bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
EFEITOS DA ATIVIDADE FÍSICA INESPECÍFICA SOBRE O EQUILÍBRIO CORPORAL EM IDOSOS
Authors: Porto Elias , Pimentel Thais de Oliveira , Bernardes Fabiano A , Camargo Ana Carla , Kumpel Claudia
Published: October 2020

Introdução - Um dos principais fatores que limitam as atividades do cotidiano do indivíduo idoso é a alteração do equilíbrio corporal, pois ocasiona medo de quedas, inatividade e perdas funcionais importantes. Objetivo - avaliar retrospectivamente, durante 36 meses, o equilíbrio corporal de indivíduos idosos praticantes de atividades física. Métodos - A pesquisa foi realizada através de consulta a prontuários de pacientes idosos, com idade mínima de 60 anos, que se submeteram a avaliação do equilíbrio corporal nos últimos três anos no Centro de Especialidades João da Luz, no município de São Lourenço da Serra desde 2011 e que participaram do programa de exercício físico do mesmo centro. Os pacientes realizaram, anualmente, uma avaliação completa do equilíbrio corporal por meio dos seguintes testes: Escala de BERG, Teste Timed UP and GO (TUG), Desempenho Orientado de Poma, Teste de Lawton e Short Physical Performance Battery. Resultado - Nos 82 pacientes avaliados o equilíbrio foi significantemente melhor na avaliação após 36 meses em relação à avaliação basal para o grupo de idosos que realizava caminhada; entre os pacientes com hipertensão e diabetes não foi encontrada diferença real nos testes de equilíbrio ao longo do acompanhamento. Além disso, o equilíbrio de idosos que não praticaram atividade física diminuiu ao longo dos três anos. Conclusão - A inatividade física deteriora o equilíbrio dos idosos. Além disso, pode-se afirmar que doenças como hipertensão e diabetes não alteraram o equilíbrio dos indivíduos ao longo do acompanhamento.
ELABORAÇÃO DE UM INSTRUMENTO PARA AVALIAR O PROCESSO DE EXPATRIAÇÃO DE VOLEIBOLISTAS
Authors: Tertuliano Ivan Wallan , Deutsch Silvia , Oliveira Vivian de , Bartholomeu Daniel , Montiel José Maria , Machado Afonso Antonio
Published: October 2020

O presente estudo objetivou apresentar as etapas iniciais da elaboração de um instrumento para avaliar o processo de expatriação de voleibolistas, com viés emocional e social. Participaram do estudo 3 juízes (expertises na área) e 68 pessoas (48 atletas e 20 ex-atletas) de ambos os sexos, com idade média de 27 anos. O instrumento foi construído com itens que versam sobre o processo de expatriação e adaptação à expatriação. As análises objetivaram a concordância dos juízes nas questões, apresentando um conjunto de itens capazes de avaliar o processo de expatriação. Após, avaliou-se a unidimensionalidade dos itens que fizeram parte da versão preliminar do instrumento e o ajuste dos mesmos ao modelo de Rasch. Os resultados demonstraram que alguns itens sofreram alteração de semântica pelos juízes e outros tiveram que ser descartados da versão preliminar, pois apresentaram baixa concordância entre os juízes, quando avaliados pela razão de validade de conteúdo (RVC ≤ 0,99). Além disso, alguns itens que fizeram parte da versão preliminar não se ajustaram ao modelo de Rasch, sendo retirados da versão final do instrumento. Pode-se concluir que o instrumento, versão final, apresentou qualidade para investigar o processo de expatriação de voleibolistas, sendo capaz de avaliar o traço latente esperado.
The impact of schizotypy on pragmatics
Authors: Chaves Monica de Freitas Frias , Rodrigues Cilene
Published: October 2020

High levels of linguistic referential failures are associated with liability to develop schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, and it has been shown that these failures can differentiate healthy subjects, high-schizotypal and schizophrenics groups. Nevertheless, few investigations have focused on whether or not schizotypal traits in nonclinical populations can also impact linguistic reference. In Brazilian Portuguese, only one previous study (acceptability judgements task) had been conducted, and its results suggest association between schizotypal traits and a more rigid preference for assignment of specific readings to definite singular DPs. Here, we present another experimental study in Brazilian Portuguese,  a comprehension task designed to examine possible effects of schizotypal personality traits on the interpretation of definite singular DPs. The findings, in line with the previous results, support the conclusion that schizotypy does affect the interpretation of definite singular DPs in Brazilian Portuguese. Together, these two experiments suggest that schizotypal personality traits impact the integration of linguistic contextual information into the semantic meaning of definite DPs. This is  consistent with the general hypothesis that schizotypy, similarly to schizophrenia, is associated with pragmatic difficulties. Yet, our results emphasize that the impact of schizotypal traits on pragmatics can be observed even in healthy (nonclinical) speakers.
Caracterização da sonolência e qualidade do sono em gêmeos faixas pretas de jiu-jitsu
Authors: Solon Júnior Luiz , Vieira Francialda Marques Mota , Silva Neto Luiz Vieira da
Published: October 2020

