bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of sex class on the levels of some biochemical variables in thalassemia patients
Authors: Mohammed Khalaf N. , Marbut Mossa M.
Published: April 2020

The study was conducted at Azadi Teaching Hospital - Thalassemia Center for the period from 1/10/2017 to 1/4/2018. It included 60 patients including 30 males and 30 females, as well as control group which included 20 Healthy people were all 10 to 21 years of age. The following variables were studied: ferritin, GSH, insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) Malondialdehyde (MDA) Interleukin-6 (IL-6), and Cortisol. The analysis of correlation coefficients and simple linear regression was carried out to determine the effect of the variables among them. The results were as follows: Thalassemia patients recorded the lowest levels of GSH, IGF-1 and cortisol at 2.2 μmol / L and 50.4 ng / ml and 10.11 μg / dL respectively, while the same group recorded the highest levels of ferritin, MDA and IL- 6 was 3083 ng / ml, 941 mmol / L and 368 pg / mol. There were significant effects of both sexes in the group of thalassemia patients in both ferritin, GSH, IGF-1, MDA, and IL-6 with 2573, 3592 μg / dL, 2.821, 1.573 μmol / L, 63.3, 37.47 ng / ml and 1163.1 719.3 mmol / L 300.9 and 435.6 pg / mol for males and females, respectively. The results of the correlation coefficient analysis showed existence of and low correlations in the negative and positive direction between the study variables of the two groups of patients and control. The results of the simple linear regression analysis showed positive and negative regression ratios of IL-6 and IGF-1 growth factor on the rest of the study variables.
 
http://dx.doi.org/10.25130/tjps.24.2019.101
Palynofacies and Paleoenvironment investigation of the Hauterivian – Early Aptian Ratawi and Zubair formations, Balad oilfield, Central Iraq
Authors: Mahdi1 Adnan Q. , Al-Beyati2 Fawzi M. , Al Tarif A. M. , H. Shendi4 El-Arabi , .Abdel-fattah4 Mohamed I
Published: April 2020

This work depends on a detailed optical observation study of sedimentary organic facies from the Hauterivian – early Aptian Ratawi and Zubair formations from the Ba-1 well, Balad oilfield, Central Iraq. This study has manifested the advantages of palynofacies analysis methods for source rock evaluation of the studied formations, twenty five cutting rock samples organic facies data indicate a wide variation of source richness, quality and thermal maturity, the Ratawi Formation samples has the Type-II< I kerogen indicates marine environment in immature stage, while Zubair Formation has the Type-II<<  I kerogen (oil-gas prone) reflect the marine environment with  terrigenous influx in early mature to mature stage (early oil window).
 
http://dx.doi.org/10.25130/tjps.24.2019.111
Integrating GIS-based and geophysical techniques for groundwater potential assessment in Halabja Said Sadiq sub-basin, Kurdistan, NE Iraq
Authors: Karim Hawber A. , Al-Manmi Diary A.
Published: April 2020

Groundwater is an important resource in Halabja Said Sadiq sab-basin, Sulaymaniyah district for agricultural and other uses. Continuous dramatic extraction of groundwater from legal and illegal wells led to a severe decline in the water table for the last thirty years. The objectives of this study are to delineate the groundwater productivity zones by combining the geographic information system and geoelectrical survey, which serves to recognize the locations of good groundwater storage and recharge zones. The Halabja Said Sadiq sub-basin has been selected as a case study to delineate the groundwater productivity zones. Four geoelectrical resistivity profiles conducted with electrode spacing 10 m and the length of the profiles is equal to 710 m.  Themes such as hydrogeology, land use/land cover, topography, drainage density, soil type, slope, lineaments and rainfall maps are created. The thematic maps made with GIS platform and appropriate weights put to the attributes taking into account the influence on the storage potential of groundwater. The results of geoelectrical profiles revealed that the aquifer thickness is 150 m. Three zones of groundwater potential delineated which are low, moderate and high and cover 33 %, 24 %, and 42 % of the total area respectively. Spatially, the highest zone is located along with the Quaternary deposits which characterized by high lineament density, low slop, and pediment deposition
The output of the groundwater potential model is verified by testing the discharge rate of the existing 580 wells. The results are revealed that most of the high yield wells are located within the high groundwater potential zone. Results of such verifications proved that the groundwater productivity areas recognized by GIS (AHP) and geoelectrical techniques are dependable and practical.
 
http://dx.doi.org/10.25130/tjps.24.2019.112
A Virtual Reality Ensemble Molecular Dynamics Workflow to Study Complex Conformational Changes in Proteins
Authors: Juárez-Jiménez Jordi , Tew Philip , o'connor Michael , Llabres Salome , Sage Rebecca , Glowacki David , Michel Julien
Published: April 2020

