bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Design and Implementation of a High Temperature Control Monitoring Applied to Micro Thermoelectric Generators
Authors: S. C. S. Jucá  , P.C.M. Carvalho  , R. I. S. Pereira  , D. Petrov  , U. Hilleringmann
Published: May 2017

The present paper describes the design and the implementation of a high temperature control monitoring (HTCM) for investigating the characteristics of a new type of thermoelectric generator (TEG) materials. This new material should work with temperature difference up to 400 K, while most common TEGs using tellurium material operate with temperature differences up to 200 K, and cannot withstand temperatures higher than 473 K. In order to perform exact temperature control, the thermal power supplied to the HTCM and to regulate the temperature difference on TEG, a mathematical model of digitalized linear AC voltage phase switching was worked out and implemented in the developed device. This model makes it possible to achieve the exact accuracy of temperature control through the digital control of AC voltage phase switching. During the TEG performance measurement process the developed HTCM keeps the TEG hot side at the specified temperature, while the cold side is holding on constant temperature of approximately 293 K. The HTCM embedded system was developed in order to test new TEG materials by specified high temperature ranges and to acquire and transmit data to an online host PC.
Distributed Generation Penetration Impact on Distribution Networks Loss
Authors: A. Sheikhi  , A. Maani  , F.Safe  , A.M. Ranjbar
Published: May 2017

Cost of annual energy loss occurs in distribution networks is an important issue in distribution systems planning, design and operation & discos are pleased to be informed about financial worth of loss extract from their profit to evaluate economic feasibility of improvement projects. there are several dominating factors involved in distribution loss cost evaluation, but most of the times price of loss occurs in distribution systems is calculated regardless of location, consumption pattern and etc, but recent changes in Iran distribution power system including removing energy subsidies, deregulation, increase in distributed generation units and trend toward loss reduction had been resulted in much more importance to have actual price of distribution network losses. In this paper, Distributed generation units penetration level influence on distribution networks worth of loss is investigated, power delivered to distribution systems from these resources is directly connected to loads and no transmission cost is involved, in the proposed formulation this difference between centralized and decentralized generation is covered. It is shown that distribution worth of loss follow a U-shape trajectory by increase in distributed generation units' penetration level.
Testing and Validation of a 200 kVA SSSC Prototype for Power Flow Control
Authors: A. Hernandez  , M.A. Rodriguez  , E. Torres  , P. Eguia
Published: May 2017

Power flow control in transmission networks requires new approaches to deal with the uncertainties in the power flow patterns caused by the massive integration of renewable energy generators and the difficulties for constructing new transmission corridors, due to environmental restrictions and social opposition. One solution explored nowadays by utilities is the installation of a Static Synchronous Series Compensator (SSSC). This paper presents a real test bench for an SSSC. The test bench allows verifying the real control devices of a substation and the PLC close-loop control of the SSSC. The proposed SSSC test bench is a scale FACTS device of a 50MVAs real SSSC that will be placed in the Spanish transmission grid. In this paper the design of the test bench is presented, including the main magnitudes of both grid and SSSC, along with the substation SSSC control scenario and the SSSC close-loop control strategy. Besides, the SSSC test bench dynamics and response has been validated using a model of the SSSC and its controls, developed in Matlab/SimPowerSystems. The paper shows the results of the simulation and compares them with the magnitudes measured in the test bench.
A CASE STUDY ON HIGH POWER COMPENSATOR OF THE POWER GRID IRREGULARITIES FOR INDUSTRIAL APPLIANCES
Authors: A. Jan Iwaszkiewicz  , B. Jacek Perz  , C. Leszek Wolski  , D. Manuel Perez Donsión
Published: May 2017

The paper presents a case study on development of the high power compensator of the power grid irregularities. The compensator is dedicated for sensitive industrial installations protection against dips, sags and short duration interruptions in public power network. The energy for compensation will be stored in bank of high voltage stacked supercapacitors. The development of the new high power medium voltage compensator will be based on experience gained during the realisation in The Electrotechnical Institute Gdansk Branch a similar medium power low voltage device. The study includes: main power converter topology considerations with some preliminary simulation results including harmonic components discussion, the solution to the problem of fast identification of the grid voltage disturbances, the solution to the problem of compensator waveforms synchronization with the grid and the description of the main operational algorithm of the compensator.
Modelling solar data: reasons, main methods and applications
Authors: M. de Simón-Martín  , M. Díez-Mediavilla  , C. Alonso-Tristán
Published: May 2017

The main aim of this research work is to analyse the importance of modelling solar data. Should engineers and scientists spend time modelling solar data from other variables or it is a simply waste of time? Which applications truly need a precise forecast of the solar variables? Which spatial and time resolution is needed? In this work we have proposed to analyse these questions and give a brief description of the currently existing methods and the targets demanded by industrial and scientific applications in this field. In the field of modelling solar data there exist many methods and techniques which cannot be completely described here. The authors just want to analyse the relevance of improving these methods for the development of the solar energy.
Prospects of solar power generation in dry regions: the case of Arar in KSA
Authors: S. Sawallha  , J. Jaber  , T. Abu Mansour
Published: May 2017