Objetivo: O objetivo do presente estudo foi caracterizar a qualidade do sono e a sonolência de dois lutadores gêmeos faixa preta de Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Metodologia: Trata-se de um estudo de caso que envolve dois gêmeos (Atleta G1 e G2), faixas pretas. Em uma única intervenção foram coletadas variáveis de caracterização, qualidade do sono e sonolência diurna excessiva (SDE) de ambos os indivíduos. Para se mensurar a Sonolência e qualidade do sono, foram utilizados a Escala de Sonolência de Epworth e o índice de qualidade do sono de Pittsburg (PSQI), respectivamente. Resultados e discussão: O atleta G1 e G2 apresentaram escores global no PSQI de 14 e 10 pontos, respectivamente. Dessa forma, ambos possuíram uma qualidade do sono ruim. Acredita-se que esta diferença numérica esteja associada ao volume semanal de treino e fatores ambientais. Em relação a SDE, ambos atletas também apresentaram um indicativo de SDE. Propomos que esse efeito esteja relacionado com a má qualidade do sono. Conclusão: Concluiu-se que os dois lutadores, mesmo sendo atletas de alto rendimento, ambos apresentaram uma qualidade do sono ruim e possuem sonolência diurna excessiva.
Literacia informacional
Authors: Silva Simone Assis Alves da , Cardoso Ana Maria Pereira
Published: October 2020

Introdução: O artigo tem como objetivo verificar o atual cenário de pesquisa sobre a Literacia, tanto na perspectiva do tipo de abordagem- literacia digital ou literacia da informação- quanto às áreas do conhecimento em que se investiga o tema. Método: Revisão Sistemática da Literatura (Systematic Literature Review). Resultados: Foi possível constatar que a literacia da informação é o tema com maior ênfase nos estudos pesquisados, como também a Biblioteconomia e a Educação foram as áreas de conhecimento com maior destaque nos estudos analisados. Conclusões: Estudos que se dedicam à Literacia da Informação representam não somente uma demanda da atual sociedade, como também exprimem uma preocupação no desenvolvimento de ações que possam inserir o tema no âmbito da educação formativa e da aprendizagem para a vida em um contexto de avanços tecnológicos sem precedentes na história da humanidade.
Gestão de riscos
Authors: Silva Dulce Elizabeth Lima de Sousa e , Araújo Sérgio Luiz Elias de , Campello Lorena de Oliveira Souza
Published: October 2020

A transparência, a busca por resultados e o compromisso com os gastos públicos estão impulsionando uma série de mudanças na Administração Pública Federal. Nesse contexto, a gestão da informação e do conhecimento fortalece essas mudanças ao proporcionar melhores resultados. Dessa forma, este artigo tem como objetivo apresentar os resultados obtidos na Coordenadoria Geral de Protocolo e Arquivo (CGPA), setor responsável pela Gestão Documental, referentes a aplicação do método elaborado pelo Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO) - orientado no âmbito do Governo Federal por meio do manual de gestão de integridade, riscos e controles internos da gestão - que vem sendo utilizado no Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia de Sergipe (IFS) pelo Departamento de Gestão de Riscos. Os resultados culminam na construção do mapa de riscos e do plano de controle, sendo perceptível as dificuldades existentes na sua execução, apesar das exigências para implantação da gestão de riscos nas instituições.
América Latina en su “Momento Gramsciano”. Las limitaciones de una salida tipo “nueva socialdemocracia europea” a este impasse
Authors: Palma José Gabriel
Published: October 2020

América Latina está atrapada en un “Momento Gramsciano”, cuando lo viejo se desvanece, pero lo nuevo no logra nacer. En este interregno —como nos advertía Gramsci— es casi inevitable que aparezca “una gran variedad de síntomas dañinos”. Es como si las brujas de Macbeth nos hubiesen profetizado: vivirán empantanados entre un modelo neoliberal que perdió toda legitimidad y discursos progresistas que no logran generar suficiente credibilidad. En lo económico esto significa que además de tener que enfrentar la pandemia sanitaria, también tenemos que desafiar una de las endemias de la región: su falta de imaginación en materias de política económica. La primera hace estragos creando desafíos hasta hace poco inimaginables, los cuales inevitablemente chocan con los obstáculos que pone la segunda. Y así nos seguimos hundiendo en las arenas movedizas de la inercia; mientras tanto, el susto (en muchos el pánico) de una salida desordenada de la crisis lleva a algunos a idealizar una opción tipo “nueva socialdemocracia europea”. Esto es, mientras no toquemos la estructura de acumulación rentista o la tributaria, se podría permitir algo más de protección social (financiada, por supuesto, con deuda en lugar de impuestos), para así poder garantizar un mínimo de paz social y un asomo de equidad. En otras palabras, como en la letra de la canción Hotel California, seguimos siendo “prisioneros de nuestras propias cadenas” —y no logramos romperlas—. El gran desafío de este momento histórico es liberar nuestra imaginación social.
Crítica de las políticas neoliberales y de su fundamento teórico: pensar fuera de la caja
Authors: Yanes Pablo
Published: October 2020

Reseña bibliográfica de: Nadal Egea, A. (2020). Pensar fuera de la caja: la economía mexicana y sus posibles alternativas. México: CEPAL. El trabajo es de acceso libre y se puede obtener en la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://repositorio.cepal.org/handle/11362/45550
¿Por qué los países latinoamericanos sufren un estancamiento económico de largo plazo? Un estudio a partir de los casos de Argentina, Brasil y México
Authors: Salama Pierre
Published: October 2020

El artículo trata de la situación de crisis latente que existe en América Latina desde hace varias décadas. Las tasas medias de crecimiento per cápita durante un largo periodo en la mayoría de los países de la región se sitúan entre 0 y 2%. Desde los años ochenta y noventa la tendencia al estancamiento no puede explicarse de la misma manera en los grandes países de América Latina. Si bien hay causas comunes, el peso de cada factor difiere. En este artículo se exponen las diversas teorías sobre la tendencia al estancamiento económico. Su originalidad radica en que no sólo pone en relieve el papel de las desigualdades en materia de ingresos y riqueza, o el papel de los procesos de desindustrialización, sino también las causas de la volatilidad económica y sus consecuencias para la baja tasa media de crecimiento per cápita, que es particularmente pronunciada en algunos países.

