bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Psychological Readiness of Counselors to Work in a Children’s Health Camp
Authors: Nazarova A. , Ivanov D.
Published: November 2019

The article analyzes the phenomenon of counselor’s psychological readiness to work with children in a children’s health camp. A theoretical analysis of Russian psychological and pedagogical literature on the issue of training counselors for professional work is carried out. The analysis made it possible to characterize the features of the counselor in a children’s health camp. These include high physical, intellectual and emotional tension, high responsibility for the life and safety of the child, for his intellectual, emotional, spiritual and moral development. It is shown how the nature of the activity makes special psychological demands on the personality and activity of the counselor. The identified requirements for the personality and activity of the counselor made it possible to formulate the content of the concept of ‘counselor psychological readiness’. By it we understand the totality of such professionally important qualities as stress resistance, communicative and organizational skills, leadership qualities, tolerant attitudes, a cooperative and compromise style of behavior in conflict situations. Effective means of preparing counselors for activities in the children’s health camp are considered. The main means of training counselors are traditional and non-traditional forms of training. Perspective tasks of further psychological and pedagogical research are outlined, among which are the development and testing of the effectiveness of the psychological and pedagogical program to form the counselor’s psychological readiness for work in a children’s health camp.
Formation of a Model of Cooperation Between Professional Educational Structures and Business in the Preparation of Highly Qualified Personnel
Authors: Morgunova N. , Zaitseva I.
Published: November 2019

Cooperation between professional educational institutions and business is an important aspect in the preparation of qualified personnel and the formation of quality education. In this regard, the article presents a number of problems of training specialists from the position of demand in the labor market of the Vladimir region, considers the key elements of interaction of the main participants of cooperation, identifies the main barriers. In conclusion, further steps in the formation of an effective model of interaction between universities and business are justified.
Sacrifice of God in Ancient Egypt: Myth and Ritual
Authors: Sherkova T.
Published: November 2019

Mythological beliefs about the first victim are archetypal for ancient cultures. According to ancient Egyptian mythology it is the god Osiris — the first mythical king of Egypt — who became the first victim having been killed by his twin brother Seth. Binary logic of the mythological consciousness based on the beliefs about conflicts and reconciliation of opposites has solved the problem of overcoming death through the sacrifice of Osiris. The image of Osiris based on the cult of ancestors, twin motive and sacrifice of bull. Osiris personified the spirit cosmogony of Ancient Egyptian culture.
Reception of the Manifestations of the Culture of Egypt in Russian Literature
Authors: Kuzina N.
Published: November 2019

The paper presents analysis of historiosophical themes, images and motifs reflecting the Egyptian culture in Russian literature of the 19th–20th centuries. They were popular among the authors of the early 20th century not only because of interest in artifacts found in the 19th century but also — and first of all — as part of a significant metaphor ‘Pre-revolutionary / Post-revolutionary Russia VS. Egypt’. There is shown the process of creating this comparison being much later than the ‘Russia VS. Europe’ paradigm in the context of the ‘Myth of St. Petersburg’, which included elements of the Egyptian theme (Sphinxes of the Neva) by the 20th century.
Word Formation of Educational Field Terminologies in Arabic Language: Word Compounding
Authors: Rashidova N.
Published: November 2019

This article is about terminology formation in the field of education which is one of the growing areas of science. It is an inexhaustible source in constant enrichment of vocabulary in various languages of the world. Theoretical research of the terminology formation and its functioning is one of the priority areas in modern linguistics. Terminology in the field of education is firstly considered as terminological general literary vocabulary. Therefore, this research includes post names terms, institutions’ names, subjects’ names, processes, phenomena and others which are united in the general concept of ‘terminology in education sphere’. The article’s aim is to analyze the main structural and lexical-semantic character in the sphere of education in Arabic language. The research’s task is not only to study single-component units, but also multi-component phrases containing two or more elements. The article covers and analyzes the compounding method which is one of the methods of terms formation. In this article full description about this method will be given. Gained results create a new approach to understanding and solving the problems such as word formation in Arabic language, defining the lexical-semantic and structural-functioning character of the terminology in the field of education.
„Outdoor education” w procesie kształtowania kompetencji społecznych młodzieży nieprzystosowanej społecznie
Authors: Skuza Aneta
Published: November 2019

Pedagogika przeżyć dla wielu
pedagogów jest idealną drogą uczenia, zresztą
jeśli spojrzy się na korzenie wychowania i uczenia się, łatwo można znaleźć dowody potwierdzające efektywność uczenia się zorientowanego na działanie i przeżycie. Przekraczać granice,
przyjmować wyzwania, pokonywać przeszkody,
podejmować ryzyko i decyzje, konsekwentnie
się ich trzymać, przetrzymać wybraną drogę,
znajdować kreatywne rozwiązania – to są
kompetencje, których się dziś wymaga i do
których kształtowania dąży się podejmując
różnorodne formy oddziaływań resocjalizacyjnych.
Praktyczne aspekty wykazywania braku winy w niezgłoszeniu wniosku o ogłoszenie upadłości przez członka zarządu odpowiadającego na podstawie przepisu art. 299 ksh
Authors: Piątkowska Maja
Published: November 2019

