bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Constitución del Reino de Marruecos
Authors: Daranas Peláez Mariano
Published: July 2019

SUMARIO: Nota-resumen sobre la reforma constitucional de 1° de julio de 2011.  I.- Introducción: Antecedentes inmediatos. Método de la exposición. A) Antecedentes inmediatos. B) Método expositivo. II.- Objeto y contenido de la reforma. A) Datos generales. B) Descripción de los elementos esenciales. 1) Definición del Estado. 2) El Rey como clave de bóveda del sistema constitucional. 3) Límites a la prerrogativa regia en la formación de gobierno. 4) Reconocimiento oficial de la oposición. 5) Refuerzo del poder de los partidos políticos en el Parlamento. 6) Notable ampliación de la lista de derechos, libertades y garantías. III.- Conclusiones. Constitución del Reino de Marruecos.
Los orígenes de la Judicial Review
Authors: Fernández Segado Francisco
Published: July 2019

SUMARIO: 1.- Introducción: el permanente debate sobre los orígenes de la judicial review.  2.- La judicial review, una doctrina enmarcada en la tradición jurídica americana. Su evolución. A) El período colonial a) El Bonham’s case y su fuerte impacto sobre el pensamiento jurídico colonial. b) James Otis y el Writs of assistance Case. c) La noción de un fundamental law. B) La etapa pre-constitucional. a) La Declaración de Independencia. b) Algunos posicionamientos significativos sobre dos ideas conexas: la de un fundamental law y la de la judicial review. c) Las Constituciones estatales. d) Los tribunales estatales y los primeros casos de ejercicio por los mismos de la judicial review. C) La Convención Constitucional. Su posicionamiento ante la judicial review. D) Las Convenciones estatales de ratificación de la Constitución federal. a) Algunos posicionamientos sobre la judicial review en las Convenciones. b) La Convención de Nueva York y los Federalist Papers. La construcción dogmática de Hamilton a favor de la judicial review en el núm. 78. E) El primer Congreso y la Judiciary Act de 1789. F) La judicial review en la última década del siglo XVIII. a) El ejercicio de la facultad de revisión judicial por los Circuit Courts y por los tribunales estatales. b) La posición de la preMarshall Court ante la judicial review. 3.- La culminación del proceso: la Marbury V. Madison opinion, una decisión que va mucho más allá de la positivación de la doctrina de la judicial review.
Dos Diputados farmacéuticos que ocuparon el cargo de Gobernador del Banco de España
Authors: Carreras J. , Casas Pla Jaume , Granda Vega Enrique , Somí J.
Published: July 2019

SUMARIO: I.- Introducción. II.- Antonio María Fabié Escudero (1832-1899). 1. Diputado y político. 2. Gobernador del Banco de España. 3. Perfil notafílico. III.- Fernando Merino Villarino, conde de Sagasta (1859-1929). 1. Diputado y político. 2. Gobernador del Banco de España. 3. Perfil notafílico. IV.- Conclusión. V.- Bibliografía.
Acordos de trabalho – Patrão e empregado: uma breve discussão acerca da reforma trabalhista e do perigo escondido por trás dos acordos
Authors: Rosa Alcemir Horácio , Aquino Francisco José Alves de
Published: July 2019

A categoria trabalho vem passando por profundas transformações desde as ultimas décadas do século XX, principalmente a partir de 1995, no governo de Fernando Henrique Cardoso. Nisso, o capital vem sendo reestruturado a partir da politica neoliberalista, que viu no trabalho a oportunidade de ampliar sua ânsia por mais lucro; agora, muito além de adquiri lucros em cima da força do proletariado, a busca é por novas condições de tornar o trabalhador ainda mais submisso. A reforma trabalhista, lei N°13.467, oficializada em 2017, trouxe a possibilidade de acordos coletivos; supostamente, uma forma de negociação entre patrão e empregado. O objetivo da pesquisa é revelar a situação do trabalhador diante de tais mudanças e delinear os riscos escondidos nas novas leis trabalhistas. Esta pesquisa trata-se de um estudo de caso, com uma abordagem bibliográfica, metodológica e qualitativa. Realizado através de pesquisa bibliográfica, o trabalho procurou basear sua temática através do pensamento de autores renomados, bem como em leis para que se tenha a clareza do que é esta reforma trabalhista e suas possíveis consequências. Concluiu-se que os acordos trabalhistas é uma grande armadilha, onde o trabalhador é obrigado a assumir mudanças em sua vida, para que não fique fora do mercado de trabalho e ainda que o prejuízo ao trabalhador se dá, entre outras coisas, pela instabilidade em seu posto de serviço.
Functional MRI Study of Gender Effects in Brain Activations During Verbal Working Memory Task
Authors: TÜDÖS Z. , HOK P. , HLUŠTÍK P. , GRAMBAL A.
Published: July 2019