Contrarias a una idea relativamente compartida, estas economías han sido poco o nada emergentes a partir de los años 1980-1990, a excepción, tal vez, de los años 2000 a 2012, más o menos. Por lo tanto, no han convergido, o sólo lo han hecho de manera limitada, hacia el nivel de ingresos per cápita de los países avanzados, a diferencia de muchos países asiáticos. Los países de América Latina están experimentando varias dificultades al mismo tiempo que se alimentan unas de otras. La crisis es profunda. Es estructural en el sentido de que pone en duda los propios modos de expansión del capitalismo en las últimas décadas. Por lo tanto, sólo respuestas a este nivel pueden hacer posible la superación de los obstáculos al desarrollo sostenible, y la inclusión de aquellos, la mayoría, que son rechazados.
Un paso más allá de la Covid-19
Authors: Pizarro Hofer Roberto
Published: October 2020

La Covid-19 ha provocado una crisis humanitaria de proporciones devastadoras y un desastre económico sin parangón. Vivimos una preocupante incertidumbre, porque se desconoce cuánto durarán la clausura de actividades, la ausencia de ingresos, el desempleo y también cuándo se descubrirá una vacuna o medicamento eficaz. Todos sufren la incertidumbre: aquellos que cuentan con patrimonio, pero mucho más los que se han quedado sin ingresos. La dolorosa experiencia de coronavirus debe ser una lección, y no sólo en el ámbito de la salud, sino también para modificar el injusto e irracional sistema económico y social existente. El coronavirus desafía a la clase política que achicó el Estado con recortes sociales radicales que han afectado gravemente la vida de las personas. La crisis ofrece condiciones de posibilidad para los cambios; sin embargo, éstos no serán automáticos, sino que dependerán de la voluntad y la lucha de los hombres y las mujeres afectados durante décadas por la desprotección del Estado subsidiario. Si no rectificamos, se avecinarán no sólo nuevos peligros sanitarios sino además sociales.
Estancamiento secular
Authors: Hansen Alvin H.
Published: October 2020

El crecimiento económico es impulsado por tres factores principales: innovación tecnológica, descubrimiento de nuevos recursos y aumento de población, al menos esto es lo que se había visto en la práctica durante el siglo XIX, pero fue refutado por los efectos económicos de las guerras mundiales y la Gran Depresión. Alvin H. Hansen estudia este contexto y plantea que existe un estancamiento secular originado por el cierre de las fronteras económicas, la lentitud del progreso técnico y el decrecimiento de la población. Argumenta que dicho decrecimiento disminuye inversiones y causa que los recursos se subutilicen y haya alto desempleo. Además, analiza algunas propuestas de solución, mientras resalta la importancia del papel de los economistas para actuar ante esta situación.
Stability Analysis of Nontrivial Stationary Solution and Constant Equilibrium Point of Reaction-Diffusion Neural Networks with Time Delays under Dirichlet Zero Boundary Value
Authors: Rao Ruofeng
Published: October 2020

In this paper, Lyapunov-Razumikhin technique, design of state-dependent switching laws, a fixed point theorem and variational methods are employed to derive the existence and the unique existence results of (globally) exponentially stable positive stationary solution of delayed reaction-diffusion cell neural networks under Dirichlet zero boundary value, including the global stability criteria \textbf{in the classical meaning}. Next, sufficient conditions are proposed to guarantee the global stability invariance of ordinary differential systems under the influence of diffusions. New theorems show that the diffusion is a double-edged sword in judging the stability of diffusion systems. Besides, an example is constructed to illuminate that any non-zero constant equilibrium point must be not in the phase plane of dynamic system under Dirichlet zero boundary value, or it must lead to a contradiction. Next, under Lipschitz assumptions on active function, another example is designed to prove that the small diffusion effect will cause the essential change of the phase plane structure of the dynamic behavior of the delayed neural networks via a Saddle point theorem. Finally, a numerical example illustrates the feasibility of the proposed methods.
Effects of β-Mannanase and Bacteriophage Supplementation on Health and Growth Performance of Holstein Calves
Authors: Jeong Sinyong , Lee Junsung , Jo Namchul , Lee Jung-Jin , Lee Jae-Hwan , Kam Dong-Keun , Seo Jakyeom , Kebreab Ermias , Seo Seongwon
Published: October 2020

