bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Monte Carlo simulation of nonlinear gravity driven Poiseuille–Couette flow in a dilute gas
Authors: Baliti Jamal , Hssikou Mohamed , Alaoui Mohammed
Published: July 2018

Through the direct simulation Monte Carlo, the Boltzmann equation is solved numerically for dilute hard spheres gas between two infinite parallel plates in relative motion and at the same time the particles feel the action of a uniform body force along the same direction as the moving plate. The study is conducted on the effect of the external force on the nonlinear properties of the Poiseuille–Couette flow. We have been interested in the bulk properties, to inhibit the influence of finite-size effects, while ignoring linear effects like Knudsen boundary layer to investigate the generalised transport coefficients depending on the shear rate nonlinearly: the two nonlinear thermal conductivity function of normal heat flux and parallel one, the viscosity function, the tangential friction function, and the thermal curvature. The results indicate that the effect of the external force is significant on the nonlinear functions, where the viscosity function and normal thermal conductivity are increasing functions of this field.
Two novel Zn(II)-Li(I)-based and In(III)-based coordination polymers: crystal structures and anti-lung cancer activity
Authors: Meng Xian-Qing , Dong Xiao-Bin , Wang Hui , Tian Zheng-Yun
Published: July 2018

In this study, two new metal-organic frameworks, namely, {(H2NMe2)[Zn3LiO(BTA)2](DMF)3}n (1, H3BTA=3,3′,3″-[1,3,5-benzenetriyltris(carbonylimino)] trisbenzoic acid) and {(Me2NH2)2[In2(TTA)2(FBA)2](DMF)3}n (2, H3TTA=4,4′-(((5-((4-(hydroxy-l2-methoxy)phenoxy) methyl)-2,4,6-trimethyl-1,3-phenylene)bis(methylene))bis(oxy))dibenzoic acid, HFBA=2-fluorobenzoic acid), were obtained via a one-pot solvothermal reaction of metal salts and organic connectors. The structures of the title two metal-organic coordination compounds were structurally probed via X-ray single crystal diffraction technique. In connection to their structures, the MTT assay was used to access the in vitro antitumor activities for compounds 1 and 2 against the human lung cancer cells (MSTO-211H, NCI-H1299 and NCI-H292).
Crystal structure of 2-amino-5-oxo-4-(4-chloro-phenyl)-4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-cyclopenta[b]pyran-3-carbonitrile, C15H11ClN2O2
Authors: Li Da , Zhou Yan , Zhong Wei , Peng Ling
Published: July 2018

C15H11ClN2O2, monoclinic, C2/c (no. 15), a = 12.955(7) Å, b = 10.425(7) Å, c = 20.149(13) Å, β = 102.415(14)°, V = 2658(3) Å3, Z = 8, R
gt(F) = 0.0361, wR
ref(F
2) = 0.0917, T = 296(2) K.
Crystal structure of triaqua-(pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylato-κ3
O,N,O′)cobalt(II) – 6-phenyl-1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diamine (1/1), C16H18CoN6O7
Authors: Ren-Shu Wang , Jing Feng
Published: July 2018

C16H18CoN6O7, monoclinic, P21/c (no. 14), a = 12.6820(11) Å, b = 7.9486(6) Å, c = 19.6429(15) Å, V = 1928.9(3) Å3, Z = 4, R
gt(F) = 0.0429, wR
ref(F
2) = 0.1077, T = 296(2) K.
Crystal structure of 2-amino-4-(4-fluorophenyl)-3-cyano-5-oxo-4H,5H-pyrano[3,2c] chromene, C19H11FN2O3
Authors: He Lian-Man , Gao Chuan-Yu
Published: July 2018

C19H11FN2O3, monoclinic, P21/c (no. 14), a = 8.8312(5) Å, b = 12.9378(9) Å, c = 13.1531(8) Å, β = 93.022(5)°, V = 1500.73(16) Å3, Z = 4, R
gt(F) = 0.0411, wR
ref(F
2) = 0.1059, T = 293(2) K.
Molecular dynamics of neuronal information transfer
Authors: Heine Martin , Bikbaev Arthur
Published: July 2018

A detailed analysis of synapses as connecting elements between neurons is of central importance to understand the brain’s cognitive performance and its constraints. Nowadays, state-of-the-art optical methods make possible to localize individual molecules in a living cell. In particular, the dynamics of molecular composition can be evaluated in smallest neuronal compartments, such as pre- and postsynaptic membrane. The monitoring of the distribution of receptors, ion channels, and adhesion molecules over time revealed their continuous stochastic motion. This is surprising, since the synapses are considered as accumulation sites anchoring these molecules. The direct manipulation of the lateral dynamics of glutamate receptors, in combination with classical electrophysiological approaches, demonstrated that such molecular dynamics is necessary for the induction of synaptic plasticity and, in turn, is influenced by synaptic activity. Therefore, the molecular dynamics requires further studies in the context of the brain function in health and disease.
“Feminist, Gun-Toting Abolitionist with a Bankroll”: the Black Radical Philanthropy of Mary Ellen Pleasant
Authors: Papazoglakis Sarah
Published: July 2018

This article posits that philanthropy, most often identified with wealthy white American businessmen along the lines of Andrew Carnegie, has an alternative history whose central figures were black female liberators like Mary Ellen Pleasant, the “Mother of Civil Rights in California” who donated $30,000 to fund the Raid on Harper’s Ferry in 1859. Pleasant’s story subverts standard masculinist and implicitly white accounts of American philanthropy, envisioning underground financing by black proto-feminists as a radical tool for black emancipation in the Americas.
The soldier’s tolerance for autonomous systems
Authors: Galliott Jai
Published: July 2018

