bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Managing Drought Risk in the Okanagan: A Role for Dry-Year Option Contracts?
Authors: Janmaat John , Rahimova Nargiz
Published: June 2018

Although markets have proven effective at moving scarce water to high-value uses, the potential economic efficiency gains are often insufficient to convince water users to accept more market-oriented water allocation mechanisms. Water users in the semi-arid areas of British Columbia, including the Okanagan basin, are deeply concerned about the potential negative impacts of water markets. With drought risk rather than chronic water scarcity as the primary water management challenge, water users' concerns are reasonable. Dry-year option contracts may capture some of the benefits of market-based instruments without the risk implications of conventional water markets. Dry-year water option contracts are financial instruments that water-sensitive users can use to hedge themselves against drought impacts, and if appropriately managed through a water supplier, they may be an efficiency-enhancing alternative to crop insurance. We argue that with appropriate support, dry-year option contracts can be a useful low-cost tool to mitigate drought impacts in semi-arid regions of British Columbia. Such contracts may enable the innovative local water management solutions envisioned in British Columbia's recently enacted Water Sustainability Act.
Mapping the Teaching of Laboratory Animal Science and Medicine in the European Union and European Free Trade Area
Authors: Iatridou Despoina , Nagy Zsuzsanna , De Briyne Nancy , Saunders Jimmy , Bravo Ana
Published: June 2018

Developing a common market and allowing free movement of goods, services, and people is one of the main objectives of the European Union (EU) and the European Free Trade Area. In the field of scientific research, Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes aims to improve the welfare of laboratory animals by following the principle of the 3Rs (replacement, reduction, and refinement). Each breeder, supplier, and user must appoint a designated veterinarian to advise on the well-being and treatment of the animals. In our report we investigate how the undergraduate veterinary curriculum prepares future veterinarians for the role of designated veterinarian, by analyzing data from 77 European veterinary education establishments. Over 80% of them provide training in laboratory animal science and medicine in their curriculum. All countries in the EU and the European Free Trade Area, having national veterinary schools, include such training in the curriculum of at least one of their establishments. Laboratory animal science and medicine courses can be obligatory or elective and are often part of more than one subject in the veterinary curricula. Post-graduate courses or programs are available at more than 50% of those veterinary schools. Most authorities in the European region consider graduate veterinarians ready to seek the role as designated veterinarian immediately after graduation.
Changes in Student Perceptions and Study Strategies Over Time in a Veterinary Clinical Pathology Course Using Case-Based Instruction
Authors: Fernandez Nicole J. , Wagg Catherine R. , Warren Amy L.
Published: June 2018

Veterinary students are challenged to develop new, nonlinear ways of thinking as they learn diagnostic reasoning skills. To support this process, we use real-life cases in our clinical pathology course. Changes in student perceptions regarding the use of cases and changes in study strategies over time have not been previously investigated or compared to student grades. Students participated in three voluntary online surveys that included 4-point Likert scale questions and open-ended questions on the helpfulness of cases for learning and study strategies used during the course. We used Friedman tests to detect any differences in perceptions over time; McNemar's test and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to detect any differences in study strategies over time. Fisher's exact tests were used to examine the association between the Likert scale responses and grades in quartiles. Before beginning the course, 29% of students responded that cases were very helpful to their learning, with similar responses for helpfulness in applying course material and grasping important concepts. There was a significant trend of increasing positivity over the duration of the course, with 74% responding that cases were very helpful at the end of the course. The most-reported study strategy was working individually on cases before the midterm (74% of students), and the most helpful study strategy was attending class regularly (88% reported it as very helpful). Study strategies did not change significantly over time. Overall, perceptions and study strategies did not vary significantly with grades.
Developing a Professional Studies Curriculum to Support Veterinary Professional Identity Formation
Authors: Armitage-Chan Elizabeth , May Stephen A.
Published: June 2018

Professional studies teaching in medical and veterinary education is undergoing a period of change. Traditional approaches, aiming to teach students professional values and behaviors, are being enhanced by curricula designed to support students' professional identity formation. This development offers the potential for improving student engagement and graduates' mental well-being. The veterinary professional identity associated with emotional resilience and success in practice incorporates complexity in professional decision making and the importance of context on behaviors and actions. The veterinarian must make decisions that balance the sometimes conflicting needs of patient, clients, veterinarian, and practice; their subsequent actions are influenced by environmental challenges such as financial limitations, or stress and fatigue caused by a heavy workload. This article aims to describe how curricula can be designed to support the development of such an identity in students. We will review relevant literature from medical education and the veterinary profession to describe current best practices for supporting professional identity formation, and then present the application of these principles using the curriculum at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) as a case study. Design of a “best practice” curriculum includes sequential development of complex thinking rather than notions of a single best solution to a problem. It requires managing a hidden curriculum that tends to reinforce a professional identity conceived solely on clinical diagnosis and treatment. It includes exposure to veterinary professionals with different sets of professional priorities, and those who work in different environments. It also includes the contextualization of taught content through reflection on workplace-learning opportunities.
THINK PAIR SHARE: ALTERNATIF PENINGKATAN AKTIVITAS DAN HASIL BELAJAR IPA
Authors: Sari Rita , Nuraida Nuraida , Rizki Shafira
Published: June 2018

