bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
FORMAÇÃO E SABERES DOCENTES NA EDUCAÇÃO PROFISSIONAL: UM RELATO DE EXPERIÊNCIA
Authors: Fonseca Christine Meyrelles Felipe da
Published: June 2017

O presente artigo é o recorte de uma pesquisa maior intitulada “LICENCIADOS, BACHARÉIS E A FORMAÇÃO DOCENTE PARA ATUAR NA EDUCAÇÃO PROFISSIONAL E TECNOLÓGICA (EPT): um estudo com docentes do curso de informática no IFRN”, que foi fruto de uma experiência realizada na disciplina Formação de Professores para Educação Profissional. A ideia partiu da necessidade de investigar a formação e as práticas pedagógicas de 27 professores que atuam no Ensino Médio Integrado (EMI) de Informática, nos diferentes núcleos do IFRN. A pesquisa se desenvolveu em três campi do IFRN investigando três categorias: identidade docente; prática pedagógica e percepção sobre EP. Sob essa perspectiva, sendo esta pesquisa um fragmento daquela, objetivamos analisar, a partir das concepções dos docentes do EMI de Informática, a necessidade de uma formação docente específica para atuar na educação profissional. Para tanto, desenvolvemos uma revisão bibliográfica articulada à pesquisa exploratória. Para a coleta de dados utilizamos a entrevista semiestruturada gravada. A pesquisa alicerçou-se em autores como: Moura (2008), Gadotti (2008), Souza (2013), Pimenta (2005), Tardif (2014), a partir dos quais traçamos discussões sob diferentes enfoques a respeito da formação docente e dos saberes necessários para atuar na educação profissional.
Electrical resistivity of compacted clay minerals
Authors: Kibria Golam , Hossain Sahadat
Published: June 2017

The objective of this study was to determine the electrical resistivity responses of clay minerals (sodium bentonite, calcium bentonite, illite and kaolinite) at three degrees of saturation (Sr) – that is, 40, 60 and 80% – and their correlations with pore water properties, activity, cation exchange capacity (CEC) and porosity. Grain size distribution, Atterberg limits, CEC, energy-dispersive spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were employed for the characterisation of the minerals and identification of the possible relationship of clay properties with electrical resistivity. It was observed that oxygen, aluminium, silicon and sodium ions (by weight percentages) are major constituent elements of sodium bentonite, illite and kaolinite. The SEM images of sodium and calcium bentonites both showed flaky structures. Needle-like shapes and hexagonal crystals were demonstrated in the SEM image of illite, and six-sided hexagonal plates were observed in the SEM image of the kaolinite specimen. Electrical resistivity tests were conducted on the clay minerals at moisture contents and dry unit weights ranging from 10 to 40% and 11·8 to 14·9 kN/m3, respectively.
Equity Issuance and Retirement by Nonfinancial Corporations
Authors: Kuchinski William R. , Ogden Richard E. , Thomas Damian R. , Warusawitharana Missaka
Published: June 2017

The Financial Accounts of the United States reports quarterly net equity issuance of nonfinancial corporations. To highlight the importance and potential use of our new data, we conclude this note by mentioning a few studies that have examined the determinants and consequences of equity financing.
Utilización de las variables comerciales propias de los concesionarios de automóviles como indicadores predictores de crisis económicas posteriores = Use of commercial variables of car de alers as predictive indicators of later economic crises
Authors: Gutiérrez Aragón Óscar , Fondevila-Gascón Joan-Francesc , Mir-Bernal Pedro , Testera-Fuertes Adrián
Published: June 2017

Este artículo lleva a cabo un estudio profundo de la evolución de varios indicadores comerciales vinculados a la actividad propia de un concesionario de automóviles, así como las cifras de ventas de las siete principales marcas generalistas del sector (Renault, Citroën, Peugeot, Seat, Ford, Opel y Volkswagen) en un mercado o territorio económicamente deprimido durante el periodo comprendido entre los años 2005 y 2008 en los ejercicios previos a la crisis económica y financiera, con el fin de poner de manifiesto la existencia de un deterioro de las cifras de estas variables anterior a la misma. En consecuencia, y como conclusión, la observación y el análisis de estos datos de un modo sistemático y reflexivo deberían ayudar en gran medida a poder adelantar o pronosticar la llegada de una crisis económica que afectará a más sectores económicos y a territorios geográficos más favorecidos.

In the present research we study the evolution of several commercial indicators linked to the activity of a vehicle dealer and the sales figures of the seven major generalist brands in the industry (Renault, Citroen, Peugeot, Seat, Ford, Opel and Volkswagen) in an economically depressed area during the period between 2005 and 2008, the previous exercises to the economic and financial crisis, in order to highlight the existence of a decline in these variables before crisis. Consequently, the observation and analysis of these data from a systematic and thoughtful point of view could help to a large extent to predict the coming of an economic crisis that will affect to other economic sectors and more favoured geographical areas.
La creación de los Vales Reales = The creation of the Vales Reales
Authors: Cano Borrego Pedro Damián
Published: June 2017

A finales del siglo XVIII la Monarquía adolecía de graves problemas económicos, derivados del estado permanente de guerra en el que se hallaba sumido el Reino, que impedía la arribada de remesas de metales preciosos y suponía unos ingentes gastos, lo que llevó a que a finales del reinado de Carlos III se creasen los Vales Reales, a modo de deuda pública. Por sus características, fueron desde el principio títulos de renta, amortizables en plazos más o menos grandes, dependiendo de las cláusulas que regían sus emisiones en un principio y más tarde de la situación del Tesoro Público.