Neuroimaging methods have been used to study differences of brain function between males and females. Differences in working memory have been also investigated, but results of such studies are mixed with respect to behavioral data, reaction times and activated brain areas. We tried to analyze functional MRI data acquired during the working memory task and search for differences of brain activation between genders. 20 healthy right-handed volunteers (10 males and 10 females) participated in the study. All of them were university students or fresh graduates. Subjects underwent block designed verbal working memory task (Item Recognition Task) inside the MRI scanner. Standard single-subject pre-processing and group fMRI analyses were performed using the FEAT software from FSL library. In the behavioral data, there was no statistically significant difference in the number of correct responses during the task. The task activated similar bilateral regions of frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital lobes, basal ganglia, the brainstem and in the cerebellum, which corresponds to the previous verbal working memory neuroimaging research. In direct comparison, there was no statistically significant difference in brain activation between small samples of male and female young healthy volunteers.
Quercetin Protects Against Stress-Induced Anxiety- and Depression-Like Behavior and Improves Memory in Male Mice
Authors: SAMAD N. , SALEEM A. , YASMIN F. , SHEHZAD M. A.
Published: July 2019

The present study evaluates the protective role of Quercetin (Quer), against immobilization stress- induced anxiety, depression and cognition alteration in mice using behavioral and biochemical parameters. 24 adult Albino mice were distributed into 2 groups vehicle (n=12; 1 ml/kg) and Quer injected (n=12; 20 mg/kg/ml). The animals received their respective treatment for 14 days. On day 15, after the drug administration, animals were sub-divided into 4 groups (n=6); (i) unstressed + vehicle; (ii) stressed + vehicle; (iii) unstressed + Quer; (iv) stressed + Quer. On day 16, 24 h after the immobilization stress behavioral activities (light-dark activity, elevated plus maze, Morris water maze, and forced swim test) monitored and then animals were decapitated 1 h after the drug administration. Brain samples were collected for biochemical (antioxidant enzymes, AChE, ACh, 5-HT and its metabolite) analysis. The present study indicates the Quer reversed the stress-induced anxiety and depression, in addition, memory performance was more enhanced in stressed group. Following the treatment of Quer, stress-induced elevation of lipid peroxidation and suppression of antioxidant enzymes were also reversed. Administration of Quer decreased AChE in unstressed, while levels of acetylcholine were increased in vehicle and Quer treated stressed animals. The metabolism of 5-HT was increased in Quer treated stressed than unstressed animals. In conclusion, the present finding showed that Quer could prevent the impairment of antioxidant enzymes and also regulate the serotonergic and cholinergic neurotransmission and produce antianxiety, antidepressant effect and enhance memory following 2 h immobilization stress in mice.
The Impact of Sound Exposure on Heart Rate Variability in Adolescent Students
Authors: VETERNIK M. , TONHAJZEROVA I. , MISEK J. , JAKUSOVA V. , HUDECKOVA H. , JAKUS J.
Published: July 2019

Previous studies of physiological responses to music and noise showed the effect on the autonomic nervous system. The heart rate variability (HRV) has been used to assess the activation of the sympathetic and the parasympathetic nervous systems. The present study was aimed to examine HRV with exposure to four sine-wave pure tones (20 Hz, 50 Hz, 2 kHz and 15 kHz) in an environment where the sound intensity exceeded level 65 dB (A-weighted). The participants (20 adolescent girls) were lying in supine position during exposure protocol divided into 6 periods, the first time with generated sounds and the second time without sounds. In the protocol without sound exposure, the low frequency band of the HRV spectrum was increased compared to the basal state before examination (period_1: 6.05±0.29 ms2 compared to period_5: 6.56±0.20 ms2, p<0.05). The significant increase of root Mean Square of the Successive Differences (rMSSD, period_1: 4.09±0.16 s compared to period_6: 4.33±0.12 s, p<0.05) and prolongation of R to R peak (RR) interval (period_1: 889±30 ms compared to period_5: 973±30 ms, p<0.001) were observed in the protocol without sound exposure comparing to the protocol with sound exposure where only bradycardia was observed. Contrary to rather polemical data in literature our pilot study suggests that sounds (under given frequencies) have no impact on the heart rate variability and cardiac autonomic regulation.
The role of endogenous elicitor peptides in plant resistance to biotic stress
Authors: Filiptsova Halina G.
Published: July 2019

Plant elicitor peptides (Peps) are one class of elicitor substances, which are formed in plant cells in response to various biotic stressors and induced of nonspecific plant resistance. They are present and active in angiosperms, including many important agricultural crops, and can be considered as a promising class of compounds for creating environmentally safe drugs that induce phytoimmunity and increase the resistance of plants to stress. In this paper, an analysis of current literature data on the functional activity of endogenous plant elicitor peptides, the mechanisms of Pep-signaling and their role in plant resistance to biotic stresses is carried out.
The contribution of various mechanisms to mRNA diversity of human fusion oncogene RUNX1-RUNX1T1
Authors: Ilyushonak Ilya M. , Migas Alexandr A. , Sukhareuski Andrei Yu. , Schneider Aksana D. , Grinev Vasily V.
Published: July 2019

In this work, we used a comprehensive set of the fusion oncogene RUNX1-RUNX1T1 alternative exons to analyze the patterns of its mRNA generation. We found that the waste majority of alternative exons are modified variants of canonical exons, and the transcripts, including such exons, have a very low expression level. The «hot regions», including exons 4a, 6, 8b, 9, 11 and 12, produces about 80 % of such variants. Also we described a new transcription start region of RUNX1-RUNX1T1 and provide the evidences of co-expression of the fusion RNAs with normal and shortened 3′-UTRs in leukemic cells.
HUBUNGAN KEPEMIMPINAN SITUASIONAL KEPALA SEKOLAH DAN KEPERCAYAAN PADA ORGANISASI DENGAN KEPUASAN KERJA
Authors: Sopyan Sopyan , Rubini Bibin , Laihad Griet Helena
Published: July 2019

