bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Standardization of Optimal Level of Coconut Variants in Chocolates Based on Consumer Acceptance
Authors: Divya V. , Baskaran D , Gnanalaksshmi K. S.
Published: April 2017

A study was carried out to produce chocolates from coconut variants viz, coconut oil, coconut cream and coconut milk as a substitute for cocoa butter. The chocolate prepared with 40% cocoa butter was taken as control. The preliminary trials were conducted with different composition of ingredients for the optimization of the level of substitution of coconut variants. Cocoa butter substituted at the levels of 10 %, 20 % and 30 % by coconut oil, coconut cream and coconut milk respectively were optimized based on the consumer acceptance. The raw materials used in the fabrication of chocolate were subjected to analysed for Peroxide value (PV), Acid Value (AV) and Free Fatty Acid (FFA) content and were found to have desirable oxidative stability.
Icp-Ms Determination of Trace Metals in Drinking Water Sources in Jazan Area, Saudi Arabia
Authors: Albratty Mohamed , Arbab Ismail , Alhazmi Hassan , Attafi Ibraheem , Al-Rajab Abdul
Published: April 2017

Requisite reference facts about essential elements in treated and plastic bottled drinking water is usually mentioned on the products. However, more information is sometime crucial regarding trace elements in treated, bottled and other sources of drinking water such as tap water to evaluate their quality. This study is aimed to evaluate drinking water quality in the main governorates (Jazan, Sabya and Abu Arish) of Jazan province located in the South-Western region of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This is the first such study carried out in Jazan city so that the research team can come out with valuable recommendations in the issue. The research team has collected a sum of 68 water samples from different sources comprising hospitals (treated tap water), stations for drinking water treatment (large blue bottles of drinking water) and bottled drinking water (purchased from local markets). Using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), the concentrations of 20 elements were determined. The physiochemical parameters of water samples were measured. All parameters were within the recommended limits of the World Health Organization (WHO, 2011) and Gulf Cooperation Council Standardization Organization (GSO, 2008). Trace and major elements were found to be below the standard guideline values , except for uranium in some tap water samples. This preliminary study will significantly improve the awareness and knowledge among the society about the drinking water quality in Jazan area.
Optimization of Household Waste Collection Routes Using GIS: Case Study El Bousten district, commune of Sfax, Tunisia
Authors: Sallem Rim , Rouis Mohamed
Published: April 2017

This paper presents a method for optimizing the household waste collection system supported by Geographical Information System (GIS) tool for the sector 1of district El Bousten of Sfax commune, Tunisia. The ArcGIS Network Analyst based model is applied for the purpose of improving the collection process effectiveness, namely, the household collection bins’ reallocation along with the vehicles’ tour optimization procedure in terms of distance and time. Results indicated a reduction of 25, 83% in route and 21, 5 % in the time spent of collection along with fuel consumption savings. These findings show that GIS based model tends to exhibit significant improvements as to the collection and transportation system, therefore, to its economical and environmental costs.
Analysis of Long Term Temperature Trend for Madhya Pradesh, India (1901-2005)
Authors: Shukla Rituraj , Khare Deepak , Tiwari Priti , Mishra Prabhash , Gupta Sakshi
Published: April 2017

The paper examines the impact of climatic change on the mean temperature time series for Pre-monsoon (Mar-May), Monsoon (Jun-Sept), Post-monsoon (Oct-Nov), winter (Dec-Feb) and Annual (Jan-Dec) at 45 stations in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. Impact detection is accomplished by using the Mann-Kendall method to find out the monotonic trend and Sen’s slope is method is to identify the grandeur of trend for the period 1901 to 2005 (105 years). Prior to the trend analysis prominence of eloquent lag-1 serial correlation are eradicated from data by the pre-whitening method. In addition, shift year change has also been examined in the study using Pettitt’s test. From 45 stations, most of the station show symbolic hike trend at 5% significance level in the mean temperature time series for Madhya Pradesh region. During peak summer months the maximum temperature touches 40°C in the entire Madhya Pradesh. The magnitudes of annual increase in temperature in the majority of the stations are about 0.01°C.The analysis in the present study indicated that the change point year of the significant upward shift changes was 1963 for annual mean temperature time series, which can be very useful for water resources planners in the study area. The finding of the study provides more insights and inputs for the better understanding of regional temperature and shift behavior in the study area.
Study of Adsorption Phenomena by Using Almond Husk for Removal of Aqueous Dyes
Authors: Bhanuprakash M , Belagali S. L
Published: April 2017

