bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Marginal Integrity of Bulk Versus Incremental Fill Class II Composite Restorations
Authors: Al-Harbi F , Kaisarly D , Bader D , El Gezawi M
Published: August 2015

Bulk-fill composites have been introduced to facilitate the placement of deep direct resin composite restorations. This study aimed at analyzing the cervical marginal integrity of bulk-fill vs incremental and open-sandwich class II resin composite restorations after thermomechanical cycling using replica scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and ranking according to the World Dental Federation (FDI) criteria.

Box-only class II cavities were prepared in 91 maxillary premolars with the gingival margin placed 1 mm above and below the cemento-enamel junction. Eighty-four premolars were divided into self-etch and total-etch groups, then subdivided into six restorative subgroups (n=7): 1-Tetric Ceram HB (TC) was used incrementally and in the open-sandwich technique with 2-Tetric EvoFlow (EF) and 3-Smart Dentin Replacement (SD). Bulk-fill restoratives were 4-SonicFill (SF), 5-Tetric N-Ceram Bulk Fill (TN), and 6-Tetric EvoCeram Bulk Fill (TE). In subgroups 1-5, Tetric N-Bond self-etch and Tetric N-Bond total-etch adhesives were used, whereas in subgroup 6, AdheSE self-etch and ExciTE F total etch were used. One more group (n=7) was restored with Filtek P90 Low Shrink Posterior Restorative (P9) only in combination with its self-etch P90 System Adhesive. Materials were manipulated and light cured (20 seconds, 1600 mW/cm2), and restorations were artificially aged by thermo-occlusal load cycling. Polyvinyl-siloxane impressions were taken and poured with epoxy resin. Resin replicas were examined by SEM (200×) for marginal sealing, and percentages of perfect margins were analyzed. Moreover, samples were examined using loupes (3.5×) and explorers and categorized according to the FDI criteria.

Results were statistically analyzed (SEM by Kruskal-Wallis test and FDI by chi-square test) without significant differences in either the replica SEM groups (p=0.848) or the FDI criteria groups (p>0.05). The best SEM results at the enamel margin were in TC+EF/total-etch and SF/total-etch and at the cementum margins were in SF/total-etch and TE/self-etch, while the worst were in TC/self-etch at both margins. According to FDI criteria, the best was TE/total-etch at the enamel margin, and the poorest was P9/self-etch at the cementum margin.

Groups did not differ significantly, and there was a strong correlation in results between replica SEM and FDI ranking.
Treatment of Enamel Surfaces After Bracket Debonding: Case Reports and Long-term Follow-ups
Authors: Sundfeld RH , Franco LM , Machado LS , Pini NIP , Salomao FM , Anchieta RB , Sundfeld D
Published: August 2015

After bracket debonding, residual bonded material may be observed on the enamel surface. When not properly removed, this residual material can interfere with the surface smoothness of the enamel, potentially resulting in staining at the resin/enamel interface and contributing to biofilm accumulation. Clinical case reports demonstrate clinical procedures to remove residual bonded material after bracket debonding. A water-cooled fine tapered 3195 FF diamond bur was used to remove the residual bonded material. Subsequently, the enamel surface was treated with Opalustre microabrasive compound. After one week, overnight dental bleaching was initiated using 10% carbamide peroxide in custom-formed trays for four weeks. The enamel microabrasion technique was found to be effective for polishing the enamel surface and for reestablishing the dental esthetics associated with dental bleaching. Longitudinal clinical controls of other clinical cases are presented.
Resin Bonding to a Hybrid Ceramic: Effects of Surface Treatments and Aging
Authors: Campos F , Almeida CS , Rippe MP , de Melo RM , Valandro LF , Bottino MA
Published: August 2015

The aim of this study was to verify the effects of different surface treatments on the microtensile bond strength between resin cement and a hybrid ceramic. Thirty-two hybrid ceramic slices (8 × 10 × 3 mm) were produced and allocated among four groups according to the surface treatment: Cont = no treatment, HA = 10% hydrofluoric acid applied for 60 seconds, PA = 37% phosphoric acid applied for 60 seconds and CJ = air abrasion with silica particle coated alumina (Cojet Sand, 3M ESPE, 30 μm/2.8 bar). As a control group, eight blocks of feldspathic ceramic (8 × 10 × 3 mm) were etched by hydrofluoric acid for 60 seconds (VMII). After the surface treatments, the ceramic slices were silanized (except the Cont group) and adhesively cemented to composite resin blocks (8 × 10 × 3 mm ) with a load of 750 g (polymerized for 40 seconds each side). The cemented blocks were cut into beams (bonded surface area of ∼1 mm2). Half of the beams were aged (thermocycling of 5°C-55°C/6000 cycles + water storage at 37°C/60 days), and the other half were tested immediately after being cut. Data were analyzed by Kruskal-Wallis and Dunn tests (non-aged groups) and by one-way analysis of variance and Tukey test (aged groups; α=0.05%). The mode of failure was classified by stereomicroscopy. The surface treatment significantly affected the bond strength in each set of groups: non-aged (p=0.001) and aged (p=0.001). Before being aged, samples in the CJ, HA, and PA groups achieved the highest bond strength values. However, after being aged, only those in the HA group remained with the highest bond strength values. Adhesive failure was found most often. In conclusion, hydrofluoric acid etching should be used for surface conditioning of the studied hybrid ceramic.
Kafkas Akademiebericht: Die auflösende ‘Ruhe’ als lebendige Varieténummer
Authors: Guarda Sylvain
Published: August 2015

