bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An Approach to Process Safety Management
Authors: Chandler Eamon , Bryden Robin , Paul Tony , Roddy Simon
Published: March 2016

Process safety management in Shell aims to ensure that all our physical assets from drilling rigs, offshore platforms, manufacturing and processing facilities, to fuel retail stations are well designed, safely operated and properly maintained. Shell has been focusing on process safety for decades and seeks to continuously improve performance. Process safety management is central to achieving Shell's goal of zero harm to our employees, contractors, communities and the environment.

Our methodology consists of a combination of our asset integrity principles and our risk management approach. The asset integrity principles define the way we manage our facilities during their complete lifecycle, with the goal of preventing incidents caused by the unintentional release of hazardous material. This combines design standards with appropriate technical, operational and leadership standards. Our risk management approach identifies hazards and evaluates risks, followed by defining the barriers required to prevent process safety events.

The use of multiple barriers is essential in process safety management as a robust means to prevent the release of a hazardous material. Each barrier must operate independently, so that a common failure mode does not impact multiple barriers. Independent recovery measures are used to prevent a release having consequences. The bow tie model is used to represent this way of managing process safety hazards through prevention and response barriers, and is part of the hazard and effect management process.

In Shell we have clearly defined hardware and human barriers groups: hardware barriers are described by our design and engineering standards; human barriers are procedures and responses to operating conditions. These are supported by critical management processes such as permit to work and management of change.

This application of the risk management approach and the asset integrity principles are supported by a commitment to visible safety leadership to strengthen our safety culture to achieve goal zero, no harm, no leaks. A strong safety culture also depends on a competent workforce. We check that everyone responsible for tasks with a significant HSSE risk has the necessary training and skills to understand, identify and respond to process safety risks, as well as by maintaining the robustness and application of the hardware and human barriers and processes.
Advancements in Biodiversity Baseline Assessment and Monitoring Approaches for Enhanced Oil & Gas Performance
Authors: Viana Leonardo R. , Weikel Marielle Canter , Blaha Jennifer , Larsen Trond Halvor , Ahumada Jorge , Romer Ruth
Published: March 2016

Several recent developments within the regulatory and project finance realms have converged to create strong drivers for improving project biodiversity baseline assessment and monitoring in the oil and gas industry. Along with these drivers, enhanced guidance and approaches have emerged which support more robust and replicable biodiversity baselines, in order to inform decision-making in application of the mitigation hierarchy and long-term project monitoring. A number of industry guidance documents that have been developed over the last decade focused on enhancing the sector's approach to biodiversity baseline assessment and monitoring. One recent example is the guidance Good Practices for the Collection of Biodiversity Baseline Data prepared by the Multilateral Financing Institutions Biodiversity Working Group and the Cross-Sector Biodiversity Initiative (CSBI); this guide "summarizes ‘good practices’ for biodiversity baseline studies that support biodiversity-inclusive impact assessment and management planning" (Gullison et al 2015). In addition, Conservation International (CI) and partners have developed detailed protocols for strengthened biodiversity baseline assessment and monitoring, namely through the Rapid Assessment Program (RAP) and Tropical Ecology Assessment and Monitoring (TEAM) approaches. CI's RAP program recently published the first handbook on standardized rapid biological field assessment for 12 taxonomic groups. TEAM offers standardized methods for the collection of biodiversity data from passive sensors that can be deployed easily and effectively by small field teams, covering hundreds of square kilometers. Standardized TEAM site monitoring protocols are used at 17 field stations around the world. Leveraging recent guidance and approaches can provide a greater level of assurance in biodiversity baseline assessment via enhanced data collection and subsequent monitoring to meet emerging stakeholder expectations from governments, financial lenders and industry, ideally saving time and money over the life of a project.
Enhancing Social and Environmental Performance Through an Integrated Approach
Authors: Betre M. , Diaz P. , Weikel M. , Mora M. , Donovan J. , Moretz A. , Connick S. , Anwar N.
Published: March 2016

Water, biodiversity and ecosystem services, are often recognized and managed by oil and gas companies as environmental issues, while at the same time, they frequently have important social dimensions. A global review of practices among oil, gas, and mining companies revealed that while there is increasing recognition of the linkages between the social and environmental dimensions of many issues, and the benefits of applying a more integrated and holistic approach to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts, there is still limited evidence of integration taking place.

