bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Trust-Based Secure Routing Scheme Using the Traceback Approach for Energy-Harvesting Wireless Sensor Networks
Authors: Tang Jiawei , Liu Anfeng , Zhang Jian , Xiong Neal N. , Zeng Zhiwen , Wang Tian
Published: March 2018

The Internet of things (IoT) is composed of billions of sensing devices that are subject to threats stemming from increasing reliance on communications technologies. A Trust-Based Secure Routing (TBSR) scheme using the traceback approach is proposed to improve the security of data routing and maximize the use of available energy in Energy-Harvesting Wireless Sensor Networks (EHWSNs). The main contributions of a TBSR are (a) the source nodes send data and notification to sinks through disjoint paths, separately; in such a mechanism, the data and notification can be verified independently to ensure their security. (b) Furthermore, the data and notification adopt a dynamic probability of marking and logging approach during the routing. Therefore, when attacked, the network will adopt the traceback approach to locate and clear malicious nodes to ensure security. The probability of marking is determined based on the level of battery remaining; when nodes harvest more energy, the probability of marking is higher, which can improve network security. Because if the probability of marking is higher, the number of marked nodes on the data packet routing path will be more, and the sink will be more likely to trace back the data packet routing path and find malicious nodes according to this notification. When data packets are routed again, they tend to bypass these malicious nodes, which make the success rate of routing higher and lead to improved network security. When the battery level is low, the probability of marking will be decreased, which is able to save energy. For logging, when the battery level is high, the network adopts a larger probability of marking and smaller probability of logging to transmit notification to the sink, which can reserve enough storage space to meet the storage demand for the period of the battery on low level; when the battery level is low, increasing the probability of logging can reduce energy consumption. After the level of battery remaining is high enough, nodes then send the notification which was logged before to the sink. Compared with past solutions, our results indicate that the performance of the TBSR scheme has been improved comprehensively; it can effectively increase the quantity of notification received by the sink by 20%, increase energy efficiency by 11%, reduce the maximum storage capacity needed by nodes by 33.3% and improve the success rate of routing by approximately 16.30%.
How Are University Gyms Used by Staff and Students? A Mixed-Method Study Exploring Gym Use, Motivation, and Communication in Three UK Gyms
Authors: Rapport Frances , Hutchings Hayley , Doel Marcus , Wells Bridget , Clement Clare , Mellalieu Stephen , Shubin Sergei , Brown David , Seah Rebecca , Wright Sarah , Sparkes Andrew
Published: March 2018

This study examined university gym use by staff and students using mixed methods: participant observation and an e-survey. Research in three UK universities entailed 16 observation sessions and an e-survey that reached 3396 students and staff. The research focused on gym use, the gym environment, the presentation of the self, and social interaction within gym spaces. The gyms were found to have a difficult role to play in providing functionality for some, while helping others to be active and minimize feelings of isolation and lack of control. This led to these gyms developing spaces of exercise rather than therapeutic spaces, and divisions in use of space, with some areas rarely used and often highly gendered, resulting in contested meanings produced within Healthy University discourses and physical activities.
Soil Carbon Dioxide Respiration in Switchgrass Fields: Assessing Annual, Seasonal and Daily Flux Patterns
Authors: Lee Jaehoon , McKnight Julie , Skinner Leah , Sherfy Andrew , Tyler Donald , English Burton
Published: March 2018

Quantifications of annual soil respiration in switchgrass systems are limited to the growing season or coarse-scale temporal sampling. This study evaluates daily and seasonal soil CO2 respiration in switchgrass croplands. Hourly measurements during a 12-month period were taken for soil CO2 flux, soil temperature, and soil moisture. Although both soil temperature and moisture were positively correlated with soil CO2 flux rates, soil temperature was the primary driver of soil respiration. During winter, lower soil temperatures corresponded with significant decreases in average daily CO2 flux rates, however, CO2 pulses associated with precipitation events increased flux rates up to three times the seasonal daily average. Soil temperature influenced both daily and seasonal flux patterns where the highest flux rates, up to 31.0 kg CO2 ha−1 h−1, were observed during the warmest hours of the day (13:00 to 15:00) and during the warmest season (Summer). Summer and Spring emissions combined accounted for 80.1% of annual flux, indicating that exclusion of non-growing season time periods may result in an underestimation of total annual CO2 efflux. Our results indicate that inclusion of the non-growing season and a fine-resolution temporal sampling approach provides more accurate quantifications of total annual CO2 emissions in switchgrass croplands.
A Preference Model for Supplier Selection Based on Hesitant Fuzzy Sets
Authors: Zhou Zhexuan , Dou Yajie , Liao Tianjun , Tan Yuejin
Published: March 2018