In the late eighteenth century the Spanish monarchy had serious economic problems arising from the permanent state of war in which they had sunk the Kingdom, which prevented the arrival of remittances of precious metals and assumed a heavy expenses, which led to the end the reign of Carlos III the creation of the Vales Reales, a kind of public debt. By their nature, they were from the beginning income securities, redeemable in larger or smaller periods, depending on the terms governing their emissions at first and later on the status of Treasury
La valoración económica de los ecoservicios en los agroecosistemas en España: Marco conceptual y metodológico = The economic valuation of ecosystem services in the agroecosystems in Spain: Conceptual framework and methodology
Authors: Velasco Muñoz Juan Francisco , Aznar Sánchez José Ángel
Published: June 2017

El estudio de la valoración de los servicios de los ecosistemas es un área de investigación reciente en España pero que ha cobrado un fuerte impulso durante las últimas décadas. El carácter multidimensional de estos servicios, la diversidad de beneficiarios y partes interesadas, y los diferentes enfoques valorativos existentes hacen que su valoración resulte compleja. En este trabajo se presenta el marco conceptual para la valoración de los servicios provistos por los ecosistemas y una descripción de las metodologías más utilizadas, aplicado a los agroecosistemas españoles. Para ello se ha realizado una búsqueda en la base de datos del Institute for Scientific Information (ISI), dando como resultado una muestra de 101 trabajos. La metodología utilizada para su análisis ha sido de tipo cualitativo. Los resultados obtenidos muestran como el grueso de los trabajos de valoración de ecoservicios provistos por agroecosistemas en España se ha publicado durante los últimos cinco años y que entre las metodologías económicas más utilizadas destacan el análisis coste-beneficio, la valoración contingente y los experimentos de elección.

The study of the valuation of ecosystem services is a recent area of research in Spain but has gained strong impulse during the last decades. The multidimensional nature of these services, in addition to the diversity of related beneficiaries and actors, and the different approaches make their evaluation is complex. This paper presents the conceptual framework for the assessment of services provided by ecosystems and a description of the methodologies most used, applied to Spanish agroecosystems. To this end, it has conducted a search in the database of the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI), resulting in a sample of 101 papers. The methodology used for the analysis was qualitative. The results show how the majority of the proyect on valuation of ecosystem services provided by agroecosystems in Spain has been published for the past five years and between the most used economic methodologies include the cost-benefit analysis, contingent valuation and choice experiments.
Material culture and antihuman subjectivities in postmodernist literature
Authors: Piqueras Belén
Published: June 2017

The relation between subject and object in contemporary societies is a key concern of much postmodernist literature, authors often denouncing the superfluous pervasiveness of material culture in our lives and our absurd dependence on the artificial systems of meaning that we project on the world of things.The antihumanism that is commonly identified with postmodern culture finds a congenial formulation in Postructuralist theories, which consider meaning not as an absolute concept, but always arising of a web of signs that interrelate; the key issue is that for most Postructuralist thinkers –among them Jean Baudrillard and his definition of the ‘hyperreal’– these codes on which culture is founded always precede the individual subject, annihilating all prospects of human agency.Postmodern authors like Thomas Pynchon, Don Delillo or William Gibson foster the debate on the nature of those underlying structures, and offer manifold portraits of these frail, commodified, and antihuman subjectivities that are very often the product of progress
Rise of the living dead in Thomas Pynchon’s “Vineland”
Authors: Collado-Rodríguez Francisco
Published: June 2017

Oedipa Maas’s anti-categorical revelation that middles should not be excluded in Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot 49 is understood by its author in more debatable terms two decades later, once it is clear that the 1960s struggles for revolution have come to a stop. In 1990 the literary space of Vineland is revealed as a failed refuge where Pynchon ironizes on the notion of balance by portraying a living dead icon represented by the Thanatoids. As predicted in The Crying of Lot 49, all sorts of simulacra have taken over 1980s California to propitiate a coming back to conservative ideology. In Vineland, the new icon is cunningly associated to magical realism, a hybrid mode that points to the writer’s concern with anti-categorical middles but also with the ultimate impossibility to fulfill Oedipa’s alleged revelation. Thus, the iconic living dead become a bleak intratextual response to the purportedly optimistic social views of Pynchon’s second novel.
Causes of business english speaking anxiety in the Balkans
Authors: Cepon Slavica
Published: June 2017

Learner anxiety is a critical affective factor in foreign languages education. This study investigated the main causes of speaking anxiety in the context of business English (BE) instruction. In-depth interviews were conducted among BE instructors and learners at higher educational institutions in six countries in the Balkans. The study identified several causes of speaking anxiety, the most crucial being the lack of knowledge in economics and the BE lexis as the carrier content in BE learning. And especially so, when the latter combined with other causes, such as the necessity to speak unprepared in class in front of one’s peers, or problems with BE vocabulary acquisition or recollection. A quarter of the interviewees who considered themselves low-anxiety when speaking general English were prone to elevated levels of speaking anxiety when performing complex speaking tasks in BE class which require a degree of fluency in general English.
On Different Tracks? Gender, Professional Strategies, and Early Career Wage Gaps
Authors: Grönlund Anne
Published: June 2017