Autonomous robots are here and military leaders have typically sought to understand the human-machine relationship as a matter of trust - a human-machine engineering problem with a largely technical solution. This paper argues that engineering is merely one part of the challenge and that trust in robotics and automation ought to be understood in a much broader socio-psychological context, defined by a power process, the capacity of soldiers to endure subjection to technology and the extent to which automation impinges upon one’s autonomy or otherwise impacts the soldier’s wellbeing.
CO2-based hydrogen storage – hydrogen liberation from methanol/water mixtures and from anhydrous methanol
Authors: Trincado Monica , Vogt Matthias
Published: July 2018

New strategies for the reforming of methanol under mild conditions on the basis of heterogeneous and molecular catalysts have raised the hopes and expectations on this fuel. This contribution will focus on the progress achieved in the production of hydrogen from aqueous and anhydrous methanol with molecular and heterogeneous catalysts. The report entails thermal approaches, as well as light-triggered dehydrogenation reactions. A comparison of the efficiency and mechanistic aspects will be made and principles of catalytic pathways operating in biological systems will be also addressed.
Archaeological investigations (archaeometry)
Authors: Rousaki Anastasia , Moens Luc , Vandenabeele Peter
Published: July 2018

Archaeometry is the research area on the edge between humanities and natural sciences: it uses and optimises methods from chemistry, spectroscopy, physics, biology, etc. to help answering research questions from humanities. In general, these objects are investigated for several reasons. Besides the fundamental interest to know about the materials that were used in the past, the study of artefacts can support their preservation, either by helping to select optimal storage or display conditions, either by investigating decay pathways and suggesting solutions. Other reasons for art analysis include provenance studies, dating the artefact or identifying forgeries. Since several years, Raman spectroscopy is increasingly applied for the investigation of objects of art or archaeology. The technique is well-appreciated for the limited (or even absent) sample preparation, the relative straightforward interpretation of the spectra (by fingerprinting - comparing them against a database of reference pigments) and its speed of analysis. Moreover, the small spectral footprint – allowing to record a molecular spectrum of particles down to 1 µm, the typical size of pigment grains – is certainly a positive property of the technique. Raman spectroscopy can be considered as rather versatile, as inorganic as well as organic materials can be studied, and as the technique can gather information on crystalline as well as on non-crystalline phases. As a consequence, Raman spectroscopy can be used to study antique objects and twentieth-century synthetic (organic) materials – illustrating the wide range of applications. Finally, the technique is as non-destructive, provided the laser power is kept sufficiently low not to damage the artwork. In literature, the terms “non-invasive” and “non-destructive” are used, where the first term means that no sampling is involved, and the latter term indicates that no sample is taken or that during analysis the sample is not consumed (destroyed) and remains available for further analysis.
Synthesis and characterization of size-controlled silver nanowires
Authors: Zhang Pei , Lin Shudong , Hu Jiwen
Published: July 2018

Silver nanowires (AgNWs) have attracted attentions form both academia and industry due to their outstanding electronic and optical properties. The AgNW-based devices for various uses were invented in recent years. It is well known that the sizes of AgNWs have a crucial effect on the performance of AgNW-based devices. However, how to synthesize AgNWs with controlled sizes is still unsolved. Researchers reported many methods to synthesize AgNWs with different sizes in the past decade. However, a review that focuses on the synthetic methods of AgNWs is very rare. The aim of this review is to summarize the recent developments that have been achieved with AgNWs, and many procedure details and results and discussions will be provided for practical use.

Graphical Abstract:
Synthesis of metallic nanoparticles by microplasma
Authors: Lin Liangliang , Starostin Sergey A. , Li Sirui , Hessel Volker
Published: July 2018

The synthesis of metallic nanoparticles has been of long standing interest, primarily induced by their novel and unique properties that differ considerably from bulk materials. Despite various methods have been developed, it is still a challenge to produce high-quality metallic nanoparticles with controllable properties in a simple, cost-effective and environmentally benign manner. However, the development of the microplasma-assisted technology can bring an answer to this formidable challenge. In the present work, four main microplasma configurations used for metallic synthesis of metallic nanoparticles are reviewed.  These are  hollow-electrode microdischarges, microplasma jets with external electrodes, microplasma jets with consumable electrodes and plasma–liquid systems. The state of the art characterization methodologies and diagnostic techniques forin situmicroplasma-assisted precursor dissociation as well asex situ metallic nanoparticles analysis is also summarized. Further, a broad category of representative examples of microplasma-induced metallic nanoparticle fabrication is presented, together with the discussion of possible synthesis mechanisms. This is followed by a brief introduction to related safety considerations. Finally, the future perspectives, associated challenges and feasible solutions for scale-up of this technique are pointed out.