The supplier selection problem is a widespread concern in the modern commercial economy. Ranking suppliers involves many factors and poses significant difficulties for decision makers. Supplier selection is a multi-criteria and multi-objective problem, which leads to decision makers forming their own preferences. In addition, there are both quantifiable and non-quantifiable attributes related to their preferences. To solve this problem, this paper presents a preference model based on hesitant fuzzy sets (HFS) to select suppliers. The cost and service quality of suppliers are the main considerations in the proposed model. HFS with interactive and multi-criteria decision making are used to evaluate the non-quantifiable attributes of service quality, which include competitive display, qualification ability, suitability and competitiveness of solutions, and relational fitness and dynamics. Finally, a numerical example of supplier selection for a high-end equipment manufacturer is provided to illustrate the applicability of the proposed model. The preferences of a decision maker are then analyzed by altering preference parameters.
Coal Consumption and Economic Growth: Panel Cointegration and Causality Evidence from OECD and Non-OECD Countries
Authors: Jin Taeyoung , Kim Jinsoo
Published: March 2018

This paper examines the relationship between coal consumption and economic growth for 30 OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries and 32 non-OECD countries for 1990–2013 using a multivariate dependent panel analysis. For the analysis, we conducted the common factor defactorization process, unit root test, cointegration test, long-run cointegrating vector, and Granger causality test. Our results suggest the following: First, there is no long-run relationship between coal consumption and economic growth in OECD countries; however, in non-OECD countries, the relationship does exist. Second, excessive coal usage may hinder economic growth in the long run. Lastly, the growth hypothesis (coal consumption affects economic growth positively) is supported in the short run for non-OECD countries. As coal consumption has a positive effect on economic growth in the short run and a negative effect in the long run, energy conservation policies may have adverse effects only in the short run. Thus, non-OECD countries should gradually switch their energy mix to become less coal-dependent as they consider climate change. Moreover, a transfer of technology and financial resources from developed to developing countries must be encouraged at a global level.
Achieving Highly Efficient Atmospheric CO2 Uptake by Artificial Upwelling
Authors: Pan Yiwen , You Long , Li Yifan , Fan Wei , Chen Chen-Tung , Wang Bing-Jye , Chen Ying
Published: March 2018

Artificial upwelling (AU) is considered a potential means of reducing the accumulation of anthropogenic CO2. It has been suggested that AU has significant effects on regional carbon sink or source characteristics, and these effects are strongly influenced by certain technical parameters, the applied region, and the season. In this study, we simulated the power needed to raise the level of deep ocean water (DOW) to designated plume trapping depths in order to evaluate the effect of changing the source DOW depth and the plume trapping depth on carbon sequestration ability and efficiency. A carbon sequestration efficiency index (CSEI) was defined to indicate the carbon sequestration efficiency per unit of power consumption. The results suggested that the CSEI and the carbon sequestration ability exhibit opposite patterns when the DOW depth is increased, indicating that, although raising a lower DOW level can enhance the regional carbon sequestration ability, it is not energy-efficient. Large variations in the CSEI were shown to be associated with different regions, seasons, and AU technical parameters. According to the simulated CSEI values, the northeast past of the Sea of Japan is most suitable for AU, and some regions in the South China Sea are not suitable for increasing carbon sink.
Reconstructing Tradition: Heritage Authentication and Tourism-Related Commodification of the Ancient City of Pingyao
Authors: Su Xiaoyan
Published: March 2018

This paper examines how the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage (CCPWCNH) is implemented in China, with specific reference to tourism development at the local level in the Ancient City of Pingyao (ACP). Based on a qualitative methodology and constructivist paradigm, the research employs observation and semi-structured interviews to explore how the interaction between heritage authorization and tourism-related commodification shapes the transformation of the local community. Giddens’ theories, amongst others, on modernity, time–space distanciation, disembedding, and reflexivity, are employed to analyze this case study. The paper argues that the reconstruction of “traditional-style culture” has contributed to the transformative processes in the ACP. Traditional-style culture differs from “traditional culture” in that the former refers to cultural forms that are purposely (re)constructed to serve contemporary political or economic needs, while the latter refers to cultural forms that are rooted in the local contexts of premodern societies. One of the impacts of traditional-style culture, which is the product of the interaction between heritage authorization and tourism development, is the emergence of a commercialized environment. This environment confounds the notion of authenticity that is claimed in authorized concepts of heritage. There, construction of traditional-style culture demonstrates the relationship of powerful actors with hierarchical power, leading to an unequal positioning of external agents (such as heritage experts) and local residents.
Sustainable and Low Greenhouse Gas Emitting Rice Production in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Review on the Transition from Ideality to Reality
Authors: Chirinda Ngonidzashe , Arenas Laura , Katto Maria , Loaiza Sandra , Correa Fernando , Isthitani Manabu , Loboguerrero Ana , Martínez-Barón Deissy , Graterol Eduardo , Jaramillo Santiago , Torres Carlos , Arango Miguel , Guzmán Myriam , Avila Ivan , Hube Sara , Kurtz Ditmar , Zorrilla Gonzalo , Terra Jose , Irisarri Pilar , Tarlera Silvana , LaHue Gabriel , Scivittaro Walkyria , Noguera Aldo , Bayer Cimelio
Published: March 2018

