bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Reply to Comment on Dhiman, R. et al. Correlation of Non-Polio Acute Flaccid Paralysis Rate with Pulse Polio Frequency in India. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15, 1755
Authors: Dhiman Rachna , Prakash Sandeep C. , Sreenivas V. , Puliyel Jacob
Published: December 2018

We thank the authors for their interest in our paper [...]
Combined Influence of Depression and Physical Frailty on Cognitive Impairment in Patients with Heart Failure
Authors: Lee Jong Kyung , Won Mi Hwa , Son Youn-Jung
Published: December 2018

Cognitive impairment is a prevalent condition and important barrier to self-care behaviors in patients with heart failure (HF). HF patients with depression or physical frailty are more likely to have reduced cognitive function. However, it remains unclear if combined depression and physical frailty increased the risk of cognitive impairments among HF populations. This study aimed to identify the influence of combined depression and physical frailty on cognitive impairments in HF. This cross-sectional study was included 289 patients with HF in outpatient cardiology clinics at a tertiary care university hospital in Cheonan, South Korea. We obtained patients’ characteristics including depression, physical frailty, and cognitive function with Korean validated tools using a face-to-face interview. The prevalence rate of cognitive impairment was approximately 27.3% in HF outpatients. We found that the combined influence of depression and physical frailty increased the risk of cognitive impairments in both unadjusted (odds ratio (OR) 4.360; 95% confidence interval (CI) (2.113, 8.994)) and adjusted models (OR 3.545; 95% CI (1.448, 8.681)). Our findings highlight that healthcare professionals need to be more aware of the vulnerable population who suffer from both depression and physical frailty at the same time. Future prospective studies should examine the causal relationships among depression, physical frailty and cognitive impairment during the HF illness trajectories.
Prognostic Value of the Modified Atherogenic Index of Plasma during Body Mass Reduction in Polish Obese/Overweight People
Authors: Zalejska-Fiolka Jolanta , Hubková Beáta , Birková Anna , Veliká Beáta , Puchalska Beata , Kasperczyk Sławomir , Błaszczyk Urszula , Fiolka Rafał , Bożek Andrzej , Maksym Beata , Mareková Mária , Birkner Ewa
Published: December 2018

Although weight loss is recommended for obese patients, it remains questionable how much weight loss is optimal. A novel index that accurately determines the risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in terms of weight loss is needed. The modified Atherogenic Index of Plasma (AIP), presented here is unique in the literature. It is calculated based on data for anti-atherogenic, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) fractions, instead of the total HDL-C. This study investigates whether weight loss correlates with CVD risk, and whether the modified AIP allows more accurate diagnostics in obese/overweight people. According to the increase or decrease of AIP during weight loss, 52 Polish patients were subdivided into two groups: group I (increased AIP; n = 16) and group II (decreased AIP; n = 36). The patients’ body mass composition and fasting serum lipid parameters (total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL-C, and LDL-C (low-density lipoprotein cholesterol)), and cholesterol in 21 lipoprotein sub-fractions were determined. Over six months, all patients reduced their body mass by about 10%. There were no significant differences in anthropometric measures between groups. Increases in large and intermediate HDL-C fractions 1 to 6 and decreases in smaller fractions 7 to 10 were observed in group II. In group I, HDL-C fractions 1 and 10 decreased, while cholesterol in other fractions increased. Increases were observed in the antiatherogenic HDL-C of 52% of group II and 4% of group I. As for atherogenic HDL-C, a decrease of 24% was observed in group II and an increase of 9% in group I. In group I, increases of very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL), intermediate-density lipoprotein (IDL), and large LDL fractions were noticed, and the reverse in group II. The results show that the modified AIP is a more accurate indicator of CVD risk than existing indices, and that uncontrolled weight reduction does not necessarily have a beneficial influence, and may adversely affect the cardiovascular system.
Potential Dissociative Glucocorticoid Receptor Activity for Protopanaxadiol and Protopanaxatriol
Authors: Karra Aikaterini G. , Konstantinou Maria , Tzortziou Maria , Tsialtas Ioannis , Kalousi Foteini D. , Garagounis Constantine , Hayes Joseph M. , Psarra Anna-Maria G.
Published: December 2018