Graphical Abstract:
Die Besteuerung des Gewinns aus den grenzüberschreitenden Direktgeschäften von Google, Facebook & Co.
Authors: Richter Wolfram F.
Published: July 2018

Die Unternehmen der digitalen Wirtschaft werden verdächtigt, zu wenig Steuern zu zahlen. Auf Dauer muss beides nicht so bleiben. Schließlich haben kleine Länder einen starken Anreiz, den Import digitaler Unternehmensleistungen – anders als den Import von Kapital – unilateral zu besteuern. Daher besteht vielmehr die Gefahr, dass es ohne internationale Vereinbarungen längerfristig zu einer Doppelbesteuerung von digitalen F&E-Aktivitäten kommt. Dagegen spricht allenfalls die begründete Erwartung, dass die Exportländer im eigenen Interesse einer internationalen Steuerrechtsordnung zustimmen, die die Teilung des Gewinns aus digitalen Unternehmensleistungen zur Regel macht. Eine solche Gewinnteilung lässt sich auch mit einer normativen Analyse zwischenstaatlicher Steuergerechtigkeit rechtfertigen. Derartige theoretische Erkenntnisse ermöglichen es, die jüngsten Vorschläge der Europäischen Kommission zur fairen Besteuerung der digitalen Wirtschaft einzuordnen.
Zehn Jahre nach dem Konkurs von Lehman Brothers
Authors: Winkler Adalbert
Published: July 2018

Seit dem Konkurs von Lehman Brothers steht die Geldpolitik der Europäischen Zentralbank (EZB) in Deutschland unter verschärfter Beobachtung. Denn schon die Krisenmaßnahmen 2008/09 verstießen in grober Weise gegen aus ordnungspolitischer Sichtweise zentrale Prinzipien: das Haftungsprinzip und das Primat der Währungspolitik. Seit 2010 tragen Ökonomen, Journalisten und Politiker EZB-Kritik aber in bis dato unbekannter Schärfe vor, verbunden mit der Dauerwarnung oder der Prognose, dass als Folge der Geldpolitik Inflation, Finanzinstabilitäten, allgemeines Siechtum und andere extreme Risiken ins Haus stünden. Nichts davon hat sich bewahrheitet. Nach Adalbert Winkler ist dies auf zentrale Schwächen einer rigiden ordnungspolitischen Sichtweise zurückzuführen: auf die Unfähigkeit, Krisen als Liquiditätskrisen zu erfassen, und auf die Gleichsetzung von Stabilität mit der Wahl bestimmter geldpolitischer Instrumente statt mit dem Erreichen der Zielgröße Preisstabilität. Eine selbstkritische Aufarbeitung dieser Schwächen tut not, statt stets auf die lange Frist zu verweisen, in der sich angeblich die Richtigkeit der EZB-Kritik erweisen werde.
Die Auswirkungen der Automatisierung auf Wachstum, Beschäftigung und Ungleichheit
Authors: Prettner Klaus , Geiger Niels , Schwarzer Johannes A.
Published: July 2018

Die Automatisierung ist eines der wichtigsten Phänomene, über die aktuell innerhalb der Wirtschaftswissenschaften und in der breiteren Öffentlichkeit diskutiert wird. Dabei finden sich sehr unterschiedliche Positionen: Pessimisten verweisen auf die negativen Beschäftigungseffekte, wenn Menschen mehr und mehr durch Maschinen ersetzt werden und ihre am Markt angebotene Arbeitsleistung somit obsolet wird. Gleichzeitig gilt die Automatisierung auch als Ursache für einen Anstieg der wirtschaftlichen Ungleichheit. Optimistische Stimmen erinnern an die Entwicklung seit der Industriellen Revolution, die mit hohem Produktivitätswachstum und starken Wohlfahrtssteigerungen durch fortlaufende technologische Veränderungen einherging, ohne dass es langfristig zu Massenarbeitslosigkeit gekommen ist. In diesem Survey präsentieren die Autoren empirische Daten und skizzieren ein einfaches Wachstumsmodell, das einen ersten Einblick in die zu erwartenden ökonomischen Auswirkungen der Automatisierung erlaubt. Anschließend vertiefen und erweitern sie die Ergebnisse unter Bezugnahme auf die aktuelle wissenschaftliche Literatur. Aus den verschiedenen Ansatzpunkten und Überlegungen leiten sie schließlich wirtschaftspolitische Handlungsmöglichkeiten ab und erörtern deren Einschränkungen.
Preparation of dual-modality yttrium-90 radiolabeled nanoparticles for therapeutic investigation
Authors: Khameneh Elham Sattarzadeh , Amini Mostafa M. , Kakaei Saeed , Khanchi Alireza
Published: July 2018

Magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles with narrow size distribution were synthesized by simple and high yielded co-precipitation technique using ferrous salts with a molar ratio of Fe3+/Fe2+=2. After coating of the nanoparticles with Stöber silica (SiO2@Fe3O4), nanoparticles were functionalized by amine groups. Then chelator molecules diethylenetriaminepentaacetic (DTPA) and tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid (DOTA) were coupled to the APTS-SiO2@Fe3O4 to chelating Y-90 radiometal that makes these nanoparticles a suitable agent for therapeutic application as dual-modality PET/MRI imaging. The results show the coupling of DTPA takes place better than DOTA. Synthesis of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) was followed by structure identification using XRD, SEM, TGA and IR techniques. In order to trace MNPs biodistribution, the radiolabeled MNPs-DTPA were prepared using 90Y (production of 90Y/90Sr generator) with a good labeling efficiency (about 92%, RTLS method). The biodistribution of the radiolabeled MNPs was checked in normal male rats up to 24 h compared to free Y3+. The data shows that the tracer accumulation is in reticuloendothelial tissue while the stability of the complex is highly retained.
The natural environment as a reservoir of pathogenic and non-pathogenic Acinetobacter species
Authors: Adewoyin Mary A. , Okoh Anthony I.
Published: July 2018