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation with bacteriophage and β-mannanase on health and growth performance in calves. Thirty-six pre-weaning male Holstein calves were randomly allocated to one of four dietary treatments: no supplementation, 0.1% β-mannanase, 0.1% bacteriophage, and both 0.1% bacteriophage and β-mannanase supplementation in a starter. The experiment lasted from 2 weeks before weaning to 8 weeks after weaning. Twenty-two calves survived to the end of the experiment. No interaction was observed between the two methods of supplementation. A 1-kg increase in initial BW resulted in a 1.41-fold increase in the odds ratio of survival (p < 0.01). The bacteriophage supplementation tended to increase the odds ratio of survival (p = 0.09). The number of Escherichia coli in feces significantly decreased one week after weaning. β-mannanase supplementation increased the concentrates intake (p < 0.01) and tended to increase the final BW (p = 0.08). Analysis of repeated measures indicated β-mannanase supplementation increased weekly body weight gain (p = 0.018). We conclude that bacteriophage supplementation may have a positive effect on calf survival rate, while β-mannanase supplementation may increase the growth rate and intake of a starter in calves.
Development of a Microfluidic Platform for Trace Lipid Analysis
Authors: Davic Andrew , Cascio Michael
Published: October 2020

The inherent trace quantity of primary fatty acid amides found in biological systems presents challenges for analytical analysis and quantitation, requiring a highly sensitive detection system. The use of microfluidics provides a green sample preparation and analysis technique through small-volume fluidic flow through micron-sized channels embedded in a PDMS device. Microfluidics provides the potential of having a micro total analysis system where chromatographic separation, fluorescent tagging reactions, and detection are accomplished with no added sample handling. This study describes the development and optimization of a microfluidic-laser indued fluorescence (LIF) analysis and detection system that can be used for the detection of ultra-trace levels of fluorescently tagged primary fatty acid amines. A PDMS microfluidic device was designed and fabricated to incorporate droplet-based flow. Droplet microfluidics have enabled on-chip fluorescent tagging reactions to be performed quickly and efficiently, with no additional sample handling. An optimized LIF optical detection system provided fluorescently tagged primary fatty acid amine detection sub-fmol (436 amol) LODs. The use of this LIF detection provides unparalleled sensitivity, with detection limits several orders of magnitude lower than currently employed LC-MS techniques and might be easily adapted for use as a complementary quantification platform for parallel MS-based -omics studies.
Engineered Human Nanoferritin Bearing the Drug Genz-644282 for Cancer Therapy
Authors: Falvo Elisabetta , Arcovito Alessandro , Conti Giamaica , Cipolla Giuseppe , Pitea Martina , Morea Veronica , Damiani Verena , Sala Gianluca , Fracasso Giulio , Ceci Pierpaolo
Published: October 2020

Gastrointestinal tumors including pancreatic and colorectal cancers represent one of the greatest public health issues worldwide, leading to million global deaths. Recent research demonstrated that the human heavy chain ferritin (HFt) can encapsulate different type of drugs in its cavity and can bind to its receptor, CD71, in several solid and hematological tumors, thus highlighting the potential use of ferritin for tumor-targeting therapies. Here, we describe the development and characterization of a novel nanomedicine based on the HFt that is named The-0504. In particular, this novel system is a nano-assembly comprising an engineered version of HFt that entraps about 80 molecules of a potent, wide-spectrum, non-camptothecin topoisomerase I inhibitor (Genz-644282). The-0504 can be produced by a standardized pre-industrial process as a pure and homogeneously formulated product with favourable lyophilization properties. The preliminary anticancer activity was evaluated in cultured cancer cells and in a mouse model of pancreatic cancer. Overall results reported here make The-0504 a candidate for further preclinical development against CD-71 expressing deadly tumors
Few-shot Classification of Aerial Scene Images via Meta-learning
Authors: Zhang Pei , Li YIng , Wang Dong , Bai Yunpeng
Published: October 2020

CNN-based methods have dominated the field of aerial scene classification for the past few years. While achieving remarkable success, CNN-based methods suffer from excessive parameters and notoriously rely on large amounts of training data. In this work, we introduce few-shot learning to the aerial scene classification problem. Few-shot learning aims to learn a model on base-set that can quickly adapt to unseen categories in novel-set, using only a few labeled samples. To this end, we proposed a meta-learning method for few-shot classification of aerial scene images. First, we train a feature extractor on all base categories to learn a representation of inputs. Then in the meta-training stage, the classifier is optimized in the metric space by cosine distance with a learnable scale parameter. At last, in the meta-testing stage, the query sample in the unseen category is predicted by the adapted classifier given a few support samples. We conduct extensive experiments on two challenging datasets: NWPU-RESISC45 and RSD46-WHU. The experimental results show that our method outperforms three state-of-the-art few-shot algorithms and one typical CNN-based method, D-CNN. Furthermore, several ablation experiments are conducted to investigate the effects of dataset scale and support shots; the experiment results confirm that our model is specifically effective in few-shot settings.
Sustainability Analysis of the M-30 Madrid Tunnels and Madrid Río through the MIVES Method After 14 Years of Service Life
Authors: Abajo Lucía López-de , Pérez-Fortes Ana Patricia , Alberti Marcos G. , Gálvez Jaime C. , Ripa Tomás
Published: October 2020