Among air and soil, water pollution is considered as an important one. Deterioration of water resources by the addition of various pollutants leads to the major threat to water quality and use of water for domestic purpose which leads to unaesthetic. For the plants, animals and human beings dyes are considered as most hazardous among various water pollutants. The present paper describes the adsorption behaviour of adsorbent almond husk with respect to dyes of Crystal violet, Bromocresol green, Pararosaniline and Victoria blue was investigated. The batch method was used and parameters like pH, adsorbent dosage, contact time and initial and final concentration of dyes were studied. Adsorbent used to be effective, with total removal of all dyes of 90%, with higher percentage removal from bromocresol green 97.5%, Crystal violet 96.9%, Pararosaniline 95.6% and Victoria blue 95%. Almond husk was an effective adsorbent with maximum percentage removal of 97.5% bromocresol green. Adsorbent was analysed by the instrument of scanning electron microscopy and Fourier infrared spectroscopy. In the present study almond husk almond husk was studied as a very good adsorbent for the removal of dyes from the aqueous media. Isotherm model of Langmuir, Freundlich and Dubinin-Radushkevich were considered to be favourable.
Impacts of Coal mining: a Review of Methods and Parameters Used in India
Authors: Upgupta Sujata , Singh Prasoon
Published: April 2017

This review presents a systematic synthesis of the various methods and measures that have been used to investigate the effects of coal mining in India. A total of 87 peer-reviewed articles were collected for each year from 1970 to 2014 using a keyword based search. The articles compiled were analyzed and categorized according to the parameters addressed and the methodological approach adopted. Quantitative analyses were conducted to indicate the gap areas. Results indicate that research concerning air pollution, water pollution, land use pattern and environmental impacts are the best represented while soil, forest and human health are very poorly represented. Land cover change studies have experienced a rapid surge however studies on socio-economic and human health impacts are very few in number. Majority of the studies mostly used remote sensing and change detection techniques. For a genuine and thorough interpretation of coal mining impacts, it is quite important to understand the direct as well as the far-reaching environmental and social consequences of coal mining. This article identifies the areas that have been well documented and primarily it emphasizes the areas that require further research in the Indian scenario.
An Integrated Approach of Remote Sensing and Gis for Land Use and Land Cover Change Detection: A Case Study of Banjar River Watershed Of Madhya Pradesh, India
Authors: Tiwari Jagriti , Sharma S.K. , Patil R.J
Published: April 2017

Land use and land cover of a region is one of the prime concerns in current strategies for the evaluationof the watersheds and development of decision making policies. An uncertain increase in the population of the country along with the increasing demands has imposed an immense pressure on the land threatening the sustainability of the natural resources especially in the developing countries like India. The study was carried out to detect the land use and land cover changes observed in the Banjar River watershed lies in between Balaghat and Mandla districts of Madhya Pradesh, India using the multi spectral satellite dataset for two different years i.e. 2009 & 2013. The supervised classification was done in ERDAS IMAGINE software. The images of the study area was classified into seven classes namely, river, water body, waste land, habitation, forest, agriculture/other vegetation, open land/fallow land/barren land. The result indicates that during the last five years, forest, water body, waste land and open land/fallow land/barren has been increased by 2.26%, 0.55%, 0.23% and 0.48% respectively and the river, habitation and agriculture/other vegetation has been decreased by 0.26%, 0.04%, and 3.22% respectively. Accuracy assessment was also performed in this study to determine the quality of land use/cover map and overall accuracy was found 89.70% for 2009 and 91.91% for 2013.Present study emphasizes on digital change detection techniques for recognizing temporal changes in land use/land cover of the watershed. Outcomes of this study indicate need of implementing conservation and management practices for the socioeconomic development.
Representações sociais da saúde e doença mental: Um estudo qualitativo com Profissionais de Saúde Mental
Authors: Martins António , Sequeira Joana
Published: April 2017

Este trabalho pretende conhecer as representações sociais de Psiquiatras, Internos de Psiquiatria, Pedopsiquiatras e Psicólogos Clínicos sobre a saúde e doença mental. É um estudo qualitativo de carácter exploratório, pontuado epistemologicamente pelo construcionismo social e teoricamente pelo quadro das representações sociais. Participaram 30profissionais de saúde mental, tendo sido realizada uma entrevista semiestruturada que foi analisada quanto ao seu conteúdo – através do programa NVivo 10. Da análise dos resultados, salienta‑se que as representações dos profissionais quanto à conceptualização da doença mental são heterogéneas, destacando‑se conceções operacionais, etiológico‑explicativas e relativistas. A saúde mental é conceptualizada pelos profissionais de saúde em função da flexibilidade, adaptação e funcionalidade e do bem‑estar biopsicossocial dos indivíduos. Implicações do presente estudo para o quadro teórico das representações sociais da doença mental são consideradas.
A Experiência de Visita a Museus por Estudantes Universitários Portugueses de Artes, Humanidades e Ciências Sociais: Perceções, Motivações e Atitudes
Authors: Fróis João Pedro , Silva Carolina
Published: April 2017

