bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
PENGARUH PERBEDAAN PROPORSI TEPUNG DAUN SIRSAK (Annona muricata L.) DAN TEH HITAM TERHADAP AKTIVITAS ANTIOKSIDAN DALAM MINUMAN
Authors: Budianta Tarsisius Dwi Wibawa , Widyawati Paini Sri , Haditanojo Venny
Published: May 2019

Teh hitam merupakan salah satu produk yang kaya akan kandungan antioksidan. Tanaman sirsak (Annona muricata L.) yang awalnya ditanam secara komersial untuk diambil daging buahnya, sekarang juga diambil daunnya kerena telah ditemukan khasiat daun sirsak untuk kesehatan. Daun sirsak dan teh hitam keduanya mengandung senyawa fitokimia yang berperan sebagai antioksidan yang berpotensi untuk melawan radikal bebas dalam tubuh sehingga dapat menurunkan resiko penyakit degeneratif. Tingginya kandungan senyawa fitokimia dalam teh hitam dan daun sirsak diduga dapat saling menstimulasi aktivitas antioksidan dalam minuman. Rancangan penelitian yang digunakan adalah Rancangan Acak Kelompok dengan satu faktor yaitu perbedaan proporsi tepung daun sirsak dan daun teh hitam dengan enam taraf perlakuan yaitu 0:100, 10:90, 20:80, 30:70, 40:60, 50:50, dan 100: 0% (b/b) (sebagai kontrol), dengan 4 replikasi tiap perlakuan dan pengujian analisis varian dengan taraf signifikansi 5%. Parameter yang diuji adalah kadar fenol, kadar flavonoid, analisa aktivitas antioksidan dengan metode DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl), kemampuan mereduksi ion besi, dan pengujian identifikasi senyawa fitokimia sebagai pendukung. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan terdapat pengaruh proporsi tepung daun sirsak dan teh hitam terhadap sifat fisikokimia, kadar total fenol, total flavonoid, kemampuan menangkal radikal DPPH dan kemampuan mereduksi ion besi pada produk minuman teh daun sirsak. Kadar total fenol berkisar antara 5,61-25,17 mg GAE/L sampel, kadar total flavonoid berkisar antara 0.83-4,48 mg CE/L sampel, kemampuan menangkal radikal DPPH berkisar antara 0,63-2,47 mg GAE/L sampel, dan kemampuan mereduksi ion besi berkisar antara 19,47-54,25 mg GAE/L sampel.
KUALITAS PELAYANAN KESEHATAN INSTALASI GAWAT DARURAT RUMAH SAKIT UMUM DAERAH KOTA MAKASSAR
Authors: Gobel Yunita , Wahidin Wahidin , Muttaqin Muttaqin
Published: May 2019

Abstrak

Permasalahan utama dalam penelitian ini adalah ”Bagaimanakah kualitas pelayanan Instalasi Gawat Darurat (IGD) Rumah Sakit Umum Darerah Kota Makassar ditinjau dari dimensi 1) Ketepatan waktu pelayanan; 2) Akurasi pelayanan; 3) Kesopanan dan keramahan dalam memberikan pelayanan; 4) Tanggung jawab; 5) Kelengkapan; 6) Kemudahan dalam mendapatkan pelayanan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui kualitas pelayanan IGD RSUD Kota Makassar. Metode yang digunakan adalah metode deskritif kualitatif. Sumber data adalah informan yaitu kepala ruangan, direktur/wakil direktur pelayanan medik, pasien IGD, petugas (perawat/bidan dan dokter penanggung jawab pelaksana). Teknik pengumpulan data adalah wawancara, observasi dan telaah dokumen. Data dalam penelitian ini ditampilkan secara triagulasi dan dibahas secara interpretatif berdasarkan teori dan fakta. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan pada indikator ketepatan waktu pelayanan sudah baik. Dilihat dari proses jadwal kehadiran petugas secara bergiliran selama 24 jam sudah tepat waktu sesuai dengan jadwal yang telah ditentukan. Indikator akurasi pelayanan termasuk dalam kategori berkualitas dimana kemampuan petugas selalu mengupayakan agar perawatan pasien minimal dari kesalahan. Indikator kesopanan dan keramahan termasuk dalam kategori cukup baik, dilihat dari cara melayani pasien dengan prinsip 5S (Senyum, Sapa, Salam, Sopan, Santun). Namun teknik berkomunikasi masih perlu diperbaiki. Indikator tanggung jawab sudah dalam kategori baik karena sudah ada jaminan keamanan dan keselamatan pasien. Indikator kelengkapan dalam kategori baik dengan kondisi rumah sakit yang bersih dan sarana yang ada sudah lengkap, hanya perlu adanya kepedulian dari pegawai untuk menjaga sarana prasarana yang ada. Indikator kemudahan untuk mendapatkan pelayanan pasien dimudahkan oleh fasilitas pendukung di rumah sakit juga prosedur pelayanan yang mudah, jelas dan tidak berbelit-belit.
ANALISIS KINERJA WIRELESS DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM (WDS) (STUDI KASUS: DINAS KESEHATAN KOTA PALEMBANG)
Authors: Mukti Aan Restu , Ulfa Maria , Panjaitan Febriyanti
Published: May 2019

