bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Electron momentum spectroscopy investigation on electronic structure of iso-dichloroethylene valence shell
Authors: Wang Yi-chun , Niu Shan-shan , Tang Ya-guo , Zhang Yu , Shan Xu , Xu Chun-kai , Chen Xiang-jun
Published: June 2019

Here an electron momentum spectroscopy study on the electronic structure of valence shell of iso-dichloroethylene molecule is reported. The experiment is carried out with a binary (e, 2e) spectrometer at incident electron energy of 1200 eV, employing noncoplanar symmetric arrangement. The binding energy spectra and electron momentum distributions (EMDs) of iso-dichloroethylene valence shell have been obtained. Theoretical EMDs are predicted with both Hartree-Fock and density functional theory methods, generally indicating good agreements with the measurement results. The interference effect is observed to significantly influence the EMDs of 2a2 and 5b2 Cl lone-pair orbitals.
Flavone of Hippophae (H-flavone) lowers atherosclerotic risk factors via upregulation of the adipokine C1q/tumor necrosis factor-related protein 6 (CTRP6) in macrophages
Authors: Zhuo Xiaozhen , Tian Yuling , Wei Yadong , Deng Yangyang , Wu Yan , Chen Tao
Published: June 2019

In this study, we examined the mechanism of Flavone of Hippophae (H-flavone) in regulating macrophage foaming and atherosclerosis (AS) plaque formation. H-flavone treatment increased the secretion of C1q/tumor necrosis factor-related proteins 6 (CTRP6) in Ox-LDL-treated mouse peripheral blood macrophage cells (PBMC) and significantly reduced the percentage of cholesteryl ester (CE) in PBMC. Additionally, H-flavone suppressed Ox-LDL-induced cell foaming and the production of inflammatory cytokines through upregulating CTPR6 expression. Next, we further validated the inhibitory effect of H-flavone on plaque formation and inflammation in a mouse AS model. A substantial reduction in the secretion of inflammatory cytokines was observed in apoE-/- mice by H-flavone. Immunohistochemistry and Oil Red O staining results showed that H-flavone suppressed macrophage infiltration and the development of AS plaque. These effects were more pronounced in early administration. Our results suggest that H-flavone effectively inhibits macrophage foaming, inflammation and vascular plaque formation by upregulating CTRP6 and may be used to reduce AS risk.
Cross-linker–mediated regulation of actin network organization controls tissue morphogenesis
Authors: Krueger Daniel , Quinkler Theresa , Mortensen Simon Arnold , Sachse Carsten , De Renzis Stefano
Published: June 2019

Contraction of cortical actomyosin networks driven by myosin activation controls cell shape changes and tissue morphogenesis during animal development. In vitro studies suggest that contractility also depends on the geometrical organization of actin filaments. Here we analyze the function of actomyosin network topology in vivo using optogenetic stimulation of myosin-II in Drosophila embryos. We show that early during cellularization, hexagonally arrayed actomyosin fibers are resilient to myosin-II activation. Actomyosin fibers then acquire a ring-like conformation and become contractile and sensitive to myosin-II. This transition is controlled by Bottleneck, a Drosophila unique protein expressed for only a short time during early cellularization, which we show regulates actin bundling. In addition, it requires two opposing actin cross-linkers, Filamin and Fimbrin. Filamin acts synergistically with Bottleneck to facilitate hexagonal patterning, while Fimbrin controls remodeling of the hexagonal network into contractile rings. Thus, actin cross-linking regulates the spatio-temporal organization of actomyosin contraction in vivo, which is critical for tissue morphogenesis.
Comparison of multiple PM2.5 exposure products for estimating health benefits of emission controls over New York State, USA
Authors: Jin Xiaomeng , Fiore Arlene M , Civerolo Kevin , Bi Jianzhao , Liu Yang , van Donkelaar Aaron , Martin Randall V , Al-Hamdan Mohammad , Zhang Yuqiang , Insaf Tabassum Z , Kioumourtzoglou Marianthi-Anna , He Mike Z , Kinney Patrick L
Published: June 2019

Ambient exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is one of the top global health concerns. We estimate the PM2.5-related health benefits of emission reduction over New York State (NYS) from 2002 to 2012 using seven publicly available PM2.5 products that include information from ground-based observations, remote sensing and chemical transport models. While these PM2.5 products differ in spatial patterns, they show consistent decreases in PM2.5 by 28%–37% from 2002 to 2012. We evaluate these products using two sets of independent ground-based observations from the New York City Community Air Quality Survey (NYCCAS) Program for an urban area, and the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe Air Quality Program for a remote area. Inclusion of satellite remote sensing improves the representativeness of surface PM2.5 in the remote area. Of the satellite-based products, only the statistical land use regression approach captures some of the spatial variability across New York City measured by NYCCAS. We estimate the PM2.5-related mortality burden by applying an integrated exposure-response function to the different PM2.5 products. The multi-product mean PM2.5-related mortality burden over NYS decreased by 5660 deaths (67%) from 8410 (95% confidence interval (CI): 4570–12 400) deaths in 2002 to 2750 (CI: 700–5790) deaths in 2012. We estimate a 28% uncertainty in the state-level PM2.5 mortality burden due to the choice of PM2.5 products, but such uncertainty is much smaller than the uncertainty (130%) associated with the exposure-response function.
Environmental Sustainability Knowledge, Attitude and Practices among Pre-school Students
Authors: Mahat H , Hashim M , Saleh Y , Nayan N , Norkhaidi S B
Published: June 2019