A longstanding notion in labor market theory is that women accommodate family responsibilities in their occupational and job choices. Utilizing a survey of newly graduated highly educated men and women in five occupations in Sweden (n≈2400), the article explores whether men and women differ in their professional strategies and if such differences produce early career wage gaps. Findings based on OLS regressions show that women express dual commitment to work and family; compared with men, they value ‘family-friendly’ work-conditions higher but do not value wages and career lower. Parenthood is not related to lower levels of career focus, but neutralizes occupational differences in family focus for women. Despite the select sample, women have lower wages than men, but the wage gap is not explained by different prioritization of family/career. The findings suggest that assumptions about gendered skill investments must be empirically scrutinized and theories further developed.
Attending Weak Signals: The Prevention of Work-related Illnesses
Authors: Liff Roy , Eriksson Ann-Charlotte , Wikström Ewa
Published: June 2017

This article examines the characteristics of communication among managers, human resource (HR) experts, and occupational health care specialists, as they deal with such informal information as weak signals in the prevention of work-related illnesses, using a theoretical framework in which the prevention of work-related illness is analogous to theory on crisis management. This is a qualitative study in which individual and focus-group interviews were conducted in a Swedish context with occupational health care specialists, managers, and HR experts. The results suggest that organizational solutions have failed and continue to fail at controlling workers’ health problems, although the main difficulty is not in identifying the ‘right’ individually oriented weak signals. Rather, it is upper management’s reliance on formal information (e.g., statistics and surveys) – because of the difficulty in supplementing it with informal information (e.g., rumors and gossip) – that makes it difficult to improve traditional health and safety work
Crossing the Line to Electronic Medical Records in Subsaharian Africa: An Obstetric and Neonatal Information System with Perinatal Indicators Dashboard
Authors: Gueye M. , Gueye Md Ndiaye , Mbaye M. , Abdoulaye M. , Diouf A. , Wade M. , Diakhate A. , Aidibe I. , Moreau Jc
Published: June 2017

Objectives: This study reports our experience in the use of a perinatal electronic medical record, E_Perinatal, by giving examples of its potential for the analysis of clinical data and the involvement of the indicators produced in the improvement of Emergency Obstetric and Neonatal Care in Africa.
Methodology: This is a study that was conducted in the scenario of a Level II Health Centre in Senegal. The methodology of the study followed the following steps: an inventory of the use of electronic tools in labour wards in Senegal, an exploratory survey of the scenario of obstetric and neonatal care, simultaneous elaboration of an electronic medical record in obstetrics and neonatology and selection of obstetric and neonatal care indicators to automatically generated and implement the information system. The recording was retrospective and continuous from January 2015 to December 2016.
Results: This database automates the storage of obstetric data, including antenatal care, obstetric ultrasound, hospital admissions, prescribing, etc., providing easy access to patient data from anywhere in the hospital, produce timely reports and graphs to refer to clinician correspondents, store and electronically transfer birth data to authorities, and store data for ad hoc queries and search statistics.
Conclusion: E_Perinatal has demonstrated in a scenario of an intermediate health facility its usefulness and ease of use. Scaling up in a developing country will help to better understand the real problems and help to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality.
Evaluation of Patients' Perception of Services Rendered in a High Volume Primary Eye Care Center in Nigeria
Authors: Emmanuel Olu Megbelayin , Ibeinmo Opubiri
Published: June 2017

Aim: To determine patients’ perception of services rendered in a high volume Nigerian primary eye care center.
Methods: ex post facto research design was used. Participants' socio-demographic profile was obtained using a pretested questionnaire. Data analysis was by SPSS version 20.0.
Results: Of the 303 patients (156, 51.6% first timers; 147, 48.5% were old patients), 153(50.5%) were males and 150 (49.5%) were females. The age range was 13 years to 94 years with a mean of 53.8+17.05 years. Overall satisfaction with care was 98.3% with waiting time constituting the highest level of dissatisfaction (22.5%).
Conclusion: The high patronage of this eye center can be linked to the high level of satisfaction of the patients.
On Feng Qi-type Integral Inequalities for Conformable Fractional Integrals
Authors: AKKURT Abdullah , YILDIRIM M. Esra , YILDIRIM Hüseyin
Published: June 2017

In this paper, we establish the generalized Qi-type inequality involving conformable fractional integrals. The results presented here would provide extensions of those given in earlier works.
New Scientific Contribution on the 2-D Subdomain Technique in Cartesian Coordinates: Taking into Account of Iron Parts
Authors: Dubas Frédéric , Boughrara Kamel
Published: June 2017

The most significant assumptions in the subdomain technique (i.e., based on the formal resolution of Maxwell's equations applied in subdomain) is defined by: “The iron parts (i.e., the teeth and the back-iron) are considered to be infinitely permeable so that the saturation effect is neglected”. In this paper, the author presents a new scientific contribution on improving of this method in two-dimensional (2-D) and in Cartesian coordinates by focusing on the consideration of iron. The subdomains connection is carried out in the two directions (i.e., x- and y-edges). For example, the improvement was performed by solving magnetostatic Maxwell's equations for an air- or iron-cored coil supplied by a direct current. To evaluate the efficacy of the proposed technique, the magnetic flux density distributions have been compared with those obtained by the 2-D finite-element analysis (FEA). The semi-analytical results are in quite satisfying agreement with those obtained by the 2-D FEA, considering both amplitude and waveform.
Comprehensive Safety Evaluation of the Chemicals with Human and Environmental Relevance
Authors: Floris Matteo , Albanese Federica , Medda Ricardo , Benfenati Emilio
Published: June 2017