A number of opportunities are identified for oil and gas companies to adopt a more integrated approach, particularly in the practice of environmental and social impact assessment and management, and in planning for strategic social investments where projects can be designed to achieve both environmental and social goals (e.g., community projects that use conservation incentive agreements; or freshwater conservation and water access, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) projects). A case study is presented on the implementation of Conservation Agreements (CAs) in Liberia. This work, conducted in partnership by Conservation International (CI) and Chevron, demonstrates some of the challenges and advantages of taking an integrated approach. Through implementation of CAs, CI and Chevron are working towards providing a variety of social benefits to local communities while incentivizing a reduction in pressure to the environment, namely mangrove destruction and sea turtle egg harvesting.
Construction Waste Generation and Minimization for Major Gas Processing Facilities
Authors: Hoffmann Rob , Lam Carl , Graham Andrew , Webb Lucy
Published: March 2016

Facility construction constitutes the peak waste generating event in a gas facility's life, potentially creating over 100,000 tons of solid waste. Three onshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) construction projects and 1 onshore gas-to-liquids (GTL) facility were analyzed to derive solid waste generation rates, identify successful minimization practices, and document critical waste infrastructure. The four globally-distributed projects cover the full spectrum of construction methods: fully stick-built to maximum-modular. The stick-built projects generated more waste on plot per production train than the modular ones. Displaying a characteristic bell curve shape, waste quantities typically peaked about halfway through construction, corresponding to the period of maximum onsite activity. Seven categories comprised 90% of the solid waste generated for all four projects: food; wood; plastic; paper/ cardboard; concrete/ cement; metal; and mixed (un-segregated) garbage. These seven waste categories comprised the focus of waste minimization efforts and infrastructure provisions (waste handling equipment). The onsite construction waste handling facility was universally found to be the cornerstone of the construction waste management system. Investing in design and outfitting it with essential equipment returned dividends by minimizing the quantities sent offsite and ensured construction was not interrupted by waste accumulation. A subset of waste handling equipment is recommended for gas facilities constructed in areas supported by an established commercial waste management network. The dataset from these projects was used to forecast waste types and quantities for a remote Greenfield LNG project and to inform the design of the Construction Waste Handling Facility. Incorporating the learnings and best practices from these projects forecast an industry-leading landfill diversion rate of 92% for the new project.
Identifying and Managing Community Health and Safety Risks and Impacts During the Constuction of a Petrochemical Refinery: Experience from Southeast Asia
Authors: Shandro Janis
Published: March 2016

The objective of this paper is to describe an on-going case study based in Southeast Asia. This case relates to the identification and management of community health and safety risks and impacts across the construction phase of a complex, large-scale petrochemical refinery project.

In the Southeast Asia case, the completion of a number of assessments along with the development and implementation of a community health and safety monitoring plan and influx management plan has been undertaken by the author. The project is being constructed to meet the International Finance Corporations Performance Standards on Environmental and Social Sustainability, and thus conformance to Performance Standard 4 on community health, safety and security is required.

Experience from leading community health implementation efforts for this project has identified that effective management of community health risk requires a firm understanding of baseline conditions. In addition to understanding baseline conditions, the development of targeted, effective and collaborative management strategies and the strategic, cost-effective allocation of resources are also important.

A Health Impact Assessment (HIA) is generally recognized as the most effective initial step to identifying and managing potential community health risks and impacts. However, in this case, an HIA was not completed. This case points to opportunities beyond current HIA and available community health guidance to effectively manage risks and impacts, and to maximize opportunities for both the workforce and citizens who reside in communities associated with petrochemical projects.
Water, sanitation conditions and implications for child survival in Kenya: a review of statistical evidence from the 1999 census of population
Authors: K'Akumu O. A.
Published: March 2016

Water supply and sanitation are important requisites for basic human needs and primary health care. Their inadequate provision has far reaching economic and humanitarian consequences. In Kenya this is well expressed in terms of child mortality. This paper analyses the mortality rate data from consecutive decennial population censuses conducted in the country from 1979. Water sources and type of sanitation are significant determinants of child mortality, as in any other developing country. The paper includes policy recommendations to help combat water- and sanitation- based child mortality – e.g. enforcing public health regulations, and making public investment in water and water treatment at point of use.
Integrated water resources management: a case study of on-farm water use for potato processing
Authors: Bosak V. , VanderZaag A. , Crolla A. , Kinsley C. , Gordon R.
Published: March 2016

Integrated water resources management (IWRM) is described as a holistic approach to manage water efficiently, equitably, and sustainably. This paper presents a case study where cooperative strategy building among diverse stakeholders (researchers, potato farmers, and government regulators) resulted in significant water conservation for the on-farm washing of potatoes on a large potato operation (31% reduction per unit of potatoes sold). Water was reduced by applying modified IWRM methods, including (i) goal setting, where common goals with all three parties were outlined; (ii) initial assessment, where farm water use was monitored in detail for one year; (iii) cooperative strategy building, where monitoring results were presented and potential water-use reduction strategies were brainstormed; (iv) implementation, where strategies were put into place on the farm; and (v) final assessment, where water use was monitored for a second year, after conservation strategies were in place, and the efficacy of the strategies was determined. This case study demonstrates the value of IWRM, through cooperation among researchers, farmers, and the regulators, for improving water management in agriculture.
The requirements and challenges of a mobile laboratory for onsite water microbiology assessment
Authors: Maheux Andrée F. , Bissonnette Luc , Huppé Vicky , Boissinot Maurice , Bergeron Michel G. , Dewailly Éric
Published: March 2016