Kepuasan kerja guru adalah perasaan emosi yang menyenangkan atau tidak meyenangkan terhadap suatu pekerjaan menurut hasil penilaian dan pengalaman seseorang. Ketercapaian kepuasan kerja guru merupakan salah satu fenomena keberhasilan pelaksanaan program kerja organisasi. Penelitian korelasional yang terdiri atas dua variabel bebas yaitu kepemimpinan situasional kepala sekolah dan kepercayaan (trust) dan variabel terikat yaitu kepuasan kerja guru. Penelitian ini dilaksanakan pada tahun 2017 di lingkungan SD Negeri di Kecamatan Rawamerta Kabupaten Karawang, yang terdiri dari 26 sekolah dengan menggunakan metode survei. Jumlah sampel sebanyak 150 responden dengan teknik pengambilan sampel menggunakan teknik proportional random sampling. Teknik analisis data menggunakan teknik statistik korelasi dan regresi linier sederhana serta korelasi dan regresi ganda. Pengujian hipotesis dilakukan pada taraf signifikansi 0,05. Hasil penelitian menunjukan bahwa: 1) Terdapat hubungan positif yang sangat signifikan antara kepemimpinan situasional kepala sekolah (X1) dengan kepuasan kerja guru (Y) dengan ry1=0,4824 dengan persamaan regresi ? = 71,66 + 0,3464 X1, 2) Terdapat hubungan positif yang signifikan antara kepercayaan (Trust) (X2) dengan kepuasan kerja guru (Y) dengan rx2y = ry2 = 0,7196 dengan persamaan regresi ? = 48,22 + 0,4576 X2 dan 3) terdapat hubungan positif yang signifikan antara kepemimpinan situasional kepala sekolah dan kepercayaan (Trust) dengan kepuasan kerja guru dengan rx1x2y = 0,7450 dengan persamaan regresi ? = 40,76 + 0,152X1 + 0,399 X2.
Parenting Styles and Family Demographic Factors as Predictors of Abusive Parenting Among Adolescents
Authors: Fariha Iram Rizvi Syeda , Najam Najma
Published: July 2019

The present research was aimed to identify the abusive family environment in disciplinary context for adolescents through analyzing the link between parenting styles, risk family factors, and experiences of abusive parenting in adolescent girls and boys. Study involved a sample of 300 school going adolescents with age range from 14-17 years. Physical Abuse Scale (Rizvi & Najam, 2014), Psychological Maltreatment Experience Scale (Petretic-Jackson, Betz, & Pitman, 1995), and Parental Authority Questionnaire (Buri, 1991) were used to measure physical abuse, psychological abuse, and parenting styles (respectively) perceived by adolescents. Findings of study revealed that authoritarian parents were perceived more abusive, physically as well as psychologically as compared to permissive parents; while authoritative parents were perceived as non abusive parents. Findings of regression analysis showed that authoritarian parenting predicted abuse potential; while, authoritative parenting predicted non abusive parenting. Moreover among family demographic factors, larger families and joint family system were appeared as significant predictors of abusive parenting. The present research might be an effort to spark the recognition of an issue that parents are perceived abusive by their children though they are practicing different styles of parenting to control their children. Future implications of the study were also discussed.
Relationship Between Teachers’ Stress and Job Satisfaction: Moderating Role of Teachers’ Emotions
Authors: Parveen Haleema , Bano Maher
Published: July 2019

The present research attempted to investigate the moderating role of teachers’ emotion in teaching on the relationship between teachers’ stress and job satisfaction. It was assumed that teachers’ emotion would moderate the relationship between teachers’ stress and satisfaction with job. The sample of the study (N = 200) included male and female teachers from universities of Multan, Lahore, Sargodha, and Islamabad. To measure study variables, Emotions in Teaching Inventory (Diefendorff et al., 2005), Teachers’ Stress Inventory (Schutz & Long, 1988), and Teacher Satisfaction Scale (Ho & Au, 2006) were used. The results revealed that teachers’ stress was negatively related to positive emotions in teaching and job satisfaction; while, positive emotions were found positively related to job satisfaction. Positive emotions and negative emotions were found to be significant moderators between the relationship of teachers’ stress and job satisfaction. The research highlighted the protruding importance of affiliated emotions of teachers with their jobs; thus, it should be taken into consideration.
Relationship of Organizational Citizenship Behavior and Production Deviance: Role of Perceived Organizational Politics
Authors: Fatima Makhdoom Irsa , Atta Mohsin , Iqbal Malik Najma
Published: July 2019

The present study was an endeavor to extend the literature of perceived organizational politics by examining its moderating role between the relationship of organizational citizenship behavior and production deviance. Organizational Citizenship Behavior Scale (Mackenzie, Podsakoff, & Paine, 1999), Production Deviance sub-scale of Counterproductive Work Behavior Checklist-32 (Spector et al., 2006), and Perception of Organizational Politics Scale (Kacmar & Carlson, 1997) were used in present study. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that low levels of perceived organizational politics moderated the relationship between courtesy and production deviance by strengthening the negative relationship of these behaviors while perceived organizational politics did not act as a moderator for the relationship of civic virtue and conscientiousness with production deviance. High level of go-along-to-get-ahead as a moderator strengthened the relationship of civic virtue and conscientiousness with production deviance and its low level was found to be moderating the relationship between courtesy and production deviance. Future implications of the study were also discussed.
Role of Core Self Evaluation and Acquired Motivations in Employee Task Performance
Authors: Attiq Saman , Bakari Haroon , Irfan Mahreen
Published: July 2019

