bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
DECREASED REACTIVITY TO ANXIOLYTICS CAUSED BY EARLY PROTEIN MALNUTRITION IN RATS
Authors: Almeida Sebastião De Sousa , De Oliveira Luiz Marcellino , Graeff Frederico G.
Published: August 2016

In order to investigate whether early malnutrition causes lasting changes in the reactivity to anxiolytic drugs, rat dams lactation (21 days) and pops after weaning until the 49th day of life were fed on 8% casein diet (M rats), while their well-nourished controls received 25% casein (W rats), from day 50 on all animals ate the same balanced diet. Experiments started on the 91st day. Rats deprived for 22 hours drank water containing either 1.8% or 2.7% sodium chloride for 30 min in a test chamber, total intake being measured. Dose-effect curves for diazepam (0.5-5.0 mg/kg, IP), as well as for the monbenzodiazepine anxiolytics ipsapirone (0.5-5.0 mg/kg), ritanserin (0.05-1.0 mg/kg) and isamoltane (2.5-20.0 mg/kg) were determined in M as well as in W rats. Diazepam and ipsapirone dose-dependently released drinking suppressed by either salt concentration in W rats, but caused little or no effect in M rats. Ritanserin and isamoltane were ineffective in both groups. These and previously reported results show that early protein malnutrition markedly reduces anticonflict effect of anxiolytics, indicating long-lasting impairment of neuronal systems underlying emotional behavior. Keywords: early protein malnutrition, hypertonic saline intake, diazepam, ipsapirone.
Model-Consistent Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Supervision: A Case Study of a Psychotherapy-Based Approach
Authors: Waltman Scott H.
Published: August 2016

There is a great need for training in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for community clinicians who work in public mental health systems where resources are low and demands are high. Researchers have found that simply attending intensive CBT workshops will not result in adherent or competent CBT being delivered, rather ongoing CBT supervision/consultation has been found to be associated with the best training outcomes. Psychotherapy-based approaches to supervision have recently received some attention for their value in providing experiential learning. What follows is a case example of a community clinician who had little previous training in CBT and following an intensive training and 16 weeks of CBT supervision had substantial gains in her CBT adherence and competency ratings. Recommendations such as the value of experiential learning are discussed.
Standardizing Prenatal Breastfeeding Education in the Clinic Setting
Authors: Seibenhener Sherry L. , Minchew Leigh
Published: August 2016

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding for the first 6 months of newborn life. Current research demonstrates women value the advice of obstetrical providers more so than that of family and friends. Unfortunately, there is often minimal to no breastfeeding education prenatally, and any education given may be fragmented, poorly timed, or influenced by provider experience. To improve consistency of breastfeeding education, a quality improvement project was developed and implemented in a local women’s health clinic. This article discusses elements of the project to standardize prenatal breastfeeding education to support to the expecting mother and newborn.
Pumping in One Easy Step
Authors: Hoover Kay , Kipping-Ruane Johanna , Kurtz Barbara
Published: August 2016

The assembly line approach to gathering the items needed for a woman to express her milk in the hospital setting decreases the nurse’s workload. Hopefully this new practice will help in starting mothers of preterm babies with pumping during the first hour post birth.
IBCLCs and Craniosacral Therapists
Authors: Berg-Drazin Patricia
Published: August 2016

The rate of ankyloglossia (tongue-tie) appears to be on the rise in the United States and around the world. IBCLCs working with the families of babies with tongue-tie all too often are the first ones to notice the symptoms and suggest treatment. Even after the tongue has been released, these infants continue to struggle with breastfeeding. The tongue plays an integral role in breastfeeding, but it is also crucial to other oral functions such as speech, respiration, oral hygiene, swallowing, and chewing. The tongue is connected through the extrinsic muscles to bone both above and below the oral cavity. The restriction of the tongue results in associated strains in the body. We will follow the muscular connections and origins to understand the influences in the body. Craniosacral therapy (CST) has its origin in osteopathy, which teaches that structure and function are reciprocally interrelated. When structure is compromised, function will be as well. CST is a perfect complement to help these infants’ bodies release the tensions created as well as to aid in rebalancing structurally and somatically. A case study will illuminate the tremendous impact CST can have on children suffering from tongue-tie.
Avaliação da performance em jogos desportivos - GPAI E TSAP
Authors: Santos Rafael Benjamin dos , Mendes Rui Souza , Dias Gonçalo Nuno Figueiredo , Coelho e Silva Manuel João Cerdeira
Published: August 2016

Esta revisão de estudos teve como objetivo analisar como é avaliada a performance dos atletas nos desportos coletivos e individuais através dos instrumentos Game Performance Assessment Instrument (GPAI) e Team Sport Assessment Procedure (TSAP). Para tal, efetuou-se um levantamento de todos os instrumentos de avaliação utilizados nos últimos 25 anos e analisaram-se as modalidades onde foram usados. A revisão dos estudos mostra uma maior utilização destes instrumentos nos desportos coletivos (21estudos), sendo o Futebol a modalidade mais estudada (9 estudos). Nos desportos individuais, o Tênis, com 2 estudos, e o Badminton com 1 estudo, foram as modalidades mais abordadas. Conclui-se que o GPAI foi o instrumento mais utilizado, isto devido à adaptação que pode ser feita na análise das componentes técnicas e táticas, as quais têm aplicações práticas nos desportos coletivos e individuais.
Interação professor-aluno em aulas de educação física nas séries iniciais do ensino fundamental
Authors: Luchesi Felipe Del Mando , Caramaschi Sandro
Published: August 2016