This paper explores the key concept of ‘Ruhe’ in “A Report to an Academy” (1917), essential for an understanding of its inception and Kafka’s spiritual ties to the Christian and Greek tradition. While Kafka scholarship has already made some reference to Schiller’s irony and typological writing “On Naive and Sentimental Poetry” (1795), it has yet to recognize Kafka’s poetic appropriation of Goethe’s observing mode of ‘Ruhe’ as narrative mode. The entertaining variety show acts, along with making the ape’s philosophical reflections on his mortifying cage experience evident to the critical eye, help create a streaming gaze that morphs all activities and gestures into simple human rituals. The ship (a modern version of Noah’s Ark), a microcosm of human society, entails in embryo all elements that will shape the ape’s life on the continent after achieving a certain degree of ‘humanity.’ The report culminates in a drinking parody of Goethe’s theoretical writing “Simple Imitation, Manner, Style” (1789), depicting the ape’s breakthrough and ascension to human and academic status through language. In this new light the report humorously manifests Kafka’s defiance of Goethe’s literary authority while, at the same time, paying an homage to ancient classicism.
A Friendship of Words: Philology and Prophesy in Hölderlin’s “Rousseau”
Authors: Adler Anthony Curtis
Published: August 2015

Taking its departure from Norbert von Hellingrath’s interpretation of the significance of Rousseau for Friedrich Hölderlin, the following paper argues, through a close reading of the poem “Rousseau,” that Hölderlin, contra Hellingrath, conceives of his relation to Rousseau in philological rather than prophetic terms. Looking closely at the complexities of Hölderlin’s manuscript while contrasting the philological approaches of Freidrich Beißner’s Grosse Stuttgarter Ausgabe and D. E. Sattler’s Frankfurter Ausgabe, I demonstrate that an explicitly philological moment is inscribed into the text of the poem itself, and that it addresses its reader as a specifically philological reader, while at the same time seeking to establish a “friendship of words” with Rousseau’s prophetic utterance.
A corpus-assisted study of the discourse markerwellas an indicator of judges' institutional roles in court cases with litigants in person
Authors: Tkačuková Tatiana
Published: August 2015

In this paper, I concentrate on court cases with litigants in person (lay people who act on their own behalf in legal proceedings without a counsel or solicitor) and discuss the challenges of building a corpus of courtroom discourse where it is crucial to distinguish between speakers due to their distinct institutional roles. The corpus incorporates seven sub-corpora of verbatim transcripts from different court cases with litigants in person and comprises over eleven-million tokens. The focus of this paper is on the interplay between the legal and lay discourse types and how judges project their institutional roles through well-initiated turns directed at litigants in person and counsels. As a versatile discourse marker, well provides a good opportunity to explore how judges have to adapt their roles to ensure lay litigants in person receive the necessary support and that their lack of competence does not impede on the fairness of the proceedings. Given the breadth and importance of the topic of litigation in person, I discuss how the tools and approaches of corpus linguistics can be helpful in this multi-disciplinary area where multiple functions and uses of individual linguistic features need to be explored in depth.
Data Fusion Modeling for an RT3102 and Dewetron System Application in Hybrid Vehicle Stability Testing
Authors: Miao Zhibin , Zhang Hongtian
Published: August 2015

More and more hybrid electric vehicles are driven since they offer such advantages as energy savings and better active safety performance. Hybrid vehicles have two or more power driving systems and frequently switch working condition, so controlling stability is very important. In this work, a two-stage Kalman algorithm method is used to fuse data in hybrid vehicle stability testing. First, the RT3102 navigation system and Dewetron system are introduced. Second, a modeling of data fusion is proposed based on the Kalman filter. Then, this modeling is simulated and tested on a sample vehicle, using Carsim and Simulink software to test the results. The results showed the merits of this modeling.
The Mucosal Immune System of Teleost Fish
Authors: Salinas Irene
Published: August 2015

Teleost fish possess an adaptive immune system associated with each of their mucosal body surfaces. Evidence obtained from mucosal vaccination and mucosal infection studies reveal that adaptive immune responses take place at the different mucosal surfaces of teleost. The main mucosa-associated lymphoid tissues (MALT) of teleosts are the gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT), skin-associated lymphoid tissue (SALT), the gill-associated lymphoid tissue (GIALT) and the recently discovered nasopharynx-associated lymphoid tissue (NALT). Teleost MALT includes diffuse B cells and T cells with specific phenotypes different from their systemic counterparts that have co-evolved to defend the microbe-rich mucosal environment. Both B and T cells respond to mucosal infection or vaccination. Specific antibody responses can be measured in the gills, gut and skin mucosal secretions of teleost fish following mucosal infection or vaccination. Rainbow trout studies have shown that IgT antibodies and IgT+ B cells are the predominant B cell subset in all MALT and respond in a compartmentalized manner to mucosal infection. Our current knowledge on adaptive immunity in teleosts is limited compared to the mammalian literature. New research tools and in vivo models are currently being developed in order to help reveal the great intricacy of teleost mucosal adaptive immunity and help improve mucosal vaccination protocols for use in aquaculture.
Refining Measures for Assessing Problematic/Addictive Digital Gaming Use in Clinical and Research Settings
Authors: Faust Kyle , Faust David
Published: August 2015

