bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Improved dewatering of CEPT sludge by biogenic flocculant from Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans
Authors: Wong Jonathan W. C. , Murugesan Kumarasamy , Yu Shuk Man , Kurade Mayur B. , Selvam Ammaiyappan
Published: February 2016

Bioleaching using an iron-oxidizing bacterium, Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans, and its biogenic flocculants was evaluated to improve the dewaterability of chemically enhanced primary treatment (CEPT) sewage sludge. CEPT sludge in flasks was inoculated with A. ferrooxidans culture, medium-free cells and the cell-free culture filtrate with and without the energy substance Fe2+, and periodically the sludge samples were analysed for the dewaterability. This investigation proves that bioleaching effectively improved the sludge dewaterability as evidenced from drastic reduction in capillary suction time (≤20 seconds) and specific resistance to filtration (≥90%); however, it requires an adaptability period of 1–2 days. On the other hand, the biogenic flocculant produced by A. ferrooxidans greatly decreased the time-to-filtration and facilitated the dewaterability within 4 h. Results indicate that rapid dewatering of CEPT sludge by biogenic flocculants provides an opportunity to replace the synthetic organic polymer for dewatering.
Enhancing nitrogen removal efficiency and reducing nitrate liquor recirculation ratio by improving simultaneous nitrification and denitrification in integrated fixed-film activated sludge (IFAS) process
Authors: Bai Yang , Zhang Yaobin , Quan Xie , Chen Shuo
Published: February 2016

An integrated fixed-film activated sludge (IFAS) process (G1) and an activated sludge anoxic–oxic process (G2) were operated at nitrate liquor recirculation ratio (R) of 100, 200 and 300% to investigate the feasibility of enhancing nitrogen removal efficiency (RTN) and reducing R by improving simultaneous nitrification and denitrification (SND) in the IFAS process. The results showed that the effluent NH4+-N and total nitrogen (TN) of G1 at R of 200% were less than 1.5 and 14.5 mg/L, satisfying the Chinese discharge standard (NH4+-N < 5 mg/L; TN < 15 mg/L). However, the effluent NH4+-N and TN of G2 at R of 300% were higher than 8.5 and 15.3 mg/L. It indicated that better RTN could be achieved at a lower R in the IFAS process. The polymerase chain reaction–denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis results implied that nitrifiers and denitrifiers co-existed in one microbial community, facilitating the occurrence of SND in the aerobic reactor of G1, and the contribution of SND to TN removal efficiency ranged 15–19%, which was the main reason that the RTN was improved in the IFAS process. Therefore, the IFAS process was an effective method for improving RTN and reducing R. In practical application, this advantage of the IFAS process can decrease the electricity consumption for nitrate liquor recirculation flow, thereby saving operational costs.
Shock resistance characteristic of a spiral symmetry stream anaerobic bio-reactor
Authors: Chen Xiaoguang , Dai Ruobin , Xiang Xinyi , Li Gang , Xu Zhengqi , Hu Tao , Abdelgadir Awad
Published: February 2016

The shock resistance characteristic (SRC) of an anaerobic bioreactor characterizes the ability of the anaerobic community in the reactor to withstand violent change in the living environment. In comparison with an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor (UASBR), the SRC of a spiral symmetry stream anaerobic bio-reactor (SSSAB) was systematically investigated in terms of removal efficiency, adsorption property, settling ability, flocculability and fluctuations in these parameters. A quantitative assessment method for SRC was also developed. The results indicated that the SSSAB showed better SRC than the UASBR. The average value (m value) of chemical oxygen demand removal rates of the SSSAB was 86.0%. The contact angle of granules in the SSSAB present gradient distribution, that is the m value of contact angle increasing from bottom (84.5°) to top (93.9°). The m value of the density at the upper and lower sections of the SSSAB were 1.0611 g·cm−3 and 1.0423 g·cm−3, respectively. The surface mean diameter of granules in the SSSAB increased from 1.164 to 1.292 mm during operation. The absolute m value of zeta potential of granular sludge at the upper and lower sections of the SSSAB were 40.4 mV and 44.9 mV, respectively. The weighted mean coefficient variance () value indicated SSSAB was more stable than the UASBR.
Evaluation of trichloroethylene degradation by starch supported Fe/Ni nanoparticles via response surface methodology
Authors: Nikroo Razieh , Alemzadeh Iran , Vossoughi Manouchehr , Haddadian Kamran
Published: February 2016

In this study, degradation of trichloroethylene (TCE), a chlorinated hydrocarbon, using starch supported Fe/Ni nanoparticles was investigated. The scanning electron microscope images showed applying water soluble starch as a stabilizer for the Fe/Ni nanoparticles tended to reduce agglomeration and discrete particle. Also the mean particle diameter reduced from about 70 nm (unsupported Fe/Ni nanoparticle) to about 30 nm. Effects of three key independent operating parameters including initial TCE concentration (10.0–300.0 mg L−1), initial pH (4.00–10.00) and Fe0 dosage (0.10–2.00) g L−1 on TCE dechlorination efficiency in 1 hour were analysed by employing response surface methodology (RSM). Based on a five-level three-factor central composite design, TCE removal efficiency was examined and optimized. The obtained RSM model fitted the experimental data to a second order polynomial equation. The optimum dechlorination conditions at initial TCE concentration 100.0 mgL−1 were initial pH 5.77, Fe0 dosage 1.67 g L−1. At these conditions TCE removal concentration reached 94.87%, which is in close acceptance with predicted value by the RSM model.
Synthesis of graphene oxide–SiO2 coated mesh film and its properties on oil–water separation and antibacterial activity
Authors: Liu Jun , He Wanxia , Li Peng , Xia Siying , Lü Xiaomeng , Liu Zhanhong , Yan Pengju , Tian Ting
Published: February 2016

