bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Document Analysis of Sports Literature for Individuals with Disabilities
Authors: Lee Jihyun , Porretta David L.
Published: September 2013

A document analysis was conducted on published articles (data-based and review) relative to sports for individuals with disabilities. Data were directly compared to those published from a 10-year (1986 to 1996) document analysis by Reid and Prupas (1998). The current analysis consisted of the recent 10-year time period (2001 to 2011). Retrieved articles were assigned into one of eight categories. Reliability checks resulted in 90% for inter-rater and 93% for intra-rater agreement. The period 2001 to 2011 resulted in the greatest number of data-based articles published while the period 1986 to 1996 resulted in the greatest number of review articles published. Similarities and differences were discussed relative to the timeframes used as well as the method used to retrieve publications. Results were provided information for future research and writing in the area of sport for individuals with disabilities.
Associations between Parenting Style, Physical Discipline, and Adjustment in Adolescents' Reports
Authors: Gunnoe Marjorie Lindner
Published: September 2013

Recollections of physical discipline as absent, age-delimited (ages 2–11), or present into adolescence were associated with youths' evaluations of their mothers' and fathers' parenting styles and their own adjustment. Data were from the Portraits of American Life Study–Youth (PALS–Y) a diverse, national sample of 13- to 18-year-olds ( N = 158). The modal experience of youth with authoritative parents was age-delimited spanking; the modal experience of youth with permissive parents was no spanking; the modal experience of youth with authoritarian or disengaged parents was physical discipline into adolescence. The age-delimited group reported the best adjustment (less maladjustment than the adolescent group; greater competence than both other groups). The positive association between fathers' age-delimited spanking and youths' academic rank persisted even after accounting for parenting styles. The eschewing of spanking should not be listed as a distinguishing characteristic of authoritative parenting, which was more often associated with age-delimited spanking than with zero-usage.
Effect of Interactions between a Child and a Robot on the Imitation and Praxis Performance of Typically Devloping Children and a Child with Autism: A Preliminary Study
Authors: Srinivasan Sudha M. , Lynch Kathleen A. , Bubela Deborah J. , Gifford Timothy D. , Bhat Anjana N.
Published: September 2013

Interactions between a robot and a child (robot-child interactions) provide a unique context to engage children in whole body movements through a reciprocal imitation game. The effects of a novel, 8-session, robot-child interaction protocol on the imitation and praxis skills of 15 typically developing children and one child with autism between 4 and 7 years of age were examined. A quasi-experimental observational comparison of pretest and posttest performance was conducted. A task-specific robot imitation test and a standardized praxis measure were coded for changes in imitation and praxis errors at pretest and posttest. All children showed improvements in task-specific imitation and generalized praxis. Interpretation is limited by the lack of a control group. These findings serve as a foundation for further investigation of robot-child interactions as a potential training tool for children with dyspraxia.
The Role of Self-Control Strength in the Development of State Anxiety in Test Situations
Authors: Englert C. , Bertrams A.
Published: September 2013

Self-control strength may affect state anxiety because emotion regulation is impaired in individuals whose self-control strength has been temporarily depleted. Increases in state anxiety were expected to be larger for participants with depleted compared to nondepleted self-control strength, and trait test anxiety should predict increases in state anxiety more strongly if self-control strength is depleted. In a sample of 76 university students, trait test anxiety was assessed, self-control strength experimentally manipulated, and state anxiety measured before and after the announcement of a test. State anxiety increased after the announcement. Trait test anxiety predicted increases in state anxiety only in students with depleted self-control strength, suggesting that increased self-control strength may be useful for coping with anxiety.
Ethnic Identity: Similarities and Differences in White Groups Based on Cultural Practices
Authors: Koutrelakos James
Published: September 2013

The present study examined variability in ethnic identity among the ethnic groups that comprise the White racial category. Based on participants' ethnic self-labels, high school and college students ( n = 495) were assigned to one of six groups: Armenian, Greek, Jewish, European, Mixed White ancestry (“Irish and Italian”), and Pan-ethnic (“White”). Individuals who identified with Specific White groups (Armenian, Greek, Jewish) had higher ethnic identity scores than individuals who identified with Nonspecific White groups (European, Mixed, Pan-ethnic). Specific White groups also had more heritage education, ethnic language competency, and religious participation than Nonspecific White groups. Regression analyses indicated that ethnic language competency and religious participation positively predicted ethnic identity for both Specific and Nonspecific White groups, controlling for age, sex, and generation. For the Specific White group, heritage education interacted with ethnic language to increase ethnic identity for students with low (but not medium or high) competency.
Cultural and Age Differences of Three Groups of Taiwanese Young Children's Creativity and Drawing
Authors: Wei Mei-Hue , Dzeng Annie
Published: September 2013

