bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
O Coaching Como Ferramenta De Desenvolvimento De Lideranças Nas Organizações
Authors: Pina Tatiana Aparecida Gonçalves
Published: March 2020

Este estudo analisa como o processo de coaching pode auxiliar no desenvolvimento das lideranças dentro das organizações. Tal abordagem é devida ao fato do grande crescimento nos últimos anos do processo de coaching por parte das empresas. O propósito desta pesquisa é conhecer um pouco mais sobre o tema e como ele pode contribuir para a atividade de liderança nas organizações. Este intento será conseguido a partir de uma pesquisa bibliográfica do tipo exploratória. Os resultados mostram que o coaching pode ser uma eficaz ferramenta no desenvolvimento de lideranças organizacionais, pois auxilia o individuo no processo de aprimoramento pessoal e conseqüentemente organizacional.

Palavra-chave: Liderança, Processo de Coaching, Aperfeiçoamento de Lideres.
KONSELING GIZI DAN PERUBAHAN PERILAKU PASIEN DISLIPIDEMIA YANG MENDAPAT BOOKLET DAN LEAFLET DI RSI SITI KHADIJAH PALEMBANG
Authors: Luthfiyah Nisrina , Susyani Susyani , Telisa Imelda
Published: March 2020

Latar Belakang: Dislipidemia adalah kelainan metabolisme lipid yang ditandai dengan peningkatan maupun penurunan fraksi lipid dalam plasma. Dislipidemia dapat disebabkan karena faktor genetik, usia, jenis kelamin, asupan zat gizi dan merokok. Abnormalitas kadar lipid dalam darah merupakan salah satu faktor risiko timbulnya penyakit kardiovaskular dan metabolik. Penatalaksanaan dislipidemia mencakup terapi farmakologis dan non farmakologis yang dapat didukung melalui pemberian konseling gizi. Tujuan: Tujuan penelitian ini untuk mengetahui adanya pengaruh pemberian konseling gizi terhadap perilaku pasien dislipidemia yang mendapat booklet dan leaflet di RSI Siti Khadijah Kota Palembang. Metode: Desain penelitian adalah quasi experiment dengan rancangan penelitian pretest dan posttest. Penelitian dilakukan pada bulan Januari-Maret 2019. Analisis data menggunakan uji Wilcoxon dan Mann Whitney. Hasil: Pada uji Wilcoxon didapatkan hasil jika konseling gizi pada kedua kelompok sama-sama memberikan pengaruh terhadap pengetahuan, sikap dan tindakan. Berdasarkan Uji Mann Whitney yang dilakukan pada kedua kelompok terhadap pengetahuan didapatkan nilai p sebesar 0,274, terhadap sikap didapatkan nilai p sebesar 0,010 dan terhadap tindakan didapatkan nilai p sebesar 0,065. Kesimpulan: Tidak ada perbedaan peningkatan pengetahuan dan tindakan antara kelompok booklet dan leaflet namun ada perbedaan peningkatan sikap antara kelompok booklet dan leaflet dimana leaflet lebih berpengaruh dalam meningkatkan sikap responden menjadi lebih baik dalam menjalankan diet dislipidemia.
VARIASI BAKTERI PADA PENDERITA INFEKSI SALURAN KEMIH (ISK)
Authors: Yashir Muhammad , Apriani Apriani
Published: March 2020

Infeksi Saluran Kemih (ISK) merupakan penyakit infeksi kedua tersering  setelah infeksi saluran pernafasan dan sebanyak 8,3 juta kasus dilaporkan per tahun. Di Indonesia prevalensi ISK berkisar antara 5-15 % dan jumlah penderita ISK mencapai 90-100 kasus per 100.000 penduduk per tahun. baku emas pembuktian ISK dengan melakukan pemeriksaan mikrobiologi yaitu kultur urin dan pemeriksaan urinalisis rutin metode carik celup. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui gambaran hasil laboratorium kultur urin terhadap leukosit esterase dan Eritrosit , dan untuk melihat adanya  variasi bakteri pada penderita isk di RS Atmajaya Jakarta Utara.Metode Penelitian studi analisa deskriptif dari 33 sampel atau responden semua umur tanpa batasan di Laboratorium Mikrobiologi RS Atmajaya November – Desember 2017. Hasil penelitian jumlah responden perempuan (52%) lebih banyak dibanding laki-laki (48%). Angka kejadian ISK meningkat pada pasien kelompok umur diatas 40 tahun yaitu 41-60 tahun (10 kasus) , dan >60 tahun (10 kasus). Dari penelitian ini, Escherichia coli (31 %) merupakan mikroorganisme tersering yang menyebabkan ISK.
Metodologia Powszechnego Spisu Ludności I Mieszkań 2011 r. w zakresie pytań etnicznych
Authors: Gołata Elżbieta
Published: March 2020

The aim of the study is to assess the methodology of 2011 Population and Housing Census in terms of ethnic questions. The study focused on questions concerning national minorities and ethnic and regional dialects aside from issues of religion. Assessing census methodology legal regulations were discussed, including relation between census estimates and statutory rights of national minorities. In this topic, attention was paid to the protection of “privacy” and the confidentiality of personal data, the reliability of ethnic data obtained in censuses and the need for their acquisition. Afterwards relationship between international recommendations and the way the recognition of ethnic questions in 2011 census was presented.