The burgeoning demand for rice in Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) exceeds supply, resulting in a rice deficit. To overcome this challenge, rice production should be increased, albeit sustainably. However, since rice production is associated with increases in the atmospheric concentration of two greenhouse gases (GHGs), namely methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), the challenge is on ensuring that production increases are not associated with an increase in GHG emissions and thus do not cause an increase in GHG emission intensities. Based on current understanding of drivers of CH4 and N2O production, we provide here insights on the potential climate change mitigation benefits of management and technological options (i.e., seeding, tillage, irrigation, residue management) pursued in the LAC region. Studies conducted in the LAC region show intermittent irrigation or alternate wetting and drying of rice fields to reduce CH4 emissions by 25–70% without increasing N2O emissions. Results on yield changes associated with intermittent irrigation remain inconclusive. Compared to conventional tillage, no-tillage and anticipated tillage (i.e., fall tillage) cause a 21% and 25% reduction in CH4 emissions, respectively. From existing literature, it was unambiguous that the mitigation potential of most management strategies pursued in the LAC region need to be quantified while acknowledging country-specific conditions. While breeding high yielding and low emitting rice varieties may represent the most promising and possibly sustainable approach for achieving GHG emission reductions without demanding major changes in on-farm management practices, this is rather idealistic. We contend that a more realistic approach for realizing low GHG emitting rice production systems is to focus on increasing rice yields, for obvious food security reasons, which, while not reducing absolute emissions, should translate to a reduction in GHG emission intensities. Moreover, there is need to explore creative ways of incentivizing the adoption of promising combinations of management and technological options.
A Comparison of Competing Models for Understanding Industrial Organization’s Acceptance of Cloud Services
Authors: Chen Shui-Lien , Chen June-Hong , Lee Yung
Published: March 2018

Cloud computing is the next generation in computing, and the next natural step in the evolution of on-demand information technology services and products. However, only a few studies have addressed the adoption of cloud computing from an organizational perspective, which have not proven whether the research model is the best-fitting model. The purpose of this paper is to construct research competing models (RCMs) and determine the best-fitting model for understanding industrial organization’s acceptance of cloud services. This research integrated the technology acceptance model and the principle of model parsimony to develop four cloud service adoption RCMs with enterprise usage intention being used as a proxy for actual behavior, and then compared the RCMs using structural equation modeling (SEM). Data derived from a questionnaire-based survey of 227 firms in Taiwan were tested against the relationships through SEM. Based on the empirical study, the results indicated that, although all four RCMs had a high goodness of fit, in both nested and non-nested structure comparisons, research competing model A (Model A) demonstrated superior performance and was the best-fitting model. This study introduced a model development strategy that can most accurately explain and predict the behavioral intention of organizations to adopt cloud services.
Structural Basis for the Specific Neutralization of Stx2a with a Camelid Single Domain Antibody Fragment
Authors: Bernedo-Navarro Robert , Romão Ema , Yano Tomomasa , Pinto Joar , De Greve Henri , Sterckx Yann , Muyldermans Serge
Published: March 2018

Background: Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) are a subset of pathogens leading to illnesses such as diarrhea, hemolytic uremic syndrome and even death. The Shiga toxins are the main virulence factors and divided in two groups: Stx1 and Stx2, of which the latter is more frequently associated with severe pathologies in humans. Results: An immune library of nanobodies (Nbs) was constructed after immunizing an alpaca with recombinant Shiga toxin-2a B subunit (rStx2aB), to retrieve multiple rStx2aB-specific Nbs. The specificity of five Nbs towards rStx2aB was confirmed in ELISA and Western blot. Nb113 had the highest affinity (9.6 nM) and its bivalent construct exhibited a 100-fold higher functional affinity. The structure of the Nb113 in complex with rStx2aB was determined via X-ray crystallography. The crystal structure of the Nb113–rStx2aB complex revealed that five copies of Nb113 bind to the rStx2aB pentamer and that the Nb113 epitope overlaps with the Gb3 binding site, thereby providing a structural basis for the neutralization of Stx2a by Nb113 that was observed on Vero cells. Finally, the tandem-repeated, bivalent Nb1132 exhibits a higher toxin neutralization capacity compared to monovalent Nb113. Conclusions: The Nb of highest affinity for rStx2aB is also the best Stx2a and Stx2c toxin neutralizing Nb, especially in a bivalent format. This lead Nb neutralizes Stx2a by competing for the Gb3 receptor. The fusion of the bivalent Nb1132 with a serum albumin specific Nb is expected to combine high toxin neutralization potential with prolonged blood circulation.
A Characterization of Saw Filters’ Vibrational Sensitivity
Authors: Rossi Massimiliano
Published: March 2018

A novel characterization method for discrete saw filters’ vibrational sensitivity is presented. The proposed approach allows the characterization of filters under vibrations and the extraction of a behavioural model. Filters are assumed to be transducers so that external induced vibrational energy is partially transformed in an undesired simultaneous amplitude and phase modulation of the input RF signal. When the filter is mechanically excited with vibrations, it introduces spurious amplitude and phase modulation to the input signal that can potentially affect the link quality.
Early Studies of Binocular and Binaural Directions
Authors: Wade Nicholas
Published: March 2018