Neste artigo apresentam-se os resultados de um inquérito por questionário sobre a prática de visitação, motivações e atitudes face aos museus, participado por 634 estudantes de Ciências Sociais, Humanidades e Artes de cinco universidades portuguesas. A visita de museus revelou-se uma prática com adesão positiva. Os visitantes mais assíduos são mais críticos, exigentes e orientados por motivações internas quando procuram os museus, revelando maior abertura e potencial de participação na vida dos museus. Os resultados indicam uma diferenciação no “uso” dos museus marcada pela formação académica dos inquiridos. Os estudantes de Artes são os respondentes que mais frequentam museus. São eles que revelam ter melhores expetativas sobre o seu futuro enquanto visitantes, atribuindo maior valor às aprendizagens realizadas em contexto museológico.
Avaliação Autêntica em Creche: Resultados Preliminares do Processo de Construção da Ferramenta “CRECHEndo”
Authors: Carvalho Cindy Mutschen , Portugal Gabriela
Published: April 2017

Este estudo assenta sobre os fundamentos teóricos da educação experiencial e parte da análise do contexto sociopolítico da creche em Portugal. O objeto de estudo é uma ferramenta de avaliação para o contexto de creche (CRECHEndo), direcionada a educadores de infância, tendo em vista a melhoria da qualidade das práticas educativas. Esta ferramenta, de natureza processual, serve de ponto de partida para a observação, reflexão e planificação curricular. Apresentam-se resultados preliminares de vários estudos de caso desenvolvidos em 2013/2014, partindo do acompanhamento da aplicação do CRECHEndo por educadores de duas creches portuguesas. Os resultados evidenciam tendências gerais na avaliação do bem-estar e implicação das crianças e temas dominantes naanálise dos fatores contextuais que afetam estas variáveis. Reconhecendo a ainda pouca profundidade dos resultados apresentados, estes primeiros dados apontam para o potencial do CRECHEndo enquanto ferramenta de apoio à reflexão e planificação dos educadores de infância a trabalhar em creche.
Stress and strain distributions in the human hand-arm system using finite element analysis
Authors: Adewusi Surajudeen , Thomas Marc
Published: April 2017

This study presents stress and strain distributions in the human hand-arm system exposed to vibrations using finite element (FE) models. Frequency weightings at shoulder, elbow, wrist and palm based on stress and strain distributions were proposed. The stress/strain-based frequency weightings around the shoulder and elbow are comparable with that reported in the International Organization for Standardization ISO 5349-1, Mechanical vibration and shock– Measurement and evaluation of human exposure to mechanical vibration – part 1: General requirements, 2001. However, stress/strain-based frequency weightings around the palm and wrist are different above 20 Hz from the weighting reported by the International Standard Organization.  This study suggests the need for different frequency weightings for the assessment of the potential injury of different components of the hand-arm vibration syndrome.
Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation in a Patient with Unicuspid Aortic Valve
Authors: Nascimbene Angelo , Loyalka Pranav , Gregoric Igor D. , Bellera Ricardo , Malahfji Maan , Petrovic Marija , Kar Biswajit
Published: April 2017

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) in patients with bicuspid aortic valves has been successfully performed, but there is a lack of published experience in percutaneous treatment of patients with unicuspid valves and severe aortic stenosis. We describe a case of TAVR in such a patient.

A 31-year-old woman with Turner syndrome—who had undergone coarctation repair via subclavian flap at age 7 days and an aortic valvotomy at age 6 weeks—presented with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis. She was deemed inoperable because of her severe pulmonary hypertension and numerous comorbidities; consequently, a 20-mm Edwards Sapien 3 Transcatheter Heart Valve was offered for compassionate use. Postdeployment angiography and transesophageal echocardiography and aortography revealed no aortic insufficiency.

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement for unicuspid aortic valve stenosis is technically feasible. Before implantation, particular attention should be paid to the interplay between the large single leaflet, coronary ostia, and stented valve, to select the correct size and position of the device. Some degree of intraoperative aortic migration should be anticipated.
Is Diabetes Mellitus a Risk Factor for Poor Outcomes after Left Ventricular Assist Device Placement?
Authors: Mohamedali Burhan , Yost Gardner , Bhat Geetha
Published: April 2017

Diabetes mellitus is associated with adverse outcomes in patients with cardiovascular diseases, including heart failure. Left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) are increasingly used as life-saving therapy for advanced heart failure. The effects of pre-LVAD diabetes on long-term outcomes after LVAD implantation are not well understood. In this study, we retrospectively evaluated the effect of existing diabetes on post-LVAD outcomes.

Data on 288 LVAD recipients from 2006 through 2013 were reviewed. Patients were stratified in accordance with their histories of diabetes. Baseline demographic, laboratory, hemodynamic, and echocardiographic information before LVAD placement were reviewed, together with the post-LVAD incidence of major adverse outcomes. Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression analysis were performed.

Our cohort comprised 122 patients with diabetes and 166 patients without. The mean glycosylated hemoglobin A1c level in the diabetes group was 7.4% ± 1.6%. Diabetic patients at baseline had a more adverse medical profile than did nondiabetic patients. There were no differences in major outcomes between the 2 groups other than a higher incidence of hemolysis in the diabetes group: 12 (10%) vs 5 (3%); P=0.02. There was no difference in survival outcomes between the groups.

