bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Sturdy Inference: A Bayesian Analysis of U.S. Motorcycle Helmet Laws
Authors: Fowles Richard , Loeb Peter D.
Published: November 2019

Motorcycle related fatalities continue to be a major concern for public health officials, economists, and policy makers interested in such matters. In 2006, 3% of all motor vehicles registered in the United States were 2-3 wheelers (motorcycle type vehicles), while riders of these vehicles accounted for 11% of vehicle related deaths. Such a disproportionate number of fatalities associated with motorcycles is certainly grounds for concern.Most studies of motorcycle fatalities attribute deaths to the avoidance of wearing helmets and the lack of helmet laws, speed, and alcohol usage. This study makes use of a rich panel data set for the period 1980 to 2010 by state and the District of Columbia to examine these factors and others. It is the first study to differentiate between the effects of universal and partial helmet laws on motorcycle fatalities. It also accounts for the effects of cell phone use, alcohol consumption, and suicidal propensities on these crashes after adjusting for a whole host of socioeconomic and driving related factors. The analysis is conducted using a new Bayesian technique, which examines the sturdiness of regression coefficients. This new method uses statistics referred to as S-values that addresses both estimation and model ambiguity. Results indicate that the variables we focus on, i.e., cell phones, alcohol consumption, and helmet laws affect motorcycle fatalities. Further, universal helmet laws appear to have a larger effect on such fatalities than partial helmet laws.
Safety Analysis Considering the Impactof Travel Time Reliability on Elderly Drivers
Authors: Kidando Emmanuel , Moses Ren , Abdelrazig Yassir , Erman Eren
Published: November 2019

The main goal of this research was to evaluate how travel time reliability (TTR) might be associated with crashes involving elderly drivers, defined as those age 65 and above. Several TTR metrics were used to estimate their influence on elderly crash frequency and severity of the crash on freeways and arterial highways. The results suggest that TTR is statistically significant in affecting both elderly crash frequency and the severity of a crash involving an elderly driver. In particular, the analysis of risk ratios illustrates that a one-unit increase in the probability of congestion reduces the likelihood of the elderly severe crash by 22%.
Airline Ancillary Services: An Investigation into Passenger Purchase Behavior
Authors: Leon Steven , Uddin Nizam
Published: November 2019

U.S. airlines have a vested interested in the intentions and purchase behavior of their domestic airline passengers, especially their willingness to pay for assorted ancillary services. For this research, antecedents to purchase intention and actual purchase behavior of airline ancillary services were evaluated using logistic regression and generalized linear model (GLM) and data collected from Amazon Mechanical Turk. The results show differences in airline passenger preferences when purchasing ancillary services. The number of times a passenger flies per year and the trip purpose are significant, while age and gender are not.
Impacts of Mobility Management and Human Service Transportation Coordination Efforts and End-User Quality of Life
Authors: Mattson Jeremy , Miller James , Goodwill Jay , Sriraj P.S. , Hough Jill
Published: November 2019

This study developed an evaluation method to examine the effectiveness of mobility management and coordination programs in a community. A series of surveys were conducted of both transit users and stakeholders in communities across the country. Results from these surveys suggest improvements have occurred in efficiencies, ease of access, and quality of service. Most respondents to the stakeholder survey reported benefits that have been realized. Results from an ordered probit model demonstrate the positive impacts that improved mobility has on life satisfaction.
An Analysis of Illicit Drug Use and Motor Vehicle Fatalities Using Contiguous State-Level Data
Authors: Welki Andrew M. , Zlatoper Thomas J.
Published: November 2019

This paper analyzes the influence of illicit drug use on highway fatal outcomes by estimating regression models using data for the 48 contiguous U.S. states for the years 2009 and 2010. The models include a representative, but not exhaustive, collection of roadway fatality determinants. The impact of illicit drug usage on the motor vehicle death rate differs across age groups. There are statistically significant life-taking effects from marijuana use by the very youngest drivers. Comparable effects from the usage of cocaine and nonmedical pain relievers occur among older drivers. Negatively associated with the highway death rate and statistically significant are real per capita income and seat belt use. Statistically significant positive relationships with the rate are found for the ratio of rural to urban driving, temperature, speed limit, the percentage of older drivers, and cell phone usage. The paper provides information to policy makers at a time when state-level drug laws are changing rapidly. Evidence reported here on how drug use affects highway fatal outcomes is relevant to that discussion.
JTRF Volume 56 No. 3, Fall 2017Preserving Railroad Infrastructure:The Case of Iowa Branch Rail Lines
Authors: Baumel C. Phillip , O’Riley Craig
Published: November 2019

In the 1970s, huge grain exports, deteriorating branch rail lines, poor railroad earnings and increased demand for new railroad locomotives and grain cars led railroads to apply for the abandonment of the deteriorating branch lines. The state of Iowa developed a program to subsidize the upgrading of 1,984 miles of branch lines. This paper analyzes the results of these programs and evaluates the potential economics of future branch rail line subsidy programs.
JTRF Volume 56 No. 3, Fall 2017Measuring the Transportation Workforce Skills Gap Using New Indices and Survey of Employers and Workers
Authors: Simkins Zamira , Mahjabeen Rubana
Published: November 2019

