bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
SLICING AND DICING COMMUNITY ENGAGED LEARNING IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION
Authors: Jatana Lauren , Brennan Robert , Eggermont Marjan
Published: April 2017

Community engaged learning (community engagement or service learning) is known to be an effective pedagogy to develop social responsibility and many engineering graduate attributes (outcomes). However, as community engaged learning is a pedagogy still establishing  itself in engineering education the scope and boundaries are stillbeing defined.Studies that report on implementation of community engaged learning have sometimes been characterized as anecdotal and isolated. Before we increase focus on work that measures impact and suggests strategic use ofcommunity engaged learning pedagogy – we must begin to tie down the scope, terminology and types of community engaged learning to ensure that a cohesive body of knowledge is formed.This paper is largely a literature review of community engaged learning and how categorizing has been approached. The purpose of this paper is to call attention for the need of more systemized reporting of community engaged learning. In our review, we find that there are two general strategies for distinguishing one type of community engaged learning type from another. In a collaborative spirit, we use the merits of both pproaches to categorizing community engaged learning to conduct a thought- experiment towards finding a middle ground for conventions when reporting community engaged learning experiences.
Using R to Collect, Analyze and Visualize Graduate Attribute Data
Authors: Kaupp Jake
Published: April 2017

This paper will cover the use of the opensource software R, a prevalent IDE (Rstudio) and many of the community built packages that can be used in concert to help collect, analyze and visualize graduate attribute data. Using these tools, developing user-focused workflows and applying effective information visualization principles this paper will illustrate how these tools can be used to quickly and effectively share a vast and complex amount of information to faculty and programs. This approach has been effective in building engagement and buy-in by placing the data in the hands of instructors and program committees. This paper will cover approaches tointerfacing and leveraging other systems to streamline and  unify existing processes.
TEN YEARS OF ENHANCING ENGINEERING EDUCATION WITH CASE STUDIES: INSIGHTS, LESSONS AND RESULTS FROM A DESIGN CHAIR
Authors: Lambert Steve , Newton Cheryl , Effa David
Published: April 2017

Improving student learning and increasing connections between theory and engineering practice captures the main goals of Waterloo Cases in Design Engineering (WCDE). WCDE is a group at the University of Waterloo (Waterloo) that was established in 2005 as a part of the NSERC Chairs in Design Engineering program. WCDE works with instructors, industry and students to bring real life complexities to the classroom by using authentic case studies. Over the last ten years, more than 175 case studies have been developed and implemented in more than 100 courses with over 125 instructors, across all engineering disciplines. WCDE has collaborated with more than 140 industry, government, non-profit, and academic case partners for the development and implementation of case material.Surveys are used to gauge students’ receptivity to case implementations and for continuous improvement. Student feedback from WCDE case implementations are presented and discussed. The benefits and challenges of case study teaching are discussed, along with reflections on the next steps towards extensive use of engineering cases in education.
More than Marking: Experiences as Undergraduate Design Teaching Assistants
Authors: MacNevin Wyatt N. , McCloskey Bridget , Osgood Libby
Published: April 2017

Incorporating aspects of vertical integration into project based learning through the use of undergraduate design teaching assistants is acomplicated approach in engineering education. From a student's perspective, this paper will address topics of student assessment, qualifications and expectations, issues associated with rubrics, evaluation of fellow students, design subjectivity, and overall recommendations. This experience is valuable to engineering educators as it not only highlights the development of students with undergraduate teaching assistants, but also the development of the teaching assistants themselves. This paper examines the benefits, challenges, and considerations experienced in engineering design courses with undergraduate TA's from the perspective of an undergraduate student – first as a student, and then from a teaching role as a teaching assistant.
FIRST-YEAR VERSUS FOURTH-YEAR AND ONLINE VERSUS PAPER-AND-PENCIL RESPONSES TO A GRADUATE ATTRIBUTE SELF-ASSESSMENT TOOL AND EXIT SURVEY
Authors: Milne Andrew J. B. , Fraser Roydon , Chow Natalie
Published: April 2017

A tool has been created that allows students to self-assess how well their program helped them achieve CEAB graduate attributes. These indirect self-assessments are used at the University of Waterloo in the Mechanicaland Mechatronics Engineering (MME) Department along with more direct measurements to inform analysis of programs. The tool uses an online survey platform to allow for randomized presentation of a subset of prompts related to the graduate attributes to each student in order to reduce the number of questions posed to any one student while ensuring coverage of all attributes.This tool has been deployed to first-year and fourth-year cohorts, and the differences in students’ self-assessments are discussed, in particular the increase in self-awareness that is expected to occur between first and fourth-year. The tool has also been deployed as part of an online exit survey administered to fourth-year students only, and similarities and differences in survey responses for online versus paper-and-pencil are discussed especially as they relate to free-form responses
Understanding Capacity in Creativity and Problem Analysis among Engineering Students: A Preliminary Study
Authors: Missingha Dorothy , Strong David , Cheong Mei , Blazewicz Antoni
Published: April 2017