This study investigated the cultural and age effects on children's overall creativity and drawing. 1,055 children ages 6 to 8 from three groups—urban and rural Taiwanese children and Taiwanese children of immigrant mothers, all in public schools—were given a creativity test, a people-drawing test, and a free-drawing test. The results showed that the older Taiwanese children scored higher than the young Taiwanese children on people-drawing and free-drawing, but not overall creativity. Drawing and creativity scores increased in accordance with age. In the six-year-old group, a group difference was found only on the scale of people-drawing. Urban Taiwanese children in the eight-year-old group scored higher than the other two groups of children on creativity and free-drawing. Results are discussed in terms of educational opportunities.
More to Explore in Music Reading as a Cross-Modal Process: A Comment on Lee and Lei (2012)
Authors: Besson Mireille , Martínez-Montes Eduardo
Published: September 2013

Lee and Lei (2012) used a pitch task and a duration task in different blocks of trials and measured event-related potentials in 12 musicians and 24 non-musicians as they read musical scores. The authors claimed to disentangle pitch and duration processing. From the perspectives of cognitive neuropsychology there is great interest in studying the processes involved in reading musical scores. However, we argue that the design used by Lee and Lei (2012) does not allow disentangling pitch and duration processing because both are expressed within the musical score. Moreover, we emphasize the importance of longitudinal studies over cross-sectional studies to pinpoint the specific influence of musical expertise on score reading.
Autobiographical Remembering and Individual Differences in Emotional Intelligence
Authors: Yamamoto Kohsuke , Toyota Hiroshi
Published: September 2013

The relationship between individual differences in Emotional Intelligence (EI) and self-reported arousal from remembering an autobiographical emotional or neutral event was examined. Participants ( N = 235; 75 men; M age = 18.7 yr., SD = 0.9, range = 18–22) were required to complete the Japanese version of the Emotional Skills and Competence Questionnaire to assess EI. Participants were then asked to recall personal episodes from autobiographical memory, and then completed the Memory Characteristics Questionnaire (MCQ). A group with high EI-rated, emotionally neutral episodes higher than did a group with low EI on several MCQ subscales: sound, participants, overall memory, and doubt/certainty. However, differences in ratings between the two groups were not observed for emotionally positive episodes. These results suggest that high EI is related to more effective use of weak retrieval cues when recalling neutral autobiographical memories.
Computerized Measures of Finger Tapping: Effects of Hand Dominance, Age, and Sex
Authors: Hubel Kerry A. , Reed Bruce , Yund E. William , Herron Timothy J. , Woods David L.
Published: September 2013

Computerized measures of digit tapping rate were obtained over 3 successive, 10-sec. periods in the right and left index fingers, from a community sample of 1,519 participants (ages 18 to 65 years; 607 men, 912 women). Differences between the dominant and non-dominant hands were found for tapping rate, movement initiation, and button down times, and the decline in tapping rate over the successive, 10-sec. periods. Declines were found in tapping rate in older participants in association with increased intertap variability. Men had higher tapping rates than women in all age ranges. The computerized finger tapping test is an efficient and precise measure of tapping speed and kinetics of potential utility in research and clinical studies of motor performance.
Postural Control during Pushing Movement with Risk of Forward Perturbation
Authors: Okai Rika , Fujiwara Motoko
Published: September 2013

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a forward bilateral pushing movement on postural control in a situation where known, unknown, and unpredictable perturbations may be induced. Participants stood upright and voluntarily pushed a handle with both hands. In the first task, the handle was free to be moved by the participant (perturbation; movable task) and in the second task, the handle was locked (stationary task). For each task, body displacement and observed applied force were recorded. Anticipatory postural control adjustment plays a vital role in body stability; however, in contrast to its role in maintaining stability, adjustment can generate a restricted voluntary movement because motor programming selects a postural control that gives priority to body stability over the target movement.
Simplest Chronoscope III: Further Comparisons between Reaction Times Obtained by Meterstick versus Machine
Authors: Montare Alberto
Published: September 2013

The three classical Donders' reaction time (RT) tasks (simple, choice, and discriminative RTs) were employed to compare reaction time scores from college students obtained by use of Montare's simplest chronoscope (meterstick) methodology to scores obtained by use of a digital-readout multi-choice reaction timer (machine). Five hypotheses were tested. Simple RT, choice RT, and discriminative RT were faster when obtained by meterstick than by machine. The meterstick method showed higher reliability than the machine method and was less variable. The meterstick method of the simplest chronoscope may help to alleviate the longstanding problems of low reliability and high variability of reaction time performances; while at the same time producing faster performance on Donders' simple, choice and discriminative RT tasks than the machine method.
Mental Toughness of Mixed Martial Arts Athletes at Different Levels of Competition
Authors: Chen Mark A. , Cheesman David J.
Published: September 2013

This study investigated whether mental toughness distinguishes mixed martial arts (MMA) athletes competing at different levels. It was theorized that higher mental toughness would separate those competing at the professional level compared to lower levels. Male MMA competitors ( N = 136, M age = 27.1 yr., SD = 4.8) were categorized as amateur, semi-professional, or professional and assessed by questionnaire using the Psychological Performance Inventory–A and the Sports Mental Toughness Questionnaire. There were statistically significant differences between the three groups on mental toughness. The professional group had higher scores compared to semi-professional and amateur groups with regard to confidence, positive cognition, and determination. The findings supported previous work that athletes performing at higher levels have superior mental toughness.
Przyczyny wyłączenia sportu paraolimpijskiego z polskiego środowiska sportowego w opinii paraolimpijczyków / Exclusion of Paralympic Sport from the Sporting Community in Poland and its Causes according to Paralympic Athletes
Authors: Sobiecka Joanna
Published: September 2013

Streszczenie

Wstęp: Celem prac|y jest przedstawienie opinii uczestników igrzysk paraolimpijskich na te- mat istniejących przyczyn utrzymywania się od roku 1972 do 2006 zjawiska wyobcowania sportu paraolimpijskiego z polskiego środowiska sportowego.