Skills gap is a signiﬁ cant mismatch between the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) required by employers and those held by workers. This study proposes four innovative indices to measure such KSA-gaps and calculates them using data from a survey of transportation workers and employers. The results suggest that the workers’ competencies do not match the employers’ requirements. Areas of particularly extensive KSA-gaps include knowledge of transportation, distribution, and logistics; knowledge of machines, tools, and equipment; equipment operation, maintenance, repair, and troubleshooting skills; critical thinking and problem-solving skills; work prioritization and resource-management skills; and ability to apply knowledge.
JTRF Volume 56 No. 3, Fall 2017A Framework to Analyze the Feasibilityof Vehicle Miles Traveled Fees to Financea Sustainable Transportation System
Authors: Vavrova Marketa , Chang Carols M. , Bina L.
Published: November 2019

This paper presents a framework to analyze vehicle miles travelled (VMT) fees as an alternative to ﬁ nance maintenance, rehabilitation, and new construction transportation projects. The VMT feasibility framework addresses major factors related to public acceptance, revenues, technology, type of contract, government policies, enforcement, administration, and invoicing. We argue that our suggested VMT fee policy is an equitable usage-based system since in our analysis, VMT fees are differentiated by vehicle axles and emissions. In turn, VMT charges will also motivate ﬂ eet owners to renew vehicles or switch to alternative transportation modes such as mass transit, walking, and biking. An example based on data from the state of Texas illustrates some of the potential revenues and beneﬁ ts associated with a VMT fee policy.
JTRF Volume 56 No. 3, Fall 2017Bringing in the Sheaves: Changes in Canada’s Grain Supply Chain Through the Post Canadian Wheat Board Era
Authors: Brewin Derek G. , Nolan James F. , Gray Richard S. , Schmitz Troy G.
Published: November 2019

Vast distances in the Canadian grain handling system means that the supply chain is highly reliant on rail transportation. After years of relative stability, the grain supply chain has recently undergone many signiﬁ cant changes, including deregulation in grain handling. However, the consequences emerging from some of these changes were unexpected. In this paper, we explore the evolving behavior of participants in the increasingly liberalized Canadian grain handling supply chain. The changes seem to be creating new winners and losers in the system. To this end, we ﬁ nd that while current railroad regulations in Canada have led to efﬁ ciencies, deregulation of grain handling seems to have generated gains for grain companies at the expense of farmers.
JTRF Volume 56 No. 3, Fall 2017On-Demand, App-Based Ride Services: A Studyof Emerging Ground Transportation ModesServing Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
Authors: Hermawan Karina , Regan Amelia C.
Published: November 2019

This research estimates and compares travel times and costs of transportation by Uber and Lyft (the latter are referred to here as transportation network companies or TNCs) against other forms of ground transportation to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Using estimated travel times and costs derived from Google Maps and other sources as well as the 2015 LAX air passenger survey, we develop estimates of airport ground transportation access mode choice decisions. Among other ﬁ ndings, our preferred nested logit speciﬁ cation implies that if TNC fares were to be raised to match the current cost of taking a taxi to the airport, demand for TNC’s would fall by 20.9% and 23.3% (relative to initial TNC shares) for business and leisure passengers, respectively.
First-year Students’ Adjustment to University Life: A Case Study of Implementing College Buddy Program
Authors: Alharthi Maryam
Published: November 2019

Transitioning from secondary to higher education is not a natural step for many first-year university students. Most female students who join Taibah University did not have the chance to visit the university and get to know the programs offered there before they applied. Therefore, the Childhood Studies Department within the College of Family Sciences has initiated the present program – My Uni-Buddy. The program was applied on a small scale to create connection between first-year students and their fellow students in the third year. The aim of the program is to support new students and help them adjust quickly to their new life. The study employs a qualitative approach in which interviews were carried out to collect the relevant data. The findings show that first-year students hughly benefited from the program in the academic and social aspects.
A Remedial English Course from the Freshmen EFL Learners’ Viewpoints and Expectations at the Hashemite University in Jordan
Authors: Obeidat Mohammed M.
Published: November 2019

The higher education system in Jordan requires freshmen students in each university to set for an English aptitude exam. If the student fails in this exam, s/he should register in the remedial English 99 course which is regarded as a prerequisite for English 101. The purpose of this study is to explore students’ expectations of this course and whether these expectations are met. The study adopts a qualitative design. Data was collected through a questionnaire interview from 97 students registered in two sections in the Language Center at the university. The findings of the study revealed that students expected the course would improve their communication skills. Later, they discovered that this course benefited them more from the grammatical and structural aspects of language. The findings can be valuable for EFL curriculum developers, syllabus designers and administrators to understand students’ needs better and to take their viewpoints into account.
Crianças e infância na interface da socialização. Questões para a educação infantil
Authors: Gomes Lisandra Ogg , Leão de Aquino Ligia Maria
Published: November 2019

