bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Rationale for naphazoline effects in-depth study
Authors: Kuzminov Borys , Turkina Vira , Кuzminov Yuriy
Published: April 2018

This article presents a retrospective review of data on side effects of drugs containing naphazoline and data on toxicity of the agent when entered the body via different pathways. Most publications on clinical signs of possible naphazoline-associated side effects are lacking thorough analysis of possible causes. Limited data on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of the drug led to various complications after its administration. Therefore, further studies on naphazoline content dynamics or products of its biotransformation in biological substrates and determination of half-life of the agent must be conducted. This will allow establishingsafe levels for different exposure pathways and harmful levels of the naphazoline with respect to its material accumulation. It should be noted that scientific publications contain controversial data regarding allergenic potential of the agent. Possible side effects of the drug on the reproductionand development are not revealed. Determination of effects the products containing naphazoline may have on immune and reproductive system is an important part of the research.
ΔP as a measure of collocation strength
Authors: Schneider Ulrike
Published: April 2018

This paper explores the proposed benefits of ΔP (delta P) as a measure of collocation strength. Its focus is on contrasting ΔP with other, more commonly used, association measures, particularly transitional probabilities, but also mutual information and Lexical Gravity G. To this end, first the strong correlation between ΔP and transitional probability is illustrated with the help of two exemplary corpora. This is followed by an analysis of hesitation placement in spontaneous spoken English, based on the assumption that hesitations will not be placed within strong collocations. Results show that, despite their strong similarity, in some contexts ΔP is more predictive of hesitation placement than transitional probability. Yet neither ΔP nor any of the other association measures emerges as the universally best predictor. On the basis of these results, it is suggested that studies should always rely on several association measures.
What we talk about when we talk about corpus frequency: The example of polysemous verbs with light and concrete senses
Authors: Mehl Seth
Published: April 2018

Gilquin (2008, What you think ain’t what you get: Highly polysemous verbs in mind and language. In Jean-Remi Lapaire, Guillaume Desagulier & Jean-Baptiste Guignard (eds.),From gram to mind: Grammar as cognition, 235–255. Bordeaux: Presse Universitaires de Bordeaux) reported that light uses of verbs (e.g.make use) tend to outnumber concrete uses of the same verbs (e.g.make furniture) in corpora, whereas concrete senses tend to outnumber light senses in responses to elicitation tests. The differences between corpus frequency and cognitive salience remain an important and much-discussed question (cf. Arppe et al. 2010, Cognitive corpus linguistics: Five points of debate on current theory and methodology.Corpora5(1). 1–27). The question is particularly complicated because bothcorpus frequencyandcognitive salienceare difficult to define, and are often left undefined. Operationalising and defining corpus frequencies are the issues at the heart of the present paper, which includes a close, manual semantic analysis of nearly 6,000 instances of three polysemous verbs with light and concrete uses,make, take, andgive, in the British component of the International Corpus of English. The paper compares semasiological frequencies like those measured by Gilquin (2008) to onomasiological frequency measurements (cf. Geeraerts 1997,Diachronic prototype semantics: A contribution to historical lexicology. Oxford: Clarendon Press). Methodologically, the paper demonstrates that these approaches address fundamentally different research questions, and offer dramatically different results. Findings indicate that corpus frequencies in speech may correlate with elicitation test results, if the corpus frequencies are measured onomasiologically rather than semasiologically; I refer to Geeraerts’s (2010,Theories of lexical semantics. Oxford: Oxford University Press) hypothesis ofonomasiological saliencein explaining this observation.
Corrosion behaviour of stainless steel reinforcement in concrete
Authors: Lollini Federica , Carsana Maddalena , Gastaldi Matteo , Redaelli Elena
Published: April 2018

In Europe, stainless steel rebars have been used since the mid-80s, whilst in North America, their use has been progressively growing only since the mid-90s. Due to their higher resistance to corrosion in comparison to ordinary black steel bars, they have been employed in a wide number of applications worldwide to achieve the durability performance of reinforced concrete structures, especially in extremely corrosive marine environments or when long service lives are required. In this paper, a state of the art on the corrosion resistance of stainless steel bars is reported. In particular, the contribution of Professor Luca Bertolini in this research field is considered. Initially, different testing methods are presented to point out their advantages and limitations and then the results on corrosion behaviour of different grades of stainless steel bars (i.e. austenitic, ferritic and duplex), obtained especially with tests in concrete, are analysed. Afterwards, some of the recent applications of stainless steel bars are illustrated.
Can the symptoms of schizophrenia be reset?
Authors: Olajossy Marcin , Soroka Ewelina
Published: April 2018

This work basing on a study of medical records is a story of a young patient, repeatedly hospitalized with various diagnoses, in whom the psychiatric symptoms significantly decreased after waking from coma, resulting from an unfortunate accident.

There are presented subsequent stages of treatment and hospitalizations and the analysis of the problem if the restart is possible in terms of mental state, in a patient who for years had experienced omental-delusive experiences of high severity and anxiety, leading to several suicidal attempts with serious consequences.

The discussion also describes the issue of double diagnosis and the criteria for amphetamine-induced psychosis.

