bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
40  Gbps heterostructure germanium avalanche photo receiver on a silicon chip
Authors: Benedikovic Daniel , Virot Léopold , Aubin Guy , Hartmann Jean-Michel , Amar Farah , Le Roux Xavier , Alonso-Ramos Carlos , Cassan Eric , Marris-Morini Delphine , Crozat Paul , Boeuf Frédéric , Fédéli Jean-Marc , Kopp Christophe , Szelag Bertrand , Vivien Laurent
Published: June 2020

Photodetectors are cornerstone components in integrated optical
circuits and are essential for applications underlying modern science
and engineering. Structures harnessing conventional crystalline
materials are typically at the heart of such devices. In particular,
group-IV semiconductors such as silicon and germanium open up more
possibilities for high-performing on-chip photodetection thanks to
their favorable electrical and optical properties at near-infrared
wavelengths and processing compatibility with modern chip
manufacturing. However, scaling the performance of silicon-germanium
photodetectors to technologically relevant levels and benefiting from
improved speed, reduced driving bias, enhanced sensitivity, and
lowered power consumption arguably remains key for densely integrated
photonic links in mainstream shortwave infrared optical
communications. Here we report on a reliable 40 Gbps direct detection
of chip-integrated silicon-germanium avalanche p-i-n photo receiver
driven with low-bias supplies at 1.55 µm wavelength. The avalanche
photodetection scheme calls upon fabrication steps commonly used in
complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor foundries, alleviating the
need for complex epitaxial wafer structures and/or multiple ion
implantation schemes. The photo receiver exhibits an internal
multiplication gain of 120, a high gain-bandwidth product up to
210 GHz, and a low effective ionization coefficient of

∼

0.25

. Robust and stable photodetection at
40 Gbps of on–off keying modulation is achieved at low optical input
powers, without any need for receiver electronic stages.
Simultaneously, compact avalanche p-i-n photodetectors with
submicrometric heterostructures promote error-free operation at
transmission bit rates of 32 Gbps and 40 Gbps, with power
sensitivities of

−

12.8

d
B
m

and

−

11.2

d
B
m

, respectively (for

10

−
9

error rate and without error
correction coding during use). Such a performance in an on-chip
avalanche photodetector is a significant step toward large-scale
integrated optoelectronic systems. These achievements are promising
for use in data center networks, optical interconnects, or quantum
information technologies.
Obras de Maria Helena da Rocha Pereira IX: Estudos sobre Língua e Literatura Portuguesas
Authors: Pereira Maria Helena da Rocha
Published: June 2020

Neste volume se reúnem vinte e oito estudos da autora, entre os muitos que publicou sobre a temática geral da língua e literatura portuguesas. Porque não foi possível localizá-la, ficou de fora a oração Os caminhos da harmonia de uma língua única, apresentada a convite da Academia Brasileira de Letras, que a autora tinha planeado incluir entre os estudos que agora se publicam (vd. “Nota Prévia” ao vol. I, pp. V-VI).
Chancelaria de D. Dinis Livro III | Volume II
Authors: Marreiros Rosa
Published: June 2020

O livro III da Chancelaria de D. Dinis é um dos mais importantes, e de tipologia temática mais diversificada, no conjunto dos seis livros que a compõem (com a ressalva de que o livro V é um tombo e o livro VI, uma cópia do anterior). Deve ter ocupado inicialmente o quarto lugar na seriação dos livros da Chancelaria. Por motivos que desconhecemos, passou entretanto para o terceiro, trocando de posição com o actual livro IV (antigo livro III), que é de facto aquele que vem na continuidade dos dois primeiros, do ponto de vista temático e cronológico. O presente livro contém no seu corpus 871 documentos de tipologia variada (não entrando neste cômputo os documentos transcritos no corpo doutros), antecedidos de uma rubrica a vermelho. Incidem principalmente em doações de bens e/ou direitos da coroa, confirmações de foros, usos e costumes de vários lugares, coutamentos ou demarcações de terras coutadas, contendas, forais, instituição de feiras, legitimações de filhos naturais (ou notícias de cartas de legitimação), permutas e concordatas firmadas entre D. Dinis e o clero, no tocante a jurisdições, aposentadorias e outros assuntos. O seu estudo é fundamental para um aprofundamento das reformas administrativas, económicas, sociais e judiciais levadas a cabo por este monarca durante o seu longo reinado, com vista ao progresso e à modernização da nação.
[Retracted] Design and development of the sEMG-based exoskeleton strength enhancer for the legs
Authors: Cenit Mikecon , Gandhi Vaibhav
Published: June 2020

