bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Life after Trafficking in Azerbaijan: Reintegration experiences of survivors
Authors: McCarthy Lauren A.
Published: May 2018

Assisting survivors of trafficking is considered one of the pillars of a human rights-based response Shelter, medical, psychological and legal assistance in the short term and job placement, accommodation and reunification with family and community in the long term are critical steps for helping them recover and feel in control of their lives and futures. This paper examines survivors’ experiences of trafficking and recovery in the Azerbaijani context, using questionnaire responses from 22 women who were trafficked for sexual exploitation between 2006 and 2009 and who were assisted upon their return. It finds that while Azerbaijan has been quite successful at short-term assistance, there are still significant gaps in longer-term assistance, especially with regard to job placement and family reunification. Survivors point to these gaps as significant impediments to full reintegration into society. Looking at their experiences can provide insights into improvements in assistance programmes that can be implemented in both Azerbaijan and elsewhere.
Marx's Open-Ended Critique
Authors: Foster John Bellamy
Published: May 2018

Against attempts to characterize Marx as a dogmatic and deterministic thinker, it is precisely the open-endedness of his criticism that accounts for historical materialism's staying power. This openness has allowed Marxism to continually reinvent itself, expanding its empirical and theoretical content and embracing ever larger aspects of historical reality.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.
Treatment of Multifocal Multisystem BRAF Positive Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis with Cladribine, Surgery and Allogenic Stem Cell Transplantation
Authors: Gabalec Filip , Šimkovič Martin , Zavřelová Alžběta , Kašparová Petra , Morávková Paula , Kopáčová Marcela , Masopust Václav , Žák Pavel , Čáp Jan , Radocha Jakub
Published: May 2018

Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a very rare disease in adults and as well a very rare cause of sellar expansion. The clinical presentation can be heterogeneous, from a single bone lesion to potentially fatal, widespread disease. We describe the difficulties with the diagnosis and treatment of LCH as well as successful treatment with cladribine chemotherapy and allogeneic stem cell transplantation.
Dose Dependent Prophylactic Efficacy of 6-Chlorotacrine in Soman-Poisoned Mice
Authors: Kassa Jiří , Korábečný Jan
Published: May 2018

Aim: The influence of the dose on the ability of promising newly prepared reversible inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase (6-chlorotacrine) to increase the resistance of mice against soman and the efficacy of antidotal treatment of soman-poisoned mice was evaluated. Methods: The evaluation of the effect of pharmacological pretreatment is based on the identification of changes of soman-induced toxicity that was evaluated by the assessment of its LD50value and its 95% confidence limit using probit-logarithmical analysis of death occurring within 24 hrs after administration of soman. Results: The dose of 6-chlorotacrine significantly influences the prophylactic efficacy of 6-chlorotacrine. Its highest dose was only able to significantly protect mice against acute toxicity of soman and increase the efficacy of antidotal treatment (atropine in combination with the oxime HI-6) of soman-poisoned mice. In addition, the highest dose of 6-chlorotacrine was significantly more effective to protect mice from soman poisoning than its lowest dose. Conclusion: These findings demonstrate the important influence of the dose of 6-chlorotacine on its prophylactic efficacy in the case of pharmacological pretreatment of soman poisoning in mice.
Toward a General Theory of Regulatory Arbitrage: A Marketing Systems Perspective
Authors: Gloukhovtsev Alexei , Schouten John W. , Mattila Pekka
Published: May 2018

Businesses and consumers frequently exploit differences in laws and policies across jurisdictions to circumvent local laws, regulations, or restrictions. This practice, known as regulatory arbitrage, can have negative consequences for both business and social welfare. Although previous research examines regulatory arbitrage in specific contexts such as financial markets and the pharmaceutical industry, a general framework remains missing. Drawing on marketing systems theory, this study proposes a conceptualization that reflects the necessary conditions for regulatory arbitrage to occur across a variety of contexts. It also derives a typology of strategies to prevent and eliminate regulatory arbitrage. Using the context of alcohol policy in Finland as an illustrative example, the study applies the conceptualization to examine a situation where regulatory arbitrage has repeatedly threatened local policy. The findings illustrate how the broader perspective offered by marketing systems theory can help to more accurately predict whether businesses and consumers will pursue regulatory arbitrage in a given situation, and to select appropriate strategies for preventing and eliminating regulatory arbitrage in situations where it has negative consequences.
Social Network Structure and Risk Sharing in Villages
Authors: Jiang Bin , Kim Jun Sung , Li Chuhui , Yang Ou
Published: May 2018

This paper studies how the structure of friendship networks affects risk sharing in villages. Using techniques for partially identified econometric models, we construct a sharp bound on the true risk-sharing rate, which takes into account nomination errors in survey responses, and implement interval estimation. We show that the diameter of a network has a negative and significant impact on risk sharing. Our result implies that policymakers can effectively improve risk sharing between households by adopting policies that increase the network connectivity of individuals in the periphery of the social network.
How Hedstrom files fail during clinical use? A retrieval study based on SEM, optical microscopy and micro-XCT analysis
Authors: Zinelis Spiros , Al Jabbari Youssef S.
Published: May 2018