Glucocorticoids are steroid hormones that regulate inflammation, growth, metabolism, and apoptosis via their cognate receptor, the glucocorticoid receptor (GR). GR, acting mainly as a transcription factor, activates or represses the expression of a large number of target genes, among them, many genes of anti-inflammatory and pro-inflammatory molecules, respectively. Transrepression activity of glucocorticoids also accounts for their anti-inflammatory activity, rendering them the most widely prescribed drug in medicine. However, chronic and high-dose use of glucocorticoids is accompanied with many undesirable side effects, attributed predominantly to GR transactivation activity. Thus, there is a high need for selective GR agonist, capable of dissociating transrepression from transactivation activity. Protopanaxadiol and protopanaxatriol are triterpenoids that share structural and functional similarities with glucocorticoids. The molecular mechanism of their actions is unclear. In this study applying induced-fit docking analysis, luciferase assay, immunofluorescence, and Western blot analysis, we showed that protopanaxadiol and more effectively protopanaxatriol are capable of binding to GR to activate its nuclear translocation, and to suppress the nuclear factor-kappa beta activity in GR-positive HeLa and HEK293 cells, but not in GR-low level COS-7 cells. Interestingly, no transactivation activity was observed, whereas suppression of the dexamethasone-induced transactivation of GR and induction of apoptosis in HeLa and HepG2 cells were observed. Thus, our results indicate that protopanaxadiol and protopanaxatriol could be considered as potent and selective GR agonist.
IL-8 Secreted from M2 Macrophages Promoted Prostate Tumorigenesis via STAT3/MALAT1 Pathway
Authors: Zheng Tingjin , Ma Guoxing , Tang Mingqing , Li Zhongwan , Xu Ruian
Published: December 2018

Prostate cancer (PCa) is a major health problem in males. Metastasis-associated with lung adenocarcinoma transcript-1 (MALAT1), which is overexpressed in PCa tissue, is associated with physiological and pathological conditions of PCa. M2 macrophages are major immune cells abundant in the tumor microenvironment. However, it remains unknown whether M2 macrophages are involved in the effects or not, and molecular mechanisms of MALAT1 on PCa progression have not yet been comprehensively explored. Here we reported that, M2 macrophages (PMA/IL-4 treated THP1) induced MALAT1 expression in PCa cell lines. Knockdown MALAT1 expression level in PCa cell lines inhibited cellular proliferation, invasion, and tumor formation. Further mechanistic dissection revealed that M2 macrophages secreted IL-8 was sufficient to drive up MALAT1 expression level via activating STAT3 signaling pathway. Additional chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and luciferase reporter assays displayed that STAT3 could bind to the MALAT1 promoter region and transcriptionally stimulate the MALAT1 expression. In summary, our present study identified the IL-8/STAT3/MALAT1 axis as key regulators during prostate tumorigenesis and therefore demonstrated a new mechanism for the MALAT1 transcriptional regulation.
InGaAs FinFETs Directly Integrated on Silicon by Selective Growth in Oxide Cavities
Authors: Convertino Clarissa , Zota Cezar , Schmid Heinz , Caimi Daniele , Sousa Marilyne , Moselund Kirsten , Czornomaz Lukas
Published: December 2018

III-V semiconductors are being considered as promising candidates to replace silicon channel for low-power logic and RF applications in advanced technology nodes. InGaAs is particularly suitable as the channel material in n-type metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs), due to its high electron mobility. In the present work, we report on InGaAs FinFETs monolithically integrated on silicon substrates. The InGaAs channels are created by metal–organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) epitaxial growth within oxide cavities, a technique referred to as template-assisted selective epitaxy (TASE), which allows for the local integration of different III-V semiconductors on silicon. FinFETs with a gate length down to 20nm are fabricated based on a CMOS-compatible replacement-metal-gate process flow. This includes self-aligned source-drain n+ InGaAs regrown contacts as well as 4 nm source-drain spacers for gate-contacts isolation. The InGaAs material was examined by scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and the epitaxial structures showed good crystal quality. Furthermore, we demonstrate a controlled InGaAs digital etching process to create doped extensions underneath the source-drain spacer regions. We report a device with gate length of 90 nm and fin width of 40 nm showing on-current of 100 µA/µm and subthreshold slope of about 85 mV/dec.
Some Inequalities for g-Frames in Hilbert C*-Modules
Authors: Xiang Zhong-Qi
Published: December 2018

In this paper, we obtain new inequalities for g-frames in Hilbert C * -modules by using operator theory methods, which are related to a scalar λ ∈ R and an adjointable operator with respect to two g-Bessel sequences. It is demonstrated that our results can lead to several known results on this topic when suitable scalars and g-Bessel sequences are chosen.
Representing Sums of Finite Products of Chebyshev Polynomials of the First Kind and Lucas Polynomials by Chebyshev Polynomials
Authors: Kim Taekyun , Kim Dae San , Dolgy Dmitry V. , Kwon Jongkyum
Published: December 2018

In this paper, we study sums of finite products of Chebyshev polynomials of the first kind and Lucas polynomials and represent each of them in terms of Chebyshev polynomials of all kinds. Here, the coefficients involve terminating hypergeometric functions

2

F
1

and these representations are obtained by explicit computations.
Microstructure and Wear Resistance of Ti6Al4V Coating Fabricated by Electro-Spark Deposition
Authors: Wang Weifu , Han Chao
Published: December 2018