Materiał i metody: W badaniach, w których posłużono się metodą sondażu diagnostycznego, wzięło udział 435 zawodników Letnich i Zimowych Igrzysk Paraolimpijskich z lat 1972- 2006. mających uszkodzenie narządu mchu lub wzroku, na stałe przebywających w Polsce. Wyszczególniono trzy grapy badanych: I - liczyła 135 osób (1972-1988), II - 94 (1992- 1998). III - 206 (2000-2006).

Wyniki: Analiza danych pozwoliła stwierdzić, iż głównych przyczyn wyizolowania sportu paraolimpijskiego ze środowiska sportowego zawodnicy upatrywali przede wszystkim w braku informacji i niepropagowaniu go w środkach masowego przekazu. Odczuwali także różnicę w: sposobie ich traktowania wT porównaniu do zawodników pełnosprawnych oraz brak akceptacji ze strony ludzi zdrowych, pracujących na rzecz sportu. W opinii badanych, w polskim sporcie uwidocznił się brak integracji samych sportowców' pełno- i niepełnosprawnych. co uniemożliwiało paraolimpijczykom wzięcie udziału wTe wspólnych treningach, zgrupowaniach oraz imprezach sportowych. Istniejąca w Polsce struktura organizacyjna pro- wadziła do izolacji sportu osób niepełnosprawnych, ponieważ obejmowała zamknięty krąg zawodników zrzeszonych wT klubach, w których trenowały tylko osoby niepełnosprawne. Należy nadmienić, iż powyższe przyczyny były generowane zarówno przez instytucje rządowe jak i pozarządowe, samo środowisko sportowe oraz postawy społeczne w:obec sportu niepełnosprawnych.

Wnioski: Pomimo dokonujących się w Polsce przemian społecznoekonomicznych. w: kolejnych latach igrzysk paraolimpijskich zawodnicy napotykali na powtarzające się problemy, które nie pozwoliły im odczuć korzystnych zmian zbliżających ich do sportowców pełno- sprawnych. Instytucje rządowe i pozarządowe podjęły istotne działania w kierunku likwidacji przyczyn wyłączenia sportu paraolimpijskiego ze środowiska sportowego - wskazanych przez badanych zawodników. Takich działań natomiast nie odnotowano wT odniesieniu do przyczyn tkwiących wT samym środowisku sportowym jak i postaw społecznych.
Asymptotic analysis of positive solutions of generalized Emden-Fowler differential equations in the framework of regular variation
Authors: Jaroš Jaroslav , Takaŝi Kusano , Manojlović Jelena
Published: September 2013

Positive solutions of the nonlinear second-order differential equation $(p(t)|x'|^{\alpha - 1} x')' + q(t)|x|^{\beta - 1} x = 0,\alpha > \beta > 0,$ are studied under the assumption that p, q are generalized regularly varying functions. An application of the theory of regular variation gives the possibility of obtaining necessary and sufficient conditions for existence of three possible types of intermediate solutions, together with the precise information about asymptotic behavior at infinity of all solutions belonging to each type of solution classes.
A pure geometric approach to stellar structure
Authors: Wanas Mamdouh , Ammar Samah
Published: September 2013

The present work represents a step in dealing with stellar structure using a pure geometric approach. Geometric field theory is used to construct a model for a spherically symmetric configuration. In this case, two solutions have been obtained for the field equations. The first represents an interior solution which may be considered as a pure geometric one in the sense that the tensor describing the material distributions is not a phenomenological object, but a part of the geometric structure used. A general equation of state for a perfect fluid, is obtained from, and not imposed on, the model. The second solution gives rise to Schwarzschild exterior field in its isotropic form. The two solutions are matched, at a certain boundary, to evaluate the constants of integration. The interior solution obtained shows that there are different zones characterizing the configuration: a central radiation dominant zone, a probable convection zone as a physical interpretation of the singularity of the model, and a corona like zone. The model may represent a type of main sequence stars. The present work shows that Einstein’s geometerization scheme can be extended to gain more physical information within material distribution, with some advantages.
The influence of pemirolast on autonomic imbalance in rat cystitis model
Authors: Dobrek Łukasz , Baranowska Agnieszka , Thor Piotr
Published: September 2013

