bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Analysis of Entropy Generation in the Flow of Peristaltic Nanofluids in Channels With Compliant Walls
Authors: Abbas Munawwar , Bai Yanqin , Rashidi Mohammad , Bhatti Muhammad
Published: March 2016

Entropy generation during peristaltic flow of nanofluids in a non-uniform two dimensional channel with compliant walls has been studied. The mathematical modelling of the governing flow problem is obtained under the approximation of long wavelength and zero Reynolds number (creeping flow regime). The resulting non-linear partial differential equations are solved with the help of a perturbation method. The analytic and numerical results of different parameters are demonstrated mathematically and graphically. The present analysis provides a theoretical model to estimate the characteristics of several Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluid flows, such as peristaltic transport of blood.
A Study on Development of a Cost Optimal and Energy Saving Building Model: Focused on Industrial Building
Authors: Kim Hye , Kang Hae
Published: March 2016

This study suggests an optimization method for the life cycle cost (LCC) in an economic feasibility analysis when applying energy saving techniques in the early design stage of a building. Literature and previous studies were reviewed to select appropriate optimization and LCC analysis techniques. The energy simulation (Energy Plus) and computational program (MATLAB) were linked to provide an automated optimization process. From the results, it is suggested that this process could outline the cost optimization model with which it is possible to minimize the LCC. To aid in understanding the model, a case study on an industrial building was performed to outline the operations of the cost optimization model including energy savings. An energy optimization model was also presented to illustrate the need for the cost optimization model.
Predictive Control Applied to a Solar Desalination Plant Connected to a Greenhouse with Daily Variation of Irrigation Water Demand
Authors: Roca Lidia , Sánchez Jorge , Rodríguez Francisco , Bonilla Javier , De la Calle Alberto , Berenguel Manuel
Published: March 2016

The water deficit in the Mediterranean area is a known matter severely affecting agriculture. One way to avoid the aquifers’ exploitation is to supply water to crops by using thermal desalination processes. Moreover, in order to guarantee long-term sustainability, the required thermal energy for the desalination process can be provided by solar energy. This paper shows simulations for a case study in which a solar multi-effect distillation plant produces water for irrigation purposes. Detailed models of the involved systems are the base of a predictive controller to operate the desalination plant and fulfil the water demanded by the crops.
A Cross Section Study to Determine the Prevalence of Antibodies against HIV Infection among Hepatitis B and C Infected Individuals
Authors: Flores Geane , De Almeida Adilson , Miguel Juliana , Cruz Helena , Portilho Moyra , De P. Scalioni Letícia , Marques Vanessa , Lewis-Ximenez Lia , Lampe Elisabeth , Melo Villar Livia
Published: March 2016

(1) Background: There are limited data regarding human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevalence among hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) infected individuals. The aim of this cross-sectional study is to determine the prevalence of HBV and HCV infection among HIV individuals; (2) Methods: A total of 409 patients (126 HBV+ and 283 HCV+) referred to the Brazilian Reference Laboratory for Viral Hepatitis from 2010 to 2013 donated serum samples. Anti-HIV, HBsAg, anti-HBc, anti-HBs, anti-HBcIgM, anti-HBe, HBeAg, and anti-HCV antibodies were measured, and anti-HCV positive samples were tested for viral RNA and genotype; (3) Results: The anti-HIV antibody prevalence was 10.31% and 4.59% among HBV+ and HCV+ patients, respectively. The HCV mean (SD) viral load was log 5.14 ± 1.64 IU/mL, and genotype I was most prevalent (163/283). Anti-HBs and anti-HBc were detected in 40% and 26% of HCV+ individuals, respectively. Among the HBV+ population, the presence of anti-HIV antibodies was associated with male gender, marital status (married), tattoo, sexual orientation, sexual practices (oral sex and anal sex), history of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), history of viral hepatitis treatment, and a sexual partner with hepatitis or HIV. For the HCV+ group, the presence of anti-HIV antibodies was associated with female gender, marital status (married), anal intercourse, previous history of STDs, and number of sexual partners; (4) Conclusion: A high prevalence of anti-HIV antibodies was found among individuals with HBV and HCV, showing the importance of education programmes towards HIV infection among HBV- and HCV-infected individuals.
The Inflammation Response to DEHP through PPARγ in Endometrial Cells
Authors: Huang Qiansheng , Zhang Huanteng , Chen Ya-Jie , Chi Yu-Lang , Dong Sijun
Published: March 2016

