bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
ECONOMIC IMPACT FROM PLASTIC DEBRIS ON SELAYAR ISLAND, SOUTH SULAWESI
Authors: Hermawan Roni , Damar Ario , Hariyadi Sigid
Published: October 2017

Sampah plastik dalam jumlah besar terdeposit di pesisir Pulau Selayar yang berhadapan langsung dengan Laut Jawa selama musim barat. Sampah plastik telah menimbulkan dampak sosial dan ekonomi bagi nelayan di Pulau Selayar. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji komposisi, kepadatan dan sebaran dari sampah plastik; dampak terhadap sosial dan ekonomi. Metode transek garis digunakan dalam penelitian ini untuk menentukan jumlah dan sebaran sampah plastik. Ukuran sampah plastik yang diamati adalah >2,5 cm dikategorikan sebagai sampah makro. Penelitian ini dilaksanakan pada Februari sampai Maret 2016. Dampak sampah plastik menurunkan pendapatan dari pariwisata, industri perikanan, mengganggu operasi penangkapan ikan, memerlukan pembersihan dan perbaikan pada alat langkap. Biaya yang dikeluarkan untuk perbaikan dan pembersihan kapal ikan sekitar 192,9 juta rupiah tiap tahun dan perbaikan alat tangkap 156,2 juta rupiah per tahun. Sampah plastik terdiri dari botol plastik, gelas plastik, tali dan jaring ikan, korek gas, keranjang plastik, pelampung, kemasan plastik, sikat gigi dan alat suntik. Rata-rata sampah plastik adalah 9,5 ± 2,7 item/m2 dan berat sekitar  229,2 ± 109,9 g/m2.

Kata kunci: dampak, manajemen, Pulau Selayar, sampah plastik,                              sosial-ekonomi
DENSITY AND THE COVERAGE OF SEAGRASS ECOSYSTEM IN BAHOI VILLAGE COASTAL WATERS, NOTRH SULAWESI
Authors: Fahruddin Muh. , Yulianda Fredinan , Setyobudiandi Isdradjad
Published: October 2017

Physical seagrass ecosystem damage have been reported in various regions in Indonesia. Seagrass ecosystem damage is caused by human activity such as trampling seagrass and boats that muddy the waters and reduced the density and seagrass cover. This study aims to provide information about the density and the coverage of seagrass. The method used in this research is the transect method measuring 50x50 cm squared at three different locations by considering coastal ecosystems Bahoi village that already exist. Station 1 is near to mangrove habitat, station 2 is right on seagrass habitats, and station 3 is near to coral reef habitat. The results indicated there is six seagrass species that found in the Bahoi village which is Enhalus acoroides, Thalassia hemprichii, Cymodocea rotundata, Syringodium isoetifolium, Halophila ovalis, and Halodule uninervis. The density and seagrass cover is shows that the station 1 has the highest density and seagrass cover percentage compared with the other stations. The highest density of seagrass species located in station 1 with 955 individuals/m2, and the lowest was located at station 3 with 699 individuals/m2. While the highest cover percentage is located at station 1 with 270% and the lowest located at station 3 with 229%.

 

Keyword: seagrass ecosystem, density, coverage, Bahoi
THE EFFECT REPLACEMENT OF OXYGEN ON TRANSPORTATION SEEDS GROUPER WITH CLOSED SYSTEM
Authors: Ismi Suko
Published: October 2017

The location of grouper aquaculture are usually far from the seed source so it takes a long time to transport the seeds. The research purposes was to extend the time by replacing oxygen so the seeds can reach the destination that is located far away with high survival and healthy condition. Previously conducted preliminary research that is transportation with a different length of time 24 hours; 36 hours; 48 hours and 60 hours.  The best results of the preliminary study are 24 hour transport which is then used in the main research.  In the main study, fish seeds were transported for 24 hours later, oxygen was replaced by: oxygen in disposable plastic bags replaced with new oxygen. Then repackaged to continue transport up to 12 hours; 24 hours; 36 hours and 48 hours. Trasportation conducted with closed system with car. Seeds used were cantik grouper hybrid seed i.e., a crossbreed between female tiger grouper (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus) and male marbled grouper (Epinephelus microdon), a size of 7.0 ± 0.54 cm, with a density of 125 fish / boxes. Grouper seeds were packed with 0.8 mm thick plastic bags, 120cm x 53cm wide, filled with 10 liters of sea water, oxygen is added with a volume ratio of water: oxygen is 1: 3, then put in 75 x 40 x 30 cm styrofoam box. The best result is after fish is transported 24 hours, then replaced oxygen and transported again for 24 hours, so that transportation time can be extended up to 48 hours, with survival rate 98.4%.