Insight into student understanding of their own learning is a key element in being able to enhance curriculum design and implement effective approaches in student-centred learning. In this paper we examine the findings of a preliminary study into student perceptions of their own capacity for thinking creatively and analysing problems. This preliminary study serves as a pilot to a larger joint University study between Queens University, Canada and the University of Adelaide involving design engineering students. Results of the pilot study will inform the conduct of a longitudinal study, projected to be administered over a three year period. The aim of the longitudinal study relates to three specific categories: to  serve as a catalyst for the participants to develop further skills in reflective practice, necessary to self-regulated learning and self-efficacy; to obtain  data that will provide insight into the ways in which students think, feel  about, and perceive their own learning related to aspects of their studies in design engineering and; to contribute to the field of knowledge related to student perception of learning, self-regulation of learning, self-efficacy and the links to life-long learning.This paper presents the results of phase one of the pilot study. The focii of this investigation consists of a) trialling the instrument in an authentic  course environment to test implementation and applicability of the survey including ease of understanding by the respondents, and b) collection and analysis of preliminary data on second year engineering student perceptions of their own learning related to creative thinking and problem analysis skills. Examination of these results discusses emergent themes  and makes initial recommendations on curriculum enhancement as well as recommendations on survey instrument design and implementation relating to the ongoing study
BUILDING BRIDGES: AN APPROACH TO THE INTEGRATION OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION IN FIRST-YEAR APPLIED SCIENCE COURSES FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
Authors: Murphy Mike , Potvin Gabriel
Published: April 2017

Vantage College at UBC offers innovative specialized first-year programs for international students that integrate core content courses with complementary language education to allow participants to hone their communication skills while meeting regular academic requirements. In the Applied Science stream of the Vantage program, each first-year engineering course is paired with a language enrichment course, and their respective instructors collaborate, tailoring their content and delivery to improve both the learning of technical material and the effective development of communication skills. This paper outlines the partnership between two physical chemistry courses and their linked language courses. Insights into the nature and logistics of this type of collaboration are presented, and the effectiveness of this training approach is evaluated in relation to the students’ mastery of technical content and improvement of English communication skills. Specific challenges and future improvements of the program are also discussed.
PREREQUISITE EVALUATION OF ENGINEERING SKILLS
Authors: Poitras Gérard J. , Poitras Eric G.
Published: April 2017

Preliminary findings obtained from a three-year study are presented where different cohorts of undergraduate civil engineering students are followed for three consecutive years while completing the Civil Engineering program at the Université de Moncton. This study outlines how a set of problem instances were developed, wherein a student performs a series of steps to formulate a solution. These steps are mapped to one or more skills, also known as procedural knowledge components, which are essential for students to have mastered from one or more previous courses in order to successfully complete the course in question. Over a hundred students from the second, third, or fourth year performed a series of problem-solving tasks that assess a common set of skills at the beginning of their respected courses. The findings obtained from the first year of this study show that students vary in their abilities to correctly solve instances of a problem on their first attempt. This suggests that there is a pressing need for assessment tools that target progressions for specific courses using the range of standards outlined by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board as progress indicators while providing individualized instructional modules developed on the basis of research-based understanding of how these skills develop over time for all students.
THE INTEGRATED CURRICULUM OF UBC’S MASTER OF ENGINEERING LEADERSHIP PROGRAM IN CLEAN ENERGY ENGINEERING
Authors: Prodanovic Vladan , Mérida Walter
Published: April 2017

A new professional degree, Master of Engineering Leadership (MEL) has been introduced at the University of British Columbia. This collaborative effort between the Faculty of Applied Science and Sauder School of Business provides an innovative, integrated curriculum tailored to accelerate experienced engineers and early career professionals toward effective, sectorrelevant leadership roles. This integrated curriculum includes a rigorous engineering content as well as project management, communication and business development modules.One area of specialisation, the MEL in Clean Energy Engineering (CEEN), provides advanced training across the energy industry value-chain: from sustainable energy generation and conversion technologies, to distribution,storage and management, smart distribution networks and energy policy. The program places students in an active learner’s position and challenges them to critical thinking about topics related to energy conservation andefficiency, energy and environment, and social impact.This paper will provide an overview of the curriculum and discuss different options for integration of course contents. It will discuss the impact of the program on the community, report on student reflections and feedbackfrom industrial partners in the energy sector.
Providing a Uniform Design Experience in an Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering Program
Authors: Salustri Filippo A. , Neumann Patrick W.
Published: April 2017

