bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Long-Term Changes in Hepatic Fibrosis following Hepatitis C Viral Clearance in Patients with and without HIV
Authors: Balmaceda Julia B , Aepfelbacher Julia , Belliveau Olivia , Chaudhury Chloe S , Chairez Cheryl , McLaughlin Mary , Silk Rachel , Gross Chloe , Kattakuzhy Sarah , Rosenthal Elana , Kottilil Shyam , Kleiner David E , Hadigan Colleen
Published: July 2019

Background

While acute changes in hepatic fibrosis are recognized shortly after achieving sustained virological response (SVR) using direct-acting antiviral therapies, long-term outcomes for the growing population of successfully treated patients with HCV remain uncertain. The aim of this study is to characterize long-term changes in fibrosis following SVR in patients with and without HIV and to identify potential factors associated with progression or regression of fibrosis.

Methods

We completed a prospective longitudinal study of 162 subjects with HCV (34% HIV-coinfected) with pre-treatment fibrosis stage determined by liver biopsy and post-SVR transient elastography. Progression of fibrosis was defined as a two-stage or greater increase in fibrosis, while regression was defined as a two-stage or greater decrease at last follow-up. The median duration of follow-up was 4.1 years.

Results

Fibrosis progression occurred in 4% of subjects while regression occurred in 7% and 89% were stable and did not differ by HIV coinfection. Fibrosis progression was associated with increased body mass index (BMI), hepatic steatosis and smoking pack-years. In a multivariable logistic regression, HIV coinfection ( P=0.009), lower steatosis score ( P<0.05) and lower smoking pack-years ( P=0.0007) were associated with a lower fibrosis score at last follow-up.

Conclusions

We identify potentially important relationships between BMI, hepatic steatosis and smoking, and changes in hepatic fibrosis post-SVR in patients with and without HIV coinfection. Attention to modifiable risk factors such as body weight and smoking may reduce the risk of liver disease progression in the growing population of successfully treated chronic HCV patients.
The UK's Volunteer Data: A blessing and a curse?
Authors: Judge Jo
Published: July 2019

There is a rich history of biodiversity data collection in the United Kingdom (UK) from the earliest record of a Peregrine falcon in 1605 to the 1.5 million records from the last two years, all of which contribute to the 222 million occurence records covering 45,500 species available on the NBN Atlas. Today, there are over 90 national schemes, usually covering specific taxa, approximately 60 Local Environmental Record Centres, a similar number of regional recording groups and a growing number of citizen science projects all collecting data about wildlife in the UK through different mechanisms from paper records to remote recording (e.g., using acoustics to monitor the presence of bat species), and using differing data standards.

Bringing these data together and making them available in the Darwin Core format makes the National Biodiversity Network's (NBN) Atlas (www.nbnatlas.org) an unparalleled resource for understanding the UK’s natural world and contributes to the picture of global biodiversity. However, this is not a simple job, adapting the record data and metadata to fit the Darwin Core format while making it simple for data providers to understand, the complexity of data flows and verification of species ID can cause all cause delay in making data of a known quality available for use. In this presentation we will describe how we are dealing with these issues now and plans for how to improve things in the future. We will also talk about the the strengths of the data shared by amateur experts, how they can be used for more than just species trends and why the push for Open Data may actually be reducing the amount of accessible wildlife data in the UK.
Monitoring of the saproxylic beetle Morimus asper funereus Mulsant, 1862 (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) in Măcin Mountains National Park, Romania
Authors: Manu Minodora , Băncilă Raluca Ioana , Lotrean Nicolae , Badiu Denisa , Nicoară Roxana , Onete Marilena , Bodescu Florian
Published: July 2019

During 2014 and 2015, the species Morimus asper funereus Mulsant, 1862 was monitorised in the Măcin Mountains National Park, Romania using the visual transect method. The studied was focused on two topics: to determine the numerical abundance of Morimus asper funereus populations and to identify the environmental variables which influenced them. Ten abiotic factors were analysed: altitude (A), exposition (Ex.), slope (S.a), forest coverage (F.c.), air temperature (A.t.), soil temperature (S.t.), air relative humidity (A.h.), cloud-cover (Nb.), wind speed (W.s.) and wind direction (W.d.). During the study period, 112 individuals were identified. The most favourable habitats for this species were Moesian silver lime woods (91Z0) and Pannonian-Balkanic Turkey oak – sessile oak forests (91M0). The main environmental variables that influenced the beetle population dynamics were the forest coverage and wind direction. Taking into account these two parameters, we concluded that Morimus asper funereus preferred semi-shaded and semi-open habitats, characteristic of mature, old, deciduous forests within the Măcin Mountains National Park. In order to protect this species, special attention must be given to the forest management measures, e.g. protection of fallen trees, abundant coarse woody debris and a dense canopy.
The avifauna of the Zigoneni dam basin (Argeş county, Romania), observed in 
Authors: Mestecăneanu Adrian
Published: July 2019