                                                                                                

Keywords: grouper seeds, oxygen replacement, transportation
SESSILE ORGANISMS COLONISATION ON CONCRETE SUBSTRATE “CRYPTO” AT DIFFERENT DEPTH IN THE PATCH REEF OF PRAMUKA ISLAND
Authors: Algadri Genadi , Subhan Beginer , Arafat Dondy , Ghozali Ahmad Taufik , Santoso Prakas , Madduppa Hawis
Published: October 2017

Acceleration of the process of recovery of damaged reefs require rehabilitation, management and supervision of well-planned and sustainable. One of the rehabilitation process is to create artificial reef. This study aims to look at the rate of attachment of sessile organisms on cement media called “crypto”. A total of 270 cement media at each shelf. The size of cement media is 5x5x1 cm. The cement media were deployed at a depth of 6 meters and 10 meters. The rate of attachment of sessile organisms was compared between the upper and lower of the media side at each depth and between depths. Different organisms was observed colonized concrete media such as shells, sponges, worms, green algae, red algae, and brown algae. Percentage of coverage of sessile biota at a depth of 6 meters was significantly higher than 10 meters. Percentage of coverage of sponges at a depth of 6 meters and 10 meters, showed no significantly different (P = 0.0670). The other sessile biota, value of the test results showed significant differences between depths, such as the brown algae (P< 0.0001), red algae (P = 0.0003), and  green algae (P = 0.0022). The type succession occurs in this research was likely a primary succession.

                                                       

Keywords: sessile biota, biodiversity, rehabilitation, concrete block,                         colonization, succession
Wie mit Bildern Geschichte gemacht wird
Authors: Kahlcke Inga
Published: October 2017

Making History with Pictures: Visual Representations of National Socialism in the GDR History Textbook

Dieser Beitrag untersucht die bildliche Repräsentation des Nationalsozialismus
in Geschichtsschulbüchern der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik
(DDR) von 1960 bis 1988 mit inhaltsanalytischen Verfahren. Dabei kann gezeigt
werden, dass die Schulbuchabbildungen die DDR-eigene Deutung des Nationalsozialismus
plausibilisieren und legitimieren. Nationalsozialistische Täterschaft
wird durch Bilder zumeist mit dem Wirken von “Kapitalisten” in Verbindung
gebracht, während bei den Verfolgten eine hierarchische Abstufung zwischen
“antifaschistischen”
und jüdischen Opfern erfolgt. Lediglich in der letzten Ausgabe
vor dem Ende der DDR findet sich eine leichte Verschiebung des Narrativs. Zudem
wird unter Bezug auf den geschichtsmethodischen Diskurs in der DDR untersucht,
wie die Didaktisierung der Bilder im Schulbuch zur Vermittlung dieses Deutungsmusters
beiträgt.
Computational complexity and the conjugacy problem
Authors: Miasnikov Alexei , Schupp Paul
Published: October 2017

The conjugacy problem for a finitely generated group G is the two-variable problem of deciding for an arbitrary pair [Formula: see text] of elements of G, whether or not u is conjugate to v in G. We construct examples of finitely generated, computably presented groups such that for every element [Formula: see text] of G, the problem of deciding if an arbitrary element is conjugate to [Formula: see text] is decidable in quadratic time but the worst-case complexity of the global conjugacy problem is arbitrary: it can be any c.e. Turing degree, can exactly mirror the Time Hierarchy Theorem, or can be [Formula: see text]-complete. Our groups also have the property that the conjugacy problem is generically linear time: that is, there is a linear time partial algorithm for the conjugacy problem whose domain has density 1, so hard instances are very rare. We also consider the complexity relationship of the “half-conjugacy” problem to the conjugacy problem. In the last section we discuss the extreme opposite situation: groups with algorithmically finite conjugation.
Pattern Avoiding Languages and Recurrence Relations Interpretation
Authors: Bilotta Stefano , Grazzini Elisabetta , Pergola Elisa
Published: October 2017

In this paper we give a combinatorial interpretation of linear recurrences having constant coefficients. In particular, we describe a recursive construction for a language ℒ such that the words in ℒ having length n satisfy the given recurrence and avoid a cross-bifix-free set of patterns.
A Meta-Heuristic Algorithm Combining Between Tabu and Variable Neighborhood Search for the Minimum Latency Problem
Authors: Ban Ha Bang , Nguyen Duc Nghia
Published: October 2017

Minimum Latency Problem (MLP) is a class of NP-hard combinatorial optimization problems which has many practical applications. In this paper, we investigate the global structure of the MLP solution space to propose a suitable meta-heuristic algorithm for the problem, which combines Tabu search (TS) and Variable Neighborhood Search (VNS). In the proposed algorithm, TS is used to prevent the search from getting trapped into cycles, and guide VNS to escape local optima. In a cooperative way, VNS is employed to generate diverse neighborhoods for TS. We also introduce a novel neighborhoods’ structure for VNS and present a constant time operation for calculating the latency cost of each neighboring solution. Extensive numerical experiments and comparisons with the state of the art meta-heuristic algorithms in the literature show that the proposed algorithm is highly competitive, providing the new best solutions for several instances.
On Determining the AND-OR Hierarchy in Workflow Nets
Authors: Sroka Jacek , Hidders Jan
Published: October 2017

This paper presents a notion of reduction where a WF net is transformed into a smaller net by iteratively contracting certain well-formed subnets into single nodes until no more of such contractions are possible. This reduction can reveal the hierarchical structure of a WF net, and since it preserves certain semantic properties such as soundness, can help with analysing and understanding why a WF net is sound or not. The reduction can also be used to verify if a WF net is an AND-OR net. This class of WF nets was introduced in earlier work, and arguably describes nets that follow good hierarchical design principles.