O presente trabalho consistiu em analisar interações professor-aluno em aulas de Educação Física nas séries iniciais do Ensino Fundamental e o concomitante processo segregativo e/ou de implicações que há por detrás das mesmas. A metodologia foi caracterizada pela observação naturalística com a utilização de filmagem, além de entrevista semi-estruturada realizada com professores utilizando uma abordagem quali-quantitativa em três instituições públicas de ensino localizadas no município de Bauru/ SP, envolvendo 4 docentes, um por seriação. Com a presente pesquisa foi possível identificar ações exitosas e práticas diversificadas, inclusive coercitivas, passíveis de mudança por parte dos docentes em seus contextos de ensino.
Peculiar Magnetic Features and Superconductivity in Sulfur Doped Amorphous Carbon
Authors: Felner Israel
Published: August 2016

We report on magnetic studies of inhomogeneous commercial and synthesized amorphous carbon (a-C) and a-C doped with sulfur (a-CS) powders which exhibit (i) peculiar magnetic behavior and (ii) traces of two superconducting (SC) phase ~ Tc=33 and at 65 K. (i) The temperature dependence of zero-field-cooled (ZFC) curves measured up to room temperature show a well distinguish elusive peaks around 50-80 K, their origin is not yet known. These peaks are totally washed-out in the second ZFC sweeps and in the FC branches as well. As a result, in the vicinity of the peaks, the FC curves lie below the ZFC peaks (FC<ZFC), a phenomenon which is rarely observed. These magnetic anomalies are intrinsic properties of a-C and a-CS materials (ii) SC was observed in three different a-C sources: (a) The commercial a-C powder contains 0.21% of sulfur and it is suggested that two different a-CS phases (at 33 and 65 K) are the origin of the two SC states observed. The compositions of these two phases are not yet unknown. The small SC volume fractions of the 33 K phase can be enhanced by a solid reaction with additional sulfur at 250 ºC. (b) The synthesized a-C powder (obtained from decomposition of sucrose) is not SC. However, when mixed with sulfur and heated at 400 ºC under a protective atmosphere, the a-CS powder obtained also show traces of a SC phase at TC= 42 K. (c)The same occurs in a-C thin films. The as-grown films are not SC but a SC phase at Tc = 34 K emerges after the films were reacted with sulfur at elevated temperatures. It is concluded therefore, that all SC phases observed are due to different unknown a-CS phases. Since the a-C and a-CS powders possess SC and magnetic states, we believe that these powders resemble the high TC curates and Fe-As based systems in which the SC and the magnetic states are closed related to each other.
Beneficial Effects of Pyridoxal Phosphate on Hydrogen Peroxide Induced Stress on Isolated Pancreatic Acinar Cells
Authors: Ajumeera Rajanna , Venkatesan Vijayalakshmi
Published: August 2016

Aims: To study the effects of pyridoxal phosphate (PLP) on oxidative stress in isolated pancreatic acinar cells. We have previously shown that PLP has cytoprotective and insulinotropic effects on mice islet cells in vivo and in vitro studies. Main methods: Acinar cells were isolated from three months old WNIN male rats and were cultured in vitro for a period of 24 h in CO2 incubator. Later the cells were divided into four groups as untreated (group 1), H2O2 treatment (group 2), PLP treatment (group 3) and PLP followed by H2O2 treatment (group 4). Cell viability was confirmed using MTT assays, oxidative stress levels were measured with ROS assay, change in different protein levels were recorded by flow cytometry. The acinar cells insulin secretion assay was performed with ELISA. The amylase protein expression was assessed using confocal microscopy. Key findings: The cell viability of acinar cell in group 1 was considered as 100%, while in group 2 it was reduced to 82% due to H2O2 effect, and in group 3 (99.8%) and group 4 (99.5%) were near to group 1 due to the cytoprotective effect of PLP. The ROS levels were increased by 1.47 folds in group 2, while PLP decreased to 1.02 fold in group 4, which was comparable with the changes in group 1. Beneficial effects of PLP were also observed from the increased expression levels of acinar cells are amylase -2.01, neurogenin-3-9.51, PDX-1- 23.6 and insulin-13.5 in group 3 compared to group 1. The specificity of PLP’s response was confirmed by amino oxy acetic acid (AOAA), a specific PLP inhibitor. The increased amylase protein localization with PLP was confirmed by confocal microscopy. Insulin secretion efficiency of acinar cells was observed to be 6.13 folds higher at basal and 24.63 fold higher at stimulated levels in group3 compared to group1. Significance: Our results advocate the antioxidant and cytoprotective effects of PLP on the pancreatic acinar cell along with increased pancreatic marker expressions of amylase,PDX-1, neurogenin-3 and insulin proteins.
Seismic Damage Recognition Based on Watershed Segmentation of SAR Image Texture Features
Authors: Li Qiang , Gong Lixia , Zhang Jingfa
Published: August 2016

