bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Determinación de un índice de riesgo y vulnerabilidad en poblaciones costeras: estudio de caso Portobelo, provincia de Colón
Authors: Grey Ariel Antonio
Published: September 2020

El impacto ocasionado por las actividades humanas convierte a las zonas costeras en áreas vulnerables. Es por esto por lo que surge la necesidad de desarrollar un índice de riesgo y vulnerabilidad. El objetivo de la investigación es lograr determinar un índice de riesgo y vulnerabilidad a partir de la calidad fisicoquímico y microbiológico de las aguas superficiales marino-costeras y factores socioeconómicos utilizando como caso de estudio la ciudad costera de Portobelo, provincia de Colon. La metodología se dividió en 3 partes: determinación de un índice de calidad de agua marina costero, el análisis de amenazas y vulnerabilidades y la presentación del índice de riesgo y vulnerabilidad. Como resultado se obtuvo que el Índice de calidad de agua marina fue representada por 71.71, una calidad buena a regular.  Se determino las vulnerabilidades, física con un valor de 2.0, moderado a bajo; educativas de 2.7, bajo a moderado; socioeconómicas de 3.6, moderado a alto; y ambientales de 3.7, moderada a alta. Se obtuvo un índice de Riesgo y Vulnerabilidad de 3.0, considerado moderado. El índice de Riesgo y Vulnerabilidad representa una herramienta que puede ser considerada para determinar un valor que defina el grado de riesgo, amenaza y vulnerabilidad, que está expuesto una comunidad costera y poder implementar medidas de mitigación y concientización a la población para evitar que las amenazas sean de un impacto mayor, provocando desastres mayores y evitando la contaminación de los recursos.
Evaluación de la estabilidad del sistema de transmisión eléctrica a partir de estructuras simétricas considerando transferencia de carga
Authors: Jami Solis Saúl Mauricio
Published: September 2020

Este artículo propone un análisis de la geometría de las líneas de transmisión, basado en comparaciones de diferentes geometrías, que se proponen para analizar qué sistema es el más óptimo para su posible implementación, lo que permite introducir criterios de construcción y diseños apropiados en las líneas de transmisión, dependiendo del calibre de los conductores y las distancias entre las líneas, según las curvas de capacidad de carga de St.Clair, que ofrecen una forma sencilla de visualizar la capacidad de transferencia de energía de las líneas eléctricas. transmisión. Hay una serie de agentes o componentes que condicionan la capacidad de las líneas de transmisión, algunos de estos se discuten desde un punto de vista práctico, como la estabilidad para líneas de más de 80 km, hay varias publicaciones que se refieren a este tema, que analiza todos los aspectos del problema de estabilidad en las líneas de transmisión, lo que significa en la práctica que la línea de transmisión es esencialmente una reactancia, un punto de referencia que se ha estructurado para este tipo de análisis de una impedancia de aumento (SIL) de uno, para un convencional línea de 480 km, operando a una frecuencia de 60 Hz.
Prevalencia y caracterización de gestantes seropositivas para SARS-CoV-2
Authors: Guevara-Ríos Enrique , Carranza-Asmat Cesar , Zevallos-Espinoza Kelly , Espinola-Sánchez Marcos , Arango-Ochante Pedro , Ayala-Peralta Félix Dasio , Álvarez-Carrasco Ricardo , Luna-Figueroa Antonio , Meza-Santibañez Luis , Pérez-Aliaga Carlos , Racchumí-Vela Augusto
Published: September 2020

Objetivo: Describir la prevalencia y características de las gestantes seropositivas para SARS-CoV-2. Material y métodos: Estudio cuantitativo, transversal y descriptivo. Realizado en gestantes tamizadas para SARS-CoV-2 que cumplieron criterios de selección al ingreso hospitalario. Se recogieron variables de las características maternas, complicaciones del embarazo y condición del recién nacido a partir del historial médico respectivo. El análisis de datos se realizó utilizando estadígrafos descriptivos e intervalos de confianza al 95%. Resultados: Se tamizaron 1477 embarazadas ingresadas a hospitalización, identificando una seroprevalencia de anticuerpos anti-SARS-CoV-2 en el 5.28% (IC95%: 4.22%-6.57%). Entre los casos de seroprevalencia positiva, se observó IgM 11.5% (IC95%: 5.7%-21.3%), IgM/IgG 64.1% (IC95%: 5.7%-21.3%), IgG 19% (IC95%: 15.7% y 35.6%), 91% de gestantes seropositivas fueron asintomáticas, 40% de gestantes seropositivas presentó algún tipo de complicación del embarazo, siendo más frecuente ruptura prematura de membranas (14.1%), aborto (4.1%) y amenaza de parto pretermino (4.1%). De las gestantes que culminaron en parto el 69.6% fue vía vaginal, encontrándose un 11.6% de parto pretermino. No hubo muertes maternas ni muertes en recién nacidos. Conclusión: Las gestantes con criterios de hospitalización para atención del parto o por morbilidad del embarazo presentan una prevalencia de serología positiva para SARS-CoV-2 del 5.28%; mayormente son asintomáticas. No se descarta posibles efectos del virus SARS-CoV-2 ante los hallazgos de parto pretermino, ruptura prematura de membrana y aborto espontáneo.
Graphene Oxide Coated Silver Nanofiber Transparent Conducting Electrode
Authors: Hyeon Jae Young , Choa Sung-Hoon , Park Kyoung Wan , Sok Jung Hyun
Published: September 2020