Zgodnie z kodeksem spółek handlowych w spółce z ograniczoną odpowiedzialnością prowadzenie spraw spółki powierzone
jest zarządowi. Wykonywanie tej funkcji oznacza określone uprawnienia oraz przewidziane w
przepisach prawa obowiązki. Problemem
analizowanym w artykule jest kwestia wykazywania przez członka zarządu spółki z ograniczoną odpowiedzialnością braku winy w niezgłoszeniu wniosku o ogłoszenie upadłości, w
sytuacji kiedy egzekucja z majątku spółki okazała się bezskuteczna, tj. z przepisu art. 299 ksh.
W artykule zostają przedstawione najczęściej
spotykane, w trakcie postępowań sądowych,
sposoby obrony członków zarządu. Zostanie
podjęta również próba oceny ich skuteczności.
Większość z analizowanych w artykule sposobów obrony nie przynosi członkom zarządu
oczekiwanego rezultatu w postaci oddalenia
powództwa.
Access and Use of Veterinary Services by Livestock Farmers in Western Agricultural Zone of Nasarawa State, Nigeria
Authors: Salau Emmanuel S.
Published: November 2019

This study examined the access and use of veterinary services by small scale livestock farmers in the western agricultural zone of Nasarawa state. Two Local government areas (Karu and Keffi LGAs) were purposively selected from the zone for the study based on their popularity in small scale livestock production. Ten villages were randomly selected from each of the two selected LGAs to give a total of 20 villages.  Six (6) livestock farmers were randomly selected from each of the 20 selected villages giving a total of 120 respondents. Data were collected through a structured interview schedule. Data were analyzed using both descriptive statistics and a multiple regression model using SPSS software. The results show that the majority (75.2%) of the respondents were male. Their mean age was 35years which implies that the livestock farmers were mostly young people. Their average year of farming experience was 10 years. Half (50%) of them had tertiary education, indicating the enhanced capacity to access and use veterinary services. The major veterinary services adopted by the respondents were treatment of sick animals (93.3%), vaccination (87.2%), castration (65.0%) and Sanitary/Fumigation practices (41%) among others. The regression analysis showed that four variables had a significant effect (1%) on the level of use of veterinary services by the respondents. These were gender (p ≤ 0.417), level of education (p ≤ 0.603), number of extension visits (p ≤ 0.607) and membership of social organisations (p ≤ 0.670). Lack of money to acquire vaccines and drugs (X = 2.3), high cost of veterinary services (X =2.3) and far distance to veterinary centres (X =2.0) were the major constraints to use of veterinary services. It was recommended that extension agents should encourage the farmers to join cooperative groups to enhance easy access to credit to procure veterinary inputs.
Large Scale Demo Plot Trial Project of Potash Fertilization for Increased Yield and Profitability for Smallholder Soybean Fields in India
Authors: Nachmansohn Joachim B. , Imas Patricia , Bansal Surinder K.
Published: November 2019

Agriculture is the backbone of the Indian economy, in spite of concerned efforts towards industrialization in the last three decades. Therefore, the soil quality and fertility are the major factors in crop production. Declining soil fertility is one of the primary factors that directly affect crop productivity, and fertilizer-use is a key factor in order to keep soil fertility and productivity. A major factor in declining soil fertility is potassium (K) depletion, especially on smallholder farms where fertilization decisions are not based on regular soil testing. Most of the smallholder soybean producers do not have access and investment capacity to soil testing services. Therefore, there is a need to create K fertilizer recommendations based on empirically verified knowledge at India-specific scale. Such large-scale studies, in local filed conditions, are currently lacking. In order to bridge this gap, and generate proven set of directly applicable recommendations, a large-scale plot trial was launched; the Potash for Life (PFL) project. The study evaluated the K response in soybean when fertilizing with potash on K depleted soils in local variable field conditions. The aim was to (1) evaluate the effect and response consistency of K application on soybean yield, (2) to demonstrate to farmers the increased yield and profitability from K-inclusive fertilization regimes for this crop and give recommendations for transient yield increase, and (3) to raise the awareness among smallholder farmers about the importance of K fertilization. A comprehensive experiment was carried out in Madhya Pradesh (M.P.) and Maharashtra. The methodology was straight-forward; two identical plots side by side, with the only difference that one of them was fertilized with additional potash. The results showed a significant yield increase response from the potash application; the average yield increase was 244 kg ha-1 or 26 % in M.P., and 105 kg ha-1 or 36 % in Maharashtra. This entailed an average additional net profit of ₹ 6,681 INR ha-1 and ₹ 2,544 INR ha-1, in M.P. and Maharashtra respectively. It was concluded that the soil status of plant available K is significantly lower than the plant demand for soybean production in the two states, Consequently, K fertilization is necessary in order to improve agricultural practices and optimizing yields. Ultimately, following recommendations given in this study would allow farmers to generate additional profit, which could further allow them to invest in fine-tuning fertilizer practices through the means of soil testing.
Associations between sources of information and animal health knowledge of rural farmers in central Ethiopia
Authors: Stringer Andrew , Christley Rob , Bell Catriona , Gebreab Feseha , Tefera Gebre , Reed Karen , Trawford Andrew , Pinchbeck Gina
Published: November 2019