The Palembang City Health Service has implemented the Wireless network as one of the services to connect to the internet, to expand the signal coverage in the City Government Service network, has been implemented wirelessly with a Wireless Distribution System (WDS) system that allows wireless interconnection in access points in the IEEE 802.11 network. This allows wireless networks to be developed using multiple APs (Access points) without having to require a network cable backbone to connect between networks. Users connected to the Hotspot at Palembang City Health Office are increasing year by year. This is seen from the number of access usage needs each year. The analysis that will be carried out on Palembang's health service wireless LAN network uses several parameters, namely Bandwidth, Throughput, Delay, and Packet Loss, where these parameters are used to see the quality of network services (QOS), so that the results of this research will be expected to provide solutions for the service the health of the city of Palembang in evaluating the quality of the network, especially wireless LAN so that it can overcome any problems that occur. Research methods using Action Research or action research is one form of research design, in action research researchers describe, interpret and explain a social situation at the same time by making changes or interventions with the aim of improvement or participation. The results of the QOS parameters are delay according to the TIPHON version, that a very good delay occurs at the Health Service from point 2, that is location 2 to location 3, with a delay of under 150 milli second (ms).
EVALUASI SISTEM E-SAMSAT BERBASIS MOBILE UNTUK LAYANAN MASYARAKAT KOTA PALEMBANG DENGAN TECHNOLOGY ACCEPTANCE MODEL
Authors: Tujni Baibul , Hutrianto Hutrianto
Published: May 2019

The development of science and information technology supports activities carried out by individuals in using technology, to support operational and management performance. Such as Mobile-based e-Samsat Service to serve vehicle taxation with two-wheeled or four-wheeled vehicles, especially the people of Palembang. Mobile tax payments that can make it easier and closer to densely populated locations or caused by busyness. Information systems help service income tax factors of successful application and use of information technology are user factors. The level of readiness of users to receive information technology has a major influence in determining whether or not the application of the technology is successful. The purpose of this study is to identify factors that influence users in using the mobile-based e-Samsat Information System in the city of Palembang. Data analysis was carried out with SPSS (Statistical package for the social science) with the TAM (Technology Acceptance Model) software which is a technology acceptance model that will be used by technology users. By evaluating e-Samsat, it is to find out whether the system has served motor vehicle tax payments properly and has met service quality standards. This study will evaluate the performance of e-Samsat with TAM instruments
RISK OF SPORTS-RELATED MUSCULOSKELETAL INJURIES AMONG ELITE WOMEN BASKETBALL PLAYERS ACCORDING TO POSITION ON THE COURT AND SPORT RESULTS
Authors: Salatkaitė Saulė , Garbenytė Apolinskienė Toma , Šiupšinskas Laimonas , Kajėnienė Alma , Gudas Rimtautas
Published: May 2019

Background. Basketball is a popular sport around the world, the number of players is growing, the probability
to experience trauma is increasing, too. Studies have shown that women sustain 60% more injuries than men do. Pre-
season physical examination helps to establish sports specific changes in the body of the athlete and to determine risk
factors for training, competition, which cause injury to the players. Research aim was to analyse risk of non-contact
musculoskeletal injuries in elite women basketball players according to the position on the court.
Methods. The study involved 100 players in Lithuanian women basketball league who completed the questionnaire
about the level of physical fatigue, performed Lower Quarter Y Balance Test™ and Functional Movement Screen
™ tests during pre-season physical examination in 2014. Data were analysed and compared according to player’s
position on the court (guards and forwards).
Results. The level of physical fatigue during pre-season period was low in both groups. Dynamic stability of the
right leg was better in guards (composite score – 105.2 to 101.8 in forwards) while dynamic stability of the left leg
remained the same in both groups. Guards had higher total scores in Functional Movement Screen™ tests pointing
to the better quality of basic functional movement patterns.
Conclusions. The guard’s playing efficiency during the season was higher than that of forwards and it was
associated with better dynamic stability and higher level of physical fatigue at pre-season. Indirect indicators of
non-contact musculoskeletal sport injuries showed that guards should have lower risk of non-contact sport-related
injuries in women basketball.
Parsimony and Pauperism: Poor Relief in England, Scotland and Wales in the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries
Authors: Harris Bernard
Published: May 2019

As the Royal Commission on the Poor Laws noted in 1909, the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 and the Poor Law (Scotland) Act of 1845 sprang from rather different motives. Whereas the first Act aimed to restrict the provision of poor relief, the second was designed to enhance it. However, despite these aims, it is generally accepted that Scotland's Poor Law continued to relieve a smaller proportion of its population and to spend less money on them. This paper revisits the evidence on which these claims are based. Although the gap between the two Poor Laws was less than previously supposed, it was nevertheless substantial. The paper also explores the links between the size of Scottish parishes and welfare spending, and demonstrates that the main reasons for the persistence of the spending gap were related to different levels of investment in poorhouses and workhouses, and support for the elderly.
Manpower, Myth and Memory: Analysing Scotland's Military Contribution to the Great War
Authors: Watt Patrick
Published: May 2019