Drinking water of good quality is essential to ensure the health and economical sustainability of human communities worldwide. The assessment of drinking water microbial quality is generally performed by detecting and/or quantifying faecal contamination indicators which may not provide an adequate evaluation of the health risks posed by several waterborne pathogens, for example Norovirus, Vibrio cholerae, and Cryptosporidium. In many instances, decentralized testing done in a mobile or more compact laboratory could increase the speed and capacity of predicting (or determining the source of) waterborne disease outbreaks, while offering unique opportunities to sensitize and train local populations on water and health issues. In this work, we describe the water molecular microbiology programme of the classical and molecular microbiology module of the Atlantis mobile laboratory complex, as well as the scientific, operational and design requirements that served to build a quite unique infrastructure used to study the microbial quality of drinking water in Northern Québec, Bermuda, and the Caribbean islands.
Effect of bulking materials and mixing ratios on concentration of nutrients during composting of raw faecal sludge from peri-urban areas
Authors: Appiah-Effah Eugene , Nyarko Kwabena Biritwum , Antwi Eric Ofosu , Awuah Esi
Published: March 2016

Composting of raw faecal sludge (FS) poses many difficulties due to its high moisture content (MC), high wet bulk density and low carbon to nitrogen ratio. The aim of this study were to (1) examine the suitability of bulking materials (BMs) and (2) investigate the effect of bulking material and mixing ratio on concentration of nutrients during composting of raw FS compost. Raw FS and BMs (wood chips and maize cobs) were sampled from three peri-urban communities. The raw FS showed an initial high MC (73%) which was greater than that required to start a compost process (55–65%). The results showed that the total carbon and nitrogen contents of all the experiments decreased at the end of the composting process. Composted materials at the end of the experiment showed lower concentrations of available phosphorus and potassium in all the experiments than the initial substrate materials. Experimental trial, Maize cob (1:2) is the most preferred due to the fact that it contained more nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and also carbon which are essential nutrients for plant growth and for improving on the soil organic matter content.
A Peculiar Case of a Floating Angio-Seal
Authors: Dettmers R.C. , Bosman W.M.P.F. , van den Broek M.A.J. , Veger H.T.C. , Hedeman Joosten P.Ph.A. , Borger van der Burg B.L.S.
Published: March 2016

Purpose

To show a complication of the use of an Angio-Seal™ closure device.

Case

We present a patient with a systolic murmur in his femoral artery after PCI. The murmur was caused by a dislocated Angio-Seal™, a vascular closure device. This was diagnosed by Doppler Ultrasound. The device was surgically removed.

Conclusion

Vascular complications, such as lower limb ischemia, requiring surgical intervention tend to be higher after use of a vascular closure device. We advise routine physical examination of the puncture site after percutaneous closure with a vascular closure device, such as an Angio-Seal™. The removal of the device can be performed via an open or endoscopic approach, based on available experience.
Rainfall Threshold Assessment Corresponding to the Maximum Allowable Turbidity for Source Water
Authors: Fan Shu‐Kai S. , Kuan Wen‐Hui , Fan Chihhao , Chen Chiu‐Yang
Published: March 2016

This study aims to assess the upstream rainfall thresholds corresponding to the maximum allowable turbidity of source water, using monitoring data and artificial neural network computation. The Taipei Water Source Domain was selected as the study area, and the upstream rainfall records were collected for statistical analysis. Using analysis of variance (ANOVA), the cumulative rainfall records of one‐day Ping‐lin, two‐day Ping‐lin, two‐day Tong‐hou, one‐day Guie‐shan, and one‐day Tai‐ping (rainfall in the previous 24 or 48 hours at the named weather stations) were found to be the five most significant parameters for downstream turbidity development. An artificial neural network model was constructed to predict the downstream turbidity in the area investigated. The observed and model‐calculated turbidity data were applied to assess the rainfall thresholds in the studied area. By setting preselected turbidity criteria, the upstream rainfall thresholds for these statistically determined rain gauge stations were calculated.
Chemical characterization of the photodegradation products of midazolam complexes with randomly methylated-β-cyclodextrin by HPLC and LC-MS/MS
Authors: Agatonovic-Kustrin Snezana , Lebete Mosimotsana , Brown Michael , Morton David , Glass Beverley
Published: March 2016

Midazolam, a potent anxiolytic drug with sedative properties, is susceptible
to degradation by both light and hydrolysis in aqueous solution. When
formulated as an intranasal product it was found to be effective in achieving
seizure control in epileptic patients. In order to deliver an adequate
therapeutic dose to a patient, a nasal formulation requires the concentration
of midazolam to be higher than its? aqueous solubility. One way to increase
midazolam solubility to a therapeutic concentration, is complexation with
randomly methylated-?-cyclodextrin. Thus, it is important to determine how
complexation with cyclodextrin affects the rate of degradation and type of
midazolam degradants that are formed. We have found that complexation with
cyclodextrin decreases its photostability. More importantly, the degradation
profile for midazolam is significantly altered when it is complexed with
randomly methylated-?-cyclodextrin, what we partly confirmed in our previous
work.1 By continuing our study we have found that degradation products, not
observed on the photodegradation of uncomplexed midazolam are observed in
significant quantities when it is complexed with randomly
methylated-?-cyclodextrin. The decreased photostability was accompanied by
the appearance of two new degradation products, an intermediate structure and
a dimer. Photoproduct formation followed the same pattern as in the forced
degradation studies, further confirming the presence of an intermediate. The
production of these new photodegradants, characterized with their MS spectra,
as well as proposed degradation mechanism of midazolam is discussed.
Long-span Steel Truss Arch Bridge Construction and Innovation
Authors: Liu Dan , Tian Wei , Zheng Jianxin
Published: March 2016