With regard to methodological issues, first methods of conducting population censuses were discussed. Comparing the traditional method, and the one based on administrative records, the attention was drawn to the fulfillment of the UN Recommendations as concerns basic characteristics of the census. Focused on register-based approach, the possibilities of estimating information relating to national and ethnic minorities were discussed. Attention was paid to the consequences of defining different categories of the census population and sample survey conducted within the 2011 census. Possibilities of small area statistics and calibration were presented. Particular attention was paid to the possibility of estimating information on national and ethnic minorities.
Determinanty sprawowania opieki nad starszymi rodzicami w Polscew świetle danych badania GGS-PL
Authors: Abramowska-Kmon Anita
Published: March 2020

The main aim of the paper was to analyse determinants of care for elderly parents provided by adult children in Poland. The data were from the first wave of the Polish Generations and Gender Survey (GGS-PL) carried out in 2010 and 2011. The logistic regression model with the dependent binary variable describing the fact of providing care to elderly mother or father has been applied. The obtained results are mostly in line with those described in the literature on this topic. Generally the probability of giving care to elderly parents increases with respondent’s age. Women have higher chances of providing care to older mother or father than men do. Persons better educated (with secondary or higher level of education) are characterized by higher probability of caring for elderly parents. Parameters estimates for several variables such as place of residence, living arrangements, employment status and health status were statistically insignificant. As it would have been anticipated health status of a parent significantly increases the probability of providing care to a mother or a father. Moreover, the better the relationship between children and parents, the higher chances of taking care of older parents. In addition, the more respondents agreed with the opinion of responsibility of children for care for elderly parents, the higher the risk of providing an instrumental help by them was.
Information for Authors Vol 52(1-2)
Authors: - -
Published: March 2020

Abstract not available

Bang Med J (Khulna) 2019; 52 : 44-45
Quality Assessment in Surgery- Conceptual Framework
Authors: Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun , Hussain Md Margub
Published: March 2020

‘Quality’ is a popular demand in health care. Surgeons as professionals are consistently putting their efforts to meet this demand. The standard and dimensions of ‘quality’ are changing and expectations are rising along with social reforms driven by scientific and economic growth. On the other hand, objective assessment of care in surgical patients is difficult and dependent on factors that are not precisely related to surgical skills. It is rather performance of all in the organization and sum of each and every human and system effort. In this effort we will discuss factors related to surgical care quality and different methods of assessment and their limitations. For quality surgical care, good intent, enabling environment with organized supportive system is required with skilled surgical team and meticulous monitoring system along the care process.

J Bangladesh Coll Phys Surg 2020; 38(2): 93-97
Case Report: Spontaneous Splenic Rupture - An Unusual Cause of Intra-abdominal Haemorrhage in Female
Authors: Alam Irin Parveen , Sirajammunira -
Published: March 2020

Laparotomy for intra-abdominal haemorrhage due to ectopic pregnancy is a common practice in Gynaecology. But laparotomy due to nongynecological causes may rarely happen in this department. A case report is discussed here where abdomen was opened as a case of ectopic pregnancy but subsequently patient needed relaparotomy and finally diagnosed as an atraumatic splenic rupture. The purpose of this paper is to bring this differential diagnosis to clinician’s minds, so that physician can consider the diagnosis of spontaneous nontraumatic splenic rupture.

J Bangladesh Coll Phys Surg 2020; 38(2): 98-100
College News Vol. 38(2)
Authors: Mostafi Mamun
Published: March 2020

Abstract not available

J Bangladesh Coll Phys Surg 2020; 38(2): 105-107
Biostatistics for Multiple Testing
Authors: Choi Jeong-Seok
Published: March 2020

Multiple testings are instances that contain simultaneous tests for more than one hypothesis. When multiple testings are conducted at the same time, it is more likely that the null hypothesis is rejected, even if the null hypothesis is correct. If individual hypothesis decisions are based on unadjusted p-values, it is usually more likely that some of the true null hypotheses will be rejected. In order to solve the multiple testing problems, various studies have attempted to increase the power by taking into account the family-wise error rate or false discovery rate and statistics required for testing hypotheses. This article discuss methods that account for the multiplicity issue and introduces various statistical techniques.
Classifying the Metrics for Which Geodesic Flow on the Group $SO(n)$ is Algebraically Completely Integrable
Authors: AHMED Lesfari
Published: March 2020

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the rich interaction between the Kowalewski-Painlev\'{e} analysis, the properties of algebraic completely integrable (a.c.i.) systems, the geometry of its Laurent series solutions, and the theory of Abelian varieties. We study the classification of metrics for which geodesic flow on the group $SO(n)$ is a.c.i. For $n=3$, the geodesic flow on $SO(3)$ is always a.c.i., and can be regarded as the Euler rigid body motion. For $n=4$, in the Adler-van Moerbeke's classification of metrics for which geodesic flow on $SO(4)$ is a.c.i., three cases come up; two are linearly equivalent to the Clebsch and Lyapunov-Steklov cases of rigid body motion in a perfect fluid, and there is a third new case namely the Kostant-Kirillov Hamiltonian flow on the dual of $so(4)$. Finally, as was shown by Haine, for $n\geq 5$ Manakov's metrics are the only left invariant diagonal metrics on $SO(n)$ for which the geodesic flow is a.c.i.
MINISTRY FOR THE UNIFICATION OF LAWS AND THE ORGANISATION OF ADMINISTRATION AND ITS ROLE IN THE PROCESS OF UNIFICATION OF CRIMINAL LAW IN THE INTERWAR CZECHOSLOVAK REPUBLIC
Authors: Fico Miroslav
Published: March 2020