The design experience of 3rd year undergraduates in Mechanical Engineering at Ryerson University, and the assessment of student design work, was found to be disjointed and highly variable across the program. To attempt to address this, the authors are constructing courseware to help instructors of non-design engineering courses embed rich and consistent design projects into their courses. A “lightweight” Fast-Design process wasdeveloped. Course-specific design project examples of the process are being developed for five 3rd year courses using his design process. Current versions of all courseware are freely available. This paper details the nature of the courseware and how it was designed, developed, and deployed for the project. To date, one case has been deployed, two developed, and two more are under development. While results are so far only anecdotal, there is reason to believe that our approach can noticeablyimprove the design experience of students in nondesign engineering  courses.
Group and individual evaluation in engineering project courses
Authors: Stoicoiu Calin
Published: April 2017

In engineering programs of study, students often work in small to medium size groups. In particular, programs designed on the project –based learning principle rely heavier on structured group work for projects and integrated courses. There are incontestable benefits surfacing from group work, particularly seen as the increase of critical thinking and problem solving skills and development of social interaction abilities.Challenges occur more often than expected with the assessment and evaluation of the individual performance and participation of each group member in contrast with the whole group results. The final result can be outstanding but it might realistically belong to only one or two group members. The result of the individual assessment must not only reflect accurately and fairly one’s effort but also fit properly in the whole group diversity landscape. Alternatively, group members may have valuable but rather inconspicuous contributions that might easily be undetected and go unrecognized.How to identify sooner rather than later the non-participating students within the group and correct the situation? Which is the best method of fair detection and praise for considerable contribution? The extraction of peer evaluation data and its incorporation in the overall group assessment, represents another often difficult or misinterpreted task. These are questions and challenges yet to be properly addressed. This paper provides a synopsis of existing evaluation techniques for engineering students working in groups, both from a psychological and academic point of view, including examples of current practices from existing project –based learning programs.
STUDENTS LEARNING TO LEARN THROUGH DESIGN
Authors: Tallman Ken
Published: April 2017

Research being conducted in an engineering capstone design course analyzes student creativity and its connection to metacognition. Data collected from questionnaires, video recordings, and interviews willattempt to show that creativity in the design process and metacognitive understanding of creative activity are important factors in successful engineering design.Motivation for this research comes from the observation that undergraduate engineering students, including those in senior years, have difficulty explaining their design processes. They often have limited understanding of their creative accomplishments as well as a limited ability to explain what makes their approach distinctive or effective.Future research will build on the methodology described here, including a more explicit framework for identifying and assessing creativity in engineering design.
Educating Aerospace Design Engineers: Perspectives from Design Creativity Theory
Authors: Tana Suo , Marsden Catharine , Zeng Yong
Published: April 2017

When seeking candidates for engineering design positions, aerospace companies usually seek to hire high qualified professionals while overlooking recent graduates from engineering schools. The reason for this is the opinion that most of the engineers graduating from universities do not possess the skill sets the companies are seeking and that it takes too long to train recent graduates in the complexities of the aerospace design process. There is a need to minimize the gap between the needs of the aerospace industry and the training of engineers at the university level and this need cannot be met without the collaboration of aerospace firms, universities and government. In this paper, we propose an approach toeducating undergraduate aerospace engineering students based on design creativity theory. The NSERC Chair in Aerospace Design Engineering (NCADE) at Concordia University will be used as a test bed to implement, validate, improve and promote this educational strategy.
INCORPORATING A COMMUNITY-BASED RAPID MANUFACTURING FACILITY INTO A FIRST YEAR ENGINEERING DESIGN COURSE
Authors: Wlodyka Mark , Tomberli Bruno
Published: April 2017

University engineering departments are often challenged to maintain state of the art manufacturing facilities due to the rapid technological changes that are occurring in industry. Older or obsolete engineering laboratory equipment, manufacturing machines, and design tools are difficult to replace due to limited department budgets, space, and staff resources.At Capilano University, where a hands-on project-based one semester first year engineering design class is offered, the Engineering department has taken a novel approach to meet the above challenge.The Engineering Design students are required to design, build, and test original prototype electrical circuits, and mechanical structures as part of their design projects. Construction of these student-designed units requires a rapid turnaround manufacturing facility to meet the peak demands of the students, capabilities that smaller universities are often limited in their ability to provide.To meet this specific requirement, a community-based private rapid prototyping design and manufacturing facility, Zen Maker Labs, was approached, and a partnership agreement has been developed. The agreement consisted of cooperation between the university and the Zen Maker Lab to support up to 60 engineering design students. The students were provided with tools, safety training, and support for manufacturing. The facility has provided CAD design stations, several 3D printers, laser cutters, and numerically controlled milling machines to support manufacturing of student designs. Access to the manufacturing facility was initially provided on subscription basis, where students used the library to “sign-out” membership cards, and access the facility on a controlled,  supervised basis. The controlling of student numbers through the  university library provided a method for managing student access to themanufacturing facility over a period of 8-10 weeks. This arrangement for laboratory access has recently been expanded through a revised collaboration arrangement, and has provided engineering design students with handson experience with several manufacturing technologies and CAD engineering modelling and design tools.
INTEGRATED LEARNING DESIGN OF AN ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY SUSTAINABILITY AND ETHICS COURSE
Authors: Zilberbrant Greg , MacKenzie Allan
Published: April 2017

