bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Human Activity Sensing with Wireless Signals: A Survey
Authors: Liu Jiao , Teng Guanlong , Hong Feng
Published: February 2020

Wireless networks have been widely deployed with a high demand for wireless data traffic. The ubiquitous availability of wireless signals brings new opportunities for non-intrusive human activity sensing. To enhance a thorough understanding of existing wireless sensing techniques and provide insights for future directions, this survey conducts a review of the existing research on human activity sensing with wireless signals. We review and compare existing research of wireless human activity sensing from seven perspectives, including the types of wireless signals, theoretical models, signal preprocessing techniques, activity segmentation, feature extraction, classification, and application. With the development and deployment of new wireless technology, there will be more sensing opportunities in human activities. Based on the analysis of existing research, the survey points out seven challenges on wireless human activity sensing research: robustness, non-coexistence of sensing and communications, privacy, multiple user activity sensing, limited sensing range, complex deep learning, and lack of standard datasets. Finally, this survey presents four possible future research trends, including new theoretical models, the coexistence of sensing and communications, awareness of sensing on receivers, and constructing open datasets to enable new wireless sensing opportunities on human activities.
An Identity Authentication Method of a MIoT Device Based on Radio Frequency (RF) Fingerprint Technology
Authors: Tian Qiao , Lin Yun , Guo Xinghao , Wang Jin , AlFarraj Osama , Tolba Amr
Published: February 2020

With the continuous development of science and engineering technology, our society has entered the era of the mobile Internet of Things (MIoT). MIoT refers to the combination of advanced manufacturing technologies with the Internet of Things (IoT) to create a flexible digital manufacturing ecosystem. The wireless communication technology in the Internet of Things is a bridge between mobile devices. Therefore, the introduction of machine learning (ML) algorithms into MIoT wireless communication has become a research direction of concern. However, the traditional key-based wireless communication method demonstrates security problems and cannot meet the security requirements of the MIoT. Based on the research on the communication of the physical layer and the support vector data description (SVDD) algorithm, this paper establishes a radio frequency fingerprint (RFF or RF fingerprint) authentication model for a communication device. The communication device in the MIoT is accurately and efficiently identified by extracting the radio frequency fingerprint of the communication signal. In the simulation experiment, this paper introduces the neighborhood component analysis (NCA) method and the SVDD method to establish a communication device authentication model. At a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 15 dB, the authentic devices authentication success rate (ASR) and the rogue devices detection success rate (RSR) are both 90%.
Effective Light Beam Modulation by Chirp IDT on a Suspended LiNbO3 Membrane for 3D Holographic Displays
Authors: Lee Yongbeom , Lee Keekeun
Published: February 2020

An acousto-optic (AO) holographic display unit based on a suspended waveguide membrane was developed. The AO unit consists of a wide bandwidth chirp interdigital transducer (IDT) on a 20 µm thick suspended crystalline 128° YX LiNbO3 membrane, a light blocker with a 20 µm hole near the entrance, and an active lens near the exit. The 20 µm thickness of the floating membrane significantly enhanced surface acoustic wave (SAW) confinement. The light blocker was installed in front of the AO unit to enhance the coupling efficiency of the incident light to the waveguide membrane and to remove perturbations to the photodetector during measurement at the exit region. The active lens was vertically attached to the waveguide sidewall to collect the diffracted beam without loss and to modulate the focal length in free space through the applied voltage. As SAWs were radiated from the IDT, a Bragg grating with periodic refractive indexes was formed along the waveguide membrane. The grating diffracted incident light. The deflection angle and phase, and the intensity of the light beam were controlled by the SAW frequency and input power, respectively. The maximum diffraction efficiency achieved was approximately 90% for a 400 MHz SAW. COMSOL simulation and coupling of mode modeling were performed to optimize design parameters and predict device performance.
Free-Resolution Probability Distributions Map-Based Precise Vehicle Localization in Urban Areas
Authors: Kim Kyu-Won , Jee Gyu-In
Published: February 2020

We propose a free-resolution probability distributions map (FRPDM) and an FRPDM-based precise vehicle localization method using 3D light detection and ranging (LIDAR). An FRPDM is generated by Gaussian mixture modeling, based on road markings and vertical structure point cloud. Unlike single resolution or multi-resolution probability distribution maps, in the case of the FRPDM, the resolution is not fixed and the object can be represented by various sizes of probability distributions. Thus, the shape of the object can be represented efficiently. Therefore, the map size is very small (61 KB/km) because the object is effectively represented by a small number of probability distributions. Based on the generated FRPDM, point-to-probability distribution scan matching and feature-point matching were performed to obtain the measurements, and the position and heading of the vehicle were derived using an extended Kalman filter-based navigation filter. The experimental area is the Gangnam area of Seoul, South Korea, which has many buildings around the road. The root mean square (RMS) position errors for the lateral and longitudinal directions were 0.057 m and 0.178 m, respectively, and the RMS heading error was 0.281°.
Throughput Analysis of Buffer-Aided Decode-and-Forward Wireless Relaying with RF Energy Harvesting
Authors: Huynh Phat , Phan Khoa T. , Liu Bo , Ross Robert
Published: February 2020