Understanding how the eyes work together to determine the direction of objects provided the impetus for examining integration of signals from the ears to locate sounds. However, the advantages of having two eyes were recorded long before those for two ears were appreciated. In part, this reflects the marked differences in how we can compare perception with one or two organs. It is easier to close one eye and examine monocular vision than to “close” one ear and study monaural hearing. Moreover, we can move our eyes either in the same or in opposite directions, but humans have no equivalent means of moving the ears in unison. Studies of binocular single vision can be traced back over two thousand years and they were implicitly concerned with visual directions from each eye. The location of any point in visual or auditory space can be described by specifying its direction and distance, from the vantage point of an observer. From the late 18th century experiments indicated that binocular direction involved an eye movement component and experimental studies of binaural direction commenced slightly later. However, these early binocular and binaural experiments were not incorporated into theoretical accounts until almost a century later. The early history of research on visual direction with two eyes is contrasted to that on auditory direction with two ears.
Extracting Farmland Features from Lidar-Derived DEM for Improving Flood Plain Delineation
Authors: Qian Tianlu , Shen Dingtao , Xi Changbai , Chen Jie , Wang Jiechen
Published: March 2018

Flood plains, which are commonly distributed in flat river or lake basins, often contain large tracts of farmland. Therefore, flood plains require precise and detailed information on the role played by farmland in flood routing simulations, flood risk evaluation, and flood loss evaluation. In farmland, cultivated land parcels are not directly adjacent. The intervening non-cultivable land, which might include trails and ditches, can cover large areas. Currently, the area of non-cultivable land between cultivated land parcels is usually measured by artificial visual interpretation or by fieldwork. This study focused on the extraction of uncultivable trails, ditches, and cultivated field parcels within farmland on the basis of a Light Detection and Ranging-derived (LiDAR-derived) high-resolution gridded Digital Elevation Model (DEM). The proposed approach was applied to generate polygons of individual land parcels in a flood storage and detention area. The DEM was first smoothed and then subtracted. To remove small spots and to smooth the boundaries of the land parcels, inner and outer buffers were created to generalize the extracted polygons. Experiments proved that this approach is applicable in flood plain farmland and demonstrated that the chosen parameters were appropriate. This approach is more efficient than traditional surveying methods. For field parcel extraction, the accuracy achieved was 93.42%, using official statistics for comparison, and the Cohen’s kappa coefficient was 0.90, using a visual interpretation of an aerial image for comparison. The kappa coefficients were 0.87 and 0.77 for trail and ditch extraction, respectively.
Irrigation with Treated Municipal Wastewater on Artichoke Crop: Assessment of Soil and Yield Heavy Metal Content and Human Risk
Authors: Gatta Giuseppe , Gagliardi Anna , Disciglio Grazia , Lonigro Antonio , Francavilla Matteo , Tarantino Emanuele , Giuliani Marcella
Published: March 2018

Industrial and municipal wastewaters are often used for irrigating agricultural fields in arid and semi-arid countries, representing the most attractive option to alleviate pressure on fresh-water resources. However, the wastewater may contain various potentially toxic elements and organic matters with highly harmful effects on human and animal health. During two growing seasons of globe artichoke, the effects of irrigation with secondary (SWW) and tertiary (TWW) municipal wastewater on heavy metal soil and plant content were evaluated, together with the consequent human risk from artichoke head consumption. The heavy metal contents (i.e., Al, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, Zn, and Mn) of the irrigation water, soil, plant, and yield were analyzed. Total and extractable heavy metals were quantified to determine the bioaccumulation factors, and the health risks to adults and children were determined according to hazard indices. The heavy metal contents of the artichoke heads harvested after SWW and TWW irrigation were lower than the international threshold values, and low bioaccumulation factors suggested that these heavy metals did not accumulate in the edible part of the artichoke crop. The hazard indices that were based on the consumption of the artichoke heads remained <1.0 for both adults and children, thus indicating that the health risks involving the different heavy metals are not significant.
Does SAE have /flap/? Evidence from Canadian Raising and Vowel Durations
Authors: Dickerson Bethany
Published: March 2018

In American English, /t/ and /d/ neutralize to flaps intervocalically: write ∼ writer and ride ∼ rider. There also exist words which contain ambiguous surface flaps that do not alternate, for example, the name Ryder. Does the language user treat this flap like an allophone of /t/ or /d/ (as predicted by the Free Ride Principle), or as an independent segment (as predicted by Lexicon Optimization)? To investigate this question, acoustic data from elicited (Experiment 1) and spontaneous (Experiment 2) speech are analyzed. Voiceless consonants cause the vowel preceding them to be shorter and trigger Canadian Raising. Therefore, if language users treat non-alternating flaps as allophones of /t/, the vowel durations and F1 trajectories of the vowels in these two environments will be similar to each other and different from before flapped /d/, and vice versa if language users treat non-alternating flaps as allophones of /d/. If language users treat non-alternating flaps as different than both the flap allophones of /t/ and /d/, vowel durations and F1 will be different in all three environments. Results show that the durations and F1 trajectories of the vowels in the three environments are all different from each other, providing evidence for Lexicon Optimization.
Drawing the krtań: Laryngeal alternations in Polish
Authors: Lamont Andrew
Published: March 2018

