bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The possibility of the application of the zeolyte powders for the construction of the membranes for the carbon dioxide separation
Authors: Nedeljkovic Dragutin , Stevanovic Marija , Stijepovic Mirko , Stajcic Aleksandar , Grujic Aleksandar , Stajic-Trosic Jasna , Stevanovic Jasmina
Published: July 2014

The task of this work was to construct the mixed matrix membrane based on
polymer that could be used for the treatment of the waste gases. Therefore,
high permeability for the carbon dioxide and low permeability for other gases
commonly present in the industrial combustion waste gases (nitrogen, oxygen,
hydrogen, methane) are essential. Those membranes belong to the group of
dense composite membranes, and mechanism for separation is based on the
solution-diffusion mechanism. In this paper, feasibility of the application
of poly(ethyleneoxid)-copoly(phtalamide) was tested. In order to enchase the
permeability of carbon dioxide, three different zeolites were incorporated,
and in order to improve compatibility between the inorganic particles and
polymer chains, n-tetradecyldimethylamonium bromide (NTAB).was added. Three
zeolites were with the 2-dimensional pores (IHW, NSI and TER). The best
results in carbon dioxide/hydrogen selectivity were obtained with the
membrane constructed with PEBAX 1657 and surface treated zeolites, while the
better results concerning selectivity were gained with membranes based on the
Polyactive.
Chemical constituents and insecticidal activities of the essential oil from Alpinia blepharocalyx rhizomes against Lasioderma serricorne
Authors: Wang Ying , You Chun , Yang Kai , Chen Ran , Zhang Wen , Wu Yan , Liu Zhi , Du Shu , Deng Zhi
Published: July 2014

The aim of this research was to determine the chemical constituents and
toxicities of essential oil derived from Alpinia blepharocalyx rhizomes
against the cigarette beetle, Lasioderma serricorne (Fabricius). Essential
oil of A. blepharocalyx rhizomes was obtained from hydrodistillation and was
investigated by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). A total of 46
components of the essential oil of A. blepharocalyx rhizomes were identified.
The principal compounds in A. blepharocalyx essential oil were camphor
(23.13%), sabinene (11.27%), ?-pinene (9.81%) and eucalyptol (8.86%) followed
by camphene (8.05%), sylvestrene (5.61%) and ?-phellandrene (5.00%). Among
them, the four active constituents, predicted with a bioactivity-test, were
isolated and identified as camphor, sabinene, ?-pinene and eucalyptol. The
essential oil of A. blepharocalyx possessed strong contact toxicity against
the cigarette beetle with LD50 value of 15.02 ?g adult-1, and also exhibited
strong fumigant toxicity against L. serricorne adults with LC50 value of 3.83
mg L-1 air. The results indicate that the essential oil of A. blepharocalyx
shows potential in terms of contact and fumigant toxicities against stored
product insects.
MicroRNAs Are Required for the Feature Maintenance and Differentiation of Brown Adipocytes
Authors: Kim Hye-Jin , Cho Hyunjii , Alexander Ryan , Patterson Heide Christine , Gu Minxia , Lo Kinyui Alice , Xu Dan , Goh Vera J. , Nguyen Long N. , Chai Xiaoran , Huang Cher X. , Kovalik Jean-Paul , Ghosh Sujoy , Trajkovski Mirko , Silver David L. , Lodish Harvey , Sun Lei
Published: July 2014

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is specialized to burn lipids for heat generation as a natural defense against cold and obesity. Previous studies established microRNAs (miRNAs) as essential regulators of brown adipocyte differentiation, but whether miRNAs are required for the feature maintenance of mature brown adipocytes remains unknown. To address this question, we ablated Dgcr8, a key regulator of the miRNA biogenesis pathway, in mature brown as well as in white adipocytes. Adipose tissue–specific Dgcr8 knockout mice displayed enlarged but pale interscapular brown fat with decreased expression of genes characteristic of brown fat and were intolerant to cold exposure. Primary brown adipocyte cultures in vitro confirmed that miRNAs are required for marker gene expression in mature brown adipocytes. We also demonstrated that miRNAs are essential for the browning of subcutaneous white adipocytes in vitro and in vivo. Using this animal model, we performed miRNA expression profiling analysis and identified a set of BAT-specific miRNAs that are upregulated during brown adipocyte differentiation and enriched in brown fat compared with other organs. We identified miR-182 and miR-203 as new regulators of brown adipocyte development. Taken together, our study demonstrates an essential role of miRNAs in the maintenance as well as in the differentiation of brown adipocytes.
Circulating FGF21 Is Liver Derived and Enhances Glucose Uptake During Refeeding and Overfeeding
Authors: Markan Kathleen R. , Naber Meghan C. , Ameka Magdalene K. , Anderegg Maxwell D. , Mangelsdorf David J. , Kliewer Steven A. , Mohammadi Moosa , Potthoff Matthew J.
Published: July 2014