Diabetic patients did not have worse survival or more adverse outcomes than did nondiabetic patients in this study, perhaps because of improved diabetes control, or improvement in biochemical derangements after normalization of cardiac output with LVAD therapy. A diagnosis of diabetes was an independent predictor of hemolysis. Further studies to evaluate the link between hemolysis and diabetes are indicated.
Repair of Intrapericardial Diaphragmatic Hernia during Aortic Surgery in a 78-Year-Old Woman
Authors: Spiliotopoulos Konstantinos , de la Cruz Kim I. , Gkotsis Georgios , Preventza Ourania , Coselli Joseph S.
Published: April 2017

Intrapericardial diaphragmatic hernias are reported very rarely. Those of congenital origin are most often diagnosed in neonates, and those caused by indirect blunt trauma occur chiefly in adults. The latter type can be asymptomatic; however, the results of a computed tomographic scan can yield a definitive diagnosis. Once discovered, these hernias should be corrected to avoid severe sequelae such as bowel strangulation and necrosis, peritonitis, mediastinitis, and cardiac tamponade.

We report the case of a 78-year-old woman who presented for elective ascending aortic aneurysm repair. Computed tomographic angiograms incidentally revealed a large intrapericardial diaphragmatic hernia, which had probably developed years earlier, after a traffic accident. The patient underwent a median sternotomy and repair of the intrapericardial diaphragmatic hernia with use of a bovine pericardial patch, followed by ascending aortic and hemiarch repair, aortic valve repair, and aorto–right coronary artery bypass grafting. We discuss the details of these procedures and alternative treatment options. To our knowledge, this is the first report of concomitant aortic surgery and repair of a trauma-induced intrapericardial diaphragmatic hernia in an adult.
Does Porcine Oocytes Maturation in Vitro is Regulated by Genes Involved in Transforming Growth Factor Beta Receptor Signaling Pathway?
Authors: Budna Joanna , Celichowski Piotr , Karimi Paresto , Kranc Wiesława , Bryja Artur , Ciesiółka Sylwia , Rybska Marta , Borys Sylwia , Jeseta Michal , Bukowska Dorota , Antosik Paweł , Brüssow Klaus P. , Bruska Małgorzata , Nowicki Michał , Zabel Maciej , Kempisty Bartosz
Published: April 2017

The oocyte growth and development in follicular environment are substantially accompanied by surrounding somatic cumulus (CCs) and granulosa cells (GCs). During these processes, the mammalian gametes reach full maturational stage and may be further successfully fertilized by single spermatozoon. These unique mechanisms are regulated by expression of clusters of genes and their biochemical signaling pathways.

In this article we described differential expression pattern of transforming growth factor beta (TGFB) gene superfamily in porcine oocytes before and after in vitro maturation (IVM).

We performed Affymetrix® microarray assays to investigate the TGFB-related genes expression profile in porcine immature oocytes and gametes cultured for 44h in vitro.

In results we found 419 different genes, 379 genes with lower expression, and 40 genes characterized by increased RNA profile. Moreover, significant up-regulation of 6 genes belonging to TGFB signaling pathway such as: TGFBR3, SMAD4, FOS, KLF10, ID1, MAP3K1 in immature porcine oocytes (before IVM), was also observed.

It may be suggested that genes involved in TGFB-related signaling pathway are substantially regulated before IVM. Furthermore, these genes may play a significant role during early stages of nuclear and/or cytoplasmic porcine oocytes maturation. The investigated transcripts may be also recommended as the markers of oocytes maturational capability in pigs.
Problems of Cancer Treatment. Part 2. Treatment Based on Modification of Anticancer Immunological Responses in Therapy
Authors: Kawiak Jerzy , Hoser Grazyna , Domagała-Kulawik Joanna
Published: April 2017

Here we present the concept of making own patient’s anti-cancer treatment more efficient and starting at testing the efficacy of immunological system. The respective tests are suggested, with special attention devoted to tumour-induced microenvironmental changes. The tumour should be considered to represent a complex tissue in which the cancer cells communicate directly and indirectly with the surrounding cellular immunological surrounding and develope traits that promote their own survival. The results of tests allow to propose a rational, individually profiled treatment of a patient, especially directed to elimination of blocks inhibiting the immunological system due to effects of cancer cells. The elimination can be implemented using commercially available antibodies, targeted at the cell surface receptors for inhibitors of T lymphocytes (CTLA-4 and PD-1). Outcome of the therapy is slow to appear and the results used to be selective. Some patients gain long term improvement and respective predictive markers are now tested. It is assumed that the future anti-cancer therapy will be individually targeted, based on individual tests and an assistance of own immunological system of the cancer patient.
Late Controlled Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus with Severe Acute Systemic Infection
Authors: Cristea Sorina Alina , Catrinoiu Doina , Craciun L. R.
Published: April 2017

Background: The last International Diabetes Federation statement showed that in 2015, there were 415 million people diagnosed with diabetes and the expectation for 2040 is around 642 million people all over the world. Diabetes Mellitus is a disease associated with major negative consequences due to its acute and chronic complications with chronic hyperglycemia playing a major role.