Reducing the levels of toxic chemicals that cause adverse health and environmental impacts is a challenge for the international community. There is a need of a global strategy. Indeed, too often the problems associated to the exposure of chemical substances is recognized a posteriori, in the presence of consequences already observed. The prediction of the likely effects of chemical exposure on human health is based on classical tests with animals, which are time and money consuming, may deviate from an accurate prediction towards humans, and arises ethical concerns. Regulations are now considering the adoption of in silico (or computational) methods, which can be used for prioritizing substances according to the probability to be toxic for the biosphere. Several initiatives have prioritized chemicals, typically based according to some criteria, such as chemicals which may be endocrine disruptors, or persistent, bioaccumulative, or toxic (PBT). However, these initiatives focused on a certain range of adverse properties, and covered a certain number of substances only. We applied a set of largely validated and widely used predictive methods to large collections of chemicals: (i) to about 340,000 with a defined function, and (ii) to about 6 millions, which have been synthetized. The aim of this study is to quantify the putative impact of existing and future chemicals on towards human health, ecological and environment properties. The impact on the environment is the cause of major concern. This is the case of pesticides and hazardous, which is quite expected; however, also pharmacologically active candidate compounds of natural origin may have a high level of ecotoxicity. Pesticides and hazardous are also the categories of higher concern for humans, followed by pharmaceuticals. The pesticides and the hazardous are the categories of higher concern also on the environmental point of view. The results of our analysis could be the basis for the identification of new safety rules.
Visual Motion Onset Brain-Computer Interface
Authors: Peraira Junior Jair , Teixeira Caio , Rutkowski Tomasz
Published: June 2017

The paper presents a study of two novel visual motion onset stimulus-based brain–computer interfaces (vmoBCI). Two settings are compared with afferent and efferent to a computer screen center motion patterns. Online vmoBCI experiments are conducted in an oddball event–related potential (ERP) paradigm allowing for “aha–responses” decoding in EEG brainwaves. A subsequent stepwise linear discriminant analysis classification (swLDA) classification accuracy comparison is discussed based on two inter–stimulus–interval (ISI) settings of 700 and 150 ms in two online vmoBCI applications with six and eight command settings. A research hypothesis of classification accuracy non–significant differences with various ISIs is confirmed based on the two settings of 700 ms and 150 ms, as well as with various numbers of ERP response averaging scenarios.The efferent in respect to display center visual motion patterns allowed for a faster interfacing and thus they are recommended as more suitable for the no–eye–movements requiring visual BCIs.
Content-Based Image Retrieval Based on Late Fusion of Binary and Local Descriptors
Authors: Ali Nouman , Ali Mazhar Danish , Iqbal Zeshan , Ashraf Rehan , Ahmed Jawad , Zeeshan Khan Farrukh
Published: June 2017

One of the challenges in Content-Based Image Retrieval (CBIR) is to reduce the semantic gaps between low-level features and high-level semantic concepts. In CBIR, the images are represented in the feature space and the performance of CBIR depends on the type of selected feature representation. Late fusion also known as visual words integration is applied to enhance the performance of image retrieval. The recent advances in image retrieval diverted the focus of research towards the use of binary descriptors as they are reported computationally efficient. In this paper, we aim to investigate the late fusion of Fast Retina Keypoint (FREAK) and Scale Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT). The late fusion of binary and local descriptor is selected because among binary descriptors, FREAK has shown good results in classification-based problems while SIFT is robust to translation, scaling, rotation and small distortions. The late fusion of FREAK and SIFT integrates the performance of both feature descriptors for an effective image retrieval. Experimental results and comparisons show that the proposed late fusion enhances the performances of image retrieval.
Road Segmentation on Remotely-Sensed Images Using Deep Convolutional Neural Networks with Landscape Metrics and Conditional Random Fields
Authors: Panboonyuen Teerapong , Vateekul Peerapon , Jitkajornwanich Kulsawasd , Lawawirojwong Siam , Srestasathiern Panu
Published: June 2017

Object segmentation on remotely-sensed images: aerial (or very high resolution, VHS) images and satellite (or high resolution, HR) images, has been applied to many application domains, especially road extraction in which the segmented objects are served as a mandatory layer in geospatial databases. Several attempts in applying deep convolutional neural network (DCNN) to extract roads from remote sensing images have been made; however, the accuracy is still limited. In this paper, we present an enhanced DCNN framework specifically tailored for road extraction on remote sensing images by applying landscape metrics (LMs) and conditional random fields (CRFs). To improve DCNN, a modern activation function, called exponential linear unit (ELU), is employed in our network resulting in a higher number of and yet more accurate extracted roads. To further reduce falsely classified road objects, a solution based on an adoption of LMs is proposed. Finally, to sharpen the extracted roads, a CRF method is added to our framework. The experiments were conducted on Massachusetts road aerial imagery as well as THEOS satellite imagery data sets. The results showed that our proposed framework outperformed Segnet, the state-of-the-art object segmentation technique on any kinds of remote sensing imagery, in most of the cases in terms of precision, recall, and F1.
Characterisation of Hydrological Response to Rainfall at Multi Spatio-Temporal Scales in Savannas of Semi-Arid Australia
Authors: Jarihani Ben , Sidle Roy C. , Bartley Rebecca , Roth Christian H. , Wilkinson Scott
Published: June 2017