This study explored the information sources through which working donkey owners and users in Ethiopia acquire knowledge about donkey health and husbandry practices. Individual interviews, a Participatory Situation Analysis (PSA) and a cross-sectional study with rural farmers were utilised to develop an understanding of the existing sources of information concerning donkey health and husbandry, and determine the association with the knowledge of farmers. Numerous sources were utilized by owners for information regarding health and husbandry advice for donkeys. Most owners reported that the sources were unreliable with regards to the information they provided on donkey health and husbandry. Knowledge score of participants increased as the number of information sources contacted increased. Knowledge score also increased with increasing education level, literacy ability and radio access. A significant association between knowledge score and age was identified, with knowledge score decreasing in older individuals. Multilevel linear regression models revealed a number of variables, including formal education level and cattle ownership to be significantly associated with knowledge score. We conclude that a range of factors can affect the knowledge level of an individual concerning donkey health and husbandry, and that individuals with more diverse knowledge sources have higher knowledge scores. The relationship between specific farmer variables and animal health knowledge is complex, and it may be necessary to use different sources and channels to transfer and disseminate information to individuals living in rural Ethiopia.
Factors affecting diffusion and adoption of agricultural innovations among farmers in Ethiopia case study of Ormia regional state Westsern Sewa
Authors: Worku Ayalew A.
Published: November 2019

The contribution of new technology to economic growth can only be realized when and if the new technology is widely diffused and used. Diffusion itself results from a series of individual decisions to begin using the new technology, decisions which are often the result of a comparison of the uncertain benefits of the new invention with the uncertain costs of adopting it. An understanding of the factors affecting this choice is essential both for economists studying the determinants of growth and for the generators and disseminators of such technologies. The study was to determine the factors affecting farmer’s adoption of improved agricultural innovation in Welmera district western part of Oromia regional state Ethiopia. Non replaceable lottery method and proportional to size sampling techniques were employed for the selection of 130 respondents; structural questionnaires and group discussion were used. Data were analyzed using Statistical tests like chi-square, t-test, one way ANOVA and econometric model Tobit was used to identify the effect of the hypothesized variables on the dependent variable. The result of the econometric model indicated that the educational level of respondent, total land holding, accesses to research and access to the extension were found significant to influence the adoption of improved potato production packages. The mean average age of sample respondent was 45-54. The independent t-test result shows that there was no significant difference between adopter categories in terms of age to the adoption of improved potato technology (t=1.747, p 0.991). From the sample household heads 13.85% of respondent farmers are illiterate and the remaining 86.15% are educated. Majority of high adopters have been educated from grade 5 to 10 Chi-square test also shows the significant difference between adopter categories of improved potato technologies (χ2=17.25a, P=0.004). It is time to look participatory extension approach which invites different stakeholders. FRG approach contributed a significant role in the diffusion and adoption of agricultural innovations.
Assessment of Trypanocidal Drug Resistance In Tsetse Infested Areas of Guraferda District, Bench Maji Zone, South Western Ethiopia
Authors: Tadele Abiyu , Teklemariam Tsegaye , Abera Mulugeta , Woldemeskel Ayele
Published: November 2019

The South Western region of Ethiopia is affected by both tsetse and non-tsetse transmitted trypanosomosis with a significant impact on livestock productivity. The control of trypanosomosis in Ethiopia relies on either curative or prophylactic treatment of animals with diminazene aceturate (DA) or isometamidium chloride (ISMM). This study was conducted from March - June 2017, where tsetse infestation was high in four purposively selected rural kebeles of Guraferda district of Bench Maji Zone, South Western Ethiopia. The main objective of this study was to assess trypanocidal drug resistance under natural grazing systems. Resistance to trypanocidal drug was determined through longitudinal studies. In this study 200 cattle were used for experiment; 50 cattle from each rural kebeles (25 treated and 25 control group). However, 16 animals 5 from control and 11 from threated group were left due to sale of the animals by the owners, refusal of owners to allow their animals during sample collection and inability to reach the study kebeles because of heavy rain and presence of mud. In the present study, 25 cattle were treated with isometamidium and 25 cattle were left untreated and examined regularly at two weeks interval for the presence of trypanosomes. During the experimental period, all infections were monitored in both groups and treated with diminazene (7 mg/kg) body weight. Resistance to isometamidium was assessed by comparing cumulative incidence in both treated and control group using the test relative risk reduction and deducting the rate of treatment failure. Resistance to diminizene was assessed through the rate of treatment failure observed at two week post treatment in the control group. In both cases the threshold of 25% treatment failure was adopted as criteria of presence of chemo-resistance. The present study revealed that the prevalence of trypanosome infection was (76.8%) in control and (23.2%) in treated group. The trypanosome species in the area was predominantly due to T.Congolense (76.8%). This indicates there was a resistance of trypanosome species for the treatment with the recommended dose of diaminazine (7mg/kg) and isometamidium (1mg/kg) body weight. Thus, it is crucial to develop an adequate prophylactic measurements to reduce the prevalence of trypanosome infection there by reducing tsetse fly populations in the study areas.
Enganging Secularization with Expository Preaching
Authors: Lontoh Oscar
Published: November 2019