Can schizophrenia be cured and its symptoms reset ?
Clozapine-resistant schizophrenia – non pharmacological augmentation methods
Authors: Gałaszkiewicz Joanna , Rębisz Krzysztof , Morylowska-Topolska Justyna , Karakuła-Juchnowicz Hanna , Kozak Gustaw
Published: April 2018

Clozapine is the drug of choice for drug-resistant schizophrenia, but despite its use, 30-40% patients fail to achieve satisfactory therapeutic effects. In such situations, augmentation attempts are made by both pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods. To date, most of the work has been devoted to pharmacological strategies, much less to augemantation of clozapine with electroconvulsive therapy (C+ECT), transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) or transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).

Aim: The aim of the work is to present biological, non-pharmacological augmentation treatment methods with clozapine.

Material and methods: A review of the literature on non-pharmacological augmentation treatment methods with clozapine was made. PubMed database was searched using key words: drug-resistant schizophrenia, clozapine, ECT, transcranial magnetic stimulation, transcranial electrical stimulation and time descriptors: 1980-2017.

Results: Most studies on the possibility of increasing the efficacy of clozapine was devoted to combination therapy with clozapine + electric treatments. They have shown improved efficacy when using these two methods simultaneously from 37.5 to 100%. The only randomized trial so far has also confirmed the effectiveness of this procedure. Despite the described side effects of tachycardia or prolonged seizures, most studies indicate the safety and efficacy of combined use of clozapine and electroconvulsive therapy. Transcranial magnetic stimulation also appears to be a safe method in patients treated with clozapine. However, further research is needed before ECT can be included in standard TRS treatment algorithms. The data for combining transcranial electrical stimulation with clozapine, come only from descriptions of cases and need to be confirmed in controlled studies.

Conclusions: The results of studies on the possibility of increasing the effectiveness of clozapine using biological non-pharmacological treatment methods indicate a potentially beneficial effect of this type of methods in breaking the super-resistance in schizophrenia. Combination of clozapine and ECT can be considered as the most recommended strategy among these treatment methods.
The role of oxytocin in the pathogenesis and treatment of schizophrenia
Authors: Jusiak Katarzyna , Brudkowska Żaneta , Gołębiowska Maria , Morylowska-Topolska Justyna , Gołębiowska Beata , Próchnicki Michał , Próchnicka Agnieszka , Karakuła-Juchnowicz Hanna
Published: April 2018

Introduction: Until recently, oxytocin was mainly associated with the pathophysiology of childbirth and sexual functions, but lately this hormone has become the object of interest to psychiatry and psychology due to the significant influence of oxytocin on human behavior in the field of social and emotional functioning. Current scientific research focuses on the participation of oxytocin in the pathogenesis and therapy of mental disorders.

Aim: The aim of the paper is to present, on the basis of available literature, the significance of oxytocin for various psychological functions, with particular emphasis on the influence of oxytocin on the course and clinical picture of schizophrenia.

Method: Available articles from the Medline / PubMed database were analyzed, which were searched using keywords: oxytocin, schizophrenia, therapeutic use of oxytocin, social cognition, positive symptoms, negative symptoms and time descriptors: 2013-2017. There are included articles published in Polish and English.

Results:The research results carried out so far suggest that oxytocin plays a significant role in modulating complex socio-emotional behaviors in schizophrenic patients. The existing research results also indicate a relationship between the dysregulation of the oxytocinergic system and the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Many of the studies prove that there is a relationship between the level of oxytocin in the patients' blood plasma and the severity of the disease symptoms. Recent genetic studies indicate a possible relationship between polymorphism of oxytocin genesand polymorphism of oxytocin receptor genes and the risk of developing schizophrenia.

Conclusions: Contemporary research on the therapeutic potential of oxytocin and its influence on the functioning of schizophrenia patients seem to be very promising and may contribute to increasing the effectiveness of treatment of schizophrenia and possibly other mental disorders, which in turn will improve the quality of life of patients in cognitive, social and emotional functioning.
Characteristics of selected traits of Adult Children of Alcoholics in the context of theirparents’ attitudes
Authors: Zakrzewska Izabela , Samochowiec Agnieszka
Published: April 2018

Children growing up in families with alcohol problems experience many emotions and events that are inadequate to their age. All these experiences are related to their subsequent functioning. Having a mother or a father suffering from alcohol dependence has a big impact on who one becomes in the future and how he/she perceives the world and other people.

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the level of self-esteem, satisfaction with life as well as basic hope in the so-called Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACoA), and the attitudes of their parents.

The study involved 49 persons, aged from 18 to 70. To obtain the necessary data we used the Questionnaire Survey for Adult Children of Alcoholics, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (SES), Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), Basic Hope Inventory (BHI-R) and Re-trospective Assessment of Parental Attitudes Questionnaire (KPR-Roc).