Cyclophosphamide (CP) treatment is associated with the risk of haemorrhagic cystitis (HC). Moreover, CP-induced HC is complicated by autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysfunction. Pemirolast is thought to be a mast cell stabiliser that inhibits the release of many inflammatory mediators and sensory neuropeptides, and thus, it may be considered a potential chemoprotective HC agent. The aim of the study was to indirectly estimate the effect of pemirolast in experimental HC by measuring ANS activity with the heart rate variability (HRV) method. In CP-treated rats, we found a decreasing trend of overall autonomic activity, together with an imbalance between the main components, and a dominant very low frequency (VLF) power component. Pemirolast treatment did not improve the total HRV power value or the main non-normalized HRV components. Moreover, CP-HC animals treated with pemirolast displayed a different disproportion of normalized spectral components as compared to both control and CP-HC animals without pemirolast treatment, with the balance between normalized low frequency (nLF) and normalized high frequency (nHF) shifted towards nLF. This finding, together with a relatively high VLF tension, indicates that the pemirolast treatment resulted in high sympathetic activity that may contribute to HC exacerbation; thus, this agent seems to be ineffective in CP-induced HC.
In vitro and in vivo characteristics of hepatic oval cells modified with human hepatocyte growth factor
Authors: Li Zhu , Chen Juan , Li Li , Ran Jiang-Hua , Li Xue-Hua , Liu Zhi-Heng , Liu Gui-Jie , Gao Yan-Chao , Zhang Xue-Li , Sun Hiu-Dong
Published: September 2013

Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a multifunctional growth factor that controls cell scattering. It has been suggested that it regulates the proliferation of hepatic oval cells (HOCs). Using a HOC line that stably expresses the human HGF gene (hHGF), we investigated the in vitro proliferation and differentiation characteristics of hHGF-modified HOCs and explored their potential capacity for intrahepatic transplantation. A modified 2-acetylaminofluorene and partial hepatectomy (2-AAF/PH) model was established to activate the proliferation of oval cells in the rat liver. HOCs were transfected with the pBLAST2-hHGF plasmid and hHGF-carrying HOCs were selected based on blasticidin resistance. The level of hHGF secretion was determined via ELISA. Cell proliferation was determined using the MTT assay. Differentiation was induced by growth factor withdrawal. A two-cuff technique was used for orthotopic liver transplantation, and HOCs or hHGF-modified HOCs were transplanted into the recipients. The levels of biochemical indicators of liver function were measured after transplantation. An HOC line stably expressing hHGF was established. The transfected line showed greater hHGF secretion than normal HOCs. The hHGF gene promoted the proliferation capability of HOCs by reducing the peak time in vitro. The hHGF-modified HOCs differentiated into hepatocytes and bile duct epithelial cells upon growth factor withdrawal in vitro. In addition, hHGF-modified HOC transplantation significantly prolonged the median survival time (MST) and improved the liver function of recipients compared to HOC transplant recipients and nontransplanted controls. Our results indicate that hHGF-modified HOCs may have valuable properties for therapeutic liver regeneration after orthotopic liver transplantation.
Optimization of building blocks for multi-stage 17–44 dB 6.1–9.6 mW 90-nm K-band front-ends
Authors: Roy Apratim , Harun Rashid A.
Published: September 2013

In this article, five two-stage ∼6-mW and four three-stage ∼9-mW matched amplifier architectures are proposed to establish optimization procedure and quantify relative merits of cascode (CC), common-gate (CG), and commonsource (CS) building blocks for low-voltage low-power multi-stage front-ends. The circuits are simulated with a 90-nm CMOS technology including modeling of layout parasites. Integrated bias trees and passive port matching networks are incorporated in the K-band designs. In the face of process mismatch, variability in noise and gain figures remains <0.39 dB and <7.1 dB from the design values. The five combinations of building blocks in twostage low-power (6.1–6.6 mW) amplifiers achieve linearity (IIP3) in the range of −5.2∼–13.5 dBm, good reverse isolation (better than −26 dB), 2.89–3.82 dB noise penalties, and 17.2–25.5 dB peak forward gain. In case of threestage front-ends built with CS, CC, and CG blocks (power rating 9.2–9.6 mW), forward gain and optimized noise figures are found as >33 dB and <3.26 dB, respectively. They achieve −2.5∼18.3 dBm IIP3, <−39 dB reverse isolation, and <−17 dB minimum IRL. The results are compared with reported simulated findings on CMOS multistage amplifiers to highlight their relative advantages in terms of power requirement and decibel(gain)-per-watt.
Sharing Human Resource Management Responsibility to Line Management for Organizational Performance: Results from Nepal
Authors: Gautam Dhruba Kumar
Published: September 2013

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/bj.v3i2.8541 Banking Journal Vol.3(2) 2013 pp.1-20
Gravitational Entropy and Inflation
Authors: Elgarøy Øystein , Grøn Øyvind
Published: September 2013