The aim of this article is to determine what conclusions the available sources allow us to make about the nature of Scottish service and sacrifice in the Great War. The article finds that contemporary sources do not lend themselves well to statistical analysis of Scotland's manpower contribution in the Great War. The lack of an agreed definition of who counted as a Scot makes establishing an exact number of Scottish war dead impossible. It establishes that in trying to quantify the Scottish manpower contribution historians have relied too heavily on statistics produced in the 1970s by Jay Winter, which, while broadly accurate, mask the nuances of armed forces recruitment in Scotland
Participatory potato (solanum tuberosum l.) variety development in Ethiopia. A review
Authors: Gemechu Getachew E.
Published: May 2019

Participatory potato variety development includes the identification of the main components, participants and stakeholders, their roles, types of interactions and constraints identified in the system. Some research result indicate that, there is a less complex potato innovation system was observed at the plot site of Ethiopia and a more complex and dynamic system was observed in the case of Peru. Many Achievements were gained by participatory potato variety development in different part of Ethiopia. In southern Ethiopia, Umbulowach, Hawassa Zuria Wereda of Sidama Zone; Marachere variety was preferred by farmers for its excellent response in yield and other traits. In Tigray region of Atsbi woreda, from seven varieties three best performing varieties:  Jalene, Gera, and Gudene were selected for their disease resistance and other quality traits. In North-western Ethiopia, With aid of CASCAPE project in South Achefer, Burie and Jabitehenan Districts, Belete variety was selected for its superior yield, disease and insect tolerance; In West shewa, at Jeldu, Dendi, Wolmera and Degem district, both Farmers Field School (FFS) and Farmers research Group (FRG) were established and a chances were given Farmers to select potato clones suitable to their conditions based on late blight disease resistance and yield.  As    a result, farmer’s ranked as 1st, a potato clone CIP–392650.516 which is the highest yielder and late blight resistant among the tested clones); in Jimma area kersa (serbo), Seka Chekorsa and Dedo Districts, Farmers select Abalolarge 1 st, abateneh 2 nd and Gudane 3 rd as three high yielder variety and in Jimma and Illuababora zone area, variety “Guasa” was selected due to its earliness, high yield advantage and market demand.
Assessment of socio-economic factors affecting the utilization of manual screw press for gari production in Kwara state, Nigeria
Authors: Jacob Adegbola A. , Shagbaor Wegh F. , Agbanugo Ikwuba A. , Chimela Nwafor S.
Published: May 2019

This study investigated socio-economic determinants of utilization of manual screw press for cassava mash dehydration for gari production in four local government areas across the ADP zones in Kwara state, Nigeria. Using random sampling technique and a semi-structured questionnaire as a research instrument, data for the study were collected from a sample of three hundred and eighty-four (384) gari processors who use the screw press in the state. Multiple regression analysis shows that a correlation (R=0.678) exist between utilization of the screw press and the independent variables which include age, household size, level of education, years of processing experience, extension visits, and income from gari processing. R2 value of 0.460 indicates that about 46% of the variation in utilization was explained by socio-economic variables included in the regression model. Three variables significantly influenced the decision of the respondents to utilize the manual screw press: age, level of experience, and income; the most important predicator being income with a Beta value of 0.699. Conclusively, it was recommended among others that research, extension, and policy makers consider the significant determinants identified in the study seriously if increased utilization is to be achieved by gari processors and others similar to them in the study area and the region.
Analysis of Improved Indigenous Chicken Adoption Among Smallholder Farmers: Case of Makueni and Kakamega Counties, Kenya
Authors: Kamau Christopher N. , Kabuage Lucy W. , Bett Eric K.
Published: May 2019

Indigenous chicken (IC) production is a source of food security and income among smallholder farmers within high potential areas and semi-arid lands (ASAL). The demand for IC eggs and meat is anticipated to increase threefold by the year 2020 by health conscious consumers. However, potential of IC to contribute to household incomes and poverty alleviation in ASAL is constrained by slow maturity of IC and low productivity. Hence, to address these constraints improved indigenous chicken (IIC) technologies have been developed and introduced to smallholders in high potential area and ASAL. However, only a few smallholder farmers have adopted the IIC technologies. Therefore the objective of this study was to determine the effect of farmer socioeconomic characteristics on adoption and intensity of adoption the IIC technology in Makueni and Kakamega counties. A total of 384 households were sampled using multi-stage sampling to collect data through interviews. The collected data was analyzed using a double hurdle model. The results suggest that sex of the household head, farm size, group membership, which had not been previously identified in IIC studies as a significant variable, distance to training centre, off-farm activities and IIC awareness significantly affected adoption decision of improved IC. On the other hand education of the household head, household size, farm size, source of information on IIC and awareness on IIC had significant effects on the level of adoption. The recommendations from this study have an implication on extension policy, land use policy, food policy, collective action and pricing policy in the context of technology adoption in Kenya.
An Enhanced Temporal Feature Integration Method for Environmental Sound Recognition
Authors: Bountourakis Vasileios , Vrysis Lazaros , Konstantoudakis Konstantinos , Vryzas Nikolaos
Published: May 2019