After the formation of the Czechoslovak Republic, legal dualism in criminal law existed in our territory. It was based on the provisions of the so-called Reception Act, and therefore Austrian laws applied in the Czech part of the republic and Hungarian laws applied in Slovakia and Subcarpathian Russia. The dualism of criminal law was unsustainable in the long run. The main aim of the then ongoing processes was to unify criminal law, which was to reflect the unitary nature of the Czechoslovak Republic. The unification was to be implemented by passing criminal laws applicable in the entire territory of the newly formed republic. In the Czechoslovak Republic, the Ministry for the Unification of Laws and the Organisation of Administration was established, whose main role was to unify the laws and administration in the entire territory of the republic. In this paper, the author seeks to point out efforts to unify criminal law, with an emphasis on the activities of the Unification Ministry.
GEOBLOCKING - VYBRANÉ OBCHODNOPRÁVNE ASPEKTY
Authors: Rudohradská Simona
Published: March 2020

Autorka sa v príspevku venuje problematike geo-blockingu – významného aspektu Digitálneho jednotného trhu, ktorému bola venovaná pozornosť v rámci Stratégie pre jednotný digitálny trh v Európe z mája 2015 rovnako ako v Stratégii jednotného trhu z októbra 2015. Oba dokumenty poukazovali na potrebu prijatia legislatívnych opatrení, ktoré by zabránili praktikám obchodníkov spôsobujúcim diskriminačné konanie voči spotrebiteľom. Neopodstatnenému geografickému blokovaniu má zamedziť nariadenie Európskeho parlamentu a Rady (EÚ) 2018/302 z 28. februára 2018 o riešení neodôvodneného geografického blokovania a iných foriem diskriminácie z dôvodu štátnej príslušnosti, miesta bydliska alebo sídla zákazníkov na vnútornom trhu (ďalej len „Nariadenie 2018/302“). Predmetom predkladaného článku je komparácia vybraných ustanovení Návrhu nariadenia o riešení geografického blokovania a iných foriem diskriminácie z 25. mája 2016 COM (2016) 289 final a prijatého účinného Nariadenia 2018/302, stručná analýza všeobecných otázok a parciálnych obchodnoprávnych otázok súvisiacich s geografickým blokovaním a skúmanie procesu súvisiaceho s uplatňovaním Nariadenia 2018/302 v podmienkach slovenského právneho poriadku.
Aristotelian Explanation and Homology in Biology
Authors: Peterson Anne Siebels
Published: March 2020

In his account of epistēmē, the highest level of understanding attainable in philosophical inquiry, Aristotle articulates standards for the ideal explanations that confer this level of understanding. I argue that Aristotle's key standard for epistēmē is of central importance for the biological homology concept. The explanatory shortcoming that results from violating this standard has been vaguely articulated in recent literature on homology; Aristotle's account offers a more neutral and precise formulation of the shortcoming and its antidote. Further, the risk for this shortcoming has heightened with recent accounts of homology grounded in genetics, increasing the contemporary relevance of Aristotelian epistēmē.
An Adaptable Aesthetic: Theodor Sparkuhl's Contribution to Late Silent and Early Sound Film-making at British International Pictures, 1929–30
Authors: Robinson Kelly
Published: March 2020

The German cinematographer Theodor Sparkuhl worked at Elstree from 1929 to 1930. Accounts of this period in Britain have often emphasised the detrimental effects of the arrival of the sound film in 1928, how it sounded the death knell of film as an international medium and how the film industry struggled to adapt (economically, technically, aesthetically). However, this article shows that the international dimension of the film industry did not disappear with the coming of sound and British International Pictures (BIP) was an exception to what Robert Murphy has called the ‘catalogue of failure’ during this turbulent period in British film history. Sparkuhl indisputably contributed to this achievement, working as he did on eight feature films in just two years from around July 1928 to April 1930, as well as directing several BIP shorts. Sparkuhl's career embodies the international nature of the film industry in the 1920s and 1930s. In Germany he moved within very different production contexts, from newsreels to Ufa and the Großfilme; in Britain from big-budget films aimed at the international market to low-scale inexpensive films at BIP. As what Thomas Elsaesser has called an ‘international adventurer’, Sparkuhl cannot be contained within any single national cinema history. The ease with which he slipped in and out of different production contexts demonstrates not just his ability to adapt but also the fluidity between the different national industries during this period. In this transitional phase in Britain, Sparkuhl worked on silent, part sound and wholly sound films, on films aimed at both the international and the indigenous market, and in genres such as the musical, the war film and comedy. The example of Sparkuhl shows that German cameramen were employed not only for their aesthetic prowess but also for their efficiency and adaptability.
The Press, Society and the Coming of Sound to Birmingham
Authors: Sibanda Nyasha
Published: March 2020