The results show a positive correlation between the level of self-esteem and life satisfaction, and the attitudes of autonomy and acceptance in the mothers of our subjects. Also, life satisfaction, self-esteem and basic hope proved to be interrelated, i.e. an increase within one coincided with an increase in the other two. In addition, our results show that experiencing violence in the families of persons with the ACoA syndrome significantly correlates with the retrospective assessment of their parents' attitudes. Fathers in the so-called violent families are perceived as excessively demanding, yet inconsistent, while mothers as more rejecting and less protecting.
Self-harm - an overview of the tools used to assess non-suicidal self-harming behaviors
Authors: Drzał-Fiałkiewcz Ewelina , Makarewicz Agata , Walczak Mateusz , Walczak Aleksandra , Futyma-Jędrzejewska Małgorzta , Kozak Gustaw , Frończuk Piotr , Karakuła-Juchnowicz Hanna
Published: April 2018

Introduction: Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) is the deliberate injury to one’s own body intended to cause mental or physical harm to oneself. In view of the growing scale of the NSSI, especially among young people without identifying any other psychiatric disorders, the disorder was included in both DSM-5 and ICD10 as independent diagnostic entity. Many etiopathogenetic hypotheses and research tools assessing various aspects of NSSI have been developed.

The aim of the work is to present and discuss the most commonly used scales for NSSI assessment.

Method: A review of available literature was made using the databases Medline / PubMed, using the key words: “self injury”, “self-mutilation”, “non-suicidal,”, “NSSI”, “self-harm” and time descriptors: 2005-2017

Results: Available tools were divided into three groups: I- scale of self-assessment made by the patient, II- assessment made by the clinician, and III- auxiliary scale.

Conclusions: None of the available scales covers the complexity of the NSSI phenomenon. For the overall NSSI assessment, several NSSI assessment tools are suggested, taking into account both self-assessment scales and clinical evaluation.
Numerical Modelling and Sensitivity Analysis of Natural Draft Cooling Towers
Authors: Dhorat A. , Al-Obaidi M. A. , Mujtaba I.M.
Published: April 2018

Cooling towers are a relatively inexpensive and consistent method of ejecting heat from several industries such as thermal power plants, refineries, and food processing. In this research, an earlier model from literature was to be validated across three different case studies. Unlike previous models, this model considers the height of the fill as the discretised domain, which produces results that give it in a distribution form along the height of the tower. As there are limitations with the software used (gPROMS) where differential equations with respect to independent variables in the numerator and denominator cannot be solved, a derivative of the saturation vapour pressure with respect to the temperature of the air was presented. Results shown were in agreement with the literature and a parametric sensitivity analysis of the cooling tower design and operating parameters were undertaken. In this work the height of fill, mass flowrates of water and air were studied with respect to sensitivity analysis. Results had shown large variations in the outlet temperatures of the water and air if the mass flows of water and air were significantly reduced. However, upon high values of either variable had shown only small gains in the rejection of heat from the water stream. With respect to the height of the fill, at larger heights of the fill, the outlet water temperature had reduced significantly. From a cost perspective, it was found that a change in the water flowrate had incurred the largest cost penalty with a 1 % increase in flowrate had increased the average operating cost by 1.2 %. In comparison, a change in air flowrate where a 1 % increase in flowrate had yielded an average of 0.4 % increase in operating cost.
Quantitative assessment of urban transport development – a spatial approach
Authors: Czech Artur , Biezdudnaja Anna , Lewczuk Jerzy , Razumowskij Władimir
Published: April 2018

Urban transport is considered the basis of properly functioning cities and their development. The main aim of the paper is to attempt the assessment of urban transport development in selected voivodeships (provinces) as a crucial factor of macro logistics. The research also aimed to identify the underdeveloped areas of urban transport in Poland as the basis for the implementation of support policy. The source of information in the investigation process was data drawn from the Central Statistical Office in Poland for 2013–2016. In the scope of dealing with the research problem, chosen classical and order multivariate statistical measures were implemented into the research process. Next, the taxonomic measures for the years of interest served as the basis for the construction of the total (general) synthetic measure applicable to the entire period. The main results and findings of the research indicate that the level of urban transport development is correlated with the whole transportation system which affects the socio-economic development of some regions of Poland. The research can lead to a better understanding of Polish urban transportation development in selected regions. Hence, the results can be helpful in the investment process and for shaping the right transportation policy to improve the use of financial resources.
Polymeric advanced delivery systems for antineoplasic drugs: doxorubicin and 5-fluorouracil
Authors: Villarreal-Gómez Luis Jesús , Serrano-Medina Aracely , José Torres-Martínez Erick , Lizeth Perez-González Graciela , Manuel Cornejo-Bravo José
Published: April 2018

Conventional pharmaceuticals generally display the inability to transport active ingredients directly to specific regions of the body, amongst some of their main limitations. The distribution of the drugs in the circulatory system may lead to undesired toxicity, and therefore, adverse reactions. To address this situation, a selective transport of drugs is required, that is, releasing drugs specifically to the site of action in appropriate concentrations and in the right time. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to develop delivery systems that respond to several features, such as low toxicity, optimum properties for the transport and release of the drug, as well as a long half-life in the body. This feature paper critically provides an overview of different strategies of controlled drug release for two model antineoplasic drugs, i.e. doxorubicin (DOX) and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). Any of the presented strategies for drug release possess advantages and disadvantages, and the selection of the strategy used will depend on the targeted tissue and nature of the drug.
Job burnout and turnover intention among nurses in China: the mediating effects of positive emotion
Authors: Yang Li-Feng , Liu Jing-Ying , Liu Yan-Hui
Published: April 2018

Objective

The aim of this study was to explore whether positive emotion mediates the relationship between job burnout and turnover intentions among Chinese nurses.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey was conducted in the present study. Full-time registered nurses (n = 150) from Grade A hospitals in Tianjin were surveyed. Pearson correlation, hierarchical regression analyses, and the Sobel test were used in the study.