Fibroblast growth factor (FGF)21 is an endocrine hormone that is expressed in multiple tissues and functions physiologically to maintain energy homeostasis. FGF21 is being pursued as a therapeutic target for diabetes and obesity because of its rapid and potent effects on improving insulin sensitivity. However, whether FGF21 enhances insulin sensitivity under physiologic conditions remains unclear. Here, we show that liver-derived FGF21 enters the circulation during fasting but also remains present and functional during the early stage of refeeding. After a prolonged fast, FGF21 acts as an insulin sensitizer to overcome the peripheral insulin resistance induced by fasting, thereby maximizing glucose uptake. Likewise, FGF21 is produced from the liver during overfeeding and mitigates peripheral insulin resistance. DIO FGF21 liver-specific knockout, but not FGF21 adipose-specific knockout, mice have increased insulin resistance and decreased brown adipose tissue–mediated glucose disposal. These data are compatible with the concept that FGF21 functions physiologically as an insulin sensitizer under conditions of acute refeeding and overfeeding.
Far-Field Deformation Resulting from Rheologic Differences Interacting with Tectonic Stresses: An Example from the Pacific/Australian Plate Boundary in Southern New Zealand
Authors: Upton Phaedra , Craw Dave , Walcott Rachel
Published: July 2014

The Miocene in Southern New Zealand was dominated by strike-slip tectonics. Stratigraphic evidence from this time attests to two zones of subsidence in the south: (a) a middle Cenozoic pull-apart basin and (b) a regionally extensive subsiding lake complex, which developed east and distal to the developing plate boundary structure. The lake overlay a block of crust with a significantly weak mid-crustal section and we pose the question: can rheological transitions at an angle to a plate boundary produce distal subsidence and/or uplift? We use stratigraphic, structural and geophysical observations from Southern New Zealand to constrain three-dimensional numerical models for a variety of boundary conditions and rheological scenarios. We show that coincident subsidence and uplift can result from purely strike-slip boundary conditions interacting with a transition from strong to weak to strong mid-crustal rheology. The resulting pattern of vertical displacement is a function of the symmetry or asymmetry of the boundary conditions and the extent and orientation of the rheological transitions. For the Southern New Zealand case study, subsidence rates of ~0.1 mm/yr are predicted for a relative plate motion of 25 mm/yr, leading to ~500 m of subsidence over a 5 Ma time period, comparable to the thickness of preserved lacustrine sediments.
Association of STAT3 Common Variations with Obesity and Hypertriglyceridemia: Protective and Contributive Effects
Authors: Ma Zuliang , Wang Guanghai , Chen Xuejiao , Ou Zejin , Zou Fei
Published: July 2014

Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) plays an important role in energy metabolism. Here we explore whether STAT3 common variations influence risks of obesity and other metabolic disorders in a Chinese Han population. Two tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (tagSNPs), rs1053005 and rs957970, were used to capture the common variations of STAT3. Relationships between genotypes and obesity, body mass index, plasma triglyceride and other metabolic diseases related parameters were analyzed for association study in 1742 subjects. Generalized linear model and logistic regression model were used for quantitative data analysis and case-control study, respectively. rs1053005 was significantly associated with body mass index and waist circumference (p = 0.013 and p = 0.02, respectively). rs957970 was significantly associated with plasma level of triglyceride (p = 0.007). GG genotype at rs1053005 had lower risks of both general obesity and central obesity (OR = 0.40, p = 0.034; OR = 0.42, p = 0.007, respectively) compared with AA genotype. CT genotype at rs957970 had a higher risk of hypertriglyceridemia (OR = 1.43, p = 0.015) compared with TT genotype. Neither of the two SNPs was associated with othermetabolic diseases related parameters. Our observations indicated that common variations of STAT3 could significantly affect the risk of obesity and hypertriglyceridemia in Chinese Han population.
Molecular and Chemical Regulation of the Keap1-Nrf2 Signaling Pathway
Authors: Keum Young-Sam , Choi Bu
Published: July 2014

Extracellular and intracellular oxidants or electrophiles are key contributors to the damages in cellular macromolecules, such as DNA, proteins and lipids. Nrf2 is a master transcription factor that modulates a cellular antioxidant response program and plays an important role in the protection against oxidants and electrophiles. Keap1 is a regulator of Nrf2 by serving as a substrate adaptor for Cullin3-dependent E3 ubiquitin ligase. While Nrf2 activation is a feasible strategy for treatment of age-related diseases, aberrant Nrf2 activation also confers a selective growth advantage of tumor cells during chemotherapy or radiotherapy. In the present review, we provide an overview of the Keap1-Nrf2-ARE system, the domain organization of Nrf2 and Keap1, and the regulatory mechanisms of Nrf2 proteolysis by Keap1. We also discuss how Nrf2 prevents tumor promotion, hampers the sensitivity of selected tumors against chemotherapy or radiotherapy, and reprograms the metabolism to facilitate the tumor proliferation. Finally, we illustrate the current status in the development of Nrf2 chemical activators and inhibitors for the use of potential chemopreventive agents and chemotherapeutic adjuvants, respectively.
Synthesis of a 2ꞌꞌ-Deoxy-β-GalCer
Authors: Thakur Meena , Khurana Archana , Kronenberg Mitchell , Howell Amy
Published: July 2014

