bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
New biomimetic approach to the aircraft wing structural design based on aeroelastic analysis
Authors: Gawel D. , Nowak M. , Hausa H. , Roszak R.
Published: November 2017

This paper presents a new biomimetic approach to the structural design. For the purpose of aircraft wing design the numerical environment combining simultaneous structural size, shape, and topology optimization based on aeroelastic analysis was developed. For the design of aircraft elements the optimization process must be treated as a multi-load case task, because during the fluid structure interaction analysis each step represents a different structural load case. Also, considering different angles of attack, during the CFD computation each result is considered. The method-specific features (such as domain independence, functional configurations during the process of optimization, and multiple load case solution implemented in the optimization scenario) enable the optimal structural form. To illustrate the algorithm functionality, the problem of determining the optimal internal wing structure was presented. The optimal internal wing structure resulting from aeroelastic computation with different angles of attack has been presented.
The Regression Analysis of Individual Financial Performance: Evidence from Croatia
Authors: Bahovec Vlasta , Barbić Dajana , Palić Irena
Published: November 2017

Background: A large body of empirical literature indicates that gender and financial literacy are significant determinants of individual financial performance.

Objectives: The purpose of this paper is to recognize the impact of the variable financial literacy and the variable gender on the variation of the financial performance using the regression analysis.

Methods/Approach: The survey was conducted using the systematically chosen random sample of Croatian financial consumers. The cross section linear regression model is estimated in order to assess how gender as a dummy variable and financial literacy as an ordinal categorical variable impact financial performance.

Results: The results indicate that the average value of financial performance for men is higher than the average value of financial performance for women at the same financial literacy level. Furthermore, a higher level of financially literacy is related to a higher level of financial performance.

Conclusions: Both gender and financial literacy have a statistically significant impact on individual financial performance. Increasing financial literacy and understanding gender differences in terms of financial literacy and financial well-being should be of interest to financial educators in their struggles to improve financial situation of citizens and for educators to create financial education programs intended for men and women.
Are Publicly Available Online Businesses Lists Appropriate to be used as Sampling Frames in Croatian Business Surveys?
Authors: Žmuk Berislav
Published: November 2017

Background: In order to conduct a probability business survey, a high quality sampling frame of enterprises is needed.

Objectives: The goal of the paper is to investigate publicly available online businesses lists which can be used as sampling frames in business surveys in Croatia and to find out whether they have a satisfactory quality level.

Methods/Approach: Publicly available businesses lists in Croatia are examined and their appropriateness for use in different modes of data collection as business sampling frames is inspected. The advantages and disadvantages of businesses lists are discussed and compared.

Results: Overall 11 online businesses lists are considered as business sampling frames in the paper. The comparison analysis has shown that businesses lists from the government institutions are the best choice when business surveys are conducted face-to-face, by mail and/or by telephone. However, none of the observed businesses lists is good enough to be used in a business web survey.

Conclusions: The research has shown that the publicly available online businesses lists are of a satisfactory level of quality only if traditional data collection modes are used. Unfortunately, they are not appropriate in business web surveys. Therefore, the development of a business register in Croatia is a prerequisite for conducting probability and representative business web surveys in the future.
Jacob Haury, Karl Krumbacher, Otto Adamek und Hermann Braun
Authors: Brendel Raphael
Published: November 2017

Three notes on the letters of Jakob Haury to Karl Krumbacher edited by Peter Schreiner: 1. An identification of the book Krumbacher offered to Haury for review. 2. An identification of Braun’s note on textual criticism against which Haury argued. 3. A correction of a misleading typo in Schreiner’s edition.
Encore sur l’authenticité de l’Hexaéméron d’Anastase le Sinaïte
Authors: Zaganas Dimitrios
Published: November 2017

The article re-examines the thorny question of the authenticity of Anastasius Sinaita’s Hexaemeron, which has been recently debated again by K.- H. Uthemann. A critical discussion of old and new arguments against the authenticity permits, on one hand, to reject the allegedly late dating and the inaccurate title appended to the Hexaemeron, and on the other hand, to express serious doubts about the cited theological differences between the Hexaemeron and the two Homilies on the making of man which are securely attributed to Anastasius. Moreover, a reassessment of the undeniable connection between the aforementioned texts provides strong evidence in support of the Anastasian authorship of the Hexaemeron.
Lp-potentials on infinite networks
Authors: Abodayeh Kamaleldin , Anandam Victor
Published: November 2017

Based on the existence of discrete Lp− subharmonic functions, a classification of infinite networks is carried out.
The suppression of space charge accumulation in CB/LDPE nanocomposites and its association with molecule relaxation
Authors: Yan Zhiyu , Zhao Hong , Han Baozhong , Yang Jiaming , Chen Junqi
Published: November 2017