Rainfall is the main driver of hydrological processes in dryland environments and characterising the rainfall variability and processes of runoff generation are critical for understanding ecosystem function of catchments. Using remote sensing and in situ data sets, we assess the spatial and temporal variability of the rainfall, rainfall-runoff response, and effects of antecedent soil moisture and ground cover at different spatial scales on runoff coefficients in the Upper Burdekin catchment, northeast Australia, which is a major contributor of sediment and nutrients to the Great Barrier Reef. The high temporal and spatial variability of rainfall exerts significant controls on runoff generation processes. Rainfall amount and intensity are the primary runoff controls, and runoff coefficients for wet antecedent conditions were higher than for dry conditions. The majority of runoff occurred via surface runoff generation mechanisms, with subsurface runoff likely contributing little runoff due to the intense nature of rainfall events. At annual to seasonal temporal scales and for relatively large catchments, we could not detect a significant effect of ground cover on runoff. We conclude that in the range of moderate to large catchments (193 – 36,260 km2) runoff generation processes are sensitive to both antecedent soil moisture and ground cover. A higher runoff-ground cover correlation in drier months with sparse ground cover highlighted the critical role of cover at the onset of the wet season and how runoff generation is more sensitive to cover in drier months than in wetter months. The monthly water balance analysis indicates that runoff generation in wetter months (January and February) is partially influenced by saturation overland flow, most likely confined to saturated soils in riparian corridors, swales, and areas of shallow soil. By March and continuing through October, the soil ‘bucket’ progressively empties by evapotranspiration, and Hortonian overland flow becomes the dominant, if not exclusive, flow generation process. The results of this study can be used to better understand the rainfall-runoff relationships in dryland environments and subsequent exposure of coral reef ecosystems in Australia and elsewhere to terrestrial runoff.
Vision-Based Execution Monitoring of State Transition in Disassembly Automation
Authors: Vongbunyong Supachai ,   Institute of Field Robotics, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Pagnucco Maurice , Kara Sami ,   The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Published: June 2017

Disassembly is one of the key steps for effective treatment of end-of-life products. However, manual disassembly is usually not feasible in industrial practice for reasons of economic infeasibility. Disassembly automation with cognitive ability has been introduced in order to resolve this problem. Execution monitoring is one of the primary functions making the system aware of the current condition and the consequences of execution. A vision system with RGB-D space is used for sensing the conditions of the product in this study.
Development of New Complex Machining Technology for Single Crystal Silicon Carbide Polishing
Authors: Kurita Tsuneo ,   National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Miyake Koji , Kawata Kenji , Ashida Kiwamu , Kato Tomohisa
Published: June 2017

Single-crystal, silicon carbide (SiC) wafers surpass silicon in terms of voltage resistance and heat resistance, and show promise for use in power semiconductor device applications. The aim of this research is to develop a complex machining technology for SiC, which is known to be difficult to process owing to its high hardness. This paper proposes a complex machining method based on converting SiC into a material with a relatively low hardness, and then polishing it using abrasive particles with a higher hardness. The proposed polishing method uses either a photodissociation or an electrochemical technique to reduce the hardness of SiC. The effectiveness of the combined technique is experimentally demonstrated. In addition, a method is proposed for monitoring the processing state by measuring the electric current.
Development of a Surface Roughness Measurement System in a Narrow Borehole
Authors: Okuyama Eiki ,   Department of Mechanical Engineering, Akita University, Suzuki Yuichi , Morikawa Masahiro , Suzuki Yuma , Yoshida Ichiro ,   Department of Mechanical Engineering, Hosei University, Tokyo, Japan
Published: June 2017

In industrial fields, it is frequently necessary to measure surface roughness in confined spaces such as boreholes and grooves in workpieces. However, the surface roughness of a narrow borehole can be measured only up to a few millimeters from its end when using a small stylus. Alternatively, destructive measurements must be performed. We previously proposed a novel surface roughness measurement sensor. To make the sensor sufficiently small, we used a stylus with a cylindrical mirror and a lensed fiber instead of a conventional inductive pick-up. The proposed sensor converts the signal used for measuring the surface roughness of a borehole into an optical signal, which is transferred outside the borehole by an optical fiber. The experimental results demonstrate that this system has a measurement range of 8 μm and a sensitivity of 19 nm. In this paper, we propose a carriage that supports the stylus when measuring the surface roughness in a small borehole. The proposed carriage has two degrees of freedom: displacement along the borehole axis and rotation around the borehole axis. In experiments, the surface roughness of standard test pieces was measured using the proposed method and the conventional method. The measurement results obtained by these methods were found to be very similar. Furthermore, a borehole with 2.4 mm diameter was measured. The measurement result included the characteristic wave that was obtained by the conventional method in places. The experiments also revealed some problems of the proposed system. For example, the setting procedure of the measured surface in the 8 μm measurement range was difficult. Consequently, a large measurement range or a null method is required.
High-Pressure Injection Injury Caused by Electronic Cigarette Explosion
Authors: Foran Ian , Oak Nikhil R. , Meunier Matthew J.
Published: June 2017

Case:

Electronic cigarettes are an increasingly popular and poorly regulated alternative to traditional cigarettes that deliver nicotine and other aerosolized substances to the user via a battery-powered atomizer. We report a case in which an electronic cigarette explosion resulted in a high-pressure injection injury of the finger.