Structural studies of ternary complexes of CD1d/glycosyl ceramides/iNKT cells and CD1d/sulfatide/sulfatide reactive Type II NKT cells have shown how the polar moieties on the glycolipids interact with both the antigen presenting protein (CD1d) and the T cell receptors. However, these structures alone do not reveal the relative importance of these interactions. This study focuses on the synthesis of the previously unknown 2ꞌꞌ-deoxy-β-galactosyl ceramide 2. This glycolipid is also evaluated for its ability to stimulate iNKT cells and sulfatide-reactive Type II NKT cells.
Capsaicin: A Potent Inhibitor of Carbonic Anhydrase Isoenzymes
Authors: Arabaci Betul , Gulcin Ilhami , Alwasel Saleh
Published: July 2014

Carbonic anhydrase (CA, EC 4.2.1.1) is a zinc containing metalloenzyme that catalyzes the rapid and reversible conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O) into a proton (H+) and bicarbonate (HCO3–) ion. On the other hand, capsaicin is the main component in hot chili peppers and is used extensively used in spices, food additives and drugs; it is responsible for their spicy flavor and pungent taste. There are sixteen known CA isoforms in humans. Human CA isoenzymes I, and II (hCA I and hCA II) are ubiquitous cytosolic isoforms. In this study, the inhibition properties of capsaicin against the slow cytosolic isoform hCA I, and the ubiquitous and dominant rapid cytosolic isozymes hCA II were studied. Both CA isozymes were inhibited by capsaicin in the micromolar range. This naturally bioactive compound has a Ki of 696.15 µM against hCA I, and of 208.37 µM against hCA II.
Chronic Low Dose Rate Ionizing Radiation Exposure Induces Premature Senescence in Human Fibroblasts that Correlates with Up Regulation of Proteins Involved in Protection against Oxidative Stress
Authors: Loseva Olga , Shubbar Emman , Haghdoost Siamak , Evers Bastiaan , Helleday Thomas , Harms-Ringdahl Mats
Published: July 2014

The risks of non-cancerous diseases associated with exposure to low doses of radiation are at present not validated by epidemiological data, and pose a great challenge to the scientific community of radiation protection research. Here, we show that premature senescence is induced in human fibroblasts when exposed to chronic low dose rate (LDR) exposure (5 or 15 mGy/h) of gamma rays from a 137Cs source. Using a proteomic approach we determined differentially expressed proteins in cells after chronic LDR radiation compared to control cells. We identified numerous proteins involved in protection against oxidative stress, suggesting that these pathways protect against premature senescence. In order to further study the role of oxidative stress for radiation induced premature senescence, we also used human fibroblasts, isolated from a patient with a congenital deficiency in glutathione synthetase (GS). We found that these GS deficient cells entered premature senescence after a significantly shorter time of chronic LDR exposure as compared to the GS proficient cells. In conclusion, we show that chronic LDR exposure induces premature senescence in human fibroblasts, and propose that a stress induced increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) is mechanistically involved.
Infrared Thermography for Temperature Measurement and Non-Destructive Testing
Authors: Usamentiaga Rubén , Venegas Pablo , Guerediaga Jon , Vega Laura , Molleda Julio , Bulnes Francisco
Published: July 2014

The intensity of the infrared radiation emitted by objects is mainly a function of their temperature. In infrared thermography, this feature is used for multiple purposes: as a health indicator in medical applications, as a sign of malfunction in mechanical and electrical maintenance or as an indicator of heat loss in buildings. This paper presents a review of infrared thermography especially focused on two applications: temperature measurement and non-destructive testing, two of the main fields where infrared thermography-based sensors are used. A general introduction to infrared thermography and the common procedures for temperature measurement and non-destructive testing are presented. Furthermore, developments in these fields and recent advances are reviewed.
Developing Barbed Microtip-Based Electrode Arrays for Biopotential Measurement
Authors: Hsu Li-Sheng , Tung Shu-Wei , Kuo Che-Hsi , Yang Yao-Joe
Published: July 2014

This study involved fabricating barbed microtip-based electrode arrays by using silicon wet etching. KOH anisotropic wet etching was employed to form a standard pyramidal microtip array and HF/HNO3 isotropic etching was used to fabricate barbs on these microtips. To improve the electrical conductance between the tip array on the front side of the wafer and the electrical contact on the back side, a through-silicon via was created during the wet etching process. The experimental results show that the forces required to detach the barbed microtip arrays from human skin, a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) polymer, and a polyvinylchloride (PVC) film were larger compared with those required to detach microtip arrays that lacked barbs. The impedances of the skin-electrode interface were measured and the performance levels of the proposed dry electrode were characterized. Electrode prototypes that employed the proposed tip arrays were implemented. Electroencephalogram (EEG) and electrocardiography (ECG) recordings using these electrode prototypes were also demonstrated.
Wireless Displacement Sensing of Micromachined Spiral-Coil Actuator Using Resonant Frequency Tracking
Authors: Ali Mohamed , AbuZaiter Alaa , Schlosser Colin , Bycraft Brad , Takahata Kenichi
Published: July 2014