The study developed and tested a model to examine the influence of personality traits and motivational needs on task performance behavior of university teachers in Pakistan. Using convenience sampling technique, 650 structured questionnaires were administered to faculty members in Pakistani universities. The findings showed that core self evaluations influence acquired-motivational needs that is need for power has positive impact on task performance behaviors than need for achievement, whereas need for affiliation has no impact on task performance behavior. This study has added to existing literature by introducing motivational needs as an important facilitator in the link between core self-evaluations and task performance behavior. This is among first studies that has incorporated core self-evaluations within the acquired needs framework particularly in the Asian context. Major implications of the study were also discussed.
Parental Rejection, Depression, and Internet Addiction Among Young Adults
Authors: Sultana Momtaz , Kamal Uddin Muhammad
Published: July 2019

The present study tested whether relation between parental rejection and internet addiction was mediated through depression. Two hundred and thirty university students, ranging in age from 18 to 25 years, responded to the Adult versions of the Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire for fathers and for mothers (Uddin & Aktar, 2015), Beck Depression Inventory (Uddin, 2013), and Internet Addiction Test (Uddin & Sultana, 2016), along with a Personal Information Form. Results of independent sample t-test indicated significant gender differences in paternal rejection only. Bivariate correlations showed that parental rejection was positively associated with depression and internet addiction. Multiple regression analysis revealed that mother and father rejection jointly explained about 26% variance in depression and 21% variance in internet addiction of both female and male university students. Mediation analysis showed that depression partially mediated the relation between parental rejection and internet addiction.
Development of an Indigenous Parental Perceived Stress Scale for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Authors: Kausar Noreena , Akram Bushra , Dawood Saima , Ahmad Fayyaz
Published: July 2019

The major aim of this study was to develop an indigenous Parental Perceived Stress Scale in Urdu for parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The research was divided into two phases: In Phase-I, indigenous Parental Perceived Stress Scale was developed and in Phase-II, psychometric properties of the scale were established. An item pool of 46 items was generated based on the Lazarus and Folkman’s (1984) stress model and interviewing the parents having children with ASD. A purposive sampling technique was used to select the sample of 502 parents from different special educational institutes. Generated items were evaluated by a panel of experts and were pilot tested on 25 parents. Exploratory factor analysis fixed to seven factor structure with 42 items. Confirmatory factor analysis yielded 32 item scale revealing Cronbach alpha of .95 indicating the scale as a reliable and valid scale for the measurement of parental perceived stress for parents of children with ASD. Clinical implications of the study indicate its use for counseling and clinical services.
PENGARUH PENAMBAHAN ALUMINIUM OKSIDA PADA BAHAN BASIS GIGI TIRUAN RESIN AKRILIK POLIMERISASI PANAS TERHADAP KEKERASAN DAN KEKASARAN PERMUKAAN
Authors: Lubis Mahrizka Desi Ory , Putranti Dwi Tjahyaning
Published: July 2019

Pendahuluan : Resin akrilik polimerisasi panas (RAPP) masih menjadi bahan basis gigi tiruan yang paling sering digunakan. RAPP memiliki estetis yang baik, proses pembuatan yang mudah diperbaiki, mudah dalam proses pembuatan, dan harga relatif murah. Meskipun demikian, RAPP memiliki sifat mekanis yang rendah yaitu kekerasan dan sifat fisis yang penting seperti kekasaran permukaan, sehingga diperlukan  modifikasi dengan menambahkan bahan penguat berupa aluminium oksida (Al2O3) atau alumina. Tujuan penelitian untuk menganalisis pengaruh penambahan aluminium oksida pada bahan basis gigi tiruan RAPP terhadap kekerasan dan kekasaran permukaan. Metode : Rancangan penelitian ini adalah eksperimental laboratoris dengan 24 sampel berukuran 60 mm x 10 mm x 3 mm dengan konsentrasi kontrol, 7,5%, 10%, 15%. Kekerasan sampel kemudian di uji menggunakan Vickers Hardness Tester dan 24 sampel berukuran 80 mm x 10 mm x 3 mm dengan konsentrasi kontrol, 7,5%, 10, 15%  untuk kekasaran permukaan kemudian diuji menggunakan  Surface Roughness Tester. Data analisis dengan uji T independen Hasil : Nilai kekerasan kelompok kontrol dan ketiga kelompok perlakuan penambahan aluminium oksida 7,5%, 10%, 15% berturut-turut adalah 15,551 VHN, 19,339 VHN, 25,505 VHN, dan 30,394 VHN; Sedangkan nilai kekasaran  permukaan kelompok kontrol dan ketiga kelompok perlakuan penambahan aluminium oksida 7,5%, 10%, 15% berturut-turut adalah 0,189 µm, 0,221 µm, 0,271 µm dan 0,308 µm. Penambahan bubuk aluminium oksida pada RAPP dapat meningkatkan kekerasan dan kekasaran permukaan secara signifikan (p=0,0001 (p<0,05)),  Simpulan : Penambahan aluminium oksida pada bahan basis gigi tiruan resin akrilik polimerisasi panas berpengaruh dalam meningkatkan kekerasan dan meningkatkan kekasaran permukaan yang masih dapat diterima pada konsentrasi 7,5%.
Screen-Based Sports Simulation Using Acoustic Source Localization
Authors: Seo Sang-Woo , Yun Somi , Kim Myung-Gyu , Sung Mankyu , Kim Yejin
Published: July 2019