The prim aim of this paper is to propose and analyze technical and economic dimensions concerning the integration of solar power (PV) unit(s), in the existing typical conventional power generation system, in the absence of a feed-in tariff scheme. The basic scenario examined in this work assessed possible electricity unit cost taking into account the penetration of PV modules of about 5 to 10 kW PV systems as roof-tops for residential use, without storage capability in prevailing local conditions in the northern region of KSA, i.e. city of Arar. Based on the input data and assumptions made, the simulations indicated that the scenario to meet the electrical demand of Arar would require installing at least 20-30 central modules, with a capacity of about 10 MW each. But it is not possible to meet the total electrical demand by employing distributed PV modules. In addition, the cost The estimated cost of produced electricity is about 0.1-0.12 US$/kWh and considered very high compared with the current prices of about US$ 0.013 per kWh. Without government incentives, i.e. feed-in-tariff or any other financial scheme aiming to encourage the utilization of renewable energy resources, such systems will not be feasible or find its way in KSA. However, the sensitivity analysis on current fuel prices, used for power generation, showed that increasing the local fuel prices would make such plants more economically attractive compared with conventional systems.
Control of an Active Filter Based Three-Level Grid Connected Converter for Wind Turbine Applications
Authors: A. M. Cantarellas  , C. Sintamarean  , E. Rakhshani  , P. Rodriguez  , R. Teodorescu
Published: May 2017

This paper presents a control design and implementation analysis of a three level grid connected converter to be deployed in large scale wind turbine applications, which main purpose is to obtain enhanced grid interaction by limiting its harmonic injection capability. The implementation of advanced power converter control in high power converters allows the proposed wind turbine system to provide active and reactive power supply while performing active filter functionalities for the 5th and 7th harmonic current components. Finally, the performance of the system is verified under several practical study cases by performing a laboratory analysis of the obtained results.
Automatic Analysis System of Network Incidents
Authors: J. Javier Ferro  , Hugo Gurendez  , David MacDonald  , Javier Amantegui  , Cesáreo Fernández
Published: May 2017

This article presents the automated processing system of network incidents, as developed and implemented by Iberdrola SA. The SASIRE system was developed due to the need by power companies, of the early identification and resolution of incidents occurring in the high and medium voltage power grid. SASIRE detects, processes and analyses system disturbances and automatically generates network incident reports. By acquiring data from the intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) installed on the network, the information from the network control systems and the knowledge of the incident analysts, it was possible to create automatic incident reports, improved and enhanced sharing of information between the various internal stakeholders and the extraction of knowledge from expert analysts. Throughout the development process, the need for new data, features and functionality in protection and control plant was discovered.
Energy Simulation of Marine Currents through Wind Tunnel with use of Electromagnetic Brake
Authors: Aldo A. Belardi  , Antônio H. Piccinini
Published: May 2017

A demand clean and renewable energy through the use of submerged turbines. Using this new source of energy that we can grow the production of electrical energy from sustainable way. This paper presents the simulation of maritime currents using a wind tunnel which allows the comparison of speed variations of water compared to air. It also features a brake system that uses a magnetic sensor in real time using the wavelets. As an example, it can be the ones mentioned concerning the feedback control system applied in a brand WEG motor of 100 hp with 2 poles 3500rpm rotation. Using software tools, the Acquired data are post-processed.
Impact of the new electric arc furnace on the level of flicker in surrounding transmission and distribution power system
Authors: Ana Tomasović Teklić  , Ivan Periša  , Davor Škrlec
Published: May 2017

Point of connection of Ironworks is 110 kV bus in 110/35(33) kV "Željezara 1" substation in Sisak in Croatian transmission power system. Installation of new electric arc furnace, requires increased agreed power for Ironworks from TSO. New electric arc furnace is connected on low voltage side of T3 transformer with ratio 110/33 kV. As a part of the test operation of the new electric arc furnace in Ironworks in Sisak, detailed measurements of Voltage Quality, in different operating modes of the arc furnace were performed. The purpose of the measurements was to determine Voltage Quality on point of connection of Ironworks during the test operation of new arc furnace and to determine negative influence of Ironworks on Voltage Quality according to the Grid Code of Croatian Power System. Measurements were performed simultaneously at point of connection of Ironworks and surrounding transmission and distribution power network. Measurement results show that in all measuring points flicker short-term and long-term flicker severity exceeds prescribed limits according to the Grid Code of Croatian Power System. From the measurement flicker transfer coefficients between different voltage levels were calculated and conclusion about flicker attenuation was given.
Energy Storage Requirements to match Wind Generation and Demand applied to the UK network
Authors: W.-G. Früh
Published: May 2017