Epidemiological studies have shown the possible link between phthalates and endometrium-related gynecological diseases, however the molecular mechanism(s) behind this is/are still unclear. In the study, both primary cultured endometrial cells and an endometrial adenocarcinoma cell line (Ishikawa) were recruited to investigate the effects of di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) at human-relevant concentrations. The results showed that DEHP did not affect the viability of either type of cell, which showed different responses to inflammation. Primary cultured cells showed stronger inflammatory reactions than the Ishikawa cell line. The expression of inflammatory factors was induced both at the mRNA and protein levels, however the inflammation did not induce the progress of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) as the protein levels of EMT markers were not affected after exposure to either cell type. Further study showed that the mRNA levels of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) wereup-regulated after exposure. In all, our study showed that human-relevant concentrations of DEHP could elicit the inflammatory response in primary cultured endometrial cells rather than in Ishikawa cell line. PPARγ may act as the mediating receptor in the inflammation reaction.
Towards an Automatic Ice Navigation Support System in the Arctic Sea
Authors: Liu Xintao , Sattar Shahram , Li Songnian
Published: March 2016

Conventional ice navigation in the sea is manually operated by well-trained navigators, whose experiences are heavily relied upon to guarantee the ship’s safety. Despite the increasingly available ice data and information, little has been done to develop an automatic ice navigation support system to better guide ships in the sea. In this study, using the vector-formatted ice data and navigation codes in northern regions, we calculate ice numeral and divide sea area into two parts: continuous navigable area and the counterpart numerous separate unnavigable area. We generate Voronoi Diagrams for the obstacle areas and build a road network-like graph for connections in the sea. Based on such a network, we design and develop a geographic information system (GIS) package to automatically compute the safest-and-shortest routes for different types of ships between origin and destination (OD) pairs. A visibility tool, Isovist, is also implemented to help automatically identify safe navigable areas in emergency situations. The developed GIS package is shared online as an open source project called NavSpace, available for validation and extension, e.g., indoor navigation service. This work would promote the development of ice navigation support system and potentially enhance the safety of ice navigation in the Arctic sea.
Localization and Spectroscopic Analysis of the Cu(I) Binding Site in Wheat Metallothionein Ec-1
Authors: Tarasava Katsiaryna , Loebus Jens , Freisinger Eva
Published: March 2016

The early cysteine-labeled metallothionein (MT) from Triticum aestivum (common wheat), denoted Ec-1, features two structurally well-defined domains, γ and βE, coordinating two and four Zn(II) ions, respectively. While the protein is currently assumed to function mainly in zinc homeostasis, a low amount of copper ions was also recently detected in a native Ec-1 sample. To evaluate the observed copper binding in more detail, the recombinant Zn6Ec-1 form was exposed to different amounts of Cu(I) ions and the resulting species characterized with spectroscopic methods. Data reveal that the first Cu(I) equivalent coordinates exclusively to the N-terminal γ-domain of the protein and replaces one Zn(II) ion. To analyze the ability of the γ-domain for coordination of monovalent metal ions in more detail, the γ-Ec-1 peptide fragment was incubated with increasing amounts of Cu(I) and the process monitored with UV–VIS, circular dichroism, and luminescence spectroscopy. Closely similar spectra are observed regardless if the apo- or the metal ion-loaded and, hence, pre-folded forms, were used for the titration experiments with Cu(I). The results indicate that low amounts of Cu(I) ions displace the two metal ions subsequently and stoichiometrically, despite the different coordination geometry requirements of Cu(I) and Zn(II).
Carbapenems to Treat Multidrug and Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis: A Systematic Review
Authors: Sotgiu Giovanni , D’Ambrosio Lia , Centis Rosella , Tiberi Simon , Esposito Susanna , Dore Simone , Spanevello Antonio , Migliori Giovanni
Published: March 2016

Background: Carbapenems (ertapenem, imipenem, meropenem) are used to treat multidrug-resistant (MDR-) and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB), even if the published evidence is limited, particularly when it is otherwise difficult to identify the recommended four active drugs to be included in the regimen. No systematic review to date has ever evaluated the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of carbapenems. Methods: A search of peer-reviewed, scientific evidence was carried out, aimed at evaluating the efficacy/effectiveness, safety, and tolerability of carbapenem-containing regimens in individuals with pulmonary/extra-pulmonary disease which was bacteriologically confirmed as M/XDR-TB. We used PubMed to identify relevant full-text, English manuscripts up to the 20 December 2015, excluding editorials and reviews. Results: Seven out of 160 studies satisfied the inclusion criteria: two on ertapenem, one on imipenem, and four on meropenem, all published between 2005 and 2016. Of seven studies, six were retrospective, four were performed in a single center, two enrolled children, two had a control group, and six reported a proportion of XDR-TB cases higher than 20%. Treatment success was higher than 57% in five studies with culture conversion rates between 60% and 94.8%. Conclusions: The safety and tolerability is very good, with the proportion of adverse events attributable to carbapenems below 15%.
Extracellular Vesicles: A New Frontier in Biomarker Discovery for Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
Authors: Ban Linda , Shackel Nicholas , McLennan Susan
Published: March 2016

