanisms.
Unilateral Papilledema in Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis
Authors: Kulkarni Girish Baburao , Singh Ravinder Jeet , Gadad Veeranna , Ramakrishnan Subasree , Mustare Veerendrakumar
Published: August 2017

In the majority of patients with raised intracranial pressure, the papilledema is bilateral. Unilateral papilledema is rare in conditions causing intracranial hypertension, and it has been described in Foster–Kennedy syndrome and in some cases of idiopathic intracranial hypertension. It has never been reported in cerebral venous thrombosis. We report a young lady presenting with features of subacute onset of headache with seizures, on evaluation she had superior sagittal and bilateral lateral sinus thrombosis. The risk factors found on evaluation were Vitamin B12 deficiency and hyperhomocysteinemia. On optic fundus examination, she had swollen optic disc on the right side with normal fundus on the left side, confirmed with the orbital ultrasound B-scan and optic coherence tomography. Her magnetic resonance imaging showed features of raised intracranial pressure with thrombosis of the superior sagittal and bilateral lateral sinus thrombosis. She was treated with anticoagulation (heparin followed by oral anticoagulants), antiedema measures, and vitamin supplementation for hyperhomocysteinemia. She improved over time and was asymptomatic during follow-up. We discuss the possible mechanisms described in the literature for unilateral papilledema. This report highlights the need for carefully performing bilateral fundus examination so as not to miss the vision or life-threatening causes of a headache.
Primary Central Nervous System Fibrosarcoma
Authors: VP Vinodh , Harun Rahmat , Sellamuthu Pulivendhan , Kandasamy Regunath
Published: August 2017

We report a rare case of a young female with primary brain fibrosarcoma, and to the best of our knowledge, we believe that only <50 cases have been reported or described worldwide so far. Fibrosarcoma is a malignant neoplasm, in which histologically the predominant cells are fibroblasts that divide excessively without cellular control and they can invade local tissues or metastasize. Primary central nervous system fibrosarcomas are very aggressive neoplasms and generally have a poor prognosis. This tumor is either from sarcomatous transformation of a meningioma or arises de novo within the brain parenchyma. Our patient, a 48-year-old woman, who presented with progressive speech disorder over the period of 4 months, showed a left temporoparietal lesion with surrounding edema and local mass effect. Total surgical resection was achieved. Histopathology revealed classical fibrosarcoma features and secondary screening revealed no other distant lesion as diagnosis of primary brain fibrosarcoma was established. This case is deemed to be extremely rare because most reports claim that recurrence is within 6 months with poor prognosis; however, this patient is currently recurrence-free at 3 years. This would suggest of the possibility for a relook into this disease's course and recurrence rate when complete excision is achieved. Due to extreme rarity of these tumors, more comparative studies will be needed to improve the disease outcome.
Hydrocephalus Associated with Large Vestibular Schwannoma: Management Options and Factors Predicting Requirement of Cerebrospinal Fluid Diversion after Primary Surgery
Authors: Prabhuraj A. R. , Sadashiva Nishanth , Kumar Santhosh , Shukla Dhaval , Bhat Dhananjaya , Devi Bhagavatula Indira , Somanna Sampath
Published: August 2017

Objective: Obstructive hydrocephalus (HCP) related to vestibular schwannoma occurs in large tumors compressing the fourth ventricle. Symptoms related to HCP are expected to alleviate after resection of the tumor and decompression of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pathways. However, some patients may require permanent cerebrospinal diversion even after surgery due to persistent HCP. In this study, the authors try to find out the factors associated with the requirement of CSF diversion after vestibular schwannoma surgery in cases of persistent HCP. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective study involving 193 cases of vestibular schwannoma operated between 2010 and 2013 in our institute. Cases that underwent ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunts before surgery were compared to cases which were operated directly. In cases where vestibular schwannomas were operated without prior VP shunts, factors which were associated with persistent postoperative HCP were analyzed. Results: Comparing the group who underwent direct surgery to the group who underwent VP shunt before definitive vestibular schwannoma surgery, the facial nerve preservation rates and surgical morbidity rates were comparable. In cases who underwent direct surgery, 10 out of 75 patients required postoperative permanent CSF diversion. Older age, male gender, duration of symptoms, larger tumor size, solid lesions, severe HCP, and clinical features of HCP were associated with postoperative requirement of CSF diversion but were not statistically significant. The most significant factor that correlated with the need for additional HCP treatment was the presence of postoperative hematoma of volume >10cc. Conclusions: Primary tumor removal is the optimal treatment for vestibular schwannoma associated with HCP. Postoperative hematoma may warrant close observation as these patients are at an increased risk of persistence of HCP.
Twin Middle Cerebral Artery with Aneurysm: A Variant of Early Bifurcation or a Discrete Entity
Authors: Sahoo Sushant , Singh Sunil , Parihar Anit
Published: August 2017

