bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
“La única libertad que tienen estos infelices es la de solicitar amo”. Esclavos y justicia en Ibagué 1750-1810
Authors: Ducuara Nieto Jeisson Alberto
Published: December 2017

ResumenEste artículo analiza el uso del sistema jurídico judicial por parte de los esclavos de la ciudad de Ibagué como estrategia para cambiar de amo en el período comprendido de 1750-1810. Igualmente, presenta las posibilidades que la legislación les brindaba a los esclavos para defenderse y hace una breve descripción de los oficios en los que se les utilizaba. En este sentido se entiende que los esclavos usaban de manera oportuna argumentos, pruebas y testigos, lo que les permitió fortalecer su demanda. Este trabajo se realiza tomando como referencia las peticiones judiciales interpuestas por esclavos en el Cabildo local y en la Real Audiencia.Palabras clave: Esclavos, justicia, ley, cultura judicial, resistencia.   **********************************************************************“The only freedom these miserable people have is to ask for a master”. Slaves and justice in Ibague 1750-1810AbstractThis article provides an analysis of the use of the legal judicial system by slaves at Ibague City as a strategy to change their masters between 1750-1810. It also presents the possibilities that legislation made available for the slaves to defend themselves, and offers a brief description of the trades in which they were used. In this sense, it is understood that slaves used opportunely arguments, proofs and witnesses, which allowed them to strengthen their demand. This work uses as a reference judicial petitions brought by slaves at the town council and at the Royal Audience.Key words: Slaves, justice, law, judicial culture, resistance.**********************************************************************“A única liberdade que os infelizes têm é solicitar amo”. Escravos e justiça em Ibague, 1750-1810ResumoEste artigo faz análise das estratégias usadas pelos escravos para mudar de amo por meio do sistema jurídico judicial na cidade de Ibagué, no período de 1750-1810. Assim, o texto apresenta as possibilidades de defesa dos escravos oferecidas pela legislação e descreve os ofícios que estavam obrigados a realizar. Graças ao aproveitamento desta legislação a través do uso oportuno de argumentos, provas e testemunhas, a demanda dos escravos foi aumentando. Este trabalho foi realizado pegando como referência as petições judiciais impostas pelos escravos no Cabildo Local e na Real Audiencia.Palavras Chave:  Escravos, justiça, lei, cultura judicial, resistência
Representaciones del crimen y el homicidio en Medellín - Colombia (1910 – 1930)
Authors: Alzate Alzate Juan David
Published: December 2017

Resumen:En este artículo se contrastará, inicialmente, el tono alarmante de las noticias de prensa y comunicados oficiales que hacían alusión al supuesto incremento de la criminalidad en Medellín iniciando el siglo XX, con algunos datos estadísticos que refutaban estas informaciones. Seguidamente, se hará referencia a una de las manifestaciones de la violencia urbana que derivaba comúnmente en heridas graves o en homicidios: la riña. Finalmente, se realizará un reconocimiento de los lugares frecuentemente asociados a los homicidios; espacios que fueron coligados al delito y en los que progresivamente se solicitó la vigilancia y el control por parte de las autoridades.  Palabras clave: Medellín, criminalidad, homicidio, expedientes, riñas, violencia, policía.**********************************************************************Representations of crime and homicide in Medellin - Colombia (1910 – 1930)Abstract In this article it will first be contrasted the alarming tone of press reports and official statements that refer to the alleged growth of criminality in Medellin, at the beginning of the 20th century, with some statistical data that disproved them. A reference will then be made to one of the manifestations of urban violence that usually led to grave injuries or homicides: the quarrel. Finally, a recognition will be made of the places frequently associated with homicides; spaces that were associated to crime, and at which the vigilance and control by authorities was progressively demanded.    Palabras clave: Medellin, criminality, homicide, records, quarrels, violence, police.**********************************************************************Representações do crime e homicídio em  Medellín - Colômbia (1910-1930)Resumo:Neste artigo são contrastados o alarmante tom das notícias de jornal e comunicados oficiais que alertavam sobre um suposto incremento da criminalidade em Medellín no começo do século XX, e os dados estatísticos que refutavam tais informações. Também serão referenciadas as brigas como manifestações de violência urbana que comumente derivavam em feridas graves e homicídios. Por último se realiza um reconhecimento de aqueles lugares associados aos assassinatos, espaços que por serem associados ao crime, tiveram processos particulares de vigilância e controle por parte das autoridades.Palavras chave: Medellín, crime, homicídio, brigas, violência, policia.
PROTOTIPE INTEGRASI DATA MORBIDITAS PASIEN PUSKESMAS KEDALAM DATA WAREHOUSE DI DINAS KESEHATAN KABUTEN BANTUL
Authors: Suprawoto Totok - , Sela Enny Itje , Windarti Syamsu
Published: December 2017