Results

The results illustrated that positive emotion mediated the relationship between burnout and nurses’ turnover intention.

Conclusions

Nursing administrators should pay more attention to the benefits of positive emotions on working motivation. It is helpful to relieve burnout in the working process so that nurses are willing to remain in their current employment.
Party Leaders and Electoral Realignment: Democratic and Republican Southern Strategies, 1948–1968
Authors: Heersink Boris
Published: April 2018

Political scientists who have studied electoral realignments in the American party system increasingly focus on explaining such changes as the result of major historical developments outside of the control of party leaders. Using both national parties’ approaches to the South in the period 1948–1968, I argue that while party leaders may be unable to cause or prevent a realignment, they do attempt to affect the way in which that process plays out. That is, while the shift of Southern White voters from the Democratic to the Republican Party itself was a largely inevitable process, the timing and context in which it played out was affected by competing strategies from both parties. Specifically, I show that between 1948 and 1964, Democratic leaders hedged their bets between attempting to keep white Southern voters in the party, or expel them in favor of black voters in the Northeast based on their assessments of the party’s electoral position. At the same time, between 1948 and 1968, Republican leaders struggled to balance an appeal to segregationist Southerners and voters in other regions before finding a winning formula in Richard Nixon’s 1968 ‘Southern strategy.’
High Isolation Compact Four-Port MIMO Antenna Loaded with CSRR for Multiband Applications
Authors: Kumar Amit , Ansari Abdul Quaiyum , Kanaujia Binod Kumar , Kishor Jugul
Published: April 2018

In this paper, a compact 4×4 multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) patch antenna has been presented for triple band operation. Out of the 4 antennas, two are tuned to cover DCS (Digital Cellular System) downlink and two are tuned to cover DCS uplink frequency separately along with two common operating frequency centered around 2.45 GHz and 875 MHz. Four complementary split-ring resonators (CSRRs) have been etched in the ground plane exactly below the four patch antennas for attaining compactness from 0.36λ02 to 0.13λ02. In addition to this, by optimizing CSRRs outer radius, one lower common band operation of around 875 MHz (0.031λ02) has been obtained. Two, square split-ring resonators (SRRs) are placed between patch antennas to increase isolation by almost 7 dB around DCS band. The proposed MIMO antenna has been fabricated on an FR4 substrate (60×60×0.8) mm3 with dielectric constant, εr=4.3 having an antenna area of 0.13λ02. The Proposed MIMO antenna has two common operating bands, 850–900 MHz, 2410–2466 MHz and one individual band from 1725–1770 MHz for one group of two antennas of dimensions 17×22 mm2 and another individual band from 1800–1845 MHz for another group of two antennas of dimensions 17×23 mm2, where reflection coefficient is less than −10 dB with a minimum isolation of 17 dB. Diversity performance of the proposed MIMO antenna has been verified experimentally on all three bands. However, there is a slight deviation in the DCS operating band due to two different groups of antennas.
More secure version of a Cayley hash function
Authors: Ghaffari Mohammad Hossein , Mostaghim Zohreh
Published: April 2018

In this paper, we propose a more secure version of a Cayley hash function which is based on the linear functions.
It is a practical parallelizable hash function.
Middle and late Badenian palaeoenvironments in the northern Vienna Basin and their potential link to the Badenian Salinity Crisis
Authors: Harzhauser Mathias , Grunert Patrick , Mandic Oleg , Lukeneder Petra , Gallardo Ángela García , Neubauer Thomas A. , Carnevale Giorgio , Landau Bernard M. , Sauer Roman , Strauss Philipp
Published: April 2018

Hydrocarbon exploration in the Bernhardsthal and Bernhardsthal-Sued oil fields documents an up to 2000 m thick succession of middle and upper Badenian deposits in this part of the northern Vienna Basin (Austria). Based on palaeontological analyses of core-samples, well-log data and seismic surveys we propose an integrated stratigraphy and describe the depositional environments. As the middle/late Badenian boundary is correlated with the Langhian/Serravallian boundary, the cores capture the crucial phase of the Middle Miocene Climate Transition. The middle Badenian starts with a major transgression leading to outer neritic to upper bathyal conditions in the northern Vienna Basin, indicated byBathysiphon-assemblages and glass-sponges. A strong palaeo-relief and rapid synsedimentary subsidence accentuated sedimentation during this phase. The middle/late Badenian boundary coincides with a major drop of relative sea level by about 200 m, resulting in a rapid shift from deeper marine depositional environments to coastal and freshwater swamps. In coeval marine settings, a more than 100 m thick unit of anhydrite-bearing clay formed. This is the first evidence of evaporite precipitation during the Badenian Salinity Crisis in the Vienna Basin. Shallow lagoonal environments with diverse and fully marine mollusc and fish assemblages were established during the subsequent late Badenian re-flooding. In composition, the mollusc fauna differs considerably from older ones and is characterized by the sudden appearance of species with eastern Paratethyan affinities.
Isomorphism classes of weighted spaces of holomorphic functions on some subsets of complex plane
Authors: Ardalani Mohammad Ali
Published: April 2018