De um lado, teorias e documentos acerca das crianças as legitimam como sujeitos de direitos e agentes sociais, e ainda que haja um hiato entre discursos e práticas para a infância, crianças e sociedade, já é possível perceber que as crianças devem ser o centro do trabalho político e pedagógico. De outro lado, as atuais teorias de socialização apontam para um processo que é significado pelos indivíduos, implicando tensões e determinações, ações e discursos contraditórios e difusos e embates de interesses e interações entre gerações, indivíduos e instituições. A escola de educação infantil, os grupos de pares, a família e a mídia são instituições importantes na infância, porque possibilitam para as crianças encontros, participações e atuações sociais. Com este texto, pautado no referencial teórico dos Estudos da Infância, pretendemos tratar das dinâmicas e articulações entre crianças e seus processos de socialização, com o propósito de oferecer uma contribuição sobre os sentidos socioculturais produzidos nessa interface.
Tendências e desafios da pesquisa em educação comparada: entrevista com Jürgen Schriewer
Authors: Streck Danilo R. , Abba Maria Julieta , Soares de Souza Claudia Schiedeck
Published: November 2019

A entrevista com Jürgen Schriewer, professor emérito da Humboldt Universität (Berlim) foi realizada no contexto de suas atividades como pesquisador visitante na Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos-Unisinos, no mês de março de 2018, com o tema: “Estudos internacionais e comparados em educação: Fundamentos, concepções e metodologias”. Na entrevista ele relata aspectos de sua biografia acadêmica e sua formação como pesquisador em educação comparada. Compartilha o desenvolvimento de sua visão de estudos histórico-comparados, relacionando-os com as atuais tendências das pesquisas na área dos estudos comparados. Por fim, reflete sobre alguns desafios para o desenvolvimento da educação comparada na América Latina.
Not My Brother’s Keeper
Authors: Hafez Mohammed M. ,   Philosophy Documentation Center
Published: November 2019

Islamists in civil wars often prioritize their factional conflicts above the collective goals of their movements. They end up fighting and killing each other despite having mutual state adversaries and shared normative commitments. This reality raises an intriguing puzzle. How can Islamists justify fratricidal practices given the ubiquity of Quranic scripture and prophetic traditions that prevail upon them to unite and refrain from infighting. This article explores two religious narratives that rationalize violent infighting between Islamist factions. The Victorious Sect narrative depicts rival Islamist factions as insufficiently Islamic by harboring political pluralism and nationalism in their ideological platforms. These deviations from orthodoxy are proof of their ineligibility to lead the Islamist movement. The other narrative depicts rival factions as modern day Kharijites or Muslim extremists that must be repelled and driven out of the Islamist movement because they undermine its legitimacy. Although these narratives do not necessarily drive factional struggles for power, they are important because they rationalize and publicly justify the highly controversial act of Islamists killing one another in their quest for movement supremacy.
“Cleansing the Earth of the Stench of Shirk”
Authors: Nanninga Pieter ,   Philosophy Documentation Center
Published: November 2019

Current research on jihadism is dominated by the policy and security perspectives that characterize terrorism studies, leaving jihadist culture underexplored. As a result, jihadist violence is typically studied as instrumental actions related to the organizers’ strategic objectives. This paper, however, argues the violence should also be studied as a cultural practice, focusing on its symbolic aspects and cultural meanings for the actors involved. For this purpose, the paper focuses on the case of the Islamic State and, particularly, on the theme of purification in relation to the group’s violence. The relationship between violence and conceptions of purity/pollution is a longstanding theme in research on fundamentalism and mass violence, but these studies have hardly been integrated in the study of jihadism. This paper does so by relating insights from these fields to the case of the Islamic State. Drawing from the author’s extensive archive of Islamic State media releases, it identifies three types of violence to which conceptions of purity/pollution are central: the destruction of cultural heritage, the targeting of non-Muslim minorities, and the punishment of alleged sinners and spies. These acts of violence, the paper argues, are deemed to purify space, society, and the Muslim community, respectively. Perceiving the Islamic State’s violence from this perspective, provides insights into the cultural meanings of the Islamic State’s violence for the perpetrators and their supporters, and thus for grasping the appeal of the group that has become infamous for its bloodshed.
How to Rig an Election
Authors: Whitlow Michael
Published: November 2019

Democracy is under attack. At first, it’s easy to dismiss or assimilate a statement like that according to your partisan politics. The sad truth however is that an increasing number of observers are sounding the alarm that democracy truly is in retreat on a global scale. Whatever your opinions on the state of American politics, the fact remains that speech rights, press freedoms, and election fairness are backsliding not just in the United States, but also in Europe, Asia, and Africa.
The Internet Trap: How the Digital Economy Builds Monopolies and Undermines Democracy
Authors: Guthro Clem
Published: November 2019