Temporal feature integration refers to a set of strategies attempting to capture the information conveyed in the temporal evolution of the signal. It has been extensively applied in the context of semantic audio showing performance improvements against the standard frame-based audio classification methods. This paper investigates the potential of an enhanced temporal feature integration method to classify environmental sounds. The proposed method utilizes newly introduced integration functions that capture the texture window shape in combination with standard functions like mean and standard deviation in a classification scheme of 10 environmental sound classes. The results obtained from three classification algorithms exhibit an increase in recognition accuracy against a standard temporal integration with simple statistics, which reveals the discriminative ability of the new metrics.
A Numerical–Analytical Approach for the Preliminary Design of Thin-Walled Cylindrical Shell Structures with Elliptical Cut-Outs
Authors: Russo Angela , Sellitto Andrea , Saputo Salvatore , Acanfora Valerio , Riccio Aniello
Published: May 2019

The presence of cut-outs within thin-walled shell structures is unavoidable, holes being needed for the passage of electrical cables, fuel, or just to reduce the weight of the components. Nevertheless, the high stress concentration can lead to a premature collapse of the structure. For this reason, the preliminary design of cylindrical shell structures with holes needs a profound knowledge of the stress distribution for different loading conditions and constraints. In this paper, a parametric study of a fiber-reinforced composite shell cylinder with an elliptical cut-out has been performed. Three different loading conditions were analyzed: Tension, bending, and torsion. Ansys® script, capable of easily generating and analyzing different geometrical configurations, was used to study the dependence of the geometry on the stress distribution near the cut-out. Finally, graphical and analytical relationships were tentatively extrapolated from numerical results, aimed at linking the geometrical parameters of the cut-out to the maximum stress near the cut-out.
Waste Disposal Sites as All-You-Can Eat Buffets for Carrion Crows (Corvus corone)
Authors: Preininger Doris , Schoas Bjoern , Kramer Diether , Boeckle Markus
Published: May 2019

In cities and densely populated areas, several corvid species are considered nuisance animals. In Austria, particularly carrion (Corvus corone) and hooded crows (C. cornix) are regarded as pests by the general public that frequently cause damage to crops, feed on human waste, and thus spread trash. We conducted a detailed one-year field survey to estimate the abundance of carrion crows in relation to potential anthropogenic food sources and reference sites in the Austrian Rhine valley. Our results demonstrated that the number and proximity of waste management facilities, animal feeding areas, and agricultural areas, and the productive capacity of agricultural areas, predominantly influenced habitat choice and abundance of carrion crows. In the current study, the probability of observing more than two carrion crows at a survey site decreased with increasing human population density. Moreover, the abundance of crows increased despite a continuous increase in crow hunting kills registered during the past 25 years. Our study suggests a regionally comprehensive waste management plan could serve as a promising strategy to manage nuisance birds. A reduction in anthropogenic food supply through improved waste management practices is required for long-term, sustainable management to limit the abundance of crow populations in and close to urban environments.
Effects of Dietary Mulberry Leaf Powder in Concentrate on the Rumen Fermentation and Ruminal Epithelium in Fattening Hu Sheep
Authors: Ouyang Jialiang , Wang Mengzhi , Hou Qirui , Feng Dan , Pi Yu , Zhao Weiguo
Published: May 2019

Mulberry leaves have been used as a protein source in replacing concentrates of domestic animals, however, little is known about the relationship between supplementation level and the development of rumen epithelium. This experiment aimed to investigate the effects of different proportions of mulberry leaf powder (MLP) in dietary concentrate on rumen fermentation and rumen epithelium morphology in fattening Hu sheep. Forty three-month-old male Hu sheep with an initial body weight of 16.5 ± 0.6 kg (BW ± SD) were chosen and randomly divided into five treatments: 0% (control), 15% (T15), 30% (T30), 45% (T45) and 60% (T60) of MLP in concentrate, respectively. The results showed that the dry matter intake (DMI) and average daily gain (ADG) in treatments T15 and T30 have no significant difference with respect to the control treatment, but DMI and ADG in treatments T45 and T60 were lower than the control treatment (p < 0.05). The apparent digestibility of organic matter (OM) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) increased linearly and quadraticly as MLP supplementation increased (p < 0.05). The concentration of ammonia (NH3-N) trended to decrease linearly with the increase of MLP supplementation (p < 0.1), whereas the microbial protein (MCP) concentration increased linearly as MLP supplementation increased (p < 0.05). In the results of rumen epithelium morphology, the width of stratum corneum was reduced, whereas the width of ruminal papillae increased (p < 0.05), and the width of stratum granulosum and stratum basale also increased as MLP increased. In summary, MLP supplementation could improve nutrient digestibility, the development of rumen papillae and stratum basale. However, high content MLP (45%–60%) supplementation decreased the growth and food intake performance of fattening Hu sheep. Therefore, 30% MLP is recommended to supplement in concentrate for fattening Hu sheep.
Food Preferences in Dogs: Effect of Dietary Composition and Intrinsic Variables on Diet Selection
Authors: Alegría-Morán Raúl A. , Guzmán-Pino Sergio A. , Egaña Juan Ignacio , Muñoz Carem , Figueroa Jaime
Published: May 2019