This research trying to see the phenomenon of secularization that is dominating the world. Some people argue that secularization is  dangerous for the Christian faith while some say that it is just the opposite that secularization is necessary. What is developing now is that secularization becomes a movement in personal thought. Some experts distinguish between secularization and secularism. Secularism is a kind of ideology that remove everything supernatural defining ones life. Secularism refers to the fact that religion has lost influence on the societal, the institutional and the individual levels.  Preaching is a main part of church to educate the congregation about God, what His will and also supernatural being. Expository preaching is the method of teaching scripture. There are many other ways to preach a sermon that are beneficial to a congregation. However, that these other forms of preaching should never replace expository preaching in the life of the church. Solid expository preaching brings scripture to life. It connects the meaning of the passage to the life of the hearer, helping them to apply what they’ve heard to their specific life situations. This is the way to maintain people from leaving God and supernatural being in modern human life.
The Effect of Different Organic Fertilizers on Yield and Soil and Crop Nutrient Concentrations
Authors: Thomas Cathy L. , Acquah Gifty E. , Whitmore Andrew P. , McGrath Steve P. , Haefele Stephan M.
Published: November 2019

At present, organic fertilizers are not widely used in intensive arable agriculture, and not much is known about their effects on crop nutrition. In a field experiment at Rothamsted, UK, anaerobic digestate (AD), compost, farmyard manure (FYM), straw, and mixes of amendment + straw, were applied at: 1, 1.75, 2.5 or 3.5 t carbon ha−1, with all plots receiving the same input of mineral fertilizer. After five seasons of application, plots receiving non-straw amendments had greater straw and grain yield of 28% and 18% respectively, and plots receiving the highest amendment rate had a 37% higher straw and 23% higher grain yield, compared to control plots. Whereas, the straw-only amendment did not increase yield compared to the control. The concentrations of secondary and micro nutrients in the crop, particularly P, Ca, and S in the straw, and P and Fe in the grain, were significantly greater in the crop receiving non-straw amendment compared to the control. Interestingly K, Fe, and Zn were greater in the crop straw treated with the straw-only amendment. Therefore ‘biomass dilution’ of secondary and micro nutrients did not occur in the higher-yielding amended plots after five seasons, and organic fertilizers would improve the quality of high-yielding, intensively produced crops. The study also demonstrates that portable x-ray fluorescence (pXRF) could be a reliable, cost-effective tool for screening potential organic fertilizers.
Application of Artificial Neural Networks for Yield Modeling of Winter Rapeseed Based on Combined Quantitative and Qualitative Data
Authors: Niedbała Gniewko , Piekutowska Magdalena , Weres Jerzy , Korzeniewicz Robert , Witaszek Kamil , Adamski Mariusz , Pilarski Krzysztof , Czechowska-Kosacka Aneta , Krysztofiak-Kaniewska Anna
Published: November 2019

Rapeseed is considered as one of the most important oilseed crops in the world. Vegetable oil obtained from rapeseed is a valuable raw material for the food and energy industry as well as for industrial applications. Compared to other vegetable oils, it has a lower concentration of saturated fatty acids (5%–10%), a higher content of monounsaturated fatty acids (44%–75%), and a moderate content of alpha-linolenic acid (9%–13%). Overall, rapeseed is grown in all continents on an industrial scale, so there is a growing need to predict yield before harvest. A combination of quantitative and qualitative data were used in this work in order to build three independent prediction models, on the basis of which yield simulations were carried out. Empirical data collected during field tests carried out in 2008–2015 were used to build three models, QQWR15_4, QQWR31_5, and QQWR30_6. Each model was composed of a different number of independent variables, ranging from 21 to 27. The lowest MAPE (mean absolute percentage error) yield prediction error corresponded to QQWR31_5, it was 6.88%, and the coefficient of determination R2 was 0.69. As a result of the sensitivity analysis of the neural network, the most important independent variable influencing the final rapeseed yield was indicated, and for all the analyzed models it was “The kind of sowing date in the previous year” (KSD_PY).
Comparison of the Biological Impact of UVA and UVB upon the Skin with Functional Proteomics and Immunohistochemistry
Authors: Wang Pei-Wen , Hung Yu-Chiang , Lin Tung-Yi , Fang Jia-You , Yang Pei-Ming , Chen Mu-Hong , Pan Tai-Long
Published: November 2019