Increasing the contribution from Renewable Energy Systems to the electricity network places increasing demands on both, power quality assurance as well as energy storage or back-up generation availability. Based on a set of forty typical UK years, generated by matching 10 years of hourly wind speed observations at a typical site in Scotland to four years of hourly UK demand data from the National Grid, the statistics of the hour-by hour matching of wind generation to the demand and the cumulative effects of electricity surplus or deficit is analysed to obtain measures for the energy requirements and their associated time scales to complement the wind power through energy storage technologies or complementary scheduled generation. The findings for the UK case suggest that the overwhelming majority of energy balancing occurs over a time scale of less than a week, where the energy storage capacity is around 10 MWh per MW of installed wind capacity.
Conducting Organic Polymers Modified by Incorporation of Semiconductor (POC/SM) Synthesis and Electrochemical characterization of composite materials
Authors: B. Nessark  , S. Abaci  , F. Habelhames  , L. Lamiri  , K. Lmimouni
Published: May 2017

This study consists of the analysis of the electrochemical and electronic properties, polyaniline for their use as electrode materials in electrochemical and electronic applications. The polymerization of the monomer was carried out on platinum (Pt) or indium tin oxide (ITO). The study was carried out by voltamperometry cyclic, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The dispersion of oxide semiconductors (TiO2, MnO2) in the polymer matrix was also used to improve the electronic properties. and electrochemical This present study can be regarded as an invaluable contribution in search of composite materials having of high efficiencies which being able to be used as active electrode materials in the design of electronic components and as active materials in the photovoltaic cells and electrochemical generators.
Nostalgic Utopianism: The New Zealand Values Party’s 1972 Blueprint
Authors: Moon Paul
Published: May 2017

Although the manifestos or policies of most New Zealand political parties aspire to improve some aspect of the country, few have matched the Values Party’s 1972 Blueprint for the utopian form and extent of the changes it promised to being into effect. And unlike the policies of most other New Zealand political parties in the twentieth century, the Values Party proposed that material progress ought to be stopped at some point, echoing the notion of the stationary state which John Stuart Mill devised in 1848.   However, the Blueprint’s distinctly utopian orientation was not only necessarily subversive of the political status quo in the country, but simultaneously rejected the past and present in favour of a radically transformed future, while (seemingly paradoxically) drawing on a nostalgic interpretation of aspects of New Zealand’s colonial era as a thematic source of its utopian construct for the country. This article examines these dimensions of the Blueprint, and how the inherent flaws in practically all utopian movements similarly undermined the Values Party’s programme for a utopian New Zealand.
Banco Grameen e Bancos Comunitários de Desenvolvimento: Uma Análise Comparativa
Authors: De Moraes Erika Campanharo , Nogueira Arnaldo Mazzei , Vieira Regina Maria Da Luz
Published: May 2017

The purpose of this paper is to show the work of Community Development Banks (BCDs) as compared to the original Grameen Bank, indicating a fertile field of microcredit experiences that opens up the possibility of alternatives to reducing social inequality and increased opportunities for income and work to segments at the base of the pyramid. So the topic is included in the areas of Social and Solidarity Economy (ESS) and Social Management. Based on a bibliographical and documentary research on the Grameen Bank and the Banco Palmas, it was possible to describe pioneering bank performance characteristics in operation with microcredit, Grameen Bank, and also BCDs working characteristics in Brazil. It was found that there are differences in the operating mode between the first bank and the Brazilian BCDs, although the essence and purpose is the same: encouraging the local community to improve the quality of life of its residents. This research shows that in the ways of organization and business, respect for culture and local needs should prevail as opposed to imposing based performance rules based on outside interests to communities.
A Review on the Importance of E-Commerce for SMEs in Pakistan
Authors: Khaskheli Asadullah , Jun Yun
Published: May 2017

E-commerce becomes important factor of success for both large organizations andSmall and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as it helps to reduce transaction cost, approach largeruntapped markets and avoid intermediaries. However, the published research has mainlyfocused on the role of e-commerce in large organizations compared with SMEs. Based on acomprehensive review of the past literature, we have highlighted the importance of e-commercein the SMEs, especially how it is important in the setting of developing countries and its potentialrole in the SMEs of Pakistan. Given the lack of scholarly discussion on the topic, the presentpaper will enhance the understanding on the importance of e-commerce in SMEs of Pakistan.Recommendations for future research are proposed.
Schools Management in the Complex Thinking Perspective
Authors: Hessel Ana Maria Di Grado , Fazenda Ivani Catarina Arantes
Published: May 2017