Hindman, an assistant professor of media and public affairs at George Washington University, has written a fascinating book that attempts to upend the common understanding of the internet as a force that provides a level playing field and economic opportunity that is only a click away. In eight chapters, using data-driven research, he shows how very large companies have captured the attention economy, and the danger this poses to news organizations, a key component of our democratic life and values. His book joins several other recent volumes that attempt to show the ways that the attention economy is shaping our lives and work. These include C. C.Bueno, The Attention Economy: Labour, Time and Power in Cognitive Capitalism, 2016; J. G. Webster, The Marketplace of Attention: How Audiences Take Shape in a Digital Age, 2016; J. Williams, Stand out of our Light: Freedom and Resistance in the Attention Economy Paperback, 2018, and T. Wu, The Attention Merchants: The Epic Scramble to Get Inside Our Heads, 2016.
Ending the Silence: Utilizing Personal Experiences to Enhance a Library Mental Health Initiative
Authors: Thomas Sabrina , Lovelace Kacy
Published: November 2019

This article summarizes a panel presentation given at the American Library Association Annual Conference in Washington D.C. (June 22, 2019). The panel consisted of Sabrina Thomas, research and instruction librarian at Marshall University; Leah Tolliver, director of wellness programs and the Women’s and Gender Center at Marshall University; C. Michelle Alford, senior library IT consultant at Marshall University; and Kacy Lovelace, research and student success librarian at Marshall University. Tenikka Phillips, EAP coordinator at Cabell Huntington Hospital, worked extensively on the project but was unable to take part in the panel presentation. The following is a conversation between Sabrina Thomas and Kacy Lovelace discussing how their own personal experiences with mental health challenges and trauma served to enhance the mental health initiative in their academic library.
From the Bench
Authors: Stone David R.
Published: November 2019

Supreme Court, Libraries, Schools, Colleges and Universities, Freedom of the Press, Free Speech, Social Media, Public Transit Ads, Privacy, Agency Actions
Success Stories
Authors: Stone David R.
Published: November 2019

Libraries, Schools, Prisons
For the Record
Authors: Stone David R.
Published: November 2019

Libraries, Colleges and Universities, Book Publishing, Comics Publishing, Bookstores, Television, Internet, Social Media
Targets of the Censor
Authors: Stone David R.
Published: November 2019

Books, Periodicals, Student Publications/Performances, Comics, Artwork, Television, Signs and Symbols, Games, Advertisement (Public Transit), Trademarks
Assessing the Interplay of Shape and Physical Parameters by Unsupervised Nonlinear Dimensionality Reduction Methods
Authors: Serani Andrea , D'Agostino Danny , Campana Emilio Fortunato , Diez Matteo
Published: November 2019

The article presents an exploratory study on the application to ship hydrodynamics of unsupervised nonlinear design-space dimensionality reduction methods, assessing the interaction of shape and physical parameters. Nonlinear extensions of the principal component analysis (PCA) are applied, namely local PCA (LPCA) and kernel PCA (KPCA). An artificial neural network approach, specifically a deep autoencoder (DAE) method, is also applied and compared with PCA-based approaches. The data set under investigation is formed by the results of 9000 potential flow simulations coming from an extensive exploration of a 27-dimensional design space, associated with a shape optimization problem of the DTMB 5415 model in calm water at 18 kn (Froude number, Fr = 25). Data include three heterogeneous distributed and suitably discretized parameters (shape modification vector, pressure distribution on the hull, and wave elevation pattern) and one lumped parameter (wave resistance coefficient), for a total of 9000 x 5101 elements. The reduced-dimensionality representation of shape and physical parameters is set to provide a normalized mean squared error smaller than 5%. The standard PCA meets the requirement using 19 principal components/parameters. LPCA and KPCA provide the most promising compression capability with 14 parameters required by the reduced-dimensionality parametrizations, indicating significant nonlinear interactions in the data structure of shape and physical parameters. The DAE achieves the same error with 17 components. Although the focus of the current work is on design-space dimensionality reduction, the formulation goes beyond shape optimization and can be applied to large sets of heterogeneous physical data from simulations, experiments, and real operation measurements.
Jacques Copeau e o espaço teatral
Authors: Thomaz Juliano Farias , Faleiro José Ronaldo
Published: November 2019

O presente artigo é integrante do projeto de pesquisa Poética, Ética e Estética na Pedagogia Teatral de Jacques Copeau – financiado pelo PROBIC/UDESC. E se propõe a pesquisar textos de Jacques Copeau ainda não disponíveis em Língua Portuguesa, bem como de outros autores que discutem sua obra, através das traduções do orientador Prof. Dr. José Ronaldo Faleiro. Assim, o presente artigo se atém às concepções estéticas presentes na obra de Copeau. O crítico de arte, ator e diretor-pedagogo foi um marco importante para a arte teatral. Desenvolveu diversas reformas poéticas, estéticas e éticas/morais para o teatro. Imbuído de indignação em relação ao que era produzido na França, dedicou a vida para renovar a produção cênica que o circundava. Concebeu em seu Teatro do Vieux Colombier e em sua Escola do Vieux Colombier um método de formação para atores visando a uma educação poética, técnica e, principalmente, moral. Sua proposta estética evidenciava o poeta e o texto, porém através da presença primordial do ator. Defendeu a renovação do teatro, entretanto, não apenas no estilo da representação e da encenação, mas também, uma renovação que buscava um “espírito novo” para a arte teatral. E para que essa renovação fosse possível era necessário um “palco nu”, um palco para a ação dramática.
O aquém na montanha, um recorte sobre o olhar paisagístico na América Latina
Authors: Reis de Araújo Rachel
Published: November 2019