The information of seismic damage of buildings in SAR images of different time phase, especially in SAR images after earthquake, is easily disturbed by other factors, which affects the accuracy of information discrimination. In order to identify and evaluate the distribution information of the seismic damage accurately and make full use of the abundant texture features in the SAR image. The conventional method of change detection based on texture features usually takes the pixel as the calculating unit. In this paper, a method of texture feature change detection of SAR images based on watershed segmentation algorithm is proposed. Based on the optimization of texture feature parameters, the feature parameters are segmented by the watershed segmentation algorithm, and the feature object image is obtained. This method introduces the idea of object oriented, and carries out the calculation of the difference map at the object level, Finally, the classification threshold value of different types of seismic damage types is selected, and the recognition of building damage is achieved. Taking the ALOS data before and after the earthquake in Yushu as an example to verify the effectiveness of the method, the overall accuracy of the building extraction is 88.9%, Compared with pixel-based methods, it is proved that the proposed method is effective.
Vowel Harmony in Kui
Authors: Penthoi Govinda Chandra
Published: August 2016

Kui (ISO639-3 Code ‘Kxu’) is a language spoken by Kondh or Kondha (/Kɔndhɔ/) tribe. Majority of the Kui-speaking Kondhs live in the hilly and forested areas of South and central Odisha especially in the undivided districts of Kondhamal, Koraput and Kalahandi. The other language spoken by Kondhs is Kuvi which is very similar to Kui. Kondh people being an underdeveloped tribal people, study of their language, society and culture draws a lot of attention of academics, administration and other philanthropic agencies.

 

The objective of this study is to present the vowel sound harmony and phonology of Kui language. The approach is data oriented and uses in general. The structuralist methodology has been followed for the analysis of the data in the present work. Data was collected from the native speakers through field visit to various Kui speaking areas.
Improving Propped SRV in the Long Ma Xi Shale: New Concept Trials and its Performance
Authors: Ji Peng , Qu Qingguang , Vitthal Sanjay , Pickles Mike
Published: August 2016

After dozens of exploration and appraisal wells were drilled, fractured and tested in the Lower Silurian Long Ma Xi (hereafter referred to as LMX) shale formation in Sichuan basin since 2009, several blocks have now entered into the development phase. Hydraulic fracturing stimulation is vital to the performance of shale gas wells as well as the economics since it represents about half of the total well cost. Aiming at increasing production, most operators focus on enlarging Stimulated Rock Volume (SRV), a common means for which is to increase the injected fluid volume. Whilst injecting more fluid will lead to an enhanced SRV during the fracture stimulation process, how much of it is effective SRV under closure stress is often unknown and tends to be field specific. It is possible that a large portion of the injected fluid and consumed energy is actually ineffective in terms of adding more production rate.

Based on some early production data of wells in Fushun-Yongchuan (herein after refer to as Fushun) block and its sensitivity analysis to completion parameters, it is found that the amount of injected fluid volume does not obviously impact the performance. Instead, proppant intensity; the volume of 100 mesh natural sand carried by slick water; and proppant pack continuity are all more important variables. These variables are not generally the focus of most operators in the area. A concept for improving the effective or propped SRV is developed as a result, with key points summarized as below:

Significantly reduced frac fluid volume compared to original base design; Enhanced proppant intensity; Significantly increased 100 mesh sand volume; Continuously adding proppant to achieve best proppant pack continuity at fracture face; Tailored frac fluid design to meet the proppant transportation needs meanwhile minimize the residue damage

The above concept has been put into field trials in Fushun area. Field execution went well and demonstrated higher efficiency in terms of operation time, however did require a higher level of onsite QAQC and real-time engineering control. Early production data has been gathered and analyzed to assess the performance impact of this approach, indicating that a consistent performance improvement has been observed. This new shale gas frac concept is practical and beneficial on both operational efficiency and well stimulation performance.
Optimized coupling of a submerged membrane electro-bioreactor with pre-anaerobic reactors containing anode electrodes for wastewater treatment and fouling reduction
Authors: Taghipour Nader , Mosaferi Mohammad , Shakerkhatibi Mohammad , Jaafarzadeh Neemat , Dehghanzadeh Reza , HosseinNia Hassan
Published: August 2016

In this paper, the performance of a submerged membrane electro-bioreactor with pre-anaerobic reactors containing anode electrodes (SMEBR+) was compared with that of a membrane bioreactor (MBR) in municipal wastewater treatment. The new design idea of the SMEBR+ was based on applications of direct current (DC) on the anode and cathode electrodes. The pilot study was divided into 2 stages and operated for 48 days. In Stage I, the MBR was continuously operated for 24 days without the application of electrodes. In Stage II, the SMEBR+ was continuously operated for 24 days, while aluminum electrodes and an intermittent DC were working with an operational mode of 2 min ON/4 min OFF at a constant voltage of 1.4 V. The results indicated that membrane fouling was reduced by nearly 22.02% in the SMEBR+ compared to the MBR. The results also showed that the SMEBR+ increased the quality of effluent to the extent that high removals of NH3+-N, PO43−-P, and chemical oxygen demand (COD) were 98%, 76%, and 90%, respectively. This system, in comparison with those proposed in other studies, showed a suitable improvement in biological treatments, considering the high removal of NH3+-N. Therefore, SMEBR+ can be considered as a promising treatment alternative to the conventional MBR.
Kinetic characterization, thermo-stability and Reactive Red 195A dye detoxifying properties of manganese peroxidase-coupled gelatin hydrogel
Authors: Bilal Muhammad , Asgher Muhammad , Hu Hongbo , Zhang Xuehong
Published: August 2016