The action research figured out about the effectiveness exploration of a new alternative in Think Pair Share (TPS); with Kemmis & Taggart Model, for science, Ilmu Pengetahuan Alam (IPA) subject. The research cycled the TPS within listening, observing, mentality, emotionality, and motoric activity. First of all, the cycle I signified that the students have lower inquiry in mentality. It had been observed on the lower frequency of asking-giving opinion portions. Secondly, the cycle II signified that there is a not slightly difference of inquiry, however, the students indicated response more than the previous cycle. The third cycle signified a response to the executed activity. It projected students’ determination and enthusiastic in asking-giving opinion within the activity. The cycles mean score estimated 65 for the first one, increased to 74 in the second cycle, and reached 85 in the last cycle. The students’ achievement stimulated the test instruments significantly. In conclusion, the action research about the new alternative in TPS; with Kemmis & Taggart Model proves effective to SD Negeri Gampong Teungoh, Kota Langsa. It is suggested to be applied in science for elementary school subjects as one of the teaching techniques. Keywords: Think Pair Share, learning Activity, and Students’Achievements.
PENGEMBANGAN MEDIA PEMBELAJARAN PRAKTIKUM KIMIA MENGGUNAKAN CAMTASIA STUDIO 8 DI SMA NEGERI 1 SIPIROK TAHUN AJARAN 2016 - 2017
Authors: Mulyana Viva , Abubakar Abubakar , Tuah Sahlan
Published: June 2018

This study to design, construct and test the feasibility of the learning media useCamtasia Studio 8 and to get information whether by developing learning media of chemistry practicum using Camtasia Studio 8 more effectively and efficiently. The results of the research are: (1) The process of making media using Camtasia Studio 8 includes identification of competence, scriptwriting, media design, animation making, audio making, program testing techniques, expert review, repair, final product. Based on the assessment of media experts, the learning media using Camtasia Studio 8 deserves to be used as a learning video media. (2) The data of the lecturers' lecture in terms of the feasibility aspects of the contents of the first lecturer with a score of 33 and the second lecturer get a score of 27. The language eligibility of the first lecturer score of 31 and the second lecturer get a score of 27. Feasibility of presentation of the first lecturer with a score of 13 and lecturers both received a score of 11. (3) Assessment of the first subject teachers if viewed from the aspect of eligibility of the content with the score obtained 31 as well as from the second subject teachers. The language eligibility of the first subject teacher scores 30, while the second subject teacher scores 27. The eligibility of the presentation of the first and second subject teachers also earns the same score of 13. Overall, the average overall score of this learning video medium is 4.13. Keywords:Development of Chemical Practical Learning Media, Camtasia Studio 8, Solubility and Solubility Times.
UPAYA MENINGKATKAN KEMAMPUAN BERFIKIR KRITIS BIOLOGI SISWA MELALUI MODEL PEMBELAJARAN KONTEKSTUAL (CONTEXTUAL TEACHING AND LEARNING) DENGAN BERBANTUAN MEDIA PPT DI SMA NEGERI 1 PANYABUNGAN UTARA
Authors: Anugrah Ira , Tuah Sahlan , Ginting Nurmaini
Published: June 2018

The problem in this research is the concept of critical biological thinking which became one of the most important things in the learning process that is through the application of Contextual Teaching Learning Model (CTL). The reason for this research is to know the improvement of critical thinking of student biology through the application of Contextual Learning Model an the material. The human Regulation system in class XI  IPA1 SMA Negeri 1 North Panyabungan academic year 2016-2017. This type of research is Classroom Action Research. Where the subject of study is the students of class XI IPA1 SMA Negeri 1 North Panyabungan consisting of 25 students. While techniques and data collected. Based on the result of critical thinking test of the biology of students cycle I am 76%, and cycle II is 84,33%, and the result of the increase of student activity in the cycle is I is 68% and cyle II 86,40%.Keywords: Critical thinking of student biology, Contextual Learning model (CTL), human regulatory system.
UPAYA PENINGKATKAN PEMAHAMAN RUMUS PADA LUAS PERMUKAAN BANGUN RUANG SISI DATAR DENGAN METODE PENGAJARAN INQUIRY DISCOVERY LEARNING DAN PEMANFAATAN MEDIA TIGA DIMENSI DI SMP NEGERI 4 SIBABANGUN
Authors: Panggabean Samson
Published: June 2018