Problematic or addictive digital gaming (including all types of electronic devices) can and has had extremely adverse impacts on the lives of many individuals across the world. The understanding of this phenomenon, and the effectiveness of treatment design and monitoring, can be improved considerably by continuing refinement of assessment tools. The present article briefly overviews tools designed to measure problematic or addictive use of digital gaming, the vast majority of which are founded on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) criteria for other addictive disorders, such as pathological gambling. Although adapting DSM content and strategies for measuring problematic digital gaming has proven valuable, there are some potential issues with this approach. We discuss the strengths and limitations of current methods for measuring problematic or addictive gaming and provide various recommendations that might help in enhancing or supplementing existing tools, or in developing new and even more effective tools.
Combined Power Quality Disturbances Recognition Using Wavelet Packet Entropies and S-Transform
Authors: Liu Zhigang , Cui Yan , Li Wenhui
Published: August 2015

Aiming at the combined power quality +disturbance recognition, an automated recognition method based on wavelet packet entropy (WPE) and modified incomplete S-transform (MIST) is proposed in this paper. By combining wavelet packet Tsallis singular entropy, energy entropy and MIST, a 13-dimension vector of different power quality (PQ) disturbances including single disturbances and combined disturbances is extracted. Then, a ruled decision tree is designed to recognize the combined disturbances. The proposed method is tested and evaluated using a large number of simulated PQ disturbances and some real-life signals, which include voltage sag, swell, interruption, oscillation transient, impulsive transient, harmonics, voltage fluctuation and their combinations. In addition, the comparison of the proposed recognition approach with some existing techniques is made. The experimental results show that the proposed method can effectively recognize the single and combined PQ disturbances.
Dengue Vaccines: A Perspective from the Point of View of Intellectual Property
Authors: Da Veiga Claudimar , Da Veiga Cássia , Del Corso Jansen , Da Silva Wesley
Published: August 2015

Dengue is a serious infectious disease and a growing public health problem in many tropical and sub-tropical countries. To control this neglected tropical disease (NTD), vaccines are likely to be the most cost-effective solution. This study analyzed dengue vaccines from both a historical and longitudinal perspective by using patent data, evaluating the geographic and time coverage of innovations, the primary patent holders, the network of cooperation and partnership for vaccine research and development (R & D), the flow of knowledge and the technological domain involved. This study can be seen as an example of the use of patent information to inform policy discussions, strategic research planning, and technology transfer. The results show that 93% of patents were granted since 2000, the majority belonging to the United States and Europe, although the share of patents from developing countries has increased. Unlike another NTDs, there is great participation of private companies in R & D of dengue vaccines and partnerships and collaboration between public and private companies. Finally, in this study, the main holders showed high knowledge absorption and generated capabilities. Therefore, this issue suggests that to overcome the difficulty of translational R & D it is necessary to stimulate the generation of knowledge and relevant scientific research, to enable the productive sector to have the capacity to absorb knowledge, to turn it into innovation, and to articulate partnerships and collaboration.
The Swiss Black Swan Bad Scenario: Is Switzerland Another Casualty of the Eurozone Crisis?
Authors: Lleo Sebastien , Ziemba William
Published: August 2015

Financial disasters to hedge funds, bank trading departments and individual speculative traders and investors seem to always occur because of non-diversification in all possible scenarios, being overbet and being hit by a bad scenario. Black swans are the worst type of bad scenario: unexpected and extreme. The Swiss National Bank decision on 15 January 2015 to abandon the 1.20 peg against the Euro was a tremendous blow for many Swiss exporters, but also Swiss and international investors, hedge funds, global macro funds, banks, as well as the Swiss central bank. In this paper, we discuss the causes for this action, the money losers and the few winners, what it means for Switzerland, Europe and the rest of the world, what kinds of trades were lost and how they have been prevented.
Osteoclast Differentiation Is Impaired in a Subgroup of SLE Patients and Correlates Inversely with Mycophenolate Mofetil Treatment
Authors: Fürnrohr Barbara , Rhodes Benjamin , Munoz Luis , Weiß Katrin , Vyse Tim , Schett Georg
Published: August 2015