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are increasingly used to elucidate relationships between protein structure, dynamics and their biological function. Currently it is extremely challenging to perform MD simulations of large-scale structural rearrangements in proteins that occur on millisecond timescales or beyond, as this requires very significant computational resources, or the use of cumbersome ‘collective variable’ enhanced sampling protocols. Here we describe a framework that combines ensemble MD simulations and virtual-reality visualization (eMD-VR) to enable users to interactively generate realistic descriptions of large amplitude, millisecond timescale protein conformational changes in proteins. Detailed tests demonstrate that eMD-VR substantially decreases the computational cost of folding simulations of a WW domain, without the need to define collective variables a priori. We further show that eMD-VR generated pathways can be combined with Markov State Models to describe the thermodynamics and kinetics of large-scale loop motions in the enzyme cyclophilin A. Our results suggest eMD-VR is a powerful tool for exploring protein energy landscapes in bioengineering efforts.
Designing Singlet Fission Candidates from Donor-Acceptor Copolymers
Authors: Blaskovits Jacob Terence , Fumanal Maria , Vela Sergi , Corminboeuf Clemence
Published: April 2020

Singlet Fission (SF) has demonstrated significant promise for boosting the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of solar cells. Traditionally, SF is targeted as an intermolecular process, however its dependence on crystal packing makes molecular design difficult. In contrast, intramolecular SF (iSF) enables the exploration of tunable bi-chromophoric systems following well-defined structure-property relationships. In this work, we propose a set of parameters to screen conjugated donor-acceptor copolymer candidates with potential iSF behaviour. We focus our analysis on the E(S1)>2E(T1) thermodynamic condition and on the appropriate charge transfer (CT) character of S1. We map the CT character with respect to the frontier molecular orbital (FMO) energies of the constituent monomers, providing a cost-effective protocol for an accelerated screening of promising iSF donor-acceptor pairs, while minimizing the number of computations. These parameters are applied to a chemically diverse, curated library of 81 truncated dimers of synthetically feasible donor-acceptor copolymers. From our dataset, four candidates are flagged for iSF, two of which were previously experimentally reported. This protocol is envisioned to be scaled up for the high-throughput screening of large databases of donor-acceptor dimers for the design and identification of conjugated polymers capable of iSF.
COVID-19:Attacks the 1-Beta Chain of Hemoglobin and Captures the Porphyrin to Inhibit Human Heme Metabolism
Authors: wenzhong liu , hualan Li
Published: April 2020

The novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) is an infectious acute respiratory caused by the novel coronavirus. The virus is a positive-strand RNA virus with high homology to bat coronavirus. In this study, conserved domain analysis, homology modeling, and molecular docking were used to compare the biological roles of specific proteins of the novel coronavirus. The results showed that some viral structural and nonstructural proteins could bind to the porphyrin, respectively. At the same time, orf1ab, ORF10 and ORF3a proteins coordinated to attack heme on the 1-beta chain of hemoglobin, dissociating iron to form porphyrin. Deoxyhemoglobin is more vulnerable to virus attacks than oxidized hemoglobin. The attack will cause less and less hemoglobin that can carry oxygen and carbon dioxide, producing symptoms of respiratory distress. Virus attack damaged many organs and tissues. Lung cells are toxic and inflammatory due to derivatives produced by the attack, which eventually resulted in ground-glass-like lung images. Capillaries easily broken due to inflammation. Proteins such as fibrinogen filled the capillaries' cracks through the coagulation reaction. Therefore, many fibrin and thrombus gathered in the lung tissue of critically ill patients. The mechanism also interfered with the normal heme anabolic pathway of the human body, expecting to result in human disease. This paper is only for academic discussion, the correctness of the theory needs to be confirmed by other experiments. According to the reader's suggestion, the content of the drug-related efficacy analysis has been deleted. Due to the side effects of drugs, please consult a qualified doctor for detailed treatment information, and do not take the drug yourself. We look forward to these discoveries bringing more ideas to people and inspiring people's confidence in defeating the virus.
Anion Charge and Lattice Volume Maps for Searching Lithium Superionic Conductors
Authors: Xu Zhenming , Zhu Hong
Published: April 2020

The effects of anion charge and lattice volume (lithium-anion bond length) on lithium ion migration have been investigated by utilizing the density functional theory calculations combined with the anion sublattice models, e.g. fcc, hcp and bcc. It is found that the anion charge and lattice volume have great impacts on the activation energy barrier (Ea) of lithium ion migration, which is validated by some reported sulfides. For the tetrahedrally occupied lithium, the less negative anion charge is, the lower the lithium ion migration barrier is likely to be. While for the octahedrally occupied lithium, the more negative anion charge is, the lower the lithium ion migration barrier is. There are opposite effects of anion charge on Ea and optimum lattice volumes for minimum Ea of lithium ion migration along the Tet-Oct-Tet and Oct-Tet-Oct pathways in the hcp-type sublattices. Based on the full understandings of anion sublattice model, general design strategies for developing lithium superionic conductors were proposed. Adjusting the electronegativity difference between the anion element and non-mobile cation element by selecting the most suitable non-mobile cation element without changing the crystal structure sublattice can achieve low Ea for lithium ion migration. For the desired lithium superionic conductors with tetrahedrally occupied lithium ions, the fine non-mobile cation element should give preferences to those elements located at the right top of the periodic table of elements with large electronegativities. For the lithium superionic conductors with octahedrally occupied lithium ions, the fine non-mobile cation element should give preferences to the elements located at the left bottom of the periodic table with small electronegativities.
Fragment tailoring strategy to design novel chemical entities as potential binders of novel corona virus main protease
Authors: Choudhury Chinmayee
Published: April 2020