See the low understanding of student learning outcomes and on subjects of mathematics focused on, whether the application of the Learning Metode of inquiry – discovery learning with three-dimensional media graphics can enhance the understanding of the students against the formula on the widespread the surface of the flat-sided room wake up on subjects of mathematics grade VIII SMP Negeri 4 even semester Sibabangun. The purpose of this class action research is to find out whether there is an increased understanding of the students against the surface area formula woke up flat-side space in the subject of mathematics the lesson using the learning metode of inquiry-discovery learning media with three-dimensional graphics. This research procedure includes twocycles where each cycle comprising planning, implementation, observation, and reflection. Class action research was conducted in the State JUNIOR 4 Sibabangun, with the object of research grade VIII totaling 42 students, consisting of 17 female students and 25 male students. The results showed that Math learning by using learning metode of inquiry-discovery learning can improve the understanding of the students against the formation of extensive formula is found waking up flat-side room with the results of the cycle I 59.04% and the cycle II 70.02%, and (2) an increase in the diprosentasekan cycle 1 to cycle 2 = 10.98%.Keywords: improve understanding of learning Media, three-dimensional graphics, metodes of inquiry-discovery learning.
UPAYA MENINGKATKAN PEMAHAMAN KONSEP DAN DISPOSISI MATEMATIS MENGGUNAKAN MODEL PEMBELAJARAN TREFFINGER DI SMA NEGERI 1 ANGKOLA BARAT
Authors: Samosir Benny Sofyan , Harahap Andes Fuady
Published: June 2018

his type of research is Class Action Research. Where the subject of the research is the grade X5 SMA Negeri 1 Angkola West which consists of 38 students. While the techniques and tools to capture data that is now, tests and observations. The percentage of students on mathematical disposition now cycle I was 50.26% to 81.57% in cycle II. With the amount of the percentage increase in students ' mathematical disposition of 31.31%. Understanding of the mathematical concepts of students increases, it is retrieved from the percentage of the cycle I 52.63% become 81.39% in cycle II, students and the amount of the percentage rose 28.94%. Students learn math activity increases; it is retrieved from 63.98% percentage of the cycle I and 63.98% in cycle II. With the amount of the percentage increase in the activity of students of 22.94%. The ability of the teacher to manage learning percentage amounted to 64.00% in cycle I and cycle II 83.00%, with an increase of 19.00%. The results of this study showed that the learning model Treffinger might improve the understanding of mathematical concepts and disposition of the students of class X5 SMA Negeri 1 Angkola West.Keywords: The Learning Model Treffinger, understanding Mathematical concepts, Dispositions, SPLDV.
Vertebral instability of lumbar spine and its neurological presentations
Authors: Vitkovskyi A. M.
Published: June 2018

Background.

The research results of data of 57 patients with vertebral instability of lumbar spine with neurological presentations are presented. Patients were on in-patient treatment at the Vertebral surgery department of Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics (Kyiv) in 2010–2014.

Research object.

The aim of the research was to determine the features of clinical signs and X-ray measures depending on type and stage of instability in lumbar spine.

Materials and methods.

The research is based on the analysis of management of 57 patients with lumbar spine instability. The management consisted of anamnesis, examination of patients, X-ray of spine, MRI and CT. The majority of patients were males. There were 35 (61.4 %) males, 22 (38.6 %) females among all of the patients. Due to the data of the research it was inquired that the spine instability was detected frequently in the most employable age, from 20 to 44 years – 30 (52.6 %) cases.

Results and discussion.

The spine instability is clinical and radiographic manifestation of pathological removability of contiguous vertebras due to each other. This resulted in lesion of vertebras and adjoined vessels and nerves, caused by inadequate supporting system of spinal motion segments. Failure of spinal motion segments develops mainly in degenerative and dystrophic disorders resulted in acute or chronic congestions influenced by microtraumas. Development of secondary lesions of spine and spinal radixes are affected by deformation of spine and spinal channel. Emerging of pathological processes is accompanied by orthopedic and neurological presentations, that requiring surgical correction.

Conclusions.

Instability of VMS is caused by structure alteration of intervertebral discs, aquatics and processes joints and a part of vertebral arc between joints. Clinical signs depend on the level of localization and the stage of spine instability. Among patients with spine instability the manifestation of radixes lesions were on the 1st place – 29 (50.9 %) cases, on the 2nd place – lesions of lumbago – 19 (33.3 %) cases. X-ray features of instability are: enlargement of linear displacement of vertebral body in sagittal plane more than 4.5 mm, segmental axial rotation of vertebra – more than 40°.
Prophylaxis of the pain of the syndrome when using removable dentures
Authors: Nidzelsky M. Ya. , Tsvetkova N. V. , Sokolovskaya V. M.
Published: June 2018