Osteoporosis can arise in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients secondary to medication and/or chronic inflammation. To analyze if patients with SLE have phenotypically-impaired osteoclastogenesis, we differentiated ex vivo monocytes from 72 SLE patients and 15 healthy individuals into osteoclasts followed by TRAP staining and counting. We identified a subgroup of SLE patients (45%) with a significantly impaired osteoclast differentiation, relative to the other SLE patients or healthy individuals (OR 11.2; 95% CI 1.4–89.9). A review of medication indicated that patients with osteoclast counts equal to healthy donors were significantly more likely to be treated with mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) compared to patients with impaired osteoclastogenesis. We analyzed expression of RANKL and the MMF target genes IMPDH1 and IMPDH2 in osteoclasts by qPCR, but detected no difference. Since MMF might influence interferon-α (IFNα) and -γ (IFNγ) we measured serum IFNα and IFNγ levels. Patients with very low osteoclast counts also had comparably higher IFNα serum levels than patients with normal osteoclast counts. We conclude that in vitro osteoclastogenesis is impaired in a subgroup of SLE patients. This correlates inversely with MMF treatment and high IFNα serum levels. Further observational study will be required to determine whether this translates into a clinically meaningful effect.
Major Alterations of Phosphatidylcholine and Lysophosphotidylcholine Lipids in the Substantia Nigra Using an Early Stage Model of Parkinson’s Disease
Authors: Farmer Kyle , Smith Catherine , Hayley Shawn , Smith Jeffrey
Published: August 2015

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease affecting the nigrostriatal pathway, where patients do not manifest motor symptoms until >50% of neurons are lost. Thus, it is of great importance to determine early neuronal changes that may contribute to disease progression. Recent attention has focused on lipids and their role in pro- and anti-apoptotic processes. However, information regarding the lipid alterations in animal models of PD is lacking. In this study, we utilized high performance liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS/MS) and novel HPLC solvent methodology to profile phosphatidylcholines and sphingolipids within the substantia nigra. The ipsilateral substantia nigra pars compacta was collected from rats 21 days after an infusion of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA), or vehicle into the anterior dorsal striatum. We identified 115 lipid species from their mass/charge ratio using the LMAPS Lipid MS Predict Database. Of these, 19 lipid species (from phosphatidylcholine and lysophosphotidylcholine lipid classes) were significantly altered by 6-OHDA, with most being down-regulated. The two lipid species that were up-regulated were LPC (16:0) and LPC (18:1), which are important for neuroinflammatory signalling. These findings provide a first step in the characterization of lipid changes in early stages of PD-like pathology and could provide novel targets for early interventions in PD.
Detecting Antigen-Specific T Cell Responses: From Bulk Populations to Single Cells
Authors: Phetsouphanh Chansavath , Zaunders John , Kelleher Anthony
Published: August 2015

A new generation of sensitive T cell-based assays facilitates the direct quantitation and characterization of antigen-specific T cell responses. Single-cell analyses have focused on measuring the quality and breadth of a response. Accumulating data from these studies demonstrate that there is considerable, previously-unrecognized, heterogeneity. Standard assays, such as the ICS, are often insufficient for characterization of rare subsets of cells. Enhanced flow cytometry with imaging capabilities enables the determination of cell morphology, as well as the spatial localization of the protein molecules within a single cell. Advances in both microfluidics and digital PCR have improved the efficiency of single-cell sorting and allowed multiplexed gene detection at the single-cell level. Delving further into the transcriptome of single-cells using RNA-seq is likely to reveal the fine-specificity of cellular events such as alternative splicing (i.e., splice variants) and allele-specific expression, and will also define the roles of new genes. Finally, detailed analysis of clonally related antigen-specific T cells using single-cell TCR RNA-seq will provide information on pathways of differentiation of memory T cells. With these state of the art technologies the transcriptomics and genomics of Ag-specific T cells can be more definitively elucidated.
Nutritional Characterization and Phenolic Profiling of Moringa oleifera Leaves Grown in Chad, Sahrawi Refugee Camps, and Haiti
Authors: Leone Alessandro , Fiorillo Giovanni , Criscuoli Franca , Ravasenghi Stefano , Santagostini Laura , Fico Gelsomina , Spadafranca Angela , Battezzati Alberto , Schiraldi Alberto , Pozzi Federica , Di Lello Sara , Filippini Sandro , Bertoli Simona
Published: August 2015

Moringa oleifera is a plant that grows in tropical and subtropical areas of the world. Its leaves are rich of nutrients and bioactive compounds. However, several differences are reported in the literature. In this article we performed a nutritional characterization and a phenolic profiling of M. oleifera leaves grown in Chad, Sahrawi refugee camps, and Haiti. In addition, we investigated the presence of salicylic and ferulic acids, two phenolic acids with pharmacological activity, whose presence in M. oleifera leaves has been scarcely investigated so far. Several differences were observed among the samples. Nevertheless, the leaves were rich in protein, minerals, and β-carotene. Quercetin and kaempferol glycosides were the main phenolic compounds identified in the methanolic extracts. Finally, salicylic and ferulic acids were found in a concentration range of 0.14–0.33 and 6.61–9.69 mg/100 g, respectively. In conclusion, we observed some differences in terms of nutrients and phenolic compounds in M. oleifera leaves grown in different countries. Nevertheless, these leaves are a good and economical source of nutrients for tropical and sub-tropical countries. Furthermore, M. oleifera leaves are a source of flavonoids and phenolic acids, among which salicylic and ferulic acids, and therefore they could be used as nutraceutical and functional ingredients.
Protective Effects of Hong Shan Capsule against Lethal Total-Body Irradiation-Induced Damage in Wistar Rats
Authors: Li Jianzhong , Xu Jing , Xu Weiheng , Qi Yang , Lu Yiming , Qiu Lei , Hu Zhenlin , Chu Zhiyong , Chai Yifeng , Zhang Junping
Published: August 2015