In 2007, the excavation of the M-30 ring road located in Madrid and the creation of a green corridor either side of the Manzanares river brought significant change to the metropolitan area. The corridor and linear park which it provided were designed to contribute to the regeneration of the fluvial ecosystem, establish links among residents on each side of the river and promote cultural and leisure activities. This paper provides a sustainability analysis of the excavation of the M-30 (involving the socio-economic and environmental impact) 14 years after its construction. In order to show such an impact, an analysis of the area both prior to the project and after completion, as well as a hypothetical solution that uses improved materials, has been performed. This entails use of the multi-criteria decision-making model named MIVES (initials in Spanish, modelo integrado de valor para una evaluación sostenible). The MIVES method is based on the application of value functions of sustainability indicators selected by socio-economic and environmental criteria, chosen by experts. Results from analysis showed that the excavation of the M-30 considerably improved the sustainability of the area (sustainable index 3.43 and 6.26 both before and after the excavation works). However, use of improved materials in contrast with the application of conventional materials slightly improved the sustainability of the work (Sustainability Index 6.26 and 6.74, respectively, of the conventional materials).
Photopolymerization Mechanisms at a Spatio-temporally Ultra-confined Light
Authors: Skliutas Edvinas , Lebedevaite Miglė , Kabouraki Elmina , Baldacchini Tommaso , Ostrauskaite Jolita , Vamvakaki Maria , Farsari Maria , Juodkazis Saulius , Malinauskas Mangirdas
Published: October 2020

Ultrafast laser 3D lithography based on non-linear light-matter interactions, widely known as multi-photon lithography (MPL), offers unrivaled precision rapid prototyping and flexible additive manufacturing options. 3D printing equipment based on MPL are already commercially available, yet there is still no comprehensive understanding of factors determining spatial resolution, accuracy, fabrication throughput, repeatability, and standardized metrology methods for the accurate characterization of the produced 3D objects and their functionalities. The photoexcitation mechanisms, spatial-control or photo-modified volumes, and the variety of processable materials are topics actively investigated. The complexity of the research field is underlined by limited understanding and fragmented knowledge of light-excitation and material response. Research to date has only provided case-specific findings on photoexcitation, chemical modification, and material characterization of the experimental data. In this review, we aim to provide a consistent and comprehensive summary of the existing literature on photopolymerization mechanisms under highly confined spatial and temporal conditions, where, besides the excitation and cross-linking, parameters such as diffusion, temperature accumulation, and the finite amount of monomer molecules start to become of critical importance. Key parameters such as, photoexcitation, polymerization kinetics, and the properties of the additively manufactured materials at the nanoscale in 3D are examined, whereas, the perspectives for future research and as well as emerging applications are outlined.
Asymptotic Justification of Models of Plates Containing Inside Hard Thin Inclusions
Authors: Rudoy Evgeny
Published: October 2020

An equilibrium problem of the Kirchhoff-Love plate containing a nonhomogeneous inclusion is considered. It is assumed that elastic properties of the inclusion depend on a small parameter characterizing width of the inclusion $\varepsilon$ as $\varepsilon^N$ with $N<1$. The passage to the limit as the parameter $\varepsilon$ tends to zero is justified, and an asymptotic model of a plate containing a thin inhomogeneous hard inclusion is constructed. It is shown that there exists two types of thin inclusions: rigid inclusion ($N<-1$) and elastic inclusion ($N=-1$). The inhomogeneity disappears in the case of $N\in (-1,1)$.
Exploring the Experience and Determinants of the Food Choices and Eating Practices of Elderly Thai People: A Qualitative Study
Authors: Chalermsri Chalobol , Wees Sibylle Herzig van , Ziaei Shirin , Ekström Eva-Charlotte , Muangpaisan Weerasak , Rahman Syed Moshfiqur
Published: October 2020

Over the past decade, Thailand has experienced a rapid increase in its elderly population. Many unfavorable health outcomes among elderly people are associated with nutrition. Nutrition in elderly people is affected by physical, mental, and social factors. This study explored the food choices and dietary practices among community-dwelling elderly people in Thailand from the perspective of both caregivers and the elderly people themselves. Six focus group discussions and six semi-structured interviews were conducted in the Samut Sakhon Province of Thailand. A combination of deductive and inductive thematic analyses was adopted, and the results show that physical and mental factors and societal factors are important determinants of food choices. Moreover, a changing food environment and economic factors were found to affect food choices. Issues of trust in food safety and food markets were highlighted as growing issues. Therefore, fostering healthy food choice interventions that consider both environmental and societal aspects is necessary.
ASMD-FSMD Technique for Designing Digital Devices on FPGA
Authors: Salauyou Valery
Published: October 2020

Recently, there has been, on the one hand, an increase in the complexity of digital device designs and, on the other hand, an increase in the requirements for the development time and the reliability of the designs. One of the directions of solving this problem is developing new techniques for designing digital devices.This paper proposes a new technique for designing digital devices based on finite state machines with datapath (FSMD), when the functioning of the device is described in the form of an algorithm state machine with datapath (ASMD) charts. The new technique is called ASMD-FSMD. Different digital device design techniques are compared to each other using design examples of a synchronous multiplier on field programmable gate array (FPGA). The efficiency of the ASMD-FSMD technique compared to the traditional approach in terms of area and performance was investigated. The ASMD-FSMD technique, compared to the traditional one, reduces the area from 28.6% to 39.7% and increases the speed for some designs to 17.6%. In addition, using the ASMD-FSMD technique significantly reduces design time and increases design reliability. In conclusion, recommendations for using the ASMD-FSMD technique are made.
IGFBP2 is a Potential Master-Regulator Driving Dysregulated Gene Network Responsible for Short Survival in Glioblastoma Multiforme
Authors: KP Manasa , Wlochowitz Darius , Wingender Edgar , Beißbarth Tim , KEL ALEXANDER
Published: October 2020