This paper reviews the different exoskeleton designs and presents a working prototype of a surface electromyography (EMG) controlled exoskeleton to enhance the strength of the lower leg. The Computer Aided Design (CAD) model of the exoskeleton is designed, 3D printed with respect to the golden ratio of human anthropometry, and tested structurally. The exoskeleton control system is designed on the LabVIEW National Instrument platform and embedded in myRIO. Surface EMG sensors (sEMG) and flex sensors are used coherently to create different state filters for the EMG, human body posture and control for the mechanical exoskeleton actuation. The myRIO is used to process sEMG signals and send control signals to the exoskeleton. Thus, the complete exoskeleton system consists of sEMG as primary sensor and flex sensor as secondary sensor while the whole control system is designed in LabVIEW. FEA simulation and tests show that the exoskeleton is suitable for an average human weight of 62 kg plus excess force with different reactive spring forces. However, due to the mechanical properties of the exoskeleton actuator, it will require additional lift to provide the rapid reactive impulse force needed to increase biomechanical movement such as squatting up. Finally, with the increasing availability of such assistive devices on the market, the important aspect of ethical, social and legal issues have also emerged and discussed in this paper.
Smart Grid communication applications: measurement equipment and networks architecture for data and energy flow
Authors: Atmaja Tinton Dwi , Andriani Dian , Darussalam Rudi
Published: June 2020

Smart Grid is an advanced two way data and energy flow capable of self-healing, adaptive, resilient, and sustainable with prediction capability of possible fault. This article aimed to disclose Smart Grid communication in a logical way to facilitate the understanding of each component function. The study was focused on the improvement, advantages, common used design, and possible feature of Smart Grid communication components. The results of the study divide the Smart Grid communication application into two main category i.e. measurement equipment and network architecture. Measurement equipment consists of Advance Metering Infrastructure, Phasor Measurement Unit, Intelligent Electronic Devices, and Wide Area Measurement System. The network architecture is divided based on three hierarchies; local area network for 1 to 100 m with 100 kbps data rate, neighbour area network for 100 m to 10 km with 100 Mbps data rate, and wide area network for up to 100 km with 1 Gbps data rate. More information is provided regarding the routing protocol for each network from various available protocols. The final section presents the energy and data flow architecture for Smart Grid implementation based on the measurement equipment and the network suitability. This article is expected to provide a comprehensive guide and comparison surrounding the technologies supporting Smart Grid implementation especially on communication applications.
Safety assessment of high voltage substation earthing systems with synthetic geotextile membrane
Authors: Nazih Mostafa
Published: June 2020

High voltage substations built within areas prone to vegetation or with unfavourable subgrade conditions are paved with the addition of punched geotextiles and non-conductive synthetic fabrics underneath switchyard surfacing. The aim of this research is to identify the impact of synthetic textiles on earthing system performance through numerical analysis with the state-of-the-art software package. The new layer interferes with the earthing grids performance with a different behaviour depending on the installation above or underneath the layer with considerable impact taking place when the earthing grid is installed above the geotextile layer. Rods penetrating the geotextile can alleviate the potential voltage distribution issues and improve the earthing system performance regardless of the native soil stratification.
Moderating Effect of Career on Women Online Shopping Behaviour in South-South, Nigeria
Authors: Okeke Titus Chukwuemezie , Omodafe Philomena Uzezi , Ezeh Greg Amaechi , Nwatu Basil Chibuike
Published: June 2020

The study examined the moderating effect of career on women online shopping behaviour. Data for the study were gathered from 330 career women in South-South, Nigeria through structured questionnaire. The study is explored five constructs and evaluated a proposed model explaining the moderating effect of career and the relationship between them. SPSS version 25 was used for preliminary analysis while WarpPLS 7.0 was used in testing the hypothesized relationships. The findings revealed that career moderates the influence of perceived risk, perceived usefulness, performance expectancy and internet self-efficacy in online shopping behaviour among career women while social influence is partially supported and validated from the analysis. The study concludes that the proposed model would serve as a relevant theory that will be helpful in understanding the adoption decisions of career women in working and shopping environments. The study recommends that continuous patronage of online shops by career women can only be guaranteed with improvements in online shopping sites in order to attract and increase traffic to them.
Current Cross Border e-Commerce Companies Developmental Problems AND Countermeasures
Authors: Tseng TzuShan
Published: June 2020

The development of cross border e-commerce industry is one of important global trends.  From eMarketer (2019), the global sales of e-commerce in 2018 was 2.5 trillion US dollars and will reach 7.5 trillion US dollars in 2020.  In this number - 7.5 trillion US dollars, the cross border e-commerce consumers will occupy 44.6% of e-commerce’s.  Due to the quick development, companies will encounter problems by the way.  The research purposes of this study was to discuss problems found through Osterwalder and Pigneur’s business model canvas analysis and provide suggestions.  In this sense, During the time of one-year industry-academic cooperation program with Company A, the exploratory case study is relying on several sources of data collections through interviews, case analysis, site-visiting observations and secondary data collection (internal and external data) to analyze Company’s A cross order e-commerce business model and Taiwan’s cross border e-commerce ecosystem.  The research subject (Company A) who locate in the vehicles components industry was a Taiwanese SEM and would like to transform into a cross border e-commerce company.  The study aimed to explore the cross border e-commerce business model to answer the research question of What is Company A’s recent business model canvas ?  If Company A would like to transform into cross border e-commerce, what are the problems?  What is Taiwan cross border e-commerce ecosystem which Company A is located ?  The research results and suggestions of this cross border e-commerce company are the following.  Firstly, the problem is business opportunities are difficult to catch recently and the amount of each order earned is becoming smaller.  The suggestion for this problem is to suggest adapting multiple cross border e-commerce portals operations on budgets and “Software Key activities” for decision making.  The second problem is the cost of cross border e-commerce logistic is high.  The suggest for this problem is to use Big Data Analysis and artificial intelligence (AI) technology to calculate exact oversea inventories.  The third problem is lack of trust.  The suggest for this problem is localization strategy, to systematically recruit and train the talents who are familiar with the culture, products and markets.  And also The study also has some practical implications for cross-border e-commerce companies.
Agent Banking And Poverty Reduction In Benue State, Nigeria
Authors: Akighir David Terfa , Tyagher T. Jacob , Ateata Aaron
Published: June 2020