Bantul District Health Office (DHO Bantul) is one of the agencies that currently experiencing problems to obtain accurate and current health information. Reports to be made routinely by puskesmas further recapitulated in Bantul Health Office are reports on outpatient morbidity such as the report of Integrated Disease Surveillance (STP), disease report by type, and others.From result of analysis and design of data warehouse based on fact constellation schema which include dimension: time, patient, age group, disease and puskesmas, furthermore can be analyzed further for the purpose of decision making using data mining. Furthermore, it can also be used to analyze patient data from various dimensions (time, patient, age group, illness and puskesmas), and analyze the growth of patient number from each period of time which is useful for the management of DHO Bantul. Successfully built prototype data integration morbidity of outpatient Puskesmas. To ease the burden of the surveillance officer to make a report to DHO Bantul has made the application of Integrated Disease Surveillance (STP). While some types of reports are needed every periodic can be simulated using instaview or pentaho report.
INVESTIGASI SEGMENTASI BARIS UNTUK CITRA DOKUMEN SUNDA LAMPAU
Authors: Paulus Erick , Suryani Mira , Hadi Setiawan , Hidayat Akik
Published: December 2017

The variety of image quality of old Sundanese documents can be a real challenge for the process of text line segmentation. This paper describes the results of the investigation of two text line segmentation methods against several collections of Sunda document images, ie projection profile method and Seam Carving method. The deep investigation is done on handwritten documents written on lontar and paper media. The comparative experimental study was used as an investigative methodology in this study. Both methods is tested their performance capability on colored images and binary images using the evaluation matrix provided in handwriting segmentation competition ICDAR 2013. Experimental results show that projection profile method can work optimally on binary image and the type of writing is relatively horizontal. While the Seam Carving method is able to segment the lines in a non-linear manner and produce performance above 80%. With the added of binarization process in the pre-processing stage, the performance of Seam Carving method can increase up to 99% and the number of segmented lines is close to the number of groundtruth lines.
Factors associated with four atypical cases of congenital syphilis in England, 2016 to 2017: an ecological analysis
Authors: Furegato Martina , Fifer Helen , Mohammed Hamish , Simms Ian , Vanta Paul , Webb Sharon , Foster Kirsty , Kingston Margaret , Charlett André , Vishram Bhavita , Reynolds Claire , Gill Noel , Hughes Gwenda
Published: December 2017

Four isolated cases of congenital syphilis born to mothers who screened syphilis negative in the first trimester were identified between March 2016 and January 2017 compared with three cases between 2010 and 2015. The mothers were United Kingdom-born and had no syphilis risk factors. Cases occurred in areas with recent increases in sexually-transmitted syphilis among women and men who have sex with men, some behaviourally bisexual, which may have facilitated bridging between sexual networks.
Epidemiology of hand, foot and mouth disease in China, 2008 to 2015 prior to the introduction of EV-A71 vaccine
Authors: Yang Bingyi , Liu Fengfeng , Liao Qiaohong , Wu Peng , Chang Zhaorui , Huang Jiao , Long Lu , Luo Li , Li Yu , Leung Gabriel M. , Cowling Benjamin J. , Yu Hongjie
Published: December 2017

Introduction

Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is usually caused by several serotypes from human enterovirus A species, including enterovirus 71 (EV-A71) and coxsackievirus A16 (CV-A16). Two inactivated monovalent EV-A71 vaccines have been recently licensed in China and monovalent CV-A16 vaccine and bivalent EV-A71 and CV-A16 vaccine are under development. Methods: Using notifications from the national surveillance system, we describe the epidemiology and dynamics of HFMD in the country, before the introduction of EV-A71 vaccination, from 2008 through 2015. Results: Laboratory-identified serotype categories, i.e. CV-A16, EV-A71 and other enteroviruses, circulated annually. EV-A71 remained the most virulent serotype and was the major serotype for fatal cases (range: 88.5–95.4%) and severe cases (range: 50.7–82.3%) across years. Except for 2013 and 2015, when other enteroviruses were more frequently found in mild HFMD (48.8% and 52.5%), EV-A71 was more frequently detected from mild cases in the rest of the years covered by the study (range: 39.4–52.6%). The incidence rates and severity risks of HFMD associated with all serotype categories were the highest for children aged 1 year and younger, and decreased with increasing age. Discussion/conclusion: This study provides baseline epidemiology for evaluation of vaccine impact and potential serotype replacement.
Influenza A(H3N2) virus variants and patient characteristics during a summer influenza epidemic in Taiwan, 2017
Authors: Tsou Tsung-Pei , Su Chia-Ping , Huang Wan-Ting , Yang Ji-Rong , Liu Ming-Tsan
Published: December 2017

We report a summer influenza epidemic caused by co-circulation of multiple influenza A(H3N2) variants in clade 3C.2a. Compared with other clades, a putative clade 3C.2a.3a was more commonly isolated from severely ill patients; 3C.2a.4 was more commonly isolated in outbreak cases. Time from vaccination to illness onset was significantly shorter in severely ill patients infected with clade 3C.2a.3; characteristics and outcomes of patients infected with different clades were similar. No resistance to antiviral medications was found.
Representaciones sociales y comunicación: apuntes teóricos para un diálogo interdisciplinar inconcluso
Authors: Rubira-García Rainer , Puebla-Martínez Belén
Published: December 2017

El texto realiza una aproximación crítica al concepto de representaciones sociales y su valor epistemológico para la comprensión de los procesos de interacción, en específico los de comunicación. A partir de una revisión bibliográfica documental sobre autores, escuelas, perspectivas teóricas y metodológicas se intenta sistematizar los aportes fundamentales del concepto de representaciones y su relación con el campo de estudios de la Comunicación. Desde una mirada interdisciplinar, se evalúan los puntos de contacto entre las representaciones y las mediaciones dentro de las dinámicas comunicativas y se sugieren algunos elementos esenciales a considerar para valorar la importancia teórica de las representaciones sociales en la investigación en Comunicación.
Construyendo utopías concretas: el movimiento comunero en Venezuela
Authors: Azzellini Dario
Published: December 2017