Some aspects regarding the breeding of the birds from Zigoneni Basin that belongs to the protected area ROSPA0062 the Dam Basins of the Argeş River are presented in this paper. 37 species were observed here, between May and July 2013, through the point counts method, within a radius of 100 m. On one side Acrocephalus palustris, A. scirpaceus, A. arundinaceus, Alcedo atthis, Fulica atra, Oriolus oriolus and Parus major were the most frequent species and on the other side A. palustris and Fulica atra were the most abundant. At the level of the habitat mosaic of the water shore, A. palustris (0.88 p./ha), A. scirpaceus and F. atra (each with 0.32 p./ha) and A. schoenobaenus, A. arundinaceus, Phylloscopus collybita and Pica pica (each with 0.24 p./ha) had the highest estimated densities. Additionally, 14 species dependent on wetlands were observed through the itinerary method. Other considerations about the ecological indices and the efficiency of the methods were also made.
Les campagnes limousines du XIVe au XVIe siècle
Authors: Tricard Jean
Published: July 2019

L'étude de la reconstruction des campagnes limousines pendant la guerre de Cent Ans et jusqu'au XVIe siècle permet d'analyser le cas original d'un « povre pays » (Froissart) en proie à des difficultés particulières pour remettre en culture ses terres « abses ». On est loin ici des traditionnelles reconstructions triomphantes des « bons pays » du XVe siècle. Victimes d'un environnement naturel hostile, de l'imbroglio des guerres - de la guerre « anglaise » à la « guerre au village » - et des « malheurs des temps », les campagnes limousines souffrent du manque d'ambition et de capitaux des élites régionales - livres de raison et registres de notaires ruraux en font foi - d'une surprenante faiblesse démographique et de la fuite d'une partie de leurs paysans vers des horizons meilleurs. Si bien que les tentatives de reconstruction, cahotiques et velléitaires, n'aboutissent - malgré certains efforts des communautés paysannes et les sacrifices seigneuriaux - qu'à des résultats sélectifs et limités, « croissant infertile » de l'est abandonné au profit des « fleurs de pays » de l'ouest et du sud. A tant de reconstructions réussies, le Limousin oppose l'originalité d'une reconstruction rurale en partie manquée.
La loi de la chair
Authors: Madero Marta
Published: July 2019

En montrant que le droit au corps de l'autre est aussi, à partir du xiie siècle, au cœur de l'institution du mariage, Marta Madero éclaire d'une manière nouvelle une histoire – celle des relations charnelles et des liens matrimoniaux – qui a fait pourtant l'objet de nombreux travaux ces dernières décennies. Elle a découvert en effet que les canonistes du xiie au xve siècle construisent un régime juridique des rapports de chair avec les règles que le droit romain appliquait aux rapports de possession et de propriété des hommes sur les choses et même à la subordination des choses entre elles. L'objet du consentement est bien, dès le xiie siècle – on a eu tendance à l'oublier –, le droit au corps du conjoint. Mais est-ce que ce droit s'exerce sur une chose qui serait le corps, ou sur une partie du corps ? Ou bien s'agit-il d'une servitude réelle que ce corps porte comme l'on dit qu'un champ est grevé d'une servitude de passage attachée aux champs voisins ? Quels sont les actes qui font naître ou cesser ce droit au corps du conjoint ? Peut-il renaître, et comment ? Invoquer le droit au corps de l'autre, c'est aussi, on le comprend alors, une autre façon de purifier les liens de la chair comme les alchimistes éliminent les scories de la matière. Et l'œuvre au noir des canonistes et des juges ouvre ainsi le vaste espace d'une casuistique dont l'étude nous prépare à mieux comprendre sans doute les méthodes et l'historicité du droit contemporain, mais aussi peut-être la préhistoire de nos sexualités.
Clément VI au travail
Authors: Anheim Étienne
Published: July 2019

Ceci n'est pas une biographie. Ni une histoire de la papauté sous le règne du pape Clément VI (1342-1352), non plus qu'une monographie consacrée à sa prédication et à sa bibliothèque. Si ce livre tient un peu des trois, son propos est différent. Il fait entrer dans l'atelier de travail d'un intellectuel de la première moitié du xive siècle, Pierre Roger, devenu professeur à l'université de Paris, cardinal puis pape sous le nom de Clément VI. Ses livres et sa parole ont été les instruments essentiels de son parcours et de son exercice du pouvoir. Leur étude montre la construction d'une pensée et d'une action politiques, saisies dans leur exercice concret. Trajectoire sociale et discours savant se construisent l'un par l'autre dans une histoire qui lie les savoirs rhétoriques, théologiques et scolastiques, et le pouvoir d'une papauté affaiblie par l'échec du projet théocratique de Boniface VIII et reformulant son ambition institutionnelle lors du séjour avignonnais. Étudier Clément VI au travail permet de mieux comprendre cette figure de pape éloquent, savant et mécène, et surtout d'éclairer un moment charnière dans l'usage gouvernemental des savoirs médiévaux et dans l'interrogation de l'Église sur elle-même et sur sa place dans la société du xive siècle.
Médiéval et militant
Authors: di Carpegna Falconieri Tommaso
Published: July 2019