We fabricated a transparent conducting electrode composed of graphene oxide (GO) and silver (Ag) nanofibers. The graphene oxide was spray-coated on the Ag nanofiber film, which was fabricated by electrospinning process. Ag/poly(vinyl alcohol) ink was fabricated in a polymer matrix solution using the solgel method. The sprayed film was sintered at 200 oC for 100 min under H2/Ar atmosphere. The optical transmittance of the transparent electrodes was measured by UV/VIS spectroscopy, and sheet resistance was measured using I-V measurement system. As the amount of GO sprayed on the nanofibers increased, the diameters of the nanofibers increased, therefore, the transmittance of the electrode linearly decreased. However, the conductivity of the electrode increased. This is because the sprayed GO filled the gap between the nanofibers, and GO deposited on the surface of the nanofibers will form more effective electron pathways, resulting in increased conductivity. The GO-Ag nanofiber electrode also exhibited excellent environmental stability, and the sheet resistance of the electrode remained very stable during 30 days testing. The lowest sheet resistance of the transparent electrode was 250 ohm/sq with approximately 83% transparency at a wavelength of 550 nm. This excellent electrical properties and environmental stability might facilitate applications of the GO-Ag nanofiber electrode in optoelectronic devices.
Preparation of Electroformed Copper-Nickel Multi-Nano-Layers and Characterization of Their Electromagnetic Shielding Effectiveness
Authors: Choi Yong
Published: September 2020

Thin copper-nickel foil with multi-nano layers was prepared by pulse-electroforming to develop a high performance electromagnetic shielding material for electronic devices. The pulse electroforming conditions of the aqueous solution chemistry were selected based on the aqueous copper-nickel-sulfur phase diagram and an evaluation of the deposition rate using the finite element method based on the current distribution in front of a cathodic electrode. The thermodynamic stability diagram revealed that the coppernickel multi-nano layers could be formed at pH<4 and ΔE>1.0 V in a modified sulfide bath. The electro-formed copper-nickel multi-layer was well produced at the pulse plating conditions of –0.2VSHE, –0.5 mA/cm2, and 25 seconds for copper layer and –1.7 VSHE, –50 mA/cm2 and 80 seconds for nickel layer, which was composed of about 25 nm thick copper and about 30 nm thick nickel rich phases, respectively. The average deposition rate of the copper-nickel foil with multi-nano layers was estimated by the finite element method to be about 0.115 mm/sec, which was in good agreement with the real value of the thin multi-nano layered copper-nickel foil. The effectiveness of the electromagnetic shielding of the copper-nickel mesh with multi-nano layers was more than 30% higher than that of copper mesh in the frequency range of 8.2 and 12.5 GHz.
Marching on the Capital: Hume's Experimental Science of Man as a Conquest for Occupied Territory
Authors: Watts Gabriel
Published: September 2020

In this paper I set out what I call a ‘conquest’ conception of Hume's experimental science of man. It is notable, I claim, that Hume regards what he calls the ‘capital’ of the sciences – ‘the science of MAN’ – as occupied territory, and that he views his ‘direct’ method of approach upon the science of human nature as a ‘conquest’. I expand upon such statements by leveraging the comparison that Hume draws between experimental moral philosophy and the experimental tradition in natural philosophy inaugurated by Francis Bacon. Overall, I suggest that Hume's decision to ground his science of human nature upon experience and observation is as much about overthrowing the epistemic authority of speculative dogmas as it is about establishing a secure foundation for his system of the sciences, and I contend that Hume's application of his hypotheses to animals is central to this conception of his philosophical project in the Treatise.
ANALISIS PERCEPATAN PENCAPAIAN TARGET RETRIBUSI PELAYANAN PERSAMPAHAN DENGAN PEMBERIAN REWARD OLEH PIHAK KETIGA (Studi Kasus pada Kantor Kecamatan Koba Kabupaten Bangka Tengah)
Authors: Oktabian Roy Haris
Published: September 2020

ABSTRAK. Kegiatan ini adalah sebuah terobosan baru dalam rangka untuk mencapai target retribusi pelayanan persampahan yang dibebankan pada Kecamatan Koba Kabupaten Bangka Tengah setiap tahunnya. Dengan kegiatan ini, Kecamatan Kota sebagai instansi yang diberi kewenangan melakukan pungutan terhadap retribusi tersebut, menciptakan metode baru dalam melakukan pungutan, yaitu dengan memberikan reward. Reward diberikan kepada Objek Retribusi yang mau membayar retribusi pelayanan persampahan setidaknya 2 (dua) bulan berturut turut. Dengan metode ini, selain dapat mempercepat pencapaian target, sangat diharapkan mampu menumbuhkan kesadaran dan kemauan masyarakat untuk membayar retribusi pelayanan persampahan sehingga objek retribusi dapat bertambah dan target serta capaian di tahun tahun mendatang pun ikut meningkat. Apabila hal ini dapat diwujudkan, maka Instansi Kecamatan Koba pun dianggap telah memberikan dukungan terhadap tercapainya target Pendapatan Asli Daerah khususnya sektor retribusi daerah.