En el transcurso de la historia las utopías han jugado un papel importante en la construcción de alternativas sociales. En este artículo se analiza al mecanismo de autogobierno local venezolano de las comunas como prefiguración utópica o como “utopía concreta”. Se discuten diferentes conceptos marxistas y emancipadores de utopía conectándolos con el pensamiento latinoamericano, para demostrar cómo la prefiguración utópica es de considerar necesaria en los procesos de lucha revolucionaria. Luego de resumir estructura y funcionamiento del autogobierno local sigue el análisis de cómo en las comunas se ensaya una prefiguración utópica. Las comunas tienen sus raíces en tradiciones políticas y sociales latinoamericanas y se conectan con experiencias socialistas y revolucionarias, como también con la historia de resistencia indígena, negra y popular. Su estructura y funcionamiento del autogobierno local muestra que en ellas se ensaya una prefiguración utópica. En el imaginario popular, el Estado comunal sustituirá el Estado burgués.
The Experimental Study Of Wekondo Materialsplite And Sand Of Poni-Poniki District Tirawuta East Kolaka Regency As Material Of Concrete Making
Authors: Mansyur Mansyur
Published: December 2017

Split Material derived from Wekondo and Sand found in Poni-Poniki is an abundant material that has the potential to be used as a material for making concrete. The purpose of this research is to find out whether Wekondo split material and Poni-poniki sand can be used in making concrete both in terms of material characteristics and the quality of concrete achieved. This research is experimental by testing material characteristics as well as the making of 150 mm sized concrete cube test object on applicable SNI. The result of the test of the characteristic of Split material such as filter analysis at # 3/8 exceeds the specification of 6.25%, aggregate wear19,639%, pass filter sieve # 200 is 0.772%, specific gravity (SSD) 2,913 gr / cm3, 1.363%, 0.628% moisture content of 1.7kg / ltr solid content and 1.469kg / ltr of loose fill weight. While the examination of a sand material of Poni-poniki analyzed sieve all meet the standard specification, pass filter sieve # 200 is 1,680%, density of 2.661 gr / cm3, aggregate 1.647%, moisture content 0.580%, / ltr the loose weight of 1.531kg / ltr. While in concrete compressive strength test, the age of 7 days is 203,68 kg / cm2, and age 28 day is 257,55 kg / cm2. From the results of the study showed that the compressive strength at the age of 28 days can achieve K-250 quality.
Chemotherapeutic potiential of Lupeol and its analogue (oxime) on human mammary cancer cell line (MCF-7)
Authors: Gunasekaran Jayasri , Sankaran Mirunalini
Published: December 2017

Lupeol, a dietary triterpene, present in many fruits and medicinal plants, has been reported to possess many pharmacological properties including anti-cancer activities both in vitro.The present study is conducted to investigate the anticancer activity and the underlying mechanisms of Lupeol analogue (oxime) on human mammary cancer (MCF-7).MTT assay showed that the lupeol analogue had marked cytotoxic activity in MCF-7 cancer cells.We observed increased levels of Antioxidants (ABTS, DPPH,Superoxide anions radical scavenging activity,Hydroxyl radical scavenging activity) in MCF-7 cell line, because of anti oxidant mechanism of lupeol analogue (oxime) .We observed the higher concentrations ( 20,30,40,50 and 70 µM/mL) of lupeol analogue  treatment significantly showed increased cytotoxicity in MCF-7 cells. The IC50 value was found to be 40 µM/mL of lupeol analogue (oxime) could greatly inhibit the cell growth. So, we have chosen at 40 and 320 µM/mL concentration of lupeol analogue (oxime) for further experiments. We observed increased levels of Lipid peroxidation and decreased levels of Antioxidants (SOD,CAT,GPx,GSH) in MCF-7 cell line  because of the pro oxidant mechanism of lupeol analogue (oxime) . These observations revealed the cytotoxic potential of lupeol, which could be attributed to their prooxidant property on the MCF-7 cells. It is evident from the observation made in the present study that the lupeol analogue (oxime)has potential anticancer effect compared to Lupeol.
A preface from Editor-in-Chief
Authors: Higuchi Akon
Published: December 2017

An introduction from our Editor-in-Chief, Prof. Akon Higuchi launching Progress in Bioscience and Bioengineering
PRINCÍPIOS FUNDAMENTAIS DO DIREITO AMBIENTAL: POSTULADOS QUE CONDUZEM A LEGISLAÇÃO
Authors: Lima FABRÍCIO WANTOIL , LEAL CLAÚDIA PIMENTA , RODRIGUES DIÓRGENES DE CASTRO FERREIRA , DE OLIVEIRA CAROLINE INÁCIO MATHIAS COSTA
Published: December 2017

