bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Yaratılış ile İlgili Ayetlerin Yorumunda Kelami Paradigmanın Etkisi (Kâdî Abdülcebbâr Özelinde)
Authors: Narol Süleyman
Published: January 2019

Allah Teâlâ Kur’an-ı Kerim’de baştan sona tevhit vurgusu yaparken hiç de azımsanmayacak sayıda ayette akıl ve sorumluluk sahibi her insana, varlık âleminin bir sahibi ve yaratıcısı olduğunu, insan ve onunla birlikte yaratılan her şeyin yaratılışını ve bu yaratılmışlar arasındaki dengeyi ortaya koyan pek çok Kur’anî-akli delil sunmuştur.
Kur’an’da yaratma ile ilgili ayetler, bağlamlarına bakıldığında hiç tartışmasız Allah Teâlâ’nın varlığı, yaratmadaki güç ve kudretinin ne kadar tartışılmaz olduğunu ortaya koymaktadır. Kur’an, evrende hiçbir şeyin tesadüf eseri olmadığını ve bir yaratıcının var olduğunu, insanın yaratılışı ve insan dışındaki varlıkların yaratılışına dair verdiği örneklerle ortaya koymaktadır. Söz konusu örneklerde, başlangıçta hiçbir şey değilken kâinatın en şerefli varlığı olarak yaratılan insan ile büyüklük bakımından kendileriyle mukayese edilmesi dahi mümkün olmayan güneşin, ayın, yıldızların, göklerin, yeryüzünün vb. yaratılışı, aralarındaki ahenk ve bunların insanın emrine verilişi Allah’ın varlığına ve birliğine delil olarak sunulmaktadır.
Kur’an-ı Kerim yüce yaratıcının birliğini ve kudretini insana akıl ve düşünce zaviyesinden seslenerek birtakım delillerle ortaya koymaktadır. Yaratılış konusundaki bu delilleri yorumlamada bazı müfessirler farklı yaklaşımlar ortaya koymuşlardır. Bu farklı yaklaşımının önemli sebeplerinden birisi de müfessirin sahip olduğu kelami paradigmadır. Bu çalışmada Mu’tezile kelam ekolünün önemli müfessirlerinden Kâdî Abdülcebbâr’ın yaratılışla ilgili ayetlere yaklaşımı ele alınmıştır. Müfessirin sahip olduğu kelami paradigmanın ve mezhebi ilkelerinin Allah’ın varlığına ve birliğine delil olan insan ve onunla birlikte evrende yaratılan her şeyi konu edinen bu ayetleri anlaması ve yorumlamasında ne denli etkili olduğu ortaya konulmaya çalışılmıştır.
Medeniyet Tasavvurunun Unsurları ve Dinamikleri (Kur’ân Verileri Işığında Bir İnceleme)
Authors: Küçük Ahmet
Published: January 2019

Toplumların ihtiyaçlarını karşılayabilecekleri mekanlar genelde şehir/medine olarak tanımlanır. Bu ihtiyaçların karşılanabilmesi tabii olarak karşılıklı hak ve sorumlulukları beraberinde getirmektedir. Bu yüzden medine, şehir, yerleşim birimi, toplum ve siyasî otorite gibi unsurlar bir bütün olarak düşünülmelidir. Medeniyet kavramı da son tahlilde bu üç unsurdan müteşekkil olup ve bir değerler manzumesidir. Değerler ise bir medeniyetin muhayyilesini, tasavvurunu oluşturan onun dışa bakan yüzüdür. Bu bağlamda Kur’ân verileri ışığında bir medeniyet tasavvuru da elbette düşünülebilir. Kur’an yerleşim birimi/medine, toplum ve siyasî otorite gibi üç unsura kendi renk ve değerlerini katarak onları yine üç temel dinamik üzere inşa etmek gerektiğine işaret eder. Bu dinamikler kitap, mizan, demir ve onların her birinin sembolize ettiği değerlerdir. Bu açıdan Hadid, 57/25. ayette zikredilen bu üç dinamiğin hem insanlık için anlam ve değer ifade etmesi hem de yenilenebilir, güncellenebilir birer unsur olmaları onları “dinamik” olarak tanımlamamızın gerekçesidir. Bu çalışmada müfessirlerin yoğun bir şekilde ilgilendikleri bu üç dinamiğin geçmişten bugüne neleri karşıladığı, nasıl güncellenebileceği, evrensel bir medeniyet tasavvurunun nasıl oluşturulabileceğinin cevapları aranmıştır.
Conductive Fabric Heaters for Heat-Activated Soft Actuators
Authors: Cartolano Mark , Xia Boxi , Miriyev Aslan , Lipson Hod
Published: January 2019

We examine electrically conductive fabrics as conductive heaters for heat-activated soft actuators. We have explored various fabric designs optimized for material properties, heat distribution and actuation/de-actuation characteristics of the soft actuators. We implemented this approach in the silicone/ethanol composite actuators, in which ethanol undergoes a thermally-induced phase change, leading to high actuation stress and strain. Various types of conductive fabrics were tested, and we developed a stretchable kirigami-based fabric design. We demonstrate a fabric heater that is capable of cyclic heating of the actuator to the required 80 °C. The fabric with the special kirigami design can withstand temperatures of up to 195 °C, can consume up to 30 W of power, and allows the actuator to reach >30% linear strain. This technology may be used in various systems involving thermally-induced actuation.
Optimizing Nitrogen Options for Improving Nitrogen Use Efficiency of Rice under Different Water Regimes
Authors: Hameed Fazli , Xu Junzeng , Rahim Shah Fahad , Wei Qi , Rehman Khalil Anis ur , Liao Qi
Published: January 2019