The study investigated the impact of agent banking on poverty reduction in Benue State, Nigeria. The study is hinged on the agency theory, risk management theory, the regulatory dialectic theory and the basic needs theory. Focusing on the agent banking activities of the First bank PLC, the study used the Taro Yammene’s formula to select 199 agents for investigation. Questionnaire was used for data collection but only 185 copies of the questionnaire were retrieved for analysis. The study employed descriptive tools such as tables and percentages and paired t-test as well as Foster, Greer and Thornbecke (FGT) index. Also, a logit regression model was employed to ascertain whether or not agent bank has the probability of reducing poverty in Benue State. The study found that engaging in agent banking has the probability of reducing poverty in Benue State which is typically an agrarian state with high poverty incidence among highly unbanked population. Agent banking in this unbanked State where only 11 local government areas out of 23 local government areas have the presence of banks has the potential of increasing financial inclusion and enhancing financial literacy. With the presence of agent banking in the state, it will enhance business sustainability and facilitate financial transactions. These will increase economic activities and increase employments and reduce poverty. Given the potentials of agent banking for socio-economic development in the state, it is recommended that financial literacy awareness should be created so that rural population who have long lived unbanked to accept banking services via the agent banking. Also, banks operating in the state should leverage on the opportunity of agent banking to penetrate the rural population with a view to achieving financial inclusion in line with the CBN’s revived National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) which places implementation focus on women, rural areas, youth, Northern Nigeria and MSMEs to achieve 95% financial inclusion rate by 2024.
Mediating role of resilience between successful aging and acculturation among older Korean immigrants In the United States
Authors: Lee Jaewon
Published: June 2020

Background: This study was to investigate how acculturative stress affects older Korean immigrants' successful aging and whether resilience can play a mediator's role to the sample population's successful aging or not. The research design was a cross-sectional survey using three valid and reliable scales such as Successful Aging Scale, Acculturative Stress Scale, and Resilience Scale. A research shows that there is no or minimum correlation between acculturative stress and successful aging (Choi & Thomas, 2009). However, it was hypothesized that although there was a weak correlation between acculturative stress and successful aging, once the resilience involved as a mediator, the correlation would be stronger.

Methods: The study was designed as a self-administered survey research using the scales mentioned above. One hundred and two (N=102) older Koreans who currently enrolled in Adult Health Care Centers in Los Angeles, CA, participated in this study. Multiple Regression, Correlation, ANOVA, and t-test was administered to analyze the collected data.

Results: The results indicated that there was a positive but weak correlation between acculturative stress and the sample population's successful aging rate (r = .252, p<.05). Interestingly, when resilience intervened as a mediator, the correlation between acculturation and successful aging was increased to (r = .622, p<.05). Therefore, the study discovered that the resilience was able to play a mediator's role between acculturative stress and successful aging among the older Korean immigrants.

Implications: The findings can be directed to social work researchers and practitioners to help educate the ethnic older adults in the community on the social and behavioral importance of the positive aspects of aging such as successful aging and healthy aging to increase the chance of community member's longevity. Future research will include other ethnic and immigrant older populations in the community to show internal and external validity of the study related to successful aging, acculturative stress, and resilience.
Islam and Hated Intolerance
Authors: Lubis Tonang
Published: June 2020

Islam does not allow the nervousness and the mutual contempt and hatred that follows it between the tribes, peoples and nations, but rather, on the contrary, heralds the friendship and brotherhood among Muslims, tolerance of religions and dialogue between the human beings. Islam has achieved the compatibility and harmony between a large numbers of people of different races and lineages. So Islam liberated the individual from the narrow tribal framework in a wider and welcoming society that included the tribe members as well as the members of other tribes. When Islam included the tribes in a society, its concern was to fight nerve tendencies and the tribal spirit. It made the original principles not to differentiate between the people on the basis of genealogy or the races or the colors, because the differentiation in Islam is based on the faith, piety and goodness. In this article, we dealt with the definition of nervousness in terms of language and convention, a historical background of the intolerance and its origin, signs of intolerance, causes of intolerance, types of intolerance: Intellectual intolerance, doctrinal intolerance, gradient or class intolerance, intolerance to sanctify the inherited past, partisan intolerance, and tribal intolerance. Tribal intolerance is from the pre-Islamic biography, then we dealt with the issue of treating hateful intolerance mentioned in the Holy Qur’an and the noble Prophet’s Sunnah. At the end of the article, we mentioned a number of results for this research.
A Sociological Analysis of Bhojpuri Jhoomar in Mauritius
Authors: Dawosing Jayganesh
Published: June 2020