McMaster University’s School of Engineering Technology (SET) offered a unique course structure to students in their final undergraduate term in the 2015-2016 academic year. The intention of the program chair and instructor was to deliver a course that taught sustainability and ethics in a context that would be applicable to 105 Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech.) engineering technology students preparing to commence their careers at the end of the term. The course focused on the delivery of a final project of the students’ choosing that connected to a real-world sustainability issue supported by weekly lectures and testing. The unique delivery style was an experiential learning approach mimicking the dynamics of a real-world project involving client and stakeholder management – concepts that the students were introduced to in prerequisite courses. The project criteria stipulated a “new-worthy” topic which forced the students to be up-to-date and adjust their project work throughout the term based on changes in the media interest, public opinion, or political involvement. Students were challenged to not only look at the problem and address the applicable environmental, social, and economic aspects but to further develop communication strategies within the political context and societal acceptance/understanding of the issue. The evaluation of the course success is reviewed based on student feedback and a formal focus-group session conducted by McMaster Institute for Innovation & Excellence in Teaching & Learning (MIIETL) which highlighted students “felt engaged with the material and described the project as their ‘greatest intellectual challenge’ of the B.Tech. program.” For the purpose of knowledge sharing, this paper will discuss the course design, innovative instructional approach, group project attributes and outcomes from a student the focus-group.
Screening for Neurodevelopmental Impairments among less than 2 Years Old Children in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Dhaka city
Authors: Ara UKM Nazmun , Rahman M Ekhlasur , Khan Naila Zaman , Ullah Md Sk Shahid , Yusuf Md. Abdullah
Published: April 2017

Background: Neurodevelopmental impairment is an important issue in the context of normal growth of the children.Objective: The purpose of the present study was to find out the magnitude of neurodevelopmental impairments (NDIs) in young children in a tertiary care hospital Methodology: This cross sectional study was conducted in the Department of Paediatrics at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) from January 2010 to June 2010 for a period of six months. All children with the age of 0 to 2 years irrespective of sex attended at the study place were selected as study population. Children getting developmental therapy, physiotherapy and anticonvulsant or muscle relaxant were excluded from this study. Development Screening Questionnaire (DSQ) was administered to mothers of children from birth to less than two years of age to assess their childs neurodevelopment. Then again neurodevelopmental assessment was done using a validated Rapid Neurodevelopmental Assessment (RNDA) method of evaluations of all children with positive screening results. RNDA was administered to identify the type of impairments and grades of severity. Items are arranged under the developmental parameters like gross motor, fine motor, vision, hearing, speech, cognition, behavior, and seizures for all age groups and for the age 0 to 1 month, additional primitive reflexes are examined along with other parameters.Result: Among 234 cases NDIs positive was found in 20(8.5%) cases. Among 20 children 16 (80%) were affected by cognitive impairment, 12 (60%) of each were affected by gross motor and behavioral impairment; 11 (55%) were affected by fine motor, 10(50%) speech, 8(40%) hearing, 7 (35%) visual impairment and 7 (35%) had seizure disorder.Conclusion: In conclusion NDIs are present in the general population of the Bangladesh with a very significant rate of which cognition is the most frequently involved and affected domain.Journal of National Institute of Neurosciences Bangladesh, 2015;1(2): 57-61
Demographic Characteristics and Prevalence of Mandibular Condylar Fractures at a Tertiary Care Dental Hospital in Dhaka City
Authors: Islam Mohammad Wahidul , Ahmed Mohiuddin , Rahman AFM Shahidur
Published: April 2017

Background: Mandibular condylar fracture is a critical condition. Objectives: The purpose of the study was to see the demographic characteristics and prevalence of mandibular condylar fractures. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery of Dhaka Dental College and Hospital from January 2009 to September 2010 for a period of one year and nine months. All the patients presented with mandibular condylar fractures at any age with both sexes were included as study population. Details demographic characteristics and the rate of occurrence were recorded. Result: A total number of 26 patients were included in this study. Majority of the patients were male (88.5%) and age belongs to 21 to 30 years (38.5%). Road traffic accident (46.2%) was the main cause and unilateral fractures were more frequent. The prevalence of mandibular condylar fracture was 14.9%. Conclusion: Mandibular condylar fracture is most commonly occurred in male with a low prevalence.Journal of National Institute of Neurosciences Bangladesh, 2015;1(2): 50-52
The Effect of Meteorological Elements on Continuing Heavy Air Pollution: A Case Study in the Chengdu Area during the 2014 Spring Festival
Authors: Zeng Shenglan , Zhang Yu
Published: April 2017