Kata Kunci : pelayanan persampahan, reward, percepatan pencapaian
SINERGITAS PROGRAM FANTASTIC!PONOROGO DALAM RANGKA PEMBANGUNAN PARIWISATA
Authors: Nugroho Irfan , Hilman Yusuf Adam
Published: September 2020

ABSTRAK. Fantastic! Ponorogo merupakan program pembangunan pariwisata yang bersinergi antara Visi dan Misi dari Bupati Kabupaten Ponorogo yang telah di di uraikan dalam RPJMD 2016 – 2021.  Kajian ini berbicara tentang keterkaitan RPJMN, RPJMD Provinsi Jawa Timur, dan RPJMD Kabupten Ponorogo. 2019 merupakan tahun kunjungan wisata di Provinsi Jawa Timur. Pelaksanaan praktik Collaborative Governance yang menggambarkan proses kemitraan antara pemerintah dengan pihak swasta, bertujuan untuk mengoptimalkan tujuan kegiatan. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mencari tahu sinergitas program Fantastis!Ponorogo dalam rangka praktik collaborative Governance dalam sektor Pariwisat yang dilakukan di Kabupaten Ponorogo. Dalam studi ini menggunakan metode penelitian kualitatif. Praktik Collaborative Governance memperlihatkan sinergitas yang efektif dan berhasil, karena beberapa faktor, diantaranya: 1) adanya komitmen dari Bupati, Wakil Bupati dan seluruh jajaran Pemerintah Daerah Kabupaten Ponorogo dalam hal ini para kepala dinas yang supportive terhadap pelaksanaan tahun wisata 2019, 2). Terwujudnya: kolaborasi, Conectivity antar stakeholder, 3). Meningkatnya antusias Masyarkaat yang sangat aktif dalam berbagai event yang diselenggarakan, 4). Media pembelajaran bagi pemerintah dalam penyelenggaraan tugas pemerintahan.

Kata Kunci: Synergy; Collaborative Governance; Fantastic! Ponorogo; Tourism Development
The Geology of Survival: Thinking Historically about Technology and Politics in the Anthropocene
Authors: Haines Kyle
Published: September 2020

It is tempting to sort responses to the recognition of planetary change along old lines, as contests between romantic naturalists and Promethean technologists. Today, instead, we face a growing 'survivalist' response without an articulated opposition, figured Planetary Boundaries and ‘insurance’ like climate geoengineering. Pushing back against the novelty that drives calls for climate geoengineering, I summarize traits shared between survivalists and theorists of the Anthropocene, including globalizing threats, reliance on worst-case predictions, the reevaluation of old moral limits, and the reduction environmental crisis to technocratic problem-solving. Finally, I show that our era lacks the suspicion of technology that accompanied the nuclear example used by the survivalists, making calls for technocracy and global experiments more tempting than when they first populated best-seller lists. The Anthropocene may be new but, in contrast to survivalist discourse, history is still a source of critical insight for the construction of the new world it foretells.
The Arc of Complex Global Governance: From Organization to Coalition
Authors: Kahler Miles
Published: September 2020

Complex governance challenges the state- and IGO-centric focus in the study of global governance as well as its rational functionalist theoretical perspective. Complex global governance displays a common life cycle across issue areas that have become prominent in the post-Cold War decades: global health, climate change, and efforts to combat illicit financial flows. A transnational coalition expands the agenda of the complex through a political process that advances new issues and widens the agenda's scope. Although national governments and IGOs maintain important roles, resources available to the complex diversify. Governance complexes are able to target behavioral change in actors rather than relying on national governments and their compliance. A common pattern of evolution is enabled by economic and political globalization. Introducing this comparative and dynamic approach to complex global governance permits generalization that is often lacking in distributive approaches to international institutions.
How Elite Partisan Cues Affect International Organization Legitimacy
Authors: Dellmuth Lisa , Tallberg Jonas
Published: September 2020

While domestic political parties engage in growing contestation over international organizations (IOs), we know little about the effects of party cues on citizen perceptions of IO legitimacy. This paper is an effort to address this gap. We develop an argument for why citizens should be responsive to party cues when forming legitimacy beliefs toward IOs, and when those effects should be particularly strong. We conduct two vignette experiments in the US and Germany, focused on party cues regarding military spending on NATO and refugees accepted under the UN convention. We find that citizens draw on party cues when developing legitimacy beliefs toward IOs, but that these effects are conditioned by political context and individual characteristics. Party cue effects are stronger in the more polarized US political environment and for citizens with more positive attitudes toward international cooperation to start with.
Cell Phones as Instructional Technology in the Civics Classroom
Authors: Owen Diana , Sanchez Chelsea
Published: September 2020

This study examines the use of cell phones for civics instruction in U.S. elementary, middle, and high schools. It employs data from an original 2019 survey of civics, social studies, and American government teachers nationwide to examine students' access to cell phone for instruction, the extent to which cell phones are used for teaching civics, the ways that cell phones are used in the civics classroom, and teachers perceptions of the effectiveness of cell phones as an instructional technology. The study raises doubts about employing cell phones as a mechanism for narrowing the gap in civic instruction between high-need and advantaged students. It points to differences in when and how cell phones are used in particular educational contexts. It reveals trends that point to a need for further empirical research on the effect of cell phones on students achievement of civic outcomes.
The “Ecumene” as a Paradigmatic Political Symbol: Comparison between Voegelin’s “The Chinese Ecumene” and Zhao’s “Tianxia System” (Draft Version)
Authors: Liu Muen
Published: September 2020