In this paper, we consider the weighted spaces of holomorphic functions on some open subsets of the complex plane and characterize the isomorphism classes of these spaces whenever our weights are warped and satisfy certain growth conditions.
p⁢(x)p(x)-biharmonic operator involving the p⁢(x)p(x)-Hardy inequality
Authors: El Khalil Abdelouahed , El Moumni Mostafa , Morchid Alaoui Moulay Driss , Touzani Abdelfattah
Published: April 2018

In this work, we investigate the spectrum denoted by Λ for the

p
⁢

(
x
)

{p(x)}

-biharmonic operator involving the Hardy term.
We prove the existence of at least one non-decreasing sequence of positive eigenvalues of this problem such that

sup
⁡
Λ

=

+
∞

{\sup\Lambda=+\infty}

.
Moreover, we prove that

inf
⁡
Λ

>
0

{\inf\Lambda>0}

if and only if the domain Ω satisfies the

p
⁢

(
x
)

{p(x)}

-Hardy inequality.
Grassland management in protected areas – implementation of the EU biodiversity strategy in certain post-communist countries
Authors: Balázsi Ágnes
Published: April 2018

The post-communist countries of Central-Eastern Europe (CEE) when implementing agricultural and conservation policies, face other challenges than Western European countries: (1) specific institutional design for each, developed on the remnants of totalitarian system causing difficulties for transposing directives; (2) different integration of Natura 2000 network into national protected area governance resulting in slow elaboration of the management plans; (3) farming landscapes were better preserved than in Western Europe, but lacking the continuity of extensive farming so large areas of conservation; and (4) formal protection of sites, lacking in many cases financial support. This paper summarizes: the historical background of the last century that changed the farming landscapes of the CEE countries and the challenges in the management of protected areas in an unsteady socio-economic and political context. The results are focusing on the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. Two main conclusions are proposed. First, socialism and capitalism slowly abolished family farming, causing people to become disconnected from the landscape - a key element in conservation oriented grassland management. Second, the gaps of knowledge on different aspects of policy implementation sabotage the results of conservation initiatives.
Twin plots – appropriate method to assess the impact of alien tree on understory?
Authors: Bazalová Denisa , Botková Katarína , Hegedüšová Katarína , Májeková Jana , Medvecká Jana , Šibíková Mária , Škodová Iveta , Zaliberová Mária , Jarolímek Ivan
Published: April 2018

Replacing native forests by alien tree plantations can lead to changes in the species composition of the understory. However, differences in the understory species spectrum can also be a part of the natural variability of forest stands. We have tested the suitability of the twin plots method for an evaluation of the impact of alien trees on the species composition of the understory. This research was conducted on an alluvial plain (SW Slovakia) that was originally covered by a hardwood floodplain forest. The study was based on 7 twin plots of black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) and native forest plots, with a maximum distance of 100 meters between the members of the twins. The dissimilarity of the plots within the black locust forest was significantly lower than the dissimilarity between the twin plots. In addition, the dissimilarity of the plots within the hardwood floodplain forest was also significantly lower than the dissimilarity between the twin plots. Under the same environmental conditions, the higher dissimilarity of the twin plots was caused by major edificators and their impact on the understory vegetation. The twin plots method proved to be a suitable tool for analyses of the impact of alien trees on understory vegetation.
The Eurasian Dry Grassland Group (EDGG) in 2016–2017
Authors: Venn Stephen , Ambarlı Didem , Biurrun Idoia , Dengler Jürgen , Kuzemko Anna , Török Péter , Vrahnakis Michael
Published: April 2018

This report summarizes the activities and achievements of the Eurasian Dry Grassland Group (EDGG) from mid-2016 through to the end of 2017. During this period, the 13th Eurasian Grassland Conference took place in Sighişoara, Romania, and the 14th conference was held in Riga, Latvia. The 10th EDGG Field Workshop on Biodiversity patterns across a precipitation gradient in the Central Apennine mountains was conducted in the Central Apennines, Italy, this time in addition to multi-scale sampling of vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens, also including one animal group (leaf hoppers). Apart from the quarterly issues of its own electronic journal (Bulletin of the Eurasian Dry Grassland Group), EDGG also finalised five grassland-related Special Features/Issues during the past 1.5 years in the following international journals: Applied Vegetation Science, Biodiversity and Conservation, Phytocoenologia, Tuexenia and Hacquetia. Beyond that, EDGG facilitated various national and supra-national vegetationplot databases of grasslands and established its own specialised database for standardised multi-scale plot data of Palaearctic grasslands (GrassPlot).
Inheritance of Basal Branching in Sunflower
Authors: Vedmedeva K.V.
Published: April 2018