An indigenous and industrially important manganese peroxidase (MnP) was isolated from solid-state bio-processing of wheat bran by white-rot fungal strain Ganoderma lucidum IBL-05 under pre-optimized growth conditions. Crude MnP extract was partially purified (2.34-fold) to apparent homogeneity by ammonium sulphate precipitation and dialysis. The homogeneous enzyme preparation was encapsulated on gelatin matrix using glutaraldehyde as a cross-linking agent. Optimal conditions for highest immobilization (82.5%) were: gelatin 20% (w/v), glutaraldehyde 0.25% (v/v) and 2 h activation time using 0.6 mg/mL of protein concentration. Gelatin-encapsulated MnP presented its maximum activity at pH 6.0 and 60 °C. Thermo-stability was considerably improved after immobilization. The optimally active MnP fraction was tested against MnSO4 as a substrate to calculate kinetic parameters. More than 90% decolorization of Sandal-fix Red C4BLN (Reactive Red 195A) dye was achieved with immobilized MnP in 5 h. It also preserved more than 50% of its original activity after the sixth reusability cycle. The water quality parameters (pH, chemical oxygen demand, total organic carbon) and cytotoxicity (brine shrimp and Daphnia magna) studies revealed the non-toxic nature of the bio-treated dye sample. A lower Km, higher Vmax, greater acidic and thermal-resistant up to 60 °C were the improved catalytic features of immobilized MnP suggesting its suitability for a variety of biotechnological applications.
Public Support for Conducted Energy Weapons: Evidence from the 2014 Alberta Survey
Authors: Oriola Temitope B. , Rollwagen Heather , Neverson Nicole , Adeyanju Charles T.
Published: August 2016

This paper examines support for the use of conducted energy weapons (CEWs) by police in Canada using data from the 2014 Alberta Survey (N = 1,204). Support for CEW use is measured using four Likert-scale questions, capturing different dimensions of CEW use: (1) “less-lethal” weapons such as Tasers should be made available to police officers; (2) Tasers are a safe policing tool; (3) the use of Tasers reduces levels of confidence in the police; and (4) official explanations regarding injuries and casualties in Taser-related incidents are satisfactory. Results of a logistic regression indicate that race, age, and gender are key predictors of perceptions of CEW use by police in Canada. Specifically, women, young people, and racialized minorities are least likely to be supportive of CEW use by police. Individuals identifying as white are over three times more likely to support CEW use by police, compared to those identifying as Aboriginal or members of another racialized group. Having a low household income, living in an urban area, and education are not statistically significant predictors of support for CEW use by police.
Stochastic Petri net-based modeling and formal analysis of fault tolerant Contract Net Protocol
Authors: Boukredera Djamila , Maamri Ramdane , Aknine Samir
Published: August 2016

Contract Net Protocol (CNP) is probably the most widely used task allocation protocol in distributed multi-agent systems (MAS). To cope with real-world applications, this protocol must be expanded by addressing some major challenging issues in the current distributed systems. Temporal interaction aspects and reliability issues of such systems, critical to guaranteeing performance, are the focus of this paper. Many researchers have proposed various methods to expand and to improve CNP but those challenges have not been much addressed in a formal way. To cope with these limitations, this paper proposes a Petri net-based model that extends the conventional contract net with real time constraints, often defined as interaction duration and message deadlines, and fault tolerance to handle the agent death exception. Our aim is, hence, to devise an extended CNP that achieves the reliability of the manager agent in the case of contractor crash failure while operating in an open and large scale multi-agent system under time constraints. To address the challenge problem of crash failure detection of the contractor in CNP, we propose to formally model the watchdog/heartbeat mechanism into the communication between the manager and the contractor. Using such mechanism, the manager can detect the crash failure on time and may hence trigger an appropriate recovery procedure to move the system into a safe and a consistent state. The proposed extended CNP model is developed using stochastic timed colored Petri nets which include systematic specification, design and implementation of components of the system. Various useful results will be drawn by simulation as well as state space analysis. This formal analysis shows that the protocol terminates correctly either in a safety case or in a failure situation. It also proves that the protocol meets the key properties namely model correctness, deadline respect, absence of deadlocks and livelocks, absence of dead code, agent terminal states consistency, concurrency, and validity.
GNSS Measurement of Rain Rate by Polarimetric Phase Shift: Theoretical Analysis
Authors: An Hao , Yan Wei , Huang Yunxian , Ai Weihua , Wang Yingqiang , Zhao Xianbin , Huang Xiaoying
Published: August 2016