The recent pandemic of novel corona virus (nCoV) infections (COVID19) has put the world on serious alert. The main protease of nCov (nCov-MP) cleaves the long polyprotein chains to release functional proteins required for replication of the virus and thus is a potential drug target to design new chemical entities in order to inhibit the viral replication in human cells. The current study employs state of art computational methods to design novel molecules by linking molecular fragments which specifically bind to different constituent sub-pockets of the nCov-MP binding site. A huge library of 191678 fragments was screened against the binding cavity of nCov-MP and high affinity fragments binding to adjacent sub-pockets were tailored to generate new molecules. These newly formed molecules were further subjected to molecular docking, ADMET property filters and MM-GBSA binding free energy calculations to select 17 best molecules (named as MP-In1 to Mp-In17), which showed comparable binding affinities and interactions with the key binding site residues as the reference ligand. The complexes of these 17 molecules and the reference molecule with nCov-MP, were subjected to molecular dynamics simulations, which assessed the stabilities of their binding with nCov-MP. Fifteen molecules were found to form stable complexes with nCov-MP. These novel chemical entities designed specifically according to the pharmacophoric requirements of nCov-MP binding pockets showed good synthetic feasibility and returned no exact match when searched against chemical databases. Considering their interactions, binding efficiencies and novel chemotypes, they can be further evaluated as potential starting points for nCov drug discovery.
Simple and Minimally Invasive SID Devices for Native Mass Spectrometry
Authors: Snyder Dalton , Panczyk Erin , Somogyi Arpad , Kaplan Desmond , Wysocki Vicki
Published: April 2020

We describe a set of simple devices for surface-induced dissociation of protein complexes on three instrument platforms. All of the devices use a novel yet simple split lens geometry that is minimally invasive (requiring a few mm along the ion path axis) and easier to operate than prior generations of devices. The split lens is designed to be small enough to replace the entrance lens of a Bruker FT-ICR collision cell, the dynamic range enhancement (DRE) lens of a Waters Q-IM-TOF, or the exit lens of a transfer multipole of a Thermo Scientific Extended Mass Range (EMR) Orbitrap. The split lens used for SID is an order of magnitude smaller than the first-generation SID devices developed in our laboratory and approximately 5x smaller than the second-generation devices developed on the Q-IM-TOF and FT-ICR. Despite the decrease in size and reduction in number of electrodes to 3 (from 10-12 in Gen 1 and ~6 in Gen 2), we show sensitivity improvement in a variety of cases across all platforms while also maintaining SID capabilities across a wide mass and energy range. The coupling of SID, high resolution, and ion mobility is demonstrated for a variety of protein complexes of varying topologies.
Distinct Helical Molecular Orbitals Through Conformational Lock
Authors: Ozcelik Ani , Aranda Ruiz Daniel , Gil-Guerrero Sara , Pola-Otero Xaquín A. , Talavera Maria , Wang Liangxuan , Behera Santosh Kumar , Gierschner Johannes , Peña-Gallego Ángeles , Santoro Fabrizio , Pereira-Cameselle Raquel , Alonso Gómez José Lorenzo
Published: April 2020

Several theoretical studies have proposed strategies to reach helical molecular orbitals (Hel-MOs) in [n]cumulenes. While chiral even-[n] cumulenes feature Hel-MOs, odd-[n] cumulenes may also present them if the terminal groups lie on different planes. However, the hitherto proposed systems have been either experimentally unfeasible or resulted in opposite pseudo-degenerated Hel-MOs, impeding their use in real applicatons. To overcome this challenge, we hereby demonstrate the introduction of a remarkable energy difference between helical orbitals of opposite twist by fixing the torsion angle between the terminal groups in butadiyne fragments. In order to experimentally lock the conformation of the terminal groups, we designed cyclic architectures by combining acetylenes with chiral spirobifluorenes. A straightforward synthetic strategy along with the high stability allowed the isolation and full characterization of systems presenting distinct helical orbitals. Finally, a thorough computational analysis revealed that the most significant optical responses of these systems originate mainly from the exciton coupling between the featured diphenylbutadiyne fragments. This novel strategy opens now access to the development of systems with distinct helical molecular orbitals suitable for their implementation into chiroptical and optoelectronic applications.
Live-Cell Epigenome Manipulation by Synthetic Histone Acylation Catalyst System
Authors: Fujiwara Yusuke , Yamanashi Yuki , Sato Yuko , Kujirai Tomoya , Kurumizaka Hitoshi , Kimura Hiroshi , Yamatsugu Kenzo , Kawashima Shigehiro , Kanai Motomu
Published: April 2020