Space charge accumulation within insulating material poses a threat to the reliability in the operation of DC power cables. To investigate the influence of carbon black (CB) on the space charge accumulation of low density polyethylene (LDPE), both conductive carbon black (C-CB) and insulating carbon black (I-CB) were employed as filler particles. The space charge distributions of LDPE and CB/LDPE nanocomposites were obtained by the pulsed electro-acoustic (PEA) method. Additionally, dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and thermally stimulated current (TSC) spectroscopy were applied to explore the mechanism of improving space charge performance. Both the C-CB/LDPE and I-CB/LDPE nanocomposites can effectively suppress space charge accumulation. It was concluded that the improvement in space charge characteristics of CB/LDPE nanocomposites was attributable to the interaction between the CB particles and the LDPE, which reduces the number of defects formed from molecules participating in α relaxation and decreases the density of traps within the LDPE.
Foreign Language Education in the 21stEuropean Context: Exploring New Directions in Intercultural and Plurilingual Approaches Using Anzaldúa’s Border Epistemology
Authors: Lobo Patrícia
Published: November 2017

This article considers the reformulation of foreign language classes as spaces of cultural politics, dynamic social activism and holistic education, in order to enable schools, teachers and students to set the foundation for a more inclusive society. It starts by recognizing some of the challenges of the 21stcentury European context, addressing the need to explore new directions in the intercultural and plurilingual approaches in Foreign Language Education. Using Cultural Studies as a starting point, it will be argued that Gloria Anzaldúa's cultural, feminist, queer and linguistic concepts, with a focus on the crossing of different borders, the forging of relational strategies between groups, and a holistic view of the world, can contribute to current debates on interculturalism and plurilingualism, providing an alternative framework for educational practices that empower students from diverse backgrounds with self-knowledge and tolerance towards alterity.
Population differences in morphological and anatomical traits of Pinus mugo Turra needles from the Polish part of the Tatra Mountains
Authors: Pawlaczyk Ewa M. , Bączkiewicz Alina , Wawrzyniak Piotr , Czołpińska Magdalena , Gonera Patrycja , Buczkowska-Chmielewska Katarzyna
Published: November 2017

The main aim of this study was to describe the variation between the populations of the dwarf mountain pine Pinus mugo Turra based on the morphological and anatomical traits of their needles, and to investigate the relationship between the observed variation and environmental conditions (altitude and substrate). Two-year-old needles were collected from 180 individuals of six populations of P. mugo growing in the Tatra Mts. Two populations were classified as dense, located at 1360–1450 m altitude, and the remaining four formed loose clusters and were situated at 1500–1650 m altitude. Four of the populations are growing on granite and two on a limestone substrate. The natural variation of 10 morpho-anatomical and 3 synthetic needle traits was measured. In addition to descriptive statistics, the analyses of variance (ANOVA) with a Tukey test and principal component analysis were computed. We also estimated Pearson correlation coefficients for the examined needle traits and altitude as well as substrate. Our results indicate that the P. mugo populations differ significantly with regard to the investigated traits for which the Trzydniowiański Wierch population was the most distinct. The observed pattern of variability is largely caused by differences in stomatal traits and these features are positive correlated with altitude. Additionally, populations growing on granite have larger values for most of the examined traits compared to populations growing on limestone.
Modal composition and tectonic provenance of the sandstones of Ecca Group, Karoo Supergroup in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa
Authors: Baiyegunhi Christopher , Liu Kuiwu , Gwavava Oswald
Published: November 2017

Petrography of the sandstones of Ecca Group, Karoo Supergroup in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa have been investigated on composition, provenance and influence of weathering conditions. Petrographic studies based on quantitative analysis of the detrital minerals revealed that the sandstones are composed mostly of quartz, feldspar and lithic fragments of metamorphic and sedimentary rocks. The sandstones have an average framework composition of 24.3% quartz, 19.3% feldspar, 26.1% rock fragments, and 81.33% of the quartz grains are monocrystalline. These sandstones are generally very fine to fine grained, moderate to well sorted, and subangular to subrounded in shape. In addition, they are compositionally immature and can be classified as feldspathic wacke and lithic wacke. The provenance characteristics suggest the influence of plutonic and metamorphic terrains (meta-magmatic arc) as the main source rock with minor debris derived from recycled sedimentary rocks. The latter revealed that the compositional immaturity of the sandstones is a result of weathering or recycling and short transport distance. The weathering diagrams and semi-quantitative weathering index indicate that the Ecca sandstones are mostly from a plutonic source area, with climatic conditions ranging from arid to humid. The detrital modal compositions of these sandstones are related to back arc to island and continental margin arc. These results, therefore, support previous studies that infer foreland basin setting for the Karoo Basin.
Stratigraphic and tectonic control of deep-water scarp accumulation in Paleogene synorogenic basins: a case study of the Súľov Conglomerates (Middle Váh Valley, Western Carpathians)
Authors: Soták Ján , Pulišová Zuzana , Plašienka Dušan , Šimonová Viera
Published: November 2017