Oil–water separation has recently become a worldwide challenge due to the frequent occurrence of oil spill accidents and increasing industrial oily wastewater. In this work, the multifunctional mesh films with underwater oleophobicity and certain bacteriostatic effects are prepared by layer-by-layer assembly of graphene oxide-silica coatings on stainless steel mesh. The mesh film exhibits excellent environmental stability under a series of harsh conditions. The new, facile and reusable separation system is proposed to achieve deep treatment of oily wastewater, and the oil collection rate can reach over 99%.
Urban vulnerability and resiliency over water-related risks: a case study from Algiers
Authors: Aroua Najet
Published: February 2016

The ad hoc management of natural environmental features and inappropriate social interventions could cause vulnerability of thriving urban ecosystems. For instance sub-aerial exposure, water-related hazards, urban intrinsic sensitivity, urban adaptation ability or flexibility and urban transformability factors could contribute a potential danger. In spite of seasonal climatic changes, the exposure indicates a significant geographical determinism whereas the other factors express its antithesis. The present paper aims to adapt a vulnerability–resilience indicators' multicriteria analysis to show the variability and contribution rate with regard to local water-related risks. The municipality of al-Harrash from Algiers has been selected as a case study. The urban vulnerability–resilience closely tied up with a sum of relevant indicators confirmed by the diagnosis items, which are relevant to the local urban and hydro systems. The cumulative sums are obtained from a classification process referring to several criteria implied in the water-related risks. These were formulated here for the purpose of a multicriteria analysis with the objective of assessing the urban vulnerability–resilience index and subsequently orientating the preventive strategy towards different levels of sustainable measures. With this respect the exposure and sensitivity received a significant score while adaptation ability and transformability scored very low.
Adsorption of reactive blue BF-5G dye by soybean hulls: kinetics, equilibrium and influencing factors
Authors: Honorio Jacqueline Ferandin , Veit Márcia Teresinha , Gonçalves Gilberto da Cunha , de Campos Élvio Antonio , Fagundes-Klen Márcia Regina
Published: February 2016

The textile industry is known for the high use of chemicals, such as dyes, and large volumes of effluent that contaminate waters, a fact that has encouraged research and improved treatment techniques. In this study, we used unprocessed soybean hulls for the removal of reactive blue BF-5G dye. The point of zero charge of soybean hulls was 6.76. Regarding the speed of agitation in the adsorption process, the resistance to mass transfer that occurs in the boundary layer was eliminated at 100 rpm. Kinetics showed an experimental amount of dye adsorbed at equilibrium of 57.473 mg g−1 obtained under the following conditions: dye initial concentration = 400 mg L−1; diameter of particle = 0.725 mm; dosage = 6 g L−1; pH 2; 100 rpm; temperature = 30 °C; and duration of 24 hours. The pseudo-second order best showed the dye removal kinetics. The adsorption isotherms performed at different temperatures (20, 30, 40 and 50 °C) showed little variation in the concentration range assessed, being properly adjusted by the Langmuir isotherm model. The maximum capacity of dye adsorption was 72.427 mg g−1 at 30 °C. Since soybean hull is a low-cost industrial byproduct, it proved to be a potential adsorbent for the removal of the textile dye assessed.
Implementation of a real-time automatic onset time detection for surface electromyography measurement systems using NI myRIO
Authors: Lersviriyanantakul Chaiwat , Booranawong Apidet , Sengchuai Kiattisak , Phukpattaranont Pornchai , Wongkittisuksa Booncharoen , Jindapetch Nattha
Published: February 2016

For using surface electromyography (sEMG) in various applications, the
process consists of three parts: an onset time detection for detecting the
first point of movement signals, a feature extraction for extracting the
signal attribution, and a feature classification for classifying the sEMG
signals. The first and the most significant part that influences the
accuracy of other parts is the onset time detection, particularly for
automatic systems. In this paper, an automatic and simple algorithm for the
real-time onset time detection is presented. There are two main processes in
the proposed algorithm; a smoothing process for reducing the noise of the
measured sEMG signals and an automatic threshold calculation process for
determining the onset time. The results from the algorithm analysis
demonstrate the performance of the proposed algorithm to detect the sEMG
onset time in various smoothing-threshold equations. Our findings reveal
that using a simple square integral (SSI) as the smoothing-threshold
equation with the given sEMG signals gives the best performance for the
onset time detection. Additionally, our proposed algorithm is also
implemented on a real hardware platform, namely NI myRIO. Using the
real-time simulated sEMG data, the experimental results guarantee that the
proposed algorithm can properly detect the onset time in the real-time
manner.
Knowledge-based competitiveness indices and its connection with energy indices
Authors: Katic Andrea , Cosic Ilija , Kupusinac Aleksandar , Vasiljevic Marko , Stojic Ivan
Published: February 2016