Chemical modifications of histones play a pivotal role in the epigenome and regulation of gene expression, and their abnormality is tightly linked to numerous disease states in humans. Therefore, chemical tools to manipulate epigenome hold promise for both therapy and the elucidation of epigenetic mechanisms. We previously developed the chemical catalyst LANA-DSH, which binds to nucleosomes via a LANA peptide ligand, and selectively acylates proximal histone H2BK120 to the catalyst moiety by acti- vating acyl-CoAs. Thus far, however, histone acylation by a chem- ical catalyst system in living cells has not yet been demonstrated. Here, we report a chemical catalyst system, composed of a nucleo- some-binding catalyst (PEG-LANA-DSH) and a cell-permeable thioester acyl donor (NAC-acyl), that can promote regioselective lysine acylation of histones in living cells. Whereas LANA-DSH is rapidly decomposed in cells, attachment of polyethylene glycol (PEG) to the LANA moiety can prevent this undesired degradation. Increasing the size of PEG conferred LANA with greater in-cell stability, but reduced catalytic activity, indicating that there is an optimum PEG length balancing stability and catalytic activity. The optimized PEG-LANA-DSH catalyst 11 efficiently promoted H2BK120 acetylation in living cells, which subsequently sup- pressed ubiquitination of H2BK120, a mark regulating various chromatin functions, such as transcription and DNA damage re- sponse. Thus, our chemical catalyst system will be useful as a unique tool to manipulate the epigenome for therapeutic purposes or further understanding epigenetic mechanisms.
Towards Self-Doping Multimetal Porphyrin Systems
Authors: Goddard Richard , Tonner Ralf , Reetz Manfred T.
Published: April 2020

Heating Cu(II)tetraphenylporphyrin (TPPCu) with chromocene at 120 °C affords the crystalline self-doped multimetal porphyrin system TPPCu/TPPCr in good yield. The X-ray structural analysis reveals a random configuration of TPPCu and TPPCr with a Cu:Cr ratio of about 71:29 %. Exploratory DFT calculations indicate significant electron transfer in a hypothetical cationic TPPCu/TPPRu system, in contrast to TPPCu/TPPCr.
Temporal Fluctuations in Interparticle Interactions Drive the Formation of Transiently Stable Nanoparticle Precipitates
Authors: Rao Anish , Roy Soumendu , Pillai Pramod
Published: April 2020

The pH and ionic strength dependence of electrostatic interactions was explored to introduce temporal fluctuations in the strengths of interparticle interactions and choreograph a transient self-assembly response in plasmonic nanoparticles. The assembly process was triggered by the electrostatic attraction between positively-charged gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and an aggregating agent, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). The autonomous changes in the pH and ionic strength of the solution, under the influence of atmospheric CO2, weaken the aggregating ability of EDTA and initiate the complete disassembly of [+] AuNP - EDTA precipitates. The non-destructive way of disassembly minimizes the generation of waste, which helped in achieving some of the desirable feats in the area of dynamic self-assembly like easy removal of waste, transiently stable precipitates and negligible dampness. The chemical strategy adopted in the present work, to introduce transientness, can act as a generic tool in creating the next generation of complex matter.
Ortho-Phenylene-Based Macrocyclic Hydrocarbons Assembled Using Oleﬁn Metathesis
Authors: kirinda Viraj , Schrage Briana , Ziegler Christopher , Hartley Scott
Published: April 2020

While many foldamer systems reliably fold into well-defined secondary structures, higher order structure remains a challenge. A simple strategy for the organization of folded subunits in space is to link them together within a macrocycle. Previous work has shown that o-phenylenes can be co-assembled with rod-shaped linkers into twisted macrocycles, showing an interesting synergy between folding and thermodynamically controlled macrocyclization. In these systems the foldamer units were largely decoupled from each other both conformationally and electronically. Here, we show that hydrocarbon macrocycles, with very short ethenylene linkers, can be assembled from o-phenylenes using olefin metathesis. Characterization by NMR spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography, and ab initio calculations shows that the products are approximately triangular [3+3] macrocycles with helical o-phenylene corners in a heterochiral configuration. Their photophysics are dominated by the 4,4′-diphenylstilbene moieties, the longest conjugated segments, with further conjugation broken by the twisting of the o-phenylenes.
Control of Porphyrin Planarity and Aggregation by Covalent Capping: Bissilyloxy Porphyrin Silanes
Authors: Hussein Burhan A. , Shakeel Zainab , Turley Andrew T. , Bismillah Aisha N. , Wolfstadt Kody , Pia Julia , Pilkington Melanie , McGonigal Paul R. , Adler Marc
Published: April 2020

Porphyrins are cornerstone functional materials that are useful in a wide variety of settings ranging from molecular electronics to biology and medicine. Their applications are often hindered, however, by poor solubilities that result from their extended, solvophobic aromatic surfaces. Attempts to counteract this problem by functionalizing their peripheries have been met with only limited success. Here, we demonstrate a versatile strategy to tune the physical and electronic properties of porphyrins using an axial functionalization approach. Porphyrin silanes (PorSils) and bissilyloxy PorSils (SOPS) are prepared from porphyrins by operationally simple κ4N-silylation protocols, introducing bulky silyloxy “caps” that are central and perpendicular to the planar porphyrin. While porphyrins typically form either J- or H-aggregates, SOPS do not self-associate in the same manner: the silyloxy axial substituents dramatically improve solubility by inhibiting aggregation. Moreover, axial porphyrin functionalization offers convenient handles through which optical, electronic, and structural properties of the porphyrin core can be modulated. We observe that the identity of the silyloxy substituent impacts the degree of planarity of the porphyrin in the solid state as well as the redox potentials.
NIR-Responsive Carbon Nitride of Five-Membered Rings (C3N2) for Photoelectrochemical Biosensing
Authors: Yang Hong , Zhou Qing , Fang Zhengzou , Zhao Lufang , Ma Jin , Li Wang , Liu Songqin , Shen Yanfei , Zhang Yuanjian
Published: April 2020