To ensure a significant place among both the local and international Bhojpuri singers, the singers keep reproducing the cultural content of this type of Bhojpuri songs, called the ‘Jhoomar’ which literally means dancing in a circular motion. However, in this process of cultural evolution, the fear of either preserving the traditional or digressing from the latter will always be there. This paper deals with the sociological analysis of jhoomar songs of the present generation who create new lyrics in the Mauritian Bhojpuri songs. For entertainment purposes, some singers, at times, interpret the traditional forms in an expression of personal or group identity. The recent albums of certain of the artistes deal with contemporary issues, true to an articulation of social hierarchies, most notably race, gender and class. In correspondence to contemporary issues, a research question arises with the preservation of traditional form, how do the contemporary songs relate to broader social distinctions, especially class, race and gender? Fieldwork with local Bhojpuri singers has helped in understanding the significance of the study. This paper argues from a conceptual analysis of popular cultural significance of the study. The content of these jhoomar songs are relevant in culture and music of the 21st century, entailing fascinating issues of discussion.
Research on Carbon Emission Reduction Effect of China's Carbon Trading Pilot
Authors: Wang Linshan , Liu Chuanming , Yang Xi
Published: June 2020

Carbon emissions trading is one of the important ways to reduce carbon emissions by giving CO2 emission rights a commodity attribute that allows them to trade on the market and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the market mechanisms. Based on the inter-provincial panel data from 1997 to 2016, this paper constructs a basic theoretical analysis framework to analyze the carbon emission reduction effects of carbon trading policies, adopts PSM-DID to study the carbon emission reduction effects of carbon trading pilots. This study finds that: (1) The implementation of the carbon trading pilot can promote carbon emission reduction, but the pilot provinces and municipalities have different economic development levels, industrial structure and supporting measures adopted after the implementation of the carbon trading pilot policy, resulting in differences in carbon emission reduction effects between pilot provinces. (2) For the seller of carbon emission rights, carbon emission reduction is achieved through three effects of "market return-inducing", "technical innovation incentive" and "government support"; for the buyer, carbon emission reduction is achieved through three effects of "enterprise cost pressure", "process innovation motivation" and "market guiding". (4) The results of traditional PSM-DID further prove that the carbon trading pilot can significantly reduce CO2 emissions.
THE EFFICACY OF DECENTRALISATION IN PROMOTING GOOD GOVERNANCE
Authors: Sulemana Achanso Adams
Published: June 2020

A country’s democratic process is considered to be on a sound footing when its citizens are able to meet their basic needs, such as access to quality health care, housing, infrastructure, education, job security and what have you. This is what gives credence to decentralisation as a mechanism for bringing governance to the door steps of the citizenry. Ghana introduced its current decentralised governance system since 1992 to devolve central government’s authority to the district level in order to bring governance close to the citizenry. This study assessed the efficacy of Ghana’s decentralisation system as a mechanism for promoting good governance using the Kpandai District of the Northern Region of Ghana as a case study. The study benefited from both secondary and primary data collected and analysed using both the quantitative and qualitative research strategies. The study suggested that citizens’ participation in both local and national level decision making processes were low mainly due to communication barriers between the electorates and their representatives. This was a result of inadequate public education or sensitisation on citizens’ participatory processes. The study, therefore, suggested the need for awareness creation on citizens’ rights to participate in decision making processes and elected representatives to report on their activities to their constituents as a way of feedback to allow citizens to demand their rights in order to enhance their wellbeing.
An Investigation of the Impact of a Flipped Classroom Instructional Approach on High School Students’ Content Knowledge and Attitude Toward the Learning Environment.
Authors: Bell Matthew , Shumway Steven , Wright Geoff
Published: June 2020

The idea of the “flipped classroom” has become increasingly popular in education. However, very little research in how “flipped classrooms” impact high school students’ ability to perform on exams has been done. The purpose of this research is to add to the body of knowledge and help provide data to investigate how well students learn physics content by using the flipped classroom in a high school Physics with Technology class.

Seven periods of Physics with Technology at Lone Peak High School in Highland, UT were used in this study. Three of the classes were randomly assigned to be “flipped” while the other four were taught using what is considered a “traditional” method of instruction of physics (guided inquiry). The pacing and content was matched each day and all classes participated in the same labs, homework, quizzes and tests. The defining difference is the method which the content was covered. The flipped classes watched video lectures at home to learn the majority of the content, then did what is traditionally known as “homework” in class with the teacher present to help.