Este artigo consiste numa reflexão inicial para pensar a forma montanha e seus sentidos na pintura latino-americana tendo por base teórica Aby Warburg e Georges Didi-Huberman. Do primeiro autor advém o conceito de pathosformel e do segundo a relação entre as esculturas minimalistas e o recalque da percepção acerca do vazio tumular. A partir daí, trata-se de considerar as figurações pictóricas da montanha menos através da dimensão do sublime, tal como no caso das paisagens européias, ou do pitoresco, tal como no caso dos viajantes no Novo Mundo, e mais como o vazio que se coloca diante do imenso monte de terra e pedras que um dia tudo cobrirá.
O mito no teatro de grupo
Authors: Vargas Sant´anna Antonio Carlos , Fortes Carvalho Ana Luiza
Published: November 2019

O artigo aborda a análise dos discurso do diretor do grupo do tempo Roberto Mallet, buscando identificar possíveis relações com a mitologia heróica, traçando também paralelos referente ao teatro de grupo brasileiro sob essa perspectiva.
A Técnica de Modelar o Vestuário e a Moda
Authors: Silveira Icléia , Callegari Fernandes Thais
Published: November 2019

O estudo tem como objetivo identificar o contexto social das décadas de 1900 à 1990. Optou-se pela pesquisa qualitativa e descritiva. Evidenciou-se que as características presentes no contexto social são incorporadas às tendências de moda. Todos os fatos do ambiente econômico, político, cultural e social manifestam-se na vida das pessoas sob diversas formas, na maneira de ser e de se comportar.
De la User Experience al Service Design
Authors: Ripoll Anna
Published: November 2019

En un mercado saturado de productos, los servicios asociados a estos productos son los que permiten diferenciarse de la competencia y dar valor añadido al cliente. En este artículo, Anna Ripoll nos da las claves para entender la importancia del Service Desing y distinguirlo de la Experiencia de Usuario.
Scaffolded Minds
Authors: Varga Somogy
Published: November 2019

A comprehensive account of cognitive scaffolding and its significance for understanding mental disorders.

In Scaffolded Minds, Somogy Varga offers a novel account of cognitive scaffolding and its significance for understanding mental disorders. The book is part of the growing philosophical engagement with empirically informed philosophy of mind, which studies the interfaces between philosophy and cognitive science. Varga draws on two recent shifts within empirically informed philosophy of mind: the first, toward an intensified study of the embodied mind; and the second, toward a study of the disordered mind that acknowledges the convergence of the explanatory concerns of psychiatry and interdisciplinary inquiries into the mind.

Varga sets out to accomplish a dual task: theoretical mapping of cognitive scaffolding; and the application/calibration of fine-grained philosophical distinctions to empirical research. He introduces the notion of actively scaffolded cognition (ASC) and offers a taxonomy that distinguishes between intrasomatic and extrasomatic scaffolding. He then shows that ASC offers a productive framework for considering certain characteristic features of mental disorders, focusing on altered bodily experience and social cognition deficits. With Cognitive Scaffolding, Varga aims to establish that shifting attention from mental symptoms to fine-grained sensorimotor aspects can lead to identifying diagnostic subtypes or even specific sensorimotor markers for early diagnosis.
Evaluation of Heavy Metals and Physicochemical Parameters of Oil-contaminated Soil and Water Samples from Bonny, South-South, Nigeria
Authors: Ezeji E. U. , Anyanwu C. O. , Ukwandu N. C. D.
Published: November 2019

This study analyzed physical, chemical and selected heavy metals concentration of oil-polluted soil and water samples from Bonny, South-South, Nigeria. Unpolluted soil and water samples were used as controls. The pH of the test soil sample was acidic (4.24±0.03) when compared with control (7.6±0.05). Chloride, Phosphorus, Magnesium and Potassium concentrations of the test soil samples were 1151.614±0.37 mg/g, 1.23±0.02 mg/g, 11.27±0.34 mg/g and 11.52±0.5 mg/g respectively. Selected heavy metals such as Iron (Fe), Cadmium (Cd), Mercury (Hg), Arsenic (As), Lead (Pb) and Copper (Cu) showed that Hg and As were below detectable limits in test and control samples while Cd and Pb were below detectable limit in the control sample while test sample had 0.015±0.01 mg/g and 1.73±0.04 mg/g respectively. Fe and Cu contents were high at 38.7±0.13 mg/g and 5.49±0.05 mg/g when compared with the control at 3.52±0.02 mg/g and 1.08±0.03 mg/g. Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon (TPH), Total Organic Carbon (TOC) and Total Organic Matter (TOM) were at 5.93±0.13 mg/g, 3.64±0.1 mg/g and 4.23±0.1 mg/g respectively. Water pH, Temperature, Conductance, Dissolved Oxygen, Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD5) and Turbidity were 5.21±0.03, 25.1±0.01ºC, 610±0.04 µS/cm, 5.0±0.03 mg/l, 1.8±0.02 mg/l, and 53.50±0.06 NTU respectively. Chloride, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Potassium, Calcium and Bicarbonate concentrations of the water were 609.82±0.37 mg/ml, 1.03±0.02 mg/ml, 13.41±0.42 mg/ml, 7.68±0.3 mg/ml, 21.22±0.12 mg/ml and 4.3±0.07 mg/ml in that order. Arsenic and Mercury were below detectable limit in both test and control samples while Fe, Cd, Pb, and Cu were 42.2±0.6 mg/ml, 0.016±0.001 mg/ml, 1.9±0.04 mg/ml and 5.2±0.03 mg/ml respectively. Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon, Total Suspended Solids, Total Dissolved Solids, and Total Solids were 3.87±0.11 mg/ml, 23036±0.51 mg/ml, 396.5±0.3 mg/ml and 23433±0.4 respectively. The levels of detected heavy metals were higher than the World Health Organization (WHO) permissible limits and Nigerian standard set by Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA). This indicates a moderate level of pollution in both soil and water samples, as a result, poses a serious threat to ecological and species survivability as well as growth and reproduction of aquatic and plant life.
Histological Changes in the Gills of Marine Cultured Tilapia (Oreochromis spilurus) at Larvae Stage Treated by Phenanthrene
Authors: Filfilan Wessam Mansour , Aljahdali Mohammed Othman
Published: November 2019