Hong Shan Capsule (HSC), a crude drug of 11 medicinal herbs, was used in clinical practice for the treatment of radiation injuries in China. In this study, we investigated its protection in rats against acute lethal total-body irradiation (TBI). Pre-administration of HSC reduced the radiation sickness characteristics, while increasing the 30-day survival of the irradiated rats. Administration of HSC also reduced the radiation sickness characteristics and increased the 30-day survival of mice after exposure to lethal TBI. Ultrastructural observation illustrated that the pretreatment of rats with HSC significantly attenuated the TBI-induced morphological changes in the different organs of irradiated rats. Gene expression profiles revealed the dramatic effect of HSC on alterations of gene expression caused by lethal TBI. Pretreatment with HSC prevented differential expression of 66% (1398 genes) of 2126 genes differentially expressed in response to TBI. Pathway enrichment analysis indicated that these genes were mainly involved in a total of 32 pathways, such as pathways in cancer and the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway. Our analysis indicated that the pretreatment of rats with HSC modulated these pathways induced by lethal TBI, such as multiple MAPK pathways, suggesting that pretreatment with HSC might provide protective effects on lethal TBI mainly or partially through the modulation of these pathways. Our data suggest that HSC has the potential to be used as an effective therapeutic or radio-protective agent to minimize irradiation damage.
Optimization of China Crude Oil Transportation Network with Genetic Ant Colony Algorithm
Authors: Wang Yao , Lu Jing
Published: August 2015

Taking into consideration both shipping and pipeline transport, this paper first analysed the risk factors for different modes of crude oil import transportation. Then, based on the minimum of both transportation cost and overall risk, a multi-objective programming model was established to optimize the transportation network of crude oil import, and the genetic algorithm and ant colony algorithm were employed to solve the problem. The optimized result shows that VLCC (Very Large Crude Carrier) is superior in long distance sea transportation, whereas pipeline transport is more secure than sea transport. Finally, this paper provides related safeguard suggestions on crude oil import transportation.
3-H-[1,2]Dithiole as a New Anti-Trypanosoma cruzi Chemotype: Biological and Mechanism of Action Studies
Authors: Couto Marcos , Sánchez Carina , Dávila Belén , Machín Valentina , Varela Javier , Álvarez Guzmán , Cabrera Mauricio , Celano Laura , Aguirre-López Beatriz , Cabrera Nallely , De Gómez-Puyou Marieta , Gómez-Puyou Armando , Pérez-Montfort Ruy , Cerecetto Hugo , González Mercedes
Published: August 2015

The current pharmacological Chagas disease treatments, using Nifurtimox or Benznidazole, show limited therapeutic results and are associated with potential side effects, like mutagenicity. Using random screening we have identified new chemotypes that were able to inhibit relevant targets of the Trypanosoma cruzi. We found 3H-[1,2]dithioles with the ability to inhibit Trypanosoma cruzi triosephosphate isomerase (TcTIM). Herein, we studied the structural modifications of this chemotype to analyze the influence of volume, lipophilicity and electronic properties in the anti-T. cruzi activity. Their selectivity to parasites vs. mammalian cells was also examined. To get insights into a possible mechanism of action, the inhibition of the enzymatic activity of TcTIM and cruzipain, using the isolated enzymes, and the inhibition of membrane sterol biosynthesis and excreted metabolites, using the whole parasite, were achieved. We found that this structural framework is interesting for the generation of innovative drugs for the treatment of Chagas disease.
An Investigation of the Cytotoxicity and Caspase-Mediated Apoptotic Effect of Green Synthesized Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Using Eclipta prostrata on Human Liver Carcinoma Cells
Authors: Chung Ill-Min , Rahuman Abdul , Marimuthu Sampath , Kirthi Arivarasan , Anbarasan Karunanithi , Rajakumar Govindasamy
Published: August 2015

Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide and sustained focus is on the discovery and development of newer and better tolerated anticancer drugs, especially from plants. In the present study, a simple, eco-friendly, and inexpensive approach was followed for the synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) using the aqueous leaf extract of Eclipta prostrata. The synthesized ZnO NPs were characterized by UV-visible absorption spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and Selected area (electron) diffraction (SAED). The HRTEM images confirmed the presence of triangle, radial, hexagonal, rod, and rectangle, shaped with an average size of 29 ± 1.3 nm. The functional groups for synthesized ZnO NPs were 3852 cm−1 for H-H weak peak, 3138 cm−1 for aromatic C-H extend, and 1648 cm−1 for Aromatic ring stretch. The 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-Diphenyltetrazolium Bromide (MTT), caspase and DNA fragmentation assays were carried out using various concentrations of ZnO NPs ranging from 1 to 100 mg/mL. The synthesized ZnO NPs showed dose dependent cytopathic effects in the Hep-G2 cell line. At 100 mg/mL concentration, the synthesized ZnO NPs exhibited significant cytotoxic effects and the apoptotic features were confirmed through caspase-3 activation and DNA fragmentation assays.
Image Fusion-Based Change Detection for Flood Extent Extraction Using Bi-Temporal Very High-Resolution Satellite Images
Authors: Byun Younggi , Han Youkyung , Chae Taebyeong
Published: August 2015