Avec Médiéval et militant. Penser le contemporain à travers le Moyen Âge, c’est à une réflexion d’ampleur sur le phénomène du médiévalisme que Tommaso di Carpegna Falconieri nous convie. Frère siamois de l’histoire médiévale, né comme elle du romantisme et de l’ère des nationalismes au xixe siècle, le médiévalisme, que l’on pourrait définir comme la projection dans le présent d’un ou plusieurs Moyen Âges idéalisés, a subi une éclipse toute relative dans l’après-guerre avant de revenir hanter les consciences européennes avec toujours plus de force depuis la chute de l’Union soviétique. Que veut dire la floraison des références au Moyen Âge, depuis les milliers de fêtes médiévales qui parcourent l’Europe jusqu’aux utilisations politiques de tout genre, en passant par l’invention de cultures néo-médiévales qui envahissent aujourd’hui bibliothèques, cinémas et ordinateurs ? Quel rapport ce médiévalisme entretient-il avec l’histoire scientifique médiévale ? Quels sont les liens entre cette invocation permanente, qui tient tantôt du mythe, tantôt de la boîte à outils conceptuelle, et les redéfinitions en cours de la société européenne et occidentale ? C’est cet ensemble de questions, et bien d’autres qu’interroge cet essai qui plonge dans l’histoire du xixe et du xxe siècle pour éclairer le présent et le futur du médiévalisme.
Le de excidio britanniae de Gildas
Authors: Kerlouégan François
Published: July 2019

L’île de Bretagne fut longtemps pauvre en écrivains latins, à l’inverse d’autres provinces de l’Empire romain. D’où l’intérêt du De Excidio Britanniae, écrit par Gildas au VIe siècle, qui au reste n’a d’abord retenu l’attention que des historiens du fait que l’auteur commence son livre par le rappel des événements qui ont marqué l’île entre le début de notre ère et son époque : rappel dont la nature est maintenant remise en question. On découvre à étudier l’œuvre de Gildas un ouvrage nourri de disciplines et de textes essentiellement ecclésiastiques, et, en même temps, ce qui n’est pas contradictoire, l’héritage de la rhétorique du Ve siècle, les formules et les développements tombés dans l’usage commun. Le vocabulaire est bigarré, la syntaxe, correcte et même conservatrice, le style en revanche contient des traits qui caractériseront un certain latin insulaire, de tendance baroque. On a l’impression que l’école est proche, une école de bon niveau, mais de type colonial, gardienne des règles tout en étant soucieuse de rivaliser avec les meilleurs stylistes. Par ailleurs, si les Romains ont quitté l’île depuis plusieurs décennies, Gildas reste attaché à l’idéal d’un Empire garant de paix et d’unité. Il critique le manque de loyalisme des Bretons, leur attachement aux usages locaux et les Saxons, déjà dans l’île et encore païens, sont pour lui des Barbares. Attitude de refus, qui contraste avec les missions de Patrice en Irlande. Gildas aura surtout des successeurs, semble-t-il, dans le domaine du style.
Concordia
Authors: Akar Philippe
Published: July 2019

Aux deux derniers siècles de la République, et surtout à partir des tribunats des Gracques, les membres de la classe dirigeante romaine utilisèrent la notion de concordia dans les débats qui les opposaient les uns aux autres. Par leurs discours, ils entreprenaient de garantir ou de restaurer les conditions nécessaires à cette concorde des citoyens, et surtout à celle des principaux d'entre eux, les aristocrates, dont l'histoire démontrait qu'elle avait été réalisée par les ancêtres.

Dans un contexte de conflit civil, la notion de concordia devint un idéal, car elle était conçue comme la condition indispensable à l'exercice d'un pouvoir de type collégial, c'est-à-dire au maintien, à la tête d'un empire, d'un groupe, les sénateurs, dont l'égalité de puissance impliquait qu'ils s'entendissent pour un accès réglé au faîte des honneurs. Mais parce qu'il s'agissait d'un idéal commun à tous, et alors que les oppositions entre sénateurs se radicalisaient à la fin de la République, cette notion devint le lieu d'un conflit politique majeur lorsque la capacité d'un aristocrate à rétablir ou à maintenir la concorde fut considéré comme un critère décisif de légitimité. L'échec de ce modèle constitua une des évolutions qui conduisit alors au premier triumvirat, puis à la dictature de César, lorsque la concorde ne fut plus cet idéal commun à toute une aristocratie, mais ce que devait défendre une poignée d'entre eux, et finalement un seul.
La ville, le gouvernement et l’écrit à Montpellier (xiie-xive siècle)
Authors: Chastang Pierre
Published: July 2019

Faire le portrait scriptural de Montpellier durant les 150 ans qui s'étendent de la fin de la seigneurie des Guilhem au passage de la ville sous le contrôle du roi de France, en 1349, tel est le projet de ce livre.