The middle cerebral artery (MCA) usually bifurcates into a superior or frontal and inferior or temporal branch. However, it may have various branching pattern, and there may be additional arteries from the anterior circulation supplying its territory. The majority of them remain asymptomatic. Some cases may have aneurismal dilatation due to turbulent blood flow or the weak arterial wall. The surgical approach in these cases may be challenging due to complex anatomical pattern of MCA. In this report, we have described a distinct pattern of left MCA with an aneurysm which was not clear in computed tomography angiogram and further confirmed on digital subtraction angiography. The different anatomical patterns of MCA and their surgical implications have also been discussed.
Goniometric Assessment of Muscle Tone of Preterm Infants and Impact of Gestational Age on Its Maturation in Indian Setting
Authors: Farmania Rajni , Sitaraman S. , Das Rashmi Ranjan
Published: August 2017

Context: The normative data on muscle tone of preterm infants by goniometric assessment in Indian setting are scarce. Aim: The aim of this study it to provide a normative objective data of muscle tone of preterm infants by gestation using goniometer. Settings and Design: This was a prospective, observational study including preterm infants admitted in a tertiary care hospital from North India. Subjects and Methods: The objective dimension of muscle tone assessment of 204 healthy preterm infants was done; 61 infants completed follow-up till 40 weeks' postconceptional age (PCA) and were compared to term infants. Statistical Analysis Used: SPSS (version 16.0) was used. The intergroup comparison was done through ANOVA, and the localization of differences between the groups was determined through multiple comparisons by post hoc test. Results: Mean gestational age was 34.3 ± 1.7 weeks. Angles were as follows: adductor = 100.1 ± 8.7, popliteal = 118.9 ± 8.6, dorsiflexion = 39.0 ± 9.0, heel to ear = 121.90 ± 7.90, wrist flexion = 46.0 ± 10.2, and arm recoil = 122.2° ± 16.6°. The evolution of muscle tone as indicated by heel-to-ear angle shows progressive maturation from 32 weeks' gestation while adductor angle, popliteal angle, and arm recoil mature predominantly after 36 weeks' gestation. Comparison of preterm infants to term at 40 weeks' PCA demonstrated significantly less tone in all except posture and heel to ear. Conclusions: Goniometric assessment provides a objective normative data of muscle tone for preterm infants. Maturation of heel to ear and posture evolves from 32 weeks onwards and are the earliest neurologic marker to mature in preterm infants independent of the gestational age at birth.
Knowledge and Attitude of Nursing Students toward Electroconvulsive Therapy
Authors: Sharma Nitasha , Ghai Sandhya , Grover Sandeep
Published: August 2017

Background: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is one of the commonly used treatment modalities for patients with severe mental disorders. However, acceptance of ECT by the patient and relatives often depends on how the health-care professionals themselves present the treatment modality to the patients and their relatives. There is a lack of information about the knowledge and attitude toward ECT among health professionals. Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge about and attitude toward ECT among nursing students. Methodology: Knowledge of and attitudes toward ECT among nursing students were assessed using ECT knowledge and attitude questionnaires. Results: The study included 183 nursing students. Majority (n = 62; 60.8%) of the participants obtained information about ECT from media (movies, television, print media, etc.). None of the students had full knowledge about ECT. Although a significant proportion of students had knowledge about the ECT procedure and consent procedure, majority of them had poor knowledge about the effectiveness, mechanism of action, indications, and side effects of ECT. Negative attitudes were also highly prevalent, with more than two-thirds of the participants having negative attitudes toward ECT on more than half of the attitude items of the scale. Total knowledge score positively correlated with total attitude score, suggesting that higher knowledge was associated with more positive attitude. Conclusions: Although nursing students have knowledge about basic ECT procedure and consent, they lack knowledge about the effectiveness, mechanism of action, indications, and side effects of ECT. Negative attitude toward ECT is also highly prevalent among nursing students. Accordingly, there is a need to improve the knowledge and address the negative attitude of nursing students, which may ultimately lead to better acceptance of the treatment.
Delayed-onset Reversible Cortical Blindness after Resuscitation from Cardiac Arrest
Authors: de Souza Aaron , de Souza Rainha J. , Pai Kakode Varun R.
Published: August 2017