Acinetobacter is a genus of Gram-negative bacteria, which are oxidase-negative, exhibiting a twitching motility under a magnifying lens. Besides being important soil microorganisms, due to their contribution to the soil fertility, Acinetobacter species, particularly A. baumannii, hold a prominent place within the genus because, it is the most virulent among the other species, causing varying degrees of human infections in clinical environments. However, results of different research have shown that Acinetobacter species can be isolated from such natural environments as surface water, wastewater and sewage, healthy human skin, plant, animal and food material as well as domestic appliances. The presence of some other Acinetobacter species in the natural environment has been associated with beneficial roles including soil improvement, detoxification of oil spillages and as microflora in human and plant bodies. In this paper, we carried out an overview of various natural ecological niches as reservoirs of pathogenic and non-pathogenic Acinetobacter species.
Syntaxe et discursivité : Le cas de la dislocation gauche
Authors: Combettes Bernard
Published: July 2018

Le but de cet article est d’examiner le fonctionnement discursif des constructions disloquées en français. On étudie successivement la dislocation gauche (« ce livre, je l’ai lu ») et la dislocation droite (« je l’ai lu, ce livre »), en montrant ce qui les distingue dans le domaine de la connaissance partagée. La prise en compte du degré de saillance du référent concerné permet de rattacher cette question à celle du dynamisme communicatif et de voir dans quelle mesure chacune de ces constructions participe au marquage de la rhématicité du syntagme verbal.
Approche procédurale de la lecture : Catégories flottantes et unités élastiques
Authors: Lundquist Lita
Published: July 2018

L’article vise trois objectifs différents, mais intégrés : le français langue étrangère, la lecture et les textes spécialisés, trois objectifs qui nous situent au cœur de la linguistique textuelle contrastive, avec des excursions dans la linguistique cognitive et ses réflexions sur le rôle de différents types de savoir : savoir sur la langue, sur le texte et sur le monde. Dans la perspective procédurale de la lecture, nous considérons lescatégories textuelles : discours, genreettype de textecomme des déclencheurs d’attentes « descendants », et lesunités linguistiques, à déterminer par leur forme, fonction et frontières, comme des déclencheurs « ascendants » du traitement « en ligne » du matériau linguistique arrivant. Nous illustrerons comment ces deux procédures, descendante et ascendante, se combinent dans une « lecture raisonnée », de prédiction-identification-vérification-(correction), où catégories textuelles et unités linguistiques se concrétisent et se déterminent en cours de route, tout selon le savoir linguistique, textuel et du monde, du lecteur.
Central and peripheral pain sensitization during an ultra-marathon competition
Authors: Agnew James W. , Hammer Steven B. , Roy Alexandre L. , Rahmoune Amina
Published: July 2018

Background and aims

The participation in ultra-marathons and other ultra-endurance events has increased exponentially over the past decade. There is insufficient data on variation in pain mechanisms in exercise overall but especially in the ultra-endurance athlete population. To further understand peripheral and central pain sensitization we have investigated pressure pain threshold and conditioned pain modulation during three separate ultra-marathon competitions.

Methods

Each ultra-marathon investigated was held in the state of Florida, USA, over flat, sandy and paved surfaces under generally warm to hot, humid conditions. Pressure pain threshold was measured utilizing a Baseline © Dolorimeter. The blunt end of the dolorimeter stylus was placed onto the distal dominant arm, equidistant between the distal radius and ulna, three times in a blinded manner to insure that the testing technician did not influence the subject’s responses. Conditioned pain modulation was measured immediately after the PPT measures by placing the non-dominant hand in a cool water bath maintained at 15°C. The same dolorimeter measurement was repeated two more times on the dominant arm while the non-dominant hand remained in the water. Data was analyzed with a paired t-test.

Results

Pressure pain threshold was significantly decreased (p<0.05) at 25, 50 and 100 miles. Conditioned pain modulation was also significantly decreased (p<0.05) at 25, 50 and 100 miles of an ultra-marathon competition.

Conclusions

Together these data suggest an increased peripheral and/or central pain sensitization starting at 25 miles and continuing throughout an ultra-marathon competition run in these conditions. This is the first study that provides evidence of a decreased peripheral pain threshold and decreased central pain inhibition from ultra-marathon running. Decreases in both the peripheral pain threshold and central inhibition may result from nociceptor plasticity, central sensitization or a combination of both.

Implications

Based on previous research that has indicated a central sensitization resulting from inflammation and the well-documented inflammatory response to the rigors of ultra-marathon competition, we suggest the decreased peripheral pain threshold and decreased descending pain inhibition results from this inflammatory response of running an ultra-marathon.
Determinants of binomial-related circulant matrices
Authors: Jantaramas Trairat , Jitman Somphong , Kaewsaard Pornpan
Published: July 2018

Due to their rich algebraic structures and wide applications, circulant matrices have been of interest and continuously studied. In this paper, n×n complex left and right circulant matrices whose first row consists of the coefficients in the expansion of (x + zy)n−1 are focused on, where z is a nonzero complex number and n is a positive integer. In the case where z ∈ {1, −1, i, −i}, explicit formulas for the determinants of such matrices are completely determined. Known results on the determinants of binomial circulant matrices can be viewed as the special case where z = 1. Finally, some remarks and open problems are discussed.
Distribution of drug-metabolizing enzymes coding genes CYP2D6, CYP3A4, CYP3A5 alleles in a group of healthy Turkish population
Authors: Ün İsmail , Barlas İ. Ömer , Uyar Nisa , Taşdelen Bahar , Tiftik Naci
Published: July 2018

Objective:

Variant alleles in specific ethnic groups are important for personalized drug therapy regimens and adverse drug reactions. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate allelic frequencies of the CYP2D6*1, CYP3A4*5, CYP3A4*18, CYP3A5*2 and CYP3A5*4 in a group of Turkish population.