Major challenge in rice production is to achieve the goal of enhancing both food production and fertilizer use efficiency. Rice growth simulation model, ORYZA (v3) was used in the present study to evaluate the model under continuous flooded (CF) and alternate wetting and drying (AWD) regimes with different fertilizer nitrogen (N) rates with different N splits using a historical data of past 45 years. The model satisfactorily simulated crop biomass and nitrogen uptake at both irrigation regimes and fertilizers N rates and splits. The yield differences among the years were large due to climate change, but enhanced by N rates. The response of N curves was different at both water regimes. At 0 N rate, the slope for agronomic efficiency (AE) was high which tends to decrease with increase in N rates. With the one split basal application of N, lowest yield was found with high physiological efficiencies (PE), lowest fertilizer recoveries (RE) and lowest agronomic efficiency (AE). For both water applications and fertilizer levels, high yield with high nitrogen uptake, AE, RE and partial factor productivity (PFP) were witnessed high at four split (3:3:3:1), while having low physiological efficiency. The water productivity (irrigation + rainfall) WPI+R at basal in one N split for AWD at 150 kg N ha−1 was 1.19 kg m−3 and for CF was 0.82 kg m−3, whereas for 225 kg N ha−1 WPI+R of AWD was 1.50 kg m−3 and 1.14 kg m−3 for CF. In general, AWD exhibited high WPI+R with no rice yield penalty compared to CF. Splitting with the proper amount of fertilizer N resulted in good water productivity and nitrogen efficiencies, could lead to high rice yield.
Near-Isogenic Lines of Japonica Rice Revealed New QTLs for Cold Tolerance at Booting Stage
Authors: Sun Zhenghai , Du Juan , Pu Xiaoying , Kazim Ali Muhammad , Yang Xiaomeng , Duan Chengli , Ren Meirong , Li Xia , Zeng Yawen
Published: January 2019

Low temperature stress severely hampers rice productivity, and hence elaborating chilling-mediated physiochemical alterations and unravelling cold tolerance pathways will facilitate cold resilient rice breeding. Various cold tolerant Near-isogenic lines (NILs) selected at the booting stage through backcrossing of a japonica landrace Lijing2 (cold tolerant) with cold sensitive Towada (a japonica cultivar). The cold tolerance attributes of NILs was validated over two years by evaluating the spikelet fertility followed by correlation of nineteen morphological traits with the rate of seed setting (RSS). Results revealed BG, FG, 1-2IL, RSLL, and UIL were significantly correlated with RSS and had nearer marker interval distance with cold tolerance in QTL analysis. Two QTLs, qCTB-7-a and qCTB-7-b, were found for RSS based on a mixed linear model. Alleles of two QTLs were contributed by Lijing2 and genetic distances between the peaks were 0.00 and 0.06cM, which explained 5.70% and 8.36% variation, respectively, One QTL for 1-2IL, RSLL, and ILBS, while two QTLs for FG, BG, and UIL were also identified. These findings can be exploited to engineer low temperature stress tolerant rice in times of climate change.
Free Space Optic Receiver with Strongly Overlapped Photodetectors’ Field of View
Authors: Witas Karel , Nedoma Jan
Published: January 2019

In this study, we designed a mobile free space optic receiver that uses several photodetectors to provide omnidirectional receiving capability. Assuming only one transmitter, it is a receiver which builds a single input multiple output optical channel. The photodetectors are fixed to truncated pyramid walls. Electrical signals from the photodetectors are processed using an equal gain combining technique. This architecture allows simple circuits and enables additive noise suppression. The minimum angle between the pyramid base and the direction of falling rays was calculated to determine the threshold for additive noise suppression. Two areas of interest presented themselves: the processing of very weak electrical signals often drowned in noise, and optimization of the number of photodetectors whose fields of view overlapped strongly. We outline the design of the optical receiver circuitry and provide some practical hints concerning its assembly. The receiver was evaluated using bit error rate measurements and comparing signal-to-noise ratio parameters for various photodetector numbers. The measured data confirm the theoretical assumptions.
Spreadsheets as Interoperability Solution for Business Process Representation
Authors: Wiśniewski Piotr , Kluza Krzysztof , Kucharska Edyta , Ligęza Antoni
Published: January 2019

Business process models help to visualize processes of an organization. In enterprises, these processes are often specified in internal regulations, resolutions or other law acts of a company. Such descriptions, like task lists, have mostly form of enumerated lists or spreadsheets. In this paper, we present a mapping of process model elements into a spreadsheet representation. As a process model can be represented in various notations, this can be seen as an interoperability solution for process knowledge interchange between different representations. In presenting the details of the solution, we focus on the popular BPMN representation, which is a de facto standard for business process modeling. We present a method how to generate a BPMN process model from a spreadsheet-based representation. In contrast to the other existing approaches concerning spreadsheets, our method does not require explicit specification of gateways in the spreadsheet, but it takes advantage of nested list form. Such a spreadsheet can be created either manually or merged from the task list specifications provided by users.
The Relationships between Somatic Cells and Isoleucine, Leucine and Tyrosine Content in Cow Milk
Authors: Ianni Federica , Sechi Paola , La Mantia Alessandro , Pucciarini Lucia , Camaioni Emidio , Cenci Goga Beniamino , Sardella Roccaldo , Natalini Benedetto
Published: January 2019