Polymeric carbon nitrides (pCN) have garnered immense attention, ranging from super-hard materials to artificial photosynthesis, due to their exceptional chemical and optoelectronic properties. The most studied C3N4 along with other stoichiometric pCN, such as C3N, C2N and C3N5, commonly employed a six-membered ring as the basic units; while the five-membered rings are also popular in a myriad of natural and artificial molecules with a more polarized framework and intriguing functionalities. Here, we report a facile synthesis of C3N2 with a topological structure of five-membered rings, endowing by far the narrowest the first electronic transition energy (0.81 eV) in pCN family. The basic imidazole unit with dangling bonds, resulting in an unusual electronic band of p-π conjugation and split molecular orbitals, was revealed in C3N2 by both experiments and density functional theory calculations. Moreover, a NIR-responsive photoelectrochemical (PEC) biosensor for non-transparent biosamples was constructed for the first time using C3N2 with outstanding performance. This work would not only open a new vista of pCN with different topological structures but also broaden the horizon of their application, such as prospective in vivo PEC bioassay.
Newly Developed Semi-Synthetic Chloroquine and Hydroxychloroquine-Phytochemical Conjugates as Prospective COVID-19 Drug(s)
Authors: Sahoo Chita Ranjan , Paidesetty Sudhir Kumar , Padhy Rabindra
Published: April 2020

Dear Editor, Kindly find a research article entitled “Newly developed semi-synthetic chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine-phytochemical conjugates as prospective COVID-19 drug(s)”, submitted for consideration for publication. Kindly find the Herein, two series of chloroquine (CQ) and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) derivatives were chemically conjugated with established small phenolic phytochemicals namely, thymol, vanillin, guaiacol, eugenol, 4-hydroxycoumarin and vanillin analogues by the principles of Williamson ether reaction. The HCQ-vanillin conjugation would be coveted as a potential candidate against human COVID-19. Thanking you, With regards, Rabindra Nath Padhy, PhD, Post-Doc, Member NAMS. Professor and Head, Central Research Laboratory, IMS & Sum Hospital, Siksha ‘O’ AnusandhanDeemed to be University, Bhubaneswar- 751003, Odisha, India. E-mail: rnpadhy54@gmail.com
Impact of Anti-Russian Sanctions on Some Macroeconomic Indicators of Russia’s Development
Authors: Kazantsev S.
Published: April 2020

Measures, imposed on the Russian Federation in 2014 to isolate Russia from the world community, were called sanctions. Their immediate goal is to deprive Russia of resources (financial, economic, technical and technological, information, scientific, cultural) that are needed for its development. The sanctioning countries suppose that the damage caused by their sanctions will weaken the socio-economic, military-political, scientific and technological potential of Russia. Some results of the author’s analysis of the impact of sanctions on the macroeconomic indicators of the Russian Federation i presented in this paper. The following indicators were studied: the volume of financial resources provided to Russian organizations, individuals and credit organizations; the volume and dynamics of capital investments and fixed assets; gross domestic product and industrial output; labour and capital productivity, and some other indicators. The years in which anti-Russian sanctions caused the most considerable damage have been identified. The author also shows that the negative impact of sanctions on the economic development of the country is, in many ways, similar to the damage, caused by the global financial and economic crises. The similarity of their impact is because both crises and sanctions deprive the country of resources for economic development. First of all, we are talking about financial resources.
Evolución de la gestión del riesgo en el sector agrario español: De la economía preindustrial a los seguros
Authors: Pons-Pons Jerònia , Carpio-Elías Juan
Published: April 2020

From a long-term perspective (Early Modern Age until the Spanish Civil War), we analyse how the rural world confronted contingent risks that could cause serious material losses. For the fifteenth to eighteenth centuries, our research relied on notarial sources based on leases. For the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, we used a variety of sources, such as company statutes and balance sheets, trade journals, the Gaceta de Madrid and official insurance statistics. The analysis shows how typical Modern Age practices continued into the twentieth century. The Late Modern period was characterised by difficulty in introducing agricultural insurance, a low level of participation by private insurance companies and recourse to local and provincial mutual societies. The disinterest of the general insurance companies in covering agricultural risk was reflected in the insignificant weight of the corresponding premiums in the overall company figures, with the modest exception of livestock insurance. Mutualism, especially in northern Spain, sought support from public institutions such as provincial councils. Finally, in the first decades of the twentieth century, major agricultural employers exerted pressure on the State to progressively assume responsibility for agricultural coverage.
Property Preserving Embedding of First-order Logic
Authors: Parsert Julian , Autherith Stephanie , Kaliszyk Cezary
Published: April 2020

Logical reasoning as performed by human mathematicians involves an intuitive under- standing of terms and formulas. This includes properties of formulas themselves as well as relations between multiple formulas. Although vital, this intuition is missing when supplying atomically encoded formulae to (neural) down-stream models.