A ten-year food preference database (2007–2017) was used to relate food selection in dogs to the nutritional components of diets by doing a principal component analysis (PCA) and a linear regression between components obtained and dogs’ preferences. Intake and preference of preferred diets were analyzed by dogs’ sex, breed, age, body weight, and the season of the year (hot or cold). The fourth component after PCA presented a relation with food preferences (OR = −2.699, p = 0.026), showing negative correlations with crude fiber (rho = −0.196; P = 0.038) and dry matter (rho = −0.184; p = 0.049). Weight (OR = −1.35; p < 0.001), breed, both Boxer (OR = 10.62; p = 0.003) and Labrador Retriever (OR = 26.30; p < 0.001), and season (hot season) (OR = −5.27; p < 0.001) all influenced animals’ intake. Boxers presented a lower food preference compared to the other breeds (OR = −44.3; p < 0.001), while animals’ weight influenced preferences only in Boxers (OR = 2.02; p < 0.001). Finally, age and sex did not affect dogs’ preference or intake of preferred diets. Thus dry matter and fiber content have a negative impact on dogs’ food choices. Dogs’ weight, breed, and season affected food intake, but only breed affected dogs’ preferences, which is probably explained by adaptive changes in the detection, metabolization, and learning of nutritive food cues.
Livestock Stakeholder Willingness to Embrace Preslaughter Stunning in Key Asian Countries
Authors: Sinclair Michelle , Idrus Zulkifli , Burns Georgette Leah , Phillips Clive J. C.
Published: May 2019

Preslaughter stunning; the induction of unconsciousness and insensibility of animals prior to slaughter, is an important process for the welfare of livestock. The application of stunning is required by legislation in some countries, and rarely practised in others. In order to effectively advocate the implementation of stunning in the regions that do not include the practice as standard, it is first important to understand attitudes towards stunning, barriers to implementing stunning, and stakeholder willingness to embrace the practice. To this purpose, 17 focus group sessions were held with leaders in livestock production in China, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, India and Bangladesh. Leaders were asked to rate their perceived willingness of livestock stakeholders to embrace stunning, and their rationales were discussed. In addition to this, the leaders were asked to present ideas to improve the willingness of stakeholders to embrace stunning. The data were qualitatively analysed used thematic analysis, quantified, and presented within this manuscript. Importantly, different attitudes and solutions existed by country, mostly in line with the predominating religion within the country, and the stage of economic development. Concerns around nonstatic and constantly evolving animal welfare benchmarks were also presented as important factors impacting the adoption of stunning, and the technical methods used. The findings of this study may aid in the development of programs that aim to increase the adoption of preslaughter stunning practices, to the purpose of improving animal welfare during slaughter.
Antimicrobial and Synergistic Effects of Commercial Piperine and Piperlongumine in Combination with Conventional Antimicrobials
Authors: Mgbeahuruike Eunice Ego , Stålnacke Milla , Vuorela Heikki , Holm Yvonne
Published: May 2019

Microbial resistance to currently available antibiotics is a public health problem in the fight against infectious diseases. Most antibiotics are characterized by numerous side effects that may be harmful to normal body cells. To improve the efficacy of these antibiotics and to find an alternative way to minimize the adverse effects associated with most conventional antibiotics, piperine and piperlongumine were screened in combination with conventional rifampicin, tetracycline, and itraconazole to evaluate their synergistic, additive, or antagonistic interactions against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Candida albicans. The fractional inhibitory concentration index was used to estimate the synergistic effects of various combination ratios of the piperamides and antibiotics against the bacterial and fungal strains. Both piperine and piperlongumine showed synergistic effects against S. aureus when combined at various ratios with rifampicin. Synergistic interaction was also observed with piperine in combination with tetracycline against S. aureus, while antagonistic interaction was recorded for piperlongumine and tetracycline against S. aureus. All the piperamide/antibacterial combinations tested against P. aeruginosa showed antagonistic effects, with the exception of piperine and rifampicin, which recorded synergistic interaction at a ratio of 9:1 rifampicin/piperine. No synergistic interaction was observed when the commercial compounds were combined with itraconazole and tested against C. albicans. The results showed that piperine and piperlongumine are capable of improving the effectiveness of rifampicin and tetracycline. Dosage combinations of these bioactive compounds with the antibiotics used may be a better option for the treatment of bacterial infections that aims to minimize the adverse effects associated with the use of these conventional antibacterial drugs.
Current Issues and Perspectives in Patients with Possible Sepsis at Emergency Departments
Authors: Charitos Ioannis Alexandros , Topi Skender , Castellaneta Francesca , D’Agostino Donato
Published: May 2019

In the area of Emergency Room (ER), many patients present criteria compatible with a SIRS, but only some of them have an associated infection. The new definition of sepsis by the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine and the Society of Critical Care Medicine (2016), revolutionizes precedent criteria, overcoming the concept of SIRS and clearly distinguishing the infection with the patient’s physiological response from the symptoms of sepsis. Another fundamental change concerns the recognition method: The use of SOFA (Sequential-Sepsis Related-Organ Failure Assessment Score) as reference score for organ damage assessment. Also, the use of the qSOFA is based on the use of three objective parameters: Altered level of consciousness (GCS <15 or AVPU), systolic blood pressure ≤ 100 mmHg, and respiratory rate ≥ 22/min. If patients have at least two of these altered parameters in association with an infection, then there is the suspicion of sepsis. In these patients the risk of death is higher, and it is necessary to implement the appropriate management protocols, indeed the hospital mortality rate of these patients exceeds 40%. Patients with septic shock can be identified by the association of the clinical symptoms of sepsis with persistent hypotension, which requires vasopressors to maintain a MAP of 65 mmHg, and serum lactate levels >18 mg/dL in despite of an adequate volume resuscitation. Then, patient first management is mainly based on: (1) Recognition of the potentially septic patient (sepsis protocol-qSOFA); (2) Laboratory investigations; (3) Empirical antibiotic therapy in patients with sepsis and septic shock. With this in mind, the authors discuss the most important aspects of the sepsis in both adults and infants, and also consider the possible treatment according current guidelines. In addition, the possible role of some nutraceuticals as supportive therapy in septic patient is also discussed.
Metallurgical Effects of Niobium and Molybdenum on Heat-Affected Zone Toughness in Low-Carbon Steel
Authors: Mohrbacher Hardy
Published: May 2019