This paper reports a method that enables real-time displacement monitoring and control of micromachined resonant-type actuators using wireless radiofrequency (RF). The method is applied to an out-of-plane, spiral-coil microactuator based on shape-memory-alloy (SMA). The SMA spiral coil forms an inductor-capacitor resonant circuit that is excited using external RF magnetic fields to thermally actuate the coil. The actuation causes a shift in the circuit’s resonance as the coil is displaced vertically, which is wirelessly monitored through an external antenna to track the displacements. Controlled actuation and displacement monitoring using the developed method is demonstrated with the microfabricated device. The device exhibits a frequency sensitivity to displacement of 10 kHz/µm or more for a full out-of-plane travel range of 466 µm and an average actuation velocity of up to 155 µm/s. The method described permits the actuator to have a self-sensing function that is passively operated, thereby eliminating the need for separate sensors and batteries on the device, thus realizing precise control while attaining a high level of miniaturization in the device.
A Real-Time Fatigue Monitoring and Analysis System for Lower Extremity Muscles with Cycling Movement
Authors: Chen Szi-Wen , Liaw Jiunn-Woei , Chan Hsiao-Lung , Chang Ya-Ju , Ku Chia-Hao
Published: July 2014

A real-time muscle fatigue monitoring system was developed to quantitatively detect the muscle fatigue of subjects during cycling movement, where a fatigue progression measure (FPM) was built-in. During the cycling movement, the electromyogram (EMG) signals of the vastus lateralis and gastrocnemius muscles in one leg as well as cycling speed are synchronously measured in a real-time fashion. In addition, the heart rate (HR) and the Borg rating of perceived exertion scale value are recorded per minute. Using the EMG signals, the electrical activity and median frequency (MF) are calculated per cycle. Moreover, the updated FPM, based on the percentage of reduced MF counts during cycling movement, is calculated to measure the onset time and the progressive process of muscle fatigue. To demonstrate the performance of our system, five young healthy subjects were recruited. Each subject was asked to maintain a fixed speed of 60 RPM, as best he/she could, under a constant load during the pedaling. When the speed reached 20 RPM or the HR reached the maximal training HR, the experiment was then terminated immediately. The experimental results show that the proposed system may provide an on-line fatigue monitoring and analysis for the lower extremity muscles during cycling movement.
Synchronous Motor with Hybrid Permanent Magnets on the Rotor
Authors: Slusarek Barbara , Kapelski Dariusz , Antal Ludwik , Zalas Pawel , Gwoździewicz Maciej
Published: July 2014

Powder metallurgy allows designers of electric motors to implement new magnetic circuit structures. A relatively new concept is the use of a magnet system consisting of various types of magnets on one rotor, for example sintered and bonded magnets. This concept has been applied to the design and manufacture of the four-pole rotor of a synchronous motor with 400 W power and a rotational speed of 1500 rpm. In this motor, the stator of an asynchronous motor type Sh 71-4B is applied. The application of the new construction of the rotor resulted in an increase in motor efficiency and power factor compared to an asynchronous motor with the same volume.
The Efficacy of Bamboo Charcoal in Comparison with Smectite to Reduce the Detrimental Effect of Aflatoxin B1 on In Vitro Rumen Fermentation of a Hay-Rich Feed Mixture
Authors: Jiang Ya-Hui , Wang Ping , Yang Hong-Jian , Chen Ying
Published: July 2014

Two commercial materials, a bamboo charcoal (BC) and a smectite clay (SC), were assessed in vitro with aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in an equilibrium adsorption test. The adsorption capacity and proportion adsorbed (0.381 μg/mg, 0.955) for BC were greater than for SC (0.372 μg/mg, 0.931). The effects of in vitro ruminal fermentation of hay-rich feed incubated with 1.0 μg/mL AFB1 for 0–10 g/L doses of BC and SC were measured at 39 °C for 72 h. The BC and SC binders increased AFB1 loss at dosages ≥1.0 g/L (p < 0.0001). Average AFB1 loss (p < 0.0001) was greater for SC (0.904) than BC (0.881). Both SC and SC addition increased in vitro dry matter loss, and the average dry matter losses were similar. Asymptotic gas volume and volatile fatty acid production were greater for BC than for SC (p < 0.0001). Thus, BC may be as effective as SC in removing aflatoxin B1’s detrimental effects on rumen degradability and fermentation under the occurrence of microbial aflatoxin degradation.
Multivalent scaffolds induce galectin-3 aggregation into nanoparticles
Authors: Goodman Candace K , Wolfenden Mark L , Nangia-Makker Pratima , Michel Anna K , Raz Avraham , Cloninger Mary J
Published: July 2014