Voegelin’s research on Tianxia is only a prototype that has some deficiencies resulting from the lack of qualified sources and the change of his theoretical interests. However, his narrative on Tianxia is still insightful in different ways. Not only does he provides an external view on sinology, but also a new interpretive methodology to understand different socio-political order patterns, including ancient China. Considering the Tiānxià-mania in Chinese academia, comparing Voegelin’s research with representative Chinese studies can help us further evaluate both the Voegelinian and the Chinese scholars’ thoughts on Tianxia.
Тюркські ойконіми новотроїцької локалізації
Authors: Горобець Артем
Published: September 2020

Матеріали статті вперше висвітлюють систематичне вивчення тюркських ойконімів, що існують у Новотроїцькому районі Херсонської області. Часові рамки охоплюють кінець XVIII століття – першу половину XX століття. За результатами аналізу й узагальнення другого видання топонімічного словника Новотроїцького району Херсонської області автор створив базу даних тюркських назв існуючих поселень. Систематизацію цих топонімів здійснено згідно уніфікованої схеми у рамках комплексного підходу до краєзнавства. Автор продовжив вивчати географічні назви регіону в контексті введених авторських дефініцій «топонімічна гносеологія» та «топонімічний плюралізм». У таблиці курсивом виділено найбільш поширений формати тюркського ойконіму краю. У рамках топонімічної гносеології для окремих населених пунктів тюркського походження наведено кілька варіантів етимології.

Зосереджено увагу на можливостях використання поданих матеріалів у процесі топонімічної соціалізації учнівської молоді. Отже, системне дослідження тюркських ойконімів Новотроїцького району Херсонської області оптимально створює умови розуміння: векторів заселення краю; часових рамок виникнення та перейменуванню поселень; етнічній картині території; господарській спеціалізації мешканців населених пунктів; трансформації природних умов регіону.
З думкою про допомогу: АРА на Півдні України у 1921-1923 рр.
Authors: Тригуб Олександр , Михайловський Тимур
Published: September 2020

Розкрито діяльність однієї з ключових міжнародних організацій допомоги у південноукраїнському регіоні – Американської адміністрації допомоги (АРА).

Протягом квітня-червня 1922 р. АРА організувала мережу їдалень у Миколаївській та Одеській губерніях (820), де харчувалося 192774 дітей і 1045 дорослих. Також сухі пайки й обіди отримували діти та дорослі закритих установ (дитячих будинків, лікарень, санаторіїв, студентських їдалень тощо). Загалом отримували допомогу 427624 особи.

Окрім харчування АРА розподіляла продуктові та речові посилки, надавала медичну допомогу (організація медичних пунктів, лазень, поставки медикаментів, лікування хвороб, профілактика захворювань, поширення медичної літератури тощо).

АРА завершила свою роботу у червні 1923 р., а 15 липня 1923 р. було ліквідовано український осередок організації і 20 липня 1923 р. було закрито центральний офіс місії у Москві.
Elastic Actuator Design Based on Bending of Cylindrical Beam for Robotic Applications
Authors: Murat Reis , Ebrahimi Nafiseh , Jafari Amir
Published: September 2020

The lack of suitable actuators has hampered the development of high-performance machines or robots that can compete with living organisms in terms of motion, safety, and energy efficiency. The adaptation properties of biological systems to environmental variables—for example, the control performance of biological muscle with variable stiffness properties—exceeds the performance of mechanical devices. The variable stiffness characteristics of elastic actuators are different from the operating principle of conventional solids. Although there has been a lot of work on the design of elastic actuators in recent years, a low-cost and compact elastic actuator that can be used in place of standard rigid servo actuators is not yet available. In this study, a standard servo motor has been transformed into an elastic actuator by an elastic coupling attached to the gear system. The elastic coupling consists of four small steel beams with a cylindrical cross section placed on the circular disk, and the stiffness of the actuator is adjusted by varying the clutch length of the cylindrical beams. In this study, this innovative design is explained, then the equations expressing the variation of the torsional stiffness of the cylindrical beams with the coupling length and solutions of these equations are given. The experimental results are presented to show the ability of the proposed actuator to control position and regulate the stiffness independently.
Agritourism in the Era of the Coronavirus (COVID-19): A Rapid Assessment from Poland
Authors: Wojcieszak-Zbierska Monika Małgorzata , Jęczmyk Anna , Zawadka Jan , Uglis Jarosław
Published: September 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has had strong impact on the tourism market. As a result of the lockdown and the closing of borders, tourist traffic came to an abrupt halt. Agritourism is an important way of diversifying agriculture and rural areas. In addition, it is a part of the idea of sustainable and multifunctional agriculture. It makes it possible to use production resources in the countryside and constitutes an additional source of income for both farmers and the local community. The aim of the paper was to present the results of survey research concerning the tourist plans of the Polish people in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular plans to spend holidays on agritourism farms. The study confirmed that according to Polish respondents, holidays in the country, spent on agritourism farms, were a good choice in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic. The respondents expect agritourism providers to take specific actions, i.e., disinfect communal rooms, make hand sanitizers available, as well as limit the maximum number of people allowed on the farm and in open-access rooms, in order to ensure safety during their stay. The article constitutes a contribution to the evolving literature on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the development of the tourism sector.
Metabonomic Responses of Grazing Yak to Different Concentrate Supplementations in Cold Season
Authors: Zhou Jia , Yue Shuangming , Peng Quanhui , Wang Lizhi , Wang Zhisheng , Xue Bai
Published: September 2020