It is shown that the reduction is confluent up to isomorphism, which means that despite the inherent non-determinism that comes from the choice of subnets that are contracted, the final result of the reduction is always the same up to the choice of the identity of the nodes. Based on this result, a polynomial-time algorithm is presented that computes this unique result of the reduction. Finally, it is shown how this algorithm can be used to verify if a WF net is an AND-OR net.
The Maximum Parametric Flow in Discrete-time Dynamic Networks
Authors: Avesalon Nicoleta , Ciurea Eleonor , Parpalea Mircea
Published: October 2017

This article states and solves the maximum parametric flow over time problem. The proposed approach consists in repeatedly finding the maximum dynamic flow in discrete dynamic networks, for a sequence of parameter values, in their increasing order. In each of its iterations, the algorithm computes both the maximum flow, by minimizing the transit time (quickest flow), and the new breakpoint for the maximum parametric dynamic flow value function. The dynamic flow is augmented along quickest paths from the source node to the sink node in the time-space network, avoiding the explicit time expansion of the network. The complexity of the algorithm is presented and also an example is given on how the algorithm works.
Rough Fuzzy Concept Analysis
Authors: Bartl Eduard , Konecny Jan
Published: October 2017

We provide a new approach to fusion of Fuzzy Formal Concept Analysis and Rough Set Theory. As a starting point we take into account a couple of fuzzy relations, one of them represents the lower approximation, while the other one the upper approximation of a given data table. By defining appropriate concept-forming operators we transfer the roughness of the input data table to the roughness of corresponding formal fuzzy concepts in the sense that a formal fuzzy concept is considered as a collection of objects accompanied with two fuzzy sets of attributes—those which are shared by all the objects and those which at least one object has. In the paper we study the properties of such formal concepts and show their relationship with concepts formed by well-known isotone and antitone operators.
Eigenvector Method and Rank Reversal in Group Decision Making Revisited
Authors: Csató László
Published: October 2017

It has been shown recently that the Eigenvector Method may lead to strong rank reversal in group decision making, that is, the alternative with the highest priority according to all individual vectors may lose its position when evaluations are derived from the aggregated group comparison matrix. We give a minimal counterexample and prove that this negative result is a consequence of the difference of the rankings induced by the right and inverse left eigenvectors.
Large Sieve, Miller-Rabin Compositeness Witnesses and Integer Factoring Problem
Authors: Durnoga Konrad , Pomykała Jacek
Published: October 2017

G. Miller in his seminal paper from the mid 1970s has proven that the problem of factoring integers reduces to computing Euler’s totient function φ under the Extended Riemann Hypothesis. We show, unconditionally, that such a deterministic polynomial reduction exists for a large class of integers.
Ceramide dependent lipotoxicity in metabolic diseases
Authors: Ying Li , Tippetts Trevor Stanley , Chaurasia Bhagirath
Published: October 2017

Sphingolipids, a major class of lipids in cell membranes, play diverse roles in biology. They are synthesized by a highly conserved biosynthetic pathway that leads to the production of ceramides, the major precursors of most complex sphingolipids. Almost all known stress stimuli including inflammatory agonists, chemotherapeutics, and saturated fatty acids induce the synthesis of ceramide and its metabolites. A panoply of recent studies has implicated ceramides in the development of the metabolic comorbidities of obesity such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. In particular, inhibition of ceramide biosynthesis in rodents ameliorates insulin resistance, diabetes, cardiomyopathy, atherosclerosis, and steatohepatitis. These data implicate ceramides as major contributors to the development of metabolic diseases. This review summarizes recent findings on this emerging class of bioactive lipids with an emphasis on studies using in vivo models to understand their role in metabolic disease.
Assessing Postgraduate Students’ Satisfaction with Quality of Services at a Turkish University Using Alternate Ordered Response Models
Authors: Çelik Ali Kemal , Oktay Erkan , Özen Üstün , Karaaslan Abdulkerim , Yarbaşı İkram Yusuf
Published: October 2017

The aim of this study is to determine postgraduate students’ general satisfaction with the quality of academic services. For this purpose, a written-questionnaire was conducted to 400 graduate students at Atatürk University, Turkey. The dependent variable of the study was the satisfaction level of graduate students which has a natural order. Hence, four different ordered logit models were performed to determine factors that may influence satisfaction levels of graduate students with the quality of academic services. Along with standard ordered logit model, other alternative ordered response models were also performed including generalized ordered logit model, partial constrained generalized ordered logit model, and heterogeneous choice model. Results reveal that a variety of factors are associated with quality of higher education services including age group, tuition fee, undergraduate education, monthly individual income, monthly household income, type of graduate school, current status of postgraduate education, advisor’s academic degree, and time elapsed for postgraduate education. The outcome of this study may give a valuable information for decision-makers of higher education institutions and may provide a benchmarking option in terms of past, present and future higher education policies.
Israel and the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions Campaign: Academic Freedom and the Palestinian Academic Boycott
Authors: Leist Anton
Published: October 2017