Conclusion:

Explosions involving electronic cigarettes and similar handheld products should be treated as high-pressure injection injuries until proven otherwise. Radiographs are indispensable in the workup of these injuries. Because the true content of injected material cannot be determined with certainty, we recommend immediate surgical debridement, intravenous antibiotics, and close follow-up to observe the evolution of the injury.
Thrower’s Fracture of the Humerus: An Investigation of Risk Factors Following an Unlikely Scenario
Authors: Morgenstern Kyle D. , Barinaga Gonzalo , Cagle Paul J.
Published: June 2017

Case:

A 26-year-old amateur baseball player without prodromal arm pain sustained a thrower’s fracture of the humerus on a warm-up throw performed with submaximal effort. The fracture occurred during the first throwing session following a 6-week layoff. The patient was treated nonoperatively and made a full recovery, but he elected to not return to throwing sports.

Conclusion:

Because of the lack of risk factors in this case, we suggest that time off or irregularity in throwing may play a greater role in a thrower’s fracture than previously established. Recreational throwers should undergo appropriate preseason training before returning to throwing.
Persepsi Santri dan Kiai terhadap Pluralisme Agama di Pendidikan Ulama Tarjih Muhammadiyah (PUTM) dan Aswaja Nusantara Yogyakarta
Authors: Arifin Zainal , Yu’timaalahuyatazaka Yu’timaalahuyatazaka
Published: June 2017

Abstract: There are the controversies of religious pluralism in the pluralistic society context in Nusantara (Indonesia). Even, it evokes some conflicts such as war of ideas. This article focused on the perspectives of Kiai and Student Muhammadiyah and NU on the religious pluralism through education practices in the PUTM dan Aswaja Nusantara Boarding School. Both of them are considered representative because they contain the concept, ideas, and paradigms of Muhammadiyah and NU. This is a qualitative research, the data obtained from interviews and literature study by giving each verification, correction and complementary. The result of this research, The PUTM perspective of pluralism is regarding to it as a social reality that responded positively and constructively. While, Aswaja Nusantara prioritizes a dialectics amongst to social reality, local culture, and a strong Islamic tradition. Nonetheles, both of them have a same concept to strengthen their faith (akidah) by using exclusivism to refuse the theological concept of religious pluralism, but accepted the sociological concept of religious pluralism.الملخص: كان الحديث عن التعدّدية لا يزال ظاهرا في سياق المجتمع المتعدد في إندونيسيا. وكثيرا ما يؤدّى هذا إلى النزاع الفكريّ. والشيء الجاذب هو النظر إلى وجهة نظر علماء ومتعلمي المعهد لجمعية "محمديّة" وجمعية "نهضة العلماء" تجاه قضية التعددية عن طريق تطبيق التربية في معهد لعلماء الترجيح لمحمّدية و معهد أهل السنة والجماعة نوسانتارا يوجياكرتا الممثلان للفكرة والرؤية والتصور الفكريّ من جمعية "محمديّة" وجمعيّة "نهضة العلماء. كانت هذه الدراسة دراسة وصفية، والبيانات محصولة عليها عن طريق المقابلة الشخصية والدراسة المكتبية بما فيها من إجراء التحقّق والإصلاح والتكميل. دلت نتائج البحث على أن معهد PTUM ومعهد أهل السنة والجماعة لهما تصّوران متساويان في التمسّك بالعقيدة والانغلاق ورد فكرة التعدّدية في العقيدة ولكنهما يقبلانها اجتماعيا، حتى يكون تصوّرهما ورأيهما عن التعددية يمثّلان رأي جمعية " محمدية " و " نهضة العلماء عن التعددية الدينية والتعددية الثقافية.Abstrak: Perdebatan pluralisme agama masih mengemuka dalam konteks masyarakat majemuk di Nusantara. Bahkan, tidak jarang menimbulkan konflik dan perang pemikiran. Menarik melihat perspektif kiai dan santri Muhammadiyah dan NU terhadap isu pluralisme melalui praktik pendidikan di Ulama Tarjih Muhammadiyah (PUTM) Yogyakarta dan Pondok Pesantren Aswaja Nusantara Yogyakarta yang dianggap representatif karena membawa muatan konsep, ide dan paradigma dari Muhammadiyah dan NU. Penelitian ini bersifat kualitatif,  data diperoleh dari wawancara dan studi kepustakaan dengan saling memberikan verifikasi, koreksi dan pelengkap. Hasil penelitian ini, PUTM dan Pesantren Aswaja Nusantara memiliki konsep yang sama dalam memegang teguh akidah, yakni sikap eksklusif dan menolak pluralisme secara teologis namun menerimanya secara sosiologis. Sehingga, paradigma dari dua lembaga tersebut merepresentasikan dari paradigma Muhammadiyah dan NU dalam merespon fenomena pluralisme agama dan budaya.
Energy Consumption Analysis of Consensus Time Synchronization Algorithms for Wireless Sensor Networks
Authors: Panigrahi Niranjan , Khilar Pabitra Mohan
Published: June 2017