In this paper, we investigated a buffer-aided decode-and-forward (DF) wireless relaying system over fading channels, where the source and relay harvest radio-frequency (RF) energy from a power station for data transmissions. We derived exact expressions for end-to-end throughput considering half-duplex (HD) and full-duplex (FD) relaying schemes. The numerical results illustrate the throughput and energy efficiencies of the relaying schemes under different self-interference (SI) cancellation levels and relay deployment locations. It was demonstrated that throughput-optimal relaying is not necessarily energy efficiency-optimal. The results provide guidance on optimal relaying network deployment and operation under different performance criteria.
Filtering Out Standard Success Criteria in the Case of Multi-Mode Standardization: Responsible Waste Water Treatment
Authors: van de Kaa Geerten , van den Eijnden Lieke , Doorn Neelke
Published: February 2020

Standardization can be achieved in multiple ways; firms may join forces and develop standards in standardization committees, they may compete directly on the market in standards battles, or governmental agencies may impose standards. This paper studies criteria for the selection of standards in a situation in which these three forms of standardization occur simultaneously (multi-mode standardization). The paper attempts to arrive at weights for these criteria by applying them to the case of phosphorus recovery from municipal waste water, a technological process that fits the transition to a circular economy but that is still lacking standardization. A contribution is made to the standardization literature by empirically studying the case of multi-mode standardization and by applying standard success criteria to the area of water treatment.
Community-Level Analysis of Value Webs of Biomass-Based Resources: A Case Study among Local Actors in Ghana
Authors: Naah John-Baptist S. N.
Published: February 2020

The biomass sector in Ghana is very important for supplying essential food and non-food biomass-based resources to many people for a wide range of uses. There is, however, limited deliberation on these culturally important biomass-based resources at a community level in the country. The aims of this study are three-fold, namely to (i) document various kinds of biomass-based resources and their cultural importance to local actors, (ii) examine socio-demographic factors influencing local actors’ knowledge base on biomass-based resources, and (iii) identify value webs, challenges, and future actions for sustainable use of biomass-based resources. Individual interviews were thus performed using structured questionnaires to cover 180 local actors (consisting of 120 smallholder farmers and 60 local commercial intermediaries) across six rural communities in the Northern and Upper East regions of Ghana. Cereals, e.g., maize (Zea mays), Guinea corn (Sorghum bicolor), rice (Oryza sativa), millet (Pennisetum glaucum), and legumes, e.g., groundnuts (Arachis hypogaea) are cultivated as major crops in the study areas and also considered by local actors as the most culturally important food crop species, as well as minor crops like tubers and vegetables. Ethnicity and residential status of local actors were found to significantly influence local knowledge on biomass-based resources. The value webs of selected food biomass-based resources are not elaborately developed and still remained simple and traditional in nature, since no cascading uses of by-products were identified. Several challenges and the future actions for managing locally produced biomass-based resources are addressed. The sustainable utilization of these biomass-based resources and value addition to their products are required to help increase family incomes and improve their livelihoods.
The Impact of Social Media on Restaurant Corporations’ Financial Performance
Authors: Fernández-Miguélez Sergio M. , Díaz-Puche Miguel , Campos-Soria Juan A. , Galán-Valdivieso Federico
Published: February 2020

Social media, in the form of online reviews (ORs), has become an essential element for consumers in the restaurant industry, providing reliable and unbiased information based on the dining experiences of other consumers. Social media is not only a crucial phenomenon for the strategy of restaurants, but also for their corporations. However, previous literature has focused on the analysis at the establishment level, rather than at the corporate level, especially when referring to financial performance. The present study tries to verify if social media also affects corporate financial performance. For this, the impact of ORs on advanced measures of financial performance was examined at the corporate level on a sample of 800 restaurants selected from the total population of active restaurants in Europe in 2018. The investigation applied both regression analysis and nonparametric techniques. They demonstrate a positive effect of ORs on financial performance, and a heterogeneous relationship between both variables across the European countries. Restaurants are becoming aware of the implications of this phenomenon since it could provide strategies for sustainable economic development.
Pricing Decisions for a Sustainable Supply Chain in the Presence of Potential Strategic Customers
Authors: Liu Xinmin , Lin Kangkang , Wang Lei , Ding Lili
Published: February 2020

In service to sustainable development, consumers have begun to prefer green products for their special environmental characteristics, and many enterprises are introducing new products to improve their competitiveness, but this tactic may not work if customers are strategic, as they might choose to defer purchasing decisions while prices are high and wait for lower prices in the future. Considering the differences in purchase behavior, we divided customers into two groups—strategic customers and myopic customers. Furthermore, we distinguished three types of strategic customers according to their different preferences to analyze the optimal pricing and greenness strategies in sustainable supply chain in strategic customer scenarios. Our results led to the following conclusions. (1) Strategic customers’ individual preferences can affect optimum equilibrium and that a higher purchase price threshold can stimulate the manufacturer to improve greenness and set a higher price, while a higher greenness purchase threshold and purchase value threshold will force manufacturer to set a lower price. (2) We observed that strategic customers can increase demand and vender profit. As the number of strategic customers increases, selling price and greenness will experience downward trends in a price threshold scenario but upward trends in greenness threshold and value threshold scenarios. (3) A firm can take measures to mitigate the effects of strategic customers by adjusting price and greenness dynamically according to price and greenness sensitivity, which can play a leading role in actively influencing strategic customer behavior.
Analysis of Inter-Relationships between Urban Decline and Urban Sprawl in City-Regions of South Korea
Authors: Hwang Uijeong , Woo Myungje
Published: February 2020