In this paper, we introduce a novel acoustic source localization in a three-dimensional (3D) space, based on a direction estimation technique. Assuming an acoustic source at a distance from adjacent microphones, its waves spread in a planar form called a planar wavefront. In our system, the directions and steering angles between the acoustic source and the microphone array are estimated based on a planar wavefront model using a delay and sum beamforming (DSBF) system and an array of two-dimensional (2D) microelectromechanical system (MEMS) microphones. The proposed system is designed with parallel processing hardware for real-time performance and implemented using a cost-effective field programmable gate array (FPGA) and a micro control unit (MCU). As shown in the experimental results, the localization errors of the proposed system were less than 3 cm when an impulsive acoustic source was generated over 1 m away from the microphone array, which is comparable to a position-based system with reduced computational complexity. On the basis of the high accuracy and real-time performance of localizing an impulsive acoustic source, such as striking a ball, the proposed system can be applied to screen-based sports simulation.
A Deeply Saturated Differentially-Biased SOA-MZI for 20 Gb/s Burst-Mode NRZ Traffic
Authors: Tsakyridis Apostolos , Moralis-Pegios Miltiadis , Vagionas Christos , Ruggeri Eugenio , Kalfas George , Miliou Amalia , Pleros Nikos
Published: July 2019

We experimentally demonstrate an optical Burst-Mode Wavelength Converter (BMWC) that simultaneously provides power equalization and wavelength conversion of Non-Return to Zero-On/Off Keying (NRZ-OOK) data and operates up to 20 Gb/s. It employs a balanced, differentially-biased, Semiconductor Optical Amplifier-Mach Zehnder Interferometer (SOA-MZI) operating in deeply saturated regime and its performance is evaluated at 10 Gb/s and 20 Gb/s with loud/soft peak–power ratios up to 9 dB and 5 dB, respectively. Bit Error Rate (BER) measurements reveal error free operation with up to 6.1 dB BER improvement at 10 Gb/s and 3.51 dB at 20 Gb/s, while the use of a single SOA-MZI yields 50% reduction in the number of active components against state-of-the-art BMWCs. Finally, the proposed BMWC is evaluated in non-dispersion compensated 25 km fiber transmission experiment, providing error-free operation with 1.43 dB BER improvement, validating its capabilities for potential employment in Passive Optical Networks (PON) and 5G fronthaul networks.
An Improved Perceptual Hash Algorithm Based on U-Net for the Authentication of High-Resolution Remote Sensing Image
Authors: Ding Kaimeng , Yang Zedong , Wang Yingying , Liu Yueming
Published: July 2019

Data security technology is of great significance for the effective use of high-resolution remote sensing (HRRS) images in GIS field. Integrity authentication technology is an important technology to ensure the security of HRRS images. Traditional authentication technologies perform binary level authentication of the data and cannot meet the authentication requirements for HRRS images, while perceptual hashing can achieve perceptual content-based authentication. Compared with traditional algorithms, the existing edge-feature-based perceptual hash algorithms have already achieved high tampering authentication accuracy for the authentication of HRRS images. However, because of the traditional feature extraction methods they adopt, they lack autonomous learning ability, and their robustness still exists and needs to be improved. In this paper, we propose an improved perceptual hash scheme based on deep learning (DL) for the authentication of HRRS images. The proposed method consists of a modified U-net model to extract robust feature and a principal component analysis (PCA)-based encoder to generate perceptual hash values for HRRS images. In the training stage, a training sample generation method combining artificial processing and Canny operator is proposed to generate robust edge features samples. Moreover, to improve the performance of the network, exponential linear unit (ELU) and batch normalization (BN) are applied to extract more robust and accurate edge feature. The experiments have shown that the proposed algorithm has almost 100% robustness to format conversion between TIFF and BMP, LSB watermark embedding and lossless compression. Compared with the existing algorithms, the robustness of the proposed algorithm to lossy compression has been improved, with an average increase of 10%. What is more, the algorithm has good sensitivity to detect local subtle tampering to meet the high-accuracy requirements of authentication for HRRS images.
A Neural Network Based Landing Method for an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle with Soft Landing Gears
Authors: Luo Cai , Zhao Weikang , Du Zhenpeng , Yu Leijian
Published: July 2019

This paper presents the design, implementation, and testing of a soft landing gear together with a neural network-based control method for replicating avian landing behavior on non-flat surfaces. With full consideration of unmanned aerial vehicles and landing gear requirements, a quadrotor helicopter, comprised of one flying unit and one landing assistance unit, is employed. Considering the touchdown speed and posture, a novel design of a soft mechanism for non-flat surfaces is proposed, in order to absorb the remaining landing impact. The framework of the control strategy is designed based on a derived dynamic model. A neural network-based backstepping controller is applied to achieve the desired trajectory. The simulation and outdoor testing results attest to the effectiveness and reliability of the proposed control method.
High-Speed Railway Clearance Intrusion Detection with Improved SSD Network
Authors: Guo Baoqing , Shi Jiafeng , Zhu Liqiang , Yu Zujun
Published: July 2019