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs)  have received considerable attention in recent years because of its broad area of applications. In the same breadth, it also faces many challenges. Time synchronization is one of those fundamental challenges faced by WSN being a distributed system. Several approaches have been proposed in the last decade for time synchronization in WSNs. Recently, Consensus Time Synchronization (CTS) approaches are gaining popularity due its computational lightness, robustness and distributed nature. Though a rich set of CTS algorithms are proposed, their energy consumption has so far not been studied. Apart from synchronization precision, energy consumption should also be considered meticulously for time synchronization algorithms in energy-constraint WSNs. In this paper, a thorough energy consumption analysis is presented for some recent state-of-the-art CTS algorithms for WSN and tested by simulation. The simulation results will help in selecting an appropriate CTS algorithm that meets the requirements of synchronization accuracy and energy consumption for a specific WSN application.
Identification and Analysis of Genes Involved in the Jasmonate Pathway in Response to Ethephon and 1-Methylcyclopropene during the Ripening of Apple Fruit
Authors: Lv Jingyi , Ge Yonghong , Li Canying , Zhang Mengyuan , Li Jianrong
Published: June 2017

Fruit ripening is a complex process involving many physiological changes and the dynamic interplay between different phytohormones. In addition to ethylene, jasmonates (JAs) have also been demonstrated to play an important role in the regulation of fruit ripening. However, the mechanisms underlying the interaction between these two pathways during fruit ripening are unknown. In recent years, research has been conducted to illustrate the effects of JAs on the ethylene biosynthesis and signaling pathway, but little is known regarding the effects of ethylene on JA biosynthesis and the signaling pathway during fruit ripening. Herein, we aimed to evaluate the effects of ethylene on JA biosynthesis in ripening apple (Malus ×domestica) fruit and on the expression of key genes involved in the JA biosynthesis and the signaling pathway. For this purpose, we treated apple fruit with ethephon and 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) at commercial maturity. Our data indicated that endogenous JA content and allene oxide synthase (AOS) activity were reduced by ethephon treatment at the early ripening stage, whereas they were enhanced by 1-MCP treatment at the late ripening stage. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis revealed that the expression profiles of three AOS genes (MdAOS2, MdAOS3, and MdAOS5) and two lipoxygenase (LOX) genes (MdLOX22 and MdLOX28) showed similar trends with the change of AOS activity in all groups during fruit ripening. The expression of MdLOX21 and MdLOX23 was in accordance with the change of ethylene production on ripening, and it was positively regulated by ethylene, whereas the opposite effect was observed for MdLOX39 expression. The transcription of MdLOX310 and MdLOX61 appeared unaffected by ethylene during fruit ripening. Three jasmonate ZIM-domain (JAZ) genes (MdJAZ9, MdJAZ10, and MdJAZ18) were differentially upregulated by ethephon treatment whereas being downregulated by 1-MCP treatment during fruit ripening. Expression of MdJAZ13 and MdJAZ14 was downregulated at the early ripening stage by both treatments. Our results suggested regulating roles of ethylene on the JA biosynthesis and signaling pathway during fruit ripening and senescence.
Characterization of Polymorphic Chloroplast Microsatellites in Prunus Species and Maternal Lineages in Peach Genotypes
Authors: Chen Chunxian , Okie William R.
Published: June 2017

Several available Prunus chloroplast genomes have not been exploited to develop polymorphic chloroplast microsatellites that could be useful in Prunus phylogenetic analysis and maternal lineage group (MLG) categorization. In this study, using available bioinformatics tools, 80, 75, and 78 microsatellites were identified from the chloroplast genome of P. persica (CPpe), P. kansuensis (CPka), and P. mume (CPmu), respectively. The genome features and polymorphism status of these microsatellites were characterized. The genomic locations and motif types of most chloroplast microsatellites were conserved in CPpe, CPka, and CPmu. Of the 67 microsatellites with primer sequences and names, 57 were polymorphic for their in silico motif, amplicon lengths, or both among the three genomes. Based on the genotyping data of eight most polymorphic microsatellites, eight unique MLGs were found among the 736 peach materials in a breeding program. Most peach cultivars (111 of 161 genotyped) belong to MLG-1, the Chinese Cling-derived group reflecting the heavy use of this germplasm in early peach development. Forty-one cultivars belong to MLG-2, the European-derived group of peaches. MLG-3 consists of ornamental accessions. MLG-4 and MLG-5 contain only ‘Flordaking’ and ‘Reliance’, respectively. MLG-6 to MLG-8 consists of selections derived from P. tangutica, P. davidiana, and P. mira, respectively. These amplicons from the representative material for each MLG were sequenced, revealing additional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the amplicons. With the polymorphism status and amplification reliability validated, these new polymorphic chloroplast microsatellite markers may be useful in Prunus phylogenetic analysis.
Estimating Nitrogen Mineralization from Cover Crop Mixtures Using the Precision Nitrogen Management Model
Authors: Melkonian J. , Poffenbarger H. J. , Mirsky S. B. , Ryan M. R. , Moebius‐Clune B. N.
Published: June 2017

Core Ideas

The precision N management model performed reasonably well for estimating cover crop N mineralization.