The new bridge under construction in Zhuhai, China, is a dominant project of Jinding-Gaolan road, which is the vital communication line throughout Zhuhai. The superstructure of main bridge is 100m + 400m + 100m steel truss tied-arch bridge. The bridge is assembled symmetrically from side span to middle span. Except for 1# segment and 2# segment of side span assembled by truck crane, all the other truss segments are assembled by 80t girder erection crane using cantilever erection method. Cable-stayed system is adopted to help mid-span arch erection and ensure safety during the whole process. After arch closure, rigid tie bar segments of mid-span can be erected by deck derrick crane. Instead of temporary flexibility tie bar, temporary locked bearing has been invented to resistant horizontal force at arch springer during rigid tie bar construction, so as to satisfy navigation requirement of first grade waterway at worksite.
Lost in the Infinite Archive: The Promise and Pitfalls of Web Archives
Authors: Milligan Ian
Published: March 2016

Contemporary and future historians need to grapple with and confront the challenges posed by web archives. These large collections of material, accessed either through the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine or through other computational methods, represent both a challenge and an opportunity to historians. Through these collections, we have the potential to access the voices of millions of non-elite individuals (recognizing of course the cleavages in both Web access as well as method of access). To put this in perspective, the Old Bailey Online currently describes its monumental holdings of 197,745 trials between 1674 and 1913 as the “largest body of texts detailing the lives of non-elite people ever published.” GeoCities.com, a platform for everyday web publishing in the mid-to-late 1990s and early 2000s, amounted to over thirty-eight million individual webpages. Historians will have access, in some form, to millions of pages: written by everyday people of various classes, genders, ethnicities, and ages. While the Web was not a perfect democracy by any means – it was and is unevenly accessed across each of those categories – this still represents a massive collection of non-elite speech.

Yet a figure like thirty-eight million webpages is both a blessing and a curse. We cannot read every website, and must instead rely upon discovery tools to find the information that we need. Yet these tools largely do not exist for web archives, or are in a very early state of development: what will they look like? What information do historians want to access? We cannot simply map over web tools optimized for discovering current information through online searches or metadata analysis. We need to find information that mattered at the time, to diverse and very large communities. Furthermore, web pages cannot be viewed in isolation, outside of the networks that they inhabited. In theory, amongst corpuses of millions of pages, researchers can find whatever they want to confirm. The trick is situating it into a larger social and cultural context: is it representative? Unique?

In this paper, “Lost in the Infinite Archive,” I explore what the future of digital methods for historians will be when they need to explore web archives. Historical research of periods beginning in the mid-1990s will need to use web archives, and right now we are not ready. This article draws on first-hand research with the Internet Archive and Archive-It web archiving teams. It draws upon three exhaustive datasets: the large Web ARChive (WARC) files that make up Wide Web Scrapes of the Web; the metadata-intensive WAT files that provide networked contextual information; and the lifted-straight-from-the-web guerilla archives generated by groups like Archive Team. Through these case studies, we can see – hands-on – what richness and potentials lie in these new cultural records, and what approaches we may need to adopt. It helps underscore the need to have humanists involved at this early, crucial stage.
Mechanized Margin to Digitized Center: Black Feminism's Contributions to Combatting Erasure within the Digital Humanities
Authors: Brown Nicole M. , Mendenhall Ruby , Black Michael L. , Moer Mark Van , Zerai Assata , Flynn Karen
Published: March 2016

Computational analysis and digital humanities are far from neutral processes and sites unimpeded by the political, social and economic context in which they emerged and are utilized. As an interdisciplinary field, the digital humanities have transformed the relationship of humans to computers broadly conceived. At the same time, the methods, theories, perspectives and the concomitant digital tools developed are being criticized for reproducing the social divisions that exist in society. The effort to recover Black women's subjectivities from the digital minefield is not without its challenges, reflected in our study which searched approximately 800,000 books, newspapers, and articles in the HathiTrust and JSTOR Digital Libraries. The goal was to identify perceptions and lived experiences of Black women that emerged and the resulting knowledge that developed. The project team discovered multiple challenges related to the rescue and recovery of Black women's standpoints or group knowledge. This essay explores how even as computational analysis has embedded biases, it can be utilized to recover the experiences of Black women from within the digitized record. Thus, computational analysis and all that it encompasses not only makes visible Black women's experiences, but also expands the scope of the digital humanities.
Examining Modern European Poet-Translators ‘Distantly’
Authors: Blakesley Jacob
Published: March 2016