Orthopedic dental treatment can be accompanied by pain of different nature, violation of sensitivity and appearance of various paresthesia (burning, itching, tingling, numbness, etc.). Dentures are an irritant for tissues of the oral cavity, namely, its excessive pressure in certain areas of the prosthetic bed. It is well known that a large number of patients using removable dentures can not get used to them because of pain. The goal of our research is to improve the method of preventing pain syndrome with the use of removable dentures, whereby by making changes to the special preparation for prosthetics and the means of preventing inflammatory conditions, conditions are created to prevent the pain syndrome and increase the sensitivity threshold of the mucous membrane of the prosthetic field. According to the results of the study, it was found that the use of auricular microhole therapy, carried out by cycles of 7 days, with an interval of 5 days, leads to a decrease in pain sensitivity of the mucous membrane of the alveolar processes and palate to the norm parameters, which in turn significantly reduces and facilitates the period of adaptation to complete removable prostheses.
Bridging the Political Gaps
Authors: Roques Christian E.
Published: June 2018

Political romanticism is one of the keys to accessing the intellectual debates
of the Weimar Republic. This article tries to adopt a radically historicized
approach centered on the concept of reception. Such an approach allows
it to focus on the strategic nature of the different uses that were made of
the romantic paradigm between 1918 and 1933. This article contends that
one of the main features that romanticism offers in the German context is
its interdiscursive quality that renders it able to transcend traditional political
divisions like left /right and conservative/progressive. This idea is illustrated
in this article with a series of examples covering the entire lifespan of
the Republic and the entire political spectrum therein, which can be represented
by such figures as Sigmund Rubinstein, Thomas Mann, Hans Freyer,
Carl Schmitt, Karl Mannheim, Othmar Spann, Wilhelm von Schramm, and
Paul Tillich.
Pivots and Levers
Authors: Foxlee Neil
Published: June 2018

This article examines how politicians have applied evaluative-descriptive
terms as rhetorical levers to a pivotal basic concept, illustrating the broader
rhetorical strategy of dissociation identified by Chaim Perelman and Lucie
Olbrechts-Tyteca. It focuses on political debates around capitalism that
took place in late twentieth- and early twenty-first-century British politics,
including the period following the financial crisis of 2008. Drawing
on data from the Enhanced Hansard Corpus and Hansard Online, together
with other contemporary texts, it combines quantitative and qualitative
analyses using a corpus-based approach to identify salient items that are
then placed in their discursive and sociopolitical contexts. More generally,
the article seeks to bridge part of the gap between Koselleckian Begriff sgeschichte
and Quentin Skinner’s rhetorical approach by applying what is in
effect a historical-pragmatic approach to the history of political concepts.
What Am I Still Doing Here?
Authors: Jarvis Robin
Published: June 2018

This article offers preliminary thoughts on travel writing from a gerontological perspective. Gender, race, and sexuality have provided important analytical frames for travel writing studies, but age has yet to function as a topic or point of reference. Through a consideration of five travel books by respected modern authors—Jan Morris, Dervla Murphy, V. S. Naipaul, Paul Theroux, and Colin Thubron—the article asks what motivates travel writers to stay “on the road” into their seventies and beyond, and what the distinctive features of travel narratives written at this life stage might be. The article aims to demonstrate the intrinsic fascination of travel books in which a strong abiding curiosity about the world coexists with an acute—and often melancholy—awareness of the passing of time and personal mortality.
Two Worlds of Environmentalism?
Authors: Mayerl Jochen , Best Henning
Published: June 2018

This article examines cross-cultural differences in the value cluster of environmentalism and postmaterialism. Based on an extension of Ronald Inglehart’s “objective problems–subjective values” hypothesis, we posit different sources of postmaterialism and environmental concern in wealthy versus poor countries. We test hypotheses on the relationship between national wealth, postmaterialist values, and environmental concern using empirical data from the World Values Survey waves 5 and 6 and the International Social Survey Program 2010. Using multilevel regression models with cross-level interaction terms and country fixed effects, we show that the effect of postmaterialism on environmental concern is indeed moderated by national wealth: whereas there is a weak or even no effect in poorer countries, the relationship is substantial in wealthy countries. Therefore, we argue that individual postmaterialist values and environmental concern do in fact form a coherent structure in wealthy countries, but should be considered as isolated constructs in poorer countries.
Meshworks and the Making of Climate Places in the European Alps
Authors: Elixhauser Sophie , Böschen Stefan , Vogel Katrin
Published: June 2018

Ethnographers studying the local dimensions of climate change find themselves confronted with a methodological problem: climate change is both an abstract concept and a locally present phenomenon, yet it does not emerge from lived experience. We tackle this problem by means of a research framework that combines discussions on place and Tim Ingold’s (2011) idea of a meshwork. This article is based on research on climate change perceptions in two Alpine communities, located in Bavaria (Germany) and South Tyrol (Italy), respectively. We show how a focus on climate knots and their meshworks allows the grasping, describing, and visualizing of the different dimensions of climate change in these two local settings. This framework, as we further show, helps to reveal social and cultural patterns and underlying structures.
Curvature Adaptive 3D Scanning Transformation Calculation
Authors: Mezei Adrián , Kovács Tibor
Published: June 2018