The early diagnosis of cow subclinical mastitis represents a pivotal factor for a prompt and adequate animal treatment. Although several methods are available, the somatic cells count (SCC) still remains the elective test directly carried out on milk samples. In mastitis affected cows (even at subclinical stages), altered concentrations of specific metabolites, including free amino acids, is a well-known occurrence. In order to define the relationships between the variation of the unbound amino acids content with the SCC value, a direct ion-pairing reversed-phase method based on the use of the evaporative light-scattering detector (IP-RP-HPLC-ELSD) was applied to 65 cow milk samples. The statistical analysis of variance (ANOVA) was pursued in order to find a correlation between the SCC value and the concentration of isoleucine (Ile), leucine (Leu), valine (Val) and tyrosine (Tyr). Samples were divided in two groups according to their SCC value: Group I comprised all ones with SCC < 400,000 cells/mL; Group II encompassed those with a SCC > 400,000 cells/mL. Statistical analyses highlighted significant differences in the content of the branched-chain amino acids Ile and Leu, between the two groups (p < 0.02* and <0.005**, respectively). This study confirms that a dysmetabolism of certain free amino acids parallels elevated SCC values.
Clutter Elimination and Harmonic Suppression of Non-Stationary Life Signs for Long-Range and Through-Wall Human Subject Detection Using Spectral Kurtosis Analysis (SKA)-Based Windowed Fourier Transform (WFT) Method
Authors: Yang Shengying , Qin Huibin , Liang Xiaolin , Gulliver Thomas Aaron
Published: January 2019

Life sign detection is important in many applications, such as locating disaster victims. This can be difficult in low signal to noise ratio (SNR) and through-wall conditions. This paper considers life sign detection using an impulse ultra-wideband (UWB) bio-radar with an improved sensing algorithm for clutter elimination, harmonic suppression and random-noise de-noising. To improve detection performance, two filters are used to improve SNR of these life signs. The automatic gain method is performed in fast time to improve the respiration signals. The spectral kurtosis analysis (SKA)-based windowed Fourier transform (WFT) method and an accumulator in the frequency domain are used to provide two distance estimates between the radar and human subject. Further, the accumulator can also provide the frequency estimate of the respiration signals. These estimates are used to determine if a human is present in the detection environment. Results are presented which show that the range and respiration frequency can be estimated accurately in low signal to noise and clutter ratio (SNCR) environments. In addition, the performance is better than with other techniques given in the literature.
Stochastic Model Predictive Control Based Scheduling Optimization of Multi-Energy System Considering Hybrid CHPs and EVs
Authors: Guo Xiaogang , Bao Zhejing , Yan Wenjun
Published: January 2019

Recently, the increasing integration of electric vehicles (EVs) has drawn great interest due to its flexible utilization; moreover, environmental concerns have caused an increase in the application of combined heat and power (CHP) units in multi-energy systems (MES). This paper develops an approach to coordinated scheduling of MES considering CHPs, uncertain EVs and battery degradation based on model predictive control (MPC), aimed at achieving the most economic energy scheduling. After exploiting the pattern of the drivers’ commuting behavior, the stochastic characteristics of available charging/discharging electric power of aggregated EVs in office or residential buildings are analyzed and represented by the scenarios with the help of scenario generation and reduction techniques. At each step of MPC optimization, the solution of a finite-horizon optimal control is achieved in which a suitable number of available EVs scenarios is considered, while the economic objective and operational constraints are included. The simulation results obtained are encouraging and indicate both the feasibility and the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Positive and Negative Symmetric Pulses with Fast Rising Edge Generated from a GaAs Photoconductive Semiconductor Switch
Authors: Shi Wei , Yang Lei , Hou Lei , Liu Zenan , Xu Nuo , Xing Zhiyang
Published: January 2019

In this paper, the positive and negative symmetric pulses with a fast rising edge were generated by a GaAs photoconductive semiconductor switch (PCSS). When the GaAs PCSS was biased at 2.0 kV and triggered by a femtosecond laser pulse with a pulse energy of 97.5 μJ, the peak voltages of the positive and negative pulses were 1.313 kV and 1.329 kV, respectively, and the rise times were 174 ps and 164 ps, respectively. Moreover, the GaAs PCSS presents good stability. The experimental results show that GaAs PCSSs can meet the requirement of a femtosecond streak camera.
Acknowledgement to Reviewers of Big Data and Cognitive Computing in 2018
Authors:   Big Data and Cognitive Computing Editorial Office
Published: January 2019

Rigorous peer-review is the corner-stone of high-quality academic publishing [...]
Acknowledgement to Reviewers of Biomolecules in 2018
Authors:   Biomolecules Editorial Office
Published: January 2019

Rigorous peer-review is the cornerstone of high-quality academic publishing [...]
N-Doped K3Ti5NbO14@TiO2 Core-Shell Structure for Enhanced Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalytic Activity in Environmental Remediation
Authors: Gao Xin , Wang Chen , Xu Qixiang , Lv Hongjie , Chen Ting , Liu Chao , Xi Xinguo
Published: January 2019