This paper identifies inter-relationships between the urban decline in core areas and urban sprawl in hinterlands using 50 city-regions of South Korea. We measured decline- and sprawl-related indicators and estimated a simultaneous equations model using Three-Stage Least Squares. The results show that population decline and employment decline have a different relationship with urban sprawl. While population decline has a negative impact on the urban sprawl in the density aspect, employment decline worsens the urban sprawl in the morphological aspect. Another result suggests that the difference is related to declining patterns of population and employment. Cities that are experiencing population decline in the core area are likely to lose population in their hinterlands as well. On the other hand, the employment decline in the core area shows a positive correlation with employment growth in hinterlands. The results imply that suburbanization of jobs and the inefficient land use exacerbate the urban sprawl in the morphological aspect. Thus, local governments should pay attention to migration patterns of employment and make multi-jurisdictional efforts. Furthermore, growth management and urban regeneration policies should go hand in hand to tackle this issue.
Water as a Tourist Resource in Extremadura: Assessment of Its Attraction Capacity and Approximation to the Tourist Profile
Authors: Sánchez-Martín José-Manuel , Sánchez-Rivero Marcelino , Rengifo-Gallego Juan-Ignacio
Published: February 2020

In inland areas water is an important resource for attracting tourists as is the case in Extremadura. For this reason this research aims to determine its attraction capacity for travelers from other parts of Spain. In 2017, 13,848 surveys were carried out in the tourist offices of the region, from which 3403 were selected from those practicing tourism related to water. This has allowed us to find out the type of tourist who visits the area and his/her origin. By means of a geographical information system, a network analysis was applied to determine the attraction capacity of certain infrastructures. This result confirms that the most frequently visited areas coincide with the presence of natural swimming pools, although reservoirs do not act as centers of attraction for tourists although they do for visitors. At the same time, it was found that tourists practicing activities related to water resources come from neighboring areas but their attraction capacity extends to distant areas which coincide with areas that were the destination for regional emigration. Moreover, we advocate the need for establishing tourist policies involving greater tourist exploitation of reservoirs and the deseasonalization of tourism in the northern area, where most areas prepared for bathing are to be found.
An Efficient Deep Learning Based Model to Predict Interest Rate Using Twitter Sentiment
Authors: Yasir Muhammad , Afzal Sitara , Latif Khalid , Chaudhary Ghulam Mujtaba , Malik Nazish Yameen , Shahzad Farhan , Song Oh-young
Published: February 2020

In macroeconomics, decision making is highly sensitive and significantly influences the financial and business world, where the interest rate is a crucial factor. In addition, the interest rate is used by the governments to manage the monetary policy. There is a need to design an efficient algorithm for interest rate prediction. The analysis of the social media sentiment impact on financial decision making is also an open research area. In this study, we deploy a deep learning model for the accurate forecasting of the interest rate for the UK, Turkey, China, Hong Kong, and Mexico. For this purpose, daily data of the interest rate and exchange rate covering the period from Jan 2010 to Oct 2019 is used for all the mentioned countries. We also incorporate the input of the twitter sentiments of six mega-events, namely the US election 2012, Mexican election 2012, Gaza under attack 2014, Hong Kong protest 2014, Refugee Welcome 2015, and Brexit 2016. Our results provide evidence that the error of the deep learning model significantly decreases when event sentiment is incorporated. A notable improvement has been observed in the case of the Hong Kong interest rate, i.e., a 266% decline in the error after incorporating event sentiments as an input in the deep learning model.
The Interplay between Working Capital Management and a Firm’s Financial Performance across the Corporate Life Cycle
Authors: Wang Zanxin , Akbar Minhas , Akbar Ahsan
Published: February 2020

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of working capital management (WCM) and working capital strategy (WCS) on firm’s financial performance across different stages of the corporate life cycle (CLC). We use Pakistani non-financial listed firms nested in 12 diverse industries over a period of 2005–2014 as the research sample and employ the hierarchical linear mixed (HLM) estimator, which can process multilevel data where observations are not completely independent. The empirical findings reveal that, overall, WCM is negatively associated with firm performance. However, this association is not static across different stages of a firm’s life cycle. For example, a negative association is more pronounced at the introduction stage followed by growth and decline stages, whereas WCM does not significantly impact the performance of mature firms. Likewise, WCS also causes varying effects on the financial performance across the CLC. A conservative strategy at the introduction, growth, and decline stages negatively affects firm performance, suggesting that these firms should adopt an aggressive strategy. Nevertheless, management of sample firms did not account for the respective life cycle stage while formulating a WCM strategy, which can seriously compromise their financial sustainability. These findings suggest that firms require customized WCM policies and WCS to attain sustainable financial performance at each stage of firm life cycle. Thus, managers should not overlook the significant role of CLC stages in their financial planning to ensure the sustainable functioning of the enterprise.
Does China’s Municipal Solid Waste Source Separation Program Work? Evidence from the Spatial-Two-Stage-Least Squares Models
Authors: Zhao Liange , Zou Jianfeng , Zhang Zhijian
Published: February 2020