The scope of this Paper is to clarify the unfolding of Complex Thinking concerning the role of management, as a result of a research carried out in some Brazilian Governmental Schools, where the dialogical movements were understood in the whole context in which the linear and systemic aspects coexisted. The studies of the theory of Complexity are the bases of the reflections on the management action, enabling articulation toward the self-organization of the group. It is observed by many researchers that the action of the manager usually encompasses the role of a planner of the work, with rational use of the resources and articulation of the means to reach the targets of the institution, in addition to the role of coordination and control of people´s work. That has shown not to be enough to meet the challenges of the world nowadays. The processes of management may get different meanings: under a technicist conception, management is often centralized, decisions come from the top without participation of the other levels; under a more democratic conception, the process is more participative, and decision is collective. In this view, the manager is expected to promote collective work, encourage the participation of the different subjects of the team and institution community, establish co-responsibility and assure the construction and implementation of a proposal – a set of intentions – a collective agreement. To be able to do so, the manager should be prepared to perceive the team as a living system, able of self-organization, as well as the linear and systemic aspects in permanent balance.
Effects of Culture on Service Encounters & Customers’ Satisfaction
Authors: Ahmed Mansoora , Aimin Wang , Ullah Asad
Published: May 2017

This paper refers to an important discussion of effects of culture on customer satisfaction keeping in view the service encounters. For many researchers and marketers, customer satisfaction has become a critical success factor and carries an important aspect of business process. Culture is believed to be an important social influence which has significant impact on consumers and the way they behave. Authors assert that culture is a prominent part of social interactions while customers’ involvement with others in business. Customers shape up their perception on service quality primarily during the service encounters because of embedded features of services as intangible and inseparable. Using the content analysis technique and view of literature, Geert Hofstede’s Model for cultural differences offers a practical roadmap. However, for a firm operation in cross cultural environment, a deep down further analysis of other local cultural dimensions are helpful for better customer interaction. Today’s service firms should be aware of the importance of adapting services to the new culture, while maintaining the core service quality standard. Especially for high intangible and high contact services, good employee-customer interactions are key, and a better understanding of how to adapt service delivery behavior to the values of major cultural groups are highly beneficial to service firms.
As práticas curriculares em Matemática que se produzem pelo governo do IDEB
Authors: Bello Samuel Edmundo Lopez
Published: May 2017

Este texto analisa por que e de que maneira se mobilizam determinadas práticas curriculares no espaço escolar. Trata-se de mostrar como e por que se dá o Governo da instituição escolar pelos números do IDEB;quais estratégias se utilizam para a produção/mobilização dessas ações de governo. A partir do conceito de numeramentalização, de inspiração foucaultiana, é que se vê a operatividade do índice numa lógica sedutora da ciência como expressão de racionalidade e razão, a qual encontra no imperativo da contextualização do ensino a sua força impulsionadora. Sugere-se, por fim, uma postura ética na formação de professores que, de posse desta analítica, constitua uma singularidade das práticas curriculares como contraponto às ações de governo da política educacional.Palavras-chave: Práticas curriculares – avaliação e desempenho em matemática – Educação Básica –Governo dos números Curricula Practices of Mathematics and the government of IDEBAbstractThis text aims to analyze why and how certain practices are mobilized in the school curriculum. Our goal is to show how and why the government of the school by the numbers of IDEB, what strategies are those that are used for the production / mobilization of these government actions. From the concept of Foucauldian inspiration so-called “numeramentality”, we can realize the operativity of the index in a seductive logic of science as an expression of rationality and reason, which takes the context of teaching as imperative of their driving force. We suggest an ethical stance in teacher education which, from our analitical point of view, institutes a singularity of curriculum practices as a counterpoint to the actions of government of educationpolicy.Keywords: Curricula Practices – Evaluation and Performance in mathematics – Schooling – Government by numbers
Educação estatística em um ambiente de modelagem matemática nas aulas do ensino médio
Authors: Mendonça Luzinete de Oliveira , Lopes Celi Espasandin , Soares Elisabeth
Published: May 2017

Este trabalho decorre de uma pesquisa de mestrado realizada em 2008, quando buscamos observar o desenvolvimento dos alunos em um ambiente de modelagem matemática na implementação da EducaçãoEstatística no Ensino Médio. Tomamos como objeto de análise o desenvolvimento dos alunos de duas turmas de 3 ano de uma escola estadual na Grande São Paulo. É um estudo de natureza qualitativa, com foco na compreensão da construção do conhecimento estatístico dos alunos, e a análise de dados se dá a partir das categorias emergentes dos dados coletados no desenvolvimento do projeto, considerando os objetivos previstos em cada etapa. Os resultados observados dão indícios de que o ambiente investigativo é propício para motivar os alunos a participarem de forma ativa na construção dos conceitos inerentes à educação estatística. Palavras-chave: Ambiente de modelagem matemática, Educação Estatística, Ensino Médio.
Os saberes profissionais dos professores
Authors: Coelho Maria Aparecida Vilela Mendonça Pinto
Published: May 2017