In recent years, the global burden of obesity and diabetes has seen a parallel rise in other metabolic complications, such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This condition, once thought to be a benign accumulation of hepatic fat, is now recognized as a serious and prevalent disorder that is conducive to inflammation and fibrosis. Despite the rising incidence of NAFLD, there is currently no reliable method for its diagnosis or staging besides the highly invasive tissue biopsy. This limitation has resulted in the study of novel circulating markers as potential candidates, one of the most popular being extracellular vesicles (EVs). These submicron membrane-bound structures are secreted from stressed and activated cells, or are formed during apoptosis, and are known to be involved in intercellular communication. The cargo of EVs depends upon the parent cell and has been shown to be changed in disease, as is their abundance in the circulation. The role of EVs in immunity and epigenetic regulation is widely attested, and studies showing a correlation with disease severity have made these structures a favorable target for diagnostic as well as therapeutic purposes. This review will highlight the research that is available on EVs in the context of NAFLD, the current limitations, and projections for their future utility in a clinical setting.
New Method of Randomized Forecasting Using Entropy-Robust Estimation: Application to the World Population Prediction
Authors: Popkov Yuri , Dubnov Yuri , Popkov Alexey
Published: March 2016

We propose a new method of randomized forecasting (RF-method), which operates with models described by systems of linear ordinary differential equations with random parameters. The RF-method is based on entropy-robust estimation of the probability density functions (PDFs) of model parameters and measurement noises. The entropy-optimal estimator uses a limited amount of data. The method of randomized forecasting is applied to World population prediction. Ensembles of entropy-optimal prognostic trajectories of World population and their probability characteristics are generated. We show potential preferences of the proposed method in comparison with existing methods.
Anti-Diabetic Activities of Gastrodia elata Blume Water Extracts Are Mediated Mainly by Potentiating Glucose-Stimulated Insulin Secretion and Increasing β-Cell Mass in Non-Obese Type 2 Diabetic Animals
Authors: Yang Hye , Kim Min , Kwon Dae , Kim Da , Lee Young , Kim Ji , Park Sunmin
Published: March 2016

The brain is an important modulator of glucose metabolism, and is known to respond Gastrodia elata Blume water extract (GEB). Therefore, we examined whether long-term administration of GEB has hypoglycemic activity, and its action mechanism was explored in partially-pancreatectomized rats that exhibit similar characteristics as Asian type 2 diabetes, non-obese insulin-insufficient diabetes. The rats were provided high-fat diets supplemented with either of (1) 0.5% GEB (GEB-L), (2) 2% GEB (GEB-H), (3) 2% dextrin (control), or (4) 2% dextrin with rosiglitazone (20 mg/kg body weight; positive-control) for eight weeks. GEB dose-dependently improved hypothalamic insulin signaling, enhanced whole-body insulin sensitivity during hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp, and reduced hepatic glucose output in a hyperinsulinemic state. GEB dose-dependently increased the area under the curve of the serum insulin levels at the first and second phases during hyperglycemic clamp compared to the control, whereas the positive control had no effect. Insulin sensitivity during the hyperglycemic state also improved, dose-dependently, in response to GEB compared with that of the control, but was less than the positive control. GEB-H increased the mass of β-cells by potentiating proliferation and decreasing apoptosis. In conclusion, GEB could be a therapeutic agent for treating Asian type 2 diabetes.
Altered Skeletal Muscle Fatty Acid Handling in Subjects with Impaired Glucose Tolerance as Compared to Impaired Fasting Glucose
Authors: Goossens Gijs , Moors Chantalle , Jocken Johan , Van der Zijl Nynke , Jans Anneke , Konings Ellen , Diamant Michaela , Blaak Ellen
Published: March 2016

Altered skeletal muscle fatty acid (FA) metabolism contributes to insulin resistance. Here, we compared skeletal muscle FA handling between subjects with impaired fasting glucose (IFG; n = 12 (7 males)) and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT; n = 14 (7 males)) by measuring arterio-venous concentration differences across forearm muscle. [2H2]-palmitate was infused intravenously, labeling circulating endogenous triacylglycerol (TAG) and free fatty acids (FFA), whereas [U-13C]-palmitate was incorporated in a high-fat mixed-meal, labeling chylomicron-TAG. Skeletal muscle biopsies were taken to determine muscle TAG, diacylglycerol (DAG), FFA, and phospholipid content, their fractional synthetic rate (FSR) and degree of saturation, and gene expression. Insulin sensitivity was assessed using a hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp. Net skeletal muscle glucose uptake was lower (p = 0.018) and peripheral insulin sensitivity tended to be reduced (p = 0.064) in IGT as compared to IFG subjects. Furthermore, IGT showed higher skeletal muscle extraction of VLDL-TAG (p = 0.043), higher muscle TAG content (p = 0.025), higher saturation of FFA (p = 0.004), lower saturation of TAG (p = 0.017) and a tendency towards a lower TAG FSR (p = 0.073) and a lower saturation of DAG (p = 0.059) versus IFG individuals. Muscle oxidative gene expression was lower in IGT subjects. In conclusion, increased liver-derived TAG extraction and reduced lipid turnover of saturated FA, rather than DAG content, in skeletal muscle accompany the more pronounced insulin resistance in IGT versus IFG subjects.
Effect of Drought on Herbivore-Induced Plant Gene Expression: Population Comparison for Range Limit Inferences
Authors: Gill Gunbharpur , Haugen Riston , Matzner Steven , Barakat Abdelali , Siemens David
Published: March 2016