This paper evaluates the impact of the second municipal solid waste (MSW) source separation program on municipal solid waste generation (MSWG) in China. Without considering the spatial interactions between cities, the second MSW source separation program has a nonsignificant adverse effect on the per capita municipal solid waste generation (PMSWG). Relaxing the stable-unit-treatment-value assumption (SUTVA), which holds in most of the previous estimation literature on treatment effects, involving the spatial spillover effect among cities, as well as correcting the endogenous local policy has a significantly negative but not robust impact on the PMSWG. The estimation results of the generalized nesting spatial regression models (GNS) imply that the spatial interaction characteristics among Chinese prefecture-level cities may, if neglected, lead to underestimation of the reduction effects of the second MSW source separation policy on the absolute amount of PMSWG. More importantly, our study indicates that although not all the spatial econometric models support the significant reduction effect of source separation on the absolute amount of PMSWG, the source separation program significantly reduces the relative amount of PMSWG, and this result is robust in all spatial models.
An Informatization Scheme for Construction and Demolition Waste Supervision and Management in China
Authors: You Zhijia , Wu Chen , Zheng Lianqiong , Feng Lingjun
Published: February 2020

China is in a development period of urbanization construction, while its environment is threatened by an increasing amount of construction and demolition (C&D) waste. Due to the excessive pursuit of profits and a general lack of environmental awareness of stakeholders, illegal behaviors such as illegal dumping universally exist in the waste disposal process. Meanwhile, supervision departments face many challenges in collaborative management and decision-making, which lead to inefficiencies in C&D waste supervision and management in China. To address the above challenges, we propose an informatization scheme integrating multiple technologies, which will contribute to real-time monitoring of illegal behaviors in the waste disposal process, accurate data collection for evaluating the performance of stakeholders, and the enhancement of the collaboration between supervisory departments. A case study of the Ningbo Construction Waste Transportation Supervision System is introduced to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed scheme; results show that the total number of illegal cases has decreased from 510 to 89 per year since the system was put into operation.
The Heat Shock Response in the Western Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) is Antiviral
Authors: McMenamin Alexander J. , Daughenbaugh Katie F. , Flenniken Michelle L.
Published: February 2020

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are an agriculturally important pollinator species that live in easily managed social groups (i.e., colonies). Unfortunately, annual losses of honey bee colonies in many parts of the world have reached unsustainable levels. Multiple abiotic and biotic stressors, including viruses, are associated with individual honey bee and colony mortality. Honey bees have evolved several antiviral defense mechanisms including conserved immune pathways (e.g., Toll, Imd, JAK/STAT) and dsRNA-triggered responses including RNA interference and a non-sequence specific dsRNA-mediated response. In addition, transcriptome analyses of virus-infected honey bees implicate an antiviral role of stress response pathways, including the heat shock response. Herein, we demonstrate that the heat shock response is antiviral in honey bees. Specifically, heat-shocked honey bees (i.e., 42 °C for 4 h) had reduced levels of the model virus, Sindbis-GFP, compared with bees maintained at a constant temperature. Virus-infection and/or heat shock resulted in differential expression of six heat shock protein encoding genes and three immune genes, many of which are positively correlated. The heat shock protein encoding and immune gene transcriptional responses observed in virus-infected bees were not completely recapitulated by administration of double stranded RNA (dsRNA), a virus-associated molecular pattern, indicating that additional virus–host interactions are involved in triggering antiviral stress response pathways.
Updating the Quarantine Status of Prunus Infecting Viruses in Australia
Authors: Kinoti Wycliff M. , Nancarrow Narelle , Dann Alison , Rodoni Brendan C. , Constable Fiona E.
Published: February 2020

One hundred Prunus trees, including almond (P. dulcis), apricot (P. armeniaca), nectarine (P. persica var. nucipersica), peach (P. persica), plum (P. domestica), purple leaf plum (P. cerasifera) and sweet cherry (P. avium), were selected from growing regions Australia-wide and tested for the presence of 34 viruses and three viroids using species-specific reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. In addition, the samples were tested using some virus family or genus-based RT-PCR tests. The following viruses were detected: Apple chlorotic leaf spot virus (ACLSV) (13/100), Apple mosaic virus (ApMV) (1/100), Cherry green ring mottle virus (CGRMV) (4/100), Cherry necrotic rusty mottle virus (CNRMV) (2/100), Cherry virus A (CVA) (14/100), Little cherry virus 2 (LChV2) (3/100), Plum bark necrosis stem pitting associated virus (PBNSPaV) (4/100), Prune dwarf virus (PDV) (3/100), Prunus necrotic ringspot virus (PNRSV) (52/100), Hop stunt viroid (HSVd) (9/100) and Peach latent mosaic viroid (PLMVd) (6/100). The results showed that PNRSV is widespread in Prunus trees in Australia. Metagenomic high-throughput sequencing (HTS) and bioinformatics analysis were used to characterise the genomes of some viruses that were detected by RT-PCR tests and Apricot latent virus (ApLV), Apricot vein clearing associated virus (AVCaV), Asian Prunus Virus 2 (APV2) and Nectarine stem pitting-associated virus (NSPaV) were also detected. This is the first report of ApLV, APV2, CGRMV, CNRNV, LChV1, LChV2, NSPaV and PBNSPaV occurring in Australia. It is also the first report of ASGV infecting Prunus species in Australia, although it is known to infect other plant species including pome fruit and citrus.
Chicken eEF1α is a Critical Factor for the Polymerase Complex Activity of Very Virulent Infectious Bursal Disease Virus
Authors: Yang Bo , Yan Nana , Liu Aijing , Li Yue , Chen Zehua , Gao Li , Qi Xiaole , Gao Yulong , Liu Changjun , Zhang Yanping , Cui Hongyu , Li Kai , Pan Qing , Wang Yongqiang , Wang Xiaomei
Published: February 2020