Model performance was sufficient to justify incorporation into an N decision support tool.

Cover crops as a best management practice can be assessed with the calibrated model.

Cover crops influence soil N dynamics and N availability to a subsequent crop. Dynamic simulation models, if properly calibrated and tested, can simulate C and N dynamics of a terminated cover crop and estimate crop‐available N over diverse production environments. We calibrated and tested a dynamic simulation model modified to simulate C and N cover crop residue dynamics in maize (Zea mays L.) production systems. Data from a 2‐yr field study of different cover crop residue mixtures, fertilizer rates, and tillage practices were used in model calibration and testing. First order rate constants governing cover crop residue decomposition were calibrated so that statistical measures of model best fit were optimized. Calibration resulted in a good fit between measured and modeled N release from the terminated cover crop mixtures (root mean square error [RMSE] = 14 kg N ha−1; Willmott's index of agreement (IA) = 0.92). The calibrated model performed reasonably well in the testing phase (RMSE = 25; IA = 0.88) with significantly better performance for the no‐till (NT) treatments compared to the incorporated treatment. Accounting for cover crop components (leaf, stem proportions), calibration of the temperature and moisture response functions that modify the calibrated rate constants, and testing over a wider range of soils, management practices and climates are potential areas for model improvement. The revised, calibrated model will be used in a decision support tool for N management in maize production and in studies of N dynamics in maize agro‐ecosystems that include cover crops.
Laboratory Method to Evaluate Wheat Seedling Emergence from Deep Planting Depths
Authors: Schillinger William F. , Schofstoll Steven E. , Smith Timothy A. , Jacobsen John A.
Published: June 2017

Core Ideas

Stand establishment is the biggest factor afffecting winter wheat yield in the low‐precipitation region.

Winter wheat seed is planted as deep as 20 cm below the soil surface to reach adequate soil moisture.

Determination of a cultivar's emergence ability in the field is limited to a short time window once a year.

We developed a laboratory method to to accurately measure emergence in pots from deep planting depths.

Laboratory and field results were strongly correlated under a wide range of soil water potentials.

Planting depth effect on seedling emergence is an important concern for many crops grown around the world. Farmers in the low‐precipitation (<300 mm annual) winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) (WW) production region of the Inland Pacific Northwest of the United States (PNW) plant seed as deep as 20 cm below the surface of summer‐fallowed soils with deep‐furrow drills to reach adequate seed‐zone moisture. Seedlings need to emerge through 12 to 15 cm of soil cover, most often under marginal seed‐zone water potentials. Successful stand establishment is the most critical factor affecting WW grain yield potential in the region. We developed a laboratory method to accurately assess WW emergence from deep planting depths in pots. To test the methodology, we first conducted a 4‐yr field experiment to measure emergence of four WW cultivars having either standard‐height or semi‐dwarf growth habit. Depth of soil cover over the seed was 14 cm and seed‐zone water potential over the 4 yr ranged from very dry (–0.69 MPa) to wet (–0.40 MPa). Next, a factorial laboratory pot experiment was conducted using the same WW cultivars and soil seed‐zone water potentials similar to those during the 4 yr in the field. Statistical comparison between field and laboratory emergence data showed a strong correlation (r = 0.71, p < 0.01) for median time to emerge. We describe the step‐by‐step procedure for conducting a laboratory pot experiment to measure WW emergence from deep planting depths under a wide range of water potentials.
Increasing Soil and Crop Productivity by Using Agricultural Wastes Pelletized with Elemental Sulfur and Bentonite
Authors: Muscolo Adele , Mallamaci Carmelo , Settineri Giovanna , Calamarà Giovanni
Published: June 2017

Core Ideas

The natural fertilizer potential of agricultural and industrial wastes was investigated.

Soil properties, seed germination, and plant metabolism proved their fertilizing properties.

A specificity between fertilizers produced and plant species was really evident.

Waste materials have many characteristics that can be useful to improve soil fertility and crop productivity. This study aims to investigate on recycling orange, olive wastes, elemental S residue to produce new and more efficient S‐enriched organic fertilizers. The fertilizer power of the different pads was first assessed in vitro on germination of three crop species (red onion [PurpleAllium cepaL.], cayenne pepper [Capsicum annuum], and dwarf French bean [Phaseolus vulgarisL. bronco]) to individuate the doses to be used in pot experiements. In vitro tests showed that germination was stimulated by all treatments up to a concentration of 0.88 mg L−1. Pot experiments evidenced that pads of S‐bentonite plus agricultural wastes were more effective in lowering the pH of alkaline soils and in increasing the labile fraction of soil organic matter (SOM) than pads of S‐bentonite as such. The greatest beneficial effect on soil chemical properties was observed by using pad of S‐bentonite and orange wastes. Regarding crop productivity, all the species (red onion, cayenne pepper, and dwarf French bean) grew better in fertilized compared to unfertilized soils, and the best performance was observed in crop fertilized with S‐bentonite with agricultural wastes. A fertilizer specie‐specificity was also demonstrated, red onion and cayenne pepper grew better in the presence of S‐bentonite with orange waste, while red bean performance increased with S‐bentonite plus olive pomace. Agricultural wastes with S‐bentonite represent a new formulation of fertilizer able to generate a soluble zone of nutrients while minimizing leaching losses to the environment.