O foco deste estudo é a aprendizagem profissional de um grupo de professoras e seus objetivos são: compreender como professoras de Matemática que pertencem a um grupo do tipo colaborativo problematizaram suas concepções sobre Educação Estatística e como o movimento do grupo possibilitou a sistematização de saberes profissionais das professoras. A questão investigativa é: Como o movimento do grupo mobilizou práticas de ensinar e aprender Estatística e possibilitou a sistematização de saberes profissionais das professoras? Apesquisa é qualitativa, buscando uma abordagem histórico-dialética. Ela apontou a necessidade de uma reformulação no currículo da Estatística na Escola Básica, na qual seja privilegiada a Literacia Estatística, ou seja, a interpretação e a compreensão dos resultados estatísticos. Alguns saberes das professoras foram sistematizados pelas interações dialógicas do grupo, pela contribuição do outro na produção do conhecimento epelo debate e a contradição como instigadores da produção de sentidos. Palavras-chave: Desenvolvimento profissional de professores; Educação matemática; Educação estatística; Grupo colaborativo; Saberes profissionais dos professores.
Limites, traductions et affects : Professionnels de la santé en contexte amérindien
Authors: Paulo Gomes Pereira Pedro
Published: May 2017

Cet article, symétriquement tourné vers les professionnels de la santé qui agissent en contexte amérindien, aborde les questions suivantes : que se passe-t-il lorsque des professionnels de santé sont directement confrontés à des conceptions différentes du corps, de la santé et de la maladie ? Que se passe-t-il lorsque les pratiques de santé basculent dans un processus de « traduction » de leurs propres conceptions de ce qu'est la santé ? De quelle façon ces professionnels sont-ils « affectés » par l'expérience de l'altérité radicale ? Désireux de réfléchir à ces questions, le texte rapporte les récits d'un médecin et d'une infirmière, en y soulignant les « motifs » constants, qui nous parlent de quelque chose en rapport avec les limitations, limites et processus de traduction. Le scénario décrit incitera peut-être à nuancer à la fois la vision d'une biomédecine homogène et celle de professionnels de la santé exclusivement liés au pouvoir – systématiquement impliqués dans des relations réifiées et réificatrices.
Les fées dansent sur le Mont-Royal. Magie et négociations queer chez les néo-païens de Montréal
Authors: Gauthier François , Lepage Martin
Published: May 2017

À partir d'une enquête qualitative composée d'observation participante et d'entretiens semi-formels, cet article interroge la pratique religieuse d'hommes homosexuels au sein de la mouvance néo-païenne à Montréal. La première partie définit cette dernière en s'attardant sur les deux courants dominants que sont la Wicca et Reclaiming Witchcraft et leur manière de concevoir et d'articuler les symbolismes du Féminin et du Masculin. La deuxième partie montre comment l'identité sexuelle pose une série d'enjeux propres aux homosexuels et qui, dans le cas des néo-paganismes au moins, oriente leur investissement religieux et module leur pratique. Après avoir exhumé trois « motifs » qui sous-tendent et structurent les témoignages recueillis eu égard à la « magie », trois cas types servent à illustrer les différentes négociations pratiquées par les homosexuels afin d'y inscrire leur identité sexuelle. Ces négociations permettent à la fois de faire sens de leur existence, de se construire comme sujets et de se sentir une appartenance à une communauté de croyances et de pratiques.
Le sang et la politique. La production de la famille dans les joutes électorales du Sertão du Pernambouc, Brésil
Authors: Marques Ana Claudia , Villela Jorge Mattar
Published: May 2017

Si l'un des fondements de la démocratie représentative est la séparation de la politique des intérêts familiaux, cet idéal est souvent compromis. Dans cet article, nous réfléchirons à la manière dont les rapports et les conceptions de la famille et de la politique s'entremêlent à Floresta, une municipalité de la province de Pernambouc, située au Sertão, une région administrative à l'intérieur du Nordeste brésilien. Dans certaines circonstances, famille et politique sont synonymes et ne se constituent jamais en domaines autonomes au niveau des actions et des idées des familles implantées depuis longtemps dans la région. Nous analyserons d'abord les significations et les catégories locales de famille. Ensuite, nous décrirons trois contextes de crise pour démontrer diverses formes d'enchevêtrements inextricables entre le sang et la politique.
Introduction – An Amphibious Anthropology: The Production of Place at the Confluence of Land and Water
Authors: Gagné Karine , Rasmussen Mattias Borg
Published: May 2017

Amid global climate change and an uneven global political economy that preys on natural resources, landscapes are reshaped at the confluence of land and water, concretely and abstractly. Focusing on the production of place, we suggest that at their point of convergence, there is relational ontology between land and water. This constitutive relationality is the basis of what we call an amphibious anthropology. By foregrounding temporality, movement, and ways of knowing, we aim to grasp the experience of places at the confluence of land and water and to probe into the specificities of life in such landscapes or into various amphibious anthropologies.
Risk of deep venous thrombosis in elective neurosurgical procedures: a prospective, Doppler ultrasound–based study in children 12 years of age or younger
Authors: Scherer Andrea G. , White Ian K. , Shaikh Kashif A. , Smith Jodi L. , Ackerman Laurie L. , Fulkerson Daniel H.
Published: May 2017

OBJECTIVE

The risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) from deep venous thrombosis (DVT) is significant in neurosurgical patients. VTE is considered a leading cause of preventable hospital deaths and preventing DVT is a closely monitored quality metric, often tied to accreditation, hospital ratings, and reimbursement. Adult protocols include prophylaxis with anticoagulant medications. Children’s hospitals may adopt adult protocols, although the incidence of DVT and the risk or efficacy of treatment is not well defined. The incidence of DVT in children is likely less than in adults, although there is very little prospectively collected information. Most consider the risk of DVT to be extremely low in children 12 years of age or younger. However, this consideration is based on tradition and retrospective reviews of trauma databases. In this study, the authors prospectively evaluated pediatric patients undergoing a variety of elective neurosurgical procedures and performed Doppler ultrasound studies before and after surgery.