Meteorological conditions significantly influence air pollution. The Chengdu plain, with few external pollution sources and homogeneous meteorological conditions, is a natural lab to study the effects of meteorological elements on the diffusion and dissipation of pollutants. Large-scale and long-duration haze events occurred all over China during the Spring Festival in 2014. This study tries to detect the characteristics and the formation mechanisms of this haze event in the Chengdu area using air quality and the meteorological monitoring of this event. The results showed that, when considering the concentration changes of the primary pollutant, this haze event could be divided into three stages: Stage 1, the concentration of all pollutions increased; Stage 2, the concentration of gaseous pollutants decreased, while that of particulate matter increased; Stage 3, the concentration of all pollutants decreased. Adverse atmospheric circulation, unfavorable meteorological conditions (lower air temperature and wind speed, higher air pressure and relative humidity), a frequently occurring inversion layer (with a strong intensity and lower bottom), and the low height of the mixing layer resulted in this haze. This study suggests that not only surface meteorological factors, but also the boundary layer structure, played an important role in the vertical diffusion of the pollutants.
Seed Location Impacts Whole-Brain Structural Network Comparisons between Healthy Elderly and Individuals with Alzheimer’s Disease
Authors: Zajac Lauren , Koo Bang-Bon , Bauer Corinna , Killiany Ron ,   Behalf of the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative
Published: April 2017

Whole-brain networks derived from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data require the identification of seed and target regions of interest (ROIs) to assess connectivity patterns. This study investigated how initiating tracts from gray matter (GM) or white matter (WM) seed ROIs impacts (1) structural networks constructed from DTI data from healthy elderly (control) and individuals with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and (2) between-group comparisons using these networks. DTI datasets were obtained from the Alzheimer’s disease Neuroimaging Initiative database. Deterministic tractography was used to build two whole-brain networks for each subject; one in which tracts were initiated from WM ROIs and another in which they were initiated from GM ROIs. With respect to the first goal, in both groups, WM-seeded networks had approximately 400 more connections and stronger connections (as measured by number of streamlines per connection) than GM-seeded networks, but shared 94% of the connections found in the GM-seed networks. With respect to the second goal, between-group comparisons revealed a stronger subnetwork (as measured by number of streamlines per connection) in controls compared to AD using both WM-seeded and GM-seeded networks. The comparison using WM-seeded networks produced a larger (i.e., a greater number of connections) and more significant subnetwork in controls versus AD. Global, local, and nodal efficiency were greater in controls compared to AD, and between-group comparisons of these measures using WM-seeded networks had larger effect sizes than those using GM-seeded networks. These findings affirm that seed location significantly affects the ability to detect between-group differences in structural networks.
Analytical Calculation of the Magnetic Field Distribution in a Linear and Rotary Machine with an Orthogonally Arrayed Permanent Magnet
Authors: Xu Lei , Lin Mingyao , Fu Xinghe , Liu Kai , Guo Baocheng
Published: April 2017

In this paper, an analytical model is proposed to analyze and predict the characteristics of a double stator linear and rotary permanent magnet machine (DSLRPMM). In order to simplify the magnetic field calculation, the DSLRPMM is cut along the axial direction (z direction) and transferred into a planar one. Hence, an analytical model of the machine considered the orthogonal effect (OE) is proposed based on the combined solution of Maxwell’s equation, conformal mapping, and equivalent magnetic circuit model (EMCM). The magnetic field distributions of the DSLRPMM are calculated with and without considering the OE, and some important electromagnetic parameters, including the back electromotive force (EMF), detent force, cogging torque, and output torque and thrust, are also predicted and compared to the 3D finite element analysis (FEA). The results show that the errors between the proposed analytical model and the 3D FEA results are less than 0.2% and even less than 0.1% for certain parameters, that is, the results obtained from the proposed analytical model agree well with that of the FEA. Moreover, the analyzed and predicted results are also verified by the experimental results on the prototype of the DSLRPMM.
Eukaryotic Replicative Helicase Subunit Interaction with DNA and Its Role in DNA Replication
Authors: Martinez Matthew P. , Wacker Amanda L. , Bruck Irina , Kaplan Daniel L.
Published: April 2017