Montpellier connaît alors un régime politique consulaire qui confère aux élites urbaines un pouvoir gouvernemental étendu. Le cas singulier de cette grande ville méditerranéenne, dont les archives médiévales ont été remarquablement conservées, permet d'éclairer avec précision la dynamique historique d'essor de l'écrit pratique en Occident et les nouveaux mécanismes de domination et de transaction sociales qui l'accompagnent. L'ouvrage explore ainsi les rapports complexes qui unissent l'histoire de la culture de l'écrit aux formes sociales et politiques d'affirmation des communautés. Il tâche de restituer la spécificité d'un long xiiie siècle dans l'histoire de l'Occident qui, loin d'être un simple prodrome à la construction de l'État moderne, laisse entrevoir des trajectoires que le cours de l'histoire a reléguées au rang d'occasions manquées. Dans l'analyse des évolutions inscrites dans l'ordre scriptural et documentaire de la ville, ressurgissent des questions qui sont au cœur de la tradition des sciences sociales depuis plus d'un siècle : d'une part, celle de l'essor de la rationalité et de ses rapports avec la bureaucratie. D'autre part, celle des innovations qu'introduit la diffusion de l'écrit dans l'organisation des sociétés.
Les écritures ordinaires
Authors: Bertrand Paul
Published: July 2019

Les écritures ordinaires présentent les interactions entre écrit et société médiévale, dans le nord de la France et l'espace des anciens Pays-Bas méridionaux, durant le long xiiie siècle. Essai autant que synthèse, ce livre original s'appuie sur une documentation richement illustrée et commentée. Il se propose de dégager les grandes lignes d'un moment clé de la révolution documentaire qui transforme le Moyen Âge, par des analyses codicologiques, diplomatiques et paléographiques. De plus en plus investis de valeur juridique, les documents du xiiie siècle deviennent aussi bien des instruments porteurs d'autorité que des écrits ordinaires, dégagés des formalismes, affranchis des cadres structurels diplomatiques, des normes et des règles. Cette masse grouillante d'écritures jette un éclairage nouveau sur la foule d'hommes et de femmes qui s'en emparent.
Le paléolithique de la Grèce continentale
Authors: Kourtessi-Philippakis Georgia
Published: July 2019

Bien que les plus anciennes informations sur la découverte d'outils lithiques en Grèce remontent à la fin du xixe s., il a fallu attendre l’époque de la Seconde Guerre mondiale pour qu’une première fouille soit effectuée sur un site paléolithique. Par la suite, prospections et fouilles se succéderont et s’étaleront sur toute la période d’après-guerre, notamment au cours de la décennie 1960-70, partagées entre plusieurs écoles archéologiques : les Anglais travailleront en Épire. Les Américains en Argolide, les Français en Élide, les Allemands et les Grecs en Thessalie. Quarante ans après, les fruits de cette activité scientifique internationale sont là. Mais aucun bilan n'a jamais été fait, aucune synthèse n'a été tentée.

C’est en cela que le livre de Georgia Kourtessi-Philippakis est une première.

L’auteur, après avoir parcouru le territoire de la Grèce continentale, visité les sites et étudié leur matériel archéologique, entreprend ici une mise au point qui va au-delà d’un bilan historique. Dans un premier temps tous les sites paléolithiques connus sont présentés, région par région. Une note, dont les dimensions sont fonction de l’intérêt scientifique du gisement, fouillé ou non, fait état de sa localisation, des conditions de découverte, de la stratigraphie, des industries, de la faune, de la bibliographie s’y rapportant. Suivent les discussions, remises en question, hypothèses personnelles autour des thèmes classiques tels que le paléoenvironnement, l'organisation de l’économie, le mode de vie, l’outillage, le cadre chronologique. Dans le dernier chapitre sont exposées les conclusions scientifiques et sont analysés les problèmes posés par l’étude du Paléolithique grec en vue d’une amplification de cette recherche, si vitale pour une meilleure connaissance de la Préhistoire du Sud-Est Européen.
L'Oïkos en fête
Authors: Gherchanoc Florence
Published: July 2019

Comment définir la famille en Grèce ancienne ? Qui invite- t-on chez soi ? Suivant quelles modalités ? Pourquoi ? Longtemps, les historiens ont exclu la famille du champ d'étude de la sociabilité, considérant qu'elle relevait de la sphère privée. L'analyse de célébrations ritualisées et normées, le plus souvent festives (mariage, naissance, décès ; sacrifices, banquets, processions, danses, chants), entre parents, amis et voisins, autrement dit entre familiers (oikeioi), ainsi que des discours qui y font référence (tragédies, comédies, plaidoyers civils, discours philosophiques, lois...), conduit cependant à éclairer des formes de sociabilité plus ou moins formelle propres à appréhender la composition de la famille grecque dans l'Antiquité, son ouverture, ses limites et à définir ses normes, sa cohésion et son identité par des comportements spécifiques et les liens créés. Elle permet également de situer les individus dans l'oikos en fonction de leur statut, de leur âge et de leur sexe. Les célébrations sont organisées et transformées en spectacle, les relations forgées sont théâtralisées. La famille est ainsi comprise comme un nœud de solidarités organiques et imbriquées, un espace de visibilité sociale aux frontières perméables et floues, plutôt que comme une structure juridique figée et un lieu d'expression du privé à l'intérieur de la cité grecque. Le livre met en lumière les liens qui se nouent et perdurent à l'intérieur de la famille et la manière dont ces relations tissées dans un cadre domestique façonnent des interactions plus larges de la famille à la cité, principalement aux époques archaïque et classique, dans le monde grec. Il pose en définitive la difficile question de la nature de la cité.
Le règne de Taillevent
Authors: Laurioux Bruno
Published: July 2019