In this study, it was found that there was no statistically or practically significant difference in mean test scores for the first three units. Student responses on a survey also showed very little statistical difference in the students’ attitudes towards the classroom environment in either instructional method.
Challenges for Methods of Teaching English Vocabulary to Non-native Students
Authors: Elmahdi Omer Elsheikh Hago , Hezam Abdulrahman Mokbel Mahyoub
Published: June 2020

This study is meant to have a through argument about the main topic of this research, which is the challenges of teaching methods of English vocabulary to non-native students. The researchers try to introduce a conceptual coverage of certain areas that are relevant to English vocabulary teaching / learning. This conceptual coverage includes: the definition of the term vocabulary, kinds of vocabulary, the importance of vocabulary, general principles for successful vocabulary teaching, teaching vocabulary in the English as a foreign language (EFL) context is challenging, techniques of teaching vocabulary, and the need for teaching vocabulary. Among the qualitative methods the researchers chose the record keeping method. This method makes use of the already existing reliable documents and similar sources of information as the data source. This data can be used in a new research. The researchers have collected a number of relevant studies and quarrying critically and deeply in these studies to signal out the Challenges for Methods of Teaching English Vocabulary to Non-native Students. Qualitative data collection allows collecting data that is non-numeric and helps us to explore how decisions are made and provide a detailed insight. For reaching such conclusions the data that is collected should be holistic, rich and nuanced and findings to emerge through careful analysis. This is why the researchers have examined and collected many relevant references, case studies that deal with teaching vocabulary.  To carry out this research the researchers have introduced certain questions and surveyed a huge number of previous studies after covering the relevant literature. Finally, the challenges that are critically obtained by the researchers are classified into three main categories. The first category, challenges related to students, the second one, challenges related to teachers, and the third one, challenges related to methods/ techniques/ strategies of teaching vocabulary.
Pragmatic Identity in China and the US Real Estate Advertising: Critical Pragmatic Analysis
Authors: Xu Elin
Published: June 2020

This research attempts to find out similarities and differences of values through comparison of pragmatic identities constructed in china real estate advertising and that in the US real estate advertising. The study selected 50 Chinese and 50 American electrical real estate advertising.to analyze pragmatic identities constructed in these advertisements and concluded 16 kinds of identities. Both American and Chinese advertisers tend to presuppose consumers’ identity to advertise real estate although explicit linguistic resources regarding identity such as champion are also used to construct identity. Advertisers tend to appeal and provoke consumers’ purchase desire so that they construct different identities according to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs especially belonging (love) and self-realization needs. As regard to differences of identities embodied in Chinese and American real estate advertising, Hofstede’s cultural dimensions are adopted to explain.
A Concept Analysis of the Properties and Conditions of Transformation
Authors: Ross Susan L.
Published: June 2020

Transformation is ceaselessly transpiring within and all around us. Despite its pervasive presence, the complex phenomenon remains fundamentally enigmatic. Previous work by this author indicates that existing literature about transformation tends to address its processes, antecedent conditions, catalyst, and/or outcomes. What is lacking is transdisciplinary understanding of the composition of transformation; that which causes transformation to exist. The purpose of this study is to draw upon literature across ten disciplines to discern properties and conditions integral to transformation. The method selected to achieve this aim is called concept analysis, which constitutes an empirical examination of a phenomenon described in literature, where a concept---transformation in this case---is the research object. The outcomes suggest a classification that indicates transformation is comprised of seven properties with five subproperties, three temporal conditions, and two contextual conditions. These findings constitute a unique contribution to social science research by identifying core aspects of transformation that transcend ethos typically applied in social sciences. Results offer opportunities to further establish a common language so that diverse disciplines can more precisely examine transformation, recognize and apply its processes towards individual and societal growth, and build upon existing theory.
The temperature model of the thermal re-radiation model in multilayer insulation systems
Authors: Cui Wenhui , Sun Zhenyu , Yang Jian
Published: June 2020

In this manuscript, the temperature model of multilayer insulation (MLI) on a spacecraft solar panel in thermal radiation is considered. The thermal insulation performance of MLI and the stress of the spacecraft are also considered. The thermal equilibrium equation of the surface temperature of MLI spacecraft in the presence of current transfer, and the iterative temperature acquisition algorithm of the front and back surface of solar panel MLI are derived. The Gaussian elimination method is used to invert the high order sparse matrix composed of error coefficients, thus realizing the real-time calculation of thermal re-radiation(TRR). The thermodynamic model was applied to the motion simulation of GPS Block IIR satellites, and the theoretical model was verified based on the actual temperature measurement data of several GPS Block IIR satellites. The simulation results have certain reference value for studying the thermodynamic modeling of MLI spacecraft and TRR perturbation calculation.
Media and basic desires: An approach to measuring the mediatization of daily human life
Authors: Bengtsson Stina , Fast Karin , Jansson André , Lindell Johan
Published: June 2020