Galectin-3 meditates cell surface glycoprotein clustering, cross linking, and lattice formation. In cancer biology, galectin-3 has been reported to play a role in aggregation processes that lead to tumor embolization and survival. Here, we show that lactose-functionalized dendrimers interact with galectin-3 in a multivalent fashion to form aggregates. The glycodendrimer–galectin aggregates were characterized by dynamic light scattering and fluorescence microscopy methodologies and were found to be discrete particles that increased in size as the dendrimer generation was increased. These results show that nucleated aggregation of galectin-3 can be regulated by the nucleating polymer and provide insights that improve the general understanding of the binding and function of sugar-binding proteins.
A COMPARISON BETWEEN MILP AND MINLP APPROACHES TO OPTIMAL SOLUTION OF NONLINEAR DISCRETE TRANSPORTATION PROBLEM
Authors: Klanšek Uroš
Published: July 2014

Finding an exact optimal solution of the Nonlinear Discrete Transportation Problem (NDTP) represents a challenging task in transportation science. Development of an adequate model formulation and selection of an appropriate optimization method are thus significant for attaining valuable solution of the NDTP. When nonlinearities appear within the criterion of optimization, the NDTP can be formulated directly as a Mixed-Integer Nonlinear Programming (MINLP) task or it can be linearized and converted into a Mixed-Integer Linear Programming (MILP) problem. This paper presents a comparison between MILP and MINLP approaches to exact optimal solution of the NDTP. The comparison is based on obtained results of experiments executed on a set of reference test problems. The paper discusses advantages and limitations of both optimization approaches.
E-Governmentization
Authors: Park JungHo , Prombescu Greg
Published: July 2014

The objective of this chapter is to critically evaluate the e-governmentization of administrative processes, which many developing nations have come to enthusiastically espouse. From a theoretical perspective, such a trend is ostensibly positive, as e-government serves to promote transparency and efficient information exchange, which in turn serves to stimulate more equal distributions of power, inside as well as outside the bureaucracy, and perhaps most importantly (efficiently) solicit greater citizen participation. However, such benefits associated with the proliferation of e-government are often contingent upon a host of prerequisite conditions that, often times, developing nations do not meet. Therefore, such enthusiastic attempts by developing nations to e-governmentize administrative processes may be misplaced. As such, the primary thesis of this research is that the e-governmentization of administrative processes are likely to stimulate positive effects only after a certain level of democracy has been achieved. To explore this thesis, this chapter focuses on exploring the evolution and ensuing effects of the proliferation of e-government in South Korea.
Rural-Urban Digital Divide in Romania
Authors: Stoica Virgil , Ilas Andrei
Published: July 2014

The last two decades witnessed the sudden raise in importance of Information and Communications Technology (ICT). Some societies have been quick to embrace the benefits of ICT, while others have used the new technologies in a rather limited way. A new term, “digital divide,” was coined to describe the gap between the societies using ICT on a large scale and those with limited access. Much was written with respect to the causes of this gap. Factors such as socioeconomic conditions, geographical position, tradition, social and individual values are considered to play major roles in the creation of the digital divide. The vast majority of the studies have focused on the digital performance of cities with far less attention being paid to what was happening in the villages. Arguably, the villages would greatly benefit, and the existent data shows that in many societies a significant rural-urban digital divide is already in place. The goal of this chapter is to assess the urban-rural digital divide in Romania in terms of official website performances by evaluating five components: security and personal data protection, usability, content, type of services, and digital democracy. The authors conclude that in Romania the rural-urban digital divide is extremely large. Based on their conclusions, they offer suggestions for future studies and policies.
Medicare and Medicaid Services Online
Authors: Schmeida Mary , McNeal Ramona
Published: July 2014

Government initiatives in the United States have been passed in an effort to increase citizen usage of e-government programs. One such service is the availability of online health insurance information. However, not all demographic groups have been equally able to access these services, primarily the poor and rural American. As more legislation is passed, including the advancement of broadband services to remote areas, infrastructure barriers are being removed, opening access to Medicare and Medicaid websites for these vulnerable groups. The purpose of this chapter is to analyze factors predicting the impact of recent government actions on citizen access to health insurance information online. This topic is explored using multivariate regression analysis and individual level data from the Internet and American Life Project. The findings suggest that healthcare needs and quality of Internet access may be playing a more important role in health insurance information services than other factors.
Toward Digital Inclusion
Authors: Anzera Giuseppe , Comunello Francesca
Published: July 2014