Materials and methods:

Three hundred and six unrelated healthy subjects who were accepted as blood donors to the Mersin University Blood Bank were included in the study after informed consent. Allelic frequencies of the CYP2D6*1 (rs3892097), CYP3A4*5 (rs55901263), CYP3A4*18 (rs28371759), CYP3A5*2 (rs28365083) and CYP3A5*4 (rs56411402) were determined by using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism assays.

Results:

CYP2D6 allele frequencies in detected group was 100% for CYP2D6*1 (WT/WT). CYP3A4 allele frequencies of subjects were 100% for CYP3A4*5 (C/C) and CYP3A4*18 (T/T). CYP3A5 allele were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium for CYP3A5*2 (p=0.142) and frequencies for C and A allele were 91% and 9% respectively. CYP3A5 allele frequencies of subjects was 100% for CYP3A5*4 (WT/WT).

Conclusion:

Screening of low frequency alleles by pharmacogenetic testing must not be omitted to optimize pharmacotherapy and avoid severe drug toxicities. Frequency distributions of the identified polymorphisms in the present study may contribute to the personalized drug therapy regimens and prediction of possible adverse drug reactions in the Turkish population.
Simulation of Use-Related Multi-Parameter Load Spectrum Based on Principal Component Analysis
Authors: Zhigang Sun , Guangpeng Xing , Qi Lu , Yingdong Song
Published: July 2018

Aircraft engine load spectrum is the basis of stress analysis of components, structural design criteria, the durability test of components and complete engine and lifetime analysis. The main features are as follows: 1.it is difficult to obtain; 2. samples are insufficient; 3. parameters amount are huge, complex correlation. As a result, the lifetime prediction for aircraft engine and the new engine development is in urgent need of the simulation method of load spectrum. The mathematical model of aircraft engine, in specific, the use-related multiple parameters load spectrum was established by using the Principal Component Analysis (PCA). By using this model, simulation about the normal, non-normal and measured load spectrum of aero-engine can be made. In this paper, the simulated method of use-related multi-parameter load spectrum based on PCA can simulate the original load spectrum at any time by few sample measured and keep the correlation between parameters unchanged. The result indicated that the cumulative frequency curve of the simulated load spectrum and the cumulative frequency curve of the original load spectrum are in good agreement, which ensures that the fatigue damage caused by the simulation spectrum is consistent with the original spectrum.
Efficient synthesis of pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine-7-carboxylic acids catalyzed by a TiO2/SiO2 nanocomposite in aqueous media at room temperature
Authors: Sadegh-Samiei Sepehr , Abdolmohammadi Shahrzad
Published: July 2018

A novel and efficient synthesis of eight 5-aryl-1,3-dimethyl-2,4-dioxo-1,2,3,4,5,8-hexahydropyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine-7-carboxylic acids using a TiO2/SiO2 nanocomposite with a molar ratio of 1:1 as a recyclable heterogeneous catalyst is described. The desired products, five of which are new, are formed in short reaction times (2–3 h) with high to excellent yields (94%–98%) under very moderate reaction conditions (room temperature, aqueous media).
Chromatin Loop Formation Induced by a Subtelomeric Protosilencer Represses EPA Genes in Candida glabrata
Authors: López-Fuentes Eunice , Hernández-Hernández Grecia , Castanedo Leonardo , Gutiérrez-Escobedo Guadalupe , Oktaba Katarzyna , De las Peñas Alejandro , Castaño Irene
Published: July 2018

Adherence, an important virulence factor, is mediated by the EPA (Epithelial Adhesin) genes in the opportunistic pathogen Candida glabrata. Expression of adhesin-encoding genes requires tight regulation to respond to harsh environmental conditions within the host. The majority of EPA genes are localized in subtelomeric regions regulated by subtelomeric silencing, which depends mainly on Rap1 and the Sir proteins. In vitro adhesion to epithelial cells is primarily mediated by Epa1. EPA1 forms a cluster with EPA2 and EPA3 in the right telomere of chromosome E (E-R). This telomere contains a cis-acting regulatory element, the protosilencer Sil2126 between EPA3 and the telomere. Interestingly, Sil2126 is only active in the context of its native telomere. Replacement of the intergenic regions between EPA genes in E-R revealed that cis-acting elements between EPA2 and EPA3 are required for Sil2126 activity when placed 32 kb away from the telomere (Sil@-32kb). Sil2126 contains several putative binding sites for Rap1 and Abf1, and its activity depends on these proteins. Indeed, Sil2126 binds Rap1 and Abf1 at its native position and also when inserted at −32 kb, a silencing-free environment in the parental strain. In addition, we found that Sil@-32kb and Sil2126 at its native position can physically interact with the intergenic regions between EPA1-EPA2 and EPA2-EPA3 respectively, by chromosome conformation capture assays. We speculate that Rap1 and Abf1 bound to Sil2126 can recruit the Silent Information Regulator complex, and together mediate silencing in this region, probably through the formation of a chromatin loop.
Eventos sociais como estratégia de atratividade e redução dos impactos da sazonalidade na hotelaria: o caso do Gran Marquise hotel, Fortaleza-CE
Authors: Mota Dambergh Da , Coelho Susana Dantas
Published: July 2018