The academic boycott against Israeli academics is often justified on the basis of Israeli human rights violations. Against this reasoning this article defends a politics of academic boycott in a narrower, self-contained sense, which is based on the traditional idea of the academic community as a truth-directed social collective. Against postmodern critics this idea is defended by recourse to Charles Peirce's idea of the scientific community. With this idea of academic freedom in hand Judith Butler and the PACBI appeal for the boycott are criticised. Also, a more precise criterion as to when academics can be seen to be ‘complicit’ with an evil politics is suggested in the essay.
Nothing to Say: The Negative Phrase of Affect
Authors: Nouvet Claire
Published: October 2017

This article looks at the effects of the irruption of silence within the psychoanalytic encounter, as both a refusal of all storytelling and the rejection of the transferential address that therapy presupposes, to ask what position the therapist should adopt once s/he has been summarily dismissed from the position of addressee. The question is explored through reading a famous ‘poem about nothing’ written by Guillaume IX, the first known troubadour. In this poem, lyric poetry puts itself in relation to the muteness of what Jean-François Lyotard, after Lacan, calls the Thing. Literature, I will argue, transmits the intractable resistance of this inarticulate ‘nothing’.
What Are the Chances? Psychoanalysis, Telepathy, and the Accident
Authors: Rottenberg Elizabeth
Published: October 2017

This article argues that Freud introduces the question of occultism in order to exclude the accident from the internal, psychical domain. The accident must be evacuated, for it is only by isolating a domain into which external randomness no longer penetrates that psychoanalysis gives itself a chance to be a science. And yet, as this article shows, the difference that makes all the difference when it comes to distinguishing science from superstition hinges on, and is determined by, chance — and a literary encounter.
SF
Authors: Morlock Forbes
Published: October 2017

Gedankenübertragung. Gegenübertragung. Thought-transference (or telepathy) and counter-transference have rarely been considered together. One is a key instrument in much contemporary psychoanalytic practice and the other simply occultism. This essay traces the striking parallels in Sigmund Freud's interests in both. Its tale is the uncanny narrative of his essay ‘Psychoanalysis and Telepathy’. The story starts from Freud's engagements with Sándor Ferenczi and Carl Jung to speculate that his unpublished paper may be the article on counter-transference he promised but never wrote. The repressed returns in the history and practice of psychoanalysis — and in Shoshana Felman's uncanny reading effect.
Freud's Fictions: Fixation, Femininity, Photography
Authors: Marder Elissa
Published: October 2017

This article takes off from Freud's literary use of the term ‘fixation’ to explore how female sexuality both establishes the universal foundations of Freud's metapsychology and is excluded from it via a reading of one Freud's strangest and most provocative case presentations. Like a primal word, fixation operates in contradictory fashion: it is associated both with regression and futurity, petrified immobility and contingency. Fixation is Freud's name both for the primal origin of sexuality and the very word for what shuts sexuality down. In ‘A Case of Paranoia Running Counter to the Disease’, the first case history devoted to a woman after Dora, Freud recounts his brief encounter with a woman who is brought to Freud because she is suffering from a (presumably) paranoid delusion that her would-be lover has arranged to have her photographed during their sexual engagements. On the basis of his fictionalized account of this fictive case (the woman never actually enters into treatment with him), Freud establishes a curiously suggestive link between fixation, femininity and photography, and introduces, for the first time, the notion of ‘primal phantasies’. By looking how femininity, fixation and photography come together, this article explores how and why Freud attributes quasi-photographic powers to female sexuality as a means of trying to produce a figure for unseen and un-seeable images that come from a primal and unrecoverable past.
Discovering Spotify - A Thematic Introduction
Authors: Fleischer Rasmus , Snickars Pelle
Published: October 2017

No abstract available.
If the Song has No Price, is it Still a Commodity? : Rethinking the Commodification of Digital Music
Authors: Fleischer Rasmus
Published: October 2017

In music streaming services like Spotify, discrete pieces of music no longer has a price, as has traditionally been the case in music retailing, both analog and digital. This article discusses the theoretical and practical implications of this shift towards subscriptions, starting from a critical review of recent literature dealing with the commodification of music. The findings have a relevance that is not limited to music or digital media, but also apply more broadly on the study of commodification. At the theoretical level, the article compares two ways of defining the commodity, one structural (Marx), one situational (Appadurai, Kopytoff), arguing for the necessity of a theory that can distinguish commodities from all that which is not (yet) commodified. This is demonstrated by taking Spotify as a case, arguing that it does not sell millions of different commodities to its users, but only one: the subscription itself. This has broad economic and cultural implications, of which four are highlighted: (1) The user of Spotify has no economic incentive to limit music listening, because the price of a subscription is the same regardless of the quantity of music consumed. (2) For the same reason, Spotify as a company cannot raise its revenues by making existing customers consume more of the product, but only by raising the number of subscribers, or by raising the price of a subscription. (3) Within platforms like Spotify, it is not possible to use differential pricing of musical recordings, as has traditionally been the case in music retail. Accordingly, record companies or independent artists hence can no longer compete for listeners by offering their music at a discount. (4) Within the circuit of capital. Spotify may actually be better understood as a commodity producer than as a distributor, implying a less symbiotic relationship to the recorded music industry.
More of the Same – On Spotify Radio
Authors: Snickars Pelle
Published: October 2017