Knowledge-based economy has become a major trend in international society in
the 21st century. However, today?s strategies place a greater emphasis on
sustainability than in the past, while continuing to emphasize the importance
of education and its connection with labour market. There has been a
re-orientation, where resource, eco-efficiency and innovation have become
major elements for achieving national objectives and a relevant level of
competitiveness. This article deals with 30 indices, which define the
competitiveness of a specific economy, and involve knowledge parameters. They
are classified into four main categories and one special category. They are
then analysed regarding the participation of Serbia and their availability.
The main focus of this paper is to give detailed analyses of energy indices,
as a special category of knowledge indexes. It has been shown that Serbia, in
many cases, was not included in the study analysis or that there was
insufficient information about Serbia?s position. This article shows that
only a part of the presented indices includes Serbia. It is concluded that a
new, revised model is needed that will include more exact indicators.
Efficient feature for classification of eye movements using electrooculography signals
Authors: Phukpattaranont Pornchai , Aungsakul Siriwadee , Phinyomark Angkoon , Limsakul Chusak
Published: February 2016

Electrooculography (EOG) signal is widely and successfully used to detect
activities of human eye. The advantages of the EOG-based interface over other
conventional interfaces have been presented in the last two decades; however,
due to a lot of information in EOG signals, the extraction of useful features
should be done before the classification task. In this study, an efficient
feature extracted from two directional EOG signals: vertical and horizontal
signals has been presented and evaluated. There are the maximum peak and
valley amplitude values, the maximum peak and valley position values, and
slope, which are derived from both vertical and horizontal signals. In the
experiments, EOG signals obtained from five healthy subjects with ten
directional eye movements were employed: up, down, right, left, up-right,
up-left, down-right down-left clockwise and counterclockwise. The mean
feature values and their standard deviations have been reported. The
difference between the mean values of the proposed feature from different eye
movements can be clearly seen. Using the scatter plot, the differences in
features can be also clearly observed. Results show that classification
accuracy can approach 100% with a simple distinction feature rule. The
proposed features can be useful for various advanced human-computer interface
applications in future researches.
Study on overhead transmission line on-line monitoring technology
Authors: Yang Zhiwang , Zivlak Nikola , Xu Ming , Ljubicic Marko
Published: February 2016

paper introduces a new idea for overhead transmission line online monitoring.
The basis of the paper has been developed upon years of research conducted by
power engineers, and a new advanced transmission line safe operation
monitoring system is proposed successfully. Furthermore, we used artificial
neural network(ANN) for diagnosis examples, to prove the feasibility and
effectiveness of the advanced transmission line safe operation system.
Respiratory diseases in preschool children in the city of Nis exposed to suspended particulates and carbon monoxide from ambient air
Authors: Djordjevic Amelija , Ristic Goran , Zivkovic Nenad , Todorovic Branimir , Hristov Sladjan , Milosevic Lidija
Published: February 2016

Background/Aim. Analysis of air quality in Serbia indicates that the city of
Nis belongs to a group of cities characterized by the third category of air
quality (excessive air pollution). The aim of the study was to analyze the
degree of causality between ambient air quality affected by particulate
matter of 10 ?m (PM10) and carbon monoxide (CO) and the incidence of
respiratory diseases in preschool children in the city of Nis. Methods. We
quantified the influence of higher PM10 concentrations and carbon monoxide
comprising motor vehicle exhausts in the city of Nis on the occurrence of
unwanted health effects in preschool children by means of the hazard quotient
(HQ), individual health risk (Ri), and the probability of cancer (ICR). The
methodology used was according to the US Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA), and it included basic scientific statistical methods, compilation
methods, and the relevant mathematical methods for assessing air pollution
health risk, based on the use of attribute equations. Results. Measurement of
ambient air pollutant concentrations in the analyzed territory for the entire
monitoring duration revealed that PM10 concentrations were significantly
above the allowed limits during 80% of the days. The maximum measured PM10
concentration was 191.6 ?g/m3, and carbon monoxide 5.415 mg/m3. The incidence
of respiratory diseases in the experimental group, with a prominent impact of
polluted air was 57.17%, whereas the incidence in the control group was
considerably lower, 41.10 %. There were also significant differences in the
distribution of certain respiratory diseases. Conclusion. In order to perform
good causal analysis of air quality and health risk, it is very important to
establish and develop a system for long-term monitoring, control, assessment,
and prediction of air pollution. We identified the suspended PM10 and CO as
ambient air pollutants causing negative health effects in the exposed
preschool children population.
The Effect of Financial Constraints on Income Shifting by U.S. Multinationals
Authors: Dyreng Scott D. , Markle Kevin S.
Published: February 2016