Infectious bursal disease (IBD) is an immunosuppressive, highly contagious, and lethal disease of young chickens caused by IBD virus (IBDV). It results in huge economic loss to the poultry industry worldwide. Infection caused by very virulent IBDV (vvIBDV) strains results in high mortality in young chicken flocks. However, the replication characteristics of vvIBDV are not well studied. Publications have shown that virus protein 3 (VP3) binds to VP1 and viral double-stranded RNA, and together they form a ribonucleoprotein complex that plays a key role in virus replication. In this study, vvIBDV VP3 was used to identify host proteins potentially involved in modulating vvIBDV replication. Chicken eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1α (cheEF1α) was chosen to further investigate effects on vvIBDV replication. By small interfering RNA-mediated cheEF1α knockdown, we demonstrated the possibility of significantly reducing viral polymerase activity, with a subsequent reduction in virus yields. Conversely, over-expression of cheEF1α significantly increased viral polymerase activity and virus replication. Further study confirmed that cheEF1α interacted only with vvIBDV VP3 but not with attenuated IBDV (aIBDV) VP3. Furthermore, the amino acids at the N- and C-termini were important in the interaction between vvIBDV VP3 and cheEF1α. Domain III was essential for interactions between cheEF1α and vvIBDV VP3. In summary, cheEF1α enhances vvIBDV replication by promoting the activity of virus polymerase. Our study indicates cheEF1α is a potential target for limiting vvIBDV infection.
A Hyper-Glycosylation of HBV Surface Antigen Correlates with HBsAg-Negativity at Immunosuppression-Driven HBV Reactivation in Vivo and Hinders HBsAg Recognition In Vitro
Authors: Salpini Romina , Piermatteo Lorenzo , Battisti Arianna , Colagrossi Luna , Aragri Marianna , Yu La Rosa Katia , Bertoli Ada , Saccomandi Patrizia , Lichtner Miriam , Marignani Massimo , Maylin Sarah , Delaugerre Constance , Morisco Filomena , Coppola Nicola , Marrone Aldo , Iapadre Nerio , Cerva Carlotta , Aquaro Stefano , Angelico Mario , Sarmati Loredana , Andreoni Massimo , Verheyen Jens , Ceccherini-Silberstein Francesca , Levrero Massimo , Perno Carlo Federico , Belloni Laura , Svicher Valentina
Published: February 2020

Immune-suppression driven Hepatitis B Virus (HBV)-reactivation poses serious concerns since it occurs in several clinical settings and can result in severe forms of hepatitis. Previous studies showed that HBV strains, circulating in patients with HBV-reactivation, are characterized by an enrichment of immune-escape mutations in HBV surface antigen (HBsAg). Here, we focused on specific immune-escape mutations associated with the acquisition of N-linked glycosylation sites in HBsAg (NLGSs). In particular, we investigated profiles of NLGSs in 47 patients with immunosuppression-driven HBV-reactivation and we evaluated their impact on HBsAg-antigenicity and HBV-replication in vitro. At HBV-reactivation, despite a median serum HBV-DNA of 6.7 [5.3–8.0] logIU/mL, 23.4% of patients remained HBsAg-negative. HBsAg-negativity at HBV-reactivation correlated with the presence of >1 additional NLGSs (p < 0.001). These NLGSs are located in the major hydrophilic region of HBsAg (known to be the target of antibodies) and resulted from the single mutation T115N, T117N, T123N, N114ins, and from the triple mutant S113N+T131N+M133T. In vitro, NLGSs strongly alter HBsAg antigenic properties and recognition by antibodies used in assays for HBsAg-quantification without affecting HBsAg-secretion and other parameters of HBV-replication. In conclusion, additional NLGSs correlate with HBsAg-negativity despite HBV-reactivation, and hamper HBsAg-antigenicity in vitro, supporting the role of NGSs in immune-escape and the importance of HBV-DNA for a proper diagnosis of HBV-reactivation.
The Utility of Human Immune System Mice for High-Containment Viral Hemorrhagic Fever Research
Authors: Wozniak David M. , Lavender Kerry J. , Prescott Joseph , Spengler Jessica R.
Published: February 2020

Human immune system (HIS) mice are a subset of humanized mice that are generated by xenoengraftment of human immune cells or tissues and/or their progenitors into immunodeficient mice. Viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHFs) cause severe disease in humans, typically with high case fatality rates. HIS mouse studies have been performed to investigate the pathogenesis and immune responses to VHFs that must be handled in high-containment laboratory facilities. Here, we summarize studies on filoviruses, nairoviruses, phenuiviruses, and hantaviruses, and discuss the knowledge gained from using various HIS mouse models. Furthermore, we discuss the complexities of designing and interpreting studies utilizing HIS mice while highlighting additional questions about VHFs that can still be addressed using HIS mouse models.
Nouvelles perspectives des recherches comparatives internationales sur le bien-être
Authors: Aschauer Wolfgang
Published: February 2020