In this paper we construct continuous dense vector representations of first-order logic which preserve syntactic and semantic logical properties. The resulting neural formula embeddings encode six characteristics of logical expressions present in the training-set and further generalise to properties they have not explicitly been trained on. To facilitate training, evaluation, and comparing of embedding models we extracted and generated data sets based on TPTP’s first-order logic library. Furthermore we examine the expressiveness of our encodings by conducting toy-task as well as more practical deployment tests.
THOMAS HOBBES'UN POLİTİK DÜŞÜNCESİNDE SOSYAL DÜZEN FİKRİNİN İKİ KAYNAĞI: YAŞAM VE ÖLÜM (KORKUSU)
Authors: GÜNSOY Funda , TUROWSKİ Mariusz
Published: April 2020

Hobbes'un politik felsefesinin en önemli çağdaş yorumları, onun pür legalistik ve prosedüralist karakterini (sosyal seçim teorisi, sözleşmecilik vs) sorgulayarak ölümün ve yaşamın yönetilebilirliği fenomenine odaklanırlar. Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida ve Giorgio Agamben gibi filozoflar, büyük ölçüde Hobbes'un Leviathan ve De Cive'da ortaya koyduğu analizleri referans alarak egemenliğin biyo-politik ontolojisine dair kendi versiyonlarını geliştirmişlerdir. Bu yazının temel amacı, ilkin, Hobbesçu devlet ve toplum kavramsallaştırmasına dair 20. yüzyılda Leo Strauss ve C.B.Macpherson tarafından geliştirilmiş iki etkili yaklaşımı ana hatlarıyla ortaya koymak ve onlar arasında karşılaştırma yapmaktır. İkinci olarak, Leo Strauss'un ve C.B.Macpherson'ın Hobbes'un politik düşüncesinde iktidar (yönetsellik) ile yaşam (ve ölüm) arasındaki ilişki konusunda biyo-politik-ontoloji okulunun temsilcilerinin sunduğundan daha incelikli bir anlayış sağladıklarını göstermektir.
REKLAM ETKİNLİĞİNİN TÜKETİCİ PERSPEKTİFİNDEN DEĞERLENDİRİLMESİ
Authors: YAŞAR Mehmet Emin , BAYDAŞ Abdulvahap
Published: April 2020

Bu çalışma, reklamın tüketicinin satın alma davranışı üzerindeki etkisini ile reklamın ürün ve hizmet alımlarında değiştirici bir özelliği olup olmadığının tüketici bakış açısıyla belirlemek için yapılmıştır. Çalışma, tesadüfi olmayan örneklem yöntemlerinden kolayda örnekleme yöntemi kullanılarak 194 tüketiciyle yüz yüze anket uygulanarak gerçekleştirilmiştir. Elde edilen veriler SPSS paket programında analiz edilmiştir. Araştırmanın sonuçları aşağıdaki gibi özetlenebilir. Reklam etkinliğini artıran en önemli faktörlerin reklamda kalite, çekicilik, fiyat, görünüm ve marka unsurlarının ön plana alınması olduğu vurgulanmıştır. Reklamın senaryosu, reklam metninin mizahi, komik yönü ve reklamı canlandıran insanlar, reklamda kullanılan müzik ve reklamın kendisi gibi faktörler ise reklam etkinliğini daha az etkileyen faktörler olarak bulunmuştur. En etkili reklam ortamının televizyon ve internet olduğu, açık hava reklamcılığı, katalogla tanıtım, gazete, dergi ve radyo reklam mecraların daha az etkili olduğu, özellikle de radyo reklamcılığının etkisinin azaldığı tespit edilmiştir.Reklamların bir ürünü satın almada etkili olduğu, toplumun tüketim kültürünü etkilediği, ürün hakkında bilgi sağladığı, çok iyi bir reklamın toplumun bu ürün hakkındaki algısını değiştirdiği ve reklamın ürünün ayrılmaz bir parçası olduğu belirlenmiştir. Özellikle, kamu güvenliği reklamlarının toplum üzerinde birleştirici bir etkisi olduğu görülmüştür. Öte yandan reklamın hizmet sektörü ile ilgili bilgilendirici bir özelliğe sahip olması, reklamda yer alan kişilerin toplumda tanıdık isimler olması, reklamın güven ve kalite faktörleri üzerinde olumlu bir etkiye sahip olmuştur. Reklamın satın alımda karar verme sürecini kısalttığı, reklamın ürünün kalitesi hakkında bilgi verdiği ve özellikle programlar sırasında aniden yayınlanan reklamların sürekli hatırlandığı görülmüştür.Reklam etkinliği ile ilgili faktör analizinde Performans/Görüntü, Eğlence ve Tanıtım olmak üzere üç faktör belirlenmiştir. Reklam işlevleri ölçeği ile ilgili yapılan faktör analizi sonucunda; Reklam ve Ürün İlişkisi, Reklam ve Tanıtım İlişkisi, Reklam ve Güvenirlik İlişkisi, Reklam ve Ünlü Kişilik İlişkisi ile Reklam ve Ürün Yerleştirme İlişkisi şeklinde beş faktör belirlenmiştir.
Employer Satisfaction with Polytechnic Graduate: Comparison Between Industry Cluster
Authors: Hussin Husnira Binti
Published: April 2020

Purpose: This paper aims to Employer Satisfaction with Polytechnic Graduate: Comparison Between Industry Cluster.