A novel N-doped K3Ti5NbO14@TiO2 (NTNT) core-shell heterojunction photocatalyst was synthesized by firstly mixing titanium isopropoxide and K3Ti5NbO14 nanobelt, and then calcinating at 500 °C in air using urea as the nitrogen source. The samples were analyzed by X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS) spectra. Anatase TiO2 nanoparticles were closely deposited on the surface of K3Ti5NbO14 nanobelt to form a nanoscale heterojunction structure favorable for the separation of photogenerated charge carriers. Meanwhile, the nitrogen atoms were mainly doped in the crystal lattices of TiO2, resulting in the increased light harvesting ability to visible light region. The photocatalytic performance was evaluated by the degradation of methylene blue (MB) under visible light irradiation. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of NTNT was ascribed to the combined effects of morphology engineering, N doping and the formation of heterojunction. A possible photocatalytic mechanism was proposed based on the experimental results.
NUP214 in Leukemia: It’s More than Transport
Authors: Mendes Adélia , Fahrenkrog Birthe
Published: January 2019

NUP214 is a component of the nuclear pore complex (NPC) with a key role in protein and mRNA nuclear export. Chromosomal translocations involving the NUP214 locus are recurrent in acute leukemia and frequently fuse the C-terminal region of NUP214 with SET and DEK, two chromatin remodeling proteins with roles in transcription regulation. SET-NUP214 and DEK-NUP214 fusion proteins disrupt protein nuclear export by inhibition of the nuclear export receptor CRM1, which results in the aberrant accumulation of CRM1 protein cargoes in the nucleus. SET-NUP214 is primarily associated with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), whereas DEK-NUP214 exclusively results in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), indicating different leukemogenic driver mechanisms. Secondary mutations in leukemic blasts may contribute to the different leukemia outcomes. Additional layers of complexity arise from the respective functions of SET and DEK in transcription regulation and chromatin remodeling, which may drive malignant hematopoietic transformation more towards ALL or AML. Another, less frequent fusion protein involving the C terminus of NUP214 results in the sequestosome-1 (SQSTM1)-NUP214 chimera, which was detected in ALL. SQSTM1 is a ubiquitin-binding protein required for proper autophagy induction, linking the NUP214 fusion protein to yet another cellular mechanism. The scope of this review is to summarize the general features of NUP214-related leukemia and discuss how distinct chromosomal translocation partners can influence the cellular effects of NUP214 fusion proteins in leukemia.
Roles of Autophagy-Related Genes in the Pathogenesis of Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Authors: Kim Sup , Eun Hyuk Soo , Jo Eun-Kyeong
Published: January 2019

Autophagy is an intracellular catabolic process that is essential for a variety of cellular responses. Due to its role in the maintenance of biological homeostasis in conditions of stress, dysregulation or disruption of autophagy may be linked to human diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). IBD is a complicated inflammatory colitis disorder; Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are the principal types. Genetic studies have shown the clinical relevance of several autophagy-related genes (ATGs) in the pathogenesis of IBD. Additionally, recent studies using conditional knockout mice have led to a comprehensive understanding of ATGs that affect intestinal inflammation, Paneth cell abnormality and enteric pathogenic infection during colitis. In this review, we discuss the various ATGs involved in macroautophagy and selective autophagy, including ATG16L1, IRGM, LRRK2, ATG7, p62, optineurin and TFEB in the maintenance of intestinal homeostasis. Although advances have been made regarding the involvement of ATGs in maintaining intestinal homeostasis, determining the precise contribution of autophagy has remained elusive. Recent efforts based on direct targeting of ATGs and autophagy will further facilitate the development of new therapeutic opportunities for IBD.
Acknowledgement to Reviewers of ChemEngineering in 2018
Authors:   ChemEngineering Editorial Office
Published: January 2019

Rigorous peer-review is the corner-stone of high-quality academic publishing [...]
Temporal and Spatial Variability in Surface Air Temperature and Diurnal Temperature Range in Spain over the Period 1950–2011
Authors: Bilbao Julia , Román Roberto , De Miguel Argimiro
Published: January 2019

Maximum (Tmax), minimum (Tmin), mean (Tmean) air temperature and diurnal temperature range (DTR) trends on a seasonal and annual time scale are evaluated from data recorded at nine Spanish weather stations during the period 1950–2011. Temporal and spatial variability in temperatures and in the diurnal temperature range (DTR) are presented. The non-parametric Theil-Sen approach and the Mann-Kendall test are used to evaluate anomaly temperature trends and their statistical significance, respectively. An air temperature reduction in Spain between 1950 and 1980 emerges and significant warming is observed between 1980 and 2011. On a seasonal scale, the weakest trends (mostly insignificant at the 5% confidence level) are noted during autumn, while the strongest warming rates were found during summer and spring. The rate of change between 1950 and 2011 in Tmax, Tmin and Tmean was 1.6 °C, 1.1 °C and 1.3 °C, respectively. DTR trends showed a decrease on the Mediterranean coast and a small change in northern, Atlantic and rural areas. The spatial distribution of annual and seasonal trends was plotted as isoline maps and strong trend gradients from the south to the north of the country are observed. DTR values were negatively correlated with relative humidity and precipitation and positively correlated with sunshine hours.
Effect of Extreme Climate on Topology of Railway Prestressed Concrete Sleepers
Authors: Li Dan , Kaewunruen Sakdirat
Published: January 2019