With the rapid development of high-speed railways, any objects intruding railway clearance will do great threat to railway operations. Accurate and effective intrusion detection is very important. An original Single Shot multibox Detector (SSD) can be used to detect intruding objects except small ones. In this paper, high-level features are deconvolved to low-level and fused with original low-level features to enhance their semantic information. By this way, the mean average precision (mAP) of the improved SSD algorithm is increased. In order to decrease the parameters of the improved SSD network, the L1 norm of convolution kernel is used to prune the network. Under this criterion, both the model size and calculation load are greatly reduced within the permitted precision loss. Experiments show that the mAP of our method on PASCAL VOC public dataset and our railway datasets have increased by 2.52% and 4.74% respectively, when compared to the original SSD. With our method, the elapsed time of each frame is only 31 ms on GeForce GTX1060.
Archetype-Based Modeling and Search of Social Media
Authors: Davis Brent D. , Sedig Kamran , Lizotte Daniel J.
Published: July 2019

Existing keyword-based search techniques suffer from limitations owing to unknown, mismatched, and obscure vocabulary. These challenges are particularly prevalent in social media, where slang, jargon, and memetics are abundant. We develop a new technique, Archetype-Based Modeling and Search, that can mitigate these challenges as they are encountered in social media. This technique learns to identify new relevant documents based on a specified set of archetypes from which both vocabulary and relevance information are extracted. We present a case study from the social media data from Reddit, by using authors from /r/Opiates to characterize discourse around opioid use and to find additional relevant authors on this topic.
Structural Consequences of Copper Binding to the Prion Protein
Authors: Salzano Giulia , Giachin Gabriele , Legname Giuseppe
Published: July 2019

Prion, or PrPSc, is the pathological isoform of the cellular prion protein (PrPC) and it is the etiological agent of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) affecting humans and animal species. The most relevant function of PrPC is its ability to bind copper ions through its flexible N-terminal moiety. This review includes an overview of the structure and function of PrPC with a focus on its ability to bind copper ions. The state-of-the-art of the role of copper in both PrPC physiology and in prion pathogenesis is also discussed. Finally, we describe the structural consequences of copper binding to the PrPC structure.
Influence of Water Concentration on Its Mobility in Matrimid®
Authors: Petrov Andrey V. , Smirnov Michael A. , Sokolova Maria P. , Toikka Alexander M.
Published: July 2019

Mobility of water in polyheteroarylene (Matrimid®) was simulated at 300 K and different concentrations of water (0.5 wt.%–3 wt.%). Parameters of anomalous diffusion were calculated from molecular dynamics simulations on the base of mean square displacements of water molecules. It was found that mobility of water has nonmonotonic dependence on its concentration. Lower diffusion rates at concentrations below than 1 wt.% can be attributed to the sorption of water onto the polar groups of polymer (sorption sites). Decreasing of diffusion rate with increasing of water concentration is due to the formation of clusters of water molecules, which hampers the penetration of water between polymer chains.
A Copula Entropy Approach to Dependence Measurement for Multiple Degradation Processes
Authors: Sun Fuqiang , Zhang Wendi , Wang Ning , Zhang Wei
Published: July 2019

Degradation analysis has been widely used in reliability modeling problems of complex systems. A system with complex structure and various functions may have multiple degradation features, and any of them may be a cause of product failure. Typically, these features are not independent of each other, and the dependence of multiple degradation processes in a system cannot be ignored. Therefore, the premise of multivariate degradation modeling is to capture and measure the dependence among multiple features. To address this problem, this paper adopts copula entropy, which is a combination of the copula function and information entropy theory, to measure the dependence among different degradation processes. The copula function was employed to identify the complex dependence structure of performance features, and information entropy theory was used to quantify the degree of dependence. An engineering case was utilized to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The results show that this method is valid for the dependence measurement of multiple degradation processes.
Modeling and Optimizing a Chiller System Using a Machine Learning Algorithm
Authors: Kim Jee-Heon , Seong Nam-Chul , Choi Wonchang
Published: July 2019

This study was conducted to develop an energy consumption model of a chiller in a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system using a machine learning algorithm based on artificial neural networks. The proposed chiller energy consumption model was evaluated for accuracy in terms of input layers that include the number of input variables, amount (proportion) of training data, and number of neurons. A standardized reference building was also modeled to generate operational data for the chiller system during extended cooling periods (warm weather months). The prediction accuracy of the chiller’s energy consumption was improved by increasing the number of input variables and adjusting the proportion of training data. By contrast, the effect of the number of neurons on the prediction accuracy was insignificant. The developed chiller model was able to predict energy consumption with 99.07% accuracy based on eight input variables, 60% training data, and 12 neurons.
Trends and Development of Sliding Mode Control Applications for Renewable Energy Systems
Authors: Yang Yun , Tan Siew Chong
Published: July 2019