Change detection based on satellite images acquired from an area at different dates is of widespread interest, according to the increasing number of flood-related disasters. The images help to generate products that support emergency response and flood management at a global scale. In this paper, a novel unsupervised change detection approach based on image fusion is introduced. The approach aims to extract the reliable flood extent from very high-resolution (VHR) bi-temporal images. The method takes an advantage of the spectral distortion that occurs during image fusion process to detect the change areas by flood. To this end, a change candidate image is extracted from the fused image generated with bi-temporal images by considering a local spectral distortion. This can be done by employing a universal image quality index (UIQI), which is a measure for local evaluation of spectral distortion. The decision threshold for the determination of changed pixels is set by applying a probability mixture model to the change candidate image based on expectation maximization (EM) algorithm. We used bi-temporal KOMPSAT-2 satellite images to detect the flooded area in the city of N′djamena in Chad. The performance of the proposed method was visually and quantitatively compared with existing change detection methods. The results showed that the proposed method achieved an overall accuracy (OA = 75.04) close to that of the support vector machine (SVM)-based supervised change detection method. Moreover, the proposed method showed a better performance in differentiating the flooded area and the permanent water body compared to the existing change detection methods.
Spatial Quality Evaluation of Resampled Unmanned Aerial Vehicle-Imagery for Weed Mapping
Authors: Borra-Serrano Irene , Peña José , Torres-Sánchez Jorge , Mesas-Carrascosa Francisco , López-Granados Francisca
Published: August 2015

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) combined with different spectral range sensors are an emerging technology for providing early weed maps for optimizing herbicide applications. Considering that weeds, at very early phenological stages, are similar spectrally and in appearance, three major components are relevant: spatial resolution, type of sensor and classification algorithm. Resampling is a technique to create a new version of an image with a different width and/or height in pixels, and it has been used in satellite imagery with different spatial and temporal resolutions. In this paper, the efficiency of resampled-images (RS-images) created from real UAV-images (UAV-images; the UAVs were equipped with two types of sensors, i.e., visible and visible plus near-infrared spectra) captured at different altitudes is examined to test the quality of the RS-image output. The performance of the object-based-image-analysis (OBIA) implemented for the early weed mapping using different weed thresholds was also evaluated. Our results showed that resampling accurately extracted the spectral values from high spatial resolution UAV-images at an altitude of 30 m and the RS-image data at altitudes of 60 and 100 m, was able to provide accurate weed cover and herbicide application maps compared with UAV-images from real flights.
Comparative Aspects of Molecular Mechanisms of Drug Resistance through ABC Transporters and Other Related Molecules in Canine Lymphoma
Authors: Tomiyasu Hirotaka , Tsujimoto Hajime
Published: August 2015

The most important causes of treatment failure in canine lymphoma include intrinsic or acquired drug resistance. Thus, elucidation of molecular mechanisms of drug resistance is essential for the establishment of better treatment alternatives for lymphoma patients. The overexpression of drug transporters is one of the most intensively studied mechanisms of drug resistance in many tumors. In canine lymphoma, it has also been shown that the overexpression of drug efflux pumps such as P-glycoprotein is associated with drug-resistant phenotypes. Canine lymphoma has many pathological similarities to human non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and they also share similar molecular mechanisms of drug resistance. We have previously demonstrated the association of the overexpression of drug transporters with drug resistance and indicated some molecular mechanisms of the regulation of these transporters’ expressions in canine and human lymphoid tumor cells. However, it has also been indicated that other known or novel drug resistance factors should be explored to overcome drug resistance in lymphoma. In this review, we summarize the recent findings on the molecular mechanisms of drug resistance and possible strategies to develop better treatment modalities for canine lymphoma from the comparative aspects with human lymphoid tumors.
Fractal Dimension of Cohesive Sediment Flocs at Steady State under Seven Shear Flow Conditions
Authors: Zhu Zhongfan , Yu Jingshan , Wang Hongrui , Dou Jie , Wang Cheng
Published: August 2015