Low elevation “trailing edge” range margin populations typically face increases in both abiotic and biotic stressors that may contribute to range limit development. We hypothesize that selection may act on ABA and JA signaling pathways for more stable expression needed for range expansion, but that antagonistic crosstalk prevents their simultaneous co-option. To test this hypothesis, we compared high and low elevation populations of Boechera stricta that have diverged with respect to constitutive levels of glucosinolate defenses and root:shoot ratios; neither population has high levels of both traits. If constraints imposed by antagonistic signaling underlie this divergence, one would predict that high constitutive levels of traits would coincide with lower plasticity. To test this prediction, we compared the genetically diverged populations in a double challenge drought-herbivory growth chamber experiment. Although a glucosinolate defense response to the generalist insect herbivore Spodoptera exigua was attenuated under drought conditions, the plastic defense response did not differ significantly between populations. Similarly, although several potential drought tolerance traits were measured, only stomatal aperture behavior, as measured by carbon isotope ratios, was less plastic as predicted in the high elevation population. However, RNAseq results on a small subset of plants indicated differential expression of relevant genes between populations as predicted. We suggest that the ambiguity in our results stems from a weaker link between the pathways and the functional traits compared to transcripts.
Vision-Based Steering Control, Speed Assistance and Localization for Inner-City Vehicles
Authors: Olivares-Mendez Miguel , Sanchez-Lopez Jose , Jimenez Felipe , Campoy Pascual , Sajadi-Alamdari Seyed , Voos Holger
Published: March 2016

Autonomous route following with road vehicles has gained popularity in the last few decades. In order to provide highly automated driver assistance systems, different types and combinations of sensors have been presented in the literature. However, most of these approaches apply quite sophisticated and expensive sensors, and hence, the development of a cost-efficient solution still remains a challenging problem. This work proposes the use of a single monocular camera sensor for an automatic steering control, speed assistance for the driver and localization of the vehicle on a road. Herein, we assume that the vehicle is mainly traveling along a predefined path, such as in public transport. A computer vision approach is presented to detect a line painted on the road, which defines the path to follow. Visual markers with a special design painted on the road provide information to localize the vehicle and to assist in its speed control. Furthermore, a vision-based control system, which keeps the vehicle on the predefined path under inner-city speed constraints, is also presented. Real driving tests with a commercial car on a closed circuit finally prove the applicability of the derived approach. In these tests, the car reached a maximum speed of 48 km/h and successfully traveled a distance of 7 km without the intervention of a human driver and any interruption.
Development of a CMOS Route for Electron Pumps to Be Used in Quantum Metrology
Authors: Barraud Sylvain , Lavieville Romain , Hutin Louis , Bohuslavskyi Heorhii , Vinet Maud , Corna Andrea , Clapera Paul , Sanquer Marc , Jehl Xavier
Published: March 2016

The definition of the ampere will change in the next few years. This electrical base unit of the S.I. will be redefined by fixing the value of the charge quantum, i.e., the electron charge e. As a result electron pumps will become the natural device for the mise en pratique of this new ampere. In the last years semiconductor electron pumps have emerged as the most advanced systems, both in terms of speed and precision. Another figure of merit for a metrological device would be its ability to be predictible and shared. For that reason a mature fabrication process would certainly be an advantage. In this article we present electron pumps made within a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) research facility on 300 mm silicon-on-insulator wafers, using advanced microelectronics tools and processes. We give an overview of the whole integration scheme and emphasize the fabrication steps which differ from the normal CMOS route.
Investigating the public’s use of Scotland’s primary care telephone advice service (NHS 24): a population-based cross-sectional study
Authors: McAteer Anne , Hannaford Philip C , Heaney David , Ritchie Lewis D , Elliott Alison M
Published: March 2016

Background

There has been no comprehensive examination of the public’s understanding of, and attitudes towards, NHS 24.

Aim

To investigate the public’s use of NHS 24 and explore their understanding of, and beliefs about, the service.

Design and setting

Population-based cross-sectional study of adults in Scotland.

Method

Quantitative data were collected by self-completion postal questionnaire and qualitative data by follow-up telephone interviews.

Results

A corrected response rate of 34.1% (n= 1190) was obtained. More than half (51.0%,n= 601) of responders had used NHS 24. Callers were more likely to be female, have at least one child, and be aged 25–34 years. Most calls (92.4%,n= 549) were made out of hours, and 54.6% (n= 327) were made on behalf of someone else. The main reason for calling was to get advice about a new symptom (69.0%,n= 414). A total of 38.6% (n= 219) of users contacted another health professional following their call, mostly on NHS 24 advice (71.7%,n= 157). Over 80.0% (n= 449) of callers were satisfied with the service and 93.9% (n= 539) would use it again.