Railway networks are exposed to various environmental conditions. It is thus critical that infrastructure components can tolerate such effects by design. Railway sleepers are a critical safety component in ballasted track systems. Prestressed concrete is currently the most common material for railway sleepers due to its superior advantages in structural performance, low maintenance, sustainability, and construction. In practice, many prestressed concrete sleepers are installed in harsh environments that are subject to various changes in climate. Environmental conditions are, therefore, one of the most critical phenomena affecting the time-dependent behaviour of prestressed concrete sleepers. Hence, the impact of climate changes on the serviceability of railway infrastructure needs to be thoroughly investigated. Temperature and relative humidity are crucial aspects that have not been sufficiently studied so far with reference to prestressed concrete sleepers embedded in track systems. This study aims to investigate the effects of extreme climatic conditions on the performance and time-dependent behaviour of prestressed concrete sleepers using contemporary design approaches. The issue concerning the effects of climate uncertainties on creep and shrinkage is rigorously investigated on the basis of both environmental temperature and relative humidity. The outcome indicates that environmental conditions play a vital role in the time-dependent behaviour of prestressed concrete sleepers. The insights will be essential for assessing the long-term serviceability of prestressed concrete sleepers that have been installed in railway lines and are subjected to extreme environmental conditions.
Effect of TiO2 Sol and PTFE Emulsion on Properties of Cu–Sn Antiwear and Friction Reduction Coatings
Authors: Ying Lixia , Fu Zhen , Wu Ke , Wu Chunxi , Zhu Tengfei , Xie Yue , Wang Guixiang
Published: January 2019

The aim of this paper is to obtain Cu–Sn composite coatings incorporated with PTFE and TiO2 particles, which have superior antiwear and friction reduction properties. Electrodeposition was carried out in a pyrophosphate electrolyte, and the electrochemical behavior of the plating solutions was estimated. PTFE emulsion and TiO2 sol were prepared and used, of which the average particle sizes were less than 283 and 158 nm, respectively. Then, four different types of coatings, Cu–Sn, Cu–Sn–TiO2, Cu–Sn–PTFE and Cu–Sn–PTFE–TiO2, were electroplated with a pulsed power supply. Their microstructure, composition, microhardness, corrosion resistance and tribological properties were then analyzed and compared in detail. The results show that both PTFE and TiO2 are able to improve coating structure and corrosion resistance, while they have different effects on hardness and tribological properties. However, the presence of both PTFE and TiO2 in the deposited coating leads to a lower friction coefficient of 0.1 and higher wear and corrosion resistance.
High-Performance Adhesives Based on Maleic Anhydride-g-EPDM Rubbers and Polybutene for Laminating Cast Polypropylene Film and Aluminum Foil
Authors: Lee Sang-Hyub , Yang Se-Woo , Park Eun-Suk , Hwang Ji-Young , Lee Dai-Soo
Published: January 2019

The adhesion between aluminum (Al) foil and cast polypropylene (CPP) film laminated with mixtures of amorphous- and crystalline-maleic anhydride-grafted ethylene-propylene-diene monomer (MAH-g-EPDM) rubbers and highly reactive polybutene (HRPB) as the adhesives was investigated. Specifically, the HRPB was used as an adhesion promoter of the MAH-g-EPDM rubbers and CPP as well as a compatibilizer of two kinds of MAH-g-EPDM rubbers having limited miscibility. To introduce strong chemical bonds between the MAH-g-EPDM rubbers and Al foil, the surface of Al foil was treated with 3-aminopropyl triethoxysilane (APTES). The weak adhesion between Al foil and MAH-g-EPDM rubbers was improved by imidization between the amine groups (–NH2) of APTES and the maleic anhydride groups (MAH) of MAH-g-EPDM rubbers. The effects of the composition of adhesives, tempering time and adhesive thickness were also studied to optimize the adhesion of the CPP/Al foil laminates. We concluded that MAH-g-EPDM rubber based adhesives containing HRPB can be applied for the lamination of Al foil and CPP films to satisfy the requirements of high-performance packaging materials for various purposes.
Acknowledgement to Reviewers of Condensed Matter in 2018
Authors:   Condensed Matter Editorial Office
Published: January 2019

Peer review is an essential part in the publication process, ensuring that Condensed Matter maintains high quality standards for its published papers [...]
Role of PGE-2 and Other Inflammatory Mediators in Skin Aging and Their Inhibition by Topical Natural Anti-Inflammatories
Authors: Fuller Bryan
Published: January 2019

Human skin aging is due to two types of aging processes, “intrinsic” (chronological) aging and “extrinsic” (external factor mediated) aging. While inflammatory events, triggered mainly by sun exposure, but also by pollutants, smoking and stress, are the principle cause of rapid extrinsic aging, inflammation also plays a key role in intrinsic aging. Inflammatory events in the skin lead to a reduction in collagen gene activity but an increase in activity of the genes for matrix metalloproteinases. Inflammation also alters proliferation rates of cells in all skin layers, causes thinning of the epidermis, a flattening of the dermo-epidermal junction, an increase in irregular pigment production, and, finally, an increased incidence of skin cancer. While a large number of inflammatory mediators, including IL-1, TNF-alpha and PGE-2, are responsible for many of these damaging effects, this review will focus primarily on the role of PGE-2 in aging. Levels of this hormone-like mediator increase quickly when skin is exposed to ultraviolet radiation (UVR), causing changes in genes needed for normal skin structure and function. Further, PGE-2 levels in the skin gradually increase with age, regardless of whether or not the skin is protected from UVR, and this smoldering inflammation causes continuous damage to the dermal matrix. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, PGE-2 is strongly linked to skin cancer. This review will focus on: (1) the role of inflammation, and particularly the role of PGE-2, in accelerating skin aging, and (2) current research on natural compounds that inhibit PGE-2 production and how these can be developed into topical products to retard or even reverse the aging process, and to prevent skin cancer.
Statistical Modeling of Trivariate Static Systems: Isotonic Models
Authors: Fiori Simone , Vitali Andrea
Published: January 2019