When a U.S. multinational corporation shifts income from the U.S. to foreign jurisdictions, it incurs costs and reaps benefits. The benefits may be reduced if the shifted income must be returned to the U.S. as a dividend in the short term and face the same U.S. tax it would have if the income had not been shifted. Firms, then, have incentive to defer repatriation of earnings and to fund domestic cash needs with external financing. The cost of external financing, however, is increasing in financial constraints, leading to the prediction that constrained firms will be unable to defer repatriation and, therefore, will reap no benefits from shifting. Using a new methodology for measuring income shifting, we find, consistent with predictions, that financially constrained firms shift less income from the U.S. to foreign countries than their unconstrained peers. We estimate that financially constrained firms shift out 20 percent less of pre-shifted income than unconstrained firms. Translating this percentage to dollar values, the mean (median) constrained firm shifts $16 million ($7 million) out of the U.S. each year, while the mean (median) unconstrained firm shifts $321 million ($134 million) out of the U.S. each year. Assuming that the inability to defer repatriation is the primary constraint preventing the U.S. worldwide tax system from being a de facto territorial system, we use our findings to estimate that changing to a pure territorial tax system would increase outbound income shifting by U.S. multinationals by 8 percent.
Academic Research in Accounting: A Framework for Quality Reviews
Authors: Dickins Denise , Schneider Douglas K.
Published: February 2016

We propose and model how a practitioner-based framework aimed at reducing the likelihood of unidentified misstatements in financial statements—the Audit Risk Model—might be adapted and used in the accounting research peer review process to, in part, address the issue of increasing retractions of academic studies. This proposal is intended to engage both practitioners and academics. Practitioners need to know the importance that the academy places on producing high-quality research; and just as practitioners can learn from the results of high-quality research studies, academics can learn from the activities of practitioners. The discussion that follows is intended to create debate. It is not intended to provide definitive answers.
An Analysis of Professional Competence Indicator Possession among U.S. Accounting Faculty
Authors: Smith Kenneth J. , Emerson David J.
Published: February 2016

Recently there has been much discourse regarding the existence, extent, causes, and consequences of a purported divide between accounting practice and academia. The crux of this issue relates to the charge that many new-generation faculty have a primary focus on academic research, but lack significant practical experience or certification, and the related claim that students may lack the requisite skills upon graduation. This study addresses these concerns by examining the incidence and trend in the possession of practice credentials, experience, and other activities among accounting faculty who graduated between 1994 and 2013. We evaluate how differences in institutional focus, possession of a practice credential, and proportion of credentialed faculty manifest in research propensities, current business experience, and student performance on the CPA exam. We identify a downward trend in practice credential possession that is more pronounced at research-oriented institutions. We further find significant differences in experience and publication activity across levels of both institutional focus and possession of a practice credential. We also find that students from research-oriented universities, schools with separate AACSB accounting accreditation, and those with a higher percentage credentialed faculty perform better on the CPA exam. Other results and the role of adjunct faculty in bridging this alleged divide are also examined.
Parameter optimization for high speed remote laser cutting of electrodes for lithium-ion batteries
Authors: Lee Dongkyoung , Patwa Rahul , Herfurth Hans , Mazumder Jyotirmoy
Published: February 2016

To reduce carbon emission, transportation sector has adapted lithium-ion battery-based hybridization of gasoline and diesel engines due to its efficiency, the availability of technologies, and nation-wide infrastructures. To cut prismatic and cylindrical electrodes for lithium-ion batteries, die cutting and rotary knife slitting have been used. Both techniques have disadvantages such as tool wear, process instability, inconsistency of cut quality, and redesign of mechanical cutting processes due to various battery sizes. High speed remote laser cutting overcomes these disadvantages with characteristics such as contact-free process, high energy concentration, low noise level, fast processing speed, very narrow heat affected zone, applicability to nearly all materials, and flexibility of laser power. Optimization of key parameters, or power and scanning speed, has been presented for laser cutting of electrodes for lithium-ion batteries. An acceptable clearance width is observed. The line energy is defined as dividing laser power by scanning speed and spot size. A good quality of cut surface, with no defects, such as delamination, burrs, edge bending, or microsized material attachments, is achieved with line energies between 0.8 × 1012 and 2.5 × 1012 J m−3 for anode and 0.31 × 1012 J m−3 and less than 3.5 × 1012 J m−3 for cathode.
Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins and Dibenzofurans in Cigarette Smoke - Polychlordibenzodioxine und Polychlordibenzofurane in Cigarettenrauch
Authors: Ball M , Päpke O , Lis A
Published: February 2016

The paper describes a method for the determination of polychlorinated dibenzodioxins and -furans both in gas phase and in particulate matter of cigarette smoke. This method was used for analysing the concentrations of all relevant polychlorinated dibenzofurans in the smoke of the ten best-selling German cigarette brands. The distribution of the various tetra-octachlordibenzodioxin isomers was similar to that obtained after combustion. None of the cigarettes investigated was found to contain 2,3,7,8-tetrachlordibenzodioxin. The total values expressed as TCDD toxic equivalent values are low, ranging from 0.05 to 0.17 pg/cig. These results are compared with the data reported in the literature to date. Regarding uptake of polychlorinated dibenzodioxins and -furans, cigarette smoke is only a source of minor importance as compared to nutrition.
Using an Activity-Based Model to Explore the Potential Impacts of Automated Vehicles
Authors: Childress Suzanne , Nichols Brice , Charlton Billy , Coe Stefan
Published: February 2016