Method: We are presenting a case of 52 year old male patient, known with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus for 10 years without treatment due to personal decision, who was admitted through the Emergency Unit in Neurology Department for bilateral myalgia of hips and arms, proximal force deficiency of bilateral lower limbs, acute retention of urine, fever, simptomatology which started about 48 before admission. The suspected diagnosis was acute polyradiculoneuritis but the paraclinical investigations performed on Neurology Unit excluded it and evaluated the present disease as Acute Diabetic Neuropathy. Through the passing days, the patient developed paraplegia and major unbalanced glycemic control (although he received multiple rapid human subcutaneous insulin injection) so they’ve decided to transfer him into Diabetology Department. At the moment of admission into Diabetology Unit, the patient had high fever, superficial and deep sensitivity disorders, urethral catheter and no faeces for 7 days. We’ve continued our investigations and came with a positive diagnosis of Unballanced and Complicated Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus with insulin therapy, Parainfectious Acute Transverse Myelitis, Prostatic and Seminal Vesicles Abces with rectal fistula, Sepsis, Acute Retention of Urine, Urina Infection with Pseudomonas Aeruginosa.

Conclusion: The diagnosis of Unballanced Diabetes Mellitus involves differential diagnosis due to lack of specific simptomatology in Diabetic Neuropathy and associated immune deficiency.
Effects of Foreign Direct Investments on Serbian Exporters′ Profitability
Authors: Domanović Violeta , Jovanović Sandra Stojadinović
Published: April 2017

For Serbia the efforts to attract investments from abroad came to the fore with the beginning of transition process. The process of ownership transformation in Serbia most often implied foreign direct investment inflows, because it included participation of foreign investors in purchase of domestic companies that had been the subject of privatisation. The subject of research in the paper is Serbian experience in attracting foreign capital into local export companies with special emphasis on their profitability. Aim of the paper is to estimate the profitability of leading Serbian exporters financed by foreign direct investments, i.e. to determine whether and to what extent foreign direct investments contributed to the increase of return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE), as basic profitability measures. The results show that, in the case of Serbian exporters, the profitability varies, both per companies and per individual years. There is no general conclusion that foreign direct investments contributed to the ROA increase. On the contrary, ROA values significantly varied during this period. Either enormous increase or enormous decrease could be observed. The same goes for ROE values.
The First Steps Toward the Banking Union’s Implementation and Effects on the Eurozone Banking Sector
Authors: Kirova Silvia
Published: April 2017

The banking union in Europe was proposed in 2012 as one of the key measures to address the structural weaknesses of the Economic and Monetary Union. It was introduced at a time of a serious regulatory overhaul of the financial sector in all developed parts of the world. Now that its implementation has started with the launch of the Single Supervisory Mechanism and the start of the Single Resolution Mechanism it is time to review what is the state of play of the elements of the banking union and to analyse the effects of its implementation on the Eurozone banking sector. The paper looks at each one of the pillars of the banking union. Then the author analyses the current state of the Eurozone banking sector and tries to identify how the introduction of the banking union has influenced on the developments within that sector. The paper argues that the Eurozone’s banking sector has become more stable, better capitalised and its risks more controlled than in 2008 but this is at the expense of profitability. The Eurozone banking sector continues to exhibit a high level of non-performing loans. In part, this can be attributed to the banking union and the challenges it poses to the banking sector.
Fiscal Stress Analysis in the Republic of Serbia
Authors: Đurović-Todorović Jadranka , Đorđević Marina , Vuković Marija
Published: April 2017

The goal is to examine the level of fiscal stress in the Republic of Serbia and to investigate whetherit suggests a crisis of public debt. The empirical analysis of annual data has been done for the period 2007 to 2014, in two cases: (i) charging indicators of the vulnerability boundaries to the fiscal crisis using the signal approach (ii) an assessment of whether the public debt is reduced at a satisfactory pace by applying the criterion of the operationalisation of debt. The resulting composite indicator points to a crisis of public debt in the Republic of Serbia. The investigation of fiscal and macrofinancial variables showed that the public sector and private sector (macro-financial side) have over-consumption followed the process of the accumulation of the public debt. The outputs suggest that the level of the public debt in 2016 is above the benchmarks, which means that there is a violation of the operationalisation of the debt criterion in 2014.
Business Model Innovation: How to Create Value in a Digital World
Authors: Zott Christoph , Amit Raphael
Published: April 2017

It is not only products or services that are becoming obsolete but also organizational processes and systems because they simply no longer create enough value. To seamlessly account for the digitalization of the business and the customer side, new ideas are mandatory, and the whole business model is increasingly becoming the new source of innovation. A new, smartly designed business model can increase the total value created for all stakeholders, including customers, partners and suppliers.
The three design elements that characterize a company’s activity system are content, structure and governance. Changing one or more of these elements means changing the entire model, and if the new business model is “new to the world” and not just “new to the company” it can be considered real business model innovation. Content, structure and governance can be highly interdependent; they need to be in line with value creation and capture the goals of the company, such as its revenue model.
Heating Process Characteristics and Kinetics of Biomass at Different Oxygen Concentrations
Authors: Cheng Xingxing , Xu Yilan , Li Junge , Wang Zhiqiang , Ma Chunyuan
Published: April 2017