Supplementation plays an important role in reversing the weight loss of grazing yaks during cold season. However, little is known about the effect of supplementation on the serum metabolites of grazing yaks. The objective of this study was to explore the effects of supplementary feeding on average daily gain (ADG) and serum metabolites with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based metabolomics method in growing yaks during cold season on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau. Twenty 1.5-year-old female yaks (91.38 ± 10.43 kg LW) were evenly divided into three treatment groups and a control group (CON) (n = 5 per group). All the yaks were released to graze during daytime, whereas the yaks in the treatment groups were supplemented with highland barley (HLB), rapeseed meal (RSM), and highland barley plus rapeseed meal (HLB + RSM) at night. The whole experiment lasted for 120 days. Results indicated that the ADG of growing yak heifers was increased by concentrate supplementations, and ADG under HLB and HLB + RSM group was 37.5% higher (p < 0.05) than that with RSM supplementation. Supplementary feeding increased the plasma concentrations of total protein (TP), albumin (ALB), and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) of those in the CON group, and concentrations of BUN were higher in the RSM group than in the HLB and HLB + RSM group. Compared with the CON group, serum levels of glutamine, glycine, β-glucose were lower and that of choline was higher in the HLB group; serum levels of lactate were lower and that of choline, glutamate were higher in the HLB + RSM group. Compared with the HLB + RSM group, serum levels of glycerophosphoryl choline (GPC) and lactate were higher, and those of choline, glutamine, glutamate, leucine, N-acetyaspartate, α-glucose, and β-glucose were lower in the HLB group; serum levels of citrate, GPC and lactate were higher, and those of 3-Hydroxybutyrate, betaine, choline, glutamate, glutamine, N-acetylglycoprotein, N-acetyaspartate, α-glucose, and β-glucose were lower in the RSM group. It could be concluded that concentrate supplementations significantly improved the growth performance of growing yaks and supplementation with HBL or HLB plus RSM was better than RSM during the cold season. Supplementation with HBL or HLB plus RSM affected the serum metabolites of grazing yaks, and both treatments promoted lipid synthesis. Supplementation of yaks with HBL plus RSM could improve energy-supply efficiency, protein and lipid deposition compared with HLB and RSM.
Establishing Animal Welfare Rules of Conduct for the Portuguese Veterinary Profession—Results from a Policy Delphi with Vignettes
Authors: Magalhães-Sant'Ana Manuel , Peleteiro Maria Conceição , Stilwell George
Published: September 2020

Promoting animal welfare is one of the basic tenets of the veterinary profession and, in doing so, veterinarians are expected to abide to the highest legal and professional standards. However, the Portuguese veterinary code of conduct, established in 1994, largely overlooks animal welfare and fails to address issues such as the euthanasia or humane killing of animals. As part of a wider research aiming to revise the Portuguese veterinary code of conduct, a Policy Delphi study was conducted in late 2018, using a pre-validated three-round structure and vignette methodology, to explore the range of opinions and the level of agreement on end-of-life dilemmas and animal welfare rules of conduct of a purposeful sample of forty-one (out of seventy) Portuguese veterinarians. When faced with ethical vignettes involving end-of-life dilemmas, veterinarians were shown to privilege personal moral agency over legal obligations in order to defend the interests of stakeholders, namely of the animals. Most participants agreed that the suggested animal welfare rules of conduct reflected their own views on the subject (88%), in addition to representing a significant improvement in terms of regulatory standards (93%). We expect that this study will support regulation and policy-making by the Portuguese Veterinary Order and by veterinary representative bodies elsewhere.
Consequences of Maternal Essential Fatty Acid and Conjugated Linoleic Acid Supplementation on the Development of Calf Muscle and Adipose Tissue
Authors: Dahl Nina , Albrecht Elke , Dannenberger Dirk , Uken Katrin L. , Hammon Harald M. , Maak Steffen
Published: September 2020

Common silage and concentrate-based diets in dairy and beef production may deliver insufficient amounts of essential fatty acids (EFA), thereby also reducing conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) in body tissues and milk. An impaired maternal EFA and CLA supply can have an important impact on calf postnatal development. The current study investigates how maternal supplementation with EFA and CLA affects muscle and adipose tissue development in neonatal calves. Holstein cows (n = 40) were abomasaly supplemented with coconut oil (control), CLA or EFA, or both combined during the transition period. Calves were fed their dam’s colostrum until slaughter at day 5 of life. Fatty acid composition and tissue morphology were analyzed. In muscle and adipose tissues, EFA, CLA, and metabolites were elevated, indicating the effective transfer of maternally-supplemented FA to the offspring. Muscle fiber types, fiber nuclei, myosin heavy chain isoform distribution, capillarization, and fat cell size of intramuscular and other adipose tissues did not differ among groups. The results confirm that maternal nutrition during the transition period can alter the FA composition of the calf tissues. This could influence the offspring’s development and health in the long-term, even though only minor effects were observed in the neonatal calves’ tissue morphology.
Selection Signatures Analysis Reveals Genes Associated with High-Altitude Adaptation in Tibetan Goats from Nagqu, Tibet
Authors: Jin Meilin , Lu Jian , Fei Xiaojuan , Lu Zengkui , Quan Kai , Liu Yongbin , Chu Mingxing , Di Ran , Wei Caihong , Wang Huihua
Published: September 2020