The main topic of this paper is a description of the generation of entropy at the end of the inflationary era. As a generalization of the present standard model of the Universe dominated by pressureless dust and a Lorentz invariant vacuum energy (LIVE), we first present a flat Friedmann universe model, where the dust is replaced with an ideal gas. It is shown that the pressure of the gas is inversely proportional to the fifth power of the scale factor and that the entropy in a comoving volume does not change during the expansion. We then review different measures of gravitational entropy related to the Weyl curvature conjecture and calculate the time evolution of two proposed measures of gravitational entropy in a LIVE-dominated Bianchi type I universe, and a Lemaitre-Bondi-Tolman universe with LIVE. Finally, we elaborate upon a model of energy transition from vacuum energy to radiation energy, that of Bonanno and Reuter, and calculate the time evolution of the entropies of vacuum energy and radiation energy. We also calculate the evolution of the maximal entropy according to some recipes and demonstrate how a gap between the maximal entropy and the actual entropy opens up at the end of the inflationary era.
Biohybrid Nanostructured Iron Oxide Nanoparticles and Satureja hortensis to Prevent Fungal Biofilm Development
Authors: Anghel Ion , Grumezescu Alexandru , Holban Alina , Ficai Anton , Anghel Alina , Chifiriuc Mariana
Published: September 2013

Cutaneous wounds are often superinfected during the healing process and this leads to prolonged convalescence and discomfort. Usage of suitable wound dressings is very important for an appropriate wound care leading to a correct healing. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the influence of a nano-coated wound dressing (WD) on Candida albicans colonization rate and biofilm formation. The modified WD was achieved by submerging the dressing pieces into a nanofluid composed of functionalized magnetite nanoparticles and Satureja hortensis (SO) essential oil (EO). Chemical composition of the EO was established by GC-MS. The fabricated nanostructure was characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA) and Fourier Transform-Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR). The analysis of the colonized surfaces using (Scanning Electron Microscopy) SEM revealed that C. albicans adherence and subsequent biofilm development are strongly inhibited on the surface of wound dressing fibers coated with the obtained nanofluid, comparing with regular uncoated materials. The results were also confirmed by the assay of the viable fungal cells embedded in the biofilm. Our data demonstrate that the obtained phytonanocoating improve the resistance of wound dressing surface to C. albicans colonization, which is often an etiological cause of local infections, impairing the appropriate wound healing.
Emerging Roles of Claudins in Human Cancer
Authors: Kwon Mi
Published: September 2013

Claudins are major integral membrane proteins of tight junctions. Altered expression of several claudin proteins, in particular claudin-1, -3, -4 and -7, has been linked to the development of various cancers. Although their dysregulation in cancer suggests that claudins play a role in tumorigenesis, the exact underlying mechanism remains unclear. The involvement of claudins in tumor progression was suggested by their important role in the migration, invasion and metastasis of cancer cells in a tissue-dependent manner. Recent studies have shown that they play a role in epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), the formation of cancer stem cells or tumor-initiating cells (CSCs/TICs), and chemoresistance, suggesting that claudins are promising targets for the treatment of chemoresistant and recurrent tumors. A recently identified claudin-low breast cancer subtype that is characterized by the enrichment of EMT and stem cell-like features is significantly associated with disease recurrence, underscoring the importance of claudins as predictors of tumor recurrence. The critical role of epigenetic mechanisms in the regulation of claudin expression indicates the possible application of epigenetic therapy to target claudins. A better understanding of the emerging role of claudins in CSC/TICs and chemoresistance may help to develop therapies against recurrent cancers.
An Insight into the Anticancer Activities of Ru(II)-Based Metallocompounds Using Docking Methods
Authors: Adeniyi Adebayo , Ajibade Peter
Published: September 2013

Unlike organic molecules, reports on docking of metal complexes are very few; mainly due to the inadequacy of force fields in docking packages to appropriately characterize the metal atoms that consequentially hinder the rational design of metal-based drug complexes. In this study we have made used Molegro and Autodock to predict the anticancer activities of selected Ru(II) complexes against twelve anticancer targets. We observed that introducing the quantum calculated atomic charges of the optimized geometries significantly improved the docking predictions of these anticancer metallocompounds. Despite several limitations in the docking of metal-based complexes, we obtained results that are highly correlated with the available experimental results. Most of our newly proposed metallocompounds are found theoretically to be better anticancer metallocompounds than all the experimentally proposed RAPTA complexes. An interesting features of a strong interactions of new modeled of metallocompounds against the two base edges of DNA strands suggest similar mechanisms of anticancer activities similar to that of cisplatin. There is possibility of covalent bonding between the metal center of the metallocompounds and the residues of the receptors DNA-1, DNA-2, HDAC7, HIS and RNR. However, the general results suggest the possibility of metals positioning the coordinated ligands in the right position for optimal receptor interactions and synergistic effects, rather than forming covalent bonds.
A Recyclable Palladium-Catalyzed Synthesis of 2-Methylene-2,3-Dihydrobenzofuran-3-ols by Cycloisomerization of 2-(1-Hydroxyprop-2-ynyl)phenols in Ionic Liquids
Authors: Mancuso Raffaella , Gabriele Bartolo
Published: September 2013