Collection of sunflower lines of the Institute of Oilseed Crops was studied based on its branching. Ten lines with the basal branching trait were identified. It was established that the inheritance of the basal branching is due to the recessive alleles of the genes. For lines InLD1240, Z1064, LD835, KG13, VIR130, KG13, LD4, basal branching trait is due to the recessive homozygote of one gene b2. In lines LD72/3, LD156, KG16, I2K2218, basal branching trait is due to the recessive homozygote of two genes b3 and b4. It was established that the genes determining basal branching are distributed in the offspring independently of the genes controlling the top branching.
Interactions between PLA, PE and wood flour: effects of compatibilizing agents and ionic liquids
Authors: Quitadamo Alessia , Massardier Valérie , Valente Marco
Published: April 2018

The differences in hydrophilicity are a main drawback for wood polymer composites (WPCs). This work aims at compatibilizing bio-derived poly(lactic acid) (PLA), high density polyethylene (PE) and wood fibers (WFs) with either functional PEs [PE-graft-maleic anhydride (MA) (Polybond 3029) or random copolymer of ethylene and glycidyl methacrylate (PE-g-GMA) (Lotader AX8840)] or trihexyl(tetradecyl)phosphonium bistriflamide ionic liquid (IL). The interactions and possible chemical reactions between PLA and functional PE or IL were studied including their mechanical properties. PE-g-GMA significantly increased elongation at break of PLA. According to scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the latter also displays good compatibility with WF. Addition of IL plastifies PLA without degrading it and improves the thermal stability of WF.
Melatonin has a protective effect against lipid peroxidation in the bone tissue of diabetic rats subjected to acute swimming exercise
Authors: Bicer Mursel , Baltaci Saltuk Bugra , Patlar Suleyman , Mogulkoc Rasim , Baltaci Abdulkerim Kasim
Published: April 2018

Aim

The present study aimed to examine the effects of melatonin supplementation on lipid peroxidation in the bone tissue of diabetic rats subjected to acute swimming exercise.

Methods

The study was conducted on 80 Sprague-Dawley type adult male rats which were equally allocated to eight groups: group 1, general control; group 2, melatonin-supplemented control; group 3, melatonin-supplemented diabetic control; group 4, swimming control; group 5, melatonin-supplemented swimming; group 6, melatonin-supplemented diabetic swimming; group 7, diabetic swimming; group 8, diabetic control. In order to induce diabetes, the animals were subcutaneously injected with 40 mg/kg streptozotocin (STZ). The animals were supplemented with 3 mg/kg/day melatonin intraperitoneally (IP) for 4 weeks. At the end of the study, the animals were decapitated to collect bone tissue samples which were examined to find out the malondialdehyde (MDA) (nmol/g/protein) and glutathione (GSH) (mg/dL/g protein) levels.

Results

The highest MDA values in the bone tissue were found in groups 7 and 8. MDA levels in the bone tissue in groups 3 and 6 were lower than the levels in groups 7 and 8, but higher than those in all other groups. Groups 3, 5 and 6 had the highest bone tissue GSH values. On the other hand, the lowest GSH level was established in groups 7 and 8.

Conclusion

The results of the present study indicated that the cell damage caused by acute swimming exercise and diabetes in the bone tissue could be prevented by melatonin supplementation.
Crater Formation on the Surface of Pure Metal and Alloy Irradiated by High Current Pulsed Electron Beam
Authors: Cai Jie , Guan Qingfeng , Lv Peng , Zhang Conglin , Yin Yunxiao
Published: April 2018

A detailed investigation concerning the formation mechanism of craters of pure metal and alloy surface after high-current pulsed electron beam (HCPEB) processing has been carried out. After HCPEB irradiation, typical craters were homogeneously distributed on the entire surface of 3Cr13 stainless steel, resulting from local sublayer melting and eruption through the solid outer surface. Comparatively, almost no craters were created of pure zirconium, which was associated with the shallow melting site and incomplete treated surface. Furthermore, a large number of ultrafine grains were formed on the irradiated surface, indicating that surface melting was the dominant interaction mechanism between HCPEB irradiation and pure zirconium. It is apparent that “crater free” phenomenon plays a dominant role in surface modification of zirconium and zirconium alloys.
Design and Evaluation of a Natural User Interface for Piloting an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
Authors: Herrmann Roman , Schmidt Ludger
Published: April 2018

Controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle is challenging and requires an intensive training. One cause is the teleoperation with the conventional input device, the remote control, whose functions are complicate. This paper presents an alternative concept for the teleoperation. Its realization includes a Thalmic Myo gesture control wristlet and a Microsoft HoloLens head-mounted display. These devices are used to implement an augmented reality interface, a tactile feedback and a gesture and speech input. Finally, this implementation has been evaluated with 30 participants and compared with a conventional remote control. The results show that the proposed interface is a good solution but does not reach the performance of the remote control.
Who is the Perfect Match?
Authors: Bellhäuser Henrik , Konert Johannes , Müller Adrienne , Röpke René
Published: April 2018