The skin provides protection against external stimuli; however, solar radiation, including ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB), can result in profound influences on skin structure and function, which eventually impairs its molecular characteristics and normal physiology. In the current study, we performed proteome tools combined with an immunohistological approach on nude mouse skin to evaluate the adverse responses elicited by UVA and UVB irradiation, respectively. Our findings indicated that UVA significantly promotes oxidative damage in DNA, the breakdown of collagen fiber in the dermis, and the apoptosis of fibroblasts, which leads to inflammation. Meanwhile, UVB administration was found to enhance the carbonylation of various proteins and the proliferation of keratinocyte. Particularly, raspberry extract, which has been confirmed to have antioxidative efficacy, could effectively attenuate ultraviolet (UV) radiation-caused cell death. Network analysis also implied that UVA and UVB induce quite different responses, and that UVA results in cell death as well as inflammation mediated by caspase-3 and activator protein 1/nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (AP-1/NF-κB), while UVB predominantly increases the risk of skin carcinogenesis involved with oncogenes such as p53 and c-Myc. Taken together, functional proteomics coordinated with histological experiments could allow for a high-throughput study to explore the alterations of crucial proteins and molecules linked to skin impacts subjected to UVA and UVB exposure.
Interference Avoidance Using TDMA-Beamforming in Location Aware Small Cell Systems
Authors: Mohamed Khalid S. , Alias Mohamad Y. , Roslee Mardeni
Published: November 2019

It is ascertained that the current communication systems will not be able to support the future network demands due to the increasing traffic, limitation of frequency resources, and high level of interference. Recently, beamforming techniques have been introduced to reduce the interference by redirecting the transmission towards the desired users only. While such beamforming enables better interference mitigation and improved network performance, the concerns on its effectiveness in dense deployment environments are arising. In this paper, the prospect of interference avoidance in location aware small cell environments using time division multiple access (TDMA) and beamforming is studied. The interference is reduced by identifying the aggressor small cell and transmit the beams towards the desired users at different times. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme is able to enhance the signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) by approximately 18 dB, enhance the user throughput by about 10 Mbps in comparison to small cell on/off control scheme with a discovery signal (SCon/off-DS), and improve the fairness index to about 95% in comparison to the baseline scheme. It is believed that the presented results promote the proposed scheme as an efficient interference management paradigm for the fifth generation (5G) communication systems.
Dynamic Behavior of PET FRP and Its Preliminary Application in Impact Strengthening of Concrete Columns
Authors: Bai Yu-Lei , Yan Zhi-Wei , Ozbakkaloglu Togay , Dai Jian-Guo , Jia Jun-Feng , Jia Jun-Bo
Published: November 2019

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fiber has attracted significant attention for reinforced concrete (RC) structure rehabilitation due to its large rupture strain (LRS; more than 7%) characteristic and recyclability from waste plastic bottles. This study presents a dynamic tensile test of PET fiber bundles performed using a drop-weight impact system. Results showed that the tensile strength and the elastic modulus of the PET fiber bundles increased, whereas the failure strain and the toughness decreased with the increasing strain rate from 1/600 to 160 s−1. In addition, the performance of concrete confined with the PET fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) under impact loading was investigated based on a 75 mm-diameter split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) device and a drop-weight apparatus. For the SHPB test, owing to the large rupture strain property of PET FRP, the PET FRP-confined concrete exhibited significantly better performance under impact loading compared to its counterpart confined with carbon FRPs (CFRPs). During the drop-weight test, the confinement of the PET FRP composites to the concrete columns as external jackets not only improved the peak impact force, but also prolonged the impact process.
Geo-Sensor Framework and Composition Toolbox for Efficient Deployment of Multiple Spatial Context Service Platforms in Sensor Networks
Authors: Malik Sehrish , Kim DoHyeun
Published: November 2019

Geo-sensor is the term used for the deployment of a wireless sensor network (WSN) in a real environment, which can be a hideous task due to many influential variables in a given environment. The spatial context of a sensor in a smart environment can be of huge significance and can also play an important role in improving the smart services provision. In this work, we propose a DIY geo-sensor framework and data composition toolbox for the deployment of sensors data in smart IoT environments along with geographical context. A geo-sensor framework is deployed, which enables the registration of multiple geo-sensor networks by providing multiple geo-sensor platforms. The framework’s logic is based on the combination of a geo-sensor service registry, geo-sensor composition toolbox, and geo-sensor platforms. A geo-sensor platform provides the content to the toolbox, enabling relaxed real-time geo-sensor data management. Our proposed work is two-fold. Firstly, we propose the design details for the geo-sensor framework and composition toolbox. The proposed design for the geo-sensor framework aims to provide a DIY platform for multiple geo-sensor networks and services deployment, giving access to multiple users resulting in reuse of resources and reduction in deployment costs by avoiding duplicate deployments. Secondly, we implement the proposed design based on RESTful web services and SOAP web services. Performance comparison analysis is then performed among the two web services to find the best suited implementation for given scenarios. The results of the performance analysis prove that RESTful web services are the better choice for ease of implementation, access, and light-weightiness.
Joint Probabilistic-Nyquist Pulse Shaping for an LDPC-Coded 8-PAM Signal in DWDM Data Center Communications
Authors: Han Xiao , Yang Mingwei , Djordjevic Ivan B. , Yue Yang , Wang Qiang , Qu Zhen , Anderson Jon
Published: November 2019