Only 8.4% (n= 78) of responders had used the NHS 24 website and 4.6% (n= 53) the NHS inform service. The main reasons for non-use were not needing the service, a preference to see their own GP, and not knowing the telephone number. NHS 24 was mainly viewed as an out-of-hours alternative to the GP. It was not considered an appropriate service for minor symptoms. The main facilitator to use was convenience, whereas the main barrier to use was not knowing how and when to use the service.

Conclusion

Although most people who used NHS 24 were satisfied, others were unclear about how and when to use the service. Further education about the full range of services that NHS 24 offers should be considered.
Subir et utiliser les institutions : les réseaux de migrants dans l'Europe moderne.
Authors: Fontaine Laurence
Published: March 2016

Instellingen ondergaan of gebruiken : de migrantennetten in het moderne Europa.

De organisatie van grote marktgebieden voor marskrameraktiviteit vloeit voort uit de aanwezigheid van grote groepen verwanten uit het land van herkomst en het opzetten van een fijnmazig produktiegebied via de handarbeid in de dorpen. Om een distributiesysteem te kunnen opzetten moet men in de stad wonen en dus de politieke hindernis van het burgerrecht nemen, soms naast die van het gildesysteem. Deze voorwaarden van politieke, ekonomische en demografische aard, waaraan de marskramers moeten voldoen, verklaren voor een deel de evolutie van hun netwerken. In onze studie wordt getoond hoe de migranten soms, al naar gelang de tijd en de plaats, de reglementen en instellingen ontstaan uit de schok tussen de belangen van prinsen en sédentaire bevolkingsgroepen en handelaars hebben ondergaan en gebruikt.
De novo Transcriptome Assembly and Dynamic Spatial Gene Expression Analysis in Red Clover
Authors: Chakrabarti Manohar , Dinkins Randy D. , Hunt Arthur G.
Published: March 2016

Red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) is a cool‐season forage legume grown throughout the northeastern United States and is the most widely planted forage legume after alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.). Red clover provides high‐value feed to the livestock because of high protein content and easy digestibility. To date, genomic resources for red clover are scarce. In the current study, a de novo transcriptome assembly of red clover was constructed representing different tissue types. The draft assembly consists of 37,565 contigs with N50 and average contig length of 1707 and 1262 bp, respectively. A comparative study with three other legume species displayed a high degree of sequence conservation between red clover and other legumes. The assembled transcriptome was annotated to allow identification of desirable genes. In particular, a genome‐wide identification of red clover transcripts encoding putative transcription factors was performed. A comparative gene expression analysis between different tissue types was performed using the assembled transcriptome as the reference, which revealed dynamic gene expression patterns across different tissue types and also identified spatially dynamic gene coexpression clusters. Genes representing tissue‐enriched clusters were subjected to gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis to identify over‐represented functional groups. Identification of these tissue‐enriched gene coexpression clusters can help in future research focusing on developmental studies across tissues or in biotechnological improvement of red clover.
Genome‐Wide Identification of the AP2/ERF Gene Family Involved in Active Constituent Biosynthesis in Salvia miltiorrhiza
Authors: Ji A. J. , Luo H. M. , Xu Z. C. , Zhang X. , Zhu Y. J. , Liao B. S. , Yao H. , Song J. Y. , Chen S. L.
Published: March 2016

Tanshinones and phenolic acids are the major bioactive constituents in the traditional medicinal crop Salvia miltiorrhiza; however, transcription factors (TFs) are seldom investigated with regard to their regulation of the biosynthesis of these compounds. Here a complete overview of the APETALA2/ethylene‐responsive factor (AP2/ERF) transcription factor family in S. miltiorrhiza is provided, including phylogeny, gene structure, conserved motifs, and gene expression profiles of different organs (root, stem, leaf, flower) and root tissues (periderm, phloem, xylem). In total, 170 AP2/ERF genes were identified and divided into five relatively conserved subfamilies, including AP2 (25 genes), DREB (61 genes), ethylene responsive factor (ERF; 79 genes), RAV (4 genes), and Soloist (1 gene). According to the distribution of bioactive constituents and the expression patterns of AP2/ERF genes in different organs and root tissues, the genes related to the biosynthesis of bioactive constituents were selected. On the basis of quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction (qRT‐PCR) analysis, coexpression analysis, and the prediction of cis‐regulatory elements in the promoters, we propose that two genes (Sm128 and Sm152) regulate tanshinone biosynthesis and two genes (Sm008 and Sm166) participate in controlling phenolic acid biosynthesis. The genes related to tanshinone biosynthesis belong to the ERF‐B3 subgroup. In contrast, the genes predicted to regulate phenolic acid biosynthesis belong to the ERF‐B1 and ERF‐B4 subgroups. These results provide a foundation for future functional characterization of AP2/ERF genes to enhance the biosynthesis of the bioactive compounds of S. miltiorrhiza.
QUIET-TIME SUPRATHERMAL (∼0.1–1.5 keV) ELECTRONS IN THE SOLAR WIND
Authors: Tao Jiawei , Wang Linghua , Zong Qiugang , Li Gang , Salem Chadi S. , Wimmer-Schweingruber Robert F. , He Jiansen , Tu Chuanyi , Bale Stuart D.
Published: March 2016