The replicative helicase unwinds parental double-stranded DNA at a replication fork to provide single-stranded DNA templates for the replicative polymerases. In eukaryotes, the replicative helicase is composed of the Cdc45 protein, the heterohexameric ring-shaped Mcm2-7 complex, and the tetrameric GINS complex (CMG). The CMG proteins bind directly to DNA, as demonstrated by experiments with purified proteins. The mechanism and function of these DNA-protein interactions are presently being investigated, and a number of important discoveries relating to how the helicase proteins interact with DNA have been reported recently. While some of the protein-DNA interactions directly relate to the unwinding function of the enzyme complex, other protein-DNA interactions may be important for minichromosome maintenance (MCM) loading, origin melting or replication stress. This review describes our current understanding of how the eukaryotic replicative helicase subunits interact with DNA structures in vitro, and proposed models for the in vivo functions of replicative helicase-DNA interactions are also described.
Antibiotic Resistance in an Indian Rural Community: A ‘One-Health’ Observational Study on Commensal Coliform from Humans, Animals, and Water
Authors: Purohit Manju , Chandran Salesh , Shah Harshada , Diwan Vishal , Tamhankar Ashok , Stålsby Lundborg Cecilia
Published: April 2017

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are an escalating grim menace to global public health. Our aim is to phenotype and genotype antibiotic-resistant commensal Escherichia coli (E. coli) from humans, animals, and water from the same community with a ‘one-health’ approach. The samples were collected from a village belonging to demographic surveillance site of Ruxmaniben Deepchand (R.D.) Gardi Medical College Ujjain, Central India. Commensal coliforms from stool samples from children aged 1–3 years and their environment (animals, drinking water from children's households, common source- and waste-water) were studied for antibiotic susceptibility and plasmid-encoded resistance genes. E. coli isolates from human (n = 127), animal (n = 21), waste- (n = 12), source- (n = 10), and household drinking water (n = 122) carried 70%, 29%, 41%, 30%, and 30% multi-drug resistance, respectively. Extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) producers were 57% in human and 23% in environmental isolates. Co-resistance was frequent in penicillin, cephalosporin, and quinolone. Antibiotic-resistance genes blaCTX-M-9 and qnrS were most frequent. Group D-type isolates with resistance genes were mainly from humans and wastewater. Colistin resistance, or the mcr-1 gene, was not detected. The frequency of resistance, co-resistance, and resistant genes are high and similar in coliforms from humans and their environment. This emphasizes the need to mitigate antibiotic resistance with a ‘one-health’ approach.
A Non-Destructive Technique for the On-Line Quality Control of Green and Baked Anodes †
Authors: Benzaoui Abderrahmane , Kocaefe Duygu , Bhattacharyay Dipankar , Kocaefe Yasar
Published: April 2017

Carbon anodes play an important role in the electrolytic production of aluminum. They have a significant economic and environmental impact. Carbon anodes are made of dry aggregates, composed of petroleum coke, recycled rejects, and butts, bound by coal tar pitch. Due to several factors, defects (cracks/pores) appear in anodes during the fabrication process, affecting their quality. It is thus essential to control the quality of anodes before their use in the electrolysis cell. Current practice for the quality evaluation (visual inspection, core analysis) gives limited information. As an alternative to this practice, electrical resistivity measurements can be used. Electrical resistivity is one of the key indicators for anode quality and its homogeneity. A simple and non-destructive method has been developed for the specific electrical resistivity measurement of anodes (SERMA) for on-line control of anode quality. Various tests have been carried out at both lab scale and industrial scale. In this study, the electrical resistivity distributions in the lab-scale anodes were measured and compared with those of the tomography analysis. The method is able to detect defective anodes even before the baking process.
Screening and Analysis of the Marker Components in Ganoderma lucidum by HPLC and HPLC-MSn with the Aid of Chemometrics
Authors: Wu Lingfang , Liang Wenyi , Chen Wenjing , Li Shi , Cui Yaping , Qi Qi , Zhang Lanzhen
Published: April 2017

Ganoderma triterpenes (GTs) are the major secondary metabolites of Ganoderma lucidum, which is a popularly used traditional Chinese medicine for complementary cancer therapy. The present study was to establish a fingerprint evaluation system based on Similarity Analysis (SA), Cluster Analysis (CA) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) for the identification and quality control of G. lucidum. Fifteen samples from the Chinese provinces of Hainan, Neimeng, Shangdong, Jilin, Anhui, Henan, Yunnan, Guangxi and Fujian were analyzed by HPLC-PAD and HPLC-MSn. Forty-seven compounds were detected by HPLC, of which forty-two compounds were tentatively identified by comparing their retention times and mass spectrometry data with that of reference compounds and reviewing the literature. Ganoderic acid B, 3,7,15-trihydroxy-11,23-dioxolanost-8,16-dien-26-oic acid, lucidenic acid A, ganoderic acid G, and 3,7-oxo-12-acetylganoderic acid DM were deemed to be the marker compounds to distinguish the samples with different quality according to both CA and PCA. This study provides helpful chemical information for further research on the anti-tumor activity and mechanism of action of G. lucidum. The results proved that fingerprints combined with chemometrics are a simple, rapid and effective method for the quality control of G. lucidum.
Mechanism of Action of Electrospun Chitosan-Based Nanofibers against Meat Spoilage and Pathogenic Bacteria
Authors: Arkoun Mounia , Daigle France , Heuzey Marie-Claude , Ajji Abdellah
Published: April 2017