M-ary pulse-amplitude modulation (PAM) meets the requirements of data center communication because of its simplicity, but coarse entropy granularity cannot meet the dynamic bandwidth demands, and there is a large capacity gap between uniform formats and the Shannon limit. The dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) system is widely used to increase the channel capacity, but low spectral efficiency of the intensity modulation/direct detection (IM/DD) solution restricts the throughput of the modern DWDM data center networks. Probabilistic shaping distribution is a good candidate to offer us a fine entropy granularity and efficiently reduce the gap to the Shannon limit, and Nyquist pulse shaping is widely used to increase the spectral efficiency. We aim toward the joint usage of probabilistic shaping and Nyquist pulse shaping with low-density parity-check (LDPC) coding to improve the bit error rate (BER) performance of 8-PAM signal transmission. We optimized the code rate of the LDPC code and compared different Nyquist pulse shaping parameters using simulations and experiments. We achieved a 0.43 dB gain using Nyquist pulse shaping, and a 1.1 dB gain using probabilistic shaping, while the joint use of probabilistic shaping and Nyquist pulse shaping achieved a 1.27 dB gain, which offers an excellent improvement without upgrading the transceivers.
Cleaning Efficacy of the XP-Endo® Finisher Instrument Compared to Other Irrigation Activation Procedures: A Systematic Review
Authors: Lauritano Dorina , Moreo Giulia , Carinci Francesco , Della Vella Fedora , Di Spirito Federica , Sbordone Ludovico , Petruzzi Massimo
Published: November 2019

Background. One of the most important aims of an endodontic treatment is to obtain the complete removal or reduction of root canal remaining filling material: Smear layer, bacteria, intra-canal medicaments. To meet this requirement, several irrigation activation techniques have been proposed. Our systematic review examined studies which analyzed the XP-endo Finisher (XPF) instrument efficacy in removing root canal debris during initial endodontic treatment or retreatment, comparing it with the efficacy of other irrigation activation protocols, such as passive ultrasonic irrigation (PUI), laser activation procedure (Er:YAG), and Self-Adjusting File system (SAF). Methods. A systematic review was conducted using PubMed, Chocrane Library, and Scopus databases, identifying 51 items. Thirty-four articles were excluded based on title, abstract, full text, and language. Seventeen randomized controlled trials were selected and consequently submitted to quality assessment and data collection. Results. Conventional needle irrigation (CNI) is the less effective irrigation technique, but it is still unclear whether XPF is able to guarantee greater debris removal than the PUI technique. Er:YAG laser has been proven to be more effective in apical third than XPF instrument. Conclusions. Further investigations are needed in order to establish which final irrigation activation procedure could reach the maximum root canal debris reduction.
Bitcoin and Cybersecurity: Temporal Dissection of Blockchain Data to Unveil Changes in Entity Behavioral Patterns
Authors: Zola Francesco , Bruse Jan Lukas , Eguimendia Maria , Galar Mikel , Orduna Urrutia Raul
Published: November 2019

The Bitcoin network not only is vulnerable to cyber-attacks but currently represents the most frequently used cryptocurrency for concealing illicit activities. Typically, Bitcoin activity is monitored by decreasing anonymity of its entities using machine learning-based techniques, which consider the whole blockchain. This entails two issues: first, it increases the complexity of the analysis requiring higher efforts and, second, it may hide network micro-dynamics important for detecting short-term changes in entity behavioral patterns. The aim of this paper is to address both issues by performing a “temporal dissection” of the Bitcoin blockchain, i.e., dividing it into smaller temporal batches to achieve entity classification. The idea is that a machine learning model trained on a certain time-interval (batch) should achieve good classification performance when tested on another batch if entity behavioral patterns are similar. We apply cascading machine learning principles—a type of ensemble learning applying stacking techniques—introducing a “k-fold cross-testing” concept across batches of varying size. Results show that blockchain batch size used for entity classification could be reduced for certain classes (Exchange, Gambling, and eWallet) as classification rates did not vary significantly with batch size; suggesting that behavioral patterns did not change significantly over time. Mixer and Market class detection, however, can be negatively affected. A deeper analysis of Mining Pool behavior showed that models trained on recent data perform better than models trained on older data, suggesting that “typical” Mining Pool behavior may be represented better by recent data. This work provides a first step towards uncovering entity behavioral changes via temporal dissection of blockchain data.
Developing a Quick Response Product Configuration System under Industry 4.0 Based on Customer Requirement Modelling and Optimization Method
Authors: Lee Ching-Hung , Chen Chun-Hsien , Lin Chenyu , Li Fan , Zhao Xuejiao
Published: November 2019