In this study, a Ti6Al4V coating with a large thickness of more than 550 µm was successfully deposited onto the surface of Ti6Al4V substrate by electro-spark deposition. The microstructure, phase composition, microhardness and wear resistance of the deposited coating were investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Vickers hardness and wear tester, respectively. The results show that the deposited coating is mainly composed of α’ martensite. The interface between the deposited coating and the underlying substrate is even and consecutive, which implies that a good metallurgical bond was obtained. The average hardness of the deposited coating is ~540 HV, which is about 1.6 times that of the substrate. The wear resistance of deposited coatings is obviously superior to the substrate. Under same conditions, the friction coefficient of the deposited coating decreases by about 0.19. The cumulative mass loss of the coating specimens is only about 1.58 mg in 20 min tests, while the mass loss of the substrate is ~3.6 mg. The analysis indicates that the improvement on wear resistance can be mainly attributed to the high hardness of the deposited coating, i.e., the hardened coating relieves the micro-cutting and adhesive wear in wear processes.
Thermodynamic Investigation of the Sulphation Roasting of Electric Arc Furnace Dust
Authors: Pickles Christopher A. , Marzoughi Omid
Published: December 2018

During the remelting of automobile scrap in the electric arc furnace steelmaking process, a dust is generated. This dust contains significant amounts of zinc, iron, and lead and in some cases, copper and nickel. However, the recovery of these metals is difficult, because of the complex chemical and physical characteristics of the dust. Numerous pyrometallurgical, hydrometallurgical and hybrid processes have been devised and tested for metal recovery, but only the Waelz rotary kiln process has achieved significant commercialisation. One potential process, which has received little attention in the literature, is the pyrometallurgical sulphation of the dust. In the present research, a high temperature thermodynamic model has been developed using HSC® Chemistry 7.1, to investigate the sulphation of the dust. The effects of process parameters on the conversion of the various metals into sulphates were studied. At a temperature of 600 °C, almost one hundred percent of the zinc could be converted into zinc sulphate, while about ninety-five percent of the iron could be retained as hematite. In addition, several low cost, potential sulphating reagents were evaluated.
Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids: Benefits and Endpoints in Sport
Authors: Gammone Maria Alessandra , Riccioni Graziano , Parrinello Gaspare , D’Orazio Nicolantonio
Published: December 2018

The influence of nutrition has the potential to substantially affect physical function and body metabolism. Particular attention has been focused on omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs), which can be found both in terrestrial features and in the marine world. They are responsible for numerous cellular functions, such as signaling, cell membrane fluidity, and structural maintenance. They also regulate the nervous system, blood pressure, hematic clotting, glucose tolerance, and inflammatory processes, which may be useful in all inflammatory conditions. Animal models and cell-based models show that n-3 PUFAs can influence skeletal muscle metabolism. Furthermore, recent human studies demonstrate that they can influence not only the exercise and the metabolic response of skeletal muscle, but also the functional response for a period of exercise training. In addition, their potential anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity may provide health benefits and performance improvement especially in those who practice physical activity, due to their increased reactive oxygen production. This review highlights the importance of n-3 PUFAs in our diet, which focuses on their potential healthy effects in sport.
Pharmacy-Based Travel Health Services in the United States
Authors: Hurley-Kim Keri , Goad Jeffery , Seed Sheila , Hess Karl M.
Published: December 2018

The aim of this paper is to review pharmacy laws and regulations, pharmacist training, clinic considerations, and patient care outcomes regarding pharmacy-based travel health services in the United States. Pharmacists and pharmacies in the United States are highly visible and accessible to the public, and have long been regarded as a source for immunization services. As international travel continues to increase and grow in popularity in this country, there is a pressing need for expanded access to preventative health services, including routine and travel vaccinations, as well as medications for prophylaxis or self-treatment of conditions that may be acquired overseas. In the United States, the scope of pharmacy practice continues to expand and incorporate these preventable health services to varying degrees on a state-by-state level. A literature review was undertaken to identify published articles on pharmacist- or pharmacy-based travel health services or care in the United States. The results of this paper show that pharmacists can help to increase access to and awareness of the need for these services to ensure that patients remain healthy while traveling abroad, and that they do not acquire a travel-related disease while on their trip. For those pharmacists interested in starting a travel health service, considerations should be made to ensure that they have the necessary training, education, and skill set in order to provide this specialty level of care, and that their practice setting is optimally designed to facilitate the service. While there is little published work available on pharmacy or pharmacist-provided travel health services in the United States, outcomes from published studies are positive, which further supports the role of the pharmacist in this setting.
The Psychometric Properties of a Romanian Version of the Centrality of Religiosity Scale (CRS 15)
Authors: Gheorghe Huza
Published: December 2018