Tibetan goat is an ancient breed, which inhabits the adverse conditions of the plateaus in China. To investigate the role of selection in shaping its genomes, we genotyped Tibetan goats (Nagqu Prefecture, above 4500 m) and three lowland populations (Xinjiang goats, Taihang goats and Huanghuai goats). The result of PCA, neighbor-joining (N-J) tree and model-based clustering showed that the genetic structure between the Tibetan goat and the three lowland populations has significant difference. As demonstrated by the di statistic, we found that some genes were related to the high-altitude adaptation of Tibetan goats. Functional analysis revealed that these genes were enriched in the VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) signaling pathway and melanoma, suggesting that nine genes (FGF2, EGFR, AKT1, PTEN, MITF, ENPEP, SIRT6, KDR, and CDC42) might have important roles in the high-altitude adaptation of Nagqu Tibetan goats. We also found that the LEPR gene was under the strongest selection (di value = 16.70), and it could induce upregulation of the hypoxic ventilatory response. In addition, five genes (LEPR, LDB1, EGFR, NOX4 and FGF2) with high di values were analyzed using q-PCR. Among them, we found that LEPR, LDB1 and FGF2 exhibited higher expression in the lungs of the Tibetan goats; LEPR, EGFR and LDB1 exhibited higher expression in the hearts of the Huanghuai goat. Our results suggest that LEPR, LDB1, EGFR and FGF2 genes may be related to the high-altitude adaptation of the goats. These findings improve our understanding of the selection of the high-altitude adaptability of the Nagqu Tibetan goats and provide new theoretical knowledge for the conservation and utilization of germplasm resources.
The Anti-Microbial Peptide (Lin-SB056-1)2-K Reduces Pro-Inflammatory Cytokine Release through Interaction with Pseudomonas aeruginosa Lipopolysaccharide
Authors: Grassi Lucia , Pompilio Arianna , Kaya Esingül , Rinaldi Andrea C. , Sanjust Enrico , Maisetta Giuseppantonio , Crabbé Aurélie , Di Bonaventura Giovanni , Batoni Giovanna , Esin Semih
Published: September 2020

The ability of many anti-microbial peptides (AMPs) to modulate the host immune response has highlighted their possible therapeutic use to reduce uncontrolled inflammation during chronic infections. In the present study, we examined the anti-inflammatory potential of the semi-synthetic peptide lin-SB056-1 and its dendrimeric derivative (lin-SB056-1)2-K, which were previously found to have anti-microbial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa in in vivo-like models mimicking the challenging environment of chronically infected lungs (i.e., artificial sputum medium and 3-D lung mucosa model). The dendrimeric derivative exerted a stronger anti-inflammatory activity than its monomeric counterpart towards lung epithelial- and macrophage-cell lines stimulated with P. aeruginosa lipopolysaccharide (LPS), based on a marked decrease (up to 80%) in the LPS-induced production of different pro-inflammatory cytokines (i.e., IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-8). Accordingly, (lin-SB056-1)2-K exhibited a stronger LPS-binding affinity than its monomeric counterpart, thereby suggesting a role of peptide/LPS neutralizing interactions in the observed anti-inflammatory effect. Along with the anti-bacterial and anti-biofilm properties, the anti-inflammatory activity of (lin-SB056-1)2-K broadens its therapeutic potential in the context of chronic (biofilm-associated) infections.
An Attention-Based Network for Textured Surface Anomaly Detection
Authors: Liu Gaokai , Yang Ning , Guo Lei
Published: September 2020

Textured surface anomaly detection is a significant task in industrial scenarios. In order to further improve the detection performance, we proposed a novel two-stage approach with an attention mechanism. Firstly, in the segmentation network, the feature extraction and anomaly attention modules are designed to capture the detail information as much as possible and focus on the anomalies, respectively. To strike dynamic balances between these two parts, an adaptive scheme where learnable parameters are gradually optimized is introduced. Subsequently, the weights of the segmentation network are frozen, and the outputs are fed into the classification network, which is trained independently in this stage. Finally, we evaluate the proposed approach on DAGM 2007 dataset which consists of diverse textured surfaces with weakly-labeled anomalies, and the experiments demonstrate that our method can achieve 100% detection rates in terms of TPR (True Positive Rate) and TNR (True Negative Rate).
Ensuring Inclusion and Diversity in Research and Research Output: A Case for a Language-Sensitive NLP Crowdsourcing Platform
Authors: Alahmadi Dimah , Babour Amal , Saeedi Kawther , Visvizi Anna
Published: September 2020