A recyclable palladium-catalyzed synthesis of 2-methylene-2,3-dihydrobenzofuran-3-ols 2 by heterocyclization of 2-(1-hydroxyprop-2-ynyl)phenols 1 in an ionic liquid medium (BmimBF4) is presented. The process takes place under relatively mild conditions (100 °C, 5 h) in the presence of catalytic amounts (2 mol %) of PdI2 in conjunction with KI (5 equiv with respect to PdI2) and an organic base, such as morpholine (1 equiv with respect to 1), to give 2 in high yields (70%–86%). The PdI2-KI catalytic system could be recycled up to six times without appreciable loss of activity. Moreover, products 2 could be easily converted in a one-pot fashion into 2-hydroxymethylbenzofurans 3 (52%–71%, based on 1) and 2-methoxymethylbenzofurans 4 (52%–80%, based on 1) by acid-catalyzed allylic isomerization or allylic nucleophilic substitution.
Human Detection from a Mobile Robot Using Fusion of Laser and Vision Information
Authors: Fotiadis Efstathios , Garzón Mario , Barrientos Antonio
Published: September 2013

This paper presents a human detection system that can be employed on board a mobile platform for use in autonomous surveillance of large outdoor infrastructures. The prediction is based on the fusion of two detection modules, one for the laser and another for the vision data. In the laser module, a novel feature set that better encapsulates variations due to noise, distance and human pose is proposed. This enhances the generalization of the system, while at the same time, increasing the outdoor performance in comparison with current methods. The vision module uses the combination of the histogram of oriented gradients descriptor and the linear support vector machine classifier. Current approaches use a fixed-size projection to define regions of interest on the image data using the range information from the laser range finder. When applied to small size unmanned ground vehicles, these techniques suffer from misalignment, due to platform vibrations and terrain irregularities. This is effectively addressed in this work by using a novel adaptive projection technique, which is based on a probabilistic formulation of the classifier performance. Finally, a probability calibration step is introduced in order to optimally fuse the information from both modules. Experiments in real world environments demonstrate the robustness of the proposed method.
Robust Depth Estimation and Image Fusion Based on Optimal Area Selection
Authors: Lee Ik-Hyun , Mahmood Muhammad , Choi Tae-Sun
Published: September 2013

Mostly, 3D cameras having depth sensing capabilities employ active depth estimation techniques, such as stereo, the triangulation method or time-of-flight. However, these methods are expensive. The cost can be reduced by applying optical passive methods, as they are inexpensive and efficient. In this paper, we suggest the use of one of the passive optical methods named shape from focus (SFF) for 3D cameras. In the proposed scheme, first, an adaptive window is computed through an iterative process using a criterion. Then, the window is divided into four regions. In the next step, the best focused area among the four regions is selected based on variation in the data. The effectiveness of the proposed scheme is validated using image sequences of synthetic and real objects. Comparative analysis based on statistical metrics correlation, mean square error (MSE), universal image quality index (UIQI) and structural similarity (SSIM) shows the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.
A High-Temperature Fiber Sensor Using a Low Cost Interrogation Scheme
Authors: Barrera David , Sales Salvador
Published: September 2013

Regenerated Fibre Bragg Gratings have the potential for high-temperature monitoring. In this paper, the inscription of Fibre Bragg Gratings (FBGs) and the later regeneration process to obtain Regenerated Fiber Bragg Gratings (RFBGs) in high-birefringence optical fiber is reported. The obtained RFBGs show two Bragg resonances corresponding to the slow and fast axis that are characterized in temperature terms. As the temperature increases the separation between the two Bragg resonances is reduced, which can be used for low cost interrogation. The proposed interrogation setup is based in the use of optical filters in order to convert the wavelength shift of each of the Bragg resonances into optical power changes. The design of the optical filters is also studied in this article. In first place, the ideal filter is calculated using a recursive method and defining the boundary conditions. This ideal filter linearizes the output of the interrogation setup but is limited by the large wavelength shift of the RFBG with temperature and the maximum attenuation. The response of modal interferometers as optical filters is also analyzed. They can be easily tuned shifting the optical spectrum. The output of the proposed interrogation scheme is simulated in these conditions improving the sensitivity.
Distributed Pedestrian Detection Alerts Based on Data Fusion with Accurate Localization
Authors: García Fernando , Jiménez Felipe , Anaya José , Armingol José , Naranjo José , De la Escalera Arturo
Published: September 2013

Among Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) pedestrian detection is a common issue due to the vulnerability of pedestrians in the event of accidents. In the present work, a novel approach for pedestrian detection based on data fusion is presented. Data fusion helps to overcome the limitations inherent to each detection system (computer vision and laser scanner) and provides accurate and trustable tracking of any pedestrian movement. The application is complemented by an efficient communication protocol, able to alert vehicles in the surroundings by a fast and reliable communication. The combination of a powerful location, based on a GPS with inertial measurement, and accurate obstacle localization based on data fusion has allowed locating the detected pedestrians with high accuracy. Tests proved the viability of the detection system and the efficiency of the communication, even at long distances. By the use of the alert communication, dangerous situations such as occlusions or misdetections can be avoided.
Design and Implementation of a New Real-Time Frequency Sensor Used as Hardware Countermeasure
Authors: Jiménez-Naharro Raúl , Gómez-Galán Juan , Sánchez-Raya Manuel , Gómez-Bravo Fernando , Pedro-Carrasco Manuel
Published: September 2013