Only 2% of Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) patients respond to standard care and survive beyond 36 months (long-term survivors, LTS) while the majority survives less than 12 months (short-term survivors, STS). To understand the mechanism leading to poor survival, we analyzed publicly available datasets of 113 STS and 58 LTS. This analysis revealed 198 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) that co-occur with aggressive tumor growth and may be responsible for the poor prognosis. These genes belong largely to the GO-categories “epithelial to mesenchymal transition” and “response to hypoxia”. Promoter and network analysis of the DEGs identified 5 potential master regulators that may explain dysregulation of the DEGs in the STS. The following 5 important master-regulators were identified: IGFBP2, VEGFA, PDGFA, OSMR and AEBP1. It is known that IGFBP2 confers increasing malignancy leading to poor prognosis. However, the molecular mechanism by which IGFBP2 affects disease progression and patient prognosis is unclear. Here we found that IGFBP2 is highly upregulated in short survivors and significantly impact survival. Further investigation of the gene regulatory network revealed that IGFBP2 expression can be regulated by FRA-1 transcription factor via MEK2/RAF/ERK5 pathway. FRA-1 is found to be upregulated and to have significant impact on survival in GBM. It is previously reported that FRA-1 can dysregulate at-least 50 genes involved in tumor invasiveness in tumor xenografts making it a therapeutic target for GBM intervention. We propose that IGFBP2 drives dysregulated gene network responsible for short survival in GBM via FRA-1 transcription factor.
Immersive Virtual Reality as Analgesia During Dressing Changes of Hospitalized Children and Adolescents with Burns: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis
Authors: Lauwens Yannick , Rafaatpoor Fatemeh , Corbeel Kobe , Broekmans Susan , Toelen Jaan , Allegaert Karel
Published: October 2020

Children and adolescents with severe burns require dressing changes, associated with pain. As immersive virtual reality (VR) gained prominence as non-pharmacological adjuvant analgesia, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis on the efficacy of full immersive VR on pain experienced during dressing changes in hospitalized children and adolescents with severe burns. This exercise included quality and risk of bias assessment. The systematic reviewsearch resulted in eight studies and 142 patients. This exercise included quality and risk of bias assessment. Due to missing data, four studies were excluded from the meta-analysis. Fixed effects meta-analysis of the four included studies (n = 104) revealed a large effect size (ES) (SMD=0.94; 95% CI=0.62, 1.27; Z=5.70; p<0.00001) for adjuvant full immersive VR compared to standard care. In conclusion, adjuvant full immersive VR significantly reduces pain experienced during dressing changes in children and adolescents with burns. We therefore recommend implementing full immersive VR as an adjuvant in this specific setting and population. However, this requires further research into the hygienic use of VR appliances in health institutions. Furthermore, due to the high cost of the hardware, a cost-benefit analysis is required. Finally, research should also verify the long term physical and psychological benefits of VR.
Building a High Customer Experience Management Organization: Towards Customer-Centricity
Authors: Ceesay Lamin B.
Published: October 2020

The dynamics involving market competition and the challenges of dealing with empowered customers, means that creating and delivering relevant customer experience (CX) of service, is as important as creating product or services. Several studies have treated customer experience as though a front-desk, sales-point affair with the customer in the retailing environment, negating the critical role of organization-wide efforts in the overall customer experience management sequence. This review, however, adopts customer-centricity, as a theoretical lens to underscore the [re]configuration of organizational-level factors that are critical to adopting a high customer-experienced centred organization. Based on the review, we highlight conditions for adopting high customer experience management organization: (1) developing an integrated CX strategy, (2) CX-based knowledge management, (3) organizational re-design that supports CX-management, (4) top management commitment, (5) integrated CX IT systems, and (6) CX-oriented HR policies. These practices are only necessary conditions, but not sufficient, for creating, delivering, relevant and sustainable customer experience. However, more robust empirical studies are needed to advance the application of organization-wide customer experience management, which vary across industry, products/services, and sector.
Congenital Syphilis: A U.S. Perspective
Authors: Galvis Alvaro , Arrieta Antonio
Published: October 2020

Congenital syphilis still represents a worldwide public health problem. If left untreated, can lead to fetal demise and high neonatal morbidity and mortality. Unfortunately, in the last decade there has been a resurgence of cases in the US. This review discusses the ongoing problem of this preventable congenital infection, vertical transmission and clinical manifestations while providing a guidance for the evaluation and management of infants born to mothers with reactive serologic tests for syphilis
Photometric Correction of Chang’E-1 Interference Imaging Spectrometer’s (IIM) Limited Observing Geometries data with Hapke Model
Authors: Xu Xuesen , Liu Jianjun , Liu Dawei , Liu Bin , Shu Rong
Published: October 2020

The main objective of this study is to develop a Hapke photometric model that is suited for Chang’E-1 (CE-1) Interference Imaging Spectrometer (IIM) data. We first divided the moon into three areas including ‘maria’, ‘new highland’ and old ‘highland’ with similar photometry characteristic based on the Hapke parameters of the moon derived from Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) Wide Angle Camera (WAC) multispectral data. Then, we selected the sample data in the ‘maria’ area and obtained a new set of Hapke model’s parameters that can best fit these data. Result shows that photometric correction using Hapke model with these new derived parameters can eliminate the effect of variations in viewing and luminating geometry, especially ‘opposition surge’, more efficiently than the empirical model. The corrected mosaic shows no significant artifacts along the tile boundaries, and more detailed information of the image can be exhibited due to a better correction of ‘opposition surge’ at small phase angle (g <15°).
Maxmal Order of NG-Transformation
Authors: Abdunabi Faraj
Published: October 2020