Automated vehicles (AVs) may enter the consumer market with various stages of automation in 10 years or even sooner. Meanwhile, regional planning agencies are envisioning plans for time horizons out to 2040 and beyond. To help decision makers understand the effect of AV technology on regional plans, modeling tools should anticipate its impact on transportation networks and traveler choices. This research uses the Seattle, Washington, region's activity-based travel model to test a range of travel behavior impacts from AV technology development. The existing model was not originally designed with AVs in mind, so some modifications to the model assumptions are described in areas of roadway capacity, user values of time, and parking costs. Larger structural model changes were not yet considered. Results of four scenario tests show that improvements in roadway capacity and in the quality of the driving trip may lead to large increases in vehicle miles traveled, while a shift to per mile usage charges may counteract that trend. Travel models will need to have major improvements in the coming years, especially with regard to shared ride, taxi modes, and the effect of multitasking opportunities, to better anticipate the arrival of this technology.
Chronic spatial working memory deficit associated with the superior longitudinal fasciculus: a study using voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping and intraoperative direct stimulation in right prefrontal glioma surgery
Authors: Kinoshita Masashi , Nakajima Riho , Shinohara Harumichi , Miyashita Katsuyoshi , Tanaka Shingo , Okita Hirokazu , Nakada Mitsutoshi , Hayashi Yutaka
Published: February 2016

OBJECTIVE

Although the right prefrontal region is regarded as a silent area, chronic deficits of the executive function, including working memory (WM), could occur after resection of a right prefrontal glioma. This may be overlooked by postoperative standard examinations, and the disabilities could affect the patient's professional life. The right prefrontal region is a part of the frontoparietal network and is subserved by the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF); however, the role of the SLF in spatial WM is unclear. This study investigated a persistent spatial WM deficit in patients who underwent right prefrontal glioma resection, and evaluated the relationship between the spatial WM deficit and the SLF.

METHODS

Spatial WM was examined in 24 patients who underwent prefrontal glioma resection (right, n = 14; left, n = 10) and in 14 healthy volunteers using a spatial 2-back task during the long-term postoperative period. The neural correlates of spatial WM were evaluated using lesion mapping and voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping. In addition, the spatial 2-back task was performed during surgery under direct subcortical electrical stimulation in 2 patients with right prefrontal gliomas.

RESULTS

Patients with a right prefrontal lesion had a significant chronic spatial WM deficit. Voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping analysis revealed a significant correlation between spatial WM deficit and the region that overlapped the first and second segments of the SLF (SLF I and SLF II). Two patients underwent awake surgery and had difficulties providing the correct responses in the spatial 2-back task with direct subcortical electrical stimulation on the SLF I, which was preserved and confirmed by postoperative diffusion tensor imaging tractography. These patients exhibited no spatial WM deficits during the postoperative immediate and long-term periods.

CONCLUSIONS

Spatial WM deficits may persist in patients who undergo resection of the tumor located in the right prefrontal brain parenchyma. Injury to the dorsal frontoparietal subcortical white matter pathway, i.e., the SLF I or SLF I and II, could play a causal role in this chronic deficit. A persistent spatial WM deficit, without motor and language deficits, could affect the professional life of the patient. In such cases, awake surgery would be useful to detect the spatial WM network with appropriate task during tumor exploration.
Long-term clinical outcomes following 3- and 4-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion
Authors: De la Garza-Ramos Rafael , Xu Risheng , Ramhmdani Seba , Kosztowski Thomas , Bydon Mohamad , Sciubba Daniel M. , Wolinsky Jean-Paul , Witham Timothy F. , Gokaslan Ziya L. , Bydon Ali
Published: February 2016

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to report the long-term clinical outcomes following 3- and 4-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF).

METHODS

A retrospective review of all adult neurosurgical patients undergoing elective ACDF for degenerative disease at a single institution between 1996 and 2013 was performed. Patients who underwent first-time 3- or 4-level ACDF were included; patients with previous cervical spine surgery, those undergoing anterior/posterior approaches, and those with corpectomy were excluded. Outcome measures included perioperative complication rates, fusion rates, need for revision surgery, Nurick Scores, Odom's criteria, symptom resolution, neck visual analog scale (VAS) pain score, and persistent narcotics usage.

RESULTS

Seventy-one patients who underwent 3-level ACDF and 26 patients who underwent 4-level ACDF were identified and followed for an average of 7.6 ± 4.2 years. There was 1 case (3.9%) of deep wound infection in the 4-level group and 1 case in the 3-level group (1.4%; p = 0.454). Postoperatively, 31% of patients in the 4-level group complained of dysphagia, compared with 12.7% in the 3-level group (p = 0.038). The fusion rate was 84.6% after 4-level ACDF and 94.4% after 3-level ACDF (p = 0.122). At last follow-up, a significantly higher proportion of patients in the 4-level group continued to have axial neck pain (53.8%) than in the 3-level group (31%; p = 0.039); the daily oral morphine equivalent dose was significantly higher in the 4-level group (143 ± 97 mg/day) than in the 3-level group (25 ± 10 mg/day; p = 0.030). Outcomes based on Odom's criteria were also different between cohorts (p = 0.044), with a significantly lower proportion of patients in the 4-level ACDF group experiencing an excellent/good outcome.