Os eventos sociais surgem na hotelaria como uma nova alternativa de elevação da receita hoteleira e redução dos impactos da sazonalidade turística, tendo em vista a diversidade de tipologias relacionadas a esse segmento. Os hotéis de grande porte têm se beneficiado de sua estrutura, conforto e elegância para atrair clientes, e utilizam o espaço de seus salões para a realização de cerimônias. O presente artigo se caracterizou como um estudo de caso do Gran Marquise Hotel, Fortaleza-CE, o qual é referência local na realização de eventos sociais. A pesquisa foi relevante por estar relacionada a um mercado em ascensão, e buscou investigar quais os diferenciais oferecidos para os eventos sociais pelo Gran Marquise Hotel, Fortaleza-CE. Como metodologia, optou-se pela pesquisa bibliográfica associada à pesquisa descritiva de caráter exploratório, utilizando-se da coleta de dados por meio de pesquisa de campo e aplicação de questionário à Assistente de Eventos Sociais do hotel; e da Pesquisa de Qualidade de Eventos realizada com clientes de eventos sociais do hotel em questão. Os resultados apontaram quais os serviços oferecidos pelo hotel que podem ser visualizados como diferenciais competitivos, além de permitir conhecer a percepção do cliente em relação à satisfação nas fases de planejamento, organização e pós-evento
O processo de Interiorização dos Institutos Federais sob o aspecto da satisfação dos servidores
Authors: Dias Francine Macedo , Teixeira Aridelmo , Zamprogno Bruno
Published: July 2018

O objetivo desta pesquisa foi estudar a relação entre a distância derivada do deslocamento pendular diário e o nível de satisfação laboral dos servidores de uma instituição de ensino federal, devido ao processo de expansão e de interiorização da rede federal, o que provoca um desafio à gestão dos recursos humanos. Por meio da aplicação de um questionário estruturado com parâmetros psicométricos, a versão reduzida da Escala de Satisfação no Trabalho – EST, que fora associado a uma escala de Likert, os resultados desta pesquisa empírica, de abordagem quantitativa e de corte transversal, apontaram que não há evidências de relação entre o nível de satisfação do trabalhador e a distância decorrente do deslocamento pendular diário.
ANÁLISE SWOT E VISÃO BASEADA EM RECURSOS COMO SUPORTE À FORMULAÇÃO DO PLANEJAMENTO ESTRATÉGICO: UM ESTUDO NO MERCADÃO MUNICIPAL DE NAVIRAÍ-MS
Authors: Pereira Cristina Horst , Oliveira Priscila De , Komesu Jefferson Kiyoshi , Pereira Jaiane Aparecida , Gomes Monalisa Simone Alves
Published: July 2018

O presente estudo teve por objetivo realizar uma análise estratégica do Mercadão Municipal de Naviraí-MS com vistas ao desenvolvimento de estratégias para potencialização do uso do espaço. Como teorias de base, utilizou-se o planejamento estratégico e a Visão Baseada em Recursos. A pesquisa foi caracterizada como qualitativa descritiva, utilizando um formulário aplicado junto aos comerciantes locais. Como principais resultados, detectou-se fragilidades na gestão do espaço, tanto por parte do órgão público diretamente responsável, quanto da cooperativa que detém o Termo de Cessão para a gestão do mercado. Isto mostra a necessidade de otimização dos recursos a partir do conhecimento das potencialidades internas aliadas à uma visão de mercado por parte dos empreendedores ali alocados. A partir dessa análise, pode-se indicar as estratégias de cooperação, diversificação e de marketing para elaboração do planejamento estratégico e a geração de vantagem competitiva.
PIB INDUSTRIAL DO ESTADO DE MATO GROSSO DO SUL, UMA ANÁLISE NO PERÍODO DE 2002-2012
Authors: Moreno Rafael Gonçalves , Paz Patrícia Pogliesi , Vieira Rosele Marques , Ferreira Bruna Maria Oliveira Benites
Published: July 2018

O objetivo deste trabalho é analisar a evolução do Produto Interno Bruto (PIB) industrial no estado de Mato Grosso do Sul, no período de 2002 a 2012. Com base em dados secundários, foi realizada uma análise da participação do PIB industrial em relação ao PIB geral. Analisando a variação entre o PIB geral e o PIB industrial nos anos de 2002 a 2012, observou-se que o setor secundário registrou uma taxa média de crescimento de 7,2%, enquanto o crescimento do PIB geral foi 5,1%. Sendo assim, o setor secundário vem ganhando participação relativa na composição do PIB, em especial, a partir de 2004 e movido pela indústria de transformação. Quanto ao comportamento do PIB industrial de MS, pode-se observar a presença de pequenos ciclos de crescimento acompanhado de períodos de estagnação. Em síntese,no período de 2002-2012 a participação do setor secundário obteve variação positiva de 5,0%.
O IMPACTO DO ESTÍMULO AMBIENTAL COM MOTIVAÇÃO OLFATIVA SOBRE A DECISÃO DE COMPRA DO CONSUMIDOR.
Authors: Nascimento Renata Oliveira , Mainardes Emerson Wagner , Vigna Joselita Pancine
Published: July 2018

Os estímulos ambientais podem influenciar o comportamento de compra do consumidor despertando emoções, sentimentos e experiências que facilitam a interação do cliente com o ambiente de loja e com o consumo. Dentre os vários estímulos, neste estudo, optou-se pela orientação motivacional olfativa. Delimitando-se como objetivo, verificar se um ambiente aromatizado influencia na intenção de compra do consumidor. Para seu alcance realizou-se um estudo de campo, seguido de um experimento envolvendo duas etapas. A primeira delas envolveu o ambiente de loja sem estímulo ambiental e a segunda envolveu a aspersão de aroma de chocolate ao leite na loja estudada. Os resultados encontrados apontaram que o efeito do aroma sobre o comportamento do consumidor, no ponto de venda, influenciou positivamente a intenção de compra, permitindo concluir que o aroma, como estímulo ambiental, influencia o comportamento de compra do consumidor em ambientes que usam dessa orientação motivacional.
DYNAMICS OF THE PREVALENCE BY VISIT OF ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION, CORONARY HEART DISEASE AND COMPLICATIONS DURING 6 YEARS IN RURAL AREAS INHABITANTS
Authors: Denisov I. N. , Zaugolnikova Т. V. , Popova Т. S. , Morozova T. E.
Published: July 2018

Aim. Assessment of the dynamics of arterial hypertension (AH), coronary heart disease (CHD), postinfarction cardiosclerosis (PICS), stroke, cardiovascular risk factors prevalence by visit, during 6 years in the inhabitants of rural areas. Assessment of the impact of prevention events on the revealing rate of cardiovascular diseases.