The study aimed to examine the knowledge, attitude and practices of environmental sustainability of pre-school students in Malaysia. This study applied a quantitative method comprising questionnaires with 500 pre-school students. Research variables were knowledge of recyclable and non-recyclable materials, sustainability knowledge, sustainability attitudes and sustainability Reuse-Reduce-Recycle (3R) practices. Most variables including knowledge of recyclable and non-recyclable materials, sustainability knowledge, sustainability attitudes and sustainability Reuse-Reduce-Recycle (3R) practices were at high levels. While, the analysis of correlation test explained that there was a significant relationship between every variables. It can be concluded that a high level of knowledge does not give effect in increasing the sustainability practices of students. Therefore, a strong commitment from teachers are requires to improve the knowledge, attitude and practice of sustainability in the early stages of education. The readiness of early childhood education teachers in respect of continuous training in various sustainability activities is a vital requirement to systematically and effectively apply sustainability practices.
Comparative Study of Geography Education Curriculum in Indonesia And Malaysia
Authors: Ratnasari D , Darsiharjo  , Yani A
Published: June 2019

Curriculum 2013, is a process of perfecting from the previous curriculum for the education system in Indonesia, but to know excellence of the curriculum 2013 it is not enough to uses the domestic indicators, therefore we will compare between the curriculum of Indonesia and the curriculum of Malaysia in geography subject, just because geography is one of subjects that might improve the student patriotism. The topic taken about the idea of curriculum of geography education, document of curriculum of geography education, and management and application of curriculum of geography education in Indonesia and Malaysia. The type of research uses a qualitative approach, with involving both the informants and secondary data as a data source. For technique data collection used is observation, deep interview, and triangulation of data. The result of research between curriculum of Indonesia and Malaysia has many similar ideas, documents, and applications that aim to create students with 21st century skills. In terms of documents, management and application have many similarities but have different models, and the conclusion of the research is curriculum in Indonesia and in Malaysia both have the advantages and disadvantages of every one in accordance with the conditions social and cultural’s country.
SWOT Analysis of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) Implementation on Geography Learning
Authors: Yani A , Ruhimat M , Mulyadi A
Published: June 2019

Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) is a learning design model that considers the relevance between material, pedagogy, and learning technology. This model is suitable to be applied to Geography subjects, but the question arises: is there enough media and learning tools available in schools to carry out TPACK-based geography learning? This study uses a survey method with a study population of all geography teachers in 3 (three) districts / cities in West Java Province. Data was analyzed using the SWOT approach. The results showed that the main weakness of the implementation of TPACK was the limitation of learning tools / media, and geographic subjects still grouped in the social sciences so that they received less attention from the government. In addition, the threat is a ban from the government to implement the TPACK model because it is slightly different from the applicable learning process standards. Based on the above conditions, a solution that is considered effective is conducting further research, namely identifying the tools and geography learning media needed and developing a systematic TPACK-based scientific learning model / strategy
The Influence of Geography Lessons in Disaster Mitigation Education toward Preparedness of Senior High School Students in Face of the Disaster
Authors: Nandi  , Marlyono S G
Published: June 2019

West Java Province as one of the provinces that are vulnerable to disasters. Senior high school students must have a preparedness attitude in face of such disasters. Learning geography in disaster mitigation education was expected to become the foundation to improve the preparedness of high school students. The aim of the research was to analyse the influence of Geography Education in disaster mitigation education to senior high school student’s preparedness to deal with disasters. This study uses a quantitative approach with survey method. The results showed that the influence of learning geography in the mitigation disaster study towards preparedness senior high school students, reaching 39%. Magnitude was the overall role of the three districts, then will be broken down into the role of a district. The role of learning geography in mitigation disaster study in senior high school students to preparedness of learners in Garut amounted to 57.21%, in Tasikmalaya amounted to 46.88%, and in Pangandaran Regency amounted to 28.46%. Learning geography in mitigation disaster study had a significant influence on the preparedness of senior high school students in face of the disaster in West Java province.
Assessment of NCEP-CFSR Precipitation Products in Meteorological Drought Monitoring for The Citarum Basin
Authors: Ihsan H M , Nurrohman A W , Sahid
Published: June 2019