Mass transfer is very important for the combustion of biomass fuels, especially pellets. The oxygen diffusion, which results in a nonuniform distribution of oxygen in the pellets, should be considered in the modeling of pellet combustion. In this study, the effect of oxygen on thermal degradation of biomass is studied by thermogravimetric (TG) experiments and then a kinetic model considering oxygen effect is developed. The fuels investigated are spruce, sophora, wheat straw, and peanut straw. TG curves are taken under different oxygen concentrations, ranging from 0 to 20 %. Oxygen concentration has little effect on the devolatilization but is critical for the behavior of char combustion. Reaction mechanism is proposed based on the observation of decomposition at different reaction conditions. The kinetic model consists of three devolatilization reactions (for cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin) and one char combustion reaction. In the devolatilization steps, char and gas are formed as products and oxygen is not involved in the reactions. A power law dependence of oxygen is assumed for the char combustion stage. The model parameters are fitted by the experimental TG data and good agreement is observed between the experimental and modeled data at various oxygen concentrations and for different biomass fuels. It is expected that the developed kinetic model could be applied for the modeling of pellets combustion considering oxygen diffusion process.
The Regional Heterogeneity of Productivity Determinants: Evidence from Ukrainian Firms
Authors: Cieślik Andrzej , Michałek Jan Jakub , Nasadiuk Iryna
Published: April 2017

This paper studies the determinants of the total factor productivity (TFP) for Ukrainian firms in the manufacturing sector across macro-regions using recent micro-level datasets for 2013. Our empirical results show some degree of heterogeneity across Ukrainian macro-regions; in particular, the link between the total factor productivity, firm size, imports and the level of competition seems to be valid for all macro regions. However, the effects of private ownership status, capital intensity and exports seems to be region specific. In addition, we found no relationship between firm productivity and foreign ownership for any of the regions.
Matrix impact on the mechanical, thermal and electrical properties of microfluidized nanofibrillated cellulose composites
Authors: Poyraz Bayram , Tozluoğlu Ayhan , Candan Zeki , Demir Ahmet
Published: April 2017

This study reports on the effect of organic polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and silica matrix on the properties of cellulose-based nanocomposites. Nanofibrillated cellulose was isolated from kraft pulp and treated with Pulpzyme HC 2500 enzyme prior to high-pressure homogenization in order to lower energy consumption. Three nanocomposite films were fabricated via the casting process: nanofibrillated cellulose, nanocellulose-PVA (NC-PVA) and nanocellulose-silica (NC-Si). Chemical characterization and crystallization were determined with FTIR. Thermal stability was investigated with thermogravimetric analysis. Morphological alterations were monitored with scanning electron microscopy. A universal testing machine and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis were used for determination of Young’s and storage moduli. The real and imaginary parts of permittivity and electric modulus were evaluated using an impedance analyzer. Considerable alterations were seen under FTIR. Thermal stability was lower in NC-Si than in NC-PVA due to lower crystallinity. Higher Young’s modulus and storage moduli were observed in NC-PVA than in NC-Si. NC-PVA exhibited a singular relaxation process, while a double relaxation process was seen in NC-Si. Consequently, the nanocomposite film prepared from the organic matrix (NC-PVA) had a mechanical advantage for industrial applications. However, neat NC composite revealed the highest storage modulus and thermal stability.
The Risks of Interrogation with the Help of an Interpreter in the Criminal Procedure
Authors: Hati Csilla
Published: April 2017

During the criminal procedure, the process of verification includes the reconstruction of past events for the sake of establishing the statement of facts. When it comes to exploring the events in the past, great significance can be attributed to personal evidence. In order to prevent the influencing of the interrogated person, many provisions of guarantee had been established in the criminal procedure. In such an interrogatory situation, the most difficult practical problem is how to word the question so that the interrogation would aim at the exploration of the mind of the witness or accused, and at the helping of the recalling of the memories. During the criminal procedure however, interrogation with the assistance of an interpreter could also result in the communication of the statements of the accused or the witness about their perceptions and original knowledge with modified contents. Another significant factor at interpreter-assisted interrogations is to avoid the will of either the interrogator or the interpreter being projected on the interrogated person, as that would threaten with the witness, the accused, or the interrogated person giving a confession that is different form their original content of consciousness.
Using Memrise in Legal English Teaching
Authors: Łuczak Aleksandra
Published: April 2017

Memrise is an educational tool available both online and for mobile devices. Memrise uses flashcards and mnemonic techniques to aid in teaching foreign languages and memorizing information from other subjects, e.g. geography, law or mathematics. Memrise courses are created by its users through the process of crowdsourcing; therefore they are tailored to the individual needs of the users and may focus on the specific content of a particular coursebook or classes.