This study was conducted to evaluate the failure mechanism of clinically failed Hedstrom (H)-files. Discarded H-files (n=160) from #8 to #40 ISO sizes were collected from different dental clinics. Retrieved files were classified according to their macroscopic appearance and they were investigated under scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray micro-computed tomography (mXCT). Then the files were embedded in resin along their longitudinal axis and after metallographic grinding and polishing, studied under an incident light microscope. The macroscopic evaluation showed that small ISO sizes (#08–#15) failed by extensive plastic deformation, while larger sizes (≥#20) tended to fracture. Light microscopy and mXCT results coincided showing that unused and plastically deformed files were free of internal defects, while fractured files demonstrate the presence of intense cracking in the flute region. SEM analysis revealed the presence of striations attributed to the fatigue mechanism. Secondary cracks were also identified by optical microscopy and their distribution was correlated to fatigue under bending loading. Experimental results demonstrated that while overloading of cutting instruments is the predominating failure mechanism of small file sizes (#08–#15), fatigue should be considered the fracture mechanism for larger sizes (≥#20).
Computer-assisted interventions in the clinical laboratory process improve the diagnosis and treatment of severe vitamin B12 deficiency
Authors: Salinas Maria , Flores Emilio , López-Garrigós Maite , Leiva-Salinas Maria , Asencio Alberto , Lugo Javier , Leiva-Salinas Carlos
Published: May 2018

Background:

Severe vitamin B12 deficiency can result in serious complications if undiagnosed or untreated. Our aim was to test the efficacy of interventions in the laboratory process to improve the detection and the treatment of severe vitamin B12 deficiency.

Methods:

Quasi-experimental investigation with a retrospective 7-year pre-intervention period and 29-month post-intervention follow-up in a university hospital. Two interventions were designed to improve the detection and treatment of subjects with vitamin B12 deficiency: the laboratory information system (LIS) automatically added seru vitamin B12 (s-vitamin B12) based on certain conditions; and created a comment in the report and scheduled an appointment with the general practitioner (GP). We calculated the number of new diagnoses of severe vitamin deficiency (s-vitamin B12 <73.8 pmol/L) and the proportion of identified patients that were correctly treated in the pre- and post-intervention periods. We compared the number of tests needed to detect a new case when ordered by GPs vs. added by the strategy. Finally, we investigated the economic cost of each new case.

Results:

The strategy added 699 s-vitamin B12 and detected 66 new cases of severe vitamin deficiency. The number of tests needed to identify a new case when s-vitamin B12 was ordered by GPs was 187, as opposed to 10 when added through the intervention (p<0.001). The intervention reagent cost was €26.7 per new case. In the post-intervention cohort, 88% of patients were correctly treated, as opposed to 52% in the pre-intervention (p<0.001).

Conclusions:

Interventions in the clinical laboratory process improved the diagnosis and treatment of severe vitamin B12 deficiency.
Quantification of vanillylmandelic acid, homovanillic acid and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid in urine using a dilute-and-shoot and ultra-high pressure liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method
Authors: Grouzmann Eric , Centeno Catherine , Eugster Philippe J.
Published: May 2018

Background:

Urinary vanillylmandelic acid (VMA) and homovanillic acid (HVA) are biomarkers for the diagnosis and follow-up of neuroblastoma, whereas urinary 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) is used to assess a carcinoid tumor. These analytes are conventionally analyzed in a single run by chromatography (LC) coupled with electrochemical detection (LC-ECD) using commercial kits. A rapid dilute-and-shoot LC tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) assay was validated in order to replace the LC-ECD method and therefore improve analytical specificity and throughput.

Methods:

Sample preparation was carried out by dilution of the urine sample with a solution containing the deuterated internal standards. The separation was achieved on an ultra-high pressure LC system with MS detection using a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. The method was validated according to the current EMA and FDA guidelines.

Results:

The full chromatographic run was achieved in 8 min. The method validation showed excellent linearity (r2>0.999 for all three analytes), precision (CV <15%), negligible matrix effect (recoveries >90%), low carryover (<1%) and LLOQ of 0.25, 0.4 and 0.4 μM for VMA, HVA and 5-HIAA, respectively. Deming fits and Bland-Altman analyses showed no significant differences between the values obtained between the two assays.

Conclusions:

The LC-MS/MS method proposed in this study is fast and robust, and the simple sample preparation saves time and avoids the additional costs of dedicated kits used for the LC-ECD assays by switching to LC-MS/MS. Additionally, the near-perfect correlation observed herein between both assays allows the previously established reference ranges to be maintained.
External quality assessment schemes for glucose measurements in Germany: factors for successful participation, analytical performance and medical impact
Authors: Bietenbeck Andreas , Geilenkeuser Wolf J. , Klawonn Frank , Spannagl Michael , Nauck Matthias , Petersmann Astrid , Thaler Markus A. , Winter Christof , Luppa Peter B.
Published: May 2018

Background:

Determination of blood glucose concentration is one of the most important measurements in clinical chemistry worldwide. Analyzers in central laboratories (CL) and point-of-care tests (POCT) are both frequently used. In Germany, regular participation in external quality assessment (EQA) schemes is mandatory for laboratories performing glucose testing.