Polish exhibits the cross-linguistically common processes of final devoicing and voice assimilation. Notably, these target not only obstruents and obstruent clusters, but also certain obstruent-sonorant clusters. This paper argues for an analysis in Harmonic Serialism where sonorants acquire laryngeal nodes, thereby becoming susceptible to the same constraints that act on obstruents. There is an asymmetry between OS#O clusters, which show assimilation, and O#SO clusters, which do not. The analysis captures this asymmetry with positional faithfulness constraints on word-initial sonorants. The analysis also straightforwardly models other patterns in Polish and neatly captures a dialectal difference between Warsaw and Cracow Polish with a single constraint reranking.
Consequences of High Vowel Deletion for Syllabification in Japanese
Authors: Shaw Jason Anthony , Kawahara Shigeto
Published: March 2018

High vowels in Japanese devoice between two voiceless consonants; recent work has shown that devoiced /u/ in this environment is also variably deleted. This paper investigates the syllabification of consonant clusters resulting from vowel deletion. We consider two competing hypotheses from the literature: (H1) that consonant clusters are parsed tautosyllabically into a complex syllable onset and (H2) that consonant clusters are parsed heterosyllabically, with the consonant preceding the deleted vowel becoming a syllabic consonant. We bring both phonological and phonetic evidence bear on evaluating these hypotheses. The phonological evidence draws on patterns sensitive to syllable structure including pitch accent placement, loanword truncation, hypocoristic formation, and mimetics. The phonetic evidence comes from patterns of temporal stability in articulatory data collected with ElectroMagnetic Articulography. Both types of evidence provide converging support for H2.
Evidence for Metrical Prominence Asymmetries in Medʉmba
Authors: Franich Kathryn H
Published: March 2018

Headedness has played a crucial role in the characterization of metrical structure since the earliest proposals for its existence, with definitions of headedness typically relying on the notion of relative syllable prominence: heads are said to bear relatively greater prominence than nonheads. But what counts as prominent for the sake of headedness varies widely across languages, particularly where evidence for stress is weak or absent. The present work seeks to look beyond acoustic evidence for headedness by conceptualizing metrical prominence in terms of its coordinative role in speech timing. Here, we examine timing of metrically-prominent syllables in Medʉmba, a Grassfields Bantu language spoken in Cameroon. Medʉmba has no phonetic evidence of stress, but displays evidence of metrical prominence asymmetries at the word level. We use the speech cycling paradigm (Cummins & Port 1998) to compare results regarding the timing of metrically prominent syllables in Medʉmba with those from previous work on stressed syllables in English and accented syllables in Japanese and Korean, showing that a unified notion of metrical prominence can be applied across languages.
Improved Ultraviolet and Infrared Oscillator Strengths for OH+
Authors: Hodges James N. , Bittner Dror M. , Bernath Peter F.
Published: March 2018

Molecular ions are key reaction intermediates in the interstellar medium. OH+ plays a central role in the formation of more complex chemical species and for estimating the cosmic ray ionization rate in astrophysical environments. Here, we use a recent analysis of a laboratory spectrum in conjunction with ab initio methods to calculate infrared and ultraviolet oscillator strengths. These new oscillator strengths include branch dependent intensity corrections, arising from the Herman–Wallis effect, that have not been included before. We estimate 10% total uncertainty in the UV and 6% total uncertainty in the IR for the oscillator strengths.
Adsorption Energies of Carbon, Nitrogen, and Oxygen Atoms on the Low-temperature Amorphous Water Ice: A Systematic Estimation from Quantum Chemistry Calculations
Authors: Shimonishi Takashi , Nakatani Naoki , Furuya Kenji , Hama Tetsuya
Published: March 2018

We propose a new simple computational model to estimate the adsorption energies of atoms and molecules to low-temperature amorphous water ice, and we present the adsorption energies of carbon (3
P), nitrogen (4
S), and oxygen (3
P) atoms based on quantum chemistry calculations. The adsorption energies were estimated to be 14,100 ± 420 K for carbon, 400 ± 30 K for nitrogen, and 1440 ± 160 K for oxygen. The adsorption energy of oxygen is consistent with experimentally reported values. We found that the binding of a nitrogen atom is purely physisorption, while that of a carbon atom is chemisorption, in which a chemical bond to an O atom of a water molecule is formed. That of an oxygen atom has a dual character, with both physisorption and chemisorption. The chemisorption of atomic carbon also implies the possibility of further chemical reactions to produce molecules bearing a C–O bond, though this may hinder the formation of methane on water ice via sequential hydrogenation of carbon atoms. These properties would have a large impact on the chemical evolution of carbon species in interstellar environments. We also investigated the effects of newly calculated adsorption energies on the chemical compositions of cold dense molecular clouds with the aid of gas-ice astrochemical simulations. We found that abundances of major nitrogen-bearing molecules, such as N2 and NH3, are significantly altered by applying the calculated adsorption energy, because nitrogen atoms can thermally diffuse on surfaces, even at 10 K.
The Spread of Metals into the Low-redshift Intergalactic Medium
Authors: Pratt Cameron T. , Stocke John T. , Keeney Brian A. , Danforth Charles W.
Published: March 2018