The availability of various satellite rainfall data potentially be used in monitoring meteorological droughts. In this study, products from the NCEP-CFSR (National Centers for Environmental Prediction Climate Forecast System Reanalysis) were analyzed to estimate meteorological drought in the Citarum Watershed, West Java, Indonesia. Assessment was carried out using NCEP-CFSR data from 1988 to 2013 and was applied to meteorological droughts using the SPI (Standardized Precipitation Index) index. The results showed that rainfall products from the NCEP-CFSR were not recommended to use in meteorological droughts because of the low correlation values of around 33%, MAE (Mean Absolute Error) 17.88 and RMSE (Root Mean Square Error) 22.73. This research can be utilized as a reference to assess rainfall products from better satellite data in the future to monitor meteorological droughts.
Economic Valuation of Environmental Resources at Selected Hot Springs in Perak
Authors: Che Leh F , Mokhtar F Z , Rameli N , Ismail K
Published: June 2019

This article aims to examine individual travel cost at selected hot springs as part of the efforts to develop health, wellness and recreational-based tourism in Perak. It first argues that the individual’s place of origins determines their accessibility to the study sites. This paper then identifies and analyses the visitors’ travel expenditure during their visit to each hot spring. The last section will discuss the effects of using hot springs for future health, wellness and recreational-based tourism in Perak. Using a Travel Cost Method, a Willingness–to-Pay of visitors was calculated as function of travel cost that incurred to reach a location. The paper utilizes a primary data which were collected during peak season from November to December in 2017 involving 241 visitors. The findings show that majority of the visitors are those who lived more than 50 km from the hot spring and spent more than one hour for each visit. In addition, each individual visitor to the hot spring generally spent by about RM 58.98 for their visit. This indicates that the hot spring potentially has the economic value in promoting health, wellness and recreational-based tourism.
Preliminary Study on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Management by Households in the Kota Kinabalu City
Authors: George F , Mapa M T , Dinggai M S A
Published: June 2019

The rising amount of e-waste can be attributed to many factors such as the advancement in technology, a variety of electric and electronic equipment (EEE) offered in the market, electric and electronic (EE) product becoming cheaper and exceedingly high demands. E-waste is believed to be mostly generated from domestic items because there is no systematic management of e-waste from households, particularly in many developing countries. The non-systematic management will have an adverse impact on the environment and human. Therefore, this study attempts to uncover the current state of affairs involving e-waste management by households in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. The objectives of this study are to identify the composition of electric and electronic equipment owned by households in the selected housing area and to evaluate the behavior of households in managing their e-waste. This study used a survey method using 100 sets of questionnaires which were distributed to respondents in the selected housing area. The results showed that mobile phones are dominating the category of electric and electronic equipment in the study area. In addition, most respondents do not adopt sustainable e-waste management such as recycling which is vital, as many prefer to store them at home or throw them to the rubbish bin. In conclusion, this study has shown that e-waste management scenarios in Kota Kinabalu are not particularly sustainable. The findings of this study can also lead to implication for creating awareness to stakeholders such as the City Hall of Kota Kinabalu and the Department of Environment so that both stakeholders could design a proper e-waste management system as part of an effort to create sustainable e-waste management.
The Suggest of Rubber Crops Cultivation Development Zonation at West Bandung Regency
Authors: Arrasyid R , Rohmat D , Jupri  , Himayah S , Affriani A R , Ridwana R
Published: June 2019

This research aims to obtain an overview of the physical conditions that supported the rubber crops cultivation development, and extent the overview of potential rubber crops cultivation development suggestion at West Bandung district. The method which used in this research is survey. This research uses primary and secondary data. The primary data are observation and measurement of physical condition at 39 sample points. The secondary data was obtained from map interpretation, review of various document and literature which are related with this research. The data was analyzed using Geographic Information System. The results indicate that the physical condition at West Bandung district became the supporting capacity of rubber crops cultivation development. The affecting conditions are climate, slope, water availability, condition and type of the soil. The results were presented in maps. The rubber crops cultivation development was suggested to the 21234,728 Ha (16.26%) of West Bandung district. The conclusion of this research is the physical conditions affect the potential development of rubber crop cultivation in West Bandung district. That potential rubber crop cultivation can provide an overview of what potential things can be developed to realize the welfare of society, in order to improve the standart of living society income.
Visualization of Isolects in Cirebon Regency Based on Geospatial
Authors: Wiyanti S , Fadlilah A , Sugito N
Published: June 2019

The phenomenon of language variation often occurs in border areas and can be visualized by a Geographic Information System (GIS) application that has the ability to visualize linguistic conditions in a region. Geospatial shows the location, place, and position of an object that is below, on, or above the surface of the earth expressed in a particular coordinate system. The method used in this study is descriptive analytical with the application of GIS as a supporting analysis tools. Field surveys were used to assess the accuracy of the results of the models applied. The initial stage of the study was carried out an inventory of isolates. In this case, 208 data are obtained from gloss and berian. The study sample consisted of 41 villages spread across Cirebon Regency. Gloss and cryptic data are tabulated into the database using the MS Excel application, which is the GIS input data. After filtering the data, it can be seen that there are 28 villages in minimum noise conditions from 41 villages which were originally determined to be research samples. Visualization of isolates is presented in two types, namely analog maps (printed) and digital maps in scale of 1: 220,000.
Correlation between Land Surface Temperature and Vegetation Greenness using Multi-temporal Images
Authors: Himayah S , Ismail A , Nandi  , Ridwana R , Arrasyid R , Affriani A R , Ihsan M
Published: June 2019