Methods:

Glucose testing data from the two German EQAs “Reference Institute for Bioanalytics” (RfB) and “INSTAND – Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Qualitätssicherung in medizinischen Laboratorien” (Instand) were analyzed from 2012 to 2016. Multivariable odds ratios (OR) for the probability to reach a “good” result were calculated. Imprecision and bias were determined and clinical risk of measurement errors estimated.

Results:

The device employed was the most important variable required for a “good” performance in all EQAs. Additional participation in an EQA for CL automated analyzers improved performance in POCT EQAs. The reciprocal effect was less pronounced. New participants performed worse than experienced participants especially in CL EQAs. Imprecision was generally smaller for CL, but some POCT devices reached a comparable performance. Large lot-to-lot differences occurred in over 10% of analyzed cases. We propose the “bias budget” as a new metric to express the maximum allowable bias that still carries acceptable medical risk. Bias budgets were smallest and clinical risks of errors greatest in the low range of measurement 60–115 mg/dL (3.3–6.4 mmol/L) for most devices.

Conclusions:

EQAs help to maintain high analytical performances. They generate important data that serve as the foundation for learning and improvement in the laboratory healthcare system.
Fibroblast growth factor 23 and renal function among young and healthy individuals
Authors: Bernasconi Raffaele , Aeschbacher Stefanie , Blum Steffen , Mongiat Michel , Girod Marc , Todd John , Estis Joel , Nolan Niamh , Renz Harald , Risch Lorenz , Conen David , Risch Martin
Published: May 2018

Background:

Fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF-23), an osteocyte hormone involved in the regulation of phosphate metabolism, is associated with incident and progressive chronic kidney disease. We aimed to assess the association of FGF-23 with renal parameters, vascular function and phosphate metabolism in a large cohort of young and healthy individuals.

Methods:

Healthy individuals aged 25–41 years were included in a prospective population-based study. Fasting venous blood and morning urinary samples were used to measure plasma creatinine, cystatin C, endothelin-1, phosphate and plasma FGF-23 as well as urinary creatinine and phosphate. Multivariable regression models were constructed to assess the relationship of FGF-23 with parameters of renal function, endothelin-1 and fractional phosphate excretion.

Results:

The median age of 2077 participants was 37 years, 46% were males. The mean estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR – CKD-EPI creatinine-cystatin C equation) and fractional phosphate excretion were 110 mL/min/1.73 m2 and 8.7%, respectively. After multivariable adjustment, there was a significant inverse relationship of FGF-23 with eGFR (β per 1 log-unit increase −3.81; 95% CI [−5.42; −2.20]; p<0.0001). Furthermore, we found a linear association between FGF-23 and endothelin-1 (β per 1 log-unit increase 0.06; [0.01, 0.11]; p=0.01). In addition, we established a significant relationship of FGF-23 with fractional phosphate excretion (β per 1 log-unit increase 0.62; [0.08, 1.16]; p=0.03).

Conclusions:

Increasing plasma FGF-23 levels are strongly associated with decreasing eGFR and increasing urinary phosphate excretion, suggesting an important role of FGF-23 in the regulation of kidney function in young and healthy adults.
Diagnostic laboratory tests for systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases: unmet needs towards harmonization
Authors: Meroni Pier Luigi , Borghi Maria Orietta
Published: May 2018

Autoantibodies are helpful tools not only for the diagnosis and the classification of systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (SARD) but also for sub-grouping patients and/or for monitoring disease activity or specific tissue/organ damage. Consequently, the role of the diagnostic laboratory in the management of SARD is becoming more and more important. The advent of new techniques raised the need of updating and harmonizing our use/interpretation of the assays. We discuss in this opinion paper some of these issues. Indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) was originally suggested as the reference technique for anti-nuclear antibody (ANA) detection as previous solid phase assays (SPA) displayed lower sensitivity. The new available SPA are now offering better results and can represent alternative or even complementary diagnostic tools for ANA detection. The improved sensitivity of SPA technology is also changing our interpretation of the results for other types of autoantibody assays, but we need updating their calibration and new reference materials are going to be obtained in order to harmonize the assays. There is growing evidence that the identification of autoantibody combinations or profiles is helpful in improving diagnosis, patients’ subgrouping and predictivity for disease evolution in the field of SARD. We report some explanatory examples to support the idea to make the use of these autoantibody profiles more and more popular. The technological evolution of the autoimmune assays is going to change our routine diagnostic laboratory tests for SARD and validation of new algorithms is needed in order to harmonize our approach to the issue.
Procalcitonin guidance in patients with lower respiratory tract infections: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Hey Juliane , Thompson-Leduc Philippe , Kirson Noam Y. , Zimmer Louise , Wilkins Dana , Rice Bernie , Iankova Irena , Krause Alexander , Schonfeld Sophie A. , DeBrase Christopher R. , Bozzette Samuel , Schuetz Philipp
Published: May 2018