The arrival of sound on British cinema screens is perhaps more accurately described as the arrival of American sounds. Almost overnight, the sounds of American voices, accents, slang and vernacular became commonplace throughout the country. This article uses linguistic and social economic frameworks to explore the ways in which American sound films challenged the legitimacy and dominance of hegemonic forms of language within Britain. Taking the mainstream provincial press as a primary source, it discusses the ways in which the arrival of sound was seen as a nationalist threat to both industry and culture. The article uses Birmingham as a focal point and uncovers nuanced ways in which language was negotiated and deployed both by mainstream institutions as well as young people and the working classes. It argues that dominant social actors within British society – such as the press, the Church and educationists – saw talkies as almost invariably threatening, while marginalised social actors like children, teenagers and working-class Northern and Midland audiences were able to use the othered displacement of American talkies as a class-neutral space where their own social capital was bolstered.
Hearing Voices: The Extended Mind in Evelyn Waugh's The Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold
Authors: Liu Yuexi
Published: March 2020

Waugh's last comic novel The Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold (1957) takes ‘exterior modernism’ to a new height, no longer avoiding interiority – as in his interwar fiction – but exteriorising the interior through dissociation. ‘The Box’, to which the writer-protagonist attributes the source of the tormenting voices, may well be his own mind, an extended – albeit unhealthy – mind that works as a radio: he transmits his thoughts and then receives them as external signals in order to communicate with them. Pinfold's auditory hallucinations are caused by the breakdown of communication. Interestingly, writing is also a dissociative activity. Concerned with the writer's block, the novel reflects on the creative process and illuminates the relationship between madness and creativity. If dissociation, or the splitting of the mind, is a defence against trauma, the traumatic experience Pinfold attempts to suppress is the Second World War. The unusual state of mind accentuates the contingency of Waugh's radio writing; his preferred medium is cinema.
Prediction of Draft Force of a Chisel Cultivator Using Artificial Neural Networks and Its Comparison with Regression Model
Authors: Abbaspour-Gilandeh Yousef , Fazeli Masoud , Roshanianfard Ali , Hernández-Hernández Mario , Gallardo-Bernal Iván , Hernández-Hernández José Luis
Published: March 2020

In this study, artificial neural networks (ANNs) were used to predict the draft force of a rigid tine chisel cultivator. The factorial experiment based on the randomized complete block design (RCBD) was used to obtain the required data and to determine the factors affecting the draft force. The draft force of the chisel cultivator was measured using a three-point hitch dynamometer and data were collected using a DT800 datalogger. A recurrent back-propagation multilayer network was selected to predict the draft force of the cultivator. The gradient descent algorithm with momentum, Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm, and scaled conjugate gradient descent algorithm were used for network training. The tangent sigmoid transfer function was the activation functions in the layers. The draft force was predicted based on the tillage depth, soil moisture content, soil cone index, and forward speed. The results showed that the developed ANNs with two hidden layers (24 and 26 neurons in the first and second layers, respectively) with the use of the scaled conjugate gradient descent algorithm outperformed the networks developed with other algorithms. The average simulation accuracy and the correlation coefficient for the prediction of draft force of a chisel cultivator were 99.83% and 0.9445, respectively. The linear regression model had a much lower accuracy and correlation coefficient for predicting the draft force compared to the ANNs.
Effects of Acute Hyperthermia on the Thermotolerance of Cow and Sheep Skin-Derived Fibroblasts
Authors: Saadeldin Islam M. , Swelum Ayman Abdel-Aziz , Zakri Adel M. , Tukur Hammed A. , N. Alowaimer Abdullah
Published: March 2020

This study was conducted to compare the effects of acute hyperthermia (45 °C for 4 h) on the viability, proliferation, and migratory activity through wound-healing assays of cow and sheep fibroblasts. The study examined the effects on primary cultures and first passage skin-derived fibroblasts. Relative quantification of HSP70, HSP90, P53, BAX, BCL2, and BECN1 was investigated after normalization to housekeeping genes GAPDH and beta-actin. The results revealed that cultured cow primary fibroblasts exhibited increased viability and reinitiated cell migration to close the cell monolayer scratch earlier than sheep cells. Similar patterns were observed in the first passage fibroblasts, with severe effects on sheep cells. Both cow and sheep cells exhibited decreased cell viability and failed to regain migratory activity after re-exposure of recovered heat-shocked cells. Effects of hyperthermia on sheep cells were potentiated by cell cryopreservation. The qPCR results showed that cow cells significantly increased HSP70 and HSP90 expression, which decreased the elevation of P53, and ameliorated the effects of the increased BAX/BCL2 ratio. The results provide a paradigm to compare thermotolerance among different animal species and revealed that trypsin could be an additional stress, which potentiates the effects of heat shock in in vitro experiments.
The Welfare Aggregation and Guidance (WAG) Tool: A New Method to Summarize Global Welfare Assessment Data for Equids
Authors: Kubasiewicz Laura M. , Rodrigues João B. , Norris Stuart L. , Watson Tamlin L. , Rickards Karen , Bell Nikki , Judge Andrew , Raw Zoe , Burden Faith A.
Published: March 2020