Based on the matured theoretical framework of sliding mode control for varied, nonlinear, and unpredictable systems, practical designs of sliding mode control have been developed to suit the purpose of controlling power converters under various operating conditions. These design guidelines are particularly valuable for emerging technologies with renewable energy sources. This paper presents a discussion on the recent development of sliding mode control applications for renewable energy systems, and further examines the current trends of achieving efficiency improvement of renewable energy systems and load protections against large overshoot/undershoot in transient states, by utilizing the fast-dynamic-tracking capability of the sliding mode control. Three comparative case studies between the sliding mode control and proportional-integral control involving, namely, a low-power wind energy conversion system, a series-series-compensated wireless power transfer system, and a multiple energy storage system in a direct current (DC) microgrid, are provided.
A Review of Daylighting System: For Prototype Systems Performance and Development
Authors: Whang Allen Jong-Woei , Yang Tsai-Hsien , Deng Zhong-Hao , Chen Yi-Yung , Tseng Wei-Chieh , Chou Chun-Han
Published: July 2019

Daylighting systems make daylight illuminance possible, and the development of prototype daylighting systems can provide more efficient daylight illuminance. The purpose of this article is to review the development and performance of prototype daylighting systems in the last decade. The passive and active daylighting systems are listed separately and divided into the four categories by the presence and absence of hybrid. Each prototype daylighting system was evaluated in terms of cost and daylight performance and as well as their novel optical design. We evaluated the architecture and daylighting principles of each system by reviewing individual prototype daylighting systems. The cost of prototype systems still poses a challenge to development. How to use passive or active systems in different environments and whether or not electrical lighting assistance is needed is a controversial issue. However, active daylighting systems equipped with solar tracking systems are still mainstream. This research is a valuable resource for daylight researchers and newcomers. It is helpful to understand the advantages of various prototype daylighting systems and commercial daylighting systems that have been developed for many years; moreover, it is also possible to know the research directions suggested by the prototype daylighting systems. These will be of further use in developing innovative and better daylighting systems and designs.
Biomass and Nutrients Variation of Chinese Fir Rooted Cuttings under Conventional and Exponential Fertilization Regimes of Nitrogen
Authors: Wu Jiasen , Lin Haiping , Guo Lianhua , Dong Jiaqi , Zhang Luyao , Fu Weijun
Published: July 2019

Exponential fertilization has been regarded as an important technique for improving seedling quality at the initial plant-growth stage. In our study, containerized one-year-old Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook) rooted cuttings were reared at four nitrogen (N) fertilizer levels (0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 g cutting−1 season−1) under two topdressing methods (conventional and exponential) for a 210-day greenhouse rotation to evaluate growth and nutrient loading capacity of seedlings. N fertilizer was applied 20 times at an interval of 10 days during the study period. The results indicated that the schedule and rate of fertilization significantly affected the height, ground diameter, and biomass of Chinese fir rooted cuttings. The nitrogen concentration of different plant organs followed the order of leaves > root > stem. Compared to the CK, the N concentrations in root, stem, and leaves increased by 39.6%, 16.6%, and 41.1% in the conventional fertilizer treatment, and by 22.6% to 81.4%, 27.3% to 152.6%, and 73.6% to 135.5% in exponential fertilization treatments, respectively. The N concentrations of root, stem, and leaves of Chinese fir rooted cuttings under EF2 (1.0 N g cutting−1) were significantly higher than that of conventional fertilization (p < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference of phosphorus and potassium concentrations among different plant organs. Steady-state nutrition and superior growth performance were achieved by rooted cuttings fertilized exponentially at the rate of 1.0 g cutting−1 yielding (EF2).
Chemical and Biochemical Onslaught of Anthropogenic Airborne Species on the Heritage Monument of the Taj Mahal
Authors: Banerjee Deepankar , Sarkar Sabyasachi
Published: July 2019

The science on the anthropogenic airborne aerosols impacting the World Heritage marble monument, the Taj Mahal, at Agra, has been studied in the light of modern physico-chemical approaches. The study is an effort to understand unrecognized airborne species which were found on the surface of the Taj Mahal monument. These species have been analyzed in the light of current analytical methods to impart characterization features and their possible impacts on the surface of the marble. Chemical constituents of these substrates, which were incorporated over the top surface of the monument, have been identified. Interestingly, the carbon particulates which were found on the micro level, popularly called “particulate matters”, have now been identified in the nano domain entity, which is chemically more reactive, and have been found on the surface of the monument. Because of their high chemical activity, these nano carbons have a newer chemistry in the presence of air and sunlight, generating several reactive oxygen species (ROS). These ROS are capable of responding to complicated chemical reactions on the surface of the marble in association with deposited cyanophyceae and other deposits of plant origin, causing rapid degradation. This study provides the nature of the onslaught of such monuments exposed under the prevalent smoggy environmental scenario.
The Role of Individual and Neighborhood Characteristics on Mental Health after a Period of Economic Crisis in the Lisbon Region (Portugal): A Multilevel Analysis
Authors: Loureiro Adriana , Santana Paula , Nunes Carla , Almendra Ricardo
Published: July 2019