Although effective for bacterial lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs), antibiotic treatment is often incorrectly prescribed for non-bacterial LRTIs. Procalcitonin has emerged as a promising biomarker to diagnose bacterial infections and guide antibiotic treatment decisions. As part of a regulatory submission to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, this systematic review and meta-analysis summarizes the effects of procalcitonin-guided antibiotic stewardship on antibiotic use and clinical outcomes in adult LRTI patients. PubMed and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews were searched for English-language randomized controlled trials published between January 2004 and May 2016. Random and fixed effects meta-analyses were performed to study efficacy (initiation of antibiotics, antibiotic use) and safety (mortality, length of hospital stay). Eleven trials were retained, comprising 4090 patients. Procalcitonin-guided patients had lower odds of antibiotic initiation (odds ratio: 0.26; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.13–0.52) and shorter mean antibiotic use (weighted mean difference: −2.15 days; 95% CI: −3.30 to −0.99) compared to patients treated with standard care. Procalcitonin use had no adverse impact on mortality (relative risk: 0.94; 95% CI: 0.69–1.28) and length of hospital stay (weighted mean difference: −0.15 days; 95% CI: −0.60 to 0.30). Procalcitonin guidance reduces antibiotic initiation and use among adults with LRTIs with no apparent adverse impact on length of hospital stay or mortality.
Harmonization of External Quality Assessment Schemes and their role – clinical chemistry and beyond
Authors: Ceriotti Ferruccio , Cobbaert Christa
Published: May 2018

The article tries to reply to the following three questions: Are External Quality Assessment Schemes (EQAS) really fit for purpose? Are all schemes equivalent and sufficiently harmonized? Is the role of EQAS similar and necessary in all branches of laboratory medicine? Although the reply to the first two questions is, unfortunately, negative for several reasons (lack of commutable material with reference method values, EQAS with different scopes, etc.), the reply to the third one is positive: EQAS are a necessary source of information on trueness and accuracy and must be fully developed for all the branches of the clinical laboratory.
Modelling world energy security data from multinomial distribution by generalized linear model under different cumulative link functions
Authors: Iyit Neslihan
Published: May 2018

Energy securityis one of the major components of energy sustainability in the world’s energy performance. In this study,energy securityis taken as an ordinal response variable coming from the multinomial distribution with the energy grade levelsA,B,C, andD. Thereafter, the worldenergy securitydata is tried to be statistically modelled by usinggeneralized linear model (GLM)approach for the ordinal response variable under different cumulative link functions. The cumulative link functions comparatively used in this study are cumulative logit, cumulative probit, cumulative complementary log-log, cumulative Cauchit, and cumulative negative log-log. In order to avoid a multicollinearity problem in the data structure, principal component analysis (PCA) technique is integrated with theGLMapproach for the ordinal response variable. In this study, statistically, the importance of determining the best cumulative link function on the accuracy of parameter estimates, confidence intervals, and hypothesis tests in theGLMfor the multinomially distributed response variable is highlighted. In terms of energy evaluation, by usingcumulative logitas the best cumulative link function,energy sources consumptions,electricity productions from nuclear energy,natural gas,oil,coal,and hydroelectric,energy use per capita and energy importsare found to have statistically significant effects onenergy securityin the world’s energy performance.
Chemistry and the Environment
Authors: Purchase Diane , Obare Sherine , Unsworth John , Garelick Hemda
Published: May 2018

The IUPAC 46th World Chemistry Congress (in Sao Paulo, Brazil, 9-14 July, 2017) emphasized the importance of the link between chemistry and the environment in their ‘Energy, Water and Environmental Science’ programme. The Chemistry and the Environment Division of IUPAC (Division VI) has sponsored and organized three symposia to present the latest advances concerning the environmental impact of emerging technologies and the fate of pollutants in the environment. Additional financial support was provided by the IUPAC Project Committee under the ‘New Directions in Chemistry’ initiative.
Effect of crude oil on the rate of diffusion-controlled corrosion in pipelines under turbulent flow conditions
Authors: Gamal Hossam A.M. , Zewail Taghreed M. , El-Ashtoukhy El-Sayed Z.
Published: May 2018

The present work aimed to investigate the effect of crude oil on the rate of diffusion-controlled corrosion of copper pipeline in acidified dichromate under fully developed flow. To achieve this goal, various parameters were investigated, such as crude oil percentage volume (%), flow physical properties, active height of the copper pipeline, flow velocity, and the presence of Triton X-100. The results of our study revealed that the rate of copper pipeline inner-wall corrosion increases with the increase of crude oil percentage volume and flow velocity. On the other hand, the active height of copper pipeline has no significant effect on the corrosion rate. In addition, the presence of crude oil and Triton has a synergistic effect on retarding the corrosion rate. The inhibition efficiency of Triton X-100 varied from 4.4% to 41.3% depending on its concentration and flow velocity. Polarization curves indicated that the corrosion kinetics is diffusion controlled in acidified dichromate and in the presence of crude oil and Triton X-100. However, the corrosion kinetics is mixed controlled in the presence of acidified dichromate and crude oil. Correlation of the present mass transfer data using dimensionless analysis led to the following dimensionless equation: Sh=0.58Re
0.5
Sc
0.33, with the conditions 677<Sc<1490 and 3699<Re<30,874. The present work highlighted the practical importance of the present mass transfer correlation in the design and protection against corrosion of pipelines due to crude oil transportation.
Remission of relapsing polychondritis after successful treatment of myelodysplastic syndrome with azacitidine: a case and review of the literature
Authors: Erden Abdulsamet , Bilgin Emre , Kılıç Levent , Sarı Alper , Armağan Berkan , Büyükaşık Yahya , Kalyoncu Umut
Published: May 2018

Background:

Relapsing polychondritis (RP) is a rare autoimmune disorder, and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is accompanied by RP at variable rates. Herein, we report a case with RP and MDS who responded dramatically to 5-azacitidine for MDS.