CONCLUSIONS

In this study, patients who underwent 4-level ACDF had significantly higher rates of dysphagia, postoperative neck pain, and postoperative narcotic usage when compared with patients who underwent 3-level ACDF. Pseudarthrosis and deep wound infection rates were also higher in the 4-level group, although this did not reach statistical significance. Additionally, a smaller proportion of patients achieved a good/excellent outcome in the 4-level group than in the 3-level group. These findings suggest a significant increase of perioperative morbidity and worsened outcomes for patients who undergo 4- versus 3-level ACDF.
Management of the temporal muscle during cranioplasty: technical note
Authors: Honeybul Stephen
Published: February 2016

Over the past 2 decades there has been a resurgence of interest in the use of decompressive craniectomy in the management of neurological emergencies. While technically straightforward, the procedure is associated with a number of complications relating to the initial decompression and subsequent cranioplasty. One complication that has received relatively little attention relates to the management of the temporal muscle. Here, through an illustrative case, the author describes a novel method of minimizing dissection of the temporal muscle during a cranioplasty procedure. Rather than placing a synthetic material over the dura mater to prevent adhesions or dissecting the muscle off the dura, the dura was opened and reflected laterally, pedicled to the temporal muscle. The dural defect was closed with a dural substitute, and the bone flap was secured in a routine fashion. The temporal muscle was then secured in its anatomical position. At the 6-month follow-up, radiological and clinical examination confirmed the restoration of muscle volume with excellent cosmetic and functional results. Opening the dura on a temporal muscle pedicle does not represent a routine form of surgical reconstruction; however, the use of this technique may have some advantages especially in young patients who have made a good recovery and for whom facial aesthetics may be particularly important.
Biomechanical evaluation of lumbar pedicle screws in spondylolytic vertebrae: comparison of fixation strength between the traditional trajectory and a cortical bone trajectory
Authors: Matsukawa Keitaro , Yato Yoshiyuki , Imabayashi Hideaki , Hosogane Naobumi , Asazuma Takashi , Chiba Kazuhiro
Published: February 2016

OBJECTIVE

In the management of isthmic spondylolisthesis, the pedicle screw system is widely accepted surgical strategy; however, there are few reports on the biomechanical behavior of pedicle screws in spondylolytic vertebrae. The purpose of the present study was to compare fixation strength between pedicle screws inserted through the traditional trajectory (TT) and those inserted through a cortical bone trajectory (CBT) in spondylolytic vertebrae by computational simulation.

METHODS

Finite element models of spondylolytic and normal vertebrae were created from CT scans of 17 patients with adult isthmic spondylolisthesis (mean age 54.6 years, 10 men and 7 women). Each vertebral model was implanted with pedicle screws using TT and CBT techniques and compared between two groups. First, fixation strength of a single screw was evaluated by measuring axial pullout strength. Next, vertebral fixation strength of a paired-screw construct was examined by applying forces simulating flexion, extension, lateral bending, and axial rotation to vertebrae.

RESULTS

Fixation strengths of TT screws showed a nonsignificant difference between the spondylolytic and the normal vertebrae (p = 0.31–0.81). Fixation strength of CBT screws in the spondylolytic vertebrae demonstrated a statistically significant decrease in pullout strength (21.4%, p < 0.01), flexion (44.1%, p < 0.01), extension (40.9%, p < 0.01), lateral bending (38.3%, p < 0.01), and axial rotation (28.1%, p < 0.05) compared with those in the normal vertebrae. In the spondylolytic vertebrae, no statistically significant difference was observed for pullout strength between TT and CBT (p = 0.90); however, the CBT construct showed lower vertebral fixation strength in flexion (39.0%, p < 0.01), extension (35.6%, p < 0.01), lateral bending (50.7%, p < 0.01), and axial rotation (59.3%, p < 0.01) compared with the TT construct.

CONCLUSIONS

CBT screws are less optimal for stabilizing the spondylolytic vertebra due to their lower fixation strength compared with TT screws.
Isolation of flavonoids from onion skins and their effects on K562 cell viability
Authors: Shi Guo-Qing , Yang Jing , Liu Jiang , Liu Sheng-Nan , Song Han-Xue , Zhao Wen-En , Liu Yan-Qi
Published: February 2016

To investigate the anti-proliferative activity of flavonoids from onion skins, extraction by 50% ethanol (v/v), soxhlet polar fractionation, pH gradient separation, thin-layer chromatography, and recrystallization methods were used to isolate and purify flavonoids from dry onion skins. Anti-proliferative activities of some flavonoids obtained on leukemia K562 cell line were deter-mined by MTT assay. Results showed that flavonoids of onion skins were mainly in form of quercetin, kaempferol, isorhamnetin, apigenin-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside, quercetin-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside, kaempferol-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside and rutin. Quercetin and kaempferol decreased K562 cell viability, and quercetin had stronger effect. However, isorhamnetin and rutin exhibited certain proliferation-promoting effects. It suggests that ortho hydroxyl groups on B ring of onion flavonoids might be the key structural elements of their cytotoxic effects on K562 cells, and hydroxyl groups in position 3 or carbonyl groups in position 4 might be one of the structural effect elements.