La cuisine médiévale est un monde que nous avons perdu. De ses saveurs, de ses odeurs, de ses couleurs, nous ne savons que ce que nous en disent des réceptaires conservés en grand nombre. Souvent évoqués mais mal connus, ils attendent encore d'être scrutés et disséqués par les historiens de l'alimentation. A condition toutefois qu'on sache en reconnaître les intentions, les usages et les limites. C'est autour de 1300 qu'apparaissent simultanément, du Danemark à l'Italie, les premiers livres de cuisine de l'Occident chrétien. Conçus par des maîtres-queux au service de grands princes, ces brefs mémentos s'adressent d'abord aux maîtres d'hôtel. Mais, tout au long des XIVe et XVe siècles, les copies se multiplient et de nouveaux recueils prennent le relais, ouverts aux spécialités régionales, aux modes de l'instant ou aux goûts de lecteurs plus modestes. Souvent uniques, perpétuellement mouvants, ils ne s'en rattachent pas moins à des modèles, à des traditions qui méritent un débrouillement scrupuleux. De ce point de vue, le Viandier constitue le parangon de la littérature culinaire médiévale. Attribué par ses contemporains à un cuisinier royal, Guillaume Tirel dit Taillevent, il fut un véritable best-seller, prolongé par l'impression jusqu'en plein XVIIe siècle. Mais la cuisine d'exception dont il témoigne n'avait pas toujours vocation à être mise en œuvre. Lu et rêvé au moins autant que pratiqué, le livre de cuisine, tout comme aujourd'hui, passait sans cesse de la table à la bibliothèque.
Internet Practices and Differences in Youths' Acceptability of Online Verbal Violence
Authors: Gauducheau Nadia
Published: July 2019

The purpose of the current study was to examine the perception of verbal violence by youths in online exchanges. Undergraduate students gave their opinions on a number of violent and nonviolent messages in a forum. It was observed that verbal violence arouses an ambivalent attitude, i.e., it is considered both unacceptable and humorous. The results showed that the acceptability of verbal violence is related to the topic of discussion and to youths' Internet practices. Verbal violence is more often rejected when the topic of discussion is less serious. A high acceptability of verbal violence is associated with a high level of time spent on the Internet and a high use of humor in a youth's own messages. The results contribute to identifying the communication norms for youth in online environments.
Towards a Secure Development Environment for Collaborative Applications
Authors: Joy Shyam P. , Chandran Priya
Published: July 2019

Collaborative applications use the security services offered by secure socket layer / transport layer security (SSL/TLS) to implement authentication and confidentiality. Since SSL/TLS establishes a secure communication between two participants, for a secure network of n (> 2) participants, at least n(n-1)/2 secure communication channels have to be established. Whereas, a group key agreement (GKA) protocol allows the participants to compute a common secret group key as a function of the secrets of participants, and thereby remove the n(n-1)/2 lower bound on the channel requirement. Partial forward secrecy is a property of the GKA protocol which assesses the secrecy of the group key, when the secrets are compromised. Collaborative applications have different security requirements. Hence, the Spread Toolkit offers a set of GKA protocols, so that the designers can choose the most appropriate one. In this article, given a set of GKA protocols, a method is proposed to select the best among them, with respect to partial forward secrecy.
Is M-Learning a Challenge?
Authors: Hossain Syed Far Abid , Shan Xu , Nurunnabi Mohammad
Published: July 2019

Over the last few years, students' learning methods have changed considerably from traditional techniques to e-learning and m-learning. Indeed, mobile learning (m-learning) is a technology that has advanced quickly without creating any limitations on time and place, to deliver electronic learning (e-learning) with the use of personal electronics. Studies that emphasize the use of m-learning in educational institutions are surfacing. This study looks at the advanced techniques of m-learning and examines students' attitudes toward the use and implementation of m-learning techniques for the sustainability of learning. The results are based on a survey conducted with 253 students at various universities in terms of their attitudes toward and perceptions of m-learning techniques as a supplement to traditional learning methods. This study followed and checked the academic details of each student to ascertain the impact of m-learning techniques. The findings suggest that it is essential to design m-learning so that the material to be taught inside and outside the classroom is known.
Supplier Selection Under Conditions of Uncertainty
Authors: Alhourani Farouq , Saxena Umesh
Published: July 2019

Supplier selection is one of the critical decision-making problems in supply chain management. The purpose of this research is to investigate the process that is commonly used for calculating a “score” for each supplier when certain attributes are used. In decision making theory, the selection of “best” alternative can be done under three different conditions: certainty, risk, and uncertainty. Most of the current research uses “certainty” conditions. This article suggests that the “uncertainty” condition should be used in supplier selection as it corresponds to real-life more than the certainty or risk condition. “Maximum entropy” method is used to ascertain the probability function of the outcomes. Once the probability functions are known, means and variance can be calculated, and the suppliers can be evaluated.
Does the Location in a Science and Technology Park Influence University - Industry Relationships?
Authors: van Oostrom Madelon , Pedraza-Rodríguez José Antonio , Fernández-Esquinas Manuel
Published: July 2019