O artigo apresenta uma análise acerca dos princípios fundamentais do Direito Ambiental. Dar-se-á ênfase aos princípios que norteiam referido ramo, entre estes: princípio da solidariedade intergeracional, princípio do limite, do desenvolvimento sustentável, princípio do ambiente ecologicamente equilibrado, da natureza pública da proteção ambiental, da participação, do poluidor-pagador e usuário pagador, da prevenção ou precaução; visando esclarecer, mesmo de forma sucinta, as noções básicas e indispensáveis que registram as normas a serem seguidas, no meio social. O presente artigo é proveniente de uma pesquisa do tipo bibliográfica e qualitativa, na área do Direito Ambiental. Definiu-se pelo seguinte problema: a influência principiológica pode contribuir para proteção do meio ambiente?
REGRESSÃO À LEI DE TALIÃO DIANTE DA CRISE DO SISTEMA JUDICIÁRIO BRASILEIRO
Authors: NETO JOÃO CÂNDIDO PEREIRA , CIPRINANO JURACI DA ROCHA
Published: December 2017

O presente artigo discorre sobre a conceituação da Lei de Talião e sua aplicação, os contratos sociais apresentados pelos principais filósofos contratualistas, os direitos humanos, bem como os motivos apontados como justificadores da morosidade judiciária que tem desencadeado na população o anseio em fazer justiça com as próprias mãos, cansados de esperar a entrega da resolução da lide por parte do Estado. O objetivo é explanar a respeito da regressão à lei de talião, buscando compreender como a mídia influencia diretamente no comportamento e opinião das pessoas, tendo em vista sua utilização como forma de controle por parte do Estado. São também conceituadas as características dos direitos humanos e acerca do projeto de lei que versa a respeito da reforma do Código Penal. Conclui-se que enquanto a justiça permanecer morosa, a população continuará fazendo justiça com as próprias mãos, até que o Estado desempenhe seu papel, qual seja, a entrega da resolução dos litígios em tempo hábil, já que justiça tardia também é uma forma de injustiça.
CRIMES TRIBUTÁRIOS: CONSEQUÊCIAS ECONÔMICAS E SOCIAIS
Authors: MARQUES JOÃO VICTOR MOTA
Published: December 2017

Este trabalho tem como objetivo explicitar as consequências econômicas e sociais suscitadas pela prática de crimes tributários. Analisam-se desde a origem e evolução histórica dos ilícitos tributários até sua classificação, tipificação e natureza jurídica, segundo o entendimento de diversos pensadores do direito. Observam-se posicionamentos divergentes acerca da evolução legislativa dos crimes desta natureza, pois enquanto alguns defendem a revogação da Lei de Sonegação Fiscal pela Lei dos Crimes Tributários, outros, simplesmente, ignoram tal possibilidade. Analisam-se, também, os princípios constitucionais que atuam no sentido de limitar o poder de tributar do Estado, de forma a evitar que o contribuinte seja lesado pelo erário público. Destacam-se, ainda, as hipóteses de exclusão de ilicitude e extinção da punibilidade nos crimes contra a ordem tributária, incorporando noções criminais à matéria de ordem tributária. Por fim, examinam-se os danos oriundos da prática dos ilícitos tributários, os quais atingem tanto o aparelho administrativo estatal, bem como toda a coletividade. Neste sentido, destacam-se os prejuízos econômicos e os reflexos sociais provocados pela conduta insistente de inúmeros contribuintes que, a todo tempo, buscam se eximir do pagamento de seus tributos, respaldados na impunidade existente na ordem tributária.
Theoretical investigations on temperature dependence of thermodynamic properties and concentration fluctuations of In-Tl binary liquid alloys by optimization method
Authors: Shrestha G K , Jha I S , Singh B K
Published: December 2017

The thermodynamic properties, i.e. free energy of mixing (GM), heat of mixing (HM), entropy of mixing (SM) and activity (ai) of the component i (i , and structural property i.e. concentration fluctuations in long wave-length limit [Scc(0)] of In-Tl binary liquid alloy at a specified temperature have been investigated in the framework of quasi-lattice model on assuming the coupled effect of size ratio and entropic (or energetic) as well as enthalpic effect. These properties of In-Tl liquid alloy at 723 K have been computed theoretically by estimating the best fit value of order energy parameter (W) and size ratio () over the entire range of concentration in order to match their experimental values. The best fit value of  W at 723 K has been used to determine the values of W at different temperatures with the help of temperature derivative of W which are then used for the optimization procedure in order to calculate the corresponding values of excess free energy of mixing, partial excess free energy of mixing and activity of the components involved in the alloy at different temperatures. These parameters have been used to investigate the concentration fluctuations in long wavelength limit {Scc(0)} of In-Tl binary liquid alloy at different temperatures over the entire range of concentration which have been used to predict the various other structural properties like excess stability function (EXS), diffusion coefficient ratio (Dm/Did), short range order parameter (α1) at different temperatures.BIBECHANA 15 (2018) 11-23
Sources and causes of water pollution in Bangladesh: A technical overview
Authors: Arefin Md. Arman , Mallik Avijit
Published: December 2017

Water pollution is one of the significant dangers to general wellbeing in Bangladesh. Drinking water quality is inadequately overseen and checked. Bangladesh positions at number 86 among 142 countries with respect to drinking water quality. Drinking water sources, both surface and groundwater are debased with coliforms, harmful metals and pesticides all through the nation. Different drinking water quality parameters set by WHO are every now and again damaged. Human exercises like uncalled for transfer of civil and mechanical effluents and aimless utilizations of agrochemicals in agribusiness are the principle factors adding to the crumbling of water quality. Microbial and substance contaminations are the primary elements mindful solely or in mix for different general medical issues. This paper presents a detailed layout of water quality in Bangladesh with unique accentuation on significant poisons, sources and causes of pollution. The information introduced in this paper are extracted from different surveys and reports distributed in national and global journals. Likewise reports discharged by the government and NGO associations are incorporated.BIBECHANA 15 (2018) 97-112
The Radio Host and Piloted Listening in the Digital Age: CBC Radio 3 and Its Online Listening Community
Authors: Fauteux Brian
Published: December 2017