This chapter addresses the relationships between social inclusion and digital divide(s), mainly focusing on the conceptual frameworks that provide the basis for rethinking the relationship between technological, social, and human factors. Redefining the digital divide has deep consequences on the theoretical and empirical framework we apply to the digital divide and to the related social inclusion processes. It is widely acknowledged that the label digital divide can be partially misleading, because it is mostly emphasizing a binary dimension (haves vs. have not) and a mere technological dimension. In order to achieve a clear operational definition of the digital divide, we should avoid some misleading myths characterizing the debate and focus on the complex relationships between technological, social, and human factors (a dichotomous conceptualization, a narrow understanding of the technological factors involved, a technological deterministic approach), adopting, instead, an enabling technology approach. Therefore, the authors introduce a multilevel model for analyzing digital divides (Comunello, 2010), with a main focus on new media literacy (the model considers not only mere technology availability, but also real access, advanced reception practices, technical skills, content production, networking skills). Finally, they review some empirical methods for studying the digital divide, trying to underline how a more nuanced framework for analysing the digital divide can be adopted by empirical research.
Local Government as a Democracy Actor or a Service Delivery Actor
Authors: Demediuk Peter , Burgess Stephen , Solli Rolf
Published: July 2014

Local governance occurs where a local government gives citizens a say in things that really matter to them, and e-governance initiatives provide electronic means to enable citizens to participate in this shared governing of the community. The clearer a local government is about the nature and degree to which it needs to act as a democracy actor (better citizens and better government) and/or a service delivery actor (better decision making), the greater the prospect that it can choose appropriate electronic means through an e-governance approach to meet those ends. In order to guide an e-governance practice and inform further research, this chapter: provides models that articulate the elements that constitute better decision making, better citizens, and better government, and presents examples from five local governments of how electronic means can satisfy particular ends.
Social Inclusion and OmbudsOffice Websites in Canada
Authors: Hyson Stewart
Published: July 2014

The Internet and digital technology provide great potential for public sector organizations to broaden their scope of social inclusion and thereby better serve the populace. This is especially the case of the Ombudsman institution that exists to provide the public with an independent mechanism through which members of the public may seek redress of grievances of alleged administrative wrongdoings. However has the potential of what has been a reality in Canada been realized? This chapter takes a user's approach to depict what users find when they go online to lodge complaints with OmbudsOffices, both federally and provincially in Canada. For the most part, Canadian OmbudsOffices have been relatively conservative by placing online information that is also found in printed format.
On the Generalization Power of Face and Gait in Gender Recognition
Authors: Guan Yu , Wei Xingjie , Li Chang-Tsun
Published: July 2014

Human face/gait-based gender recognition has been intensively studied in the previous literatures, yet most of them are based on the same database. Although nearly perfect gender recognition rates can be achieved in the same face/gait dataset, they assume a closed-world and neglect the problems caused by dataset bias. Real-world human gender recognition system should be dataset-independent, i.e., it can be trained on one face/gait dataset and tested on another. In this paper, the authors test several popular face/gait-based gender recognition algorithms in a cross-dataset manner. The recognition rates decrease significantly and some of them are only slightly better than random guess. These observations suggest that the generalization power of conventional algorithms is less satisfied, and highlight the need for further research on face/gait-based gender recognition for real-world applications.
An Efficient Pruning and Filtering Strategy to Mine Partial Periodic Patterns from a Sequence of Event Sets
Authors: Yang Kung-Jiuan , Hong Tzung-Pei , Chen Yuh-Min , Lan Guo-Cheng
Published: July 2014

Partial periodic patterns are commonly seen in real-world applications. The major problem of mining partial periodic patterns is the efficiency problem due to a huge set of partial periodic candidates. Although some efficient algorithms have been developed to tackle the problem, the performance of the algorithms significantly drops when the mining parameters are set low. In the past, the authors have adopted the projection-based approach to discover the partial periodic patterns from single-event time series. In this paper, the authors extend it to mine partial periodic patterns from a sequence of event sets which multiple events concurrently occur at the same time stamp. Besides, an efficient pruning and filtering strategy is also proposed to speed up the mining process. Finally, the experimental results on a synthetic dataset and real oil price dataset show the good performance of the proposed approach.
Mining Customer Knowledge for a Recommendation System in Convenience Stores
Authors: Liao Shu-Hsien , Wen Chih-Hao , Hsian Pei-Yuan , Li Chien-Wen , Hsu Che-Wei
Published: July 2014

Taiwan's rapid economic growth with increasing personal income leads increasing numbers of young unmarried people to eat out, and shopping at convenience stores for food is indispensable to the lives of these people. Thus, it is an essential issue for convenience store owners to know how to accurately market appropriate products and to choose effective endorsers for brands or products in order to attract target consumers. Data mining is a business intelligence analysis approach with great potential to help businesses focus on the most important business information contained in a database. Therefore, this study uses the Apriori algorithm as an association rules approach, and clustering analysis for data mining. The authors divide consumers into three groups by their consumer profiles and then find each group's product preference mixes, product endorsers, and product/brand line extensions for new product development. These are developed as a recommendation system for 7-11 convenience stores in Taiwan.
Exploring Educator Perceptions of Need, Sustainability, and Impact of Global Online Theological Courses
Authors: Beaty Andrew J.
Published: July 2014