Animal welfare can be represented by an array of indicators. There is, however, increasing demand for concise welfare assessments that can be easily communicated and compared. Previous methods to aggregate welfare assessments have focused on livestock systems and produced a single welfare score, which may not represent all aspects of welfare. We propose an aggregation method for the recently developed Equid Assessment Research and Scoping (EARS) welfare assessment tool that results in grades for five welfare categories: housing conditions, working conditions, health, nutrition, and behavior. We overcome the problems associated with existing approaches by using a single aggregation method (decision trees) that incorporates the most important welfare indicators in a single step. The process aims to identify equids with the poorest welfare and aid decision-making when allocating resources. We demonstrate its application using a case study of over 6000 equids across Europe and Asia, where equids in India and Pakistan had the poorest welfare status in terms of health (respiratory disease and open wounds) and behavior (signs of fear and distress, and limb tethering practices). We recommend identification of the specific causes of these issues, using either existing detailed welfare data or through issue-specific assessments by an appropriate professional, to guide the development of appropriate interventions and, ultimately, improve equid welfare.
Molecular Interaction Characterization Strategies for the Development of New Biotherapeutic Antibody Modalities
Authors: Wang Xiangdan , Phan Minh Michael , Li Ji , Gill Herman , Williams Simon , Gupta Nidhi , Quarmby Valerie , Yang Jihong
Published: March 2020

The characterization of target binding interactions is critical at each stage of antibody therapeutic development. During early development, it is important to design fit-for-purpose in vitro molecular interaction characterization (MIC) assays that accurately determine the binding kinetics and the affinity of therapeutic antibodies for their targets. Such information enables PK/PD (pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics) modeling, estimation of dosing regimens, and assessment of potency. While binding kinetics and affinities seem to be readily obtained, there is little discussion in the literature on how the information should be generated and used in a systematic manner along with other approaches to enable key drug development decisions. The introduction of new antibody modalities poses unique challenges to the development of MIC assays and further increases the need to discuss the impact of developing context-appropriate MIC assays to enable key decision making for these programs. In this paper, we discuss for the first time the challenges encountered when developing MIC assays supporting new antibody modalities. Additionally, through the presentation of several real case studies, we provide strategies to overcome these challenges to enable investigational new drug (IND) filings.
Photodynamic Therapy in the Inactivation of Microorganisms
Authors: Almeida Adelaide
Published: March 2020

The growing emergence of microbial resistance to conventional antimicrobials, due their dissemination in the environment, and excessive or inadequate prescriptions, associated with the globalization of pathogenic microorganisms’ transmission, make the discovery of new effective therapies to combat infection of extreme urgency [...]
Effects of Microwave-Assisted Opuntia humifusa Extract in Inhibiting the Impacts of Particulate Matter on Human Keratinocyte Skin Cell
Authors: Moon Ju-Young , Ngoc Le Thi Nhu , Chae Minhe , Tran Vinh Van , Lee Young-Chul
Published: March 2020

Particulate matter (PM) is one of the most important factors causing serious skin diseases, due to its generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) over the course of long-term exposure. As a source of natural antioxidants, Opuntia humifusa (O. humifusa) is a potential candidate for the design of advanced formulations to prevent PM’s harmful effects. Unfortunately, its high viscosity does not allow it to be utilized in these formulations. In this present study, a new approach to the extract of O. humifusa using high-power microwave treatment, namely microwave-assisted O. humifusa extract (MA-OHE), was investigated. The results indicated that MA-OHE not only is a reasonable viscosity extract, but also enhances O. humifusa’s antioxidant properties. Additionally, this study also found that MA-OHE exhibited outstanding antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities in eliminating PM’s effects, due to suppression of AhR degradation, ROS production, and COX-2 and MMP-9 expression in HaCaT keratinocytes. It is believed that MA-OHE is a potential cosmeceutical ingredient that could be utilized to prevent PM-induced skin oxidative stress and inflammation.
Phytochemical Composition, Antioxidant and Antiproliferative Activities of Defatted Sea Buckthorn (Hippophaë rhamnoides L.) Berry Pomace Fractions Consecutively Recovered by Pressurized Ethanol and Water
Authors: Dienaitė Lijana , Pukalskas Audrius , Pukalskienė Milda , Pereira Carolina V. , Matias Ana A. , Venskutonis Petras Rimantas
Published: March 2020

This study aimed at valorisation of sea buckthorn pomace (SBP) for the production of extracts containing valuable bioactive compounds. For this purpose, SBP defatted by supercritical CO2 was subjected to consecutive fractionation with pressurized ethanol and water, which yielded 11.9% and 4.8% of extracts, respectively. The extracts were evaluated for their antioxidant potential, phytochemical composition and antiproliferative effects against cancer cells. Water extracts exhibited remarkably higher values in Folin-Ciocalteu assay of total phenolic content, oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), ABTS●+/DPPH● scavenging and cellular antioxidant activity (CAA) assays and more efficiently inhibited proliferation of HT29 cells at non-cytotoxic concentrations measured in non-tumoral Caco2 cells. Among 28 detected and 21 quantified phytochemicals, flavonols with the structures of isorhamnetin (five compounds), quercetin (three compounds), kaempferol (three compounds) glycosides and catechin (six compounds) were the most abundant in the extracts. In conclusion, the applied method of fractionation of SBP produces promising natural antioxidant complexes with antiproliferative properties that could find potential applications in nutraceuticals, functional foods and cosmeceuticals.
Effect of Alkali Concentration on the Activation of Carbonate-High Illite Clay
Authors: D’Elia Angela , Pinto Daniela , Eramo Giacomo , Laviano Rocco , Palomo Angel , Fernández-Jiménez Ana
Published: March 2020