Using digital tools for teaching allows to unburden teachers from organizational load and even provides qualitative improvements that are not achieved in traditional teaching. Algorithmically supported learning group formation aims at optimizing group composition so that each learner can achieve his or her maximum learning gain and learning groups stay stable and productive. Selecting and weighting relevant criteria for learning group formation is an interdisciplinary challenge. This contribution presents the status quo of algorithmic approaches and respective criteria for learning group formation. Based on this theoretical foundation, we describe an empirical study that investigated the influence of distributing two personality traits (conscientiousness and extraversion) either homogeneously or heterogeneously on subjective and objective measures of productivity, time investment, satisfaction, and performance. Results are compared to an earlier study that also included motivation and prior knowledge as criteria. We find both personality traits to enhance group satisfaction and performance when distributed heterogeneously.
Factors related to job burnout among nurses in the Razi Psychiatric Hospital, Iran
Authors: Rezaei Omid , Habibi Kamelia , Arab Ghahestany Davood , Sayadnasiri Mohammad , Armoon Bahram , Khan Vida , Fattah Moghadam Ladan
Published: April 2018

Background

One of the most prevalent problems in work places that is considered as an important risk factor for the health of the employee is job burnout (JB). JB could be harmful to employees, their families and society. Therefore, decreasing JB among individuals and determining factors associated with it is important to improve the working environment and prevent its negative outcomes. This study aims to elicit the conditions and factors that cause job burnout among nurses of the Razi Psychiatric Hospital, Iran.

Methods

This study was a descriptive correlational and cross-sectional survey which the demographic and occupational burnout variables of nurses were measured. The study was conducted from January to April 2016. Accordingly, with a type I error probability of 0.05 and a power of 0.80, the sample size was determined to be 100 nurses for each group (men and women). Then, 200 were selected in the Razi Psychiatric Hospital (of whom approx. 60% worked in a rotating shift schedule). The data were collected in two phases: the first step was created by the authors, including gathering demographic data with questionnaire such as gender, age, marital status, education level, years of professional experience, hours of overtime working per month, shift schedules, and their working hospitals and wards. The second step was the Maslach burnout inventory (MBI), human services survey (HSS) version, developed by Maslach and Jackson to assess the three dimensions of burnout. Descriptive statistics (frequency distribution) were used for integrating the demographic variables. Additionally, logistical regression was applied to realize the association between demographic characteristics with the job burnout in SPSS software V.19.

Results

Our findings indicated that age, hours of work per week, nursing skills, management experience and work experiences accounted for 30% of the variance of depersonalization. Formal employment was significantly associated with emotional exhaustion (p < 0.04). Also, sex was significantly associated with low personal accomplishment (p < 0.006).

Conclusion

The employment status and gender of nurses participating in the study has an effect on emotional exhaustion and personal achievement. Paying more attention to gender in the nursing profession and the change in their work status to a stable and formalized format can lead to a reduction in job burnout among nurses.
Effect of Biomass Concentration on Oxygen Mass Transfer, Power Consumption, Interfacial Tension and Hydrodynamics in a Multiphase Partitioning Bioreactor
Authors: Lizardi-Jiménez Manuel Alejandro , López-Ordáz Pedro , González-Brambila Margarita Mercedes , Linares-Morales Andrea , Melgarejo-Torres Rodrigo
Published: April 2018

Several studies have reported that the hydrodynamics are not affected by the biomass in multiphase partitioning bioreactors. This work aims to demonstrate the effect of biomass concentration (0, 1, 3 and 5 g L−1) on the oxygen mass transfer coefficients, the droplet size of the dispersed phase, power consumption and superficial tension in a multiphase partitioning bioreactor (ionic liquid-aqueous-air-biomass system). At a biomass concentration of 5 g L−1, the oxygen mass transfer coefficient (kLa) increased by 55% (249 h−1) compared with the abiotic system (160 h−1). In the multiphasic system, the droplet size (d32) decreased when the biomass concentration was increased, producing an increment in the mass transfer area of the dispersed phase. In addition, the power consumption decreased by 44 % compared to a previous report without biomass. Furthermore, the increment of biomass concentration decreased the superficial tension by up to 15 %. A biomass increment in a multiphase system not also increases product yield, but also enhances the bioconversion process. The results obtained suggest that it is obligatory to consider the effect of biomass concentration on hydrodynamic characterisation, design, scale-up and optimisation for improving the performance of biotechnological processes using multiphase bioreactors.
CFD Simulation and Optimization of Gas-Solid Phase Temperature of Isothermal Acetylene Hydrogenation Reactor
Authors: Hu Guihua , Ye Zhencheng , Du Wenli , Qian Feng
Published: April 2018