The Súľov Conglomerates represent mass-transport deposits of the Súľov-Domaniža Basin. Their lithosomes are intercalated by claystones of late Thanetian (Zones P3 - P4), early Ypresian (Zones P5 - E2) and late Ypresian to early Lutetian (Zones E5 - E9) age. Claystone interbeds contain rich planktonic and agglutinated microfauna, implying deep-water environments of gravity-flow deposition. The basin was supplied by continental margin deposystems, and filled with submarine landslides, fault-scarp breccias, base-of-slope aprons, debris-flow lobes and distal fans of debrite and turbidite deposits. Synsedimentary tectonics of the Súľov-Domaniža Basin started in the late Thanetian - early Ypresian by normal faulting and disintegration of the orogenic wedge margin. Fault-related fissures were filled by carbonate bedrock breccias and banded crystalline calcite veins (onyxites). The subsidence accelerated during the Ypresian and early Lutetian by gravitational collapse and subcrustal tectonic erosion of the CWC plate. The basin subsided to lower bathyal up to abyssal depth along with downslope accumulation of mass-flow deposits. Tectonic inversion of the basin resulted from the Oligocene - early Miocene transpression (σ1 rotated from NW-SE to NNW-SSE), which changed to a transpressional regime during the Middle Miocene (σ1 rotated from NNE-SSW to NE-SW). Late Miocene tectonics were dominated by an extensional regime with σ3 axis in NNW-SSE orientation.
Law versus Cybercrime
Authors: Luis Cordova José Grabiel , Correa Álvarez Pascual Felipe , Echerri Ferrandiz Fernando de Jesús , Pérez-Bravo Julio César
Published: November 2017

Nowadays, Cybercrime is one of the most dangerous and harmful of crimes. States must improve their fighting strategies against this phenomenon in order to protect society and its own integrity. This research, entitled “Law vs Cybercrime” aims to systematize the proceedings for confronting Cybercrime in modern legal systems and to analyze the Cuban legal framework for Cybercrime. This essay analyzes the theoretical and definitional foundations of Cybercrime, the challenges with controlling cybercrime-related acts presents to legal systems, attempts to systematize the proceedings for confronting Cybercrime in modern states legal systems as well as the international legal systems, and finally, analyzes the current Cuban legal regulations against Cybercrime. At the end of the essay can be found the conclusions according to the objectives of this investigation.
POSSIBILITIES OF THE USE OF WORKING SELF-CONTAINED BREATHING APPARATUSES FILTRATING CARBON MONOXIDE IN THE PRACTICE OF MINE RESCUE SERVICES
Authors: Pavelek Zdeněk
Published: November 2017

In the current practice of the Mining Rescue Service of the Czech Republic, since 2005, the insulated overpressure regenerative breathing apparatuses with a closed circuit and supply of medicinal oxygen are used as the backbone working breathing apparatuses. At the end of the year 2010, the compressed-air breathing apparatuses were introduced into the practice of the Mining Rescue Service of the Czech Republic, which, in precisely defined types of mine rescue service interventions and under precisely defined conditions, can replace the aforementioned backbone working insulated overpressure regenerative breathing apparatuses. Recently, mining rescue services in deep coal mines have been more and more often conducted under conditions of an irrespirable mine atmosphere containing high concentrations of carbon monoxide, but at the same time containing sufficient oxygen for the breathing physiology of mine rescuer (for example, interventions dealing with the disposal of machinery under conditions of occurrence of endogenous mining fire of coal). This fact, after a long time, has resumed again the discussion of miners' rescue experts about whether it would be possible to implement the use of breathing apparatuses filtrating carbon monoxide into practice by the Mining Rescue Services of the Czech Republic in order to ensure a sufficient level of safety for mining rescuers even in an unexpected and rapid decline of the oxygen amount in the mine air at the site of the mine rescue service. The benefit of the breathing apparatuses filtrating carbon monoxide is their significantly lower weight, long protection period and also significantly smaller dimensions and design variability of the device. The disadvantages are higher breathing resistances and a higher temperature of the air mass inhaled from the breathing apparatus filtrating carbon monoxide.
Process optimization of lignin conversion into value added chemicals by thermochemical pretreatment and electrooxidation on a stainless steel anode
Authors: Singh Sandeep , Ghatak Himadri Roy
Published: November 2017

Wheat straw soda lignin was subjected to thermochemical (TC) pretreatment at low to moderate temperatures followed by electrooxidation (EO) on an SS-304 anode to produce some value-added organic chemicals. The influence of independent process variables on the product yield of major organic chemical groups, namely, aromatic carbonyl compounds (COarom), aromatic hydrocarbons (HCarom), and aliphatic hydrocarbons (HCaliph), was studied. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize the process conditions for maximizing the amount of chemical production according to the Box-Behnken experimental design (BBD). For COarom, the optimal conditions were 2 h TC pretreatment at 200°C followed by 12 h of EO at 2.24 mA cm−2current density to yield 24.7% of desired products. The optimized synthesis conditions for HCaromare 2 h TC treatment at 200°C yielding 16.1% desired products. As individual compounds, vanillin, acetosyringone, syringaldehyde, acetovanillone,o-xylene and toluene were significantly produced in different product groups. A small amount of organosilicon compounds (ORGSi) and HCaliphwas also produced.
Self-limitation as the basis of environmentally sustainable care of the self
Authors: Sťahel Richard
Published: November 2017