The paper will attempt to present possibilities of using memrise in teaching and learning legal English vocabulary during a tertiary course leading to TOLES (Test of Legal English Skills) certificate examination. The paper will look at various types of exercises which facilitate memorizing vocabulary, learning collocations, prepositional phrases, develop the skill of paraphrasing and defining legal terms of art in plain English. Application of the crowdsourcing method enables the learners to participate in the process of the course creation and constitutes for them a supplementary, out of class exposure to the target language.

The second part of the paper will discuss the results of the research conducted by the author among her law students. The aim of the research was to investigate the students′ opinions about memrise as a tool which might facilitate individual learning of the specialist language, as well as to assess whether memrise may influence the test results achieved by the students during the legal English course. The paper will contrastively analyse the progress tests results achieved by the students who have used memrise to revise and recycle language material and those who have chosen traditional (non-mobile) methods of learning. The research also attempted to address the question whether the students who had been the contributors to the content of memrise courses had performed better in tests than those who had only been the users.
Teaching Commercial Lawyers Language Aspects of Drafting Contracts in English
Authors: Stupnikova Lada V.
Published: April 2017

The article focuses on methods of teaching commercial lawyers, whose native language is not English, some linguistic aspects of drafting a contract in English. The author, whose principal occupation is teaching legal English, has created a Course on Language Aspects of English Contract for in-service lawyers. The course is aimed at teaching learners to understand and interpret English contracts written in traditional legal English (legalese) and help them develop some drafting and redrafting techniques taking into account the modern tendency growing in English speaking common law countries towards simplifying traditional legal English. A number of contracts written in different styles have been analysed, basic contract categories each characterised by certain operative words and phrases, have been established and terminology glossary have been compiled. The purpose of this paper is to present the course’s syllabi, outline and teaching methods.
Latin Legal Maxims in the Judgments of the Constitutional Tribunal in Poland
Authors: Szczygielski Krzysztof
Published: April 2017

The article contains a list and brief characteristics of Latin legal maxims used in the judgments of the Constitutional Tribunal in Poland. Most of them were formulated by Roman jurists, some by medieval lawyers, and some by representatives of the modern science of law based on Roman law sources. They express universal and eternal ideas and are a significant element of the axiology of law. The presence of Latin legal maxims in the judgments of the Constitutional Tribunal demonstrates that Latin is an important element of the cultural heritage of ancient Rome and its knowledge is one of the essential tools in the workshop of a contemporary lawyer.
Compressive shape from focus based on a linear measurement model
Authors: Luo Ding , Längle Thomas , Beyerer Jürgen
Published: April 2017

Estimation accuracy of conventional shape from focus techniques is strongly coupled with the number of images in the focal
stack, limiting the measurement speed. In this article, a novel compressive shape from focus scheme is proposed with an
exemplary algorithm based on modified Laplacian operator and principal component analysis. Simulation with synthetic focal
stacks have demonstrated comparable results to the conventional method. A test with 6 compressively captured images
achieves the same level of performance to that of the conventional method with 100 images. Several other focus measure
algorithms are also implemented and tested under the compressive scheme, which demonstrates the wide applicability of the
proposed method.
GNSS Positioning Performance Analysis Using PSO-RBF Estimation Model
Authors: Jgouta Meriem , Nsiri Benayad
Published: April 2017

Positioning solutions need to be more precise and available. The most frequent method used nowadays includes a GPS receiver, sometimes supported by other sensors. Generally, GPS and GNSS suffer from spreading perturbations that produce biases on pseudo-range measurements. With a view to optimize the use of the satellites received, we offer a positioning algorithm with pseudo range error modelling with the contribution of an appropriate filtering process. Extended Kalman Filter, The Rao- Blackwellized filter are among the most widely used algorithms to predict errors and to filter the high frequency noise. This paper describes a new method of estimating the pseudo-range errors based on the PSO-RBF model which achieves an optimal training criterion. This model is appropriate of its method to predict the GPS corrections for accurate positioning, it reduce the positioning errors at high velocities by more than 50% compared to the RLS or EKF methods.
Measuring Volume Change Caused by Calcium Oxychloride Phase Transformation in a Ca(OH)2-CaCl2-H2O System
Authors: Qiao C. , Suraneni P. , Weiss J.
Published: April 2017

Calcium oxychloride has been reported to form in cementitious materials when calcium chloride (CaCl2) solutions react with calcium hydroxide [Ca(OH)2]. In this study, Ca(OH)2 is mixed with CaCl2 solutions with concentrations of 5 %, 10 %, 15 %, 20 %, 25 %, and 30 % by weight, using a 1:1 M ratio of Ca(OH)2 to CaCl2. The Ca(OH)2-CaCl2 solution mixtures are subject to a cooling and heating cycle. Volume change is measured to quantify the phase transformation associated with calcium oxychloride. Low-temperature differential scanning calorimetry (LT-DSC) is used to construct a phase isopleth, which is used to quantify the phase transformation associated with calcium oxychloride. Hysteresis is observed in the volume-change measurement during the cooling–heating cycle. In a temperature range of 50°C to 0°C, the formation of calcium oxychloride is complete for the 20 %, 25 %, and 30 % CaCl2 solutions. The liquidus temperatures at which calcium oxychloride is expected to form from LT-DSC during heating match those from the volume-change measurements.
Trypanosoma evansi (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae) in capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris, Rodentia: Hydrochoeridae): prevalence, effect and sexual selection
Authors: Herrera Emilio A. , Castro Yarlenis
Published: April 2017