This study investigates the antibacterial mechanism of action of electrospun chitosan-based nanofibers (CNFs), against Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria innocua, bacteria frequently involved in food contamination and spoilage. CNFs were prepared by electrospinning of chitosan and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) blends. The in vitro antibacterial activity of CNFs was evaluated and the susceptibility/resistance of the selected bacteria toward CNFs was examined. Strain susceptibility was evaluated in terms of bacterial type, cell surface hydrophobicity, and charge density, as well as pathogenicity. The efficiency of CNFs on the preservation and shelf life extension of fresh red meat was also assessed. Our results demonstrate that the antibacterial action of CNFs depends on the protonation of their amino groups, regardless of bacterial type and their mechanism of action was bactericidal rather than bacteriostatic. Results also indicate that bacterial susceptibility was not Gram-dependent but strain-dependent, with non-virulent bacteria showing higher susceptibility at a reduction rate of 99.9%. The susceptibility order was: E. coli > L. innocua > S. aureus > S. Typhimurium. Finally, an extension of one week of the shelf life of fresh meat was successfully achieved. These results are promising and of great utility for the potential use of CNFs as bioactive food packaging materials in the food industry, and more specifically in meat quality preservation.
25-Hydroxyvitamin D and Peripheral Immune Mediators: Results from Two Nationwide Danish Pediatric Cohorts
Authors: Thorsen Steffen , Pipper Christian , Skogstrand Kristin , Pociot Flemming , Svensson Jannet
Published: April 2017

(1) Background: We aimed to examine if 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) was related to the peripheral immunological and inflammatory signature both at birth, and in newly diagnosed patients with childhood type 1 diabetes (T1D) and their healthy controls; (2) Methods: The birth cohort consisted of 470 patients and 500 healthy controls. Dried blood samples were collected from the neonates in the period 1981–1999. The newly diagnosed cohort consisted of 460 patients and 453 siblings. Serum samples were collected in the period 1997–2005. A variety of peripheral immune mediators were measured and compared to total 25(OH)D levels (25(OH)D2 + 25(OH)D3). For each immune mediator, the relative change (RC) in the mean level was modeled by robust log-normal regression and correction for multiple testing was performed; (3) Results: Two associations were identified; there was a negative association between 25(OH)D (10 nmol/L increase) and leptin (RC (95% confidence interval (CI)), 0.98 (0.96; 1.00)), and a positive association between 25(OH)D (10 nmol/L increase) and the chemokine, chemokine (c-x-c motif) ligand (CXCL) 8 (RC (95% CI), 1.07 (1.01; 1.13)); (4) Conclusion: CXCL8 and leptin have significant associations with levels of 25(OH)D in the newly diagnosed cohort. These results do not indicate a strong influence of 25(OH)D on the peripheral immunological or inflammatory signature.
Identification of Mobile Phones Using the Built-In Magnetometers Stimulated by Motion Patterns
Authors: Baldini Gianmarco , Dimc Franc , Kamnik Roman , Steri Gary , Giuliani Raimondo , Gentile Claudio
Published: April 2017

We investigate the identification of mobile phones through their built-in magnetometers. These electronic components have started to be widely deployed in mass market phones in recent years, and they can be exploited to uniquely identify mobile phones due their physical differences, which appear in the digital output generated by them. This is similar to approaches reported in the literature for other components of the mobile phone, including the digital camera, the microphones or their RF transmission components. In this paper, the identification is performed through an inexpensive device made up of a platform that rotates the mobile phone under test and a fixed magnet positioned on the edge of the rotating platform. When the mobile phone passes in front of the fixed magnet, the built-in magnetometer is stimulated, and its digital output is recorded and analyzed. For each mobile phone, the experiment is repeated over six different days to ensure consistency in the results. A total of 10 phones of different brands and models or of the same model were used in our experiment. The digital output from the magnetometers is synchronized and correlated, and statistical features are extracted to generate a fingerprint of the built-in magnetometer and, consequently, of the mobile phone. A SVM machine learning algorithm is used to classify the mobile phones on the basis of the extracted statistical features. Our results show that inter-model classification (i.e., different models and brands classification) is possible with great accuracy, but intra-model (i.e., phones with different serial numbers and same model) classification is more challenging, the resulting accuracy being just slightly above random choice.
Measuring the Spatial Dimension of Automobile Ownership and Its Associations with Household Characteristics and Land Use Patterns: A Case Study in Three Counties, South Florida (USA)
Authors: Song Jie , Wang Ruoniu
Published: April 2017