Cet article met en lumière le potentiel et les limites des approches quantitatives en matière de bien-être. Il offre tout d’abord une vue d’ensemble des développements de la recherche sur la qualité de vie, en partant des principales avancées historiques. Il aborde ensuite un domaine émergent, celui du bien-être sociétal. En effet, les concepts et les dimensions théoriques permettant d’apprécier les perceptions de développements sociétaux demeurent encore largement absents dans la recherche sur le bien-être. L’article fournit des exemples d’évaluation du bien-être sociétal basés sur des enquêtes transnationales réalisées au fil du temps, enquêtes qui permettent de réaliser des tests d’équivalence sur les indicateurs retenus. Ceci permet d’aborder une des principales difficultés méthodologiques que soulèvent les comparaisons dans la recherche sur le bien-être, à savoir les comparaisons transculturelles. La validité du contenu est d’une importance cruciale lorsqu’il s’agit d’évaluer le bien-être d’un point de vue culturel. Il est nécessaire de valider plusieurs étapes pour atteindre l’objectif de comparabilité. Cet article défend qu’il est nécessaire de poser systématiquement la question de la méthode à adopter pour atteindre les deux critères de qualité en matière de recherche transculturelle : la validité du contenu et l’équivalence.
The God Murugan in Bharatanatyyam
Authors: Tharmenthira Shopana
Published: February 2020

Bharatanatyam is the bhava (expression), raga (melody) and tala (rhythm) are gathered together. It is a beautiful aesthetic art. This article is exploring how God Murugan is special in this great Bharatanatyam dance. The purpose of this study is to examine how hand seals, foot movements, and heroic bhavas are used to illustrate the characteristics of Kandan or God Murugan. The idea is to lead the people and the person into a spiritual state of light when they are revealed through the Bharata dance rather than the highlighting of Kandan's unique qualities. In this case, the Bharatanatyam forms of the senior dancers of the Jaffna and the Bharatanatyam forms of the University of Jaffna dance have been studied until they are known. This system includes the seals applied to the forms of the God of Muruga and the concluding remarks. These are used in detail analysis, field analysis, and meteorology. Through this process, young people will learn to deal with Bharatanatyam and Lord Muruga with a sense of devotion.
Pengaruh Self Efficacy terhadap Kinerja Pegawai pada Sekretariat Komisi Pemilihan Umum Daerah (Kpud) Kabupaten Luwu Timur
Authors: Khaerana Khaerana
Published: February 2020

This research was conducted to determine the effect of self-efficacy on employee performance at the Secretariat of the Regional General Election Commission (RGEC) of East Luwu Regency. This research is quantitative descriptive with data collection methods through observation, interviews, questionnaires and documentation. The number of respondents in this research were 28 employees. The tools of data analysis in this research is a simple linear regression analysis using SPSS version 20. From the results of the t test analysis shows the value of t count (4,233) Â > t table (1,706) Â and the significance value of 0,000 < 0.05, so it can be concluded that Self Efficacy has a positive and significant effect on performance employee at the Secretariat of Regional General Election Commission (RGEC) of East Luwu Regency. The higher of self efficacy that is owned by an employee, then the more performance will increase.Keywords: Self Efficacy, Employee Performance
A FAMÍLIA E A SEXUALIDADE DE FILHOS/AS AUTISTAS:
Authors: Nascimento Thais Rodrigues de Carvalho , Bruns Maria Alves de Toledo
Published: February 2020

A palavra autismo é derivada do grego “autos” com o sentido de “voltar-se para si mesmo”. As primeiras investigações do autismo iniciaram-se em 1911 pelo psiquiatra Eugen Bleuler, sendo estudado especificamente em 1943 pelo psiquiatra Léo Kanner, recebendo novas concepções a partir da década de 80 com a chegada dos Manuais Diagnósticos e Estatísticos (DSM) e da Classificação Internacional de Doenças (CID), sendo classificado atualmente como Transtorno do Espectro Autista (TEA).  O que a literatura nacional oferece para compreender a sexualidade do autista? Para responder essa indagação foi realizado uma revisão bibliográfica sistemática e meta-análise nas seguintes bases de dados: SCIELO (Scientific Electronic Library Online) e BDTD (Biblioteca Digital Brasileira de Teses e Dissertações). As palavras-chave foram autismo, Educação Sexual, família e sexualidade. Resultados: 07 trabalhos publicados (Scielo 01; BDTD 06) excluídos 02 não relacionados à temática. Foram analisados 05 na íntegra categorizados por eixos temáticos: familiares (3); professores (1); outros profissionais: fonoaudiólogo, terapeuta ocupacional e professor especialista (1). Nota-se um número insignificante de estudos focando a sexualidade do autista, essa realidade desvela a necessidade de investimento em formação profissional e multidisciplinar para orientar e dialogar com a família, escola, igreja e outras matrizes de sentidos acerca das manifestações afetivo/sexuais do autista.
السكن بين محددات الكلفة والجودة والمظهر
Authors: Al-Khafaji Ali Muhsin
Published: February 2020

يعتبر توفير السكن الملائم والمريح أحد أهم الأهداف التي يسعى الأنسان الى تحقيقه في حياته، إذ برزت في