This article investigates the role of firm location and absorptive capacities in university-industry interactions. It observes firms in Science and Technology Parks (STPs) and other spaces of a regional innovation system. It focuses on the effects that location has in establishing diversified interactions, in comparison with other firm traits usually associated to drawing from universities. It also provides evidence on the importance of certain qualities of space, including closeness to universities and existence of institutions specialized on knowledge transfer services. The empirical basis is a face-to-face survey to 737 firms in the regional innovation system of Andalusia, Spain. Descriptive analysis and regression models have been used in order to detect specific influences on five key dimensions of knowledge transfer. The results show that being located in a STP has an influence only on developing informal contacts and human resources training. In contrast, other characteristics related to the absorptive capacities of the firm have an influence on engaging in R&D collaboration and commercialization. The conclusions and policy implications suggest that both the kind of firms and the interface institutions located in a STP make a difference when promoting knowledge transfer with local universities.
Risk and Security of Information Systems in the Portuguese Financial Sector
Authors: Fernandes da Anunciação Pedro , Rodrigues Alexandre Miguel Barão
Published: July 2019

This work follows the need of safety standards, update ISO27002:2013, in the major central banks of several European countries. This need has been studied by establishing a focus group that integrated European experts from major central banks. The analysis carried out was supported in the current methodology of information risk management, used by central banks in the safety management of information systems. This methodology is used to analyze and evaluate the adequacy of practices to risk management in the financial activity. The main objective was to present a proposal, sufficiently comprehensive and consistent, to a new risk management process of Information Systems within the European System of Central Banks. And a definition of a practical guide to risk management throughout the different stages of the Information Systems Life Cycle. The proposed model provides a higher degree of protection systems, technologies and information, especially in Central Banks, taking as reference the Portuguese Central Bank.
Parametric Optimization of Magnetic Abrasive Finishing Using Adhesive Magnetic Abrasive Particles
Authors: Singh Palwinder , Singh Lakhvir , Kaushik Arishu
Published: July 2019

A very precise surface finish is desirable in manufacturing semiconductors, medical equipment, and aerospace parts. The examinations on magnetic abrasive finishing (MAF) processes are being done for the modern industry. This newly developed process is serving the industry to achieve the desired level of precision and surface finish. This research represents the MAF of aluminum pipes using adhesive magnetic abrasive particles. The different process parameters were optimized using the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) method to gain an in-depth analysis of surface roughness in terms of roughness improvement rate (RIR), and material removal rate (MRR). The achieved maximum RIR and MRR was 81.49% and 2.74mg/min, respectively. The finished workpieces were microscopically investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to further study the mechanism of MAF process.
Critical Success Factors of Sustainable Manufacturing and Procurement
Authors: Khatri Alok , Garg D. , Dangayach G. S.
Published: July 2019

All countries are taking action and making plans for sustainable manufacturing and procurement so that the coming generations could not blame them for exhausting all available resources. In this study, significant variables of sustainable manufacturing for Indian manufacturing industries have been identified. The result of present study revealed that agile manufacturing has the highest impact on sustainable manufacturing followed by lean manufacturing and sustainable procurement and other variables. The outcome of results suggests that the government should be strict towards the implementation of sustainability norms in manufacturing industries and financial assistance should be provided by the government for better implementation of sustainability. A research framework has been developed and a regression equation for sustainable manufacturing has been developed in present paper using a stepwise linear regression analysis. The present article also explores the suitability of artificial neural network in order to identify the importance of studied variables.
A SAW Mechanism for Investigating the Status of Industrial Robots Under Comprehensive Sustainable Aspects
Authors: Sahu Atul Kumar , Narang Harendra Kumar , Rajput Mridul Singh , Sahu Nitin Kumar
Published: July 2019

The authors attempt to model a decision-making mechanism; which can fix multiple robot characteristics and can aid in investigating robots status for a particular manufacturing arena. The work exposed a series of applicable robot characteristics; which differentiated their working capacity and defines their value. A simple additive weighting (SAW) mechanism under a fuzzy concept is presented for investigating the status of industrial robots; which incorporates comprehensive aspects for sustainable robot selection. The authors have extended the application field of fuzzy sets theory and illustrated the significant application of linguistic terms in the robot decision-making problem. The work compounds fuzzy sets theory with SAW techniques and thus serves a flavor of fuzzy concept and a SAW technique under single platform. The study reveals the course of action for executing the proposed work by the managers. The work has applied fuzzy linguistic terms for griping the appropriate perceptions of the decision makers and applied the conception of SAW methodology to yield the decision results.
Performance Measurement of Medicines Delivery of Pharmaceutical Companies Under Chain of Sustainable Procurement
Authors: Sahu Kaminee , Sahu Anoop Kumar
Published: July 2019