Case presentation:

With conventional immunosuppressive treatment, our patient had several episodes of different side effects, including infections. With the diagnosis of MDS and initiation of azacitidine treatment, all the manifestations of RP disappeared, and remission was achieved for MDS. Although he had relapses of either RP or MDS after several years of azacitidine treatment, all relapses were controlled well with the initiation of azacitidine treatment every time.

Conclusions:

Azacitidine should be kept in mind as a treatment option for RP patients with MDS.
Chao-Chien Jan: Thirty-five Years of Dedicated Research Utilizing Wild Sunflower Crop Relatives for Sunflower Improvement
Authors: Seiler Gerald J.
Published: May 2018

Dr Chao-Chien Jan, Research Geneticist with the USDA-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), Red River Valley Agricultural Research Center, Northern Crop Science Laboratory, Sunflower and Plant Biology Research Unit, Fargo, ND retired January, 2017 after 35 years of dedicated service. He began his research career in 1974 after receiving his Ph.D. in genetics from the University of California, Davis, CA, working with wheat. He was a postdoctoral Research Biologist at the Cancer Research Institute, University of California, San Francisco in 1975. From 1976 to 1981 he was a postdoctoral Research Agronomist, Department of Agronomy and Range Science, UC, Davis, CA. working on wheat. In 1981, Dr Jan joined the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) as a Research Geneticist at the Rice and Oilseed Unit at Davis, CA with an emphasis on cytogenetics, working on sunflower (Helianthus annuus) crop wild relatives (CWR) for the improvement of the sunflower crop. The sunflower program at Davis, CA was closed in 1984, and he was transferred to the USDA-ARS Sunflower Unit in Fargo, ND where he spent the rest of his career working on sunflower CWR. Dr Jan’ research contributed significantly to the ability to utilize the genetic diversity of the 53 species of wild sunflowers, especially in the areas of germination, use of embryo culture and chromosome doubling to overcome embryo abortion and fertility problems. His pioneering research in interspecific hybridization, cytoplasmic male sterility and fertility restoration, cytogenetic stocks, disease resistance and mutation opened doors to genetic diversity never before available for utilization by the sunflower industry. This led to his global stature with invitations to serve as a visiting scientist and fellowships in Australia, Serbia, Spain, Romania, and China. He has hosted over 20 scientists from 15 countries, as well as countless students during his career. Due to his stature, he has been invited to present several invited plenary talks, both national and international, and in 2012 he was presented the prestigious Pustovoit Award, the highest award in the sunflower industry given by the International Sunflower Association for his contribution to sunflower science and technology.
Utilization and characterization of amino resins for the production of wood-based panels with emphasis on particleboards (PB) and medium density fibreboards (MDF). A review
Authors: Gonçalves Carolina , Paiva Nádia T. , Ferra João M. , Martins Jorge , Magalhães Fernão , Barros-Timmons Ana , Carvalho Luísa
Published: May 2018

Particleboard (PB), medium density fibreboard (MDF), oriented strand board (OSB) and plywood (PW), the most common products of wood panel industry, are produced by means of synthetic adhesives (resins). From the wide range of adhesives employed, amino resins as combination of formaldehyde (F) and urea (U), and melamine (M) are the most important ones, which include the most popular UF and MUF resins. This review is an introduction to the UF and MUF synthesis processes, and also addresses the key parameters for the performance of these adhesives and gives an overview about the final characteristics of PB and MDF prepared with amino resins. The characterization methods for amino resins and panels are outlined. The strategies for the optimization of resin properties and pressing conditions are discussed in terms of their good performance also under conditions of low formaldehyde emission.
Separation of Gases by Membranes: The Effects of Pollutants on the Stability of Membranes
Authors: Nemestóthy Nándor
Published: May 2018

The long-term stability of membranes is determined mainly by their sensitivity to pollutants. Their stability was tested using a novel, multichannel measuring system, which is based on pressure differences. This measuring system is suitable to determine the changes in permeability of polymer membranes. The damaging effects of H2S, BTX and n-dodecane were investigated in terms of polyimide gas separation membranes using nitrogen gas.
Replacement of Biased Estimators with Unbiased Ones in the Case of Student’s t-Distribution and Geary’s Kurtosis
Authors: Tóth Gergely , Szepesváry Pál
Published: May 2018

The use of biased estimators can be found in some historically and up to now important tools in statistical data analysis. In this paper their replacement with unbiased estimators at least in the case of the estimator of the population standard deviation for normal distributions is proposed. By removing the incoherence from the Student’s t-distribution caused by the biased estimator, a corrected t-distribution may be defined. Although the quantitative results in most data analysis applications are identical for both the original and corrected tdistributions, the use of this last t-distribution is suggested because of its theoretical consistency. Moreover, the frequent qualitative discussion of the t-distribution has come under much criticism, because it concerns artefacts of the biased estimator. In the case of Geary’s kurtosis the same correction results (2/π)1/2 unbiased estimation of kurtosis for normally distributed data that is independent of the size of the sample. It is believed that by removing the sample-size-dependent biased feature, the applicability domain can be expanded to include small sample sizes for some normality tests.
Improvement Possibilities of Heterogeneous Photocatalysis with the Aim of In-Field Use
Authors: Fónagy Orsolya , Hegedűs Péter , Szabó-Bárdos Erzsébet , Dobrádi Annamária , Horváth Ottó
Published: May 2018