Three-dimensional objects can be scanned by 3D laser scanners that use active triangulation. These scanners create three-dimensional point clouds from the scanned objects. The laser line is identified in the images, which are captured at given transformations by the camera, and the point cloud can be calculated from these. The hardest challenge is to construct these transformations so that most of the surface can be captured. The result of a scanning may have missing parts because either not the best transformations were used or because some parts of the object cannot be scanned. Based on the results of the previous scans, a better transformation plan can be created, with which the next scan can be performed. In this paper, a method is proposed for transforming a special 3D scanner into a position from where the scanned point can be seen from an ideal angle. A method is described for estimating this transformation in real-time, so these can be calculated for every point of a previous scan to set up a next improved scan.
Derrida's Matrix: The Births of Deconstruction
Authors: Marder Elissa
Published: June 2018

Many of Derrida's formative texts from 1967 about writing, the trace, supplementarity, death, and différance feature striking liminal references to the figure of the mother and are implicitly haunted by the question of birth. In a pivotal passage of De la grammatologie, Derrida links the very futurity of deconstruction to the emergence of ‘a reading discipline to be born’. In this essay, I show that through his readings of the ‘birth of language’ in Lévi-Strauss and Rousseau, Derrida implicitly invites us to relate the inscription of this ‘discipline of reading yet to be born’ to a deconstructive writing of birth that still remains to be read. Birth, as it emerges through this re-reading of the 1967 texts, can neither be conceived as a fixed moment of past plenitude nor contained by a natural, human figure. Instead, it is an exorbitantly exorbitant supplement that is temporally dislocated, iterative, and fissured with non-being.
We Have Tasted the Powers of the Age to Come: Thinking the Force of the Event—from Dynamis to Puissance
Authors: Clément Mercier Thomas
Published: June 2018

Responding to the provocative phrase ‘The Age of Grammatology’, I propose to question the notion of ‘age’, and to interrogate the powers or forces, the dynameis or dynasties attached to the interpretative model of historical periodisation. How may we think the undeniable actuality of the event beyond the sempiternal history of ages, and beyond the traditional, onto-teleological chain of power, possibility, force or dynamis that undergirds such history?
Chinoiseries : Hallucinating Derrida Hallucinating China
Authors: Milesi Laurent
Published: June 2018

Derrida's treatment of Chinese script as essentially non-phonetic in Of Grammatology has been a recurrent leitmotif among several sinologists and scholars of Chinese origin, particularly in Rey Chow's famous 2001 essay ‘How (the) Inscrutable Chinese Led to Globalized Theory’. Despite forceful refutations of this misconception, the accusation of a fantasizing ‘ethnocentrism thinking itself as anti-ethnocentrism’ has endured and could still be found in a recent 2015 article suggestively titled ‘A Sort of European Hallucination: On Derrida's “Chinese Prejudice”’. This essay will probe into the recurrent accusation of a Derridean hallucination of the other as the other's own hallucination in order to analyse the sustained misreading of Derrida's phrase ‘outside of all logocentrism’ used about the Chinese ideogram.
Logonomocentrism in Of Grammatology's ‘Exergue’
Authors: Rezende Gabriel
Published: June 2018

Of Grammatology's ‘Exergue’ contemplates the closure of an historico-metaphysical epoch, that of logocentrism. The notion of ‘epochality’ cannot be reduced to the idea of a ‘period of time’ or a ‘system of chronology’. Reading Martin Heidegger's ‘epochs of Being’ and Carl Schmitt's ‘nomos of the Earth’, I argue that logocentrism has a fundamental colonial character. Derrida is concerned with a space ordering, a land-appropriation process on the verge of becoming global. Logocentrism is always a logonomocentrism.
Use of Farmer Knowledge in the Delineation of Potential Management Zones in Precision Agriculture: A Case Study in Maize (Zea mays L.)
Authors: Martínez-Casasnovas José A. , Escolà Alexandre , Arnó Jaume
Published: June 2018

One of the fields of research in precision agriculture (PA) is the delineation of potential management zones (PMZs, also known as site-specific management zones, or simply management zones). To delineate PMZs, cluster analysis is the main used and recommended methodology. For cluster analysis, mainly yield maps, remote sensing multispectral indices, apparent soil electrical conductivity (ECa), and topography data are used. Nevertheless, there is still no accepted protocol or guidelines for establishing PMZs, and different solutions exist. In addition, the farmer’s expert knowledge is not usually taken into account in the delineation process. The objective of the present work was to propose a methodology to delineate potential management zones for differential crop management that expresses the productive potential of the soil within a field. The Management Zone Analyst (MZA) software, which implements a fuzzy c-means algorithm, was used to create different alternatives of PMZ that were validated with yield data in a maize (Zea mays L.) field. The farmers’ expert knowledge was then taken into account to improve the resulting PMZs that best fitted to the yield spatial variability pattern. This knowledge was considered highly valuable information that could be also very useful for deciding management actions to be taken to reduce within-field variability.
Changes Associated with Improved Outcomes for Cats Entering RSPCA Queensland Shelters from 2011 to 2016
Authors: Kerr Caroline Audrey , Rand Jacquie , Morton John Murray , Reid Ronelle , Paterson Mandy
Published: June 2018