Modern weldable high strength steel grades are typically based on low-carbon alloy concepts using microalloying for obtaining a good strength-toughness balance. Such steel grades having a yield strength in the range of 420 to 690 MPa are very commonly used in pipelines, heavy vehicles, shipbuilding and general structural applications. Thermomechanical processing during hot rolling combined with accelerated cooling is an established means of producing such steel grades. Considering the alloying concepts, the use of niobium and molybdenum, and in selected cases boron, is very efficient to achieve high strength and good toughness. However, all targeted applications of such high strength steels involve extensive welding. Thus, heat affected zone properties are of particular importance. The present paper investigates the effects of Nb, Mo and Ti on the heat affected zone properties. Variations of the Mn and Si contents are considered as well. Additionally, the influence of post-weld heat treatment in the coarse-grained heat-affected zone (HAZ) is considered. In this approach, HAZ subzones were generated using laboratory weld cycle simulations in combination with systematic variation of alloying elements to scrutinize and interpret their specific effects. The results indicate that Mo and Nb, when alloyed in the typical range, provide excellent HAZ toughness and guarantee sufficiently low ductile-to-brittle transition temperature. An alloy combination of Nb, Mo and Ti improves performance under hot deformation conditions and toughness after post-weld heat treatment.
High Performance Asymmetric Coupled Line Balun at Sub-THz Frequency
Authors: Ali Abdul , Yun Jongwon , Jalli Ng Herman , Kissinger Dietmar , Giannini Franco , Colantonio Paolo
Published: May 2019

In this paper, we report a high-performance balun with characteristics suitable for future broadband sub-THz differential circuits. The idea of the balun is based on three asymmetric coupled lines, which enhance the odd mode capacitances to equalize the even/odd mode phase velocities. The inner line of the three asymmetric coupled lines is configured to form the open stub ( λ /2), while the outer lines form short stubs ( λ /4). To further reduce the phase imbalance, the short stubs in one of the arms of the balun are connected with vias and a lower metal layer. The balun is developed using the standard 130-nm SiGe BiCMOSback-end process and EM simulated with ADS momentum and Sonnet. The −10-dB reflection coefficient (S 11 ) bandwidth of the balun is 136 GHz (88–224 GHz). It shows insertion loss (including RF pads) <1.5 dB, phase imbalance <7 degrees, and amplitude imbalance <1 dB at 94–177 GHz. Furthermore, a scaled-down version of the balun operates on the WR-6, WR-5, and WR-4 frequency bands without significant degradation in its performance. Such characteristics of the balun make it an ideal candidate for various broadband differential circuits.
The Southwest China Flood of July 2018 and Its Causes
Authors: Wang Lijuan , Wang Lin , Liu Yuyun , Gu Wei , Xu Peiqiang , Chen Wen
Published: May 2019

Excessive rainfall was observed over Southwest China in July 2018, leading to floods in several major tributaries of the Yangtze River and landslide and debris flow in the neighboring provinces. The rainfall during 7–11 July was unusually heavy and broke the record that can be traced back to 1961. The occurrence of the excessive rain can be attributed to the anomalous convection over the western North Pacific and the presence of a mid-latitude Rossby wave train. On one hand, the convection over the western North Pacific was anomalously strong in July 2018, and it could have excited the negative phase of the Pacific–Japan pattern and led to a northwestward shift of the western Pacific subtropical high. Hence, the water vapor transport toward inland China including Southwest China was enhanced, providing a favorable moisture environment for precipitation. On the other hand, a mid-latitude Rossby wave train was observed to propagate from Northern Europe towards East Asia, which was conducive to anomalous ascending motion over Southwest China via warm advection and differential vorticity advection, creating a favorable dynamical condition for precipitation. As a result, the combination of the two effects mentioned above led to the occurrence of the flood over Southwest China in July 2018.
Prediction of North Atlantic Oscillation Index with Convolutional LSTM Based on Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition
Authors: Yuan Shijin , Luo Xiaodan , Mu Bin , Li Jing , Dai Guokun
Published: May 2019