When we abandon the neoliberal fiction that one is independent on the grounds that it is a-historic and antisocial, we realize that everyone is dependent and interdependent. In a media-driven society the self-identity of the individual is formed within the framework of the culture-ideology of consumerism from early childhood. As a result, both the environmental and social destruction have intensified. In the global era, or in the era of the global environmental crisis, self-identity as a precondition for environmentally sustainable care of the self should be based on the culture-ideology of human rights and responsibilities, and on conscious self-limitation which realizes that one’s prosperity and security cannot come at the expense of others. Care of the self is about ensuring the habitability of the global environment as the primary interest of each individual.
An Accelerated Algorithm for Improvement of Adaptation in Nonlinear Adaptive Control
Authors: Davanipour M. , Javanmardi H. R. , Goodarzi N.
Published: November 2017

Adaptive control is capable of handling systems with uncertain parameters in terms of asymptotic performance; however, it is not so well in the transient performance. Even though adaptation gain is part of adaptive controller having much effects on the transient response, it has been considered as a constant gain most of the times. In this paper, a new Laypunov-based mechanism is proposed to find optimal values of adaptation gains in nonlinear adaptive control design. The algorithm inspired of the halving method for finding polynomial roots tries to find optimum values of the adaptation gains in a direction of minimizing a cost function. The simulation results show satisfactory performance of the proposed controller especially in terms transient performance.
Comparison of different models for predicting soil bulk density. Case study – Slovakian agricultural soils
Authors: Makovníková Jarmila , Širáň Miloš , Houšková Beata , Pálka Boris , Jones Arwyn
Published: November 2017

Soil bulk density is one of the main direct indicators of soil health, and is an important aspect of models for determining agroecosystem services potential. By way of applying multi-regression methods, we have created a distributed prediction of soil bulk density used subsequently for topsoil carbon stock estimation. The soil data used for this study were from the Slovakian partial monitoring system-soil database. In our work, two models of soil bulk density in an equilibrium state, with different combinations of input parameters (soil particle size distribution and soil organic carbon content in %), have been created, and subsequently validated using a data set from 15 principal sampling sites of Slovakian partial monitoring system-soil, that were different from those used to generate the bulk density equations. We have made a comparison of measured bulk density data and data calculated by the pedotransfer equations against soil bulk density calculated according to equations recommended by Joint Research Centre Sustainable Resources for Europe. The differences between measured soil bulk density and the model values vary from −0.144 to 0.135 g cm−3 in the verification data set. Furthermore, all models based on pedotransfer functions give moderately lower values. The soil bulk density model was then applied to generate a first approximation of soil bulk density map for Slovakia using texture information from 17 523 sampling sites, and was subsequently utilised for topsoil organic carbon estimation.
Particle Swarm Optimization for Solving a Class of Type-1 and Type-2 Fuzzy Nonlinear Equations
Authors: Sadiqbatcha Sheriff , Jafarzadeh Saeed , Ampatzidis Yiannis
Published: November 2017

This paper proposes a modified particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm that can be used to solve a variety of fuzzy nonlinear equations, i.e. fuzzy polynomials and exponential equations. Fuzzy nonlinear equations are reduced to a number of interval nonlinear equations using alpha cuts. These equations are then sequentially solved using the proposed methodology. Finally, the membership functions of the fuzzy solutions are constructed using the interval results at each alpha cut. Unlike existing methods, the proposed algorithm does not impose any restriction on the fuzzy variables in the problem. It is designed to work for equations containing both positive and negative fuzzy sets and even for the cases when the support of the fuzzy sets extends across 0, which is a particularly problematic case.
Clinical Update. Clinical Presentations of Pulmonary Embolism in the Emergency Department
Authors: Barcan Andreea , Tarta Dorin , Tarta Cristina
Published: November 2017

Pulmonary embolism (PE) is one of the most severe conditions encountered in the emergency department (ED) and one of the leading causes of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, especially in patients presenting with hemodynamic instability, right ventricular dysfunction, or necessitating cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The early recognition and treatment of PE is essential, as many studies demonstrated that mortality rates drop significantly if adequate therapy is administered from the early stages. The aim of this update is to summarize the various patterns of PE presentations in the ED.
Mathematical Model Using Soft Computing Techniques for Different Thermal Insulation Materials
Authors: Dixit Anil Kumar , Roul Manmatha K. , Panda Bikash C.
Published: November 2017