This retrospective study of cat admissions to RSPCA Queensland shelters describes changes associated with improved outcomes ending in live release in 2016 compared to 2011. There were 13,911 cat admissions in 2011 and 13,220 in 2016, with approximately 50% in both years admitted as strays from the general public or council contracts. In contrast, owner surrenders halved from 30% to 15% of admissions. Percentages of admissions ending in euthanasia decreased from 58% to 15%. Only 5% of cat admissions were reclaimed in each of these years, but the percentage rehomed increased from 34% to 74%, of which 61% of the increase was contributed by in-shelter adoptions and 39% from non-shelter sites, predominately retail partnerships. The percentage temporarily fostered until rehoming doubled. In 2011, euthanasias were most common for medical (32% of all euthanasias), behavioral (36%) and age/shelter number (30%) reasons, whereas in 2016, 69% of euthanasias were for medical reasons. The number of young kittens euthanized decreased from 1116 in 2011 to 22 in 2016. The number of cats classified as feral and euthanized decreased from 1178 to 132, in association with increased time for assessment of behavior and increased use of behavior modification programs and foster care. We attribute the improved cat outcomes to strategies that increased adoptions and reduced euthanasia of young kittens and poorly socialized cats, including foster programs. To achieve further decreases in euthanasia, strategies to decrease intake would be highly beneficial, such as those targeted to reduce stray cat admissions.
Human Demonstration Does Not Facilitate the Performance of Horses (Equus caballus) in a Spatial Problem-Solving Task
Authors: Burla Joan-Bryce , Siegwart Janina , Nawroth Christian
Published: June 2018

Horses’ ability to adapt to new environments and to acquire new information plays an important role in handling and training. Social learning in particular would be very adaptive for horses as it enables them to flexibly adjust to new environments. In the context of horse handling, social learning from humans has been rarely investigated but could help to facilitate management practices. We assessed the impact of human demonstration on the spatial problem-solving abilities of horses during a detour task. In this task, a bucket with a food reward was placed behind a double-detour barrier and 16 horses were allocated to two test groups of 8 horses each. One group received a human demonstration of how to solve the spatial task while the other group received no demonstration. We found that horses did not solve the detour task more often or faster with human demonstration. However, both test groups improved rapidly over trials. Our results suggest that horses prefer to use individual rather than social information when solving a spatial problem-solving task.
Image Segmentation by Searching for Image Feature Density Peaks
Authors: Sun Zhe , Qi Meng , Lian Jian , Jia Weikuan , Zou Wei , He Yunlong , Liu Hong , Zheng Yuanjie
Published: June 2018

Image segmentation attempts to classify the pixels of a digital image into multiple groups to facilitate subsequent image processing. It is an essential problem in many research areas such as computer vision and image processing application. A large number of techniques have been proposed for image segmentation. Among these techniques, the clustering-based segmentation algorithms occupy an extremely important position in this field. However, existing popular clustering schemes often depends on prior knowledge and threshold used in the clustering process, or lack of an automatic mechanism to find clustering centers. In this paper, we propose a novel image segmentation method by searching for image feature density peaks. We apply the clustering method to each superpixel in an input image and construct the final segmentation map according to the classification results of each pixel. Our method can give the number of clusters directly without prior knowledge, and the cluster centers can be recognized automatically without interference from noise. Experimental results validate the improved robustness and effectiveness of the proposed method.
Influences of the North Pacific Victoria Mode on the South China Sea Summer Monsoon
Authors: Ding Ruiqiang , Li Jianping , Tseng Yu-heng , Li Lijuan , Sun Cheng , Xie Fei
Published: June 2018

Using the reanalysis data and the numerical experiments of a coupled general circulation model (CGCM), we illustrated that perturbations in the second dominant mode (EOF2) of springtime North Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) variability, referred to as the Victoria mode (VM), are closely linked to variations in the intensity of the South China Sea summer monsoon (SCSSM). The underlying physical mechanism through which the VM affects the SCSSM is similar to the seasonal footprinting mechanism (SFM). Thermodynamic ocean–atmosphere coupling helps the springtime SST anomalies in the subtropics associated with the VM to persist into summer and to develop gradually toward the equator, leading to a weakened zonal SST gradient across the western North Pacific (WNP) to central equatorial Pacific, which in turn induces an anomalous cyclonic flow over the WNP and westerly anomalies in the western equatorial Pacific that tend to strengthen the WNP summer monsoon (WNPSM) as well as the SCSSM. The VM influence on both the WNPSM and SCSSM is intimately tied to its influence on ENSO through westerly anomalies in the western equatorial Pacific.
Influence of Iwans on the Thermal Comfort of Talar Rooms in the Traditional Houses: A Study in Shiraz, Iran
Authors: Shaeri Jalil , Yaghoubi Mahmood , Habibi Amin
Published: June 2018