In this paper, a novel method for rain rate estimation is researched by polarimetric phase shift of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). The physical process of GNSS signals propagating through rain-filled medium is investigated, by which the cause of polarimetric phase shift is explored. Then, a theoretical model between polarimetric phase shift Δ ϕ and rain rate R is established and simulated, which is based on the oblate spheroid raindrop model, four different popular raindrop size distribution models and raindrop canting angle distribution across the Space-Earth rain path. Additionally, effects of raindrop size distribution, rain path length, raindrop canting angle and temperature on the Δ ϕ -R relation are discussed systematically. Other factors in the slant path such as ice crystals, melting particles and ionosphere are also researched preliminarily. The results show that polarimetric phase shift of GNSS signals, which has a strong correlation with rain rate, can be used to estimate the rain rate, and these influencing factors, raindrop size distribution, rain path length, raindrop canting angle and temperature, are quite important in the process of rain rate measurement. It can be also found that the effect of ice crystals can be negligible, while that of melting particles should be considered, and though ionosphere effects are not obvious, the ionospheric anomalies cannot be neglected in future experiments. This method has potential applications in real-time, continuous, extreme precipitation reconnaissance and numerical weather prediction.
Fruit Juice Production Using Ultraviolet Pasteurization: A Review
Authors: Abdul Karim Shah Nor , Shamsudin Rosnah , Abdul Rahman Russly , Adzahan Noranizan
Published: August 2016

Ultraviolet (UV-C at 253.7 nm) technology has been the go-to alternative pasteurization and shelf-life extension treatment for beverages for the last two decades. It has been the focal point of non-thermal methods for fruit juice processing and has been studied extensively. UV-C technology has been proven to produce microbiologically safe products with minimal negative impact towards quality of the products. However, due to the physicochemical characteristics of fruit juice, application of UV-C does have certain limitations and thus, there is a need to further study the effects of UV-C-treatment and equipment design. Critical decisions on the type of fruit product, juice color, juice composition, and juice physical characteristics, among other variables, are imperative to produce a safe and wholesome juice. Therefore, this paper serves as a source for development of UV-C technology for pasteurization and shelf-life extension of fruit juice to successfully obtain a final product with minimal changes of its nutritional component without neglecting the microbial safety. It reviews previous literatures involving ultraviolet-treated fruit juices, ranging from popular apple and orange juice to lesser-known pummelo and pitaya juice. The review also covers the aspect of microbiological and chemical safety, quality, and sensory characteristics as well as hurdle technology involving UV-C as the main method and the market potential with its cost implication of UV-C technology.
Microfluidic Devices for Forensic DNA Analysis: A Review
Authors: Bruijns Brigitte , Van Asten Arian , Tiggelaar Roald , Gardeniers Han
Published: August 2016

Microfluidic devices may offer various advantages for forensic DNA analysis, such as reduced risk of contamination, shorter analysis time and direct application at the crime scene. Microfluidic chip technology has already proven to be functional and effective within medical applications, such as for point-of-care use. In the forensic field, one may expect microfluidic technology to become particularly relevant for the analysis of biological traces containing human DNA. This would require a number of consecutive steps, including sample work up, DNA amplification and detection, as well as secure storage of the sample. This article provides an extensive overview of microfluidic devices for cell lysis, DNA extraction and purification, DNA amplification and detection and analysis techniques for DNA. Topics to be discussed are polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on-chip, digital PCR (dPCR), isothermal amplification on-chip, chip materials, integrated devices and commercially available techniques. A critical overview of the opportunities and challenges of the use of chips is discussed, and developments made in forensic DNA analysis over the past 10–20 years with microfluidic systems are described. Areas in which further research is needed are indicated in a future outlook.
Is Internet Pornography Causing Sexual Dysfunctions? A Review with Clinical Reports
Authors: Park Brian , Wilson Gary , Berger Jonathan , Christman Matthew , Reina Bryn , Bishop Frank , Klam Warren , Doan Andrew
Published: August 2016

Traditional factors that once explained men’s sexual difficulties appear insufficient to account for the sharp rise in erectile dysfunction, delayed ejaculation, decreased sexual satisfaction, and diminished libido during partnered sex in men under 40. This review (1) considers data from multiple domains, e.g., clinical, biological (addiction/urology), psychological (sexual conditioning), sociological; and (2) presents a series of clinical reports, all with the aim of proposing a possible direction for future research of this phenomenon. Alterations to the brain's motivational system are explored as a possible etiology underlying pornography-related sexual dysfunctions. This review also considers evidence that Internet pornography’s unique properties (limitless novelty, potential for easy escalation to more extreme material, video format, etc.) may be potent enough to condition sexual arousal to aspects of Internet pornography use that do not readily transition to real-life partners, such that sex with desired partners may not register as meeting expectations and arousal declines. Clinical reports suggest that terminating Internet pornography use is sometimes sufficient to reverse negative effects, underscoring the need for extensive investigation using methodologies that have subjects remove the variable of Internet pornography use. In the interim, a simple diagnostic protocol for assessing patients with porn-induced sexual dysfunction is put forth.
Sternocostoclavicular Hyperostosis: An Ill-Recognized Disease
Authors: Roed Bolette , Kristensen Tatiana , Thorsen Søren , Poulsen Bloch Klaus , Afzelius Pia
Published: August 2016