In the context of the debate on the need to place citizens at the center of the technological revolution, this paper makes a case for a natural language processing (NLP) crowdsourcing platform that ensures inclusion and diversity, thus making the research outcome relevant and applicable across issues and domains. This paper also makes the case that by enabling participation for a wide variety of stakeholders, this NLP crowdsourcing platform might ultimately prove useful in the decision- and policy-making processes at city, community, and country levels. Against the backdrop of the debates on artificial intelligence (AI) and NLP research, and considering substantial differentiation specific to the Arab language, this paper introduces and evaluates an Arab language-sensitive NLP crowdsourcing platform. The value of the platform and its accuracy are measured via the System Usability Scale (SUS), where it scores 72.5, i.e., above the accepted usability average. These findings are crucial for NLP research and the research community in general. They are equally promising in view of the practical application of the research findings.
A Domain-Independent Classification Model for Sentiment Analysis Using Neural Models
Authors: Jnoub Nour , Al Machot Fadi , Klas Wolfgang
Published: September 2020

Most people nowadays depend on the Web as a primary source of information. Statistical studies show that young people obtain information mainly from Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms. By relying on these data, people may risk drawing the incorrect conclusions when reading the news or planning to buy a product. Therefore, systems that can detect and classify sentiments and assist users in finding the correct information on the Web is highly needed in order to prevent Web surfers from being easily deceived. This paper proposes an intensive study regarding domain-independent classification models for sentiment analysis that should be trained only once. The study consists of two phases: the first phase is based on a deep learning model which is training a neural network model once after extracting robust features and saving the model and its parameters. The second phase is based on applying the trained model on a totally new dataset, aiming at correctly classifying reviews as positive or negative. The proposed model is trained on the IMDb dataset and then tested on three different datasets: IMDb dataset, Movie Reviews dataset, and our own dataset collected from Amazon reviews that rate users’ opinions regarding Apple products. The work shows high performance using different evaluation metrics compared to the stat-of-the-art results.
Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 as a Possible Correlation between COVID-19 and Periodontal Disease
Authors: Mancini Leonardo , Quinzi Vincenzo , Mummolo Stefano , Marzo Giuseppe , Marchetti Enrico
Published: September 2020

SARS-CoV-2 propagation in the world has led to rapid growth and an acceleration in the discoveries and publications of various interests. The main focus of a consistent number of studies has been the role of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) in binding the virus and its role in expression of the inflammatory response after transmission. ACE2 is an enzyme involved in the renin–angiotensin system (RAS), whose key role is to regulate and counter angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), reducing the amount of angiotensin II and increasing angiotensin 1–7 (Ang1–7), making it a promising drug target for treating cardiovascular diseases. The classical RAS axis, formed by ACE, angiotensin II (Ang II), and angiotensin receptor type 1 (AT1), activates several cell functions and molecular signalling pathways related to tissue injury and inflammation. In contrast, the RAS axis composed of ACE2, Ang1–7, and Mas receptor (MasR) exerts the opposite effect concerning the inflammatory response and tissue fibrosis. Recent studies have shown the presence of the RAS system in periodontal sites where osteoblasts, fibroblasts, and osteoclasts are involved in bone remodelling, suggesting that the role of ACE2 might have a fundamental function in the under- or overexpression of cytokines such as interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-7 (IL-7), tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-2 (IL-2), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β), associated with a periodontal disorder, mainly during coinfection with SARS-CoV-2, where ACE2 is underexpressed and cannot form the ACE2–Ang1–7–MasR axis. This renders the patient unresponsive to an inflammatory process, facilitating periodontal loss.
Improving Juvenile Age Estimation Based on Facial Landmark Points and Gravity Moment
Authors: Hammond Ebenezer Nii Ayi , Zhou Shijie , Cheng Hongrong , Liu Qihe
Published: September 2020

Facial age estimation is of interest due to its potential to be applied in many real-life situations. However, recent age estimation efforts do not consider juveniles. Consequently, we introduce a juvenile age detection scheme called LaGMO, which focuses on the juvenile aging cues of facial shape and appearance. LaGMO is a combination of facial landmark points and Term Frequency Inverse Gravity Moment (TF-IGM). Inspired by the formation of words from morphemes, we obtained facial appearance features comprising facial shape and wrinkle texture and represented them as terms that described the age of the face. By leveraging the implicit ordinal relationship between the frequencies of the terms in the face, TF-IGM was used to compute the weights of the terms. From these weights, we built a matrix that corresponds to the possibilities of the face belonging to the age. Next, we reduced the reference matrix according to the juvenile age range (0–17 years) and avoided the exhaustive search through the entire training set. LaGMO detects the age by the projection of an unlabeled face image onto the reference matrix; the value of the projection depicts the higher probability of the image belonging to the age. With Mean Absolute Error (MAE) of 89% on the Face and Gesture Recognition Research Network (FG-NET) dataset, our proposal demonstrated superior performance in juvenile age estimation.
An Incrementally Deployable IP-Compatible-Information-Centric Networking Hierarchical Cache System
Authors: Zeng Li , Ni Hong , Han Rui
Published: September 2020