The property of low thermal transmission of the small air gap between the constituents of combined material has been utilized to obtain energy-efficient wall sections. Ferro-cement is a highly versatile form of reinforced concrete made up of wire mesh, sand, water, and cement, which possesses unique qualities of strength and serviceability. The significant intention of the proposed technique is to frame a mathematical model with the aid of optimization techniques. Mathematical modeling is done by minimizing the cost and time consumed in the case of extension of the existing work. Mathematical modeling is utilized to predict the temperature of different walls such as reinforced cement concrete (RCC) wall, ferro-cement, combined RCC with ferro-cement, and combined ferro-cement wall. Different optimization algorithms such as social spider optimization (SSO) and genetic algorithm are utilized to find the optimal weights α and β of the mathematical modeling. All optimum results demonstrate that the attained error values between the output of the experimental values and the predicted values are closely equal to zero in the designed model. The proposed work is compared to the existing method, and from the results, the minimum error of 97.188% is determined by mathematical modeling in the SSO algorithm.
Trees as Ecosystem Engineers Driving Vegetational Restoration/Retrogradation of Industrial Deposits in Cultural Landscape
Authors: Romana Prausová , Michal Štefánek , Ota Rauch , Pavel Kovář
Published: November 2017

Industrial processes are marked with various deposits of wastes in landscapes. They are typically characterized by high pollution levels in all their ecosystem components, including soil, water and air. Even more than natural ecosystems, artificial ash and mine tailings containments or industrial dumps are disconnected from nature or agricultural surroundings by their construction geometry. This combination of factors directs such patches of landscape to the isolation (island) effect and hihglighting of land-surface fragmentation. What is the most proper tool serving efficiently for support of sharp boundaries dissolution and comeback of the habitat close to natural one? In the European climatic conditions, trees function as reliable ecosystem engineers under the conditions of keeping sites without human interventions. However, spontaneous colonization and succession include vegetational phases of both increased species diversity (advanced successional stages) and secondary species diversity reduction (successional retrogradation), usually in dependence on the soil-substrate development.
Visible Light Communication – The Journey So Far
Authors: Saadi Muhammad , Wuttisittikulkij Lunchakorn
Published: November 2017

An unprecedented demand for connecting physical objects with the internet expedites the realization of internet of things, thus creating new challenges to explore new spectrums which are suitable for communication. Visible light communication (VLC) is one promising candidate not only to remove the spectrum crunch issues but also to offer virtually unlimited, unregulated spectrum. This paper discusses how VLC can help solving spectrum crunch, non-availability issues of radio frequency spectrum and how readily available spectrum of VLC can be utilized to cope up with the bandwidth requirements of next-generation networks. Furthermore, this paper also lists the technological innovations in the area of VLC from early days till present and its possible applications in various domains.
A novel DAX-1 (NR0B1) mutation in a boy with X-linked adrenal hypoplasia congenita
Authors: Gerster Karine , Katschnig Claudia , Wyss Sascha , Kolly Anne , Sproll Patrick , Biason-Lauber Anna , Konrad Daniel
Published: November 2017

Background:

X-linked adrenal hypoplasia congenita (AHC) is caused by mutations in

Case presentation:

Herein we report a 2.5-year-old boy who presented with acute adrenal failure. Family history revealed unexplained death in three brothers of the patient’s mother during infancy. Molecular analysis of the

Conclusions:

mutation must be considered when diagnosis of primary adrenocortical insufficiency is made, especially if there is a history of unexplained death of maternal male relatives.
Mapping of soil erodibility and assessment of soil losses using the RUSLE model in the Sebaa Chioukh Mountains (northwest of Algeria)
Authors: Meghraoui Maamar , Habi Mohamed , Morsli Boutkhil , Regagba Mohamed , Seladji Abdelhakim
Published: November 2017

In Algeria, erosion and solid transport constitute a major constraint to the development of agriculture and to the management of hydrotechnical works (more than 20% are silted). Due to the irregular rains that characterize the Mediterranean semi-arid zones, the topography of the mountainous areas, the fragility of the soils, the absence of vegetation cover and the inappropriate cropping systems, the Sabaa Chioukh Mountains shows a dissected topography, frequent and violent floods. It is therefore absolutely important and crucial to assess, spatially and quantitatively, the effects of soil erosion in order to face the phenomenon and to propose the best strategies for conservation and land management. This study aims to map the soils erodibility, using remote sensing, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) taking into account the soil types. In order to achieve the objective, we calculated the factors of the RUSLE equation. The results obtained showed that 26,760 ha i.e. 56.58% of our study area are exposed to an annual soil loss of 150 to 200 t·ha-1. These areas are located in fersiallitic soils and vertisols and especially in non-cultivable areas which have high slope values.
The Facilitating State and Economic Development: The Role of the State in New Structural Economics
Authors: Lin Justin Yifu , Wang Xiaobing
Published: November 2017

This paper explores the ideas of development and the role of the state in economic development and institutional change from the New Structural Economics perspective. We argue that economic structures – including the structure of technology and industry, and hard and soft infrastructure – are endogenous to the endowment structure, which is given at any specific time and changeable over time. We advocate a state to facilitate structural change by using industrial policy to overcome market failures in order to help industries with latent comparative advantages to become competitive in the market and the state should pragmatically prioritize the use of its limited resources and implementation capability to create enclaves with favourable infrastructure and institution to jump start a dynamic growth in a country beset with poor infrastructure and institution.
Prognostic Factors Affecting Survival of Patients after Liver Resection Due to Colorectal Liver Metastases
Authors: Petrovski Stefan , Arabadzhieva Elena , Bonev Saso , Bulanov Dimitar , Popov Valentin , Dimitrova Violeta
Published: November 2017

Introduction. Colorectal liver metastases have a poor prognosis and only 2% have an average 5-year survival if left untreated. In recent decades there has been a development in the diagnosis, treatment and palliative treatment of patients with colorectal liver metastases, and despite radical resection the average five-year survival is between 25% and 44%.