We present a statistical survey of the energy spectrum of solar wind suprathermal (∼0.1–1.5 keV) electrons measured by the WIND 3DP instrument at 1 AU during quiet times at the minimum and maximum of solar cycles 23 and 24. After separating (beaming) strahl electrons from (isotropic) halo electrons according to their different behaviors in the angular distribution, we fit the observed energy spectrum of both strahl and halo electrons at ∼0.1–1.5 keV to a Kappa distribution function with an index κ and effective temperature T
eff. We also calculate the number density n and average energy E
avg of strahl and halo electrons by integrating the electron measurements between ∼0.1 and 1.5 keV. We find a strong positive correlation between κ and T
eff for both strahl and halo electrons, and a strong positive correlation between the strahl n and halo n, likely reflecting the nature of the generation of these suprathermal electrons. In both solar cycles, κ is larger at solar minimum than at solar maximum for both strahl and halo electrons. The halo κ is generally smaller than the strahl κ (except during the solar minimum of cycle 23). The strahl n is larger at solar maximum, but the halo n shows no difference between solar minimum and maximum. Both the strahl n and halo n have no clear association with the solar wind core population, but the density ratio between the strahl and halo roughly anti-correlates (correlates) with the solar wind density (velocity).
Community organizing : généalogie, modèles et circulation d’une pratique émancipatrice
Authors: Talpin Julien , Balazard Hélène
Published: March 2016

Le community organizing cherche à mobiliser un public large et diversifié pour obtenir des changements sur des enjeux tels le logement, les salaires, l’emploi, la sécurité ou l’exclusion politique. En France, comme dans de nombreux pays, on observe un intérêt grandissant pour cette forme d’organisation de la société civile. Cet attrait se traduit notamment par une grande diversité de démarches se référant plus ou moins directement au community organizing . Cet article propose un panorama et une grille de lecture de ces différentes pratiques. Il revient sur la généalogie, les différents modèles et les enjeux de la diffusion de cette approche visant l’émancipation des classes populaires.
Expériences de community organizing en France
Authors: Carrel Marion , de Lépinay Adeline
Published: March 2016

Le community organizing est une source d’inspiration pour certain.es militant.es. En amont de la table ronde de ce numéro, et à partir de courts entretiens réalisés avec ses participant.es, nous esquissons ici le portrait de trois organisations françaises qui s’inspirent de cette tradition : l’Alliance Citoyenne de Grenoble, Zonzon 93 et Studio Praxis.
L’organisation communautaire : une nouvelle approche du travail social ?
Authors: Jouffe Yves
Published: March 2016

Une expérience d’organisation communautaire a vu le jour en janvier 2014 dans les quartiers rennais : Si on s’alliait ? (SOSA). Cinq organisatrices et organisateurs s’y inspirent de la démarche de l’Alliance citoyenne de Grenoble. Deux d’entre elles décrivent ici quelques ficelles du métier d’organisateur. Des affinités mais aussi des tensions existent entre community organizing, éducation populaire et un travail social jugé trop paternaliste. Les formes de mobilisation expérimentées à Rennes par SOSA, aussi éprouvantes soient-elles, apparaissent comme de réels vecteurs de transformation sociale.
Experts en mobilisation des pauvres ?
Authors: Petitjean Clément
Published: March 2016

Si les pratiques militantes du community organizing font l’objet de plus en plus d’analyses empiriques, la question de la professionnalisation de cette forme de militantisme est souvent peu abordée. On se focalise sur la cause, laissant ainsi dans l’ombre les entrepreneurs de cause. Or l’appréhension des dynamiques de professionnalisation du community organizing et de la constitution d’un groupe de professionnels de la mobilisation des classes populaires apparaît nécessaire pour penser les modalités d’action collective des dominés et la lutte contre la dépossession politique.
Faire « avec » les habitants. « Pouvoir d’agir » et renouvellement des pratiques des centres sociaux
Authors: Coti Guillaume
Published: March 2016

Faire « pour » ou « avec » les habitants ? Cette question interroge certains militants et salariés des centres sociaux qui ne se contentent plus de la position de prestataire des politiques sociales à laquelle ils sont cantonnés. Guillaume Coti, ancien directeur d’un centre social parisien, nous livre ici un panorama des tensions dans lesquelles sont prises ces structures. À travers plusieurs exemples et son expérience il nous montre aussi comment les notions de « pouvoir d’agir », de «  community organizing  » viennent inspirer et renouveler les pratiques.
Les luttes émancipatrices à l’heure de l’État néo-managérial : l’exemple de VANDU
Authors: Purenne Anaïk
Published: March 2016