Material and methods. In the years 2015-17, a retrospective analysis was done, of the database on 2202 adults (≥18 y.o.) in Mokshinskaya rural outpatient facility. Of those 970 (44,1%) males and 1232 (55,9%) females. Study object — the reports for 2011-2016. For statistics, the IBM SPSS 21.0 was used, together with WinPEPI 10.49. Precise Fisher test applied and chi-square by Pearson. Statistics borderline set to 5%.

Results. In 2016г the prevalence of AH — 9,54% (of all adult population), CHD — 2,00%, PICS — 0,59%, stroke — 0,27%. Prevalence increase by: AH — 32,5%, diabetes — 30,6%, obesity — 52,4%. There was tendency to decline of all CHD cases number: from 3039,8 by 100 thousand persons to 1998,2 by 100 thsd. PICS values did not change significantly. Cardiovascular mortality in the studied population was slightly higher — 7,3 promille in 2016, than cardiovascular mortality by Rosstat data — 6,2 promille and correlates strongly negatively with prevention events that have been performed.

Conclusion. During a 6 year period there is significant increase of AH, diabetes, obesity prevalence that correlates significantly with prevention events. Nevertheless, the data on 2016 remains below mean statistics for entire country, except on obesity. Increase of the number of obesity persons by 52,4% is a serious medical and social problem of the studied population. It is a risk factor sreiously influencing cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.
The Communicative Multiagent Team Decision Problem: Analyzing Teamwork Theories and Models
Authors: Pynadath D. V. , Tambe M.
Published: July 2018

Despite the significant progress in multiagent teamwork, existing research does not address the optimality of its prescriptions nor the complexity of the teamwork problem. Without a characterization of the optimality-complexity tradeoffs, it is impossible to determine whether the assumptions and approximations made by a particular theory gain enough efficiency to justify the losses in overall performance. To provide a tool for use by multiagent researchers in evaluating this tradeoff, we present a unified framework, the COMmunicative Multiagent Team Decision Problem (COM-MTDP). The COM-MTDP model combines and extends existing multiagent theories, such as decentralized partially observable Markov decision processes and economic team theory. In addition to their generality of representation, COM-MTDPs also support the analysis of both the optimality of team performance and the computational complexity of the agents' decision problem. In analyzing complexity, we present a breakdown of the computational complexity of constructing optimal teams under various classes of problem domains, along the dimensions of observability and communication cost. In analyzing optimality, we exploit the COM-MTDP's ability to encode existing teamwork theories and models to encode two instantiations of joint intentions theory taken from the literature. Furthermore, the COM-MTDP model provides a basis for the development of novel team coordination algorithms. We derive a domain-independent criterion for optimal communication and provide a comparative analysis of the two joint intentions instantiations with respect to this optimal policy. We have implemented a reusable, domain-independent software package based on COM-MTDPs to analyze teamwork coordination strategies, and we demonstrate its use by encoding and evaluating the two joint intentions strategies within an example domain.
Acquiring Word-Meaning Mappings for Natural Language Interfaces
Authors: Thompson C.
Published: July 2018

This paper focuses on a system, WOLFIE (WOrd Learning From Interpreted Examples), that acquires a semantic lexicon from a corpus of sentences paired with semantic representations. The lexicon learned consists of phrases paired with meaning representations. WOLFIE is part of an integrated system that learns to transform sentences into representations such as logical database queries. Experimental results are presented demonstrating WOLFIE's ability to learn useful lexicons for a database interface in four different natural languages. The usefulness of the lexicons learned by WOLFIE are compared to those acquired by a similar system, with results favorable to WOLFIE. A second set of experiments demonstrates WOLFIE's ability to scale to larger and more difficult, albeit artificially generated, corpora. In natural language acquisition, it is difficult to gather the annotated data needed for supervised learning; however, unannotated data is fairly plentiful. Active learning methods attempt to select for annotation and training only the most informative examples, and therefore are potentially very useful in natural language applications. However, most results to date for active learning have only considered standard classification tasks. To reduce annotation effort while maintaining accuracy, we apply active learning to semantic lexicons. We show that active learning can significantly reduce the number of annotated examples required to achieve a given level of performance.
Propositional Independence - Formula-Variable Independence and
Forgetting
Authors: Lang J. , Liberatore P. , Marquis P.
Published: July 2018

Independence -- the study of what is relevant to a given problem of reasoning -- has received an increasing attention from the AI community. In this paper, we consider two basic forms of independence, namely, a syntactic one and a semantic one. We show features and drawbacks of them. In particular, while the syntactic form of independence is computationally easy to check, there are cases in which things that intuitively are not relevant are not recognized as such. We also consider the problem of forgetting, i.e., distilling from a knowledge base only the part that is relevant to the set of queries constructed from a subset of the alphabet. While such process is computationally hard, it allows for a simplification of subsequent reasoning, and can thus be viewed as a form of compilation: once the relevant part of a knowledge base has been extracted, all reasoning tasks to be performed can be simplified.
Exploiting Contextual Independence In Probabilistic Inference
Authors: Poole D. , Zhang N. L.
Published: July 2018