Pharmaceuticals companies manufacture and maintain the stocks of several medicines. Presently, hospitals maintain stock to supply the appropriate medicine to patients under their care. The availability of medicines is dependent on the service level of suppliers. In last decade, the pharmaceutical supply chains have been an increasingly important topic. Pharmaceutical supply chains of the medicine manufacturing firm are based on traditional supply chain strategies. But, the concept became obsolete, replaced by modern supply chain strategy. The modern supply chain better analyzes pharmaceutical architectures such as green, service, agile, resilient, flexible manufacturing and is called the pharmaceutical G-F-A-L-R supply chain. To evolve a new model for the pharmaceutical supply chain, a 2nd second level pharmaceutical hierarchy G-F-A-L-R supply chain module structure has been constructed, where a Fuzzy Performance Index model has been applied on the module to compute the overall performance of individual pharmaceutical companies.
Evaluating the Environmental Impact Score of a Residential Building Using Life Cycle Assessment
Authors: Sakhlecha Manish , Bajpai Samir , Singh Rajesh Kumar
Published: July 2019

Buildings consume major amount of energy as well as natural resources leading to negative environmental impacts like resource depletion and pollution. The current task for the construction sector is to develop an evaluation tool for rating of buildings based on their environmental impacts. There are various assessment tools and models developed by different agencies in different countries to evaluate building's effect on environment. Although these tools have been successfully used and implemented in the respective regions of their origin, the problems of application occur, especially during regional adaptation in other countries due to peculiarities associated with the specific geographic location, climatic conditions, construction methods and materials. India is a rapidly growing economy with exponential increase in housing sector. Impact assessment model for a residential building has been developed based on life cycle assessment (LCA) framework. The life cycle impact assessment score was obtained for a sample house considering fifteen combinations of materials paired with 100% thermal electricity and 70%-30% thermal-solar combination, applying normalization and weighting to the LCA results. The LCA score of portland slag cement with burnt clay red brick and 70%-30% thermal-solar combination (PSC+TS+RB) was found to have the best score and ordinary Portland cement with flyash brick and 100% thermal power (OPC+T+FAB) had the worst score, showing the scope for further improvement in LCA model to include positive scores for substitution of natural resources with industrial waste otherwise polluting the environment.
Script Identification of Camera Based Bilingual Document Images Using SFTA Features
Authors: Dhandra B.V. , Mallappa Satishkumar , Mukarambi Gururaj
Published: July 2019

In this article, the exhaustive experiment is carried out to test the performance of the Segmentation based Fractal Texture Analysis (SFTA) features with nt = 4 pairs, and nt = 8 pairs, geometric features and their combinations. A unified algorithm is designed to identify the scripts of the camera captured bi-lingual document image containing International language English with each one of Hindi, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali, Oriya, Punjabi, and Urdu scripts. The SFTA algorithm decomposes the input image into a set of binary images from which the fractal dimension of the resulting regions are computed in order to describe the segmented texture patterns. This motivates use of the SFTA features as the texture features to identify the scripts of the camera-based document image, which has an effect of non-homogeneous illumination (Resolution). An experiment is carried on eleven scripts each with 1000 sample images of block sizes 128 × 128, 256 × 256, 512 × 512 and 1024 × 1024. It is observed that the block size 512 × 512 gives the maximum accuracy of 86.45% for Gujarathi and English script combination and is the optimal size. The novelty of this article is that unified algorithm is developed for the script identification of bilingual document images.
QoS Based Efficient Resource Allocation and Scheduling in Cloud Computing
Authors: Chahal Harvinder , Bhasin Anshu , Kaveri Parag Ravikant
Published: July 2019

The Cloud environment is a large pool of virtually available resources that perform thousands of computational operations in real time for resource provisioning. Allocation and scheduling are two major pillars of said provisioning with quality of service (QoS). This involves complex modules such as: identification of task requirement, availability of resource, allocation decision, and scheduling operation. In the present scenario, it is intricate to manage cloud resources, as Service provider aims to provide resources to users on productive cost and time. In proposed research article, an optimized technique for efficient resource allocation and scheduling is presented. The proposed policy used heuristic based, ant colony optimization (ACO) for well-ordered allocation. The suggested algorithm implementation done using simulation, shows better results in terms of cost, time and utilization as compared to other algorithms.
Handwritten Kannada Numerals Recognition by Using Zone Features and CNN Classifier
Authors: Hallur Vishweshwarayya C. , Hegadi Rajendra S. , Hegadi Ravindra S.
Published: July 2019

The proposed system presents a pre-processing, segmentation, features extraction approach and Deep Convolutional Neural Network (DCNN) classifier for recognition of handwritten Kannada numerals. Pre-processing have different steps like median filter, gray scale to binary, normalization, thinning, skew correction and slant removal. Segmentation process contains different methods like vertical projection profile for word and novel character segmentation. Collections of best discriminable features are very important part in achieving high rate of identification in automatic numeral detection systems. Kannada is the major south Indian character verbal by about 50 million people. This article presents a well-organized and novel technique for recognition of handwritten Kannada numerals using zone and distance matrix. An appropriate feature extractor and a superior classifier play most important task in achieving high detection rate for a recognition scheme. This article determines a variety of feature extraction approaches and classification techniques which are designed to recognize handwritten numerals of Kannada script. The DCNN classifier approach is used to classify the testing samples of each Kannada handwritten numerals. The experimental result gives the acceptable performance rate.
Bug Model Based Intelligent Recommender System with Exclusive Curriculum Sequencing for Learner-Centric Tutoring
Authors: Singh Ninni , Ahuja Neelu Jyothi
Published: July 2019