Urban areas tend to have significant temperature differences with the surrounding area. The city of Bandung is surrounded by mountains and forms the Bandung Basin. Land cover differences between Bandung City and surrounding area caused a temperature differences that can identified with remote sensing imagery. The aim of this research are to analyse the change of land surface temperature and the vegetation greenness level in Bandung Basin using Landsat multi-temporal image also to identify correlation between surface temperature change with greenness level in Bandung Basin. In Bandung Basin, there is an increase in temperature in various land covers (Vegetation in flat areas, Vegetation in steep and high altitude areas, Water, Built-up area, and Open Land area) from 1990-2018. Meanwhile, there is less green vegetation in Bandung Basin from 1990-2018. The results of the analysis show a better correlation between Land Surface Tempertare (LST) and Simple Ratio Index (SRI) than the correlation between Land Surface Tempertare (LST) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). The conclution of this research that preservation of vegetated areas can be done in Bandung Basin to address the increasing of Land Surface Temperature.
Landsat-8 Multispectral Satellite Imagery for Rhinoceros Sondaicus Habitat Spatial Distribution Modelling through Biophysical Parameters in Ujung Kulon National Park, Indonesia
Authors: Sumunar D R S , Salsabila M A , Fitriana S , Hamid H A
Published: June 2019

The Javan Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus) was categorized as a red list according to IUCN. Javan Rhinoceros was increasingly threatened due to the lack of available environmental characteristic informations (habitat) that was suitable for Javan rhinoceros to survive in in-situ conservation. The capability of various remote sensing wavelengths sensors can be used to get the environmental characteristics data and obtain information related to Javan Rhinoceros’s habitat characteristics through spatial modelling. This research were aimed to (1) knowing the ability of LANDSAT-8 multispectral satellite imagery to identify biophysical parameter of Javan Rhinoceros’s habitat in Ujung Kulon National Park and (2) developing a javan rhinoceros’s suitable habitat distribution model in order to survive in Ujung Kulon National Park. The data were collected by LANDSAT-8 multispectral satellite imagery interpretation assisted by GIS analysis. The result showed that LANDSAT-8 multispectral satellite imagery can be used to identify several biophysical parameters, such: slope, altitude, vegetation cover index, temperature, and the distance of puddle, river, beach, and glade. Moreover, the result of the distribution model can be visualized as digital maps and software-based maps about Javan rhinoceros habitat information’s, and it can be used as guidance for conservation society in order to conserve Javan rhinoceros in Indonesia.
Image Segmentation Approach for Acute and Chronic Leukaemia Based on Blood Sample Images
Authors: Khairudin N A A , Ariff F N M , Nasir A S A , Mustafa W A , Khairunizam Wan , Jamlos M A , Zunaidi I , Razlan Z M , Shahriman A B
Published: June 2019

The uncontrolled development of abnormal white blood cells (blast) in bone marrow is the starting point where leukaemia cancer begins. It does not die like it should. Instead, it goes on dividing and crowding out the healthy blood cells, making it difficult for these healthy bloods to function normally. The diagnosis process from haematologist consumes a lot of time. Therefore, a good segmentation procedure is necessary in order to successfully identify and diagnose leukaemia cells automatically from blood sample images. This paper proposes segmentation procedures which consist of contrast enhancement, extraction of hue component information, as well as segmentation based on Otsu’s thresholding and watershed technique. The experimental results shows that the proposed segmentation procedure has successfully segmented 200 images consisting of acute and chronic leukaemia with average accuracy, sensitivity and specificity obtained of 98.90%, 82.14% and 99.49%, respectively. The result of segmentation performance achieved shows the significant of this approach. Based on results obtained, this segmentation technique is applicable to segment both acute and chronic leukaemia images with good segmentation performance.
Tumor Detection via Specific Absorption Rate Technique Using Ultra-Wideband Antenna
Authors: Aminudin Jamlos Mohd , Mustafa W A , Khairunizam Wan , Zunaidi I , Razlan Z M , Shahriman A B
Published: June 2019