On 9 March 2015, CBC Radio 3 host Grant Lawrence announced that the network would be discontinuing hosting from its programming and would move to an automated stream of music. The cutting of finances and personnel raises questions about the ability of public stations to connect with listeners and circulate the creative work of their citizenry. By tracking the activity of Radio 3’s listener community over the course of 2015, this article argues that a radio host maintains a fundamental presence that facilitates conversation and contextualizes new and independent music. The radio host is deemed, by his or her listener community, to be an authoritative and credible individual who guides or pilots the listening experience and the related online conversation.
“We See Hard Times Ahead of Us”: York Factory and Indigenous Life in the Western Hudson Bay Region, 1880–1925
Authors: Coutts Robert
Published: December 2017

Focusing on the community of York Factory and the surrounding region in northern Manitoba between 1880 and 1925, this article traces the transformation of the Muskego Cree and Metis peoples of the district from independent traders, hunters, and wage labourers to a colonized people with diminished economic opportunities. Through evidence gathered from Hudson’s Bay Company journals, reports, and accounts, as well as from Department of Indian Affairs records, missionary correspondence, and oral history, I describe how the establishment of a fur trade mode of production incorporated the Indigenous economy of western Hudson Bay into an international market of trade and production, making the people of York Factory part of a global economy based upon a capitalist exploitation of resources. I also suggest that, beginning in the late nineteenth century, the Hudson’s Bay Company conspired to mitigate the economic impacts of resource depletion on its profit margin in the York district by pursuing an arrangement with the Canadian government to assume financial responsibility for the Indigenous people of western Hudson Bay. The article will trace the process through which changing capital interests, both local and global, came to manipulate an age-old pattern of subsistence and labour, debt and trade, as well as economic interdependence.
RETRACTED: MicroRNA-152 inhibits tumor cell growth while inducing apoptosis via the transcriptional repression of cathepsin L in gastrointestinal stromal tumor
Authors: Lu Hong-Jie , Yan Jing , Jin Pei-Ying , Zheng Gui-Hong , Qin Su-Ming , Wu Dong-Mei , Lu Jun , Zheng Yuan-Lin
Published: December 2017

This article has been retracted, and the online PDF has been watermarked ``RETRACTION''. The retraction notice is available at http://doi.org/10.3233/CBM229005.
Acute effects of different durations of static stretching on the eccentric strength and power of leg flexor muscles
Authors: Krčmár Matúš , Xaverová Zuzana , Lehnert Michal , Krčmárová Bohumila , Šimonek Jaromír , Kanásová Janka , Bognar Gábor , Vanderka Marián , Ruiz-Pérez Ignacio , Ayala Francisco
Published: December 2017

BACKGROUND:

Research suggests that effect of continuous static stretching on sport performance and/or injury prevention depends on the total stretching volume.

OBJECTIVE:

To analyze the acute effects of three short duration static stretching interventions of four lower limb muscle groups (15, 30 and 60 seconds per muscle) on the eccentric isokinetic peak force (PF) and peak power (PP) measures obtained during leg press exercise.

METHODS:

A total of thirteen amateur athletes, 7 men and 6 women, completed four different interventions in a randomized order on separate days: one control (non-stretching) and three static stretching (SS) interventions (1 [Formula: see text] 15 s, 1 [Formula: see text] 30 s and 1 [Formula: see text] 60-s). After the stretching or control interventions, eccentric isokinetic PF and PP were assessed at two different linear velocities (200 mm/s and 400 mm/s).

RESULTS:

Measures were compared via a magnitude-based inference analysis. The results of this study showed no significant main effects between intervention-paired comparisons for any PF and PP measures.

CONCLUSION:

The findings of this study suggest that sport-relevant durations of SS have no effect on eccentric strength and power performance during leg press exercise and hence, the role of SS as a method to reduce the relative risk of injury is questionable.
Healthy versus Entorhinal Cortical Atrophy Identification in Asymptomatic APOE4 Carriers at Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease
Authors: Konishi Kyoko , Joober Ridha , Poirier Judes , MacDonald Kathleen , Chakravarty Mallar , Patel Raihaan , Breitner John , Bohbot Véronique D.
Published: December 2017

Early detection of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has been challenging as current biomarkers are invasive and costly. Strong predictors of future AD diagnosis include lower volume of the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex, as well as the ɛ4 allele of the Apolipoprotein E gene (APOE) gene. Therefore, studying functions that are critically mediated by the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex, such as spatial memory, in APOE ɛ4 allele carriers, may be key to the identification of individuals at risk of AD, prior to the manifestation of cognitive impairments. Using a virtual navigation task developed in-house, specifically designed to assess spatial versus non-spatial strategies, the current study is the first to differentiate functional and structural differences within APOE ɛ4 allele carriers. APOE ɛ4 allele carriers that predominantly use non-spatial strategies have decreased fMRI activity in the hippocampus and increased atrophy in the hippocampus, entorhinal cortex, and fimbria compared to APOE ɛ4 allele carriers who use spatial strategies. In contrast, APOE ɛ4 allele carriers who use spatial strategies have grey matter levels comparable to non-APOE ɛ4 allele carriers. Furthermore, in a leave-one-out analysis, grey matter in the entorhinal cortex could predict navigational strategy with 92% accuracy.
Assessing the use of Radio Frequency Identification technologies as an alternative for insurance costs in hospitals
Authors: Asgharzadeh-Karamshahloo Iraj , Jabbarzadeh Armin , Shavvalpour Saeed
Published: December 2017

OBJECTIVES:

This research assesses the use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technologies as an alternative for insurance costs in hospitals.