The morphological properties of kaolin flocs were investigated in a Couette-flow experiment at the steady state under seven shear flow conditions (shear rates of 5.36, 9.17, 14, 24, 31, 41 and 53 s−1). These properties include a one-dimensional (1-D) fractal dimension (D1), a two-dimensional (2-D) fractal dimension (D2), a perimeter-based fractal dimension (Dpf) and an aspect ratio (AR). They were calculated based on the projected area (A), equivalent size, perimeter (P) and length (L) of the major axis of the floc determined through sample observation and an image analysis system. The parameter D2, which characterizes the relationship between the projected area and the length of the major axis using a power function, , increased from 1.73 ± 0.03, 1.72 ± 0.03, and 1.75 ± 0.04 in the low shear rate group (G = 5.36, 9.17, and 14 s−1) to 1.92 ± 0.03, 1.82 ± 0.02, 1.85 ± 0.02, and 1.81 ± 0.02 in the high shear rate group (24, 31, 41 and 53 s−1), respectively. The parameter D1 characterizes the relationship between the perimeter and length of the major axis by the function and decreased from 1.52 ± 0.02, 1.48 ± 0.02, 1.55 ± 0.02, and 1.63 ± 0.02 in the low shear group (5.36, 9.17, 14 and 24 s−1) to 1.45 ± 0.02, 1.39 ± 0.02, and 1.39 ± 0.02 in the high shear group (31, 41 and 53 s−1), respectively. The results indicate that with increasing shear rates, the flocs become less elongated and that their boundary lines become tighter and more regular, caused by more breakages and possible restructurings of the flocs. The parameter Dpf, which is related to the perimeter and the projected area through the function , decreased as the shear rate increased almost linearly. The parameter AR, which is the ratio of the length of the major axis and equivalent diameter, decreased from 1.56, 1.59, 1.53 and 1.51 in the low shear rate group to 1.43, 1.47 and 1.48 in the high shear rate group. These changes in Dpf and AR show that the flocs become less convoluted and more symmetrical and that their boundaries become smoother and more regular in the high shear rate group than in the low shear rate group due to breakage and possible restructuring processes. To assess the effects of electrolyte and sediment concentration, 0.1 mol/L calcium chloride (CaCl2) and initial sediment concentration from 7.87 × 10−5 to 1.57 × 10−5 were used in this preliminary study. The addition of electrolyte and increasing sediment concentration could produce more symmetrical flocs with less convoluted and simpler boundaries. In addition, some new information on the temporal variation of the median size of the flocs during the flocculation process is presented.
Evaluation of an Empirical Reservoir Shape Function to Define Sediment Distributions in Small Reservoirs
Authors: Michalec Bogusław
Published: August 2015

Understanding and defining the spatial distribution of sediment deposited in reservoirs is essential not only at the design stage but also during the operation. The majority of research concerns the distribution of sediment deposition in medium and large water reservoirs. Most empirical methods do not provide satisfactory results when applied to the determination of sediment deposition in small reservoirs. Small reservoir’s volumes do not exceed 5 × 106 m3 and their capacity-inflow ratio is less than 10%. Long-term silting measurements of three small reservoirs were used to evaluate the method described by Rahmanian and Banihashemi for predicting sediment distributions in small reservoirs. Rahmanian and Banihashemi stated that their model of distribution of sediment deposition in water reservoir works well for a long duration operation. In the presented study, the silting rate was used in order to determine the long duration operation. Silting rate is a quotient of volume of the sediment deposited in the reservoir and its original volume. It was stated that when the silting rate had reached 50%, the sediment deposition in the reservoir may be described by an empirical reservoir depth shape function (RDSF).
An Optimization-Based Decision Support Framework for Robust Airline Crew Pairing Process
Authors: Soykan Bülent , Erol Serpil
Published: August 2015

Robust airline crew pairing process refers to the procedure of constructing anonymous crew pairings to cover the given flight schedule in near-optimal way that is less prone to disruptions or easier to recover once disrupted. This process has to deal with complicated specifications of inputs and satisfy a number of different and often conflicting constraints. Also user inputs are often needed in several points in the process to obtain high quality and timely solutions. This chapter presents a model-driven Decision Support Framework (DSF) which utilizes an optimization algorithm that generates robust crew schedules and a simulation model that evaluates the schedules in terms of their robustness quality. The presented DSF can primarily assist airline crew schedule planners, who have to spend a lot of time and effort creating crew schedules taking into account non-linear cost structure, various amounts of constraints that affect cost and flight safety. The proposed DSF can be used either as a standalone tool or as part of an integrated or enterprise-level DSS.
Efficiency Analysis of Turkey's Transportation System Using Decision Support Model
Authors: Sozen Adnan , Cipil Fatih
Published: August 2015

Since the European Union has certain targets and criteria that must be fulfilled by its members, Turkey's situation in transportation compared to the EU member countries (23 countries whose data were accessed) was examined through the approaches of decision support models (Data Envelopment Analysis and Malmquist Index). This study investigates whether Turkey utilizes its road, airway and railway transportation indicators efficiently or not within the framework of the European Union (EU) accession process. In addition, it aims to demonstrate Turkey's current position compared to other EU countries by performing relative efficiency analysis on road, airway and railway transportation indicators. The conclusions of this study will help policymakers to determine Turkey's policy objectives for its integration to the EU in terms of transportation indicators.
Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) based Decision Support System for Urban Intersections in Transportation Planning
Authors: Murat Yetis Sazi , Arslan Turan , Cakici Ziya , Akçam Cengiz
Published: August 2015