Background and Objective: Phenanthrene (PHE) is a constituent of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), considered as one of the most abundant marine pollutants. It is mainly derived from pyrogenic and petrogenic sources. The aim of this study was to investigate the histological changes in gill’s structure of marine cultured tilapia fish larvae (Oreochromis spilurus).

Methodology: The larvae of the tilapia were fed phenanthrene contaminated feed twice a day for 14 days; the experiment was terminated on Day 14. The effect of phenanthrene on the gill’s structure was noticed and compared to the control group.

Results: There were noticeable histological changes on gills after treatment including; hypertrophy and fusion of the secondary lamellae. The mucus cell numbers in gill’s sections increased in the group treated with 100 mg L-1 of phenanthrene until the termination of the experiment. Conclusion: The deleterious effect of phenanthrene on gills histology was evidence at 100 mg L-1 and further studies are recommended on the histological effects of phenanthrene on other tissues of the tilapia fish.

 

Retraction Notice: This paper has been retracted from the journal after receipt of written complains. This journal is determined to promote integrity in research publication. This retraction is in spirit of the same. After formal procedures editor(s) and publisher have retracted this paper on 27th June-2019. Related policy is available here: http://goo.gl/lI77Nn
Effects of Environmental Factors on Tulip (Tulipa sp.) Cultivars Grown in West Bengal Plains
Authors: Das Srabani , Mandal Tapas , Ahmed Khan Safiuddin
Published: November 2019

To investigate the effects of environmental factors on tulip (Tulipa sp.) cultivars in the plains of West Bengal, a field experiment was conducted with ten tulip cultivars, considered as ten treatments (T) (T1=Apeldorn, T2=Maureen, T3=Holland Cich, T4=Day Dream, T5=Pussima Design, T6=Avignon, T7=Roi-du-midi, T8=Clear Water, T9=Colouch and T10=Jumbo Beauty), at Horticultural Research Station, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mondouri, Nadia, West Bengal, India in two successive years of 2013-14 and 2014-15. Flower yield, flower length (cm), flower diameter (cm), plant height (cm) etc were observed and statistically analyzed and correlation was done between the morphological data and the environmental factors. The results showed that the short duration cultivars could be more suitable for cultivation under the short and mild winter conditions of the plains of West Bengal.
Vegetative Growth Response of Eggplant (Solanum aethiopicum L.) to Combined Effects of Fertilizer Types and Irrigation Regimes Applied on Littoral Tertiary Soil in Côte d’Ivoire
Authors: Thierry Lekadou Tacra , Janvier Coffi Pierre-Marie , Martial Yao Saraka Didier , Joséphine Ama Tamia
Published: November 2019

The use of manures and irrigation systems are essential ways to improve the fertility of coastline poor soils in Côte d’Ivoire and to optimize crop yields at any time of the year. The present study aims to identify the best manures and irrigation systems suitable for the vegetative growth of eggplant on the tertiary poor soils of the coast in Côte d'Ivoire. For this purpose, combinations of fertilizer (urea and organic manure from chicken droppings) and irrigation techniques (manual watering and drip irrigation system) were tested in Fisher block design. So, vegetative growth variables of Eggplant, Aub 21N / 06, grown on tertiary soil at the Marc Delorme research station of the Centre National de Recherche Agronomique (CNRA) in Southern Côte d'Ivoire were evaluated. The results showed that the growth dynamics of collar circumference, height and leaf production of eggplant irrigated by drip system and fertilized with organic manure from chicken droppings was significantly higher. The eggplants that received a treatment composed by organic or chemical manure without irrigation and those without manure and irrigation expressed lower vegetative growth. The organic manure from chicken droppings associated with the drip irrigation regime had a significant beneficial effect on the average growth rates of the collar circumference (0.0035 cm.day-1), height (0.5669 cm.day-1) and leaf production (3.12 leaves.day-1) of eggplant. It appears that organic manure from chicken droppings associated with drip irrigation regime is an agricultural innovation to disseminate to market gardeners to cultivate the eggplant on littoral tertiary soil.
Isolation of Pathogenic and Non-pathogenic Microbial Stains from Different Types of Sea Fish Samples and their Quality Assessment with Antibiogram Properties
Authors: Shahriar Asif , Akter Taheera , Kobra Anina Tul , Emran Talha Bin , Mallick Jewel , Dutta Mycal
Published: November 2019