METHODS:

Despite the advantages of RFID, this technology has not been applied in most hospitals due to implementation costs and amortization of RFID. In this paper, we intend to model the total profit of hospitals in three scenarios namely, application of RFID technology in the hospital, without applying RFID technology in the hospital and insuring patients and equipment in the hospital.

RESULTS:

We analyzed the aforementioned situations over a period of time to find out how they affect the profit of the hospital. Based on this analysis we concluded that if applying RFID technology is costly, it will be feasible for advanced hospitals with more beds. In the scenario of insuring patients and equipment, if insurance organization takes over a small portion of the cost of the mistakes and oversights, insuring patients and equipment will not be feasible for the hospital, and it is better to apply RFID technology Instead.

CONCLUSIONS:

RFID is among the technologies applied to reduce mistakes of the personnel in hospitals. Moreover, applying this technology has led to a decrease in the number of personnel required in hospitals. This study models total profit of hospitals in three aforementioned scenarios. Based on analyzing these models we conclude that if applying RFID technology is costly, it will be feasible for advanced hospitals with more beds.
Role of β-Interferon Inducer (DEAE-Dextran) in Tumorigenesis by VEGF and NOTCH1 Inhibition along with Apoptosis Induction
Authors: Bakrania Anita K. , Variya Bhavesh C. , Patel Snehal S.
Published: December 2017

As a novel target for breast cancer, interferon inducers have found its role as anti-angiogenic agents with diethylaminoethyl dextran (DEAE-Dextran) being a molecule used for centuries as a transfection agent. Our results herein offer an explanation for the emergence of DEAE-Dextran as an anti-tumor agent for TNBC with in-depth mechanistic approach as an anti-angiogenic molecule. DEAE-Dextran has found to possess cytotoxic activity demonstrated during the various in vitro cytotoxicity assays; moreover, as an anti-oxidant, DEAE-Dextran has shown to possess excellent reactive oxygen species scavenging activity. The interferon inducing capacity of DEAE-Dextran was determined qualitatively as well as quantitatively specifically demonstrating overexpression of β-interferon. As a measure of anti-proliferative activity, DEAE-Dextran exhibited reduced ki67, p53, and PCNA levels. Also, overexpression of CK5/6 and p63 in DEAE-Dextran treated animals indicated improvement in breast cell morphology along with an improvement in cell–cell adhesion by virtue of upregulation of β-catenin and E-cadherin. Anti-angiogenic property of DEAE-Dextran was concluded by the downregulation of CD31, VEGF, and NOTCH1 both in vivo and in vitro. Further, apoptosis due to DEAE-Dextran, initially determined by downregulation of Bcl2, was confirmed with flow cytometry. Overall, results are defensive of DEAE-Dextran as an emerging anti-tumor agent with mechanisms pertaining to β-interferon induction with probable VEGF and NOTCH1 inhibition as well as apoptosis which still needs to be studied in further depth.
Genotypic Response of Dry Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) to Natural Field Infection of Ascochyta Blight (Phoma exigua var. diversispora (Bubak) Boerema) under Diverse Environmental Conditions in Rwanda
Authors: Urinzwenimana Clement , Melis Rob , Sibiya Julia
Published: December 2017

Ascochyta blight, caused by Phoma exigua var. diversispora (Bubak) Boerema, is a serious constraint in the cultivation of the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) in Rwanda, particularly in the cool and wet highland production areas. In order to identify resistant genotypes, a germplasm evaluation study was conducted to quantify the impact of the disease on phenotypic and agronomic traits under natural conditions. Field screening trials of 39 bush (Types I, II and III) and 36 climbing (Type IV) genotypes from different accessions within and outside the country were conducted at three sites, namely, Rwerere, Nyamagabe and Musanze Research Stations, for two seasons. The relative area under the disease progress curve (RAUDPC) based on evaluations of the disease severity (percentage leaf area infected), was used to evaluate the genotypes. Thirteen genotypes were identified with some level of ascochyta resistance. The study revealed Rwandan genotypes G 2333 and SMC 18 as new sources of resistance to Ascochyta blight. Additional results showed a negative relationship (r = −0.42 and −0.51 for Seasons A and B, respectively) between ascochyta infection and yield. Further relationships were identified between the plant flower colour and seed size to ascochyta resistance. Some of the identified resistant genotypes can be used to introgress ascochyta resistance into susceptible Rwandan market classes of common bean genotypes.
The Use of Heat-Resistant Concrete Made with Ceramic Sanitary Ware Waste for a Thermal Energy Storage
Authors: Ogrodnik Paweł , Zegardło Bartosz , Szeląg Maciej
Published: December 2017