À travers l’exemple des mobilisations d’usagers de drogues à Vancouver, cette analyse montre comment le répertoire du community organizing peut accroître la capacité d’action collective des personnes les plus marginalisées et les aider à promouvoir des visées d’émancipation et de démocratisation. Les luttes en question ont contribué au développement d’un « mouvement de libération des utilisateurs de drogues » qui, par ses campagnes en faveur de l’ouverture du premier site légal d’injection supervisé en Amérique du Nord, deviendra en quelques années l’un des plus importants mouvements d’usagers de drogues. Mais cet exemple témoigne aussi de la difficulté de garder le cap sur ces visées quand la valorisation de l’autonomie et de la responsabilité individuelle s’impose comme un nouvel air du temps. À l’heure de l’action publique néo-managériale, une voie possible peut alors consister à prendre l’État au mot en retournant contre lui ses propres arguments.
Proxies in Practice: Calibration and Validation of Multiple Indices of Animal Abundance
Authors: Falcy Matthew R. , McCormick Joshua L. , Miller Shelly A.
Published: March 2016

The abundance of individuals in a population is a fundamental metric in basic and applied ecology, but sampling protocols yielding precise and unbiased estimates of abundance are often cost-prohibitive. Proxies of abundance are therefore common, but require calibration and validation. There are many ways to calibrate a proxy, and it is not obvious which will perform best. We used data from eight populations of Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha on the Oregon coast where multiple proxies of abundance were obtained contemporaneously with independent mark–recapture estimates. We combined multiple proxy values associated with a single level of abundance into a composite index and then calibrated the composite index to mark–recapture estimates using several different techniques. We tested our calibration methods using leave-one-out cross-validation and simulation. Our cross-validation analysis did not definitively identify a single best calibration technique for all populations, but we could identify consistently inferior approaches. The simulations suggested that incorporating the uncertainty associated with mark–recapture estimates into the calibration technique reduced precision and introduced bias when mark–recapture estimate uncertainty increased with point estimate values. Cross-validation techniques can be used to test multiple methods of calibrating multiple proxies to an estimate of abundance. Critical uncertainties with the application of calibrated proxies still exist, and cost-benefit analysis should be performed to help identify optimal monitoring designs.
Galactica, a Digital Planetarium for Immersive Virtual Reality Settings
Authors: Dias Miguel Sales , d'Alpuim Jorge , Caetano Pedro
Published: March 2016

The authors describe a new Digital Planetarium system and application (“Galactica”), for interactive visualization of astrophysical data and phenomena in immersive virtual reality (VR) settings, based in OpenSceneGraph (OSG). Galactica enables a visual and aural experience of a virtual space traveler, that can go anywhere in the Solar System and the Milky Way at any speed. The application was tested with an available dataset of such scenery, featuring 100 629 textured billboards representing stars and additional 104 328 polygons, representing constellations, orbits, planets and respective moons of the Solar System. The authors have computed the frame rate, GPU traverse time, Cull traverse time and Draw traverse time for three visualization conditions: (A) standard OSG view frustum culling technique; (B) view frustum culling with an octree organization of the scene; (C) view frustum culling with same organization of the scene and the occlusion culling algorithm. They have generally concluded that their acceleration techniques out-performs the standard OSG view frustum culling for the mentioned metrics, when around half or less than half of the dataset is in view of the virtual camera.
Space Boards
Authors: Shellshear Evan
Published: March 2016

This paper introduces a novel take on a well-known user interface that combines the advantages of a number of new technologies. In particular, it presents a new tangible interface with an interactive surrounding space. It demonstrates the technology in an exciting user case as a printed keyboard and hand-gesture based mouse that provides one with an easy-to-use text and virtual mouse input for situations where such a medium is difficult to use (e.g. virtual keyboards for tablets and smartphones) or non-existent (e.g. gaming consoles such as the Microsoft Kinect). It also examines other applications and design questions that arise from such an interface.
E-Government and Related Indices
Authors: Boyer-Wright Kathleen M. , Kottemann Jeffrey E.
Published: March 2016

The primary United Nations E-Government Index is a composite of three component indices: telecommunications infrastructure, human capital, and online e-government services, where the first two can be seen as enablers of the third. This study investigates the addition of a complementary component index for institutional efficacy, which is hypothesized to be another enabling factor. The institutional efficacy index is operationalized using existing measures gathered and made available by the World Bank. Statistical analysis shows that the institutional efficacy index is indeed a significant, additional predictor of online e-government services across nations. Following the presentation of basic results, qualitative analyses are undertaken to develop an assortment of generic national profiles. Preliminary analyses of changes over time are also presented using data from prior years, and directions for future research are outlined.
Understanding Technology Acceptance of Government Information Systems from Employees' Perspective
Authors: Dečman Mitja
Published: March 2016