In the Industry 4.0 environment, the new manufacturing transformation of mass customization for high-complexity and low-volume production is moving forward. Based on cyber-physical system (CPS) and Internet of things (IoT) technology, the flexible transformation of the manufacturing process to suit diverse customer manufacturing requirements is very possible, with the potential to provide digital “make-to-order” (MTO) services with a quick response time. To achieve this potential, a product configuration system, which translates the voice of customers to technical specifications, is needed. The purpose of this study is to propose a methodology for developing a quick-response product configuration system to enhance the communication between the customer and the manufacturer. The aim is to find an approach to receive requests from customers as inputs and generate a product configuration as outputs that maximizes customer satisfaction. In this approach, engineering characteristics (ECs) are defined, and selection pools are initially constructed. Then, quality function deployment (QFD) is modified and integrated with the Kano model to qualitatively and quantitatively analyze the relationship between customer requirements (CRs) and customer satisfaction (CS). Next, a mathematical programming model is applied to maximize the overall customer satisfaction level and recommend an optimal product configuration. Finally, sensitivity analysis is conducted to suggest revisions for customers and determine the final customized product specification. A case study and an OrderAssistant system are implemented to demonstrate the procedure and effectiveness of the proposed quick response product configuration system.
Social and Psychological Predictors of Youths’ Attitudes to Cryptocurrency
Authors: Gagarina Maria , Nestik Timofey , Drobysheva Tatiana
Published: November 2019

The objectives of the study were to verify the “Attitudes Toward Cryptocurrencies Questionnaire” and to identify predictors of attitudes toward Bitcoin. Sample: 262 participants aged 17 to 30, of which 45% were male. Methods: Associations, “Value Scale”, “The Moral Foundations Questionnaire”, “Money Beliefs and Behaviors Scale” by A. Furnham, and “The Baseline Confidence Scale” by L. Haff. Confirmatory factor analysis proved the three-factor structure of the questionnaire. A linear regression analysis showed that beliefs in the potential of cryptocurrency as a payment instrument are directly related to people-centered care and value of freedom, and are inversely related to sanctity; they are associated positively with confidence in the financial system and negatively with confidence in the government. Age and gender also matter. Worries about the introduction of cryptocurrency are directly related to a negative attitude to money, the value of self-confidence, age, and confidence in the financial system and government, and are inversely related to trust in people and money anxiety. Willingness to use cryptocurrency in perspective directly depends on trust in the power of money, orientation towards independence in actions, age, and gender, and is inversely dependent on confidence in the government. The data state that the intention to use cryptocurrency is directly related to the desire for financial autonomy and distrust of social institutions.
A Holistic Auto-Configurable Ensemble Machine Learning Strategy for Financial Trading
Authors: Carta Salvatore , Corriga Andrea , Ferreira Anselmo , Recupero Diego Reforgiato , Saia Roberto
Published: November 2019

Financial markets forecasting represents a challenging task for a series of reasons, such as the irregularity, high fluctuation, noise of the involved data, and the peculiar high unpredictability of the financial domain. Moreover, literature does not offer a proper methodology to systematically identify intrinsic and hyper-parameters, input features, and base algorithms of a forecasting strategy in order to automatically adapt itself to the chosen market. To tackle these issues, this paper introduces a fully automated optimized ensemble approach, where an optimized feature selection process has been combined with an automatic ensemble machine learning strategy, created by a set of classifiers with intrinsic and hyper-parameters learned in each marked under consideration. A series of experiments performed on different real-world futures markets demonstrate the effectiveness of such an approach with regard to both to the Buy and Hold baseline strategy and to several canonical state-of-the-art solutions.
A Study of Structural Change during In Vitro Digestion of Heated Soy Protein Isolates
Authors: Tian Tian , Teng Fei , Zhang Shuang , Qi Baokun , Wu Changling , Zhou Yan , Li Liang , Wang Zhongjiang , Li Yang
Published: November 2019

Use of soy protein isolate (SPI) as the encapsulating material in emulsions is uncommon due to its low solubility and emulsification potential. The aim of this study was to improve these properties of SPI via heat treatment-induced modifications. We modified SPI under various heating conditions and demonstrated the relationship between structure and in vitro digestibility in simulated gastric fluid by means of Sodium Dodecyl Sulphide-Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and Raman spectroscopy. It was found that the degree of hydrolysis (DH) of SPI increased and then decreased upon increasing exposure to heat. Different subunits of conglycinin were digested and degraded by pepsin. Heat treatment improved digestion characteristics that would reduce e the unnecessary loss of protein, offering potential for the efficient delivery of nutrients in nanoemulsions. These results could have significant relevance for research groups that are interested in the biological interactions and activity of functional SPI.
Influence of Ripening Stage and Cultivar on Physicochemical Properties and Antioxidant Compositions of Aronia Grown in South Korea
Authors: Yang Haejo , Kim Young-Jun , Shin Youngjae
Published: November 2019