In traditional buildings many climatic strategies have been used to provide indoor thermal comfort in south and central parts of Iran. A common element is called an iwan. This study investigates the indoor thermal comfort of a room adjoined to a talar in a traditional house which has an iwan, in Shiraz, Iran. The data related to the temperature and relative humidity of the room are used to calculate the thermal comfort index of PMV (Predicted Mean Vote) and PPD (Predicted Percentage of Dissatisfied) by considering the following two cases: a talar room with an iwan and one without an iwan, by means of DesignBuilder software. For the purpose of validation, the air temperature and relative humidity of the talar room with an iwan were measured over 10 days and compared to the results of the simulation. Having a valid simulation, computation was conducted for the selected house in various cases for an annual passive operation of calculating PMV and PPD. The numerical results revealed that the talar room adjoined to an iwan located in the south front of the courtyard had relatively good conditions during the hot months, including June and July. In addition, it could provide fully satisfactory comfort conditions during August and September. According to the results, it is found that the iwan makes a talar room 62% more desirable for the hot months in comparison with a talar room without an iwan.
Development and Analyses of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Based Models for the Flow Boiling Heat Transfer Coefficient of R600a in a Mini-Channel
Authors: Parveen Nusrat , Zaidi Sadaf , Danish Mohammad
Published: June 2018

Environmental friendly refrigerants with zero ozone depletion potential (ODP) and zero global warming potential (GWP) are in great demand across the globe. One such popular refrigerant is isobutane (R600a) which, having zero ODP and negligible GWP, is considered in this study. This paper presents the two most popular artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, namely support vector regression (SVR) and artificial neural networks (ANN), to predict the heat transfer coefficient of refrigerant R600a. The independent input parameters of the models include mass flux, saturation temperature, heat flux, and vapor fraction. The heat transfer coefficient of R600a is the dependent output parameter. The prediction performance of these AI-based models is compared and validated against the experimental results, as well as with the existing correlations based on the statistical parameters. The SVR model based on the structural risk minimization (SRM) principle is observed to be superior compared with the other models and is more accurate, precise, and highly generalized; it has the lowest average absolute relative error (AARE) at 1.15% and the highest coefficient of determination (R2) at 0.9981. ANN gives an AARE of 5.14% and a R2 value of 0.9685. Furthermore, the simulated results accurately predict the effect of input parameters on the heat transfer coefficient.
Integrative Approaches in Pediatric Palliative Care
Authors: Shafto Kate , Gouda Suzanne , Catrine Kris , Brown Melanie L.
Published: June 2018

Pediatric palliative care is a field which focuses on caring for and treating the symptoms and distress typically associated with life-limiting illness. Integrative medicine is supported by evidence and aims to heal the whole person, including all aspects of one’s lifestyle. Therapies offered by integrative medicine often empower patients and families, allowing for a sense of control. This review addresses the merging of integrative medicine philosophy and modalities with the care given to children with life-limiting illness. We review an introduction to integrative medicine, trends in its incorporation in the healthcare setting, application to patients receiving palliative care and the management of specific symptoms. A case study is offered to illustrate these principles.
Biogas Cleaning: Activated Carbon Regeneration for H2S Removal
Authors: Coppola Giovanni , Papurello Davide
Published: June 2018

The coupling of fuel cell technology with wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is within the sustainable development imperative for the integration of energy production purposes and recovery of materials, even if research is still under development in this field. The anaerobic digestion process can be used for fuel cell feeding, only if trace contaminants are removed continuously. The most harmful and frequent contaminant is H2S. This article shows the results of H2S adsorption on activated carbon fixed-beds (dry process), since it is one of the best solutions from both the complexity and costs perspectives. Inside the wide range of commercial activated carbons, a specific commercial carbon has been used in test campaigns, since it is also used in the Società Metropolitana Acque Torino (SMAT) real plant. Thermal regeneration of spent carbons was exploited, using different conditions of temperature, treatment time and atmosphere, since it is a better cost-effective and environmentally sound option than immediate carbon disposal after adsorption. Regeneration with CO2 showed the best regeneration ratio values. In particular, the best conditions achieved were 300 °C and 75 min of thermal treatment time, with a regeneration ratio of 30%.
To Understand the “Brazilian Way” of School Management: How National Culture Influences the Organizational Culture and School Leadership
Authors: De Albuquerque Moreira Ana Maria , Borba Rocha Maria Zélia
Published: June 2018

This study aims to identify characteristics of national culture in the culture of Brazilian school management and leadership. Considering the broad literature that deals with the peculiarities of Brazilian culture and its influence on Brazilian management, it is assumed that as an institution belonging to a particular society, the school offers internal dynamics that are organized under influences of historical and cultural determinants of this society. This work is an exploratory study that uses secondary data found in studies on the profiles of principals, leadership, climate, and organizational culture in schools and primary data from research applied in public secondary schools located in the Federal District, Brazil. The results demonstrate that the initial premise—national culture influences the organizational culture and school leadership—has been confirmed and aspects that merit further analysis are identified.
Pressure Detrending in Harmonic Pulse Test Interpretation: When, Why and How
Authors: Viberti Dario , Salina Borello Eloisa , Verga Francesca
Published: June 2018