Mental health is an intrinsic dimension of health influenced by individual and contextual factors. This cross-sectional study analyzes the association between the individual, neighborhood characteristics, and one’s self-assessed mental health status in the Lisbon region after an economic crisis. Via the application of multilevel regression models, the study assesses the link between one’s neighborhood environment—deprivation, low self-assessed social capital, and low self-assessed satisfaction with the area of residence—and mental health regardless of one’s individual characteristics. Constraints related to the economic crisis play an important role in the explanation of poor mental health.
Evaluation of Microbiological and Free-Living Protozoa Contamination in Dental Unit Waterlines
Authors: Spagnolo Anna Maria , Sartini Marina , Di Cave David , Casini Beatrice , Tuvo Benedetta , Cristina Maria Luisa
Published: July 2019

Studies conducted over the last 40 years have demonstrated that the water output from dental unit waterlines (DUWLs) is often contaminated with high densities of microorganisms. It has been monitored the microbiological quality of the water in 30 public dental facilities in northern Italy in order to assess the health risk for patients and dental staff. In each facility, samples of water both from taps and from DUWLs were analyzed in order to evaluate heterotrophic plate counts (HPCs) at 22 °C and 36 °C, and to detect coliform bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Legionella pneumophila and amoebae. In 100% of the samples taken from the DUWLs, the concentration of HPCs was above the threshold as determined by the Ministère de la Santé et des Solidarités (2007). The concentration of P. aeruginosa was greater than the indicated threshold in 16.67% of the hand-pieces analyzed. A total of 78.33% of samples were contaminated by L. pneumophila, while in the samples taken from the DUWLs alone, this percentage rose to 86.67%. Amoebae were detected in 60% of the samples taken from hand-pieces; all belonging to the species V. vermiformis. This study documented the presence of various microorganisms, including Legionella spp., at considerably higher concentrations in water samples from DUWLs than in samples of tap water in the same facilities, confirming the role of the internal DUWLs in increasing microbial contamination, especially in the absence of proper management of waterborne health risks.
The Use of Alcohol and Knowledge of Cardiovascular Diseases among Ellisras Rural Children Aged 14–22 Years: Ellisras Longitudinal Study
Authors: Matshipi Moloko , Monyeki Kotsedi D. , Mafumo Norman , Monyeki Suzan M. , Siweya Hlengani J. , Kemper Han C. G.
Published: July 2019

The harm alcohol abuse does to physical and mental health is well established. The perception of cardiovascular disease risk factors and alcohol use requires attention. This study aims to investigate the association between alcohol usage and knowledge of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) risk factors among Ellisras rural adolescents and young adults aged 14–22 years. In this cross-sectional study a total of 1409 subjects (736 boys and 673 girls), aged 14–22 years, from the Ellisras Longitudinal Study, South Africa completed a validated alcohol use and CVDs knowledge questionnaire. Logistic regression was used to estimate the association. The prevalence of alcohol intake increased with increasing age among girls (13.6% to 17.7%) and boys (10.3% to 16.9%) and reached a statistically significant difference (p < 0.024) at an older age category (20–22 years). There was a significant (p < 0.05) association between alcohol use and a positive response on the following knowledge statements: The fact that cardiovascular disease attacked all age groups and mostly elderly people (the odds ratio (OR) ranged between 0.5 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.33–0.74 and OR = 2.86 95% CI = 1.27–6.42). Medical doctors can help to diagnose somebody with cardiovascular diseases (OR ranged between 2.25 95% CI = 1.49–3.39 and OR = 0.75 95% CI = 0.65–0.87). The condition for cardiovascular diseases developed over a long period (OR ranged between 1.75 95% CI = 1.16–2.64 and OR = 2.23 95% CI = 1.34–4.07). The prevalence of alcohol use in Ellisras rural adolescents and young adults begins between the ages of 14 and 16 years and increases with age. Binge drinking was more evident on Fridays and Saturdays among the Ellisras rural adolescents and young adults with girls showing a significantly higher prevalence of binge drinking compared to boys on a Friday.
Data-driven Bicycle Network Analysis Based on Traditional Counting Methods and GPS Traces from Smartphone
Authors: Rupi Federico , Poliziani Cristian , Schweizer Joerg
Published: July 2019

This research describes numerical methods to analyze the absolute transport demand of cyclists and to quantify the road network weaknesses of a city with the aim to identify infrastructure improvements in favor of cyclists. The methods are based on a combination of bicycle counts and map-matched GPS traces. The methods are demonstrated with data from the city of Bologna, Italy: approximately 27,500 GPS traces from cyclists were recorded over a period of one month on a volunteer basis using a smartphone application. One method estimates absolute, city-wide bicycle flows by scaling map-matched bicycle flows of the entire network to manual and instrumental bicycle counts at the main bikeways of the city. As there is a fairly high correlation between the two sources of flow data, the absolute bike-flows of the entire network have been correctly estimated. Another method describes a novel, total deviation metric per link which quantifies for each network edge the total deviation generated for cyclists in terms of extra distances traveled with respect to the shortest possible route. The deviations are accepted by cyclists either to avoid unpleasant road attributes along the shortest route or to experience more favorable road attributes along the chosen route. The total deviation metric indicates to the planner which road links are contributing most to the total deviation of all cyclists. In this way, repellant and attractive road attributes for cyclists can be identified. This is why the total deviation metric is of practical help to prioritize bike infrastructure construction on individual road network links. Finally, the map-matched traces allow the calibration of a discrete choice model between two route alternatives, considering distance, share of exclusive bikeway, and share of low-priority roads.