We present a patient who presented with cortical blindness (CB) 1 week after repeated cardiac arrest while undergoing treatment for an acute myocardial infarction. He had been revived within 5 min in each instance and was apparently neurologically normal until presentation. Magnetic resonance imaging showed subtle hyperintensities on fluid-attenuated inversion recovery and diffusion-weighted imaging in both temporooccipital cortices. A rapid recovery over the next 2 weeks was remarkable for the appearance of metamorphopsia. CB may present even days to weeks after hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy following cardiac arrest, even in patients apparently without immediate neurological sequelae. The pathogenesis of this phenomenon remains to be fully elucidated, but is likely to be due to delayed effects of anoxia on the occipital cortex and may be analogous to the previously described syndrome of delayed posthypoxic leukoencephalopathy. Prognosis for visual recovery appears to be good.
Geochemical analyses of water and public health of the Mangueirão and Salso Streams in Caçapava do Sul, RS, Brazil
Authors: Gomes Cristiane Heredia , Schmidt Anelise Marlene , Dessart Rafael Lima , Casa Nova Guilherme Pacheco
Published: August 2017

Caçapava do Sul, RS, Brazil produces 80% of the State’s rock–dust, and its 1st district is located near four marble quarries. A significant increase in Brazilian mineral extraction has caused serious environmental problems, such as the development and proliferation of diseases directly related to water resources. This study sought to investigate the water composition in the 1st district area. Geochemical investigation revealed waters classified as soft and hard, neutral and alkaline pH. Electric conductivity ranged from 95.7 to 548 μs cm-1, and total alkalinity ranged from 57 to 241 mg L-1. Ca and Mg ranged from 6.01 to 54.1 and from 4.6 to 32.75, respectively. All measured values met the potability standards for human consumption established by Ordinance Nos. 2914 (2011), 36‑GM/1990, and1469/2000.
Riscos socioeconômicos e ambientais em municípios banhados pelos afluentes do Rio Amazonas
Authors: Coutinho Eliane De Castro , Rocha Edson José Paulino da , Lima Aline Maria Meiguins , Ribeiro Hebe Morganne Campos , Gutierrez Lucy Anne Cardoso Lobão , Barbosa Ana Júlia Soares , Paes Gleicy Karen Abdon Alves , Bispo Carlos José Capela , Tavares Paulo Amador
Published: August 2017

Os municípios da Amazônia brasileira são constantemente influenciados por secas e cheias, onde riscos socioeconômicos e ambientais afetam principalmente a população ribeirinha. Esses extremos de precipitação causam mudanças severas na hidrologia dos rios tanto em escala temporal quanto espacial. Sendo assim, o objetivo deste estudo foi determinar o índice do risco socioeconômico e ambiental dos municípios que recebem influência dos afluentes e da calha principal do Rio Amazonas, comparando com eventos extremos de precipitação. Utilizaram-se dados mensais e anuais de precipitação de 1982-2012 e dados sociais (população urbana, idosa, feminina e de crianças, nível de rendimento e de escolaridade) de 2010 para 47 municípios na Bacia Amazônica. Contudo, conclui-se que o risco foi maior durante eventos de cheia, principalmente, nos menores estados (Acre e Roraima) e maior vulnerabilidade nos maiores estados (Amazonas e Pará). Assim, as populações nos municípios ao longo do Rio Amazonas possuem risco socioeconômico e ambiental de moderado a muito forte devido à vulnerabilidade alta associada com a urbanização e com a pobreza, além de ameaça de enchentes e estiagens variando de moderada a alta.
Potential for reuse of effluent from fish-processing industries
Authors: Ferraciolli Luana Morena Rodrigues Vitor Dias , Luiz Danielle De Bem , Naval Liliana Pena
Published: August 2017