In transportation planning, design of intersections is required some concrete decisions. It is mostly related to capacity, safety and economy. In many applications, capacity is considered as the main factor for design purpose and type of intersection is determined regarding the capacity. But it is known that safety and economy are as important as the capacity. In order to handle this problem, a multi-criteria decision making approach (AHP) is used. Four intersection types are used. Fuel consumption, emission rates, delay, cost of intersection type and safety parameters are taken into account in the decision process. These intersection types are tested by SIDRA Intersection software using the parameters listed above. The data obtained by SIDRA software is used in the AHP model. Weights of the factors used in the AHP model are varied considering the views of capacity and economy. And results and applicability of the model are discussed.
A Tool for GIS Based Risk Analysis for Transportation of Dangerous Goods on Road (the RAGISADR)
Authors: Karabulut Serhan , Ocalir-Akunal Ebru V.
Published: August 2015

In this study, an environmental risk analysis model is developed as a decision support system (the RAGISADR) in order to assess environmental risks for transportation of dangerous goods. Transport of dangerous goods needs to be regulated to prevent accidents. Moving dangerous goods by road is governed by international regulations. GIS are used to quantify the factors on each link in the network that contribute to each of the evaluation criteria for a possible route. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is used to assign weights to factors. The priority weights of each environmental criteria is calculated by using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) before risk models are implemented in the road network of Izmir-Manisa-Aydin-Mugla-Denizli (Aegean Region of Turkey). The most convenient route according to the criteria set is determined. The results give decision maker the possibility to choose the best alternative among possible routes according to certain criteria.
Boundaries and Challenges for Social Entrepreneurship
Authors: Baporikar Neeta
Published: August 2015

Social and economic progress is inextricably intertwined. Charity and aid can improve the quality of life and the life chances of the poor by subsidizing interventions education and health care and increasing access to clean water and so forth. However, these interventions may not alleviate poverty in a sustained way unless increased economic participation and empowerment for the poor is ensured. Existing large corporations could support the economic engagement of the poor for the betterment of society. If there is an arena in which boundaries need to be defined and challenges understood well, it is social entrepreneurship, so that social enterprises and social entrepreneurs will be able to achieve their goals and objectives in a coherent and meaningful manner. The thrust of this chapter is to understand social entrepreneurship, its differentiators and its boundaries along with the challenges faced by social entrepreneurs. Based on content analysis, in-depth literature review and published reports, the chapter findings relate to the strategies which need to be adopted to overcome the challenges. It is also hoped that the global examples would serve as role models for future entrepreneurs.
Nurturing Social Entrepreneurship and Building Social Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy
Authors: Studdard Nareatha , Dawson Maurice , Burton Sharon L. , Jackson Naporshia , Leonard Brian , Quisenberry William , Rahim Emad
Published: August 2015

For the development of social entrepreneurs it is imperative that educators embrace the concepts and process of social entrepreneurship (Dees, 1998). Exploration of these concepts in education could prove beneficial to the community (Haugh, 2005). This chapter focuses on the positives of introducing social entrepreneurship education at the primary and secondary levels of education. Specifically, its central focus deals with building children's entrepreneurial self-efficacy at a young age. Several benefits, of increasing self-efficacy at a young age, are outlined. Benefits, such as entrepreneurship training, not only training students, but it helps to prepare them for the new knowledge-based economy. Further, entrepreneurship education should help increase the success and survival rates of women and minority entrepreneurs. Essential to this process, a new curriculum needs to be devised including its means of assessment. Lastly barriers to an entrepreneurship program are discussed; this includes financial, legal, political and negative perceptions of entrepreneurship education.
The Role of Social Entrepreneurship in the Global Business Environments
Authors: Kasemsap Kijpokin
Published: August 2015

This chapter presents the role of social entrepreneurship (SE) in global business, thus explaining the practical and theoretical concepts of SE; the antecedents of SE in terms of cognitive desirability and feasibility of social entrepreneur, human capital of social entrepreneur, and social capital of social entrepreneur; and the significance of SE in global business. The competence of SE is powerful for modern organizations that seek to serve suppliers and customers, enhance business performance, reinforce competitiveness, and accomplish usual prosperity in global business. Thus, it is crucial for modern organizations to consider their SE applications, establish a strategic plan to review their attainable growth, and exactly respond to SE needs of customers. Applying SE will practically increase organizational performance and gain sustainable competitive advantage in global business.
The Advent of Social Entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia
Authors: Aloulou Wassim J.
Published: August 2015

Social entrepreneurship is attracting growing interest of several actors in the society. It is not only seen as response to numerous constraints, but also to a pressing social demand. Thus, it offers a development model in which social mission, social value creation, social responsibility and sustainability are the key words. In this chapter, the author introduces the emerging field of social entrepreneurship and the new social business models and strategies needed to meet differently social needs and ensure a growing social sector in the global economy. The author chooses to study a specific context: the Saudi context; then, presents the context of social entrepreneurship, the existing Saudi ecosystem and selected social entrepreneurial initiatives undertaken by several stakeholders. These initiatives are reviewed and some inclusive business models are discovered. Finally, the author discusses the empirical findings and opens up research perspectives aiming to understand more the phenomenon in such context with political, practical and educational issues.