The extended reliance on media can be seen as one indicator of mediatization. But even though we can assume that the pervasive character of digital media essentially changes the way people experience everyday life, we cannot take these experiences for granted. There has recently been a formulation of three tasks for mediatization research; historicity, specificity and measurability, needed to empirically verify mediatization processes across time and space. In this article, we present a tool designed to handle these tasks, by measuring the extent to which people experience that media reach into the deeper layers of daily human life. The tool was tested in an empirical study conducted in Sweden in 2017. The results show that perceived media reliance is played out in relation to three types of basic desires: (1) (re)productive desires, (2) recognition desires, and (3) civic desires, and is socially structured and structuring. We argue this tool, in diachronic analyses, can measure one important aspect of mediatization.
Double-blind trial of solid lipid Boswellia serrata particles (SLBSP) vs. standardized Boswellia serrata gum extract (BSE) for osteoarthritis of knee
Authors: Kulkarni Preeti D. , Damle Neena D. , Singh Sumer , Yadav Krishnat S. , Ghante Minal R. , Bhaskar Vaidhun H. , Hingorani Lal , Gota Vikram S.
Published: June 2020

Objectives

The present study was planned to investigate the efficacy of SLBSP vs. standardized BSE for symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (OA) treatment.

Methods

It was a prospective, randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, placebo-controlled, and single-centre clinical trial for symptomatic osteoarthritis of knee. Subjects were randomized to receive SLBSP capsule+BSE Placebo or BSE tablet+SLBSP placebo for two months. Patients were allowed to take rescue analgesics (Acelofenac 100 mg). Improvement in pain and function was assessed utilizing WOMAC, VAS. Level of CTX-II in urine and serum levels of inflammatory cytokines including IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, TNF-α, and IFN-γ was measured initially and at end of treatment.

Results and conclusions

Western Ontario and McMaster Universities osteoarthritis index (WOMAC) and Visual Analog Scale score improved markedly in SLBSP as well as in BSE arm (p < 0.05). Difference in VAS and WOMAC scores between the two arms was not statistically significant. Most significant effect was observed in the need for rescue analgesics. SLBSP caused marked lowering of pro-inflammatory cytokines levels whereas a several fold increase was noted in the BSE arm (p < 0.05). Both groups showed marked improvement in pain, SLBSP being superior to BSE with respect to reducing the need for rescue analgesics in addition to modulating inflammatory cytokines.
The results and outcome of primary spontaneous pneumothorax in adolescents
Authors: Akıncı Servet Melike , Soyer Tutku , Yalçın Şule , Ekinci Saniye , Karnak İbrahim , Çiftçi Arbay Özden , Tanyel Feridun Cahit
Published: June 2020

Aim

Primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP) is a rare pulmonary pathology that occurs in the absence of known lung disease. A retrospective study was performed to evaluate the results and outcome of PSP treatment in adolescents.

Methods

The cases with PSP from January 2004 to December 2017 were evaluated for age, sex, family and smoking history, clinical and radiological findings and results of treatment.

Results

Ten cases with PSP were included. The mean age of the patients was 15 years (10–17 years) and the male to female ratio was 9:1. Two of the patients (20%) had family history of PSP and four cases (40%) had smoking history. The initial complaints were chest pain (n=8), acute onset of cough (n=1) and breathing difficulty (n=1). Tube thoracostomy was performed in nine cases in which three of them were bilateral. Chest computed tomography (CT) demonstrated bullae (n=4; 40%) and subpleural blebs (n=2; 20%). Pleurodesis with talc was performed in four patients with pneumothorax for longer than a week in follow-up (n=4; 40%). Five cases had recurrent PSP within one year (n=5; 50%) and underwent pleurodesis with talc (n=4), autologous-blood (n=1) and bleomycin (n=1). Bleb excision was performed in two cases with persistent pneumothorax despite pleurodesis.

Conclusion

Tube thoracostomy and oxygen supplementation, are considered as initial and adequate treatment of PSP in most of the adolescents. Prolonged air leaks require pleurosdesis as the first line treatment and surgical excision of blebs should be reversed for the patients who are unresponsive to other treatment options.
Self perceived oro-facial behaviour and malocclusion among young adults in Hyderabad city
Authors: Tejaswini Dasari , Kulkarni Suhas , Doshi Dolar , Srilatha Adepu
Published: June 2020

Background

Aesthetic alterations in the face can be self-perceived and can affect quality of life in young adults.

Objective

To assess the impact of malocclusion on self- perceived oro-facial behaviour among young adults.