Despite the flourishing of Translation Studies as a discipline, there has been little comparative assessment of modern European poet-translators, much less from a quantitative perspective. This article illustrates the use of statistical analysis of modern European poet-translators to understand literary currents and translation trends within and among national European literatures. Statistical results reveal fundamental differences in the practice of translation among European poets, specifically, twentieth-century Italian, French, Spanish, and English-language poets. It becomes clear which European poets translated the most and from which languages, as do contrasts in translation trends between national literatures through the twentieth century.
Root Exudation: The Ecological Driver of Hydrocarbon Rhizoremediation
Authors: Rohrbacher Fanny , St-Arnaud Marc
Published: March 2016

Rhizoremediation is a bioremediation technique whereby microbial degradation of organic contaminants occurs in the rhizosphere. It is considered to be an effective and affordable “green technology” for remediating soils contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons. Root exudation of a wide variety of compounds (organic, amino and fatty acids, carbohydrates, vitamins, nucleotides, phenolic compounds, polysaccharides and proteins) provide better nutrient uptake for the rhizosphere microbiome. It is thought to be one of the predominant drivers of microbial communities in the rhizosphere and is therefore a potential key factor behind enhanced hydrocarbon biodegradation. Many of the genes responsible for bacterial adaptation in contaminated soil and the plant rhizosphere are carried by conjugative plasmids and transferred among bacteria. Because root exudates can stimulate gene transfer, conjugation in the rhizosphere is higher than in bulk soil. A better understanding of these phenomena could thus inform the development of techniques to manipulate the rhizosphere microbiome in ways that improve hydrocarbon bioremediation.
A Brief Description of High Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cell’s Operation, Materials, Design, Fabrication Technologies and Performance
Authors: Irshad Muneeb , Siraj Khurram , Raza Rizwan , Ali Anwar , Tiwari Pankaj , Zhu Bin , Rafique Asia , Ali Amjad , Kaleem Ullah Muhammad , Usman Arslan
Published: March 2016

Today’s world needs highly efficient systems that can fulfill the growing demand for energy. One of the promising solutions is the fuel cell. Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is considered by many developed countries as an alternative solution of energy in near future. A lot of efforts have been made during last decade to make it commercial by reducing its cost and increasing its durability. Different materials, designs and fabrication technologies have been developed and tested to make it more cost effective and stable. This article is focused on the advancements made in the field of high temperature SOFC. High temperature SOFC does not need any precious catalyst for its operation, unlike in other types of fuel cell. Different conventional and innovative materials have been discussed along with properties and effects on the performance of SOFC’s components (electrolyte anode, cathode, interconnect and sealing materials). Advancements made in the field of cell and stack design are also explored along with hurdles coming in their fabrication and performance. This article also gives an overview of methods required for the fabrication of different components of SOFC. The flexibility of SOFC in terms fuel has also been discussed. Performance of the SOFC with varying combination of electrolyte, anode, cathode and fuel is also described in this article.
Vanadium Oxide Supported on MSU-1 as a Highly Active Catalyst for Dehydrogenation of Isobutane with CO2
Authors: Sun Guosong , Huang Qingze , Huang Shiyong , Wang Qiuping , Li Huiquan , Liu Haitao , Wan Shijie , Zhang Xuewang , Wang Jinshu
Published: March 2016

Vanadium oxide supported on MSU-1, with VOx loading ranging from 2.5 to 17.5 wt. %, was developed as a highly active catalyst in dehydrogenation of isobutane with CO2. The obtained catalysts of VOx/MSU-1 were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), N2 adsorption-desorption, and H2-temperature programmed reduction (H2-TPR) methods and the results showed that the large surface area of MSU-1 was favorable for the dispersion of VOx species and the optimal loading of VOx was 12.0 wt. %. Meanwhile, the catalytic activity of VOx/MSU-1 was investigated, and VOx/MSU-1 with 12.0 wt. % VOx content was found to be the best one, with the conversion of isobutane (58.8%) and the selectivity of isobutene (78.5%) under the optimal reaction conditions. In contrast with the reaction in the absence of CO2, the presence of CO2 in the reaction stream could obviously enhance the isobutane dehydrogenation, which raised the conversion of reaction and the stability of VOx/MSU-1.
Selecting Video Key Frames Based on Relative Entropy and the Extreme Studentized Deviate Test
Authors: Guo Yuejun , Xu Qing , Sun Shihua , Luo Xiaoxiao , Sbert Mateu
Published: March 2016

This paper studies the relative entropy and its square root as distance measures of neighboring video frames for video key frame extraction. We develop a novel approach handling both common and wavelet video sequences, in which the extreme Studentized deviate test is exploited to identify shot boundaries for segmenting a video sequence into shots. Then, video shots can be divided into different sub-shots, according to whether the video content change is large or not, and key frames are extracted from sub-shots. The proposed technique is general, effective and efficient to deal with video sequences of any kind. Our new approach can offer optional additional multiscale summarizations of video data, achieving a balance between having more details and maintaining less redundancy. Extensive experimental results show that the new scheme obtains very encouraging results in video key frame extraction, in terms of both objective evaluation metrics and subjective visual perception.
Knowledge for a Common World? On the Place of Feminist Epistemology in Philosophy of Education
Authors: Schumann Claudia
Published: March 2016