Objective: The aim was to validate a Romanian version of the Centrality of Religiosity Scale (CRS 15) and to determine its psychometric properties in religious and highly religious people. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in different religious confessions. The sample consisted of 146 (67.9%) Orthodox, 58 (27.0%) Seventh-day Adventists, 3 (1.4%) Catholics, one (0.5%) Pentecostal, and 7 (3.4%) others. Data were collected on the Romanian version of the Centrality of Religiosity Scale (CRS 15), the Religious Belief Assessment Questionnaire (CACR), and the Moral Behavior Assessment Questionnaire (CACM). Results: The scale’s reliability analysis revealed an overall Cronbach’s alpha of 0.93. This demonstrated acceptable internal consistency. The Spearman correlation between the CRS scale’s total score and that of the Intimate and Expressive Religious Belief Assessment Questionnaire indicated positive levels of convergent validity. The Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) revealed good discriminative validity and the confirmatory analysis revealed a satisfactory fit. Conclusions: The validated Romanian version of the Centrality of Religiosity Scale (CRS 15) is a valid and reliable measure in detecting the centrality of religiosity.
The Educational Sociology and Political Theology of Disenchantment: From the Secularization to the Securitization of the Sacred
Authors: Gearon Liam
Published: December 2018

This article provides an outline theoretical synthesis of educational sociological and political theology, through the concept of ‘disenchantment’ to afford insights on critical current debates around secularization and securitization. Drawing together two originating frameworks—Max Weber’s (1918) sociological theorization of religious authority’s intellectual demise as disenchantment of the modern world and Carl Schmitt’s (1922) contemporaneous framing of a political theology—this article argues that a bringing together of these apparently disparate perspectives facilitates an understanding of securitization as a staging post in the history of the secularization of religion in education. Here an educational sociology and political theology of disenchantment thereby provides embryonic evidence of the securitization of the sacred as a staging post in the history of secularization. It is argued, in conclusion, that all these framings are a matter of decision-making in the exercise of ideological, political and theological power in and through education. Such decision-making in educational policy presents new sociological and political-theological territory for empirical and theoretical analysis of the shifting sources of authority amongst what C. Wright Mills called the “power elite”.
SHNN-CAD+: An Improvement on SHNN-CAD for Adaptive Online Trajectory Anomaly Detection
Authors: Guo Yuejun , Bardera Anton
Published: December 2018

To perform anomaly detection for trajectory data, we study the Sequential Hausdorff Nearest-Neighbor Conformal Anomaly Detector (SHNN-CAD) approach, and propose an enhanced version called SHNN-CAD +. SHNN-CAD was introduced based on the theory of conformal prediction dealing with the problem of online detection. Unlike most related approaches requiring several not intuitive parameters, SHNN-CAD has the advantage of being parameter-light which enables the easy reproduction of experiments. We propose to adaptively determine the anomaly threshold during the online detection procedure instead of predefining it without any prior knowledge, which makes the algorithm more usable in practical applications. We present a modified Hausdorff distance measure that takes into account the direction difference and also reduces the computational complexity. In addition, the anomaly detection is more flexible and accurate via a re-do strategy. Extensive experiments on both real-world and synthetic data show that SHNN-CAD + outperforms SHNN-CAD with regard to accuracy and running time.
Natural Occurrence of Beauvericin and Enniatins in Corn- and Wheat-Based Samples Harvested in 2017 Collected from Shandong Province, China
Authors: Han Xiaomin , Xu Wenjing , Zhang Jing , Xu Jin , Li Fengqin
Published: December 2018

Totals of 158 corn and corn-based samples and 291 wheat and wheat-based samples from Shandong province, China in 2017 were analyzed for five mycotoxins including beauvericin (BEA), enniatin A (ENA), enniatin A1 (ENA1), enniatin B (ENB), and enniatin B1 (ENB1) by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). BEA was the predominant toxin detected, followed by ENB, ENA1, ENA, and ENB1. Corn and corn-based samples were more easily contaminated by BEA with an average concentration of 65.26 µg/kg, compared with that in wheat and wheat-based samples (average = 0.41 µg/kg). Concentrations of BEA, ENA, and ENB1 in corn kernels, flours, and flakes were significantly different (Kruskal–Wallis Test, p < 0.05), as well as for BEA, ENA, ENB, and ENB1 in wheat kernels, flours, and noodles (Kruskal–Wallis test, p < 0.05). Furthermore, 59.5% (94/158) and 59.8% (174/291) corn- and wheat-based samples were co-contaminated by at least two mycotoxins, respectively. Positive correlations in concentrations were observed in corn between levels of ENA and ENB1, ENA and ENB, ENA1 and ENB1, as well as in wheat between BEA and ENA, BEA and ENA1, BEA and ENB, BEA and ENB1, ENA and ENA1, ENA and ENB, ENA and ENB1, ENA1 and ENB, ENA1 and ENB1, and ENB and ENB1. These results demonstrate that co-contamination of BEA and enniatins (ENNs) in corn- and wheat-based samples from Shandong, China is very common. More data on the contamination of five mycotoxins in cereal and cereal-based samples nationwide are needed.
Development of a Maximum Entropy-Archimedean Copula-Based Bayesian Network Method for Streamflow Frequency Analysis—A Case Study of the Kaidu River Basin, China
Authors: Kong Xiangming , Zeng Xueting , Chen Cong , Fan Yurui , Huang Guohe , Li Yongping , Wang Chunxiao
Published: December 2018