Concerns regarding the potential for delivering theological education internationally and in an online format have been raised. The scarce research in this area points to the need for further investigation. The current study involves the use of a qualitative research design to explore experienced educators' perceptions on the need, sustainability, and impact of delivering theological content globally through online courses. The findings from educator interviews demonstrate the need for the development of international partnerships and the delivery of culturally relevant online theological courses in ways that allow students around the globe to gain access to theological training in modes that work for them.
Mobile Government Services
Authors: Abu Tair Hassan Y. A. , Abu-Shanab Emad A.
Published: July 2014

The vast emergence of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) lead governments to adopt the use of ICT to deliver services to their citizens, businesses, and government constituents. These services can be delivered via the Internet using web technology (e-government) in an interactive way like any other e-service. But with the advent and wide use of mobile technologies, governments transformed their mechanism in delivering service to utilize more the capabilities of mobile phones through the better employment of mobile government (m-government). M-government utilizes mobile technologies to better deliver services to citizens, but this enforces some challenges to both governments and the recipients of services. In this paper the authors addressed the challenges and opportunities of m-governments in terms of mobile services (m-services).
Predicting Personality Traits, Gender and Psychopath Behavior of Twitter Users
Authors: Akram Hasan Ali AL , Mahmood Amjad
Published: July 2014

Social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, are quickly becoming one of the most popular tools for social interaction and information exchange. Users of social networks reveal a lot about themselves in their public profiles, photos and status updates. While, social networks request users to create a truthful representation of themselves, they actually do so with a varying degree of accuracy. Depending on their privacy attitudes, the users may choose not to share details they find sensitive or tend to provide fake information. Contrary to a number of previous studies to predict the personality traits of the users of social networks primarily based on the users' profiles and other publically available information, this study provides an insight into the personality traits and psychopath behavior of twitter users by analyzing the tweets. The authors predict personality traits along the dimensions of “Big Five” personality model, gender and psychopath behavior of Twitter users. The paper discusses our data collection, gender, personality traits and psychopathic behavior prediction tool. It presents the analysis results of 327672 tweets of 345 users. The results show that there are more male users than the female users (70% male and 30% female). The results also show that majority of Twitter users are open to new ideas, are more agreeable and conscientious in nature but are less extravert. Out of 345 users, nine were indicating psychopath behavior and show less neuroticism. The authors also present a comparison of our personality traits' results with the results of two other similar studies.
A Keyphrase-Based Approach to Text Summarization for English and Bengali Documents
Authors: Sarkar Kamal
Published: July 2014

With the rapid growth of the World Wide Web, information overload is becoming a problem for an increasingly large number of people. Since summarization helps human to digest the main contents of a text document very rapidly, there is a need for an effective and powerful tool that can automatically summarize text. In this paper, we present a keyphrase based approach to single document summarization that extracts first a set of keyphrases from a document, use the extracted keyphrases to choose sentences from the document and finally form an extractive summary with the chosen sentences. We view keyphrases (single or multi-word) as the important concepts and we assume that an extractive summary of a document is an elaboration of the important concepts contained in the document to some permissible extent and it is controlled by the given summary length. We have tested our proposed keyphrase-based summarization approach on two different datasets: one for English and another for Bengali. The experimental results show that the performance of the proposed system is comparable to some state-of-the art summarization systems.
Preservation of the smooth muscular internal (vesical) sphincter and of the proximal urethra during retropubic radical prostatectomy: A technical modification to improve the early recovery of continence
Authors: Brunocilla Eugenio , Schiavina Riccardo , Borghesi Marco , Pultrone Cristian , Cevenini Matteo , Vagnoni Valerio , Martorana Giuseppe
Published: July 2014

Objective: We describe our technique for preservation of the smooth muscular internal (vesical) sphincter and proximal urethra during radical retropubic prostatectomy (RRP) and present our preliminary clinical results. Materials and methods: The first steps of the prostatectomy reflect the standard RRP, while for the final phases the procedure continues in an anterograde manner with incision of the fibers of the detrusor muscle at the insertion of the ventral surface of the base of the prostate. At this level, the inner circular muscle of the bladder neck forms a sphincteric ring of smooth muscle that covers the longitudinally oriented smooth muscle component of the urethral musculature that extends distally to the verumontanum. These two proximal structures represent the internal sphincter that envelops and locks the proximal urethra. A blunt dissection is continued until the ring shaped vesical sphincter is separated from the prostate and the longitudinally oriented smooth muscle component of the urethral musculature is identified. The base of the prostate is then gently separated from the urethra and from the bladder until the maximal length of the urethral musculature is isolated and preserved. Results: After 30 initial set-up procedures, 40 consecutive patients with organ confined prostate cancer were submitted to radical retropubic prostatectomy with the preservation of muscular internal sphincter and the proximal urethra and compared to 40 patients submitted to standard procedure who served as control group. The group of patients submitted to our technical modification had a faster recovery of early continence than control group at 3 and 7 days. Conclusions: The described technique is a feasible and safe method for preservation of the internal urethral sphincter and allows improving the early recovery of urinary continence. The technique does not increase the rate of positive margins and the duration of the procedure.
Treatment of penile strangulation by the rotating saw and 4-needle aspiration method: Two case reports
Authors: Talib Raidh A. , Canguven Onder , Al Ansari Abdulla , Shamsodini Ahmad
Published: July 2014