Methods

A Cross sectional study was conducted among 638 young adults (aged 18–21 years) of Hyderabad city. One college from each of the five zones of the Hyderabad city (five colleges) were selected by simple random sampling procedure. A 21-item Oro-facial investment scale (OFIS) questionnaire assessing self-perceived oral health knowledge, attitude, practice and Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI) assessing the severity of malocclusion was used. Data were analysed with standard statistical software (SPSS, Statistical package for the social sciences, version 20.0). p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results

Males had higher mean scores for knowledge (2.90 ± 0.49) than females (2.73 ± 0.82) and was statistically significant (p = 0.002*). No statistically significant gender differences were found in relation to attitude and practice. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that there was a significant difference in all the three scores (knowledge, attitude, practice) with respect to age, with significantly high score for knowledge and practice among 18 year old subjects (p = 0.0001*; p = 0.0003* respectively) and attitude among 21 year old subjects (p = 0.0049*). No statistically significant age, gender differences were found in relation to DAI scores. Upon correlation, DAI significantly and positively correlated with knowledge (p = 0.03*) and attitude (p = 0.0001*).

Conclusion

This study has shown significant impact of malocclusion on the self-perceived oro-facial behaviour.
Characteristics defining perceived popularity among same-sex and opposite-sex peers
Authors: Akre Christina , Berchtold André , Barrense-Dias Yara , Suris Joan-Carles
Published: June 2020

Astract

Objectives

The objective of this study was to compare the characteristics of adolescents and young adults (AYA) who perceive themselves as popular with AYAs who perceive themselves as unpopular vis-á-vis peers from same-sex, opposite-sex, or both.

Methods

Among a representative sample of in-school 15–24 year-olds students (n=5,179) who completed a self-administrated questionnaire, we measured self-perception of popularity, socio-demographic data, ease to make same/opposite-sex friends, emotional well-being, school variables, substance use, sensation seeking, self-perception of pubertal timing, and aggressive/violent behavior.

Results

Overall, our findings put forth that popularity was associated to easiness of making same/opposite-sex friends, emotional well-being, socio-economical background, sensation seeking behaviors, and alcohol misuse. Differences appeared between males or females.

Conclusion

Findings indicate that popularity remains a very important issue among this age group and should be a red flag in clinical assessment. Future research should explore whether feeling of unpopularity can be used as a marker of adolescent well-being and hence help identify those youths who might need help.
Sexual risk behaviors and influencing factors among Muslim adolescents on southern border of Thailand
Authors: Hayee Fusiyah , Fongkaew Warunee , Chanprasit Chawapornpan , Kaewthummanukul Thanee , Voss Joachim G.
Published: June 2020

Objectives

To describe individual, interpersonal, and environmental factors and sexual risk behaviors among Thai Muslim adolescents.

Methods

We recruited adolescents from four schools and one vocational college on the Southern border of Thailand during October 2018 to January 2019. We used password-protected online questionnaires for each respondent to protect their privacy.

Results

We recruited N = 700 participants of which 9% were sexually experienced. Of those participants, many had never used a condom (41.3%) or considered taking contraceptive pills (71.4%). Moreover, 54% of them have had sexual intercourse more than once. Some had been infected with an STI (17.5%), and (14.3%) became pregnant more than once. Adolescents reported individual factors such as high religiosity (58.7%), and (47.6%) practiced Islam daily with no differences between boys and girls. Girls had significantly higher refusal of sex self-efficiency than boys (96 vs. 119.5, p < 0.05). In the interpersonal factors, boys had more uninvolved parenting style, lower parental monitoring, higher parental approval of sex, and higher perceived peer norm than girls. The environmental factors besides cultural norms impacted girls and boys equally.

Conclusions

We showed low rates of sexual activity, but in those adolescents who were sexually active we showed high rates of lack of knowledge and higher rates of sexual risk behaviors. Individual, interpersonal, and environmental factors all influenced sexual risk behaviors. We recommend comprehensive sexuality education that includes Islamic context for adolescents and their parents embedded in policy, religious, and community cultural practices.
Gett’n on the bus: evaluation of Sentinel City®3.0 virtual simulation in community/population health clinical placement
Authors: Chircop Andrea , Cobbett Shelley
Published: June 2020

Objectives

The purpose of this project was to implement and evaluate the integration of a computer-based virtual simulation program into a community clinical course as an alternative or complement to conventional clinical with agencies or neighbourhoods. Securing quality community health clinical opportunities for undergraduate nursing students remains challenging. In addition, evidence of a theory-practice gap in community clinical education, particularly in non-traditional settings, suggests that nurse educators need to adopt different pedagogies to ensure that students will gain competencies necessary to practice community/population health nursing. In response, we piloted the use of Sentinel City®3.0, a virtual reality simulation program.

Method

A 5-point Likert-style questionnaire was administered to students randomly assigned to different clinical placements.

Results

Results indicated that there were no learning outcomes in which students in Sentinel City®3.0 reported percentages lower than students in agencies or geographical neighbourhoods. When there were statistically significant differences, students engaged in Sentinel City®3.0 performed better than students in other experiences.