The paper presents the results obtained in the course of a study on the concrete made of aggregate obtained from wastes of sanitary ceramics. Previous examinations proved high in strength and durability of concrete of this type, and it showed a resistance to high temperatures. The material was classified as a fireproof concrete. While searching for the optimal applications of such concrete, a series of examinations and analyses on its thermal energy storage (TES) properties were performed. This paper describes the two-stage experiment on the thermal behavior of the concrete made with sanitary ceramic wastes during cooling processes in comparison to different building materials subjected to the same thermal conditions. On the basis of the thermal, infrared analysis, and suitable calculations, the thermal power and the ability of the composite to store thermal energy was estimated. Finally, it was stated that the concrete made of sanitary ceramic waste aggregate and alumina cement can be recommended as a heat-accumulating material, and in combination with high durability can be used, e.g., for the construction of fireplace bodies.
An NHPP Software Reliability Model with S-Shaped Growth Curve Subject to Random Operating Environments and Optimal Release Time
Authors: Song Kwang , Chang In , Pham Hoang
Published: December 2017

The failure of a computer system because of a software failure can lead to tremendous losses to society; therefore, software reliability is a critical issue in software development. As software has become more prevalent, software reliability has also become a major concern in software development. We need to predict the fluctuations in software reliability and reduce the cost of software testing: therefore, a software development process that considers the release time, cost, reliability, and risk is indispensable. We thus need to develop a model to accurately predict the defects in new software products. In this paper, we propose a new non-homogeneous Poisson process (NHPP) software reliability model, with S-shaped growth curve for use during the software development process, and relate it to a fault detection rate function when considering random operating environments. An explicit mean value function solution for the proposed model is presented. Examples are provided to illustrate the goodness-of-fit of the proposed model, along with several existing NHPP models that are based on two sets of failure data collected from software applications. The results show that the proposed model fits the data more closely than other existing NHPP models to a significant extent. Finally, we propose a model to determine optimal release policies, in which the total software system cost is minimized depending on the given environment.
Laterally Loaded Single Pile Response Considering the Influence of Suction and Non-Linear Behaviour of Reinforced Concrete Sections
Authors: Stacul Stefano , Squeglia Nunziante , Morelli Francesco
Published: December 2017

A hybrid BEM-p-y curves approach was developed for the single pile analysis with free/fixed head restraint conditions. The method considers the soil non-linear behaviour by means of p-y curves in series to a multi-layered elastic half-space. The non-linearity of reinforced concrete pile sections, also considering the influence of tension-stiffening, has been considered. The model reproduces the influence of suction by increasing the stress state and hence the stiffness of shallow soil-layers. Suction is modeled using the Modified-Kovacs model. The hybrid BEM-py curves method was validated by comparing results from data of 22 load tests on single piles. In addition, a detailed comparison is presented between measured and computed data on a large-diameter reinforced concrete bored single pile.
Multi-Fidelity Multi-Objective Efficient Global Optimization Applied to Airfoil Design Problems
Authors: Ariyarit Atthaphon , Kanazaki Masahiro
Published: December 2017

In this study, efficient global optimization (EGO) with a multi-fidelity hybrid surrogate model for multi-objective optimization is proposed to solve multi-objective real-world design problems. In the proposed approach, a design exploration is carried out assisted by surrogate models, which are constructed by adding a local deviation estimated by the kriging method and a global model approximated by a radial basis function. An expected hypervolume improvement is then computed on the basis of the model uncertainty to determine additional samples that could improve the model accuracy. In the investigation, the proposed approach is applied to two-objective and three-objective optimization test functions. Then, it is applied to aerodynamic airfoil design optimization with two objective functions, namely minimization of aerodynamic drag and maximization of airfoil thickness at the trailing edge. Finally, the proposed method is applied to aerodynamic airfoil design optimization with three objective functions, namely minimization of aerodynamic drag at cruising speed, maximization of airfoil thickness at the trialing edge and maximization of lift at low speed assuming a landing attitude. XFOILis used to investigate the low-fidelity aerodynamic force, and a Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes simulation is applied for high-fidelity aerodynamics in conjunction with a high-cost approach. For comparison, multi-objective optimization is carried out using a kriging model only with a high-fidelity solver (single fidelity). The design results indicate that the non-dominated solutions of the proposed method achieve greater data diversity than the optimal solutions of the kriging method. Moreover, the proposed method gives a smaller error than the kriging method.
Wavefront Shaping and Its Application to Enhance Photoacoustic Imaging
Authors: Yu Zhipeng , Li Huanhao , Lai Puxiang
Published: December 2017

Since its introduction to the field in mid-1990s, photoacoustic imaging has become a fast-developing biomedical imaging modality with many promising potentials. By converting absorbed diffused light energy into not-so-diffused ultrasonic waves, the reconstruction of the ultrasonic waves from the targeted area in photoacoustic imaging leads to a high-contrast sensing of optical absorption with ultrasonic resolution in deep tissue, overcoming the optical diffusion limit from the signal detection perspective. The generation of photoacoustic signals, however, is still throttled by the attenuation of photon flux due to the strong diffusion effect of light in tissue. Recently, optical wavefront shaping has demonstrated that multiply scattered light could be manipulated so as to refocus inside a complex medium, opening up new hope to tackle the fundamental limitation. In this paper, the principle and recent development of photoacoustic imaging and optical wavefront shaping are briefly introduced. Then we describe how photoacoustic signals can be used as a guide star for in-tissue optical focusing, and how such focusing can be exploited for further enhancing photoacoustic imaging in terms of sensitivity and penetration depth. Finally, the existing challenges and further directions towards in vivo applications are discussed.
Evaluating the High Frequency Behavior of the Modified Grounding Scheme in Wind Farms
Authors: Hajeforosh Seyede , Pooranian Zahra , Shabani Ali , Conti Mauro
Published: December 2017