We investigate the association between galaxies and metal-enriched and metal-deficient absorbers in the local universe (z < 0.16) using a large compilation of far-ultraviolet spectra of bright active galactic nuclei targets observed with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph aboard the Hubble Space Telescope. In this homogeneous sample of 18 O vi detections at

and 18 nondetections at

using

absorbers with

, the maximum distance O vi extends from galaxies of various luminosities is ∼0.6 Mpc, or ∼5 virial radii, confirming and refining earlier results. This is an important value that must be matched by numerical simulations, which input the strength of galactic winds at the sub-grid level. We present evidence that the primary contributors to the spread of metals into the circum- and intergalactic media are sub-L* galaxies (

). The maximum distances that metals are transported from these galaxies is comparable to, or less than, the size of a group of galaxies. These results suggest that, where groups are present, the metals produced by the group galaxies do not leave the group. Since many O vi nondetections in our sample occur at comparably close impact parameters as those of the metal-bearing absorbers, some more pristine intergalactic material appears to be accreting onto groups where it can mix with metal-bearing clouds.
Day of Surgery Affects Length of Hospitalization for Patients Undergoing Total Joint Arthroplasty Discharged to Extended Care Facilities
Authors: Lilly Ryan , Siljander Matthew , Koueiter Denise M. , Verner James
Published: March 2018

Although the average hospital length of stay (LOS) after total joint arthroplasty (TJA) has decreased during the past 10 years, it continues to play a significant role in postoperative costs. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of surgical day of the week on hospital LOS among TJA patients discharged to an extended care facility (ECF). A TJA database from a single hospital was used to identify all patients who underwent primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and total hip arthroplasty (THA) between January 2013 and December 2016. Inclusion criteria were age older than 50 years, surgery Monday through Friday, and discharge to an ECF. A total of 2184 patients met inclusion criteria. Patients were divided into groups based on surgical day of the week. There was no statistically significant difference in age (
P
=.120), sex (
P
=.959), or procedure (TKA vs THA,
P
=.395) between groups based on surgery day. The LOS varied significantly by the day of the week (
P
<.001). Thursday varied significantly from every other day of the week (
P
<.001), with the greatest LOS (mean, 3.56±0.84 days) and the highest percentage of patients discharged (27.8%) compared with all other days. Tuesday had the shortest LOS (mean, 3.25±0.70 days) and differed significantly from Thursday and Friday (
P
<.05). Patients discharged to an ECF after primary TKA and THA have an increased mean hospital LOS when their surgery falls on a Thursday. The authors recommend preferentially scheduling patients with planned postoperative discharge to an ECF for surgery on Tuesday and avoiding surgery on Thursday. [
Orthopedics.
2018; 41(2):82–86.]
Artificial Intelligence Applications on Classification of Heart Sounds
Authors: Coskun Huseyin , Yigit Tuncay
Published: March 2018

The aim of this chapter is to classify normal and extra systole heart sounds using artificial intelligence methods. Initially, both heart sounds have been passed from Butterworth, Chebyshev, Elliptic digital filter in specific frequency values to remove noise. Afterwards, features of heart sounds have been obtained for classification. For this process, wavelet transform and Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCC) methods have been applied. Training and test data have been created for classifier by taking means and standard deviation of gained feature. Support vector machine (SVM) and artificial neural network (ANN) methods have been used for classification of these heart sounds. Using wavelet and MFCC features, classification success of SVM has been obtained as 93.33% and 100%, respectively. Using wavelet and MFCC features, classification success of ANN has been obtained as 83.33% and 90%, respectively.
Prediction of Electroencephalogram Time Series via Artificial Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System Trained by League Championship Algorithm
Authors: Karakoc Mehmet Mehdi
Published: March 2018

Time series analysis has a wide application interest in artificial-intelligence-oriented research studies. Because it is easy to run machine-learning-based solutions directly over time series, it has been a popular approach to use alternative types of intelligent systems to analyze time series. Regarding such works, time series prediction is known as a remarkable topic as followed by researchers from different fields. The objective of this chapter is to provide an alternative work by using artificial neuro-fuzzy inference system trained by the league championship algorithm, which is an optimization algorithm from the associated literature. As the application objective, electroencephalogram (EEG) time series have been tried to be predicted by using the designed ANFIS-LCA approach. The chapter briefly introduces details about the approach and reports findings from the performed prediction operations.
Determining Headache Diseases With Genetic Algorithm
Authors: Celik Gaffari
Published: March 2018