This paper proposes high gain ultra-wide band (UWB) reflector array antenna for human brain tumor detection using specific absorption rate (SAR) technique in microwave detection system. Introduction of copper reflector with ideal distance contribute in increasing the proposed antenna gain. High gain antenna is essential in human microwave detection system for penetrating the multilayer structures by enhancing the focus of the electromagnetic energy into the desired structure. The antenna with reflector recorded wider bandwidth; 1.6 GHz-10.8 GHz associated with higher gain ranged from 3.2 dB until 14.1 dB compared with antenna without reflector operated from 2.2 GHz to 10.8 GHz with lower gain ranges of 2.1 dB to 10.2 dB. The antenna is successfully detecting human brain tumor based on SAR technique. Amount of energy or gain produced by the antenna which being absorbed by the human brain indicated the present of tumor inside. Human brain with tumor absorbed more energy and recorded higher SAR value compared to human brain without tumor. In this paper, human head phantom associated with tumor recorded SAR value of 2.53 W/kg and 2.51 W/kg for simulated and measured respectively meanwhile head phantom without tumor stated SAR value of 1.06 W/kg for simulated and 1.05 W/kg for measured. The biggest different in SAR value according to area precisely determine the location of the tumor in the brain which in this case position 5 (tumor location) resulted biggest SAR different value of 1.47 W/Kg for simulated and 1.46 W/Kg for measured.
Non Linear Features Analysis between Imaginary and Non-imaginary Tasks for Human EEG-based Biometric Identification
Authors: Ying Ong Zhi , Saidatul A , Vijean V , Ibrahim Z
Published: June 2019

Electroencephalogram (EEG) is a signal contains information of brain activities. Nowadays, many types of research regarding EEG have been done such as neuromarketing. The human brain is very complicated but it contains a lot of information. EEG signal is a non-stationary signal, it changes over time and it also depends on human’s emotion, thinking and activities. Due to the uniqueness of the EEG signal, the EEG signal has the potential to be used in the human authentication system. In this paper, an imaginary task and a non-imaginary task were studied to find out which type of task is possible to be used in authentication system. In preliminary study, five subjects were volunteered and performed the motor imagery and motor execution tasks. EEGOTM sports device (ANT Neuro, Enschede, Netherlands) with 32 channels was used to record the EEG signal and the sampling frequency is set to 512 Hz. The EEG signal was analysed by using EEG signal processing namely pre-processing, feature extraction and classification. Power line interference was removed by using a notch filter. Daubechies 8 wavelet family with 5th level decomposition has been applied to remove baseline wander noise. The performance of non-linear features such as Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD), Hurst Exponent and Entropy were examined. Random forest gives good classification accuracy for imaginary task and non-imaginary task which are 83.53% and 87.06% respectively, thus, it shows non-linear features is possible to be employed in biometric identification.
Technologies required to improve agricultural issues of Indonesia
Authors: Miyamoto D , Desrial  , Edris IM
Published: June 2019

Acceleration of mechanization is one of the effective methods to increase farming productivity. Mechanization status in Indonesian agriculture is not sufficient yet and the current objectives of mechanization is in the stage of intensification of production and relocation of manual labor from farming activities. However, mechanization should also support farm management to become industrialized to increase farm household welfare. By use of ICT technologies equipped on the advanced machinery can also contribute to optimize the effect of using machinery and maximize productivity in their activities as well as proper maintenance of the machine.
Experimental Study of Compact Multi-Pass Evaporator Two Phase Flow
Authors: Heng R , Razlan Z M , Zunaidi I , Shahriman A B , Wan W K , Harun A , Hashim M S M , Faizi M K , Ibrahim I , Kamarrudin N S
Published: June 2019

The distribution of the liquid and gas flows in multi-pass channel that illustrate a compact evaporator for air-conditioning system was experimentally studies. The dividing header are design horizontal with a square cross section of 20mm x 20mm and length is 290mm, also ten curve multi-pass channel with length of 300mm each connected between the circle cross section 50mm combination tank. The distance between the dividing header and combing tank were 120mm. The test was conduct under uniform backpressure conditions; additionally, the working fluid used was water and air. This experiment conducted to examine the influence of inlet-flow at the header entrance (stratified flow and annular-mist flow) under uniform backpressure condition to improve the uniform of the water distribution inside every curve channels. It was found that the inlet-flow condition at the entrance header has relatively influence the water distribution. By comparison between two flow conditions, great value of uniformity for water distribution in each channel is improved under annular-mist flow condition.
Dynamic Analysis of UAV’s Motor Support Bar Length Control System
Authors: Zulkifli M F , Razlan Z M , Shahriman A B , Zunaidi I , Khairunizam Wan , Noriman N Z
Published: June 2019

UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) can be described as aircraft that do not need any presence of pilots inside it. Basically, UAV is come out in a small aircraft so that the aircraft can be easily controlled by the people from afar[1]. The UAV’s motor support bar length control systems are the UAV’s control systems that move according to the variable arm length movement and also a constant revolution of the propeller speeds. The purpose of the study is to run the dynamic analysis at the UAV’s motor support bar length control systems and also to enhance the UAV’s mathematical modelling by using the SOLIDWORKS® software which involved in using both CAD and CAE systems[2]. The detailed design is used SOLIDWORKS® software to conduct the static and dynamic analysis of UAV’s motor support bar length control systems. The design is restricted to the arm due to the critical part that has the highest vibration at the UAV’s motor support bar length control systems. The results that obtain from the study from the static and dynamic analysis are the displacement of the motor, Von Misses stress of the arm, and also the resonance frequency that will give the modes shape to the systems.
The Effect of Modification Vertical Partition On Kiln Drum Performance For Coconut Shell Carbonization
Authors: Sucahyo L , Mustaqimah M
Published: June 2019