METHODS

A total of 100 patients were prospectively enrolled in this study. All of the patients were between the ages of 1 month and 12 years and were undergoing elective neurosurgical procedures. The 91 patients who completed the protocol received a bilateral lower-extremity Doppler ultrasound examination within 48 hours prior to surgery. Patients did not receive either medical or mechanical DVT prophylaxis during or after surgery. The ultrasound examination was repeated within 72 hours after surgery. An independent, board-certified radiologist evaluated all sonograms. We prospectively collected data, including potential risk factors, details of surgery, and details of the clinical course. All patients were followed clinically for at least 1 year.

RESULTS

There was no clinical or ultrasound evidence of DVT or VTE in any of the 91 patients. There was no clinical evidence of VTE in the 9 patients who did not complete the protocol.

CONCLUSIONS

In this prospective study, no DVTs were found in 91 patients evaluated by ultrasound and 9 patients followed clinically. While the study is underpowered to give a definitive incidence, the data suggest that the risk of DVT and VTE is very low in children undergoing elective neurosurgical procedures. Prophylactic protocols designed for adults may not apply to pediatric patients.

Clinical trial registration no.: NCT02037607 (clinicaltrials.gov)
Value Pluralism and Consistency Maximisation in the Writings of Aldo Leopold: Moving beyond Callicott's Interpretations of the Land Ethic
Authors: Dixon Ben
Published: May 2017

The seventieth anniversary of Aldo Leopold's A Sand County Almanac (1949) approaches. For philosophers – environmental ethicists in particular – this text has been highly influential, especially the ‘Land Ethic’ essay contained therein. Given philosophers’ acumen for identifying and critiquing arguments, one might reasonably expect a firm grasp of Leopold's ideas to have emerged from such attention. I argue that this is not the case. Specifically, Leopold's main interpreter and systematiser, philosopher J. Baird Callicott, has shoehorned Aldo Leopold's ideas into differing monistic moral theories that ill serve a proper understanding. Against Callicott, my paper argues that Aldo Leopold embraces a robust moral pluralism, one that goes beyond mere pragmatics, and he does so while seeking a consistency maximisation of values. A new, improved understanding of Leopold's ideas thus emerges.
Bryostatin Effects on Cognitive Function and PKCɛ in Alzheimer’s Disease Phase IIa and Expanded Access Trials
Authors: Nelson Thomas J. , Sun Miao-Kun , Lim Chol , Sen Abhik , Khan Tapan , Chirila Florin V. , Alkon Daniel L.
Published: May 2017

Bryostatin 1, a potent activator of protein kinase C epsilon (PKC ɛ), has been shown to reverse synaptic loss and facilitate synaptic maturation in animal models of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Fragile X, stroke, and other neurological disorders. In a single-dose (25 μg/m2) randomized double-blind Phase IIa clinical trial, bryostatin levels reached a maximum at 1-2 h after the start of infusion. In close parallel with peak blood levels of bryostatin, an increase of PBMC PKC ɛ was measured ( p = 0.0185) within 1 h from the onset of infusion. Of 9 patients with a clinical diagnosis of AD, of which 6 received drug and 3 received vehicle within a double-blind protocol, bryostatin increased the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score by +1.83±0.70 unit at 3 h versus –1.00±1.53 unit for placebo. Bryostatin was well tolerated in these AD patients and no drug-related adverse events were reported. The 25 μg/m2 administered dose was based on prior clinical experience with three Expanded Access advanced AD patients treated with bryostatin, in which return of major functions such as swallowing, vocalization, and word recognition were noted. In one Expanded Access patient trial, elevated PKC ɛ levels closely tracked cognitive benefits in the first 24 weeks as measured by MMSE and ADCS-ADL psychometrics. Pre-clinical mouse studies showed effective activation of PKC ɛ and increased levels of BDNF and PSD-95. Together, these Phase IIa, Expanded Access, and pre-clinical results provide initial encouragement for bryostatin 1 as a potential treatment for AD.
Basiliximab as Induction in Kidney Transplantation: Are There any Real-Life Advantages?
Authors: Mitra Palash , Rahim Muhammad Abdur , Samdani Tasrina Shamnaz , Ul Haque Wasim Md Mohosin , Iqbal Sarwar , Mansur Md Abul
Published: May 2017