Frequency analysis of streamflow is critical for water-resources system planning, water conservancy projects and the mitigation of hydrological extremes events. In this study, a maximum entropy-Archimedean copula-based Bayesian network (MECBN) method has been proposed for frequency analysis of monthly streamflow in the Kaidu River Basin, which integrates the maximum entropy-Archimedean copula (MEAC) and Bayesian network methods into a general framework. MECBN is effective for representing the uncertainties that exist in model representation, preserving the distributional characteristics of streamflow records and addressing the correlation structure between streamflow pairs. Application to the Kaidu River Basin shows a good performance of MECBN in describing the historical data of this basin in China. The results indicate that the interactions between two adjacent monthly streamflow pairs are non-linear. There is upper tail dependence between monthly streamflow pairs. The dependence coefficients including Spearman’s rho, Kendall’s tau, and the upper tail dependence coefficient are in inverse proportion of monthly streamflow values in the Kaidu River Basin, due to the fact that other factors (i.e., rainfall, snow melting, evapotranspiration rate and requirement of water use) provide more contributions to the streamflow in the flooding season. These findings can be used for providing vital information in the prevention and control of hydrological extremes and to further water resources planning in Kaidu River Basin.
KEY FACTORS FOR INFORMATION INTEGRATION IN THE SUPPLY CHAIN – MEASUREMENT, TECHNOLOGY AND INFORMATION CHARACTERISTICS
Authors: Szymczak Maciej , Ryciuk Urszula , Leończuk Dorota , Piotrowicz Wojciech , Witkowski Krzysztof , Nazarko Joanicjusz , Jakuszewicz Joanna
Published: December 2018

This paper aims to identify key factors related to information management and integration in the supply chain (SC). The initial set of factors was identified in the literature, namely, information quality and content, performance metrics, and information technologies. The construct was then tested empirically using the sample of 200 Polish companies. Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviews (CATI) were based on a structured questionnaire, then, data exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed. The conducted EFA determined four main factors for information management and integration in the supply chain that should be considered, namely, information characteristics, ICT used in information management, the scope of information and shared performance metrics. Results confirmed the importance of some of the factors related to information management in the supply chain, however having a different set of variables than indicated in the literature. Additionally, research introduced new factors, namely, information characteristics and the scope of shared information, instead of information quality and information content. Moreover, findings suggested that the key role in SC information integration was related to established technologies, focused on transport, customer, and ERP management, while emerging technologies, such as cloud computing and data mining were not of the top importance among the surveyed companies.
KMT-2016-BLG-1107: A New Hollywood-planet Close/Wide Degeneracy
Authors: Hwang Kyu-Ha , Ryu Yoon-Hyun , Kim Hyoun-Woo , Albrow Michael D. , Chung Sun-Ju , Gould Andrew , Han Cheongho , Jung Youn Kil , Shin In-Gu , Shvartzvald Yossi , Yee Jennifer C. , Zang Weicheng , Cha Sang-Mok , Kim Dong-Jin , Kim Seung-Lee , Lee Chung-Uk , Lee Dong-Joo , Lee Yongseok , Park Byeong-Gon , Pogge Richard W.
Published: December 2018

We show that microlensing event KMT-2016-BLG-1107 displays a new type of degeneracy between wide-binary and close-binary Hollywood events in which a giant-star source envelops the planetary caustic. The planetary anomaly takes the form of a smooth, two-day “bump” far out on the falling wing of the light curve, which can be interpreted either as the source completely enveloping a minor-image caustic due to a close companion with mass ratio q = 0.036, or partially enveloping a major-image caustic due to a wide companion with q = 0.004. The best estimates of the companion masses are both in the planetary regime (

and

) but differ by an even larger factor than the mass ratios due to different inferred host masses. We show that the two solutions can be distinguished by high-resolution imaging at first light on next-generation (“30 m”) telescopes. We provide analytic guidance to understand the conditions under which this new type of degeneracy can appear.
Study of Timing Evolution from Nonvariable to Structured Large-amplitude Variability Transition in GRS 1915 + 105 Using AstroSat
Authors: Rawat Divya , Pahari Mayukh , Yadav J. S. , Jain Pankaj , Misra Ranjeev , Bagri Kalyani , Katoch Tilak , Agrawal P. C. , Manchanda R. K.
Published: December 2018

In this work, we present a ∼90 ks continuous monitoring of the Galactic microquasar GRS 1915 + 105 with AstroSat when the source undergoes a major transition from a nonvariable, χ class (similar to radio-quiet χ class) to a structured, large-amplitude, periodic heartbeat state (similar to ρ class). We show that such a transition takes place via an intermediate state when the large-amplitude, irregular variability of the order of hundreds of seconds in the soft X-ray band turned into 100–150 s regular, structured, nearly periodic flares. The properties of strong low-frequency (LF) quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO) in the frequency range 3–5 Hz also evolve marginally during these variability transitions. We also study time-lag and rms spectra at the QPO and harmonic component and the dynamic power spectra. We note a few important differences between the heartbeat state and the ρ class. Interestingly, the time-averaged LF QPO properties in the hard X-ray band are relatively stable in three states when compared to the significant evolution observed in the slow variability properties at millihertz frequencies. Such relative stability of LF QPOs implies that the inner disk-corona coupled accretion flow, which determines the LF QPO properties, may be uninterrupted by the launch of long, large-amplitude flares.
Contexts of Digital Humanities in Japan
Authors: Nagasaki Kiyonori
Published: December 2018