Sternocostoclavicular hyperostosis (SCCH) is an ill-recognized, rarely diagnosed disease. Today, SCCH is widely considered part of the synovitis, acne, pustulosis, hyperostosis and osteitis (SAPHO) syndrome. SCCH develops over years with intermittent attacks of pain, swelling, and reddening of the sternocostoclavicular region. The disease causes progressive hyperostosis, fusion of the sternocostoclavicular joints, and soft tissue ossification. SCCH is chronic, non-malignant, and occurs predominantly bilaterally in middle-aged women. The incidence of the disease is unknown. We present a case of isolated SCCH, where chest radiographs showed a clear development of bilateral disease over the course of more than a decade. Whole-body bone scintigraphy was performed and was suggestive of SCCH. The diagnosis was established as late as 14 years from the onset of symptoms. During this period, the patient underwent several inconclusive examinations, resulting in a delay of diagnosis and in prolonged and aggravated symptoms. With this case report, we want to draw attention to SCCH and the importance of early diagnosis of the disease.
A Critical Reassessment of the Hess–Murray Law
Authors: Sciubba Enrico
Published: August 2016

The Hess–Murray law is a correlation between the radii of successive branchings in bi/trifurcated vessels in biological tissues. First proposed by the Swiss physiologist and Nobel laureate Walter Rudolf Hess in his 1914 doctoral thesis and published in 1917, the law was “rediscovered” by the American physiologist Cecil Dunmore Murray in 1926. The law is based on the assumption that blood or lymph circulation in living organisms is governed by a “work minimization” principle that—under a certain set of specified conditions—leads to an “optimal branching ratio” of r i + 1 r i = 1 2 3 = 0.7937 . This “cubic root of 2” correlation underwent extensive theoretical and experimental reassessment in the second half of the 20th century, and the results indicate that—under a well-defined series of conditions—the law is sufficiently accurate for the smallest vessels (r of the order of fractions of millimeter) but fails for the larger ones; moreover, it cannot be successfully extended to turbulent flows. Recent comparisons with numerical investigations of branched flows led to similar conclusions. More recently, the Hess–Murray law came back into the limelight when it was taken as a founding paradigm of the Constructal Law, a theory that employs physical intuition and mathematical reasoning to derive “optimal paths” for the transport of matter and energy between a source and a sink, regardless of the mode of transportation (continuous, like in convection and conduction, or discrete, like in the transportation of goods and people). This paper examines the foundation of the law and argues that both for natural flows and for engineering designs, a minimization of the irreversibility under physically sound boundary conditions leads to somewhat different results. It is also shown that, in the light of an exergy-based resource analysis, an amended version of the Hess–Murray law may still hold an important position in engineering and biological sciences.
ECG Classification Using Wavelet Packet Entropy and Random Forests
Authors: Li Taiyong , Zhou Min
Published: August 2016

The electrocardiogram (ECG) is one of the most important techniques for heart disease diagnosis. Many traditional methodologies of feature extraction and classification have been widely applied to ECG analysis. However, the effectiveness and efficiency of such methodologies remain to be improved, and much existing research did not consider the separation of training and testing samples from the same set of patients (so called inter-patient scheme). To cope with these issues, in this paper, we propose a method to classify ECG signals using wavelet packet entropy (WPE) and random forests (RF) following the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) recommendations and the inter-patient scheme. Specifically, we firstly decompose the ECG signals by wavelet packet decomposition (WPD), and then calculate entropy from the decomposed coefficients as representative features, and finally use RF to build an ECG classification model. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first time that WPE and RF are used to classify ECG following the AAMI recommendations and the inter-patient scheme. Extensive experiments are conducted on the publicly available MIT–BIH Arrhythmia database and influence of mother wavelets and level of decomposition for WPD, type of entropy and the number of base learners in RF on the performance are also discussed. The experimental results are superior to those by several state-of-the-art competing methods, showing that WPE and RF is promising for ECG classification.
Automated Variable Selection and Shrinkage for Day-Ahead Electricity Price Forecasting
Authors: Uniejewski Bartosz , Nowotarski Jakub , Weron Rafał
Published: August 2016

In day-ahead electricity price forecasting (EPF) variable selection is a crucial issue. Conducting an empirical study involving state-of-the-art parsimonious expert models as benchmarks, datasets from three major power markets and five classes of automated selection and shrinkage procedures (single-step elimination, stepwise regression, ridge regression, lasso and elastic nets), we show that using the latter two classes can bring significant accuracy gains compared to commonly-used EPF models. In particular, one of the elastic nets, a class that has not been considered in EPF before, stands out as the best performing model overall.
Baseline Mortality Analysis Reveals Legacy of Contrasting Land Use Practices on the Structural Sustainability of Endangered Moroccan and Spanish Mountain Forests
Authors: Castello John , Cale Jonathan , D’Angelo Cortney , Linares Juan
Published: August 2016