The major advantage of information-centric networking (ICN) lies in in-network caching. Ubiquitous cache nodes reduce the user’s download latency of content and the drain of network bandwidth, which enables efficient content distribution. Due to the huge cost of updating an entire network infrastructure, it is realistic for ICN to be integrated into an IP network, which poses new challenges to design a cache system and corresponding content router. In this paper, we firstly observed that the behavior pattern of data requests based on a name resolution system (NRS) makes an ICN cache system implicitly form a hierarchical and nested structure. We propose a complete design and an analytical model to characterize an uncooperative hierarchical ICN caching system compatible with IP. Secondly, to facilitate the incremental deployment of an ICN cache system in an IP network, we designed and implemented a cache-supported router with multi-terabyte cache capabilities. Finally, the simulation and measurement results show the accuracy of proposed analytical model, the significant gains on hit ratio, and the access latency of the hierarchical ICN cache system compared with a flat cache system based on naming routing, as well as the high performance of the implemented ICN router.
Optical Characterization of Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Intralipid-Based Samples
Authors: Delfino Ines , Lepore Maria , Esposito Rosario
Published: September 2020

Different scattering processes take place when photons propagate inside turbid media. Many powerful experimental techniques exploiting these processes have been developed and applied over the years in a large variety of situations from fundamental and applied research to industrial applications. In the present paper, we intend to take advantage of Static Light Scattering (SLS), Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), and Time-Resolved Transmittance (TRT) for investigating all the different scattering regimes by using scattering suspensions in a very large range of scatterer concentrations. The suspensions were prepared using Intralipid 20%, a material largely employed in studies of the optical properties of turbid media, with concentrations from 10−5% to 50%. By the analysis of the angular and temporal dependence of the scattered light, a more reliable description of the scattering process occurring in these samples can be obtained. TRT measurements allowed us to obtain information on the reduced scattering coefficient, an important parameter largely used in the description of the optical properties of turbid media. TRT was also employed for the detection of inclusions embedded in Intralipid suspensions, by using a properly designed data analysis. The present study allowed us to better elucidate the dependence of scattering properties of Intralipid suspensions in a very large concentration range and the occurrence of the different scattering processes involved in the propagation of light in turbid media for the first time to our knowledge. In so doing, the complementary contribution of SLS, DLS, and TRT in the characterization of turbid media from an optical and structural point of view is strongly evidenced.
Learning Class-Specific Features with Class Regularization for Videos
Authors: Stergiou Alexandros , Poppe Ronald , Veltkamp Remco C.
Published: September 2020

One of the main principles of Deep Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) is the extraction of useful features through a hierarchy of kernels operations. The kernels are not explicitly tailored to address specific target classes but are rather optimized as general feature extractors. Distinction between classes is typically left until the very last fully-connected layers. Consequently, variances between classes that are relatively similar are treated the same way as variations between classes that exhibit great dissimilarities. In order to directly address this problem, we introduce Class Regularization, a novel method that can regularize feature map activations based on the classes of the examples used. Essentially, we amplify or suppress activations based on an educated guess of the given class. We can apply this step to each minibatch of activation maps, at different depths in the network. We demonstrate that this improves feature search during training, leading to systematic improvement gains on the Kinetics, UCF-101, and HMDB-51 datasets. Moreover, Class Regularization establishes an explicit correlation between features and class, which makes it a perfect tool to visualize class-specific features at various network depths.
Advances in Optical Image Analysis Textural Segmentation in Ironmaking
Authors: Donskoi Eugene , Poliakov Andrei
Published: September 2020

Optical image analysis is commonly used to characterize different feedstock material for ironmaking, such as iron ore, iron ore sinter, coal and coke. Information is often needed for phases which have the same reflectivity and chemical composition, but different morphology. Such information is usually obtained by manual point counting, which is quite expensive and may not provide consistent results between different petrologists. To perform accurate segmentation of such phases using automated optical image analysis, the software must be able to identify specific textures. CSIRO’s Carbon Steel Futures group has developed an optical image analysis software package called Mineral4/Recognition4, which incorporates a dedicated textural identification module allowing segmentation of such phases. The article discusses the problems associated with segmentation of similar phases in different ironmaking feedstock material using automated optical image analysis and demonstrates successful algorithms for textural identification. The examples cover segmentation of three different coke phases: two types of Inert Maceral Derived Components (IMDC), non-reacted and partially reacted, and Reacted Maceral Derived Components (RMDC); primary and secondary hematite in iron ore sinter; and minerals difficult to distinguish with traditional thresholding in iron ore.
Perspectives on the Use of Germinated Legumes in the Bread Making Process, A Review
Authors: Atudorei Denisa , Codină Georgiana Gabriela
Published: September 2020

Nowadays, it may be noticed that there is an increased interest in using germinated seeds in the daily diet. This high interest is due to the fact that in a germinated form, the seeds are highly improved from a nutritional point of view with multiple benefits for the human body. The purpose of this review was to update the studies made on the possibilities of using different types of germinated legume seeds (such as lentil, chickpea, soybean, lupin, bean) in order to obtain bakery products of good quality. This review highlights the aspects related to the germination process of the seeds, the benefits of the germination process on the seeds from a nutritional point of view, and the effects of the addition of flour from germinated seeds on the rheological properties of the wheat flour dough, but also on the physico–chemical and sensory characteristics of the bakery products obtained. All these changes on the bread making process and bread quality depend on the level and type of legume seed subjected to the germination process which are incorporated in wheat flour.