 
Tailoring of Highly Intense THz Radiation Through High Brightness Electron Beams Longitudinal Manipulation
Authors: Giorgianni Flavio , Anania Maria , Bellaveglia Marco , Biagioni Angelo , Chiadroni Enrica , Cianchi Alessandro , Daniele Maddalena , Del Franco Mario , Di Giovenale Domenico , Di Pirro Giampiero , Ferrario Massimo , Lupi Stefano , Mostacci Andrea , Petrarca Massimo , Pioli Stefano , Pompili Riccardo , Shpakov Vladimir , Vaccarezza Cristina , Villa Fabio
Published: February 2016

The ultra-short electron beams, produced through the velocity bunching compression technique at the SPARC_LAB test Facility (Frascati, Italy), are used to produce Coherent Transition Radiation in the terahertz (THz) range. This paper reports on the main features of this THz source, which have a spectral coverage up to 5 THz, a pulse duration down to 100 fs, and an energy per pulse on the order of tens of μJ. These figures of merits open the possibility to apply this source for nonlinear and THz pump-probe experiments in Solid-State Physics and material science.
Forest Dependent Indigenous Communities’ Perception and Adaptation to Climate Change through Local Knowledge in the Protected Area—A Bangladesh Case Study
Authors: Rahman Md. Habibur , Alam Khurshed
Published: February 2016

Forest-dependent indigenous communities rely on natural resources for their livelihoods, but those are currently under threat due to many factors, including the adverse impact of climate change. The present study looks into climate change-related perception and adaptation strategies of three forest-dependent indigenous communities, namely, Khasia, Tripura and Garo in the Lawachara National Park of Northeastern Bangladesh. Household surveys, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and observation methods were used to unveil the climatic events, impacts and related adaptations. The events include the change in temperature and rainfall patterns, landslide, soil erosion and flash flood, heavy cold and fog, and natural calamities. Moreover, livelihood problems emanating from these events are the drying up of streams and wells, irregular rainfall, increased dieback and mortality of seedlings, pests, diseases, and the attack of crops by wild animals. Likewise, the reduction of soil moisture content, growing season and crop productivity, landslides, damage of roads and culverts, and increased human diseases are common. This study recognized 29 adaptation strategies and divided them into six management categories, drawing on their local knowledge of the natural resources and other technologies. The study reveals that, although adaptation strategies through land use and land cover changes are not enough to sustain their livelihoods, the tactics help them to reduce the risk of, and increase food security and community resilience against, climate change.
Learning Dispatching Rules for Scheduling: A Synergistic View Comprising Decision Trees, Tabu Search and Simulation
Authors: Shahzad Atif , Mebarki Nasser
Published: February 2016

A promising approach for an effective shop scheduling that synergizes the benefits of the combinatorial optimization, supervised learning and discrete-event simulation is presented. Though dispatching rules are in widely used by shop scheduling practitioners, only ordinary performance rules are known; hence, dynamic generation of dispatching rules is desired to make them more effective in changing shop conditions. Meta-heuristics are able to perform quite well and carry more knowledge of the problem domain, however at the cost of prohibitive computational effort in real-time. The primary purpose of this research lies in an offline extraction of this domain knowledge using decision trees to generate simple if-then rules that subsequently act as dispatching rules for scheduling in an online manner. We used similarity index to identify parametric and structural similarity in problem instances in order to implicitly support the learning algorithm for effective rule generation and quality index for relative ranking of the dispatching decisions. Maximum lateness is used as the scheduling objective in a job shop scheduling environment.
Feasibility Assessment of Using Power Plant Waste Heat in Large Scale Horticulture Facility Energy Supply Systems
Authors: Yu Min , Nam Yujin
Published: February 2016

Recently, the Korean government has been carrying out projects to construct several large scale horticulture facilities. However, it is difficult for an energy supply to operate stably and economically with only a conventional fossil fuel boiler system. For this reason, several unused energy sources have become attractive and it was found that power plant waste heat has the greatest potential for application in this scenario. In this study, we performed a feasibility assessment of power plant waste heat as an energy source for horticulture facilities. As a result, it was confirmed that there was a sufficient amount of energy potential for the use of waste heat to supply energy to the assumed area. In Dangjin, an horticultural area of 500 ha could be constructed by utilizing 20% of the energy reserves. In Hadong, a horticulture facility can be set up to be 260 ha with 7.4% of the energy reserves. In Youngdong, an assumed area of 65 ha could be built utilizing about 19% of the energy reserves. Furthermore, the payback period was calculated in order to evaluate the economic feasibility compared with a conventional system. The initial investment costs can be recovered by the approximately 83% reduction in the annual operating costs.
Calcite Twinning in the Ordovician Martinsburg Formation, Delaware Water Gap, New Jersey, USA: Implications for Cleavage Formation and Tectonic Shortening in the Appalachian Piedmont Province
Authors: Craddock John , Princen Maria , Wartman Jakob , Xia Haoran , Liu Junlai
Published: February 2016