Aims: The contamination of sea fish and seafood by bacteria of fecal origin along with various pathogenic drug-resistant microorganisms are widely documented as the cause of several human diseases. Our present studies aim to determine the comparative microbiological quality among raw, cooked and cooked-frozen fish along with antimicrobial profiling of those isolated pathogenic and non-pathogenic microbes with potential drug modelling and increasing the awareness of taking unnecessary antibiotics. The objective of the present study was to investigate the status of fish in cold condition after cooking.

Methodology: We collected a total of four sea fish species (Rupchada, Koral, Tuna, and Poma) from the local shops in Dhaka city. Raw, cooked, and frozen fish samples were analyzed for the existence of pathogenic bacteria through conventional cultural techniques and the confirmatory biochemical identification procedures. Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method was performed to demonstrate the antibiotic susceptibility pattern of isolated microorganisms.

Results: Total viable bacteria were present in all four fish samples in raw, cooked, and frozen condition up to 8.5 log CFU/ml. Most of the raw fish samples were found to harbour a vast population of microorganisms up to 7 log CFU/ml, including fecal coliforms. Several specific bacterial species like Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp., Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., Staphylococcus spp., Pseudomonas spp. and Vibrio spp. were noticed to be present in raw samples. The microbial loads were reduced in cooked samples, and the status was static in frozen samples. The study of antibiogram showed several pathogenic isolates to be drug-resistant against second-line drugs.

Conclusion: Thus, the incidence of fecal coliforms in raw fish may be considered as a severe threat to public health upon consumption of such fishes. Such a prevalence of pathogens in the studied fish samples, including antibiotic-resistant strains of pathogenic microorganisms, can lead to severe public health risk and are the significant findings of this study.
Primaries Oblateness Effects on the Collinear Libration Points in the Restricted-three Body Problem
Authors: Ismail M. N. , Ibrahim A. H. , Mohamadin G. H. F. , Okasha W. A.
Published: November 2019

In this work, the canonical Hamiltonian form of the restricted three- body problem including the effects of primaries oblateness is presented. Moreover, the collinear libration points are obtained. In addition to this, the relation between position of libration points and variation in (mass ration , oblateness coefficients A1 and A2) is studied. The results obtained are a good agreement with Perdios [1] & Singh [2].  The Poincare surface section PSS is used to illustrate the stability of motion around each of the collinear libration points. A numerical application on the real system Earth-Moon is presented.
Testing the Fairness of a Coin by Akaike's Information Criterion
Authors: Takezawa Kunio
Published: November 2019

In this paper, AIC (Akaike's Information Criterion) is used to judge whether a coin is biased or not using the sequence of heads and tails produced by tossing the coin several times. It is well known that AIC·(−0:5) is an efficient estimator of the expected log-likelihood when the true distribution is contained in a specified parametric model. In the coin tossing problem, however, AIC·(−0:5) works as an efficient estimator even if the true distribution is not contained in a specied parametric model. Moreover, the judgement of fairness of coin using AIC is equivalent to a statistical test using the Bernoulli distribution with a signicance level ranging from 11% to 18%. This indicates that the judgement of the fairness of coin based on AIC leads to a higher probability of type I errors than that given by a statistical test with a signicance level of 5%. These findings show that we judge the fairness of a coin based on AIC when we do not have any prior knowledge about its fairness and we want to judge it from the standpoint of prediction. In contrast, a statistical test with a significance level of 5% is adopted when we have prior knowledge that the coin is probably unbiased. Moreover, a statistical test with a 5% significance level allows us to conclude that the coin is biased if we obtain sufficient evidence that permits us to disbelieve the prior knowledge.
Relationship of Calories Intake and Physical Activity in Adolescents in Colima, Mexico: A Cross-sectional Study
Authors: Castro-Cornejo María de los Ángeles , Arteaga-Herrera Xiomara , Padilla-Raygoza Nicolás
Published: November 2019

Aims: To identify the relationship between calories intake, physical activity and body mass index in adolescents in Colima Mexico.

Study Design: A cross-sectional study analytic, observational.

Place and Duration of the Study:  Colima and Tecoman, Mexico.

Methodology: It was designed in adolescents, of both genders, with a BMI in 85th percentile or greater, where the average daily calorie intake was quantified with the SNUT survey and the level of physical activity with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Anthropometry to obtain the BMI. The stage of change of the trans-theoretical model was identified. Statistical analysis was Pearson's r between calories and BMI and between physical activity and BMI, systolic and diastolic blood pressure with BMI, and the stages of change.