This chapter describes the brief history and recent trends in digital humanities in Japan, which had been led within the context of IT (information technology) and recently has strongly involved humanities researchers. According to the analysis of 991 technical reports by the Special Interest Group for Computers and Humanities (SIG-CH), the fields of linguistics and literary studies have been dominant while recently the history field has been increasing its number of the presentations, and many other fields in the humanities have been treated in a small percentage. Japanese texts have some difficulties in the digital environments. Although the recent developments in IT partially solve them, other attempts to improve the DH research environment have been activated. The policy of Japanese government to promote open science and open data will make DH in Japan more fruitful in the future.
A Bibliographic Analysis of Scholarly Publication in the Emerging Field of Digital Humanities in Taiwan
Authors: Chen Kuang-hua , Tang Muh-Chyun
Published: December 2018

This chapter focuses on the development of digital humanities (DH) in Taiwan. A bibliographic methodology was adopted where the scholarly publications in DH were collected and their bibliographic information retrieved and analyzed. Both co-authorship and article similarity networks were generated so social network analysis can be used to characterize the development of the field. The preliminary results show that in the earlier stage of DH in Taiwan more emphasis has been put on the construction and modeling of the cultural heritage databases; the later period has witnessed a wide variety of efforts to apply computational means within different branches in humanities, most noticeably history, Buddhists, and literary studies. The Computer Science, Library and Information Science, Geography, and History are the major driving forces for DH in Taiwan. The strong presence of Buddhists study is unique because of the strong influence of Buddhism on the Taiwanese.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems and Multi-Organizational Enterprise (MOE) Strategy
Authors: Clegg Ben , Wan Yi
Published: December 2018

This chapter critiques trends in enterprise resource planning (ERP) in respect to contemporary multi-organizational enterprise strategy in order to identify under-researched areas. It is based on the premise that multi-organization strategies and information systems span more than one legal company entity and are becoming increasingly important as digital Internet based systems become more prolific, and outsourcing and collaboration between companies becomes more widespread. This chapter presents a critique of literature covering theoretical, methodological and relational aspects of enterprise resource planning systems and multi-organizational enterprise strategy. The critique gives a unique perspective and highlights four major gaps in current research and points towards a trend which is referred to in this chapter as ‘enterprization.' This research could help organizations make more effective use of their information and operations systems strategies when used across more than one company. It should interest researchers, teachers, IS developers and managers.
Strategic and Business-IT Alignment Under Digital Transformation
Authors: Daidj Nabyla
Published: December 2018

Digital transformation is at a very early stage. Digital transformation has several impacts on business, on organization and process and raises several questions. Over the years, the aims of strategic fit and IT-business alignment have remained constant but the environment in which companies operate has changed significantly becoming more dynamic, very competitive and global. This chapter attempts to analyse how the digital transformation could affect more specifically strategic and IT-business alignment.
A Review of Dynamic Verification of Security and Dependability Properties
Authors: Muñoz Antonio , Toutouh Jamal , Jaime Francisco
Published: December 2018

This chapter reviews the notions of security and dependability properties from the perspective of software engineering, providing the reader with a technical background on dynamic verification and runtime monitoring techniques. The chapter covers the technical background on security and dependability properties with system verification through dynamic verification or monitoring. The authors initially provide a short overview of the security and dependability properties themselves. Once definitions of security and dependability properties are introduced, they present a critical analysis of current research on dynamic verification by presenting general purpose and security oriented dynamic verification approaches.
A Qualitative Study of Student Expectations of Online Faculty Engagement
Authors: Berg Christoper W. , Shaw Melanie , Contento Anthony L. , Burrus Scott W. M.
Published: December 2018

Institutions offering online courses and degrees often develop requirements for faculty-to-student interactions; yet, these requirements may not align student preferences for faculty engagement. This chapter expanded the work on an earlier study by Shaw, Clowes, and Burrus, “A Comparative Typology of Student and Institutional Expectations of Online Faculty.” The current study included a new sampling of 57 students across two institutions focused on their experiences in online courses. Using the original typology as a lens, results were grouped into themes including substantive feedback, timeliness, and course expectations. Recommendations for further study include conducting a quantitative study of the relationship between faculty outcomes and student satisfaction after implementing student performance expectations.
Analysis of the 5Vs of Big Data in Virtual Travel Organizations
Authors: Polat Serkan , Esen Fevzi , Bilgic Emrah
Published: December 2018