Coconut shell as an organic residue that could be re-utilized to charcoal raw material through carbonization or pyrolysis process. Kiln is a thermally insulated chamber that produces enough temperatures to complete some process such as carbonization. This study aimed to conduct a performance test of modification drum kiln with vertical partition for coconut shell carbonization. These partitions were added in order to limit the direct contact between coconut shells and husk, thus the temperature inside each chamber can be easier to maintain. The data obtained with placing the thermocouple in five places, while also measure wind velocity, relative humidity and environment. The drum kiln has 6 main components, which are pyrolysis main chamber, initial combustion chamber, air inlet, chimney, unloading and vertical partition. Optimum performance of kiln with vertical partition was in average temperature of 295.67 °C, maximum temperature 531.33 °C, charcoal yield 21.67 - 26.80%, carbonization time 78.33 minute and calorific value of 7, 505.33 kcal/kg. Vertical partition able to limit and control kiln temperature also increased pyrolysis rate as well as charcoal yield.
Effect of Roadways Plantation on Signal Propagation Analysis in Connected Autonomous Vehicle Communication
Authors: Turner J S C , Shahriman A B , Harun A , Hashim M S M , Razlan Z M , Wan W K , Ibrahim Z , Abdullah A H , Fadzilla M A , Kassim K A A , Khalid M S A , Jawi Z , Isa M H M , Murad S A Z , Ismail R C
Published: June 2019

At present, the development of autonomous vehicle has altered the outlook of modern transportation worldwide. The state-of-the-art vehicular communication for transportation system is advancing, especially in vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) communication. An effective communication between vehicle and infrastructure has become a significant part of autonomous transportation criteria. The necessity for high quality of service communication inspire for good planning and preparation in communication process. Per se, this paper proposes vegetation attenuation models for advance planning of communication process between vehicle to infrastructure, defined mainly by plants, trees and vegetation along the roadways in Malaysia. The channel measurement performed in Universiti Malaysia Perlis test-bed having large tall trees and low shrubs along the routes resulted in several interesting results which would shape the planning of CAV communication. It is observed that communication close to low plantation or shrub requires high power consumption as the range is significantly reduced. It is also learned that certain types of plantations allows for different level of signal attenuation depending on the antenna heights. The research also found out that the attenuation profile follows strictly the log normal distribution and as such certain planning could be made to reshape the communication process to cater for this.
Remediation of Heavy Metals Using Selected Agricultural Waste: Sunflower Husk and Durian Leaves
Authors: Abood Manal M , Istiaque F , Azhari N N
Published: June 2019

This study revealed the behaviour of sunflower husk (SFH) and durian leaves (DL) as an adsorbent that could treat the aqueous solution to be free of heavy metal ions. The batch method was utilized. The influence of pH, contact time and initial metal concentration were described. The impact of pH on the uptake levels of the metal particles by both selected adsorbents were delineated between pH 4 to pH11. It was observed that the best value of pH for copper and zinc removal was 8 in case of SFH and it was 9 for DL. The process tends to be rapid the initial 10 minutes for SFH and 5 minutes for DL and an equilibrium time of two hours was needed for the copper and zinc particles adsorption onto SFH and an equilibrium time of one hour was needed for the copper and zinc adsorption onto DL. The Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm models are used to decide the adsorption parameters. The Freundlich isotherm model tends to fit the equilibrium data better than Langmuir isotherm model. The outcomes demonstrated that SFH and DL hold great potential to be utilized as low cost dry biomass adsorbent in the order SFH < DL.
Association of Hyperhomocysteinemia with Acute Myocardial Infarction in Kurdish Patients
Authors: Othman Amen Shwan , Tharwat Baban Soza
Published: June 2019