Background: Basiliximab is an interleukin-2 receptor antagonist used as induction therapy in kidney transplantation and is believed to reduce acute rejection episode (ARE). Our aims were to compare the impact of basiliximab induction therapy with no induction therapy on incidence of ARE, time requirement for serum creatinine (S.Cr) to normalize after transplantation, initial post-transplant hospital stay, infection in immediate post-transplant period, chronic allograft injury and graft survival at 1 and 3 years.Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients who had undergone living related donor kidney transplantation in a tertiary care hospital of a developing country between July 2004 and June 2014. We selected patients who received calcineurin inhibitors, mycophenolate and prednisolone to classify as no induction therapy (n=50; group 1, receiving prednisolone, mycophenolate and cyclosporine as maintenance therapy) and induction therapy with basiliximab (n=61; group 2, receiving prednisolone, mycophenolate and tacrolimus as maintenance therapy).Results: Among the 111 study subjects, only two had experienced ARE (one from each group, p=0.889). Patients who received basiliximab had a shorter mean hospital stay (11.4±3.3 versus 13.7±5.0 days, p=0.005) and shorter mean duration for normalization of S.Cr (4.7±2.3 versus 7.3±5.6 days, p=0.002) after transplantation. There was no significant difference in incidence of infection in immediate post-transplant period (p=0.134). One year graft survival rate was better in those who received basiliximab (98.2% versus 89.4%, p=0.010) but there was no significant difference at 3 years (79% versus 74%, p=0.549). Overall incidence of chronic allograft injury was less with basiliximab (11.5% versus 36%, p=0.002) induction.Conclusions: Induction therapy with basiliximab was associated with shorter mean hospital stay, early renal function recovery, better 1 year graft survival and less overall incidence of chronic allograft injury. We have encountered minimum ARE to comment on benefit of basiliximab on ARE.Birdem Med J 2017; 7(2): 90-94
Stability analysis of finite difference schemes for an advection diffusion equation
Authors: Azad TMAK , Andallah LS
Published: May 2017

The paper studies stability analysis for two standard finite difference schemes FTBSCS (forward time backward space and centered space) and FTCS (forward time and centered space). One-dimensional advection diffusion equation is solved by using the schemes with appropriate initial and boundary conditions. Numerical experiments are performed to verify the stability results obtained in this study. It is found that FTCS scheme gives better point-wise solutions than FTBSCS in terms of time step selection.Bangladesh J. Sci. Res. 29(2): 143-151, December-2016
Leader Purposefulness within Servant Leadership: Examining the Effect of Servant Leadership, Leader Follower-Focus, Leader Goal-Orientation, and Leader Purposefulness in a Large U.S. Healthcare Organization
Authors: Irving Justin , Berndt Julie
Published: May 2017

As the study of servant leadership expands beyond theoretical exploration, empirical research continues to validate the positive effect of servant leadership behaviors and attitudes on diverse follower and organizational measures. This study expands the conversation by engaging the theme of leader purposefulness within servant leadership studies. A sample of over 1700 employees from a large U.S. healthcare organization provided responses to five research instruments. Follower perspectives on servant leadership, leader follower-focus, leader goal-orientation, and leader purposefulness were assessed using the Purpose in Leadership Inventory and each of these independent variables were analyzed for hypothesized positive relationships with four dependent variables: follower job satisfaction, follower organizational commitment, follower person-organization fit, and follower perception of leadership effectiveness. Each of the 16 hypothesized relationships were supported at a statistically significant level (<0.001) with positive correlations ranging from 0.40 to 0.88. Regression analyses were conducted to provide predictive modeling and indicators of the relative importance of each independent variable on the related dependent variables.
Applying New Technologies to Transform Blueberry Harvesting
Authors: Takeda Fumiomi , Yang Wei , Li Changying , Freivalds Andris , Sung Kiseok , Xu Rui , Hu Bo , Williamson Jeffrey , Sargent Steven
Published: May 2017

The growth of the blueberry industry in the past three decades has been remarkably robust. However, a labor shortage for hand harvesting, increasingly higher labor costs, and low harvest efficiencies are becoming bottlenecks for sustainable development of the fresh market blueberry production. In this study, we evaluated semi-mechanical harvesting systems consisting of a harvest-aid platform with soft fruit catching surfaces that collected the fruit detached by portable, hand-held, pneumatic shakers. The softer fruit catching surfaces were not glued to the hard sub-surfaces of the harvest-aid platform, but suspended over them. Also, the ergonomic aspect of operating powered harvesting equipment was determined. The pneumatic shakers removed 3.5 to 15 times more fruit (g/min) than by hand. Soft fruit catching surfaces reduced impact force and bruise damage. Fruit firmness was higher in fruit harvested by hand compared to that by pneumatic shakers in some cultivars. The bruise area was less than 8% in fruit harvested by hand and with semi-mechanical harvesting system. The percentage of blue, packable fruit harvested by pneumatic shakers comprised as much as 90% of the total, but less than that of hand-harvested fruit. The ergonomic analysis by electromyography showed that muscle strain in the back, shoulders, and forearms was low in workers operating the light-weight, pneumatic shakers that were tethered to the platform with a tool balancer. The new harvesting method can reduce the labor requirement to about 100 hour/hectare/year and help to mitigate the rising labor cost and shortage of workers for harvesting fresh-market quality blueberries.
Emissions and Possible Environmental Implication of Engineered Nanomaterials (ENMs) in the Atmosphere
Authors: John Astrid , Küpper Miriam , Manders-Groot Astrid , Debray Bruno , Lacome Jean-Marc , Kuhlbusch Thomas
Published: May 2017