Virtual travel organizations, one of the most effective actors of tourism marketing, use information technology-based systems in parallel with the increasing use of information technologies. The competition in the tourism industries pushes virtual travel organizations to remain dynamic. Thus, customers can demand affordable and qualified tourism products. For this reason, it is inevitable for virtual travel organizations to use information technologies, in order to meet customers' demands efficiently and cost-effectively. Due to its nature, tourism products cannot be experienced before the sale. In order to analyze the expectations of the tourism customers, big-data-related technologies are valuable assets to the virtual travel organizations. From this point of view, managing massive data generated by tourism consumers is vital for the tourism supply chain. To the best of the authors' knowledge, there is no study relating big data and virtual travel organizations. In this chapter, the importance of five key concepts of big data have been discussed in terms of virtual travel organizations.
About Digital Avatars for Control Systems Using Big Data and Knowledge Sharing in Virtual Industries
Authors: Mkrttchian Vardan , Palatkin Ivan , Gamidullaeva Leyla Ayvarovna , Panasenko Svetlana
Published: December 2018

The authors in this chapter show the essence, dignity, current state, and development prospects of avatar-based management using blockchain technology for improving implementation of economic solutions in the digital economy of Russia. The purpose of this chapter is not to review the existing published work on avatar-based models for policy advice but to try an assessment of the merits and problems of avatar-based models as a solid basis for economic policy advice that is mainly based on the work and experience within the recently finished projects Triple H Avatar, an avatar-based software platform for HHH University, Sydney, Australia. The agenda of this project was to develop an avatar-based closed model with strong empirical grounding and micro-foundations that provides a uniform platform to address issues in different areas of digital economic and creating new tools to improve blockchain technology using the intelligent visualization techniques for big data analytics.
Clustering Earthquake Data
Authors: Savaş Cihan , Yıldız Mehmet Samet , Eken Süleyman , İkibaş Cevat , Sayar Ahmet
Published: December 2018

Seismology, which is a sub-branch of geophysics, is one of the fields in which data mining methods can be effectively applied. In this chapter, employing data mining techniques on multivariate seismic data, decomposition of non-spatial variable is done. Then k-means clustering, density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise (DBSCAN), and hierarchical tree clustering algorithms are applied on decomposed data, and then pattern analysis is conducted using spatial data on the resulted clusters. The conducted analysis suggests that the clustering results with spatial data is compatible with the reality and characteristic features of regions related to earthquakes can be determined as a result of modeling seismic data using clustering algorithms. The baseline metric reported is clustering times for varying size of inputs.
Data Imputation Methods for Missing Values in the Context of Clustering
Authors: Aktaş Mehmet S. , Kaplan Sinan , Abacı Hasan , Kalipsiz Oya , Ketenci Utku , Turgut Umut O.
Published: December 2018

Missing data is a common problem for data clustering quality. Most real-life datasets have missing data, which in turn has some effect on clustering tasks. This chapter investigates the appropriate data treatment methods for varying missing data scarcity distributions including gamma, Gaussian, and beta distributions. The analyzed data imputation methods include mean, hot-deck, regression, k-nearest neighbor, expectation maximization, and multiple imputation. To reveal the proper methods to deal with missing data, data mining tasks such as clustering is utilized for evaluation. With the experimental studies, this chapter identifies the correlation between missing data imputation methods and missing data distributions for clustering tasks. The results of the experiments indicated that expectation maximization and k-nearest neighbor methods provide best results for varying missing data scarcity distributions.
I Am Happy, So I Learn It
Authors: Evans Suzanne F. , Howarth Margaret
Published: December 2018

There is a growing body of research that indicates that children experiencing happy emotions are advanced problem solvers, stronger collaborators, and perform better on cognitive tests. The science of happiness provides solid quantitative data indicating that happiness is positively correlated with motivation, learning, and academic achievement. However, schools are enmeshed into the culture of high-stakes testing and standards. Teachers are forced into an ethical dilemma as they attempt to follow the professional code of conduct focused on teaching and nurturing the whole child and the promotion of happiness within this culture of high-stakes accountability. This chapter will explore this ethical dilemma for teachers, the demands of standards and high-stakes testing, the intersections of happiness, wellbeing, and positive psychology in learning and the scientific data supporting those claims. Strategies for cultivating happiness, student wellbeing, learning, and academic success will be shared.
Ethical Leadership in Troubling Times
Authors: Traynor-Nilsen Patricia Ann
Published: December 2018

An administrator in a PK-12 setting has is an ethical responsibility to ensure the safety and wellbeing of everyone on campus. With an increasing number of safety incidents on school and university campuses throughout the country, the development and maintenance of a school emergency operations plan (EOP) everyone knows, understands, and follows is imperative. This chapter presents a format to make sure students, staff, parents, and any others on campus at the time of an incident are safe. Following the blueprint created by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, this chapter walks the planning team through the necessary steps to create a safe plan to follow in the event of an emergency. Special interest is provided dealing with an active shooter incident. The decisions the leader makes can have a positive or negative impact on the student/staff at the site. An ethical leader needs to plan for the worst and have staff prepared to deal with the worst with the hopes of never having to implement the plan.
Latina Efficacy
Authors: Rodriguez Sonia
Published: December 2018