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the main cause of death worldwide. Among multiple cardiovascular risk factors, such as age, blood pressure, diabetes, smoking and hyperlipidemia, hyperhomocysteinemia has recently emerged to have an important role in increasing risk of CVD by impairing oxidative stress-induced endothelial dysfunction and inducing atherothrombosis. However, the association between high circulating level of homocysteine and increasing the risk of CVD in human remains controversial and has not been consistently observed. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to evaluate the association between serum total homocysteine (tHcy) concentrations with increased risk of CAD in patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI) in Kurdish population. In addition, correlations of classical risk factors including hypertension, smoking, diabetes and hyperlipidemia with hyperhomocysteinemia in MI patients were studied. Its role in in development of CVD could be pivotal. METHODS: In a case-control study, a total of 74 patients (51 male; 23 female; aged 22-80 years) who had diagnosed with acute CAD on angiography were enrolled in this study and 74 gender and age matched non-CAD individuals were included as the control group. The serum tHcy level was measured by enzymatic immunoassay. Hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) was defined as Hcy>15 µmol/l. RESULTS: the mean ± standard deviation (SD) of serum total homocysteine (tHcy) level in acute myocardial infarction patients was 22.8 ± 1.30 µmol/l, which was significantly higher compared to that of control group being 15.1 ± 1.33 µmol/l (P < 0.001), indicating that a high homocysteine level may promote pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. 51 (68.9%) MI cases had hyperhomocysteinemia; of these 35 MI patients (47.3%) had mild hyperhomocysteinemia (15-30µmol/L), and 16 MI patients (21.6%) had moderate levels of hyperhomocysteinemia (30-100 µmol/L). No significant correlation between tHcy levels and MI risk factors such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes mellitus, was observed. The tHcy levels were significantly higher in smoker patients than in non-smokers. CONCLUSIONS: These findings confirm that in patients with acute myocardial infarction, elevated homocysteine levels are associated with development of MI independent of other risk factors. A strong association between elevated levels of serum tHcy in MI patients was observed in Kurdish population. This study concludes that Hcy is considered as a strong emerging cardiovascular risk factor for development of myocardial infarction. Moreover, the measurement of Homocysteine levels might act as a surrogate laboratory marker and as one of the effective ways to diagnose patients with myocardial infarction in hospitals.
Using adaptive management to guide multiple partners in TCE remediation using a permeable reactive barrier
Authors: Niño de Guzmán Gabriela T , Hapeman Cathleen J , Millner Patricia D , Torrents Alba , Jackson Dana , Kjellerup Birthe V
Published: June 2019

The US Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) worked together with the University of Maryland, College Park and BMT Designers and Planners (Consultant) to design a biowall to remediate the groundwater of a Superfund site located in Beltsville, MD. The US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) oversaw the remediation plan as per the regulations of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) program. A hybrid adaptive management strategy was employed to to guarantee the use of a science-based approach to the remediation efforts, to ensure that new information could be incorporated into the remediation plan, and to avoid the shortcomings of other remediation efforts elsewhere. Laboratory experiments and a historic-data assessment were conducted in conjunction with the monitoring plan to provide the Consultant and USDA with comprehensive feedback, to strengthen and to modify the monitoring and biowall construction plans as the requirements of the site changed. This feedback mechanism was repeated multiple times to make certain that the highest quality and most effective methods were used. The scope of the project also grew to include investigations of the soil microbial community for future structural biostimulation and bioaugmentation activities. While the biowall has reduced the concentration of trichloroethylene (TCE) to levels at or below its Maximum Contaminant Level, work is on-going to improve the functionality of the biowall and to address emerging challenges.
A least-squares method for the design of two-reflector optical systems
Authors: Yadav N K , Romijn L B , ten Thije Boonkkamp J H M , IJzerman W L
Published: June 2019

The purpose of this paper is to present a method for the design of two-reflector optical systems that transfer a given energy density of the source to a desired energy density at the target. It is known that the two-reflector design problem gives rise to a Monge–Ampère (MA) equation with transport boundary condition. We solve this boundary value problem using a recently developed least-squares algorithm (Prins et al 2015 J. Sci. Comput.
37 B937–61). It is one of the few numerical algorithms capable to solve these type of problems efficiently. The least-squares algorithm can provide two solutions of the MA problem, one is concave and the other one is convex. The reflectors are validated for several numerical examples by a ray-tracer based on Monte-Carlo simulation.
Stably irrational hypersurfaces of small slopes
Authors: Schreieder Stefan
Published: June 2019

Let

k
k

be an uncountable field of characteristic different from two. We show that a very general hypersurface

X
⊂

P

k

N
+
1

X\subset \mathbb {P}^{N+1}_k

of dimension

N
≥
3

N\geq 3

and degree at least

log
2

⁡
N
+
2

\log _2N +2

is not stably rational over the algebraic closure of

k
k

.
Insect Composition and Uses in Animal Feeding Applications: A Brief Review
Authors: Koutsos Liz , McComb Alejandra , Finke Mark
Published: June 2019

Interest in the use of insects for animal feed applications is increasing due to the potential for more efficient production of protein and other nutrients compared to other more traditional sources. This review provides a brief overview of the potential of insects to provide efficient, sustainable nutrition for animal species, from commercially farmed animals, to pets and to exotic animals housed for conservation efforts.
Am I Getting a Good Deal? Reference‐DependentDecision Making When the Reference Price Is Uncertain
Authors: Caputo Vincenzina , Lusk Jayson L , Nayga Rodolfo M
Published: June 2019

Models of consumer decision making commonly incorporate reference dependent preferences. In these models, the reference point is typically assumed to be known by the consumer. However, research on price recall and the reference formation process reveals that the reference price is often uncertain at the time of purchase. Reference price uncertainty creates ambiguity for the consumer about whether they are getting a good or bad deal. This paper develops a model of consumer choice in the presence of reference dependent preferences when the reference price is uncertain. Data from two empirical studies that vary the product category and order of the elicitation of reference prices show that the new model generally outperforms conventional discrete choice models that either ignore reference prices or treat reference prices as certain. The new model provides insights into the effect of reducing reference price uncertainty on consumer choice, and reveals that high uncertainty smoothes the kink in the demand curve that is present in traditional reference‐price demand models.
Inference of differential gene regulatory networks based on gene expression and genetic perturbation data
Authors: Zhou Xin , Cai Xiaodong
Published: June 2019

Motivation

Gene regulatory networks (GRNs) of the same organism can be different under different conditions, although the overall network structure may be similar. Understanding the difference in GRNs under different conditions is important to understand condition-specific gene regulation. When gene expression and other relevant data under two different conditions are available, they can be used by an existing network inference algorithm to estimate two GRNs separately, and then to identify the difference between the two GRNs. However, such an approach does not exploit the similarity in two GRNs, and may sacrifice inference accuracy.