A traverse across the Stone Church syncline in the Ordovician Martinsburg turbidites reveals an axial planar cleavage (N40°E, SE dips) in regional thrust-related folds (N40°E, shallow plunges) and five phases of sparry calcite. Calcite fillings are bedding-parallel, cleavage-parallel, and one vein set cross-cuts both earlier phases; the youngest calcite filling is a bedding-parallel fault gouge that crosscuts the cleavage and preserves top-down-to-the-southeast normal fault kinematics. Calcite veins unique to disharmonically-folded calcareous siltstones (Maxwell, 1962) were also analyzed. Stable isotopic analysis (O, C) of all of the calcite phases indicates a uniform fluid source (δ13C −2.0, δ18O −13.3 VPDB) and, potentially, a similar precipitation and mechanical twinning age. The twinning strains (n = 1341; average Δσ = −32 MPa; average ε1 = −2.9%) in the calcite suite are consistent with SE-NW thrust shortening, and sub-horizontal shortening perpendicular to evolving axial planar cleavage planes in the Stone Church syncline. Calcareous siltstone layers within the Martinsburg Fm. turbidites share concordant bedding planes and are unique, chemically (XRF), but folded and cleaved differently than the surrounding clay-rich Martinsburg turbidites. Neither sediment type yielded detrital zircons. Electron backscatter X-ray diffraction (EBSD) and calcite twinning results in a folded calcareous siltstone layer preserving a layer-normal SE-NW shortening strain and Lattice Preferred Orientation (LPO). Shortening axes for the five-phase calcite suite trends ~N40°W, consistent with tectonic transport associated with crystalline nappe emplacement of the Reading Prong within the Piedmont province.
Soil Erosion Processes in European Vineyards: A Qualitative Comparison of Rainfall Simulation Measurements in Germany, Spain and France
Authors: Rodrigo Comino Jesús , Iserloh Thomas , Morvan Xavier , Malam Issa Oumarou , Naisse Christophe , Keesstra Saskia , Cerdà Artemio , Prosdocimi Massimo , Arnáez José , Lasanta Teodoro , Ramos María , Marqués María , Ruiz Colmenero Marta , Bienes Ramón , Ruiz Sinoga José , Seeger Manuel , Ries Johannes
Published: February 2016

Small portable rainfall simulators are considered a useful tool to analyze soil erosion processes in cultivated lands. European research groups in Spain (Valencia, Málaga, Lleida, Madrid and La Rioja), France (Reims) and Germany (Trier) have used different rainfall simulators (varying in drop size distribution and fall velocities, kinetic energy, plot forms and sizes, and field of application) to study soil loss, surface flow, runoff and infiltration coefficients in different experimental plots (Valencia, Montes de Málaga, Penedès, Campo Real and La Rioja in Spain, Champagne in France and Mosel-Ruwer valley in Germany). The measurements and experiments developed by these research teams give an overview of the variety of methodologies used in rainfall simulations to study the problem of soil erosion and describe the erosion features in different climatic environments, management practices and soil types. The aims of this study are: (i) to investigate where, how and why researchers from different wine-growing regions applied rainfall simulations with successful results as a tool to measure soil erosion processes; (ii) to make a qualitative comparison about the general soil erosion processes in European terroirs; (iii) to demonstrate the importance of the development of standard method for measurement of soil erosion processes in vineyards, using rainfall simulators; and (iv) and to analyze the key factors that should be taken into account to carry out rainfall simulations. The rainfall simulations in all cases allowed infiltration capacity, susceptibility of the soil to detachment and generation of sediment loads to runoff to be determined. Despite using small plots, the experiments were useful to analyze the influence of soil cover to reduce soil erosion, to make comparisons between different locations, and to evaluate the influence of different soil characteristics. The comparative analysis of the studies performed in different study areas points out the need to define an operational methodology to carry out rainfall simulations, which allows us to obtain representative and comparable results and to avoid errors in the interpretation in order to achieve comparable information about runoff and soil loss.
Opening up Smart Cities: Citizen-Centric Challenges and Opportunities from GIScience
Authors: Degbelo Auriol , Granell Carlos , Trilles Sergio , Bhattacharya Devanjan , Casteleyn Sven , Kray Christian
Published: February 2016

The holy grail of smart cities is an integrated, sustainable approach to improve the efficiency of the city’s operations and the quality of life of citizens. At the heart of this vision is the citizen, who is the primary beneficiary of smart city initiatives, either directly or indirectly. Despite the recent surge of research and smart cities initiatives in practice, there are still a number of challenges to overcome in realizing this vision. This position paper points out six citizen-related challenges: the engagement of citizens, the improvement of citizens’ data literacy, the pairing of quantitative and qualitative data, the need for open standards, the development of personal services, and the development of persuasive interfaces. The article furthermore advocates the use of methods and techniques from GIScience to tackle these challenges, and presents the concept of an Open City Toolkit as a way of transferring insights and solutions from GIScience to smart cities.
The Dual Half-Edge—A Topological Primal/Dual Data Structure and Construction Operators for Modelling and Manipulating Cell Complexes
Authors: Boguslawski Pawel , Gold Christopher
Published: February 2016

There is an increasing need for building models that permit interior navigation, e.g., for escape route analysis. This paper presents a non-manifold Computer-Aided Design (CAD) data structure, the dual half-edge based on the Poincaré duality that expresses both the geometric representations of individual rooms and their topological relationships. Volumes and faces are expressed as vertices and edges respectively in the dual space, permitting a model just based on the storage of primal and dual vertices and edges. Attributes may be attached to all of these entities permitting, for example, shortest path queries between specified rooms, or to the exterior. Storage costs are shown to be comparable to other non-manifold models, and construction with local Euler-type operators is demonstrated with two large university buildings. This is intended to enhance current developments in 3D Geographic Information Systems for interior and exterior city modelling.