The present study explores the effect of activating solution concentration (4, 6 and 8 M NaOH) on mechanically and thermally pre-treated carbonate-high illite clay (LCR). Pastes were prepared with an alkaline solution/clay (S/B) ratio of 0.55, which were cured at room temperature and relative humidity > 90% in a climatic chamber. At two and 28 days, compressive mechanical strength was determined, and the reaction products were characterised by X-ray Powder Diffraction analysis (XRPD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Scanning Electron Microscopy - Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDX). Results obtained showed that the presence of reactive calcium in the starting clay induces co-precipitation of a mix of gels: An aluminium-enriched C-S-H gel (C-A-S-H) and a N-A-S-H gel, in which sodium is partially replaced by calcium (N,C)-A-S-H. Pastes prepared with higher (6 or 8 M) activator concentrations exhibit a more compact matrix than the ones prepared with 4 M NaOH. The findings show that the use of a 6 M NaOH solution yields a binder with two days compressive strength >20 MPa and 28 days strength of over 30 MPa.
Recommender System Based on Temporal Models: A Systematic Review
Authors: Rabiu Idris , Salim Naomie , Da’u Aminu , Osman Akram
Published: March 2020

Over the years, the recommender systems (RS) have witnessed an increasing growth for its enormous benefits in supporting users’ needs through mapping the available products to users based on their observed interests towards items. In this setting, however, more users, items and rating data are being constantly added to the system, causing several shifts in the underlying relationship between users and items to be recommended, a problem known as concept drift or sometimes called temporal dynamics in RS. Although the traditional techniques of RS have attained significant success in providing recommendations, they are insufficient in providing accurate recommendations due to concept drift problems. These issues have triggered a lot of researches on the development of dynamic recommender systems (DRSs) which is focused on the design of temporal models that will account for concept drifts and ensure more accurate recommendations. However, in spite of the several research efforts on the DRSs, only a few secondary studies were carried out in this field. Therefore, this study aims to provide a systematic literature review (SLR) of the DRSs models that can guide researchers and practitioners to better understand the issues and challenges in the field. To achieve the aim of this study, 87 papers were selected for the review out of 875 total papers retrieved between 2010 and 2019, after carefully applying the inclusion/exclusion and the quality assessment criteria. The results of the study show that concept drift is mostly applied in the multimedia domain, then followed by the e-commerce domain. Also, the results showed that time-dependent neighborhood models are the popularly used temporal models for DRS followed by the Time-dependent Matrix Factorization (TMF) and time-aware factors models, specifically Tensor models, respectively. In terms of evaluation strategy, offline metrics such as precision and recalls are the most commonly used approaches to evaluate the performance of DRS.
Analysis of Influence of the Welding Procedure on Impact Toughness of Welded Joints of the High-Strength Low-Alloyed Steels
Authors: Ilić Andreja , Miletić Ivan , Nikolić Ružica R. , Marjanović Vesna , Ulewicz Robert , Stojanović Blaža , Ivanović Lozica
Published: March 2020

This paper presents results of comparison of two welding procedures’ influence on selected properties of the welded joints of high-strength low-alloyed steel (HSLA), specifically the impact toughness and the hardness distribution in the specific zones of “single V” butt multiple-pass welded joints. Based on results obtained from experiments, the two applied welding technologies were evaluated. They differ by the welding grove geometry and by the applied root pass welding procedure. Both procedures use MAG (Metal Active Gas) welding for execution of the filling and covering passes, while the root passes are executed by the MMA (Manual Metal Arc) procedure in the first case and by the MIG (Metal Inert Gas) procedure in the second. Experimentally obtained values of the fracture energy of the welded samples for both procedures were smaller than the values for the parent metal, which confirms the fact that welding causes degradation of the mechanical properties of HSLA steel; thus, any welding technology parameters must be so selected to mitigate this deficiency.
Computational Characterization of Activities and Learners in a Learning System
Authors: Real-Fernández Alberto , Molina-Carmona Rafael , Llorens-Largo Faraón
Published: March 2020

For a technology-based learning system to be able to personalize its learning process, it must characterize the learners. This can be achieved by storing information about them in a feature vector. The aim of this research is to propose such a system. In our proposal, the students are characterized based on their activity in the system, so learning activities also need to be characterized. The vectors are data structures formed by numerical or categorical variables such as learning style, cognitive level, knowledge type or the history of the learner’s actions in the system. The learner’s feature vector is updated considering the results and the time of the activities performed by the learner. A use case is also presented to illustrate how variables can be used to achieve different effects on the learning of individuals through the use of instructional strategies. The most valuable contribution of this proposal is the fact that students are characterized based on their activity in the system, instead of on self-reporting. Another important contribution is the practical nature of the vectors that will allow them to be computed by an artificial intelligence algorithm.
Ultrasonic VHCF Tests on Very Large Specimens with Risk-Volume Up to 5000 mm3
Authors: Tridello Andrea , Paolino Davide Salvatore , Rossetto Massimo
Published: March 2020