This paper presents an improved version of a statistical trivariate modeling algorithm introduced in a short Letter by the first author. This paper recalls the fundamental concepts behind the proposed algorithm, evidences its criticalities and illustrates a number of improvements which lead to a functioning modeling algorithm. The present paper also illustrates the features of the improved statistical modeling algorithm through a comprehensive set of numerical experiments performed on four synthetic and five natural datasets. The obtained results confirm that the proposed algorithm is able to model the considered synthetic and the natural datasets faithfully.
A Two-Layer Component-Based Allocation for Embedded Systems with GPUs
Authors: Campeanu Gabriel , Saadatmand Mehrdad
Published: January 2019

Component-based development is a software engineering paradigm that can facilitate the construction of embedded systems and tackle its complexities. The modern embedded systems have more and more demanding requirements. One way to cope with such a versatile and growing set of requirements is to employ heterogeneous processing power, i.e., CPU–GPU architectures. The new CPU–GPU embedded boards deliver an increased performance but also introduce additional complexity and challenges. In this work, we address the component-to-hardware allocation for CPU–GPU embedded systems. The allocation for such systems is much complex due to the increased amount of GPU-related information. For example, while in traditional embedded systems the allocation mechanism may consider only the CPU memory usage of components to find an appropriate allocation scheme, in heterogeneous systems, the GPU memory usage needs also to be taken into account in the allocation process. This paper aims at decreasing the component-to-hardware allocation complexity by introducing a two-layer component-based architecture for heterogeneous embedded systems. The detailed CPU–GPU information of the system is abstracted at a high-layer by compacting connected components into single units that behave as regular components. The allocator, based on the compacted information received from the high-level layer, computes, with a decreased complexity, feasible allocation schemes. In the last part of the paper, the two-layer allocation method is evaluated using an existing embedded system demonstrator; namely, an underwater robot.
Quantitative Quality Evaluation of Software Products by Considering Summary and Comments Entropy of a Reported Bug
Authors: Kumari Madhu , Misra Ananya , Misra Sanjay , Fernandez Sanz Luis , Damasevicius Robertas , Singh V.B.
Published: January 2019

A software bug is characterized by its attributes. Various prediction models have been developed using these attributes to enhance the quality of software products. The reporting of bugs leads to high irregular patterns. The repository size is also increasing with enormous rate, resulting in uncertainty and irregularities. These uncertainty and irregularities are termed as veracity in the context of big data. In order to quantify these irregular and uncertain patterns, the authors have appliedentropy-based measures of the terms reported in the summary and the comments submitted by the users. Both uncertainties and irregular patterns have been taken care of byentropy-based measures. In this paper, the authors considered that the bug fixing process does not only depend upon the calendar time, testing effort and testing coverage, but it also depends on the bug summary description and comments. The paper proposed bug dependency-based mathematical models by considering the summary description of bugs and comments submitted by users in terms of the entropy-based measures. The models were validated on different Eclipse project products. The models proposed in the literature have different types of growth curves. The models mainly follow exponential, S-shaped or mixtures of both types of curves. In this paper, the proposed models were compared with the modelsfollowingexponential, S-shaped and mixtures of both types of curves.
Bayesian Analysis of Femtosecond Pump-Probe Photoelectron-Photoion Coincidence Spectra with Fluctuating Laser Intensities
Authors: Heim Pascal , Rumetshofer Michael , Ranftl Sascha , Thaler Bernhard , Ernst Wolfgang E. , Koch Markus , von der Linden Wolfgang
Published: January 2019

This paper employs Bayesian probability theory for analyzing data generated in femtosecond pump-probe photoelectron-photoion coincidence (PEPICO) experiments. These experiments allow investigating ultrafast dynamical processes in photoexcited molecules. Bayesian probability theory is consistently applied to data analysis problems occurring in these types of experiments such as background subtraction and false coincidences. We previously demonstrated that the Bayesian formalism has many advantages, amongst which are compensation of false coincidences, no overestimation of pump-only contributions, significantly increased signal-to-noise ratio, and applicability to any experimental situation and noise statistics. Most importantly, by accounting for false coincidences, our approach allows running experiments at higher ionization rates, resulting in an appreciable reduction of data acquisition times. In addition to our previous paper, we include fluctuating laser intensities, of which the straightforward implementation highlights yet another advantage of the Bayesian formalism. Our method is thoroughly scrutinized by challenging mock data, where we find a minor impact of laser fluctuations on false coincidences, yet a noteworthy influence on background subtraction. We apply our algorithm to data obtained in experiments and discuss the impact of laser fluctuations on the data analysis.
Fault Diagnosis of Rolling Element Bearings with a Two-Step Scheme Based on Permutation Entropy and Random Forests
Authors: Xue Xiaoming , Li Chaoshun , Cao Suqun , Sun Jinchao , Liu Liyan
Published: January 2019