Aim. To explore the experience of the Clinic in the treatment of colorectal liver metastases, comparing it with data from the literature and based on the comparison to determine the prognostic factors that affect survival after radical surgical treatment of patients.

Methods. A retrospective study was conducted at the Clinic of General and Hepato-pancreatic Surgery at the University Hospital “Aleksandrovska”-Sofia. The study comprised the period between 01.01.2006 to 31.12.2015. It included a total of 239 cases, of whom: 179 patients underwent radical interventions, 5 palliative and 55 patients underwent explorative interventions due to liver metastases. Clinical and pathological materials were analyzed using SPSS-19 to determine the prognostic significance of a number of factors in relation to the survival: gender, age, type and localization of metastases, postoperative stage of the primary tumor, type and volume of liver resection, extrahepatic metastases, preoperative values of CEA, postoperative values (AST, ALT).

Results. Factors that correlated with lower survival type: metastases (synchronous or metachronus), localization of metastases (uni-or bilobar), presence of the regional lymph node metastases and metastases to other distant organs and the impossibility of radical resection of liver were statistically significant with multivariant analysis. Elevated preoperative value of CEA, the value of hemoglobin and stage IV disease also affected the survival of patients.

Conclusion. In patients with colorectal liver metastases only resection has potentially curative character. The surgical strategy for resection in context of increasing the percentage of patients with resectable potential is the only possible factor for long-term survival.
Dandy Walker and Extreme Macrocephaly Caused by Enormous Occipital Encephalocele
Authors: Mirchevski Vladimir , Zogovska Elizabeta , Chaparoski Aleksandar , Kostov Milenko , Micunovic Michun , Bushinoska Jasna , Srceva Marija , Mirchevski Mirko Mishel , Shuntov Blagoj
Published: November 2017

Introduction. Dandy-Walker syndrome is a congenital brain malformation involving cerebellum with partial and complete vermian agenesis, enlargement of the fourth ventricle and surrounding fluid spaces, cyst formation in posterior cranial fosse pushing tentorium upward [1,2]. Hydrocephalus or an increase in the pressure of the fluid spaces may also be present or other malformation as corpus calosum hypoplasia or agenesia, occipital encephalocele, malformation of the heart, face, limbs fingers and toes [3-5].

The symptoms often occur in early infancy and include slow motor development and progressive enlargement of the skull. The diagnostic is done by ultrasound, CT and MRI [6-11].

The treatment of this syndrome may be complex and sometimes includes various experts such as pediatrician, pediatric neurosurgeon, physiatrist, psychologist, sociologist or others. The treatment consists of treating the associated problems such as hydrocephaly [12-15]. Prognosis of Dandy-Walker syndrome is variable and the morbidity and mortality depends on severity of the syndrome and associated malformations [16].

Aim. The aim of this paper was to demonstrate how severe spontaneous evolution of Dandy-Walker syndrome may be expressed and the problems and dilemmas which may appear related to its treatment.

Case report. A six-year-old boy was referred to the neurosurgeon because of the excessive growth of the skull in anteroposterior axis caused by a wide base occipital encephalocele. Although the psychological development was near the low limit of the IQ, the enormous head had not allowed verticalization of the child and further progress of his psychomotor development. The head was so heavy that could not be supported by the child’s neck.

Surgical procedure. We performed a cranial skull reduction with primary cranioplasty assisted by a plastic surgeon and Pudentz shunt procedure.

Result. The follow-up period lasted two years. The child started to walk, hypotonia and Babinski signs disappeared, communication and his IQ improved. The esthetic results are quite acceptable allowing him better development.

Conclusion. The early recognition of anomalies such as Dandy-Walker syndrome with occipital encephalocele using ultrasound may suggest interruption of the pregnancy on time [6-9]. However, the right diagnostic procedure for detecting deformities of the newborn and infant’s head at birth is MRI, and the adequate surgical treatment can prevent abnormal and excessive growth of the skull and disorders in the psychomotor development during child’s growth. A multidisciplinary approach may prevent new disabled individuals in the society.
Infra-sound cancellation and mitigation in wind turbines
Authors: Boretti Albert , Ordys Andrew , Al Zubaidy Sarim
Published: November 2017