Conclusion

We recommend further exploration of multi-contextual pedagogies for community clinical.
Inverse problems for a conformable fractional Sturm–Liouville operator
Authors: Adalar İbrahi̇m , Ozkan Ahmet Sinan
Published: June 2020

In this paper, a Sturm–Liouville boundary value problem which includes
conformable fractional derivatives of order α,

0
<
α
≤
1

{0<\alpha\leq 1}

is
considered. We give some uniqueness theorems for the solutions of inverse
problems according to the Weyl function, two given spectra and classical
spectral data. We also study the half-inverse problem and prove a Hochstadt–Lieberman-type theorem.
Two Temperature Extension of Phonon Hydrodynamics
Authors: Cao Bing-Yang , Grmela Miroslav , Guo Zeng-Yuan , Hua Yu-Chao , Nie Ben-Dian
Published: June 2020

Phonon hydrodynamics uses the fields of the total energy and the heat flux as state variables. We extend it by promoting the microscopic internal energy field into the status of an extra independent state variable. The governing equations of both the phonon and the extended (two temperature) phonon hydrodynamics are formulated as particular realizations of the abstract GENERIC equation. Such unified formulation makes both theories manifestly compatible with mechanics and thermodynamics. Also differences and similarities (in the physical content, in the mathematical structure, and in qualitative properties of solutions) between the two heat transfer theories, as well as their mutual compatibility, become manifestly displayed.
Strategic noise mapping in Athens International Airport: A tool for balanced approach & health effects evaluation
Authors: Vogiatzis Konstantinos , Dimitriou Dimitrios , Gerolymatou Georgia , Konstantinidis Aristeidis
Published: June 2020

Athens International Airport (A.I.A) is the first major transportation infrastructure in Greece with the participation of the private sector, a pioneer international Public-Private Partnership. Environmental protection is a priority, and AIA, is committed to protect the environment and preventing or lessening negative impacts, through a comprehensive Environmental Policy and Procedures. Within this framework, AIA has already carried out the study for Strategic Noise Map (SNM) and the Noise Action Plan (NAP) for the Aircraft Noise. According to the European Directive 49/2002 the study should be repeated every 5 years. This research article focuses on the comparative study for the latest SNMs 2017 & 2019 (ECAC Doc.29) and for 2019 (executed by the new methodology CNOSSOS-GR), for the respective traffic data 2016 & 2018, and presents the results of the acoustic model in order to create the Strategic Noise Maps for L
den
& L
night
indicators. With a view to implementing the legislation, an analysis of aircraft mix for every year (except helicopters, military and other specific flights) was carried out in accordance with the categorisation provided for in the relevant recommendation of the Committee of 6 August 2003 and the European Commission adopted Directive 2015/996. The potential health effects were further analyzed using the World Health Organization (WHO’s) Disability Adjusted Life Year’s (DALY’s) metrics for aircraft noise in relation to the exposure of the population based on the results of alternative comparative Strategic Noise Maps. The aim of the study is to show how the combination of both the implementation of the European Directive 2002/49 and 2015/996 and the DALY approach is an analysis tool for the evaluation of the acoustic environment. As we can observe in the results, the overall findings are significantly lower in the case of SNM 2019 (executed by the new methodology CNOSSOS-GR) than in the others.
Sex with robots: A not-so-niche market for disabled and older persons
Authors: Koumpis Adamantios , Gees Thomas
Published: June 2020

In this article, we present our experiences from research into the healthy ageing and well-being of older people and we report on our personal opinions of robots that may help the elderly to have sex and to cope with isolation and loneliness. However, and while there is a growing industry for sex robots and other sex toys and gadgets, there is also a growing concern about the ethics of such an industry. As is the case with pornography, the concept of sex robots may be criticized, yet it has deep roots in human civilization, with erotic depictions that date back to the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic Ages. So the need for an artefact that would offer sexually relevant functionality is not new at all. But what might be new and worrying is the potential for using artificial intelligence in sex robots in ways that might cause a repositioning of our entire value system. Such a threat is not related to the proliferation of sex robots per se but to the use of robots in general and in a variety of other fields of application.
A Naturalistic Dynamic Monkey Head Avatar Elicits Species-Typical Reactions and Overcomes the Uncanny Valley
Authors: Siebert Ramona , Taubert Nick , Spadacenta Silvia , Dicke Peter W. , Giese Martin A. , Thier Peter
Published: June 2020

Research on social perception in monkeys may benefit from standardized, controllable, and ethologically valid renditions of conspecifics offered by monkey avatars. However, previous work has cautioned that monkeys, like humans, show an adverse reaction toward realistic synthetic stimuli, known as the “uncanny valley” effect. We developed an improved naturalistic rhesus monkey face avatar capable of producing facial expressions (fear grin, lip smack and threat), animated by motion capture data of real monkeys. For validation, we additionally created decreasingly naturalistic avatar variants. Eight rhesus macaques were tested on the various videos and avoided looking at less naturalistic avatar variants, but not at the most naturalistic or the most unnaturalistic avatar, indicating an uncanny valley effect for the less naturalistic avatar versions. The avoidance was deepened by motion and accompanied by physiological arousal. Only the most naturalistic avatar evoked facial expressions comparable to those toward the real monkey videos. Hence, our findings demonstrate that the uncanny valley reaction in monkeys can be overcome by a highly naturalistic avatar.