The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is the most significant mode of the atmosphere in the North Atlantic, and it plays an important role in regulating the local weather and climate and even those of the entire Northern Hemisphere. Therefore, it is vital to predict NAO events. Since the NAO event can be quantified by the NAO index, an effective neural network model EEMD-ConvLSTM, which is based on Convolutional Long Short-Term Memory (ConvLSTM) with Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition (EEMD), is proposed for NAO index prediction in this paper. EEMD is applied to preprocess NAO index data, which are issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and NAO index data are decomposed into several Intrinsic Mode Functions (IMFs). After being filtered by the energy threshold, the remaining IMFs are used to reconstruct new NAO index data as the input of ConvLSTM. In order to evaluate the performance of EEMD-ConvLSTM, six methods were selected as the benchmark, which included traditional models, machine learning algorithms, and other deep neural networks. Furthermore, we forecast the NAO index with EEMD-ConvLSTM and the Rolling Forecast (RF) and compared the results with those of Global Forecast System (GFS) and the averaging of 11 Medium Range Forecast (MRF) model ensemble members (ENSM) provided by the NOAA Climate Prediction Center. The experimental results show that EEMD-ConvLSTM not only has the highest reliability from evaluation metrics, but also can better capture the variation trend of the NAO index data.
Weather Radar Echo Super-Resolution Reconstruction Based on Nonlocal Self-Similarity Sparse Representation
Authors: Zhang Xing , He Jianxin , Zeng Qiangyu , Shi Zhao
Published: May 2019

Weather radar echo plays an important role in early warning and timely forecasting of severe weather. However, the radar echo may not be accurate enough to predict or analyze small-scale weather phenomenon due to the degradation of the observed radar. In order to solve this problem, some radar echo super-resolution reconstruction algorithms have been proposed, but the algorithm may result in an excessively smooth edge and detail in a local region. To reconstruct radar echo with better edges and finer details, a novel nonlocal self-similarity sparse representation (NSSR) model is proposed. The NSSR model is based on the sparse representation of weather radar echoes to better reconstruct the echo edge and detail information. We exploit the radar echo nonlocal self-similarity to recover more realistic details based on the NSSR model. Experiment results demonstrate that the proposed NSSR outperforms current general-purpose radar echo super-resolution approaches on both visual effects and objective radar echo quality.
Optimization of Parameters in the Generalized Extreme-Value Distribution Type 1 for Three Populations Using Harmonic Search
Authors: Molina-Aguilar Juan Pablo , Gutierrez-Lopez Alfonso , Raynal-Villaseñor Jose Angel , Garcia-Valenzuela Luis Gabriel
Published: May 2019

Due to its geographical position, Mexico is exposed annually to cold fronts and tropical cyclones, registering extremely high values that are atypical in the series of maximum annual flows. Univariate mixed probability distribution functions have been developed based on the theory of extreme values, which require techniques to determine their parameters. Therefore, this paper explores a function that considers three populations to analyze maximum annual flows. According to the structure of the Generalized Extreme-Value Distribution (GEV), the simultaneous definition of nine parameters is required: three of location, three of scale, and three of probability of occurrence. Thus, the use of a meta-heuristic technique was proposed (harmonic search). The precision of the adjustment was increased through the optimization of the parameters, and with it came a reduction in the uncertainty of the forecast, particularly for cyclonic events. It is concluded that the use of an extreme value distribution (Type I) structured with three populations and accompanied by the technique of harmonic search improves the performance in respect to classic techniques for the determination of its parameters.
The Spring Assessing Method of the Threat of Melolontha spp. grubs for Scots Pine Plantations
Authors: Szmidla Hanna , Małecka Monika , Tkaczyk Miłosz , Tarwacki Grzegorz , Sierota Zbigniew
Published: May 2019

Root-feeding Melolonthinae larvae are a forest pest species in Europe that can exert serious damage. In Poland, they are classified as the most dangerous pest on land dedicated to afforestation and the most serious threat to natural regeneration in the stands. This study was performed in three forest districts in east Poland (Lubartów, Marcule, and Wyszków forest districts) in mixed conifer forests, where the presence of Melolontha spp. grubs was evaluated in autumn and spring of 2012 to 2017, respectively. In spring 2012, 2014, and 2016, consecutively ‘small sawdust pits’ in rows between seedlings were prepared, and in adjacent inter-rows similar control pits without sawdust were marked. In spring and autumn of the following year, sawdust and soil from both types of pits were sieved and Melolonthinae larvae were counted and compared. More grubs were found in sawdust pits in spring than in autumn. In Marcule Forest District (FD) (2014), more grubs were found in inter-rows than in rows with seedlings, when compared to grubs detected using the traditional method of “autumn large pits assessment”, recommended by Polish forest rules. The Melolonthinae population size and location of grubs were related to the weather conditions in the evaluated periods, as well. We conclude that to properly assess the cockchafer threat, it is necessary to perform spring assessment and to search in inter-rows. This could be recommended for decisions on control.
An Extensible Automated Failure Localization Framework Using NetKAT, Felix, and SDN Traceroute
Authors: Pelle István , Gulyás András
Published: May 2019

Designing, implementing, and maintaining network policies that protect from internal and external threats is a highly non-trivial task. Often, troubleshooting networks consisting of diverse entities realizing complex policies is even harder. Software-defined networking (SDN) enables networks to adapt to changing scenarios, which significantly lessens human effort required for constant manual modifications of device configurations. Troubleshooting benefits SDN’s method of accessing forwarding devices as well, since monitoring is made much easier via unified control channels. However, by making policy changes easier, the job of troubleshooting operators is made harder too: For humans, finding, analyzing, and fixing network issues becomes almost intractable. In this paper, we present a failure localization framework and its proof-of-concept prototype that helps in automating the investigation of network issues. Like a controller for troubleshooting tools, our framework integrates the formal specification (expected behavior) and network monitoring (actual behavior) and automatically gives hints about the location and type of network issues by comparing the two types of information. By using NetKAT (Kleene algebra with tests) for formal specification and Felix and SDN traceroute for network monitoring, we show that the integration of these tools in a single framework can significantly ease the network troubleshooting process.
A Yielding Protocol that Uses Inter-Vehicle Communication to Improve the Traffic of Vehicles on a Low-Priority Road at an Unsignalized Intersection
Authors: Yajima Hayato , Takami Kazumasa
Published: May 2019