The most common problems in the fish processing industry relate to high water consumption and the generation of effluents with concentrated organic loads. Given that reuse can represent an alternative for sustainable development, this study sought to assess the potential for recycling effluents produced in a fish-processing plant. In order to do so, the final industrial effluent was analyzed using the American Public Health Association (APHA) standard effluent-analysis method (2005). In addition, the study assessed treatments which produce effluents meeting the requirements prescribed by different countries' regulations for reuse and recycling. The results found that effluents with smaller organic loads, such as those from health barriers and monoblock washing, can be treated in order to remove nutrients and solids so that they can be subsequently reused. For effluents produced by the washing and gutting cylinders, it is recommended that large fragments of solid waste be removed beforehand. Effluents can in this way attain a quality compatible with industrial reuse. This study further highlights the possibility of treating effluents so as comply with drinking water standards. This would potentially allow them to be used within the actual fish-processing procedure; in such a case, a revision of standards and measures for controlling use should be considered to prevent microbiological damage to products and risks to handlers and final consumers.
Space-time variability of evapotranspiration and precipitation in the State of Paraná, Brazil
Authors: Santos Lucas Da Costa , José Jefferson Vieira , Alves Daniel Soares , Nitsche Pablo Ricardo , Reis Elton Fialho dos , Bender Fabiani Denise
Published: August 2017

Long-term changes in important weather variables such as evapotranspiration (ET) and precipitation are expected as a response to climate change. These changes may require adjustments to current strategies of planning and management of water resources. The objective of this work was to conduct a spatiotemporal characterization of evapotranspiration in the State of Paraná, Brazil, including in this approach a temporal trend analysis. A similar analysis was also conducted for precipitation. Thus, the historical data (1980-2010) from 33 weather stations were analyzed. The spatial distribution of the data was carried out by geostatistical techniques (ordinary kriging) and the trend analysis by the tests Mann-Kendall and Sen. According to the results, evapotranspiration increases from the coast to the interior of the state, with the highest values in the northeast and northwest regions, reaching levels of about 1200 mm yr-1. The temporal variability of the ET presented a significant upward trend in 12% of the locations, with increases from 2.5 to 7.0 mm yr-1. Precipitation was higher in the coastal and south-central regions and the lowest amounts were identified in the northeast and northwest regions. The precipitation trend analysis indicated a significant downward trend in precipitation volume of five locations. The evapotranspiration and precipitation showed, in general, no statistically significant trends in most of the stations analyzed; however, the upward trends for ET and downward trends for precipitation indicate local changes in the State of Paraná.
Contaminação viral e bacteriana em águas subterrâneas na porção aflorante do Aquífero Guaraní, município de Ivoti, RS
Authors: Luz Roger Bordin da , Staggemeier Rodrigo , Fratta Leila Xavier Sinigaglia , Longo Larisse , Schutz Rafael , Soliman Mayra Cristina , Kluge Mariana , Fabres Rafael Bandeira , Schenkel Guilherme Corrêa , Bruni Fabrício Prestes , Fleck Juliane Deise , Picoli Simone Ulrich , Spilki Fernando Rosado
Published: August 2017

O abastecimento de água do município de Ivoti provém unicamente de origem subterrânea. A potabilidade da água subterrânea do município foi avaliada através da análise de marcadores bacterianos (Escherichia coli e coliformes totais) e virais (adenovírus, enterovírus e rotavírus) de contaminação. Vinte e sete amostras de água provenientes de poços artesianos, poços cavados e fontes foram coletadas entre fevereiro e abril de 2011. A determinação do número mais provável (NMP) de E. coli e coliformes totais em 100 mL foi realizada pelo método dos tubos múltiplos. Os marcadores virais foram analisados em alíquotas de 500 mL por reação em cadeia da polimerase (PCR). Coliformes totais foram encontrados em 66,6% das amostras. A contaminação encontrada para coliformes termotolerantes foi de 25,9%, 40,7% para adenovírus e 22,2% para rotavírus. Nenhuma amostra apresentou enterovírus. A presença de coliformes e de vírus nas amostras indica contaminação fecal da água subterrânea no local de estudo, situado na porção aflorante do Aquífero Guarani e alerta para a necessidade de precaução quanto ao uso destes mananciais para abastecimento público, captação individual e cultivo de hortaliças.