This study presents a two-step fault diagnosis scheme combined with statistical classification and random forests-based classification for rolling element bearings. Considering the inequality of features sensitivity in different diagnosis steps, the proposed method utilizes permutation entropy and variational mode decomposition to depict vibration signals under single scale and multiscale. In the first step, the permutation entropy features on the single scale of original signals are extracted and the statistical classification model based on Chebyshev’s inequality is constructed to detect the faults with a preliminary acquaintance of the bearing condition. In the second step, vibration signals with fault conditions are firstly decomposed into a collection of intrinsic mode functions by using variational mode decomposition and then multiscale permutation entropy features derived from each mono-component are extracted to identify the specific fault types. In order to improve the classification ability of the characteristic data, the out-of-bag estimation of random forests is firstly employed to reelect and refine the original multiscale permutation entropy features. Then the refined features are considered as the input data to train the random forests-based classification model. Finally, the condition data of bearings with different fault conditions are employed to evaluate the performance of the proposed method. The results indicate that the proposed method can effectively identify the working conditions and fault types of rolling element bearings.
Objective 3D Printed Surface Quality Assessment Based on Entropy of Depth Maps
Authors: Fastowicz Jarosław , Grudziński Marek , Tecław Mateusz , Okarma Krzysztof
Published: January 2019

A rapid development and growing popularity of additive manufacturing technology leads to new challenging tasks allowing not only a reliable monitoring of the progress of the 3D printing process but also the quality of the printed objects. The automatic objective assessment of the surface quality of the 3D printed objects proposed in the paper, which is based on the analysis of depth maps, allows for determining the quality of surfaces during printing for the devices equipped with the built-in 3D scanners. In the case of detected low quality, some corrections can be made or the printing process may be aborted to save the filament, time and energy. The application of the entropy analysis of the 3D scans allows evaluating the surface regularity independently on the color of the filament in contrast to many other possible methods based on the analysis of visible light images. The results obtained using the proposed approach are encouraging and further combination of the proposed approach with camera-based methods might be possible as well.
Cooling Effectiveness of a Data Center Room under Overhead Airflow via Entropy Generation Assessment in Transient Scenarios
Authors: Silva-Llanca Luis , del Valle Marcelo , Ortega Alfonso , Díaz Andrés J.
Published: January 2019

Forecasting data center cooling demand remains a primary thermal management challenge in an increasingly larger global energy-consuming industry. This paper proposes a dynamic modeling approach to evaluate two different strategies for delivering cold air into a data center room. The common cooling method provides air through perforated floor tiles by means of a centralized distribution system, hindering flow management at the aisle level. We propose an idealized system such that five overhead heat exchangers are located above the aisle and handle the entire server cooling demand. In one case, the overhead heat exchangers force the airflow downwards into the aisle (Overhead Downward Flow (ODF)); in the other case, the flow is forced to move upwards (Overhead Upward Flow (OUF)). A complete fluid dynamic, heat transfer, and thermodynamic analysis is proposed to model the system’s thermal performance under both steady state and transient conditions. Inside the servers and heat exchangers, the flow and heat transfer processes are modeled using a set of differential equations solved in MATLAB™ 2017a. This solution is coupled with ANSYS-Fluent™ 18, which computes the three-dimensional velocity, temperature, and turbulence on the Airside. The two approaches proposed (ODF and OUF) are evaluated and compared by estimating their cooling effectiveness and the local Entropy Generation. The latter allows identifying the zones within the room responsible for increasing the inefficiencies (irreversibilities) of the system. Both approaches demonstrated similar performance, with a small advantage shown by OUF. The results of this investigation demonstrated a promising approach of data center on-demand cooling scenarios.
Simple Stopping Criteria for Information Theoretic Feature Selection
Authors: Yu Shujian , Príncipe José
Published: January 2019

Feature selection aims to select the smallest feature subset that yields the minimum generalization error. In the rich literature in feature selection, information theory-based approaches seek a subset of features such that the mutual information between the selected features and the class labels is maximized. Despite the simplicity of this objective, there still remain several open problems in optimization. These include, for example, the automatic determination of the optimal subset size (i.e., the number of features) or a stopping criterion if the greedy searching strategy is adopted. In this paper, we suggest two stopping criteria by just monitoring the conditional mutual information (CMI) among groups of variables. Using the recently developed multivariate matrix-based Rényi’s α-entropy functional, which can be directly estimated from data samples, we showed that the CMI among groups of variables can be easily computed without any decomposition or approximation, hence making our criteria easy to implement and seamlessly integrated into any existing information theoretic feature selection methods with a greedy search strategy.
Acknowledgement to Reviewers of Electronics in 2018
Authors:   Electronics Editorial Office
Published: January 2019

Rigorous peer-review is the cornerstone of high-quality academic publishing [...]
A 10 kW ZVS Integrated Boost Dual Three-Phase Bridge DC–DC Resonant Converter for a Linear Generator-Based Wave-Energy System: Design and Simulation
Authors: Harischandrappa Nagendrappa , Bhat Ashoka K. S.
Published: January 2019