The purpose of this paper is to test the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) in the government-to-government environment and determine the influence of different moderating factors of technology acceptance by government employees. By means of a thorough review of the literature in this area, the paper investigates the application of UTAUT through empirical research on the technology acceptance of the E-recovery system by government employees in different governmental organizations. The empirical data from 384 respondents revealed that performance expectancy and social influence determine employees' behavioral intention. Moreover, gender invariance was detected, but employees' age and experience difference was detected as a moderating factor of the model. The findings of the paper can help those involved in information system development, implementation, and use to take the right actions to achieve maximum adoption of the technology, especially if the use of the technology is mandatory for the users.
TemporalClassifier
Authors: Pradhan Rahul , Sharma Dilip Kumar
Published: March 2016

Users issuing query on search engine, expect results to more relevant to query topic rather than just the textual match with text in query. Studies conducted by few researchers shows that user want the search engine to understand the implicit intent of query rather than looking the textual match in hypertext structure of document or web page. In this paper the authors will be addressing queries that have any temporal intent and help the web search engines to classify them in certain categories. These classes or categories will help search engine to understand and cater the need of query. The authors will consider temporal expression (e.g. 1943) in document and categories them on the basis of temporal boundary of that query. Their experiment classifies the query and tries to suggest further course of action for search engines. Results shows that classifying the query to these classes will help user to reach his/her seeking information faster.
Utilization Pattern and Privacy Issues in the use of Health Records for Research Practice by Doctors
Authors: Omidoyin Eunice Olubunmi , Opeke Rosaline Oluremi , Osagbemi Gordon Kayode
Published: March 2016

Research is a fundamental activity in teaching hospitals, and medical doctors use information contained in health records for research. In this process, researchers are often confronted with privacy issues. It is however not clear the extent to which doctors paid attention to this privacy issues in their research. The purpose of this study was to establish the extent to which privacy principles were followed by medical doctors in federal teaching hospitals in Nigeria when using health records for research. Survey research design was adopted for this study with two-stage random sampling technique to select 60% of the federal teaching hospitals; and 60% of the medical doctors in the selected hospitals. Attention was paid to securing patients unused data; health records was used mostly to generate data to support application for grant. There was a joint positive significant relationship between the predictor variables (privacy and health records) and the criterion variable in research practice.
Is There Population with Tertiary Education in Romania Still Interested in Research?
Authors: Zaharia Radu Serban , Zaharia Marian , Alexandra Alecu
Published: March 2016

In the past 25 years, in Romania, the intensity of R & D activities has declined significantly in most industries. This trend was driven primarily by the lower attention of the government policies of governments after 1990, resulting in particularly low share of research spending in GDP. This had a double negative impact. On one side was affected material basis of research, while on the other side salary levels of researchers along with education and health, remained at very low levels. Based on these considerations the paper examines the evolution of percentage of researchers in total employment in correlation with factors as: the percentage of population with tertiary educational attainment level, the percentage of total intramural R&D expenditure in GDP, the percentage of R&D labour costs in GDP in Romania, compared to Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Hungary and Poland. Unfortunately, in what concerns us, the answer is negative.
Is green economy achievable through championing green growth? A local government experience from Zambia
Authors: Rodgers Phiri
Published: March 2016

The need to enhance environmental sustainability, sustainable development and growth that takes into account the well-being of the people and nature because of the increased production and consumption of goods and services is the major driver to the introduction of green economy in Zambia and countries in southern Africa. This article examines the extent to which local government in Zambia has embraced green growth and green economy and critically analyses the concept of green economy and green growth. This study is based on a review of planning and policy documents, a household questionnaire survey and interviews with various institutions, planners and rural development organisations. A number of policies implemented at the local government level were analysed and reflected upon irrespective of whether they contain the components of green growth and green economy and the extent to which they contribute to attaining green economy. The article argues that the need for economic diversification is important as far as green economy is concerned. The article recommends the need to invest in research and development in order to find more carbon-free economic activities. The conclusion is that local government is key to achieving green growth and green economy, because it is involved at all levels, from policy formulation to implementation.
Алгебры операторов Лакса и интегрируемые системы
Authors: Sheinman Oleg Karlovich
Published: March 2016

В предлагаемой статье представлены новый класс бесконечномерных алгебр Ли алгебро-геометрической природы, получивших название алгебр операторов Лакса, и связанный с ним подход к конечномерным интегрируемым системам со спектральным параметром на римановой поверхности, таким как системы Калоджеро-Мозера, Хитчина. В частности, указанный подход включает в себя (нескрученные) алгебры Каца-Муди и интегрируемые системы с рациональным спектральным параметром. В основу изложения положены довольно простые соображения об использовании градуировок полупростых алгебр Ли и их взаимодействия с теоремой Римана-Роха. С этих позиций доказаны как основные свойства алгебр операторов Лакса, так и основные факты теории интегрируемых систем рассматриваемого класса: существование и гамильтоновость коммутативных иерархий. В заключение дано приложение алгебр операторов Лакса к предквантованию конечномерных интегрируемых систем.
Библиография: 51 название.