Face to face human tutoring in classroom environments amply facilitates human tutor-learner interactions wherein the tutor gets opportunity to exercise his cognitive intelligence to understand learner's pre-knowledge level, learning pattern, specific learning difficulties, and be able to offer course content well-aligned to the learner's requirements and tutor in a manner that best suits the learner. Reaching this level in an intelligent tutoring system is a challenge even today given the advanced developments in the field. This article focuses on ITS, mimicking a human tutor in terms of providing a curriculum sequence exclusive for the learner. Unsuitable courseware disorients the learner and thus degrades the overall performance. A bug model approach has been used for curriculum design and its re-alignment as per requirements and is demonstrated through a prototype tutoring recommender system, SeisTutor, developed for this purpose. The experimental results indicate an enhanced learning gain through a curriculum recommender approach of SeisTutor as opposed to its absence.
Understanding User Social Commerce Usage Intention
Authors: Zhou Tao
Published: July 2019

The integration of social media and e-commerce leads to the emergence of social commerce. Although previous research has examined social commerce user behaviour from multiple perspectives, it has focused on the effect of instrumental beliefs, such as perceived value, and has seldom examined the effect of emotional factors, such as sense of community on user behaviour. The purpose of this research is to draw on the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) model to examine the effect of sense of community on users' social commerce usage intention. The results indicate that both social support and service quality (stimulus) affect the sense of community (organism), which in turn affects users' sharing and participation intention (response). The results imply that service providers need to develop the user's sense of community in order to facilitate his or her social commerce usage intention.
Gradual Learners' Assessment in Massive Open Online Courses Based on ODALA Approach
Authors: Lynda Haddadi , Bouarab-Dahmani Farida
Published: July 2019

This article proposes a gradual assessment process combined with an adequate learner modelling based on ODALA approach that can be an effective add-on for massive open online course (MOOC) platforms and engineering. The proposed learner modelling includes five dimensions: general information, disciplinary cognitive state, learning styles, preferences and behavior. This article focuses on the cognitive state dimension that is based on an assessment pyramid with four levels: closed-ended questions, half-open questions, open-ended questions and problem situations. The assessment pyramid is the backbone of the learning process since it needs a gradual progression with an adequate methodology where various computer aided or completely automated evaluation activities are proposed. The transition from a level to another is a conditional one since there are minimal threshold of disciplinary knowledge acquisition. An evaluation prototype was tested with the algorithmic discipline and developed so as to access the feasibility of our proposition.
Edge Detection and Contour Based Ear Recognition Scheme
Authors: Trivedi Deven , Thanki Rohit , Borra Surekha
Published: July 2019

In recent days, with the advancements in computer vision technology pattern recognition for biometric data has been the focus of many researchers. The human ear can be used to assist in the recognition of an individual. In this article, a new scheme for ear recognition is presented, based on edge features such as the helix shape and contours between the edge pixels. First, an ear image is detected from the acquired image using a snake model-based image segmentation technique, and then histogram equalization is applied to form an enhanced ear image. After that, an Infinite Symmetric Exponential Filter (ISEF) edge is applied to the image, the contouring of edges is calculated, and then the contour values of pixels are extracted as ear features. Finally, the ear matching is performed between query ear features and enrolled ear features. Based on the matching score, the decision about individual authentication is performed. The experimental results showed that this proposed scheme performs better than existing schemes in the literature.
Sentiment Analysis of Brand Personality Positioning Through Text Mining
Authors: Lu Ruei-Shan , Tsao Hsiu-Yuan , Lin Hao-Chaing Koong , Ma Yu-Chun , Chuang Cheng-Tung
Published: July 2019

This article uses text mining and a Chinese word segmentation program developed by the Chinese Knowledge and Information Processing Group in Taiwan's Academia Sinica to analyze Facebook posts from 14 e-commerce companies. In addition, a list of keywords representing brand personalities is analyzed to reveal key factors affecting which social media posts attract consumers' attention. This research uses statistical analysis with a nonmanual questionnaire that is efficient and based on computer science to provide a reference for businesses operating Facebook fan pages and internet marketing.
Application of EDM to Understand the Online Students' Behavioral Pattern
Authors: Bezerra Luis Naito Mendes , Terra da Silva Márcia
Published: July 2019

In distance learning, the professor cannot see that the students are having trouble with a subject, and can fail to perceive the problem in time to intervene. However, in learning management systems (LMS's) a large volume of data regarding online access, participation and progress can be registered and collected allowing analysis based on students' behavioral patterns. As traditional methods have a limited capacity to extract knowledge from big volumes of data, educational data mining (EDM) arises as a tool to help teachers interpreting the behavior of students. The objective of the present article is to describe the application of educational data mining technics aiming to obtain relevant knowledge of students' behavioral patterns in an LMS for an online course, with 1,113 students enrolled. This paper applies two algorithms on educational context, decision tree and clustering, unveiling unknown relevant aspects to professors and managers, such as the most important examinations that contribute to students' approval as well as the most significant attributes to their success.