Spotify Radio allows users to find new music within Spotify’s vast back-catalogue, offering a potential infinite avenue of discovery. Nevertheless, the radio service has also been disliked and accused of playing the same artists over and over. We decided to set up an experiment with the purpose to explore the possible limitations found within “infinite archives” of music streaming services. Our hypothesis was that Spotify Radio appears to consist of an infinite series of songs. It claims to be personalised and never-ending, yet music seems to be delivered in limited loop patterns. What would such loop patterns look like? Are Spotify Radio’s music loops finite or infinite? How many tracks (or steps) does a normal loop consist of? To answer these research questions, at Umeå University’s digital humanities hub, Humlab, we set up an intervention using 160 bot listeners. Our bots were all Spotify Free users. They literally had no track record and were programmed to listen to different Swedish music from the 1970s. All bots were to document all subsequent tracks played in the radio loop and (inter)act within the Spotify Web client as an obedient bot listener, a liker, a disliker, and a skipper. The article describes different research strategies when dealing with proprietary data. Foremost, however, it empirically recounts the radio looping interventions set up at Humlab. Essentially, the article suggests a set of methodologies for performing humanist inquiry on big data and black-boxed media services that increasingly provide key delivery mechanisms for cultural materials. Spotify serves as a case in point, yet principally any other platform or service could be studied in similar ways. Using bots as research informants can be deployed within a range of different digital scholarship, so this article appeals not only to media or software studies scholars, but also to digitally inclined cultural studies such as the digital humanities.
Studying Ad Targeting with Digital Methods: The Case of Spotify
Authors: Mähler Roger , Vonderau Patrick
Published: October 2017

Abstract not available.
Performance Evaluation of Submerged Floating Tunnel Subjected to Hydrodynamic and Seismic Excitations
Authors: Muhammad Naik , Ullah Zahid , Choi Dong-Ho
Published: October 2017

Submerged floating tunnels (SFTs) are innovative structural solutions to waterway crossings, such as sea-straits, fjords and lakes. As the width and depth of straits increase, the conventional structures such as cable-supported bridges, underground tunnels or immersed tunnels become uneconomical alternatives. For the realization of SFT, the structural response under extreme environmental conditions needs to be evaluated properly. This study evaluates the displacements and internal forces of SFT under hydrodynamic and three-dimensional seismic excitations to check the global performance of an SFT in order to conclude on the optimum design. The formulations incorporate modeling of ocean waves, currents and mooring cables. The SFT responses were evaluated using three different mooring cable arrangements to determine the stability of the mooring configuration, and the most promising configuration was then used for further investigations. A comparison of static, hydrodynamic and seismic response envelope curves of the SFT is provided to determine the dominant structural response. The study produces useful conclusions regarding the structural behavior of the SFT using a three-dimensional numerical model.
Inhibitory Properties of Neomycin Thin Film Formed on Carbon Steel in Sulfuric Acid Solution: Electrochemical and AFM Investigation
Authors: Samide Adriana , Iacobescu Gabriela , Tutunaru Bogdan , Grecu Roxana , Tigae Cristian , Spînu Cezar
Published: October 2017

Our study aims to implement a strategy to reduce the carbon steel corrosion rate in a sulfuric acid solution, using an expired drug with adsorption affinity on the metal surface. To investigate the corrosion protection efficiency of an environmental friendly inhibitor, namely neomycin sulfate (NMS), the electrochemical measurements were applied on carbon steel immersed in 1.0 M H2SO4 solution with and without NMS. The protective layer that formed on the steel surface was studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) showed that the presence of the neomycin sulfate in acid solution leads to the decrease in corrosion current density (icorr) and the increase of polarization resistance (Rp). The mixed mechanism between physical and chemical adsorption of NMS molecules on the steel surface was proposed according to the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. AFM indicated that the NMS molecules contributed to a protective layer formation by their adsorption on the steel surface. The AFM parameters, such as root mean square roughness (Rq), average roughness (Ra), and maximum peak to valley height (Rp−v) revealed that in the presence of NMS a smoother surface of carbon steel was obtained, compared to the steel surface corroded in sulfuric acid blank solution.
Band Structures Analysis Method of Two-Dimensional Phononic Crystals Using Wavelet-Based Elements
Authors: Liu Mao , Xiang Jiawei , Zhong Yongteng
Published: October 2017

A wavelet-based finite element method (WFEM) is developed to calculate the elastic band structures of two-dimensional phononic crystals (2DPCs), which are composed of square lattices of solid cuboids in a solid matrix. In a unit cell, a new model of band-gap calculation of 2DPCs is constructed using plane elastomechanical elements based on a B-spline wavelet on the interval (BSWI). Substituting the periodic boundary conditions (BCs) and interface conditions, a linear eigenvalue problem dependent on the Bloch wave vector is derived. Numerical examples show that the proposed method performs well for band structure problems when compared with those calculated by traditional FEM. This study also illustrates that filling fractions, material parameters, and incline angles of a 2DPC structure can cause band-gap width and location changes.
A Feature-Based Approach of Decision Tree Classification to Map Time Series Urban Land Use and Land Cover with Landsat 5 TM and Landsat 8 OLI in a Coastal City, China
Authors: Hua Lizhong , Zhang Xinxin , Chen Xi , Yin Kai , Tang Lina
Published: October 2017