The infra-sound spectra recorded inside homes located even several kilometres far from wind turbine installations is characterized by large pressure fluctuation in the low frequency range. There is a significant body of literature suggesting inaudible sounds at low frequency are sensed by humans and affect the wellbeing through different mechanisms. These mechanisms include amplitude modulation of heard sounds, stimulating subconscious pathways, causing endolymphatic hydrops, and possibly potentiating noise-induced hearing loss. We suggest the study of infra-sound active cancellation and mitigation to address the low frequency noise issues. Loudspeakers generate pressure wave components of same amplitude and frequency but opposite phase of the recorded infra sound. They also produce pressure wave components within the audible range reducing the perception of the infra-sound to minimize the sensing of the residual infra sound.
Egophoricity, Involvement, and Semantic Roles in Tibeto-Burman Languages
Authors: Widmer Manuel , Zúñiga Fernando
Published: November 2017

In this study, we explore typological aspects of egophoricity marking based on selected Tibeto- Burman languages. Conceptualizing egophoricity as an autonomous grammatical category that marks access to knowledge, we first discuss how egophoricity marking interacts with evidentiality in the Tibeto-Burman languages Shigatse Tibetan and Bunan. We then go on to explore the differences between the egophoricity systems of Shigatse Tibetan and Bunan, arguing that the variability of egophoricity within and across languages can be captured if we distinguish (i) constructions in which egophoricity markers express privileged access to knowledge due to actional involvement in the role of an event participant from (ii) constructions in which egophoricity markers express privileged access to knowledge due to epistemic involvement in the role of a “knower” whose precise relation to the event is not specified. We additionally introduce a set of five semantic roles to offer a more detailed description of the egophoricity systems of Shigatse Tibetan and Bunan (and also, albeit marginally, Kathmandu Newar and Galo). This study thus offers a new perspective on the variability of egophoricity systems in Tibeto-Burman and propagates an analytical approach that may also be helpful for analyzing egophoricity systems in other language families of the world.
SWIMMING – THE STRUCTURE AND VOLUME OF TRAINING LOADS IN THE FOUR-YEAR TRAINING CYCLE OF AN ELITE OLYMPIC ATHLETE
Authors: Słomiński Paweł , Nowacka Aleksandra
Published: November 2017

Introduction. The improvement of outcomes in sport requires the creation of appropriate conditions for training and the search for more effective forms of its organisation and effective technology. Starting with this belief, the aim of the work is to identify the size and structure of the training loads and determine the effectiveness of the training process of an elite athlete in the Olympic macrocycle (2004-2008). Material and methods. We analysed loads in the four-year training cycle from 2004 to 2008. The parameters of the loads relating to the intensity (T1-T5) and type of training (general, special, and specific) were analysed. The present study also attempted to assess the impact of the work on the results obtained. Due to the nature of the competitive effort, we used the measurable parameter of distance (m, km) in the load analysis depending on the type and intensity of the physical effort. Results. This work reports on the implementation of a specially designed four-year training programme. The material gathered and the conclusions resulting from its analysis have made it possible to identify organisational and training solutions suitable for the athletic proficiency phase. The analysis of training loads indicated that in the training of a highly skilled swimmer, the general work is particularly important and that the largest volume was realised in the second intensity range (T2). Conclusions. The positive training and competition outcomes were the result of a deliberate training process. The training proved to be effective, leading to an increase in the athlete’s training status. This was achieved primarily owing to the training loads, which were accurately planned and implemented according to the special requirements of the race distance and the individual characteristics of the swimmer.
Intercultural Interactions in a Military Context
Authors: Georgieva Valentina , Marinov Petar
Published: November 2017

The article focuses on the impact of various factors on the process of communication between military specialists and with the local civilians during peace support operations. The importance of religion, national and ethnic identities, military subculture, social status, and personal characteristics for achieving success or failure in interactions is underlined. Some differences between civil culture and military culture are disclosed and the need for cultural knowledge of the military members is stressed. The study is based on presenting and analysing situations of current intercultural interactions in Afghanistan, which deal with various problems that could be encountered by servicemen on a daily basis, i.e. body language differences, expression of friendly, unfriendly or indifferent attitude, typical reactions to gestures, common everyday topics for informal chats. Although the cultural interactions take place in present-day Afghanistan, the conclusions and suggestions are applicable to a much wider context of interacting between people with different cultural background.
Simultaneous pure laparoscopic resection of primary colorectal cancer and synchronous liver metastases: a single institution experience with propensity score matching analysis
Authors: Ivanecz Arpad , Krebs Bojan , Stozer Andraz , Jagric Tomaz , Plahuta Irena , Potrc Stojan
Published: November 2017

Background

The aim of the study was to compare the outcome of pure laparoscopic and open simultaneous resection of both the primary colorectal cancer and synchronous colorectal liver metastases (SCLM).

Patients and methods

From 2000 to 2016 all patients treated by simultaneous resection were assessed for entry in this single center, clinically nonrandomized trial. A propensity score matching was used to compare the laparoscopic group (LAP) to open surgery group (OPEN). Primary endpoints were perioperative and oncologic outcomes. Secondary endpoints were overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS).