Motorization and increased levels of car ownership have partly contributed to traffic congestion and air pollution, which is a prime concern in the era of climate change. Therefore, vehicle ownership-related topics have been extensively explored by transportation scholars, economists, and planning researchers. However, relatively fewer scientists have investigated the spatial patterns and socioeconomic factors of car ownership simultaneously within a large geographic scale. Thus, the goal of this article is to illuminate how high levels of auto ownership may cluster spatially and what factors relate to such phenomena by developing an integrative framework and applying it in three counties in South Florida (US). Specifically, this study first evaluated whether vehicle ownership is spatially autocorrelated using Global and Local Moran’s I statistics. It then justified significant factors associated with car ownership by employing Poisson and Corrected Poisson regression models. The findings, using raw data, show that there exist locally spatial clusters of the households with high levels of automobile ownership, while globally the patterns of auto ownership are statistically random. Furthermore, the results suggest that the number of drivers, the number of workers, household income level, housing tenure, the proximity to schools, and net house density significantly influence car ownership levels. The results can assist urban planners and local governments in developing planning schemes that aim at transit, cycling, walking, and other non-motorized travel modes, thereby furthering environmentally friendly communities.
Spatial and Temporal Variations in Reference Crop Evapotranspiration in a Mountainous Island, Jeju, in South Korea
Authors: Um Myoung-Jin , Kim Yeonjoo , Park Daeryong
Published: April 2017

This study aims to assess the spatial and temporal variability of reference crop evapotranspiration (ET) over the mountainous Jeju Island, South Korea. In this mountainous region, only limited observed, station-based meteorological data are available, and thus statistical approaches are used to construct monthly reference crop ET maps. The maximum and minimum temperatures, wind speed, and relative humidity are gap filled using principal component regression (PCR) or multiple linear regression (MLR) and are then spatially interpolated using the hybrid Kriging method to construct monthly maps of reference crop ET at a resolution of 100 m. This study reveals various reference crop ET characteristics for Jeju Island that have not been investigated in previous studies. With increasing elevation and distance from the coast, the air temperature decrease and relative humidity (RH) increase. Therefore, the reference crop ET generally decreases. An increasing trend until the mid-2000s is present in the annual average reference crop ET values, and most of this increase arises from increasing trends in spring and summer. Summer reference crop ET values exhibit increasing trends over time below 1000 m a.s.l. and decreasing trends over time above 1000 m a.s.l.
Identification, écologie et distribution de Knautia arvernensis (Briq.) et Knautia x chassagneiSzabó (Caprifoliaceae) dans le Haut Jura )dans le Haut Beaujolais (France)
Authors: Munoz François
Published: April 2017

Recognition, ecology and distribution of Knautia arvernensis (Briq.) Szabó and Knautia xchassagnei Szabô (Caprifoliaceae) in the Haut Beaujolais range (South France). - Knautia arvernensis (Briq.) Szabó is widespread in Massif Central and can also be found on granitic soils in the Haut Beaujolais range. The characters relevant for recognition have been debated, and K. arvernensis belongs to a taxonomically complex group of closely related species. We present here the characters relevant to faithfully distinguish K. arvernensis from the other taxa, in the light of this taxonomic conundrum. While it was never reported from Haut Beaujolais, we have recently found K. arvernensis in the western part of the range, where the hybrid with K. arvensis (L.) Coult., Knautia x chassagnei Szabó, also occurs. The distribution and the ecology of these new populations are discussed.
Contribution à l'inventaire des Pézizales (Fungi, Ascomycota) du Lyonnais - Premier addendum
Authors: Van Vooren Nicolas
Published: April 2017

Dans le cadre de l'inventaire des Pézizales du département du Rhône, l'auteur propose une liste de taxons nouvellement enregistrés, venant compléter le catalogue actuel.
Régulation du développement dimensionnel de la coquille chez trois espèces de Gastéropodes
Authors: Béguinot Jean
Published: April 2017

A trend for regulation of shell size buffering the intra-specific variability of growth in three gastropod species. - A striking negative covariance was discovered by S.J. Gould between the intra-specific variations of two geometrical characteristics of gastropods shells : the number of whorls of adult shells and their standard section. This first observation, up to now limited to the endemic genus Cerion, deserves further investigations among other gastropods, including species both phyllogenetically and environmentally distantly related to the genus Cerion. Here, we report on the occurrence of as strong a covariance within three European snails species from both continental (. Pomatias elegans, Cepaea nemoralis ) and marine (Euspira catena) environments. In addition, the speculated functionality attached to this covariance - the regulation and stabilisation of shell (and animal) volumes in spite of the substantial intra-specific variability of the standard section of whorl - was tested and its efficiency confirmed, at least for the studied cases. These results suggest that this negative covariance may well be more common among gastropods than anticipated and encourage more extensive investigations on this respect, throughout the gastropod class.