The paper discusses the place of feminist epistemology in philosophy of education. Against frequently raised criticisms, the paper argues that the issues raised by feminist standpoint theory lead neither to a reduction of questions of knowledge to questions of power or politics nor to the endorsement of relativism. Within the on-going discussion in feminist epistemology, we can find lines of argument which provide the grounds for a far more radical critique of the traditional, narrow notion of objectivity, revealing it as inherently flawed and inconsistent and allowing for the defense of a re-worked, broader, more accurate understanding of objectivity. This is also in the interest of developing a strong basis for a feminist critique of problematically biased and repressive epistemological practices which can further be extended to shed light on the way in which knowledge has become distorted through the repression of other non-dominant epistemic standpoints. Thus, requiring a thorough re-thinking of our conceptions of objectivity and rationality, feminist epistemologies need to be carefully considered in order to improve our understanding of what knowledge for a common world implies in the pluralistic and diverse societies of post-traditional modernity in the 21st century.
A High-Gain Three-Port Power Converter with Fuel Cell, Battery Sources and Stacked Output for Hybrid Electric Vehicles and DC-Microgrids
Authors: Lai Ching-Ming , Yang Ming-Ji
Published: March 2016

This paper proposes a novel high-gain three-port power converter with fuel cell (FC), battery sources and stacked output for a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) connected to a dc-microgrid. In the proposed power converter, the load power can be flexibly distributed between the input sources. Moreover, the charging or discharging of the battery storage device can be controlled effectively using the FC source. The proposed converter has several outputs in series to achieve a high-voltage output, which makes it suitable for interfacing with the HEV and dc-microgrid. On the basis of the charging and discharging states of the battery storage device, two power operation modes are defined. The proposed power converter comprises only one boost inductor integrated with a flyback transformer; the boost and flyback circuit output terminals are stacked to increase the output voltage gain and reduce the voltage stress on the power devices. This paper presents the circuit configuration, operating principle, and steady-state analysis of the proposed converter, and experiments conducted on a laboratory prototype are presented to verify its effectiveness.
Global Evidence on the Association between POS Advertising Bans and Youth Smoking Participation
Authors: Shang Ce , Huang Jidong , Cheng Kai-Wen , Li Qing , Chaloupka Frank
Published: March 2016

Background: Point-of-sale (POS) tobacco advertising has been linked to youth smoking susceptibility and experimental smoking. However, there is limited evidence of the association between POS advertising bans and youth smoking participation. This study aims to examine how such bans are associated with current smoking, daily smoking, and regular smoking (≥1 cigarettes per day) participation among youth. Methods: one to two waves (primarily one wave) of the Global Youth Tobacco Survey were conducted in 130 countries between 2007 and 2011. These surveys were linked to the WHO “MPOWER” data using country and year identifiers to analyze the association between POS advertising bans (a dichotomous measure of the existence of such bans) and smoking participation in the past month. Weighted logistic regressions were employed to analyze this association while controlling for age, gender, parents’ smoking status, 6 MPOWER policy scores, and GDP per capita. Results and Conclusions: We find that in countries with POS advertising bans, current smoking (OR = 0.73, p ≤ 0.1), daily smoking (OR = 0.70, p ≤ 0.1), and regular smoking (OR = 0.75, p ≤ 0.05) participation in the past month is significantly lower, suggesting that POS promotion bans can potentially reduce youth smoking. This study provides evidence to support the implementation of POS promotion regulations by the US FDA and implementation of the WHO FCTC guidelines regarding restrictions on tobacco POS promotion.
Adolescent Overweight and Obesity: Links to Socioeconomic Status and Fruit and Vegetable Intakes
Authors: You Jihyun , Choo Jina
Published: March 2016

Whether adolescent overweight/obesity is linked to socioeconomic status (SES) and fruit and vegetable (F/V) intakes has not been confirmed. We aimed to determine whether there is an association between SES and adolescent overweight/obesity and to test the mediating effect of F/V intakes. This cross-sectional study included the data of 63,111 adolescents extracted from the 2013 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey. Overweight/obesity was defined as a body mass index ≥ 85th percentile, while F/V intakes were categorized as high (recommended levels: ≥1 fruit serving and ≥3 vegetable servings per day) versus low. Among girls, low SES (beta = 0.50, p < 0.001) and F/V intakes (beta = −0.17, p = 0.038) were both significantly associated with overweight/obesity; the former association was significantly mediated by F/V intakes (Sobel test: z = 2.00, p = 0.046). Among boys, neither SES nor F/V intakes was significantly associated with overweight/obesity. Adolescent overweight/obesity was significantly linked to low SES and F/V intakes among girls only; low SES indirectly increased the risk of overweight/obesity via low F/V intakes. Therefore, promoting F/V intakes for socially disadvantaged girls should be prioritized as a population-based strategy for preventing adolescent overweight/obesity in South Korea.
Identification of Human UDP-Glucuronosyltransferase 1A4 as the Major Isozyme Responsible for the Glucuronidation of 20(S)-Protopanaxadiol in Human Liver Microsomes
Authors: Li Jia , He Chunyong , Fang Lianxiang , Yang Li , Wang Zhengtao
Published: March 2016