Results

In this paper, we model GRNs with the structural equation model (SEM) that can integrate gene expression and genetic perturbation data, and develop an algorithm named fused sparse SEM (FSSEM), to jointly infer GRNs under two conditions, and then to identify difference of the two GRNs. Computer simulations demonstrate that the FSSEM algorithm outperforms the approaches that estimate two GRNs separately. Analysis of a dataset of lung cancer and another dataset of gastric cancer with FSSEM inferred differential GRNs in cancer versus normal tissues, whose genes with largest network degrees have been reported to be implicated in tumorigenesis. The FSSEM algorithm provides a valuable tool for joint inference of two GRNs and identification of the differential GRN under two conditions.

Availability and implementation

The R package fssemR implementing the FSSEM algorithm is available at https://github.com/Ivis4ml/fssemR.git. It is also available on CRAN.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
MILP-based Related-Key Rectangle Attack and Its Application to GIFT, Khudra, MIBS
Authors: Chen Lele , Wang Gaoli , Zhang GuoYan
Published: June 2019

The rectangle attack is the extension of the traditional differential attack and is evolved from the boomerange attack. It has been widely used to attack several existing ciphers. In this article, we study the security of lightweight block ciphers GIFT, Khudra and MIBS against related-key rectangle attack. We use Mixed-Integer Linear Programming-aided cryptanalysis to search rectangle distinguishers by taking into account the effect of the ladder switch technique. For GIFT, we build a 19-round related-key rectangle distinguisher and attack on 23-round GIFT-64, which requires 260 chosen plaintexts and 2107 encryptions. For Khudra, a 14-round related-key rectangle distinguisher can be built, which leads us to a 17-round rectangle attack. Our attack on 17-round Khudra requires a data complexity of 262.9 chosen plaintexts and a time complexity of 273.9 encryptions. For MIBS, we construct a 13-round related-key rectangle distinguisher and propose an attack on 15-round MIBS-64 with time complexity of 259 and data complexity of 245. Compared to the previous best related-key rectangle attack, we can attack one more round on Khudra and MIBS-64 than before.
Association between serum potassium levels and short-term mortality in patients with atrial fibrillation or flutter co-treated with diuretics and rate- or rhythm-controlling drugs
Authors: Hagengaard Louise , Søgaard Peter , Espersen Marie , Sessa Maurizio , Lund Peter Enemark , Krogager Maria Lukács , Torp-Pedersen Christian , Kragholm Kristian Hay , Polcwiartek Christoffer
Published: June 2019

Aims

We investigated the association between potassium levels and 90-day all-cause mortality in atrial fibrillation or flutter (AF) patients co-treated with diuretics and rate- or rhythm-controlling drugs.

Methods and results

During 2000–12, first-time AF patients treated with beta-blockers, amiodarone, sotalol, verapamil, or digoxin combined with any diuretic within 90 days post-AF discharge were included. Following co-treatment, a potassium measurement within 90 days after initiating diuretic treatment was required. Mortality risk associated with potassium <3.5, 3.5–3.7, 3.8–4.0, 4.5–4.7, 4.8–5.0, and >5.0 mmol/L (reference: 4.1–4.4 mmol/L) was assessed using multivariable Cox regression. In total, 14 425 AF patients were included (median age: 78 years; women: 52%). Patients most often received beta-blocker monotherapy (29%), beta-blockers and digoxin combined (25%), digoxin monotherapy (24%), amiodarone monotherapy (3%), and verapamil monotherapy (3%). Increased 90-day mortality risk was associated with <3.5 mmol/L [hazard ratio (HR) 2.05, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.68–2.50], 3.5–3.7 mmol/L (HR 1.28, 95% CI 1.05–1.57), 4.5–4.7 mmol/L (HR 1.20, 95% CI 1.02–1.41), 4.8–5.0 mmol/L (HR 1.37, 95% CI 1.14–1.66), and >5.0 mmol/L: (HR 1.84, 95% CI 1.53–2.21). Compared with beta-blocker monotherapy, rate- or rhythm-controlling drugs did not modify the association between potassium groups and mortality risk.

Conclusion

In addition to hypo- and hyperkalaemia, low and high normal range potassium levels were associated with increased 90-day mortality risk in AF patients co-treated with diuretics and rate- or rhythm-controlling drugs. These associations were independent of rate- or rhythm-controlling drugs.