الآونة الأخيرة مشاكل عديدة ارتبطت بهذا الجانب وبشكل خاص ما يتعلق منها بالموازنة بين عدة عوامل تخص كل من  الكلفة والكفاءة والمظهر. لذلك فقد تركزت مشكلة البحث في "عدم وجود معايير محددة ودقيقة لتحقيق السكن واطئ  الكلفة"، وتركز هدف البحث في "محاولة تحديد بعض تلك المعايير من خلال أتباع منهج بحثي يتناول العوامل المؤثرة  في الكلفة وتحليل عملية البناء التقليدية وطرح أهم سماتها وأقتراح بعض خطوات الترشيد"، وقد توصل البحث الى  تحديد عدة معايير تتعلق بالأقتصاد في المواد البنائية، وتقليل زمن وكلفة الإنجاز مع زيادة كفاءة الوحدة السكنية دون  إهمال المبادئ الجمالية والتي ترتبط بمشاريع الإسكان واطئ الكلفة.
الفعل التواصلي في العمارة
Authors: Aldeen Alaa Muamal
Published: February 2020

متعة العمارة لا تنتج عن غياب قوانينها بل في خرقها وعلى المرء ان يدرك بأن اللغة ليست مادة جامدة

كالحجر.إذ انها من مبتكرات الانسان وعليه فانها مشحونة بالإرث الحضاري للمجموعات الثقافية لكنها لا تبني إلا

بالاختلاف... شهدت الآونة الأخيرة تغييرات واضحة في الفكر واللغات التعبيرية التي تجسدها نحو بناء سبل جديدة

للفهم والتفاهم بين البشرية وظهرت طروحات فلسفية متعددة ركزت على ثورة المختلف في بنية خطابها الفلسفي ومنها نظرية الفعل التواصلي ليوركن هابرمارز فهي ترتكز الى قراءة جديدة للفلسفة الاجتماعية الغربية لدى أقطابها الحديثين ، لأن الحداثة لدى هابرمارز ليست سوى تحقيق لنظرية الفعل التواصلي.

فالتواصلية تتطلب نوعا من المشاركة في عملية الفهم ، أي في جعل الفهم يصير تفاهما أما التداولية فهي تستخدم أنظمة اتصال قائمة فعلا لتسويق الخطاب الجديد لما يجعله قديما. بالرغم من ظهور اللغات التعبيرية المعمارية المتنوعة ومحاولتها لتحقيق أشكال من التواصلية إلا أنها استندت في طروحاتها على صيغ تداولية بالتالي فقدتهيمنتها

أو أنها تجاوزت الأفق فأحدثت الانقطاع. أن غياب الإطار النظري الشمولي لتعريف التواصلية كإستراتيجية إيداعية واختلافها عن التداولية والانقطاع كان الحافز الأساسي لقيام البحث فالطروحات التي وصفتها لم تبلور أطر واضحة ولم يتم الوصف بضوء أسس شاملة وموضوعية
An insight into R&D in emerging countries and prominent concepts within the literature
Authors: Kıvrak Fatma Halide
Published: February 2020

Multinational companies (MNCs) show an apparent tendency toward research and development (R&D) for the last three decades. Many kinds of research have recently focused on R&D in emerging countries (ECs) to reveal the differences from R&D in developed countries. This paper presents a literature review consisting of 23 articles from 2004-2019 on R&D in emerging markets. By conducting content analysis, it has been analyzed their prominent concepts and results. According to the research focus, the articles examined have been classified into five main groups – internationalization of R&D, R&D activities, R&D investments, technology-based R&D, R&D offshoring – along with articles that cannot be grouped. The main purpose of this study is to determine the current tendency of R&D in emerging markets. Thus, it provides to understand in which position R&D has in emerging markets, and under which circumstances it is successful. Furthermore, practitioners can benefit from the results of the presented study. The systematic evaluation of the findings contributes to the formation of a general view for future research.
Dynamic Power Optimization for Secondary Wearable Biosensors in E-Healthcare Leveraging Cognitive WBSNs with Imperfect Spectrum Sensing
Authors: Zhang Long , Hu Jinhua , Guo Chao , Xu Haitao
Published: February 2020

Abstract
The integration of cognitive radio with e-healthcare systems assisted by wireless body sensor networks (WBSNs) has been regarded as an enabling approach for a new generation of pervasive healthcare services, to provide differentiated quality of service requirements and avoid harmful electromagnetic interference to primary medical devices (PMDs) over the crowded radio spectrum. Due to the sharing spectrum bands with PMDs in e-healthcare scenario using cognitive WBSNs (CWBSNs), efficient transmit power control and optimization strategies for resource-constrained secondary wearable biosensors (SWBs) play a key role in controlling the inter-network interference and improving the energy efficiency. This paper investigates the problem of dynamic power optimization for SWBs in e-healthcare leveraging CWBSNs with practical limitations, e.g., imperfect spectrum sensing and quality of physiological data sampling. We develop a distributed optimization framework of dynamic power optimization via the theory of differential game, by jointly considering utility maximization and quality of physiological data sampling for every SWB, while satisfying the evolution law of energy consumption in SWB's battery. With the non-cooperation and cooperation relations for all SWBs in mind, we transform the differential game model into two subproblems, namely, utility maximization problem and total utility maximization problem. Utilizing Bellman's dynamic programming, we derive a non-cooperative optimal solution for power optimization as a Nash equilibrium point for the utility maximization problem posed by competitive scenario. By exploiting Pontryagin's maximum principle, a cooperative optimal solution is obtained for the total utility maximization problem, wherein all SWBs fully cooperate to obtain the highest total utilities. Building upon the analytical results, the actual utility distributed to each SWB is compared between the non-cooperative and cooperative schemes. Extensive simulations show that the proposed optimization framework is indeed an efficient and practical solution for power control compared with the benchmark algorithm.
Effect of adding growth regulators benzyl adenine (BA) and kinetin (Kin) on production of potato (spunta) micro tuber
Authors: Hammud Salem , shaaban Ahmed , Abughnia Elmundr , Keer Kheiry , shaheen Arij
Published: February 2020