Results

Of the 82 patients identified who underwent simultaneous liver resection for SCLM, 10 patients underwent LAP. All these consecutive patients from LAP were matched to 10 comparable OPEN. LAP reduced the length of hospital stay (P = 0.044) and solid food oral intake was faster (P = 0.006) in this group. No patient undergoing the laparoscopic procedure experienced conversion to the open technique. No difference was observed in operative time, blood loss, transfusion rate, narcotics requirement, clinical risk score, resection margin, R0 resections rate, morbidity, mortality and incisional hernias rate. The two groups did not differ significantly in terms of the 3-year OS rate (90 vs. 75%; P = 0.842) and DFS rate (60 vs. 57%; P = 0.724).

Conclusions

LAP reduced the length of hospital stay and offers faster solid food oral intake. Comparable oncologic and survival outcomes can be achieved. LAP is beneficial for well selected patients in high volume centers with appropriate expertise.
The Theme of “A New Lost Generation” in the Production of Prešov National Theatre
Authors: Knopová Elena
Published: November 2017

The authoress elucidates the concepts of generations and generational affiliation, while focusing on various names and characteristics referring to a group of young people born during the 1980s and early 1990s. She introduces Generation Y, also called Millennials, and gives a short characteristic of a generation referred to as the Lost Generation, the Set-aside Generation, the Scarred Generation. She captures the external manifestations of the generation together with inner mechanisms and motives resulting in these manifestations. Using the example of Prešov National Theatre (PND) and its production, she introduces a new concept referred to as “A New Lost Generation”. The authoress endeavours to define it in Slovak context through the partial analyses of the plays included in Prešovská trilógia (Single radicals (2013), Kindervajco (2015), Good place to die (2015), [Prešov Trilogy (Single Radicals (2013), The Kinder Egg (2015), A Good Place to Die (2015)].
Genetic Variation in Growth and Blister-Rust Resistance in a Pinus strobus x P. wallichiana Hybrid Population
Authors: Blada I.
Published: November 2017

This experiment consists in a controlled crossing according to a factorial design performed between 7 female trees of P. strobus and 4 male trees of P. wallichiana to combine the rapid growth of former species with high resistance to Cronartium ribicola of the latter one. The hybrid families were artificially inoculated at age 2, and field planted at age 6. Blister rust resistance (BRR), tree survival (TS), total height growth, (H) annual height growth (h), diameter (D), basal area (BA), stem volume (V), stems straightness (SS) and branch thickness (BT) were the traits measured at age 17. Statistical analysis produced the results presented below. Significant (p<0.05) and highly significant (p<0.01; p<0.001) differences were found among hybrid families. Differences among female effects were highly significant (p<0.001) for all tested traits including BRR, suggesting that nuclear additive genes controlled these traits. Significant differences were found among male parents for H but no significant differences for BRR; therefore, all four male parents transmitted a similar level of resistance. The ratio σ2
GCA/σ2
SCA variance accounted for 8.1 for BRR, 8.5 for H, 3.5 for V, 9.3 for SS and 1.9 for BT. Similarly, the ratios of σ2
GCA-F /σ2
GCA-M variance due to female parents were 70.5 for BRR, 23.6 for H, 1.0 for V, 0.4 for SS and 1.0 for BT, were found. Narrow-sense heritabilities, at individual level, were low to moderately high, ranging between 0.085 for BT and 0.421 for BRR. By comparison with the mean of P. strobus parent species, the BRR heterosis was highly positive, but negative for all growth traits. If the hybrids will be used in operational planting programs, a significant genetic gain for BRR and growth traits could be achieved.
The Effect of Inbreeding on Early Growth of Acacia mangium in Vietnam
Authors: Harwood C. E. , Thinh Ha Huy , Quang Tran Ho , Butcher P. A. , Williams E. R.
Published: November 2017

Seeds were collected from each of twelve parent trees from each of six seed orchards of Acacia mangium in different locations in Vietnam to examine the relationship between growth and inbreeding in this species. Seedlings were raised and planted out in a field trial at Ba Vi in northern Vietnam. The inbreeding status (self-fertilized or outcrossed) of most of the seedlings was determined by DNA analysis. Heights were measured at 12 and 18 months, and diameter at breast height (dbh) at 18 months. There were significant differences in growth between the six orchard sources at 18 months. Progeny from two orchards based primarily on Papua New Guinea (PNG) provenances with high levels of outcrossing displayed the best growth, with mean heights of 3.1 m at 18 months, while an orchard also based primarily on PNG provenances but with predominantly selfed progeny, and another orchard based on Queensland provenances with 51% selfed progeny, displayed the poorest growth (mean heights of 2.0 m and 2.2 m respectively). Analysis of variance established that within the 32 families that included both selfed and outcrossed individuals, self-fertilized individuals were significantly (P< 0.001) slowergrowing than were outcrossed individuals, with selfs on average 15% smaller in mean height and 16% smaller in mean dbh at age 18 months, relative to outcrosses. The results demonstrate the need to minimise selfing in operational seed production for A. mangium plantations.