Disturbances can affect forest health and are important modulating factors of tree responses to environmental changes. However, standard methods are needed to assess and elucidate the relative effects of disturbance legacies on forest health among species. Here, structural sustainability was used to evaluate and to compare the impacts of contrasting disturbances on the health of Quercus ilex, Cedrus atlantica, and Abies pinsapo forest stands in Morocco and Spain. Disturbance effects on structural sustainability were related to type, severity, and land-use history, and showed inter-regional variability. Cedrus atlantica was structurally sustainable in its core distribution in Morocco, but not at its southern and northernmost geographical range limits. Quercus ilex was structurally sustainable in Morocco. Abies pinsapo was structurally sustainable at optimal elevation sites in Morocco (Rif Mts.), but considering the whole A. pinsapo dataset including Morocco and Spain, the species is structurally unsustainable due to excessive mortality. However, at the lower elevation plots in Spain, unsustainability was due to insufficient mortality. Although some forests were structurally sustainable, none of them were deemed healthy because none met their management objectives. Results also support the key role of disturbance regimes as drivers of forest structural sustainability and adaptive capacity.
Formation of Anti-Wear Tribofilms via α-ZrP Nanoplatelet as Lubricant Additives
Authors: Dai Wei , Kheireddin Bassem , Gao Hong , Kan Yuwei , Clearfield Abraham , Liang Hong
Published: August 2016

Effective tribofilms are desirable to protect mechanical systems. In the present research, we investigated the formation of a tribofilm through the use of α-ZrP (Zr(HPO4)2·H2O) as an additive. Experiments were conducted on a base oil where 0.2 wt% of the additive was used. Experimental results showed a 50% reduction in friction and a 30% reduction in wear when compared to the base oil containing 0.8 wt% ZDDP. Spectroscopic characterization indicated that the tribofilm consists of iron oxide, zirconium oxide, and zirconium phosphates. The worn surface was seen to be smooth which renders it desirable for bearing systems.
Patterned Well-Aligned ZnO Nanorods Assisted with Polystyrene Monolayer by Oxygen Plasma Treatment
Authors: Choi Hyun , Lee Yong-Min , Yu Jung-Hoon , Hwang Ki-Hwan , Boo Jin-Hyo
Published: August 2016

Zinc oxide is known as a promising material for sensing devices due to its piezoelectric properties. In particular, the alignment of ZnO nanostructures into ordered nanoarrays is expected to improve the device sensitivity due to the large surface area which can be utilized to capture significant quantities of gas particles. However, ZnO nanorods are difficult to grow on the quartz substrate with well-ordered shape. So, we investigated nanostructures by adjusting the interval distance of the arranged ZnO nanorods using polystyrene (PS) spheres of various sizes (800 nm, 1300 nm and 1600 nm). In addition, oxygen plasma treatment was used to specify the nucleation site of round, patterned ZnO nanorod growth. Therefore, ZnO nanorods were grown on a quartz substrate with a patterned polystyrene monolayer by the hydrothermal method after oxygen plasma treatment. The obtained ZnO nanostructures were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field-emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM).
Changes of Lignin Molecular Structures in a Modification of Kraft Lignin Using Acid Catalyst
Authors: Kim Sunghoon , Oh Seungtaek , Lee Jungmin , Roh Hyun-gyoo , Park Jongshin
Published: August 2016

The purpose of this study is to modify lignin for better blending with general purpose synthetic polymers. The possible advantages by using this modification would be cost reduction, better physical properties, and biodegradability. In this study, butyrolactone-modified lignin (BLL) and tetrahydrofuran-modified lignin (THFL) were used for aliphatic chain modification of lignin using an acid-catalyzed esterification method in order to mimic the relation of lignin-carbohydrate-complex (LCC) and cellulose. The results of several analyses indicated that lignin was well modified. It was confirmed that the lignin was modified as expected and the reaction sites of the modification, as well as the reaction behaviors, were varied by the reagent types. The result of X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) analysis indicated that modified lignin/polymer blends increased the crystallinity due to their good compatibility. It can be confirmed that the type of alkyl chain and the miscibility gap between the alkyl chain-matrix affected the mechanical properties enormously in the fungi-degradable environment. From this study, a new method of lignin modification is proposed, and it is found that modified lignin retains the property of the substituted aliphatic chain well. This method could be a proper lignin modification method.
Nano-Crystalline Li1.2Mn0.6Ni0.2O2 Prepared via Amorphous Complex Precursor and Its Electrochemical Performances as Cathode Material for Lithium-Ion Batteries
Authors: He Xiangming , Wang Jixian , Wang Li , Li Jianjun
Published: August 2016

An amorphous complex precursor with uniform Mn/Ni cation distribution is attempted for preparing a nano-structured layered Li-rich oxide (Li1.2Mn0.6Ni0.2O2)cathode material, using diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) as a chelating agent. The materials are characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and electrochemical tests. The crystal structure of Li-rich materials is found to be closely related to synthesis temperature. As-obtained nano materials sintered at 850 °C for 10 h show an average size of 200 nm with a single crystal phase and good crystallinity. At a current density of 20 mA·g−1, the specific discharge capacity reaches 221 mAh·g−1 for the first cycle and the capacity retention is 81% over 50 cycles. Even at a current density of 1000 mA·g−1, the capacity is as high as 118 mAh·g−1. The enhanced rate capability can be ascribed to the nano-sized morphology and good crystal structure.
Structure and Physical Properties of NiO/Co3O4 Nanoparticles
Authors: Naseri Mahmoud , Dehzangi Arash , Kamari Halimah , See Alex , Abedi Mina , Salasi Reza , Goli-Kand Ahmad , Dianat Pouya , Larki Farhad , Abedini Alam , Hassan Jumiah , Far Ahmad , Majlis Burhanuddin
Published: August 2016