The design and performance analysis of a 10 kW three-phase DC–DC LCL-type resonant converter having a built-in boost function were carried out. This high-power converter is proposed for its application in grid-interfacing a linear generator (LG)-based wave-energy system. Fixed-frequency control is used, and the converter was designed to operate with a lagging power factor. It is shown that all switches turn on with zero-voltage switching (ZVS) for wide input voltage and load variations. This results in reduced switching losses and stresses, which is very important in large-power applications. The performance of the converter was studied through PSIM simulation software. Theoretical and simulation results are presented for comparison. Power-loss break-down analysis of the designed converter was carried out and the summary of results is presented.
Internal Flow in an Enhanced Tube Having Square-cut Twisted Tape Insert
Authors: Wijayanta Agung Tri , Pranowo  , Mirmanto  , Kristiawan Budi , Aziz Muhammad
Published: January 2019

In this study, a numerical simulation has been conducted in order to evaluate the thermal hydraulic performance of a turbulent single-phase flow inside an enhanced tube equipped with a square-cut twisted tape (STT) insert. The classical twisted tape (CTT) insert was also investigated for comparison. The k-ε renormalized group turbulence model has been utilized as the turbulent model. Various twist ratios (y/W) of 2.7, 4.5, and 6.5 were investigated for the Reynolds number range of 8000–18,000, with water as the working fluid. The numerical results indicated that, in comparison with the plain tube (PT), the tube equipped with the STT with the twist ratios of 2.7, 4.5, and 6.5 led to an increase in the values of the Nusselt number and friction factor in the inner tube by 45.4–80.7% and 2.0–3.3 times, respectively; in addition, the highest thermal performance of 1.23 has been obtained. The results further indicated that the tube equipped with the CTT of the same twist ratios improved the Nusselt number and friction factor in the inner tube by 40.3–74.4% and 1.7–3.0 times, respectively, in comparison with the PT; further, the maximum thermal performance of 1.18 was achieved.
Comprehensive Hydraulic Improvement and Parametric Analysis of a Francis Turbine Runner
Authors: Ma Zhe , Zhu Baoshan , Rao Cong , Shangguan Yonghong
Published: January 2019

Hydraulic turbines are usually required to operate in a wide range. The operation at off-design conditions not only reduces the unit efficiency, but also significantly deteriorates the dynamic stability of the turbines. In order to develop a turbine runner with good performances under multi operation conditions, a comprehensive hydraulic improvement has been done of a Francis turbine runner with a multipoint and multi-objective optimization design system. Compared with the initial runner, the runner generated from this method has a satisfactory improvement. In detail, unit efficiencies of the preferred runner are increased by 0.91%, 0.47% and 0.37%, respectively, under the rated head, a high head and the maximum head. The lowest pressure at blade surface is improved by 376.2 kPa under the rated head. CFD calculations are conducted to analyze the flow conditions inside of the preferred runner. In addition, runners with different main design inputs, namely blade lean, blade loading and blade meridional shape are furtherly investigated to reveal their relationship with runner’s internal flow and outer performances. In summary, this optimization system supplies satisfactory results and convincing recommendations to determine the design inputs for low-head Francis turbine runners.
Analytical Analysis of a Novel Brushless Hybrid Excited Adjustable Speed Eddy Current Coupling
Authors: Li Yibo , Lin Heyun , Huang Hai , Yang Hui , Tao Qiancheng , Fang Shuhua
Published: January 2019

A novel brushless hybrid excited adjustable speed eddy current coupling is proposed for saving energy in the drive systems of pumps and fans. The topology and operation principle of the coupling are presented. Based on the real flux paths, the fluxes excited by permanent magnet (PM) and field current are analyzed separately. A magnetic circuit equivalent (MEC) model is established to efficiently compute the no-load magnetic field of the coupling. The eddy current and torque are calculated based on the proposed MEC model, Faraday’s law, and Ampere’s law. The resultant magnetic fields, eddy currents, and torques versus slip speeds under different field currents are studied by the MEC-based analytical method and verified by finite element analysis (FEA). The copper loss, core loss, and efficiency were investigated by FEA. The analytically predicted results agree well with the FEA, and the analysis results illustrate that a good speed regulation performance can be achieved by the proposed hybrid excited control.
Effect of Compression Ratio of Graphite Felts on the Performance of an All-Vanadium Redox Flow Battery
Authors: Hsieh Chin-Lung , Tsai Po-Hong , Hsu Ning-Yih , Chen Yong-Song
Published: January 2019

All-vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) are considered promising candidates for large-scale energy storage systems due to their flexible power scale design, high efficiency, deep discharge, long cycle life and environmental friendliness. The performance and efficiency of a VRFB is affected by many factors, including component materials, battery design, electrolyte composition and operating conditions. Among the key components, porous electrodes play a key role, as the electrochemical reaction occurs on the fiber surface of the electrode. As such, many studies have focused on improving reaction kinetics by modifying the surface of the electrode. In this work, the effect of varying the compression ratio (CR) of graphite felts on the performance and efficiency of a VRFB are investigated. The impedance of a single VRFB under varying CRs of graphite felts at various operating conditions were also measured. The results suggest that performance of a VRFB increases with increasing CR due to the decrease of area resistance and concentration overpotential. The porous electrode compressed from 6.5 to 4 mm demonstrates the optimal energy efficiency of 73% at the operating current density 80 mA cm−2 and electrolyte flow rate 100 mL min−1.