Accurate mapping of temporal changes in urban land use and land cover (LULC) is important for monitoring urban expansion and changes in LULC, urban planning, environmental management, and environmental modeling. In this study, we present a feature-based approach of the decision tree classification (FBA-DTC) method for mapping LULC based on spectral and topographic information. Landsat 5 TM and Land 8 OLI images were employed, and the technique was applied to the coastal city of Xiamen, China. The method integrates multi-spectral features such as SAVI (soil adjustment vegetation index), NDWI (normalized water index), MNDBaI (modified normalized difference barren index), BI (brightness index), and WI (wetness index), with topographic features including DEM and slope. In addition, the new approach distinguishes between fallow land and cropland, and separates high-rise buildings from beaches and water bodies. Several of the FBA-DTC parameters (or rules) from 1997 to 2015 remained constant (i.e., DEM and slope), whereas others changed slightly. WI was negatively related to percent area of beach land, and BI was negatively related to percent area of arable land. The FBA-DTC method had an average user’s accuracy (UA) of 91.36% for built-up land, an average overall accuracy (OA) of 92.13%, and a Kappa coefficient (KC) of 0.90 for the period from 2003 to 2015, representing respective increases of 15.87%, 10.17%, and 0.13, compared with values calculated using maximum likelihood classification (MLC). Over the past 12 years, built-up land increased from 23.67% to 43.17% owing to occupation of coastal reclamation, arable land, and forest land. The FBA-DTC method presented here is a valuable technique for evaluating urban growth and changes in LULC classification for coastal cities.
Prediction of the Geometrical Accuracy of the Machined Surface of the Tool Steel EN X30WCrV9-3 after Electrical Discharge Machining with CuZn37 Wire Electrode
Authors: Straka Ľuboslav , Čorný Ivan , Piteľ Ján
Published: October 2017

The geometrical accuracy of the machined surface can generally be understood mainly as accuracy of shape, orientation, position and run-out. As a general rule; it is quantified by the corresponding deviations from the nominal area. The size of the geometric deviation from the nominal area may in practice affect the conventionally measured value of the dimension, even if the required dimensional tolerance is adhered to. Since electro–erosive machining technology belongs to very precise finishing technologies; even the small geometrical accuracy deviation has a negative impact on the resulting quality of machined surfaces. The aim of the experiments was to contribute to the knowledge database, which defines the influence of the process parameters at electrical discharge machining with the CuZn37 tool electrode on errors of geometrical accuracy of the machined surface. On the basis of the results of the experimental measurements, graphical dependencies were determined which predict geometrical accuracy of the machined surface in terms of the maximum deviation of flatness after electrical discharge machining of tool steel EN X30WCrV9-3 (W.-Nr. 1.2581) with CuZn37 wire electrode of 0.20 mm diameter to determine the appropriate combination of process parameters.
Encapsulation Mechanism of Oxyresveratrol by β-Cyclodextrin and Hydroxypropyl-β-Cyclodextrin and Computational Analysis
Authors: He Jianfei , Zheng Zong-Ping , Zhu Qin , Guo Fengxian , Chen Jie
Published: October 2017

In this study, the encapsulation mechanism of oxyresveratrol and β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) was studied. As this research shows, oxyresveratrol and two cyclodextrins (CDs) were able to form inclusion complexes in a 1:1 stoichiometry. However, the interaction with HP-β-CD was more efficient, showing up as higher encapsulation constant (KF) (35,864.72 ± 3415.89 M−1). The KF values exhibited a strong dependence on temperature and pH, which decreased as they increased. From the thermodynamic parameters (ΔH0, ΔS0, and ΔG0) of the oxyresveratrol loaded β-CD (oxyresveratrol-β-CD) and HP-β-CD (oxyresveratrol-HP-β-CD), it could be seen that the complexation process was spontaneous and exothermic, and the main driving forces between oxyrsveratrol and CDs were hydrogen bonding and van der waals force. Besides, molecular docking combined with 1H-NMR were used to explain the most possible mode of interactions between oxyresveratrol and CDs.
Biophysical Properties and Antiviral Activities of Measles Fusion Protein Derived Peptide Conjugated with 25-Hydroxycholesterol
Authors: Gomes Bárbara , Santos Nuno , Porotto Matteo
Published: October 2017

Measles virus (MV) infection is re-emerging, despite the availability of an effective vaccine. The mechanism of MV entry into a target cell relies on coordinated action between the MV hemagglutinin (H) receptor binding protein and the fusion envelope glycoprotein (F) which mediates fusion between the viral and cell membranes. Peptides derived from the C-terminal heptad repeat (HRC) of F can interfere with this process, blocking MV infection. As previously described, biophysical properties of HRC-derived peptides modulate their antiviral potency. In this work, we characterized a MV peptide fusion inhibitor conjugated to 25-hydroxycholesterol (25HC), a cholesterol derivative with intrinsic antiviral activity, and evaluated its interaction with membrane model systems and human blood cells. The peptide (MV
Synthesis of Substituted Oxo-Azepines by Regio- and Diastereoselective Hydroxylation
Authors: Spedding Harold , Karuso Peter , Liu Fei
Published: October 2017