In this paper, we consider the problem that the maximal order consider the groups that consisting of transformations we called NG-Transformation on a nonempty set A has no bijection as its element. We find the order of these groups not greater that (n-1)!. In addition, we will prove our result by showing that any kind of NG-group in the theorem be isomorphic to a permutation group on a quotient set of A with respect to an equivalence relation on A.
New Insights Into the Structure of Hydroxylated and Alkylated Glycols: A Comparative X-ray Diffraction, Raman and Molecular Dynamics Study of Ethane-1,2-Diol, 2-Methoxyethan-1-ol and 1,2-Dimethoxy Ethane
Authors: Gontrani Lorenzo , Tagliatesta Pietro , Agresti Antonio , Pescetelli Sara , Carbone Marilena
Published: October 2020

In this study, we report a detailed experimental and theoretical investigation of three glycols, namely ethane-1,2-diol, 2-methoxyethan-1-ol and 1,2-dimethoxy ethane. For the first time, the X-Ray spectra of the latter two liquids was measured at room temperature, and they were compared with the newly measured spectrum of ethane-1,2-diol. The experimental diffraction patterns were interpreted very satisfactorily with molecular dynamics calculations, and suggest that in liquid ethane-1,2-diol most molecules are found in gauche conformation, with intramolecular hydrogen bond between the two hydroxyl groups. Intramolecular H-bonds are established in the mono-alkylated diol, but the interaction is weaker. The EDXD study also evidences strong intermolecular hydrogen-bond interactions, with short O···O correlations in both systems, while longer methyl-methyl interactions are found in 1,2-dimethoxy ethane. X-Ray studies are complemented by micro Raman investigations at room temperature and at 80°C, that confirm the conformational analysis predicted by X-Ray experiments and simulations.
A Probabilistic Approach for Optimal Design of Indoor Positioning Systems
Authors: Pinto Bráulio Henrique O. U. V. , de Oliveira Horácio A. B. F. , Souto Eduardo
Published: October 2020

Indoor Positioning Systems (IPSs) are designed to provide solutions for location-based services. Wireless local area network (WLAN)-based positioning systems are the most widespread around the globe and are commonly found to have a ready-to-use infrastructure composed mostly of access points (APs). They provide useful information on signal strength to be processed by adequate location algorithms, which are not always capable of achieving the desired localization error only by themselves. In this sense, this paper proposes a new method to improve the accuracy of IPSs by optimizing some of their most relevant infrastructure components. Included are the arrangement of APs over the environment, the number of reference points (RPs), and the number of samples per location estimation test. A simulation environment is also proposed, in which the impact of key influencing factors on system accuracy is analyzed. Finally, a case study is simulated to validate an optimal combination of design parameters and its compliance with the requirements of localization error and the limited number of access points. Our simulation results clearly show that the desired localization accuracy, which is set as a goal, can be achieved while maintaining the factors already mentioned at minimal levels, which decreases both system deployment costs and computational effort.
Microwave-assisted Synthesis, Structural Characterization of Amino Pyridines, Pyrrolidine, Piperidine, Morpholine, Acetamides, and Assessment of Their Antibacterial Activity
Authors: Alsamarrai Abdulmajeed , Abdulghani Saba
Published: October 2020

A sequence of new acetamide derivatives 9-15 of primary, secondary amine, and para-toluene sulphinate sodium salt have been synthesized under microwave irradiation and assessed in vitro for their antibacterial activity against one Gram-positive and two Gram-negative bacterial species such as S. pyogenes, E. coli, and P.mirabilis using the Mueller-Hinton Agar diffusion (well diffusion) method. The synthesized compounds with significant differences in inhibition diameters and MICs were compared with those of amoxicillin, ampicillin, cephalothin, azithromycin and doxycycline. All of the evaluated acetamide derivatives were used with varying inhibition concentrations of 6.25, 12.5, 37.5, 62.5, 87.5, 112.5 and 125 µg/ml. The results show that the most important antibacterial properties exercised by the synthetic compounds 9 and 11 bearing para-chlorophenyl moiety incorporated into the 2-position moiety of acetamide 2. The molecular structures of the new compounds were determined using FT-IR, 1H-NMR techniques.
Oceanic Response Based on the Rectified Data during Three Typhoons in the northern South China Sea
Authors: Ke Daoxun , Zhang Han , Tang Youmin , Zuo Juncheng , Xu Dongfeng , Yang Chenghao , Yao Zhixiong , Shen Zheqi , Tian Di
Published: October 2020

Three typhoons (Rammasun, Kalmaegi, and Sarika) travelled through the deployed stations in the northern South China Sea from 2014–2016. During the passage of typhoons, strong winds and vigorous currents resulted in horizontal displacement of buoy over 2000 m, vertical displacement of ropes on buoys as much as 200 m. The rectification can correct the warm anomaly to cool anomaly of temperature. These movements lead to biases of raw data, with temperature bias as much as 4°C, salinity as much as 0.05 psu, velocity bias as much as 0.4 m/s. The crosscheck of current velocity from different instruments shows that the bias of overlapping velocity and correlation coefficient after depth rectification obviously enhances. The observation shows that temperature cools 1.5 °C, and 0.1 psu saltier in maximum, the near-inertial current increases to 0.4 m/s in the upper layer. The inertial kinetic energy propagates downward with the upward phase, and the maximum depth can reach over 2000 m.
The Effects of an 8-weeks in-season Loaded Plyometric Exercise by Elastic Band Training Program on the Peak Power, Strength, and Throwing Velocity of Junior Male Handball Players
Authors: Aloui Ghaith , Hermassi Souhail , Bragazzi Nicola Luigi , Hammami Mehrez , Cherni Yosser , Gaamouri Nawel , Shephard Roy J. , Hayes Lawrence D. , Chelly Mohamed Souhaiel
Published: October 2020