Design/methodology/approach: The method used is statistic-descriptive and the design used is cross sectional.

Findings: 2 hypotheses are while the other is accepted.

Research limitations/implications: This study used two-step analysis: Kruskal-Wallis test was used to identify differences for three industry cluster; mechanical, electrical and civil engineering. Post Hoc test performs to identify the detail differences between each cluster.

Practical implications: Results show that from the 2 hypotheses proposed.

Originality/value: This paper is original.

Paper type: This paper can be categorized as a case study.
Self-access English learning facility: A report of student use
Authors: Gromik Nicolas
Published: April 2020

This paper reports on a case study research conducted at a Self-Access Learning Center (salc) from 2009 to 2012. Over these four years data was collected through a survey from over 6000 participants regarding their access and use of the self facility and resources. The article reports on various on-site learning environments and the influence this may have of efl students’ utilization of the salc. This observation revealed that due to competition between libraries, and the increasing emergence of mobile devices, university students are less likely to use salc. The quantitative findings confirm that students are less likely to make use of this salc’s facility, resources and services. While students need to enhance their learning skills, salc may no longer be the place where students congregate to do so.
Friendship and reciprocity as motivators in CSCL
Authors: Flowers Simeon
Published: April 2020

Motivation is an important topic among language teachers in Japan. Collins and Hunt (2011) observed increases in Japanese university student’s motivation as a result of collaborative learning and cooperative learning programs. This paper continues in this line of inquiry through a quantitative study of motivation in the context of computer supported collaborative learning (cscl). Results of this study confirm the motivational profiles of successful collaborative learners and reveal friendship and reciprocity as important social dynamics affecting Japanese collaborators.
Integration of Moodle Course Management System (CMS) into an EFL writing class
Authors: Robertson Charles E.
Published: April 2020

The implementation of Course Management System (CMS) technologies can have a beneficial impact on course organization, lesson implementation, coursework distribution, teacher student communication and assessment; furthermore, CMS technologies end to help create a more student-centered learning experience. This article outlines the useful implementation of a CMS into an EFL composition classroom. The author examines how CMS technologies can be woven into an established EFL writing curriculum built upon the constructivist notion of the author as communal learner and communicator. The goal of the article is to demonstrate, through specific examples, particular Moodle CMS features that support activities and approaches inherent in the “process approach” writing class.
Digital video in the language classroom
Authors: Shrosbree Mark
Published: April 2020

Video-based methodologies are well-established in second language teaching. Perhaps most common is the use of video as an alternative to more traditional cassette tape and CD listening comprehension activities. Video allows learners to see the context of the discourse and the speaker’s body language as well as other visual aids to comprehension. It is thus hard to question Stempleski’s (1987) assertion that video aids learners’ comprehension of English. Another use of video is to record student projects, such as role-plays, documentaries and TV commercials (Brooke, 2003). As video technology becomes more accessible and editing on computers simpler, such projects are becoming increasingly attractive for the language classroom. Video also offers several other possibilities for language learning. One interesting use of video is to document and assess students’ productive performance of a second language. Video naturally lends itself to the assessment of presentations and public speaking, but it can also be applied to pairwork and group discussion tasks. Furthermore, to help students develop their speaking skills, teachers can make “model videos” which visually demonstrate what students are expected to do in an oral task. Finally, digital video technology allows teachers to manipulate authentic video, which can be edited, subtitled and simplified to make it more suitable for language learners. With relatively inexpensive equipment, and easily acquired skills, teachers and learners can employ a wide range of effective and motivating video methodologies. This paper will outline the practical aspects of choosing hardware, the basics of using video editing software and a range of methodological applications for the language classroom.
DIY local learner corpora: Bridging gaps between theory and practice
Authors: Millar Neil , Lehtinen Ben
Published: April 2020

Corpus-based research in the past two decades has undeniably had a considerable impact on language teaching. Nevertheless, there still remains a gap between what applied corpus linguistics can offer and what teachers do (or don’t do) with corpora in their teaching practice (Mukherjee, 2006). This article illustrates how compilation and analysis of corpora of student writing by teachers at a local level can help bridge this gap between theory and practice. Aimed at language teachers with no or little knowledge of corpus linguistics, we present a “how-to-do” discussion of the basics of corpus creation and analysis, and suggest possible uses of data from such corpora in language teaching.
Using DynEd and ALC with low-level university freshmen
Authors: Brown Ian , Campbell Aaron P. , Weatherford York
Published: April 2020

In this paper we share our experience implementing a CALL project with first-year, lower level, non-English major, university students, using two CALL packages popular in Japan: DynEd and ALC. In addition to comparing the pros and cons of both, we will also discuss how the project was launched and how it evolved over time. Implementing commercial CALL software in a classroom setting involved a number of challenges, both technical and pedagogical, necessitating a variety of adaptations to suit the needs of both learners and the institution. Along with describing how changes were made, both in our methods of implementation and how the software was used, we also share our process of dealing with two key issues that arose: student motivation and learner assessment. We hope that by recounting our entire experience with this project, as well as sharing results from a series of student surveys, we will provide ideas for other teachers and faculty departments interested in introducing CALL projects with lower-level students.
Simplifying the technological enhancement of language learning
Authors: Barrs Keith
Published: April 2020