20(S)-protopanaxadiol (PPD), one of the representative aglycones of ginsenosides, has a broad spectrum of pharmacological activities. Although phase I metabolism has been investigated extensively, information regarding phase II metabolism of this compound remains to be elucidated. Here, a glucuronidated metabolite of PPD in human liver microsomes (HLMs) and rat liver microsomes (RLMs) was unambiguously identified as PPD-3-O-β-d-glucuronide by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and high resolution mass spectrometry. The chemical inhibition and recombinant human UDP-Glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) isoforms assay showed that the PPD glucuronidation was mainly catalyzed by UGT1A4 in HLM, whereas UGT1A3 showed weak catalytic activity. In conclusion, PPD-3-O-β-d-glucuronide was first identified as the principal glucuronidation metabolite of PPD in HLMs, which was catalyzed by UGT1A4.
A Protease Inhibitor with Induction Therapy with Natural Interferon-β in Patients with HCV Genotype 1b Infection
Authors: Kishida Yutaka , Imaizumi Naohiko , Tanimura Hirohisa , Kashiwamura Shinichiro , Kashiwagi Toru
Published: March 2016

The restoration of innate immune responses has potential as a novel therapeutic strategy for chronic hepatitis C (CHC). We compared the efficacy and safety of induction therapy (IT) with natural interferon-β (n-IFN-β) followed by pegylated-IFN-α/ribavirin (PR) alone (group A, n = 30) and IT with a protease inhibitor (PI) (simeprevir or vaniprevir)/PR (group B, n = 13) in CHC patients with genotype 1b and high viral loads. During IT with nIFN-β, virologic response rates in group A and group B were 10% and 8% (p = 0.6792) at week 4, 30% and 16% (p = 0.6989) at week 12 and 47% and 20% (p = 0.0887) at week 24 respectively. During and after the treatment with PR alone or PI/PR, virologic response rates in groups A and B were 50% and 82% (p = 0.01535) at week 4, 53% and 91% (p = 0.006745) at week 8, 57% and 91% (p = 0.001126) at week 12, 57% and 100% (p < 0.001845) at the end of the treatment and 57% and 80% (p < 0.005166) after treatment cessation. IT with PI/PR linked to the restoration of innate immune response was tolerated well, overcame virological breakthrough, enhanced early virologic responses, and resulted in a sustained virologic response in difficult-to-treat CHC patients. IT with PI/PR is beneficial for treating difficult-to-treat CHC patients.
Transcriptome and Gene Ontology (GO) Enrichment Analysis Reveals Genes Involved in Biotin Metabolism That Affect l-Lysine Production in Corynebacterium glutamicum
Authors: Kim Hong-Il , Kim Jong-Hyeon , Park Young-Jin
Published: March 2016

Corynebacterium glutamicum is widely used for amino acid production. In the present study, 543 genes showed a significant change in their mRNA expression levels in l-lysine-producing C. glutamicum ATCC21300 than that in the wild-type C. glutamicum ATCC13032. Among these 543 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), 28 genes were up- or downregulated. In addition, 454 DEGs were functionally enriched and categorized based on BLAST sequence homologies and gene ontology (GO) annotations using the Blast2GO software. Interestingly, NCgl0071 (bioB, encoding biotin synthase) was expressed at levels ~20-fold higher in the l-lysine-producing ATCC21300 strain than that in the wild-type ATCC13032 strain. Five other genes involved in biotin metabolism or transport—NCgl2515 (bioA, encoding adenosylmethionine-8-amino-7-oxononanoate aminotransferase), NCgl2516 (bioD, encoding dithiobiotin synthetase), NCgl1883, NCgl1884, and NCgl1885—were also expressed at significantly higher levels in the l-lysine-producing ATCC21300 strain than that in the wild-type ATCC13032 strain, which we determined using both next-generation RNA sequencing and quantitative real-time PCR analysis. When we disrupted the bioB gene in C. glutamicum ATCC21300, l-lysine production decreased by approximately 76%, and the three genes involved in biotin transport (NCgl1883, NCgl1884, and NCgl1885) were significantly downregulated. These results will be helpful to improve our understanding of C. glutamicum for industrial amino acid production.
Type 2 Diabetes in Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Hepatitis C Virus Infection—Liver: The “Musketeer” in the Spotlight
Authors: Ballestri Stefano , Nascimbeni Fabio , Romagnoli Dante , Baldelli Enrica , Targher Giovanni , Lonardo Amedeo
Published: March 2016

The pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes (T2D) involves chronic hyperinsulinemia due to systemic and hepatic insulin resistance (IR), which if uncorrected, will lead to progressive pancreatic beta cell failure in predisposed individuals. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) encompasses a spectrum of fatty (simple steatosis and steatohepatitis) and non-fatty liver changes (NASH-cirrhosis with or without hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)) that are commonly observed among individuals with multiple metabolic derangements, notably including visceral obesity, IR and T2D. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is also often associated with both hepatic steatosis and features of a specific HCV-associated dysmetabolic syndrome. In recent years, the key role of the steatotic liver in the development of IR and T2D has been increasingly recognized. Thus, in this comprehensive review we summarize the rapidly expanding body of evidence that links T2D with NAFLD and HCV infection. For each of these two liver diseases with systemic manifestations, we discuss the epidemiological burden, the pathophysiologic mechanisms and the clinical implications. To date, substantial evidence suggests that NAFLD and HCV play a key role in T2D development and that the interaction of T2D with liver disease may result in a “vicious circle”, eventually leading to an increased risk of all-cause mortality and liver-related and cardiovascular complications. Preliminary evidence also suggests that improvement of NAFLD is associated with a decreased incidence of T2D. Similarly, the prevention of T2D following HCV eradication in the era of direct-acting antiviral agents is a biologically plausible result. However, additional studies are required for further clarification of mechanisms involved.
Formation of Micro and Mesoporous Amorphous Silica-Based Materials from Single Source Precursors
Authors: Mohd Sokri Mohd , Daiko Yusuke , Mouline Zineb , Honda Sawao , Iwamoto Yuji
Published: March 2016

Polysilazanes functionalized with alkoxy groups were designed and synthesized as single source precursors for fabrication of micro and mesoporous amorphous silica-based materials. The pyrolytic behaviors during the polymer to ceramic conversion were studied by the simultaneous thermogravimetry-mass spectrometry (TG-MS) analysis. The porosity of the resulting ceramics was characterized by the N2 adsorption/desorption isotherm measurements. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Raman spectroscopic analyses as well as elemental composition analysis were performed on the polymer-derived amorphous silica-based materials, and the role of the alkoxy group as a sacrificial template for the micro and mesopore formations was discussed from a viewpoint to establish novel micro and mesoporous structure controlling technologies through the polymer-derived ceramics (PDCs) route.
MicroRNA In Lung Cancer: Novel Biomarkers and Potential Tools for Treatment
Authors: Inamura Kentaro , Ishikawa Yuichi
Published: March 2016

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in men and women worldwide. The lack of specific and sensitive tools for early diagnosis as well as still-inadequate targeted therapies contribute to poor outcomes. MicroRNAs are small non-coding RNAs, which regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally by translational repression or degradation of target mRNAs. A growing body of evidence suggests various roles of microRNAs including development and progression of lung cancer. In lung cancer, several studies have showed that certain microRNA profiles classified lung cancer subtypes, and that specific microRNA expression signatures distinguished between better-prognosis and worse-prognosis lung cancers. Furthermore, microRNAs circulate in body fluids, and therefore may serve as promising biomarkers for early diagnosis of lung cancer as well as for predicting prognosis of patients. In the present review, we briefly summarize microRNAs in the development and progression of lung cancer, focusing on possible applications of microRNAs as novel biomarkers and tools for treatment.
Imaging Water Thin Films in Ambient Conditions Using Atomic Force Microscopy
Authors: Santos Sergio , Verdaguer Albert
Published: March 2016

All surfaces exposed to ambient conditions are covered by a thin film of water. Other than at high humidity conditions, i.e., relative humidity higher than 80%, those water films have nanoscale thickness. Nevertheless, even the thinnest film can profoundly affect the physical and chemical properties of the substrate. Information on the structure of these water films can be obtained from spectroscopic techniques based on photons, but these usually have poor lateral resolution. When information with nanometer resolution in the three dimensions is needed, for example for surfaces showing heterogeneity in water affinity at the nanoscale, Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) is the preferred tool since it can provide such resolution while being operated in ambient conditions. A complication in the interpretation of the data arises when using AFM, however, since, in most cases, direct interaction between a solid probe and a solid surface occurs. This induces strong perturbations of the liquid by the probe that should be controlled or avoided. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of different AFM methods developed to overcome this problem, measuring different interactions between the AFM probe and the water films, and to discuss the type of information about the water film that can be obtained from these interactions.
Rapid Synthesis of Carbon Dots by Hydrothermal Treatment of Lignin
Authors: Chen Wenxin , Hu Chaofan , Yang Yunhua , Cui Jianghu , Liu Yingliang
Published: March 2016

A rapid approach has been developed for the fluorescent carbon dots (CDs) by the hydrothermal treatment of lignin in the presence of H2O2. The as-synthesized CDs were found to emit blue photoluminescence with excellent photostability. Moreover, the CDs displayed biocompatibility, low cytotoxicity, and high water solubility properties. Finally, the as-resulted CDs were demonstrated to be excellent probes for bioimaging and biosensing applications.