School systems are notorious for resisting change and this causes moral and ethical dilemmas for those seeking equality within these settings. The primary barrier to current social movements is often the weariness of school organizations. Leaders who are tired of seeing the inequality in schools become the voice of change. Their mission is to make a difference, but ethical dilemmas may heighten when confronting social injustice within school systems. Although the Hispanic enrollment is schools has increased, Latina leadership remains unnoticed, and Latina superintendents are underrepresented in the superintendency. This chapter focuses exclusively on Mexican American female superintendents and portrays their ethical dilemmas while leading schools in what some may consider challenging school districts. There are distinct patterns in the types of school districts that Mexican American female superintendents choose to lead and they demonstrate a personal drive and commitment for improving educational opportunities for all children, regardless of social economic status and ethnicity.
Defective Decision Making
Authors: Comer Unoma B. , Stone Suki
Published: December 2018

Teacher burnout as the result of poor career choice and decision making plagues new teachers in the field of education, as well as special education. This chapter introduces theories of moral development and self-efficacy that explain the thought processes of teachers whose expectations in the field do not match the reality of teacher practice. Therefore, their decision making to enter the field contributes to early teacher burnout. Three case studies are described as examples to understand how the psychology of choice determines the factors that result in burnout. The chapter describes how the teachers' decisions relate to the psychology of moral development theory and self-efficacy theory for their career choice. Their behavior and attitude as a teacher relates to their catastrophic choices. The chapter presents suggestions that teachers can implement to make better decisions for their career choice.
Smart Pollution Alert System Using Machine Learning
Authors: Chitra P. , Abirami S.
Published: December 2018

This chapter proposes a novel mobile-based pollution alert system. The level of the pollutants is available in the air quality repository. This data is updated periodically by collecting the information from the sensors placed at the monitoring stations of different regions. A model using artificial neural network (ANN) is proposed to predict the AQI values based on the present and previous values of the pollutants. The ANN model processes the normalized data and predicts whether the region is hazardous or not. A novel mobile application which could be used by the user to know about the present and future pollution level could be developed using a progressive web application development environment. This mobile application uses the location information of the user and helps the user to predict the hazardous level of the pollutants in that particular location.
A General Introduction and Overview of Supply Chain Finance
Authors: Yue Haoran , Xu Jingwen , Wang Jingmai , Wu Dilang , Niu Baozhuang
Published: December 2018

Supply chain finance (SCF) is a new finance service mode surrounding the core enterprises in the supply chain. Different from the traditional finance service, SCF focuses on the trading process rather than the bank credit. Depending on the large trading data and process gathered by core enterprises, SCF is able to effectively integrate the flows of information, logistics, and funds, which transforms the numerous risks of many single enterprises into the controllable risks of the entire supply chain. Therefore, SCF is capable of providing comprehensive finance service regardless of companies' size with the minimum risk level, especially for the small and medium-sized enterprises which have difficulties in receiving finance service from traditional finance institutions. The emergence of SCF has established an accessible channel to help small and medium-sized enterprises obtain effective finance service. In this chapter, the authors introduce the definition, features, structures, and other basic information of SCF. The authors then examine the different types of SCF.
An Analysis of Green Taxation in Turkey for Sustainable Growth
Authors: Eroğlu Erdal
Published: December 2018

Ecological problems such as global warming, climate change, and loss of biodiversity are at the top of governments' agendas as negative externalities like fewer water sources, food and energy shortage, drought, desertification, and migration have recently been deeply felt by societies. Environmentally related taxes are one of the most important instruments of fiscal policy used to internalize “negative externalities” to prevent environmental pollution and to ensure sustainable growth. This type of tax represents the ideal principle that “the polluter pays.” Most of the European and OECD countries today have revised their tax systems to stop environmental destruction and have begun to implement environmental taxation. The purpose of this chapter is to carry out an analysis of green taxation in Turkey for sustainable growth. In this regard, this study aims to analyze green taxation practices and regulations within the scope of a sustainable economy in Turkey and offer solutions by considering the practices in various countries with effective green taxation policies.
Critical Thinking in Teacher Education
Authors: Peterson-Hernandez Katie , Fletcher Steven S.
Published: December 2018

This chapter documents the development of critical thinking skills in preservice teachers as they engaged in practicum settings in a teacher education program. Qualitative data helps illustrate the shifts in thinking that correlated with particular experiences in the program. Data is used to illustrate strategies that teacher preparation programs might draw on to help teacher education students develop critical thinking skills related to pedagogies and practices. The authors conclude by theorizing a relationship between the structure and strategies employed within a literacy methods course and the expansion of preservice teachers understanding of literacy, teaching, and learning.