Currently, medical diagnosis has a strong relation with the artificial-intelligence-oriented approaches. Because it is practical to employ intelligent mechanisms over some input data-expert knowledge and design effective solution ways, even the biomedical engineering field is interested in taking support from artificial intelligence. If applications in this manner are taken into consideration, we can see that medical diagnoses have a big percentage. In the sense of the explanations, the objective of this chapter is to use genetic algorithm (GA) for diagnosing headache diseases. As a popular and essential technique benefiting from evolutionary mechanisms, GA can deal with many different types of real-world problems. So, it has been chosen as the solution way/algorithm over the headache disease detection problem, which shapes the research framework of the study. The chapter content gives information about the performed diagnosis application and the results.
Novel Techniques in Skin and Face Detection in Color Images
Authors: Hajiarbabi Mohammadreza , Agah Arvin
Published: March 2018

Human skin detection and face detection are important and challenging problems in computer vision. The use of color information has increased in recent years due to the lower processing time of face detection compared to black and white images. A number of techniques for skin detection are discussed. Experiments have been performed utilizing deep learning with a variety of color spaces, showing that deep learning produces better results compared to methods such as rule-based, Gaussian model, and feed forward neural network on skin detection. A challenging problem in skin detection is that there are numerous objects with colors similar to that of the human skin. A texture segmentation method has been designed to distinguish between the human skin and objects with similar colors to that of human skin. Once the skin is detected, image is divided into several skin components and the process of detecting the face is limited to these components—increasing the speed of the face detection. In addition, a method for eye and lip detection is proposed using information from different color spaces.
Bond Behaviour between GFRP Reinforcement and Concrete Using a Pull-Out Test
Authors: Gažovičová Natalia , Bilčík Juraj , Holly Ivan , Halvonik Jaroslav
Published: March 2018

Corrosion of steel reinforcement is one of the most often deterioration reasons of RC structures. At present, the corrosion of steel reinforcement can be avoided by using non-metallic reinforcement from composite materials, especially in structures that are exposed to extreme environmental environment. These materials are durable and non-conductive. They are composited from two materials: fibres and matrix. The most commonly used FRP (Fiber Reinforced Polymers - FRP) reinforcement are glass fibre reinforced polymers (GFRP). The bar surface can be e.g. sanded, wrapped, with helically wound ribs. The bond between concrete and reinforcement is one of the basic requirements for the composite action of both materials. The transfer of forces between the steel reinforcement and the concrete is provided by the following mechanisms: adhesion, friction and mechanical interlocking. The bond between GFRP reinforcement and concrete is different and it is ensured by friction and mechanical interlocking of the rebar surface. The chemical bond does not originate between GFRP reinforcement and the surrounding concrete, so adhesion does not contribute to transfer of the bond forces. Some few test methods are used to determine the bond between GFRP reinforcement and concrete. The pull-out test were used to determine the bond behaviour between GFRP rebars and concrete. This paper describes the preparation, process, results and evaluation of the pull-out tests.
Punching Resistance of Flat Slabs with Openings – Experimental Investigation
Authors: Augustín Tomáš , Fillo Ľudovít , Halvonik Jaroslav , Marčiš Marián
Published: March 2018

Flat slabs are commonly used structures in contemporary architecture. Although their common use there is still problem in design of these structures. The openings adjacent to a column are often used for plumbing and such a position of the openings increases shear stresses in the flat slab near the column. This paper deals with experimental work focused on the punching shear resistance of the flat slab specimens with openings adjacent to column compared to the flat slab specimens without openings. The opening influence is determined experimentally and by using models for the assessment of punching resistance from relevant standards and codes. The material properties of concrete and reinforcing steel were obtained from the laboratory tests.
Cardiac Channelopathies: Recognition, Treatment, Management
Authors: Hickey Kathleen T. , Elzomor Amir
Published: March 2018

The discovery of the human genome has ushered in a new era of molecular testing, advancing our knowledge and ability to identify cardiac channelopathies. Genetic variations can affect the opening and closing of the potassium, sodium, and calcium channels, resulting in arrhythmias and sudden death. Cardiac arrhythmias caused by disorders of ion channels are known as cardiac channelopathies. Nurses are important members of many interdisciplinary teams and must have a general understanding of the pathophysiology of the most commonly encountered cardiac channelopathies, electrocardiogram characteristics, approaches to treatment, and care for patients and their families. This article provides an overview of cardiac channelopathies that nurses might encounter in an array of clinical and research settings, focusing on the clinically relevant features of long QT syndrome, short QT syndrome, Brugada syndrome, catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia, and arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia/cardiomyopathy.
Sulphide textural variations and multiphase ore emplacement in the Eagle's Nest Ni-Cu-(PGE) deposit, McFaulds Lake Greenstone Belt, Ontario
Authors: Zuccarelli N , Lesher C M , Houlé M G
Published: March 2018