A new digital countermeasure against attacks related to the clock frequency is presented. This countermeasure, known as frequency sensor, consists of a local oscillator, a transition detector, a measurement element and an output block. The countermeasure has been designed using a full-custom technique implemented in an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), and the implementation has been verified and characterized with an integrated design using a 0.35 mm standard Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) technology (Very Large Scale Implementation—VLSI implementation). The proposed solution is configurable in resolution time and allowed range of period, achieving a minimum resolution time of only 1.91 ns and an initialization time of 5.84 ns. The proposed VLSI implementation shows better results than other solutions, such as digital ones based on semi-custom techniques and analog ones based on band pass filters, all design parameters considered. Finally, a counter has been used to verify the good performance of the countermeasure in avoiding the success of an attack.
How Eco-Efficient Are Low-Input Cropping Systems in Western Europe, and What Can Be Done to Improve Their Eco-Efficiency?
Authors: Kulak Michal , Nemecek Thomas , Frossard Emmanuel , Gaillard Gérard
Published: September 2013

Low-input cropping systems were introduced in Western Europe to reduce the environmental impacts of intensive farming, but some of their benefits are offset by lower yields. In this paper, we review studies that used Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to investigate the effects of reducing external inputs on the eco-efficiency of cropping systems, measured as the ratio of production to environmental impacts. We also review various cropping system interventions that can improve this ratio. Depending on the initial situation and the impacts considered, reducing inputs will in itself either reduce or increase environmental impacts per product unit—highly eco-efficient cropping systems require application of optimum instead of minimum quantities of external inputs. These optimum rates can be lowered by utilizing positive synergies between crops to minimise waste of nutrients and water and by utilizing locally produced organic waste; both from within the farm as well as well as from the surrounding sociotechnical environment. Eco-efficiency can also be improved by increasing yields in a sustainable matter. Strategies such as breeding, increasing diversity, no-tillage or intercropping will not be effective under all conditions. LCA provides a useful framework to identify environmentally optimum levels of inputs and trade-offs between various intensification scenarios.
Strengthening Knowledge Co-Production Capacity: Examining Interest in Community-University Partnerships
Authors: Hutchins Karen , Lindenfeld Laura , Bell Kathleen , Leahy Jessica , Silka Linda
Published: September 2013

Building successful, enduring research partnerships is essential for improving links between knowledge and action to address sustainability challenges. Communication research can play a critical role in fostering more effective research partnerships, especially those concerned with knowledge co-production processes. This article focuses on community-university research partnerships and factors that influence participation in the co-production process. We identify specific pathways for improving partnership development through a prospective analytical approach that examines community officials’ interest in partnering with university researchers. Using survey responses from a statewide sample of Maine municipal officials, we conduct a statistical analysis of community-university partnership potential to test a conceptual model of partnership interest grounded in natural resource management theory and environmental communication. Our findings both support and advance prior research on collaborations. Results reveal that belief in the helpfulness of the collaborator to solve problems, institutional proximity, familiarity, perceived problem severity and problem type and trust influence interest in developing community-university partnerships. These findings underscore the benefits of proactively assessing partnership potential prior to forming partnerships and the important roles for communication research within sustainability science, especially with regard to strengthening partnership formation and knowledge co-production processes.
Transdisciplinary Sustainability Science at Higher Education Institutions: Science Policy Tools for Incremental Institutional Change
Authors: Dedeurwaerdere Tom
Published: September 2013

At the very moment that humanity is facing a broadening ecological crisis, and that both policy makers and civil society are calling for a transition towards more sustainable societies, modern science seems incapable of providing operational solutions for managing this transition. In this context, both Noble prize laureates and high-level science officials have stressed the need of an in depth transformation of the modes of organization of scientific research for governing the transition to sustainable societies. However, existing analyses of on-going initiatives show that most of the barriers to a major, consolidated effort in sustainability science will not be removed without far-reaching institutional change. To address this challenge, this paper proposes an incremental institutional change approach, based on a gradual institutionalization process of existing initiatives. The analysis in this paper shows that strategic research for sustainability and reform of research funding mechanisms will only be effective if they are supported at the same time by reforms of career and training paths at higher education institutions. To promote this vision, the paper proposes a set of capacity building measures that can be undertaken at the level of research funding, higher education institutions and networking.
Ecology of West Nile Virus in North America
Authors: Reisen William
Published: September 2013

The introduction, dispersal and establishment of West Nile virus in North America were reviewed, focusing on factors that may have enhanced receptivity and enabled the invasion process. The overwintering persistence of this tropical virus within temperate latitudes was unexpected, but was key in the transition from invasion to endemic establishment. The cascade of temporal events allowing sporadic amplification to outbreak levels was discussed within a future perspective.
Gold(I)-catalysed one-pot synthesis of chromans using allylic alcohols and phenols
Authors: Coutant Eloi , Young Paul C , Barker Graeme , Lee Ai-Lan
Published: September 2013

A gold(I)-catalysed reaction of allylic alcohols and phenols produces chromans regioselectively via a one-pot Friedel–Crafts allylation/intramolecular hydroalkoxylation sequence. The reaction is mild, practical and tolerant of a wide variety of substituents on the phenol.
A practical synthesis of long-chain iso-fatty acids (iso-C12–C19) and related natural products
Authors: Richardson Mark B , Williams Spencer J
Published: September 2013