Substituted seven-membered N-heterocycles are prevalent bioactive epitopes and useful synthons for preparing enzyme inhibitors or molecular recognition systems. To fully exploit the chemical properties of this flexible N-heterocycle scaffold, efficient methods for its diverse functionalization are required. Here we utilize the late-stage oxidation of tetrahydroazepines as an approach to access densely functionalized oxo-azepines in a total of 8 steps and ~30% overall yield from commercially available starting materials. Hydroboration of tetrahydroazepines proceeded with diastereoselectivity in a substrate-dependent manner to yield regioisomeric azepanols before their oxidation to the corresponding oxo-azepines. Regioselectivity of the hydroboration step may be improved moderately by a rhodium catalyst, albeit with loss of conversion to a competing hydrogenation pathway. Overall our method allows efficient access to azepanols and oxo-azepines as versatile epitopes and synthons with a high degree of diastereoselectivity and moderate regioselectivity.
Challenges in the Teaching of Sociology in Higher Education. Contributions to a Discussion
Authors: Ferreira Carlos , Serpa Sandro
Published: October 2017

At a time when Sociology (either in its introductory or general dimension or in the form of specialised Sociologies) is acknowledged as a scientific discipline with important contributions in training at the higher education level, and not only for the future sociologist, there is a need to (re)think the problem of teaching Sociology in this context. This article seeks to contribute to this discussion on the teaching of Sociology in higher education, being a grounded reflection that is based on the authors’ teaching experience in the Portuguese context. Sociology has specificities, which we put forward through four framing principles, namely the need to permanently mobilise sociological imagination, be multi-paradigmatic, the need to be receptive to a heuristic interdisciplinarity, and, finally, foster reflexivity at several levels. These principles should, from our standpoint, shape the teaching of Sociology, both delimiting what should be taught and fostering the way to teach while abiding by these principles. As a conclusion, this problem of teaching Sociology needs an in-depth investigation, in the search for a growing pedagogical quality in a context of increasing opportunities to reform the type of teaching provided in higher education, which is a permanent challenge.
Tree Shelterbelts as an Element to Improve Water Resource Management in Central Asia
Authors: Thevs Niels , Strenge Eva , Aliev Kumar , Eraaliev Maksat , Lang Petra , Baibagysov Azim , Xu Jianchu
Published: October 2017

In Central Asia, agriculture, notably irrigated agriculture, is the largest water consumer. Currently, flood and furrow irrigation are the dominant irrigation methods in Central Asia, in particular in the post-Soviet countries. Against the background of current and increasing competition for water—e.g., through reduced river runoffs in the course of climate change—water consumption of agriculture needs to be reduced. On the field plot level, improved irrigation technologies, like drip irrigation or plastic mulch, can reduce water consumption substantially. Alternatively, tree lines as wind breaks (shelterbelts) also can reduce crop water consumption, as shown by research from many drylands around the world. As previous research has concentrated on crop water consumption and not on tree water consumption, this paper brings the two together, in order to approach a more holistic picture, in how far shelterbelt systems, including the trees, may have the potential to save water or not. Crop water consumption was assessed through the Penman–Monteith approach for corn, wheat, potato, barley, and pear under open field conditions and under an assumed influence of a tree shelterbelt. Tree water consumption was investigated through sap flow measurements. Crop water consumption was reduced by 10–12% under influence of a shelterbelt compared to open field conditions. When water consumption of shelterbelts was added, a slight reduction of water consumption of the whole crop-shelterbelt system was found for corn, potato, and pear under the assumption 25 ha (500 × 500 m) field sizes. Under an assumption of 4 ha (200 × 200 m) field size, water consumption of the whole crop-shelterbelt system was higher for all crops investigated except for pear. The results suggest that shelterbelts may play a role in improving water resource management in Central Asia in the context of water demanding crops, like corn or cotton. In further research, other effects of shelterbelts, like increased crop yields and additional income from trees, need to be investigated.
Binary Star Orbits. V. The Nearby White Dwarf/Red Dwarf Pair 40 Eri BC
Authors: Mason Brian D. , Hartkopf William I. , Miles Korie N.
Published: October 2017

A new relative orbit solution with new dynamical masses is determined for the nearby white dwarf–red dwarf pair 40 Eri BC. The period is 230.29 ± 0.68 years. It is predicted to close slowly over the next half-century, getting as close as 1.″32 in early 2066. We determine masses of 0.573 ± 0.018

 for the white dwarf and 0.2036 ± 0.0064

 for the red dwarf companion. The inconsistency of the masses determined by gravitational redshift and dynamical techniques, due to a premature orbit calculation, no longer exists.
Accurate Frequency Determination of Vibration–Rotation and Rotational Transitions of SiH+
Authors: Doménech José L. , Schlemmer Stephan , Asvany Oskar
Published: October 2017

The fundamental 28SiH+ ion has been characterized in a collaborative work, utilizing a hollow-cathode discharge laser spectrometer and a cryogenic ion trap spectrometer. Twenty-three vibration–rotation transitions around 4.75 μm have been detected with high accuracy. This has facilitated the first direct measurement of the pure rotational transition

J
=
1
←
0

at 453056.3632(4) MHz in the trap spectrometer. The measured and accurately predicted transitions enable the search for this ion in space with IR and sub-mm telescopes.
Providente Asylum vs. the Council of Europe
Authors: Tsiftzis Zafeiris , Kynigopoulou Iliana
Published: October 2017