The research on the size-effects in Very-High-Cycle Fatigue (VHCF) has recently drawn the attention of several scholars. The fatigue cracks in VHCF originate from the largest defect present within the loaded material volume (risk-volume) and the larger the risk-volume, the larger the probability of critical defects affecting the VHCF response (size-effect). Many models have been proposed in the literature to deal with size-effects in VHCF. However, the proposed models cannot be validated on full-scale components, since VHCF tests are typically carried out with ultrasonic fatigue testing machines. The authors have proposed a specimen geometry, the so-called Gaussian specimens, to enlarge as much as possible the risk-volume in ultrasonic VHCF tests. In this study, fully reversed tension–compression ultrasonic VHCF tests up to 109 cycles were carried out on AISI H13 steel Gaussian specimens with a risk-volume of 5000 mm3, two times larger than the largest tested in the literature. The stress distribution and the absence of bending loads were verified with strain gages, proving that VHCF tests on risk-volumes of 5000 mm3 can be reliably carried out. Ultrasonic VHCF tests were also carried out on small hourglass specimens, confirming that larger risk-volumes allow for a more reliable design against VHCF failures.
Development of Delpazolid for the Treatment of Tuberculosis
Authors: Cho Young Lag , Jang Jichan
Published: March 2020

A novel oxazolidinone with cyclic amidrazone, delpazolid (LCB01-0371), was synthesized by LegoChem BioSciences, Inc. (Daejeon, Korea). Delpazolid can improve the minimum bactericidal concentration of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv and significantly reduce resistance rates, especially of multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) isolates, compared with linezolid. Therefore, delpazolid can be used to treat MDR-TB. The safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of delpazolid have been evaluated in a phase 1 clinical trial, which revealed that it does not cause adverse events such as myelosuppression even after three weeks of repeated dosing. Interim efficacy and safety results, particularly those from a clinical phase 2a early bactericidal activity trial including patients with drug-susceptible tuberculosis, were reported and the findings will be further analyzed to guide phase 2a studies.
Efficient Melody Extraction Based on Extreme Learning Machine
Authors: Zhang Weiwei , Zhang Qiaoling , Bi Sheng , Fang Shaojun , Dai Jinliang
Published: March 2020

Melody extraction is an important task in music information retrieval community and it is unresolved due to the complex nature of real-world recordings. In this paper, the melody extraction problem is addressed in the extreme learning machine (ELM) framework. More specifically, the input musical signal is first pre-processed to mimic the human auditory system. The music features are then constructed by constant-Q transform (CQT), and the concentration strategy is introduced to make use of contextual information. Afterwards, the rough melody pitches are determined by ELM network, according to its pre-trained parameters. Finally, the rough melody pitches are fine-tuned by the spectral peaks around the frame-wise rough pitches. The proposed method can extract melody from polyphonic music efficiently and effectively, where pitch estimation and voicing detection are conducted jointly. Some experiments have been conducted based on three publicly available datasets. The experimental results reveal that the proposed method achieves higher overall accuracies with very fast speed.
A Direct Three-Phase AC–AC Matrix Converter-Based Wireless Power Transfer System for Electric Vehicles
Authors: Wang Rutian , Huang Min , Lu Chongyi , Wang Weiquan
Published: March 2020

For the bidirectional wireless power transfer system of electric vehicles, the topology proposed in this paper includes a direct three-phase AC–AC matrix converter as the pre-stage main circuit, a bilateral inductor–capacitor–capacitor–inductor (LCCL) as the resonance compensation network, and a full-bridge converter as the latter stage circuit. According to the characteristics of the system topology, a new control strategy is proposed based on the de-re-coupling method. The control principle of the coordination work of the scheme is expounded, and the corresponding switch combination logic is designed. According to the three-phase voltage amplitude relationship at different stages, combined with the resonant frequency, the switch arms of the matrix converter are alternately controlled separately. The number of switching operations is reduced, the system efficiency and safety are improved, and the full range of soft switching operations of the converter is realized. The theoretical analysis of the bilateral LCCL resonance compensation network is carried out, and its constant voltage/current output characteristic and high power factor transmission characteristic are obtained. Finally, the effectiveness and feasibility of the bidirectional wireless power transfer system for electric vehicles proposed in this paper are verified by simulation analysis.
A Unified Speech Enhancement System Based on Neural Beamforming With Parabolic Reflector
Authors: Zhang Tao , Geng Yanzhang , Sun Jianhong , Jiao Chen , Ding Biyun
Published: March 2020

This paper presents a unified speech enhancement system to remove both background noise and interfering speech in serious noise environments by jointly utilizing the parabolic reflector model and neural beamformer. First, the amplification property of paraboloid is discussed, which significantly improves the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) of a desired signal. Therefore, an appropriate paraboloid channel is analyzed and designed through the boundary element method. On the other hand, a time-frequency masking approach and a mask-based beamforming approach are discussed and incorporated in an enhancement system. It is worth noticing that signals provided by the paraboloid and the beamformer are exactly complementary. Finally, these signals are employed in a learning-based fusion framework to further improve the system performance in low SNR environments. Experiments demonstrate that our system is effective and robust in five different noisy conditions (speech interfered with factory, pink, destroyer engine, volvo, and babble noise), as well as in different noise levels. Compared with the original noisy speech, significant average objective metrics improvements are about Δ STOI = 0.28, Δ PESQ = 1.31, Δ fwSegSNR = 11.9.
Nanomaterials’ Influence on the Performance of Thermal Insulating Mortars—A Statistical Analysis
Authors: Pedroso Marco , Flores-Colen Inês , Silvestre José Dinis , Gomes Maria da Glória
Published: March 2020