Parasites play a crucial role in the ecology of animals. They also appear to be important in mechanisms underlying sexual selection processes. In this article we study the prevalence, effect and potential role in sexual selection of the protozoon Trypanosoma evansi in capybaras, Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris. We collected our samples from the annual capybara cull of a ranch in Venezuela, using the volume of the snout scent gland as an indicator of dominance; the residuals of body weight as indicators of condition; and the residuals of the spleen mass as indicators of immune function. Overall prevalence was 30.9% (N=97) with no difference between males and females and no relation between infection with T. evansi and condition. However, we found that infected animals had larger spleens (residuals), indicating an immunological cost of the infection. Further, males with larger snout scent glands (more dominant) were less likely to be infected than males with smaller glands (less dominant) suggesting that by choosing males with a large gland, females may be using the gland as an indicator of health, which is consistent with the “good genes” view of sexual selection.
Sexual and vegetative propagation of the medicinal Mexican species Phyllonoma laticuspis (Phyllonomaceae)
Authors: Alcántara-Flores Ela , Brechú-Franco Alicia Enriqueta , Villegas-Monter Angel , Laguna-Hernández Guillermo , Gómez-Campos Armando
Published: April 2017

Phyllonoma laticuspis leaves are used in Carrizal de Bravo, Guerrero, Mexico, to heal skin lesions such as injuries and smallpox sequelae and to treat diabetes mellitus type 2, and organic extracts of these leaves have been reported to exert antibacterial effects. High demand of P. laticuspis as a medicinal plant has decreased its natural populations, and propagation of the species has not yet been reported. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the vegetative propagation of the species through cutting and air layering, as well as its sexual propagation in a preserved population. For this, concentrations of 1 000, 4 000 and 6 000 ppm of a commercial root enhancer, with indole butyric acid (IBA), and a control treatment without IBA, were applied to the cuttings and air layers. Germination was evaluated under light and dark conditions using lots of freshly collected seeds and lots of seeds that had been stored for three months at 4 °C or 24 ± 2 °C. All experiments were performed in a completely randomized design. The cuttings did not develop roots in any concentration, whereas 100 % of the air layers rooted, displaying vigorous roots in the presence of 4 000 ppm IBA, after four month of treatment application. Regarding germination, more than 60 % of the freshly collected seeds germinated, whereas less than 20 % of the seeds stored at 4 °C, and close to 50 % of the seeds stored at 24 ± 2 °C germinated under light and dark conditions. No significant differences were observed between light and dark conditions, so they were categorized as indifferent photoblastic seeds. The observed moisture content of 13.5 % and germination behaviour as the response to cold storage, suggest that the resultant seed quality was intermediate. P. laticuspis propagation for short-term foliage production can be carried out in air layers, in populations with a high density of adult plants as a source of plant material and for the restoration of disturbed areas, in the same locality. On the other hand, large-scale seedling production, medium-term foliage production and preservation of species variability can be achieved using seeds.
The influence of habitat structure on fish assemblages in Amazonian streams of Machado river basin
Authors: Da Costa Igor David , Rocha Vanessa
Published: April 2017

Igarapés are Amazonian streams that are extremely susceptible to environmental changes. Due to the rapidly occurring riparian land use changes, and the several impacts these may have on fish assemblages, it is highly valuable to describe and understand the current relationships between these assemblages and the local environmental conditions, especially in barely know areas. In this research, we studied the taxonomic composition and fish assemblage attributes variation in three streams with different riparian conservation conditions: forest, intermediate and pasture. Samplings were performed every two months from October 2011 to September 2012, in three 1st order streams in the Machado River Basin, Rondônia. Fish were collected using trawls (seine net with a mesh size of 2 mm) and dip nets (2 mm mesh) along the entire stretch; the obtained samples were preserved and identified per site type. A total of 2 141 fish specimens belonging to 59 species, 17 families and five orders were recorded. Unlike the intermediate and pasture streams, the forest stream showed a high richness and low abundance. The forested stream exhibited the highest diversity and evenness value, and had low dominance, unlike the other streams. The variance partitioning and partial Redundancy Analysis (pRDA) indicated that assemblage composition was significantly explained by the environmental variables such as: depth, water velocity, pteridophytes and grasses, but not by spatial predictors. The non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) analysis showed that intermediate and pasture streams separated from the forested stream. We concluded that both, the stream environmental variables and fish assemblage attributes were influenced by the different conservation status and land cover. Given the influence of regional processes, which have a pervasive role in local fish assemblages, land use at the watershed scale is important, especially to explain the higher richness and diversity found in forested streams.