Heterogeneous photocatalysis can be successfully applied for the degradation of organic pollutants, although the efficiency of this method is insufficient. It can be increased by modification of the catalyst with precious metals (e.g. silver) or heterogeneous catalysis can be combined with other oxidative procedures such as ozonation. Another obstacle to the infield use of the method is that separating the catalyst from the liquid phase is difficult. This problem can be eliminated by the immobilization of the catalyst. The poly(vinyl alcohol)-TiO2 immobilized catalyst has been prepared for this purpose. During TiO2-based photocatalysis, active oxygen species such as the hydroxyl radical, superoxide radical and hydrogen peroxide are produced. The formation rate of the oxidative •OH radicals was also determined in the case of the previously mentioned techniques. As a scavenger of this radical, coumarin was added.
Surface Energy Heterogeneity Profiles of Carbon Nanotubes with a Copolymer-Modified Surface Using Surface Energy Mapping by Inverse Gas Chromatography
Authors: Gerencsér Fruzsina , Rieder Norbert , Varga Csilla , Hancsók Jenő , Dallos András
Published: May 2018

The effectiveness and quantitative control of the surface transition of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) was characterized by inverse gas chromatography (iGC). The surface energy profile of carbon nanotubes compatibilized with an olefin-maleic-anhydride-ester-amide (OMAEA)-type coupling agent was determined by a surface energy analyzer (SEA). The surface energetic heterogeneity with energy distributions of dispersive and specific (acid-base) components of the surface energy of the MWCNTs were determined at various surface coverages. The results of the surface energy mapping showed that surface treatment significantly reduced the dispersive surface energy of MWCNTs and increased the specific surface energy. Furthermore, the surface modification enhanced its Lewis basic character and simultaneously decreased the acidic character of MWCNTs. It has been demonstrated that the surface treatment modified the heterogeneity profiles of the energetic surface of the carbonaceous nanomaterials.
Investigations of the TlInp2Se6–In4(P2Se6)3 System and its Optical Properties
Authors: Tovt Valeria , Barchiy Igor , Piasecki Michal , Kityk Iwan , Fedorchuk Anatolii
Published: May 2018

The equilibrium phases were investigated and the corresponding phase diagram constructed for the TlInP2Se6–In4(P2Se6)3 system from physical and chemical analyses, namely differential thermal analysis (DTA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and microstructural analysis (MSA). It was established that this system belongs to the eutectic type and is characterized by the formation of boundary solid phases containing complex compounds. Single crystals of the compounds TlInP2Se6 and In4(P2Se6)3 were grown using the Bridgman method. Both crystals were found to exhibit diffuse reflection spectra and photoinduced dependence of birefringence at various IR wavelengths generated by CO2 laser irradiation. Birefringence properties were investigated using the Senarmont method.
Application of a Hydrophobic Polymeric Membrane for Carbon Dioxide Desorption from an Mea-Water Solution
Authors: Ziobrowski Zenon , Rotkegel Adam
Published: May 2018

Carbon dioxide desorption from a monoethanolamine (MEA) solution using a hydrophobic polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) tubular membrane on a ceramic support is presented. The effects of operating parameters such as feed temperature, liquid flow rate and MEA concentration on mass transfer were examined. The mass transfer of CO2 from the liquid to gaseous phase was predicted by a multilayer film model with an accuracy of ±25%. Research into new selective materials is needed to develop more efficient and environmentally friendly CO2 capture technology
Roberto Arlt: el Oriente “al margen del cable”
Authors: Camenen Gersende
Published: May 2018

La obra de Roberto Arlt da un giro inesperado a partir de 1935, año en que el escritor emprende un viaje por Marruecos que lo deslumbra. De aquí en adelante, el Oriente no cesará de aparecer en los textos de Arlt, con funciones tan distintas como sus contextos de publicación. Pese al entusiasmo del escritor, para la crítica posterior, Arlt será culpable de haber cedido a un orientalismo de pacotilla que empañaba, con sus aires conservadores, la poética vanguardista de sus grandes obras. Me propongo mostrar cómo en una serie de textos periodísticos publicados a finales de los años treinta, el escritor, liberado de sus aspiraciones a la legitimidad literaria, construye otra mirada sobre Oriente en un contexto internacional cambiado. En “Al margen del cable”, su columna en El Mundo a partir de 1937, Arlt recompone toda una trama de contactos internacionales (China-Alemania, Polinesia-Alemania-Estados-Unidos-Inglaterra) de modo que, si bien todavía actúan los filtros de los imaginarios orientalistas de la época, tanto populares (Hollywood) como cultos (Stevenson, Malraux), emerge en ellos una conciencia aguda de que el Oriente es parte de un mundo global que va formándose en la marcha hacia la guerra.
Poetas chilenos y sus dobles orientales: impostores y plagios
Authors: Faúndez Morán Pablo
Published: May 2018