The thermal treatment method was employed to prepare nickel-cobalt oxide (NiO/Co3O4) nanoparticles. This method was attempted to achieve the higher homogeneity of the final product. Specimens of nickel-cobalt oxide were characterized by various experimental techniques, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). X-ray diffraction results showed that there was no crystallinity in the predecessor, and it still had the amorphous phase. The formations of the crystalline phases of the nickel-cobalt oxide nanoparticles started from 350–500 °C, and the final products had different crystallite sizes ranging from 11–35 nm. Furthermore, the variation of DC conductivity (σdc), impedance, tangent loss (tgδ) and dielectric constant (ε′) of the calcined specimens with frequency in the range of 102–106 Hz was investigated. σdc showed a value of 1.9 × 10−6 S/m, 1.3 × 10−6 S/m and 1.6 × 10−6 S/m for the specimens calcined at 350, 400 and 450 °C, respectively. Additionally, a decrease in tgδ values with an increase in temperature was observed. Finally, the formed nanoparticles exhibited ferromagnetic behaviors, which were confirmed by using a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM).
High-Temperature Compressive Resistance and Mechanical Properties Improvement of Strain-Induced Melt Activation-Processed Al-Mg-Si Aluminum Alloy
Authors: Lin Chia-Wei , Hung Fei-Yi , Lui Truan-Sheng
Published: August 2016

Even though the high-temperature formability of Al alloys can be enhanced by the strain-induced melt activation (SIMA) process, the mechanical properties of the formed alloys are necessary for estimation. In this research, a modified two-step SIMA (TS-SIMA) process that omits the cold working step of the traditional SIMA process is adopted for the 6066 Al-Mg-Si alloy to obtain globular grains with a short-duration salt bath. The high-temperature compressive resistance and mechanical properties of TS-SIMA alloys were investigated. The TS-SIMA alloys were subjected to artificial aging heat treatment to improve their mechanical properties. The results show that the TS-SIMA process can reduce compression loading by about 35%. High-temperature compressive resistance can be reduced by the TS-SIMA process. After high-temperature compression, the mechanical properties of the TS-SIMA alloys were significantly improved. Furthermore, artificial aging treatment can be used to enhance formed alloys via the TS-SIMA process. After artificial aging treatment, the mechanical properties of TS-SIMA alloys are comparable to those of general artificially-aged materials.
Development of a New Branded UK Food Composition Database for an Online Dietary Assessment Tool
Authors: Carter Michelle , Hancock Neil , Albar Salwa , Brown Helen , Greenwood Darren , Hardie Laura , Frost Gary , Wark Petra , Cade Janet
Published: August 2016

The current UK food composition tables are limited, containing ~3300 mostly generic food and drink items. To reflect the wide range of food products available to British consumers and to potentially improve accuracy of dietary assessment, a large UK specific electronic food composition database (FCDB) has been developed. A mapping exercise has been conducted that matched micronutrient data from generic food codes to “Back of Pack” data from branded food products using a semi-automated process. After cleaning and processing, version 1.0 of the new FCDB contains 40,274 generic and branded items with associated 120 macronutrient and micronutrient data and 5669 items with portion images. Over 50% of food and drink items were individually mapped to within 10% agreement with the generic food item for energy. Several quality checking procedures were applied after mapping including; identifying foods above and below the expected range for a particular nutrient within that food group and cross-checking the mapping of items such as concentrated and raw/dried products. The new electronic FCDB has substantially increased the size of the current, publically available, UK food tables. The FCDB has been incorporated into myfood24, a new fully automated online dietary assessment tool and, a smartphone application for weight loss.
Photodynamic Therapy-Induced Microvascular Changes in a Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer Model Assessed by Photoacoustic Microscopy and Diffuse Correlation Spectroscopy
Authors: Rohrbach Daniel , Salem Hakeem , Aksahin Mehmet , Sunar Ulas
Published: August 2016

One of the main mechanisms of action for photodynamic therapy (PDT) is the destruction of tumor vasculature. We observed the PDT-induced vasculature destruction in a mouse model of skin cancer using two techniques: Photoacoustic microscopy (PAM) and diffuse correlation spectroscopy (DCS). PAM showed high-resolution images of the abnormal microvasculature near the establishing tumor area at pre-PDT, as well as the subsequent destruction of those vessels post-PDT. DCS indicated a significant blood flow decrease after PDT, confirming the vascular destruction. Noninvasive assessment of vascular changes may be indicative of therapy response.
The Empire in the Provinces: The Case of Carinthia
Authors: Konrad Helmut
Published: August 2016

This article examines the legacy of the Habsburg Monarchy in the First Austrian Republic, both in the capital, Vienna, and in the province of Carinthia. It concludes that Social Democracy, often cited as one of the six ingredients that held the old Empire together, took on distinct forms in the Republic’s different federal states. The scholarly literature on the post-1918 “heritage” of the Monarchy therefore needs to move beyond monolithic generalizations and toward regionally focused comparative studies.