Wind generators are exposed to numerous destructive forces such as lightning and are therefore vulnerable to these phenomena. To evaluate the transient behavior of a wind power plant during direct and indirect strikes, modeling of all relevant components is required. Among the protective and control components of wind turbines, the grounding system is the most important element for protection against lightning strikes. This paper examines the impact of nonlinear soil ionization behavior and frequency dependency on a wind turbine in order to model a sufficient protection scheme to reduce overvoltage and make the system tolerable against transitions. The high frequency models of other equipment such as transformers, horizontal conductors, vertical rods, surge arresters and underground cables must also be taken into account to design the grounding system. Our Proposed Modified Grounding Scheme (PMGS) is to reduce the maximum transient overvoltages. We simulate the model in a restructured version of the Electromagnetic Transient Program (EMTP-RV) software to examine the effectiveness of the system. We then apply the simulated results to pair of turbines that are interconnected with a frequency-dependent cable. We carry out the simulation for direct and indirect lightning strikes. The results indicate that the MGS can lead to considerably more than a 50% reduction in transient voltages for lightning and thus leads to more reliable networks.
Bandwidth Widening of Piezoelectric Cantilever Beam Arrays by Mass-Tip Tuning for Low-Frequency Vibration Energy Harvesting
Authors: Dechant Eduard , Fedulov Feodor , Fetisov Leonid , Shamonin Mikhail
Published: December 2017

Wireless sensor networks usually rely on internal permanent or rechargeable batteries as a power supply, causing high maintenance efforts. An alternative solution is to supply the entire system by harvesting the ambient energy, for example, by transducing ambient vibrations into electric energy by virtue of the piezoelectric effect. The purpose of this paper is to present a simple engineering approach for the bandwidth optimization of vibration energy harvesting systems comprising multiple piezoelectric cantilevers (PECs). The frequency tuning of a particular cantilever is achieved by changing the tip mass. It is shown that the bandwidth enhancement by mass tuning is limited and requires several PECs with close resonance frequencies. At a fixed frequency detuning between subsequent PECs, the achievable bandwidth shows a saturation behavior as a function of the number of cantilevers used. Since the resonance frequency of each PEC is different, the output voltages at a particular excitation frequency have different amplitudes and phases. A simple power-transfer circuit where several PECs with an individual full wave bridge rectifier are connected in parallel allows one to extract the electrical power close to the theoretical maximum excluding the diode losses. The experiments performed on two- and three-PEC arrays show reasonable agreement with simulations and demonstrate that this power-transfer circuit additionally influences the frequency dependence of the harvested electrical power.
An Accurate Perception Method for Low Contrast Bright Field Microscopy in Heterogeneous Microenvironments
Authors: Rajasekaran Keshav , Samani Ekta , Bollavaram Manasa , Stewart John , Banerjee Ashis
Published: December 2017

Automated optical tweezers-based robotic manipulation of microscale objects requires real-time visual perception for estimating the states, i.e., positions and orientations, of the objects. Such visual perception is particularly challenging in heterogeneous environments comprising mixtures of biological and colloidal objects, such as cells and microspheres, when the popular imaging modality of low contrast bright field microscopy is used. In this paper, we present an accurate method to address this challenge. Our method combines many well-established image processing techniques such as blob detection, histogram equalization, erosion, and dilation with a convolutional neural network in a novel manner. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our processing pipeline in perceiving objects of both regular and irregular shapes in heterogeneous microenvironments of varying compositions. The neural network, in particular, helps in distinguishing the individual microspheres present in dense clusters.
Neutrosophic Hough Transform
Authors: Budak Ümit , Guo Yanhui , Şengür Abdulkadir , Smarandache Florentin
Published: December 2017

Hough transform (HT) is a useful tool for both pattern recognition and image processing communities. In the view of pattern recognition, it can extract unique features for description of various shapes, such as lines, circles, ellipses, and etc. In the view of image processing, a dozen of applications can be handled with HT, such as lane detection for autonomous cars, blood cell detection in microscope images, and so on. As HT is a straight forward shape detector in a given image, its shape detection ability is low in noisy images. To alleviate its weakness on noisy images and improve its shape detection performance, in this paper, we proposed neutrosophic Hough transform (NHT). As it was proved earlier, neutrosophy theory based image processing applications were successful in noisy environments. To this end, the Hough space is initially transferred into the NS domain by calculating the NS membership triples (T, I, and F). An indeterminacy filtering is constructed where the neighborhood information is used in order to remove the indeterminacy in the spatial neighborhood of neutrosophic Hough space. The potential peaks are detected based on thresholding on the neutrosophic Hough space, and these peak locations are then used to detect the lines in the image domain. Extensive experiments on noisy and noise-free images are performed in order to show the efficiency of the proposed NHT algorithm. We also compared our proposed NHT with traditional HT and fuzzy HT methods on variety of images. The obtained results showed the efficiency of the proposed NHT on noisy images.