Self-driven vehicles are being actively developed. When widespread, they will help reduce the number of traffic accidents and ease traffic congestion. They will coexist with human-driven vehicles for years. If there is a mismatch between human drivers’ operations and the judgments of self-driven vehicles, congestion may arise at an unsignalized intersection, in particular, where roads are prioritized. Vehicles on the low-priority road attempting to cross, or turn to, the priority road can significantly reduce the traffic flow. We have proposed a yielding protocol to deal with this problem and evaluated it using a simulation that focused on traffic flow efficiency at an intersection. In the simulation, we have varied the number of vehicles coming into the roads and the percentage of self-driven vehicles and confirmed that the proposed yielding protocol could improve the traffic flow of vehicles on the low-priority road.
Cryostructuring of Polymeric Systems. 52. Properties, Microstructure and an Example of a Potential Biomedical Use of the Wide-Pore Alginate Cryostructurates
Authors: Zvukova Natalia D. , Klimova Tamara P. , Ivanov Roman V. , Ryabev Andrei N. , Tsiskarashvili Archil V. , Lozinsky Vladimir I.
Published: May 2019

Wide-pore cryostructurates were prepared via freezing sodium alginate aqueous solutions with subsequent ice sublimation from the frozen samples, followed by their incubation in the ethanol solutions of calcium chloride or sulfuric acid, rinsing, and final drying. Such sequence of operations resulted in the calcium alginate or alginic acid sponges, respectively. The swelling degree of the walls of macropores in such matrices decreased with increasing polymer concentration in the initial solution. The dependence of the degree of swelling on the cryogenic processing temperature had a bell-like character with a maximum for the samples formed at −20 °C. According to 1H NMR spectroscopy, the content of mobile (non-frozen) water in the frozen water-sodium alginate systems also depended on the initial polymer concentration and freezing temperature. The cryostructurates obtained did not lose their integrity in water, saline, in an acidic medium at pH 2 for at least three weeks. Under alkaline conditions at pH 12 the first signs of dissolution of the Ca-alginate sponge arose only after a week of incubation. Microbiological testing of the model depot form of the antibiotics entrapped in the Ca-alginate cryostructurate demonstrated the efficiency of this system as the antibacterial material.
Genetical Genomics of Tonic Immobility in the Chicken
Authors: Fogelholm Jesper , Inkabi Samuel , Höglund Andrey , Abbey-Lee Robin , Johnsson Martin , Jensen Per , Henriksen Rie , Wright Dominic
Published: May 2019

Identifying the molecular mechanisms of animal behaviour is an enduring goal for researchers. Gaining insight into these mechanisms enables us to gain a greater understanding of behaviour and their genetic control. In this paper, we perform Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) mapping of tonic immobility behaviour in an advanced intercross line between wild and domestic chickens. Genes located within the QTL interval were further investigated using global expression QTL (eQTL) mapping from hypothalamus tissue, as well as causality analysis. This identified five candidate genes, with the genes PRDX4 and ACOT9 emerging as the best supported candidates. In addition, we also investigated the connection between tonic immobility, meat pH and struggling behaviour, as the two candidate genes PRDX4 and ACOT9 have previously been implicated in controlling muscle pH at slaughter. We did not find any phenotypic correlations between tonic immobility, struggling behaviour and muscle pH in a smaller additional cohort, despite these behaviours being repeatable within-test.
Identification and Conservation Analysis of Cis-Regulatory Elements in Pig Liver
Authors: Luan Yu , Zhang Lu , Hu Mingyang , Xu Yueyuan , Hou Ye , Li Xinyun , Zhao Shuhong , Zhao Yunxia , Li Changchun
Published: May 2019

The liver plays a key role in metabolism and affects pig production. However, the functional annotation of noncoding regions of the pig liver remains poorly understood. We revealed the landscape of cis-regulatory elements and their functional characterization in pig liver. We identified 102,373 cis-regulatory elements in the pig liver, including enhancers, promoters, super-enhancers, and broad H3K4me3 domains, and highlighted 26 core transcription regulatory factors in the pig liver as well. We found similarity of cis-regulatory elements among those of pigs, humans, and cattle. Despite the low proportion of functionally conserved enhancers (~30%) between pig and human liver tissue, ~78% of the pig liver enhancer orthologues sequence could play an enhancer role in other human tissues. Additionally, we observed that the ratio of consistent super-enhancer-associated genes was significantly higher than the ratio of functionally conserved super-enhancers. Approximately 54% of the core regulation factors driven by super-enhancers were consistent across the liver from these three species. Our pig liver annotation and functional characterization studies provide a system and resource for noncoding annotation for future gene regulatory studies in pigs. Furthermore, our study also showed the high level functional conservation of cis-regulatory elements in mammals; it also improved our understanding of regulation function of mammal cis-regulatory elements.