Bayesian belief networks have grown to prominence because they provide compact representations for many problems for which probabilistic inference is appropriate, and there are algorithms to exploit this compactness. The next step is to allow compact representations of the conditional probabilities of a variable given its parents. In this paper we present such a representation that exploits contextual independence in terms of parent contexts; which variables act as parents may depend on the value of other variables. The internal representation is in terms of contextual factors (confactors) that is simply a pair of a context and a table. The algorithm, contextual variable elimination, is based on the standard variable elimination algorithm that eliminates the non-query variables in turn, but when eliminating a variable, the tables that need to be multiplied can depend on the context. This algorithm reduces to standard variable elimination when there is no contextual independence structure to exploit. We show how this can be much more efficient than variable elimination when there is structure to exploit. We explain why this new method can exploit more structure than previous methods for structured belief network inference and an analogous algorithm that uses trees.
On Polynomial Sized MDP Succinct Policies
Authors: Liberatore P.
Published: July 2018

Policies of Markov Decision Processes (MDPs) determine the next action to execute from the current state and, possibly, the history (the past states). When the number of states is large, succinct representations are often used to compactly represent both the MDPs and the policies in a reduced amount of space. In this paper, some problems related to the size of succinctly represented policies are analyzed. Namely, it is shown that some MDPs have policies that can only be represented in space super-polynomial in the size of the MDP, unless the polynomial hierarchy collapses. This fact motivates the study of the problem of deciding whether a given MDP has a policy of a given size and reward. Since some algorithms for MDPs work by finding a succinct representation of the value function, the problem of deciding the existence of a succinct representation of a value function of a given size and reward is also considered.
SHOP2: An HTN Planning System
Authors: Nau D. S. , Au T. C. , Ilghami O. , Kuter U. , Murdock J. W. , Wu D. , Yaman F.
Published: July 2018

The SHOP2 planning system received one of the awards for distinguished performance in the 2002 International Planning Competition. This paper describes the features of SHOP2 which enabled it to excel in the competition, especially those aspects of SHOP2 that deal with temporal and metric planning domains.
Learning to Coordinate Efficiently: A Model-based Approach
Authors: Brafman R. I. , Tennenholtz M.
Published: July 2018

In common-interest stochastic games all players receive an identical payoff. Players participating in such games must learn to coordinate with each other in order to receive the highest-possible value. A number of reinforcement learning algorithms have been proposed for this problem, and some have been shown to converge to good solutions in the limit. In this paper we show that using very simple model-based algorithms, much better (i.e., polynomial) convergence rates can be attained. Moreover, our model-based algorithms are guaranteed to converge to the optimal value, unlike many of the existing algorithms.
New Polynomial Classes for Logic-Based Abduction
Authors: Zanuttini B.
Published: July 2018

We address the problem of propositional logic-based abduction, i.e., the problem of searching for a best explanation for a given propositional observation according to a given propositional knowledge base. We give a general algorithm, based on the notion of projection; then we study restrictions over the representations of the knowledge base and of the query, and find new polynomial classes of abduction problems.
Acquiring Correct Knowledge for Natural Language Generation
Authors: Reiter E. , Sripada S. G. , Robertson R.
Published: July 2018

Natural language generation (NLG) systems are computer software systems that produce texts in English and other human languages, often from non-linguistic input data. NLG systems, like most AI systems, need substantial amounts of knowledge. However, our experience in two NLG projects suggests that it is difficult to acquire correct knowledge for NLG systems; indeed, every knowledge acquisition (KA) technique we tried had significant problems. In general terms, these problems were due to the complexity, novelty, and poorly understood nature of the tasks our systems attempted, and were worsened by the fact that people write so differently. This meant in particular that corpus-based KA approaches suffered because it was impossible to assemble a sizable corpus of high-quality consistent manually written texts in our domains; and structured expert-oriented KA techniques suffered because experts disagreed and because we could not get enough information about special and unusual cases to build robust systems. We believe that such problems are likely to affect many other NLG systems as well. In the long term, we hope that new KA techniques may emerge to help NLG system builders. In the shorter term, we believe that understanding how individual KA techniques can fail, and using a mixture of different KA techniques with different strengths and weaknesses, can help developers acquire NLG knowledge that is mostly correct.
Ordinal and Probabilistic Representations of Acceptance
Authors: Dubois D. , Fargier H. , Prade H.
Published: July 2018

An accepted belief is a proposition considered likely enough by an agent, to be inferred from as if it were true. This paper bridges the gap between probabilistic and logical representations of accepted beliefs. To this end, natural properties of relations on propositions, describing relative strength of belief are augmented with some conditions ensuring that accepted beliefs form a deductively closed set. This requirement turns out to be very restrictive. In particular, it is shown that the sets of accepted belief of an agent can always be derived from a family of possibility rankings of states. An agent accepts a proposition in a given context if this proposition is considered more possible than its negation in this context, for all possibility rankings in the family. These results are closely connected to the non-monotonic 'preferential' inference system of Kraus, Lehmann and Magidor and the so-called plausibility functions of Friedman and Halpern. The extent to which probability theory is compatible with acceptance relations is laid bare. A solution to the lottery paradox, which is considered as a major impediment to the use of non-monotonic inference is proposed using a special kind of probabilities (called lexicographic, or big-stepped). The setting of acceptance relations also proposes another way of approaching the theory of belief change after the works of GÃÂ¤rdenfors and colleagues. Our view considers the acceptance relation as a primitive object from which belief sets are derived in various contexts.