This research provides a statistical analysis of the mechanical and physical properties of thermal insulating mortars developed in the laboratory and by the industry with and without the incorporation of nanomaterials. This was evaluated by carrying out a uni and bivariate analysis, principal components and factor analysis, cluster analysis, and the application of regression models. The results show that it is possible to find associations between these mortars’ properties, but also how these formulations’ development can be approached in the future to achieve better overall performance. They also show that the use of nanomaterials, namely silica aerogel, significantly improved the mortars’ thermal insulation capabilities, allowing us to obtain mortar formulations with thermal conductivities below the values presented by classic thermal insulating materials. Therefore, with this investigation, other researchers can support their product-development choices when incorporating nanomaterials to reduce mortars’ thermal conductivities, increasing their production efficiency, overall multifunctionality, and sustainability.
A Domain-Specific Generative Chatbot Trained from Little Data
Authors: Kapočiūtė-Dzikienė Jurgita
Published: March 2020

Accurate generative chatbots are usually trained on large datasets of question–answer pairs. Despite such datasets not existing for some languages, it does not reduce the need for companies to have chatbot technology in their websites. However, companies usually own small domain-specific datasets (at least in the form of an FAQ) about their products, services, or used technologies. In this research, we seek effective solutions to create generative seq2seq-based chatbots from very small data. Since experiments are carried out in English and morphologically complex Lithuanian languages, we have an opportunity to compare results for languages with very different characteristics. We experimentally explore three encoder–decoder LSTM-based approaches (simple LSTM, stacked LSTM, and BiLSTM), three word embedding types (one-hot encoding, fastText, and BERT embeddings), and five encoder–decoder architectures based on different encoder and decoder vectorization units. Furthermore, all offered approaches are applied to the pre-processed datasets with removed and separated punctuation. The experimental investigation revealed the advantages of the stacked LSTM and BiLSTM encoder architectures and BERT embedding vectorization (especially for the encoder). The best achieved BLUE on English/Lithuanian datasets with removed and separated punctuation was ~0.513/~0.505 and ~0.488/~0.439, respectively. Better results were achieved with the English language, because generating different inflection forms for the morphologically complex Lithuanian is a harder task. The BLUE scores fell into the range defining the quality of the generated answers as good or very good for both languages. This research was performed with very small datasets having little variety in covered topics, which makes this research not only more difficult, but also more interesting. Moreover, to our knowledge, it is the first attempt to train generative chatbots for a morphologically complex language.
A Comprehensive Report on Ultrasonic Attenuation of Engineering Materials, Including Metals, Ceramics, Polymers, Fiber-Reinforced Composites, Wood, and Rocks
Authors: Ono Kanji
Published: March 2020

In this paper, ultrasonic attenuation of engineering materials is evaluated comprehensively, covering metals, ceramics, polymers, fiber-reinforced composites, wood, and rocks. After verifying two reliable experimental methods, 336 measurements are conducted and their results are tabulated. Attenuation behavior is determined over broadband spectra, extending up to 15 MHz in low attenuating materials. The attenuation spectra are characterized in combination with four power law terms, with many showing linear frequency dependence, with or without Rayleigh scattering. Dislocation damping effects are re-evaluated and a new mechanism is proposed to explain some of the linear frequency dependencies. Additionally, quadratic and cubic dependencies due to Datta–Kinra scattering and Biwa scattering, respectively, are used for some materials to construct model relations. From many test results, some previously hidden behaviors emerged upon data evaluation. Effects of cold working, tempering, and annealing are complex and sometimes contradictory. Comparison to available literature was attempted for some, but most often prior data were unavailable. This collection of new attenuation data will be of value in materials selection and in designing structural health monitoring and non-destructive inspection protocols.
Agaricus bisporus By-Products as a Source of Chitin-Glucan Complex Enriched Dietary Fibre with Potential Bioactivity
Authors: Fraga Sara M. , Nunes Fernando M.
Published: March 2020

Mushroom production generates large amounts of by-products whose disposal creates environmental problems. The high abundance of biological active non-starch polysaccharides in mushroom cell walls makes these by-products attractive for dietary fiber-based ingredient (DFI) production. Traditional methods of dietary fiber preparation didn’t allow to obtain a DFI with suitable chemical and functional properties. In this work a simple and environmentally friendly method was developed and optimized for DFI production using a central composite design with treatment time, hydrogen peroxide and sodium hydroxide concentration as factors and chemical composition, chromatic and functional properties as dependent variables. The chemical composition of the DFI was strongly influenced by the process parameters and its functional and color properties were dependent on its fiber and protein content, respectively. The method developed is simple, uses food grade and low-cost reagents and procedures yielding a DFI with white color, no odor and a high concentration of dietary fiber (>60%) with an identical sugar composition to the original mushroom fiber. Due to the high water and oil retention capacity, this DFI may be used not only for dietary fiber enrichment and reduction of the food energy value but also as a functional ingredient with potential bioactivity.