The McFaulds Lake greenstone belt, in addition to its world-class chromite endowment, also hosts significant magmatic Ni-Cu-(PGE) mineralization at the Eagle's Nest deposit. Mineralization at Eagle's Nest occurs in a dynamic system that contains multiple
generations of sulphide textures, consistent with its interpretation as a magmatic feeder among a network of ultramafic intrusions. Massive sulphides and abundant leopard net-textured, oikocrystic net-textured, and inclusion net-textured sulphide mineralization formed first and were consolidated
enough to be cross-cut by late-stage pyroxenite, creating disrupted net-textured sulphide and minor late-segregating massive/semi-massive sulphide melts. Resolving the fundamental characteristics and genesis of mineralization at Eagle's Nest will provide critical information about the evolution of
large chromium and Ni-Cu-PGE ore systems associated with Archean komatiitic magmatism within the Superior Province.
3D geological modelling of the Double Eagle-Black Thor intrusive complexes, McFaulds Lake Greenstone Belt, Ontario
Authors: Laudadio A B , Schetselaar E , Houlé M
G , Samson C
Published: March 2018

A 3D geological model is in development of the subsurface architecture and structural disposition of the Double Eagle (DEIC) - Black Thor (BTIC) intrusive complexes of the 'Ring of Fire' intrusive suite in northwestern Ontario. The 3D geological model is
constrained by drillhole data from exploration claims, geological maps and a revised structural interpretation based on high resolution magnetic data. Gridded total magnetic field intensity grid was used to outline linear to curvilinear magnetic lows, defining a system of anastomosing shear zones
that had previously been outlined on medium resolution magnetic data. Structural fabrics in drill core confirm that these shear zones define the contacts between ultramafic and gabbroic units within the intrusions, as well as the contacts with their felsic intrusive and volcanic host rocks. The
Frank shear zone, which follows the northern margin of the ultramafic rock units in both intrusive complexes, displaces the chromite- and Ni-Cu-(PGE)-bearing ore zones within the DEIC for 1 to 1.5 km in a dextral apparent sense. To the south, the McFaulds shear zone overprinted the intrusive contact
between the ultramafic rocks of the DEIC and its mafic-dominated volcanic host rocks. The 3D geological model will be used in an attempt to restore the displacement of the DEIC and BTIC with respect to their magmatic conduits in 3D space. This will ultimately provide new insights into the plumbing
system associated with the Ni-Cu-(PGE) and chromite mineralization.
New geochronological insights into the Taltson Domain of northern Alberta and Saskatchewan
Authors: Powell J W , Pana D I , Card C D , Potter E G , Tschirhart V , Joyce N
Published: March 2018

Recent discoveries of basement-hosted uranium deposits, such as those of the Patterson Lake corridor along the southwestern margin of the Athabasca Basin, have underscored the potential of high-strain corridors within the south-west Rae Province as major fluid
conduits. Although these buried basement domains have often been defined using airborne geophysical data, the paucity of regional geochronological information makes it difficult to relate the geo-physical signatures to the regional tectonothermal history. This report presents new zircon U-Pb
Sensitive High-Resolution Ion Microprobe and biotite 40Ar/39Ar geochronological data for six samples that span the Taltson Domain of the southwest Rae Province. Three orthogneiss and one pegmatite sample from the Marguerite River area of north-ern Alberta crystallized at ca. 1.97 Ga and intruded 2.1
to 2.7 Ga crust, and biotite from a mylonitic shear zone yielded a ca. 1.82 Ga 40Ar/39Ar cooling age. Zircon cores from a sample of granitic gneiss sampled along the Clearwater River in northern Saskatchewan returned an imprecise crystallization age of 2422 ± 28 Ma (MSWD = 1.4), whereas
recrystallized rims record granulite-facies metamorphism at 1923.0 ± 7.3 Ma.
Preliminary geochemical characterization of the Central Mineral Belt uranium geochemistry database
Authors: Acosta-Góngora P , Potter E G
Published: March 2018

Preliminary geochemical characterization of the U±Cu±Mo±V mineralization in the Central Mineral Belt (CMB) of Labrador is developed based on data compiled within the recently published Central Mineral Belt uranium geochemistry database. The highest
uranium concentrations are found in the Jacques Lake (up to 11 weight % U) and Michel-in (up to 2 weight % U) areas, whereas copper and molybdenum concentrations are the highest in the Moran Lake (up to 1.6 weight % Cu) and Jacques (up to 1 weight % Mo) and Anna Lake (up to 0.3
weight % Mo) areas, respectively. Sodic alteration is the most common alkali alteration type in the CMB, with the emplacement of iron oxides mainly decoupled from potassium. Uranium-rich samples also plot within the 'least altered' field in the alteration type discriminant diagram. However, this
might be an artefact of distinct alteration type overlaps, which may shift the major element composition of the mineralized rocks towards the least altered field. The lack of association of uranium and other base metals with alkali elements is further recognized by principal component analysis.
However, additional statistical evaluation focused on the individual alteration types and categorized by the geographical areas within the CMB is necessary to better understand the mobility of uranium and base metal elements, along with their association with alteration
facies.