The present study investigated the fruits of aronia (Aronia melanocarpa) across different stages of maturity and analyzed their physicochemical properties, antioxidant compositions, and activities. The selected aronia cultivars (‘Viking’, ‘McKenzie’, and ‘Kingstar K1’ were categorized based on maturity into the immature stage (red tip), intermediary stage (red), and mature stage (dark purple). The key sugar components of aronia fruits were fructose, glucose, and sorbitol, while the main organic acid was found to be malic acid. The antioxidant content and activity of all three aronia cultivars showed significantly higher values for the red tip stage than the red or dark purple stages. However, the total anthocyanin content of aronia was the highest at the dark purple stage in three cultivars. The main polyphenols in aronia fruits were found to be catechol and chlorogenic acid, with a decreasing tendency as maturation progressed. As a result, the red tip stage of aronia fruits contains comparatively more abundant flavonoids, phenolic compounds and polyphenols than the dark purple stage, with higher antioxidant activity.
An Evaluation of the Clotting Properties of Three Plant Rennets in the Milks of Different Animal Species
Authors: Liburdi Katia , Boselli Carlo , Giangolini Gilberto , Amatiste Simonetta , Esti Marco
Published: November 2019

Cynara cardunculus, Carica papaya and Ficus carica extracts are proposed as milk coagulants herein. Their coagulation efficiency was measured in bovine, buffalo, goat and sheep milk incubated at different temperatures. The milk-clotting and proteolytic activities as well as the lactodynamographic parameters were determined considering animal rennet as a reference coagulant. The vegetable coagulant, extracted from C. cardunculus pistils, proved to be the most suitable milk-clotting enzyme for cheesemaking, since it possesses similar milk clotting properties to conventional calf rennet. F. carica latex, but seemed to be a promising alternative coagulant at higher temperatures. The strong proteolytic activity of papain caused poor milk coagulation in all milk samples. To conclude, this result also supports the original hypothesis of this study that the excessive proteolytic nature of plant coagulants can negatively affect the cheesemaking process. The optimization of using a plant rennet in a dairy application can be done by selecting the appropriate plant rennet with a consistent clotting efficiency. These innovative manufacturing processes may also lead to the optimization and production of new cheese varieties.
Human Ovarian Granulosa Cells Isolated during an IVF Procedure Exhibit Differential Expression of Genes Regulating Cell Division and Mitotic Spindle Formation
Authors: Brązert Maciej , Kranc Wiesława , Chermuła Błażej , Kowalska Katarzyna , Jankowski Maurycy , Celichowski Piotr , Jeseta Michal , Piotrowska-Kempisty Hanna , Pawelczyk Leszek , Zabel Maciej , Mozdziak Paul , Kempisty Bartosz
Published: November 2019

Granulosa cells (GCs) are a population of somatic cells whose role after ovulation is progesterone production. GCs were collected from patients undergoing controlled ovarian stimulation during an in vitro fertilization procedure, and they were maintained for 1, 7, 15, and 30 days of in vitro primary culture before collection for further gene expression analysis. A study of genes involved in the biological processes of interest was carried out using expression microarrays. To validate the obtained results, Reverse Transcription quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR) was performed. The direction of changes in the expression of the selected genes was confirmed in most of the examples. Six ontological groups (“cell cycle arrest”, “cell cycle process”, “mitotic spindle organization”, “mitotic spindle assembly checkpoint”, “mitotic spindle assembly”, and “mitotic spindle checkpoint”) were analyzed in this study. The results of the microarrays obtained by us allowed us to identify two groups of genes whose expressions were the most upregulated (FAM64A, ANLN, TOP2A, CTGF, CEP55, BIRC5, PRC1, DLGAP5, GAS6, and NDRG1) and the most downregulated (EREG, PID1, INHA, RHOU, CXCL8, SEPT6, EPGN, RDX, WNT5A, and EZH2) during the culture. The cellular ultrastructure showed the presence of structures characteristic of mitotic cell division: a centrosome surrounded by a pericentric matrix, a microtubule system, and a mitotic spindle connected to chromosomes. The main goal of the study was to identify the genes involved in mitotic division and to identify the cellular ultrastructure of GCs in a long-term in vitro culture. All of the genes in these groups were subjected to downstream analysis, and their function and relation to the ovarian environment are discussed. The obtained results suggest that long-term in vitro cultivation of GCs may lead to their differentiation toward another cell type, including cells with cancer-like characteristics.