This study examined the effects of incorporating 8 weeks of biweekly upper limb loaded plyometric training (elastic band) into the in-season regimen of handball players. Trial participants were assigned between control (n = 15, age: 18.1±0.5 years, body mass: 73.7±13.9 kg) and experimental (n = 14, age: 17.7±0.3 years, body mass: 76.8±10.7 kg) groups. Measures obtained pre- and post- included a cycle ergometer force-velocity test, ball throwing velocity in three types throw, 1-RM bench press and pull-over, and anthropometric estimates of upper limb muscle volumes. Gains in the experimental group relative to controls included absolute muscle power (W) (Δ23.3%; t-test p<0.01; d=0.083), relative muscle power (W.kg-1) (Δ22.3%; t-test p<0.01; d=0.091), and all 3 types of ball throw (Δ18.6%, t-test p<0.01, d=0.097 on jumping shot; Δ18.6%, t-test p<0.01; d=0.101 on 3-step running throw; and Δ19.1%, t-test p<0.01, d=0.072 on standing throw). Furthermore, a significant improvement by time interactions was observed in both groups on 1-RM bench press and pull-over performance. However, upper limb muscle volumes remained unchanged in both groups. We conclude that adding biweekly elastic band plyometric training to standard training improves measures important to game performance. Accordingly, such exercises can usefully be adopted as a part of handball training.
Effects of Bioflavonoids from Taxus Media var. Hicksii on Superoxide Generation, Phosphorylation of Proteins and Translocation of Cytosolic Compounds to the Cell Membrane in Human Neutrophils
Authors: Lv Chongning , Niu Xueni , Lu Jincai
Published: October 2020

In present work, the effects of bioflavonoids (ginkgetin and sciadopitysin) on stimulus-induced superoxide generation, tyrosyl and serine/threonine phosphorylation of proteins in human neutrophils, and the translocation of cytosolic compounds (p47phox, p67phox and Rac) to cell membrane were studied, which were isolated from the needles of Taxus media var. Hicksii. Meanwhile, three normal flavonoids (apigenin, quercetin and isoquercetin) were involved as contrasts. The results indicated that ginkgetin and sciadopitysin were capable of concentration-dependently inhibitory effects on the superoxide generation induced by N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP), arachidonic acid (AA) and phorbol-12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA). And they also suppressed fMLP- and AA- induced tyrosyl or PMA-induced serine/threonine phosphorylation and the translocation of cytosolic compounds (p47phox, p67phox and Rac) to cell membrane, which were in parallel with the suppression of the stimulus-induced superoxide generation. The effect of these compounds on the radical-scavenging was also investigated. Ginkgetin and sciadopitysin did not show remarkable effect on DPPH radical-scavenging activity, and they didn’t display the radical-scavenging activity on superoxide anion generated by phenagine methoxysulfate (PMS)-NADH system. Apparently, ginkgetin and sciadopitysin had great performance in pharmacological value and they are worthy of in-depth study.
Persistent Ependymal Tumor Arising from an Immature Ovarian Teratoma: A Rare Case
Authors: Afzal Anoshia , Lu Rufei , Asadbeigi Sepideh , Fung Kar-Ming , Peterson JoElle
Published: October 2020

Primary ovarian ependymoma is a rare neuroectodermal neoplasm that can arise from immature ovarian teratoma. Due to the paucity of this entity, a complete molecular analysis of these tumors has not been done, thus creating a challenge for finding an effective and safe therapeutic treatment. In limited literature, patient with primary ovarian ependymoma showed various responses to an array of individualized therapies ranging from surgeries and chemotherapies. Here, we present a 38-year-old female with persistent ovarian ependymoma with molecular profile similar to traditional central nervous system ependymoma that is irresponsive to multiple cytoreduction and clinical experimental therapies. Therefore, a prompt recognition and reporting of this entity can greatly aid in expanding the understanding and standardization of therapies for this neoplasm.
Stakeholders’ Recount on the Dynamics of Indonesia’s Renewable Energy Sector
Authors: Yudha Satya Widya , Tjahjono Benny , Longhurst Philip
Published: October 2020

The study describes in this paper uses direct evidence from processes applied for the developing economy of Indonesia, as it defines the trajectory for its future energy policy and energy research agenda. The paper makes explicit the process undertaken by key stakeholders in assessing and determining the suitability, feasibility and dynamics of the renewable energy sector. Barriers and enablers that key in selecting the most suitable renewable energy sources for developing economies for the renewable energy development have been identified from extensive analyses of research documents alongside qualitative data from the focus group discussions (FGD). The selected FGD participants encompass the collective views that cut across the political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental aspects of renewable energy development in Indonesia. The information gained from the FGD gives insights to the outlook and challenges that are central to energy transition within the country, alongside the perceptions of renewable energy development from the influential stakeholders contributing to the process. It is notable that the biggest barriers to transition are centred on planning and implementation aspects, as it is also evident that many in the community do not adhere to the same vision.