From books, boards and pens to video cameras, smart-phones and tablet computers, technology has always had an important role to play in any language learning environment. The integration of such technology into the language classroom is an issue faced on a daily basis by educators and learners and is an issue fraught with complexities. There is technological complexity involved with the selection and use of the best tool for the language curriculum and organisational complexity involved with how the tool is funded and supported in the wider context of the educational institution. This article outlines a way of trying to simplify the complexity by explaining how teachers can immediately start to technologically enhance their language classes, simply and effectively, with a “teaching techbox.” A “teaching techbox” is the name I give to my box of technological tools, including a mobile phone with camera, video camera, timer, bell, dice, and paper scraps, which I take to each class and use to enhance the language activities. As language education moves evermore into Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL), with the increased use of standard mobile phones, smart-phones and tablet computers both inside and outside of the classroom, the “teaching techbox” allows teachers to embrace the opportunities afforded by MALL while at the same time simplifying how technology is used in the class.
Technically Speaking: Moodle, mobile apps and mobile content
Authors: Daniels Paul
Published: April 2020

More and more learners are opting to access web sites within their institution using mobile devices rather than traditional notebook or desktop computers. To meet user demands, schools are slowly overhauling their existing course management systems (CMS), such as Moodle, to improve CMS compatibility with mobile technologies (Kolowich, 2011). This article will focus on mobile apps for Apple iOS and Android which can be used to enrich mobile users’ experience with Moodle. Usage statistics show that Apple iOS and Android are currently the two most popular mobile operating systems world-wide, and data collected from Japanese university students by the author also validate the data from Wikipedia, that iOS and Android are currently the leading operating systems for mobile devices.
The effectiveness of project-based learning utilizing Web 2.0 tools in EFL
Authors: Elam Jesse R. , Nesbit Ben
Published: April 2020

Researchers in the past, such as Jeon-Ellis, Debski, and Wigglesworth (2005), have successfully utilized CALL and Project-Based Learning in language education to motivate students through collaboration and sociocultural methodologies, yet little EFL research has been written about the incorporation of Project-Based Learning and Web 2.0 tools. This action research was conducted over an 8-week period to addresses whether or not the combination of Project-Based Learning and Web 2.0 technologies is an effective methodology for promoting collaboration and motivation in a Pai Chai University EFL Tourism course in South Korea. The results were inconclusive, as the sampling, data collection tools and participants were inadequate, but the students’ feelings towards the methodology, Web 2.0 tools and the Social Network System Ning showed promise for future application.
Twitter in the teaching methods course: Foreign language graduate teaching assistants’ perspectives
Authors: Drewelow Isabelle
Published: April 2020

This article reports on the experimental implementation of Twitter in a foreign language teaching methods course. The goal of incorporating social networking into the course was to promote future teachers’ understanding of the collaborative nature of learning and the teaching profession. Twitter contributed to a sense of community, lowered students’ anxiety, promoted engagement and facilitated more in-depth discussions in the classroom. However, the discussions tended to remain an artificial academic exercise and the full collaborative potential of Twitter was not achieved because of the implementation methods. Based on the experience in this course, it was concluded that Twitter can be best used for teachers’ professional development to assist in the formation of their own teaching resource community, practicing collaboration and making connections on a global and local level, while building their identities as teachers.
A pedagogy-driven approach to the design of a medical abbreviations videogame: Brevissima
Authors: Müller Amanda , Price Jodie
Published: April 2020

This paper explores the development of a computer-assisted language learning game which teaches medical abbreviations. We use a pedagogy-driven approach which starts from a detailed specification of the language needs as they exist in a particular context, followed by the appropriate method and related technological solutions. Preliminary feedback is provided from an anonymous survey of student opinions about the game.
Critically minded podcasts: An interactive curriculum
Authors: Gann David A. , Bufton Nicholas A.
Published: April 2020

In an effort to improve intermediate and advanced foreign language learners’ critical thinking skills regarding the understanding of argumentative and persuasive passages without taking up excessive class time, podcast delivered content and text reconstruction exercises were introduced. However, the challenge of implementing these additions into the syllabus in such a way that content delivered outside the classroom remained relevant to what occurred in the classroom was considerable. In order to maintain cohesion between out-of-class and in-class experiences, text reconstruction exercises were designed to raise learner awareness of explicit podcast content. While the authors found that the increased learner involvement made up for the limitations of the software, the design and implementation of these exercises raised some interesting questions regarding software inflexibility, its use, and the rationale behind the location of text-breaks.
Developments in ongoing English classes using electronic courseware for multi-level repeaters
Authors: Silsbee Steven , Grogan Myles
Published: April 2020

In compulsory university English classes, not all students pass. For a variety of reasons, a number of students find themselves needing to retake (repeat) one or more English credits. Placing such students in a class can be difficult for administrators. In 2008, a pilot study was launched using DynEd, a commercial software suite designed to support students’ individual learning needs. The software allowed for a large number of students of different ability to study a wide range of materials at levels matching their individual ability. By studying on a computer, rather than face-to-face, they could also study in the same time slot (class). This paper reports on how class implementation has developed and matured, particularly since it was first presented at the JALTCALL 2010 Conference.