In reservoir engineering, one of the main sources of information for the characterization of reservoir and well parameters is well testing. An alternative to the standard drawdown/buildup test is Harmonic Pulse Testing (HPT) because it can provide well performance and reservoir behavior monitoring without having to interrupt field production, which is appealing from an economic standpoint. Recorded pressure analysis is performed in the frequency domain by adopting a derivative approach similar to conventional well testing. To this end, pressure and rate data must be decomposed into harmonic components. Test interpretability can be significantly improved if pressure data are detrended prior to interpretation, filtering out non periodic events such as discontinuous production from neighboring wells and flow regime variations that did not respect the designed test periodicity. Therefore, detrending offers the possibility of overcoming the limitation of HPT applicability due to the difficulty of imposing a regularly pulsing rate for the whole test duration (typically lasting several days). This makes HPT attractive for well performance monitoring, especially in gas reservoirs converted to underground gas storage. In this paper, different detrending methodologies are discussed and applied to synthetic and real data. Results show that, if a proper detrending strategy is adopted, information provided by HPT interpretation can be maximized and/or improved.
Heat and Mass Transfer Behavior Prediction and Thermal Performance Analysis of Earth-to-Air Heat Exchanger by Finite Volume Method
Authors: Liu Qinggong , Du Zhenyu , Fan Yi
Published: June 2018

A comprehensive numerical study on coupled heat and mass transfer in an earth-to-air heat exchanger (EAHE) is conducted by self-complied program based on the finite volume method. The soil thermal and moisture coupled characteristics in the vicinity of the pipe and the thermal performance of the EAHE are evaluated by a two-dimensional simulation model. The model of the EAHE is verified by the experimental data, which achieved a good agreement with each other. The numerical results show that there is an obvious moisture peak in the radial direction, and the peak position radially moves away from the wall of the pipe over time. It is also found that the thermal performance of the heat and mass transfer model in soil is better than the pure heat conduction model.
A Four-Level T-Type Neutral Point Piloted Inverter for Solar Energy Applications
Authors: Shueai Alnamer Saddam , Mekhilef Saad , Bin Mokhlis Hazlie
Published: June 2018

Multilevel inverters provide an output signal with low harmonic distortion and superior output voltages. This work proposes a new four-level T-type neutral point piloted (T-NPP) topology with higher efficiency and low total harmonic distortion (THD) and with the ability to withstand high voltage stresses, especially for high-power applications. The proposed topology is designed in such manner that the direct current (DC)-voltage stresses split over the components with strong possibilities to increase the load current and switching frequency. However, the operation of the proposed topology is based on two essential principles. The first principle is that each upper and lower switch of each leg consists of two insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) connected in series in order to withstand high voltage stresses and make it split over the two IGBTs in each switch. The second principle is using the DC-link circuit (T1 & T2) to generate 2Vdc and 1Vdc by connecting the bidirectional switches of each leg to the DC-link’s mid-point. Furthermore, the proposed four-level T-NPP inverter outperforms other converters by the high number of output voltage level, low number of components, simple structure and higher efficiency. Finally, the proposed T-NPP topology concept was validated via simulation, experiments and theoretical analysis.
Space Charge Modulated Electrical Breakdown of Oil Impregnated Paper Insulation Subjected to AC-DC Combined Voltages
Authors: Zhu Yuanwei , Li Shengtao , Min Daomin , Li Shijun , Cui Huize , Chen George
Published: June 2018

Based on the existing acknowledgment that space charge modulates AC and DC breakdown of insulating materials, this investigation promotes the related investigation into the situations of more complex electrical stress, i.e., AC-DC combined voltages. Experimentally, the AC-DC breakdown characteristics of oil impregnated paper insulation were systematically investigated. The effects of pre-applied voltage waveform, AC component ratio, and sample thickness on AC-DC breakdown characteristics were analyzed. After that, based on an improved bipolar charge transport model, the space charge profiles and the space charge induced electric field distortion during AC-DC breakdown were numerically simulated to explain the differences in breakdown characteristics between the pre-applied AC and pre-applied DC methods under AC-DC combined voltages. It is concluded that large amounts of homo-charges are accumulated during AC-DC breakdown, which results in significantly distorted inner electric field, leading to variations of breakdown characteristics of oil impregnated paper insulation. Therefore, space charges under AC-DC combined voltages must be considered in the design of converter transformers. In addition, this investigation could provide supporting breakdown data for insulation design of converter transformers and could promote better understanding on the breakdown mechanism of insulating materials subjected to AC-DC combined voltages.