The existing European legislative frameworks seem to be unable to deal with the huge amount of refugees. Greece failed to fulfil its obligations according to the European Union Dublin Regulation and allowed refugees to move on a country of their choice. Therefore, taking into account the difficulties that the European states have to face regarding the increasing flow of refugees, the present chapter reviews the existing jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights regarding the protection of refugees, in order to explain whether the CoE Member States have obligation to protect and promote the rights of refugees. Moreover, it focuses on the contribution of the Council of Europe in the harmonisation of national policies towards the treatment of refugees. Finally, it assesses the Greek policies with regard to the treatment of refugees and suggests improvements in accordance with the Council of Europe's recommendations.
An Overview of Publications of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Research
Authors: Tangkiatkumjai Mayuree
Published: October 2017

This chapter presents an overview of the quantity and quality of clinical research in CAM and publication bias. Descriptive studies and their systematic reviews on CAM, e.g., prevalence and reasons for CAM use, have been widely conducted worldwide. The findings of the efficacy of herbal medicine, traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture for treating various illnesses, have been highly published. Publications of CAM safety are limited. A number of clinical studies of CAM in treating kidney diseases were lower than other illnesses. Studies of Ayurveda and other CAMs are still lacking. The quality of CAM publications is described based on systematic reviews of assessing CAM publications. Publication bias is explained in terms of selective publications and location bias, language bias and conflict of interest. The mainstream journals are more likely to publish positive findings. Predatory open access and recommendations for assessing predatory journals are addressed in this chapter.
How to Search and Critique Scientific Evidence for Decision-Making
Authors: Tangkiatkumjai Mayuree , Winit-Watjana Win , Chen Li-Chia
Published: October 2017

A clinical decision on the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) should be made based on evidence-based medicine (EBM) together with practitioner's knowledge and experiences. This chapter describes the process of EBM, including how to address a clinical question, do a systematic search for appropriate evidence with key search terms, appraise the evidence and make a clinical decision on CAM applications. An effective literature search should be performed by using a structured search strategy in searching biomedical and CAM databases, such as the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM Citation Index). Few standard tools are recommended to evaluate the quality of CAM studies, i.e. the CONSORT extension for herbal interventions and STRICTA for RCTs of acupuncture. Additionally, some guidelines for designing RCTs in Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) can also be adopted to critique CAM literature. A clinical decision on choosing optimal CAM for patient care should be based on the current best evidence emerged from the EBM process.
Efficacy and Safety of CAM in Kidney Diseases
Authors: Tangkiatkumjai Mayuree , Kreepala Chatchai , Chen Li-Chia
Published: October 2017

The evidence of benefits and safety of complementary and alternative medicine for kidney diseases are still dubious to both practitioners and general public. Chinese herbal medicines are the main CAM in treating chronic kidney disease as an adjunctive therapy to conventional medicine. Several meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials assessing the efficacy of CHM reported that Astragalus and Cordyceps seem to have a beneficial effect on the kidneys. Acupuncture, yoga and aromatherapy may alleviate symptoms in patients with ESRD, such as pain, anxiety and pruritus. This evidence should be interpreted with caution due to several limitations of the RCTs of CAM, i.e., small sample sizes, unclear randomisation and blinding. Acute kidney injury is the common nephropathy caused by herbal and dietary supplements, e.g. aristolochic acid. Dietary supplements may induce uncontrolled hyperkalemia and hyperphosphatemia in patients with advanced CKD. Unregistered herbal products from India and China may be adulterated by conventional medicines and heavy metals, which could cause AKI.
Economic Evaluation of CAM Use
Authors: Chen Li-Chia , Tangkiatkumjai Mayuree
Published: October 2017

Economic evaluation (EE) of health care interventions has been used to inform and affect policy decision-making by considering both costs and outcomes of the interventions. National guidelines in many countries consider cost-effectiveness evidence for making recommendations of healthcare interventions. In such case, EE of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is crucial to guide reimbursement decision-making. However, there is currently a lack of cost-effectiveness evidence of using CAM for kidney diseases. There are three types of full EEs, including a cost-benefit, cost-effectiveness, and cost-utility analysis, of which, results of cost-utility analysis is preferred and widely used by healthcare authorities in several developed countries. General approaches for EE of conventional medicine are likely to be applied to assess economic outcomes of CAM for kidney diseases. This chapter depicts the overall principles of EEs, interpretations of economic results and summaries the currently available EE for CAM.
Awareness of Environmental Issues Among Consumers in the Malaysian Hotel Industry
Authors: Yusof Yusnita , Ibrahim Yahaya , Awang Zainudin
Published: October 2017

Global issues such as climate change, global warming and pollution have become some of the most critical issues happening around the world for quite some time. Previous research has found that the environmental issues are closely linked with human activities. Generally, the hotel industry is closely related to the environment, particularly through daily operations that can lead to these environmental issues. Beginning a few decades ago, there was an increase in environmental awareness in the hospitality industry. In this light, green hotels seem to be becoming a growing niche in the competitive lodging industry and the number of customers who are interested in staying at green hotels has also increased. Due to the lack of studies that explore the green efforts that influence customer satisfaction and customer loyalty, this study was therefore conducted to investigate the effect of environmental management practices towards customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in the Malaysian hotel industry.