A gram-scale synthesis of terminally-branched iso-fatty acids (iso-C12–C19) was developed commencing with methyl undec-10-enoate (methyl undecylenate) (for iso-C12–C14) or the C15 and C16 lactones pentadecanolide (for iso-C15–C17) and hexadecanolide (for iso-C18–C19). Central to the approaches outlined is the two-step construction of the terminal isopropyl group through addition of methylmagnesium bromide to the ester/lactones and selective reduction of the resulting tertiary alcohols. Thus, the C12, C17 and C18 iso-fatty acids were obtained in three steps from commercially-available starting materials, and the remaining C13–C16 and C19 iso-fatty acids were prepared by homologation or recursive dehomologations of these fatty acids or through intercepting appropriate intermediates. Highlighting the synthetic potential of the iso-fatty acids and various intermediates prepared herein, we describe the synthesis of the natural products (S)-2,15-dimethylpalmitic acid, (S)-2-hydroxy-15-methylpalmitic acid, and 2-oxo-14-methylpentadecane.
Impact of Online Consumer Reviews on Buying Intention of Consumers in UK: Need for Cognition as the Moderating Role
Authors: Obiedat Ruba
Published: September 2013

World wide web has offered a strong competitive platform for online marketing which turned out the online shopping important for consumers in todayâ??s world particularly those consumers which view the online reviews as effectual conduit of having important product information prior to purchasing decisions. However, the current study attempts to find the impact of online consumer reviews on buying intention of consumers in the context of UK with need for cognition as the mediating role on the basis of elaboration likelihood model developed in 2011. This study followed positivist research philosophy by using quantitative data from 120 consumers in UK who shop online. In conclusion, the current study demonstrated that the buying intention of online consumer who has high cognitive needs was affected by quality of online review or argument as compare to quantity of online argument or reviews. Furthermore, the buying intentions of online consumers with low cognitive need were affected by quantity of rather than quality of arguments. Therefore, hypothesis of current were supported.
Fault Sampling of Complex System Under Imperfect Maintenance
Authors: Zhang Chao , Guo Linhan
Published: September 2013

When conducting simulation for evaluating complex system reliability or availability, stochastic fault sample method is applied to simulate fault occasions of complex system. Current research of fault sample method generally assumes maintenance activity restores systems to â??good-as-newâ? and â??bad-as-oldâ?, however, system usually keeps its function through imperfect maintenance that restores system to â??partly goodâ? in reality. A stochastic fault sample method for availability evaluation for complex system under imperfect maintenance based on monte-carlo simulation principle is proposed. Firstly, single component fault occurrence process subjected to imperfect maintenance is analyzed and the formula for fault occurrence occasion is given. Secondly, fault sample becomes complicated when maintenance object converts to system with complex reliability structure. Not only fault occurrence occasions but also fault components in the system should be derived from the sample method. Fault sample for parallel system is especially difficult, so the Markov state transition process is embedded into the method to solve this problem .Finally, a numerical case using fault sampling method under imperfect maintenance is given and the number of faults and their occurrence time are obtained . Validity and feasibility of the proposed method is verified.
The Research on WebIDE of Integrated Development Environment Oriented Eye Operating System
Authors: Deng Zhenrong , Zhang Chuan , Huang Wenming , Fan Fei
Published: September 2013

Online operating system based on B/S structure, WebOS become a precedent for advancing the development of the Web4.0 era. This article mainly elaborated the basic concept and future prospects of the online operating system eyeOS which introduced by the Europeans, and the design principle and idea is analyzed, followed by analysis of several major factors restricting eyeOS. And by using the architecture of server, extended to its function, put forward the researching and design method of WebIDE of integrated development environment oriented eye operating system.
Preparation and Sustained-Release Testing of Chitosan/Montmorillonite/Acetaminophen Microspheres
Authors: Zhou Hao Ran , Jiang Hao , Fang Xiao Jiao , Zhao Shuang , Guo Cui
Published: September 2013

Chitosan (CS) is an important slow-release carrier of drugs and fertilizers. The pure chitosan have poor performance, it should be added to a certain amount of crosslinking agents, emulsifiers and porogenic agents to improve the performance of it. The advantage of montmorillonite is no pollution and no toxicity, composite material filled in montmorillonite has an excellent mechanical properties. In this article, CS/MMT/ACAP drug-loading microsperes was prepared with the CS, ACAP and MMT as the main raw materials by emulsification-crosslinking method. Orthogonal experiment was designed to optimize the preparation process of the CS/MMT/ACAP drug-loading microspheres. FT-IR, XRD and SEM were applied to characterize the structure and morphology of microspheres. The sustained release effect of CS/MMT/ACAP microsphere was measured by sustained release measurement. The results show that the CS/MMT/ACAP drug-loading micropheres were successfully prepared by emulsification-crosslinking method. The microspheres assumed a good sphericity and a uniform particle size distribution; the drug-loading microspheres had good sustained release effect.