El artículo rescata dos episodios de la vida literaria de las primeras décadas del siglo XX en Chile: la publicación del poemario Fragmentos del poeta afgano Karez-I-Roshan en 1921, y la acusación de plagio contra Pablo Neruda el año 1934. Ambos informan de una situación atractiva: dos veces y de formas distintas el poeta chileno se transfiguró en poeta oriental. La lectura propuesta permite apreciar a partir de ellos dos niveles en que el intercambio literario-cultural entre Chile y Oriente se vio obstaculizado por la mediación europea: primero, en la comprensión de un sistema de producción y difusión de las obras, y segundo, en la de la pertenencia de los escritores locales a una tradición occidental.
El Lejano Oriente en la poesía mexicana
Authors: Cross Elsa
Published: May 2018

El presente trabajo reúne los resultados de una investigación que explora la recepción que las culturas del Este de Asia, en todas sus manifestaciones, han tenido en poetas mexicanos a partir de 1900, fecha en que José Juan Tablada viajó al Japón. Más que una disquisición teórica, se ofrece una descripción de esta travesía que, si bien partió de un deslumbramiento estético, va a ir reflejando, posteriormente, el interés por ámbitos de la filosofía y la espiritualidad del Oriente, lo mismo que por diversas formas del arte culto y popular, así como por los paisajes, ciudades y costumbres. De los numerosos poetas que forman parte de dicha travesía, se hará hincapié en algunos autores paradigmáticos en los que puede apreciarse un cambio de rumbo o una aportación excepcional a través de la cual se harán evidentes los importantes cambios en el acercamiento hacia el fenómeno de lo “oriental” en la poesía mexicana.
Desplazamiento imaginario de Oriente: Augusto d’Halmar y la transmigración literaria del sujeto
Authors: Loebell Ricardo
Published: May 2018

La sombra del humo en el espejo, tríptico con Nirvana (1918) y Mi otro yo – De la doble vida en la India (1924), esboza una importante inflexión en la obra de Augusto d’Halmar, dado que con la experiencia del viaje concreto realizado a la India a finales de 1907 el autor enriquece el vaiven de la imaginación literaria de sus escritos. Atraído por lejanas culturas y diversas corrientes religiosas, d’Halmar compone allí narraciones donde el protagonista se desplaza desde América Latina al Extremo Oriente, en un viaje literario que no se realiza desde el Océano Pacífico sino por un camino indirecto, vía Europa, donde el autor hace un transbordo conceptual en el cual recoge ideas y sensaciones de la moda literaria europea del momento. En ese proceso se desembarca de conceptos nacionalistas, a la vez que rechaza el pensamiento hegemónico eurocéntrico y prefigura con ello conceptualizaciones y pensamientos centrales para la comprensión del Oriente y el fenómeno oriental desde lo americano.
La difusión global de la literatura filipina en español por una ruta transversal
Authors: Park Paula C.
Published: May 2018

Si bien la literatura filipina en castellano ha sido prácticamente marginada en Filipinas y en el conjunto del mundo hispánico, el presente trabajo enfoca su difusión y recepción en Hispanoamérica en el siglo XX tomando en cuenta el hecho de que por 250 años (desde 1565 hasta 1815) Filipinas y el Virreinato de Nueva España desarrollaron una relación intercolonial, no sólo en términos comerciales sino también culturales. Entre los esfuerzos por difundir esta literatura se hallan la visita a México del escritor filipino Jesús Balmori en 1931, durante la cual organizó eventos culturales y recitó su poesía ante un público mexicano, y la labor del crítico y traductor húngaro-mexicano Pablo Laslo, quien publicó una edición bilingüe (castellano-alemán) más dos selecciones de poesía filipina en México y Argentina. A partir de estos dos casos, se explora el potencial crítico de la difusión de la literatura filipina en castellano en Hispanoamérica enfatizando las posibilidades y desafíos que surgen al estudiar la literatura filipina en castellano dentro del marco de las relaciones Sur-Sur.
Three accounts of propositional relation reports
Authors: Davis Wayne A.
Published: May 2018

Peter Hanks and Scott Soames have developed a theory of propositions as structured cognitive event types, as have I in earlier works. They use the theory to offer similar accounts of transparent propositional relation reports, and very different accounts of opaque reports. For both, the sentences used to report propositional attitudes or speech acts are semantically unambiguous. Hanks invokes context-sensitivity, Soames pragmatics, to account for the different interpretations. I raise problems and offer solutions. Their accounts succumb to the non-compositionality of transparent reports, and wrongly predict that all propositional relation reports have both transparent and opaque interpretations. Soames’s pragmatic enrichment account of the opaque interpretation is unfounded, and forces him to conclude that competent speakers do not know what the sentences they use mean. The notion of an “object-dependent” or “bare” proposition is both problematic and unnecessary. I offer a new account, on which propositional relation reports have the semantic ambiguity characteristic of idioms, with the transparent interpretation being highly but not completely compositional.
A dialectical approach to presupposition
Authors: Macagno Fabrizio
Published: May 2018