Gas-solid coupled heat transfer in an industrial isothermal acetylene hydrogenation reactor was carried out using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). A two-temperature porous medium model was established by adding source terms to energy equations of the solid and gas phases. The combination of a genetic algorithm with CFD methods is applied to optimization of the kinetic and process parameters of the reaction. The model was validated by comparing the simulated results with those obtained from a one-temperature porous medium model, a two-temperature porous medium model, and industrial data. The optimal hydrogen-to-acetylene ratio and inlet temperature are 1.78 and 326K, respectively. The optimized ethylene yield increase and hydrogenation selectivity are 0.53 % and 0.18 % higher than the values before optimization, respectively. Finally, the effects of the hydrogen-to-acetylene ratio and inlet temperature on the increase in ethylene yield and hydrogenation selectivity are analyzed. Therefore, the hydrogen-to-acetylene ratio and inlet temperature should be reasonably controlled during production.
Droop based Demand Dispatch for Residential Loads in Smart Grid Application
Authors: Ashourpouri Andisheh , Ghosh Arindam , Rajakaruna Sumedha
Published: April 2018

Aggregated loads play a significant role in maintaining the frequency of power system when the generation is not able to follow frequency deviations. An automatic Demand Dispatch (DD) enables the power system to employ the aggregated loads for balancing demand and supply. In this paper, a Demand Side Frequency Droop (DSFD) has been proposed which provides ancillary service to the grid and maintains the frequency of the power system when the generation system is not capable of following the demand. At the time of a frequency fall/rise, Balancing Authority (BA) can detect aggregated load or group of aggregated loads that have power consumption above or below their standard maximum/minimum consumption levels. Then, the BA issues a droop-based signal to the relevant aggregator. Afterwards, the DSFD will be implemented in the aggregator or the group of aggregators to specify the required power consumption amount for bringing the frequency back to its rated level. Subsequently, this signal will be sent to the Appliance Management Unit (AMU) at each participating house. The AMU sends the signal in the form of deferral or interruptible commands to the appliances depending on the priority, availability and the specification of the appliances. It will be demonstrated that the proposed DSFD control maintains the frequency of the power system within a specified range.
Islanding Detection Technique based on Karl Pearson’s Coefficient of Correlation for Distribution Network with High Penetration of Distributed Generations
Authors: Sareen Karan , Bhalja Bhavesh R , Srivastava Sanjay , Swarnkar Yogendra , Maheshwari Rudra Prakash
Published: April 2018

This article proposes a new Karl Pearson’s coefficient of correlation (‘r’) based islanding detection scheme which utilizes negative sequence voltage and voltage unbalance signal. In order to check the legitimacy of the proposed technique, large numbers of non-islanding and islanding events are generated by modeling IEEE 34-bus network. This scheme detects islanding situation even under 0 % power mis-match condition and thus, reduces the non detection zone (NDZ). Furthermore, the proposed technique detects islanding situation quickly as well as remains stable during the critical non-islanding situation like faults on adjoining feeder having varying location and fault resistance. Moreover, the proposed technique remains immune to variation in external system condition and fundamental frequency. The performance of the proposed technique is comprehensively compared with the schemes currently reported in the literature. This comparison apparently demonstrates the benefits of the proposed technique over existing schemes.
“No-one told me it would all be in Catalan!” – narratives and language ideologies in the Latin American community at school
Authors: Patiño-Santos Adriana
Published: April 2018

This article discusses the circulation of language ideologies through conversational narrative repertoires among Latin American parents in the secondary education system in Catalonia. Data, gathered in a linguistic ethnography carried out in three secondary schools in the metropolitan area of Barcelona between 2011 and 2013, include fieldwork in the classroom and other spaces of the school in different periods of the school year, as well as narrative repertoires gathered from in-depth interviews with some of the actors (students and parents of Latin American backgrounds). We focus on conversational narrative because it has proved to be an effective methodological resource for gathering evaluative and moral stances amongst tellers. Narrative data are triangulated with observational and interactional information. Some of the findings reveal, amongst other phenomena, the coexistence of a constellation of conflicting language ideologies regarding Catalan as the language of the school.
Using a Bayesian Structural Time–Series Model to Infer the Causal Impact on Cigarette Sales of Partial and Total Bans on Public Smoking
Authors: Pinilla Jaime , Negrín Miguel , González-López-Valcárcel Beatriz , Vázquez-Polo Francisco-José
Published: April 2018

The Bayesian structural time series model, used in conjunction with a state–space model, is a novel means of exploring the causal impact of a policy intervention. It extends the widely used difference–in–differences approach to the time series setting and enables several control series to be used to construct the counterfactual. This paper highlights the benefits of using this methodology to estimate the effectiveness of an absolute ban on smoking in public places, compared with a partial ban. In January 2006, the Spanish government enacted a tobacco control law which banned smoking in bars and restaurants, with exceptions depending on the floor space of the premises. In January 2011, further legislation in this area was adopted, removing these exceptions. The data source used for our study was the monthly legal sales of cigarettes in Spain from January 2000 to December 2014. The potential control series were the monthly tourist arrivals from the United Kingdom, the total number of visitors from France, the unemployment rate and the average price of cigarettes. Analysis of the state–space model leads us to conclude that the partial ban was not effective in reducing the tobacco sold in Spain, but that the total ban contributed significantly to reducing cigarette consumption.