In spite of the still increasing number of engineered nanomaterial (ENM) applications, large knowledge gaps exist with respect to their environmental fate, especially after release into air. This review aims to summarize the current knowledge of emissions and behavior of airborne engineered nanomaterials. The whole ENM lifecycle is considered from the perspective of possible releases into the atmosphere. Although in general, emissions during use phase and end-of-life seem to play a minor role compared to entry into soil and water, accidental and continuous emissions into air can occur especially during production and some use cases such as spray application. Implications of ENMs on the atmosphere as e.g., photo-catalytic properties or the production of reactive oxygen species are reviewed as well as the influence of physical processes and chemical reactions on the ENMs. Experimental studies and different modeling approaches regarding atmospheric transformation and removal are summarized. Some information exists especially for ENMs, but many issues can only be addressed by using data from ultrafine particles as a substitute and research on the specific implications of ENMs in the atmosphere is still needed.
Tailoring the Oxygen Evolution Activity and Stability Using Defect Chemistry
Authors: Scholz Julius , Risch Marcel , Wartner Garlef , Luderer Christoph , Roddatis Vladimir , Jooss Christian
Published: May 2017

Improving the activity of catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) requires a detailed understanding of the surface chemistry and structure to deduce structure-function relationships (descriptors) for fundamental insight. We chose epitaxial (100)-oriented La0.6Sr0.4Mn1−δO3 (LSMO) thin films as a model system with high electrochemical activity comparable to (110)-oriented IrO2 to investigate the effect of Mn off-stoichiometry on both catalytic activity and stability. Extensive structural characterization was performed by microscopic and spectroscopic methods before and after electrochemical characterization using rotating ring-disk studies. Stoichiometric LSMO had the highest activity, while both Mn deficiency and excess reduced the catalytic activity. Furthermore, all samples preserved the crystal structure up to the very surface. Mn excess improved the long-term activity, and we hypothesize that excess Mn stabilizes the surface chemistry during catalysis. Our data show that the defect chemistry should be considered when designing catalysts with enhanced activity and rugged stability.
Programming’s Turn: Computation and Poetics
Authors: Klobucar Andrew
Published: May 2017

Digital media and culture scholars routinely distinguish code from any common cultural understanding of media in order to underscore its wholly unique function as an epistemological tool. Where media emphasizes a hermeneutical relationship to knowledge as a mode of interpretation based on its graphic or symbolic representation, the idea of code in many ways invokes a far more complex and dynamic sense of how we determine meaning using symbols or signs in language in terms of producing actual programmable events. In the digital universe, computation, in terms of pre-coded rules, patterns and procedures, continues to showcase all objects and events, along with various corresponding behaviours or viabilities. This paper looks first at a range of contemporary philosophers, like Don Ihde, Katherine Hayles, David Berry and Bruno Latour, in order to build a theoretical foundation for understanding some of the changes in epistemology brought by digital technology and computational reason. Philosophies of computation, I argue, inevitably strive to outline a post-human culture and way of thinking about the world. Although the theoretical weaving of coding with human life follows in part from many earlier modern philosophical discussions on the role language plays in our thinking and sense of selfhood, we can see in computation a very specific reconceptualization of reasoning itself, producing, in turn, a host of new intellectual conflicts concerning human agency and our cognitive faculties. The paper then moves to explore two cultural examples of these conflicts, looking first at the practice of “live coding,” a unique, performative event where programmers demonstrate coding before a live audience. Whether on a physical stage in front of an actual audience or simply on screen as a live telecast, such performances combine with coding the distinct habits of gesture and voice in an improvised narrative. One single such show by live coder Sean Colombo is presented here in an exemplary reading of this relatively new media genre. A second, equally significant exploration of similar social and cultural conflicts associated with computation’s expansion into everyday living can be seen in the work of the digital literary artist, Ian Hatcher. Ian Hatcher’s consistently disturbing video enhanced performances evoke both the structure and overall ambience of a live coding event where he enacts the role of the coder/performer in a process of perpetual conflict with the text appearing on screen. While for many, the live coder can be heralded as a kind of exemplary humanist figure in computation, as these performances show, the more material, writerly aspects of coding must inevitably succumb to the cultural logic of the code’s literal execution to produce a distinctly post-humanist approach to writing and art.