This paper advances an approach to presupposition rooted in the concept of commitment, a dialectical notion weaker than truth and belief. It investigates ancient medieval dialectical theories and develops the insights thereof for analyzing how presuppositions are evaluated and why a proposition is presupposed. In particular, at a pragmatic level, presuppositions are reconstructed as the conclusions of implicit arguments from presumptive reasoning, grounded on presumptions of different type and nature. A false (or rather unaccepted) presupposition can be thus represented as the outcome of a conflict of presumptions – the ones used by the speaker and the ones commonly accepted or backed by evidence. From an interpretative perspective, this defaulted presumptive reasoning can be explained by comparing the available presumptions and repaired by replacing the weaker and unacceptable ones.
Areas of Civil Aviation Hazards
Authors: Chruzik Katarzyna
Published: May 2018

Risk management is one of the most important tools of modern systemic approach to process modeling. Generally, it may be described as a system of interrelated actions and decisions aimed at integration and coordination of processes in the organization, in cooperation with the external parties. The aim of management is therefore to improve the proficiency, effectiveness and efficiency of the operation and - in the case of risk management arising from the transport processes - to improve flight safety. The publication describes a proposal of risk management method in air transport including analysis of areas threats to civil air operations.
An Intelligent System of Supervision and Safety of Flight Operations
Authors: Krupa Wojciech , Linka Anita , Wróblewska Agnieszka
Published: May 2018

The paper presents the functionality and applicability of AeroSafetyShow Demonstrator+PL (ASSD+PL). Software was invented and developed by a scientific consortium between Żelazny6 Wojciech Krupa company and Poznan University of Technology. Project was co-financed by the European Union and the National Centre for Research and Development. ASSD+PL is an intelligent system, which allows to increase the safety of flight operations by conducting surveillance in the real time. This system is the first controlling software which offering such a wide range of functionalities.
Research of Pneumatic Distributors for Launcher of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)
Authors: Szczepaniak Paweł , Jóźko Michał
Published: May 2018

The test stand for investigations of flow characteristics of pneumatic distributor has been presented in this paper. This test stand has been composed as requirements include in standard PN-92/M-73763. The results of experimental and simulation investigations for standard five ways and two position pneumatic distributor have been presented. In simulations have been used CFD of SolidWorks Flow Simulation application. Flow characteristic of pneumatic distributor is necessary for design process of special pneumatic circuits of UAV launchers. CFD methods allow specify flow characteristics. Simulation research allow effective pneumatic components modification, whose used of special pneumatic circuits of UAV launchers. Results of experimental and simulation investigations were analyzed and compared.
A System Approach for Optimizing of Parameters of the Proposed Maritime Container Port in Świnoujście
Authors: Gucma Stanisław
Published: May 2018

The article presents specially developed methods for optimizing of parameters of the proposed maritime container port in Świnoujście with planned transshipment capacity of 1.5-million TEU intended for handling container vessels up to 400m length. The methods have been developed based on a system approach for the proposed maritime waterways.
Incidence of congenital hypothyroidism in China: data from the national newborn screening program, 2013–2015
Authors: Deng Kui , He Chunhua , Zhu Jun , Liang Juan , Li Xiaohong , Xie Xiaoyan , Yu Ping , Li Nana , Li Qi , Wang Yanping
Published: May 2018

Background:

Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) is one of the most frequent, preventable causes of mental retardation. Little has been reported on the epidemiological characteristics of CH in China. We aimed to estimate the incidence of CH in China and investigate its geographical variation.

Methods:

We analyzed data from the nationwide newborn screening program for CH between 2013 and 2015. Poisson regression was used to generate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) between the rates of CH and selected demographic characteristics and assess the potential association between CH incidence and geographical locations.

Results:

A total of 18,666 patients with CH were identified from 45.2 million newborns, yielding an overall incidence rate of 4.13 per 10,000 live births. Compared with those in the remote area, regardless of infant sex, a higher incidence risk for CH was present in newborns in coastal areas and inland areas (females: OR=2.00, 95% CI: 1.86–2.16 and OR=1.74, 95% CI: 1.61–1.87, respectively; males: OR=1.70, 95% CI: 1.59–1.83 and OR=1.52, 95% CI: 1.42–1.63, respectively). Additionally, the highest risk of CH for thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) screening values <40 mU/L was observed among neonates in the coastal areas, while TSH screening values of 70–100 mU/L were observed among those in the inland areas.

Conclusions:

The overall incidence of CH is high in China. The significant geographical variations of CH incidence are presented in this study.
Severe lactic acidosis in an extremely low birth weight infant due to thiamine deficiency
Authors: Ozdemir Hulya , Bilgen Hulya , Alp Unkar Zeynep , Kiykim Ertugrul , Memisoglu Asli , Ozek Eren
Published: May 2018

Background:

In this case report, we present a preterm newborn with persistent lactic acidosis who received total parenteral nutrition (TPN) that lacked thiamine.

Case presentation:

A 28-week-old, 750 g female infant was born with an Apgar score of 8 at the 5th minute. Umbilical cord blood gas levels, including lactate level, were normal, and she was admitted to our neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Achieving full enteral feeding was not possible due to gastric residues and abdominal distention, making the patient dependent on TPN during the first 2 weeks of life. An insidious increase in lactic acid levels and uncompensated metabolic acidosis were apparent from the 23rd day of life. Severe metabolic acidosis was persistent despite massive doses of bicarbonate. The acidosis resolved dramatically within 6 h when the patient was administered with thiamine.

Conclusions:

Although TPN is life saving in the NICU, meticulous attention must be paid to provide all essential macro- and micro-nutrients.