Results and Discussion: Poor correlation (r = 0.13) but significant linear relationship between calorie intake with BMI (t = 2.01 P = .05) and moderate correlation (r = - 0.41) and significant linear relationship (t =- 6.76, P = .0001) between activities physical and BMI. Between systolic and diastolic blood pressure and BMI, r= 0.28 and 0.34, respectively, with a strong linear trend in both (P = .0001) Of the adolescents, 39.32% were in the action stage (they plan to take actions to improve their overweight / obesity status) and 34% in the pre-contemplation phase (where the adolescent does not plan to do anything about his overweight / obesity).

Conclusion: There is a relationship between daily calorie intake and BMI and a strong negative relationship between physical activity and BMI, and a third of adolescents do not see overweight / obesity as a problem and have not thought of doing anything about modifying their lifestyle to improve their BMI.
Successes and Challenges of Improved Biomass Cooking Stoves Adoption along the Product Value Chain in Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania
Authors: Massawe Fatihiya A.
Published: November 2019

The aim of this study was to assess the adoption of ICS along the value chain. The existing studies have focused much on measuring adoption based on the user’s installation or purchase of the ICS and few have gone to the level of assessing other aspects along the ICS value chain. The argument of this paper is that adoption is a multidimensional concept that goes beyond the initial acquisition of the stove to the sustained use of the same. Using a cross-sectional study design data were collected from 294 households in two Districts of Kilimanjaro regions and were analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The findings show that at the lower levels of value chain i.e. promotion and distributions the efforts have been somehow successful since people are aware of ICS benefits and negative effects of using traditional fuels and stoves. In addition, various stove distributors and technicians are in place. On the other hand, the uptake is limited since only 26% of all households had ICS in place of which only 22.1% had functional stoves. The intensity of ICS use is very limited and households have not integrated the stove into household cooking behavior. The study concludes that the stoves program implementers have adopted a disintegrated approach that disconnects various levels of the value chain. The efforts are much concentrated at lowers levels with limited interventions to address challenges limiting uptake, the intensity of use and sustained adoption. The study recommends that a holistic and integrated approach that will facilitate ICS adoption along the value chain should be adopted. This approach will facilitate forward and backward communications on challenges facing each level of the value chain.
Mechanical Behaviour of Common Bean (cv. Butter) Seeds as Affected by Maturation
Authors: Uguru H. , Akpokodje O. I. , Irtwange S. V.
Published: November 2019

In this study, the effects of maturation of bean seeds on some mechanical behaviours of common bean (cv. Butter) were investigated. The bean seeds were harvested at three maturity stages (15 DAPA, 22 DAPA and 29 DAPA), and their rupture force, rupture energy, specific deformation, toughness and rupture power were test. The bean seeds were quasi-statically loaded in along their three main axes (X-axis, Y-axis and Z-axis), at a loading speed of 25 mm/min. The results obtained revealed that the maturity stage and loading orientation had significant (p ≤0.05) effect on all the mechanical parameters investigated in this study. According to the results, all the parameters investigated increased linearly as the bean seeds matured from 15 DAPA to 29 DAPA. For all the mechanical parameters, the highest values were obtained when the seeds were compressed along the Z-axis, while the least values were obtained when the seeds were compressed along the Y-axis. The highest rupture energy (0.064 Nm) was obtained for bean seeds (harvested at 29 DAPA) loaded along the Z-axis, while the bean seeds harvested at 15 DAPA and loaded along the Y-axis required the least energy to rupture (0.028 Nm). From the results, at 29 DAPA, the mean rupture power of 0.277 W, 0.212 W, and 0.314 W were recorded, when the seeds were compressed along the X-axis, Y-axis and Z-axis respectively. These results will be useful in the design and development of bean seeds processing and handling equipment.
Assessment of Efficacy of Multi Herbal Extracts Product (FluAct® Syrup) against Flu Indications in Pakistani Population
Authors: Mehmood Yasir , Umar Hafiz , Yousaf Hammad , Riaz Humayun
Published: November 2019

One of the most common diseases to human is flu which direly needs appropriate therapies. Fever, throat pain and runny nose are the eminent indication of flu which is irritating to the patients. The consumption of herbal medicines is the most reliable alternative treatment all over the globe because of its compatibility within body and rare side effects when compared to synthetic chemicals. The main objective of the study was in-vitro screening and evaluation of anti-flu potential of multi extract herbal product FluAct syrup. This cross sectional study work encapsulates observation on 250 patients for treatment of flu by using a novel multi extra for above seven days of duration. After the approval from ethical committee of Rashid Latif College of Pharmacy (RLCP), a questionnaire was designed and collects information within flu patients who used FluAct syrup. An independent statistician for analysis (Microsoft excel) was used to analyze collected data. Result showed that most of the patients’ cured by using FluAct syrup. Some of them did not completely cure in terms of headache (92.92%), sore throat (91.5), lethargy (92%) and temperature (97.7%). The findings showed abrupt improvement in patient health within three days by using FluAct syrup. It was reported that patients have excellent tolerance and showed willingness to adopt this therapy to treat flu. The study was used to confirm the data. It can be concluded that novel preparation of multi extracts (FluAct syrup) has effective herbal constituents to treat symptoms of flu in patients along with better tolerance and quick relief efficacy.