Introduction: The aim of this article was to describe our experience in using rotating saw and also combination of the instrument with 4-needle aspiration. Methods: A comprehensive review of the literature was performed using PubMed. “Penile strangulation, -constriction, -incarceration, -entrapment” were used as search terms, and a manual bibliographic review of cross referenced items was performed. Results: Search results yielded nearly 70 cases of penile strangulation caused by a variety of objects. Various instruments have been described in the literature for their safe removal, each with its own pros and cons. Conclusions: Penile strangulation should be accepted as a self-induced priapism and managed as an emergency in order to preserve erectile function and to prevent penile necrosis. Surgical creativity and patience are necessary in order to have a successful outcome.
First-time versus repeat visitors at the Kruger National Park
Authors: Kruger Martinette , Saayman Melville , Hermann Uwe P.
Published: July 2014

Purpose: The aim of this research is to segment visitors at the Kruger National Park based on the frequency of visitation in order to distinguish between first-time and repeat park visitors.Problem investigated: The Kruger National Park (KNP) in South Africa is one of the world’s most renowned wildlife reserves. The KNP is in great demand because it is regarded as anall-inclusive holiday destination that provides tourists with a unique nature and leisure experience. As a result, the park attracts over one million visitors per annum and is one of the top five international tourist destinations in the country. For the KNP to sustain its visitor numbers, park managers should realise that both first-time and repeat visitor groups play a fundamental role in the overall competitiveness and success of the park, and they should strive to achieve a balance between first-time and repeat visitors. Therefore, the park management should know which attributes of the park attract first-time visitors group and which attract repeat visitors.Design and methodology and approach: A research survey was done at various rest camps inthe KNP from 26 December 2010 to 03 January 2011; a total of 436 visitor questionnaires were completed. Two-way frequency tables and chi-square tests as well as analysis of variance and Tukey’s multiple comparisons were used to analyse the data and segment first-time and repeat visitors based on socio-demographics and behavioural characteristics as well as travel motivations.Findings and implications: The results indicated that first-time visitors are long-haul visitors, are younger and pay for fewer people whilst repeat visitors are mainly motivated by escape and plan their trips well in advance. These differences indicate that the KNP should follow a two pronged marketing approach aimed at both visitor markets. This would greatly contribute to the long-term sustainability and competitiveness of the KNP.
Can We augment the US Trauma Fellow's Operative Training? The PTS Fellowship: A US Surgical Critical Care Fellow's Experience in Colombia
Authors: Aboutanos Michael , Peck Gregory Lance , Paula Ferrada , Joseph Hanna , Ferrada Ricardo , Christopher Dente
Published: July 2014

Objective

To send an American fellow surgeon to a Panamerican country and quantify operative skills acquisition.

Materials and methods

A second year surgical critical care fellow from a Level One Urban Trauma Center was sent to Cali, Colombia from April 1 to 21, 2013. The operative experience was evaluated. Total cases, first time cases, and first time procedures, defined as technical portions within trauma cases, were recorded.

Results

In 20 operative days, 172 total cases were performed in the following categories: burn 112, trauma 19, emergent general 16, elective general 14, plastics 8, and laparoscopic bariatric 3. First exposure operations included 46/112 burn cases, 8/8 trauma/burn reconstructive cases, 1/16 emergent general cases, 11/14 elective general cases, and 3/3 laparoscopic bariatric cases. Of the 19 total trauma operations (not including 2 amputations), 3 left anterolateral thoracotomies, 2 clamshell thoracotomies, 1 diagnostic laparoscopy, 1 open pericardial window, 10 exploratory laparotomies and 2 relaparotomies were performed. The 19 trauma operations consisted of 26 (not including the 2 amputations) procedures. Twenty-three percent were first time performed trauma procedures (6/26, not including amputations).

Nearly 9 (8.6) operations were performed per day. In five 12-hour shifts of trauma call, 19 operations were performed within 60 hours. One trauma operative case was performed for every 3.15 hours worked.

Conclusion

In the current era of American trauma training in which penetrating trauma and total number of operative cases is concentrated to specific centers in the United States, additional methods in education and experience should be sought for the American trauma fellow. This is the first reported international trauma fellow rotation in Cali, Colombia, with an operative experience very different than standard and current opportunities. Our experience serves as a potential template for future endeavors in surgical education.

How to cite this article

Peck GL, Paula F, Joseph H, Ferrada R, Christopher D, Ordonez C, Aboutanos M, Gracias V. Can We augment the US Trauma Fellow's Operative Training? The PTS Fellowship: A US Surgical Critical Care Fellow's Experience in Colombia. Panam J Trauma Crit Care Emerg Surg 2014;3(1):1-7.