This experiment was carried out in plant tissue culture laboratory a part of bio technology research center (BTRC) , while the main aim for this experiment was to investigate the effects of using plant growth regulators on potato micro tuber formation for Sponta potato variety throw plant tissue culture method , In the beginning micro propagation operations were done to the target potato variety in order to obtain enough number of plants samples in free contamination MS media , while different concentrations of BA and Kin plant growth regulators ( 0 , 1 , 2 , 3 mg/l ) were used in this experiment , the plant growth regulators BA ,Kin were added to MS media contain 60g/l sucrose during micro tuber formation stage . the results of this study showed that the treatment of (5mg/l Kin ) obtained the best results and this treatment gave the highest tuber production compared with other treatments , furthermore this treatment ( 5mg/l Kin) gave the highest number of produced potato tuber and the highest weight of produced tuber compared with other used treatments , while the average number of produced micro tubers arrived to 4.9 tuber for each plant and the average weight for obtained potato tuber arrived to 0.84 g which was higher than other weight of micro tuber produced from the other treatments .
Study of some natural characters for a group of European grape varieties Vitis vinifera L. planted in Tarhuna region
Authors: Balaban Abderzak M.
Published: February 2020

This study was carried out on a group of eight European grape varieties Vitis vinifera L. planted under rain fed irrigation in Tarhuna region during 2017 season. The aim was to evaluate some natural characters of the fresh fruits. These varieties are: (Moscat Elscandaria, Crimson, Victoria, Zorazi, Yellow Farina, Boaboud or Black Aboud, Local Black and Local White). Results showed highly significant differences amongst the varieties in all the studied traits.
Farina variety produced heavier clusters and higher number of seeds per fruit (550 gm and 2 seed/fruit) respectively. On the other hand, results indicated that Victoria variety produced relativity higher weight and size of fruits (283.8 gm and 270.3 ml/50 fruits) respectively. the trait of the percentage of total soluble sold was significantly higher in Black Local variety (22.6%). Correlation analysis showed a statistically positive relationship between the weight and size of the fruit (value), and between the number of seeds per fruit and the percentage of total soluble sold (value). In general, results of this study showed a statistically significant variation amongst the varieties in their natural traits. .and the majority of the varieties compensated the lack in one trait with the strength in other traits. In conclusion, results of this study indicated that Victoria variety is the best option when grape varieties are planted for fresh consumption purpose, besides, Local Black variety is preferred for grape juice production.
Diurnal Variability of Soil and Air temperature as a function of time and depth, A case study of the cold wave that hit Zawia region during the period 1-5 February 1999
Authors: Shibani Abdelfatah Hadi
Published: February 2020

Soil temperature is one of the important variables in agricultural studies, which is necessary to be measured and analyze. There are some major challenges facing a lot of agricultural studies focus on soil temperature in Libya, such as, the soil temperature is measured only at Agro meteorological stations in the country, the lack of stations, the measurement of soil temperature is a cumbersome business and not as simple as air temperature be noted by single thermometer, Separate thermometers are required to measure the temperature of the soil at different depths, the installation of thermometer sensor correctly in the soil is another very complicated technical matter. However, in Libya there are no enough studies into the pattern of hourly variation in soil temperature over twenty-four hours due to the lack of such measurements at agricultural lands. So that, this attempt has been made to diagnose the behavior of soil temperature and air temperature as a case study, This work was carried out by using the daily and hourly data recorded for the temperature in the standard depths of soil (5,10,20,30,50,100 cm), and the surface air temperature at heights of (5, 10, 15, 50, 100, 150, 200 cm), Data were measured, Reported and collected every three hours interval during the period from 01 to 05 February 1999, at Zawia Agro-Meteorological Station where the location of the station was under the effect of cold wave. The data were measured on a daily basis at 0000, 0300, 0600, 0900, 1200, 1500, 1800, 2100 UTC. The correlation coefficient between the hourly soil temperature and hourly air temperature at certain depths and heights were calculated using the Pearson’s Formula, then the matrix of correlation factors have been derived, The vertical profile for the hourly variation of temperature in the layer between 100 cm under the surface of soil and 200 cm above the surface of soil have been described, Graphs and tables were done to show more explanation. The analysis of the observation shows that soil temperature variability decreases with depth, the highest temperature variability in top soil, and the lowest one is deeper than 50 cm. These results were affected due to the prevailing weather situation because at night time there is no enough solar radiation and the ambient temperature is lower than soil temperature. As a result, the soil temperature transferred heat from soil to atmosphere above. In addition, the low thermal conductivity of the soil is also one important factor that affects heat storage. These results demonstrated the importance of monitoring the soil temperature as an important element for agricultural studies. The results of the present paper could fill in some of the gap related to the soil temperature studies in Libya, and can be used for planning agronomic and plant protection practices.